cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Automatic generation of 2-axis laser-cutter NC machine program and path planning from CAD

Abstract A cutter path planning algorithm is developed as part of a procedure for the automatic generation of NC machine programs beginning with a part description within a CAD system. This procedure is implemented in the form of a simple and functional CAD to 2-axis numerical control programming interface. The method begins by extracting entity information from a machine-independent geometry data file and creates a tool path with the proper sequence and directions of cut for internal and external part contours. A generic NC program is created which acts as an input file to a postprocessor creating G-Code output for specific machine controls. In this paper, a laser-cutting machine is used as a test bed for the programs generated by this procedure.
Change in the phase composition and properties of high-alumina refractories after soaking them in hydrogen atmosphere

On etudie les modifications de la composition de phases, des dimensions lineaires, de la masse, de l'aspect exterieur et de la resistance a la compression de refractaires d'alumine apres exposition a une atmosphere d'hydrogene
Role of Imaging in Prostate Cancer.

Cancer diagnosis and therapy is undergoing rapid evolution from the current nonspecific diagnosis and treatment toward patient-specific approach to therapy. Imaging is central in this evolution by providing accurate information on the presence and extent of disease (1). Unprecedented developments in molecular imaging are paving the way for this new era of imaging-based cancer diagnosis and therapy. Various imaging modalities and methods may be best suited for different phases of the disease. It is best to understand the natural history of disease and its progression in order to tailor the imaging evaluation appropriately. In this chapter, we first present a brief overview of the natural history of prostate cancer before discussing the role of various imaging tools, including opportunities and challenges, for different clinical phases of this disease. In subsequent chapters we focus our attention to the role of positron emission tomography in the imaging evaluation of prostate cancer.
Rat glomerular mesangial cells require laminin-9 to migrate in response to insulin-like growth factor binding protein-5

Temporal and spatial differences in extracellular matrix play critical roles in cell proliferation, differentiation and migration. Different migratory stimuli use different substrates and receptors...
Purification and characterization of monkey albumin and proalbumin

Abstract 1. 1. Albumin purified from rhesus monkey (MSA) shows immunological cross-reactivity with human serum albumin (HSA) by RIA. 2. 2. The amino-terminal sequence of MSA shows a high degree of homology to HSA. 3. 3. Thirty minutes after injection of radioactive leucine directly into the portal vein, albumin was purified chemically from the liver, kidneys and serum. 4. 4. At this time, 15% of the label was incorporated into liver homogenate protein. 5. 5. A highly labelled immunoreactive albumin form was purified from liver to constant specific radioactivity and separated from tissue and serum albumin. 6. 6. The specific radioactivity of this proalbumin was 36-times higher than the specific radioactivity of albumin in liver tissue. 7. 7. These similarities to HSA suggest that this non human primate species can serve as a useful model of human albumin synthesis in vivo .
An efficient uniform run-time scheme for mixed regular-irregular applications

Almost all applications containing indirect array addressing (irregular accesses) have a substantial number of direct array accesses (regular accesses) too. A conspicuous percentage of these direct array accesses usually require interprocessor communication for the applications to run on a distributed memory multicomputer. This study highlights how lack of a uniform representation and lack of a uniform scheme to generate communication structures and parallel code for regular and irregular accesses in a mixed regularirregular application prevent sophisticated optimizations. Furthermore, we also show that code generated for regular accesses using compile-time schemes are not alzvays compatible to code generated for irregular accesses using run-time schemes. In our opinion, existing schemes handling mixed regular-irregular applications either incur unnecessary preprocessing costs or fail to perform the best communication optimization. This study presents a uniform scheme to handle both regular and irregular accesses in a mixed regularirregular application. While this allows for sophisticated communication optimizations such as message coalescing, message aggregation to be made across regular and irregular accesses, the preprocessing costs incurred are likely to be minimum. Experimental comparisons for various benchmarks on a 16-processor IBM SP-2 show that our scheme is feasible and better than existing schemes.
High performance silicon imaging arrays for cosmology, planetary sciences, & other applications

High performance back-illuminated silicon arrays processed with precision atomic control of surface and interfaces are described. Precision atomic control of surface and interfaces parameters dictates quantum efficiency (QE), surface generated dark current, and cosmetic characteristics. Molecular Beam Epitaxy is used to grow delta layers and superlattice structures on the back surface of Si arrays. Photoelectron loss is greatly reduced and near 100% internal QE achieved. Photon losses are reduced by interface engineering using atomic layer deposition. Using these surface and interface treatments in different readout structures and formats creates a suite of devices with many applications. Si detectors spanning planetary science, astrophysics, medical diagnostics, machine vision, and commercial applications will be described.
Enzymatic assay method for evaluating the lipase activity in complex extracts from transgenic corn seed

A colorimetric method was established to determine the activity of recombinant lipase in extracts from transgenic corn seed. The system was an oil-in-water emulsion that was stabilized by a surfactant to accommodate the organic phase substrate and aqueous phase enzyme. The lipase activity was measured by monitoring the release of nitrophenol at 346 nm from the substrate, 4-nitrophenyl butyrate. Emulsions prepared with various surfactant types and concentrations were tested. For each surfactant, the measured activity was greatest when the surfactant concentration was close to the critical micelle concentration, consistent with the changing trend of oil droplet size as a function of surfactant concentration. The optimal system, with 0.01% (w/w) Tween 80, demonstrated good reproducibility, high sensitivity, robustness, and a linear response to lipase concentration.
On the mechanism of β-galactosidase induction

Abstract A 30-sec. pulse of tritiated leucine was given to logarithmically growing cells of Escherichia coli during induction with either melibiose or galactose. β-Galactosidase was thereafter isolated, and its specific radioactivity compared to that of the average cellular protein. Melibiose-induced enzyme had one-third and galactose-induced enzyme twice the specific radioactivity of the average cellular protein. These results suggest that β-galactosidase, when melibiose-induced, is more stable than the average cellular proteins, and that alterations in its turnover may be involved in the mechanism of its induction.
Evidence-based management of carotid artery disease

Stroke is a major cause of disability and mortality, and a major cause of stroke is carotid artery stenosis. This stenosis is caused by carotid atherosclerotic plaques, the prevention and management of which are the key to avoiding many resultant strokes. The plaque can either embolize to a cerebral artery or build up in a carotid artery, ultimately resulting in thrombosis and total occlusion. Noninvasive testing can now make the diagnosis of carotid stenosis. Medical management with plaque stabilization and platelet inhibition plays a key role in stroke prevention. Carotid endarterectomy and invasive carotid angioplasty stenting are also important for lesions with extensive progression, and patients with a very high overall risk may especially benefit from the latter procedure. A medical-surgical team approach is now greatly contributing to the avoidance of stroke and its devastation.
Alteration of the exonuclease activities of DNA polymerase I by captan.

Abstract DNA polymerase I is a multifaceted enzyme with one polymerizing and two exonuclease activities. Captan was previously shown to be an inhibitor of this enzyme's polymerizing activity and this report measures the effects of captan on the two exonuclease activities. When the holoenzyme was tested, captan enhanced the degradation of poly(dA-dT), T 7 DNA and, to a significantly lesser extent, heat-denatured DNA. However, when the effects of captan were tested as a function of substrate concentration, the stimulatory influence was measured only at high substrate concentrations. At low concentrations of DNA, captan was inhibitory. Inhibition and enhancement each showed an ED 50 of the same value (approx. 100 μM). By assaying the two exonuclease activities separately it was shown that the differential effect on the holoenzyme by captan was the result of a combined inhibition of the 3′ →5 ′ exonuclease and enhancement of the 5′ → 3′ exonuclease. Klenow fragment with poly(dA-dT) as substrate was used to assay for 3′ →5 ′ exonuclease activity. Captan inhibited this exonuclease and the inhibition could be prevented by the addition of greater concentrations of substrate. Holoenzyme and poly(rA)-poly(dT) were used to assay for 5′ →3 ′ exonucleolysis, which was enhanced at higher concentrations of substrate in the presence of captan.
Special Issue: New research paradigms in tourism geography

Welcome to the first issue of the newly expanded Tourism Geographies. Starting with this first issue of Volume 16, Tourism Geographies is moving from four to five issues a year (20 percent more pag...
Predictors and Consequences of Delegation

This research examined predictors and consequences of delegation. Participants were 44 supervisors and 198 claims adjusters employed in 19 branch offices of a large insurance company. Delegation wa...
The Effect of Neutron Irradiation on the Structure and Properties of Carbon-Carbon Composite Materials

Carbon-based materials are an attractive choice for fusion reactor plasma facing components (PFCs) because of their low atomic number, superior thermal shock resistance, and low neutron activation. Next generation plasma fusion reactors, such as the international thermonuclear experimental reactor (ITER), will require advanced carbon-carbon composite materials possessing extremely high thermal conductivity to manage the anticipated severe heat loads. Moreover, ignition machines such as ITER wilt produce high neutron fluxes. Consequently, the influence of neutron damage on the structure and properties of carbon-carbon composite materials must be evaluated. Data from an irradiation experiment are reported and discussed here. Fusion relevant graphite and carbon-carbon composites were irradiated in a target capsule in the high flux isotope reactor (HFIR) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). A peak damage dose of 1.58 dpa (displacements per atom) at 600°C was attained. The carbon materials irradiated included nuclear graphite grade H-451 and one-, two-, and three-directional carbon-carbon composite materials. Dimensional changes and strength are reported for the materials examined. The influence of fiber type, architecture, and heat treatment temperature on properties and irradiation behavior are reported. Carbon-carbon composite dimensional changes are interpreted in terms of simple microstructural models.
42%-efficient single-pass cw second-harmonic generation in periodically poled lithium niobate

We present a full-wafer fabrication process for periodically poled lithium niobate with a 6.5‐µm domain period. Samples that were 53 mm long and 0.5 mm thick were obtained with this process for single-pass cw 1064-nm Nd:YAG second-harmonic generation. These samples exhibited 78% of the ideal nonlinear coefficient, had a measured conversion efficiency of 8.5%/W in the low-power limit, and produced 2.7 W of cw 532-nm output with 6.5 W of cw input, which corresponds to 42% power conversion efficiency.
Interarticulator coordination in children with and without cerebral palsy

The current study investigates how interarticulator coordination changes across speaking tasks varying in articulatory and linguistic demands for children with CP and their typically-developing peers. Articulatory movements from 12 children with spastic CP (7M, 5F, 4-15 years of age) and 12 typically-developing age- and sex-matched peers were cross-correlated to determine the degree of spatial and temporal coupling between the upper lip and jaw, lower lip and jaw, and upper and lower lips. Spatial and temporal coupling were also correlated with intelligibility. Results indicated that children with CP have reduced spatial coupling between the upper and lower lips and reduced temporal coupling between all articulators as compared to their typically-developing peers. For all participants, sentences were produced with the greatest degree of interarticulator coordination when compared to the diadochokinetic and syllable repetition tasks. Measures of interarticulator coordination were correlated with intelligibility for the speakers with CP.
Tikhonov regularization in standardized and general form for multivariate calibration with application towards removing unwanted spectral artifacts

Tikhonov regularization (TR) is an approach to form a multivariate calibration model for y = Xb. It includes a regulation operator matrix L that is usually set to the identity matrix I and in this situation, TR is said to operate in standard form and is the same as ridge regression (RR). Alternatively, TR can function in general form with L ≠ I where L is used to remove unwanted spectral artifacts. To simplify the computations for TR in general form, a standardization process can be used on X and y to transform the problem into TR in standard form and a RR algorithm can now be used. The calculated regression vector in standardized space must be back-transformed to the general form which can now be applied to spectra that have not been standardized. The calibration model building methods of principal component regression (PCR), partial least squares (PLS) and others can also be implemented with the standardized X and y. Regardless of the calibration method, armed with y, X and L, a regression vector is sought that can correct for irrelevant spectral variation in predicting y. In this study, L is set to various derivative operators to obtain smoothed TR, PCR and PLS regression vectors in order to generate models robust to noise and/or temperature effects. Results of this smoothing process are examined for spectral data without excessive noise or other artifacts, spectral data with additional noise added and spectral data exhibiting temperature-induced peak shifts. When the noise level is small, derivative operator smoothing was found to slightly degrade the root mean square error of validation (RMSEV) as well as the prediction variance indicator represented by the regression vector 2-norm thereby deteriorating the model harmony (bias/variance tradeoff). The effective rank (ER) (parsimony) was found to decrease with smoothing and in doing so; a harmony/parsimony tradeoff is formed. For the temperature-affected data and some of the noisy data, derivative operator smoothing decreases the RMSEV, but at a cost of greater values for . The ER was found to increase and hence, the parsimony degraded. A simulated data set from a previous study that used TR in general form was reexamined. In the present study, the standardization process is used with L set to the spectral noise structure to eliminate undesirable spectral regions (wavelength selection) and TR, PCR and PLS are evaluated. There was a significant decrease in bias at a sacrifice to variance with wavelength selection and the parsimony essentially remains the same. This paper includes discussion on the utility of using TR to remove other undesired spectral patterns resulting from chemical, environmental and/or instrumental influences. The discussion also incorporates using TR as a method for calibration transfer. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Best Practices in Damage Prevention for Parallel Construction Projects

New pipelines are increasingly being encouraged (or forced...) to share common or adjacent rights of way with existing utilities. Installation parallel to existing underground facilities for long distances greatly complicates construction and damage prevention, and creates a multitude of opportunities for damage to occur. This paper describes current regulatory and industry association efforts to address these issues, and gives a case study of a real accident that was caused during parallel construction of a water main adjacent to an HVL pipeline.Copyright © 2008 by ASME
Aortic and carotid body chemoreception in prolonged hyperoxia in the cat.

Carotid body chemosensory response to hypoxia is attenuated as a result of prolonged normobaric hyperoxia (NH) in the cat. The effect of NH is likely to be due to high cellular PO2 and O2-related free radicals. Accordingly, the effect would be less if O2 delivery to the chemoreceptor tissue could be compromised. The aortic bodies, which appear to have less of a circulatory O2 delivery, as suggested by their vigorous responses to a slight compromise of O2 flow compared with those of the carotid body, could provide a suitable testing material for the hypothesis. We tested the hypothesis by studying both aortic and carotid body chemoreceptors in the same cats (n = 6) which were exposed to nearly 100% O2 for about 60 h. These chemoreceptor organs were also studied in 6 control cats which were maintained in room air at sea-level. The cats were anesthetized and their carotid and aortic chemosensory fibers were identified by the usual procedure, and their responses to hypoxia and hypercapnia and to bolus injections (i.v.) of cyanide and nicotine were measured. In the NH cats, the carotid but not aortic chemosensory responses to hypoxia and cyanide were attenuated and to hypercapnia (both onset and steady state) augmented. The aortic chemoreceptors were stimulated by hypoxia, hypercapnia, cyanide and nicotine both in the NH and the control cats similarly. The results support the hypothesis that it is presumably a higher tissue blood flow and hence a higher concentration of O2-related free radicals which ultimately led to the specific attenuation of O2 chemoreception in the carotid body.
Walter Taylor and the history of American archaeology

Abstract Walter Taylor’s place in the history of archaeology is well secured. Not only is he noted for his uncredited anticipation of the theoretical and methodological innovations of the 1960s and 1970s in his infamous book A Study of Archeology , but he is also well-known for committing professional suicide by short-sightedly attacking numerous key figures in American archaeology for their methodological shortfalls, and yet never publishing a report utilizing his controversial method. Although these statements have inundated the historical literature on American archaeology, they are received wisdom rather than the reality of Taylor’s contributions to the field. Many aspects of Taylor’s conjunctive approach were at odds with the stated aims of processual archaeology. Although Taylor did not live up to his critics’ (or his own) demands for a grand display of his approach, he did on several occasions demonstrate its potential. The irony of Taylor in the history of archaeology is not that he was uncredited for his prescience or that his attacks on the archaeological establishment were a naive failure; but rather that he receives too much credit for what he didn’t do, and not enough for what he did.
Butyric acid production from acid hydrolysate of corn fibre by Clostridium tyrobutyricum in a fibrous-bed bioreactor

Abstract Fermentation kinetics of butyrate production from glucose and xylose by Clostridium tyrobutyricum ATCC 25755 immobilized in a fibrous-bed bioreactor at pH 6.0 and 37 °C were studied. Fermentation with glucose as the main carbon source gave higher cell biomass production and reactor productivity compared with xylose fermentation, probably due to the extra energetic requirement for cell growth on xylose. Acetate formation was also reduced when xylose was the substrate. However, comparable butyrate concentration of ∼40 g/l and butyrate yield of 0.43 g/g were obtained from both glucose and xylose fermentations. In the fermentation of glucose/xylose mixture (1:1), the acid production pattern from xylose did not change in the presence of glucose and no inhibition of xylose uptake was observed. Corn fibre hydrolysis with dilute HCl or H2SO4 at 121 °C produced ∼62% (w/w) fermentable sugars, mainly xylose, glucose, and arabinose. The hydrolysis was not significantly affected by the acids used, their concentrations between 0.1 and 0.5 M, or the treatment time between 15 and 60 min. Butyrate fermentation of corn fibre hydrolysate supplemented with corn steep liquor gave a high butyrate yield of 0.47 g/g carbon source consumed and a reactor productivity of 2.91 g/l h This study demonstrates that the low-value corn refining byproducts can be efficiently used for butyrate production.
Electron–nuclear double resonance and dynamic nuclear polarization in GaAs in the regime of the quantum Hall effect

Abstract Electron spin resonance (ESR) and electron-nuclear double resonance experiments were performed in the 2D electron systems of GaAs/Al x Ga 1− x As quantum well and heterojunction samples in the vicinity of the unity filling factor in the regime of the quantum Hall effect. As is well known, the ESR response is strongly affected by the local nuclear fields induced by dynamic nuclear polarization. The peculiar resistance responses resulting from dynamic nuclear polarization and NMR were numerically simulated on the basis of the rate equation for the Zeeman order of nuclei in the vicinity of the 2D electron system. The simulations, which include the nuclear spin diffusion, provide an opportunity to visualize the propagation of the nuclear spin polarization into the Al x Ga 1− x As barriers of the quantum wells.
Sensorially impaired adolescents

Information from publications by Lidz, Piaget, and Erickson to describe “normal adolescence” and the developmental tasks of that age is brought together in this paper. Primary sources were de la Cruz and LaVeck and Spock and Lerrigo for information on impaired young people and problems in their adaptation.
The Effect of Ultra-Violet Irradiation on the Vitamin A, Carotene, and Riboflavin Content of Milk*

Summary Experimental and market milks irradiated with ultra-violet light to produce 400 U.S.P. units of vitamin D per quart were not reduced in vitamin B 1 , carotene, vitamin A, or riboflavin content.
Nucleation of Platinum on Carbon Blacks

One of the outstanding challenges in the wider deployment of PEMFCs is improving the utilization of Pt. While decreasing particle size improves accessibility of the Pt, it also destabilizes the Pt particles and leads to dissolution/re-precipitation and rapid grain growth. A parameter that is as yet poorly characterized is the number of nucleation sites on the carbon support. Increased nucleation site density could provide a valuable approach to improve Pt utilization. In this work, nucleation density was characterized by determining the number of particles per nm2. A range of metal loadings were explored to investigate their effect on the number of Pt particles on three types of carbon support. It was concluded that the number of nucleation sites is relatively constant over the Vulcan family of carbon supports. However, activated carbons such as Norit SX-1G show much higher nucleation density.
Dosimetric assessment of nonperfectly abutted fields using asymmetric collimators.

Abstract The abutment of adjacent fields has been facilitated through the use of asymmetric collimators. Conceptually, the abutment yields a perfectly uniform dose distribution across the junction, provided the asymmetric jaw is set precisely at the beam central axis. However, the asymmetric jaw has an associated tolerance, which can cause the abutment to be misaligned. This study examined the dose distribution at the junction of nonperfectly abutted fields. The abutment of fields was carried out using an asymmetric collimation of 5 × 10 cm, with an asymmetric jaw positioned at the beam central axis. A film was initially exposed using this field with the collimator set at 90°. The collimator was then rotated 180° and the same film was exposed for the second time to create the field abutment. Positioning the asymmetric jaw with respect to the beam central axis set the amount of gap and overlap between the abutted fields. The dose distribution was measured for asymmetric jaw positioning of −2, −1, 0, +1, and +2 mm from the beam central axis. In addition, the dose distribution was also computed mathematically by summing the 2 dose profiles with defined gap or overlap. A field mismatch of ±1 mm would result in a dose nonuniformity of 17%, and a ±2 mm mismatch would produce a 35% dose nonuniformity.
Examining the Relationship Between Financial Issues and Divorce

Using longitudinal data from the National Survey of Families and Households and both wife- and husband-reported data (N = 4,574 couples), this study examined how financial well-being, financial disagreements, and perceptions of financial inequity were associated with the likelihood of divorce. When financial disagreements were in the model, financial well-being was not associated with divorce. Both wives' and husbands' financial disagreements were the strongest disagreement types to predict divorce. Mediators derived from systems theory (conflict tactics) and social exchange theory (marital satisfaction) fully mediated the association between financial disagreement and the hazard of divorce. Finally, financial disagreements fully mediated the association between perceptions of financial inequity and divorce. These findings suggest that financial disagreements are stronger predictors of divorce relative to other common marital disagreements. They further suggest that financial disagreements (e.g., “content”) are associated with marital process.
Localized prostate cancer: Overview of surgical management

Abstract Objectives To provide an overview of surgical management for localized prostate cancer as an introduction to treatment modalities for the First International Conference on Neoadjuvant Hormonal Therapy for Prostate Cancer. Methods I performed a literature review on survival rates for radical prostatectomy based on published data and meta-analysis. Results Based on a meta-analysis of all published literature up to 1993, survival rates were superior for radical prostatectomy compared to radiation therapy at both 10 and 15 years. Nerve-sparing modifications in the technique of radical prostatectomy have resulted in potency rates of 60% to 70%. Conclusion Modifications in surgical technique have significantly decreased fear of urinary incontinence and markedly reduced the problem of postoperative impotence. Survival rates for radical prostatectomy for clinically localized disease are superior to other modalities of treatment.
T-Matrix Computations of Light Scattering by Nonspherical Particles: A Review

We review the current status of Waterman's T-matrix approach which is one of the most powerful and widely used tools for accurately computing light scattering by nonspherical particles, both single and composite, based on directly solving Maxwell's equations. Specifically, we discuss the analytical method for computing orientationally-averaged light-scattering characteristics for ensembles of nonspherical particles, the methods for overcoming the numerical instability in calculating the T matrix for single nonspherical particles with large size parameters and/or extreme geometries, and the superposition approach for computing light scattering by composite/aggregated particles. Our discussion is accompanied by multiple numerical examples demonstrating the capabilities of the T-matrix approach and showing effects of nonsphericity of simple convex particles (spheroids) on light scattering.
Rates of Sedimentation and Intrabasin Deformation, Upper Cretaceous, Rocky Mountain Region: ABSTRACT

Rates of sedimentation during the Late Cretaceous in the Rocky Mountain-Great Plains region compare favorably with rates of sedimentation shown by Quaternary sediments of the Atlantic Ocean basin margins. An average rate of about 1 in./1,000 yr is reported for Quaternary deep-water sedimentation in the Atlantic Ocean by Ericson et al. (1964). This rate is prevalent in regions where sediments are largely biogenetic, consisting mainly of coccoliths and foraminifers with few land-derived minerals. In contrast, rates 20-40 times greater are reported in the shoreline zones of the Atlantic. Similar rates are inferred from radiometric dates for Late Cretaceous sedimentation in the region of the Rocky Mountains-Great Plains. Slow rates approximating 1 in./1,000 yr were prevalent ear the geographic center of the basin during the time of deposition of rock units such as the Greenhorn, Niobrara, and Mobridge. These units consist largely of coccoliths and foraminifers with small quantities of land-derived minerals. In the equivalent shoreline zone for each time-stratigraphic unit, rates of sedimentation are at least 20 times greater than depositional rates in the basin. The differential rates of sedimentation greatly influenced the rates of subsidence within the Cretaceous basin. Tectonic downwarping of the basin was accentuated in some areas by sediment loading resulting from deposition in the general shoreline zone, especially in the deltaic areas. Large-scale intrabasin warping developed with structural dips as great as 50 ft/mi. Early migration of petroleum was influenced by these early intrabasin tectonic elements before destruction of the large depositional basin by Laramide folding. End_of_Article - Last_Page 1907------------
Survival of patients with untreated rectal cancer

Background and Objectives Untreated rectal cancer is uncommon given modern surgical techniques and chemoradiotherapy. However, neglected cancer may still occur in patients with limited access to medical care or who refuse conventional interventions. Outcome data on such patients is scarce, though valuable in educating patients on their prognosis or to compare with present therapeutic options. Methods To identify such data, a review was made of archival literature documenting outcomes in patients with untreated rectal cancer. A review of the Index Medicus and its predecessor volumes and an extensive MEDLINE search led to nine articles that contained relevant age at presentation data of patients with rectal cancer. Six articles also included patient survival data for untreated rectal cancer. Actuarial analysis of the data through 5 years post-diagnosis was completed. Results Symptoms most often presented in the fifth and sixth decades. Median survival of the 1326 patients fell within the second year after presentation of symptoms. Five-year actuarial survival for these patients was 4.4%. When the data published prior to 1925 were analyzed separately from that published post-1925, two survival patterns emerged. Median survival of pre-1925 patients fell within the second year after presentation of symptoms (at 21.5 months by curve fitting) and of post-1925 patients fell within the first year (10.2 months). Conclusions Clearly, advances in antibiotics, surgery, chemoradiotherapy, and supportive care have contributed to increased survival for patients with treated rectal cancer. Recognizing the hazards of generalizing too extremely from the data, they reveal that relatively long survival for patients with untreated lesions is possible. J. Surg. Oncol. 2004;87:157–161. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Knowledge discovery and dissemination: a curriculum model for informatics

One area of IT quickly becoming paramount for organizations is the field of Informatics. Informatics is receiving some recognition as a sub-discipline within computer science education with the distinct learning objectives of how to use IT for knowledge discovery and dissemination. This paper describes the growing need for informatics education; a suggested informatics curriculum framework, specific course descriptions; options on how to incorporate informatics as a cognate option for other university programs.
BLINKING AND MENTAL LOAD

The rate of blinking is related to certain mental activities. One common feature of states associated with low blink rates is the presence of concentrated cognitive activity. The purpose of the present study was to determine how blinking is affected by variations in mental load; it was hypothesized that, for a given nonvisual task, blinking would decrease as mental load increased. The first study reported here manipulated memory load by requiring Ss to retain a sequence of 4, 6, or 8 digits. The second study involved mental arithmetic under time pressure; half the trials contained zeros in the sequence of numbers to be summed. In both studies the rate of blinking was low when mental load was high and the rate was high when mental load was low. It is speculated that blinking may disrupt certain cognitive processes and may therefore be inhibited when these processes are active. When mental load is increased, the inhibition of blinking may be an adaptive mechanism which protects vulnerable cognitive processe...
Modification of asymmetric polysulfone membranes by mild surface fluorination Part I. Transport properties

Abstract Flat sheet integral asymmetric polysulfone membranes were subjected to gas phase surface fluorination in a well-mixed reactor. Short residence times ensured a constant fluorine concentration in the reactor (i.e., at the membrane surface) after 1 min of operation, so that the fluorination time and the fluorine feed concentration could be investigated independently. Fluorination conditions were optimized to yield an improvement in the selectivity of the gas pair O2/N2/, H2/N2, H2/CH4, He/N2 He/CH4 and CO2/ CH4 with a varing decrease in the permeability of all gases. For example, at 0.02% F2 the O2/N2 selectivity was improved by up to 50% at flourination times of 2 min. However, 5 min of fluorination produced the optimum (more than ten-fold) increase in the He/CH4 selectivity with an average decrease in He permeance (Pl) of only 27%. Low fluorine feed concentrations of 0.02–0.04% gave optimum results and higher concentrations resulted in a sharp decline in the selectivity of all gas pairs. Good transport properties were also obtained by subjecting membranes to successive fluorination cycles of short duration at 0.02% F2. Two cycles of 1 min each produced optimum results. Membranes coated with highly permeable silicone rubber (PDMS) after fluorination invariably showed an increase in selectivity with a relatively small additional loss of permeability.
Gender and Attribution: A Reversal of Bias?

(1993). Gender and Attribution: A Reversal of Bias? The Journal of Social Psychology: Vol. 133, No. 4, pp. 575-577.
A chronology of Pliocene sea-level fluctuations: The U.S. Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain record

Abstract The sequence of marine and marginal-marine silts and sands of the U.S. Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain preserves a relatively complete record of Pliocene sea-level highstands. A general chronology for the deposition of these units has been developed previously from studies of the microfossil biostratigraphy complemented by a limited number of paleomagnetic and radiometric dates. Within this broad temporal framework it is currently difficult to assign ages to individual transgressive events with a resolution much better than 0.5 Ma. The age model proposed here attempts to refine the depositional history of the Atlantic Coastal Plain by correlation with the more continuous deep-ocean record. The model assigns probable ages to the Pliocene transgressions onto the Atlantic Coastal Plain based on evidence for sea-level highstands inferred from high-resolution deep-ocean δ 18 O records. At least five major transgressive-regressive events can be correlated with presumed eustatic fluctuations. The temporal resolution for the timing of the transgressive events is greatly improved over that of the biostratigraphy alone. Many aspects of the proposed chronology require verification by more detailed field study, but it is offered as a testable working hypothesis.
RESPONSE TO INJURY IN THE LENS EPITHELIUM OF THE BULLFROG (RANA CATESBEIANA).

Abstract 1. 1. Mechanical injury to the lens epithelium of the bullfrog produces a complex series of events, one of which is the stimulation of DNA synthesis. 2. 2. This synthesis begins between 24 and 48 hr after injury at 24 °C and reaches a peak between 48 and 72 hr. 3. 3. At 96 hr the number of incorporating cells begins to decrease and by 120 hr the injury site is filled in with epithelial cells. 4. 4. The band of incorporation originates at the margin of the injury at all periods studied (i.e., the initiating agent does not seem to move outward with time). 5. 5. Only rarely have mitotic figures been observed in association with the traumatized tissue. 6. 6. These results are discussed and compared to earlier findings on rabbit lens epithelium.
Performance of the quantum adiabatic algorithm on constraint satisfaction and spin glass problems

One of the major ongoing debates on the future of quantum annealers pertains to their robustness against the decohering effects of finite temperature and interactions with the environment. We argue that even in an ideal setting of very low temperatures and in the absence of a decohering environment, quantum annealers may find it challenging to solve optimization problems significantly faster than state-of-the-art heuristic classical algorithms. Here, we study the performance of the quantum adiabatic algorithm (QAA) on a variety of constraint satisfaction problems by examining the size dependence of the minimum energy gap during the evolution of the QAA. We do so by employing Quantum Monte Carlo schemes as these allow us to study these problems at much larger scales than exact methods would allow. We find that in all cases a quantum phase transition occurs and the minimum gap decreases exponentially with system size, leading to an exponentially large running time for the QAA. Based on these and other results, we discuss potential modifications to the QAA that may improve the scaling of the minimum gap, leading to faster quantum adiabatic algorithms.
Experiments With Coal Fuels in a High-Temperature Diesel Engine

Etude experimentale de carburants a base de charbon pour des moteurs diesel fonctionnant a haute temperature
Efficient Interband Four-Wave Mixing in Semiconductor Optical Amplifiers with Fast Gain Recovery

We observe efficient interband four-wave mixing (with net gain) in semiconductor optical amplifiers at low pump powers and signal detunings exceeding 6.5 nm. The potential applications include all-optical signal regeneration and wavelength conversion
Nuclear-cytoplasmic relations in lethal amoeba hybrids

Abstract Non-viable hybrids obtained by nuclear transplantation between A. proteus and A. discoides were studied for their nuclear synthetic activities and cell divisions. The nucleus and cytoplasm from these strains could support each other's functions for only a limited period. After this transiently active period was over, the cytoplasm of a hybrid cell was irreversibly damaged and was not able to sustain growth or metabolism, while the nucleus retained its viability. The results suggested that a hybrid amoeba is not viable because of the failure for its cytoplasm to utilize the nuclear messages.
Neuroprotective effects of HU-211 on brain damage resulting from soman-induced seizures.

: Neuroprotective effects of HU-211 (dexanabinol), a synthetic nonpsychotropic analog of tetrahydrocannabinol, on brain damage resulting from soman-induced seizures were examined in male Sprague-Dawley rats challenged with 1.6 LD50 soman. At 5 or 40 min after onset of seizures, the rats were given an intraperitoneal injection of 25 mg/kg HU-211. All rats that received soman showed electrocorticographic (ECoG) evidence of sustained seizures and status epilepticus for 4–6 hr. HU-211 had no effect on either the strength or duration of seizure activity. Administration of HU-211 at 5 min after seizure onset reduced median lesion volume 86% (as assessed by microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP2)-negative staining), and when administered 40 min post-onset, the reduction in necrosis was 81.5% despite the presence of continuous seizures for 4–5 hr. These observations were corroborated by hemotoxylin and eosin (H&E) histopathological assessment that showed a significant reduction in piriform cortical neuronal damage in HU-211-treated animals. It is concluded that HU-211 provides considerable neuroprotection against brain damage produced by soman-induced seizures.
Surgical Options for Ulnar Nerve Entrapment: An Example of Individualized Decision Analysis:

The decision-making process in the diagnosis and treatment of an ulnar nerve entrapment (UNE) at the elbow is presented from the viewpoint of the patient and from that of a physician who in this case, were the same individual. The problems of diagnosis and the selection of the appropriate therapy-conservative or surgical and the choice of a particular surgical approach are discussed in the light of recent evidence-based medicine (EMB) literature.
Analysis and classification of nonlinear dispersive evolution equations in the potential representation

A potential representation for the subset of travelling solutions of nonlinear dispersive evolution equations is introduced. The procedure involves reduction of a third-order partial differential equation to a first-order ordinary differential equation. The potential representation allows us to deduce certain properties of the solutions without the actual need to solve the underlying evolution equation. In particular, the paper deals with the so-called K(n, m) equations. Starting from their respective potential representations it is shown that these equations can be classified according to a simple point transformation. As a result, e.g., all equations with linear dispersion join the same equivalence class with the Korteweg–deVries equation being its representative, and all soliton solutions of higher order nonlinear equations are thus equivalent to the KdV soliton. Certain equations with both linear and quadratic dispersions can also be treated within this equivalence class.
Modeling Solar Impacts on Hydrogen Production From Electrolysis

A model is presented to simulate the energy production from a solar photovoltaic (PV) array in Southern Nevada and its energy produced for hydrogen production at a hydrogen filling station. A solar PV array composed of four single axis tracking units provides power to a Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolyzer, which produces hydrogen that is stored on site for use in hydrogen converted vehicles. The model provides the ability to predict possible hydrogen production at the site, as well as the amount of hydrogen required to sustain a prescribed level of vehicle usage. Together, these results made it possible to determine the energy required to produce sufficient hydrogen to sustain the vehicles, and the percentage of that energy generated by the solar PV array. For an average year in Las Vegas and a travel requirement of 57 miles/day, this percentage was found to be 33 percent. This simulation has the potential to be modified for different locations, array size, amount of storage, or usage requirement.Copyright © 2008 by ASME
Oxygen Isotope Effect in Superconducting Ba1-xKxBiO3 From Phonon Density of States

The variation of the phonon spectrum of ${\mathrm{Ba}}_{0.6}$${\mathrm{K}}_{0.4}$${\mathrm{BiO}}_{3}$ upon oxygen isotope substitution is determined by inelastic neutron scattering (INS). By combining the INS results with molecular-dynamics computer simulation, a value of 0.42\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.05 is obtained for the reference isotope-effect exponent. This is close to the isotope-effect exponent determined from the variation of ${\mathit{T}}_{\mathit{c}}$ upon oxygen substitution, indicating that ${\mathrm{Ba}}_{0.6}$${\mathrm{K}}_{0.4}$${\mathrm{BiO}}_{3}$ is a weak-coupling superconductor with large matrix elements coupling the electrons to high-energy phonons involving oxygen vibrations.
Mechanisms and Energy Transfer for Surface Generation of NH2 during NH3 Plasma Processing of Metal and Polymer Substrates

The interactions of NH2 radicals with different substrate materials during NH3 plasma processing were investigated using the imaging of radicals interacting with surfaces (IRIS) technique. NH2 scatter coefficients, S, were obtained as a function of applied rf power for polyimide, poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE), platinum, copper, and silicon substrates. For most experimental conditions, S ≥ 1, indicating that NH2 surface generation occurs at the plasma-substrate interface. Information on energy transfer between NH2 and the different substrates during processing was gleaned from measurements of the translational temperature for scattered NH2 molecules, ϑTsc, as a function of applied rf powers. NH2 radicals scattered from Pt, Cu, and Si substrates have very little dependence of ϑTsc on rf power, whereas the two polymeric materials demonstrate a nearly linear increase in ϑTsc with applied rf power. The change was most dramatic for polyimide substrates, where ϑTsc increased by ∼120 K between 50 and 150 W. Sc...
Analysis of Shock Absorber Characteristics for Drillstrings

Drillstrings are used extensively to drill for oil, gas and geothermal energy. Due to their construction, they are subject to instability which causes excessive vibrations. These vibrations cause extensive damage to the bit and drillstring. In this paper, we analyze the design parameters of a shock absorber (typically referred to as a shock sub) to be placed above the bit for the purpose of minimizing vibrations. The analysis is based on a laboratory drilling system at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) referred to as the Hard Rock Drilling Facility (HRDF). We show that the choice of spring stiffness and damping are very critical to minimizing vibrations. Too weak or too stiff a spring does not lead to reduction in vibrations. Similarly, too low or too high a damping constant is not effective at dissipating energy. Even though a test rig is used to represent the drillstring, the methodology is applicable to actual drillstrings utilized in the field. The results are validated experimentally at SNL.Copyright © 2006 by ASME
Method for label-free detection of femtogram quantities of biologics in flowing liquid samples.

Rapid (∼10 min) measurement of very low concentration of pathogens (∼10 cells/mL) and protein (∼fg/mL) has widespread use in medical diagnostics, monitoring biothreat agents, and in a broader context as a research method. For low-level pathogen, we currently use culture enrichment methods and, thus, rapid analysis is not possible. For low protein concentration, no direct method is currently available. We report here a novel macrocantilever design whose high-order resonant mode near 1 MHz exhibits mass detection sensitivity of 10 cells/mL for cells and 100 fg/mL for protein. The sensor is 1 × 3 mm and uses a piezoelectric layer for both actuation and sensing resonance. Sample is flowed (∼1 mL/min) past the antibody-immobilized sensor, and as antigen binds to the sensor, resonance frequency decreases in proportion to antigen concentration. The sensor showed selectivity to the pathogen even though copious nonpathogenic variant was simultaneously present.