cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) as a Cause of Facial Nerve Stimulation After Cochlear Implantation: A Case Report.

OBJECTIVE To discuss persistent facial nerve stimulation (FNS) related to repeated electrostatic discharge (ESD) shock following cochlear implantation. METHODS Single case report with literature review. RESULTS FNS is a feared complication after cochlear implantation, occurring in approximately 7% of cases, with most patients having anatomic abnormalities. The presented case has no anatomical abnormalities but reported frequent environmental static shock. FNS during the first 1 to 3 seconds of processor attachment caused a significant decrease in the patient's quality of life, requiring subsequent re-implantation with full resolution. CONCLUSIONS FNS is a complication of cochlear implantation that can cause a great deal of distress and discomfort. Frequent electrostatic discharge (ESD) contributed to device malfunctioning and FNS in a patient with otherwise normal anatomy and should be avoided if possible.
Adaptive Optimization with Periodic Dither Signals

Optimization methods in cyber-physical systems do not involve parameter uncertainties in most existing literature. This paper considers adaptive optimization problems in which searching for optimal solutions and identifying unknown parameters must be performed simultaneously. Due to the dual roles of the input signals on achieving optimization and providing persistent excitation for identification, a fundamental conflict arises. In this paper, a method of adding a small deterministic periodic dither signal to the input is deployed to resolve this conflict and provide sufficient excitation for estimating the unknown parameters. The designing principle of the dither is discussed. Under dithered inputs, the authors show that simultaneous convergence of parameter estimation and optimization can be achieved. Convergence properties and convergence rates of parameter estimation and optimization variable updates are presented under the scenarios of uncertainty-free observations and systems with noisy observation and unmodeled components. The fundamental relationships and trade-off among updating step sizes, dither magnitudes, parameter estimation errors, optimization accuracy, and convergence rates are further investigated.
Toward a Literacy of Promise : Joining the African American Struggle

Foreword Lisa Delpit Preface 1 Introduction Rebecca Powell PART I: PROBLEMS AND PROMISES 2 Along the Road to Social Justice: A Literacy of Promise Linda A. Spears-Bunton and Rebecca Powell 3 "Unbanking" Education: Exploring Constructs of Knowledge, Teaching, Learning Letitia Hochstrasser Fickel 4 Resistance, Reading, Writing, and Redemption: Defining Moments in Literacy and the Law Sherman G. Helenese, Linda A. Spears-Bunton and Kimberly L. Bunton PART II: REALIZING A LITERACY OF PROMISE THROUGH LITERARY TEXTS 5 "Educational, Controversial, Provocative, and Personal": Three African American Adolescent Males Reflect on Critically Framing of A Lesson Before Dying Julia Johnson Connor and Arlette Ingram Willis 6 The Obscured White Voice in the Literacy Debate: Race, Space and Gender Linda A. Spears-Bunton PART III: REALIZING A LITERACY OF PROMISE THROUGH ORAL AND POPULAR TEXTS 7 Ebonics and the Struggle for Cultural Voice in U. S. Schools Ira Kincade Blake 8 The Potential of Oral Language for Empowerment Jessica S. Bryant 9 Voices of Our Youth: Antiracist Social Justice Theatre Arts Makes a Difference in the Classroom Karen B. McLean Donaldson 10 The Promise of Critical Media Literacy Rebecca Powell Contributors Index
Controllable real-time locomotion using mobility maps

Graph-based approaches for sequencing motion capture data have produced some of the most realistic and controllable character motion to date. Most previous graph-based approaches have employed a run-time global search to find paths through the motion graph that meet user-defined constraints such as a desired locomotion path. Such searches do not scale well to large numbers of characters. In this paper, we describe a locomotion approach that benefits from the realism of graph-based approaches while maintaining basic user control and scaling well to large numbers of characters. Our approach is based on precomputing multiple least cost sequences from every state in a state-action graph. We store these precomputed sequences in a data structure called a mobility map and perform a local search of this map at run-time to generate motion sequences in real time that achieve user constraints in a natural manner. We demonstrate the quality of the motion through various example locomotion tasks including target tracking and collision avoidance. We demonstrate scalability by animating crowds of up to 150 rendered articulated walking characters at real-time rates.
Entrepreneurship and Start-Ups in the Boston Region: Factors Differentiating High-Growth Ventures from Micro-Ventures

The use of entrepreneurship to stimulate economic growth in lagging regions of the world has grown over the last decade. The type of business needed for job creation is a new venture rather than a micro-business. The experience of a major program in the U.S., empowerment zones, has failed to produce many jobs, mostly because the program has stimulated micro-businesses rather than growth ventures. This paper analyzed the factors differentiating between the formation of high-growth ventures and micro businesses, and discussed how these factors may best influence the activities of organizations that either nurture ventures or create government policies for regional development. The data consisted of ninety business plans submitted to a business plan competition in Boston. The results showed that founders of high-growth ventures have work experience or advanced training in their technologies, and teams rather than individuals created the plans. The results suggest that a combination of exogenous and endogenous approaches may be needed to stimulate a lagging region's economic growth.
Measurement of the face's topography by digitally enhanced shadow Moire

In order to adapt the pilot's pressure mask individually there is a need to evaluate the topography of the human face. Classical shadow moire technique was combined with modern digital image processing to insure the capability of the developed system to automatically trace the location of the full and half multiples of moire fringes. Use of digital image processing allows depth measurements not only at those fringe locations, but also at the fractional fringe position, thus one can use less dense fringe patterns. Such patterns are more easily adapted for automated processing. The developed software and hardware are capable to acquire the image, digitize it and calculate the 3D location for any point in the area of interest, with plane resolution of 0.5 mm and depth resolution of 0.3 mm. The developed approach can be modified to work on a variety of surface topologies, which require fast and automated analysis with the digital output transferred to a cutting device.
Offense, Defense, and the Causes of Civil War Recurrence: The Effect of External Military Support on Peace Duration

Previous literature addressing the phenomenon of civil war recurrence has examined the domestic sources of recurring civil wars, but has not adequately assessed the impact of external military support on civil war recurrence. This project seeks to fill that gap by assessing the impact of external support on the peace duration of post-conflict countries, paying specific attention to the effects of foreign-supplied offensive and defensive military technology. The theory presented in this project was largely inspired by the offense-defense theory (ODT) literature. While traditional ODT is primarily concerned with the technological superiority of offense or defense in the international system, this project examines the availability of externally provided offensive and defensive technologies within a post-conflict country, and the impact of such availability on the durability of peace. Using a series of proportional hazards models, this project finds that the availability of offensive types of support decreases the duration of peace, while the availability of defensive types of support increases the duration of peace. This finding provides a strong case for distinguishing between support that is offensive and defensive.
Using multimedia to create a CAI program to teach VLSI design

At Nova Southeastern University, the VLSI course lasts for nine weeks. In that time, the student has to learn how to use Magic. The author describes the creation of a computer assisted instruction (CAI) program to teach the basics of the Magic tool. The purpose of the CAI program was to acquaint the student with the Magic tool in a short period of time, and to teach the basics of the tool. An instructional analysis was used to identify and sequence the essential skills, knowledge, attitudes, and events which are required to reach an instructional goal in the most efficient and effective way. This process helps to come up with the topics needed for each section of the program.
GABAergic innervation of alpha type II calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase immunoreactive pyramidal neurons in the rat basolateral amygdala.

Although calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMK) has been shown to play a critical role in long-term potentiation (LTP) and emotional learning mediated by the basolateral amygdala, little is known about its cellular localization in this region. We have utilized immunohistochemical methods to study the neuronal localization of CaMK, and its relationship to gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-ergic structures, in the rat basolateral amygdala (ABL). Light microscopic observations revealed dense CaMK staining in the ABL. Although the cell bodies and proximal dendrites of virtually every pyramidal cell appeared to be CaMK(+), the cell bodies of small nonpyramidal neurons were always unstained. Dual localization of CaMK and GABA immunoreactivity with confocal immunofluorescence microscopy revealed that CaMK and GABA were found in different neuronal populations in the ABL. CaMK was contained only in pyramidal neurons; GABA was contained only in nonpyramidal cells. At the ultrastructural level, it was found that CaMK was localized to pyramidal cell bodies, thick proximal dendrites, thin distal dendrites, most dendritic spines, axon initial segments, and axon terminals forming asymmetrical synapses. These findings suggest that all portions of labeled pyramidal cells, with the exception of some dendritic spines, can exhibit CaMK immunoreactivity. By using a dual immunoperoxidase/immunogold-silver procedure at the ultrastructural level, GABA(+) axon terminals were seen to innervate all CaMK(+) postsynaptic domains, including cell bodies (22%), thick (>1 microm) dendrites (34%), thin (<1 microm) dendrites (22%), dendritic spines (17%), and axon initial segments (5%). These findings indicate that CaMK is a useful marker for pyramidal neurons in ultrastructural studies of ABL synaptology and that the activity of pyramidal neurons in the ABL is tightly controlled by a high density of GABAergic terminals that target all postsynaptic domains of pyramidal neurons.
Statistical analysis of corruption data and using the Internet to reduce corruption

Abstract Corruption is a serious problem in Asia and elsewhere. The Harrison and Vinod (1992) confidence interval for the marginal excess burden (MEB) of taxation is used to estimates the economic harm arising from corruption. One dollar of corruption is estimated to impose a burden of $1.67, which becomes very large when compounded over time. After a brief review of economic theory, this paper uses data on sixteen socio-economic and political variables. A cross-sectional study reveals the relevance of “red tape” and “efficiency of judiciary.” A subset regression using Mallows’ Cp and Akaike information criteria reveals relevance of schooling and income inequality. International aid and cooperation in exposing and fighting corruption and innovative uses of the Internet for information exchange are claimed to be hopeful new tools to fight corruption in the new century.
Strong Electronic Couplings between Ferrocenyl Centers Mediated by Bis-Ethynyl/Butadiynyl Diruthenium Bridges

A series of trans-(FcC2n)Ru2(Y-DMBA)4(C2mFc) with n, m = 1 and 2 and Y-DMBA as N,N‘-dimethylbenzamidinate or N,N‘-dimethyl-(3-methoxy)benzamidinate have been synthesized and characterized. The intramolecular Fc···Fc distances, established through single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies, range from 11.6 to 16.6 A. Results from both voltammetric and spectroelectrochemical studies indicate that the (−C2n)Ru2(Y-DMBA)4(C2m−) fragments are among the most efficient mediators of intramolecular hole transfer. Density-functional calculations offer both the insight on the ground-state electronic properties and unambiguous assignment for the observed electronic absorptions.
Commitment and typicality measurements for fuzzy ARTMAP neural network

As a neural approach, fuzzy ARTMAP has the capability to resolve the stability-plasticity dilemma, i.e., incorporate novel information but preserve significant past learning. In this paper, we propose two non-parametric algorithms for the fuzzy ARTMAP to provide soft classification outputs. These algorithms, which are triggering-frequency-based and are called ART Commitment (ART-C) and ART Typicality (ART-T), expressing in the first case the degree of commitment the classifier has for each class for a specific pixel and in the second case, how typical that pixel's reflectances are of the ones upon which the classifier was trained for each class. To evaluate the two proposed algorithms, soft classifications of a SPOT HRV image were undertaken. A Bayesian posterior probability soft classifier, Mahalanobis typicality soft classifier, SOM Commitment and SOM Typicality measures were also used as a comparison. Principal Components Analysis (PCA) was used to explore the relationship between these measures. Results indicate that similarities exist among the ART-C, SOM-C and a parametric Bayesian posterior probability classifier, and among ART-T, SOM-T and a Mahalanobis typicality classifier. Additionally, ART models distinguish themselves from all other four models due to its special properties.
Bloodlines: the importance of mentoring for the future of hematology.

Hematologists have an unprecedented opportunity to convert cutting-edge knowledge of biomedicine into clinically useful diagnostic and prognostic algorithms and new preventative measures and therapies. A brief survey of the medical literature illustrates how hematologists have provided a paradigm
Investigations for Bile Duct Calculi

Bile duct stones are common, occurring in approximately 15% of patients with gallstones. Radiological techniques for preoperative detection of stones are determined by the clinical presentation of the stones. In patients who are not symptomatic, detection of a dilated bile duct on ultrasound strongly suggests bile duct stones. In up to 80% of patients, ultrasound may detect stones, but the accuracy of this technique is operator-dependent. Although there has been a resurgence of interest in intravenous cholangiography in recent years, its use is not supported on grounds of either accuracy or safety. Other techniques, such as percutaneous cholangiogram, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging, may be used in those particular circumstances when endoscopic retrograde cholangiography cannot be used.
RecFit: a context-aware system for recommending physical activities

Many people are bored with their current physical activities and would like individualized recommendations of alternatives. Even users who have favorite exercises may seek recommendations if their context (e.g., bad weather, location) changes. Prior work has focused on tracking user activities and goal-setting, but not on recommendations. In this paper, we describe RecFit, which systematically suggests physical activities based on the user's context (e.g. risk tolerance, budget, location, weather). RecFit works from 137 activities selected from the 2011 compendium of physical activities in order to recommend the 5 most suitable recommendations for each user. We describe our filtering criteria, algorithms, prototype and RecFit's activity database, which augments activities with metadata of ideal performance context (popularity, sociability, risk, location, expense, time, and weather).
Is Binding the Rate-limiting Step in Acylation of α-Chymotrypsin by Specific Substrates?

SEVERAL measurements have been made of the rate of formation of the chymotrypsin enzyme-substrate complex. Measured values for k1 (equation 1) illustration have ranged from 1 × 104 (ref. 1) to 6.0 × 107 M−1 s−1 (ref. 2). Open image in new window
A Drosophila Homolog of Cyclase-Associated Proteins Collaborates with the Abl Tyrosine Kinase to Control Midline Axon Pathfinding

We demonstrate that Drosophila capulet (capt), a homolog of the adenylyl cyclase-associated protein that binds and regulates actin in yeast, associates with Abl in Drosophila cells, suggesting a functional relationship in vivo. We find a robust and specific genetic interaction between capt and Abl at the midline choice point where the growth cone repellent Slit functions to restrict axon crossing. Genetic interactions between capt and slit support a model where Capt and Abl collaborate as part of the repellent response. Further support for this model is provided by genetic interactions that both capt and Abl display with multiple members of the Roundabout receptor family. These studies identify Capulet as part of an emerging pathway linking guidance signals to regulation of cytoskeletal dynamics and suggest that the Abl pathway mediates signals downstream of multiple Roundabout receptors.
Effect of OKY-1581, a thromboxane synthetase inhibitor, on coronary thrombosis in the conscious dog

OKY-1581, a new thromboxane synthetase inhibitor, was studied in a conscious canine model of coronary thrombosis. After thoracotomy with placement of a left circumflex coronary artery flow probe and implantation of an electrode into the circumflex artery, animals were assigned randomly to the following groups: 0.9% NaCl vehicle control or OKY-1581 1 mg/kg every 4 intravenously for 24 h. During the drug treatment period, a 50 microA anodal current was passed through the circumflex electrode, and venous blood was obtained for platelet aggregation studies. As compared to control animals, the OKY-1581 treated animals developed a greater mean coronary flow at the end of the treatment period, smaller thrombi by wet weight, smaller infarcts, and fewer ventricular arrhythmias. Ex vivo platelet aggregation studies revealed significant inhibition of aggregation to standard aggregating agents for the drug treated group only. OKY-1581 is an effective antithrombotic agent which maintains coronary flow after a thrombogenic stimulus, presumably via blockade of the synthesis of thromboxane by blood platelets.
Ischemic degeneration of the avian muscle spindle

The neurovascular supply to the pigeon's extensor digitorum communis muscle was disrupted. The muscle spindles were studied by light and electron microscopy to determine whether their degeneration was compatible with regeneration by activation of satellite cells within an intact spindle capsule. The denervation and ischemia induced intrafusal muscle fiber necrosis and degeneration of the sarcolemma and basal lamina. The muscle fibers in the equatorial region were often absent and their sites were indicated by collagenous caps which usually covered the sensory nerve terminal regions. These collagenous caps enclosed amorphous material derived from the intrafusal fibers and degenerating mitochondria from the sensory terminals. In this equatorial region, the basal lamina was present only under the collagenous cap and was disrupted elsewere. The cells of the muscle spindle capsule were more sparse or absent, but the collagen content had increased. The sheath lacked continuity, containing numerous gaps. These observations indicate that the basal lamina does not remain intact, and regeneration may not occur by activation of satellite cells within the former basal lamina, as reported for regenerating rat muscle spindles. This suggests that the mechanisms of regeneration of muscle spindles in rat and pigeon muscle may not be similar.
Health issues in oral contraception: risks, side effects and health benefits

Given the valuable contraceptive and noncontraceptive benefits of combined hormonal contraception (estrogen plus progestin), oral contraceptive pills (OCPs) have been widely used by reproductive-aged women for decades. In 2002, OCPs were the leading contraceptive method in the USA among women under 35 years of age, with over 11.6 million women using them. OCPs have evolved since their first use in the early 1960s to improve safety patterns without affecting efficacy. Today, OCPs contain only a fraction of the estrogen doses seen with original formulations, dramatically reducing the cardiovascular risk initially associated with this form of contraception. In addition, women now have many additional options for combined hormonal contraception (CHC), including newer progestins, reduced estrogen doses and extended cycle lengths, and novel delivery systems such as the transdermal patch or intravaginal ring. These options may further affect traditional risk and benefit profiles for CHC use in these women. There...
Acoustic transients in the far field of a baffled circular piston using the impulse response approach

The impulse response approach to evaluate time dependent pressures resulting from the specified velocity of a baffled piston is used to investigate the time dependent far field pressures radiated from a circular piston. The far field pressures are expressed as the convolution of the velocity of the piston with a far field impulse response. A simple closed form expression for the far field impulse response of a circular piston is developed from the general expression for the impulse response of a piston of any shape. The far field impulse response is then used to develop closed form expressions for the time dependent far field pressures resulting from a square pulse, an N-wave and a pulsed sinusoidal velocity of the piston. Due to reciprocity considerations, the expressions and results are also applicable to the analogous reception problem.
Diversity of antinucelar antibody responses in hepatocellular carcinoma

Abstract Background/Aims: The development of antinuclear antibodies (ANA) in malignancies has been described but its mechanism is still not understood. The aim of this study was to examine ANA specificities in hepatocellular carcinoma to further understand autoimmunity in cancer. Methods: Two hundred and four hepatocellular carcinoma patients were compared with 68 chronic hepatitis C, with 126 chronic hepatitis B and with 30 alcoholic liver cirrhosis patients, as well as with 87 healthy donors. Indirect immunofluorescence, immunoblotting, and immunoprecipitation were used to study ANA reactivities. Results: Hepatocellular carcinoma had a significantly higher frequency of ANA using HEp-2 cells as substrate (31%) than chronic hepatitis C (10%), chronic hepatitis B (9.5%), alcoholic liver cirrhosis (10%) or healthy donors (4.5%). A great diversity of ANA specificities was found in hepatocellular carcinoma. Three hepatoma sera had antibodies that co-localized with non-snRNP splicing factor SC35, suggesting that the antigenic targets might be involved in mRNA splicing. We identified antibodies to two known nuclear autoantigens: fibrillarin and p330 d /CENP-F. These autoantigens are involved in the 5′ processing of precursor ribosomal RNA transcripts and in mitotic functions, respectively. Conclusions: Diversity was found in the autoantibody specificity, in contrast to the specific subsets of auto-antibodies seen in several systemic rheumatic autoimmune diseases. Our data suggest that immune response in hepatocellular carcinoma targets important proteins involved in cellular biosynthetic or proliferative functions.
Reading comprehension, arthmetic reasoning, and “g”: A rejoinder to eysenck

There are three related issues in this exchange with Eysenck: (1) the unfortunate practice of using under any and all circumstances the first principal factor or component as an estimate of Spearman's “ g ”, or even of any general factor; (2) the significant amount by which the first factor loading of the psychomotor test of Discrimination Reaction Time was inflated by the methodological error; (3) and the minor significance of a moderate loading of the discrimination task on the general factor in intelligence for theory of intelligence.
Stability and robustness of collocation methods for Abel-type integral equations

We study stability aspects of collocation methods for Abel-type integral equations of the first kind using piecewise polynomials. These collocation methods may be formulated as projection methods. Stability is defined as the boundedness of the sequence of projectors in their natural setting. Robustness is essentially the optimal asymptotic insensitivity to perturbations in the data. We show that stability and robustness are equivalent for the above collocation methods. This allows us to obtain optimal error estimates for some methods that are well-known to be robust. We also present numerical results for some methods which appear to be robust.
The Early Evolution of Archosaurs: Relationships and the Origin of Major Clades

Abstract Archosaurs have a nearly 250 million year record that originated shortly after the Permian-Triassic extinction event and is continued today by two extant clades, the crocodylians and the avians. The two extant lineages exemplify two bauplan extremes among a diverse and complex evolutionary history, but little is known about the common ancestor of these lineages. Renewed interest in early archosaurs has led to nearly a doubling of the known taxa in the last 20 years. This study presents a thorough phylogenetic analysis of 80 species-level taxa ranging from the latest Permian to the early part of the Jurassic using a dataset of 412 characters. Each terminal taxon is explicitly described and all specimens used in the analysis are clearly stated. Additionally, each character is discussed in detail and nearly all of the character states are illustrated in either a drawing or highlighted on a specimen photograph. A combination of novel characters and comprehensive character sampling has bridged previou...
The impact of providing psychosocial services to traumatized populations

In the past decade, the professional literature has burgeoned with articles discussing the phenomena of secondary or vicarious traumatization, however, to a large extent the published literature has been primarily conceptual or anecdotal in nature. This article reviews the results of quantitative studies that address the impact of providing psychosocial services to traumatized populations relative to symptoms of trauma symptoms, disrupted cognitive schema, and general psychological distress. Further, findings associated with risk and protective factors are discussed and suggestions for future research are introduced.
Hepatic citrate changes in surgical stress

Abstract Hepatic citrate changes in rats were studied in relation to the hypocitricemic response to surgical stress. Following surgery, extraction by the liver of citrate from the circulation was markedly and significantly increased. The decrease in the hepatic vein citrate level as a result of surgery was significantly greater than the decrease in the arterial citrate level. No change in liver tissue citrate content was apparent, indicating that this citrate removed from the circulation did not accumulate in the liver. No corresponding changes in glucose, lactate, and pyruvate could be related to the citrate response to surgery. Consequently, the results strongly indicate that the liver is directly involved in the hypocitricemic response to surgery and that an increased uptake and utilization of citrate by liver cells occurs in response to surgical stress. These studies also revealed that a major source of the citrate in the systemic circulation is derived from splanchnic regions contributing to the portal circulation.
Laboratory Evaluation of a Bioenergetics Model for Largemouth Bass at Two Temperatures and Feeding Levels

Abstract We evaluated a bioenergetics model for adult largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides at two temperatures (22°C and 27°C) and two feeding levels (ad libitum and 2% wet body mass) in the laboratory. Three statistical methods were used to assess agreement between predicted and observed growth and consumption during a 9-week period. Multivariate profile analysis indicated no significant deviations between predicted and observed mean body masses at the end of each week of the experiment; partitioning mean square error revealed that 87% of the variance was attributed to random variation rather than to systematic variation; and a reliablility index indicated agreement between predicted and observed masses within a factor of 1.03. Predicted cumulative food consumption during the 9-week period was 9.4% less than that observed. Model predictions of mean daily consumption rates closely tracked observed values when fish were not fed to excess, but the model did not perform as well under ad libitum feeding cond...
Long-term Risk of Melanoma-Related Mortality for Patients With Uveal Melanoma Treated With Proton Beam Therapy

Importance Little is known about the long-term risk of dying of uveal melanoma after treatment with radiotherapy. Objective To determine the long-term risk of dying of this disease, we evaluated melanoma-related mortality rates up to 25 years after proton beam therapy in a large series of patients with uveal melanoma. Design, Setting, and Participants In this analysis, we included 3088 patients with uveal melanoma, identified from a hospital-based cohort and treated with proton irradiation between January 1975 and December 2005. Vital status and cause of death were ascertained through active follow-up and searches of government databases (the Social Security Death Index and the National Death Index) through December 31, 2008. Cumulative rates of melanoma-related mortality were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Patient and tumor characteristics of known prognostic significance for melanoma-associated death were evaluated, including patient age and tumor dimensions. Main Outcomes and Measures The primary outcome measure was cumulative rates of melanoma-specific mortality, and secondary measures included annual melanoma-specific mortality hazard rates and cumulative all-cause mortality rates. Results Of 1490 deceased patients, 620 (41.6%) died of ocular melanoma. In addition, 19 patients were alive, but their melanoma metastasized, by the end of the observation period (mean follow-up after diagnosis of metastasis, 5.3 years). All-cause mortality rates in this cohort were 49.0% (95% CI, 47.0-51.1) at 15 years, 58.6% (95% CI, 56.4%-60.8%) at 20 years, and 66.8% (95% CI, 64.2%-69.4%) at 25 years. Melanoma-related mortality rates were 24.6% (95% CI, 22.8-26.4) at 15 years after treatment, 25.8% (95% CI, 24.0-27.8) at 20 years after treatment, and 26.4% (95% CI, 24.5-28.5) at 25 years after treatment. The 20-year mortality rate was 8.6% (95% CI, 6.2-11.9) for younger patients (≤60 years) with small tumors (≤11 mm) and 40.1% (95% CI, 36.1-44.3) for older patients (>60 years) with large tumors (>11 mm). Conclusions and Relevance In this large series of patients with ocular melanoma treated conservatively with proton beam irradiation, the cumulative melanoma-related mortality rates continued to increase up to 23 years after treatment. Annual rates decreased considerably (to
Software defined radio

Summary form only given. Looking through my word processor files I found that I have authored 15 papers and numerous PowerPoint presentations and tutorials that include the words software defined radio or SDR somewhere in the title. One would think that I would have some understanding of what is a software defined radio. One would think that wouldnpsilat one? SDR has proven to be a many faceted creature. Participating in various SDR related activities has led me to understand that SDR is many things to many people and that the beauty of the beast is found in the eye of the beholder. These eyes see SDR as a wonderful opportunity to practice digital signal processing magic in the communications area. This talk will emphasize SDR activity near the physical layer of a communication system but will pay appropriate homage to higher level tasks and activities that enable the deployment of SDR systems. We will comment on a number of successful SDR systems.
Renal afferent impulses, the posterior hypothalamus, and hypertension in rats with chronic renal failure

Hypertension in 5/6 nephrectomized (CRF) rats is partly related to increased activity of the sympathetic nervous system. We have previously shown a greater norepinephrine turnover rate in the posterior hypothalamic nuclei and locus coeruleus of CRF than control rats. Dorsal rhizotomy prevented the rise in blood pressure and the increase in NE turnover rate in the posterior hypothalamus and the locus coeruleus. The studies suggest that afferent impulses from the kidney to central integrative structures in the brain may be responsible for hypertension in CRF rats. To further evaluate the role of renal afferent nerves in the regulation of blood pressure, and whether renal afferent pathways integrate with the posterior hypothalamus, we studied the effects of an intrarenal injection of 50 microliters of 10% phenol on blood pressure and NE secretion from the posterior hypothalamus of Sprague-Dawley rats. Mean arterial pressure increased from 89 +/- 4.0 to 114 +/- 4.3 mm Hg in rats which received intrarenal injection of phenol, but it did not change in rats that received vehicle (95 +/- 4.3 and 89 +/- 3.6 mm Hg, respectively). Renal denervation totally prevented the increase in blood pressure caused by intrarenal injection of phenol. The secretion of NE from the posterior hypothalamus increased from 139 +/- 4.8 to 250 +/- 9.9 pg/ml (P < 0.01) in rats that received intrarenal phenol, but it did not change in rats which received vehicle or in those with renal denervation. In CRF rats NE secretion from the posterior hypothalamus was greater than in control and CRF rats subjected to dorsal rhizotomy. These studies show that afferent impulses from an injured kidney increase NE secretion from the posterior hypothalamus and raise blood pressure. NE secretion is higher in the posterior hypothalamus of CRF than control rats. The posterior hypothalamus appears to be an important integrative structure of the sympathetic regulation of blood pressure.
Image formation and restoration using multi-element synthetic array processing

Traditionally, the number of transmit and receive processing channels is equal to the number of transducers (N) in an ultrasound imaging system. Certain applications limit the number of processing channels such that there are fewer channels than transducer elements. For these cases, a subset of M adjacent transducers-a multi-element subarray-performs echo transmission and reception. The processing channels are multiplexed across the array as beams are acquired from each of K subarrays. Combination of all subarray apertures creates a multi-element synthetic aperture (MSA) that represents the response of the entire system. Appropriate 1D filtering is applied in the spatial domain to restore a response approximating that of full phased array imaging. Compared to full phased array (FPA) imaging, MSA imaging reduces the number of front-end processing channels by a factor of N/M. Three variations of the method were simulated for a 128-element array using 32-element subarrays. The effects of the signal bandwidth, subsampling rate, and filter length on the reconstructed 2D point-spread functions are shown. The method closely approximates the performance of FPA imaging with fewer processing channels.
Ab initio longitudinal polarizabilities of conjugated stereoregular polymers with a carbon backbone

Abstract Ab initio coupled (random phase approximation) and uncoupled (sum over states) Hartree—Fock calculations of the asymptotic longitudinal polarizabilities are carried out for conjugated infinite periodic systems with a carbon backbone: polyacetylene, polyyne, polydiacetylene, and polybutatriene. Direct polymeric methods are employed and compared to values extrapolated from finite oligomeric longitudinal polarizability calculations and to available experimental values. For polybutatriene where finite oligomeric calculations failed to give the asymptotic value, we estimate the asymptotic longitudinal polarizabilities per unit length to be 19.3 and 68.4 atomic units in the minimal STO-3G atomic basis at the uncoupled and coupled Hartree—Fock levels, respectively.
Nanoindentation and Brillouin light scattering studies of elastic moduli of sodium silicate glasses

Abstract Compared to bulk techniques like Brillouin light scattering and ultrasonic measurements, nanoindentation provides a convenient way to investigate the Young's modulus of sodium silicate glasses with reasonably accurate results when Na 2 O concentration is below 20 mol%. The large discrepancy in the Young's modulus for glasses with higher Na 2 O contents measured by nanoindentation and the other two bulk techniques is resulted from the pile-up areas created around indents, which was evidenced by 3D AFM images. A structural understanding of the formation of these pile-up areas was gained from Raman spectra of sodium silicate glasses. A simple formula was proposed to correct the Young's modulus of sodium silicate glasses measured by nanoindentation.
Translational Control of the Embryonic Cell Cycle

The synthesis and destruction of cyclin B drives mitosis in eukaryotic cells. Cell cycle progression is also regulated at the level of cyclin B translation. In cycling extracts from Xenopus embryos, progression into M phase requires the polyadenylation-induced translation of cyclin B1 mRNA. Polyadenylation is mediated by the phosphorylation of CPEB by Aurora, a kinase whose activity oscillates with the cell cycle. Exit from M phase seems to require deadenylation and subsequent translational silencing of cyclin B1 mRNA by Maskin, a CPEB and eIF4E binding factor, whose expression is cell cycle regulated. These observations suggest that regulated cyclin B1 mRNA translation is essential for the embryonic cell cycle. Mammalian cells also display a cell cycle-dependent cytoplasmic polyadenylation, suggesting that translational control by polyadenylation might be a general feature of mitosis in animal cells.
A Review of: “Introduction to Materials Chemistry, by Harry R. Allcock”

This is a book that grew out of a one-semester course in materials chemistry taken by advanced undergraduates and beginning graduate students in chemistry and related fields. The author is a distin...
Gender Differences in Factors Influencing Pursuit of Computer Science and Related Fields

Increasing women's participation in computer science is a critical workforce and equity concern. The technology industry has committed to reversing negative trends for women in computer science as well as engineering and information technology "computing" fields. Building on previously published research, this paper identifies factors that influence young women's decisions to pursue computer science-related degrees and the ways in which these factors differ for young men. It is based on a survey of 1,739 high school students and recent college graduates. Results identified encouragement and exposure as the leading factors influencing this critical choice for women, while the influence of these factors is different for men. In particular, the influence of family is found to play a critical role in encouragement and exposure, and outreach efforts should focus on ways to engage parents.
Hypotensive epidural anesthesia for total hip replacement

Hypotensive epidural anesthesia is a technique wherein an extensive epidural block is obtained and the circulation controlled with a low-dose epinephrine infusion. Stable heart rate and cardiac output are obtained with a mean arterial pressure of 45 to 50 mm Hg. This results in an intraoperative blood loss of 150 to 200 mL for a primary total hip replacement providing excellent cement fixation and minimizing fluid and transfusion requirements resulting in a low rate of deep vein thrombosis. Properly performed, this technique is safe in elderly patients and in patients with hypertension or ischemic heart disease. This article briefly outlines an approach to thromboprophylaxis and discusses technical issues relating to patient positioning to avoid dependent shoulder pain, sedation, and to manage hypotension.
Broadband terahertz polarization optics using the giant Faraday effect in n-type InSb

We report on a giant Faraday effect in n-InSb probed via polarization-resolved THz time-domain spectroscopy. Rotation angles and ellipticities as large as π and 1, respectively, were observed in a wide frequency range, making n-InSb a promising material for broadband THz polarization optics.
Distinctive patterns of cAMP-binding proteins and their relationship to hemopoietic cellular differentiation

In order to clarify distinctions among cAMP-binding protein patterns present in hemopoietic cells of the various major lineages, we have studied extracts from 18 human cell lines by photoaffinity labelling with 8-azido [32P]cAMP, followed by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and autoradiography. Four major cAMP-binding protein bands were noted. These occurred in five recognizable patterns of combinations, each of which was restricted to cells of particular lineages. A distinctive pattern was found in the pluripotent stem cell line K562, confirming its unusual nature compared with other lines committed to myeloid or lymphoid differentiation. Three patterns were noted among the pre-B and early and late B cell lines studied, which may thus define sequential stages of differentiation of this series. These studies indicate the utility of cAMP-binding proteins as a biochemical differentiation marker system. The variety of phenotypes noted further suggests a role for them in the development or expression of specialized cellular functions.
Conventional and reversed partial reinforcement effects in human operant responding

Acquisition and extinction of button pressing on multiple schedules of continuous-continuous (CRF/CRF), variable ratio n-variable ratio n (VRn/VRn), and CRF/VRn schedules of reinforcement were examined using human subjects. In contrast to similar animal studies, responding during acquisition was consistently higher on CRF schedules relative to VR groups and components. Extinction data for between-subject comparisons of schedules showed typical partial reinforcement effects (PREs). Within-subject comparisons revealed small but reliable reversed partial reinforcement effects (RPREs). These data extend the findings of the RPRE in nonhuman animals to humans. The validity of the PRE as a universal generalization for extinction phenomena is examined and rejected.
The mixed-initiative experimental testbed for collaborative human robot interactions

Current military forces increasingly rely upon unmanned systems. Training mixed teams of soldiers and robotic agents can be accomplished using specialized virtual environments or fabricated real-life structures. However, there are still gaps in the technology and methodologies needed to support human-robot teams. In addition, the environments presently used aren't reconfigurable or extendable. The mixed-initiative experimental (MIX) testbed was developed to support training of mixed- initiative teams, experimentation with new training methods, and exploration of team composition and robot capabilities. The testbed combines the use of the joint architecture for unmanned systems (JAUS) and high level architecture (HLA) to create a system that can be used with a combination of virtual robotic entities within an HLA-based simulation environment. In this paper we will present the design and implementation of the MIX Testbed and describe sample scenarios for experimentation and training.
Enzymatic oxidation of membrane cholesterol in relation to lysis of sheep erythrocytes by corynebacterial enzymes.

Abstract Synergistic hemolysis of sheep erythrocytes brought about by the combined action of Corynebacterium ovis ( C. pseudotuberculosis ) and Corynebacterium equi depends upon the extracellular sphingomyelin-specific phospholipase D of the former species and a partially characterized agent(s) of the latter. Fractionation of the culture supernatant of C. equi revealed a cholesterol oxidase which was purified to near homogeneity by gel filtration and isoelectric focusing. The enzyme was isoelectric at pH 9–10 and had a molecular weight of 61,000. Sheep erythrocytes pretreated with purified sphingomyelinase D of C. ovis were hemolyzed by incubation with C. equi cholesterol oxidase or by the same enzyme from Brevibacterium sp. Lipid analysis revealed complete conversion of membrane cholesterol to cholest-4-en-3-one, the product of cholesterol oxidase action. Cells not pretreated with sphingomyelinase D did not undergo cholesterol oxidation or hemolysis when treated with cholesterol oxidase. Studies with crude culture supernatant of C. equi confirmed the presence of a phospholipase active in hydrolyzing ceramide phosphate generated in the erythrocyte membrane by C. ovis sphingomyelinase. Ceramide thus produced in the membrane is known to make the cells labile to hemolysis. There are, therefore, at least two mechanisms underlying synergistic hemolysis by these coryne-bacteria.
Monthly variation in preeclampsia prevalence: Washington State, 1987-2001.

Objective. We investigated the extent of monthly variation in preeclampsia prevalence among primiparous women in Washington State who delivered from 1987 through 2001.Methods. We identified all primiparae who gave birth to a singleton live infant during the study period using state birth records linked to hospital inpatient discharge data. We obtained a random sample and excluded women with pre-existing hypertension, renal disease, or diabetes mellitus or missing information on estimated date of conception (EDC) (n = 79 298). We defined preeclampsia (n = 6680) according to maternal birth hospitalization diagnosis codes and birth records. We calculated adjusted prevalence odds ratios (PR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) of preeclampsia in each month of conception, relative to the month of lowest prevalence.Results. The prevalence of preeclampsia among primiparae was lowest among those conceiving in January (7.7%) and peaked among February, April, and July conceptions (8.9%). After adjustment, prevale...
Load Duration Effects in Wood at High Strain Rates

AbstractStrain rate can significantly affect the strength of materials. The split-Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) was initially utilized to study the effects of high-strain rate (∼103-1/s) on the behavior of metals. Subsequent modifications to the original technique allowed the study of brittle materials such as ceramics, concrete, and rock. Although material properties of wood for static and creep strain rates are readily available, data on the dynamic properties of wood are limited. Previous work using the SHPB technique with wood has considered only a few conditions, and tests to prove the applicability of the SHPB on wood have not been performed. In this study, tests were conducted using a large diameter [75-mm (3.0-in.)] SHPB. Hard maple specimens, consisting of sugar maple (Acer saccharum), black maple (Acer nigrum), and eastern white pine (Pinus strobus) specimens were utilized to represent a dense hardwood and a low-density soft wood. Specimens were machined to diameters of 63.5 and 75-mm (2.5 and 3...