cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Future electronic power distribution systems a contemplative view

Although it has long been argued that electronic power converters can help improve system controllability, reliability, size, and efficiency, their penetration in power systems is still quite low. The often-cited barriers of higher cost and lower reliability of the power converters are quite high if power electronics is used as direct, one-to-one, replacement for the existing electromechanical equipment. However, if the whole power distribution system were designed as a system of controllable converters, the overall system cost and reliability could actually improve, as is currently the case at low power levels within computer and telecom equipment. Starting from the example of a computer power system, the paper contemplates possible future ac and dc electronic power distribution system architectures, especially in the presence of renewable energy sources. The proposed nanogrid-microgrid-…-grid structure achieves hierarchical dynamic decoupling of generation, distribution, and consumption by using bidirectional converters as energy control centers. This is illustrated by the description and simulation of static and dynamic operation of a dc nanogrid in a hypothetical future sustainable home. Several ideas for modeling, analysis, and system-level design of such systems, including power flow control, protection, stability, and subsystem interactions, are presented.
Ethics and Empiricism in the Formation of Professional Guidelines

In this issue, an article by Clayton and colleagues (2014), for the Clinical Sequencing Exploratory Research (CSER) Consortium Pediatrics Working Group, “Addressing the Ethical Challenges in Geneti...
Positive spin polarization in Co/ Al 2 O 3 /Co tunnel junctions driven by oxygen adsorption

Using a first-principles Green's function technique, we study spin-dependent tunneling in two model realizations of (111) fcc $\mathrm{Co}∕{\mathrm{Al}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}∕\mathrm{Co}$ tunnel junctions assuming O-terminated crystalline epitaxy in the corundum structure. For the first model, which includes 3 O atoms at the interface, the tunneling current is polarized negatively, just as for the clean Co surface. The second model contains additional oxygen atoms inside large pores at each interface. Located at the three-fold hollow adsorption sites, these O atoms bind very strongly to Co. This bonding creates an interface band in the majority-spin channel which strongly enhances the tunneling current in this channel. As a result, the spin polarization changes sign and becomes positive, similar to that for the oxidized Co surface studied previously. These results show that the common argument of ``mostly $s$-electron tunneling,'' which is often used to explain the positive spin polarization in $\mathrm{Co}∕{\mathrm{Al}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}∕\mathrm{Co}$ junctions is quantitatively incorrect. In reality, the spin polarization in these junctions is controlled by the interfacial structure and bonding. Moreover, interfacial adsorption of oxygen may be a prerequisite for achieving the positive spin polarization.
The creative writer: Psychiatric symptoms and family history

Abstract A group of 15 successful creative writers was found to differ significantly from a group of 15 noncreative controls when both were examined for psychiatric symptoms and family history using a structured interview and specifically defined diagnostic criteria. Seventy-three percent of the writers suffered from some form of psychiatric disorder, as compared with 20% of the controls. The most common illness was affective disorder, which occurred in 67% of the writers and 13% of the controls. The two groups also differed significantly in family history. The primary relatives of writers had a 21.4% prevalence for any type of psychiatric illness, as compared with 4.4% among the relatives of controls. Morbid risk for depression was 19% among the primary relatives of writers and 2% for primary relatives of controls. In addition to an increased risk for psychiatric illness, relatives of writers also had a higher incidence of creativity; 23% of the primary relatives of writers were creative, while only 7% of the primary relatives of controls were similarly creative. These data suggest a familial association between creativity and affective disorder.
Transformation effector and suppressor genes

Much has been learned about the molecular basis of cancer from the study of the dominantly acting viral and cellular oncogenes and their normal progenitors, the proto-oncogenes. More recent studies have resulted in the isolation and characterization of several genes prototypic of a second class of cancer genes. Whereas oncogenes act to promote the growth of cells, members of this latter class of genes act to inhibit cellular growth and are believed to contribute to the tumorigenic phenotype only when their activities are absent. This new class of cancer genes is referred to by a number of different names including; anti-oncogenes, recessive oncogenes, growth suppressor genes, tumor suppressor genes and emerogenes. Although only a few of these cancer genes have been identified, to date, it is likely that many additional genes of this class await identification. A third class of genes, necessary for the development of the cancer phenotype, is comprised of the transformation effector genes. These are normal cellular genes that encode proteins that cooperate with or activate oncogene functions and thereby induce the development of the neoplastic phenotype. The inactivation of transformation effector functions would therefore inhibit the ability of certain dominantly acting oncogenes to transform cells. The approaches outlined here describe functional assays for the isolation and molecular characterization of transformation effector and suppressor genes.
An Advanced Numerical Model Of Underground Coal Gasification By The Stream Method, Using Simultaneous Solution

A comprehensive numerical model of the underground coal gasification process via the stream method was developed for a 2-dimensional geometry. Seven reactions, involving carbon, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, oxygen, water/steam, hydrogen, and methane are accounted for. Nitrogen is the seventh gas component. As a result of gasification, the channel diameter increases with time and a combustible gas is produced. The model accounts for all of these factors. (13 refs.)
Tactical decompositions in uniform normal designs

Abstract Results on the block structure of tactical decompositions are given for uniform normal multiplicative designs. Emphasis is placed on the case with three replications. Reducible uniform normal designs are shown to be degenerate.
Production of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria‐like red blood cells by tea

Normal human red cells incubated with saline extracts of tea develop paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria-like defects as demonstrated by positive acid and sucrose hemolysis tests. All of a variety of tea preparations tested provoked a sensitivity to complement-dependent hemolysis and, with one exception, a moderate decrease in red cell acetylcholinesterase activity. Complement-dependent hemolysis in tea-incubated red cells was inhibited by antisera to C3 and to C3 activator, but not by antisera to C4. This suggests that incubation with tea may alter the red cell membrane in a way that specifically potentiates the lytic effects of the alternate pathway of complement, but not the classic pathway. Leupeptin, a protease inhibitor, also prevented complement-dependent hemolysis of red cells incubated with tea. Although the clinical consequences of these observations are unknown, the study was initiated following a report of a young male who had developed an acute limited intravascular hemolytic episode following ingestion of large quantities of a herbal tea.
Precipitated and conditioned withdrawal in morphine-treated rats

Rationale Stimuli that are paired with opioid withdrawal can themselves produce effects similar to withdrawal that might promote relapse.
RNF212 marks the spot.

A new study in mice shows that, during meiosis, the decision to mature a double-strand break into a crossover is controlled by a dosage-sensitive regulator, RNF212. This finding provides insight into the crossover maturation process and may help explain how sequence polymorphisms in RNF212 alter the frequency of crossing over in humans.
Recruitment and maturation of small subsets of luteinizing hormone gonadotropes during the estrous cycle.

Small and medium-sized gonadotropes may enlarge and produce more LH in order to contribute to the proestrous surge. To test this hypothesis, dispersed pituitary cells from cycling female rats were separated by centrifugal elutriation into small, medium, and large fractions and labeled for LH beta antigens or mRNA (by in situ hybridization with a biotinylated oligonucleotide probe complementary to sequences encoding amino acids 28-40). The percentage of cells bearing LH beta mRNA in the pituitary cell population increased from 6 +/- 0.4% in the evening of diestrous day 2 to 16 +/- 0.7% in the morning of estrus (average +/- SEM). Over 80% of these labeled cells were large or small subtypes. The proportion of small gonadotropes labeled with LH beta mRNA declined from 43 +/- 3% at metestrus to 29 +/- 1% on the evening of proestrus as the proportion of medium-sized gonadotropes labeled for LH beta antigens (15 +/- 1%) or mRNA (17 +/- 1%) increased to 25 +/- 2% or 38 +/- 2%, respectively. Because the overall pe...
Do Gang Members Commit Abnormal Homicide

Gang membership is a robust correlate of homicide offending and victimization, but little is known about the association between gang status and various abnormal forms of homicide (e.g., multiple-victim homicide, sexual homicide, and abduction homicide). The current study utilized data from a large sample of 618 male convicted murderers to empirically examine gang status and diverse forms of homicide perpetration. Gang-involved offenders were nearly three times as likely to commit a normal homicide characterized as a single-victim murder. However, gang members were 64 % less likely to perpetrate multiple-victim murder. In other models, gang status reduced the likelihood of sexual homicide by 75 % and reduced the likelihood of abduction homicide by 56 %. These findings present an anomaly in the gang-homicide literature, and suggestions for additional research are offered.
Authoritarianism and Intelligence

(1959). Authoritarianism and Intelligence. The Journal of Social Psychology: Vol. 50, No. 2, pp. 213-219.
The exponential behavior of the stochastic three-dimensional primitive equations with multiplicative noise

Abstract In this article, we study the stability of weak solutions to the stochastic three-dimensional (3D) primitive equations (PEs) with multiplicative noise. In particular, we prove that under some conditions on the forcing terms, the weak solutions converge exponentially in the mean square and almost surely exponentially to the stationary solutions. We also prove a result related to the stabilization of these equations.
Monitoring and Management of Desmoids and Other Extracolonic Manifestations in Familial Adenomatous Polyposis

Familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) is a hereditary multisystem disease dominantly characterized by diffuse colorectal adenomas and near 100% colorectal cancer risk. In addition to colorectal cancer, multiple extracolonic sites are affected by malignant and benign changes. Other leading causes of death for FAP patients include desmoid disease and duodenal adenocarcinoma. Benign lesions, such as lipomas, fibromas, sebaceous and epidermoid cysts, osteomas, and congenital hypertrophy of the retinal pigment epithelium, are also common. Cancers of the thyroid, pancreas, liver, and adrenal gland all occur but are much less frequent. As the lifespan of FAP patients has increased because of improved guidelines for surveillance and surgical prevention and treatment of colorectal cancer, the prevalence of these extracolonic conditions has become more clinically relevant. Clinicians need to be aware of the full spectrum of diseases in FAP to provide appropriate and systematic surveillance and intervention.
Sequential sampling: A cost-effective approach for monitoring benthic macroinvertebrates in environmental impact assessments

Sequential sampling is a method for monitoring benthic macroinvertebrates that can significantly reduce the number of samples required to reach a decision, and consequently, decrease the cost of benthic sampling in environmental impact assessments.
Holocaust and Herring: The Resuscitation of the Silenced in W.G. Sebald’s The Rings of Saturn

Sebald's narrator is a pilgrim, and his "English pilgrimage" leads him through the county of Suffolk in East Anglia. His mission lies in the attempt to comprehend the brutalities of battle and the despair of the victims he describes. In a distinctly Benjaminian sense, the narrator enacts justice by telling the stories of injustice and barbaric crime constitutive of history as such. He sees (as does the saturnine Walter Benjamin) justice as, above all, justice for the dead, and that means remembering the injustice done to them. To be sure, the narrator is aware of the appropriation of "justice" by the ruling class of each generation, which is why he restores the unrecorded stories of the vanquished and resuscitates their silenced discourse. Oddly enough, Sebald's narrator himself falls victim to his narrative quest: he who tells the stories of others in order to do justice yields to despair. (MB-B)
Accidental Degeneracy in the Energy Bands of Crystals

The circumstances are investigated under which two wave functions occurring in the Hartree or Fock solution for a crystal can have the same reduced wave vector and the same energy. It is found that coincidence of the energies of wave functions with the same symmetry properties, as well as those with different symmetries, is often to be expected. Some qualitative features are derived of the way in which energy varies with wave vector near wave vectors for which degeneracy occurs. All these results, like those of the preceding paper, should be applicable also to the frequency spectrum of the normal modes of vibration of a crystal.
Caffeine-induced uncoupling of mitosis from the completion of DNA replication in mammalian cells

Caffeine was shown to induce mitotic events in mammalian cells before DNA replication (S phase) was completed. Synchronized BHK cells that were arrested in early S phase underwent premature chromosome condensation, nuclear envelope breakdown, morphological "rounding up," and mitosis-specific phosphoprotein synthesis when they were exposed to caffeine. These mitotic responses occurred only after the cells had entered S phase and only while DNA synthesis was inhibited by more than 70 percent. Inhibitors of protein synthesis blocked these caffeine-induced events, while inhibitors of RNA synthesis had little effect. These results suggest that caffeine induces the translation or stabilizes the protein product (or products) of mitosis-related RNA that accumulates in S-phase cells when DNA replication is suppressed. The ability to chemically manipulate the onset of mitosis should be useful for studying the regulation of this event in mammalian cells.
InP-based DHBT with 90% power-added efficiency and 1 W output power at 2 GHZ

Abstract We report the growth, fabrication and power performance at 2 GHz of a novel InP-based DHBT. We demonstrate that the conduction band-edge discontinuity between the InGaAs base and the InP can be eliminated by bandgap engineering the base-collector junction. As a result, we fully exploit the advantages of InP for the collector for high breakdown voltage as well as high gain. For class C operation peak PAE of 90% with an output power of 1200 mW at a power density of 2.0 mW μm −2 was achieved.
The fluid-dynamic limit of the Broadwell model of the nonlinear Boltzmann equation in the presence of Shocks

This paper studies the asymptotic equivalence of the Broadwell model of the nonlinear Boltzmann equation to its corresponding Euler equation of compressible gas dynamics in the limit of small mean free path e. It is shown that the fluid dynamical approximation is valid even if there are shocks in the fluid flow, although there are thin shock layers in which the convergence does not hold. More precisely, by assuming that the fluid solution is piecewise smooth with a finite number of noninteracting shocks and suitably small oscillations, we can show that there exist solutions to the Broadwell equations such that the Broadwell solutions converge to the fluid dynamical solutions away from the shocks at a rate of order (e) as the mean free path e goes to zero. For the proof, we first construct a formal solution for the Broadwell equation by matching the truncated Hilbert expansion and shock layer expansion. Then the existence of Broadwell solutions and its convergence to the fluid dynamic solution is reduced to the stability analysis for the approximate solution. We use an energy method which makes full use of the inner structure of time dependent shock profiles for the Broadwell equations.
The Vengeance Scale: Comparison of Groups and an Assessment of External Validity:

When the Vengeance Scale was developed, it was tested on 600 undergraduate students and showed high criterion validity and high construct validity; however, external validity was in question given the homogeneity of the group sampled. In the present study three groups—20 male and 48 female college students, 37 male and 5 female prison inmates, and 10 male and 3 female police officers—were involved in assessing external validity of the scale. We hypothesized inmates would score the highest with police officers and students ranking second and third, respectively. As predicted the inmates reported a significantly higher score than did the police officers and the students.
The number of indecomposable terms in direct decompositions of groups with the maximal condition

If nt and n are positive integers, m > 1, n > 1, then there exists a finitely generated torsion free nilpotent group which can be expressed as a direct product of n directly indecomposable groups and as a direct product of m directly indecomposable groups such that no factor in the first decomposition is isomorphic to a factor in the second [ 11. This leads us to ask: If a group G satisfies the maximal condition for normal subgroups, what conditions will guarantee that any two direct decompositions of G into nontrivially directly indecomposable factors have the same number of factors? If G has the above property we call G a UNIF group ( a group with a unique number of indecomposable factors in direct products). The object of this paper is to study the UNIF property. In Section 3 we show that every group G with the maximal condition for normal subgroups which fails to have the UNIF property gives rise to a directly indecomposable homomorphic image M such that for some finitely generated free abelian group F, M x F is not a UNIF group. Section 4 contains a refinement of this result. In Section 5 we use the results of Sections 3 and 4 to show that a group G which obeys the maximal condition for normal subgroups has the UNIF property if either of the following holds:
Continued fractions and the Markoff tree

Abstract We give here a full account of Markoff's celebrated result on badly approximable numbers. The proofs rely exclusively on the classical theory of simple continued fractions, together with Harvey Cohn's method using words in the free group with two generators for the determination of the structure of periods of the continued fractions of Markov irrationals. Appendix A gives a short self-contained presentation of the results on continued fractions used here and Appendix B gives short proofs of some results on the still open uniqueness problem for Markoff numbers.
Suicidal Age and Childhood Onychophagia Among Psychotic Veterans.

The relationship between childhood onychophagia (fingernail biting) and the suicidal and nonsuicidal mean age among 150 hospitalized psychotic veterans was investigated. The results show that the suicidal mean age is significantly younger than the nonsuicidal mean age and that the childhood onychophagia variable "focal suicide" significantly lowers the mean age of suicidal veterans, but does not significantly lower the mean age of nonsuicidal veterans. Language: en
Indistinguishable physical and catalytic properties of DNA methyltransferase from normal rat liver and a transplantable rat hepatocellular carcinoma

DNA methyltransferase (DMase) was purified 700- and 1002-fold from normal rat liver and transplantable hepatocellular carcinoma 252 (THC 252) nuclei, respectively, using a four-step procedure that included chromatography on phosphocellulose, hydroxylapatite, DEAE-Sephacel and gel filtration on AcA 34. The enzymes had identical characteristics: pI = 7.4-7.6; Mr = 280 000 by gel filtration; preference for methylating double-stranded over single-stranded DNA and hemimethylated over unmethylated DNA templates; and apparent km of 10 microM for dinucleotide units in poly(dC-dG) and 0.5 microM for S-adenosylmethionine (SAM). Thermal inactivation profiles and sulfhydryl group alkylation inhibition curves for fraction III produced very similar single-transition curves, suggesting the presence of a single-functional enzyme species that is indistinguishable between normal and tumor tissue. Single-value Michaelis-Menten kinetics were obtained for fraction IV enzymes with respect to the concentration of SAM and dinucleotide units in poly(dC-dG), suggesting the absence of isozymic or multiple forms of DMase in normal and malignant liver tissues.
The multi-copy simultaneous search methodology: a fundamental tool for structure-based drug design

Fragment-based ligand design approaches, such as the multi-copy simultaneous search (MCSS) methodology, have proven to be useful tools in the search for novel therapeutic compounds that bind pre-specified targets of known structure. MCSS offers a variety of advantages over more traditional high-throughput screening methods, and has been applied successfully to challenging targets. The methodology is quite general and can be used to construct functionality maps for proteins, DNA, and RNA. In this review, we describe the main aspects of the MCSS method and outline the general use of the methodology as a fundamental tool to guide the design of de novo lead compounds. We focus our discussion on the evaluation of MCSS results and the incorporation of protein flexibility into the methodology. In addition, we demonstrate on several specific examples how the information arising from the MCSS functionality maps has been successfully used to predict ligand binding to protein targets and RNA.
Conformational analysis of an α3β1 integrin-binding peptide from thrombospondin-1: Implications for antiangiogenic drug design

The integrin α3β1 plays important roles in development, angiogenesis, and the pathogenesis of cancer, suggesting potential therapeutic uses for antagonists of this receptor. Recently, an α3β1 integrin-binding site was mapped to residues 190−201 (FQGVLQNVRFVF) of the N-terminal domain of the secreted protein thrombospondin-1 (TSP1). This sequence displays diverse biological activities in vitro and inhibits angiogenesis in vivo. Herein we describe the NMR solution conformation of this segment in both water and dodecylphosphocholine micelles. While essentially unstructured in water, a more well-defined conformation is populated in micelles, particularly in the C-terminal half of the peptide and correlated with increased biological activity of the micellar peptide. The data suggested that the residues that are critical for biological activity are contained in a structurally well-defined segment of the peptide. These data support the role of the NVR motif as a required element of full-length TSP1 for specific ...
Aircraft health management tool: A comprehensive user interface

Network management is one of the most discussed topics in the networking fraternity. The efficiency of the network management suit is measured by the number of parameters/components handled by the application while making a decision. In the case of Internet enabled aircrafts, along with network security, even the aircraft safety needs to be considered as a factor while designing the network management suit. This requires the network management suit to monitor/analyze the aircraft related data (avionics data, physical security parameters, etc.) while determining the proper functioning of the overall system. In this paper, the authors present a framework for network management suit that, along with network health, monitors inputs from avionics, video surveillance system, weather monitoring system, and manual pilot alarms and based on the situation, reconfigures the onboard networking devices to stream appropriate flight critical data to the ground station. The proposed framework attempts to provide a comprehensive user interface for the flight health monitoring crew with all the relevant data.
FPGA implementation of particle swarm optimization for Bayesian network learning

Using a Bayesian network (BN) learned from data can aid in diagnosing and predicting failures within a system while achieving other capabilities such as the monitoring of a system. However, learning a BN requires computationally intensive processes. This makes BN learning a candidate for acceleration using reconfigurable hardware such as field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). We present a FPGA-based implementation of BN learning using particle-swarm optimization (PSO). This design thus occupies the intersection of three areas: reconfigurable computing, BN learning, and PSO. There is significant prior work in each of these three areas. Indeed, there are examples of prior work in each pair among the three. However, the present work is the first to study the combination of all three. As a baseline, we use a prior software implementation of BN learning using PSO. We compare this to our FPGA-based implementation to study trade-offs in terms of performance and cost. Both designs use a master-slave topology and floating-point calculations for the fitness function. The performance of the FPGA-based version is limited not by the fitness function, but rather by the construction of conditional probability tables (CPTs). The CPT construction only requires integer calculations. We exploit this difference by separating these two functions into separate clock domains. The FPGA-based solution achieves about 2.6 times the number of fitness evaluations per second per slave compared to the software implementation.
Neonatal Handling Enhances Contextual Fear Conditioning and Alters Corticosterone Stress Responses in Young Rats

Abstract Previous studies have indicated that neonatal handling influences development of hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) control of corticosterone. In addition, corticosterone influences memory consolidation processes in contextual fear conditioning. Therefore, neonatal handling may affect hippocampal-dependent memory processes present in contextual fear conditioning by influencing the development of HPA control of corticosterone. To investigate the effects of neonatal handling on early learning, rat pups were either handled (15-min removal from home cage) on the first 15 days after birth or left undisturbed in their home cage. Handled rats and nonhandled rats were fear conditioned at 18, 21, or 30 days of age and then tested at two time points—24 h following conditioning and at postnatal day 45. Subsequently, at approximately postnatal day 60, rats were exposed to restraint stress and corticosterone levels were assessed during restraint and recovery. Handled and nonhandled rats did not differ significantly in their freezing response immediately following footshock on the conditioning day. However, when tested for contextual fear conditioning at 24 h following conditioning and at postnatal day 45, handled rats showed more freezing behavior than nonhandled rats. When exposed to restraint stress, handled rats had a more rapid return of corticosterone to basal levels than nonhandled rats. These results indicate that neonatal handling enhances developmentally early memory processes involved in contextual fear conditioning and confirms previously reported effects of neonatal handling on HPA control of corticosterone.
The delivery room resuscitation of the hydropic neonate

Hydrops fetalis is a relatively rare disorder that will be encountered occasionally in all obstetric centers. The prognosis for infants with hydrops fetalis is poor, with mortality reported in the range of 50% to 98%. The effectiveness of delivery room resuscitation and the ability to achieve early adequate gas exchange in affected infants may be related to survival. Successful resuscitation requires an understanding of transitional neonatal physiology and the potential impact of hydrops fetalis, an experienced and well-prepared resuscitation team, meticulous attention to technical aspects of resuscitation, and careful assessment and monitoring of the infant during resuscitation.
A Sensitive Fluorescence-Based Assay for the Detection of ExoU-Mediated PLA2 Activity

Background Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen that causes disease in immunocompromised individuals, burn victims, and cystic fibrosis patients. Strains that secrete ExoU induce host cell lysis and damage epithelial tissue, which can lead to severe outcomes including sepsis and mortality. ExoU is classified as an A2 phospholipase (PLA2) and activity is dependent on the eukaryotic protein, superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1).
Rate of bronchopulmonary dysplasia as a function of neonatal intensive care practices.

Some differences among neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) in incidence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia may reflect variations in medical care practices. After adjusting for differences in the inherent risk of bronchopulmonary dysplasia among 223 infants of less than 1751 gm birth weight who were admitted to three Harvard-affiliated NICUs, we used multivariate analysis to explore the extent to which medical care practices during the first days of life varied with the rate of bronchopulmonary dysplasia. In our analyses, variables were grouped by three major hypotheses: oxygen toxicity, barotrauma, and fluid overload. The NICU designated 1 (the one with the highest rate of bronchopulmonary dysplasia) used much higher than expected colloidal volumes during the first 4 days of life; in contrast, in the NICU designated 3 (the one with the lowest rate of bronchopulmonary dysplasia), infants consistently received lower than expected amounts of colloidal solution. Signs of patent ductus arteriosus were also much more frequent than expected during this time at NICU 1; rates were much lower than predicted at NICU 2 and were near predicted values at NICU 3. Maximum inspired oxygen fraction during the first 4 days varied significantly in a direction inconsistent with the oxygen toxicity hypothesis. Maximum arterial oxygen tension was significantly less than expected at the hospital with the lowest rate of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (NICU 3). None of six medical care practices indicating potential for barotrauma varied with NICU except for positive end-expiratory pressure, which varied in a direction suggesting a protective effect against bronchopulmonary dysplasia. These findings agree best with the hypothesis that differences in hydration during the first days of life account for some of the difference among NICUs in bronchopulmonary dysplasia occurrence.
Microwave/millimeter wave arbitrary waveform generation via ultrafast photonics

Femtosecond pulse shaping for generating nearly arbitrarily shaped ultrafast optical pulses is now a well-established technology and has been widely adopted for applications ranging from high-speed communications to coherent laser control of chemical reactions. Arbitrary waveform generation (AWG) capabilities for millimeter-wave, microwave and THz electromagnetic signals, however, are quite limited. Commercial radio frequency AWG instrumentation is currently limited to ~2 GHz bandwidth. In this talk we review work at Purdue in which shaped optical pulses are used to drive an optical-to-electrical (O/E) converter. This leverages our femtosecond optical AWG technology to achieve cycle-by-cycle synthesis of arbitrary voltage waveforms in the range between a few GHz and ~1 THz. Such capabilities could open new possibilities for applications in areas such as wireless communications, electronic countermeasures, sensing, and pulsed radar. Recently our work has focused on the range from GHz to tens of GHz. A particular focus has been on the generation of signals appropriate for ultrawideband (UWB) wireless communications using "monocycle" pulses with very large fractional bandwidths. UWB technology provides high immunity to multipath interference, low probability of intercept, and high spatial resolution (for position location). Potential defense applications include tactical sensor networks and RFIF tags for inventory control. Our experiments demonstrate the ability to generate programmable monocycles with spectra that can be tailored to match emission limits and with durations and bandwidths that improve on the mainstream electronic technology. Additional potential applications include predistortion of transmit waveforms in order to precompensate distortions associated with broadband antennas and waveform optimization for enhanced target discrimination in pulsed radar.
Cellular and molecular origin of circumpapillary dysgenesis of the pigment epithelium.

Purpose We studied clinical phenotyping and TEAD1 expression in mice and humans to gain a better understanding of the primary origin in the pathogenesis of circumpapillary dysgenesis of the pigment epithelium. Design Observational case series and experimental study. Participants Three female patients from an affected family were included for phenotypic study. Mice and human tissues were used for biochemistry and immunohistochemistry studies. Methods We performed genetic analyses and longitudinal clinical, imaging, and electrophysiologic studies in a 3-generation family. Western blotting and immunohistochemistry were used to detect TEAD1 expression in mice and human retinal tissues. Main Outcome Measures Autofluorescence and optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging were compared and reviewed from 3 patients. TEAD1 expression was compared in different tissues from mice and human samples. Results A point mutation at T1261 in TEAD1 was detected in the mother. Autofluorescence and OCT imaging studies revealed choroid is involved earlier than retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). From immunoblot analysis, we discovered that TEAD1 and its cofactors YAP65 and FOXA2 are expressed in the choroid. Immunohistochemical analysis on frozen sections of mouse retina supports immunoblot results. Conclusions The primary cellular origin of circumpapillary dysgenesis of the pigment epithelium is within the choroid instead of the pigment epithelium. The loss of the RPE and photoreceptors in later stages of the disease is a secondary consequence of choroidal degeneration. Studies of the downstream targets of TEAD1 in choroidal cells will provide promising new research opportunities for the development of treatments for choroidal diseases. Financial Disclosure(s) The author(s) have no proprietary or commercial interest in any materials discussed in this article.
Robust time-frequency representations for signals in /spl alpha/-stable noise using fractional lower-order statistics

Characterizing signals jointly in the time and frequency domains through time-frequency representations (TFRs) such as the Wigner-Ville distribution (WVD) is a natural extension of Fourier analysis and gives a more complete representation of signal behavior particularly in the case of non-stationary signals. In the presence of additive impulsive noise, TFRs quickly break down and any information about the desired signal is lost. To combat these effects, we propose in this paper a family of memoryless nonlinearities which have been shown to produce a signal autocorrelation statistic which is well-behaved in the presence of stable noise. The result of this approach is a TFR which is both robust and simple to implement, and has many of the mathematical properties associated with the standard WVD. We illustrate the improvement in performance that can be obtained with several examples.
Variations of geomagnetic activity with lunar phase

An analysis of 31 years of Kp data suggests a variation of geomagnetic disturbance with lunar phase. A general increase in geomagnetic activity of about 4% begins after full moon and lasts for seven days. A general decrease in geomagnetic activity of about 4% is found for the seven days preceding full moon. A study of randomized data indicates that the probability that these variations should have occurred by chance is less than 5%. The effect is found to be associated with the Kp data derived from periods of geomagnetic quiet conditions; it is not evident in the data from disturbed periods.
Optimal pricing of successive generations of product advances

Abstract We obtain the optimal pricing policy of a monopolist marketing successive generations of product advances. We characterize the impact of foresight regarding entry of the second generation product and the technological substitution and market expansion created by the introduction of the second generation product on the optimalpricing policy of the monopolist. We also obtain the optimal pricing policies of the producers in situations where the successive generations of product advances are marketed by independent producers. By contrasting these policies with those of the monopolist marketing successive generations of product advances, we provide insight on the differential impact of foresight, technological substitution and market expansion on the optimal pricing policies of the producers.
Preliminary enzymolysis studies on trace element extractability from food

A preliminary investigation into the availability to man of some trace elements in foodstuffs is reported. The amounts of soluble lead, cadmium, zinc, iron and copper after a simulated digestion procedure, were measured in cereals, meats, fish and non-root vegetables consumed in UK. Details of the enzymolysis procedure and acid digestion method are given. The results show that the amount of soluble analyte varies widely from element to element and according to food type. When added to food the behaviour of soluble inorganic forms of the elements is often markedly different to that of the endogenous elements. The implications of some of these differences are considered.
Gel electrophoretic analysis of the protein changes in ground beef stored at 2⁰C

Purified myofibrils and sarcoplasmic proteins were prepared from ground (GR) and intact (CON) beef semitendinosus muscle samples after 0, 1, 3, 6, and 10 days of storage at 2°C. SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis revealed the following major postmortem changes in GR samples: the gradual disappearance of nebulin and desmin, appearance of 110,000-, 95,000- and 30,000-dalton polypeptides, and an increased content of myosin light chain-3 and 55,000-dalton component in myofibrils. Also noted was emergence of 100,000- and −500,000-dalton polypeptides and diminution of 300,000-dalton protein in the sarcoplasmic fraction. Since GR samples showed proteolytic changes similar to those of CON samples, it was concluded that grinding had little effect on postmortem muscle protein degradation.
Evolution of mechanical, optical and electrical properties of self-assembled mesostructured phenolic resins during carbonization

Abstract Ordered mesoporous polymer and carbon films are synthesized through the cooperative self-assembly of a phenol–formaldehyde resin with an amphiphilic block copolymer template, Pluronic F127. The processing temperature at which the template is removed and the resin is pyrolyzed dramatically impacts the mechanical, electrical and optical properties of the mesoporous film. There is a substantial increase in the hardness, modulus, conductivity and refractive index of the films as the pyrolysis temperature is increased from 400 to 800 °C. Upon further increasing the temperature to 1000 °C, there is no statistical change in the mechanical properties of the porous film, although the conductivity increases significantly from 18 to 74 S/cm. The modulus and hardness of the near surface are larger compared to the bulk of the film; this difference is more pronounced for the highly conductive films (carbonized at 800 and 1000 °C) and suggests a denser surface, which is consistent with low porosity calculated from ellipsometric porosimetry measurements that are surface sensitive. This work illustrates how the mechanical and electrical properties of mesoporous carbon films change with pyrolysis temperature. These mechanical and electronic properties are critical to the utility of these films in electronic or electrochemical applications.
Fibromatoses of the extremities: Clinicopathologic study of 36 Cases

Background and Objectives: Fibromatoses of the extremities are rare and often recalcitrant to treatment. We evaluated the clinical and pathologic features of a group of extremity fibromatoses treated by surgical excision with or without adjuvant therapy to determine if any clinical or pathologic parameters were predictive of clinical outcome. Methods: Thirty-six extremity fibromatoses were evaluated. A number of clinical and histologic features were correlated with risk of local recurrence. Results: The cohort included 19 females and 17 males with ages ranging from 11-72 years (mean: 35 years), with 12 tumors of the upper and 24 tumors of the lower extremity. Tumors ranged in size from 1.5-15.5 cm (mean: 7.5 cm). Histologically, 26 were infiltrative, 3 had pushing borders and 7 had both. Mitotic counts ranged from 0-5/50 high-power fields (mean: 0.74). Surgical margins were positive in 22 cases. Seventeen patients were treated with postoperative adjuvant therapy including radiation therapy and tamoxifen. Follow-up information was available in 34 cases (from 1-202 months; mean: 83 months). Nineteen patients (56%) had recurrences, including 1 1 with multiple recurrences (range to first recurrence: 5-61 months; mean 23 months). Seventy-one percent of patients with a positive surgical margin and clinical follow-up had a local recurrence, compared to 31% with a negative surgical margin (P < 0.05). None of the other clinical or histologic parameters correlated with the risk for local recurrence. Conclusions: Local control in fibromatoses of the extremities remains problematic. Aside from positive surgical margins, none of the other clinical or histologic parameters evaluated in this study were useful in predicting the risk of local recurrence.
Pulmonary Vascular Effects of Selective cGMP-Specific (Type V) Phosphodiesterase Inhibitors in the Ovine Fetus. ♦ 314

The nitric oxide (NO) - cGMP cascade modulates perinatal pulmonary vascular tone. cGMP-specific (type V) phosphodiesterase (PDE5) hydrolyzes cGMP, limiting vasodilation and maintaining high pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) in the fetus. Two new drugs, E4021 (Eisai) and DMPPO (Glaxo-Welcome), have been developed which cause potent and selective inhibition of PDE5 activity. To test the hypothesis that PDE5 activity contributes to high PVR in the fetal lung, we studied the hemodynamic effects of these novel PDE5 antagonists in 11 chronically-prepared, late gestation fetal lambs (mean gestational age, 132 days; 147 days, term). At surgery, we placed catheters in the main pulmonary artery (PAP), aorta (AoP), left atrium (LAP) and amniotic cavity to measure pressure. A catheter was placed in the left pulmonary artery (LPA) to infuse drug directly into the left lung. An ultrasonic flow transducer was placed on the LPA to measure left lung blood flow. After at least 48 hours recovery from surgery, E4021 (doses: 0.04 - 4 mg) were infused over 10 minutes into the LPA. Hemodynamic measurements were recorded at baseline and at 10 minute intervals for 60 minutes. E4021 caused dose-related pulmonary vasodilation, decreasing PVR from baseline by 30% (0.04 mg) to 58% (4 mg; p 1 mg. Equimolar infusions of DMPPO caused a similar fall in PVR(61%). To determine the importance of endogenous NO in stimulation of cGMP production, E4021 (1 mg) was infused before and after treatment with nitro-L-arginine (L-NA), a selective inhibitor of NO synthase. L-NA completely blocked E4021 -induced pulmonary vasodilation. We conclude that E4021 and DMPPO cause potent pulmonary vasodilation in the ovine fetus. These findings support the hypothesis that PDE5 plays a critical role in regulation of pulmonary vascular tone in the developing lung. We speculate that PDE5 inhibitors may provide a new therapy for pulmonary hypertension.
Comparison of outcome measures from a trial of mycophenolate mofetil in myasthenia gravis.

We determined the strength of correlation among, and responsiveness of, outcome measures used in a multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of mycophenolate mofetil in combination with prednisone in myasthenia gravis (MG). The primary efficacy measure was the change from baseline in the Quantitative MG (QMG) score at week 12. Secondary outcome measures included the MG—Activities of Daily Living profile (MG-ADL) and MG Manual Muscle Test (MMT). The measures were collected at baseline and at weeks 4, 8, and 12 in the blinded study and at weeks 16, 20, 28, and 36 in an optional open-label extension. At baseline, the QMG was moderately correlated with the MG-ADL (r = 0.55, P < 0.0001) and the MMT (r = 0.53, P < 0.0001), but the correlation between the MG-ADL and the MMT was lower (r = 0.30, P = 0.007). These findings were similar at weeks 4, 8, and 12. Similar correlations were found among the changes in scores from baseline at weeks 12 and 36. The MMT and MG-ADL appeared to be the most sensitive measures for changes in MG status at weeks 12 and 36. Although a task force has recommended use of the QMG in prospective MG trials, the MMT and MG-ADL appear to be suitable alternatives and offer potential advantages. No special training or equipment is required, and they take less time. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Muscle Nerve 38: 1429–1433, 2008
A dual band (C/Ku) feed system with transmit and receive capability

In satellite earth station antenna systems there is an increasing demand for complex single aperture, multi-function and multi-frequency band capable feed systems. In this work, a multi band feed system (6/12 GHz) is described which employs quadrature junctions (QJ) and supports transmit and receive functionality in the C and Ku bands respectively. This feed system is designed for a 16.4 m diameter shaped cassegrain antenna. It is a single aperture, 4 port system with transmit capability in circular polarization (CP) mode over the 6.625-6.69 GHz band and receive in the linear polarization (LP) mode over the 12.1-12.3 GHz band.
PERSONALITY AND JOB PERFORMANCE: A CRITIQUE OF THE TETT, JACKSON, AND ROTHSTEIN (1991) META-ANALYSIS

Tett, Jackson, and Rothstein (1991) recently presented a meta-analysis of the relationship between personality and job performance. Many of their findings, particularly those pertaining to the Big Five personality dimensions, are at odds with one other large scale meta-analytic study (Barrick & Mount, 1991) investigating the relation between personality and performance. In order to reconcile these new results with previous findings, we examined differences in the sample sizes used, the process for assigning pre-existing scales to personality dimensions, and the nature of the jobs investigated. In addition, we found four technical errors in the Tett et al. moderator meta-analyses in computing sampling error, the bias correction, sampling error for bias corrected correlations, and computing sampling error variance across studies. These errors raise serious questions about the interpretation of their results for various moderators of the personality-job performance relationship.