cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Comparison of Whole-Head Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy With Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Potential Application in Pediatric Neurology.

Abstract Background Changes in cerebral blood flow in response to neuronal activation can be measured by time-dependent fluctuations in hemoglobin species within the brain; this is the basis of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). There is a clinical need for portable neural imaging systems, such as fNIRS, to accommodate patients who are unable to tolerate an MR environment. Objective Our objective was to compare task-related full-head fNIRS and fMRI signals across cortical regions. Methods Eighteen healthy adults completed a same-day fNIRS-fMRI study, in which they performed right- and left-hand finger tapping tasks and a semantic-decision tones-decision task. First- and second-level general linear models were applied to both datasets. Results The finger tapping task showed that significant fNIRS channel activity over the contralateral primary motor cortex corresponded to surface fMRI activity. Similarly, significant fNIRS channel activity over the bilateral temporal lobe corresponded to the same primary auditory regions as surface fMRI during the semantic-decision tones-decision task. Additional channels were significant for this task that did not correspond to surface fMRI activity. Conclusion Although both imaging modalities showed left-lateralized activation for language processing, the current fNIRS analysis did not show concordant or expected localization at the level necessary for clinical use in individual pediatric epileptic patients. Future work is needed to show whether fNIRS and fMRI are comparable at the source level so that fNIRS can be used in a clinical setting on individual patients. If comparable, such an imaging approach could be applied to children with neurological disorders.
A Legacy of Cunning Rhetorical Agility: Métis Polymorphism in the Protest Rhetoric of Sojourner Truth and Sarah Grimké

In Greek mythology, Metis’s cunning intelligence and polymorphism are crucial in Zeus’s victory over the Titans. However, the paranoid god eventually swallows Metis and claims her cunning intellect...
Quality and Safety in Healthcare, Part XCII: Introduction to Six Sigma.

ABSTRACT Six Sigma is a methodology to diminish variation and errors and improve efficiency, quality, value, and profit, using certain defined steps and statistical analysis. For existing products and services, the DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control) acronym is used to stand for its steps. For new products and services, the Design for Six Sigma methodology is used. The goal of Six Sigma is to reduce the number of defects to no more than 3.4 for every million opportunities.
The EMD Mode of Operation (A Tweaked, Wide-Blocksize, Strong PRP).

We describe a block-cipher mode of operation, EMD, that builds a strong pseudorandom permutation (PRP) on nm bits (m ≥ 2) out of a strong PRP on n bits (i.e., a block cipher). The constructed PRP is also tweaked (in the sense of [10]): to determine the nm-bit ciphertext block C = EK(P ) one provides, besides the key K and the nm-bit plaintext block P , an n-bit tweak T . The mode uses 2m block-cipher calls and no other complex or computationally expensive steps (such as universal hashing). Encryption and decryption are identical except that encryption uses the forward direction of the underlying block cipher and decryption uses the backwards direction. We suggest that EMD provides an attractive solution to the disk-sector encryption problem, where one wants to encipher the contents of an nm-bit disk sector in a way that depends on the sector index and is secure against chosen-plaintext/chosen-ciphertext attack.
A subtropical fate awaited freshwater discharged from glacial Lake Agassiz

[1] The 8.2 kyr event is the largest abrupt climatic change recorded in the last 10,000 years, and is widely hypothesized to have been triggered by the release of thousands of kilometers cubed of freshwater into the North Atlantic Ocean. Using a high-resolution (1/6°) global, ocean-ice circulation model we present an alternative view that freshwater discharged from glacial Lake Agassiz would have remained on the continental shelf as a narrow, buoyant, coastal current, and would have been transported south into the subtropical North Atlantic. The pathway we describe is in contrast to the conceptual idea that freshwater from this lake outburst spread over most of the sub-polar North Atlantic, and covered the deep, open-ocean, convection regions. This coastally confined freshwater pathway is consistent with the present-day routing of freshwater from Hudson Bay, as well as paleoceanographic evidence of this event. Using a coarse-resolution (2.6°) version of the same model, we demonstrate that the previously reported spreading of freshwater across the sub-polar North Atlantic results from the inability of numerical models of this resolution to accurately resolve narrow coastal flows, producing instead a diffuse circulation that advects freshwater away from the boundaries. To understand the climatic impact of freshwater released in the past or future (e.g. Greenland and Antarctica), the ocean needs to be modeled at a resolution sufficient to resolve the dynamics of narrow, coastal buoyant flows.
Nursing home cost and ownership type: Evidence of interaction effects

Due to steadily increasing public expenditures for nursing home care, much research has focused on factors that influence nursing home costs, especially for Medicaid patients. Nursing home cost function studies have typically used a number of predictor variables in a multiple regression analysis to determine the effect of these variables on operating cost. Although several authors have suggested that nursing home ownership types have different goal orientations, not necessarily based on economic factors, little attention has been paid to this issue in empirical research. In this study, data from 150 Virginia nursing homes were used in multiple regression analysis to examine factors accounting for nursing home operating costs. The context of the study was the Virginia Medicaid reimbursement system, which has intermediate care and skilled nursing facility (ICF and SNF) facility-specific per diem rates, set according to facility cost histories. The analysis revealed interaction effects between ownership and other predictor variables (e.g., percentage Medicaid residents, case mix, and region), with predictor variables having different effects on cost depending on ownership type. Conclusions are drawn about the goal orientations and behavior of chain-operated, individual for-profit, and public and nonprofit facilities. The implications of these findings for long-term care reimbursement policies are discussed.
Politeness Theory, Cultural Approaches

Politeness theory maintains the universality of an individual's positive and negative face wants in all cultures. During everyday interaction, individuals often perform actions that threaten face. They therefore use politeness strategies to mitigate face threats. This position of politeness theory is challenged at two cultural levels. From a cross-cultural perspective, East Asian politeness scholars challenge the conceptualization and universality of face in politeness theory. They argue that face is more relational and interdependent in East Asia, by comparison to the more independent nature of face in the West. This essential difference in the conceptualization of face leads to variations in the degree to which a speech act threatens face and in the motivation to use politeness. Within a single culture, Brown and Levinson's politeness model is viewed as relatively instrumental and strategic at an individual level—it describes how an individual chooses politeness strategies in order to mitigate face threats. But recent work contends that politeness must be examined at a cultural level, as it requires consideration of cultural, social, and contextual factors within a community of practice. Keywords: culture; face; politeness; politeness theory; Basic assumptions of politeness theory
The role of auxiliary and referred haptic feedback in myoelectric control

The use of haptic display to refer cues sensed electronically from a prosthetic terminal device promises to improve the function of myoelectrically controlled upper limb prostheses. This promise is often evaluated in experiments involving non-amputees, though the availability of additional haptic feedback from an intact hand (auxiliary feedback) may confound attempts to use non-amputees as stand-ins for amputees. In this paper we test the influence of auxiliary haptic feedback on myoelectric control performance by introducing various grasp conditions in a compensatory tracking task. We ask non-amputees to compensate for the motion of a random signal by producing myoelectric control signals with a hard object, soft object, or no object (requiring co-contraction) in their grasp. The error signal is displayed through a squeeze band worn about the upper arm or a visual display. Our results suggest that the main difference between tracking with haptic and visual feedback is low-frequency drift, and that auxiliary feedback does not substantially influence task performance. Despite the drift, our results show that participants are able to respond to cues presented through the squeeze band in the compensatory tracking task.
Prenatal Exposure to Alcohol: Effect on Infant Growth and Morphologic Characteristics

In this prospective study of alcohol and other substance use during pregnancy, a cohort of 650 women was interviewed at each trimester of pregnancy. Data are presented concerning the status of 595 live singleton births. A relationship was demonstrated between prenatal maternal alcohol use and growth and morphologic abnormalities in the offspring. Low birth weight, decreased head circumference and length, and an increased rate of fetal alcohol effects were all found to be significantly correlated with exposure to alcohol during the first 2 months of the first trimester.
Long term survival in pediatric hepatic angiosarcoma (PHAS): A case report and review of the literature

Pediatric hepatic angiosarcoma (PHAS) is extremely rare, with only five reported tumor-free survivors. Aggressive surgical resection and chemotherapy have been the management in all documented survivors of this disease, however no specific treatment guidelines are established. We present a case of PHAS with the longest reported tumor-free survival at over six years off therapy.
On the locus of visual dominance

A series of six experiments explored the dominance of vision over audition reported by Colavita (1974). We first confirmed the existence of visual dominance in a paradigm somewhat different from Colavita’s: Mean reaction time (RT) to a light was found to be faster than to a simultaneously presented tone, even though the stimuli were equated in subjective intensity and even though RT to the tone presented alone was faster than to the light presented alone. Additional experiments showed that when subjects did not have to respond to light, tone RT was equal or faster (intersensory facilitation) when a light was present than when it was not. These findings suggest that sensory or perceptual processing of the tone is not affected by the light, i.e., that visual dominance is nonsensory in locus and depends on the relevance of the light stimulus. This interpretation was reinforced by other findings which showed that the degree of visual dominance was sensitive to the probability of light, tone, and light-plus-tone trials and to instructions to attend to a specific modality, but was not sensitive to the intensity of the light.
Characterization of cholinesterase activity in tissues of the grass shrimp (Palaemonetes pugio)

Inhibition of cholinesterases in estuarine organisms is a useful indicator of organophosphorus insecticide exposure. Recent research has indicated that more than one cholinesterase may be present in tissues of estuarine organisms and that these cholinesterases vary in their sensitivity to organophosphorus insecticides. Baseline cholinesterase activity for adult grass shrimp (Palaemonetes pugio) was determined with four substrates (acetylthiocholine iodide, acetyl-β-methylthiocholine iodide, propionylthiocholine iodide, S-butyrylthiocholine iodide) and three cholinesterase inhibitors (eserine sulfate, tetraisopropyl pyrophosphoramide, 1,5-bis(4-allyldimethyl-ammoniumphenyl) pentan-3-one dibromide). Cholinesterase activity was the highest with acetylthiocholine iodide at 57.42 nmol/mg P/min and the lowest with acetyl-β-methylthiocholine iodide at 6.17 nmol/mg P/min. The four substrates tested were not inhibited by tetraisopropyl pyrophosphoramide. Eserine sulfate significantly inhibited cholinesterase activity against all substrates except S-butyrylthiocholine iodide. The results of substrate specificity and cholinesterase inhibition in grass shrimp indicate that acetylthiocholine iodide is the most appropriate substrate for assessing cholinesterase inhibition in grass shrimp.
Visual function assessment in late-preterm newborns.

Abstract Aim To describe the development of visual functions in a population of low-risk late preterm infants. Subjects and methods Eighty low-risk late preterm with a gestational age between 34.0 and 36.9 weeks were assessed at birth and at term equivalent age (TEA) using a structured visual assessment battery. The results were compared to those previously obtained in term born infants using the same battery. Results For 5 items (spontaneous ocular motility, ocular motility with target, fixation, horizontal tracking and color tracking) the results were similar both at birth and TEA; for the other 4 (vertical and arc tracking, ability to discriminate striped black/white targets and attention at distance) visual findings at TEA were more mature than at birth. Comparing the responses in late preterm at TEA and term-born infants at 48 h of life, only 2 items (attention at distance, ability to discriminate black/white stripes) were different, with more mature findings in late preterm infants. Conclusions Our results show that in late preterm some aspects of visual functions have a progressive maturation infants between birth and TEA, confirming that the time between birth and term age appears to be crucial for the development of these abilities.
Adding pieces to the puzzle: a commentary

In Jensen's theme paper she did an excellent job of outlining and explaining ways in which motor developmentalists can use the tools of biomechanics and engineering to address research questions. We extend her thorough efforts in two ways. First, we highlight the communication value provided by the precision of biomechanics terminology, and second, we reinforce the need to embed motion (the kinematics and kinetics) in context and function in order to understand the complexity of behaviour. We illustrate how one biomechanical tool, mechanical models, can facilitate this and provide insight to the development of control. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Photo-initiated grafting of gelatin/N-maleic acyl-chitosan to enhance endothelial cell adhesion, proliferation and function on PLA surface.

Abstract Vascular graft surface properties significantly affect adhesion, growth and function of endothelial cells (ECs). The bulk degradation property of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) makes it possible for it to be replaced by cellular materials and PLA is desirable as a scaffold material for vascular grafts. However, PLA has an unfavorable surface property for EC adhesion and proliferation due to the lack of a selective cell adhesion motif. Photo-initiated surface-grafting polymerization is a promising method for immobilizing certain biomacromolecules on material surfaces without compromising bulk properties. N -Maleic acyl-chitosan (NMCS) is a novel biocompatible amphiphilic derivative of chitosan with double bonds and can be initiated by ultraviolet light. In this study, gelatin was complexed with NMCS via hydrophobic interaction, and gel/NMCS complex thus formed was then grafted on the PLA surface to improve EC biocompatibility. X-ray photoelectron and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and water contact angle measurement confirmed immobilization of the gel/NMCS complex on PLA surface. Moreover, the gel/NMCS modified PLA enhanced human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) spreading and flattening, and promoted the expression of more structured CD31 and vWF compared to unmodified PLA film. Compared to the unmodified PLA surface, the HUVECs on the modified PLA surface had elevated uptake of acetylated low-density lipoprotein, and maintained the ability to modulate metabolic activity upon exposure to shear stress at 5 dyn cm −2 by up-regulating nitric oxide and prostacyclin production. Cell retention was 1.6 times higher on the gel/NMCS–PLA surface, demonstrating its improved potential for hemocompatibility. These results indicate that photo-initiated surface-grafting of the biomimetic gel/NMCS complex is an effective method to modify material surfaces as vascular grafts.
Medical hermeneutics: Where is the “text” we are interpreting?

The present paper is a commentary on an article by Drew Leder [1]. Leder identifies a series of ‘texts’ in the clinical encounter, emphasizes the central role of interpretation in making sense of each of these texts, and articulates ordering principles to guide the interpretive work. The metaphor of clinical work as textual explication, however, creates the expectation that there is a text somewhere to be found. Such an expectation invites doctors and patients to search for the text and runs the risk of conceptualizing patients as more static than they are. If one is to use the textual metaphor, one must appreciate the radical extent to which the clinical encounter is a mutually produced and shifting entity. The qualities of mutuality and indeterminacy are not those one usually associates with texts. One might ultimately be better served by a different metaphor based more directly on uncertainty.
Nucleotide sequence of the influenza A/duck/Alberta/60/76 virus NS RNA: conservation of the NS1/NS2 overlapping gene structure in a divergent influenza virus RNA segment.

The complete nucleotide sequence of the influenza A/duck/Alberta/60/76 virus NS gene was determined. A direct sequence comparison of this NS gene with that of influenza A/PR/8/34 virus showed a difference of 27.3%. In contrast, the differences among the previously sequenced NS genes of the A/PR/8/34, A/FPV/Rostock/34, and A/Udorn/72 viruses were much lower and ranged from 8–11%. The NS genes of the latter three strains contain open reading frames in their virion (−) RNAs which potentially code for polypeptides of 167 and 216 amino acids. Although the NS segment of the A/duck/Alberta/60/76 virus lacks such an agnogene in its negative strand sequence, it conserves the overlapping NS1 and NS2 gene arrangement identified in the other NS RNA segments. A comparison of the deduced amino acid sequences of the A/duck/Alberta/60/76 and A/ PR/8/34 virus NS genes showed that the NS2 polypeptides are more highly conserved (18.2% differences) than the NS1 polypeptides (33.0% differences). Surprisingly, the NS1 polypeptides of the two strains show this high degree of variation over their entire lengths, including the amino acids encoded by the conserved RNA domain of the NS1 gene and NS2 gene overlap.
Brain inflammation initiates seizures.

Interfering with the adhesion of immune cells to the cerebral vasculature holds seizures in check, potentially opening a new realm of therapeutics ( pages 1377–1383 ).
Synthesis of Some Derivatives of Sorbic Acid and Their Antifungal Properties

Seven amides and three amine salts of sorbic acid were prepared and screened for their antifungal activity against four pathogenic fungi. Of the 10 compounds tested, N-(2-methylpiperidyl)-sorbamide, n-hexylsorbamide, cyclohexylamine sorbate, phenylethylamine sorbate, and n-hexylamine sorbate exhibited antifungal activity.
Zooplankton Grazing During the Zebra Mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) Colonization of Saginaw Bay, Lake Huron

Weight-specific zooplankton filtering rates were determined at three sites in Saginaw Bay during the period of maximum zooplankton abundance prior to and after the establishment of zebra mussel colonies (June 1991 and June 1992). Biomass-specific filtering rates were similar in both years (inner bay: 0.24–0.33 mL μg dry wt.−1 d−1; outer bay: 1.27–1.83 mL μg dry wt.−1 d−1), but large decreases in zooplankton biomass resulted in a decrease, on average, of 58% in community filtering rates between years. As part of a large-scale monitoring program, zooplankton abundance and biomass estimates were also recorded at 13 sites during May-August of both years. Mean biomass in the inner bay was 40% lower in 1992 than in 1991, and in the outer bay, mean biomass was 70% lower in 1992 than in 1991. Zooplankton community composition was the same in both years. We estimated the time required to clear the water volume of the inner bay during the May–June period to be 17 days in 1991 and 37 days in 1992. For these two periods, decreased zooplankton numbers and community filtering rates indicate that grazing by zooplankton was likely not responsible for noted declines in phytoplankton abundance and productivity.
Enhancement in Gas Pumping in a Square Channel With Two-Stage Corona Wind Generator

In this study flow field inside a square channel with a two-stage electrohydrodynamic (EHD) gas pump has been critically examined by experimental measurement and numerical simulation. The EHD gas pump with 28 emitting electrodes in each stage is tested for a wide range of operating voltages starting from the corona onset voltage up to 28 kV for further improvement in its performance over a single-stage one. It has been shown that the two-stage EHD gas pump can produce and sustain gas flows with a maximum velocity of 5 m/s. Its maximum performance of 34 L/s/W is better than that of conventional cooling fans used in personal computers. The implication for its application in thermal management and heat transfer enhancement has also been discussed.
Comparison of a radioisotopic incorporation method and the mouse ear swelling test (MEST) for contact sensitivity to weak sensitizers

A radioisotopic incorporation assay utilizing [125I]iododeoxyuridine was compared to the standard mouse ear swelling test (MEST) for the strong sensitizers dinitrofluorobenzene and oxazolone, and for the three weak sensitizers ethylenediamine (EDA), glutaraldehyde, and nickel sulfate. Mice were sensitized epicutaneously on the abdomen for 4 consecutive days prior to challenging the left ear with the test agent and the right ear with the vehicle. A comparison of the mean difference between the test and the control ears showed that measuring reactivity 48 hr postchallenge on Day 7 is the most sensitive time period in the radioisotopic incorporation method. Both the isotopic and MEST assays gave positive results with the potent sensitizers, although the response detected by isotopic labeling of emigrating cells was up to 1000-fold greater than that determined by ear swelling measurements. No response was detected to the moderate to weak sensitizer EDA in either assay. Reactivity to glutaraldehyde was not detected by the radioisotopic assay but was minimally responsive and significant by the MEST. The opposite was true for nickel sulfate where minimal but significant reactivity was seen in the isotopic assay but not in the MEST. Although the radioisotopic assay had the advantages of being more quantitative and of having improved sensitivity, it was of no greater value than the MEST for detecting weak sensitizers. It was concluded that the mouse was not a suitable model for routinely detecting reactivity to weak sensitizers regardless of which of the two assays were used.
Modern trends in spinal anaesthesia

It has been indicated that no other type of anaesthesia will provide so much for so little, and it is apparent that most of our fears of spinal anaesthesia are unfounded, being based upon the results obtained following its early indiscriminate use. A vast majority of the major complications have been due to the administration of toxic local anaesthetic agents, traumatic spinal needles, and inadequate and improper cleansing and sterilization of the equipment and the local anaesthetic agents used. It is also apparent that a great number of the complications which have been attributed to spinal anaesthesia in the past were actually due to other causes.
Mathematical properties of position-space renormalization-group transformations

Properties of “position-space” or “cell-type” renormalization-group transformations from an Ising model object system onto an Ising model image system, of the type introduced by Niemeijer, van Leeuwen, and Kadanoff, are studied in the thermodynamic limit of an infinite lattice. In the case of a KadanofF transformation with finitep, we prove that if the magnetic field in the object system is sufficiently large (i.e., the lattice-gas activity is sufficiently small), the transformation leads to a well-defined set of image interactions with finite norm, in the thermodynamic limit, and these interactions are analytic functions of the object interactions. Under the same conditions the image interactions decay exponentially rapidly with the geometrical size of the clusters with which they are associated if the object interactions are suitably short-ranged. We also present compelling evidence (not, however, a completely rigorous proof) that under other conditions both the finite- and infinite-p (“majority rule”) transformations exhibit peculiarities, suggesting either that the image interactions are undefined (i.e., the transformation does not possess a thermodynamic limit) or that they fail to be smooth functions of the object interactions. These peculiarities are associated (in terms of their mathematical origin) with phase transitions in the object system governed not by the object interactions themselves, but by a modified set of interactions.
Copyright in Open Source Software - Understanding the Boundaries

Copyright ownership tends not to be an issue in closed-source, software development. In that model an individual or business owns - or in-licenses - the copyright in all of the code used in the software application, licenses it to end-users under a binary-only license, and relies on a combination of copyright and trade secret law to enforce contractual rights in the code. By contrast, when software is developed in an open source model, copyright issues abound, and many of these copyright issues are not well understood by software developers. This lack of understanding can undermine the intent of the developers and can potentially lead to unattractive outcomes. As early as the launch of conceptual design in open source software , issues can arise as to ownership of the work and its progeny. When a wide range of hands can touch the open source code, ownership and rights in the code can become blurred. Moreover, n ot all code contributions to an open source project will be protected by copyright. This paper seeks to explore the application of U.S. copyright law to software, and particularly software that is developed and licensed under an open source model. We address the boundaries of copyright protection and ownership , the importance of intent, timing and creative expression in determining these boundaries, and provide guidance to those looking to launch open source projects.
Interleukin 10 polymorphisms as predictors of sustained response in antiviral therapy for chronic hepatitis C infection

Host genetic factors have been reported to influence the natural history of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. We examined whether variation in interleukin 10 (IL-10) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) genes would predict the likelihood of sustained response to antiviral therapy. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and microsatellites at two loci encoding the cytokines IL-10 and TNF-alpha were determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based techniques. Their relationship to the outcome of antiviral therapy for chronic HCV infection was studied in 49 white patients who had a virologically sustained response (SR) and in 55 white nonresponders (NR) to a combination of interferon alfa-2b and ribavirin (IFN + R). Several IL-10 variants were more frequent among SRs compared with NRs. Carriage of the -592A or the -819T SNP was associated with SR (odds ratio [OR] = 2.2; P =.016). The -592A/A and the exclusively linked -819T/T genotypes were also associated with SR (OR = 16.6; P =.013 for either). The haplotype consisting of the 108-bp IL-10.R microsatellite and -3575T, -2763C, -1082A, -819T, -592A was also associated with SR (OR = 2.65; P =.01). Stratification for viral genotype, baseline viral RNA concentration, and histologic status identified homozygosity for the haplotype as the principal determinant: all 5 homozygous individuals achieved SR (OR(crude) = 13.7; P =.025; stratified ORs = 1.9-7.0), whereas heterozygotes differed only slightly from wild-type carriers. In contrast, TNF alleles defined by promoter sequences -238G/A and -308G/A were approximately equally distributed among SR and NR. In conclusion, homozygosity for -592A, -819T or the extended haplotype (108bp) - (-2575T) - (-2763C) - (-1082A) - (-819T) - (-592A) is associated with SR to IFN + R.
On the Three-Dimensional Finite Element Analysis of Dovetail Attachments

The stress analysis of dovetail attachments presents some challenges. These stem from the high stress gradients at the edges of contact. They also stem from the nonlinearities accompanying conforming contact. Even with two-dimensional analysis, obtaining converged peak stresses is not trivial. With three-dimensional analysis, convergence can be expected to be more difficult to achieve because of the added computational costs of refinement in three dimensions. To meet these challenges, this paper describes a submodeling procedure with finite elements. The submodeling approach features bicubic surface fits to displacements for submodel boundary conditions. The approach also features a means of verifying these boundary conditions have converged: This is crucial to obtaining accurate converged peak stresses. The approach is applied to a three-dimensional test piece used to simulate a dovetail attachment. This application leads to converged three-dimensional stresses. These stresses serve to quantify the sort of increases in contact stresses in attachments due to three-dimensional effects.Copyright © 2002 by ASME
Physiological activity of water beetle defensive agents. I. Toxicity and anesthetic activity of steroids and norsesquiterpenes administered in solution to the minnowPimephales promelas Raf.

By means of a bioassay employing the minnowPimephales promelas, the anesthetic activities and toxicities of various defensive steroids and norsesquiterpenes produced by the Dytiscidae and Gyrinidae were compared with those of a wide selection of steroid standards. The most widely occurring major components of dytiscid secretions, 4-pregnen-3-ones and related derivatives, were among those compounds most active in minnow bioassays. The norsesquiterpenes gyrinidal and gyrinidione were among the most toxic compounds tested but they possessed little anesthetic action. The anesthetic activity of gyrinidone was comparable to that of testosterone. Steroid activity in the minnow bioassay was highly related to the degree of oxygenation; steroids oxygenated only at the termini of the molecule were most active. Less or additional oxygenation resulted in a loss of activity. When steroids were rapidly administered to minnows the activities of many of them were similar, suggesting they share a common mode of action.
The Development of Modern Chinese Literature Studies in the West: A Critical View

The serious study of modem Chinese literature by Westem scholars has developed considerably over the last 20 years or so, to the point where it now can be properly termed a "fileld." It is no longer simply a substratum of sinology; it has emerged from that peculiar blend of philology, history, archaeology, literary study, and other China-related scholarship not quite appropriate to any of the traditional academic disciplines. A variety of approaches to the new field have been taken by diverse groups of China specialists-historians, social scientists, and literary scholars alike. To be sure, the field is populated by proportionally fewer literary critics than is the case with most other literatures, but, nonetheless, scholars more heavily inclined toward literary analysis are gradually beginning to enter the field. Being relatively new, the field is continually expanding and developing, and in the process it is embracing a diversity of attitudes, approaches, and methods. A central issue in the development of the field is the type of approach which is taken: the political, cultural, and aesthetic
I pledge a legiance tothe flag: Three studies in word segmentation

Three experimental tasks explored young children's metalinguistic awareness of word boundaries. First, preschool children recited word-by-word pieces which differed in abstractness and familiarity of vocabulary. Second, a teaching task was employed to train and then sample selected items taken from the recited pieces, representing words with cards. The data suggested that several strategies were employed: segment-by-phrase, segment-by-syllable, and segment-by-word. Children were less successful in segmenting the more abstract piece than the concrete one, and they tended to revert to a phrase strategy and/or to change abstract words into more common vocabulary. Error analysis revealed growing awareness of the functors a and the. In a third experiment, preschool and kindergarten children segmented phrases using the functors a, an, my, or and phrases using phonetically similar embedded syllables (e.g., hold my nose; gold miner). Segmentation scores increased with age; even the 4½- to 5-year-olds were highly successful, segmenting with 60% accuracy, and by age 6–6½, they were correctly segmenting 75% of the phrases. Children who had begun to read performed better overall than their same-age peers who had not. Children were more successful with my, or, and word-medial a than with an and word-initial a; embedded syllables tended to be easier than functors, especially for the younger subjects. In conclusion, the years from age 4½- to 6½ appear to be a period of vigorous development of word segmentation skills. During this period, children use increasingly complex strategies – first phrasal, then syllabic, and finally a full word strategy – and they demonstrate a growing knowledge of function words as well as content words. Functors vary in difficulty and developmental sequence due to differences in stress, amount of ambiguity with phonetically similar embedded syllables, semantic complexity, and salience of reference to the young child.
A current view of learning disabilities

THE TERM "[,EARN ING DISABLED" is most often used to describe a heterogeneous population of children who display persistent school achievement problems that are not easily explained by poor intellectual abilities. The term was first adopted in the 1960s to describe children with dyslexia, minimal brain dysfunction, neurological handicap, perceptual handicap, perceptual motor dysfunction, specific reading disability, and specific underachievement. ~' 2 These problems reflect the diversity of the professionals who deal with these children in clinics, hospitals, and schools. The theoretical and educational orientation used with these children also reflects the traditions from which these professionals come, resulting in both neurological and environmental explanations for various learning disabilities. Thus the available information often appears conflicting, which results in some disagreement about exactly what constitutes a learning disability. In spite of the many controversies about the definition, learning disabilities have been identified in a rapidly increasing number of children, and the number of professionals involved in research and service has increased comparably. At present the incidence of learning disabilities in children, as defined by the federal government, is second only to deficits in speech and hearing, and ahead of mental retardation. This large and diverse handicap is reviewed here with regard to definition, research, and treatment.
A dynamic programming approach to adjustable robust optimization

In this paper we consider the adjustable robust approach to multistage optimization, for which we derive dynamic programming equations. We also discuss this from the point of view of risk averse stochastic programming. We consider as an example a robust formulation of the classical inventory model and show that, like for the risk neutral case, a basestock policy is optimal.
MRI contrast enhanced study of cartilage proteoglycan degradation in the rabbit knee

Early degeneration of cartilage is accompanied by a loss of proteoglycans and consequent changes in the content of water. Conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) cannot reliably detect this change, since the relaxation properties of the cartilage are dominated by its collagen content. The applicability of a positively charged nitroxide as an MRI contrast agent in detection of the content of the negatively charged proteoglycans within the cartilage was investigated. The results from both MRI and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy indicate that the accumulation of the contrast agent reflects the amount of proteoglycans within the cartilage, presumably due to the electrostatic interactions between the negatively charged proteoglycans and the positively charged nitroxide. Such a contrast agent could be useful in the detection and study of early stages of the degeneration of joints.
Production efficiency of Chinese agriculture: evidence from rural household survey data

A shadow-price profit frontier model is developed to examine production efficiency of Chinese rural households in farming operations. The model incorporates price distortions resulting from imperfect market conditions and socioeconomic and institutional constraints, but retains the advantages of stochastic frontier properties. The shadow prices are derived through a generalized profit function estimation. The shadow-price profit frontier is then estimated and an efficiency index based on the estimated profit frontier is computed and decomposed to household characteristics. Empirical results using data from China's Rural Household Survey for 1991 reject the neoclassical profit maximization hypothesis based on market prices in favor of the general model with price distortions. Farmers' resource endowment and education influence their response to the market restrictions, thus alter their performance in terms of efficiency. The estimated efficiency index ranges from 6% to 93% with a sample average of 62%. Households' educational level, family size and per capita net income are positively related to production efficiency. Households living in mountain areas or with family members employed by the government or state industries are relatively inefficient. Reducing market intervention, allowing right of use of farm land to be transferred among households, encouraging migration of excess farm labor, and promoting farmers' education will improve rural households' efficiency in agricultural production.
Photovoltaic effects observed with thin films of zinc sulphide

Abstract Photovoltages (up to several hundred volts) have been observed along the surface of thin ZnS films evaporated at an angle to the substrate. This photovoltage is proportional to the exciting intensity. Upon illumination the resistance decreases by a factor of 4 from its dark value, and then remains independent of the intensity over a wide range of excitation. When strongly absorbed u.v. light is added to the homogeneously absorbed tungsten illumination, the photovoltage and resistance are considerably decreased. These results are discussed in light of a proposed model consisting of ZnS monocrystals separated by a ZnS material of different electrical characteristics. The latter material is considered to be non-conducting and non-photovoltaic except at high intensities (strongly absorbed u.v.) where it becomes conductive and displays a photovoltage opposite to that of the crystal.
X-ray absorption spectroscopy study shows that the rapid selenium volatilizer, pickleweed ( Salicornia bigelovii Torr.), reduces selenate to organic forms without the aid of microbes

In many plant species, selenium (Se) volatilization is limited by the reduction of selenate and its chemical conversion to organic Se compounds, a process that may be facilitated by rhizosphere microbes. This study was conducted to determine if pickleweed (Salicornia bigelovii Torr.), which is characterized by having high rates of Se volatilization from selenate, is able to reduce selenate into organic forms of Se axenically, or whether it requires the presence of microbes. X-ray absorption spectroscopy analysis showed that shoots and roots of pickleweed plants supplied with 50 µM selenate accumulated Se predominantly in organic Se forms (about 65–75% of the total accumulated Se), regardless of whether the plants were grown axenically or in the presence of microbes. The results suggest that, unlike other species for which selenate reduction appears to be rate limiting, e.g. Indian mustard (Brassica juncea L.) and broccoli (Brassica oleracea L.), pickleweed is unusual in that it has an enhanced capacity to reduce selenate to organic forms that is independent of the presence of rhizosphere microbes.
In vitro maintenance of bone marrow-resident T cell precursors in cultures supplemented with exogenous IL-3

T cell precursors (pre-T cells) from adult murine bone marrow were propagated in vitro using a newly developed cell culture system. This system differs from "classical" bone marrow culture techniques in that it does not require the establishment of a monolayer of bone marrow stromal cells nor the presence of an irradiated feeder layer for the maintenance of the pre-T cell compartment, but rather depends on the continuous presence of exogenous interleukin-3 (IL-3) in the culture. Cells harvested from these cultures retain the capacity to repopulate the thymuses of sublethally irradiated recipient mice, following intrathymic transfer, for at least 2 weeks after the initiation of the cultures. Interestingly, pre-T cells maintained under these culture conditions rapidly lose their capacity for thymic repopulation following intravenous transfer, suggesting a potential defect in recirculation and/or homing properties. This culture system should prove useful in the investigation of bone marrow-resident pre-T cells.
Association of urban temperatures with land use and surface materials

Abstract This paper shows the correlations of urban-rural temperatures in Lawrence, Kansas, with land-use types and surface materials. Temperatures were acquired at 168 points using the auto-traverse technique on 15 mornings, afternoons and evenings in late summer-early autumn. The relationships of these 45 detailed temperature patterns with 12 land-use types and 10 surface materials over the entire city and adjacent rural areas show that the land-use types most frequently associated with temperature patterns are residential, commercial (including the CBD) and undeveloped. Among the surface materials, surface asphalt, asphaltic roofing and water are related most often to temperatures. Several of these findings corroborate many results of previous urban numerical simulation modeling analyses.
Urgent intervention to reduce functional deficits after postoperative stroke.

Background A 67-year-old right-handed man with a history of atrial fibrillation developed sudden aphasia after urological surgery. Initial diffusion-weighted and perfusion-weighted MRI demonstrated an area of hypoperfusion in Broca's area, with minimal infarction. Investigations Neurological examination, language testing and brain MRI scans with diffusion-weighted and perfusion-weighted imaging. Diagnosis Acute cardioembolic stroke with minimal infarction in Broca's area and a surrounding region of potentially salvageable, hypoperfused cortex. Management Saline-induced hypertension resulting in rapid restoration of cortical perfusion and a resolution of the initial speech and language deficits. The utility of perfusion-weighted imaging in selecting appropriate candidates for urgent treatment of stroke when thrombolysis is contraindicated is discussed.
She2p is a novel RNA-binding protein that recruits the Myo4p–She3p complex to ASH1 mRNA

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Ash1p is a specific repressor of transcription that localizes exclusively to daughter cell nuclei through the asymmetric localization of ASH1 mRNA. This localization requires four cis-acting localization elements located in the ASH1 mRNA, five trans-acting factors, one of which is a myosin, and the actin cytoskeleton. The RNA-binding proteins that interact with these cis-elements remained to be identified. Starting with the 3′ most localization element of ASH1 mRNA in the three-hybrid assay, element E3, we isolated a clone corresponding to the C-terminus of She3p. We also found that She3p and She2p interact, and this interaction is essential for the binding of She3p with element E3 in vivo. Moreover, She2p was observed to bind the E3 RNA directly in vitro and each of the ASH1 cis-acting localization elements requires She2p for their localization function. By tethering a She3p–MS2 fusion protein to a reporter RNA containing MS2 binding sites, we observed that She2p is dispensable for She3p–MS2-dependent RNA localization.
Dihydrospectinomycin binding to chloroplast ribosomes from antibiotic-sensitive and -resistant strains of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

Abstract In this paper, we describe the binding of [ 3 H]dihydrospectinomycin to ribosomes isolated from the unicellular green alga, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii . Data presented demonstrate that dihydrospectinomycin binds only to ribosomes susceptible to inhibition by the drug. The specific site for the binding reaction is shown to reside on the small subunit of the 68-S chloroplast ribosome. In addition, binding experiments have been conducted with mutant strains of C. reinhardtii that are phenotypically resistant to spectinomycin. These experiments demonstrate that in a mutant strain with a uniparental pattern of inheritance of spectinomycin resistance, the chloroplast ribosomes no longer bind the antibiotic.
A Big Ben with Chinese characteristics: the Customs House as urban icon in Old and New Shanghai

A huge clock, made at Whitechurch by Messrs. J. B. Joyce and Co … has been sent to Shanghai, for the new Chinese Maritime Customs House. The clock, weighing nearly 30 tons, will probably be the Big Ben of the Far East.
Getting under wraps: alkylating DNA in the nucleosome.

DNA in the nucleus of mammalian cells is extensively associated with proteins. Potential anticancer agents can access, recognize and alkylate nucleosomal DNA, even at sites that seem completely occluded by association with histone proteins.
Filter Radiometry and Some of Its Applications

Filter radiometry is discussed in terms of its general application to the study of various problems involving the accurate measurement of radiant energy or the calibration of selective radiant energy detectors. As an example of its use data are given on the method and results of total ozone measurements at Sacramento Peak, New Mexico, in June 1949.