cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Development and application of RF techniques for formation of preionized plasma in the target chamber

Abstract Recent heavy ion fusion reactor concepts require multiple beam focusing beyond the space-charge limit. Propagating the beams in dilute plasma potentially can achieve charge neutralization. Here, we apply well known plasma waves to the formation of large-volume uniform plasmas to achieve the required plasmas for charge neutralization. A number of plasma waves will be considered including whistlers, electron cyclotron, and helicon waves. The goal is to produce a large-volume plasma design that will be tested and integrated into near-term ion beam focusing experiments.
POLICE OFFICERS' ATTITUDES, BEHAVIOR, AND SUPERVISORY INFLUENCES: AN ANALYSIS OF PROBLEM SOLVING*

This paper examines the influence of officers' and supervisors' attitudes and priorities toward community policing and problem solving over the time officers spend conducting problem-solving activities. Analyzing data collected for the Project on Policing Neighborhoods, a multi-method study of police patrol in two police departments, results show that officers' perceptions of their supervisors' priorities for problem solving affect the amount of time they spend conducting these activities, although their own attitudes toward community policing are unrelated to their behavior. We also find that officers' attitudes regarding problem solving are weakly correlated with their supervisors' attitudes and, further, that officers' perceptions of their supervisors' attitudes are often inaccurate.
Human knowledge as a special system

Human knowledge and the human learning process is a very special system, unique to the universe that we know about, and cannot be described in terms of any other system of which we are aware. Human knowledge is the result of the interaction of the human brain, artifacts, and the real world. It consists of structures within the human brain that are coded with information. The totality of human knowledge is a single system because human brains are genetically alike and the real world is fundamentally the same for all human beings. The processes by which the structures that constitute human knowledge in human brains are formed, i.e., human learning, are still very mysterious, and all that we know about human learning can be written in a few simple propositions.
Incorporation of Ambient Oxygen During Silicon Deposition and the Effects of Argon Ion Bombardment

The composition of SiOx films deposited by electron-beam evaporation of silicon in an oxygen atmosphere was measured as a function of silicon deposition rate and oxygen pressure. The compositions varied between X = 0.03 and 2.1 depending on the ratio of O2 molecules to Si atoms arriving at the substrate. Bombardment with 500 eV argon ions caused X to decrease at low arrival ratio and to increase at higher arrival ratio. The results are analyzed using an adsorption model in which chemisorption of O2 occurs after physisorption into one of two states: one on silicon and one on SiO2. A fit to the data for the unbombarded samples is achieved if physisorption occurs only on silicon. From this fit a sticking coefficient of 0.05 is obtained for O2 chemisorption on silicon. The effects of ion bombardment are consistent with the model if bombardment allows O2 to also physisorb on SiO2 and migrate to silicon where it chemisorbs.
Is the Punishment More Certain? An Analysis of CCTV Detections and Enforcement

The primary preventive mechanism of CCTV is considered to be deterrence. However, the relationship between CCTV and deterrence has been left implicit. Empirical research has yet to directly test whether CCTV increases the certainty of punishment, a key component of the deterrence doctrine. This study analyzes CCTV’s relation to punishment certainty in Newark, NJ. Across eight crime categories, CCTV and 9-1-1 calls-for-service case processing times and enforcement rates are compared through Mann-Whitney U and Fisher’s Exact tests, respectively, with a Holm-Bonferroni procedure correcting for multiple comparisons. ANOVA and negative binomial regression models further analyze the frequency of CCTV activity and the impact of various factors on the (downward) trend of detections and enforcement. Findings suggest that CCTV increases punishment certainty on a case-by-case basis. However, a reduction of CCTV activity caused by specific “surveillance barriers” likely minimized the effect of the enhanced enforcement.
Mitochondria in plants

It is plain from this survey that the opinions of the most competent investigators are in conflict on many important points. The tendency of many workers to dogmatize upon the physiological implications of the chondriome from morphological studies alone and to accept too implicitly the image presented by a cell fixed with various chemicals without adequately studying the effects of these chemicals upon the polyphase, colloidal system comprising the protoplast, has not contributed to a clearer understanding of the problem. There has been a plethora of isolated investigations and interpretations but no new experimental technic has brought us noticeably nearer to a solution of the problem. The significance of mitochondria in metabolism, reproduction and evolution, and their status in the cell community, whethersui generis or evanescent in nature, remain to be more adequately demonstrated. Opinion is still divided concerning them, and there is an equivalence of testimony thus far for many theories.
All Things Useful and Ornamental: A Praxis-based Model for Conservation Education

Conservation has matured into a professional discipline with its own body of knowledge, practical methodology and professional community of practitioners and educators. Conservation does not assume a priori a singular dedication to the physical fabric alone but rather to the entire resource including the associated intangible qualities, thus bringing the conservation process back into the social realm of people, places and things. In order to train skilled conservators in the physical and ethical exigencies of cultural heritage conservation, it is necessary to unite theory with practice. The University of Pennsylvania and the US National Park Service entered into a collaborative partnership in 1991 to explore the mutual needs for applied research and training in conservation and cultural resource management. This institutional collaboration has allowed a critical component of the professional training of conservators to be realized while providing much needed service to park sites. It has brought field-based problems into the academy where research protocols have been developed, tested and then re-introduced back into the field and most importantly it has exposed students to the complexities of ethical behaviour and professional conduct.
An offshore eddy in the California current system Part IV: Plankton distributions

Abstract The distribution of plankton across a warm-core eddy system in the California Current 400 km off Point Conception, California was studied in January 1981. The eddy system, about 150 km in diameter at the 7°C isotherm, was made up of a 75 m thick surface layer, a cold-core region extending from 75 m to about 200 m, and a warm-core eddy below 200 m extending to at least 1450 m. Casts for the vertical distribution of chlorophyll/phaeophytin and integrating zooplankton net tows were taken at 37 stations located about 20 km apart on two orthogonal transects across the eddy system. Vertical distributions of microplankton were determined on one section from the eddy center to beyond the eastern edge. Integrated chlorophyll/phaeophytin values were highest to the north and east of the eddy system; across the system itself, there was only a small increase of values near the center. Asymmetrical distributions of maximum concen Current water was being entrained into the center of the eddy system from the northeast. Dinoflagellates were numerically the most important member of the microplankton, especially in the deep chlorophyll maximum. Zooplankton distributions indicated the intermingling of warm and cool water species throughout at least the upper 200 m of the eddy system. Some cold water species were as abundant inside the system as outside to the north and east; their numbers were much reduced in a band surrounding the system where warm water species were most abundant. The presence of species characteristic of different water types throughout the region of the eddy system provides an indication of the mixing that had occurred since the system originally formed. The biological data, together with the physical and chemical results, indicate the importance of frontal boundary processes and lateral entrainment of surrounding water into the eddy system in determining the character and productivity of such systems.
Time Synchronization in Tandem Hot Strip Line Based on Improved Broadcast Mode

In order to solve the time synchronization problem in tandem hot strip line, the traditional algorithm of time synchronization was analyzed, and the server-client mode was compared with the broadcast mode using multithread technology, then the present paper improved the broadcast mode to improve its precision. The new method can estimate total delay including clock offset and network transmission time. A simple, easy and little loading time synchronization method was designed for the distributed process control system of tandem hot strip line. The new method was applied in domestic some tandem hot strip line successfully which showed that it could meet the demands of process control system with little expenses, simple structure and high precision.
Minding the Need for Specialists in Brain Diseases

A recent call for a new speciality in biologically based brain diseases is questioned on historical, empirical, and theoretical grounds. Psychiatry has oscillated between biological and psychosocial explanations for mental illness since its inception. Training in the biological basis of mental illness is and should be incorporated into psychiatric training, along with a balanced appreciation of the utility of psychotherapeutic and social intervention. Emphasis on only one aspect resurrects Cartesian dualism. Any disease, however biological in origin, is best treated by a clinician adept at multiple levels of understanding and intervention.
Getting the ‘MOST’ out of crop improvement

Unraveling the function of genes affecting agronomic traits is accelerating due to progress in DNA sequencing and other high-throughput genomic approaches. Characterized genes can be exploited by plant breeders by using either marker-aided selection (MAS) or transgenic procedures. Here, we propose a third ‘outlet', ‘molecular strengthening' (MOST), as alternative option for exploiting detailed molecular understanding of trait expression, which is comparable to the pharmaceutical treatment of human diseases. MOST treatments can be used to enhance yield stability. Alternatively, they can be used to control traits temporally, such as flowering time to facilitate crosses for plant breeders. We also discuss the essence for developing MOST treatments, their prospects, and limitations.
Cloned cellular reagents to define antigens encoded between HLA-DR and glyoxylase.

Abstract Primed lymphocyte typing reagents have been used to define antigens encoded by genes of a locus (loci) mapping between HLA-DR and glyoxylase. This locus, which we shall refer to as the third locus of the HLA-D region, has been variously referred to as Dβ, PLB, PL3 and SB. Generating discriminatory primed lymphocyte typing reagents which can be used to define these antigens, however, has been extremely difficult. Donors of responding and stimulating cells for the priming combinations have usually been matched not only for the DR, D, and MB/MT antigens but also for the HLA-A, -B, and -C antigens. Even under these very restricted conditions, not all bulk primed lymphocyte typing reagents that are generated are discriminatory enough to be useful for antigen definition. We have derived “clones” from bulk priming combinations in which stimulator and responder differed for known antigens of this third locus. Even though the bulk reagents that were prepared did not provide discriminatory results, approximately 7–12% of the clones derived from the bulk priming combination proved to be highly discriminatory. We have been able to obtain these results with regard to all three antigens of the third locus so far evaluated. The very ease of screening clones and deriving discriminatory reagents, as compared with screening responder-stimulator combinations, allows the ready derivation of cellular reagents that define the antigens of this third locus.
A mechanistically based model for high temperature notched LCF of rené 80

Abstract A mechanistically based model for prediction of the notched low cycle fatigue (LCF) life of the nickel-base superalloy Rene 80 is developed. The model is an extension of an oxidation kinetics model developed previously for smooth bars and incorporates the concept of available notch root grain boundaries. The model is based on light optical, scanning and transmission electron microscopy observations of tested notched fatigue bars in the 760–982°C temperature regime. Good correlation was obtained between predicted cycles to crack initiation and test results on smooth and notched K t = 2.22 and 3.49 bars fatigue tested at a strain rate of 50.0%/min at 982°C. Developed in support of an effort to improve mechanical modelling methods (based on finite element stress analysis), the model illustrates the necessity of combined mechanical and metallurgical approaches to resolve complex component life problems.
Mesh repair of inguinal hernias--redux.

An abdominal-wall hernia occurs when the abdominal contents protrude through a congenital or acquired defect in the supportive tissues. Although hernias can develop in many locations, including areas weakened by surgical incisions, they are most commonly identified in the groin or around the umbilicus. More than 800,000 hernia operations were performed in the United States in 2003; most of them were performed in men and on an outpatient basis, and most involved the use of mesh prostheses.1 Until the late 1980s, the standard method of inguinal hernia repair was the suturing of various fascial structures bordering the hernia defect. These . . .
ON TEACHING MARKETING COMPETITIVENESS

Competitive issues are comprehensive and global. Global competitiveness has driven U.S. technological competitiveness from being globally strong to globally losing or maybe lost (Shultz, 1991), and has caused U.S. manufacturing competitiveness to suffer (Enen, Jr., 1991). Although there is an immediate need for small and medium businesses in the United States to globalize, these same companies seem reluctant to get involved in overseas export opportunities (Mahone, Jr., 1991).
Familial primary biliary cirrhosis

To estimate the prevalence of primary biliary cirrhosis in family members with this disease and determine if a family history of primary biliary cirrhosis predisposes to the development of this disease, we performed a retrospective review of charts and a prospective mail survey of patients with primary biliary cirrhosis. Prevalence of primary biliary cirrhosis in family members of 405 patients with disease was compared to known prevalence of disease in the general population. Twenty-six patients with primary biliary cirrhosis had at least one family member with primary biliary cirrhosis. The estimated prevalence per 100 000 was 6420 or 6.4%. Exclusion of family members with primary biliary cirrhosis who were patients in our practice, in order to avoid duplication, changed the prevalence to 4282 per 100 000 or 4.3%. Affected family members included mothers, daughters, sisters, brothers, aunts and cousins. Estimates of prevalence of primary biliary cirrhosis are between 0.7 and 7.5 cases per 100 000. Therefore, compared to estimates in the general population, the prevalence of primary biliary cirrhosis in family members of patients with this disease is markedly increased. A family history of primary biliary cirrhosis is therefore a predisposing factor for the development of this disease.
Splenorenal bypass for right renal artery revascularization

Splenic artery to right renal artery bypass was used successfully for surgical correction of renovascular hypertension in an elderly patient. The technique used is described.
Subpicosecond ultraviolet multiphoton electron spectroscopy of rare gases

The line positions and linewidths of photoelectron spectra arising from multiphoton ionization are analyzed for the first reported time in the subpicosecond (0.5–1.0-psec) region. Measurements performed with 248-nm radiation at intensity level for which the quiver energy of the free-electron motion is comparable with the photon energy are an reported. The short-pulse property causes the photoelectron energy to become a dynamical variable associated with the process of ionization and significantly influences both the line positions and the linewidths of the observed electron spectra.
Predation ofOligonychus pratensis [Aca.: Tetranychidae] byPhytoseiulus persimilis andAmblyseius californicus [Aca.: Phytoseiidae] under controlled laboratory conditions

The predator efficacy ofPhytoseiulus persimilis Athias-Henriot andAmblyseius californicus (McGregor) (Acarina: Phytoseiidae) when feeding on the Banks grass mite (BGM),Oligonychus pratensis (Banks) (Tetranychidae), was compared under controlled laboratory conditions. Predation byP. persimilis andA. californicus reduced the BGM densities by 60% and 28%, respectively. In general, phytoseiids preferentially fed upon the more abundant instars. Ovipositional rates forP. persimilis while feeding on BGM approximated rates when feeding onTetranychus spp.
The solubility and stoichiometry of calcium-diethylenetriaminepenta(methylene phosphonate) at 70° in brine solutions at 4.7 and 5.0 pH

Abstract Phosphonic acids are commonly used as scale and corrosion inhibitors, but little is known about their solubility and stoichiometry. Hence, questions concerning the retention mechanisms of phosphonates in reservoir systems remain unanswered. A method is described in this paper to measure the solubility and stoichiometry of the phosphonates and is applied to diethylenetriaminepenta (methylene phosphonic acid) (DTPMP). The experiments reported herein were performed in 2.0 M brine solutions at 70°C for varying Ca and DTPMP concentrations at 4.7 and 5.0 pH. The conditional equilibrium constants of the Ca-DTPMP salts formed under the conditions of the experiment are 4.34 × 10−4 and 3.04 × 10−4 at pH values of 4.7 and 5.0, respectively. The stoichiometry of the solid phase precipitated in the experiments and the dominant solution complex are Ca3.5H3PHN·3H2O and Ca3H3PHN1− where PHN refers to the deprotonated DTPMP ligand. These results suggest that retention mechanisms involved in an inhibitor squeeze are either adsorption or precipitation/coprecipitation with cations other than Ca and/or other ligands.
Forced use treatment of childhood hemiparesis.

Objective. Forced use, or constraint-induced, movement therapy has shown some efficacy in the rehabilitation of adults with chronic hemiparesis as a result of stroke. We used restraint of the unimpaired arm to ascertain whether this would improve function of the paretic arm in children with chronic (>1 year) hemiparesis. Methods. Twelve hemiparetic treatment children (age 1–8 years) received a plaster cast on the unimpaired arm for 1 month; 13 hemiparetic control children did not. Peabody Developmental Motor Scales (PDMS) were performed on all treatment and control children immediately before and after casting and again 6 months later when controls crossed over to receive casts. Thus, PDMS were performed at entry, then 1 month, 6 months, and 7 months after entry. Any noted change in functional ability was also elicited by parental report. The frequency of visits to physical and occupational therapy was recorded. Results. The 12 treatment (casted) children improved 12.6 PDMS points after 1 month of casting; the 13 control children improved 2.5 points. Improved PDMS scores persisted 6 months later when 7 treatment children returned. Similar results were obtained in the crossover when 10 control children received casts. Parental report corroborated improvement in casted children (22 of 22 parents) and its persistence at follow-up (21 of 22 parents). Receiving ongoing physical/occupational therapy did not seem to account for these results: control children received more (2.1 visits/wk) than treatment children (1.4 visits/wk). Conclusions. Forced use can be an effective rehabilitation technique in children with chronic hemiparesis.
STATE ANTITAKEOVER LEGISLATION AND SHAREHOLDER WEALTH

The market reaction to state antitakeover legislation is examined case by case and in aggregate for six bills from four influential states that passed second-generation antitakeover statutes. Prior research offers mixed conclusions concerning the effect. In contrast to the reactions in some earlier studies, negative market reactions in this study are weak, producing little evidence of any permanent harm to shareholder wealth.
Hydrogen generation in a reverse‐flow microreactor: 1. Model formulation and scaling

A 1-D model for methane partial oxidation in a tubular microreactor is considered. This work is motivated by a recent report by Kikas et al. that experimentally demonstrated the possibility of autothermal generation of hydrogen by partial oxidation of methane in a tubular microreactor. The reactor consists of four cylindrical channels, each 500 microns in diameter, containing Pt/13%–Rh catalyst. Autothermal generation of hydrogen was possible in both unidirectional (UD) and reverse-flow (RF) operations of the reactor, with the RF operation providing better hydrogen yield and lower temperatures than those of the UD operation. Critical comparison of methane oxidation and reforming kinetics from the literature is performed. An analysis of the timescales of individual processes within the reactor is presented to gain fundamental insight into the reactor operation. Finally, the effect of radiation heat transfer is also considered, and it is found to play an important role for a shorter-size reactor. © 2005 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2005
Enhanced Thermostability of Lactase (Escherichia coli) in Milk

Denaturation of lactase in phosphate buffer was a first-order process with a half-life of 1.12 min at 60°C. Denaturation in milk was a biphasic first-order process with a half-life of 115 min at 60°C. Electrophoresis, isoelectric focusing and kinetic analysis all indicated the presence of two isozymes. The minor isozyme exhibited 9% of the total activity and was less thermostable in milk than the major isozyme. In the temperature range 53.5–60°C, the rate of denaturation of the major isozyme in milk was more than 100 times less than the rate in buffer. Arrhenius plots of denaturation in milk and buffer were biphasic. Above 56°C, Ea denaturation in milk and buffer was 187 Kcals/mole and 19.8 Kcals/mole, respectively; below 56°C Ea denaturation in milk and buffer was 36.8 Kcals/mole and 158 Kcals/mole, respectively.
Coexistent tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated periodic fever syndrome and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.

A 32-year-old Caucasian woman had periodic fevers, skin disease, polyarthralgia and hypermobile joints that were consistent with tumor necrosis factor receptor–associated periodic fever syndrome confirmed with a finding of R92Q missense mutation of the TNFRSFA1 gene with Ehlers–Danlos hypermobility type syndrome. They are both autosomal dominant disorders, and their coexistence suggests that they could share some phenotypic features that may require special consideration in management. Conceivably, they could share common gene mutations although no such data are available.
Research and future trends in the pharmaceutical development of medicinal herbs from Chinese medicine

Issues concerning the past and future development of medicinal herbs from Chinese medicine (CM) are addressed in this paper. In the Western world, medicinal herbs are becoming increasingly popular and important in the public and scientific communities. In contrast to their regulated status in China and other countries, herbal medicines are regarded as dietary supplements in the US. Accordingly, research must continue worldwide to identify and improve the efficacy of the active principals of herbs both singly and in combination -- from active ingredients, active fractions, and active herbal formulations. While Western medicine currently employs pure, single compounds, either natural or synthetic, CM has long used multiple combinations of compounds in the form of processed natural products, primarily medicinal herbs, to treat and relieve the symptoms of many different human diseases. CM may have fewer and less severe side effects than single pure drugs, making CM especially attractive to the consumer. In effect, CM's focus on combination therapy does serve both ancient and modern theories. However, research using modern analytical and chemical techniques is needed to ensure efficacy and safety, to provide qualitative and quantitative analyses for dietary supplements, and to develop new, effective and safe world-class drugs. Drug design is an iterative process. Bioactivity-directed fractionation and isolation identify active natural compounds from single herbs or formulations. These lead structures can be chemically modified and improved through knowledge of structure--activity relationship, mechanism of action, drug metabolism, molecular modelling and combinatorial chemistry studies. Finally, efficacy and toxicity determination as well as clinical trials can contribute to the generation of new drugs from CM. To continue the legacy of CM, as well as the worldwide uses of other medicinal herbs, continued investigation of active formulations, bioactive fractions, and isolated compounds is critical to drug development in the 21st century.
Notes on regeneration in stentor coeruleus

1) In the formation of a new peristomal field during fission of Stentor coeruleus, intercalation of new light stripes begins, before the peristomal band appears and may or may not be completed before the individuals separate. 2) In physiological regeneration and in regeneration after merotomy, the number of stripes in the frontal field is increased by intercalation of new light stripes, beginning several hours after the field has assumed its normal position. 3) Invagination of the pharynx, oblique constriction of the body, movement of the aboral end of the peristomal band across the dorsal stripes cut off by fission, and shifting of the cytoplasm are the chief factors concerned in bringing the lateral peristomal field of a dividing stentor into a terminal position. In merotomy there is, of course, no constriction, but the aboral end of the band advances around the distal end of the piece. 4) Regeneration after merotomy appears to be a modification or an adaptation of the process of physiological regeneration. 5) In pieces, from the right and from the dorsal sides of a stentor, containing no ramifying region, the new band develops along the distal portion of the line of union of the cut-edges. If an aboral portion of the old peristome is present, it forms a part of the regenerated peristome. 6) There is some evidence that new membranellae are formed at the cut end of a peristome from which the aboral end has been removed. 7) Non-nucleated parts of either regenerating or dividing stentors complete the formation of a peristome as stated byGruber. 8) If a stentor whose fission band has just appeared be divided by a dorso-ventral longitudinal section, concentration of the nucleus and constriction of the body will occur three or four hours later, simultaneously in the two halves.
DYNAMIC BEHAVIOR OF EXTRACTION REACTORS: APPLICATION OF THERMAL DECOMPOSITION MODELS

Consider that a solid reactant uniformly distributed within porous particles undergoes a thermal decomposition, allowing reaction products to diffuse out of the particles and to be carried away by a flowing solvent. Models of such an extraction reaction, characteristic of certain supercritical-fluid extractions, are examined for an axially-dispersed tubular reactor packed with spherical particles. The reaction mechanisms are first-order chemical reactions in parallel or series. Limiting cases of the well-stirred and plug-flow reactor, as well as linear driving-force particle mass transfer, are presented. It is demonstrated that reaction-product concentration histories in the reactor effluent are satisfactorily represented by the first term of a Laguerre polynomial expansion expressed in terms of temporal moments. Parameters from experimental data for supercritical fluid extraction of biomass are utilized to test the mathematical models.
Effect of Interosseous Membrane on Load Transfer in Rat Forelimb Using Finite Element Analysis

Due to the curvature of the ulna and the complex geometry of the ulna and radius as well and their interaction with and possible transfer of load through the interosseous membrane that joins them, an understanding of the loading situation is not trivial. The IOM might counteract the bending effect resulting from the curvature of the ulna, therefore stabilizing the lateral displacement of the ulna and decreasing the ratio between bending and compression. Thus, in order to understand the mechanisms underlying effects of the mechanical stimulation applied using the end-loading model of the ulna, it is necessary to have a fundamental understanding of the loading mechanics and strain distribution. Hence, the goals of this study were: i) to develop a three dimensional finite element mesh of a mature rat ulna, ii) to measure experimental surface strain values of rat forelimbs with intact and non-intact interosseous membranes, iii) to compare experimental and computational strain distribution data, and iv) to analyze for the first time the effect of the radius and interosseous membrane on axial load distribution through the ulna.Copyright © 2004 by ASME
Vegetation in subtropical formosa during the pleistocene glaciations and the holocene

Pollen analyses of three sections in central Taiwan (covering the Early Pleistocene and about the last 60,000 years) show several drastic vegetational changes with climatically (and, later, archaeologically) meaningful variations. A puzzling pollen assemblage, i.e., the boreal conifers (Abies, Picea, and Tsuga), and pine with pteridophytes, occurred in the Middle Waichiataoan stage (pollen zone W-2 possibly corresponding to the Praetiglian) that succeeded the early warm stage W-1. The Jih Tan core (745.5 m altitude) provides an important example of the Late Pleistocene vegetational history in the subtropics with an absolute chronological scale. The early Tali glacial stage (T-1) before ca. 60,000 B.P., is characterized by Symplocos, Tsuga chinensis, and Pinus, indicating that the temperature was 5.0–9.0°C cooler than today. The maximal Tali glacial stage (T-2), from some time subsequent to 60,000–50,000 B.P., contains predominantly the boreal conifers and pine, very low percentages of the temperate elements and plentiful aquatics (Trapa, Nuphar, and Persicaria). This was the coldest stage throughout the Late Pleistocene with a temperature decrease of 8.0–11.0°C, but nevertheless it permitted the growth of an eutrophic species of Trapa, in Jih-Yueh Tan. The last Tali glacial stage, from ca. 50,000 to 10,000 B.P., is dominated by the cool-temperate species (Cunninghamia konishii, Quercus, Ulmus, Zelkova, Juglans cathayensis, Ligustrum, and Salix). After the increase of temperature early in thi stage (between 45,000 and 40,000 B.P.), yet colder than the present, a short cooling phase came at around 35,000 B.P. An abundance of aquatic species and the formation of peat in the early Tali glacial time may indicate relatively dry summers, with perhaps a prevailing continental climate. In the Holocene,after about 10,000 B.P., the cool-temperate species were rapidly replaced by such subtropical and warm-temperate species as Mallotus paniculatus, Trema cf. orientalis, Liquidambar formosana, Castanopsis, Umbelliferae A type, and Cyathea. A sudden increase of chenopodiaceous and large-sized gras s pollen grains in both the Jih Tan Tashuiku Tan cores around 4,000 B.P., implies that agricultural activities have been intensified by new settlers from mainland China. A shrubby subtropical species (Mallotus) shows its peak during the Formosan hypsithermal interval.
Decision analytic approach to the weighted region problem

Weighted region problem is a generalization of the obstacle avoidance problem. By defining a midi pie-valued index, terrain patches can be distinguished on the basis of their traversability. This paper generalizes the weighted region problem by defining a probability distribution over the traversability indices hence reflecting one's uncertainty as to the true terrain condition. Path planning under uncertain traversability requires a proper framework for decision making. This paper proposes a formal approach to this problem using elements of decision analysis and states- of-the-world paradigm. The uncertainty over the traversability index, path length and planners preferences defined over the consequence space are all encapsulated into a single decision making step.
Characteristics of electrodes materials and their lifetime modeling for AMTEC

Abstract One major problem in the power output of alkali metal thermal to electric converter (AMTEC) is its decay with time. From the 18,000 h of laboratory testing on AMTEC, it was found that power output decreased from 2.48 to 1.27 W. One of the major causes of this decay is the grain growth of the electrodes. In this study, three electrodes have been studied in terms of their grain growth and a comparison of their performance has been made. Materials for those three electrodes, namely, RhW, Rh 2 W, and TiN have been tried. From this analysis, RhW was found to be the best electrode, whereas Rh 2 W was found to be the better electrode over TiN electrode. It was observed that power degradation of RhW electrode is 3.63% from grain growth effect. Power degradation by Rh 2 W and TiN electrodes were calculated to be 6.45 and 10.89%, respectively, due to grain growth.
Effect of dihydroergotamine and propranolol on dibutyryl cyclic 3',5'-AMP-induced lipolysis in isolated rat fat cells.

SummaryThe effect of dihydroergotamine on lipolysis was studied in isolated rat fat cells. It was found that DHE interferes with lipolytic action of NE, ACTH, theophylline, and dibutyryl cyclic AMP. DHE inhibits noncompetitively the lipolytic action of NE, but does inhibit competitively that of dibutyryl cyclic AMP. It is indicated that DHE inhibits the activation of hormone-sensitive lipase of NE, ACTH, and theophylline at biochemical site(s) subsequent to the increased production of cyclic AMP by these agents in rat adipose tissue.
Clinical progress in the treatment of exophthalmos of Graves' disease, with particular reference to the effect of pituitary surgery.

THE two chief manifestations of Graves' disease are hyperplastic goiter with hyperthyroidism and exophthalmos, the onsets of which usually are simultaneous. However, exophthalmos sometimes is the only manifestation of the disease. We consider Graves' disease to be the result of thyroidpituitary dysfunction. Exophthalmos that occurs in patients having Graves' disease is characterized not only by proptosis but also by various associated changes-These changes include retraction of the eyelids and manifestations resulting from increase in bulk of periocular tissues. This increase in bulk is caused by increases in the amount of fat and of mucopolysaccharides, and by an edema that has been proved not to be associated with an excess of water in the tissues (1, 2). The extraocular muscles become enlarged and infiltrated with fat and lymphocytes; eventually they become paralyzed and fibrosed. The proptosis may be extreme, with slight swelling of the lids and conjunctiva. Troublesome symptoms usually include a burn...
Screening for Breast and Cervical Cancer: Understanding the Different Recommendations

Evidence-based screening guidelines issued by national organizations sometimes contradict each other, leading to confusion among health care providers and the women they care for. This article summarizes the most recent guidelines for breast and cervical cancer screening and notes where they concur and where they diverge.
Thermodynamic analysis of polymer-solid adhesion: Sticker and receptor group effects

Adhesion of dense linear polymer chains containing a small number of randomly distributed sticker groups (ϕX) to a solid substrate containing receptor groups (ϕY) has been analyzed by a single-chain scaling approach. An entanglement sink probability (ESP) model motivated by vector percolation explains the nonmonotonic influences of sticker concentration (ϕX), receptor concentration (ϕY), and their interaction strength (χ) on the adhesion strength GIC of the polymer-solid interface. The ESP model quantifies the degree of interdigitation between adsorbed and neighboring chains on the basis of the adsorbed chain domain with an extension of the scaling treatment of de Gennes. Here, the adsorbed chain domain changes thermodynamically with respect to the energy of interaction parameter, r = χϕXϕY. This model considers the situation of a blend consisting of a small volume fraction of adhesive molecules as a compatibilizer at the interface, where these molecules promote adhesion by adsorbing to the surface via sticker-receptor interactions. The percolation model scales solely with r = χϕXϕY, and this parameter can be related to both the adhesive potential (GA) and the cohesive potential (GC). GA describes adhesive failure between adsorbed chains and the solid surface and linearly behaves as GA ∼ r = χϕXϕY. The cohesive strength between adsorbed and neighboring chains corresponds to GC ∼ r−0.5∼−1.0 = (χϕXϕY)−0.5∼−1.0. When the fracture stresses for cohesive and adhesive failure are equal, the model predicts maximum adhesion strength at an optimal value of r* = (χϕXϕY)*. Thus, for a given χ value, optimal values ϕ and ϕ exist for the sticker and receptor groups, above or below which the fracture energy will not be optimized. Alternatively, if the X-Y interaction strength χ increases, then the number of sticker groups required to achieve the optimum strength decreases. Significantly, the optimum strength is not obtained when the surface is completely covered with receptor groups (ϕY = 1) but is closer to 30%. For polybutadiene, the optimum value of r* was determined experimentally (Lee, I.; Wool, R. P. JAdhesion 2001, 75, 299), and typically ϕ ≈ 1–3%, ϕ ≈ 25–30%. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 40: 2343–2353, 2002
Developmental Aspects of Borderline Personality Disorder

This study examined whether patients with borderline personality disorder and controls with other personality disorders remember their childhoods differently with respect to separation difficulties...
CONFESSIONS OF A TEACHER: Why Am I Doing it the Way I Am?

I have been teacing in Higher Education for most of the past twenty years, long enouch to do it without much thought or reflection. doing pretty much the same thing semester after semester. This is the story of how I was challenged to think about what I was doing and how I was doing it, and to experiment with new ways of effectively engaging my students in the process of learning. It meant changing almost everything in the midst of the semester. It was both challenging and exciting.
TABLEFS: enhancing metadata efficiency in the local file system

File systems that manage magnetic disks have long recognized the importance of sequential allocation and large transfer sizes for file data. Fast random access has dominated metadata lookup data structures with increasing use of B-trees on-disk. Yet our experiments with workloads dominated by metadata and small file access indicate that even sophisticated local disk file systems like Ext4, XFS and Btrfs leave a lot of opportunity for performance improvement in workloads dominated by metadata and small files. In this paper we present a stacked file system, TABLEFS, which uses another local file system as an object store. TABLEFS organizes all metadata into a single sparse table backed on disk using a Log-Structured Merge (LSM) tree, LevelDB in our experiments. By stacking, TABLEFS asks only for efficient large file allocation and access from the underlying local file system. By using an LSM tree, TABLEFS ensures metadata is written to disk in large, non-overwrite, sorted and indexed logs. Even an inefficient FUSE based user level implementation of TABLEFS can perform comparably to Ext4, XFS and Btrfs on data-intensive benchmarks, and can outperform them by 50% to as much as 1000% for metadata-intensive workloads. Such promising performance results from TABLEFS suggest that local disk file systems can be significantly improved by more aggressive aggregation and batching of metadata updates.
Ada: A new programming language: The Department of Defense developed an incredible new programming language and named it in honor of Ada Lovelace, the world's first programmer

In an attempt to control defense software costs while maintaining system reliability, the DOD (Department of Defense) has sponsored the development of a new programming language, called Ada. While Ada supports many of the features found in Fortran and Pascal, it has additional features making it easier and more reliable to use in large complex engineering software systems. Currently, the DOD is requiring that many new defense software systems be written in Ada. The author reviews the history of Ada's development and examines the primary constructs of the language. The philosophy behind Ada program design is reviewed by designing and coding a simple program to add two matrices. Ada's future prospects are examined as related to both defense and nondefense applications.
Egocentric organization of spatial activities in imagined navigation.

Studies onspatial frameworks suggest that the way we locate objects in imagined environments is influenced by the physical and functional properties of the world and our body. The present study provides evidence that such an influence also characterizes imagined navigation. In Experiment 1, participants followed spatial directions to construct an imagined path, while either keeping constant or updating their orientation at each step. A pattern of step times diagnostic of spatial frameworks was obtained in the updated-orientation but not in the constant-orientation condition. In Experiment 2, participants performed the updated-orientation condition with two levels of external support for the reference frame being used. Step times conformed to the predictions of spatial frameworks in both conditions. Both experiments also provided support that the processes involved in imagined navigation exhibit the operator-operand dynamics of other mental skills previously documented in the mental arithmetic domain. These results reinforce Piaget’s (1954) notion that spatial displacements and integer arithmetic share a set of structural characteristics.
MHC signaling during social communication.

The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) has been known to play a critical role in immune recognition since the 1950s. It was a surprise, then, in the 1970s when the first report appeared indicating MHC might also function in social signaling. Since this seminal discovery, MHC signaling has been found throughout vertebrates and its known functions have expanded beyond mate choice to include a suite of behaviors from kin-biased cooperation, parent-progeny recognition to pregnancy block. The widespread occurrence of MHC in social signaling has revealed conserved behavioral-genetic mechanisms that span vertebrates and includes humans. The identity of the signal’s chemical constituents and the receptors responsible for the perception of the signal have remained elusive, but recent advances have enabled the identification of the key components of the behavioral circuit. In this chapter we organize recent findings from the literature and discuss them in relation to four nonmutually exclusive models wherein MHC functions as a signal of (i) individuality, (ii) relatedness, (iii) genetic compatibility and (iv) quality. We also synthesize current mechanistic studies, showing how knowledge about the molecular basis of MHC signaling can lead to elegant and informative experimental manipulations. Finally, we discuss current evidence relating to the primordial functions of the MHC, including the possibility that its role in social signaling may be ancestral to its central role in adaptive immunity.
Hydrologic and biotic influences on nitrate removal in a subtropical spring‐fed river

We use a long-term chemical and hydrologic record in combination with longitudinal sampling and highfrequency nitrate (NO { ) measurements from in situ sensors to describe temporal and spatial patterns of nitrogen (N) inputs and removal in the spring-fed Ichetucknee River (Columbia County, Florida) and to determine the hydrological, geomorphic, and biological factors that influence those dynamics. Over a 20-yr period of record, NO32N removal averaged 118 kg N d21 (0.77 g N m22 d21) over the upper 5 km of the Ichetucknee River. Three independent estimates of gross autotrophic N assimilation (from gross primary production, diel NO { variation, and standing biomass) agreed closely but accounted for less than 20% of observed N removal. Longitudinal surveys indicate negligible or negative dissolved organic nitrogen and ammonium (NH z ) production, suggesting that denitrification is the predominant mechanism of N removal in this river. A positive relationship between discharge and the magnitude of NO32N removal shows that interactions with the surrounding floodplain exert considerable influence at high flows, and longitudinal NO { patterns indicate that N removal may be influenced by channel morphology. These results suggest a greater role for dissimilatory processes and hydrologic connectivity with hyporheic and floodplain sediments than has been previously recognized in highly productive spring-fed rivers of north Florida. While hydrologic variation is the primary determinant of variation in NO { removal within the Ichetucknee River, comparison across systems indicates that biotic characteristics can cause significant deviation from predictions based on purely physical models of relationships between river size and N removal.
A discrete-time robotic command generator

A discrete-time command generator that accepts position and orientation trajectories in Cartesian space and produces position, velocity, and acceleration trajectories in joint space is presented. Discrete-time command generators can be obtained from their continuous-time counterparts by using any standard numerical procedure to solve the nonlinear differential equation at a discrete set of points. However, existing numerical procedures require multiple function evaluations per input point to achieve an accurate solution. A novel technique is presented that achieves an accurate solution with only one function evaluation per input point. The application of the scheme to six degree-of-freedom manipulators is demonstrated through simulation results for a spherical-wrist robot. >