cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Rumination as a Mediator of the Association Between Racial Discrimination and Depression Among Black Youth

Racial discrimination constitutes a significant risk factor for depressive symptoms among Black youth. Rumination, a maladaptive self-regulatory stress response, is a notable pathway by which racial discrimination contributes to depressive symptoms among racial/ethnic minority adults. Yet, examinations of the mechanistic nature of rumination in the context of racial discrimination among racial/ethnic minority youth remain limited. The present study investigated rumination as a mediator of the association between racial discrimination and depressive symptoms among Black youth. Data for the current study were drawn from baseline questionnaire responses of community recruited Black pre-and-early adolescents (N = 158, 53% female, Mage = 11.50) in the southeast USA participating in an ongoing longitudinal study examining the effects of interpersonal stressors on youth mental health outcomes. After adjusting for age and gender, mediation analyses revealed a significant indirect effect of racial discrimination on depressive symptoms through rumination, estimate = 0.29, 95% confidence interval [0.12, 0.47]. Racial discrimination was positively associated with rumination (b = .74, SE = .23, p = .001), and rumination, in turn, was positively associated with depressive symptoms (b = .40, SE = .06, p < .001). Consistent with previous research, we found racial discrimination to be directly and indirectly associated with depressive symptoms among Black youth. Findings provide evidence of the cognitive burden of discriminatory experiences and suggest that rumination represents a potential pathway that can be targeted at early developmental stages to reduce the deleterious impact of racism-related stressors.
Case 20: The One-Eyed Patient

You have been working for 6 months in a mission hospital in South Sudan. A civil war is ongoing. A 32-year-old female is scheduled for a right breast lumpectomy under general anesthesia. She weighs 68 kg and is 5 feet 10 inches tall. Her past history is significant for an enucleation of the right eye following a knife attack 8 months previously. She has a glass eye but prefers to wear a large black (pirate) eye patch that covers the whole orbit including the eyebrows. She refuses to take off the eye patch. She has a Class 1 airway. After sedation with midazolam 1 mg IV, she is taken to the operating room where a routine general anesthetic, with fentanyl, thiopental, and vecuronium, is induced uneventfully. Mask ventilation with sevoflurane in 100% oxygen proves to be difficult, as a large leak is detected around her face. A new larger and well-inflated face mask is placed over her mouth and nose, but there is still a large leak present. By increasing the fresh gas flow to 12 l, the patient is easy to ventilate, but the leak is still present and everyone in the room can smell the sevoflurane. Again you quickly perform a pressure leak test on the anesthetic absorber circuit (you did it before you started), but you find nothing wrong. Another anesthesiologist is brought in to hold the mask with both hands while you elect to ventilate the patient with the reservoir bag. Despite this, the leak is still there. Her vital signs remain stable with oxygen saturation of 94%. There is no end-tidal monitor. You are concerned about this unexplained leak and are reluctant to place an endotracheal tube into her trachea as you don’t know what other problems you may encounter.
The RHIC Spin Program: Snapshots of Progress

I review progress toward the experimental study of polarized proton collisions at RHIC, at center-of-mass energies of several hundred GeV. The tools under development for these experiments are summarized, with emphasis on the complementarity for the spin program of the two major detectors, PHENIX and STAR. The proposed research program includes measurements of the spin structure of hadrons, tests of QCD predictions for spin observables, and polarization searches for interactions beyond the Standard Model. I argue, in particular, that RHIC should provide the best determination of the gluonic contribution to proton spin foreseen for the coming decade.
How Do They Die? Medical-Engineering Data From On-Scene Investigations of Fatal Automobile Accidents

ON-SCENE INVESTIGATIONS OF 104 FATAL ACCIDENTS INVOLVING 136 FATALITIES SHOWED THAT EJECTION FROM THE VEHICLE WAS THE LEADING CAUSE OF THE FATALITIES. THE DATA INDICATE THAT THE MAJORITY OF THESE VICTIMS COULD HAVE SURVIVED BY THE USE OF THE SIMPLE LAP SEAT BELT. TO DECREASE THE NUMBER OF FATAL INJURIES FROM AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENTS, FUTURE DESIGNS OF AUTOMOBILE INTERIORS MUST INCLUDE ADEQUATE CRASH ATTENUATION FEATURES./NSC/
Narcotic withdrawal in pregnancy: Stillbirth incidence with a case report

Abstract A stillborn infant was born to a drug-addicted mother who had withdrawal symptoms shortly before delivery. Mechanisms are presented to help explain the possible relationship between the maternal withdrawal and the fetal death. Statistics are also presented to show an increased stillborn and neonatal mortality rate in the over-all pregnant drug-addicted population.
Experience with ceramic coatings

The procedures and techniques used in the application of a ceramic coating and the detection of its crack pattern on structural components are described in detail. Several examples illustrating the unique capabilities of this versatile tool are presented.
Defining yourself: tolerance development in the immune system.

It was 25 years ago that I first came to Boston, just having completed my graduate work in John Niederhuber’s laboratory at the University of Michigan. In 1981, I started my postdoctoral fellowship in Emil Unanue’s laboratory at Harvard Medical School. My research interests, then and now,
Infection and tissue engineering in segmental bone defects-a mini review

As tissue engineering becomes more of a clinical reality through the ongoing bench to bedside transition, research in this field must focus on addressing relevant clinical situations. Although most in vivo work in the area of bone tissue engineering focuses on bone regeneration within sterile, surgically created defects, there is a growing need for the investigation of bone tissue engineering approaches within contaminated or scarred wound beds, such as those that may be encountered following traumatic injury or during delayed reconstruction/regeneration. Significant work has been performed in the area of local drug delivery via biomaterial carriers, but there is little intersection in the available literature between antibiotic delivery and tissue regeneration. In this review, we examine recent advances in segmental bone defect animal models, bone tissue engineering, and drug delivery with the goal of identifying promising approaches and areas needing further investigation towards developing both a better understanding of and new tissue engineering approaches for addressing infection control while simultaneously initiating bone regeneration.
Flemish consumer attitudes towards more sustainable food choices

Intensive agricultural practices and current western consumption patterns are associated with increased ecological pressure. One way to reduce the ecological impact could be a shift to more sustainable food choices. This study investigates consumer opinions towards a series of food choices with a lower ecological impact. The investigated food choices range from well-known meat substitutes to alternatives which are more radical or innovative and that require an adaptation of food habits and cultural patterns. Results are obtained through a survey among 221 Flemish respondents in Spring 2011. Many consumers underestimate the ecological impact of animal production. Well-known alternatives such as organic meat, moderation of meat consumption and sustainable fish are accepted, although willingness to pay is clearly lower than willingness to consume. Consumers are more reluctant to alternatives that (partly) ban or replace meat in the meal. Opportunities of introducing insects currently appear to be non-existent. Five consumer segments were identified based on self-evaluated ecological footprint and personal relevance of the ecological footprint. The segments were termed Conscious, Active, Unwilling, Ignorant and Uncertain. A profile in terms of demographics, attitudinal and behavioral characteristics is developed for each segments, and conclusions with respect to opportunities for sustainable food choices are discussed.
Early Recognition of Autism: Parental Reports vs Clinical Observation

Objective: To determine which behavioral characteristics of autism are apparent in early childhood and to examine the relative contributions of clinical observation and parental reports to early identification of autism. Design: Blinded comparison of behavioral data obtained through parental reports and clinical observation. Setting: Child development referral center. Patients: Twenty-six children (23 boys and three girls) younger than age 48 months with a clinical diagnosis of autism. Selection Procedures: Consecutive sample. Interventions: None. Measurements and Results: Social interaction, communication, and activities and interests were evaluated using standard diagnostic criteria for autism. Results suggested that deficits in the areas of social interaction, imitation, play, and nonverbal communication are more prominent than insistence on sameness and routines in young children with autism. Also, parental reports and clinical observation appear to detect different aspects of abnormal behavior patterns in this sample. Conclusions: Improved awareness of the early signs of autism should help physicians recognize this disorder in a timely manner. Further research may identify how observation of play and parental reports might be incorporated efficiently into a physician's repertoire of developmental and behavioral screening tools. (Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1994;148:174-179)
Recovery and utilization of useful by-products from egg processing wastewater by electrocoagulation

Abstract The efficacy of a laboratory electrocoagulation (EC) system for treating egg processing plant waste-water (WW) is reported. For simulated and industrial egg processing WW, chemical oxygen demand, turbidity, and total suspended solids (TSS) were reduced 92 to 97%, 97%, and 99%, respectively, after treatment with EC. The final TSS concentration and turbidity values were 30 mg/L and 5 formazin turbidity units (FTU), respectively, similar to that of potable water standards. The recovered by-product solids had a similar pattern of essential amino acids compared to that of liquid whole egg and were comparable to the Food Agriculture Organization's essential amino acid profile for an ideal protein. The relative protein digestibilities of the recovered solids and a commercial corn meal averaged 130 and 56%, respectively, compared to liquid whole egg (set at 100%). An economic analysis of EC indicated that this treatment is economically feasible in that a savings of approximately $425,000 per year is possible in addition to recovering the capital equipment costs after about 14 mo of operation. These findings demonstrate that EC can be successfully applied to treat egg processing plant WW, yielding a high quality water suitable for recycling and valuable by-products having a highly digestible protein and fat value.
Pointing control system for the Eclipse mission

This paper describes the high precision pointing control system for the Eclipse telescope. Eclipse is a mission under study at the Jet propulsion Laboratory. Eclipse is a space telescope that uses a coronagraph for high-contrast optical astronomy to study planets around nearby stars. Eclipse observations require very precise pointing, 0.01 arcseconds (3- σ) during the exposure periods that could be as long as 1000 seconds. This study shows a two layer pointing approach for achieving these requirements. In the first layer, the spacecraft ACS stabilizes the line-of-sight to 0.15 arcseconds (3- σ). In the second layer, a Fine Steering Mirror centers the star in the occulting mask to the 0.01 arcseconds (3-σ). The knowledge needed to achieve the desired pointing accuracy is provided by a Fine Guidance Camera. In addition, structural and thermal induced jitter is minimized by design, and through the use of reaction wheel isolators and operational constraints.© (2006) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Hippocampal blood flow in normal aging measured with arterial spin labeling at 3T

Due to methodological difficulties related to the small size, variable distribution of hippocampal arteries, and the location of the hippocampus in the proximity of middle cranial fossa, little is known about hippocampal blood flow (HBF). We have tested the utility of a pulsed ASL sequence based on multi-shot TrueFISP to measure HBF in 34 normal volunteers (17 women, 17 men, 26-92 years old). Flow sensitivity to a mild hypercapnic challenge was also examined. Coregistered 3D MPRAGE sequence was used to eliminate from hippocampal and cortical regions of interest all voxel with <75% of gray matter. Large blood vessels were also excluded. HBF in normal volunteers averaged 61.2±9.0 ml/(100g min). There was no statistically significant age or gender effect. Under a mild hypercapnia challenge (end tidal CO2 pressure increase of 6.8±1.9 mg Hg over the baseline), HBF response was 14.1±10.8 ml/(100g min), whereas cortical gray matter flow increased by 18.0±12.2 ml/(100g min). Flow response among women was significantly larger than in the men. The average absolute difference between two successive HBF measures was 3.6 ml/(100g min), or 5.4%. The 3T TrueFISP ASL method offers a HBF measurement strategy that combines good spatial resolution, sensitivity, and minimal image distortions.
The Measurement of Optical and Dielectric Properties of Materials

This paper reviews optical and dielectric measurement techniques developed over approximateiy seventeen years in the frequency range one MHz to 18,000 GHz. It is necessary to employ varieties of measurement techniques to cover this extensive range of frequencies and to cope with material problems such as absorption characterisitics, size, thickness, shape and temperature of specimens.
CP asymmetry in K±→π±π0

Abstract The CP violating asymmetry [ Γ (K + → π + π 0 ) − Γ (K − → π − π 0 )] / [ Γ (K + → π + π 0 )+ Γ (K − → π − π 0 )] due to isospin breaking effects is estimated. It is found that the dominant contribution to the asymmetry comes from an electromagnetic correction to the weak amplitude, yielding a value of order 10 −6 . Isospin breaking terms due to quark masses do not contribute to the asymmetry.
CD40/TRAF6 switch in neointimal hyperplasia

An article by Donner and colleagues in this issue of Blood describes a specific role for the CD40L/CD40/TRAF6 signaling axis in neointima formation upon carotid injury. In this model, several key parameters of neointimal remodeling are demonstrated to be dependent on CD40 signaling through the TRAF6 binding site, but not the TRAF2,3,5 binding site.
Neurochemical and behavioral effects of diet related perinatal folic acid restriction.

Abstract Some effects of restricting dietary folic acid during the perinatal period on tissue folate and S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) concentrations and on behavior were examined in 35-day-old DBA/2J mice. In one study dams were started on diets containing no folate (FO), 1.1 mg of folic acid/kg diet (F1.1) or 9.9 mg of folic acid/kg diet (F9.9) on the day of parturition. In a second study some mice were started on the FO or F9.9 diets 6–7 days prior to parturition and some remained on lab chow (LC). The dams and their pups remained on their assigned diets until offspring were killed for biochemical assays. The major findings of the 2 studies are: (1) that eleminating folic acid from diets of dams and developing pups from birth or 1 week prior to birth causes a reduction of folate in brain tissue; (2) that reduction in brain tissue is not as severe as that of liver; (3) that initiating the folate free diet 1 week prior to birth causes reductions in body, liver, and brain weights and in activity levels of surviving offspring; and (4) that offspring of dams started on either the FO or F9.9 diet one week prior to parturition are less viable and have lower levels of SAM in brain tissue than animals reared on the LC diets.
Adolescent psychopathology: IV. Specificity of psychosocial risk factors for depression and substance abuse in older adolescents.

ABSTRACT Objective To determine the specificity to major depressive disorder (MDD) of a wide array of psychosocial risk factors in older adolescents (aged 14 through 18 years). Method Diagnostic and psychosocial assessments were conducted with 1,507 randomly selected high school students at T 1 and after approximately 1 year (T 2 ). Three diagnostic groups were compared: those who had an episode of MDD during that year ( n = 90), those who had an episode of substance use disorder during that year (SUD) ( n = 42), and a control group with no disorder ( n = 1,189). Results Risk factors specific to MDD were stress (minor and major events), emotional reliance, physical symptoms and disease, history of suicide attempt, and a past episode of depression or anxiety disorder. Risk factors specific to SUD were tobacco use, academic difficulties, and a past episode of SUD. Risk factors that were shared were current depression symptoms, internalizing and externalizing behavior problems, coping skills, interpersonal conflict with parents, and dissatisfaction with grades. Conclusions By determining the number of risk factors for MDD, for SUD, or those that are general to both disorders, clinicians can make informed predictions concerning the probable future onset of a full-fledged episode of MDD and/or SUD in individual cases. The results of this study allow for the identification of adolescents who are at elevated risk for MDD and SUD. The results also have implications for the design of interventions aimed at preventing the occurrence of these disorders. Such interventions should target change on risk factors of the type identified in this study.
Human parainfluenza virus type 1 but not Sendai virus replicates in human respiratory cells despite IFN treatment

Sendai virus (SeV) and human parainfluenza virus type I (hPIV1) are highly homologous but have distinct host ranges, murine versus human. To identify the factors that affect the host specificity of parainfluenza viruses, we determined the infectivity and anti-IFN activities of SeV and hPIV1 in human and murine culture cells. SeV infected normal human lung MRC-5 and murine lung MM14.Lu or MLg2908 cells efficiently. Infection with SeV induced the release of IFN-beta into culture medium in MRC-5 cells at similar levels with that of cells infected with hPIV1. SeV or hPIV1 infections, as well as expression of SeV or hPIV1 C proteins, inhibited the nuclear localization of STAT1 induced by IFN-beta, suggesting that both SeV and hPIV1 C proteins block the IFN Jak/STAT pathway in MRC-5 cells. Pretreatment of MRC-5 cells with IFN suppressed replication of SeV and hPIV1 at an early stage of infection. However, hPIV1 overcame this suppression while SeV did not. SeV replication was restored in IFN-beta pretreated murine MM14.Lu cells, suggesting SeV anti-IFN activity is species specific. These results suggest that SeV is less effective than hPIV1 in overcoming antiviral activity in human cells, which could be one of the factors that restrict the host range of SeV.
Dual Field Theory of Quarks and Gluons

The 10-dimensional space-time of the spinor dual model is interpreted as the product of ordinary 4-dimensional space-time and a 6-dimensional compact domain, whose size is so small that it is as yet unobserved. This leads to an SU(4) symmetry group with quarks in both a 4 and a 4 multiplet.
Software development: an international perspective

Abstract In recent years, the worldwide software market has expanded rapidly, creating economies of scale that never existed before. Software-development costs, however, are rising steadily with no limit in sight. Just as substantial quantities of manufactured goods have been produced in developing countries to take advantage of lower labor cost, some firms have started joint software development with partners in developing countries to utilize the same advantage. Cooperation of this type will become increasingly important in the future due to economic incentives. This article examines the key economic, managerial, and technical factors affecting decisions concerning such joint software developments. Different models and practices for joint software development are suggested and discussed.
Gender Differences in Asthma Experience and Disease Care in a Managed Care Organization

The purpose of this study was to describe gender differences in asthma in a managed care organization. We collected data from a patient survey, electronic administrative data, and hard-copy chart reviews. Women reported significantly lower general health status, more symptoms and greater severity of asthma, more activity limitations, more use of asthma-relieving medications, and more acute visits for asthma than men. Conversely, women tended to report better asthma care measures. These gender disparities warrant further study to support appropriate adjustment of clinical care and health-care-related services for women.
Androgens Alter B Cell Development in Normal Male Mice

Castration of normal male mice leads to splenic enlargement and expansion of the B cell population. Since the spleen does not express receptors for androgens, these changes are most likely mediated by effects of androgens on other target organs. Two potential sites of androgen-mediated effects on B cells are evaluated in these studies: thymus and bone marrow. We first confirmed other findings indicating that castration of normal male mice results in expansion in the numbers of bone marrow B cells and then extended these observations by showing that these changes were reversible following androgen replacement. B cell expansion in castrate marrow and spleen was not altered by prior thymectomy, suggesting that thymic androgen receptors are not involved in the observed effects. Androgen receptors were found to be present in both immature B cells and marrow stromal cells by immunoblotting and ligand binding assays. The results suggest a direct modulatory role for androgens on B cells within the bone marrow compartment.
Supercritical Marine-Layer Flow along a Smoothly Varying Coastline

Abstract A model for hydraulically supercritical atmospheric marine-layer flow along a smoothly varying coastline is formulated and solved numerically. The model is motivated by a recent comparison of CODE observations to a simple hydraulic theory, which suggested the presence of an expansion fan and a compression jump downstream of topographic features. The marine layer is modeled as a homogeneous rotating fluid layer decelerated by surface friction and forced by imposed upper-level pressure gradients. The equations are solved by a characteristic-based gridpoint scheme. The results indicate that the expansion fan is a robust feature that persists under most conditions in the present more realistic model, but is dramatically altered in structure by the presence of friction, while the jump may weaken rapidly offshore due mainly to offshore variations of the layer height upstream of the jump. The agreement between observations and model predictions is good enough to suggest that a first-order description of...
Clarification of the esophageal function defect in patients with manometric ineffective esophageal motility: studies using combined impedance-manometry

Abstract Background & Aims: Combined multichannel intraluminal impedance (MII) and manometry (MII-EM) recently became available as an esophageal function test. Initial studies in healthy volunteers have shown that a proportion of ineffective contractions actually have complete bolus transit. The aim of our study is to evaluate esophageal bolus transit in patients with manometric patterns of ineffective esophageal motility (IEM). Methods: All patients referred for esophageal function testing during a 9-month period underwent combined MII-EM studies, including 10 liquid and 10 viscous swallows. IEM is defined as ≥30% liquid swallows with contraction amplitude
Aircraft push back direction indicator

One of the common ramp activities in an airport is the push-back operation. It involves an aircraft being pushed back off the airport terminal gates (in the apron area) and aligning it towards a taxiway leading to the designated runway prior to departure. The aircraft is assigned a designated taxiway depending on traffic conditions and once the aircraft is aligned with the corresponding taxiway, the taxiway is activated for taxing using ground lighting. There is a need to automatically identify the direction of the aircraft alignment after pushback so as to ensure correct alignment and also to activate the corresponding taxiway. In this paper, a novel real-time solution is proposed for automatically detecting the aircraft pushback direction time using feeds from existing video cameras installed at the gates. The algorithm achieves this objective by obtaining the most stable and significant optical flows from the scene sequence using motion-based segmentation and simultaneous calculation of their orientation direction. Algorithm is designed to perform well during day/nightconditions, in deteriorating climatic conditions with very poor visibility and at low resolution (160×120) and low fps (less than 5 fps).
Glycated haemoglobin, plasma glucose and diabetic retinopathy: cross-sectional and prospective analyses

Among Pima Indians with Type 2 (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus the relationships between glycated haemoglobin (HbA1), fasting or 2-h post-load plasma glucose and diabetic retinopathy were examined by cross-sectional and prospective analyses, and the strengths of the associations were directly compared by receiver operating characteristic analysis. In the cross-sectional analysis, HbA1, fasting and 2-h plasma glucose were each significantly related to retinopathy among 789 diabetic subjects by separate logistic models. In a stepwise multiple logistic model in which HbA1, fasting and 2-h plasma glucose were included, HbA1 was selected as having the strongest association with retinopathy and neither fasting nor 2-h plasma glucose contributed significantly to the model once HbA1 was entered. Similarly, in the prospective analysis, HbA1, fasting and 2-h plasma glucose all predicted retinopathy in 227 diabetic subjects by separate proportional-hazards models. In a stepwise proportional-hazards model with HbA1, fasting and 2-h plasma glucose available to the model, HbA1 was again selected as having the strongest association with the incidence of retinopathy, and neither fasting nor 2-h plasma glucose significantly added to the prediction of retinopathy. A receiver operating characteristic analysis was used to determine if HbA1 was statistically significantly better than fasting or 2-h plasma glucose in assessing the risk for retinopathy. In neither the cross-sectional nor the prospective data did the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for HbA1 differ significantly from that for fasting or 2-h plasma glucose (p>0.05 for each). In conclusion, HbA1, an integrated measure of blood glucose concentration over a period of 2–3 months, is slightly more closely associated with the prevalence and incidence of diabetic retinopathy than a single blood glucose determination. However, the differences between HbA1 and fasting or 2-h plasma glucose in assessing the association with or the risk for retinopathy are not significant.
Erwin Straus and the Problem of Individuality

In the present paper I propose to develop one central and recurrent theme of Erwin Straus's writings, that of human individuality. My emphasis on the problem of individuality represents a necessary departure from contemporary commentary on Straus, particularly as Straus's earlier works now become accessible to the English-speaking audience (Straus, 1925,1927, 1930). The immediate context for Straus's work in the 1920s and 1930s was the movement of anthropological psychiatry, a movement with strong existential overtones. Most commentary today, with its emphasis on the phenomenological aspects of Straus's writings, overlooks this theme of individuality. If we accept the notion that the statements of an author's youth are particularly revealing of the passions and concerns of his life, then we must take pause and reflect on the title of Erwin Straus's first Habilitations shcrift?Das Problem der Individualit?t, The Problem of Individuality (1926). In this difficult and often obscure work, he attempted to articulate an ontology of individuality by means of ontological reflections on the thing, the organism, and the person.1 The medical faculty in Berlin rejected this work as unduly philosophical. Straus contended, however, that issues of human
Application of the singularity function method to semi-infinite orthotropic rectangular plates on an elastic foundation

The singularity function method is applied to solve the structural problems of semi-infinite orthotropic rectangular plates on a Winker-type elastic foundation. Previous application by Selek et al. (Int. J. Mech. Sci., 25 (1983) 397) of the singularity function to plates on an elastic foundation was limited only to isotropic cases. Foundation-free orthotropic plate problems have been previously solved Adewale et al. (Int. J. Mech. Sci., 31 (1989) 853). In this paper, the singularity function method technique is extended to orthotropic rectangular plate on Winkler-type foundation. The isotropic rectangular plate results of Selek et al. (Int. J. Mech. Sci., 25 (1983) 397) and the foundation-free orthotropic rectangular plate results provided by Adewale et al. (Int. J. Mech. Sci., 31 (1989) 853) are recovered as special cases.
Polyacetylenes in related thistles of the subtribes centaureinae and carduinae

Abstract The distribution of polyacetylenes in eight closely related thistles belonging to the subtribes Centaureinae and Carduinae (Asteraceae) was examined and showed similar patterns among the annuals of each subtribe. The perennial in each subtribe, i.e. Russian knapweed (Acroptilon repens) and globe artichoke (Cynara scolymus) both contained more polyacetylenes than the annuals, and the subtribe Centaureinae had the greatest number of, and the more complex, polyacetylenes.
Esophageal reconstruction by elongation of the lesser gastric curvature

Long-gap esophageal atresias (EA) generally require surgical substitution using colon, jejunum, or a portion of the stomach. In these procedures, as in total gastric pull-up operations, the distal portion of the esophagus is sacrificed. Experimental studies on cadaver stomachs have shown that retrosternal transfer of the distal esophagus with preservation of all esophageal portions is possible when the lesser curvature is incised diagonally, provided the collateral circulation via the left gastric artery (LGA) is preserved. A tension-free esophageal anastomosis is then carried out intrathoracically or cervically. This technique was employed successfully in eight children. In two cases ligation of the LGA alone was sufficient; in six an additional incision in the lesser curvature was required to achieve adequate length. This procedure is advantageous in that all portions of the esophagus are preserved and, due to the retrosternal position, a thoracotomy is unnecessary. The morbidity is significantly lower than that associated with all the other substitution techniques. The main complications included cervical anastomotic leaks, which closed spontaneously, and stenoses that required bouginage. There was no mortality. From our experience to date, it can be concluded that esophageal anastomosis is possible in long-gap EA after incising the lesser gastric curvature, and that substitution plasties can be avoided.
A Mössbauer study of amorphous iron-phosphorus alloys

Abstract The Mossbauer spectrum of amorphous iron-phosphorus has been measured for alloys having compositions ranging from 15 to 25.8 at% phosphorus. Measurements were made at ambient temperature and also above the Curie temperature. The Curie temperature was measured by an induction method and increased linearly from 280 to 300°C with decreasing phosphorus content. The results indicated a large number of different iron sites having the same compositional short-range order as the crystal.
Question answering in TREC

Traditional text retrieval systems return a ranked list of documents in response to a user's request. While a ranked list of documents can be an appropriate response for the user, frequently it is not. Usually it would be better for the system to provide the answer itself instead of requiring the user to search for the answer in a set of documents. The Text REtrieval Conference (TREC) is sponsoring a question answering "track" to foster research on the problem of retrieving answers rather than document lists.TREC is a workshop series sponsored by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the U.S. Department of Defense [7]. The purpose of the conference series is to encourage research on text retrieval for realistic applications by providing large test collections, uniform scoring procedures, and a forum for organizations interested in comparing results. The conference has focused primarily on the traditional IR problem of retrieving a ranked list of documents in response to a statement of information need, but has also included other tasks, called tracks, that focus on new areas or particularly difficult aspects of information retrieval. A question answering track was introduced in TREC-8 1999. The track has generated wide-spread interest in the QA problem [2, 3, 4], and has documented significant improvements in question answering system effectiveness in its two-year history.This paper provides a brief summary of the findings of the TREC question answering track to date and discusses the future directions of the track. The paper is extracted from a fuller description of the track given in "The TREC Question Answering Track" [8]. Complete details about the TREC question answering track can be found in the TREC proceedings.
Object Recognition by a Hopfield Neural Network

A model-based object recognition technique is introduced in this paper to identify and locate an object in any position and orientation. The test scenes could consist of an isolated object or several partially overlapping objects. A cooperative feature matching technique is proposed which is implemented by a Hopfield neural network. The proposed matching technique uses the parallelism of the neural network to globally match all the objects (they may be overlapping or touching) in the input scene against all the object models in the model-database at the same time. For each model, distinct features such as curvature points (corners) are extracted and a graph consisting of a number of nodes connected by arcs is constructed. Each node in the graph represents a feature which has a numerical feature value and is connected to other nodes by an arc representing the relationship or compatibility between them. Object recognition is formulated as matching a global model graph, representing all the object models, with an input scene graph representing a single object or several overlapping objects. A 2-dimensional Hopfield binary neural network is implemented to perform a subgraph isomorphism to obtain the optimal compatible matching features between the two graphs. The synaptic interconnection weights between neurons are designed such that matched features belonging to the same model receive excitatory supports, and matched features belonging to different models receive an inhibitory support or a mutual support depending on whether the input scene is an isolated object or several overlapping objects. The coordinate transformation for mapping each pair of matched nodes from the model onto the input scene is calculated, followed by a simple clustering technique to eliminate any false matches. The orientation and the position of objects in the scene are then calculated by averaging the transformation of correct matched nodes. Some simulation results are shown to illustrate the performance of the system for scenes containing an isolated object or several overlapping objects. Finally the performance of the proposed technique is compared with that of a relaxation technique.
On the combined effect of longitudinal diffusion and external mass transfer resistance in fixed bed operations

Abstract This paper considers the combined effect of longitudinal diffusion and external mass transfer resistance on the performance of fixed bed processes with a favourable non-linear isotherm. It is shown that, whereas the linear additive principle is obeyed when the isotherms are “almost linear,” for non-linear systems the two mechanisms are definitely not linearly additive. A simple method is proposed for estimating this combined effect with good accuracy.
van der Waals study of liquid-vapor coexistence in 4He

An augmented van der Waals theory is used to study the liquid-vapor coexistence and critical constants ${T}_{c}$, ${\ensuremath{\rho}}_{c}$, and ${P}_{c}$ of $^{4}\mathrm{He}$. The reference system is taken as hard spheres, the properties of which are computed by the path-integral Monte Carlo method. The results of this "mean-field" theory are shown to be in semiquantitative agreement with experiment. Predictions for the Lennard-Jones and HFDHE2 helium pair potentials are compared.
The Sociological Impact of Attitudes Toward Smoking: Secondary Effects of the Demarketing of Smoking

Demarketing (i.e., the act of discouraging consumption or use [of specific products or services]) of cigarettes has been a public policy objective for the past 40 years or more. The use of demarketing actions, such as antismoking advertising campaigns, has contributed to the decrease of the proportion of smokers in the general population. A consequence of demarketing efforts has been the development of negative stereotypes of smokers. The author investigated whether the negative stereotypes that are directed at smokers can be transferred by observers to services that the smokers use. The results of the scenario-based experiment indicated that participants who had read narrative descriptions of a customer had expectations of service atmospherics (physical characteristics, e.g., cleanliness, odors) that were more negative when associated with a smoker target than when associated with a nonsmoker target.
Perspectival appearing and Gibson's theory of visual perception.

Although Gibson (1979) did not explicitly discuss the perspectival appearing of the ecological environment, his important ecological approach to visual perception can accommodate both (a) the stream of visual-perceptual experience that flows at the heart of the visual system's total activity of ordinary visual perceiving (ordinary seeing), and (b) the dimension of the visual experiential stream that is the ecological environment's perspectival appearing to the visual perceiver. In the present article, perspectival appearing is located at the level of brain centers of the visual system, where processes are determined by the spatiotemporally structured visual stimulus flux. And the stream of visual experience is interpreted as itself possessing a kind of perspective structure (as does the visual stimulus flux), including variant and invariant features that the visual system isolates and extracts from experience, producing the perceiver's cognitive visual “awareness-of” (Gibson, 1979) the environment and self in the environment.
Factors Associated with Hispanic/non-Hispanic White Colorectal Cancer Screening Disparities

Background In the United States, Hispanics are less likely to undergo colorectal cancer (CRC) screening than non-Hispanic whites (whites).
Influence of extracellular and intracellular factors on hippurate uptake by rat kidney cortex: acid-base effects.

SummaryThe studies presented show that the accumulation of hippurate and presumably other organic anions is modified by a complex of several intra- and extracellular events during changing acid-base states. These extra- and intracellular events may act in seemingly opposite ways to determine the final sum total of hippurate accumulation by the slice.
Life Expectancy and Incidence of Malignant Disease: IV. Carcinoma of the Genito-Urinary Tract

In previous communications the life expectancy of patients with cancer of the breast (1), oral cavity (2), and gastro-intestinal tract (3) has been discussed. In the present paper the life expectancy of patients with carcinoma of the genito-urinary tract will be considered. The discussion will include cancer of the vulva, vagina, cervix and fundus uteri, ovary, penis, testicle, prostate, bladder, and kidney. All cases of cancer of these organs admitted to the Collis P. Huntington Memorial and Pondville Hospitals in the years 1912–1933 have been reviewed personally. It must again be stressed that these hospitals are organized strictly for the care of cancer patients. All those with cancer that apply are admitted for treatment; many of them have only terminal care. Only those cases in which a definite history of the date of onset could not be determined or in which the diagnosis was uncertain have been omitted in the present study. In compiling statistics on age and sex incidence all cases entering the hospitals before Jan. 1, 1936, have been included. The method of calculation of the life expectancy curves was fully described in the first paper (1). No attempt to evaluate the number of five-year survivals has been made, since many of the patients did not receive their initial treatment in these hospitals.
Voluntary run training but not estradiol deficiency alters the tibial bone-soleus muscle functional relationship in mice

The study's objective was to investigate how estrogen deficiency and run training affect the tibial bone-soleus muscle functional relationship in mice. Female mice were assigned into one of two sur...
The Evaluation of Sodium-Modified Chabazite Zeolite and Resorcinol-Formaldehyde Resin for the Treatment of Contaminated Process Wastewater

Abstract Natural chabazite zeolite has been selected as the baseline treatment technology to compare the performance of emerging sorbent materials for the removal of 90Sr and 137Cs from contaminated process water. The resorcinol-formaldehyde resin, developed at Savannah River Site, is the first sorbent to be evaluated in this study. This paper summarizes the required contact times for maximum strontium and cesium removal, presents sorption isotherms in wastewater simulant and authentic wastewater, and defines the effects of elevated concentrations of K, Mg, Ca, and Na in wastewater for both sorbents.
Classification of synchronous fluorescence of petroleum oils

A pattern classification system for the identification of UV-visible synchronous fluorescence of petroleum oils is developed. The system is a composite of three phases, namely, feature extraction, feature selection and pattern classification. These phases are briefly described, focusing particularly on the classification method. A method called successive feature elimination process (SFEP) is used for feature selection and a proximity index classifier (PIC) is developed for classification. The feature selection method extracts as many features from spectra as conveniently possible and then applies the SFEP process to remove the redundant features. From the remaining features a significantly smaller feature subset is selected that enhances the recognition performance of the PIC classifier. The SFEP and PIC methods are formally described. These methods are successfully applied to the classification of UV-visible synchronous fluorescence spectra. The features selected by the algorithm are used to classify twenty different sets of petroleum oils. The system was trained on the design set on which the recognition performance was 100%. The performance on the testing set was over 93% by successfully identifying 28 out of 30 samples in six classes. This performance is very encouraging. In addition, the method is computationally inexpensive and is equally useful for large data set problems as it always partitions the problem into a set of two class problems.
Point-defect formation parameters in olivine

Abstract The formation internal energy and volume of the point-defect species in olivine are derived for a number of approximate charge-neutrality conditions. The formation parameters of an effectively charged point defect are a function of the approximate condition of charge neutrality. Since the approximate charge-neutrality condition depends upon the partial pressure of oxygen and the activity of enstatite in olivine, changes in the magnitude of these thermodynamic-state variables result in different values of the formation parameters if the charge-neutrality regime is altered. The fractional change in the formation internal energies of the energetically unfavorable defects, such as Si vacancies, is small between the charge-neutrality regions while the fractional change for the favorable defects, such as Mg vacancies, is large.
MEMs hydrodynamic bearings: Applications to and implications for machine failure prevention

Microdynamic systems have been studied for a number of years. Only limited work, however, has been completed on integrating microdynamic components into systems that satisfy mechanical tasks on macroscopic scales. In this paper, we describe microdynamic components needed to produce a surface which is actively deformable on local scales. In particular, we consider the design and demonstration of smart journal and thrust bearings capable of using embedded sensors and actuators to change dynamically the surface geometry. The ability actively to deform bearing surfaces allows for the design of bearings which are less prone to failure, the design of bearings with greater load-carrying abilities, and a fundamental study of the effect of surface geometries and fluid conditions on bearing performance, such as start-up and shut-down conditions. Some results of our new bearing designs are presented, focusing on numerical bearing models, sensor and actuator design and fabrication, and physical experimentation.
Gender differences in the relationship between sexual satisfaction and propensity for risky sexual behavior

While a number of studies have explored the correlates of casual sexual behavior, few have examined how malleable psychosocial characteristics such as sexual satisfaction and reasons to have sex interact with each other in predicting risky sexual behavior. The present study examined the interaction of gender, sexual satisfaction, and reasons for having sex as predictors of propensity to engage in casual sexual behavior (sexual permissiveness) in a sample of 269 women and 86 men [mean age (M) = 22.05 years, standard deviation (SD) = 3.02]. Among men who reported having sex relatively frequently for non-sexual, goal-oriented reasons, higher levels of sexual satisfaction were associated with lower levels of sexual permissiveness, while for men who reported having sex relatively less frequently for goal-oriented reasons, sexual satisfaction was unrelated to sexual permissiveness. Among women, sexual satisfaction was associated with lower sexual permissiveness only for those who reported having sex relatively ...