cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Examining the impact of virtual clinical on prelicensure nursing students’ pediatric knowledge

Abstract Background Clinical site closure during a pandemic along with the already limited pediatric clinicalplacements challenged educators to develop virtual pediatric clinical experiences. This paper aims toshare a pediatric virtual clinical innovation and retrospectively evaluate its impact on undergraduatepediatric nursing student knowledge. Method A quasi-experimental natural design was used to retrospectively evaluate a virtual clinicaleducational innovation at one mid-sized, Midwest university. The first half of a student cohortcompleted traditional face-to-face clinical experiences. Simulation and commercially available productswere used to create a 100% pediatric virtual clinical experience for the other half of a student cohort. Course and standardized exam scores were used to measure student learning across the two groups. Results Findings suggest virtual clinical, as a replacement for traditional clinical, did not negatively impact students pediatric nursing knowledge. Conclusions The results of this natural experiment can support future discussions about pediatric nursing clinical education.
Intense Few-Cycle Pulse, Conical Pit Interaction Simulations Predicting Extreme Material States

We use fully three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations to model intense few-cycle pulses interacting with nano-structured conical pits in fused silica and report on laser damage creation of high energy density conditions and excited electron dynamics.
In vivo MR spectroscopy reflects synapse density in a Huntington’s disease mouse model

Abstract Background Striatal medium spiny neurons are highly susceptible in Huntington’s disease (HD), resulting in early synaptic perturbations that lead to neuronal dysfunction and death. Non-invasive imaging techniques, such as proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS), have been used in HD mouse models and patients with HD to monitor neurochemical changes associated with neuronal health. However, the molecular connection between brain neurochemical alterations and synaptic dysregulation is unknown, limiting our ability to monitor potential treatments that may affect synapse function. Objective Assess the intersection of synapse density and 1H-MRS during disease progression in an HD mouse model. Methods We conducted in vivo longitudinal 1H-MRS in the striatum followed by ex-vivo analyses of excitatory synapse density of two synaptic circuits disrupted in HD: thalamo-striatal (T-S) and cortico-striatal (C-S) pathways. We used the heterozygous knock-in zQ175 HD mouse model as well as zQ175 mice lacking one allele of CK2α’(zQ175(Tg/0):CK2α’(+/-)), a kinase previously shown to regulate synapse function in HD. Results Longitudinal analyses of excitatory synapse density showed early and sustained reduction in T-S synapses in zQ175 mice, preceding C-S synapse depletion, which was rescued in zQ175:CK2α’(+/-). Linear regression analyses showed C-S synapse number correlated with 1H-MRS-measured levels of GABA while T-S synapse number positively correlated with alterations in the levels of alanine, phosphoethanolamine, lactate, and taurine relative to total creatine. Conclusion We propose these neurochemicals could be used as surrogate biomarkers to monitor circuit-specific synaptic dysfunction using 1H-MRS in the zQ175 mouse model and perhaps in HD pre-clinical studies.
Displacement voxelization to resolve mesh-image mismatch: Application in deriving dense white matter fiber strains

Abstract Background and Objective It is common to combine biomechanical modeling and medical images for multimodal analyses. However, mesh-image mismatch may occur that prevents direct information exchange. To eliminate mesh-image mismatch, we develop a simple but elegant displacement voxelization technique based on image voxel corner nodes to achieve voxel-wise strain. We then apply the technique to derive dense white matter fiber strains along whole-brain tractography (∼35 k fiber tracts consisting of ∼3.3 million sampling points) resulting from head impact. Methods Displacements at image voxel corner nodes are first obtained from model simulation via scattered interpolation. Each voxel is then scaled linearly to form a unit hexahedral element. This allows convenient and efficient voxel-wise strain tensor calculation and displacement interpolation at arbitrary fiber sampling points via shape functions. Fiber strains from displacement interpolation are then compared with those from the commonly used strain tensor projection using either voxel- or element-wise strain tensors. Results Based on a synthetic displacement field, fiber strains interpolated from voxelized displacement are considerably more accurate than those from strain tensor projection relative to the prescribed ground-truth (determinant of coefficient (R2) of 1.00 and root mean squared error (RMSE) of 0.01 vs. 0.87 and 0.10, respectively). For a set of real-world reconstructed head impacts (N=53), the strain tensor projection method performs similarly poorly (R2 of 0.80–0.90 and RMSE of 0.03–0.07), with overestimation strongly correlated with strain magnitude (Pearson correlation coefficient >0.9). Up to ∼15% of the fiber strains are overestimated by more than the lower bound of a conservative injury threshold of 0.09. The percentage increases to ∼37% when halving the threshold. Voxel interpolation is also significantly more efficient (15 sec vs. 40 sec for element strain tensor projection, without parallelization). Conclusions Voxelized displacement interpolation is considerably more accurate and efficient in deriving dense white matter fiber strains than strain tensor projection. The latter generally overestimates with overestimation magnitude strongly correlating with fiber strain magnitude. Displacement voxelization is an effective technique to eliminate mesh-image mismatch and generates a convenient image representation of tissue deformation. This technique can be generalized to broadly facilitate a diverse range of image-related biomechanical problems for multimodal analyses. The convenient image format may also promote and facilitate biomechanical data sharing in the future.
Propulsion Machinery Considerations for Contrarotating Propeller Systems

Contrarotating ( CR ) propellers offer one attractive solution to meeting the needs for higher power, more efficient ship propulsion. A planetary second-reduction gear system is proposed to provide the CR energy to a pair of propellers from a conventional turbine power source. The concentric line shafts, bearings, and lubrication system are discussed as vital components to a CR system. Some favorable full-scale operating experience has been obtained on all components except a high-power second-reduction planetary gear operating in the CR mode. The use of a CR propeller system should have a significant economic impact on the powering of ships.
LGBTQ-Affirming Policing: Tactics Generated by Law Enforcement Personnel

Law enforcement personnel (LEP) use a variety of tactics to perform their job duties. Although LEP often receive specialized training to work with ethnocultural minorities and are sometimes trained to work with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) citizens, a clear articulation of LGBTQ-affirming police tactics has not yet been established. Using qualitative content analysis and a multiple case study approach, this project identified a variety of tactics generated by LEP in written surveys and group discussion of scenarios involving LGBTQ citizens. Results showed that across all scenarios, LEP were able to generate LGBTQ-affirming tactics, including both typical police procedures, as well as approaches specific to LGBTQ citizens. Non LGBTQ-affirming tactics typically reflected reluctance to adapt general procedures to meet the needs of LGBTQ citizens. The results of this study support the use of group-based scenario training to help LEP identify and adopt LGBTQ-affirming approaches. This study is significant because it represents a first step toward identifying best practices for LGBTQ-affirming police tactics.
Space-delay adaptive processing for MIMO RF indoor motion mapping

In this paper, space-delay adaptive processing (SDAP) is proposed for motion mapping using MIMO RF signals. Typically, indoor RF localization methods require ultra-wideband signals to achieve the time-delay resolution required for separation of returns in complex multipath environments. Due to spectrum use restrictions, however, there is a need for methods which can operate using the lower bandwidths allocated for so-called ISM use. In this paper, we develop SDAP methods for linear MIMO transmit-receive arrays which can achieve near ultra-wideband range resolution and multipath sidelobe suppression but which use significantly less bandwidth. Real data results for indoor motion monitoring are presented aimed at mapping patient repositioning activities in long-term care facilities for pressure ulcer prevention.
RF-powered variable duty cycle wireless sensor

This paper discusses a low-power 2.4GHz ISM band wireless sensor based on commercial components for sensing and data transmission. The sensor is powered wirelessly in the 5.8-GHz ISM band through an integrated dual-polarization antenna, rectifier and power management module. Since the unit is intended for mobile use, the variable available power is monitored, and the duty cycle for wireless data transmission adaptively adjusted through use of a low-power microcontroller and a custom power management circuit. In sleep mode, the circuit consumes 1µA at 2.5V.
Hybrid analysis and control of malware

Malware attacks necessitate extensive forensic analysis efforts that are manual-labor intensive because of the analysis-resistance techniques that malware authors employ. The most prevalent of these techniques are code unpacking, code overwriting, and control transfer obfuscations. We simplify the analyst's task by analyzing the code prior to its execution and by providing the ability to selectively monitor its execution. We achieve pre-execution analysis by combining static and dynamic techniques to construct control- and data-flow analyses. These analyses form the interface by which the analyst instruments the code. This interface simplifies the instrumentation task, allowing us to reduce the number of instrumented program locations by a hundred-fold relative to existing instrumentation-based methods of identifying unpacked code. We implement our techniques in SD-Dyninst and apply them to a large corpus of malware, performing analysis tasks such as code coverage tests and call-stack traversals that are greatly simplified by hybrid analysis.
Detection of hexavalent uranium with inline and field-portable immunosensors

An antibody that recognizes a chelated form of hexavalent uranium was used in the development of two different immunosensors for uranium detection. Specifically, these sensors were utilized for the analysis of groundwater samples collected during a 2007 field study ofin situ bioremediation in a aquifer located at Rifle, CO. The antibody-based sensors provided data comparable to that obtained using Kinetic Phosphorescence Analysis (KPA). Thus, these novel instruments and associated reagents should provide field researchers and resource managers with valuable new tools for on-site data acquisition.
Big Data, Big Questions| The Theory/Data Thing

First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin. ~ Leonard Cohen First we take Chris Anderson, then we take Latour . . .
Trends in record‐breaking temperatures for the conterminous United States

[1] In an unchanging climate, record-breaking temperatures are expected to decrease in frequency over time, as established records become increasingly more difficult to surpass. This inherent trend in the number of record-breaking events confounds the interpretation of actual trends in the presence of any underlying climate change. Here, a simple technique to remove the inherent trend is introduced so that any remaining trend can be examined separately for evidence of a climate change. As this technique does not use the standard definition of a broken record, our records* are differentiated by an asterisk. Results for the period 1961–2010 indicate that the number of record* low daily minimum temperatures has been significantly and steadily decreasing nearly everywhere across the United States while the number of record* high daily minimum temperatures has been predominantly increasing. Trends in record* low and record* high daily maximum temperatures are generally weaker and more spatially mixed in sign. These results are consistent with other studies examining changes expected in a warming climate.
Sialic acids as ligands in recognition phenomena.

The sialic acids are acidic monosaccharides typically found at the outermost ends of the sugar chains of animal glycoconjugates. They potentially can inhibit intermolecular and intercellular interactions by virtue of their negative charge. However, they can also act as critical components of ligands recognized by a variety of proteins of animal, plant, and microbial origin (sialic acid binding lectins). Recognition can be affected by specific structural variations and modifications of sialic acids, their linkage to the underlying sugar chain, the structure of these chains, and the nature of the glycoconjugate to which they are attached. Presented here is a summary of the various proteins that can recognize and bind to this family of monosaccharides, comparing and contrasting the structural requirements and mechanisms involved in binding. Particular attention is focused on the recently evolving information about sialic acid recognition by certain C-type lectins (the selectins), I-type lectins (e.g., CD22 a...
Computing exact aspect graphs of curved objects: solids of revolution

An approach to computing the exact orthographic aspect graph of curved objects is introduced. Curved corresponding to various visual events partition the Gaussian sphere into regions where the image structure is stable. A catalog of these events for piecewise-smooth objects is available from singularity theory. For a solid of revolution whose generator is an algebraic curve, each visual event is characterized by a system of polynomials whose roots can be computed by continuation methods. Within each region, the stable image structure is characterized by a variation of cylindrical algebraic decomposition and ray tracing. This approach has been implemented, and several examples are presented. >
War, labor tournaments, and contest payoffs

Abstract When prizes change with effort, contestants adjust effort to mitigate that change. Net payoffs remain unchanged (respectively, can be larger) if prizes are linear (concave) in effort. Contest designers can facilitate desired outcomes by making the prize concave in effort.
Euglena fatty acid synthetase multienzyme complex is a unique structure

Abstract The composition, size, and peptide structure of a fatty acid synthetase aggregate from etiolated Euglena gracilis was studied. The fatty acid synthetase was a lipoprotein containing about 40% lipid. Low-angle laser light scattering of the native fatty acid synthetase yielded a molecular weight of 6 · 10 6 up to concentrations of about 30 μg fatty acid synthetase/ml; at higher concentrations, the molecular weight increased to 11 · 10 6 . Viscometry of the synthetase solutions yielded results that suggested that the asymmetric fatty acid synthetase aggregate formed a ‘dimer’ at concentrations above 30 μg fatty acid synthetase/ml by side-to-side interaction. The peptide structure of the fatty acid synthetase prepared in the presence of a variety of proteinase inhibitors included at least six peptides of M r 150000 or less. More than 68% of the protein was in peptides of less than M r 150000. N-terminal amino acid analysis gave eight different residues all present in integral amounts, seven at about 11% and one at 24% of the total α - N -dansyl amino acids. The Euglena -aggregated fatty acid synthetase appears to be a very large true multienzyme complex.
Economic Factors Shaping Western Water Allocation

Although most of the continental United States west of the 100th meridian is classified as arid or semiarid, water resources in the region have historically been treated as if they were relatively abundant. The perception of abundant water has been fostered largely by policies and institutions developed in an earlier era to facilitate the settlement of the West. These policies and institutions have persisted to current times in part because of their ability to insulate water users from a portion of the real cost of water. However, the perception of abundance masks the fact that western water resources are subject to increasing physical scarcity. Although somewhat outdated, the Second National Assessment of the U.S. Water Resources Council provides evidence of the depth and extent of this scarcity. Two crude measures of physical scarcity for the nine major hydrologic basins of the West are presented in table 1. In the first column, the sum of consumptive and in-stream uses is reported as a percentage of average annual runoff from precipitation. In the second column, total use is reported as a percentage of dry year runoff, where dry years are defined by a hydrologic frequency of I in 5. The figures show that in an average year, use levels in five of the nine basins exceed renewable supplies. In dry years, use levels in all basins exceed renewable supplies. The differences between annual use and annual runoff are accounted for by pumping groundwater at rates which exceed the rate of recharge. While the mining of groundwater may be economically justifiable, it cannot be sustained over the long run. Thus, in many areas of the West, existing levels of water use cannot continue indefinitely without supplemental sources of supply. The patterns of western water use are heavily dominated by irrigation, which accounts for a little over 90% of total consumptive use and 84% of total withdrawals. Municipal and industrial uses account for 6.6% of consumptive use (9% of withdrawals), while mineral and energy production make up the remaining 3.4% of consumptive use (7% of withdrawals) (U.S. Water Resources Council). Irrigation's share of withdrawals has remained relatively constant over the last three decades despite an increase of almost 9 million acres of irrigated land. This is explained primarily by the fact that during this period water use in the nonagricultural sectors grew for the first time at rates comparable to the growth rate of irrigation uses (Frederick). The current picture of western water resou c s, then, is one characterized by increasing physical scarcity and use patterns that are overwhelmingly dominated by the agricultural sector. In the remainder of this paper, some of he economic forces acting on western water resources are identified and analyzed, and a case study is presented to illustrate that the intensifying water scarcity may be largely attributable to institutions which promote both allocative inflexibility and the perception of abundance.
The Future within the Present: Seven Theses for a Robust Twenty-First-Century Socialism

To meet today’s challenges, including successful mobilization around people’s most immediate needs, a rigorous and inspiring vision of a new society—socialism—is more necessary than ever. Without creating rigid or utopian schemes, we can affirm and develop some of the most essential elements in that vision: progressive transcendence of the alienating and polarizing content of spontaneous markets; democratic coordination and planning, at all levels from central to decentral; and creative engagement with the vast potentials of modern information technology. This project must also recover and embrace all of the lessons, both positive and negative, of the twentieth-century postcapitalist experience, especially that of the USSR.
Structure of the TiO2(100) 1 × 3 surface determined by glancing angle X-ray diffraction and low energy electron diffraction

Abstract Grazing incidence X-ray diffraction and LEED were used together to determine the locations of surface titanium and oxygen atoms of the near-stoichiometric rutile TiO2(100)1 × 3 reconstructed surface. This surface is found to contain (110) microfacets with significant displacements from the ideally terminated bulk atomic positions. The structural model presented is consistent with the stability of the (110)1 × 1 surface and explains naturally the higher order reconstructions observed for the (100) surface at elevated temperatures.
Vortex lattice in anisotropic superconductors: The crossover from small B to large B

We discuss the tilted vortex lattice in layered type-II superconductors, using the anisotropic London theory. We pay particular attention to the crossover region between the low-B regime, in which vortex chain structure dominates, and the high-B region, where the chain structure has disappeared. This crossover region can be quite large, in some cases spanning several decades in magnetic field. We use both numerical calculation and simple physical arguments.
Housing, Equipment, and Design Research and Scholarship: A Family and Consumer Sciences Perspective

Periodic reviews of research in the housing, equipment, and design specializations within family and consumer science have occurred in the past, documenting the status of research topics, methods, and theory. This article addresses research and scholarship in the housing, equipment, and design disciplines over the past 16 years by analyzing relevant publications with a family and consumer science perspective. Articles from three journals were analyzed to determine the number, university affiliation, topic, purpose, type, data collection, data analysis, and use of theory. Results indicate a decline in the total number of articles in these journals related to housing, equipment, and design. About one third of the articles utilized theory, and these articles used three theories frequently. Scholars in housing, equipment, and design should continue to publish in family and consumer science-related journals to continue the expansion and further the depth of these disciplines within the broader field.
Traumatic brain injury and psychogenic seizures in veterans.

OBJECTIVE:: To evaluate a proposed seizure etiology of traumatic brain injury (TBI) as a risk factor for psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNESs), the effect of reported TBI severity on the diagnosis of PNES versus epileptic seizures (ESs), and the potential moderating role of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PARTICIPANTS, SETTING:: Veterans with a diagnosis of PNES or ES during epilepsy monitoring at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center. DESIGN:: Retrospective review of seizure type, proposed seizure etiology, TBI severity, and PTSD. MAIN OUTCOMES:: Both PNES and ES groups were compared for TBI history and severity, and prior diagnosis of PTSD. RESULTS:: Traumatic brain injury was the proposed seizure etiology for 57% of 67 PNES patients versus 35% of 54 ES patients (P CONCLUSIONS:: Veterans with PNES commonly cite a TBI as the cause for seizures. Mild TBI was strongly associated with PNES versus ES. Posttraumatic stress disorder may moderate the development of PNES in Veterans with a history of mild TBI. Clinicians caring for Veterans with seizures may use these results in selecting patients for early diagnostic evaluation. Language: en
Is blockade of conditioned flavor aversions by chlorpheniramine the result of state dependency

Conditioned flavor aversions induced by pairing flavored fluids with ionizing irradiation, lithium chloride, estrogen, or centrifugal rotation have been blocked by prior administration of chlorpheniramine. The blockade may be due to state dependency. This possibility was evaluated in the present experiment, which assigned female Long—Evans rats to a factorial combination of chlorpheniramine (20 mg/kg) vs saline during training, centrifugal rotation (150 rpm for 15 min) vs none as an UCS, and chlorpheniramine vs saline in testing. Rats conditioned with saline and rotation showed strong aversions when tested with either saline or chlorpheniramine. Rats conditioned with chlorpheniramine and rotation showed no change during conditioning; when tested with saline they showed no aversion, and when tested with chlorpheniramine they showed no change from conditioning. Rats conditioned with either chlorpheniramine or saline and no rotation showed high fluid intake when tested with saline and reduced fluid intake when tested with chlorpheniramine. The results were interpreted as offering little support for state dependency.
Biomechanics and neuropathology of adult and paediatric head injury

(2003). Biomechanics and neuropathology of adult and paediatric head injury. British Journal of Neurosurgery: Vol. 17, No. 2, pp. 201-201.
Survival of Fish in Intermittent Streams of the Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona

(8) N.:268 b:0.13 12 May 1961 1576 342 7.6 0.13 0.19__ a (1) Upper, middle, and lower strata of lake; (2) total population size (total/ (8) N,:1576 0.10 100 liters); (3) total adults (adults/100 liters); (4) average brood size; (5) developmental rate of eggs which is the reciprocal of duration of egg development from Table II; (6) instantaneous birth rate b=ln (1+B); (7) observed in19 May 1961 3225 744 3.4 0.13 0.10 stantaneous rate of population increase from equation (1); (8) weighted average (8) No:3225 0.03 of N., F, and b for the entire water column.
Homogeneous nucleation of crystalline gallium from liquid gallium

Abstract The nucleation rate of crystalline gallium from supercooled liquid gallium was measured using a dilatometric technique. The results appear to represent homogeneous nucleation. They may be explained by ‘classical’ nucleation theory upon assumption of a negative interfacial entropy of formation.
Output error estimation for summation-by-parts finite-difference schemes

The paper develops a posteriori error estimates of integral output functionals for summation-by-parts finite-difference methods. The error estimates are based on the adjoint-weighted residual method and take advantage of a variational interpretation of summation-by-parts discretizations. The estimates are computed on a fixed grid and do not require an embedded grid or explicit interpolation operators. For smooth boundary-value problems containing first and second derivatives the error estimates converge to the exact error as the mesh is refined. The theory is verified using linear boundary-value problems and the Euler equations.
Optical characterization of the electrical properties of processed GaAs

Abstract Optical spectroscopies such as photoreflectance offer unique and non-invasive tools that can be used to probe the bulk and surface electrical properties of processed semiconductors. Because of their contactless nature, they can also serve as in-situ, as well as ex-situ diagnostics of processing effects during various stages of optoelectronic device formation. In this paper, we will focus on the applications of photoreflectance to study the effects of various processing procedures such as dry etching, surface passivation and metallization on the electrical properties of GaAs. We will show how certain information, such as barrier heights and densities of surface states can be obtained in a contactless fashion.
Gains in efficiency from joint estimation of systems of autoregressive-moving average processes

Abstract The paper examines gains in efficiency from joint estimation of systems of ARMA processes where cross-correlation is due to contemporaneous correlation among disturbances. The asymptotic variance of joint estimates is derived and it involves only variances and covariances among purely AR processes corresponding to the AR and MA parts of the constituent processes. Small sample gains are evaluated by Monte Carlo methods. Application of joint estimation to two short-term interest rates is shown to result in more accurate post-sample predictions relative to both univariate models and the FMP econometric model.
The mechanism of the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide stimulation of lipid phosphorylation in a rat liver microsome-cytosol system.

Abstract High-level labeling of glycerol-containing phospholipids from[ 32P orthophosphate ( 32 Pi) in a rat liver microsome-cytosol system or in liver homogenates requires the addition of optimal amounts of NAD, glycerol, and glycolytic intermediates such as fructose diphosphate and pyruvate. The cyclic oxidation-reduction of NAD via glycolysis is sufficient to yield a high level of ATP for lipid phosphorylation. For heavy labeling of phosphatidylethanolamine from 32 Pi, NAD, fructose diphosphate and glycerol are required additives. For heavy labeling of phospholipid termed GPX (similar but not identical to phospatidic acid) the addition of NADH and pyruvate is required. Fructose diphosphate inhibits the labeling of GPX by producing unlabeled glycerophosphate. The labeling of GPX from 32 Pi occurs in both the microsomal and mitochondrial fractions. Cyanide and dinitrophenol strongly inhibit lipid phosphorylation from 33 Pi in liver homogenates fortified with NAD. No inhibition is observed in microsomescytosol. The inhibition by these agents in homogenates was overcome to the extent of 50% by added pyruvate. Oxamic acid, iodoacetate and fluoride, effective inhibitors of glycolysis, produced a large decrease in lipid phosphorylation in the microsomescytosol system. These results demonstrate that glycolysis can provide sufficient amounts of ATP for lipid phosphorylation. [ 14 C] Fructose diphosphate was incorporated into phosphatidylethanolaminc and GPX in the microsome-cytosol system thus demonstrating that fructose diphosphate can provide α-glycerophosphate for phospholipid biosynthesis. NAD stimulates the in vitro incorporation of [ 14 C]glycerol and 14 C-labeled fatty acids into GPX, phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylcholine. With 32 Pi and [ 14 C]glycerol, the labeling of GPX occurs faster than that of phosphatidylethanolamine or posphatidylcholine. However, with 14 C-labeled fatty acids the labeling of phosphatidylcholine is the most rapid.
Long-wavelength triangular ring laser for monolithic integration

We report the fabrication and testing of long wavelength triangular ring lasers operating at 1.26 micrometer. The triangular ring laser, fabricated in InGaAsP/InP, employs a ridge waveguide structure with the ridge and facets dry etched using high temperature CAIBE. Pulsed L-I, spectra and output characteristics are analyzed. Preliminary testing is done for ring lasers monolithically integrated with tapered amplifier. Temperature characteristics are studied by cooling the ring lasers with a TE cooler. Further work on noise characteristics require the use of optical isolator to reduce feedback from the optical fiber used in the measurement setup.
Iterative rank-order normalization of gene expression microarray data

Many gene expression normalization algorithms exist for Affymetrix GeneChip microarrays. The most popular of these is RMA, primarily due to the precision and low noise produced during the process. A significant strength of this and similar approaches is the use of the entire set of arrays during both normalization and model-based estimation of signal. However, this leads to differing estimates of expression based on the starting set of arrays, and estimates can change when a single, additional chip is added to the set. Additionally, outlier chips can impact the signals of other arrays, and can themselves be skewed by the majority of the population. We developed an approach, termed IRON, which uses the best-performing techniques from each of several popular processing methods while retaining the ability to incrementally renormalize data without altering previously normalized expression. This combination of approaches results in a method that performs comparably to existing approaches on artificial benchmark datasets (i.e. spike-in) and demonstrates promising improvements in segregating true signals within biologically complex experiments. By combining approaches from existing normalization techniques, the IRON method offers several advantages. First, IRON normalization occurs pair-wise, thereby avoiding the need for all chips to be normalized together, which can be important for large data analyses. Secondly, the technique does not require similarity in signal distribution across chips for normalization, which can be important for maintaining biologically relevant differences in a heterogeneous background. Lastly, IRON introduces fewer post-processing artifacts, particularly in data whose behavior violates common assumptions. Thus, the IRON method provides a practical solution to common needs of expression analysis. A software implementation of IRON is available at [ http://gene.moffitt.org/libaffy/ ].
CONTROL OF INITIATION OF VIRAL PLUS STRAND DNA SYNTHESIS BY HIV REVERSE TRANSCRIPTASE

Abstract Human immunodeficiency virus reverse transcribes its single-stranded RNA genome making a DNA copy. As synthesis proceeds, the RNA is simultaneously degraded to oligomers; one of these, the polypurine tract, primes synthesis of a plus strand DNA. The viral reverse transcriptase (RT) degrades all of the non-polypurine tract oligomers. We show that unlike other DNA polymerases the retroviral RT can bind either end of an annealed RNA primer, the 5′-end for degradation and the 3′-end for synthesis. The competition between the two binding modes at any primer determines whether it will be extended or degraded. The 5′-end binding can be suppressed in at least two ways. The sequence of the primer can be such that a region at the 5′-end is unannealed or a DNA primer can be annealed just adjacent to the 5′-end of the RNA primer. This promotes binding of RT to the RNA 3′-end, allowing a primer that would normally be degraded to be extended. Implications for human immunodeficiency virus replication and antiviral therapy are discussed.
Pseudomyasthenia resulting from a posterior carotid artery wall aneurysm: a novel presentation: case report.

Objective and importance Painful oculomotor palsy can result from enlargement or rupture of intracranial aneurysms. The IIIrd cranial nerve dysfunction in this setting, whether partial or complete, is usually fixed or progressive and is sometimes reversible with surgery. We report an unusual oculomotor manifestation of a posterior carotid artery wall aneurysm, which mimicked ocular myasthenia gravis. Clinical presentation A 47-year-old woman developed painless, intermittent, partial IIIrd cranial nerve palsy. She presented with isolated episodic left-sided ptosis, which initially suggested a metabolic or neuromuscular disorder. However, digital subtraction angiography revealed a left posterior carotid artery wall aneurysm, just proximal to the origin of the posterior communicating artery. Intervention The aneurysm was successfully clipped via a pterional craniotomy. During surgery, the aneurysm was observed to be compressing the oculomotor nerve. The patient's symptoms resolved after the operation. Conclusion The variability of incomplete IIIrd cranial nerve deficits can present a diagnostic challenge, and the approach for patients with isolated IIIrd cranial nerve palsies remains controversial. Although intracranial aneurysms compressing the oculomotor nerve classically produce fixed or progressive IIIrd cranial nerve palsies with pupillary involvement, anatomic variations may result in atypical presentations. With the exception of patients who present with pupil-sparing but otherwise complete IIIrd cranial nerve palsy, clinicians should always consider an intracranial aneurysm when confronted with even subtle dysfunction of the oculomotor nerve.
White Dwarf Asteroseismology and the ^12C(alpha,gamma)^16O Rate

Due to a new global analysis method, it is now possible to measure the internal composition of pulsating white dwarf stars, even with relatively simple theoretical models. The precise internal mixture of carbon and oxygen is the largest single source of uncertainty in ages derived from white dwarf cosmochronometry, and contains information about the rate of the astrophysically important, but experimentally uncertain, ^12C(alpha,gamma)^16O nuclear reaction. Recent determinations of the internal composition and structure of two helium-atmosphere variable (DBV) white dwarf stars, GD 358 and CBS 114, initially led to conflicting implied rates for the ^12C(alpha,gamma)^16O reaction. If both stars were formed through single-star evolution, then the initial analyses of their pulsation frequencies must have differed in some systematic way. I present improved fits to the two sets of pulsation data, resolving the tension between the initial results and leading to a value for the ^12C(alpha,gamma)^16O reaction rate that is consistent with recent laboratory measurements.
Headache Medicine Meets Neuro‐Ophthalmology: Exam Techniques and Challenging Cases

The neuro-ophthalmology examination is critical to anyone who sees patients with the common symptom of headache. By examining the visual acuity, pupils, visual fields, motility, and fundus, clues to both secondary causes of headache and primary headaches exist. In this review, we discuss how to do the neuro-ophthalmology examination and we review cases of primary and secondary headache where key features of the examination assisted in making the correct diagnosis.
Use of multiple patches during implantation of epicardial defibrillator systems

Abstract During implantation of epicardial automatic defibrillator systems, occasional patients have difficulty in obtaining adequate defibrillation thresholds. Of 236 consecutive patients undergoing implantation of epicardial defibrillator systems, 18 patients received a 3-patch (n = 15) or 4-patch (n = 3) defibrillator system. Twelve patients who received & multiple patch defibrillator system had a best 2-patch defibrillation energy requirement of ≥30 J; in the remaining 6 patients less stringent clinical criteria were used in the decision to add a third defibrillator patch (defibrillation energy requirement >18 J in 4 patients, and >20 J in 2 patients). Technically, multiple-patch systems were made possible with either the use of Y-connectors or defibrillators allowing output to 3 patches. In 3 patients, addition of a third epicardial patch still resulted in a defibrillation energy requirement of ≥30 J; in these 3 patients, addition of a fourth patch resulted in a defibrillation energy requirement of ≤20 J. All patients receiving a multiplepatch defibrillator system had a reduction in defibrillation energy requirement, and 12 patients had a reduction in defibrillation energy requirement of ≥10 J over the best 2-patch defibrillation energy requirement in the patients who eventually had placement of a multiple-patch system, the best 2-patch defibrillation energy requirement was >18 J in 4 patients, >20 J in 2 patients, ≥30 J in 9 patients, and >40 J in 3 patients. After placement of a multiple-patch system, the defibrillation energy requirement was ≤24 J in 1 patient, ≤20 J in 5 patients, ≤18 J in 8 patients, ≤15 J in 2 patients, and ≤10 J in 2 patients. This improvement was significant (p
Revealing occupancy patterns in an office building through the use of occupancy sensor data

Abstract Energy simulation programs like DOE-2 and EnergyPlus are tools that have been proven to aid with energy calculations to predict energy use in buildings. Some inputs to energy simulation models are relatively easy to find, including building size, orientation, construction materials, and HVAC system size and type. Others vary with time (e.g. weather and occupancy) and some can be a challenge to estimate in order to create an accurate simulation. In this paper, the analysis of occupancy sensor data for a large commercial, multi-tenant office building is presented. It details occupancy diversity factors for private offices and summarizes the same for open offices, hallways, conference rooms, break rooms, and restrooms in order to better inform energy simulation parameters. Long-term data were collected allowing results to be presented to show variations of occupancy diversity factors in private offices for time of day, day of the week, holidays, and month of the year. The diversity factors presented differ as much as 46% from those currently published in ASHRAE 90.1 2004 energy cost method guidelines, a document referenced by energy modelers regarding occupancy diversity factors for simulations. This may result in misleading simulation results and may introduce inefficiencies in the final equipment and systems design.
An Empirical Study on Forecasting Using Decomposed Arrival Data of an Enterprise Computing System

This research utilizes several well known forecasting techniques in combination with Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD) to investigate the trade-offs of EMD's decomposition (sifting) step for forecasting the arrival workload of an enterprise cluster. The research is based on earlier work on the forecasting potential of EMD. Results show that EMD helps to improve forecasting results. Parallelization is used to perform extensive investigation across the full range of data. Future research is to increase the statistical confidence in the level of improvements possible when EMD is used as a decomposition method for forecasting.
State of the Art Reviews: Using the Internet to Promote Physical Activity and Healthy Eating in Youth:

The prevalence of overweight children and adolescents is increasing at alarming rates. Since 1980, the prevalence of overweight among children aged 6 to 11 years has more than doubled and more than tripled among adolescents aged 12 to 19. Innovative, effective weight loss strategies that effectively promote healthy eating and physical activity are needed to address this obesity epidemic. The Internet may prove to be an effective means of reaching youth to reduce overweight and, ideally, prevent weight gain. This article reviews the available literature of Internet-based interventions promoting healthy eating, physical activity, and/ or weight loss in school, home, camp, and medical settings. Findings show that few examples of well-designed trials exist in the youth literature. However, several studies show promise for the use of the Internet. It is recommended that future trials use adequate sample sizes, randomized designs, objective measures, boys and girls, health disparity youth, longer intervention p...
Impulsive plunging wave breaking downstream of a bump in a shallow water flume—Part I: Experimental observations

Abstract The plunging wave-breaking process for impulsive flow over a bump in a shallow water flume is described, which is relevant to ship hydrodynamics albeit for an idealized geometry since it includes the effects of wave–body interactions and the wave breaking direction is opposite to the mean flow. This paper consists of two parts, which deal with experimental measurements and numerical simulations, respectively. In Part I, ensemble-averaged measurements are conducted, including the overall flume flow, 2-D particle image velocimetry (PIV) center-plane velocities, turbulence inside the breaking wave, and bottom pressures under the breaking wave. A series of individual plunging wave-breaking tests were conducted, which all followed a similar time line consisting of startup, steep wave formation, plunging wave breaking, and chaotic wave breaking swept downstream time phases. The plunging wave breaking process consists of four repeated plunging events each with three [jet impact (plunge), oblique splash and vertical jet] sub-events, which were identified first using a complementary computational fluid dynamics (CFD) study. Video images with red dye display the plunging wave breaking events and sub-events. The wave profile at maximum height, first plunge, bump and wave breaking vortex and entrapped air tube trajectories, entrapped air tube diameters, kinetic, potential, and total energy are analyzed. Similarities and differences are discussed with the previous deep water or sloping beach experimental and computational studies. The numerical simulations using the exact experimental initial and boundary conditions are presented in Part II of this paper.
Culture study in international marketing: a critical review and suggestions for future research

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a critical review of culture study streams in international marketing and offer suggestions for future development.Design/methodology/approach – A comprehensive review of earlier and current approaches to culture study in international marketing is offered. Shortcomings of earlier studies are highlighted and suggestions for remedies are presented. Future research suggestions are also offered.Findings – Five streams of earlier studies and their shortcomings are presented, along with four avenues for future research.Practical implications – More sharply framed culture study will lead to a deeper understanding of culture's role in targeting, segmentation, and positioning and strategy formulation by scholars and managers of international marketing.Originality/value – The paper integrates a large body of research in an important research area in international marketing and offers future research directions.
Theoretical Limits of Damping Attainable by Smart Beams with Rate Feedback

Using a generally accepted model we present a comprehensive analysis (within the page limitation) of an Euler- Bernoulli beam with PZT sensor-actuator and pure rate feedback. The emphasis is on the root locus - the dependence of the attainable damping on the feedback gain. There is a critical value of the gain beyond which the damping decreases to zero. We construct the time-domain response using semigroup theory, and show that the eigenfunctions form a Riesz basis, leading to a 'modal' expansion.
Genetically inactive DNA and nuclear lactate dehydrogenase (1.1.1.27) activity in the erythrocyte of Amphiuma tridactylum

Dans les erythroblastes et jeunes hematies de la salamandre geante,Amphiuma tridactylum, l'activite de la deshydrogenase lactique n'est localisee que dans le chondriome. Pendant l'accumulation de l'hemoglobine et au cours de la croissance des hematies, l'activite devient de plus en plus nucleaire. On constate une correlation negative entre l'activite de la deshydrogenase lactique nucleaire et l'activite genetique de l'ADN.
Atrial Natriuretic Peptide Secretion from Fetal Rat Diencephalon in Culture

Abstract The presence of a distinct brain pool of the atrial natriuretic peptides (ANP) has been established. To determine the molecular forms and regulation of secretion of ANP, we studied fetal rat diencephalic neurons and glia in primary culture. ANP immunoreactivity determined by radioimmunoassay was found only in the neuron predominant cultures. The neurons contained mainly ANP (103-126) and less ANP (102-126), but secreted only ANP (103-126) into the medium after potassium and glutamate-dependent depolarization. Little, if any, ANP (99-126), the predominant form which circulates in plasma and originates from the heart, was secreted. The ability of potassium and glutamate to cause a mean 50% increase of ANP secretion above baseline was abolished after deleting calcium chloride from the medium. In contrast, hypo- or hyperosmolarity or increased sodium content in the incubation medium did not influence ANP secretion. These studies indicate that regulative secretion of ANP occurs from primary cultures of predominantly diencephalic neurons, probably accounting for the high concentrations of these peptides in this area of the brain. The forms of ANP contained within the cells and secreted after depolarization are different from ANP secreted from neonatal rat atrial myocytes. In contrast to myocytes, varying sodium or osmolarity did not cause ANP secretion. We postulate that influences on ANP production/secretion in the brain may be distinct from the heart.