cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Precision Grasping With Variable Compliance Using Force Sensing Resistors

The ability to precisely control the applied force and deformation of a grasped object is the focus of this paper. A simple mechanical end effector system with parallel grippers was developed to study compliance effects in precision grasping. A servo gripper was instrumented with force and position sensors, associated circuitry, hardware, and visual indicators; moreover, the sensors and servo motor were connected to a microcontroller that interfaced with a laptop computer. A closed-loop position control system was embedded within a force control system. Springs of varying, known stiffness were grasped to characterize and calibrate the force control system. Compliance effects of the servo gripper were observed and measured while grasping these springs under several discrete control conditions. Experimental data were compared to reduced order theoretical models for validation. A control scheme was successfully developed to precisely grasp and hold objects of varying size, shape, stiffness, and orientation, using the real-time data to establish correction factors for compliance and sensor drift. It was demonstrated that these effects can be minimized by modifying the motor control signals using the presented force and position feedback scheme.Copyright © 2009 by ASME
Effects of Ethanol (E85) versus Gasoline Vehicles on Cancer and Mortality in the United States

Ethanol use in vehicle fuel is increasing worldwide, but the potential cancer risk and ozone-related health consequences of a large-scale conversion from gasoline to ethanol have not been examined. Here, a nested global-through-urban air pollution/weather forecast model is combined with high-resolution future emission inventories, population data, and health effects data to examine the effect of converting from gasoline to E85 on cancer, mortality, and hospitalization in the United States as a whole and Los Angeles in particular. Under the base-case emission scenario derived, which accounted for projected improvements in gasoline and E85 vehicle emission controls, it was found that E85 (85% ethanol fuel, 15% gasoline) may increase ozone-related mortality, hospitalization, and asthma by about 9% in Los Angeles and 4% in the United States as a whole relative to 100% gasoline. Ozone increases in Los Angeles and the northeast were partially offset by decreases in the southeast. E85 also increased peroxyacetyl...
Maturational changes of amino acid concentration in cerebrospinal fluid of the rat.

Summary The cisternal spinal fluid (CF), plasma, and brain stem concentrations of 6 amino acids were measured in suckling rats between birth and one month of age. Each of the amino acids studied had its distinctive maturational pattern of CF concentration. Presumably these amino acids have separate mechanisms of transport from CF, which mature at different times. The changes in CF amino acid concentration with maturation were independent of the changes in plasma or brain stem amino acid concentration. Thus the CF/plasma ratios or CF/brain stem ratios in these young animals are age dependent. Age dependence of CSF amino acid concentration or CSF/plasma amino acid ratios must be considered when correlating abnormal CSF/plasma ratios of an amino acid to abnormal cerebral amino acid concentration in young infants.
APOE-ε2 and APOE-ε4 correlate with increased amyloid accumulation in cerebral vasculature.

The APOE e4 allele correlates with increased risk of Alzheimer disease (AD) and increased parenchymal amyloid plaques. We tested how the APOE genotype correlated with cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) by analyzing 371 brains for parenchymal and meningeal CAA in 4 brain regions (frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital neocortex). The overall severity of CAA was highest in the occipital lobe. APOE-e4/4 brains (n = 22) had the highest levels of CAA across regions. In the occipital lobe, nearly all APOE-e4/4 cases were scored with the highest level of CAA (meninges, 95% of cases; parenchyma, 81%). In this brain region as in others, APOE-e3/4 brains (n = 115) showed consistently less CAA that APOE-e4/4 brains (meninges, 43%; parenchyma, 43%). APOE-e3/3 brains (n = 182) showed even less CAA (meninges, 19%; parenchyma, 19%). Interestingly, APOE-e2/3 cases (n = 42) had more CAA than APOE-e3/3 (meninges, 44%; parenchyma, 32%), despite a reduced risk for AD in the APOE-e2/3 individuals. APOE-e4/4 brains also had the fewest regions without CAA, whereas APOE-e3/3 brains had the most. Ordinal regression analyses demonstrated significant impacts of APOE-e2 and APOE-e4 on CAA in at least some brain region. These data demonstrate that APOE genotype correlations with Ab deposition in CAA only incompletely correspond to other AD-linked brain pathologies.
Molecular Beam Epitaxy of Graded-Composition InGaN Nanowires

We report the growth of graded InGaN nanowires by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. Wire composition is linearly graded from InN to GaN along the length of each wire. The large lattice mismatch between GaN and InN (11%) introduces tensile strain in the graded region, which results in cracking of the wires. Growing with reverse grading (i.e., GaN to InN) results in crack-free nanowires. The composition is measured by energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy of individual nanowires performed in a scanning transmission electron microscope, and strain is measured by high-resolution x-ray diffraction.
Binge ethanol intake in chronically exposed rat liver decreases LDL-receptor and increases angiotensinogen gene expression.

CONCLUSION: Binge ethanol after chronic exposure, causes transcriptional dysregulation of LDL-receptor and angiotensinogen genes, both cardiovascular risk factors.
A New Processing Model for Predicting Performance on Pascual-Leone's Test of M-Space.

Abstract A new model is proposed for explaining children's performance on Pascual-Leone's test of M-space. The model differs from Pascual-Leone's in three regards. (1) It assumes that children do not stop sampling a compound stimulus until every simple stimulus in their field of attention has already been noticed and responded to. (2) It assumes that the probability of sampling different combinations of simple stimuli conforms to the laws of Maxwell-Boltzman statistics rather than Bose-Einstein statistics. (3) It assumes that children's ability to detect all the simple stimuli in a compound stimulus is highly dependent both on the relative saliencies of the simple stimuli and on the length of time for which the compound stimulus is exposed. Using the developmental values of M hypothesized by Pascual-Leone, and standard techniques of computer simulation, the new model is used to generate theoretical performance curves for children at four different age levels and seven different levels of stimulus complexity. It is shown that the predicted performance curves for an exposure time of 5 sec provide a reasonable fit to the data originally reported by Pascual-Leone (1970) , and that the predicted performance curves for an exposure time of 10 sec provide a reasonable fit to data obtained more recently by Parkinson (1976) . Finally, it is shown that the order of children's responses as well as the number of their responses can be predicted. Two conclusions are drawn. (1) The new processing model offers a viable alternative to the model originally proposed by Pascual-Leone. (2) Regardless of which processing model is employed, the M-values originally postulated by Pascual-Leone are valid.
Physioecology of Zooplankton. I. Effects of Phytoplankton Concentration, Temperature, and Body Size on the Growth Rate of Calanus pacificus and Pseudocalanus sp.*

Changes in dry weight and in weight-specific growth rates were measured for copepodite stages of Calanus pacificus Brodsky and Pseudocalanus sp. cultured under various combinations of phytoplankton concentration and temperature. Mean dry weight of early copepodites was relatively unaffected by either food concentration or temperature, but mean dry weight of late stages increased hyperbolically with food concentration and was inversely related to temperature. The food concentration at which maximum body weight was attained increased with increasing temperature and body size, and it was considerably higher for C. pacificus than for Pseudocalanus sp. This suggests that final body size of small species of copepods may be determined primarily by temperature, whereas final body size of large species may be more dependent on food concentration than on temperature. Individual body weight increased sigmoidally with age. The weight-specific growth rate increased hyperbolically with food concentration. The maximum growth rate decreased logarithmically with a linear increase in body weight, and the slope of the lines was proportional to temperature. The critical food concentration for growth increased with body size proportionally more at high than at low temperature, and it was considerably higher for C. pacificus than for Pseudocalanus sp. Because of these interactions, early copepodites optimized growth at high temperature, even at low food concentrations, but under similar food conditions late stages attained higher growth at low temperature. The same growth patterns were found for both species, but the rates were significantly higher for the larger species, C. pacificus, than for the smaller one, Pseudocalanus sp. On the basis of findings in this study and of analyses of relationships between the maximum growth rate, body size, and temperature from other studies it is postulated (1) that the extrapolation of growth rates from one species to another on the basis of similarity in body size is not justified, even for taxonomically related species; (2) that the allometric model is inadequate for describing the relationship between the maximum weight-specific growth rate and body size at the intraspecific level; (3) that the body-size dependence of this rate is strongly influenced by temperature; and (4) that species of zooplankton seem to be geographically and vertically distributed, in relation to body size and food availability, to optimize growth rates at various stages of their life cycles.
Lack of evidence for huntington's disease-like cognitive dysfunction in obsessive-compulsive disorder

Cognitive deficits in patients with structural lesions of the basal ganglia (e.g., Huntington's disease) commonly include slowed processing, reduced verbal fluency, difficulty switching set, impaired egocentric spatial ability, poor recall, and impaired acquisition of motor skills. The goal of this study was to determine if patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) would have a similar pattern of cognitive dysfunction. A battery of neuropsychological tests, including reaction time-based measures of cognitive processing speed and a test of procedural, motor-skill learning, was administered to 17 unmedicated OCD patients and 16 age-and education-matched normal controls. Eleven individuals with trichotillomania, matched with the OCD patients on age, education, age at symptom onset, depression, and anxiety were also tested. Contrary to expectation, neither the OCD nor trichotillomania patients were impaired on any of the measures in the battery. The essentially normal performance by these patients suggests that the brain regions responsible for cognitive dysfunction in patients with Huntington's disease may differ from those associated with OCD.
No evidence of a bulk charge density wave in α-Np or α-Pu at 10 K through electron diffraction

Bulk charge density waves exist in orthorhombic $\ensuremath{\alpha}\text{-U}$ metal at low temperature. Accordingly, many have pondered whether such charge modulations may occur in $\ensuremath{\alpha}\text{-Np}$ or $\ensuremath{\alpha}\text{-Pu}$, since each are low-symmetry $5f$ metals with orthorhombic and monoclinic crystal structures, respectively. Here, we report there is no evidence of a bulk charge density wave in $\ensuremath{\alpha}\text{-Np}$ or $\ensuremath{\alpha}\text{-Pu}$ at $10\text{ }\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}\text{K}$ through the use of electron diffraction on single-crystal regions of polycrystalline metal samples.
Decomposition temperature sensitivity of isolated soil organic matter fractions

Abstract The general consensus is that a warming climate will result in the acceleration of soil organic matter (SOM) decomposition, thus acting as a potential positive feedback mechanism. However, the debate over the relative temperature sensitivity of labile versus recalcitrant SOM has not been fully resolved. We isolated acid hydrolysis residues to represent a recalcitrant pool of SOM and particulate organic matter (POM) to represent a labile pool of SOM, and incubated each at different temperatures to determine temperature sensitivity of decomposition. Short-term incubations of POM generated results consistent with published experiments (i.e., greater proportion of C respired and lower Q 10 than whole soil), while incubations of acid hydrolysis residues did not. The contrasting results illustrate the difficulty in assessing temperature sensitivity of labile versus stable SOM decomposition, partly because of the inability to quantitatively isolate labile versus stable SOM pools and to be sufficiently certain that respiration responses to temperature are not masked by processes such as enhanced stabilization or microbial inhibition/adaptation. Further study on the temperature sensitivity of decomposition of isolated SOM fractions is necessary to better explain and predict temperature responses of bulk SOM decomposition.
The evolution of drought escape and avoidance in natural herbaceous populations

While the functional genetics and physiological mechanisms controlling drought resistance in crop plants have been intensely studied, less research has examined the genetic basis of adaptation to drought stress in natural populations. Drought resistance adaptations in nature reflect natural rather than human-mediated selection and may identify novel mechanisms for stress tolerance. Adaptations conferring drought resistance have historically been divided into alternative strategies including drought escape (rapid development to complete a life cycle before drought) and drought avoidance (reducing water loss to prevent dehydration). Recent studies in genetic model systems such as Arabidopsis, Mimulus, and Panicum have begun to elucidate the genes, expression profiles, and physiological changes responsible for ecologically important variation in drought resistance. Similar to most crop plants, variation in drought escape and avoidance is complex, underlain by many QTL of small effect, and pervasive gene by environment interactions. Recently identified major-effect alleles point to a significant role for genetic constraints in limiting the concurrent evolution of both drought escape and avoidance strategies, although these constraints are not universally found. This progress suggests that understanding the mechanistic basic and fitness consequences of gene by environment interactions will be critical for crop improvement and forecasting population persistence in unpredictable environments.
An explicit procedure for discretizing continuous, optimal control problems

An explicit procedure for obtaining discrete approximations to general, nonlinear, fixed-time, continuous, optimal control problems with no intermediate trajectory constraints is presented. It is proved that, if the associated system of differential equations is linear in the control variable, then the optimal solutions of these approximationsconverge to extremals of the original continuous problem.
Characterization of optical communication in a leader-follower unmanned underwater vehicle formation

As part of the research to development an optical communication design of a leader-follower formation between unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs), this paper presents light field characterization and design configuration of the hardware required to allow the use of distance detection between UUVs. The study specifically is targeting communication between remotely operated vehicles (ROVs). As an initial step in this study, the light field produced from a light source mounted on the leader UUV was empirically characterized and modeled. Based on the light field measurements, a photo-detector array for the follower UUV was designed. Evaluation of the communication algorithms to monitor the UUV’s motion was conducted through underwater experiments in the Ocean Engineering Laboratory at the University of New Hampshire. The optimal spectral range was determined based on the calculation of the diffuse attenuation coefficients by using two different light sources and a spectrometer. The range between the leader and the follower vehicles for a specific water type was determined. In addition, the array design and the communication algorithms were modified according to the results from the light field.
Clinical practice. The patient with hypochondriasis.

A 39-year-old woman repeatedly sees her physician for symptoms including paresthesias and “swelling” of the hands and feet. The results of physical examination and laboratory studies have been normal, yet this has failed to reassure her. She is now concerned that she has lupus and urgently requests a rheumatology consultation. How should you manage this problem?
Ion conduction and water transport in polyphosphazene-based multilayers

Layer-by-layer (LbL) assembled films of poly[bis(methoxyethoxyethoxy) phosphazene] (MEEP) and poly (acrylic acid) (PAA) are demonstrated by utilizing the hydrogen bonding between these two polymers. These films show controlled thickness growth, high ionic conductivity, and excellent hydrolytic stability. The ionic conductivity of these films is studied by changing the assembly pH of initial polymer solutions and thereby controlling the hydrogen bonding characteristics. MEEP/PAA LbL films assembled at higher pH values have enhanced water uptake and transport properties, which play a key role in increasing ion transport within the films. At fully humidified conditions, the ionic conductivity of MEEP/PAA is 7 × 10−4 S cm−1, more than 1 order of magnitude higher than previously studied hydrogen-bonded LbL systems. Finally, free-standing films are isolated from low-energy surface substrates, which allows for bulk characterization of these thin films.
Health Promotion and the Discourse on Culture: Implications for Empowerment

To invoke the primacy of culture in health education activities is not only to challenge approaches to health education that overlook or downplay this domain, but to also deepen and extend the possibilities of progressive approaches that focus on culture. Border pedagogy, which seeks to establish a countervoice to Eurocentrism and patriarchy, enhances and magnifies the possibilities that were opened up when critical pedagogy invoked the engagement of students in the production of knowledge. This process of engaging the teacher/interventionists and the students/audiences in the production of meaning, value, pleasure, and knowledge should be central to the mission of health education. It is only through such dialogue where varied cultural expressions are affirmed and centralized that the production of cultural identity can be legitimating and empowering relative to health promotion.
Habitat Sequencing and the Importance of Discharge in Inferences

Abstract We constructed stream maps for a low-gradient trout stream in southwestern Virginia during autumn (base flow) and spring (elevated flows) to compare spatial and temporal variation in stream habitats. Pool–riffle sequencing and total area occupied by pools and riffles changed substantially depending on the level of discharge: reduced discharge resulted in an increase in total pool surface area with more numerous but smaller pools than during spring. In contrast, total surface area of riffles decreased with decreasing discharge as did total wetted surface area. These findings suggest caution should be exercised when comparing seasonal or annual surveys, applying habitat guidelines for assessment or management, evaluating fish standing crop potential from predictive habitat models, or predicting availability of habitat or biological information at times other than when stream surveys are conducted. We demonstrate the potential dangers by intentionally applying biological sample results taken at one ...
How strategic budgeting can control cost while improving performance

When managers focus on overall goals in making resource choices, wiser choices are made, efficiencies encouraged, and collaboration fostered. It is simple, fast, and flexible. To that end, this article presents a format for budgeting called strategic budgeting. This new budgeting format addresses the frustrations of implementing—and being held accountable for—a budget. It uses the concepts of information symmetry, mutual monitoring, and a group budget buffer (a pool that supports the funding of nonbudgeted expenditures). Strategic budgeting thus ensures that funding follows strategic intent—in other words, what actually supports a company's goals. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Force-free and other models for the crystal structures of molecular chlorine and hexachlorobenzene

Abstract The equilibrium condition for predicted model crystal structures containing rigid molecules with no thermal motion is discussed. The predicted structure must be at a minimum on the potential energy surface as a function of the structural variables. At the minimum the force vector is null and the hessian is positive definite. The crystal structures of molecular chlorine and hexachlorobenzene are used as examples.
The Study of Information: Interdisciplinary Messages

A collection of articles by leading authorities presenting an interdisciplinary approach to key issues of information science. Debates how information science affects various fields.
A Lamellar Unit of Aortic Medial Structure and Function in Mammals

The close association of elastin, collagen, and smooth muscle in the mammalian aortic media results in viscoelastic properties that account for many of its static and dynamic mechanical features. The structural components of the media are precisely oriented in concentric layers, or lamellar units, of fairly uniform composition. A comparative study of the adult thoracic aorta in 10 mammalian species, including 15 canine breeds, showed that the number of lamellar units in the media of adult mammalian aortas is very nearly proportional to aortic radius regardless of species or variations in measured wall thickness. Estimated wall tensions ranged from 7,820 dynes/cm in a 28-g mouse to 203,000 dynes/cm in a 200,000-g sow, but the average tension per lamellar unit of an aortic media was remarkably constant regardless of species, ranging from 1,090 to 3,010 dynes/cm. The findings suggest that the elastin lamella and the contents of its adjacent interlamellar zone represent the unit of structure and function of the mammalian aortic wall.
Ecology of a parasitic barnacle, Koleolepas avis: relationship to the hosts, distribution, left–right asymmetry and reproduction

The pedunculate barnacle Koleolepas avis is a symbiont of the sea anemone Calliactis japonica, which lives on gastropod shells carried by large hermit crabs, usually Dardanus arrosor. Relationships with the host sea anemone, distribution on the gastropod shell, left–right asymmetry and reproduction of the barnacle were investigated. A larger number of barnacles occurred on shells with greater ‘cylindroid dimensions’ of sea anemones. Distribution of barnacles on shells was not random: assuming the in situ position of the shell carried by the hermit crab (∼45° inclination), there were more barnacles along the lower part of the anemone disk than the upper part. Large barnacles lie on either the left or right sides of their capitula, and those lying on the left side (Type L individuals) tended to occur along the left side of the host, and those on the right side (Type R) along the right side. Barnacles [ges ]0·016 g in wet weight had egg masses, and there was a positive relationship between body weight and number of eggs. Koleolepas avis has both hermaphrodites and dwarf (complementary) males attached to them. Large hermaphrodites tended to have larger dwarf males than smaller hermaphrodites.
Not Your Child's Playground: Workplace Bullying Among Community College Faculty

Community colleges have provided an entree into higher education for many women. Yet, women faculty perceive the overall climate of community colleges as “chilly.” To deconstruct the interpersonal dynamics that may lead to perceptions of a chilly climate, this study examines the prevalence of workplace bullying among and between community college faulty. The purpose is to understand the nature of harassment, the ways in which women define and respond to it, and the importance of contextual factors in the prevalence. Workplace bullying is a form of interpersonal aggression that has implications for how individuals perceive the organizational climate, job productivity, and job satisfaction. Findings from this study indicate that workplace bullying among faculty includes many subtle practices characterized by informal and formal use of power, faculty workplace bullying is affected by several enabling structures specific to the context, and victims typically respond with avoidance. This study has implications...
“It Happens All the Time”: Overcoming the Limits of Memory and Method for Chronic Community Violence Experience

To date, most researchers concerned with chronic community violence have studied children's experiences and used one-time interviews. In contrast, this study focused on the extent and variety of women's experiences, and used a combination of one-time and repeated interviews. Based on a study of women's experience with chronic community violence, this article argues for the value of repeated, in-depth interviewing about current experience as a method of studying encounters with high-frequency, potentially traumatic events. In short, it suggests that one-time, retrospective interview methods may substantially underestimate the level of the women's experience with chronic community violence and that repeated weekly interviews offer a more thorough and detailed assessment that may serve as a concurrent validity check for brief, structured instruments.
A probabilistic framework for relational clustering

Relational clustering has attracted more and more attention due to its phenomenal impact in various important applications which involve multi-type interrelated data objects, such as Web mining, search marketing, bioinformatics, citation analysis, and epidemiology. In this paper, we propose a probabilistic model for relational clustering, which also provides a principal framework to unify various important clustering tasks including traditional attributes-based clustering, semi-supervised clustering, co-clustering and graph clustering. The proposed model seeks to identify cluster structures for each type of data objects and interaction patterns between different types of objects. Under this model, we propose parametric hard and soft relational clustering algorithms under a large number of exponential family distributions. The algorithms are applicable to relational data of various structures and at the same time unifies a number of stat-of-the-art clustering algorithms: co-clustering algorithms, the k-partite graph clustering, Bregman k-means, and semi-supervised clustering based on hidden Markov random fields.
Clinically Relevant Pharmacogenomic Testing in Pediatric Practice

Clinicians and patients continue to convey interest in personalized medicine. The objective of personalized medicine is to improve healthcare by tailoring disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment strategies for individuals based on their unique clinical history and genetic composition. This article offers an overview of pharmacogenomics, discusses caveats specific to pharmacogenomics in pediatric populations, provides evidence-based recommendations for pediatric clinicians, and offers insight regarding the future role of pharmacogenomics testing in pediatric medicine. Reviews of the current literature and thoughtful discussions are presented regarding the pharmacogenomics of antidepressants, codeine and oncologic, asthma, and immunomodulatory pharmacotherapies.
Experimental velocity profiles and volumetric flow via two-dimensional speckle tracking

Abstract The performance of a two-dimensional speckle tracking system in measuring in vitro laminar flow is evaluated. The system uses a pattern matching algorithm to track subresolution-sized speckle regions between successive ultrasonic 2D pulse-echo acquisitions in order to determine both the axial and the lateral components of velocity. In this study, multiple 2D vector velocity maps were acquired in real time using a calibrated laminar flow phantom, and then statistically analyzed off-line. At a 90° transducer angle, volumetric flow rates computed from measured velocity profiles exhibited excellent linearity ( R 2 > 0.99), with a mean error of −6.1%, over the range 5–30 mL/s. At 105° and 120°, experimental volume flow rates also agreed well with actual rates, although measured velocity profiles appeared more irregular with decreasing Doppler angles. Velocity profiles estimated using sampled radio-frequency data rather than envelope-detected data were inconsistent due to an insufficient sampling rate and the quantization of the velocity grid. Results indicate that excellent flow velocity and volume rate estimates can be obtained from vector velocity measurements along a single line of sight, without a priori knowledge of the flow direction, at transducer angles near 90° where Doppler instruments are prone to large errors.
Design techniques for a pipelined ADC without using a front-end sample-and-hold amplifier

Design techniques for a low-power pipelined analog-to-digital converters (ADC) without using a front-end sample-and-hold amplifier are presented. Two sampling topologies are compared that minimize aperture error by matching the time constant between signal paths. A digital correction expansion technique is also presented for multibit ADCs, which further increases tolerance to aperture error. Elimination of the front-end SHA can save more than half of the ADCs static power dissipation.
Nonlinear Bulging Factors for Longitudinal and Circumferential Cracks in Cylindrical Shells Subjected to Combined Loads

Results of a geometrically nonlinear finite element parametric study to determine curvature correction factors or "bulging factors" that account for increased crack-tip stresses due to curvature for longitudinal and circumferential cracks in unstiffened cylindrical shells subjected to combined loads are presented. Nondimensional parameters varied in the study include the shell curvature parameter, Lamda, which is a function of the shell radius, the shell wall thickness, and the crack length; a pressure loading parameter, Eta, which is a function of the shell geometry, material properties and the applied internal pressure; and a biaxial loading parameter, Chi, which is the ratio of the farfield axial stress to the farfield circumferential stress. The major results are presented in the form of contour plots of the bulging factor as a function of these three nondimensional parameters. These plots identify the ranges of the shell curvature and loading parameters for which the effects of geometric nonlinearity are significant, and show the effect of the biaxial loads on the value of the bulging factors. Simple empirical expressions for the bulging factor are then derived from the numerical results are shown to predict accurately the nonlinear response of shells with longitudinal and circumferential cracks.
Long range planning in the mature corporation

The decade of the seventies has seen a dramatic surge in the acceptance and adoption of long range planning systems by U.S. firms. This paper examines the planning experiences of 86 Fortune 1000 companies, many of them with formal planning systems ten years of age or more. Data collected in this study suggests that planning systems move through different phases in a development cycle. The ability to cope with planning problems, the satisfaction of planning participants, and the extent to which companies formulate explicit policies to recognize managerial contributions to long range planning activities are associated with the age of a company's formal planning system and its phase of planning system development. Mature system companies do a better job in coping with planning problems, are more satisfied with their planning systems, and are more likely to recognize managerial contributions to long range planning.
Risk evaluation and estrogens

The risks of estrogens are a matter of concern both within the the medical community and in society at large. Estrogen products are a technology in manu medici. They have been prescribed and used in medical practice for over 180 bodily conditions. Experimentation with estrogens has from the 1930s been accompanied with warnings of the risks of cancer and other disease. Successively evidence of iatrogenic disease due to estrogens has accumulated but total consensus has not yet been reached. The social interaction over the risks of estrogens within the medical community as well as in society at large is described. The societal evaluation of the risks of estrogens reveals that not only factual data but also values and culture influence the evaluation of medical technology.
Monitoring minimum cost paths on road networks

On a road network, the minimum cost path (or min-cost path for short) from a source location to a destination is a path with the smallest travel cost among all possible paths. Despite that min-cost path queries on static networks have been well studied, the problem of monitoring min-cost paths on a road network in presence of updates is not fully explored. In this paper, we present PathMon, an efficient system for monitoring min-cost paths in dynamic road networks. PathMon addresses two important issues of the min-cost path monitoring problem, namely, (i) path invalidation that identifies min-cost paths returned to path queries affected by network changes, and (ii) path update that replaces invalid paths with new ones for those affected path queries. For (i), we introduce the notion of query scope, based on which a query scope index (QSI) is developed to identify affected path queries. For (ii), we devise a partial path computation algorithm (PPCA) to quickly recompute the updated paths. Through a comprehensive performance evaluation by simulation, QSI and PPCA are demonstrated to be effective on the path invalidation and path update issues.
Will travel for food: spatial discounting in two new world monkeys.

Summary Nonhuman animals steeply discount the future, showing a preference for small, immediate over large, delayed rewards [1–5]. Currently unclear is whether discounting functions depend on context. Here, we examine the effects of spatial context on discounting in cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus) and common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus), species known to differ in temporal discounting [5]. We presented subjects with a choice between small, nearby rewards and large, distant rewards. Tamarins traveled farther for the large reward than marmosets, attending to the ratio of reward differences rather than their absolute values. This species difference contrasts with performance on a temporal task in which marmosets waited longer than tamarins for the large reward. These comparative data indicate that context influences choice behavior, with the strongest effect seen in marmosets who discounted more steeply over space than over time. These findings parallel details of each species’ feeding ecology. Tamarins range over large distances and feed primarily on insects, which requires using quick, impulsive action. Marmosets range over shorter distances than tamarins and feed primarily on tree exudates, a clumped resource that requires patience to wait for sap to exude [6–9]. These results show that discounting functions are context specific, shaped by a history of ecological pressures.
Balancing Dangers: GLBT Experience in a Time of Anti-GLBT Legislation.

In the past few years, 26 states have changed their constitutions to restrict marriage to one man and one woman. There has been little research on the psychological effects of this political process on gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) people. In this qualitative project, 13 GLBT people were interviewed about their experience during the process of a constitutional amendment. A grounded theory analysis of these semistructured interviews was conducted. The core category, or central finding, was “GLBT people need to balance the dual dangers of engagement with GLBT advocacy and self-protection through withdrawal.” Other findings focused on the experience of living in a context of painful reminders that one is seen as less than human by the government and public, and in which one’s life is frequently and publicly misrepresented to advance hostile political campaigns. Social support and a process of self-acceptance helped participants to face their fears of isolation, discrimination, and aggression and to fight for social justice.
Control problems in super-articulated mechanical systems

Control of super-articulated mechanical systems (SAMS: controlled mechanical system in which the dimension of the configuration space exceeds the dimension of the control input space) is studied. As a starting point, a graphical characterization of general SAMS is developed in which a so-called control flow diagram (CFD) is constructed to represent the interaction forces among the degrees of freedom of the system; three types of structure, namely, the chain structure, the tree structure and isolated points, are identified; degree of complexity of the system is defined based on the structure of the system. A systematic backstepping type controller design is proposed for systems with a chain structure to achieve global asymptotic stability and trajectory tracking. Such a controller design itself illustrates the sufficient conditions for the existence of smooth feedback control such that the systems with a chain structure can be globally asymptotically stabilized. The connection of the authors' control algorithm with existing results is discussed. >
Spin trapping isotopically-labelled nitric oxide produced from [15N]L-arginine and [17O]dioxygen by activated macrophages using a water soluble Fe(++)-dithiocarbamate spin trap.

The unique capabilities of EPR spin trapping of nitric oxide based on a ferrous-dithiocarbamate spin trap have been demonstrated in a study verifying the source of the nitrogen and oxygen atoms in nitric oxide produced from activated macrophages. Spin trapping experiments were performed during nitric oxide generation from activated mouse peritoneal macrophages using the ferrous complex of N-methyl D-glucam-ine dithiocarbamate as a spin trap. When 15N-substituted arginine was given to the activated macrophages in the presence of the spin trap, a characteristic EPR spectrum of the nitric oxide spin adduct was obtained, which indicates the presence of the l5N atom in the nitric oxide molecule. The hyperfine splitting (hfs) constant of the l5N nucleus was 17.6 gauss. When l7O-containing dioxygen (55%) was supplied to the medium, an EPR spectrum consistent with the “O-substituted nitric oxide spin adduct was observed in the composite spectrum. The hfs of “O was estimated to be 2.5 gauss. The l4NO spin adduct o...
Origin and paleoenvironmental significance of calcite pseudomorphs after ikaite in the Oligocene Creede Formation, Colorado

ABSTRACT Pseudomorphs of calcite are present in lacustrine strata and travertine of the Oligocene Creede Formation, the sedimentary moat fill of the Creede caldera in the Tertiary San Juan volcanic field. The pseudomorphs, previously thought to have formed after gaylussite (CaCO3Na2CO3·5H2O), are interpreted to have formed after ikaite (CaCO3·6H2O) on the basis of their modes of occurrence, pseudomorph morphology, and textural and chemical aspects of the calcite replacement. The extent of their exposure and degree of preservation in the Creede Formation allow elucidation of the depositional conditions in which the ikaite formed and was subsequently pseudomorphically replaced. The revised paleoenvironmental interpre ation of the Creede Formation also has implications for understanding of the late Oligocene climate of the southwestern United States. Formation of ikaite requires water temperatures of 0-3°C, supersaturation with respect to calcite, and the presence of a chemical inhibitor, such as dissolved phosphate, to prevent growth of calcite or aragonite (Shearman and Smith 1985). Geochemical calculations and hydrogeologic considerations suggest that waters with dissolved phosphate contents sufficient to inhibit calcite growth and stabilize ikaite could have developed in the Creede moat lake, although a chemical remnant of high phosphate content is not observed in the strata. The granular texture of the Creede pseudomorphs is common to calcite pseudomorphs after ikaite from many localities. A model is proposed in which slow pseudomorphic replacement (over a period of a day or more) results in sand-size calcite grains forme directly from the ikaite. This model has important implications for the interpretation of isotopic and chemical data obtained from pseudomorphs (and thinolitic tufa).
R-SOX: runtime semantic query optimization over XML streams

Optimizing queries over XML streams has been an important and non-trivial issue with the emergence of complex XML stream applications such as monitoring sensor networks and online transaction processing. Our system, R-SOX, provides a platform for runtime query optimization based on dynamic schema knowledge embedded in the XML streams. Such information provides refined runtime schema knowledge thus dramatically enlarged the opportunity for schema-based query optimizations. In this demonstration, we focus on the following three aspects: (1) annotation of runtime schema knowledge; (2) incremental maintenance of run-time schema knowledge; (3) dynamic semantic query optimization techniques. The overall framework for runtime semantic query optimization, including several classes of dynamic optimization techniques, will be shown in this demonstration.
Estimating the Size of Fish Consumed by Double-crested Cormorants: Considerations for Better Understanding Cormorant-Fish Interactions

We measured 926 smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu), 6,935 yellow perch (Perca flavescens), 6,416 rock bass (Ambloplites rupestris), and 4,852 pumpkinseed (Lepomis gibbosus) otoliths recovered from double-crested cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) pellets to determine the sizes (total lengths) of these fish consumed by cormorants. Otoliths were recovered from cormorant pellets collected from 1993 to 2002 at six colonies along the eastern Lake Ontario–St. Lawrence River corridor. Otolith – length fish length regressions were used to estimate the length of fish species consumed by cormorants. Only 1.5% of these otoliths had no visible erosion, 33.3% had minor erosion, and 65.2% had moderate erosion. We found that the exclusive use of uneroded otoliths severely limited the sample size available for estimating fish size and likely would cause an overestimation of fish size. Species-specific differences were evident when using erosion criteria to determine fish size and could result in bias when estimating length, especially for species such as smallmouth bass whose otoliths possess a rostrum that is readily eroded. Using a random sample (n = 100) of all intact otoliths recovered in pellets provided a conservative estimate of fish length that was smaller than that derived from uneroded or minimally eroded otoliths. Annual variation in the size of fish consumed by cormorants was more pronounced than seasonal variation for most species. We describe and recommend a new technique that incorporates both chick regurgitant and pellet samples for estimating the size of fish consumed by cormorants.
Increases in core temperature counterbalance effects of haemoconcentration on blood viscosity during prolonged exercise in the heat.

New Findings What is the central question of this study? The purpose of the present study was to determine the effects of exercise-induced haemoconcentration and hyperthermia on blood viscosity. What is the main finding and its importance? Exercise-induced haemoconcentration, increased plasma viscosity and increased blood aggregation, all of which increased blood viscosity, were counterbalanced by increased red blood cell (RBC) deformability (e.g. RBC membrane shear elastic modulus and elongation index) caused by the hyperthermia. Thus, blood viscosity remained unchanged following prolonged moderate-intensity exercise in the heat. Previous studies have reported that blood viscosity is significantly increased following exercise. However, these studies measured both pre- and postexercise blood viscosity at 37°C even though core and blood temperatures would be expected to have increased during the exercise. Consequently, the effect of exercise-induced hyperthermia on mitigating change in blood viscosity may have been missed. The purpose of this study was to isolate the effects of exercise-induced haemoconcentration and hyperthermia and to determine their combined effects on blood viscosity. Nine subjects performed 2 h of moderate-intensity exercise in the heat (37°C, 40% relative humidity), which resulted in significant increases from pre-exercise values for rectal temperature (from 37.11 ± 0.35 to 38.76 ± 0.13°C), haemoconcentration (haematocrit increased from 43.6 ± 3.6 to 45.6 ± 3.5%) and dehydration (change in body weight = −3.6 ± 0.7%). Exercise-induced haemoconcentration significantly (P < 0.05) increased blood viscosity by 9% (from 3.97 to 4.33 cP at 300 s−1), whereas exercise-induced hyperthermia significantly decreased blood viscosity by 7% (from 3.97 to 3.69 cP at 300 s−1). When both factors were considered together, there was no overall change in blood viscosity (from 3.97 to 4.03 cP at 300 s−1). The effects of exercise-induced haemoconcentration, increased plasma viscosity and increased red blood cell aggregation, all of which increased blood viscosity, were counterbalanced by increased red blood cell deformability (e.g. red blood cell membrane shear elastic modulus and elongation index) caused by the hyperthermia. Thus, blood viscosity remained unchanged following prolonged moderate-intensity exercise in the heat.
Biological and Immunological Distinctions between Pituitary and Serum LH in the Rat

Our contribution to this workshop aimed at correlating the functions and structures of the gonadotrophic hormones will be a small one, consisting of a few fragmentary observations regarding the nature of the rat luteinizing hormone (LH) found in the circulation and the framing of some questions these observations raise with regard to an apparent “change of state” that occurs at one or more points in the life cycle of this hormone. Some of these questions may be answered in the discussion. Those that are not yet answerable may be even more useful than those that are, since they may help focus attention on the crucial possibility that the chemical structure of a hormone after extraction from its gland of origin may differ from that of the hormone normally present in the blood (which had already been secreted into the circulation). Hormonal activity may reside in both apparent forms, but this need not imply functional equivalence. Clearly, the structural features responsible for function must ultimately be defined in the molecule that exerts hormonal action under physiological conditions. As far as we know, all structural analyses to date have dealt only with the forms of LH present in pituitary extracts.