cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Norepinephrine Secretion and Production in Diabetic Autonomic Neuropathy

Abstract Orthostatic hypotension (OH) in patients with diabetic autonomic neuropathy may result from sympathetic neuronal dysfunction and inadequate norepinephrine (NE) release as patients shift from the supine to an upright posture. The biochemical basis for this physiological abnormality is not understood. We measured basal supine NE secretion and production in 10 diabetic patients with OH, 9 diabetic patients without OH, and in 13 age-matched normal subjects. Apparent NE secretion, the rate at which NE enters the bloodstream, was 1.22 ± 0.24 (SEM) nmol/m2min in the diabetic patients with OH, significantly lower than in the diabetic patients without OH and normal subjects in whom apparent NE secretion rates were 2.27 ± 0.48 and 1.86 ± 0.12 nmol/m2 min, respectively. NE production, estimated from integrated NE metabolite excretion, was 10.2 ± 0.85 nmol/mg creatinine in the diabetic patients with OH, which was significantly lower (P < 0.01) than that in the diabetic patients without OH and normal subjects...
The relationship between auditory sensitivity and ear asymmetry on a dichotic listening task

Using an adaptive forced-choice procedure, the average absolute sensitivity of the right ears of a group of right-handed males was found to be slightly greater than that of their left ears. There was no ear difference in performance on a monaural syllable-identification task using easily detectable stimuli, however. The magnitude of the ear difference in absolute sensitivity was significantly correlated with performance on a dichotic-listening task. In a second experiment, the adaptive forced-choice procedure was used to assess differences in absolute sensitivity in a group of left-handed males. The right ears of those left-handers showing a right-ear advantage on the dichotic-listening task were slightly more sensitive than their left ears. The left ears of those left-handers showing a dichotic left-ear advantage were slightly, but not significantly, more sensitive than their right ears. The correlation of the ear differences in absolute sensitivity with performance on the dichotic-listening task for the left-handers was not significantly different from zero. Results of both experiments are discussed in terms of their implications for the nature of hemispheric asymmetry of function, and the interpretation of dichotic and monaural asymmetries.
Barriers to and attitudes towards promoting husbands involvement in maternal health in Katmandu Nepal.

Couple-friendly reproductive health services and male partner involvement in women's reproductive health have recently garnered considerable attention. Given the sensitive nature of gender roles and relations in many cultures, understanding the context of a particular setting, potential barriers, and attitudes towards a new intervention are necessary first steps in designing services that include men. In preparation for a male involvement in antenatal care intervention, this qualitative study specifically aims to: (a) understand the barriers to male involvement in maternal health and (b) explore men's, women's, and providers' attitudes towards the promotion of male involvement in antenatal care and maternal health. In-depth interviews were conducted with fourteen couples and eight maternal health care providers at a public maternity hospital in Katmandu, Nepal. Additionally, seventeen couples participated in focus group discussions. The most prominent barriers to male involvement in maternal health included low levels of knowledge, social stigma, shyness/embarrassment and job responsibilities. Though providers also foresaw some obstacles, primarily in the forms of hospital policy, manpower and space problems, providers unanimously felt the option of couples-friendly maternal health services would enhance the quality of care and understanding of health information given to pregnant women, echoing attitudes expressed by most pregnant women and their husbands. Accordingly, a major shift in hospital policy was seen as an important first step in introducing couple-friendly antenatal or delivery services. The predominantly favorable attitudes of pregnant women, husbands, and providers towards encouraging greater male involvement in maternal health in this study imply that the introduction of an option for such services would be both feasible and well accepted.
Analysis and Modeling of an Experimental Device by Finite-Time Lyapunov Exponent Method.

In this paper, we investigate the transport and mixing process of the batch mixers with two different configurations, the centered-blade and offset-blade mixers, by using a dynamical system approach. The 2-D velocity fields of the mixers measured using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) are used to identify the Lagrangian coherent structures (LCSs). The results show that the LCSs separate the physical space into two portions. In the case of the center-blade mixer the portion bounded inside the LCS experiences a relatively slow mixing relative to the portion outside of the LCS boundary. However, when the blade position is located near the wall, the LCS becomes more complicated but it still separates regions of fast mixing from a slower one. We develop a heuristic dynamical system model of our mixers to understand how the vorticity strength at the blade tips influences the variation of the LCSs. Finally, we define an appropriate notion of mixing to study the mixing rate of our mixing devices.
Declines in mental illness over the adult years: an enduring finding or methodological artifact?

Objectives: Epidemiological surveys have revealed dramatic declines in the prevalence of serious mental illness (SMI) as adults age. Analyses of these datasets have not determined whether this is attributable, on one hand, to declining incidence, shorter duration of condition, and lesser severity with age, or on the other hand, confounding variables and methodological biases. This study, thus, aims to test several such competing hypotheses. Methods: This study employs a secondary analysis of data from the 2001/2002 US National Comorbidity Replication Survey of 9282 adults, 18 and older, living in the household population of the 48 contiguous states, as well as supplemental datasets from Israel, New Zealand, and other sources. Results: One-year SMI prevalence rates in the US drop from 8.0% of adults 18–29 to 1.4% of the 65+, and to similar degrees in Israel and New Zealand. The drop in the US can be explained by the early onset of most mental illnesses, and declines in both incidence and duration of condit...
A critical investigation of the integral description of metabolizing systems

It is shown that the validity of Branson's integral description of metabolizing systems is subject to severe limitations. The validity is insured only in cases where the reaction is of first order, or quasi of first order. In all other cases Branson's equation has to be modified to insure general applicability. The consequences of a different definition of the metabolizing functionF have also been investigated. With the new definitionF describes the pure effect of metabolization. It is found that in this case the integral equation is only capable of describing first-order reactions. With a slight modification of the integral equation it is possible to describe metabolites “with age”, which do not have reactions of definite order, but which satisfy the superposition principle.
G protein-coupled receptor 30: estrogen receptor or collaborator?

More than 800 G protein-coupled receptors (GPRs) are transcribed in the human genome (1). For many of these receptors, no endogenous ligand has been found, and, therefore, they are currently designated as orphan receptors. One such protein, GPR30, has been proposed to be an estrogen receptor (ER) (2,3).
Hierarchical shuffle-exchange and de Bruijn networks

The authors present two new classes of interconnection networks for SIMD (single-instruction multiple-data) computers, namely, the hierarchical shuffle-exchange (HSE) and hierarchical de Bruijn (HdB) networks. These networks are efficient in implementing a wide range of algorithms, including all of those in the classes ascend and descend. The networks are highly regular and scalable, and well-suited to VLSI implementation. In addition, they can be adjusted to match the pin limitations imposed by the packaging technology. The authors compare the HSE and HdB networks with hypercube, 2-D mesh, 3-D mesh, shuffle-exchange, hypernet, de Bruijn, and cube-connected cycles networks. The HSE and HdB networks are shown to have advantages in terms of regularity, scalability, and performance. >
Regulatory and Nonregulatory Approaches to Ecosystem Conservation: Institutions and Funding Mechanisms

As resource managers in the Great Plains develop a strategy to address ecosystem conservation issues, they may employ both regulatory and nonregulatory approaches to achieve their goals. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) experience in other geographic initiatives (such as the Chesapeake Bay and Great Lakes programs) suggests that coordinated initiatives on the part of federal and state regulatory and resource management agencies, as well as cooperative efforts with allied public and private organizations, special districts, and private landowners can conserve and protect ecosystems and yield substantial improvements in environmental quality. These geographic initiatives have focused attention and resources on ecological resources that have attracted broad-based public support.
Comparing urinary biomarkers of airborne and dermal exposure to polycyclic aromatic compounds in asphalt-exposed workers

When working with hot mix asphalt, road pavers are exposed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) through the inhalation of vapors and particulate matter (PM) and through dermal contact with PM and contaminated surfaces. Several PAHs with four to six rings are potent carcinogens which reside in these particulate emissions. Since urinary biomarkers of large PAHs are rarely detectable in asphalt workers, attention has focused upon urinary levels of the more volatile and abundant two-ring and three-ring PAHs as potential biomarkers of PAH exposure. Here, we compare levels of particulate polycyclic aromatic compounds (P-PACs, a group of aromatic hydrocarbons containing PAHs and heterocyclic compounds with four or more rings) in air and dermal patch samples from 20 road pavers to the corresponding urinary levels of naphthalene (U-Nap) (two rings), phenanthrene (U-Phe) (three rings), monohydroxylated metabolites of naphthalene (OH-Nap) and phenanthrene (OH-Phe), and 1-hydroxypyrene (OH-Pyr) (four rings), the most widely used biomarker of PAH exposure. For each worker, daily breathing-zone air (n = 55) and dermal patch samples (n = 56) were collected on three consecutive workdays along with postshift, bedtime, and morning urine samples (n = 149). Measured levels of P-PACs and the urinary analytes were used to statistically model exposure-biomarker relationships while controlling for urinary creatinine, smoking status, age, body mass index, and the timing of urine sampling. Levels of OH-Phe in urine collected postshift, at bedtime, and the following morning were all significantly associated with levels of P-PACs in air and dermal patch samples. For U-Nap, U-Phe, and OH-Pyr, both air and dermal patch measurements of P-PACs were significant predictors of postshift urine levels, and dermal patch measurements were significant predictors of bedtime urine levels (all three analytes) and morning urine levels (U-Nap and OH-Pyr only). Significant effects of creatinine concentration were observed for all analytes, and modest effects of smoking status and body mass index were observed for U-Phe and OH-Pyr, respectively. Levels of OH-Nap were not associated with P-PAC measurements in air or dermal patch samples but were significantly affected by smoking status, age, day of sample collection, and urinary creatinine. We conclude that U-Nap, U-Phe, OH-Phe, and OH-Pyr can be used as biomarkers of exposure to particulate asphalt emissions, with OH-Phe being the most promising candidate. Indications that levels of U-Nap, U-Phe, and OH-Pyr were significantly associated with dermal patch measurements well into the evening after a given work shift, combined with the small ratios of within-person variance components to between-person variance components at bedtime, suggest that bedtime measurements may be useful for investigating dermal PAH exposures.
Correction of Video Camera Response Using Digital Techniques

Video camera intensity nonlinearities can be corrected without the use of light-measuring equipment or calibrated filters. The camera to be corrected is used to adjust two independent light sources such that they illuminate a test card equally. Digitized images made using these sources separately and together are analyzed to determine parameters for use in generating correction tables. An example is presented in which a ±2% nonlinearity observed in a General Electric model 2507 solid-state camera was reduced to less than ±0.2% using a least squares fit to a third-order polynomial. The technique can be used with camera output having any function (e.g., linear, logarithmic) and should be useful whenever strict adherence to a nominal output function is desired. Simple procedures for determining that a camera is nonlinear and for correction of vignetting also are described.
Modeling gunshot bruises in soft body armor with an adaptive fuzzy system

Gunshots produce bruise patterns on persons who wear soft body armor when shot even though the armor stops the bullets. An adaptive fuzzy system modeled these bruise patterns based on the depth and width of the deformed armor given a projectile's mass and momentum. The fuzzy system used rules with sinc-shaped if-part fuzzy sets and was robust against random rule pruning: Median and mean test errors remained low even after removing up to one fifth of the rules. Handguns shot different caliber bullets at armor that had a 10%-ordnance gelatin backing. The gelatin blocks were tissue simulants. The gunshot data tuned the additive fuzzy function approximator. The fuzzy system's conditional variance V[Y|X=x] described the second-order uncertainty of the function approximation. Handguns with different barrel lengths shot bullets over a fixed distance at armor-clad gelatin blocks that we made with Type 250 A Ordnance Gelatin. The bullet-armor experiments found that a bullet's weight and momentum correlated with the depth of its impact on armor-clad gelatin (R/sup 2/=0.881 and p-value <0.001 for the null hypothesis that the regression line had zero slope). Related experiments on plumber's putty showed that highspeed baseball impacts compared well to bullet-armor impacts for large-caliber handguns. A baseball's momentum correlated with its impact depth in putty (R/sup 2/=0.93 and p-value <0.001). A bullet's momentum similarly correlated with its armor-impact in putty (R/sup 2/=0.97 and p-value <0.001). A Gujarati-Chow test showed that the two putty-impact regression lines had statistically indistinguishable slopes for p-value =0.396. Baseball impact depths were comparable to bullet-armor impact depths: Getting shot with a .22 caliber bullet when wearing soft body armor resembles getting hit in the chest with a 40-mph baseball. Getting shot with a .45 caliber bullet resembles getting hit with a 90-mph baseball.
Intoxication: Life in Pursuit of Artificial Paradise

Ronald K. Siegel. Intoxication:Life in Pursuit of'Artificial Paradise. New York: Dutton, 1989. ISBN 0-671-69192-. Paper $9.95. Pp. 390.
Ultra-Wideband Step Notch Array using stripline feed

The novel stripline feed design operates as claimed. This new feed design will allow integration of vertical 3-D TEM wideband notch array to a PCB. The exploitation of the ultra-wideband high scan angle ESA built using a tile-based architecture is now possible.
A hybrid technique for combining moment methods with the geometrical theory of diffraction

A technique for combining moment methods with the geometrical theory of diffraction (GTD) is presented, which permits the application of the method of moments to a larger class of problems. The fundamental idea used to develop the hybrid technique is to modify the usual impedance matrix that characterizes, for example, a wire antenna such that a metallic body or discontinuity on that body is properly accounted for. It is shown in general that one can modify the impedance matrix for any basis and/or weighting functions if one can compute the correct modification to the impedance matrix element. The modification is readily accomplished using the geometrical theory of diffraction and/or geometrical optics. Several example problems are considered to illustrate the usefulness of the technique. First, the canonical problem of a monopole near a conducting wedge is investigated. Second, a monopole at the center of a four-sided and an eight-sided flat plate is considered. Impedance results for the latter case are in good agreement with measurements. Third, a monopole at the center of a circular disc is examined and compared with experimental measurements in the literature, and fourth, the problem of a monopole near a conducting step is solved and the dependence of the input impedance upon the step height shown.
Efficient server provisioning with end-to-end delay guarantee on multi-tier clusters

Dynamic server provisioning is critical to quality-of-service assurance for multi-tier Internet applications. In this paper, we address three important and challenging problems. First, we propose an efficient server provisioning approach on multi-tier clusters based on an end-to-end resource allocation optimization model. It is to minimize the number of servers allocated to the system while the average end-to-end delay guarantee is satisfied. Second, we design a model-independent fuzzy controller for bounding an important performance metric, the 90 th -percentile delay of requests flowing through the multi-tier architecture. Third, to compensate for the latency due to the dynamic addition of servers, we design a self-tuning component that adaptively adjusts the output scaling factor of the fuzzy controller according to the transient behavior of the end-to-end delay. Extensive simulation results, using one representative customer behavior model in a typical three-tier web cluster, demonstrate that the provisioning approach is able to significantly reduce the server utilization compared to an existing representative approach. The approach integrated with the model-independent self-tuning fuzzy controller can efficiently assure the average and the 90 th -percentile end-to-end delay guarantees on multi-tier server clusters.
Characterization of the effects of the human head on communication with implanted antennas

The present work focuses on the characterization of the effects of the human head on communication with cranially implanted antennas for its eventual use in improving current communication methods. A realistic human head model with frequency dependent tissue characteristics is used to obtain a transfer function that describes the magnitude and phase of an electromagnetic wave as it propagates through the human head. This data, captured over a wide frequency range, is then approximated through the use of a modified version of the indoor propagation communication model for path loss which is used to successfully predict received power from cranially implanted antennas.
Three-dimensional assessment of morphologic changes of the maxilla: A comparison of 2 kinds of palatal expanders

Previous studies of the morphologic changes of the maxilla after palatal expansion have used 2-dimensional methodologies. In the present study, we used a 3-dimensional surface laser scanning technique and computerized cast analysis, in addition to analysis of anteroposterior cephalograms, to assess the morphologic changes of the palate by 2 kinds of expanders: tissue borne (Haas; n = 9) and tooth borne (Hyrax; n = 10). Cast analysis demonstrated that, although all patients started treatment with similar malocclusion, treatment outcomes were different depending on the appliance used. Both appliances generated maxillary expansion (ie, improved mean surface area, mean intermolar linear distance, and mean perimeter) (P .05). This new 3-dimensional methodology proved useful for comparing treatment outcomes by evaluating the morphologic changes induced by palatal expansion and generated a better visualization of these outcomes.
Research classics and citation analysis

Research classics are recognized important works in a field. Citing authors' comments along with the classics were analyzed along with citation counts to identify the use contexts. In-depth citation analysis of 11 highly cited classics show unusual longevity as highly cited works, strong associations with high co-citations, a number of image-makers contributing extremely high recitations, and diversity of citing journals. The nature of the classics was also investigated to shed lights on the success of the classics, reasons for low rate of citations to certain classics.
Differential labeling of the erythrocyte hexose carrier by N-ethylmaleimide: correlation of transport inhibition with reactive carrier sulfhydryl groups.

Abstract Inhibition of hexose transport by N-ethylmaleimide was studied with regard to alkylation of different types of sulfhydryl group on the hexose carrier of the human erythrocyte. Uptake of 3-O-methylglucose was progressively and irreversibly inhibited by N-ethylmaleimide, with a half-maximal effect at 10–13 mM. A sulfhydryl group known to exist on the exofacial carrier was not involved in transport inhibition by N-ethylmaleimide, since reversible protection of this group by the impermeant sulfhydryl reagent 5,5′-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid) had no effect on the ability of N-ethylmaleimide to inhibit transport, or on its ability to decrease the affinity of the exofacial carrier for maltose. Nevertheless, the exofacial sulfhydryl was quite reactive with N-ethylmaleimide, since it was possible using a differential labeling technique to specifically label this group in protein-depleted ghosts with a half-maximal effect at 0.3 mM N-[ 3 H ] ethylmaleimide , and to localize it to the Mr 19 000 tryptic carrier fragment. Transport inhibition by N-ethylmaleimide correlated best with labeling of a single cytochalasin B-sensitive internal sulfhydryl group on the glycosylated Mr 23 000– 40 000 tryptic fragment of the carrier, which was half-maximally labeled at about 4 mM reagent. Whereas N-ethylmaleimide readily alkylates the exofacial carrier sulfhydryl, it inhibits transport by reacting with at least one internal carrier sulfhydryl located on the glycosylated tryptic carrier fragment.
Low-Dose Ritonavir for Protease Inhibitor Pharmacokinetic Enhancement

OBJECTIVE:To examine the use of low-dose ritonavir as a pharmacokinetic enhancer for HIV protease inhibitors.DATA SOURCES:Primary articles, review articles, and conference abstracts identified by MEDLINE search (1995–May 2001) and secondary sources.DATA SYNTHESIS:Low-dose ritonavir (100–200 mg) is increasingly being combined with HIV protease inhibitors to improve their effectiveness and allow less frequent dosing. An evaluation of the clinical evidence supporting this practice was conducted.CONCLUSIONS:Limited outcome data exist for low-dose ritonavir-based regimens in general. Although preliminary data appear promising, more clinical evidence is needed to determine the optimal dosing, long-term safety, and relative effectiveness of this approach. The role of these regimens in early therapy remains to be defined.
Fruit Polyphenolics and Brain Aging

Nutritional interventions, in this case, increasing dietary intake of fruits and vegetables, can retard and even reverse age-related declines in brain function and in cognitive and motor performance in rats. Our lab has shown that as Fischer 344 rats age their brains are increasingly vulnerable to oxidative stress. Dietary supplementation with fruit or vegetable extracts high in antioxidants (e.g., blueberry, BB, spinach, respectively) can decrease this vulnerability to oxidative stress as assessed in vivo by examining reductions in neuronal signaling and behavioral deficits and in vitro via H2O2-induced decrements in striatal synaptosomal calcium buffering. Examinations have also revealed that BB supplementations are effective in antagonizing other age-related changes in brain and behavior, as well as decreasing indices of inflammation and oxidative stress in gastrocnemius and quadriceps muscles. In ongoing studies we are attempting to determine the most effective BB polyphenolic components. To date, the anthocyanins show the most efficacy in penetrating the cell membrane and in providing antioxidant protection. In sum, our results indicate that increasing dietary intake of fruits and vegetables high in antioxidant activity may be an important component of a healthy living strategy designed to maximize neuronal and cognitive functioning into old age.
Enhancing Poisson's Equation-Based Approach for DCT Prediction

Yamatani and Saito recently published an interesting method for predicting discrete cosine transform (DCT) coefficients of an image block, which uses partial derivatives of the image at the block boundary points. It estimates partial derivatives the same way for all four side boundary points. In this correspondence, we improve their estimation method for the left and top side boundary points by observing that the decoder can use 1-D DCT of the rightmost column of pixels of the block on the left side and bottom row pixels of the block on the top side instead of using just the DC of these two blocks. It led us to revise their prediction equations. Experimental results show that the cumulative reduction in the size of the first five AC coefficients obtained using their equations is 15.1%, and the same using our equations is 24.6%.
Molecular and biogeochemical evidence for ammonia oxidation by marine Crenarchaeota in the Gulf of California

Nitrification plays an important role in marine biogeochemistry, yet efforts to link this process to the microorganisms that mediate it are surprisingly limited. In particular, ammonia oxidation is the first and rate-limiting step of nitrification, yet ammonia oxidation rates and the abundance of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) have rarely been measured in tandem. Ammonia oxidation rates have not been directly quantified in conjunction with ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA), although mounting evidence indicates that marine Crenarchaeota are capable of ammonia oxidation, and they are among the most abundant microbial groups in the ocean. Here, we have directly quantified ammonia oxidation rates by 15N labeling, and AOA and AOB abundances by quantitative PCR analysis of ammonia monooxygenase subunit A (amoA) genes, in the Gulf of California. Based on markedly different archaeal amoA sequence types in the upper water column (60 m) and oxygen minimum zone (OMZ; 450 m), novel amoA PCR primers were designed to specifically target and quantify 'shallow' (group A) and 'deep' (group B) clades. These primers recovered extensive variability with depth. Within the OMZ, AOA were most abundant where nitrification may be coupled to denitrification. In the upper water column, group A tracked variations in nitrogen biogeochemistry with depth and between basins, whereas AOB were present in relatively low numbers or undetectable. Overall, 15NH4+ oxidation rates were remarkably well correlated with AOA group A amoA gene copies (r2=0.90, P<0.001), and with 16S rRNA gene copies from marine Crenarchaeota (r2=0.85, P<0.005). These findings represent compelling evidence for an archaeal role in oceanic nitrification.
Increased lipid oxidation but normal muscle glycogen response to epinephrine in humans with IDDM

The effects of physiological increments in epinephrine and insulin on glucose production (GP), skeletal muscle glycogen metabolism, and substrate oxidation were studied in eight insulin-dependent d...
Model Based Vehicle Tracking for Autonomous Driving in Urban Environments.

Situational awareness is crucial for autonomous driving in urban environments. This paper describes moving vehicle tracking module that we developed for our autonomous driving robot Junior. The robot won second place in the Urban Grand Challenge, an autonomous driving race organized by the U.S. Government in 2007. The tracking module provides reliable tracking of moving vehicles from a high-speed moving platform using laser range finders. Our approach models both dynamic and geometric properties of the tracked vehicles and estimates them using a single Bayes filter per vehicle. We also show how to build efficient 2D representations out of 3D range data and how to detect poorly visible black vehicles. Experimental validation includes the most challenging conditions presented at the UGC as well as other urban settings.
IFAC congress survey paper: Interface requirements, transducers and computers for on-line systems

This survey reviews the major problems which exist today in the development of transducers, input-output equipment, and computer systems for on-line process control in various industries. It outlines the areas requiring attention through applied research and development and points out some of the gains to be made through solution of these problems. The similarity of applications and of the problems across the various industries is highlighted in an attempt to influence an industry-wide attack on these problems.
High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy: An Essential Characterization Technique for Optimization of Semiconductor Epitaxy and Interfaces

High-resolution transmission electron microscopy has been utilized to critically assess semiconductor-based epitaxial films and interfaces. These results then provide a sound, scientific basis for subsequent process modification. Materials optimization is therefore achieved more efficiently.
Genetic susceptibility to irritant-induced acute lung injury in mice.

Recent studies suggest that genetic variability can influence irritant-induced lung injury and inflammation. To begin identifying genes controlling susceptibility to inhaled irritants, seven inbred...
Cyclic Groups and Cryptography

This chapter presents another public-key cryptographic method used world-wide, the Diffie-Hellman key exchange. Section 8.5 introduced an efficient algorithm for finding \(h = g^{m}\) where g is an element of a finite group, for example when the group is the group of units modulo a prime p and m is a large exponent. The reverse problem, given g and h, find m, is called the discrete logarithm problem, and is a hard problem. The security of Diffie-Hellman key exchange and the closely related ElGamal cryptosystem is based on that fact. Needed for Diffie-Hellman are cyclic groups of large order. We find many such groups by proving the Primitive Root Theorem, which states that for every prime number p, the group of units of \(\mathbb {Z}_{p}\) is a cyclic group. The chapter concludes with two methods that can be more efficient than constructing log tables for solving the discrete logarithm problem; one method involves use of the Chinese Remainder Theorem.
Standard Indications and Contraindications for Pacemaker Implantation: The 1998 ACC/AHA Guidelines

A number of new indications for pacemaker implantation were included in the new guidelines. Each of these areas will be discussed in much greater detail and context in subsequent chapters.
Analysis of the Tracking Loop of Phase Coherent Frequency Hopped Systems

This paper analyzes the behavior of frequency hopped systems that make use of an MSK-type waveform to obtain a continuous phase at each hop transition and that employ digital tracking loops at the receiver. It is shown that, for an AWGN channel, a steady state density function exists for the tracking error in the absence of frequency uncertainty. Also, the dynamics of the phase error can be obtained when there is uncertainty in the received frequency, and results for the probability distribution of the first time at which loss of lock occurs for a given initial frequency error are presented.
Chapter 27 – Real Space, Knowledge Space and Computational Space

Chapter Summary In this chapter, we propose that the intersection(s) of perceptual and computational spaces lies in the reality of the physical space. Reality is perceived by the senses and reinforced by rationality to instill order and predictability of effects that follow their causes, the ensuing actions, and their effects. Reality, understanding, actions, and their effects thus get chain linked in a circular mode. Knowledge space hosts the understanding and comprehension of the physical space and resides in neural space in the brain. Computational space is an imagery of the two prior spaces that resides temporarily in the magnetic, semiconductor locations during the emulation and execution phases of the problems encountered in dealing with real-space scenarios. This document elaborates on the connectivity of these three spaces by symbols and equations to manipulate and optimize the actions in the real space and to solve real-life problems. Programming and software tools permit the problem-solvers to link any increment of knowledge, forward and backward in time, space, methodology, and mind. The logical ties to neighboring objects permit the computers to seek out the logic that has tied similar objects in the past from the Internet knowledge bases. In a similar vein, the machines seek out the actions that surround any particular object or similar objects and the scientific basis (such as gravitation, magnetism, chemical affinity, Maxwell’s equations, polarity) by which they combine. In unison new elements of knowledge, however, large or small they may be, are created and stored away in the knowledge bases for future use in solving social and/or humanistic problems. This approach seeks venues and alternative those that are generally overlooked by purely human effort. The approach makes the machine processes (at CPU clock-rates) synergistic with the human thought processes (at mind-specific contemplative rates). These two processes are generally not in synchronism because of the computer clock ticks much faster than the triggering clock of neural cells. Thus a time warp between the computer and mind becomes necessary.
Implicit Intention Communication in Human–Robot Interaction Through Visual Behavior Studies

The emergence of assistive robots presents the possibility of restoring vital degrees of independence to the elderly and impaired in activities of daily living (ADL). However, one of the main challenges is the lack of a means for effective and intuitive human–robot interaction (HRI). While humans can express their intentions in different ways (e.g., physical gestures or motions, or speech or language patterns), gaze-based implicit intention communication is still underdeveloped. In this study, a novel nonverbal implicit communication framework based on eye gaze is introduced for HRI. In this framework, a user's eye-gaze movements are proactively tracked and analyzed to infer the user's intention in ADL. Then, the inferred intention can be used to command assistive robots for proper service. The advantage of this framework is that gaze-based communication can be handled by most of the people, as it requires very little effort, and most of the elderly and impaired retain visual capability. This framework is expected to simplify HRI, consequently enhancing the adoption of assistive technologies and improving users’ independence in daily living. The testing results of this framework confirmed that a human's subtle gaze cues on visualized objects could be effectively used for human-intention communication. Results also demonstrated that the gaze-based intention communication is easy to learn and use. In this study, the relationship of visual behaviors with the mental process during human intention expression was studied for the first time to build a fundamental understanding of this process. These findings are expected to guide further design of accurate intention inference algorithms and intuitive HRI.
Next generation sequencing of solid tumor and circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in metastatic melanoma.

9077 Background: Capture and molecular analysis of ctDNA represents a promising strategy for noninvasive detection of circulating tumor material. This approach is particularly promising for melanom...
Emergency department utilization in pediatric heart transplant recipients

We used the NEDS database (2010) to evaluate ED utilization in PED HT recipients compared to other patient populations with focus on characteristics of ED visits, risk factors for admission, and charges. We analyzed 433 ED visits by PED HT recipients (median age 8 [range: 0-18] years). The most common primary diagnosis category was infectious (n=163, 37.6%), with pneumonia being the most common infectious etiology. When compared to all PED visits, HT visits were more likely to result in hospital admission (32.6% versus 3.9%, P<.001), had greater hospital LOS (median of 3 days [IQR 2-4] versus 2 days [IQR 1-4], P=.001), and accumulated greater total hospital charges (median $26 317 [IQR $11 438-$46 407] versus $12 332 [IQR $7092-$22 583], P<.001). When compared to visits by other SOT recipients, results varied with similar rates of hospital admission for HT, LUNGT, and KT visits and similar LOS for HT and KT visits but differing total hospital charges. Although PED HT recipients account for a small percentage of overall ED visits, they are more likely to be hospitalized and require greater resource utilization compared to the general PED population, but not when compared to other SOT recipients.
“Why historians have failed to recognize Mises’s Theory and History”

Theory and History is often said to be Ludwig von Mises’ least read and least appreciated book. This article argues that historians in the Anglo-American world generally did not understand the German and Austrian traditions that Mises drew on, and that their early reviews of the book therefore fundamentally misunderstood its purpose. Most saw it as a political tract. Some commented on Mises’ contribution to the debate about the autonomy of the discipline of history. Few, however, understood Mises’ apriorism or logical approach. To understand why Theory and History has not been recognized for its a contribution to historical methodology, we must first understand Mises’ place as an outsider in the debates on historiography in the 1950s.
The Role of Retributive Justice in Citizen Evaluations of Government: The Case of China

When citizens look at the actions and policies of authoritarian leaders, what criteria do they use to form their preferences about these leaders? Using three separate conjoint experiments in China, we fin that citizens prefer government leaders who address citizen concerns about retributive justice by punishing corruption and malfeasance within the government. We find that concerns about retributive justice have as much or more influence than concerns about procedural justice and distributive justice. In two of these experiments, we develop an innovative "serial split samples" approach to mediation analysis with multiple mediators to provide additional evidence for our retributive justice argument. We find, consistent with this argument, that government leaders who punish lower levels for corruption affect citizen preferences by increasing citizen evaluations of their moral character as well as their competence.
Abstract 19814: A Randomized, Crossover Pilot Trial of Neuromonitoring-Guided Goal-Direct Post-Arrest Care After Opioid Overdose

Introduction: Outcomes after resuscitation from cardiac arrest (CA) remain poor. Preventable secondary injury from ongoing brain tissue hypoxia (BTH) may worsen injury burden. Unfortunately, marker...
Circulating biomarkers in extremely preterm infants associated with ultrasound indicators of brain damage.

Abstract Aim To assess to what extent the blood concentrations of proteins with neurotrophic and angiogenic properties measured during the first postnatal month convey information about the risk of sonographically-identified brain damage among very preterm newborns. Methods Study participants were 1219 children who had a cranial ultrasound scan during their stay in the intensive care nursery and blood specimens collected on 2 separate days at least a week apart during the first postnatal month. Concentrations of selected proteins in blood spots were measured with electrochemiluminescence or with a multiplex immunobead assay and the risks of cranial ultrasound images associated with top-quartile concentrations were assessed. Results High concentrations of multiple inflammation-related proteins during the first 2 postnatal weeks were associated with increased risk of ventriculomegaly, while high concentrations of just 3 inflammation-related proteins were associated with increased risk of an echolucent/hypoechoic lesion (IL-6, IL-8, ICAM-1), especially on day 7. Concomitant high concentrations of IL6R and bFGF appeared to modulate the increased risks of ventriculomegaly and an echolucent lesion associated with inflammation. More commonly high concentrations of putative protectors/repair-enhancers did not appear to diminish these increased risks. Conclusion Our findings provide support for the hypothesis that endogenous proteins are capable of either protecting the brain against damage and/or enhancing repair of damage.
Mortality Related to Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Co-morbidities in the United States, A Multiple Causes of Death Analysis.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) mortality based on the underlying cause of death (UCOD) underestimates disease burden. We aimed to determine the current COPD mortality rate, trends and...
Does reliabilism have a temporality problem

Matthew Frise claims that reliabilist theories of justification have a temporality problem—the problem of providing a principled account of the temporal parameters of a process’s performance that determine whether that process is reliable at a given time. Frise considers a representative sample of principled temporal parameters and argues that there are serious problems with all of them. He concludes that the prospects for solving the temporality problem are bleak. Importantly, Frise argues that the temporality problem constitutes a new reason to reject reliabilism. On this point, I argue that Frise is mistaken. There are serious interpretive difficulties with Frise’s argument. In this essay, I show that there are principled and reasonable temporal parameters for the reliabilist to adopt that successfully undermine the interpretations of Frise’s argument that only invoke plausible premises. There are interpretations of Frise’s argument that leave reliabilism without a clear parameter solution. However, I argue that these interpretations invoke controversial premises that are at best unmotivated, and at worst they merely re-raise older disputes about reliabilism. In any event, the temporality problem fails to constitute a new reason to reject reliabilism.
Galvanic Skin Reflex

The human autonomic nervous system is the system within the body that regulates body functions such as temperature, respiration, and glandular activity. When a subject is psychologically excited or is in some other elevated state of psychological activity, the subject perspires or “sweats.” This is due to an emotional stimulus initiating a response in the autonomic nervous system, which in turn produces a response in the subject’s sweat glands. Detection of this sweat gland activity is thus an indication of the subject’s psychological state or state of arousal.
Specification in the Civil Law

During classical times it became recognized in Rome that a person might acquire ownership in a movable which belonged to another, by manufacturing or transforming it into a new product. Since the time of the Glossators, this mode of acquiring ownership is known as that of "specification."2 At the beginning of the empire a dispute existed between the two schools of jurists, the Sabinians and the Proculians, whether the owner of a chattel could lose his ownership therein in the manner indicated. The Sabinians held the view that the owner of the material could not be deprived of his rights with respect thereto and that he could claim the new thing, irrespective of the change made therein or the value added thereto.3 The Proculians, on the other hand, took the position that if the manufacturer had made a new species of the original article he should become owner of the new thing. By the time of Paul,5 a compromise view had arisen, according to which ownership should pass to the manufacturer if the new thing could not be reconverted into the original form, but not otherwise. And this view was adopted by Justinian.6
SDE models with exponential drift and diffusion for approximating fatigue crack growth dynamics

Abstract A scalar stochastic differential equation (SDE) is studied for modeling fatigue crack growth dynamics. The drift and diffusion coefficients in the SDE model are exponential functions of the number of fatigue cycles. Exponential coefficients are shown to be reasonable based on experimental, physical, and theoretical arguments. The SDE model is examined for two fatigue crack growth datasets. For each dataset, the four parameters in the SDE model are fit using observed crack lengths for two different low values for the number of cycles. Then, using the SDE model with the fitted parameters, probability distributions for several higher values of the number of cycles and several first-passage probability distributions are calculated and compared to the observed distributions. The comparisons indicate that the proposed SDE model provides a good approximation for fatigue crack growth.
A conceptual framework for parameter adaptive control

A conceptual framework is described in which a parameter adaptive control system is taken to be the feedback interconnection of a process ΣP and a parameterized controller ΣC(k) whose parameter vector k is adjusted by a tuner ΣT. The framework is general enough to encompass almost all parameterized controllers proposed in the literature for stabilizing linear process models. Emphasis is placed on the importance to adaptation of one of ΣC's outputs called a tuning error eT, which is the main signal driving ΣT. For the closed-loop parameterized system Σ(k) consisting of ΣP and ΣC(k), definitions and characterizations are given of the concepts of weak tunability and tunability of Σ(k) on a subset ɛ of the parameter space p in which k takes values. It proves to be necessary to know a subset ɛ on which Σ(k) is weakly tunable in order to be able to construct a tuner ΣT which adaptively stabilizes Σ(k). For a large class of linear multivariable process models, a properly designed certainty equivalence controller results in a tunable closed-loop parameterized system. The importance of this result to both the analysis and synthesis of parameter adaptive control systems is discussed. It is demonstrated by means of examples how the connection between certainty equivalence and tunability, together with the concept of tunability itself, can be used to markedly simplify the stability analysis of adaptive control systems. A new family of indirect parameterized controllers is described which have capabilities comparable to those of the well-known direct parameterized controllers which for a long time have served as basic building blocks for adaptive control systems of all types. The concept of implicit tuning is formalized and its potential importance to adaptive control is briefly discussed.