cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Anterior Segment Optical Coherence Tomography: A Diagnostic Instrument for Conjunctivochalasis

Purpose To evaluate cross-sectional areas of conjunctivochalasis and tear meniscus using Fourier-Domain RTVue-100 optical coherence tomography (OCT) before and after conjunctival cauterization and to evaluate inter- and intraobserver reliability. Design Prospective, nonrandomized, consecutive case study. Methods A total of 12 eyes of 7 patients with conjunctivochalasis (aged 56 to 87) were evaluated. After topical anesthesia, conjunctival cauterization was performed on the inferior bulbar conjunctiva. All patients underwent anterior segment OCT (AS-OCT) imaging prior to and 4 weeks after the procedure. Cross-sectional tear meniscus and conjunctivochalasis areas at 3 locations (nasal, center, and temporal areas) were measured in all patients. Results Nonsignificant increases ( P = .177) in cross-sectional tear meniscus area as a whole (3 locations combined) were observed following cauterization. Cross-sectional conjunctivochalasis area measurements significantly decreased in all 3 locations after cauterization ( P 2 to 0.054 ± 0.79 mm 2 . For 2 measurements of cross-sectional tear meniscus area by examiner 1, intraclass correlation coefficients ranged from 0.998 to 0.999. Among 2 examiners, Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficients were as high as 0.993 and 0.997 before and after conjunctival cauterization. Regarding the cross-sectional conjunctivochalasis area measurements, intraclass correlation coefficient values were similar to those of the cross-sectional tear meniscus area, but Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficients were slightly less. Conclusions This study indicates the AS-OCT is a useful and reproducible instrument to measure the cross-sectional area of conjunctiva prolapsing into the tear meniscus of patients with conjunctivochalasis. The method can monitor effectiveness of thermoreduction of conjunctivochalasis.
Strategies for the control of viral diseases of shrimp in the Americas

Viral diseases have severely impacted many of the penaeid shrimp farming industries of the world causing significant production and economic losses. Nearly 20 distinct viruses, or groups of viruses, are known to infect penaeid shrimp. Viruses belonging to the WSSV, MBV, BMN, HPV, IHHNV, and YHV groups have been important pathogens of cultured shrimp in Asia and the Indo-Pacific regions, while TSV, IHHNV, and BP have been the principal viruses of concern in the Americas. Numerous strategies have been attempted for the control of viral diseases in penaeid shrimp aquaculture. These strategies range from the use of improved culture practices (i.e. where sources of virus contamination are reduced or eliminated, sanitation practices are improved, stocking densities are reduced, etc.) to stocking “specific pathogen-free” (SPF) or “specific pathogen resistant” (SPR) species or stocks. In the Americas many strategies have been employed in efforts to reduce production losses due to the enzootic viruses IHHNV, BP, and TSV. Improved husbandry practices have been successfully employed for the control of BP, and for nearly a decade, this virus has seldomly been reported as an economic constraint to successful shrimp culture.Until recently, the popularity and use of the relatively IHHNV resistant species Penaeus vannamei, in preference to the culture of the more IHHNV susceptible P. stylirostris, was characteristic of the shrimp farming industries of the Americas. The popularity of P. vannamei began to decline when TSV emerged as a very serious pathogen of this species in 1992 and then spread to virtually all of the shrimp growing regions of the Americas during the ensuing four years. Because P. stylirostris was found to be innately TSV resistant, two domesticated, genetically selected SPR strains of this species, which are resistant to IHHN disease, are currently being developed and marketed in the Americas. In some regions, these SPR stocks of TSV and IHHNV resistant P. stylirostris are replacing P. vannamei stocks in culture. Other shrimp farming interests are using wild or domesticated stocks of P. vannamei that show improved resistance to TSV. While resistance to TSV was used as a selection criteria for the domesticated stocks of P. vannamei, natural selection for TSV resistance appears to be occurring in wild stocks where TSV has been enzootic for several years. The same selective process for IHHNV resistance seems to be occurring in some wild stocks of P. stylirostris.
The Influence of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Factors on the Developmental Potential and Chromosomal Normality of the Human Oocyte

The relationship between factors external to the human oocyte and the developmental potential of the female gamete after meiotic maturation in vivo is discussed. The findings indicate very different intrafollicular oxygen contents exist among follicles from the same and different patients, and marginally hypoxic conditions in some follicles are associated with a comparatively low adenosine triphosphate content and a reduction in intracellular pH for the corresponding metaphase II-stage oocyte. For such oocytes, the finding of an increased frequency of cytoplasmic pathology and chromosomal scattering (aneuploidy) suggests a compromised developmental potential. Three distinctly different patterns of cumulus cell attachment and proliferation during the first 24 hours of culture after insemination are described. As reported earlier, different cumulus cell phenotypes observed in vitro are independent of the presence of the oocyte or fertilized egg and unrelated to the degree of expansion of the cumulus at retrieval. However, developmental viability and implantation potential after in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer appear to be related to an intrinsic pattern of cumulus cell behavior in vitro. The results are discussed with respect to the role of factors external to the human oocyte that may influence or determine the ability of the oocyte to develop progressively after fertilization.
The parent magma of the nakhlite meteorites - Clues from melt inclusions

Several forms of trapped liquid found within nakhlite meteorites have been examined, including interstitial melt and magmatic inclusions within the cores of large olivine grains. Differences in the mineralogy and texture between two types of trapped melt inclusions, and between these inclusions and the mesostasis, indicate that vitrophyric inclusions are most appropriate for estimating the composition of a nakhlite parental magma in equilibrium with early-forming olivine and augite. Parent liquids were calculated from the mineralogy of large inclusions in Nakhla and Governador Valadares, using a system of mass-balance equations solved by linear regression methods. The chosen parental liquids were cosaturated in olivine and augite and had Mg/Fe values consistent with measured augite/liquid Kds. These parental magma compositions are similar to other published compositions for Nakhla, Chassigny, and Shergotty parental melts, and may correspond to a significant magma type on Mars.
Penile fracture in a patient presenting with groin pain.

A 45-year-old man presented to the Emergency Department (ED) complaining of penile swelling and pain. One hour before presentation, the patient was having sexual intercourse with his partner when his partner suddenly moved in an awkward direction. The patient experienced sudden pain followed immediately by penile swelling. He was able to void without difficulty and had no hematuria. On examination, blood pressure was 133/79 mm Hg, pulse rate was 92 beats/min, and temperature was 36.1°C (97.1°F). The penis was diffusely swollen and ecchymotic. The penis was deviated to the left (Figures 1, 2). The
Is genitourinary imaging necessary in patients who have microscopic hematuria after trauma

Is genitourinary imaging necessary in patients who have microscopic hematuria after trauma?
High temperature superconductors: Correlated Fermi liquids

Abstract Most early descriptions of the high temperature superconductors started with localized, Hubbard-like pictures both for the undoped parent materials and the superconductors [1–3]. This was due in part to the apparent failure of band structure calculations in predicting the band gaps in these materials evident in early experimental results [4–6]. More recent photoemission experiments, however, on higher quality superconducting materials are reported which indicate that these materials are not only metals with a large density of states at the Fermi edge, but also exhibit electronic structure in very good agreement with band structure calculations. The effects of correlations are evident in bands near the Fermi level and in the Cu satellites, but overall the evidence suggests the validity of a band-like, Fermi liquid approach to these materials, and that correlations do not dominate the physics of these superconductors.
Structural trends in bis(pentamethylcyclopentadienyl)lanthanide and yttrium complexes

Abstract Structural data on over 90 bis(pentamethylcyclopentadienyl) lanthanide and yttrium complexes are presented and analyzed to define trends in structural parameters. Comparative data useful in evaluating structural aspects of molecules to be crystallographically characterized in the future are presented.
Interaction energies associated with short intermolecular contacts of CH bonds. 4. Ab initio computational study of CH…anion interactions in CH4…X− (X=F, Cl, Br, I)

Abstract We carried out SCF and MP2 calculations on the corner-bridged (1, C3v), edge-bridged (2, C2v) and face-bridged (3, C3v) structures of CH4…X− (X=F, Cl, Br, I). Our study shows that the relative stabilities of the structures 1–3 decrease in the order 1>2>>3, that 1 is the only minimum-energy structure, and that the stabilization energies of the structure 1 decrease in the order X− = F−2 > Cl−> Br− > I−. The CH…X− interaction energies are estimated to be 6.1, 2.7, 2.5 and 2.0 kcal/mol for X=F, Cl, Br and I, respectively.
Spirohexenolide A targets human macrophage migration inhibitory factor (hMIF).

Spirohexenolides A and B comprise a unique family of spirotetronate natural products. We report on the identification of their binding to and modulation of human macrophage migration inhibitor factor (hMIF). Using an immunoaffinity–fluorescent labeling method, the properties of this interaction are detailed and evidence is provided that hMIF plays a key role in the cytostatic activity of the spirohexenolides.
Two-dimensional freezing of Tl in the liquid-vapor interface of dilute Tl in a Ga alloy

We report the results of grazing incidence x-ray-diffraction and x-ray-reflectivity studies of the liquid-vapor interface of a dilute Tl in Ga alloy. Our data show that Tl forms a monolayer that is the outer stratum of the liquid-vapor interface. The Tl monolayer forms a two-dimensional hexagonal crystal when the temperature is below 297 K.
Fluid-Structure Interaction Within a Fuel Assembly Subjected to Seismic Excitation

The interaction between fuel assemblies during a seismic or loss of coolant accident (LOCA) event is directly associated with safety and reliability issues for all types of nuclear reactors. This study concentrates on the modeling of a single fuel assembly represented by a cylinder subjected to external flow and an external forcing function at the base. The model investigates the response of the fuel assembly using continuum mechanics model. The general behavior of a cylinder supported at both ends and subjected to axial flow is summarized: The cylinder undergoes several flow-induced instabilities as the flow velocity increases. These instabilities start with a pitchfork bifurcation, resulting in the buckling of the cylinder. At higher flow velocities, period-doubling and torus instabilities are observed as well, eventually leading to chaotic oscillations of the cylinder. It is shown that an increased confinement results in lower critical flow velocities for the first point of instability, resulting in buckling at lower flow velocities. The cylinder response to a base excitation is also considered and it is shown that the response amplitude can change depending on the frequency of base excitation.Copyright © 2014 by ASME
Decision processes in multidimensional generalization

Abstract In a previous paper ( Croll, 1970 ) children's multidimensional generalization was viewed as consisting of selective attention and decision processes. The purpose of the present experiment was to provide further information about the decision processes involved. Forty-four preschool children received a stimulus classification task in which they classified a series of stimuli on the basis of their similarity to a display stimulus. The series included stimuli identical to the display and stimuli differing from the display in size and line orientation. Twenty-two of the S s attended to both the size and line orientation dimensions. Predictions from three models assuming different decision processes were compared to the data from these 22 S s. The most accurate predictions were from a model which assumed that on each trial the S generalizes (classes a stimulus with the display) only if he has judged the stimulus identical to the display on each of the dimensions to which he is attending. Some limitations of this model were considered.
Mechanism and signal transduction of 14 (R), 15 (S)-epoxyeicosatrienoic acid (14,15-EET) binding in guinea pig monocytes.

14(R), 15(S)-epoxyeicosatrienoic acid (14,15-EET) is a cytochrome P-450 monooxygenase (epoxy- genase) metabolite of arachidonic acid (AA). In this study, we have identified a population of specific high affinity binding sites for 14,15-EET in the guinea pig mononuclear (GPM) cells. The results of competition studies showed that 14(R), 15(S)-EET was an effective competing ligand with a Ki of 226.3 nM followed by 11(R), 12(S)-EET, 14(S), 15(R)-EET, 14,15 thia(S)-ET, and 14,15-aza(N)-ET. The binding was sensitive to various protease treatments suggesting that the binding site is protein in nature. Cholera toxin (CT) and dibutyryl cAMP attenuated 14,15-EET binding in GPM cells. Mean binding site density (Bmax), decreased 32.0% and 19.1% by the pretreatment with cholera toxin (200 μg/ml) and dibutyryl cAMP (100 nM), respectively, without changing the dissociation constant. A specific protein kinase A (PKA) inhibitor, H-89, but not the PKC inhibitor K252a reversed the down regulation of 14,15-EET receptor binding caused by dibutyryl cAMP in GPM cells. Thus, the results sug- gest that the specific binding site of 14,15-EET in GPM cells be associated with a receptor that could be down regulated through an increase in intracellular cAMP and activation of a PKA signal trans- duction. We propose that the signal transduction mechanism begins with the binding of 14,15-EET to its receptor that leads to increase intracellular cAMP levels and the activation of PKA, and finally, with the down regulation of 14,15-EET receptor binding.
The axial anomaly at finite temperature

The axial anomaly and its constraints are examined at finite temperature. The axial anomaly as shown to be the same at T≠0 and T=0. When T<Λ we are able to argue the existence of a narrow resonance in the QCD medium corresponding to pion propagation. However, when T is comparable to Λ we are unable to obtain any useful information from the axial anomaly. In particular, we are unable to see how Tchiral⩾Tconf might follow from the anomaly constraint.
PHOTOMODIFICATION OF CARDIAC MEMBRANE : CHAOTIC CURRENTS AND HIGH CONDUCTANCE STATES IN ISOLATED PATCHES

We have demonstrated previously that photomodification permeabilizes cardiac cells as evidenced by activation of a whole-cell leak current. In this paper we report that photomodification induces in cell-attached and inside-out cardiac membrane patches a chaotic current. Unlike current recordings from many protein ion channels that show stepwise amplitude changes associated with open and closed states of the channel, the chaotic current consists of variable amplitude spike-like transitions. The amplitudes of these spikes can vary from tenths to tens of picoamperes at a constant transmembrane potential. We provide evidence that the chaotic current is transmembrane rather than trans-seal and has a voltage dependency expected for current flow through nonspecific conductance pathways. Photomodification can also induce high conductance states (greater than 500 pS) in cell-attached and inside-out patches. We present evidence that the high conductance state is also not related to seal breakdown. Our results suggest that both the chaotic current activity in and high conductance state of photo-modified cardiac membrane patches result from the opening of many small conductance, nonspecific pathways through the membrane.
DISTRIBUTION OF DIATOMS IN THE PLANKTON OF YAQUINA ESTUARY, OREGON1

The distributional patterns of diatoms in the plankton of the Yaqnina Estuary, Oregon, were, investigated and related to selected climatic and hydrographic factors. Distribution was strongly influenced by seasonal patterns of rainfall resulting in the introduction of a large volume of fresh water into the estuary during fall and winter. Plankton assemblages in spring, summer and fall had fewer diatom species and exhibited a more rapid rate of change in species composition than in winter. Winter assemblages were further characterized by many pennate diatoms, apparently dislodged from the benthos during periods of high freshwater discharge and silt loads. A statistical measure of community difference indicated an increase in taxonomic homogeneity among assemblages throughout the estuary with the onset of the rainy season in late fall and a gradual transition to a more heterogeneous system again during late spring. Canonical correlation ordered 20 prominent diatom taxa along the salinity gradient and identified possible relationships among certain taxa and selected environmental variables, namely visible light energy and temperature. Redundancy in the species data given the environmental data was only 40%, emphasizing the difficulty in demonstrating a quantitive relationship between plankton dynamics in the field and concurrent measurements of chemical and physical variables.
Monte Carlo calculational methods for the generation of events with Bose-Einstein correlations

The momentum-space correlations for n bosons emitted by a source distributed in space and time are discussed in the context of intensity interferometry for identical pions. The Metropolis algorithm is used to generate events containing such correlations to all orders via a Monte Carlo technique. Direct calculation of the probability for multiparticle correlations is practicable for n-body states up to n\ensuremath{\sim}20. Beyond this, a method which samples the symmetrized n-body probability must be used. It is observed that the traditional pair-correlation function is distorted for events with high phase-space density in a fashion consistent with the results of a simple model calculation.
Crazing and strain localization of polycarbonate glass in creep

Abstract We apply a constant tensile load (i.e., fixed engineering stress) at different temperatures to examine the mechanical and structural responses of polycarbonate (PC) glass. Unlike the more common displacement-controlled extension, the tensile creep test allows the glass to develop structural failures on its time scales. At room temperature, surface crazes over time at sufficiently high tensile loads, and shear yielding as well as stable necking take place above an engineering stress of 48 MPa. However, none of these two types of strain localization occurs when the same PC is first melt-stretched and quenched back to room temperature. The suppression of crazing and necking by melt stretching can be anticipated based on the picture of a hybrid structure for polymer glasses under large deformation and emphasizes the geometric condensation as an effective way to enhance the chain network.
A well-type ionization chamber geometric correction factor

To correct for the influence of source configuration on the measured activity of spherical and cylindrical brachytherapy sources, a geometric correction factor was calculated for the Standard Imaging HDR-1000 well-type ionization chamber. A Fortran program modelled each source as a lattice of point sources. Because of the cylindrical symmetry of the well chamber, it could be uniquely modelled by point detectors along the perimeter of the radial plane of the detection volume. Path lengths were calculated and attenuation factors were applied to each source - detector point combination individually. The total dose rate at each detection point was found through a Sievert summation of the point source contributions. For sources with identical activities, a correction factor of was calculated, equal to the ratio of the dose rate of the cylindrical source to that of the sphere. Experimental verification using a Nuclear Associates 67-809 series cylindrical source and an Amersham spherical source yielded a correction factor of .
A Constant Accuracy, High Dynamic Range Fiber Optic Gyroscope

The Sagnac phase shift between two counterpropagating beams is the basis for all optical gyroscopes [11, although it is detected in a variety of ways. In the ring laser gyro and various "closed loop" optical gyroscopes, the scale factor (e.g. counts per unit rotation rate) is fixed by the area of the optical medium whereas the phase reading fiber optic gyroscope (FOG) has a scale factor which increases with increasing length of optical fiber. Thus development of low-loss fibers holds the possibility of extremely sensitive gyroscope operation, and has made the FOG a competitive optical gyroscope. Although most of the first decade of FOG development has concentrated on improving sensitivity, attention is now turning to other aspects of performance.
Ramie: Patterns of World Production and Trade

Ramie has been grown in the Far East for many centuries and its fibre used for making cloth even before the introduction of cotton. Despite the fibre's use for a wide variety of products, it was little known in North American markets or widely traded until the 1980s. This paper includes a review of historical and current literature on ramie production and trade, as well as analyses of U.S. Department of Commerce and United Nations data. Trade patterns from 1930 to 1979 were reconstructed from historical documents. In the most recent period, from 1980 to 1986, three states of ramie trade were examined: (i) raw ramie, (ii) processed ramie, and (iii) apparel products. Worldwide trading patterns according to stage of processing are described and analysed. Ramie products exported to the U.S. market were examined on the category level to assess changes in trading patterns. Major shippers of particular types of ramie and ramie-blend garments were determined. The relationship between ramie trade and the provision...
Relative trends of AIRS and IASI radiometric calibrations

This study examines relative trends in the radiometric calibrations of AIRS and IASI. The stability of the AIRS calibration in window channels over tropical oceans has been shown to be 5 mK/yr or better using 9 years of data. IASI data have been available for five years, and during IASI’s time in operation there have been significant El Nino and La Nina events. Those events introduce uncertainty into trend determinations that are more significant for IASI because of its shorter time in operation. When IASI and AIRS are directly compared in a double difference, the El Nino / La Nina effects cancel, allowing for an improved measurement of any instrumental trends in IASI over what can be done using IASI data alone. We find no significant relative trend between the two instruments. We do, however, find some data incompleteness effects for IASI that could introduce spurious trends over certain areas if ignored.
A survey of gender and learning styles

This study was conducted to investigate differences in learning styles between men and women. The study is based on the learning style work by Belenky, Clinchy, Goldberger, and Tarule and David Kolb. A survey that included the Kolb Learning Style Inventory, 12 Educational Dialectical questions, and a subjective question was administered to 72 subjects of various ethnic groups. The results showed that men and women were found to have different learning styles, and in general, men seemed to find congruence between traditional education and their learning style while women did not.
Pentachlorophenol: environmental partitioning and human exposure.

This paper uses a six compartment environmental partitioning model to explore the transport and accumulation of pentachlorophenol (PCP) within and between various environmental media. Environmental concentrations were then used to estimate the amount of PCP entering the food chain and the long-term, average daily intake of PCP by the general population of the U.S. Results show that PCP partitions mainly into soil (96.5%) and that the food chain, especially fruits, vegetables, and grains, accounts for 99.9% of human exposure to PCP. The long-term, average daily intake of PCP is estimated to be 16 micrograms/day, which agrees well with a previous estimate of 19 micrograms/day (Geyer et al. 1987).
Mechanically Driven Microtweezers

This paper presents a simplified method of fabricating a fundamental MEMS tool: microtweezers. The tweezers presented here require no power, but instead augment a standard microprobe station in which the axis controls allow for both controlled motion of the tweezer tips and for full three-dimensional maneuverability. This technique allows for a broad range of tweezer styles (straight and serrated tips) and sizes (microns to millimeters). The unique design also affords extraordinarily delicate control that is potentially beneficial for applications in micro-assembly, electrophysiology, and micro-dissection.Copyright © 2003 by ASME
Biomechanical Modeling of Intrasac Pressure Changes and Vascular Remodeling After Endovascular Repair of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms

Endovascular repair (EVAR) is a minimally invasive method of repairing an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) that is associated with shorter hospital stay, lower mortality, and other advantages compared with open surgery. During this operation, a stent graft is introduced through a femoral artery and is deployed with the proximal portion below the renal arteries. After EVAR, the aneurysm sac should ideally be excluded from aortic blood flow resulting in a much lower intrasac pressure than the systemic pressure. In reality, the intrasac pressure varies from case to case. For a successful EVAR, intrasac pressure gradually decreases to around 20–40 mmHg over time, while in many patients intrasac pressure remains relatively high or even close to the systemic pressure for some cases. Our literature study [1] indicates that intrasac pressure has a significant impact on post EVAR AAA size changes. Additionally, post-EVAR remodeling depends not only of the values of the intrasac pressure but also on how the pressure has changed over a period of time.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
Rapid quantitative assessment of autistic social impairment by classroom teachers.

ABSTRACT Objective Teachers routinely observe children in the naturalistic social contexts of their classrooms and provide extremely important input in the evaluation of numerous psychiatric syndromes. Their precision in ascertaining and quantifying autistic symptomatology has not previously been established. In this study, we compared teachers' ratings of autistic symptomatology with those derived from parents, expert clinicians, and trained raters. Method A total of 577 subjects (ages 4-18 years) with ( n = 406) and without ( n = 171) pervasive developmental disorders (PDDs) were assessed by one parent and one current teacher using the Social Responsiveness Scale, a quantitative measure of autistic traits. PDD subjects were assessed by expert clinicians, the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised, and/or the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule. All of the assessments were conducted during the period 1996-2006. Results Teacher Social Responsiveness Scale reports exhibited strong correlations with parent reports (0.72); use of quantitative ratings from both informants resulted in extremely high sensitivity and specificity for clinical and research diagnoses of PDDs (area under receiver operating characteristics curve=.95). Conclusions Rapid quantitative assessments by teachers and parents constitute a cost-effective method for measuring and tracking the severity of autistic symptomatology in both educational and clinical settings.
Effect of Alcohol Intake in Patients with Hypertension Currently on Medication Treatment

Regular alcohol use is a risk factor for hypertension and is associated with decreased rate of blood pressure control. The authors conducted a retrospective study of alcohol intake and number of hypertensive medications used in patients with hypertension visiting cardiology clinic from 2011 to 2012. The authors found that a history of alcohol consumption was not associated with number of antihypertensive medication or blood pressure control. However, diastolic blood pressure in normal-weighed drinker subgroup was higher than the nondrinker counterpart. Patients with higher body mass index and Black race tended to use more number of different classes of antihypertensive medication.
Estimation of a Two-Level Demand System with Limited Dependent Variables

A two-level demand model was derived from a strongly separable conditional indirect utility function to analyze Dominican rural and urban household consumption at different income levels. For samples with significant zero consumption, a multivariate limited dependent variable model utilizing the concept of virtual prices was used to obtain consistent estimates of consumption parameters. Results show that households with higher incomes tend to be less responsive to own-price and income changes in consumption of most food and nonfood commodities. For demographic variates, the elasticities of rice and aggregate food with respect to household composition variables are all positive with few exceptions. Price and income responses of household food and nonfood consumption have significant policy importance. This study provides insights into the consumption behavior of rural and urban Dominican households within the framework of a complete demand system. Three basic groups of determinants of household consumption are explored: commodity prices, household total expenditure, and demographic variables. Our treatment of these fundamental issues involves the application to demand analysis of (a) a classical theoretical result about commodity decentralization and price aggregation and (b) an econometric technique to deal with limited dependent variables. In the demand system framework, the analysis of detailed commodities is often prohibitive because increasing the size of the demand system substantially increases the number of unknown parameters. To estimate a relatively large number of parameters in this study, the theoretical implications of twostage budgeting and perfect price aggregation are used to construct a two-level demand model that is consistent with constrained util
A comparison of the fixed and floating building block representation in the genetic algorithm

This article compares the traditional, fixed problem representation style of a genetic algorithm (GA) with a new floating representation in which the building blocks of a problem are not fixed at specific locations on the individuals of the population. In addition, the effects of noncoding segments on both of these representations is studied. Noncoding segments are a computational model of noncoding deoxyribonucleic acid, and floating building blocks mimic the location independence of genes. The fact that these structures are prevalent in natural genetic systems suggests that they may provide some advantages to the evolutionary process. Our results show that there is a significant difference in how GAs solve a problem in the fixed and floating representations. Genetic algorithms are able to maintain a more diverse population with the floating representation. The combination of noncoding segments and floating building blocks appears to encourage a GA to take advantage of its parallel search and recombination abilities.
Ref-Finder: a refactoring reconstruction tool based on logic query templates

Knowing which parts of a system underwent which types of refactoring between two program versions can help programmers better understand code changes. Though there are a number of techniques that automatically find refactorings from two input program versions, these techniques are inadequate in terms of coverage by handling only a subset of refactoring types---mostly simple rename and move refactorings at the level of classes, methods, and fields. This paper presents a Ref-Finder Eclipse plug-in that automatically identifies both atomic and composite refactorings using a template-based refactoring reconstruction approach---it expresses each refactoring type in terms of template logic queries and uses a logic programming engine to infer concrete refactoring instances. Ref-Finder currently supports sixty three types in the Fowler's catalog, showing the most comprehensive coverage among existing techniques.
Dependence of current and field driven depinning of domain walls on their structure and chirality in permalloy nanowires

A magnetic domain wall (DW) injected and pinned at a notch in a permalloy nanowire is shown to exhibit four well-defined magnetic states, vortex and transverse, each with two chiralities. These states, imaged using magnetic force microscopy, are readily detected from their different resistance values arising from the anisotropic magnetoresistance effect. Whereas distinct depinning fields and critical depinning currents in the presence of magnetic fields are found, the critical depinning currents are surprisingly similar for all four DW states in low magnetic fields. We observe current-induced transformations between these DW states below the critical depinning current which may account for the similar depinning currents.
Marine tether dynamics: retrieval and deployment from a heaving platform

A tether management system of a winch module in a marine environment is proposed. For the purpose of this study the subsea body is considered as a mass attached at the free end of a long tether which is wrapped around a circular drum controlled by an external torque. The winch is considered mounted on a heaving platform. The effect of the heaving platform on the motions of the drum, tether and attached mass are studied with respect to the longitudinal vibrations of the tether in one dimension. The hydrodynamic effects are considered on the deployed portion of the tether and the tethered mass, both of which are assumed submerged in otherwise still water. The resulting nonlinear system of equations of motion is developed and solved numerically for an example of a marine tether system. The effect of the tether extensibility on the operation threshold of the system is identified. Comparison with an inextensible tether case is provided. The numerical results and their analysis for the retrieval/deployment of the system are presented.
A summary of the fatigue properties of wind turbine materials

Modern wind turbines are fatigue critical machines that are typically used to produce electrical power from the wind. The materials used to construct these machines are subjected to a unique loading spectrum that contains several orders of magnitude more cycles than other fatigue critical structures, e.g., an airplane. To facilitate fatigue designs, a large database of material properties has been generated over the past several years that is specialized to materials typically used in wind turbines. In this paper, I review these fatigue data. Major sections are devoted to the properties developed for wood, metals (primarily aluminum) and fiberglass. Special emphasis is placed on the fiberglass discussion because this material is current the material of choice for wind turbine blades. The paper focuses on the data developed in the U.S., but cites European references that provide important insights.
Special Education Teachers' Views of Research-Based Practices:

Focus groups with teachers of students with learning disabilities (n = 30) and teachers of students with emotional/behavior disorders (n = 19) were conducted to examine the the teachers' perspectives about educational research and the extent to which they found research findings to be useful. The study further addressed the ways in which new practices were introduced within target teachers' schools and their reaction to the appropriateness of these practices for students with special needs. Findings revealed that most teachers were not pressed to use practices supported by their school or district. Furthermore, the notion of “research-based” was not important as a criterion for selection. Teachers sought instructional practices that were feasible, were appropriate for their students, were accompanied by all necessary materials and professional development support, and could be individualized for multilevel classrooms.
Role of TATA Binding Protein (TBP) in Yeast Ribosomal DNA Transcription by RNA Polymerase I: Defects in the Dual Functions of Transcription Factor UAF Cannot Be Suppressed by TBP

Initiation of ribosomal DNA (rDNA) transcription by RNA polymerase I (Pol I) in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae involves upstream activation factor (UAF), core factor, the TATA binding protein (TBP), and Rrn3p in addition to Pol I. We found previously that yeast strains carrying deletions in the UAF component RRN9 switch completely to the use of Pol II for rRNA transcription, with no residual Pol I transcription. These polymerase-switched strains initially grow very slowly, but subsequent expansion in the number of rDNA repeats on chromosome XII leads to better growth. Recently, it was reported that TBP overexpression could bypass the requirement of UAF for Pol I transcription in vivo, producing nearly wild-type levels of growth in UAF mutant strains (P. Aprikian, B. Moorefield, and R. H. Reeder, Mol. Cell. Biol. 20:5269–5275, 2000). Here, we demonstrate that deletions in the UAF component RRN5, RRN9, or RRN10 lead to Pol II transcription of rDNA. TBP overexpression does not suppress UAF mutation, and these strains continue to use Pol II for rRNA transcription. We do not find evidence for even low levels of Pol I transcription in UAF mutant strains carrying overexpressed TBP. In diploid strains lacking both copies of the UAF component RRN9, Pol II transcription of rDNA is more strongly repressed than in haploid strains but TBP overexpression still fails to activate Pol I. These results emphasize that UAF plays an essential role in activation of Pol I transcription and silencing of Pol II transcription of rDNA and that TBP functions to recruit the Pol I machinery in a manner completely dependent on UAF.
ELECTRON AND ENERGY TRANSFER IN ILLUMINATED POROUS VYCOR GLASS

— Porous Vycor glass samples containing adsorbed molecules were illuminated at 77 K by a mercury lamp jacketed by a filter cutting off wavelengths below 250 nm. Oxygen or carbon dioxide on Vycor produces an asymmetric electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) signal best described as holes trapped in the glass. Methyl bromide produces an identical EPR signal plus four other lines due to methyl radicals. Evidence is presented that the products result from excitonic energy transfer from the Vycor to the adsorbed materials. Triphenylamine (TPA) adsorbed on Vycor can also be photoionized by similar illumination, and the cation radical TPA+ can be stabilized at 77 K if an electron acceptor is also adsorbed. Attachment of the photoejected electron by carbon dioxide forms CO2-, and that by methyl bromide leads to methyl radicals. The CH3 radical yield is dependent on the surface separation between the electron donor (TPA) and the acceptor (CH3Br). By monitoring the relative quantum yield of the methyl radicals as a function of distance separating the TPA and CH3Br, it is shown that the photoelectron is capable of migrating on the Vycor glass surface.
Relationships Among Lactate Concentration, Blood Flow and Histopathologic Profiles in Rat C6 Glioma

Increased capacity for glycolytic metabolism is a well-known characteristic of neoplastic cells. Because lactic acid is the end product of glycolysis, in vivo MRS measurements of tumor lactate concentration ([lac]t) may provide valuable information about tumor metabolism, which will aid the development of therapies and the clinical diagnosis and treatment of tumors. In the present study, several hemodynamic and histologic parameters were evaluated with respect to their influence on [lac]t. Pronounced differences in [lac]t in two distinct populations of tumors suggested a putative perfusion threshold. Above this threshold, [lac]t was independent of hemodynamic and histologic factors including tumor blood flow (measured using MRS and the method of D2O washout), extent of necrosis and inflammatory cell infiltrate. Thus, for most tumors, [lac]t was not determined by any one single factor such as hypoxia, venous clearance, glucose supply, extent of necrosis or degree of inflammatory cell infiltrate. Rather, [lac]t may be equilibrated, at least in part, by an interplay of forces involving hemodynamics and substrate supply. In general, the data are consistent with the hypothesis that elevated lactate in most tumors is related to the high glycolytic activity of adequately perfused, viable neoplastic cells.
Single and Multiple Patterns of Adolescent Substance Use: Longitudinal Comparisons of Four Ethnic Groups

Patterns of drug use for 847 adolescents from four different ethnic backgrounds were examined over a five-year period. Eight distinct patterns of use were identified. In addition to a nonuser group, only one large single substance use group emerged; that for alcohol use. Almost 60 percent of the participants were multiple users of two or more types of substances. Black students had consistently the highest frequency of single-cigarette smokers and the highest frequency of multiple use of alcohol-cigarette-cannabis in the last two years of the study. Asian adolescents showed only the highest level of single-alcohol consumption in Year 1, which vanished over time. Hispanics and Whites consistently contained the highest number of multiple users of alcohol-hard drug with either cigarette or cannabis or both. Comparing the patterns of substance use at three points in time, there was a general increase in drug use, as well as three distinct directions of movement: Stability, regression and progression. Results ...
In search of multipeaked reflective spectrum with optic fiber Bragg grating sensor for dynamic strain measurement

In a typical optic fiber Bragg grating (FBG) strain measurement, unless in an ideal static laboratory environment, the presence of vibration or often disturbance always exists, which often creates spurious multiple peaks in the reflected spectrum, resulting in a non-unique determination of strain value. In this report we attempt to investigate the origin of this phenomenon by physical arguments and simple numerical simulation. We postulate that the fiber gratings execute small amplitude transverse vibrations changing the optical path in which the reflected light traverses slightly and non-uniformly. Ultimately, this causes the multi-peak reflected spectrum.
Policy Implications of Dynamic Public Finance

The dynamic public finance literature underwent significant changes over the past decade. This research agenda has now reached a stage at which it is able to analyze the design of social insurance programs and optimal taxation in rich environments that can be closely matched to microeconomic data. We provide an overview of the recent advances in this literature, discuss the key trade-offs, and explain how the prescriptions for the optimal policy depend on the specific parameters that can be estimated in the data. We also describe the relationship between the dynamic mechanism design approach to optimal taxation and the approach that considers sophisticated tax functions chosen within parametrically restricted classes.
A Quasi Yagi Antenna Backed by a Metal Reflector

A quasi Yagi antenna is presented that provides off-axis radiation when backed by a metal reflector. The off-axis radiation pattern is achieved by an increase in the substrate thickness beneath the antenna elements. At 2.4 GHz the antenna demonstrated a bandwidth of 190 MHz, beam tilt towards the end fire direction (thetas = 42deg) , maximum gain of 4.5 dB, and a radiation efficiency of 87%. The results of a study on bandwidth, gain and radiation pattern versus substrate thickness are presented herein. To the best of the authors' knowledge previous realization of this antenna over a ground plane has not been investigated.
Quantitative analysis of the immunopotency of genetically transfected dendritic cells

Dendritic cells (DCs) instruct and activate a naive immune system to mount a response toward foreign proteins. Therefore, it has been hypothesized that an ideal vaccine strategy would be to directly introduce genes encoding antigens into DCs. To test this strategy quantitatively, we have compared the immune response elicited by a genetically transfected DC line to that induced by a fibroblast line, or standard genetic immunization. We observe that a single injection of 500–1,000 transfected DCs can produce a response comparable to that of standard genetic immunization, whereas fibroblasts, with up to 50-fold greater transfection efficiency, were less potent. We conclude that transfection of a small number of DCs is sufficient to initiate a wide variety of immune responses. These results indicate that targeting genes to DCs will be important for controlling and augmenting the immunological outcome in genetic immunization.
The Use and Effectiveness of the Internal Audit Function on an External Audit

Research into the Internal Audit Function was conducted in an effort to determine whether the work of this function is useful and effective in an External Audit Engagement. Expert information from relevant professional resources and regulatory agencies was reviewed to obtain viewpoints on whether or not using the Internal Audit Function is a benefit or a risk. What was found was that there are many valid arguments to both sides of the question. Improvements need to be made on the part of the Internal Audit Function; however, the overall benefits of utilizing this function in External Audits outweigh the risks when vetted appropriately.
A Cross-Layer Architecture to Exploit Multi-Channel Diversity with a Single Transceiver

The design of multi-channel multi-hop wireless mesh networks is centered around the way nodes synchronize when they need to communicate. However, existing designs are confined to the MAC layer -they are based on either negotiation on a rendezvous control channel, or on optimistic synchronization. Both approaches scale poorly as the network grows in coverage and density. The rendezvous control channel may become the bottleneck, while optimistic synchronization may incur substantial overhead - especially amongst nodes close to a gateway, where the mesh traffic converges. In this paper, we describe Dominion - a cross-layer architecture that includes both medium access control and routing. At the MAC layer, a node switches channels in a deterministic manner to address the scalability issue. At the network layer, a Dominion node routes traffic along the shortest distance across both spatial and frequency domains, based on the deterministic channel-hopping schedule and network connectivity. Since the shortest distance path across the frequency domain is time variant, Dominion naturally spreads the packets of the same flow across multiple paths, relieving the intra-flow and inter-flow contention, and improving throughput. Through QualNet simulations we show that Dominion is able to achieve, on average, 1813% higher aggregate distance-normalized throughput than IEEE 802.11, while being 1730% fairer (using Jain's fairness index) with 50 simultaneous random flows.