cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Nonverbal Communication of Affect in Brain-Damaged Patients

Abstract A slide viewing technique designed to assess spontaneous nonverbal expressiveness was administered to 37 male patients including 8 left hemisphere damaged (aphasic), 10 right hemisphere damaged, 9 Parkinson's disease, 10 non brain-damaged (control) patients. Patients watched different types of affective slides while there facial/gestural responses were videotaped. Judges watching the video tapes without audio guessed the types of slide being viewed. Results indicated that aphasic patients were equal to or more expressive than controls, while right hemisphere damaged and Parkinson's disease patients were less expressive. The possibility that spontaneous non verbal expressiveness is mediated by the right cerebral hemisphere, with the left hemispere playing an inhibitory role, was discussed as a tentative explanation.
A role for N-acetylglucosamine as a nutrient sensor and mediator of insulin resistance.

The ability to regulate energy balance at both the cellular and whole body level is an essential process of life. As western society has shifted to a higher caloric diet and more sedentary lifestyle, the incidence of type 2 diabetes (non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus) has increased to epidemic proportions. Thus, type 2 diabetes has been described as a disease of 'chronic overnutrition'. There are abundant data to support the relationship between nutrient availability and insulin action. However, there have been multiple hypotheses and debates as to the mechanism by which nutrient availability modulates insulin signaling and how excess nutrients lead to insulin resistance. One well-established pathway for nutrient sensing is the hexosamine biosynthetic pathway (HSP), which produces the acetylated aminosugar nucleotide uridine 5′-diphospho-N-acetylglucosamine (UDP-GlcNAc) as its end product. Since UDP-GlcNAc is the donor substrate for modification of nucleocytoplasmic proteins at serine and threonine residues with N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc), the possibility of this posttranslational modification serving as the nutrient sensor has been proposed. We have recently directly tested this model in adipocytes by examining the effect of elevated levels of O-GlcNAc on insulin-stimulated glucose uptake. In this review, we summarize the existing work that implicates the HSP and O-GlcNAc modification as nutrient sensors and regulators of insulin signaling.
Improved determination of surface and atmospheric temperatures using only shortwave AIRS channels: The AIRS Version-6 retrieval algorithm

AIRS was launched on EOS Aqua on May 4, 2002 together with ASMU-A and HSB to form a next generation polar orbiting infrared and microwave atmosphere sounding. The AIRS Science Team Version 6 retrieval system uses only shortwave CO 2 channels to determine temperature profile, and only window observations in the shortwave window region, 4.0 µm – 3.76 µm, to determine both surface skin temperatures and shortwave surface spectral emissivities. The current use of only shortwave AIRS channels in the retrieval of both atmospheric and surface parameters has resulted in significant improvement in the ability to obtain accurate temperature profiles and surface skin temperatures under more stressing partial cloud cover conditions than achieved previously. In this paper, we will show the improvement in retrieved Quality Controlled values of sea surface temperature and ocean spectral surface emissivity compared to those obtained using the AIRS Version-5 retrieval algorithm which used longwave and shortwave window observations simultaneously to determine surface parameters.
Unbounded Hermitian operators and relative reproducing kernel Hilbert space

We study unbounded Hermitian operators with dense domain in Hilbert space. As is known, the obstruction for a Hermitian operator to be selfadjoint or to have selfadjoint extensions is measured by a pair of deficiency indices, and associated deficiency spaces; but in practical problems, the direct computation of these indices can be difficult. Instead, in this paper we identify additional structures that throw light on the problem. We will attack the problem of computing deficiency spaces for a single Hermitian operator with dense domain in a Hilbert space which occurs in a duality relation with a second Hermitian operator, often in the same Hilbert space.
Chemical reaction dynamics: integration of coupled sets of ordinary differential equations on the Caltech hypercube

Use of the Caltech/JPL hypercube multicomputer to solve problems in chemical dynamics is the subject of this paper. The specific application is quantum mechanical atom diatomic molecule reactive scattering. One methodology for solving this dynamics problem on a sequential computer is based on symmetrized hyperspherical coordinates. We will discuss our strategy for implementing the hyperspherical coordinate methodology on the hypercube. In particular, the performance of a parallel integrator for the special system of ordinary differential equations which arises in this application is discussed.
Estimation of soil parameters for assessing potential wetness: Comparison of model responses through GIS

A geographic information system (GIS) is utilized to model wetness potential for a portion of Uwharrie National Forest, North Carolina. The wetness index is derived from TOPMODEL, a hillslope-scale runoff simulation model. The wetness index is a distributed-parameter model, with the input parameters obtained from a digital elevation model (DEM) and Soil Conservation Service (SCS) soils data. The primary objectives of the research are to: (1) compare methods of estimating soil parameters for input into the wetness potential model; and (2) determine how the model outputs vary spatially as a consequence of different methods of estimating soil parameters. Three methods of estimating soil parameters are used: (a) assuming uniform soil properties; (b) using SCS data presented as ranges; and (c) using alternative literature-based estimates of soil parameters. Results indicate that the wetness model responds similarly regardless of how the soil parameters are estimated, but differences in the spatial variability of the wetness potentials occur as a result of estimating soil parameters through alternative approaches. Correlation, pair-wise regression and analysis of regression residuals are used to compare model responses within a GIS environment.
Frequency-Domain Identification of XV-15 Tilt-Rotor Aircraft Dynamics in Hovering Flight

Frequency-domain methods are used to identify the open-loop dynamics of the XV-15 tilt-rotor aircraft from flight tests. Piloting and data analysis techniques are presented to determine frequency response plots and equivalent transfer function models. The open-loop pitch and roll dynamics for the hover flight condition exhibit unstable low-frequency oscillations, whereas the dynamics in the remaining degrees of freedom are lightly damped and generally decoupled. Comparisons of XV-15 flight-test and simulator data are more favorable for high-frequency inputs (omega greater than 1.0 rad/sec) than low-frequency inputs. Time-domain comparisons of the extracted transfer functions with step response flight data are very favorable, even for large amplitude motions. The results presented in this paper demonstrate the utility of the frequency-domain techniques for dynamics identification and simulator fidelity studies.
Effects of laryngeal topical anesthesia on voice fundamental frequency perturbation.

Fundamental frequency perturbation (jitter) during sustained vowel phonations of speakers under topical anesthesia of the larynx was investigated for five adult males. The results showed that the a...
The USAF software technology support center: Repository of software reengineering information

The U.S. Air Force (USAF) created the Software Technology Support Center (STSC) at Hill AFB, Utah to enable Air Force software engineering organizations to identify, evaluate, and adopt technologies that will improve their software production. As part of this mission, the STSC collects detailed information about software tools and solicits frank assessments from tool users. Then, as a free service, the STSC provides a customized tools list to anyone within the United States, based on a user's requirements (e.g. hardware platform, operating system, etc.). This article will discuss the STSC's functional goal to act as a central repository of software information with an emphasis on the software reengineering technology domain.
A device for human ultrasonic echolocation

Objective: We present a device that combines principles of ultrasonic echolocation and spatial hearing to provide human users with environmental cues that are 1) not otherwise available to the human auditory system, and 2) richer in object and spatial information than the more heavily processed sonar cues of other assistive devices. The device consists of a wearable headset with an ultrasonic emitter and stereo microphones with affixed artificial pinnae. The goal of this study is to describe the device and evaluate the utility of the echoic information it provides. Methods: The echoes of ultrasonic pulses were recorded and time stretched to lower their frequencies into the human auditory range, then played back to the user. We tested performance among naive and experienced sighted volunteers using a set of localization experiments, in which the locations of echo-reflective surfaces were judged using these time-stretched echoes. Results: Naive subjects were able to make laterality and distance judgments, suggesting that the echoes provide innately useful information without prior training. Naive subjects were generally unable to make elevation judgments from recorded echoes. However, trained subjects demonstrated an ability to judge elevation as well. Conclusion: This suggests that the device can be used effectively to examine the environment and that the human auditory system can rapidly adapt to these artificial echolocation cues. Significance: Interpreting and interacting with the external world constitutes a major challenge for persons who are blind or visually impaired. This device has the potential to aid blind people in interacting with their environment.
A common antifungal defense strategy in Cryptocercus woodroaches and termites

We identified and characterized Gram-negative bacteria binding proteins (GNBPs) and their predicted antifungal activity in the woodroach Cryptocercus punctulatus. C. punctulatus is likely to share many characteristics with the subsocial ancestor of the Isoptera, including allogrooming, which facilitated the evolution of termite sociality. Based on a phylogenetic analysis, an ancestral GNBP with an intact β-1,3-glucanase active site appears to have duplicated in a common ancestor of subsocial Cryptocercus woodroaches and termites. In termites, the secreted β-1,3-glucanase activity of GNBPs provides important prophylactic protection from fungal pathogens such as Metarhizium anisopliae, which can evade the immune system after entering the insect. Here, we identify β-1,3-glucanase activity on the cuticular surface of C. punctulatus that originates from the salivary gland and is likely spread by allogrooming. Cuticular washes have antifungal activity against M. anisopliae conidia that is suppressed by an inhibitor (GDL) of termite GNBP β-1,3-glucanase activity. C. punctulatus nymphs that are treated with GDL and subsequently exposed to M. anisopliae conidia show significantly greater mortality than the untreated nymphs exposed to conidia. A molecular evolutionary analysis of GNBPs in two species of Parcoblatta, Periplaneta americana, C. punctulatus and representative termites indicates that selection-directed change in a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor region. Modification of the GPI anchor region may have been instrumental in the evolution of an antifungal defense strategy that depends on the external secretion of GNBPs from the salivary gland and their dissemination by grooming. This strategy may have helped compensate for the vulnerability of a subsocial woodroach-like ancestor to fungal disease that results from prolonged development with a thin cuticle and facilitated the transition to termite eusociality.
Editorial: Subvert the Dominant Paradigm! A review of Computationalism: New Directions, edited by Matthias Scheutz (The MIT Press, 2002)

This paper again presses the case for computationalism by considering the latest in ill-conceived attacks on this foundational idea. The authors briefly but clearly define and delimit computationalism and then consider three authors from a new anti-computationalist collection.
Prevention of indwelling central venous catheter sepsis

In an attempt to decrease the incidence of central venous catheter sepsis in children with cancer, we conducted a study to evaluate the benefit of adding broad-spectrum antibiotics to the catheter "flush solution." In a prospective, placebo-controlled, double-blinded, randomized trial, 69 children with different types of malignancies were studied. The central venous catheters in these children were flushed with either the standard solution (normal saline + 100 U/ml of heparin) or the study solution (25 microgram/ml of both amikacin and vancomycin added to the standard solution). At the conclusion of the study, 64 children with a total of 67 indwelling central venous lines were assessable. The total catheter days on study were 20,700 days, with a median of 323 catheter days per patient. We documented 10 events of catheter-related infections (0.49 events/1,000 catheter days at risk). Five of these events were catheter-related sepsis (0.24 sepses/1,000 catheter days): two were fungal and three were bacterial. Due to the low incidence of catheter-related sepsis in this study, no statement regarding the prophylactic use of antibiotics could be made. The extremely low rate of catheter-related sepsis reported herein may be retrospectively attributed to continuous staff education regarding aseptic techniques in handling these catheters. Staff education is essential, and probably the most effective factor in preventing catheter-related sepsis.
Parallel processing in visual perception and memory: What goes where and when?

This article begins with reviews of parallel processing models in the areas of visual perception and memory, pointing out kinds of information purported to be processed in each, and the overlap in the physiological substrates involved. Next, some pertinent literature having to do with the linkage between perception and memory is reviewed (e.g., visual memory for what or where), concluding that there exists a serious lack of research and knowledge of how different perceptual processes may lead to facilitated, distorted or impaired memory in different forms of storage. Some possible scenarios are presented concerning how perceptual information might be interfaced with memorial mechanisms, and some working hypotheses are considered. Finally, a new paradigm is outlined that examines the linkage between local and global perceptual processing and explicit and implicit learning. This paradigm combines the global precedence paradigm of Navon (1977; 1981) and the sequence learning paradigm of Nissen and Bullemer (1987). Convincing arguments indicate that global stimuli are mediated more quickly via one perceptual stream (the M-cell pathway), but can be processed more slowly by another (the P-cell system). Local aspects of the stimuli are exclusively mediated by the P-cell system. The results of two experiments employing iterations of stimulus sequence, in which sequence learning is possible and measurable in terms of reaction time changes over trials are presented. The second experiment indicates that information thought to be mediated by the M-cell pathway results in incidental sequential learning, while other information thought to be mediated by the P-cell pathway does not. Spatial filtering of the visual stimuli reveals that low spatial frequencies are necessary for sequence learning to occur. The issue of whether this learning is implicit or explicit is also discussed. Ideas for future research, exploring this new area of interest, are proposed. Current knowledge of perceptual and memorial deficits in special populations are considered in an attempt to identify new areas of investigation.
GA-CDFM Based Hybrid Optimization Method for Steelmaking Scheduling and Caster Operation

In steelmaking plant, the process times of machines change frequently and randomly for the reason of metallurgical principle. When those change happen, the plant scheduling and caster operation must respond to keep the optimal performance profile of plant. Therefore, the integration of plant scheduling and caster operation is a crucial task. This paper presents a mixed-integer programming model and a hybrid optimized algorithm for caster operation and plant scheduling, which combine the genetic algorithm optimization and CDFM process status verification. Data experiments illustrate the efficiency of our model and algorithm.
The influence of high-temperature water on the reaction pathways of nitroanilines

Abstract High-temperature water was examined as a medium for the decomposition of highly energetic materials. To this end, a series of aromatic nitroamine compounds was used to mimic the chemical and structural aspects of several important explosives. The compounds 2-nitroaniline (2NA), 4-nitroaniline (4NA), 2,6-dinitroaniline (2,6-DNA), 2-nitro-1,4-phenylene diamine (2NPDA), 3-nitro-1,2-phenylene diamine (3NPDA), and 4-nitro-1,2-phenylene diamine (4NPDA) were chosen to probe the basic structure-reactivity relationships between the number of NO 2 and NH 2 substituents and their relative locations on the aromatic ring. These experiments revealed that pyrolysis and hydrothermal reaction occurred in parallel, with both rates and selectivities dependent upon the presence of water. Reaction rates were generally higher during reaction in high-temperature water than in neat pyrolysis. The rates of both pyrolysis and hydrothermal reactions increased with increasing number of substituent groups. Finally, the rate of pyrolysis and hydrothermal reaction was lower when nitro and amine groups were adjacent.
The Case of Hallucinogenic Plants and the Internet.

The advent of the Internet both created opportunities and provoked problems for students, teachers, and parents. This article uses the example of Internet access to explicit information about locally available hallucinogenic plants to focus on important new issues in education: determining validity of Internet information and cultivating critical Internet consumer skills in students. Basic "textbook" information on three common psychotropic plants is contrasted with pro-drug information from selected World Wide Web sites. Guidelines are offered for evaluating Internet information, and suggestions are offered for developing effective decision-making skills in students.
X-ray testing of grazing incidence optics fabricated at the University of Colorado

An account is given of the methods and results of X-ray testing for the grazing-incidence optics of the F/5.73 Wolter Type I telescope, whose mirror had flown on a NASA sounding rocket in March, 1991. Attention is given to the tests of the inplane (full aperture) and offplane (apodized aperture) imaging response at 0.25-1.50 keV energies; correlations with surface figures are discussed.
Articulatory gestures are individually selected in production

Most models of speech planning and production incorporate a selection mechanism, whereby units are activated in parallel and chosen for execution sequentially. The lowest level units which can be selected are assumed to be segments, i.e. consonants and vowels. The features or articulatory gestures affiliated with segments are presumed to be automatically selected as a consequence of segmental selection. An alternative possibility is that articulatory gestures themselves are subject to a selection process; this predicts that there can be circumstances in which gestures affiliated with the same segment fail to co-occur. We conducted a stop-signal task in which subjects produced /pa/- or /ka/-initial monosyllables and disyllables in response to a go-signal; on 50% of trials subjects halted production as quickly as possible when given a stop-signal within ±300 ms of the go-signal. Articulatory kinematics were recorded using a speech magnetometer. We found that vowel-affiliated gestures of glottal adduction, tongue body lowering, and bilabial opening did not necessarily co-occur in the context of halting speech. This finding indicates that gestures are selected individually, rather than as an automatic consequence of segmental selection.
Electroactive polymer (EAP)-based deformable micromirrors and light-valve technology for MOEMS display and imaging systems

Electroactive polymers (EAPs) are capable of converting energy in the form of electric charge and voltage to mechanical force and movement and vice versa. Several electroactive polymer actuator materials whose responses are controlled by external electric fields, e.g. poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) based fluoroterpolymers, have generated considerable interest for use in applications such as artificial muscles, sensors, parasitic energy capture, and integrated bio-microelectromechanical systems (BioMEMS) due to their high electric-field induced strain, high elastic modulus, high electromechanical coupling and high frequency operation, etc. The combination of micro-optics and MEMS, referred to as micro-opto-electromechanical systems (MOEMS), makes a new opportunity for innovation in the EAP field. There is a lot of pioneering work on optical beam deflection by electromechanically driven digital micromirrors. In this paper we describe a flexible polymer deformable micromirror (PDM) light-valve technology based on high-performance electroactive polymer materials and microactuators for high-quality electronic projection display and imaging systems. The excellent electromechanical properties of these electroactive polymer microactuators greatly improve the electro-optical properties of the deformable micromirrors and light valves, e.g., optical switching behavior, deformation amplitude and contrast, and low-voltage and high-frequency operation. The material selection, device fabrication, characterization, and a theoretical analysis using the finite element analysis code will be investigated. This technology is compatible with CMOS technology for an active matrix addressing on a chip. High-resolution phase-modulating polymer light valves may permit a lot of future applications, and electroactive polymer micromachining lends flexibility to displays application.
The effect of epinephrine on extinction of an avoidance response

The effect of three dose levels of epinephrine upon extinction of an avoidance response was studied. It was hypothesized that a low dosage would prolong extinction because of increased sympathetic arousal and that this effect would be masked in the high dose group because of motor impairment. No significant effect of the hormone on trials to reach the extinction criterion was found but the high dose group showed significantly greater running times on the first five extinction trials.
Determination of the apparent fractal dimension of the force-displacement curves of brittle snacks by four different algorithms

The apparent fractal dimension of digitized experimental force-displacement curves of cheese balls and Zwiebacks at various levels of water activity were determined with the Richardson, Minkowski, Kolmogorov and Korcak algorithms. All four, but especially the first three, produced a consistent dimension despite the fact that the curves themselves were not truly fractal. These calculated dimensions were effective jaggedness measures and could be used interchangeably to monitor moisture sorption effects on the shape of force-displacement relationships. The apparent dimension versus water activity plot had a sigmoid form which was characterized by a shifted Fermi equation. The center point of the jaggedness loss as well as its span was revealed from the magnitude of the equation's constants or directly from the plot.
Neither Machiavellian Moment nor Possessive Individualism: Commercial Society and the Defenders of the English Commonwealth

"THE CONCEPT OF REPUBLICANISM was one of the success stories of the 1980s," the intellectual historian Daniel Rodgers recently observed, "a generation ago the term-while not unknown-carried no more freight than scores of others in the historical vocabulary ... By 1990 it was everywhere and organizing everything, though perceptibly thinning out, like a nova entering its red giant phase."1 The remarkable spate of recent publications celebrating republicanism-books, articles, collections of essays-suggests that Rodgers has misconstrued the astronomical life of this particular star. "The wildfire popularity of republicanism" continues unabated.2 For scholars interested in republicanism, just as for those interested in liberalism, seventeenth-century English history, politics, and culture hold a special significance. C. B. Macpherson located "the roots of the liberal tradition ... in the political theory and practice of the English seventeenth century." This was because it was "in the course of a protracted struggle in parliament, a civil war, a series of republican experiments, a restoration of the monarchy, and a final constitutional revolution, that the principles which were to become basic to liberal democracy were all developed." Alan Bullock and Maurice Shock concurred that "English Liberalism"-which predates but is not conceptually distinguishable from "Continental Liberalism"-"was born out of the seventeenth century struggle for freedom of conscience and the resistance of Parliament to the arbitrary authority of the King." More recently, Stephen Holmes has claimed that "the early history of liberalism . . . cannot be detached from the political history in the seventeenth and
ZR PFL-Gas Switch Laser Tube 5 MV Interface Design

The ZR gas switch, located between the intermediate store capacitor (I-Store) and the pulsed forming line (PFL), requires a laser pulse for its triggering. There are several routes for the beam to reach the gas switch but all of them cross over the high voltage regions. The Z laser tube crosses over the outer to inner PFL electrodes with a voltage difference no larger than 3.5 MV. The ZR gas switch was designed to be in oil, given the higher operational voltages, as a consequence the laser tube is in the oil side of the PFL interface. The ZR laser tube is required to hold in excess of 5 MV across it using high pressure SF6 gas, the ID is 2.5" to accommodate the laser beam, mechanically should tolerate the non-axial shock loading during the water switches firing. After a couple of iterations it was decided to use Polyurethane, it provided most of the desired mechanical properties, except that it outgases ether and ether based compounds. The effect of just a few ppm of ether on SF6 is a significant reduction on the HV hold off especially surface tracking or flashover. As a consequence the final design is such that the electric field distribution on the tube is as conservative as it was possible due to space constrains. We present the basic design, the field distribution, its relationship with available SF6 breakdown data and the present performance.
Adult Nonhepatic Hyperammonemia: A Case Report and Differential Diagnosis

This article presents a case report of nonhepatic hyperammonemia, i.e., elevated serum ammonia secondary to a nonhepatic etiology. It then discusses the importance of broadening one's differential diagnosis to include such nonhepatic causes of elevated ammonia levels, and provides a short review of rarer causes of hyperammonemia in the adult population. Treating the underlying condition is the best way to prevent recurrence of hyperammonemia. However, symptomatic treatment should not be delayed while investigating the underlying source.
Prevalence of High-Grade Cervical Dysplasia in an Inner City Adolescent Population

The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) in an adolescent population diagnosed at an urban university hospital. This study was a retrospective review of Pap smear diagnoses from January 1997 through August 2010. Patients ≤20 years were compared with records of patients ages 21–30 and >30 years and also with US averages. Analyses were conducted using the Pearson chi-square test. A total of 19,481 Pap smear diagnoses of African-American patients were reviewed: 2,229 for patients ≤20 years old, 5,294 for patients 21–30 years old, and 11,958 for patients >30 years old. The prevalence of HSIL in study patients ≤20 year age group was higher (1.62 %) than that of the 21–30 year age group (1.38 %) and the >30 year age group (1.10 %). The difference between the ≤20 year age group and the >30 year age group was statistically significant (p=0.0478) whereas the difference betweeen the ≤20 year age group and the 21–30 year age group was not (p=0.458). Follow-up management of seventeen patients ≤20 years old with HSIL indicated that eleven (64.7 %) patients had a persistent diagnosis of HSIL, four (23.5 %) patients had a diagnosis of low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL), and two (11.8 %) patients had no evidence of intraepithelial lesion or malignancy on subsequent colposcopy or conization. Our study data supports published reports of a high prevalence of HSIL in adolescents. However, the prevalence of malignant transformation in this cohort is still relatively low. As such, we agree with current guidelines posited by the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG), American Cancer Society (ACS), and US Preventive Service Task Force (USPSTF). Room for additional research in the African-American cohort is encouraged given their underrepresentation in research.
Forest Fire Impacts on Carbon Uptake, Storage, and Emission: The Role of Burn Severity in the Eastern Cascades, Oregon

This study quantifies the short-term effects of low-, moderate-, and high-severity fire on carbon pools and fluxes in the Eastern Cascades of Oregon. We surveyed 64 forest stands across four fires that burned 41,000 ha (35%) of the Metolius Watershed in 2002 and 2003, stratifying the landscape by burn severity (overstory tree mortality), forest type (ponderosa pine [PP] and mixed-conifer [MC]), and prefire biomass. Stand-scale C combustion ranged from 13 to 35% of prefire aboveground C pools (area − weighted mean = 22%). Across the sampled landscape, total estimated pyrogenic C emissions were equivalent to 2.5% of statewide anthropogenic CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion and industrial processes for the same 2-year period. From low- to moderate- to high-severity ponderosa pine stands, average tree basal area mortality was 14, 49, and 100%, with parallel patterns in mixed-conifer stands (29, 58, 96%). Despite this decline in live aboveground C, total net primary productivity (NPP) was only 40% lower in high- versus low-severity stands, suggesting strong compensatory effects of non-tree vegetation on C uptake. Dead wood respiratory losses were small relative to total NPP (range: 10–35%), reflecting decomposition lags in this seasonally arid system. Although soil C, soil respiration, and fine root NPP were conserved across severity classes, net ecosystem production (NEP) declined with increasing severity, driven by trends in aboveground NPP. The high variability of C responses across this study underscores the need to account for landscape patterns of burn severity, particularly in regions such as the Pacific Northwest, where non-stand-replacement fire represents a large proportion of annual burned area.
Burnout and coping strategies of polytrauma team members caring for Veterans with traumatic brain injury

Objective: The aims of this national study were to (1) examine the extent of job burnout among VA Polytrauma team members engaged in the diagnosis and treatment of traumatic brain injury (TBI); and (2) identify their coping strategies for dealing with job-related stress.Design: A cross-sectional sample of 233 VA Polytrauma team members completed the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and identified strategies for coping with work stress as part of an online survey.Results: VA Polytrauma team members experience moderate levels of emotional exhaustion, but low levels of depersonalization and high levels of personal accomplishment. Moreover, 24% of participants reported high levels of emotional exhaustion, which may be a precursor to job burnout. Participants who reported caring for Veterans with TBI ≥50% of their time experienced higher levels of emotional exhaustion than those who spent <50% of their time (p ≤ 0.001). Five major thematic categories related to coping strategies emerged from the data: (1) conne...
ON THE INTERNAL STRUCTURE OF CITIES

We prove the existence of a symmetric equilibrium in a circular city in which businesses and housing can both be located anywhere in the city. In this equilibrium, firms balance the external benefits from locating near other producers against the costs of longer commutes for workers. An equilibrium city need not take the form of a central business district surrounded by a residential area. We propose a general algorithm for constructing equilibria, and use it to study the way land use is affected by changes in the model's underlying parameters.
Biophysical analysis and small-angle X-ray scattering-derived structures of MeCP2–nucleosome complexes

MeCP2 is a highly abundant chromatin architectural protein with key roles in post-natal brain development in humans. Mutations in MeCP2 are associated with Rett syndrome, the main cause of mental retardation in girls. Structural information on the intrinsically disordered MeCP2 protein is restricted to the methyl-CpG binding domain; however, at least four regions capable of DNA and chromatin binding are distributed over its entire length. Here we use small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and other solution-state approaches to investigate the interaction of MeCP2 and a truncated, disease-causing version of MeCP2 with nucleosomes. We demonstrate that MeCP2 forms defined complexes with nucleosomes, in which all four histones are present. MeCP2 retains an extended conformation when binding nucleosomes without extra-nucleosomal DNA. In contrast, nucleosomes with extra-nucleosomal DNA engage additional DNA binding sites in MeCP2, resulting in a rather compact higher-order complex. We present ab initio envelope reconstructions of nucleosomes and their complexes with MeCP2 from SAXS data. SAXS studies also revealed unexpected sequence-dependent conformational variability in the nucleosomes themselves.
Pressure fluctuation measurements and flow regime transitions in gas‐liquid‐solid fluidized beds

Etude des transitions des trois regimes d'ecoulement observes (bulles en coalescence, bulles dispersees, ecoulement piston). Caracterisation des regimes d'ecoulement, par les proprietes statistiques des fluctuations de pression a la paroi
Dihydroxyphenylalanine in Rat Food Containing Wheat and Oats

Dopa has been identified in rat food by three different fluorimetric assays and paper chromatography. Incubation of the rat food with proteolytic enzymes dramatically increased the measurable free dopa. Analysis of samples of six individual protein-containing constituents of rat food revealed that both wheat and oats contain dopa.
Facile, alternative synthesis of lanthanum phosphate nanocrystals by ultrasonication

Abstract Highly luminescent, rhabdophane (Ce0.33La0.66)PO4⋅nH2O nanorods and nanoparticles were prepared in aqueous solutions by ultrasonication, at pH 1 and pH 12, respectively. Both nanorods (5 to 9 nm wide and several tens to several hundreds nm long) and nanoparticles (elongated, connected 5 nm particles) were as small and as uniform as products obtained from methods that utilize complexing agents or surfactants, only with no complexing agent. This method of synthesis by ultrasonication is a fast and simple method and it is expected to be applicable for the synthesis of other nanocrystalline lanthanide phosphates.
Nutritional and pathological changes in male and female rats fed modifications of the AIN-76A diet.

Abstract Male and female weanling Sprague-Dawley rats were fed either an AIN-76A diet or a modification of the AIN-76A diet containing no added dl -methionine but with higher levels of vitamins, fluoride and magnesium than in the AIN-76A diet. Both diets were fed, to groups of ten rats of each sex, at 18% protein or a reduced protein level of 13% for 12 wk. Within each sex, all diets produced comparable weight gains in rats at the end of 12 wk, except that the reduced-protein modified AIN-76A diet was associated with a reduction in weight gain in male rats. Both diet and protein level had statistically significant effects on the relative weights of some organs, particularly the kidney. The AIN-76A and the reduced-protein AIN-76A diets significantly increased the relative kidney weights (% body weights) of female rats, when compared with the effects of both modified AIN-76A diets (18 and 13% protein). Male rats fed both of the diets containing 18% protein had higher relative kidney weights than did those consuming both 13% protein diets. Females fed the modified diet containing 13% protein had significantly lower liver weights than the other groups. In both sexes, the two diets containing 18% protein caused significantly higher plasma urea nitrogen concentrations than did the lower protein diets. Kidney calcium concentrations varied with the diet, with dietary protein level, and with the sex of the animal. All diets caused small mineral (calcific) concretions of minimal to mild severity in the lumina of scattered renal tubules in the cortex and/or medulla of male rats. All female rats fed the AIN-76A and the reduced-protein AIN-76A diet had large, moderate or severe mineral concretions in the tubules at the corticomedullary junction and this was associated with increased renal calcium levels. The higher concentration of renal calcium at the lower dietary protein level (13%) was associated with severe corticomedullary junction mineralization. The higher protein diets were associated with an increased incidence of hyaline droplets in the cytoplasm of kidney cortical tubules in male rats.
Wavelet Scalar-energy Features for Recognition of Mammographic Mass Shapes

The goal of this study is to analyze the use of wavelet- based shape features for automated recognition of mammographic mass shapes. Two sets of shape features are used. The first set includes wavelet-based scalar-energy features. The mass boundary radial distance memory is decomposed using a discrete wavelet transform. The energy of the coefficients at each scale are computed, and these energy values are then used to form a feature vector. Several mother wavelets are used for the wavelet-based shape features: Daubechies-3 (DB3), DB5, DB7, DB9, DB11, DB13, DB15, Coiflets-3 (C3), C5, Symlets-2 (S2), S4, S6, and S8. The second set includes the following traditional features: radial distance mean, standard deviation, zero-crossing count, roughness index, entropy, and compactness. For each set of shape features, linear discriminant analysis is used to appropriately weight the features, and a minimum Euclidean distance classifier is used to separate the shapes into three classes: round, lobular, and irregular. The classification results, as well as false positive and false negative rates, are compared for each set of shape features.
Efficient Identification and Evaluation of Effective Helicobacter pylori Therapies

Annually hundreds if not thousands of patients fail empiric H pylori eradication therapy. Failure occurs in part because routine post treatment testing, which provides an early warning of increasing antibiotic resistance, is not universally done and physicians are generally unaware that cure rates with legacy triple therapy (a proton-pump inhibitor, amoxicillin, and clarithromycin) in most places has fallen below 80%. We propose first, institution of routine post eradication testing and second, abandonment of the "better than another therapy" approach to separating acceptable from unacceptable therapies. Instead, we propose using results-based outcomes (ie, >95% cure rates). H pylori should be evaluated as other infectious diseases (ie, few would compare a new antibiotic for pneumonia with the previous best choice whose effectiveness was now impaired because of resistance). Randomized comparisons should be restricted to studies designed to improve (eg, simplify or reduce costs) high cure rate therapies while maintaining efficacy. We also discuss potential ethical issues such as those including known or suspected low cure rate therapies. Legacy therapies cannot be identified as "approved" or "recommended" even if both statements were true. Instead patients and ethics boards must receive "full disclosures" both before and during studies that include all that might affect a patient's decision to enter or to continue. Finally, we provides advice regarding trial design using "best shot" pilot studies to efficiently identify tentative effective regimens which are then confirmed in randomized trials all the while minimizing patient risks and drug exposure.
The role of emotional dysregulation in perfectionism and psychological distress.

Data from a sample of university students (N = 349) were used to test a model in which emotional dysregulation (a composite of emotional reactivity and splitting) was expected to account for the effect of perfectionism on general psychological distress. Significant positive effects were observed between maladaptive perfectionism and distress, whereas significant inverse effects were found for adaptive perfectionism. Structural equations analyses revealed support for a possibly mediational role of emotional dysregulation. Future research suggestions as well as counseling recommendations are proposed that target emotional regulatory features of the client with perfectionistic tendencies.
#68 Is there a true “shift” to the right in the incidence of colorectal cancer?

Abstract PURPOSE: A recent “shift” in the incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) to right-sided colon cancers has been reported. Whether this “shift” resulted from a true increase in the incidence of right colon cancers or decline in left colon cancers is unknown. To disentangle these potential explanations, we examined temporal trends in proportion of right colon, left colon, and rectal cancers as well as incidence rates. METHODS: Using data from the NCI SEER program, proportions and age-adjusted incidence rates were calculated for right colon, left colon, and rectal cancers by race over three-year time periods from 1978–1998. Proportion of cases by age at diagnosis was also calculated. RESULTS: Although the proportion of individuals diagnosed with right colon cancer increased for whites (1978–1980 = 34%;1996–1998 = 40%) and blacks (1978–1980 = 37%;1996–1998 = 44%), the proportions with left colon and rectal cancers decreased. Between 1978–1998, age-adjusted incidence rates of left colon cancer declined in whites (1978–1980 = 16/100,000; 1996–1998 = 13/100,000) and blacks (1978–1980 = 18/100,000;1996–1998 = 12/100,000, while the incidence rates of right colon cancer (1978–1980 = 14/100,000;1996–1998 = 15/100,000) did not change significantly. Age-adjusted incidence rates of rectal cancer remained stable for blacks (10/100,000) and declined for whites (1978–1980 = 15/100,000; 1996–1998 = 12/100,000). Overall, 43% of individuals >60 years diagnosed with CRC had right colon cancer. Smaller proportions were diagnosed with left colon (31%) or rectal cancer (26%). Conversely, among individuals CONCLUSION: 1) The “shift” to right colon cancer is due to a decline in the incidence of left colon and rectal cancers, while the incidence of right colon cancers remains unchanged. 2) In the elderly, the majority of colon cancers are found in the right colon. This has important implications for choice of screening method used in the elderly.
QBO signal found at the extratropical surface through northern annular modes

A QBO (quasi-biennial oscillation) signal is found in 150-year, Northern Hemisphere, surface air temperatures which have been projected onto an annular mode at the surface. The signal is tied to the equatorial QBO by demonstrating coherence in the extratropical stratosphere and tracing the signal, using the annular modes as a filter, down through the atmosphere to the surface. Then the statistical significance of the surface signal is established.
Optimizing the Hybridization Factor for a Parallel Hybrid Electric Small Car

ADVISOR simulations of 75, 100 and 125 kW total power, parallel hybrid small cars show that the hybridization factor (HF) giving maximum fuel efficiency (termed optimal HF) for the 75 kW small car is 0.49. For the 100 kW small car the optimal HF is 0.58. For the 125 kW small car, the optimal HF is 0.6. At these hybridization factors, vehicles had the greatest increase in fuel economy over the conventional vehicle without sacrificing performance.
The Impact of Dynamic Directories on Multicore Interconnects

A large fraction of on-chip multicore interconnect traffic originates not from actual data transfers but from communication between the cores to maintain data coherence. Co-locating directories near their shared data eliminates many interconnect traversals, substantially reducing power and energy consumption. The Web extra at http://youtu.be/MD66DLh9ccU is a video interview in which guest editor Srinivas Devadas and author Nikos Hardavellas expand on how co-locating directories near their shared data eliminates many interconnect traversals, substantially reducing power and energy consumption.
Massive Thrombosis of the Coronary Sinus As an Unusual Complication of Transvenous Pacemaker Insertion in a Patient with Persistent Left, and No Right Superior Vena Cava

: Persistent left superior vena cava associated with lack of a right superior vena cava constitutes a rare anomalous pathway of venous return to the heart; drainage is usually into the coronary sinus. The patients often are asymptomatic and the anomaly is detected only accidentally during catheterization of the right heart. The patient reported here (an 85-year-old man) had the foregoing abnormal form of venous return, which presented great difficulty when insertion of a transvenous pacemaker was attempted. Subsequently the patient died from bronchopneumonia, and postmortem examination revealed massive thrombosis of the coronary sinus. This may be the first report of such a complication of intravenous pacemaker implantation. Complete occlusion of the coronary sinus in this situation may prevent venous return from the upper part of the body. The literature is reviewed and recommendations are made for alternative management of this unusual problem.
Modeling of residuals in a test data optimal processor-TDOP-of a vehicle trajectory

The TDOP-Test Data Optimal Processor is a computational algorithm usually applied to a variety of trackings, weapon scoring and systems accuracy evaluation. It processes measurements to deduce a minimum error estimate of the state of a system by utilizing knowledge of systems and measurement dynamics, assumed statistics of system noises and measurement errors, and other available information. The ''residuals'' generated by TDOP are of two types: filter and smoother residuals and measurement residuals. These residuals are often correlated, and hence are not white noise as assumed by TDOP. In this paper, a set of software and algorithms for time series analysis which make use of ARIMA - Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average - are used to analyze some of the measurement residuals obtained from TDOP output. We obtained an ARIMA model coefficients that fit the measurement residuals. Such a model can be used in turn to correct the raw measurement for a rerun of TDOP or in a ''renovation'' processing of it and hence achieving an improved accuracy of the resuts.