cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Aerodynamic Analysis in Lean Blade Effects in Centrifugal Compressor

Turbomachinery industries are interested in using optimization procedures that enable to enhance compressor efficiency and wide operating ranges. Most of the design processes are focus on either in aerodynamics or structure. However, the compressor design is an integration between the aerodynamics and structure. This paper presents the recent developments of the aerodynamic integral design system. A design process including the meanline design, throughflow optimization and three-dimensional viscous analysis was used in the centrifugal compressor design. The aerodynamic design design needs to optimize at same time. Normally the most of performance of the favorite features are not friendly to the structure reliability of the compressor wheel. The optimization between aerodynamic performance and structure reliability is critical to provide the maximal potential of the compressor design. The main purpose of current paper is to discuss the importance of the aerodynamic optimization through lean effects. It can be seen from the discussion that the integration of aerodynamics is very important.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
Public Health Area of Concentration: A Model for Integration Into Medical School Curricula

Calls for more public health education for medical students date back at least 150 years. In recent years, medical schools have increased their required coursework in core public health topics such as epidemiology, biostatistics, and behavioral determinants of health. Some schools have created more in-depth alternatives, including combined or concurrent master's degrees; MD/PhD programs with a public health track; certificates in public health; or complete re-envisioning of the school into an integrated medical and public health institution. In 2009 the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine began a Public Health Area of Concentration (AOC) that provides an optional, integrated curriculum that includes key elements of research, practice, and leadership. The AOC is a partnership between two schools at the University of Pittsburgh--Medicine and Public Health--and the local county health department. The result is a program that provides mentorship and training over 4 years of education designed to mend the long historical divide between the skills and constituencies of individual and population health. In addition, the AOC is relatively easy and inexpensive to implement and is modular in nature. The Public Health AOC is a simple model for incorporating many key aspects of public health into medical education and can be duplicated by any university that is willing to create partnerships and work across boundaries.
A New Structural Analysis/Synthesis Capability-ACCESS 1

The creation of an efficient automated capability for minimum weight design of structures is reported. The ACCESS 1 computer program combines finite element analysis techniques and mathematical programming algorithms using an innovative collection of approximation concepts. Design variable linking, constraint deletion techniques and approximate analysis methods are used to generate a sequence of small explicit mathematical programming problems which retain the essential features of the design problem. Organization of the finite element analysis is carefully matched to the design optimization task. The efficiency of the ACCESS 1 program is demonstrated by giving results for several example problems.
Detection of inadvertent catheter movement into a pulmonary vein during radiofrequency catheter ablation by real-time impedance monitoring.

Pulmonary Vein Impedance. Introduction: During radiofrequency ablation to encircle or isolate the pulmonary veins (PVs), applications of radiofrequency energy within a PV may result in stenosis.The aim of this study was to determine whether monitoring of real-time impedance facilitates detection of inadvertent catheter movement into a PV. Methods and Results: In 30 consecutive patients (mean age 53 ± 11 years) who underwent a left atrial ablation procedure, the three-dimensional geometry of the left atrium, the PVs, and their ostia were reconstructed using an electroanatomic mapping system.The PV ostia were identified based on venography, changes in electrogram morphology, and manual and fluoroscopic feedback as the catheter was withdrawn from the PV into the left atrium.Real-time impedance was measured at the ostium, inside the PV at approximately 1 and 3 cm from the ostium, in the left atrial appendage, and at the posterior left atrial wall. There was an impedance gradient from the distal PV (127 ± 30 � ) to the proximal PV (108 ± 15 � )t o the ostium (98 ± 11 � )i n each PV (P< 0.01). There was no significant impedance difference between the ostial and left atrial sites.During applications of radiofrequency energy, movement of the ablation catheter into a PV was accurately detected in 80% of the cases (20) when there was an abrupt increase of ≥4 � in real-time impedance. Conclusion: There is a significant impedance gradient from the distal PV to the left atrium.Continuous monitoring of the real-time impedance facilitates detection of inadvertent catheter movement into a PV during applications of radiofrequency energy. (J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol, Vol. 15, pp. 674-678, June 2004)
Implicit models of illness.

This study was designed to be an initial investigation of implicit models of illness, that is, the dimensional structure that organizes an individual's common-sense illness schema. Nurses, college students, and diabetics rated the qualities of two different diseases, one that was personally salient (i.e., flu or diabetes) and one with which they were familiar but did not have direct experience (i.e., cancer), on a 38-item Implicit Models of Illness Questionnaire (IMIQ). An exploratory factor analysis revealed a four-dimensional structure of illnesses composed of Seriousness, Personal Responsibility, Controllability, and Changeability. The stability of this four-dimensional model was established using confirmatory factor analysis to test the fit of this structure to the IMIQ data of another sample of subjects drawn from the same populations. The structure of this implicit model proved stable for judgments of different diseases and across groups of subjects, even though they differed in their physical-health status and occupational roles. The dimensions identified in the present study were compared to those described in other papers. Our dimensions seemed to be both personally and psychologically meaningful. The implications of this preliminary "generic" implicit illness model for future work in the field of health cognition are discussed.
A two-dimensional model for joints in vehicle structures

Abstract A simple, design-oriented model for joints in vehicle structures is presented. This model accounts for the flexibility of a joint, the offsets for the rotation centers of its branches, and the coupling between movements of the branches. The model consists of springs and rigid sections. The parameters of the joint model are spring rates and lengths of rigid sections and are estimated by using measurements of the static response of the structure. The sensitivity of the static response of a vehicle structure with respect to the parameters of the joint model is studied, and the most important parameters are identified.
The metabolic conversion of folic acid and citrovorum factor to a diazotizable amine.

Abstract Incubation of pteroylglutamic acid (PGA) (folic acid) with liver slices leads to the formation of a diazotizable amine; this reaction is inhibited by aminopterin. Incubation of synthetic citrovorum factor (CF) with liver homogenate results in amine formation, and the reaction is not inhibited by aminopterin. The data indicate that PGA is converted to CF which in turn is cleaved to a diazotizable amine. This cleavage reaction is strongly inhibited by ascorbic acid. The urinary excretion of diazotizable amine by rats is proportional to the dose of injected PGA or CF. The magnitude of the amine excretion suggests that cleavage to a diazotizable amine is a pathway of importance for the metabolic disposal of CF.
Extending the Service Bus for Successful and Sustainable IPTV Services

Telecom carriers have positioned IPTV as one of the key components of triple-play (broadband, television, and voice) or quad-play (with the addition of mobility). Adoption of Web services within a SOA framework as building blocks for developing complex media workflows is an important step toward reuse of media processing tools in an IPTV environment. A Web services approach also provides the capability to abstract network-based services for creation of composite services that can be executed in an IPTV environment. At the same time, adoption of a service bus provides a single point of integration for multiple services, and common features such as service registry and discovery, reliable message delivery, and transformation in a heterogeneous production environment. In this article we present an approach of media enabling the service bus to support offline digital media processes and composite service execution in an IPTV production environment.
Availability of insulin from total parenteral nutrition solutions.

Insulin is frequently required in total parenteral nutrition (TPN) solutions to control hyperglycemia. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the recovery of human insulin from standard TPN solutions with and without lipids and from TPN solutions with specialized amino acid formulations and to compare it to the insulin recovery from normal saline.All solutions were mixed in currently utilized PVC-free bags (ethylene vinyl acetate) and drained through PVC-containing tubing. Human insulin (Humulin-R) was spiked with 125I-labeled insulin and then added in concentrations of 10, 25, and 50 units to 1-liter bags containing 39-g amino acids (10% Freamine-III; or 6.9% Freamine HBC; or 8% Hepatamine), 257-g dextrose, electrolytes (Hyperlyte-R), 1000 units of heparin, MVI-12, and MTE-5 Concentrate. Alternate sets of bags contained 125 ml of 20% Intralipid and an appropriate amount of sterile water to keep the final volume at 1 liter. Actual clinical conditions of preparation, storage, and administration were sim...
Temporal privacy in wireless sensor networks: Theory and practice

Although the content of sensor messages describing “events of interest” may be encrypted to provide confidentiality, the context surrounding these events may also be sensitive and therefore should be protected from eavesdroppers. An adversary armed with knowledge of the network deployment, routing algorithms, and the base-station (data sink) location can infer the temporal patterns of interesting events by merely monitoring the arrival of packets at the sink, thereby allowing the adversary to remotely track the spatio-temporal evolution of a sensed event. In this paper we introduce the problem of temporal privacy for delay-tolerant sensor networks, and propose adaptive buffering at intermediate nodes on the source-sink routing path to obfuscate temporal information from the adversary. We first present the effect of buffering on temporal privacy using an information-theoretic formulation, and then examine the effect that delaying packets has on buffer occupancy. We observe that temporal privacy and efficient buffer utilization are contrary objectives, and then present an adaptive buffering strategy that effectively manages these tradeoffs. Finally, we evaluate our privacy enhancement strategies using simulations, where privacy is quantified in terms of the adversary's mean square error.
Generational Perspectives of the Export Behavior of Family Businesses

The purpose of this exploratory study is to compare the views and export behavior of family businesses run by ‘first’, ‘second’ and ‘third’generation owners. It is common to ascertain different generational perspectives and its impact on strategy and performance. It is hoped that conclusions can be derived as to the impact of succeeding generational owners on export activities.Specifically, whether exporting views and behavior exacebate with nwer generations. A mail survey of US family business owners based in Ohio was conducted. Comparative responses in awareness and usage provided by the first, second, and third generation owners were obtained. The results revealed second generation owners were more receptive to export involvement (unsolicited, solicited orders, etc.). They also used more government services designed to help exporters (e.g., promotion, getting export leads, etc.). However, both the first and second generationers were split on their use of export payment tools (drafts, letters of credit, etc.) and domestic intermediaries (export trading and management companies, etc.).
Some properties of random tetrahedrally coordinated structures

Abstract It is suggested that crystalline wave functions might provide the basis for a matching calculation (at atomic cell faces) to obtain approximate extended solutions of Schrodinger's equation for amorphous semiconductors such as Si, assuming that they have the random tetrahedrally coordinated structure proposed by Polk. In particular the states Γ 1 , Γ 15 , Γ ′ 25 , Γ ′ 2 of the diamond cubic band structure are considered as candidates for rearrangement in such a random way and the necessary topological conditions for this are discussed.
A group-contribution, continuous-thermodynamics framework for calculation of vapor-liquid equilibria

Continuous thermodynamics is extended to the calculation of vapor-liquid equilibria with UNIFAC. For many mixtures of discrete compounds, the UNIFAC model is an efficient method for calculating vapor-liquid equilibria of systems when experimental data are scarce or non-existent. Such constraints are especially important in continuous mixtures. The continuous distribution is characterized by model compounds chosen to reproduce the TBP analysis. The UNIFAC model is extended to systems including several gases, and the new parameters for several light gases are given. The new algorithm is described in detail. Sample calculations are shown for several semi-continuous systems. On a applique la thermodynamique continue au calcul de l'equilibre liquide-vapeur avec UNIFAC. Pour de nombreux melanges de composants distincts, le modele UNIFAC apparait comme une methode efficace pour calculer l'equilibre liquide-vapeur de systemes quand les donnees experimentales sont rares ou inexistantes. De telles contraintes sont particulierement importantes dans des melanges continus. La distribution continue se caracterise par des composes modeles choisis pour reproduire l'analyse TBP. Le modele UNIFAC est etendu a des systemes qui comprennent plusieurs gaz, et de nouveaux parametres sont donnes pour plusieurs gas legers. On decrit le nouvel algorithme en detail. Des exemples de calculs sont donnes pour plusieurs systemes semi-continus.
JOINING METHODS FOR CARBON-CARBON COMPOSITE STRUCTURES

ABSTRACT High temperature carbon-carbon composites (C-C) are increasingly used in both aerospace and commercial products. Hypersonic missiles, reusable reentry vehicles such as the space shuttle and National Aerospace Plane, aircraft brakes, and hot section jet engine components are a few examples. As costs decline with increasing volume usage, C-C will find other applications, such as biomedical products. For the present and near future, major applications will be for high temperature structures operating at temperatures above 2,000 F A problem with composites of any type, polymeric as well as C-C, is finding efficient ways for their structural attachment. This is particularly difficult for elevated temperature C-C structures. Metal fasteners have been used in some designs. In applications where weight and resistance to hypersonic loads are critical, fasteners are often only a marginal solution. Materials Innovation Laboratories (MIL) has developed a family of joining techniques for C-C- This technology ...
Mediation of lung metastasis of murine melanomas by a lung-specific endothelial cell adhesion molecule.

Abstract Organ-specific adhesion molecules expressed by vascular endothelial cells have been implicated in the arrest of blood-borne cancer cells in selective, secondary sites. A lung-specific endothelial cell adhesion molecule (Lu-ECAM-1) localized on endothelia of distinct branches of lung blood vessels has been purified by immunoaffinity chromatography from detergent extracts of lung matrix-modulated endothelial cells using monoclonal antibody (mAb) 6D3. It has a molecular mass of 90 kDa and promotes the selective attachment of lung-metastatic B16 melanoma cells. Corresponding with their metastatic performance, B16-F10 tumor cells selected for higher lung colonization bind to Lu-ECAM-1 in significantly higher numbers than their low lung metastatic counterpart B16-F0. Binding of B16-F0 and B16-F10 is reduced with mAb 6D3 to slightly lower levels than B16-F0 bound to Lu-ECAM-1. mAb 6D3 injected into C57BL/6 mice 1 hr prior to an i.v. challenge with B16-F10 causes a 90% reduction in the number of lung colonies compared with animals injected with control mAb (6D8 or 3C6). Lu-ECAM-1 neither binds nor effects metastasis of other lung-colonizing tumor cells (e.g., KLN205). Thus, site-specific metastasis of tumor cells is regulated by similar mechanisms as the homing of lymphocytes--namely, by the ability of blood-borne cancer cells to recognize and adhere to distinct endothelial cell adhesion molecules.
Impact of T. vaginalis infection on innate immune responses and reproductive outcome

Trichomonas vaginalis is the most common non-viral sexually transmitted pathogen. The infection is prevalent in reproductive age women and is associated with vaginitis, endometritis, adnexitis, pyosalpinx, infertility, preterm birth, low birth weight, bacterial vaginosis, and increased risk of cervical cancer, HPV, and HIV infection. In men, its complications include urethritis, prostatitis, epididymitis, and infertility through inflammatory damage or interference with the sperm function. The infection is often asymptomatic and recurrent despite the presence of specific antibodies, suggesting the importance of the innate immune defense. T. vaginalis adhesion proteins, cysteine proteases, and the major parasite lipophosphoglycan (LPG) play distinct roles in the pathogenesis and evasion of host immunity. LPG plays a key role in the parasite adherence and signaling to human vaginal and cervical epithelial cells, which is at least in part mediated by galectins. The epithelial cells respond to T. vaginalis infection and purified LPG by selective upregulation of proinflammatory mediators. At the same time, T. vaginalis triggers an immunosuppressive response in monocytes, macrophages, and dendritic cells. The molecular mechanisms underlying reproductive complications and epidemiologic risks associated with T. vaginalis infection remain to be elucidated.
States’ Accommodations Policies and Development of Alternate Assessments Based on Modified Achievement Standards A Discriminant Analysis

The characteristics of a state’s accommodations policy may affect a state’s decision about whether to develop an alternate assessment based on modified achievement standards (AA-MAS). A very restrictive accommodations policy may make it more difficult for some students to participate in the state’s regular assessment used for accountability purposes. Descriptive discriminant analysis was used to identify whether differences in the number of allowed accommodations in five categories (presentation, equipment and materials, response, scheduling and timing, setting) differentiated between states that planned to offer an AA-MAS and those that did not. The results of this study provide preliminary evidence that the number of presentation accommodations a state’s policy allowed may be related to the decision the state made about whether to develop an AA-MAS.
Prevalence of Outpatient Cancer Treatment in the United States: Estimates from the Medical Panel Expenditures Survey (MEPS)

Little is known regarding the prevalence of outpatient cancer treatment in the U.S. We analyzed nationally-representative data from the 2000-2004 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey to estimate the number of U.S. cancer patients receiving outpatient chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy annually. Each year, over 1.1 million individuals are estimated to receive chemotherapy or radiation therapy for cancer. Cancer patients younger than 65 receiving treatment who were uninsured were less likely to receive chemotherapy or combined chemotherapy/radiation therapy than were those with public or private insurance. These estimates may be useful for understanding the burden of cancer care and development of programs for cancer survivors.
National estimates of outdoor recreational injuries treated in emergency departments, United States, 2004-2005.

Abstract Objective.—To provide national estimates of nonfatal outdoor recreational injuries treated in US emergency departments (EDs). Methods.—Outdoor recreational injuries from January 2004 through December 2005 were identified using the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System–All Injury Program, a nationally representative sample of ED visits. National estimates of outdoor recreational injuries were calculated, and activities leading to injury, demographic characteristics, principal diagnoses, and primary body parts affected were described. Results.—From January 2004 through December 2005, an estimated 212 708 (95% CI = 113 808– 311 608) persons were treated each year in US EDs for outdoor recreational injuries. The annual rate of injuries was 72.1 per 100 000 population (95% CI = 38.6–105.6). Males accounted for 68.2% of the injuries. The lower limb (27%), upper limb (25%), and head and neck region (23.3%) were the most commonly injured body regions. Fractures (27.4%) and sprains or strains (23...
Structural Changes in Polymer Gels Probed by Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy

Introduction Previous studies, e.g., by NMR,1,2 fluorescence pho­ tobleaching,3 and dynamic light scattering (DLS),4,5 have shown that the diffusion of noninteracting probe particles in polymer solutions and gels primarily de­ pends on the polymer concentration and the size of the probe. In interpreting these results, it is widely assumed that polymer gels behave like semidilute polymer solu­ tions, while the structural differences due to the pres­ ence of permanent cross-links are ignored. These dif­ ferences have been revealed and characterized by scat­ tering experiments, such as small-angle neutron scat­ tering (SANS) and light scattering, which show signifi­ cant structural rearrangement of the polymer chains upon gelation.6 This observation is corroborated by results from elasticity measurements, indicating that gelation is accompanied by an increase in the elastic modulus of the samples.7 However, the effect of crosslinking on the diffusion of small particles in a gel has yet to be fully elucidated and understood.4,7 In this paper, we demonstrate how fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) can provide quantitative measurements on the diffusion of particles in polymer systems. We apply FCS to measure the diffusion time of fluorescent TAMRA molecules in poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) solutions and gels prepared at various polymer concentrations and cross-link densities. The measure­ ments indicate that the diffusion of probe particles is affected not only by the polymer concentration but also by the cross-link density of the gel. Remarkably, we find a simple linear relation between the diffusion times and the elastic moduli of the same gels.
Another Washington-New York Consensus? Progressives Back in Contention

I use the case of New York to explore how federal activism in the wake of crisis affects US urban regimes. Multiscalar policy networks, formerly used to extend neoliberalism to subnational levels, now feature an odd mix of progressives and neoliberals. I use the idea of path dependence to explain this indeterminacy in terms of the contradictory effects of US federalism on national regime formation: while federalism provided havens for progressives to mobilize for regime change, it also anchors defenders of neoliberalism and its legacies. The Obama administration has exploited crisis to move scalar relations in a progressive direction. This has brought some changes to New York's neoliberal regime. That, along with the White House's cool reaction to recent proposals from New York, suggest a break with the neoliberal apparatus. Yet neoliberal legacies constrain efforts to institutionalize new federal roles and scalar relations, leaving the New York regime unsettled. What seems the likely result is a heterodo...
Extending the context of service: from encounters to ecosystems

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to extend conceptually the context of service beyond service encounters and servicescapes by applying a service-ecosystem approach to context and experiential view on value. Design/methodology/approach – We develop a conceptual framework of an extended service context that is based on an S-D logic, service-ecosystems view. Findings – The service ecosystem approach proposed here contributes to the advancement of “services” marketing research by extending the context of service in two ways: its emphasis on service as the basis of all exchange allows the consideration of all instances of value-in-use, in-context, to be considered as a service experience; its conceptualization of context broadens the time/place dimensions that conventionally restrain research in service encounters and servicescapes beyond physical, social, symbolic and relational dimensions to consider the multiplicity of institutions across a wider socio-historic space. Research limitations/implications...
Blood preservation XVI packed red cell storage in CPD-adenine.

Interest has been renewed in CPD-adenine as a long-term liquid blood preservative. The question of whether the metabolic product of adenine, 2,8-dioxyadenine was toxic to humans has apparently been resolved by extensive animal and human studies in favor of there being no potential toxicity in the amounts used in blood preservation. Sweden is adopting CPD-adenine (0.25 mM) as its national blood preservative after ten years of clinical experience in trials. They have shown that each additional week of storage time beyond the current three weeks with CPD results in a 50 per cent reduction of wasteage caused by outdating. They are adopting the 35-day time for regular use with 42 days for an emergency reserve supply. However, many units of blood in the U.S. are stored as packed red blood cells and the question has been raised as to whether there is sufficient glucose in the preservative to maintain red blood cell metabolism in the packed cell unit. The present investigation indicates that there is sufficient glucose for 35 days of packed cell storage in CPD-adenine (0.25 mM) but in some units this might be marginal at 42 days of storage.
Myocardial Iron and Arrhythmia Risk: Magnetic “Shades of Gray”?

Although the past several decades have brought improvements in acute coronary syndrome care with decreased post–myocardial infarction (MI) mortality, the percentage of cardiovascular mortality from sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) has not experienced the same decline.1 Current methods to stratify risk of SCA mortality are limited to decreased left ventricular function2 and occasionally surrogate markers of electric instability (eg, microvolt T-wave alternans3). Given the limited sensitivity of many of these indices to discriminate SCA risk across the spectrum of patients with ischemic heart disease, efforts to define functional and structural biomarkers of malignant arrhythmia susceptibility that transcend left ventricular ejection fraction have been a focus of intense investigation. See Article by Cokic et al Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) provides a multiparametric imaging biomarker of myocardial structure, function, and tissue architecture post MI. Since the advent of late gadolinium enhancement (LGE), CMR quantification of myocardial fibrosis4—long considered important loci of malignant arrhythmia5—investigation into the prognostic importance of LGE alongside traditional markers of cardiac function has grown. Various groups have demonstrated the association of LGE with SCA or appropriate defibrillator therapy in a variety of myocardial diseases, including dilated cardiomyopathy,6 post-MI,7 and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.8 Furthermore, CMR methods to phenotype heterogeneity within scar that is thought to form a nidus for …
Fractional exhaled nitric oxide measurements are most closely associated with allergic sensitization in school-age children

Background Factors affecting fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) in early childhood are incompletely understood. Objective To examine the relationships between FeNO and allergic sensitization, total IgE, atopic dermatitis, rhinitis, asthma, and lung function (spirometry) in children. Methods Children at high risk of asthma and other allergic diseases because of parental history were enrolled at birth and followed prospectively. FeNO was measured by an online technique at ages 6 and 8 years. Relationships among FeNO, various atopic characteristics, and asthma were evaluated. Results Reproducible FeNO measurements were obtained in 64% (135/210) of 6-year-old and 93% (180/194) of 8-year-old children. There was seasonal variability in FeNO. Children with aeroallergen sensitization at ages 6 and 8 years had increased levels of FeNO compared with those not sensitized (geometric mean; 6 years, 10.9 vs 6.7 parts per billion [ppb], P P P = .48; 8 years, 11.5 vs 9.2 ppb, P = .03). At 8 years of age, this difference was no longer significant in a multivariate model that included aeroallergen sensitization ( P = .33). There were no correlations between FeNO and spirometric indices at 6 or 8 years of age. Conclusion These findings underscore the importance of evaluating allergen sensitization status when FeNO is used as a potential biomarker in the diagnosis and/or monitoring of atopic diseases, particularly asthma.
Using statistical and knowledge-based approaches for literature-based discovery

The explosive growth in biomedical literature has made it difficult for researchers to keep up with advancements, even in their own narrow specializations. While researchers formulate new hypotheses to test, it is very important for them to identify connections to their work from other parts of the literature. However, the current volume of information has become a great barrier for this task and new automated tools are needed to help researchers identify new knowledge that bridges gaps across distinct sections of the literature. In this paper, we present a literature-based discovery system called LitLinker that incorporates knowledge-based methodologies with a statistical method to mine the biomedical literature for new, potentially causal connections between biomedical terms. We demonstrate LitLinker's ability to capture novel and interesting connections between diseases and chemicals, drugs, genes, or molecular sequences from the published biomedical literature. We also evaluate LitLinker's performance by using the information retrieval metrics of precision and recall.
Woman/Women in “the Discourse of Man”: Edie Turner and Victor Turner's Language of the Feminine

Although much has been said about the dialectic of structure and antistructure, of system and process, of reason and passion, and of poetry and science in Victor Turner's anthropology, it is rarely noted that such oppositions are profoundly gendered. Like Nietzsche's philosophy, Turner's anthropology may be described as “gynesis”—a putting of Woman into discourse. That which disrupts reason and structure is feminine by definition, and the figure of Woman has been deployed to deconstruct “the discourse of man” for thousands of Western centuries—in Turner's words, “communitas wears a skirt.” And liminality and antistructure as well as communitas are repeatedly described in conceits of conception such as “seedbeds of cultural creativity,” fons et origo, “fructile chaos,”“regenerative abyss,” and “storehouse of possibilities.” If Woman is figuratively significant in Turner's texts, women literally inhabit the interstices of the anthropology that he lived and wrote. Of these, the undisciplined/disciplined and devoted Edie is, of course, the most important. But in addition to her profound and unquestionable presence, there are the echoes of other thinking women—Victor's actress mother, Dorothy Emmett, Monica Wilson, Mary Douglas, Sally Falk Moore, Barbara Myerhoff, Natalie Zemon Davis, and me. What are the meanings of this matrilineage, the relationship of Woman and women, and the reasons of Turner's unreason?
Mode-area scaling of helical-core dual-clad fiber lasers and amplifiers

Helical-core, dual-clad fibers have been designed for single-mode operation with 60-/spl mu/m cores and 0.10 NA. Helical fibers are shown to perform where conventional coiled fibers cannot operate, with possible scaling to 200-/spl mu/m-diameter helical cores.
Texture Measurement on Materials Containing Platelets Using Stereology

A method for determining three-dimensional (3-D) orientation distributions of platelike grains or inclusions using stereology is described. The method involves relating an orientation distribution of platelet cross-section normals taken from a plane of polish, with a corresponding orientation distribution of platelet normals in 3-D. In this investigation, SiC platelet orientation distributions were measured in Al 2 O 3 -SiC, and Cu-SiC composites by both stereological analysis and X-ray diffraction. The stereological measurements yielded two-dimensional (2-D) platelet cross-section normal orientation distributions, and the X-ray diffraction measurements yielded 3-D platelet normal orientation distributions (in the form of pole figures) (...)
Are We Segregated and Satisfied? Segregation and Inequality in Southern California Schools.

Southern California is facing a demographic transformation that will become characteristic of the nation as a whole in coming decades. In this research, we present a historical review of the region...
A new periodontal probe with automated cemento‐enamel junction detection

Abstract. A new automated periodontal probe has been developed which measures attachment level relative to the cemento-enamel junction in a single measurement. The probe tip automatically enters the periodontal pocket and retracts under controlled force. As the probe tip transverses the cemento-enamel junction, the electronics detect an alteration in the acceleration of the probe tip. Thus, the location of the cemento-enamel junction is determined automatically. The repeatability and accuracy of the probe was assessed in vitro. Measurements of attachment level were repeatable to 0.03 mm, and the probe had a net accuracy of 0.04 mm.
Learn these sums or DIE

Truly engaging 14 to 20 year old students of the Millennium Generation requires more attention to motivation and context than has here-to-for been necessary. This generation has grown up immersed in high-fidelity visual and aural environments, both simulated and real, and through the use of the Web also expects a high degree of interactivity in these environments. A new art form which combines all of these elements is computer gaming, which every year captures a growing share of the entertainment market and audience attention, especially in the age group we are considering. The question naturally arises then, can educators take advantage not only of the intrinsic fascination these games have for their audiences, but can they turn the commercial products themselves into effective mediums for teaching? This is precisely what the work described in this paper has done with resounding success. In 2004 a team of four computer scientists at West Nottinghamshire College embarked on a mission of turning a highly successful commercial game from Bioware Corporation, Neverwinter Nights, into a teaching tool that not only captured the total attention of their students, but also increased pass rates on it's targeted national certification examinations three-fold!
Online heuristic planning for highly uncertain domains

Heuristic search algorithms for online POMDP planning have shown great promise in creating successful policies for maximizing agent rewards using heuristics typically focused on reducing the error bound in the agent's cumulative future reward estimations. However, error bound-based heuristics are less informative in highly uncertain domains requiring long sequences of information gathering, such as robotics. In these domains, all possible plan improvements look similar under error bound-based heuristics until the agent's belief uncertainty has been resolved, leaving the agent initially confused on how best to improve its plan under the real-time constraints of online planning. We propose (1) a novel heuristic guiding the agent towards policies that first reduce the agent's belief uncertainty, after which error bound-based heuristics are more effective, and (2) a novel selection mechanism for choosing which type of heuristic (error bound or uncertainty-based) to use during the current stage of planning to most quickly form a good plan. We evaluate our solution in several benchmark POMDP problems, demonstrating that our solution yields successful policies with less planning time in highly uncertain domains and comparable performance in simpler problems.
Epidemiology of Mixed Connective Tissue Disease, 1985-2014: A Population-Based Study.

Objective To characterize the epidemiology of mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD) from 1983 to 2014. Methods An inception cohort of patients with incident MCTD in 1985–2014 in Olmsted County, Minnesota was identified based on comprehensive individual medical record review. Diagnosis of MCTD required fulfillment of at least 1 of the 4 widely accepted diagnostic criteria without fulfillment of classification criteria for other connective tissue diseases. Data were collected on demographic characteristics, clinical presentation, laboratory investigations, and mortality. Results A total of 50 incident cases of MCTD were identified (mean age 48.1 years and 84% were female). The annual incidence of MCTD was 1.9 per 100,000 population. Raynaud's phenomenon was the most common initial symptoms (50%), followed by arthralgia (30%) and swollen hands (16%). The diagnosis was frequently delayed with the median time from first symptom to fulfillment of criteria of 3.6 years. At fulfillment of criteria, arthralgia was the most prevalent manifestation (86%), followed by Raynaud's phenomenon (80%), swollen hands (64%), leukopenia/lymphopenia (44%), and heartburn (38%). Evolution to other connective tissue occurred infrequently with a 10-year rate of evolution of 8.5% and 6.3% for systemic lupus erythematosus and systemic sclerosis, respectively. The overall mortality was not different from the general population with a standardized mortality ratio of 1.1 (95% confidence interval 0.4–2.6). Conclusion This study was the first population-based study of MCTD to provide a complete picture of epidemiology and clinical characteristics of MCTD. MCTD occurred in about 2 persons per 100,000 per year. Evolution to other connective diseases occurred infrequently and the mortality was not affected.
Bond Portfolio Allocations in South Africa Emerging Markets

Over the past fifty years, economic growth in emerging markets has been supported by investments in capital and technology from the developed world. The benefit of this development for the emerging markets, as measured by growth in income, employment, and wealth, is immediately apparent. There have also been significant advantages for the developed world through opportunities for higher risk adjusted returns from investments in emerging markets. This study explores the benefits of the diversification of global government bond portfolio, and provides complete performance evaluations of DMs with or without South Africa emerging market (SAEM) bonds. The study examines the benefits of inclusion of SAEM bonds in DMs, the degrees of financial integration among the research markets, the relative bond returns of dynamic factor models with time-varying coefficients and the robust tests of bond portfolio performance between DMs with SAEM and bond index. The results of this study provide important implications for global investors by identifying diversification gains in SAEM . Keywords: African Bond Market, Portfolio Diversification
Extinctionor a strategy of conservation

‘The biosphere is being nickeled-and dimed to death; the enemy is not only us but virtually all human activities.’
The Need for a Systemic Theory of Worker Productivity

T HIS paper is intended to serve a dual function: first, to point up the need for a different theoretical approach to the specific problem of predicting or explaining the level of worker productivity; and second, to view this specific problem as an example of a general difficulty in sociological theory-building and to offer some suggestions for dealing with this difficulty. As the title indicates, this general problem is the need for "systemic" theories and organic models in sociology. The "problem of worker productivity," like many behavioral science problems, involves an attempt to explain a variation in human behavior through the analysis of antecedent and/or situational factors. The names of the dependent variables in studies in this area vary considerably. Sometimes the dependent variable is called productivity, sometimes effectiveness, sometimes efficiency, and so on. In all cases, however, it refers to the ultimate behavior of the worker or the work group on the job. The word productivity is used here simply for the sake of consistency, although no one term is wholly adequate to encompass all of the variables studied.' When we turn to the independent variables, we find that they are legion. Motivation, morale, communication, control, allocation of authority, communication channels, attitudes (toward almost anything), rewards, needs, group position, forms of leadership, division of labor, and so on. No completely adequate classification of these many independent variables has been devised, and there is little hope of devising one for the present analysis. To simplify this discussion, however, a four-part classification system has been used.2 It is offered simply as a means of limiting the number of elements to be considered.
Transient Heat Hyperalgesia During Resolution of Ropivacaine Sciatic Nerve Block in the Rat

Background: Preliminary studies using perineural sciatic ropivacaine in rat demonstrated unexpected heat hyperalgesia after block resolution. To better characterize the time course relative to mechanical anesthesia-analgesia, we tested the hypothesis that ropivacaine 0.5% leads to transient heat hyperalgesia in rats independent of mechanical nociception. We also evaluated functional toxicity (eg, long-term hyperalgesia and/or tactile allodynia 2 weeks after injection). Methods: Under surgical exposure, left sciatic nerve block was performed in 2 groups of adult male rats-ropivacaine (200 μL, 5 mg/mL; n = 14) versus vehicle (n = 11). The efficacy and duration of block were assessed with serial heat, mechanical (Randall-Selitto testing), and tactile (von Frey-like monofilaments) tests; motor-proprioceptive (rotating rod) and sedation tests were used at 1 and 7 hrs after injection. The presence of nerve injury was assessed by repeating the heat, tactile, and motor tests 12 to 14 days after injection. Results: Ropivacaine-induced anesthesia was fully manifest at 1 hr after injection. At 3 hrs after injection, heat hypersensitivity was present in the setting of resolved mechanical analgesia. All behavioral measures returned to baseline by 2 weeks after injection. There was no evidence of (i) behavioral sedation, (ii) persistent changes in heat or mechanical sensitivity, or (iii) persistent changes in proprioceptive-motor function at 12 to 14 days after injection. Conclusions Ropivacaine 0.5% induces transient heat hyperalgesia in the setting of resolved mechanical analgesia, further suggestive of modality and/or nociceptive fiber specificity. Whether this finding partially translates to "rebound pain" after patients9 nerve blocks wear off requires further study.
Methodology for the Mission Requirement Determination and Conceptual Design of a Morphing UCAV

There has been a growing trend towards designing aircraft capable of efficiently performing missions with widely disparate performance requirements. A solution for this is the development of morphing aircraft which are capable of dramatically changing both size and shape. Morphing to a certain extent has already been implemented on existing aircraft such as with Fowler flaps or variable sweep configurations. Advancements in smart materials and structures, however, have made the development of more drastic forms of morphing plausible. Two key questions which must be answered to design a morphing vehicle are: how to deduce the appropriate mission requirements, and how to design a morphing vehicle for those requirements. A critical aspect of the development of a morphing aircraft is determining the appropriate mission requirements for such an aircraft. The proposed method for determining these requirements is to develop a scenario based evaluation model which compares different operational fleet architectures, such as a fleet of morphing aircraft versus a fleet of multiple types of aircraft. This method creates a parametric environment to determine the most appropriate mission based upon a given set of objectives for all of the operational architectures. This allows a morphing fleet to be compared against other architectures to evaluate the potential benefit. After the mission requirements are determined the specific morphing vehicle can be designed. Initially, a baseline morphing concept (sliding skins, telescoping segments, swing wings, etc.) must be selected in order to provide for the size and shape change of the configuration. After the initial configuration concept has been determined the morphing geometric design process has two main steps. The first step is to parametrically vary the geometry for a given mission. From this analysis, a preliminary geometric shape is determined and then the mission is varied parametrically to determine the mission capability of that geometry. The ability of the vehicle is then compared to the requirements determined in the mission design phase and the process is iterated, at the geometric and/or mission requirements level as necessary to achieve an acceptable design.
How Important Is the Financial Media in Global Markets

This article studies differences in the information content of 870,000 news announcements in 56 markets around the world. In most developed markets, a firm’s stock price moves much more on days with public news about the firm. In contrast, in many emerging markets volatility is similar on news and non-news days. We examine several hypotheses for our findings. Cross-country differences in stock price reactions are best explained by insider trading, followed by differences in the quality of the news dissemination mechanism. Our findings are useful for quantifying the extent of insider trading and how the financial media affects international markets. ( JEL G14, G15) Public news announcements are a major mechanism for disseminating information to investors. Each day the financial media releases thousands of articles covering companies in markets worldwide. Investors use this news to estimate assets’ fundamental values. Despite the perceived importance of the