cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Full The Relationship between Continuous Glucose Monitoring and OGTT in Youth and Young Adults with Cystic Fibrosis.

CONTEXT Early glucose abnormalities in people with CF (PwCF) are commonly detected by continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). Relationships between these CGM abnormalities and oral glucose tolerance testing (OGTT) in PwCF have not been fully characterized. OBJECTIVE(S) 1) To determine the relationship between CGM and common OGTT-derived estimates of β-cell function, including C-peptide index and oral disposition index (oDI) and 2) to explore whether CGM can be used to screen for OGTT-defined prediabetes and cystic fibrosis related diabetes (CFRD). STUDY DESIGN/METHODS PwCF not on insulin and healthy controls ages 6-25 yrs were enrolled in a prospective study collecting OGTT and CGM. A subset underwent frequently-sampled OGTTs (fsOGTT) with 7-point glucose, insulin, and C-peptide measurements. Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to test the association between select CGM and fsOGTT measures. ROC analysis was applied to CGM variables to determine the cutoff optimizing sensitivity and specificity for detecting prediabetes and CFRD. RESULTS A total of 120 participants (controls=35, CF=85), including 69 with fsOGTTs, were included. CGM coefficient of variation correlated inversely with C-peptide index (Cpeptide30-Cpeptide0/Glucose30-Glucose0) (r=-0.45, p<0.001) and oDIcpeptide (C-peptide index)(1/cpep0) (r=-0.48, p<0.0001). In PwCF, CGM variables had ROC-AUCs ranging from 0.43-0.57 for prediabetes and 0.47-0.6 for CFRD. CONCLUSIONS Greater glycemic variability on CGM correlated with reduced β-cell function. However, CGM performed poorly at discriminating individuals with and without OGTT-defined CFRD and prediabetes. Prospective studies are now needed to determine how well the different tests predict clinically-relevant non-glycemic outcomes in PwCF.
Lamella Beams and Grids

Lamella construction is defined and briefly examined. The governing ordinary difference equation for lamella beams is derived and solved for the regular system with general loading. Two types of joint imperfections are taken into account, and the results are compared with those for a common beam. Through use of an artificial vector to represent scaler node quantities, the governing vector partial difference equation is derived for flat lamella grids. The vector equation is converted to scaler form by the stress function approach, and solutions are found for uniform node loads and for an arbitrarily located unit load. Solutions are in the form of single and double finite Fourier series. Force formulas are given for various boundary conditions along modified rectangular, skewed, and triangular boundary shapes. Displacement kernel formulas are derived for the hinged rectangular boundary and are numerically illustrated.
Heterogeneity of CCK Receptors: Classification and Characterization

Receptors which recognize cholecystokinin (CCK) peptides are particularly interesting and notable, both for their similarities and for their differences. There appear to be a family of such receptors which will likely be homologous, yet possess exquisite differences in their structural specficities.
Computers in the cockpit - But what about the pilots?

The advent of the microprocessor has made it possible to design and implement small special purpose digital computers for the flightdeck of an aircraft. However, by the end of the 1970s, many in aviation and government were concerned about certain safety implications of developments related to automation which had occurred. As a result of these concerns, NASA was directed to examine the human factors of automation. A field investigation concerning the arising questions was conducted, taking into account the introduction of the Dash 80 airliner in 1980. Attention is given to the design philosophy of the aircraft, the study methodology, and preliminary results of the study, which are based on analysis of the first wave of questionnaire data and interviews. Almost all pilots, and check captains as well, expressed the view that the first 50 to 100 hours in the -80 were difficult. The reasons for these difficulties were related to cockpit automation and, in addition, to the fact that the new aircraft was more powerful than the older models to which they were accustomed.
Statistical analysis of tensor fields

In this paper, we propose a Riemannian framework for statistical analysis of tensor fields. Existing approaches to this problem have been mainly voxel-based that overlook the correlation between tensors at different voxels. In our approach, the tensor fields are considered as points in a high-dimensional Riemannian product space and accordingly, we extend Principal Geodesic Analysis (PGA) to the product space. This provides us with a principled method for linearizing the problem, and coupled with the usual log-exp maps that relate points on manifold to tangent vectors, the global correlation of the tensor field can be captured using Principal Component Analysis in a tangent space. Using the proposed method, the modes of variation of tensor fields can be efficiently determined, and dimension reduction of the data is also easily implemented. Experimental results on characterizing the variation of a large set of tensor fields are presented in the paper, and results on classifying tensor fields using the proposed method are also reported. These preliminary experimental results demonstrate the advantages of our method over the voxel-based approach.
Perineorrhaphy: commonly performed yet poorly understood. A survey of surgeons

Perineorrhaphy is performed for the prevention of recurrent prolapse, improved sexual function, treatment of pain, and cosmesis. Its use is based on expert opinion with few objective data. We aimed to describe factors that are important to surgeons when deciding to perform perineorrhaphy and variations in surgical technique. We administered an anonymous survey to surgeon attendees at the 2014 SGS annual scientific meeting regarding which factors are important when deciding to perform a perineorrhaphy and details of their surgical technique. Surgeons rated the importance of factors; one-way ANOVA was used to rank the decision factors and post hoc pairwise comparisons with Fisher’s least significant difference method were used to evaluate the importance between factors. A total of 183 out of 360 surgeon attendees responded. Most were between ages 36 and 60 (79 %), 56 % were female, 64 % practiced in an academic environment, and 64 % had undergone subspecialty training. An enlarged genital hiatus (GH) ranked as the most important factor influencing the decision to perform a perineorrhaphy, followed by a concomitant prolapse procedure (p < 0.001). Sexual function and cosmesis were rated as being less important. The decision to perform perineorrhaphy was made with the patient in 65 % of cases, and otherwise in the operating room. Significant heterogeneity exists regarding surgeon suture preference and how muscles were re-approximated. Most (81 %) reported incorporating structures both proximal and distal to the hymen in their repairs. Genital hiatus size and concomitant prolapse procedures ranked highest in surgeons’ decision to perform a perineorrhaphy. Significant heterogeneity exists in the indications for and technique used to perform perineorrhaphy.
Thinking of exporting?: Export management companies could be the answer

Abstract With the interest in globalization, many domestic manufacturing companies are anxious to export their products. Lacking the resources and experience to sell effectively abroad, manufacturers often rely on export management companies (EMCs) to act as their export departments. How successful have these arrangements been? Haigh reports that the performance of EMCs is below the expectations of manufacturers more than half the time, but concludes that EMCs can be a very effective strategy for entering foreign markets if care is taken to select an appropriate company.
Regulating the Internet of Things: First Steps Toward Managing Discrimination, Privacy, Security & Consent

The consumer “Internet of Things” is suddenly reality, not science fiction. Electronic sensors are now ubiquitous in our smart phones, cars, homes, electric systems, health care devices, fitness monitors, and workplaces. These connected sensor-based devices create new types and unprecedented quantities of detailed, high-quality information about our everyday actions, habits, personalities and preferences. Much of this undoubtedly increases social welfare. For example, insurers can price automobile coverage more accurately by using sensors to measure exactly how you drive (e.g., Progressive’s SnapShot system), which should theoretically lower the overall cost of insurance. But the Internet of Things raises new and difficult questions as well. This Article shows that four inherent aspects of sensor-based technologies — the compounding effects of what computer scientists call “sensor fusion,” the near impossibility of truly de-identifying sensor data, the likelihood that Internet of Things devices will be inherently prone to security flaws, and the difficulty of meaningful consumer consent in this context — create very real discrimination, privacy, security, and consent problems. As connected, sensor-based devices tell us more and more about ourselves and each other, what discrimination — racial, economic, or otherwise — will that permit, and how should we constrain socially-obnoxious manifestations? As the Internet of Things generates ever more massive and nuanced data sets about consumer behavior, how to protect privacy? How to deal with the reality that sensors are particularly vulnerable to security risks? And how should the law treat — and how much should policy depend upon — consumer consent in a context in which true informed choice may be impossible? This Article is the first legal work to describe the new connected world we are creating, address these four interrelated problems, and propose concrete first steps for a regulatory approach to the Internet of Things.
Artificial intelligence for real-time monitoring and control

The author describes MARVEL, an automated monitoring and analysis environment with multiple expert systems that has been developed and successfully applied to the automation of interplanetary spacecraft operations at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Automated monitoring and knowledge-based diagnostics of spacecraft anomalies have been part of MARVEL since it was used to monitor the Voyager mission's Neptune encounter in August of 1989. MARVEL has subsequently been expanded to include the results of research on cooperating expert systems, distributed computing, and real-time metareasoning. The author surveys the generally applicable approaches and implementations that have been developed in each of these areas and describes operational capabilities and results that have been obtained. >
Bias in Mental Testing

Cultural bias in mental testing has been a recurring issue since the beginning of the testing movement itself. From Binet to Jensen, many professionals have addressed the problem, with varying and inconsistent outcomes. Unlike the pervasive and polemical nature-nurture argument, the bias issue has been until recently largely restricted to the professional literature, except for a few early discussions in the popular press (e.g., Freeman, 1923; Lippmann, 1923a,b). Of some interest is the fact that one of the psychologists who initially raised the question was the then-young Cyril Burt (1921), who even in the 1920s was concerned about the extent to which environmental and motivational factors affect performance on intelligence tests. Within the last few years, however, the question of cultural test bias has burst forth as a major contemporary problem far beyond the bounds of scholarly academic debate in psychology. For approximately the last decade, the debate over bias has raged in both the professional and the popular press (e.g., Fine, 1975). Entangled in the larger issues of individual liberties, civil rights, and social justice, the bias issue has become a focal point for psychologists, sociologists, politicians, and the public. Increasingly, the issue has become a political and legal one, as reflected in numerous court cases and passage in the state of New York and consideration elsewhere of “truth-in-testing” legislation.
Self-medication in Childhood: Observations at a Residential Summer Camp

Since the 1930s our society has experienced a marked increase in the consumption of medicines. Expenditure for medications has amounted to 10% to 15% of health care costs in both the United States and Europe, equivalent to 1% of the American Gross National Product.1 Per capita drug consumption in the United States is among the highest in the Western World and twice that in the British Isles.1,2 A large proportion of drugs consumed are self-prescribed, nonprescription medications accounting for 40% of the national expenditure on medicines.1 Surveys of large populations confirm the high rate of drug consumption; 30% of people questioned have used one or more nonprescription medications in the previous 48 hours.2,3 The use of nonprescription medications is not limited to adults. In surveys of large populations it has been shown that 30% to 50% of children have received medicines during a 48-hour recall period,4,5 and 75% received medicines during a 4-week period.5-7 Furthermore, 50% of mothers stock seven or more medicines for home use, and 30% report giving their children seven or more types of medicines during the course of a year.6,7 In the face of this extensive consumption of medicines little is known about the age at which children are given or assume responsibility for taking medications. A review of medical history forms for enrollment at a summer camp in 1990 revealed that 30% of campers aged 9 to 16 years intended to bring their own nonprescription medications to camp.8 This led us to suspect that American children may be given responsibility for self-medicating at an early age.
Speaker and noise independent online single-channel speech enhancement

Desirable properties of real-world speech enhancement methods include online operation, single-channel operation, operation in the presence of a variety of noise types including non-stationary noise, and no requirement for isolated training examples of the specific speaker and noise type at hand. Methods in the literature typically possess only a subset of these properties. Source separation methods particularly rarely simultaneously possess the first and last properties. We extend universal speech model-based speech enhancement to adaptively learn a noise model in an online fashion. We learn a model from a general corpus of speech in place of speaker-dependent training examples before deployment. This setup provides all of these desirable properties, making it easy to deploy in real-world systems without the need to provide additional training examples, while explicitly modeling speech. Our experimental results show that our method achieves the same performance as in the case in which speaker-dependent training data is available.
Order and entropy in picture passwords

Previous efforts involving picture-based passwords have not focused on maintaining a measurably high level of entropy. Since password systems usually allow user selection of passwords, their true entropy remains unknown. A 23-participant study was performed in which picture and character-based passwords of equal strength were randomly assigned. Memorability was tested with up to one week between sessions. The study found that both character and picture passwords of very high entropy were easily forgotten. However, when password inputs were analyzed to determine the source of input errors, serial ordering was found to be the main cause of failure. This supports a hypothesis stating that picture-password systems which do not require ordered input may produce memorable, high-entropy passwords. Input analysis produced another interesting result, that incorrect inputs by users are often duplicated. This reduces the number of distinct guesses users can make when authentication systems lock out users after a number of failed logins. A protocol for ignoring duplicate inputs is presented here. A shoulder-surfing resistant input method was also evaluated, with six out of 15 users performing an insecure behavior.
Estimating functional forms in cost-prices

Abstract Olson and Shieh extended the cost-price approach proposed by Conrad and estimated systems of factor-share equations in cost-prices with a more theoretical-consistent specification of technical change. The authors concluded that the results encouraged additional research based on the cost-price approach. This paper questions empirical results for one of the models reported by Olson and Shieh. Empirical results for an alternative specification of the model are also presented.
Neural Networks: Making Connections about the Brain and about College while Monitoring Student Engagement in Second Graders.

This article describes a neuroscience outreach program developed by college undergraduates and aimed at second graders. Over a period of four weeks, twenty-five Denison students enrolled in a non-majors course on gender and the brain visited twenty-four second grade classrooms to engage a total of 464 students. We had a mission to both promote college awareness and to specifically bring some brain science into the classroom. The desire to engage students with the brain was in part a wish to celebrate brain awareness week and in part a wish to follow a feminist tenet of bridging theory and practice via activism. The college students chose six activities: a brain puzzle, a sock content guessing game, a jelly bean olfaction and taste test, mystery noises, a message transmission game, and a version of tag. During our outreach with the second graders, my students monitored student engagement and compared engagement between male and female second graders. Engagement was high for nearly all activities but girls were more engaged than boys during the brain puzzle and jelly bean activities. Effect sizes measured as Cohen’s “d” statistics were small to large (0.2 to 0.93). The other four activities (mystery socks, mystery noises, message transmission and neuron chain tag) showed no difference in engagement between male and female second graders. Our program benefited the Denison students as well, introducing many to community involvement and awakening in them an interest in teaching or working with kids.
Mapping the literature of nurse practitioners

Objectives: This study was designed to identify core journals for the nurse practitioner specialty and to determine the extent of their indexing in bibliographic databases. Methods: As part of a larger project for mapping the literature of nursing, this study followed a common methodology based on citation analysis. Four journals designated by nurse practitioners as sources for their practice information were selected. All cited references were analyzed to determine format types and publication years. Bradford's Law of Scattering was applied to identify core journals. Nine bibliographic databases were searched to estimate the index coverage of the core titles. Results: The findings indicate that nurse practitioners rely primarily on journals (72.0%) followed by books (20.4%) for their professional knowledge. The majority of the identified core journals belong to non-nursing disciplines. This is reflected in the indexing coverage results: PubMed/MEDLINE more comprehensively indexes the core titles than CINAHL does. Conclusion: Nurse practitioners, as primary care providers, consult medical as well as nursing sources for their information. The implications of the citation analysis findings are significant for collection development librarians and indexing services.
Longitudinal Study of Headache Trajectories in the Year After Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: Relation to Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms

Abstract Objective To examine headache trajectories among persons with mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) in the year after injury and the relation of headache trajectory to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at 1 year postinjury. Design Prospective, longitudinal study. Setting Participants were recruited through a university medical center and participated in follow-up assessments by telephone. Participants Prospectively enrolled individuals (N=212) within 1 week of MTBI who were hospitalized for observation or other system injuries. Participants were assessed at baseline and 3, 6, and 12 months postinjury. Interventions Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures Participants rated average headache pain intensity using the 0 to 10 numerical rating scale at each assessment period. The PTSD Checklist-Civilian Version was completed at 12 months postinjury. Results Latent class growth analysis produced a 4-trajectory group model, with groups labeled resolved, worsening, improving, and chronic. Multivariate regression modeling revealed that younger age and premorbid headache correlated with membership in the worse trajectory groups (worsening and chronic; P P Conclusions Headache is common in the year after MTBI, with younger people, persons who previously had headaches, and persons with PTSD more likely to report chronic or worsening headache. Further research is needed to examine whether PTSD symptoms exacerbate headaches or whether problematic headache symptoms exacerbate PTSD.
A Survey of Multiplicative Perturbation for Privacy-Preserving Data Mining

The major challenge of data perturbation is to achieve the desired balance between the level of privacy guarantee and the level of data utility. Data privacy and data utility are commonly considered as a pair of conflicting requirements in privacy-preserving data mining systems and applications. Multiplicative perturbation algorithms aim at improving data privacy while maintaining the desired level of data utility by selectively preserving the mining task and model specific information during the data perturbation process. By preserving the task and model specific information, a set of “transformation-invariant data mining models” can be applied to the perturbed data directly, achieving the required model accuracy. Often a multiplicative perturbation algorithm may find multiple data transformations that preserve the required data utility. Thus the next major challenge is to find a good transformation that provides a satisfactory level of privacy guarantee. In this chapter, we review three representative multiplicative perturbation methods: rotation perturbation, projection perturbation, and geometric perturbation, and discuss the technical issues and research challenges. We first describe the mining task and model specific information for a class of data mining models, and the transformations that can (approximately) preserve the information. Then we discuss the design of appropriate privacy evaluation models for multiplicative perturbations, and give an overview of how we use the privacy evaluation model to measure the level of privacy guarantee in the context of different types of attacks.
Detection of the 2175 Å dust feature in Mg II absorption systems

The broad absorption bump at 2175 A due to dust, which is ubiquitous in the Galaxy and is seen in the Magellanic clouds, is also seen in a composite spectrum of Mg II absorbers. The composite absorber spectrum is obtained by taking the geometric mean of 92 quasar spectra after aligning them in the rest frame of 96 absorbers. By aligning the spectra according to absorber redshifts, we reinforce the spectral features of the absorbers and smooth over possible bumps and wiggles in the emission spectra as well as small features in the flat-fielding of the spectra. The width of the observed absorption feature is 200-300 A (FWHM), or 0.4-0.6 μm-1, and the central wavelength is 2240 A. These are somewhat different from the central wavelength of 2176 A and FWHM = 0.8-1.25 μm-1 found in the Galaxy. Simulations show that this discrepancy between the properties of the 2175 A feature in Mg II absorbers and the Galactic interstellar medium can be mostly explained by the different methods used to measure them.
An Optimal Time-Power Tradeoff for Sorting on a Mesh-Connected Computer with On-Chip Optics

Energy consumption has become a critical factor constraining the design of massively parallel computers, necessitating the development of new models and energy-efficient algorithms. The primary component of on-chip energy consumption is data movement, and the mesh computer is a natural model of this, explicitly taking distance into account. Unfortunately the dark silicon problem increasingly constrains the number of bits which can be moved simultaneously. For sorting, standard mesh algorithms minimize time and total data movement, and hence constraining the mesh to use only half its processors at any instant must double the time. It is anticipated that on-chip optics will be used to minimize the energy needed to move bits, but they have constraints on their layout. In an abstract model, we show that a pyramidal layout and a new power-aware algorithm allows one to sort with only a square root increase in time as the fraction of processors simultaneously powered decreases. Furthermore, this layout is shown to be optimal in terms of the time-power tradeoff required for sorting. Previous algorithms assumed fully powered systems, hence pyramid sorting was of no interest since when fully powered they are no faster than the base mesh. Our results show asymptotic theoretical limits of computation and energy usage on a model which takes physical constraints and developing interconnection technology into account.Â
ESCRT-dependent targeting of plasma membrane localized KCa3.1 to the lysosomes.

The number of intermediate-conductance, Ca2+-activated K+ channels (KCa3.1) present at the plasma membrane is deterministic in any physiological response. However, the mechanisms by which KCa3.1 ch...
Attention and Gaze in Situated Language Interaction

The ability to engage in natural language interaction in physically situated settings hinges on a set of competencies such as managing conversational engagement, turn taking, understanding, language and behavior generation, and interaction planning. In human-human interaction these are mixed-initiative, collaborative processes, that often involve a wide array of finely coordinated verbal and non-verbal actions. Eye gaze, and more generally attention, among many other channels, play a fundamental role. In this talk, I will discuss samples of research work we have conducted over the last few years on developing models for supporting physically situated dialog in relatively unconstrained environments. Throughout, I will highlight the role that gaze and attention play in these models. I will discuss and showcase several prototype systems that we have developed, and describe opportunities for reasoning about, interpreting and producing gaze signals in support of fluid, seamless spoken language interaction.
Induction of oncogenic transformation in vitro by ultraviolet light.

SKIN fibroblasts derived from patients with the autosomal recessive disease xeroderma pigmentosum are defective in excision repair of photodamage induced by short wavelength ultraviolet light1. In conjunction with the clinical observation that these patients are extremely prone to develop skin cancer2, it has been suggested that DNA repair plays a central role in the process of carcinogenesis. Although methodologies are available for investigating the molecular biology of mammalian DNA repair, studies of carcinogenesis induced by UVL have been limited largely to the use of the hairless mouse3–5. In a preliminary report, DiPaolo and Donovan6 reported the induction of transformation in primary hamster embryo cell cultures by ultraviolet light. Mondal and Heidelberger7 reported inducing malignant transformation in mouse 10T1/2 cells in vitro by exposure to ultraviolet light followed by treatment with tetradecanoyl phorbol acetate. We report here that ultraviolet light of 254-mm wavelength alone is sufficient to induce reproducible transformation in this cell line, and we present the dose–response relationship for this phenomenon.
Risk Factors for Prolonged Postpartum Length of Stay Following Cesarean Delivery.

Cesarean delivery is one of the most common surgeries performed in the United States. In 2012, over 1.2 million cesarean deliveries were performed, accounting for 32.8% of all deliveries.1 Cesarean delivery has been implicated as an important explanatory factor for increasing rates of maternal morbidity, which includes venous thromboembolism, shock, and hemorrhage.2 As a consequence, multiple large-scale initiatives have been promoted by leading obstetric figures and organizations to reduce rates of maternal morbidity.3–5 Postoperative length of stay (LOS) after nonobstetric surgery has been identified as an important quality indicator of inpatient care.6–8 LOS after cesarean delivery may also be an important metric for evaluating the quality of peripartum and postpartum obstetric care. Unfortunately, studies investigating risk factors associated with prolonged LOS after a cesarean delivery are lacking. Such data could assist ongoing efforts aimed at reducing maternal morbidity after cesarean delivery and could be useful for evaluating postcesarean LOS as a quality measure related to obstetric practice. The primary aim of this study was to identify risk factors for prolonged postpartum LOS after cesarean delivery. Moreover, we sought to analyze the contribution of potentially modifiable risk factors on prolonged LOS to highlight areas where improvements in perioperative care could be made. We also performed a secondary analysis to identify risk factors for prolonged LOS for the entire delivery hospitalization period including the intrapartum period.
Processing, segmentation, and visualization of pre- and post-stent coronary arteries using intravascular ultrasound

Intra-vascular ultrasound (IVUS) has significant potential for providing new information about the structure and condition of the coronary arteries. However, these image datasets are inherently noisy and characterized by frequent drop-outs and shadowing, considerably constraining their use for quantitative evaluation of coronary artery integrity and stent augmentation. A feasibility study was conducted to test the effectiveness of a software toolkit for processing, segmenting, and visualizing pre- and post-stent IVUS datasets, as a precursor to detailed quantitative evaluation of IVUS with regard to characterization of coronary luminal wall properties. Frame averaging, histogram processing, and anisotropic diffusion were used to reduce speckle noise and compensate for image dropout and shadowing. A region of interest (ROI) analysis was conducted to determine the effectiveness of the image processing. Preliminary results suggest that the image processing steps are effective at increasing the contrast to speckle ratio. In addition, contrast between the arterial wall and lumen was improved, producing an edge enhancement effect. Image registration was used to align images within a volume (i.e. 2-D registration) and between volumes (i.e. 3-D registration). A voxel matching method was used for the 2-D registration and a surface matching method was used for 3-D registration. A morphological connect method for segmentation was used to extract large structures in the data. A new edge-based algorithm was developed to segment the data in regions where the other method failed. Volume rendering methods were used to visualize the data. These preliminary visualizations of processed, segmented and registered IVUS datasets illustrated encouraging potential for further quantitative analysis of coronary artery morphology and pathology.© (1998) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Carbon‐13 NMR of poly(vinyl acetate) and ethylene–vinyl acetate copolymer

Carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance spectra of atactic poly(vinyl acetate) and ethylene–vinyl acetate copolymers are reported and analyzed. Carbon spectra at 22.6 and 62.9 MHz together with use of shift reagents have permitted a more complete assignment than previously reported; in some cases the published assignments are found to be in error.
The Kalman filter model and Bayesian outlier detection for time series analysis of BOD data

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to fit a trigonometric time series model to a biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) data set using the Kalman filter approach to allow estimates of the parameters to be updated recursively with each new observation. In addition, we analyse the data set for outliers by computing the prior and posterior probabilities for all observations The smoothing equations result in a better fit of the propose model than the model of Papadopoulos et al. (Ecological Modelling, 55(1991):57–65) based on the same data, in the sense that it reduces the mean squared error by more than half.
Performance of an optical identification and interrogation system

A free space optics based identification and interrogation system has been designed. The applications of the proposed system lie primarily in areas which require a secure means of mutual identification and information exchange between optical readers and tags. Conventional RFIDs raise issues regarding security threats, electromagnetic interference and health safety. The security of RF-ID chips is low due to the wide spatial spread of radio waves. Malicious nodes can read data being transmitted on the network, if they are in the receiving range. The proposed system provides an alternative which utilizes the narrow paraxial beams of lasers and an RSA-based authentication scheme. These provide enhanced security to communication between a tag and the base station or reader. The optical reader can also perform remote identification and the tag can be read from a far off distance, given line of sight. The free space optical identification and interrogation system can be used for inventory management, security systems at airports, port security, communication with high security systems, etc. to name a few. The proposed system was implemented with low-cost, off-the-shelf components and its performance in terms of throughput and bit error rate has been measured and analyzed. The range of operation with a bit-error-rate lower than 10-9 was measured to be about 4.5 m. The security of the system is based on the strengths of the RSA encryption scheme implemented using more than 1024 bits.
Fast Recharge of Electrochemical Energy Storage Devices at Pulsed Elevated Rates

In the last decade, battery manufacturers have significantly reduced the internal series resistance of many electrochemical energy storage devices. This reduction has drastically increased the power density available from these electrochemical cells and opened up a whole new set of applications that they can be used to power, such as compact pulsed power systems and electric vehicles. It has been shown previously that high-power lithium-ion battery cells, such as the Saft VL8V and GAIA 27-Ah battery, are capable of discharging currents at rates much higher than their rated C values for time scales on the order of tens of milliseconds. While these cells are capable of elevated rate discharge, recharge at an elevated rate is traditionally thought of as being catastrophic to the cell lifetime. In all applications, there is always a desire to recharge electrochemical energy storage devices at a faster rate. Previous research in this area has applied charge rates to batteries that are a few times the cell's rated C value in a steady-state application with findings that recharge time can be significantly reduced. The University of Texas at Arlington is conducting new research in this area. The aim of the research is to understand the charge rate limitations of electrochemical energy storage devices, such as lithium-ion batteries, supercapacitors, and lithium-ion capacitors, when the elevated charge is applied in a pulsed fashion. The effect that these types of elevated recharge rates have on the fundamental material properties inside the cells is being researched as well. This paper describes the rationale behind the experiments, the experimental setup developed, and the research progress made thus far.
Effects of Low Magnetic Fields on Gold-YBCO Contacts

The effects of low magnetic field (0–40 Gauss) on electrical properties of gold-YBCO contacts are investigated. The contact resistance increases significantly with applied magnetic fields. For high magnetic field or when high current is flowing through the contact, the contact resistance decays after removing the magnetic field to a finite value greater than that is measured before the contact is exposed to the magnetic field and stays there for long time as long as the sample is kept below the superconductivity critical temperature.
Development of a large pixel, spectrally optimized, pinned photodiode/interline CCD detector for the Earth Observing System/Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectrometer-Tilt Instrument

A pinned photodiode/interline CCD Detector Array is under development for the EOS/MODIS-T project. Outstanding features of the device include large pixels, spectrally optimized fill factors, and blooming protection. The detector has 30 spatial rows and 32 spectral columns. The device layout is split into two halves; each half has its own detector area, storage area, and output structure.© (1991) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Current topics of ion beam R&D

Abstract The use of directed energetic ion beams to improve the surface-sensitive properties of materials has been pursued worldwide for almost two decades. In that time, numerous examples of property improvements have been demonstrated in the laboratory and some applications are currently finding commercial uses. Among these current topics of transitional R&D are nitrogen ion implantation to impart wear resistance to precision components, including titanium alloy surgical prostheses and selected tooling. The hybrid combination of ion beam bombardment in conjunction with physical vapor deposition, commonly termed ion-beam-assisted deposition (IBAD), has emerged as a powerful processing technique. It combines many of the positive attributes of ion beam and conventional coating technologies, such as high density, superior adhesion and the ability to produce arbitrarily thick coatings. An important feature of IBAD technology is its frequently demonstrated ability to control many generic properties of coatings, such as the morphology, adhesion, residual stress and stoichiometry. Current applications of ion beam processing for the production of wear-, corrosion- and fatigue-resistant surfaces are presented here with an emphasis on those pertaining to US Army needs.
Immunoregulatory Role of Nitric Oxide in Legionella pneumophila-Infected Macrophages.

Abstract Nitric oxide (NO) is an intercellular messenger molecule produced by a variety of cells, including macrophages. However, the role of NO in infection, especially its immunological role, is poorly understood. In the present study, the role of NO in Legionella pneumophila -infected macrophages was examined. Whereas infection of mouse macrophages in vitro with L. pneumophila did not induce detectable NO, when the macrophages were primed with interferon-γ (IFN-γ), the treated macrophages markedly inhibited bacterial replication and produced a large amount of NO. Treatment with NO inhibitors, such as N G -monomethyl- l -arginine ( l -MMA) or aminoguanidine, as well as culture in arginine-free medium, significantly inhibited NO production; however, the anti- L. pneumophila activity induced by IFN-γ was not diminished. Examination of cytokine levels in L. pneumophila -infected macrophages primed with IFN-γ revealed a moderate increase of interleukin-6 (IL-6) production; however, inhibition of NO by l -MMA markedly increased IL-6 production. Reconstitution of NO in the L. pneumophila -infected macrophages primed with IFN-γ and treated with l -MMA to inhibit endogenous NO production following addition of sodium nitroprusside reduced IL-6 production to normal levels. The levels of IL-6 mRNA in l -MMA-treated macrophages were the same as in nontreated macrophages, as demonstrated by quantitative RT-PCR. Thus, these results indicate that NO may regulate IL-6 production independently of its role in antimicrobial function in L. pneumophila -infected macrophages and their immunoregulation on IL-6 production may be due to a post-transcriptional mechanism.
SU-C-213AB-04: Dosimetry for Dynamic IMRT Photon Beams

Purpose: To develop a model accounting for differences of dose per monitor unit between dynamic and stop‐and‐shoot IMRT.Methods: For IMRTphoton beams, treatments can be divided into stop‐and‐shoot mode and dynamic mode based on the movement of the multileaf collimator(MLC) during the photon delivery. However, dose measurements from a Varian photon beam based on these two different types of treatments are varied for at least 8%. We propose a model to compensate for this discrepancy, based on the physical parameters of both the MLC shape and moving pattern. In this model, A MLC minimum width is developed to explain the cause of the discrepancy, and dose calculation is implemented by convolving the source kernel with the multi‐leaf profile function with different moving patterns. Thus, dose calculation under stop‐and‐shoot mode and dynamic mode are both obtained using this convolution method. Results: Analytical models have been obtained for stop‐and‐shoot and dynamic modes for IMRT. The theory predicts that doses from dynamic mode are higher than dose from the stop‐and‐shoot mode, which reflects the experimental results. MLC minimum widths for different photon beam energies are also obtained. Conclusions: This work models the MLC shape and movement pattern for IMRT dose calculation, and explains the dose difference between two modes. The theory, as well as the results in this work provides a useful tool for photon beam IMRT dose calculation.
From Horizontal to Vertical Management Styles: A Qualitative Look at Head Start Staff Strategies for Addressing Behavior Problems.

In this paper, we focus on naturally-occurring strategies used by Head Start staff to address children's emotional and mental health needs. Focus groups with 23 staff members from five Head Start centers in two large cities met multiple times to discuss staff approaches to coping with children's inappropriate behavior. Discussions were transcribed verbatim. Qualitative analysis methods that focus on grounded theory were used to identify themes and patterns in the data. Using a qualitative analysis computer program (NUD*IST), the transcripts were analyzed for illustrations of both directors' and teachers' strategies for managing children's problematic behaviors in Head Start programs. Two different management styles emerged from focus groups in this small sample of Head Start centers. Horizontal centers used a more collaborative approach to addressing children's problematic behaviors with contributions from center directors, staff, and mental health consultants. A second model for addressing children's men...
Hexose transport modification of rat hearts during development of chronic diabetes.

Transport of 3-o-methylglucose into hearts of chronic diabetic rats was studied to determine if loss of transporter activity could beaccounted for by higher concentrations of citrate and triglyceride and to determine if 7 days post alloxan was a representative time period for study of myocardial changes in chronic diabetes. Chronic diabetes was induced in rats by rapid i.v. injection of alloxan (37.5 mg/kg body weight), and the rats were studied 1 to 5 weeks afterward. Basal sugar transport rate in isolated perfused hearts declined after 2 weeks of diabetes and was nearly undetectable at 3 to 5 weeks. Stimulation of transport by insulin was also very low. Triglyceride concentrations were 50% of normal and G6P concentrations were elevated, but citrate concentrations were not different from control. Results of these studies showed that tissue triglyceride and citrate concentrations were not correlated with transport inhibition in chronic diabetic rat hearts. Loss of basal transport activity and lowered insulin sensitivity in these hearts is more likely due to a loss of transporters from the sarcolemma. These studies also show that transport rate and metabolite concentrations continue to change over 5 weeks of diabetes, and, therefore, one time point cannot be defined as representative of chronic diabetes.
SU-E-T-47: Application of the Repair-Misrepair-Fixation RBE Model to Describe the Results of High Resolution Proton Irradiation Cell Survival Experiments

Purpose: To develop a system to rapidly and accurately calculate RBE with the repair-misrepair-fixation (RMF) model for proton therapy data sets and to evaluate its effectiveness in modeling RBE for cell survival experiments performed with the H460 cell line for a range of proton LET. Methods: A system for using the Monte Carlo Damage Simulation (MCDS) software with high performance computing was developed. Input for the MCDS software for a range of proton energies in increments of 0.1 MeV was generated and simulated. The output data were then used to determine doseaveraged quantities for the RMF model based on equivalently binned proton energy spectra. The method was applied to calculate RBE at 50% survival for experimental cell survival data. Experimental data were obtained using a system which allowed for the accumulation of cell survival data at known values of dose-averaged proton LETs at a range of doses. RBE was calculated based directly on a Cs-137 reference experiment and, additionally, according to fitted values of the θ and κ terms of the RMF model. Results: Dose-averaged RMF model quantities were calculated using the HPC system. Compared to experimental RBE determined using a Cs-137 irradiation as a reference, the RBE from themore » model differed by at most 49%. RBE based on the fitted values of θ and κ differed by at most 18% for the highest LET. Conclusion: A system for rapidly generating data necessary to calculate RBE with the RMF model has been developed. For the H460 cell line, the RMF model could not reproduce the experimentally determined RBE based solely on the photon reference data. Fitting of the θ and κ terms of the RMF model indicates that their values increase for proton LET exceeding approximately 10 keV/µm. NIH Program Project Grant P01CA021239.« less