cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Improved plutonium identification and characterization results with NaI(Tl) detector using ASEDRA

The ASEDRA algorithm (Advanced Synthetically Enhanced Detector Resolution Algorithm) is a tool developed at the University of Florida to synthetically enhance the resolved photopeaks derived from a characteristically poor resolution spectra collected at room temperature from scintillator crystal-photomultiplier detector, such as a NaI(Tl) system. This work reports on analysis of a side-by-side test comparing the identification capabilities of ASEDRA applied to a NaI(Tl) detector with HPGe results for a Plutonium Beryllium (PuBe) source containing approximately 47 year old weapons-grade plutonium (WGPu), a test case of real-world interest with a complex spectra including plutonium isotopes and 241Am decay products. The analysis included a comparison of photopeaks identified and photopeak energies between the ASEDRA and HPGe detector systems, and the known energies of the plutonium isotopes. ASEDRA's performance in peak area accuracy, also important in isotope identification as well as plutonium quality and age determination, was evaluated for key energy lines by comparing the observed relative ratios of peak areas, adjusted for efficiency and attenuation due to source shielding, to the predicted ratios from known energy line branching and source isotopics. The results show that ASEDRA has identified over 20 lines also found by the HPGe and directly correlated to WGPu energies.
Short Communication: Efficient simulation of a bivariate exponential conditionals distribution

The bivariate distribution with exponential conditionals (BEC) is introduced by Arnold and Strauss [1988. Bivariate distributions with exponential conditionals, J. Amer. Statist. Assoc. 83, 522-527]. This work presents a simple and fast algorithm for simulating random variates from this density.
Detection of low-contrast images in film-grain noise

When low contrast photographic images are digitized by a very small aperture, extreme film-grain noise almost completely obliterates the image information. Using a large aperture to average out the noise destroys the fine details of the image. In these situations conventional statistical restoration techniques have little effect, and well chosen heuristic algorithms have yielded better results. In this paper we analyze the noise-cheating algorithm of Zweig [ J. Opt. Soc. Am.65, 1347 ( 1975)] and show that it can be justified by classical maximum-likelihood detection theory. A more general algorithm applicable to a broader class of images is then developed by considering the signal-dependent nature of film-grain noise. Finally, a Bayesian detection algorithm with improved performance is presented.
Web based metacomputing

Abstract Programming tools that are simultaneously sustainable, highly functional, robust and easy to use have been hard to come by in the HPCC arena. This is partially due to the difficulty in developing sophisticated customized systems for what is a relatively small part of the worldwide computing enterprise. Thus, we have developed a new strategy – termed High Performance Commodity Computing (HPCC) [G. Fox, W. Furmanski, HPCC as high performance commodity computing, in: I. Foster, C. Kesselman (Eds.), Building National Grid, http://www.npac.syr.edu/users/gcf/HPcc/HPcc.html ] – which builds HPCC programming tools on top of the remarkable new software infrastructure being built for the commercial web and distributed object areas. We add high performance to commodity systems using multi-tier architecture with Globus metacomputing toolkit as the backend of a middle-tier of commodity web and object servers. We have demonstrated the fully functional prototype of WebFlow during Alliance’98 meeting.
Ethnicity and Urban Recreation: Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics in Chicago's Public Parks

Field observations of white, black, and Hispanic groups in thirteen neighborhood and regional parks in Chicago were made to determine ethnic and or racial variations in leisure and recreation activ...
A high-performance, low-power linear algebra core

Achieving high-performance while reducing power consumption is a key concern as technology scaling is reaching its limits. It is well-accepted that application-specific custom hardware can achieve orders of magnitude improvements in efficiency. The question is whether such efficiency can be maintained while providing enough flexibility to implement a broad class of operations. In this paper, we aim to answer this question for the domain of matrix computations. We propose a design of a novel linear algebra core and demonstrate that it can achieve orders of magnitude improvements in efficiency for matrix-matrix multiplication, an operation that is indicative for a broad class of matrix computations. A feasibility study shows that 47 double- and 104 single-precision GFLOPS/W can be achieved in 19.5 and 15.6 GFLOPS/mm2, respectively with current components and standard 45nm technology.1
A discrete event approach for vehicle failure diagnostics

The paper presents a model-based method for the design of diagnostics for a large-scale system. The method is demonstrated by application to the diagnostic design for the longitudinal control system of a fully automated vehicle capable of platooned operation. It is assumed that the system is modelled by continuous and discrete event models (DEM). We comment on the abstraction of continuous models into discrete event models and show how DEM may be constructed in a modular manner for a given set of sensors, observers and controllers defined in the continuous domain. The method is modular in the sense that the model of the integrated system is built by composing unit models using mathematically well-defined operators. We provide a formal way of defining a diagnostic requirement and thereafter proving whether a given diagnostic scheme satisfies the requirement. We also provide a means of generating a FSM specification of the residue processing software. The paper provides two examples to intuitively explain the working of the methods. It also provides the verification results and models for the diagnostic design of the longitudinal control system of a fully automated vehicle.
Attention estimation by simultaneous observation of viewer and view

We introduce a new approach to analyzing the attentive state of a human subject, given cameras focused on the subject and their environment. In particular, the task of analyzing the focus of attention of a human driver is of primary concern. Up to 80% of automobile crashes are related to driver inattention; thus it is important for an Intelligent Driver Assistance System (IDAS) to be aware of the driver state. We present a new Bayesian paradigm for estimating human attention specifically addressing the problems arising in dynamic situations. The model incorporates vision-based gaze estimation, “top-down”- and “bottom-up”-based visual saliency maps, and cognitive considerations such as inhibition of return and center bias that affect the relationship between gaze and attention. Results demonstrate the validity on real driving data, showing quantitative improvements over systems using only gaze or only saliency, and elucidate the value of such a model for any human-machine interface.
The Relationships among Teachers’ Perceptions of Student Behaviour, Teachers’ Characteristics, and Ratings of Students’ Emotional and Behavioural Problems

This study examined the relationships among teachers’ perceptions of students’ behavioural problems and their own efficacy and psychological symptoms. Findings suggested that teachers were more bothered by externalising (i.e., acting out) than internalising (i.e., withdrawal, depression) behavioural problems in their students, and believed that students had greater control over externalising behavioural problems. In addition teachers’ personal teaching efficacy contributed significantly to the prediction of how bothersome internalising behavioural problems were perceived as being. Further, teachers’ personal and general teaching efficacy both contributed significantly to the prediction of teachers’ perceptions of student control over externalising behavioural problems. These findings may have particular relevance to interventions addressing students’ behavioural problems in the classroom.
The MicroRNA-Regulated SBP-Box Transcription Factor SPL3 Is a Direct Upstream Activator of LEAFY, FRUITFULL, and APETALA1

When to form flowers is a developmental decision that profoundly impacts the fitness of flowering plants. In Arabidopsis this decision is ultimately controlled by the induction and subsequent activity of the transcription factors LEAFY (LFY), FRUITFULL (FUL), and APETALA1 (AP1). Despite their central importance, our current understanding of the regulation of LFY, FUL, and AP1 expression is still incomplete. We show here that all three genes are directly activated by the microRNA-targeted transcription factor SQUAMOSA PROMOTER BINDING PROTEIN-LIKE 3 (SPL3). Our findings suggest that SPL3 acts together with other microRNA-regulated SPL transcription factors to control the timing of flower formation. Moreover, the identified SPL activity defines a distinct pathway in control of this vital developmental decision.
Viscous flow features on the surface of Mars: Observations from high‐resolution Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) images

(10 5 –10 7 years) of the material. Our shear stress estimates of 10 � 1.5 –10 � 2.5 MPa yield strain rates on the order of 10 � 11 –10 � 16 s � 1 , which are within the superplastic flow regime of ice. Mean annual surface temperatures, age constraints, and strain estimates show that it is possible for a meters-thick ice-dust mixture to undergo viscous deformation under past or present surface conditions for ice grain sizes >10 mm. The meters-thick layer in which the viscous flow features formed is morphologically similar to a degraded meters-thick ice-dust surface deposit (dissected mantle terrain). Locations of the viscous flow features, dissected mantle terrain, and recent gullies are concentrated in the midlatitude regions, and all three show identical distributions as a function of latitude, with the maximum frequency of occurrence at � 40� N and S. The strong association between these small-scale flow features and the dissected mantle terrain, large-scale viscous flow features, and recent gullies imply that deposition, deformation, and removal of ice-rich materials has played an important role in the modification of the surface in the midlatitudes of Mars during the Amazonian and possibly longer. INDEX TERMS: 5470 Planetology: Solid Surface Planets: Surface materials and properties; 5416 Planetology: Solid Surface Planets: Glaciation; 1863 Hydrology: Snow and ice (1827); 1823 Hydrology: Frozen ground; 8168 Tectonophysics: Stresses—general; KEYWORDS: viscous flow, viscous creep, dissected mantle terrain, ice-rich deposits, Mars climate, recent gullies
Stress intensity factor solutions for part-elliptical through cracks

Abstract The present analytical investigation is directed toward predicting the growth of large cracks in riveted lap-splice joints, similar to joints found in operational transport aircraft. The fatigue crack growth of large through cracks with oblique crack fronts can now be predicted using the results of this investigation. A characteristic of fatigue in riveted lap joints is crack growth under a complex stress system which, in its simplest form, consists of cyclic tension with superimposed cyclic bending due to the eccentricity in the lap joint. In reality, rivet squeezing causes hole expansion and built-in residual stresses. Rivet tilting in the rivet hole and contact problems are other complications. To predict the growth of part through cracks with a quarter elliptical shape in lap-splice joints, stress intensity solutions, such as the well-known Newman–Raju K-solutions are available. However, these cracks change into through cracks with oblique crack fronts and continue to grow due to the combined tension and bending. Since no K-solutions are available for through cracks with oblique fronts, the finite-element method and a three-dimensional virtual crack closure technique (3D VCCT) were adopted. The 3D VCCT is shown to be invariant to crack plane mesh orientation, permitting a minimal amount of pre-processing of the mesh to generate a new K solution. K-values are presented for a range of crack depth to crack length ratios (a/c1=0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.6, 1.0, 2.0), crack depth to sheet thickness ratios (a/t=1.05, 1.09, 1.13, 1.17, 1.21, 2.0, 5.0, 10.0) and hole radius to sheet thickness ratios (r/t=0.5, 1.0, 2.0).
Multiplicity adjustment big and small in clinical studies.

Multiplicity adjustment in testing multiple statistical hypotheses is an important issue in clinical studies. This paper aims to clarify the issues in clinical pharmacology and therapeutics, using the testing of multiple efficacy end points as an example of testing a small to moderate number of hypotheses and the testing of biomarkers in genome-wide association studies (GWASs) as an example of testing a large number of hypotheses. Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics (2010) 88 2, 251–254. doi: 10.1038/clpt.2010.122
Conducting Polymers: Past, Present and Future…

Since their discovery 16 years ago, the field of intrinsically conducing polymers — “synthetic metals” — has developed at an unexpectedly rapid rate. The concept of “doping” is the unifying theme which distinguishes this class of organic polymers — “conducting polymers” — from all others. Doping results in dramatic electronic and magnetic changes with a concomitant increase in conductivity to, or approaching, the metallic regime. Doping phenomena and the chief types of dopable organic polymers are described with particular emphasis on polyaniline, which is now probably the most actively-studied conducting polymer. It has been commercialized on a relatively large scale and presently appears to be the leading conducting polymer for technology. It shows considerable promise for electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding and as a gas separation membrane, and is currently used in commercial rechargeable batteries. Polypyrrole is used commercially in capacitors and as an electrically conductive coating on conventional fabrics. Additional potential uses of conducting polymers such as light-emitting diodes, electrochromic windows, chemical sensors, etc. are also described briefly.
Isolated Stimulation of Glycolysis Following Traumatic Brain Injury

Clinical investigators have postulated that head trauma causes cerebral metabolic derangement, as evidenced by the presence of CSF lactate and brain acidosis (DeSalles et al. 1986). Work in our laboratory (Unterberg et al. 1988) reported decreased tissue pH within 15 minutes following trauma that eventually normalizes. Post traumatic tissue acidosis has been reported to correlate tightly with increased brain lactate (McIntosh et al. 1987). We have also found (Inao et al. 1988) increased cerebrospinal fluid and brain tissue lactate at 15 minutes posttrauma. We hypothesized from these studies that the metabolic derangement responsible for cerebral lactic acidosis occurs within minutes of trauma. To investigate this hypothesis, we focused our investigation on the first 15 minutes following trauma and measured global cerebral blood flow, cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen utilization, cerebral metabolic rate of glucose utilization, and performed 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy in traumatized, ventilated cats. Data was obtained immediately following trauma and serially for the first hour posttrauma.
From betrayal to the bottle: investigating possible pathways from trauma to problematic substance use

Research in both community and clinical settings has found that exposure to cumulative interpersonal trauma predicts substance use problems. Less is known about betrayal as a dimension of trauma exposure that predicts substance use, and about the behavioral and psychological pathways that explain the relation between trauma and substance use. In a sample of 362 young adults, this study evaluated three intervening pathways between betrayal trauma exposure prior to age 18 years and problematic substance use: (a) substance use to cope with negative affect, (b) difficulty discerning and/or heeding risk, and (c) self-destructiveness. In addition, exposure to trauma low in betrayal (e.g., earthquake) was included in the model. Bootstrap tests of indirect effects revealed that betrayal trauma prior to age 18 years was associated with problematic substance use via posttraumatic stress and two intervening pathways: difficulty discerning/heeding risk (β = .07, p < .001), and self-destructiveness (β = .12, p < .001). Exposure to lower betrayal trauma was not associated with posttraumatic stress or problematic substance use. Results contribute to a trauma-informed understanding of substance use that persists despite potentially harmful consequences.
Modeling and control of the Mitsubishi PA-10 robot arm harmonic drive system

The purpose of this paper is to present our results in developing a dynamic model of the Mitsubishi PA-10 robot arm for the purpose of low-velocity trajectory tracking using low-feedback gains. The PA-10 is ideal for precise manipulation tasks because of the backdrivability, precise positioning capabilities, and zero backlash afforded by its harmonic drive transmission (HDT). However, the compliance and oscillations inherent in harmonic drive systems, and the lack of any technical information on the internal dynamics of the transmission, make the development of an accurate dynamic model of the robot extremely challenging. The novelty of this research is therefore the development of a systematic algorithm to extract the model parameters of a harmonic drive transmission in the robot arm to facilitate model-based control. We have modeled all seven joints of the Mitsubishi PA-10, and we have done several experiments to identify the various parameters of the harmonic drive system. We conclude with a sample trajectory-tracking task that demonstrates our model-based controller for the Mitsubishi PA-10 robot arm.
Narratives and healing: exploring one family's stories of cancer survivorship.

This study investigates the narratives of one couple who lived through life-changing events following a cancer diagnosis. The narratives of the cancer survivor and her husband are explored as they struggle to cope with their situation, provide support for one another, and consider their changing personal identities. This research addresses the communication dilemmas that often occur when family members, friends, and providers do not know how to respond to an individual diagnosed with cancer. The rationale for this study is threefold. First, this study advocates the need for learning about the composition of survivor identities over the course of a life-threatening illness. Second, this study seeks to understand how illness survivors and their family members use narratives as a method of communicating their changing identities. Finally, communicating about illness is often perceived as 'taboo', and this study may encourage others to be a part of the participants' stories and learn more about why those stor...
Historical Patterns of Developmental Integration in Piranhas

SYNOPSIS. TO test the hypothesis that developmental integration coordinates evolutionary change through history, we dissect the spatial and temporal integration of ontogenetic allometries of piranha body form and examine the evolutionary coordination among ontogenetic features by a phylogenetic analysis. Few of our characters provide evidence in support of the hypothesis. In general, we find that developmental integration is historically labile, being modified at virtually every speciation event. Most of the ontogenetic features are dissociated in their phylogenetic changes and evolve in a mosaic fashion. Indeed, developmental integration is so labile that primitively integrated features of ontogeny usually evolve subsequently as independent characters. Evolutionary changes in developmental integration can result in increased or decreased integration on the ontogenetic time scale. When localized features are deleted from ontogeny, or when spatially integrated features are gained, the derived ontogenies may be more integrated in a spatial sense. The end result of phylogenetic dissociations may be a more highly developmentally integrated ontogeny. Thus, in the piranhas we studied, we find a historically coupled increase in developmental integration caudally and a decrease in developmental integration cranially.
Applications of cumulants to array processing. II. Non-Gaussian noise suppression

The main motivation of using higher order statistics in signal processing applications has been their insensitivity to additive colored Gaussian noise. The main objection to those methods is their possible vulnerability to non-Gaussian noise. The authors investigate the effects of non-Gaussian ambient noise on cumulant-based direction-finding systems using the interpretation for the information provided by cumulants for array processing applications described in Dogan and Mendek. they first demonstrate the suppression of uncorrelated non-Gaussian noise that has spatially varying statistics. Then, they indicate methods to suppress spatially colored non-Gaussian noise using cumulants and an additional sensor whose measurement noise component is independent of the noise components of the original array measurements. They also indicate the noise suppression properties of the virtual-ESPRIT algorithm proposed in Dogan and Mendel. In addition, they propose a method that combines second- and fourth-order statistics together in order to suppress spatially colored non-Gaussian noise. Finally, they also illustrate how to suppress spatially colored non-Gaussian noise when the additional sensor measurement is not available. Simulations are presented to verify the results. >
Comparative analysis of nitrifying bacteria associated with freshwater and marine aquaria

Three nucleic acid probes, two for autotrophic ammonia-oxidizing bacteria of the beta subdivision of the class Proteobacteria and one for alpha subdivision nitrite-oxidizing bacteria, were developed and used to study nitrifying bacterial phylotypes associated with various freshwater and seawater aquarium biofilters. Nitrosomonas europaea and related species were detected in all nitrifying seawater systems and accounted for as much as 20% of the total eubacterial rRNA. In contrast, nitrifying bacteria belonging to the beta-proteobacterial subdivision were detected in only two samples from freshwater aquaria showing vigorous nitrification rates. rRNA originating from nitrite-oxidizing alpha subdivision proteobacteria was not detected in samples from either aquarium environment. The data obtained indicate that chemolithotrophic ammonia oxidation in the freshwater aquaria was not due to beta-proteobacterial phylotypes related to members of the genus Nitrosomonas and their close relatives, the organisms usually implicated in freshwater nitrification. It is likely that nitrification in natural environments is even more complex than nitrification in these simple systems and is less well characterized with regard to the microorganisms responsible.
Sub-5 nm gap formation for low power NEM switches

To utilize nanoelectromechanical (NEM) switches for ultra-low power applications, sub-1 V actuation is one of the most important challenges to overcome [1-4]. We develop a CMOS-compatible technique that introduces ultra-small air gaps ( bg ) is 0.25 μm, and the gap between the beam and the drain (g bd ) ranges from 1 to 40 nm. Fig. 1b shows that for g bd bg , the pull-in voltage of the NEM switch decreases efficiently by shrinking g bd . In order to obtain sub-1 V switching, the contact gap g bd has to be minimized to sub-5 nm, which is difficult to achieve in the lateral NEM structure using a “top-down” pattern-and-etch approach.
Evolution and Dynamics of a Late-Stage Squall Line That Occurred on 20 February 1993 during TOGA COARE

Abstract Airborne Doppler and flight-level data are used to document the structure and evolution of portions of a late-stage horseshoe-shaped squall line system and its effect on vertical momentum and mass transports. This system, which occurred on 20 February 1993 during the Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Response Experiment, was similar to many previously studied, but had some unique features. First, a slow-moving transverse band, which formed the southern leg of the horseshoe, drew most of its low-level updraft air from the squall-line stratiform region on its north side rather than the “environment” to the south. Second, a long-lived cell with many properties similar to a midlatitude supercell, formed 150 km to the rear of the squall line. This cell was tracked for 4 h, as it propagated into and then through the cold pool, and finally dissipated as it encountered the convection forming the northern edge of the horseshoe. Finally, as the squall line was dissipating, a new con...
Alterations in ectopic myocardial contraction assessed using real-time MRI

Author(s): Shahid, Mohammed; Solomon, Joseph; Contijoch, Francisco; Avants, Brian; Yushkevich, Paul; Pilla, James J; Han, Yuchi; Witschey, Walter R
COMPARISON OF PLASMA PROTEIN CHANGES IN ANTIOXIDANT DEFICIENCY MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY AND GENETIC MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY IN THE CHICKEN.

Summary and conclusions1. Chickens on an antioxidant and sulfuramino acid deficient diet, develop nutritional myopathy. Plasma protein changes, progressively developing during the course of the disease, are characterized by a significant reduction in the albumin fraction, a significant rise in the B globulin fraction and a significant fall in the A/G ratio. 2. Paralyzed chickens of a genetic dystrophic strain fail to show such changes. The plasma protein profile is comparable to that of healthy chickens on a control diet. 3. Genetic dystrophic chickens on an antioxidant and sulfuramino-acid deficient diet grow poorly, develop the most severe degree of paralysis, and have a shorter survival period. The plasma protein profile is characterized by a significant decrease in total protein concentration, although a rather normal plasma protein electrophoretic pattern is maintained. 4. It is concluded that the metabolic defect in genetic dystrophic chickens is one localized to the muscular system, while that in a...
Skeletal Muscle Adaptations and Rehabilitation

Skeletal muscle endures and frequently adapts to various stressors such as exercise age, work-induced injury, inactivity, and paralysis. The physiological muscle adaptations are very specific and have significant impact on the rehabilitation process. Understanding these adaptations and the underlying cellular mechanisms can assist in designing therapeutic exercises in the 21st century. The series of articles in this issue review the physiological properties and mechanisms of paralyzed, aged, hypertrophied, and injured skeletal muscle. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2002;32(2):34–35. doi:10.2519/jospt.2002.32.2.34
Father Coughlin and Mussolini: Impossible Allies

In contrast to the numerous studies of Nazi and Communist propaganda activities in the United States during the thirties, almost no work has been devoted to the similar activities of Fascist Italy. Hitherto unavailable documents have now made it possible to fill this gap. In the last days of World War II the Allies captured a number of official papers from the files of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Popular Culture. Of greater significance has been the recent opening of the extensive holdings of the Archivio Centrale dello Stato in Rome, in which are preserved nearly all the records of the Italian Fascist regime. This rich source of untapped material now permits a broader and more detailed analysis of the diplomatic policies of Mussolini's regime within the United States.1 This essay, based mainly on documents from the Archivio Centrale, is a first attempt to examine the nature of Fascist policies in the United States before Pearl Harbor. The relationship between Father Charles E. Coughlin and the Italian government provides a con venient focal point for such a study, as Italy's treatment of the priest from Royal Oak illustrates all the salient features of Fascist policies in America.
Congenital horizontal tarsal kink: clinical characteristics from a large series.

Purpose:To describe the clinical characteristics of congenital horizontal tarsal kink.Methods:Retrospective clinical series derived from a literature review and mail survey. Characteristics included sex, race, association with systemic diseases, interval between birth and diagnosis, laterality, pres
Downstream Development of Premixed Turbulent V-Flames

reactants from products. Within the flamelet chemical reactions that are coupled to thermal conduction and species diffusion convert reactants to products and chemical bond energy to thermal energy (heat release). As a consequence, the flame moves relative to the reactant gases, and the speed of this motion, the flame speed, SL, is an important property of premixed flames: the product of the flame speed and the reactant gas density is proportional to the rate per unit flamelet area of both product formation and heat release. Stereo particle image velocimetry (SPIV) images are used to study reactant velocity fields and flamelet wrinkling in nine rod-stabilized premixed, methaneair turbulent V-flames. Flame conditions are varied by changing a combination of equivalence ratio, flow velocity and turbulence generating grid. Components of mean velocities and r.m.s. turbulent velocities as well as Taylor microscales and turbulence Reynolds numbers are extracted from the images. By treating the SPIV images as if they were laser tomography images and analyzing as suggested in Ref. 7, mean progress variable fields and PDFs of flamelet normal vectors also are extracted. At low to moderate turbulence levels flamelets are wrinkled and contorted by turbulence and their internal structure, e.g., species concentration and temperature gradients, is perturbed 1, 2 . Still it is possible to identify a flamelet surface and a flame speed such that the mean rate of product formation per unit volume, ω, (and of heat release) is proportional to the product of the mean flamelet surface area to volume ratio (the mean surface density, Σ) and the reactant density times the ensemble mean flame speed of the flamelet as perturbed by the turbulence, ρr 1, 2, 3 : The turbulence Reynolds is found to vary over a range from 14 to 24 for the 9 flames. R.m.s. turbulent fluctuations are anisotropic near the turbulent flame brush and approach isotropic conditions away from it. The flamelet normal vector PDF is defined by a single fit parameter, ζ. ζ is found to vary from flame to flame and to increase approximately linearly with downstream distance in a flame. This rate of increase also varies from flame to flame. Analysis of these variations suggest that the magnitude of ζ and its variation with downstream distance depend on Re, the magnitude of r.m.s. turbulent velocity fluctuations scaled by the unstrained laminar flame speed and the angle of the turbulent flame brush with respect to the vertical. . Σ
Sex Hormones and Risk of Estrogen Receptor (ER)-Positive and ER-Negative Breast Cancer.

Background: There is a need for improved breast cancer risk prediction by tumor estrogen receptor (ER) status. Endogenous sex hormone levels are associated with risk of overall breast cancer and the ER-positive subtype. However, the role of estradiol (E2) and testosterone (T) in the development of ER-negative tumors remains unclear. We investigated the associations of circulating levels of endogenous E2 and T with the risk of ER-positive as well as ER-negative breast cancer in postmenopausal women.Methods: We performed a case-cohort study within the Women9s Health Initiative- Observational Study of postmenopausal women not taking exogenous hormones (age range: 50-79 years). Baseline endogenous levels of bioavailable E2 and T were measured using radioimmunoassays (University of Southern California, LA, CA) in 196 cases of invasive ER-positive breast cancer, 107 cases of invasive ER-negative cancer, and 560 randomly selected controls. The average follow-up time was 7.3 years.Results: After adjustment for putative risk factors, women with E2 levels in the upper three quartiles had an approximately 2-fold increased risk of ER-positive breast cancer, compared to those with E2 in the lowest quartile. These associations were only modestly decreased after adjustment for T. Higher T levels also indicated increased risk of ER-positive breast cancer; women in the third quartile of T had a 1.7-fold significantly higher risk, compared to those in the first quartile. However, this association was substantially diminished and not significant after controlling for E2.No association was observed between E2 levels and ER-negative cancer. However, women with T levels in the second, third, and fourth quartiles had lower risks of ER-negative cancer in the order of 54% (p= 0.018), 38% (p= 0.13), and 46% (p= 0.05), respectively, compared to women with T in the lowest quartile. These associations did not change materially after adjusting for E2.Conclusion: Higher endogenous E2 levels were associated with increased risk of ER-positive breast cancer, independent of risk factors and T. In contrast, higher concentrations of endogenous T were related to lower risk of ER-negative breast cancer, independent of risk factors and E2. This is the first study to report an association of testosterone with ER-negative breast cancer. Further studies are needed to confirm this association. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2009;69(24 Suppl):Abstract nr 907.
A Credo to Replace Dichter's “Tenets”:

The author believes that the “tenets” comprising Dichter's credo contribute little, if anything, to creativity in research. The claim that the tenets stem from epistemology is also argued against, ...
A Search for Meaning in Iconic News Images of the Iraq War

This analysis discusses the subjective negotiations of meaning in two iconic news images created from traditional and nontraditional sources during the Iraq War. Semiotic analysis is used to tease out the normative role media images play in perpetuating and reinforcing moral, social, and culture values in Western society by discussing, in this study, a now-famous iconic image taken by an American soldier depicting a hooded Iraqi prisoner being tortured at Abu Ghraib as well as an embedded journalist's image of a tired U.S. Marine. Ultimately, it is believed that iconic news images can reveal a dichotomy of conflicting ideals, normative values, ideological beliefs, and moral biases.
The effect of leukocyte transfusions on experimental bacteremia in the dog.

A system was developed in the irradiated dog for evaluating the effectiveness of fresh or irradiated homologous leukocyte infusions during the course of induced bacterial sepsis. Dogs with white cell counts below 1000/mm3 4 or 5 days following 1200 r. whole body irradiation were challenged with an intravenous inoculum of E. coli. Untreated animals showed an initial period of bacterial clearance followed within 24 hours by the reappearance of bacteremia. Dogs given a single transfusion of homologous leukocytes following bacterial challenge had a significantly longer period of blood sterility and subsequent survival. Leukocytes irradiated with 1000 r. were effective in extending the period of blood sterility and in prolonging life. It was concluded that the irradiated leukopenic dog challenged with a bacterial inoculum provides a model for demonstrating the usefulness of homologous leukocyte infusions.
Trajectory Planning for Coordinated Attack with Multiple Uninhabited Air Vehicles

How to attack an important ground target via coordination with multiple uninhabited air vehicles in hazardous environment becomes an important and difficult problem.The key of coordinated attack is the optimal trajectory from start point to target point for each uninhabited air vehicle is designed.In the object of resolving the key problem,the paper gives a research on trajectory planning for coordinated attack with multiple uninhabited air vehicles.First,the system frame of trajectory planning for coordinated attack with multiple uninhabited air vehicles is developed.Second,based on the artificial intelligence A* algorithm,with equations of motion of uninhabited air vehicle,the A* algorithm is ameliorated and an improved trajectory planning algorithm is obtained.Then based on the trajectory planning algorithm,a coordinated attack algorithm is given with the restrain of multiple uninhabited air vehicles simultaneous attacking a target.The simulation result demonstrates the trajectory planning algorithm and coordinated attack algorithm is effective.
Sanitary Survey of Banquets in Countryside

Objective To investigate the hygiene situation of the banquet and to control the epidemic outbreak of food borne disease in countryside.Method On-the-spot investigation and statistic analysis were made in 250 banquets in the countryside of Wenjiang.Results The total number of people taking part in the banquets was 30 760.400 person per time in a banquet at most,20 at least and 123 at average.495 cooks participated,2 cooks per time at average.Among the entire cooks,240 cooks had effective health certifcate(48%),251 cooks had participated in the training about health information(50%),54 cooks were in satisfactory individual hygiene situation(10%),and 10 in bad situation(2%).In 190 banquets,the ripe food were made separated from thoise were not ripe(76%).In 35 banquets,table dinner sets were partly divided(14%),while in 25 banquets,the dinner sets were not divided at all(10%).Conclusion The banquets occur frequently,and in comparatively large scale.However,the cooks in the banquet have little sense of hygiene.The hygiene situation of the banquet is bad,and the food has bad quality too.It is easily for the food borne disease to occur and prevalent.
CHAPTER 19 – Evolution and Instability of the GAA Triplet-Repeat Sequence in Friedreich's Ataxia

This chapter discusses the salient features of GAA-TR instability at the human FXN locus. Patients with Friedreich's ataxia are homozygous for expanded GAA triplet-repeat alleles (E alleles) in intron 1 of the FXN gene. Although, it is the most common recessive ataxia among Europeans, Friedreich's ataxia is far less common or even nonexistent in other populations. This is largely reflective of the variable prevalence of E alleles (and/or premutation intermediates) in different populations. Patients have a wide range of E allele lengths, the size of which correlates with phenotypic severity. The instability of E alleles during intergenerational transmission, specifically the role of the sex of the transmitting parent and the genetic status of the offspring in determining the size distribution of E alleles encountered in nature. Recent discoveries show that somatic instability of E alleles in mammalian systems is tissue-specific and age-dependent, which are observations that challenge the prevailing models for the molecular mechanism underlying GAA triplet-repeat instability.
Continuous spike‐waves during slow‐wave sleep in a mouse model of focal cortical dysplasia

SummaryObjective To examine if mice with focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) develop spontaneous epileptic seizures and, if so, determine the key electroencephalography (EEG) features. Methods Unilateral single freeze lesions to the S1 region (SFLS1R) were made in postnatal day 0–1 pups to induce a neocortical microgyrus in the right cortical hemisphere. Continuous 24-h recordings with intracranial EEG electrodes and behavioral tests were performed in adult SFLS1R and sham-control mice to assess neurologic status. Results A high percentage of adult SFLS1R animals (89%, 40/45) exhibited at least one or more spontaneous nonconvulsive seizure events over the course of 24 h. Of these animals, 60% (27/45) presented with a chronic seizure state that was persistent throughout the recording session, consisting of bursts of rhythmic high-amplitude spike-wave activities and primarily occurring during periods of slow-wave sleep. In comparison, none of the control, age-matched, mice (0/12) developed seizures. The epileptic discharge pattern closely resembled a pattern of continuous spike-waves during slow-wave sleep (CSWS) of the human syndrome described as an electrical status epilepticus during slow-wave sleep (ESES). Key findings in the SFLS1R model indicated that the observed CSWS (1) were more prevalent in female (18/23) versus male (9/22, p < 0.05), (2) were strongest in the right S1 region although generalized to other brain regions, (3) were associated with significant cognitive and behavioral deficits, (4) were temporarily alleviated by ethosuximide treatment or optogenetic activation of cortical γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic neurons, and (5) theta and alpha band rhythms may play a key role in the generalization of spike-wave activities. Significance This is the first report of an in vivo animal FCD model that induces chronic spontaneous electrographic brain seizures. Further characterization of the abnormal oscillations in this mouse model may lead to a better understanding of the mechanisms of CSWS/ESES.
Measurement of Hyperfine Structure of the 4 S 1 2 2 State of Na 23 by Cascade Radio-Frequency Spectroscopy

The hyperfine structure of the $4^{2}S_{\frac{1}{2}}$ state of ${\mathrm{Na}}^{23}$ has been measured by the method of cascade radio-frequency spectroscopy. We find, for the magnetic dipole coupling constant, $A(4^{2}S_{\frac{1}{2}})=202\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}3$ MHz.
Uncovering the Role of Oxygen Atom Transfer in Ru-Based Catalytic Water Oxidation

The realization of artificial photosynthesis carries the promise of cheap and abundant energy, however, significant advances in the rational design of water oxidation catalysts are required. Detailed information on the structure of the catalyst under reaction conditions and mechanisms of O–O bond formation should be obtained. Here, we used a combination of electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), stopped flow freeze quench on a millisecond–second time scale, X-ray absorption (XAS), resonance Raman (RR) spectroscopy, and density functional theory (DFT) to follow the dynamics of the Ru-based single site catalyst, [RuII(NPM)(4-pic)2(H2O)]2+ (NPM = 4-t-butyl-2,6-di(1′,8′-naphthyrid-2′-yl)pyridine, pic = 4-picoline), under the water oxidation conditions. We report a unique EPR signal with g-tensor, gx = 2.30, gy = 2.18, and gz = 1.83 which allowed us to observe fast dynamics of oxygen atom transfer from the RuIV═O oxo species to the uncoordinated nitrogen of the NPM ligand. In few seconds, the NPM ligand modific...
Virtuous profits: Pay for success arrangements and the future of recidivism reduction:

Pay for success contracting is the latest financial instrument for funding social programs. Governments in Australia, the UK, the US, and elsewhere are piloting their use in reentry programs, youth offender programs, and a host of other initiatives aimed at homelessness, child welfare, workforce development, and preventive health care. Under a pay for success arrangement, private investors put up capital to fund a program, and if successful, a government agency will repay the investors with a yield, that is, with a profit. This article situates pay for success contracting in the context of reentry and decarceration and it theorizes how the arrangement will reverberate through new alternatives to incarceration and fundamentally change the meaning of “what works.” The article concludes by locating pay for success within the broader drift toward securitizing marginal populations under neoliberalism.
Forestland owners’ willingness to consider multiple ways of supplying biomass simultaneously: Implications for biofuel incentive policies

Abstract Because socioeconomic based approaches account for relevant limiting and motivating factors, they provide a more realistic measurement of forestland owners’ willingness to supply biomass for bioenergy production- information useful to policy makers in setting production targets and in designing relevant incentive programs. Although forestland owners can supply biomass using different means, including supplying biomass from existing stands and changing land use to establish feedstock plantation, among others, previous studies mostly focus only on a given way of supplying biomass at a time. This produces incomplete information that adversely affects its use. By presenting survey takers in Virginia and Texas three different ways of supplying biomass at the same time, we determine forestland owners’ willingness to consider multiple ways of supplying biomass simultaneously and identify the factors that predict such behavior, assess overlap in forestland owners across the different ways of supplying biomass, and assess if and how respondents’ forest management plans and sustainability concerns correspond with their supply decision. Our results show a higher and more articulated rate of willingness to supply biomass than reported in previous studies. The results also suggest that opportunities exist for synergizing programs that incentivize disparate ways of supplying biomass.
Interaction with Surfaces

The interaction of charged particles with matter is determined, for the most part, by the atomic character of matter. Therefore, particle impact quantities such as penetration depths scale very nearly with the atomic (molecular) density of the material. This is true even for metals, for which the electrons in the solid state show cooperative (plasma) effects absent in gases and insulating solids. Notable exceptions are crystalline solids in which channeling (small angle internal reflections) of incident charged particles along open crystal axes or planes result in increased penetration depths. In fact, except for low-energy incident charged particles (< 100 eV/amu), target molecular species (e.g., CO2) can be thought of as a sum of their constituents (i.e., 1C + 20), referred to as Bragg’s rule. In the subsequent discussions we will ignore any special properties so that all materials are treated as gases of a given density when discussing incident particle penetration and energy deposition. The material properties are introduced latter when describing the fate of the energy deposited.
Variation in growth and developmental responses to supraoptimal temperatures near latitudinal range limits of gypsy moth Lymantria dispar (L.), an expanding invasive species

Variation in thermal performance within and between populations provides the potential for adaptive responses to increasing temperatures associated with climate change. Organisms experiencing temperatures above their optimum on a thermal performance curve exhibit rapid declines in function and these supraoptimal temperatures can be a critical physiological component of range limits. The gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar (L.) (Lepidoptera: Erebidae), is one of the best-documented biological invasions and factors driving its spatial spread are of significant ecological and economic interest. The present study examines gypsy moth sourced from different latitudes across its North American range for sensitivity to high temperature in constant temperature growth chamber experiments. Supraoptimal temperatures result in higher mortality in northern populations compared with populations from the southern range extent (West Virginia and coastal plain of Virginia, U.S.A.). Sublethal effects of high temperature on traits associated with fitness, such as smaller pupal mass, are apparent in northern and West Virginia populations. Overall, the results indicate that populations near the southern limits of the range are less sensitive to high temperatures than northern populations from the established range. However, southern populations are lower performing overall, based on pupal mass and development time, relative to northern populations. This suggests that there may be a trade-off associated with decreased heat sensitivity in gypsy moth. Understanding how species adapt to thermal limits and possible fitness trade-offs of heat tolerance represents an important step toward predicting climatically driven changes in species ranges, which is a particularly critical consideration in conservation and invasion ecology.