cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Discovery and analysis of tightly knit communities in telecom social networks

Community identif ication has been a major research area in social network analysis. One popular type of community is one in which every member of the community knows every other member, which can be viewed as a clique in a graph representing the social network. In this paper, we present a novel highly scalable method for finding large maximal cliques that is validated with experimental results on several real-life social networks. In addition, while the importance of finding tightly knit communities has been widely accepted, the influence of community on the behavior of the individuals belonging to those communities is relatively unexplored. We also attempt to answer various questions in the context of cliques as communities in telecom social networks: how individuals in communities behave, what influence a community has on the behavior of an individual, and whether communities have a characteristic behavior of their own. We also examine whether the behavior of individuals who belong to communities differs from those who do not. We believe that the findings of such a study will reassert the importance of finding communities in telecom social networks and will help telecom operators improve group targeting and customer relationship management.
Issues, facts, and opportunities for exports of US beef to Japan

The Japanese–US beef trade issues are discussed and a proposal put forth to feed cattle for 240 days in order to achieve higher quality grades and prices for US beef exported to Japan. Contrary to popular opinion. US grain-fed beef is not considered higher in quality than chilled grass-fed beef from Australia in the Japanese market because the Japanese quality grading system places much greater emphasis on marbling. Results indicate the longer fed beef concept may be a better alternative for the US than continuing to seek full liberalization of exports, although further analysis is needed before this can be stated with certainty.
Empowerment, Defiance, and Demise: Jews and the Blood Libel Specter under Stalinism

By examining different cases of blood libels that occurred from the 1920s through the decade following Stalin’s death, this study suggests that the ritual murder accusation in the Soviet Union dwindled at first, then intensified, and eventually underwent an idiosyncratic and secular metamorphosis that culminated with the 1953 “Doctors’ Plot” accusation: the denunciation of a group of prominent and predominantly Jewish doctors for allegedly conspiring to murder Soviet leaders. While the blood libel was generally prosecuted in the interwar period, in the postwar years it was usually ignored, though perhaps indirectly encouraged. Jews—as well as local authorities—reacted in a variety of ways to allegations of ritual murder. But overall, it was the status, power, and influence that Jews held in a given city or town at the time of a concocted accusation that determined their responses to the blood libel and that shaped the legal provisions and enforcement steps taken by the party, police, and civil authorities.
Percutaneous biopsy of difficult mediastinal, hilar, and pulmonary lesions by computed-tomographic guidance and a modified coaxial technique

A technique for biopsy of small or inaccessible mediastinal, hilar, or pulmonary lesions with computed-tomographic (CT) guidance is described. A modified coaxial system was used in order to make multiple passes possible without multiple punctures. The size of the original puncture needle (23 gauge) provided the inherent safety associated with a fine needle. All repositioning was done using this needle and CT until the lesion was engaged. The hub of the needle was then cut, and a 19-gauge needle was inserted coaxially over the larger needle. After removal of the 23-gauge needle, multiple biopsy specimens were then obtained coaxially with a 22-gauge needle through the 19-gauge needle. One small pneumothorax and no bleeding occurred in 10 instances. Results suggest that the combined use of CT guidance and this modified coaxial system may offer an extra margin of safety for difficult cases.
Evanescent wave magnetometer

The authors describe an atomic magnetometer, the evanescent wave magnetometer, which uses an evanescent wave to measure the Larmor frequency of Rb atoms near the cell surface. The submicron penetration depth of the probe beam allows the evanescent wave magnetometer to achieve a spatial resolution of several tens of microns or better, and greatly reduces the inhomogeneous broadeningdue to magnetic field inhomogeneities. Its noise density in the present experiment is ∼100pT∕Hzfor frequencies between 1 and 10mHz, and decreases to less than 10pT∕Hz as the frequency increases to 25Hz.
Internal and edge cracks in a plate of finite width under bending

Internal and edge cracks were studied by using Reissner's transverse shear theory. The effect of stress-free boundaries on the stress intensity factors in plates under bending were investigated. Among the results found, particularly interesting are those relating to the limiting cases of the crack geometries. The numerical results are given for a single internal crack, two collinear cracks, and two edge cracks. The effect of Poisson's ratio on the stress intensity factors was studied.
Electrogastrography in patients with gastroparesis and effect of long-term cisapride

Abnormalities in the gastric pacemaker potentials occur in patients with impaired gastric emptying. It is unclear if treatment effects the underlying rhythm or if normalization of dysrhythmias is important. We examined the effect of cisapride using surface electrogastrograms and radionuclide gastric emptying studies of patients with idiopathic and diabetic gastroparesis. Twelve of 14 patients had abnormal baseline electrogastrograms. After six months of cisapride, four patients had normalization of their electrical activity and six had improvement. Patients with idiopathic gastroparesis had an increase in gastric emptying at 120 min from 48.9±3.8% (baseline) to 70.9±6.0% (six months), P =0.009. Patients with diabetes mellitus had a similar improvement. Patients who had normalization of the electrogastrogram had a greater gastric emptying rate than patients with continued dysrhythmias. Thus, dysrhythmias are important in the etiology for gastroparesis, but other factors need to be examined.
Immune response of channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus Rafinesque, to bacterial and protozoan antigens administered by three routes

Abstract Experiments were conducted to measure the agglutinating antibody response of channel catfish to a particulate and a soluble antigen administered simultaneously by one of three routes. Specific antibody production in response to administration of particulate brucella tube-test antigen via intramuscular injection, oral drench, and topical application peaked at 3 weeks in channel catfish held under identical conditions at 21°C. The humoral antibody response was greater in fish injected with antigen than in the orally or topically exposed channel catfish. Specific antibody was also produced by the same channel catfish in response to the administration of a soluble ciliary preparation derived from Tetrahymena pyriformis Lwoff. Intramuscular injection of Tetrahymena antigen was the only route that produced detectable levels of circulating antibody as measured by direct agglutination of live T. pyriformis cells. The response to the soluble antigen also peaked at 3 weeks. Neither antigen elicited detectable agglutinins in cutaneous mucus, regardless of the vaccination method used.
The National High School Orchestra 1926—1938:

The purpose of this study was to document the history of the National High School Orchestra (NHSO), a select ensemble organized by Joseph E. Maddy under the auspices of the Music Supervisors' Natio...
The TMS34010: an embedded microprocessor

The authors discuss the TMS34010, a high-performance 32-bit microprocessor with special instructions and hardware for handling the bit-field data and address manipulations often associated with computer graphics. They give a history of embedded microprocessors and examine the wide range of processors and applications covered by that term. They provide an overview of the internal architecture of the TMS34010 and discuss the choice of feature set in its design. Although it is aimed at graphics systems, the processor's large address reach, bit-field processing, and DRAM (dynamic random-access memory) interface make it suitable for many other embedded processing applications. >
Economic Decision Making of Marketplace Merchants: An Ethnographic Model

The economic decision making of merchants in an urban public produce marketplace in St. Louis, Missouri is analyzed. A computer simulation of merchants' decision process is used as an elicitation aid to help study the recurrent, habitual choices known as attentive or stage-two decisions. The emic analysis of decision models is compared with an etic analysis of the same merchants' behavior. This paper shows the strengths and weaknesses of emic decision models as compared with their etic counterparts.
Alltägliche Dinge im philosophischen und literarischen Schrifttum der Moderne

Ever since Rilke, modern writers, philosophers, and artists have increasingly turned their attention to commonplace, inconspicuous objects, whether man-made or not (Ponge, Robbe-Grillet, Handke, collages, assemblages, entassements, Pop Art, junk art etc.) Roger-Pol Droit, philosopher and essayist, analyzes the meaning of commonplace things we use as to their deeper significance for the human user (Derrieres nouvelles des choses [2003]) whereas Roger Caillois attempts in several texts to read and interpret the␣hieroglyphs and quasi-mimetic images exhibited by the cut surface of minerals as mysterious messages about the universe. The German writer Klaus Luttringer (Die Ruckkehr der Steine [1999]) sees simple rocks as witnesses of an archaic age in which humans lived a happier pre-rational and pre-civilized life. He hopes for a new era, the “return of the stones”. Finally, Virginia Woolf, in her story Solid Objects (1921) writes about a man whose encounter and obsession with worthless small objects induces him to abandon his career and his life as a member of a modern Western industrial society.
“The Mind Is Its Own Place”: Science and Solitude in Seventeenth-Century England

It is not easy to point to the place of knowledge in our culture. More precisely, it is difficult to locate the production of our most valued forms of knowledge, including those of religion, literature and science. A pervasive topos in Western culture, from the Greeks onward, stipulates that the most authentic intellectual agents are the most solitary. The place of knowledge is nowhere in particular and anywhere at all. I sketch some uses of the theme of the solitary philosopher across a broad sweep of history, giving particular attention to its deployment in and around the scientific culture of seventeenth-century England. I argue that the rhetoric of solitude is strongly implicated in individualistic views of society and empiricist portrayals of scientific knowledge. Solitude is a state that symbolically expresses direct engagement with the sources of knowledge – divine and transcendent or natural and empirical. At the same time, solitude publicly expresses disengagement from society, identified as a set of conventions and concerns which act to corrupt knowledge. Hence, the study of the social uses of solitude adds further support to the notion that problems of knowledge and problems of social order are solved together.
Influence of Nonwoven Fabrics' Physical Parameters on Thermal and Water Vapor Resistance

This article takes into consideration some constructive parameters of needled nonwoven fabrics used as padding in winter clothes, and their influence on thermal resistance Rct and water vapor resis...
Reactive oxygen species scavenger N-acetyl cysteine reduces methamphetamine-induced hyperthermia without affecting motor activity in mice

Hyperthermia is a potentially lethal side effect of Methamphetamine (Meth) abuse, which involves the participation of peripheral thermogenic sites such as the Brown Adipose Tissue (BAT). In a previous study we found that the anti-oxidant N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) can prevent the high increase in temperature in a mouse model of Meth-hyperthermia. Here, we have further explored the ability of NAC to modulate Meth-induced hyperthermia in correlation with changes in BAT. We found that NAC treatment in controls causes hypothermia, and, when administered prior or upon the onset of Meth-induced hyperthermia, can ameliorate the temperature increase and preserve mitochondrial numbers and integrity, without affecting locomotor activity. This was different from Dantrolene, which decreased motor activity without affecting temperature. The effects of NAC were seen in spite of its inability to recover the decrease of mitochondrial superoxide induced in BAT by Meth. In addition, NAC did not prevent the Meth-induced decrease of BAT glutathione. Treatment with S-adenosyl-L-methionine, which improves glutathione activity, had an effect in ameliorating Meth-induced hyperthermia, but also modulated motor activity. This suggests a role for the remaining glutathione for controlling temperature. However, the mechanism by which NAC operates is independent of glutathione levels in BAT and specific to temperature. Our results show that, in spite of the absence of a clear mechanism of action, NAC is a pharmacological tool to examine the dissociation between Meth-induced hyperthermia and motor activity, and a drug of potential utility in treating the hyperthermia associated with Meth-abuse.
Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms of Gastric Ulcer Healing. Is the Quality of Mucosal Scar Affected by Treatment

Background: Ulcer healing, i.e. the reconstruction of the mucosal architecture, is an active process of filling the mucosal defect with proliferating and migrating epithelial cells and connective tissue. Methods: This article represents a summary of histologic and ultrastructural assessment of the cellular events occurring during healing of experimental gastric ulcer. Results: Mucosa adjacent to the ulcer crater forms a ‘healing’ zone. The gastric glands in this zone dilate and the epithelial cells lining these glands de-differentiate, express epidermal growth factor receptor, and proliferate. The latter is the result of local activation of genes encoding for EGF and its receptors. At the ulcer margin, proliferating and dividing epithelial cells migrate onto the granulation tissue to cover (re-epithelialize) the ulcer and bud into granulation tissue to reconstruct glandular structures within the ulcer scar. Re-epithelialization and reconstruction of epithelial structures is under control of epidermal grow...
Lithium transition radiator and xenon detector systems for particle identification at high energies

Abstract Transition-radiation X-rays from new low- Z radiators of lithium foils were measured together with particle ionization loss, in a xenon-gas multiwire proportional chamber, with electrons having a Lorentz factor γ from 1000 to 5600. The detected X-ray energy exceeded the ionization loss at γ over 2000. Particle- discrimination properties were investigated for various radiator and detector parameters. Significant improvements were achieved over conventional transition-radiation detector systems.
A Comparison of Student Persistence and Performance in Online and Classroom Business Statistics Experiences

As universities extend their distance education offerings to reach more time- and place-bound students, the degree to which online students are successful, as compared to their classroom counterparts, is of interest to accreditation review boards and others charged with assessment. Teaching faculty use information about the effectiveness of their instruction to evaluate and improve the learning experience. By comparing persistence and performance measures from the author's five semesters of online and traditional sections of a required undergraduate business statistics course, this paper provides evidence that while there are significant differences in persistence between the two cases, accomplishment of the learning objectives, as measured by the final grade in the course for those students who persist, is independent of the mode of instruction.
Elucidation of a [4Fe-4S] cluster degradation pathway: rapid kinetic studies of the degradation of Chromatium vinosum HiPIP.

Irreversible disassembly of the 4Fe-4S cluster in Chromatium vinosum high-potential iron protein (HiPIP) has been investigated in the presence of a low concentration of guanidinium hydrochloride. From the dependence of degradation rate on [H+], it is deduced that at least three protons are required to trigger efficient cluster degradation. Under these conditions the protonated cluster shows broadened Mossbauer signals, but delta EQ (1.1 mm/s) and delta (0.44 mm/s) are similar to the native form. Collapse of the protonated transition state complex, revealed by rapid-quench Mossbauer experiments, occurs with a measured rate constant kobs approximately 0.72 +/- 0.35 s-1 that is consistent with results from time-resolved electronic absorption and fluorescence (kobs approximately 0.4 +/- 0.1 s-1) and EPR (kobs approximately 0.62 +/- 0.18 s-1) measurements. Apparently, guanidinium hydrochloride serves to perturb the tertiary structure of the protein, facilitating protonation of the cluster, but not degradation per se. Release of iron ions occurs even more slowly with kobs approximately 0.07 +/- 0.02 s-1, as determined by the appearance of the g = 4.3 EPR signal. Proton-mediated cluster degradation is sensitive to the oxidation state of the cluster, with the oxidized state showing a two-fold slower rate in acidic solutions as a result of increased electrostatic repulsion with the cluster. Consistent results are obtained from absorption, fluorescence, Mossbauer and EPR measurements.
Humanities Librarians and Virtual Verse: Changing Collections and User Services for Online Literature

Abstract Electronic literature and digital literary publishing have grown rapidly in scope and volume in the past decade, and humanities librarians face the formidable challenge of capturing the full output of works of literature for current and future users, and determining how best to provide access to those works. This paper details the findings of the Virtual Verse in the Library project, which sought to investigate the impact of digital publishing on the access, reception, discovery, and preservation of poetry. The paper focuses on the results of the study's survey and interviews with academic librarians, and explores how library services, collections, and outreach can address the needs of students and faculty involved with digital literary publishing.
Trial of Standard versus Modified Expiration to Achieve End-of-Test Spirometry Criteria

To assess whether satisfying American Thoracic Society (ATS) end-of-test spirometry criteria can be enhanced by modifying the patient's expiratory technique, we conducted a cross-over trial of two expiratory techniques in 48 patients with a range of pulmonary functions (Group 1, n = 12: FEV1/FVC < 0.45; Group 2, n = 11: FEV1/FVC1, 0.45 to 0.60; Group 3, n = 16: FEV1/FVC, 0.61 to 0.74; Group 4, n = 9: FEV1/FVC ⩾ 0.75). After randomizing the order of testing, each patient performed three exhalations using a “standard” forced expiratory maneuver and a modified expiratory technique consisting of an initial maximal expiratory effort followed by a “relaxed expiration” for as long as possible. Patients initiated “relaxed expiration” when instructed by the supervising technician, who issued the instruction to relax when expiratory airflow fell to ⩽ 200 ml/s (as determined by flow-volume loop analysis). ATS end-of-test criteria were satisfied significantly more often using the modified expiratory technique (58.3% ...
Precocious Courtship and Play in Emydid Turtles

In many mammal species, precocious sexual behaviour is a component of play. A recent model for the evolution of play fighting behaviour in muroid rodents by Pellis (1993) proposes that social play in those species has its origin in precocious sexual behaviour. Captive juvenile emydid turtles perform precocious sexual behaviour. After reviewing its occurrence, we focus on detailed observations of Pseudemys nelsoni. Precocious sexual behaviour in these turtles is characterized by the striking ‘titillation’ display, usually observed only when adult males court females. In this display, the digits of the front feet are rapidly vibrated above the eyes of the female. In our observations, both sexes performed the display, which was energetic, spontaneous, and inconclusive (in that sequences of precocious courtship typically ended when either the displayer or recipient stopped and rested, left, or started some other unrelated non-social behaviour). Displaying individuals clearly preferred conspecific recipients and often appeared to seek out specific individuals. We discuss several plausible explanations for precocious courtship in these turtles but find none entirely satisfying. The characteristics of the precocious courtship behaviour we observed most closely match those commonly listed for social play. Thus, we conclude that the most likely explanation for this behaviour is that it is a component of social play.
Structure-based design of a FAAH variant that discriminates between the N-acyl ethanolamine and taurine families of signaling lipids.

Fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) inactivates a large and diverse class of endogenous signaling lipids termed fatty acid amides. Representative fatty acid amides include the N-acyl ethanolamines (NAEs) anandamide, which serves as an endogenous ligand for cannabinoid receptors, and N-oleoyl and N-palmitoyl ethanolamine, which produce satiety and anti-inflammatory effects, respectively. Global metabolite profiling studies of FAAH (−/−) mice have recently identified a second class of endogenous FAAH substrates: the N-acyl taurines (NATs). To determine the metabolic and signaling functions performed by NAEs and NATs in vivo, a FAAH variant that discriminates between these two substrate classes would be of value. Here, we report the structure-guided design of a point mutant in the active site of FAAH that selectively disrupts interactions with NATs. This glycine-to-aspartate (G268D) mutant was found to exhibit wild-type kinetic parameters with NAEs, but more than a 100-fold reduction in activity with NATs att...
Differential diagnosis and treatment of steroid-induced affective syndromes.

Abstract The differential diagnosis of hypercortisolemia is complex, particularly when the clinician must distinguish Cushing's syndrome (CS) from major depression. The present clinical case history demonstrates that by means of physical and laboratory examinations, the psychiatrist can make the initial differentiation, in consultation with medical specialists. The use of the corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) stimulation test may be especially helpful in distinguishing Cushing's disease (CD) from major depression, though there is some degree of “overlap” in results. This suggests that these disorders may lie along a continuum of hypothalamopituitary dysfunction.
MSH-Like substance in the brain of the frog, Rana pipiens

Abstract A substance that acts like MSH in darkening the skin of frogs by eausing melanin dispersion is found in the diencephalic region of the brain of the frog, Rana pipiens . This substance is not of hypophyseal origin.
Rapid loss of ATP by tumor cells deprived of glucose: contrast to normal cells.

Abstract When starved of a carbon source, early passage normal cells (chick embryo fibroblasts, human skin fibroblasts and mouse splenic lymphocytes) are able to maintain their ATP content for 12 to 24 hours at levels essentially similar to those of cells fed glucose. In contrast, several malignant or transformed cell types (Py6, PyNil, Ehrlich acites tumor, P 388 , CHO in suspension) under the same conditions of cultivation suffer a dramatic lowering in their ATP levels within the first hour of starvation. This sharply different response to glucose starvation and the loss of viability that accompanies loss of ATP are the principal findings reported here.
Dealing with disorder: social control in the post-industrial city

Over the past two decades, municipal governments across the United States have adopted novel social control techniques including off-limits orders, parks exclusion laws, and other applications of trespass law. These new tools are used to exclude the socially marginal from contested public spaces. These new social control techniques fuse criminal and civil legal authority and are touted as `alternatives' to arrest and incarceration. Ironically, these new techniques nonetheless increase the number of behaviors and people defined as criminal and subject to formal social control. This article describes these legal innovations and considers their origins and theoretical implications. We argue that recognition of law's constitutive effects helps to explain the origins and nature of the urban social control innovations described here.
Iodine-125--labeled estradiol: a gamma-emitting analog of estradiol that binds to the estrogen receptor

17 beta-[16 alpha-125I]Iodoestradiol has been synthesized by exchange of 16 beta-bromoestradiol with Na125I. The iodinated product is readily separated from the bromo reactant by column chromatography. It concentrates in the rat uterus in vivo and binds avidly and specifically to the uterine estrogen receptor in vitro.
PROGRESS REPORT: THE LOCAL STATE AND URBAN POLITICS

(1987). PROGRESS REPORT: THE LOCAL STATE AND URBAN POLITICS. Urban Geography: Vol. 8, No. 3, pp. 273-279.
Evacuate or Shelter-in-place? The Role of Corporate Memory and Political Environment in Hospital-evacuation Decision Making

PROBLEM: Hospital-evacuation decisions are rarely straightforward in protracted advance-warning events. Previous work provides little insight into the decision-making process around evacuation. This study was conducted to identify factors that most heavily influenced the decisions to evacuate the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) New York Harbor Healthcare System's (NYHHS; New York USA) Manhattan Campus before Hurricane Irene in 2011 and before Superstorm Sandy in 2012. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews with 11 senior leaders were conducted on the processes and factors that influenced the evacuation decisions prior to each event. RESULTS: The most influential factor in the decision to evacuate the Manhattan Campus before Hurricane Irene was New York City's (NYC's) hospital-evacuation mandate. As a federal facility, the Manhattan VA medical center (VAMC) was exempt from the city's order, but decision makers felt compelled to comply. In the case of Superstorm Sandy, corporate memory of a similar 1992 storm that crippled the Manhattan facility drove the decision to evacuate before the storm hit. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that hospital-evacuation decisions are confounded by political considerations and are influenced by past disaster experience. Greater shared situational awareness among at-risk hospitals, along with a more coordinated approach to evacuation decision making, could reduce pressure on hospitals to make these high-stakes decisions. Systematic mechanisms for collecting, documenting, and sharing lessons learned from past disasters are sorely needed at the institutional, local, and national levels. Ricci KA , Griffin AR , Heslin KC , Kranke D , Dobalian A. Evacuate or shelter-in-place? The role of corporate memory and political environment in hospital-evacuation decision making. Prehosp Disaster Med 2015;30(3):1-6. Language: en
Timing of development of the middle ear of Anura (Amphibia)

The opercularis system and tympanum-stapes complex of the anuran middle ear develop at different times relative to metamorphosis. In early larvae, the fenestra ovalis is represented by a large lateral opening in the otic capsule filled with connective tissue. At later larval stages, but well before metamorphosis, a cartilaginous operculum begins to form at the posterior margin of the fenestra ovalis, and proceeds to expand to fill all except the anterior part of the fenestra. The opercularis muscle forms along with the levator scapulae superior muscle at the anteromedial edge of the developing suprascapular cartilage of the shoulder girdle. The muscle fibers extend anteroventrally towards the operculum and otic capsule, and, just before emergence of the forelimbs, that portion that will form the opercularis muscle inserts on the lateral surface of the operculum. At this stage, when the metamorphosing frogs first show terrestrial habits, the opercularis system is complete and presumably functional. Timing of development of the tympanum-stapes complex is more variable. The stapes begins as a cartilaginous condensation in the anterior part of the fenestra ovalis, and develops laterally to eventually contact the epidermis and dermis that together will form the tympanum. Meanwhile a middle ear cavity and tympanic annulus form to complete the complex. In several species, especially those that metamorphose at a smaller body size, the tympanum-stapes complex is quite incomplete by the end of metamorphosis, and in Hyla crucifer it takes about 60 days to fully develop. The presence of a complete opercularis system by the start of terrestrial activity is consistent with an hypothesized seismic function of the system. The independent timing of development of the opercularis system and tympanum-stapes complex does not support functional hypotheses linking the opercularis system with modulation of responsiveness of the tympanum-stapes complex to aerial sound. Newly metamorphosed frogs with poorly developed tympanum-stapes complexes are presumably either insensitive to aerial sound or employ alternate mechanisms for transmission of sound energy to the inner ear, possibly involving the opercularis system.
Emotion modulation of visual attention: Categorical and temporal characteristics.

Background: Experimental research has shown that emotional stimuli can either enhance or impair attentional performance. However, the relative effects of specific emotional stimuli and the specific time course of these differential effects are unclear. Methodology/Principal Findings: In the present study, participants (n=50) searched for a single target within a rapid serial visual presentation of images. Irrelevant fear, disgust, erotic or neutral images preceded the target by two, four, six, or eight items. At lag 2, erotic images induced the greatest deficits in subsequent target processing compared to other images, consistent with a large emotional attentional blink. Fear and disgust images also produced a larger attentional blinks at lag 2 than neutral images. Erotic, fear, and disgust images continued to induce greater deficits than neutral images at lag 4 and 6. However, target processing deficits induced by erotic, fear, and disgust images at intermediate lags (lag 4 and 6) did not consistently differ from each other. In contrast to performance at lag 2, 4, and 6, enhancement in target processing for emotional stimuli was observed in comparison to neutral stimuli at lag 8. Conclusions/Significance: These findings suggest that task-irrelevant emotion information, particularly erotica, impairs intentional allocation of attention at early temporal stages, but at later temporal stages, emotional stimuli can have an enhancing effect on directed attention. These data suggest that the effects of emotional stimuli on attention can be both positive and negative depending upon temporal factors.
Impact of Quad-Core Cray XT4 System and Software Stack on Scientific Computation

An upgrade from dual-core to quad-core AMD processor on the Cray XT system at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Leadership Computing Facility (LCF) has resulted in significant changes in the hardware and software stack, including a deeper memory hierarchy, SIMD instructions and a multi-core aware MPI library. In this paper, we evaluate impact of a subset of these key changes on large-scale scientific applications. We will provide insights into application tuning and optimization process and report on how different strategies yield varying rates of successes and failures across different application domains. For instance, we demonstrate that the vectorization instructions (SSE) provide a performance boost of as much as 50% on fusion and combustion applications. Moreover, we reveal how the resource contentions could limit the achievable performance and provide insights into how application could exploit Petascale XT5 system's hierarchical parallelism.
Evolving Paradigms in Neuroimaging of the Ischemic Penumbra

Identification of the ischemic penumbra in the acute stroke clinical setting is an important goal for stroke researchers and clinicians. Various models for imaging the penumbra with MRI have been proposed, including the pioneering diffusion–perfusion mismatch model and later multivariate approaches. A number of multicenter clinical trials are now under way to test these models and confirm the utility of MRI-based treatment decisions. Present knowledge about MRI visualization of the salvageable penumbra suggests a promising future in which MRI studies are performed routinely in the acute stroke setting and the data provided by these MRI studies assist in individualizing therapeutic decisions and identifying effective therapies that can be delivered at late time points.
Worlds of welfare in time: A historical reassessment of the three-world typology

Gosta Esping-Andersen’s ‘three worlds’ typology has become one of the principal heuristics for examining modern welfare states. Despite its widespread adoption, however, few efforts have been made ...
Ultraviolet photoconductive detectors in Zn3P2

Photoconductive detectors with relatively flat response to wavelengths as short as 2500 A have been fabricated in thin films of zinc phosphide deposited by the close-space-transport method on to mica substrates. Responsivity at 2527 A was 0.13 A/W.
Pipelined circuit-switching: a fault-tolerant variant of wormhole routing

An effort is made to reconcile the conflicting demands of performance and fault-tolerance in interprocessor communication protocols. To this end, the authors propose a pipelined communication mechanism-pipelined circuit-switching (PCS)-which is variant of the well known wormhole routing (WR) mechanism. They present a new class of adaptive routing algorithms, misrouting backtracking-m (MB-m), made possible by PCS and proofs of some fault-tolerant properties of MB-m. The results of an experimental evaluation of PCS and MB-3 are also presented. This methodology provides performance approaching that of WR, while realizing fault-tolerant behavior that is difficult to achieve with WR. >
Pressure-Dependent Renin Release During Chronic Blockade of Nitric Oxide Synthase

We evaluated pressure-dependent stimulation of renin release in rats with sustained hypertension induced by chronic blockade of nitric oxide synthase with N ω-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) for 5 to 7 days. Rats were anesthetized and catheters were inserted into the carotid artery and abdominal aorta for measurement of arterial pressures. An adjustable snare was placed around the suprarenal aorta, and this snare was tightened to reduce renal perfusion pressure. Pressure-dependent renin release was evaluated in hypertensive rats by reducing renal perfusion pressure to 125, 85, and 65 mm Hg. Renin release was also evaluated in normotensive control rats at these same pressures. Basal systemic arterial pressures averaged 159±3 and 124±4 mm Hg ( P .05), in the hypertensive and normal control groups, respectively. Overall, these findings are consistent with the hypothesis that prolonged L-NAME administration attenuates pressure-dependent renin release by inhibiting nitric oxide formation, which may function as a paracrine mechanism inversely linking renal perfusion pressure with the stimulation of renin release.
Operating controls and dynamics for floating refrigerant loop for high heat flux electronics

The Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Power Electronics and Electric Machinery Research Center (PEEMRC) have been developing technologies to address the thermal issues associated with hybrid vehicles. This work is part of the ongoing FreedomCAR and Vehicle Technologies (FCVT) program, performed for the Department of Energy (DOE). Removal of the heat generated from electrical losses in traction motors and their associated power electronics is essential for the reliable operation of motors and power electronics. As part of a larger thermal management project, which includes shrinking inverter size and direct cooling of electronics, ORNL has developed U.S. Patent No. 6,772,603 B2, Methods and apparatus for thermal management of vehicle systems and components (Hsu et al, 2004), and patent pending Floating loop system for cooling integrated motors and inverters using hot liquid refrigerant (Hsu et al, 2004). The floating-loop system provides a large coefficient of performance (COP) for hybrid drive component cooling. This loop uses R-134a as a coolant and shares the vehicle's existing air-conditioning (AC) condenser, which dissipates waste heat to the ambient air. Because temperature requirements for cooling power electronics and electric machines are not as low as that required for passenger compartment air, this adjoining loop can operate on the high-pressure side of the existing AC system. This arrangement also allows for the floating loop to run without a compressor and requires only a small pump to move the liquid refrigerant. For the design to be viable, the loop must not adversely affect the existing system. The loop should also, ideally, provide a high COP, a flat temperature profile, and low pressure drop. To date, the floating-loop test prototype has successfully removed 2 kW of heat load in a 9 kW automobile passenger AC system with and without the automotive AC system running. However, during the cyclic operation of the floating refrigerant loop, some two-phase transient behavior is evident. In order to maintain stable running conditions, specific operating controls were implemented. Also thermodynamic energy balances were conducted to further analyze the operating conditions
The economic impact of software reuse on maintenance

Software reuse has traditionally been put forward as a mechanism for reducing the cost of developing a product. This paper shows that the overall economic impact of reuse on maintenance is greater than its impact on development. A specific reuse example is worked in detail to illustrate the impact of reuse on the various types of maintenance that are performed on a software product. On average, the cost savings during maintenance as a consequence of reuse are nearly twice the corresponding savings during development. The results are generalized to show that, for an arbitrary product, the cost savings during maintenance as a consequence of software reuse exceed the cost savings during development as a consequence of reuse when more than about 51% of the software budget is devoted to maintenance, and increase rapidly as the proportion of the budget devoted to maintenance becomes large.
Recommendations for a uniform chronostratigraphic designation system for Phanerozoic depositional sequences

Many published sequence-stratigraphic frameworks lack a systematic and consistent designation for both depositional sequences and key surfaces, despite the original goal to provide a fully integrated stratigraphic architecture, including diagnostic age information. Based on a system in use for more than 10 yr at ExxonMobil, we recommend methodologies for a chronostratigraphic designation system (CDS) using more uniform and robust sequence-stratigraphic designations. After objectively defining important physical stratigraphic surfaces, biostratigraphic and other age-constraining information is used to designate surfaces and the packages of rocks they bound. This leads to the establishment of a sequence chronostratigraphic framework for a local area of investigation (outcrop section, field, region, or basin). Only after demonstrating clear well-documented ties to Phanerozoic global coastal onlaps or cycle charts are these sequences and associated surfaces considered as “global” entities and designated as such. Higher frequency sequences and surfaces are also accommodated in this CDS. Alternative designations for areas with limited or poor quality chronostratigraphic information are also discussed. The CDS has proven to have great use in all Phanerozoic strata, different tectonic settings, and depositional environments, especially when chronostratigraphic age constraints are robust. We have used this system at regional and basinal scales in many geographic locations to help reduce uncertainty in identifying and correlating reservoirs, sources, and seal rocks. Predicting the local distribution and quality of reservoirs as well as seals within a producing field and near field wildcats is also facilitated by this system. This system has demonstrated use in the correlation of outcrop sections within a basin or between basins. Rigorous use of the CDS proposed here will permit meaningful regional and/or interbasinal correlation that is difficult to carry out with the diverse systems currently in use. This uniform designation scheme will also facilitate communication within a company and between institutions, as well as among academic investigators.
Computing pure nash equilibria in graphical games via markov random fields

We present a reduction from graphical games to Markov random fields so that pure Nash equilibria in the former can be found by statistical inference on the latter. Our result, when combined with the junction tree algorithm for statistical inference, yields a unified proof of all previously known tractable cases of the NP-complete problem of finding pure Nash equilibria in graphical games, but also implies efficient algorithms for new classes, such as the games with O(log n) treewidth. Furthermore, this important problem becomes susceptible to a wealth of sophisticated and empirically successful techniques from Machine Learning.
Stress Outcomes, Measuring

The terms “stress” or “stressor” usually refer to situations, demands, or burdens that require individuals to adapt their behavior, while stress response is the heightened bodily reaction to perceived stress. As stress accumulates, individuals’ abilities to cope can become overtaxed, depleting mind–body resources and increasing the probability of poor health. Stress outcomes of concern to health researchers span the realms of mental health, physical health and functioning, mortality, and biomarkers. Research shows that the impact of stress is large, affecting body chemistry, the functioning of organ systems, mental and physical health, and ultimately risk for mortality. Keywords: health; mental health; research methods; stress
Why Curricula in Tourism and Commercial Recreation

With the increased proliferation of programs throughout the United States and the world, it is very timely to hold this forum on present trends and issues in curricula for tourism and commer cial recreation. And, it is especially appropriate because this appears to be the very first time at a national scale that the curricular interlacings between recreation, in its traditional public sense, and the fields of recreation and tourism in a commercial sense have been considered. This paper addresses just three questions: 1. What is a model curriculum? 2. Are current programs educating or training? 3. Have aims, goals and objectives been defined?
Spatial reference and natural-language machine control

Current research on natural-language speech-understanding provides encouragement for the development of systems for the vocal control of mechanical devices. However, the designer of such systems faces a variety of difficulties in allowing for references to the position, orientation, and direction of motion of objects and actions in space. This paper analyzes sources of these difficulties and conceivable solutions to them.
Conducting Comparative Effectiveness Research on Medications: The Views of a Practicing Epidemiologist from the Other Washington

Comparative-effectiveness research (CER), which is not a new concept, has succeeded evidence-based medicine as the current fashion. In the old days of evidence-based medicine, active treatment comparators were not banned, and one of the major concerns was the choice of outcomes important to and for patients. For instance, high blood pressure itself is an asymptomatic condition, but its devastating clinical complications such as a heart attack or stroke are not. So the two movements are similar, one succeeding the other. Perhaps the major difference is the existence of the legislative mandate (PL 111-148), which at once enables and constrains comparative effectiveness research.
Optical correlation of spatial-frequency-shifted images in a photorefractive BSO correlator

The optical cross correlation of an image with another image that was spatial-frequency shifted in one dimension was demonstrated in a photorefractive VanderLugt correlator. The first image was stored as a Fourier-transform hologram in a photorefractive Bi12SiO20 crystal (BSO) and was successively correlated with different spatial-frequency-shifted versions of a second image. We implemented the spatial-frequency shift by rotating a galvanometer mirror in an image plane, causing the Fourier transform to be shifted laterally in the BSO. We verified that the resulting operation in the BSO was an accurate complex multiplication of the shifted and the stored Fourier transforms. As many as 20 successive readouts were conducted without measurable erasure of the stored hologram. The dynamic range, saturation behavior, and other performance parameters were measured and are discussed.
Wind-field reconstruction from flight data using an unbiased minimum-variance unscented filter

Although guidance of all aircraft is affected by wind disturbances, micro-unmanned aerial vehicles are especially susceptible. To estimate unknown wind disturbance, we consider two illustrative scenarios for planar flight. In the first scenario, we assume that measurements of the heading angle are available, while, in the second scenario, we assume that measurements of the heading angle are not available. Since the disturbance estimation problem is non-linear, we develop an extension of the unscented Kalman filter that provides an estimate of the unknown wind disturbance. Furthermore, we show through simulations that, when the heading angle is not measured, a kinematic ambiguity is introduced. However, when the initial heading angle is known and the subsequent heading angle is not measured, this kinematic ambiguity is resolved and accurate estimates of the wind velocity are obtained.
Liquid Phase Epitaxy of Hg1−xCdxTe from Te Solutions: A Route to IR Detector Structures

The intrinsic semiconductor mercury cadmium telluride (Hg 1−x Cd x Te), a solid solution of HgTe and CdTe, has assumed an ever increasing role in the fabrication of infrared (IR) detectors because its energy gap (0-1.5 eV) can be tailored to match the specific needs of IR detection and fiber optic systems. In photovoltaic focal plane array (FPA) applications, low power consumption, as well as excellent sensitivity at elevated temperatures, have made Hg 1−x Cd x Te the material of choice for both the midwave IR (MWIR) and longwave IR (LWIR) region.