cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Fibrinogen structure and fibrin clot assembly

Fibrinogen is a complex multifunctional protein, which contains constitutive association sites (gammaXL, D:D, Da, Db) as well as cryptic sites that become exposed as a result of fibrinogen proteolysis by thrombin (EA, EB). Utilization of these sites by self-association (gammaXL or D:D) or by association with exposed complementary fibrin sites (Da:EA, Db:EB) produces an orderly process of molecular assembly to form linear and branched fibrils, concomitant with lateral fibril associations and factor XIIIa-mediated fibrin crosslinking that together result in the mature fibrin network.
Structural integrity of aerospace textile composites under fatigue loading

Abstract High specific modulus and high specific strength are the most required characteristics of the materials in the aerospace structural applications. Unidirectional and multidirectional composites exhibit good properties in in-plane directions. Fibers in textile form exhibit good out-of-plane properties and good fatigue and impact resistance. Additionally, they have better dimensional stability and conformability. The variety of fabric architectures include weaves, knits, braids, stitched, and Z-pinned fabric. Vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) is a low-cost closed molding process with the capability of producing complex parts. It is well known fact that majority of structural failures are due to fatigue. VARTM manufactured textile composites can be confidently used in the primary structures only if their fatigue performance is well understood. The biaxial braided carbon/epoxy composites with different braid angles (25°, 30°, and 45°) were investigated for primary structures of small business jet applications under tension–tension fatigue loading. Carbon/epoxy unstitched, stitched, and Z-pinned plain-woven composites were investigated for aerospace applications under tension–compression fatigue loading.
Inventing the Greatest: Crafting Louisville's Future Out of story and Clay

In earlier publications I have argued that planning can be thought of as a form of persuasive and constitutive storytelling about the future. In this article I tell a story about the transformation...
Renormalization of the quasiperiodic transition to chaos for arbitrary winding numbers

Previous renormalization analyses have demonstrated universal properties for the quasiperiodic transition to chaos. These theories have the unpleasant feature that universal properties depend on the winding number. We modify the renormalization transformation so that it has stable attractors. This allows us to study nonlocal properties by solving the equations numerically without linearizing. The resulting universal strange attractor contains the unstable fixed points of previous theories and has exponents that are independent of winding number.
The Social Perception of Learning Disabled and Non-Learning Disabled Children.

Abstract This study was undertaken to determine if there were differences in the social perception of learning disabled and non‐learning disabled youngsters, whether social perception was related to sex and if interaction by sex and learning disability status was involved. Fifty‐seven elementary school children aged 9 to 11 years were given four measures of social perception. Results showed that learning disabled children differed significantly (p .01) from their non‐learning disabled peers on each of the four measures. Neither sex nor group by sex interaction was significant. Assessment and intervention aimed at improving social perceptual skills should be incorporated into educational programming for those learning disabled children who exhibit deficiencies in this area of functioning.
A simplified technique for fabrication of night guards

Abstract A simplified technique has been described for fabricating night guards using the Omnivac vacuum adaption unit and clear cold-curing acrylic resin.
Use of comparative triazolinium triflate fragmentation rates as a tool to assay relative competency of Brønsted bases in N-->N proton transfer.

Bronsted acid-induced fragmentation of a triazoline is used as a tool to identify Bronsted base additives capable of playing the role of a proton shuttle. Relative to water, dimethyl formamide accelerates proton transfer substantially under these conditions. A series of alcohols and ethers were also used to demonstrate that the Bronsted basicity of additive functionality, not their Bronsted acidity, is responsible for their ability to accelerate proton transfer from triazoline N3 to N1. This knowledge was then used to develop a convenient two step protocol for the synthesis of oxazolidine diones from benzyl azide and an unsaturated imide that employs a substoichiometric additive for triazolinium fragmentation.
Resolution of end-to-end distance distributions of flexible molecules using quenching-induced variations of the Forster distance for fluorescence energy transfer.

We describe a new method to recover the distribution of donor-to-acceptor (D-A) distances in flexible molecules using steady-state measurements of the efficiency of fluorescence energy transfer. The method depends upon changes in the Forster distance (Ro) induced by collisional quenching of the donor emission. The Ro-dependent transfer efficiencies are analyzed using nonlinear least squares to recover the mean D-A distance and the width of the distribution. The method was developed and tested using three synthetic D-A pairs, in which the chromophores were separated by alkyl chains of varying lengths. As an example application we also recovered the distribution of distances from the single tryptophan residue in troponin I (trp 158) to acceptor-labeled cysteine 133. The half-width of the distribution increases from 12 A in the native state to 53 A when unfolded by guanidine hydrochloride. For both TnI and the three model compounds the distance distributions recovered from the steady-state transfer efficiencies were in excellent agreement with the distributions recovered using the more sophisticated frequency-domain method (Lakowicz, J.R., M.L. Johnson, W. Wiczk, A. Bhat, and R.F. Steiner. 1987. Chem. Phys. Lett. 138:587–593). The method was found to be reliable and should be generally useful for studies of conformational distributions of macromolecules.
Explaining μ + spin-lattice relaxation in MnF 2 , below T N , by scattering function

A relation between the spin-lattice relaxation rate (1/T 1) of positive muons and the scattering functionS ⊥ T (q,ω) is derived for the antiferromagnet MnF2. We find good agreement between previousμSR measurements of 1/T 1 and our calculation using neutron scattering measurements ofS ⊥ T (q,ω).
A Geometrical Approach to the Study of the Cartesian Stiffness Matrix

The stiffness of a rigid body subject to conservative forces and moments is described by a tensor, whose components are best described by a 6X6 Cartesian stiffness matrix. We derive an expression that is independent of the parameterization of the motion of the rigid body using methods of differential geometry. The components of the tensor with respect to a basis of twists are given by evaluating the tensor on a pair of basis twists. We show that this tensor depends on the choice of an affine connection on the Lie group, SE (3). In addition, we show that the definition of the Cartesian stiffness matrix used in the literature [1,2] implicitly assumes an asymmetric connection and this results in an asymmetric stiffness matrix in a general loaded configuration. We prove that by choosing a symmetric connection we always obtain a symmetric Cartesian stiffness matrix. Finally, we derive stiffness matrices for different connections and illustrate the calculations using numerical examples.
Illumination invariant 3D change detection

We present a 3D change detection framework designed to support various applications in changing environmental conditions. Previous efforts have focused on image filtering techniques that manipulate the intensity values of the image to create a more controlled and unnatural illumination. Since most applications require detecting changes in a scene irrespective of the time of day and present lighting conditions, image filtering algorithms fail to suppress the illumination differences enough for Background Model (BM) subtraction to be effective. Our approach completely eliminates the illumination challenges from the change detection problem. The algorithm is based on our previous work in which we have shown a capability to reconstruct a surrounding environment in near real-time processing speeds. The algorithm, namely Dense Point-Cloud Representation (DPR), allows for a 3D reconstruction of a scene using only a single moving camera. In order to eliminate any effects of the illumination change, we convert each point-cloud model into a 3D binary voxel grid. A `1' is assigned to voxels containing points from the model while a `0' is assigned to voxels with no points. We detect the changes between the two environments by volumetrically subtracting the registered 3D binary voxel models. This process is extremely computationally efficient due to logic-based operations available when handling binary models. We evaluate the 3D change detection framework by experimenting on the same scene with aerial imagery captured at various times.
Coordinate metrology for adaptive form verification

Abstract Manufacturing processes leave specific patterns on part surfaces, which provide a good basis for their inspection. In this paper, machine learning and data mining techniques are applied to quantify process errors on parts and thereby provide a basis for adaptive sampling and form inspection. Results of experiments performed on flat plates confirmed that kernel methods can be successfully applied to recover deformation patterns on the surface of parts and compute minimum zones.
Resistance to the Peanut Root-Knot Nematode (Meloidogyne arenaria) in Arachis hypogaea1

Abstract The peanut root-knot nematode [Meloidogyne arenaria (Neal) Chitwood race 1] causes significant economic losses throughout the peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) production area of the southern United States. Chemicals for control of this pest are becoming increasingly limited, and there are no known sources of resistance within the U. S. A. hypogaea collection. The objectives of this research were to screen 1,321 plant introductions for resistance or hypersusceptibility based on egg-mass ratings in greenhouse tests and to conduct more intensive greenhouse studies of selected genotypes to evaluate this method for identifying resistance to the peanut root-knot nematode. Twenty-seven genotypes with low and eight genotypes with high egg-mass ratings were selected and reevaluated in a more intensive greenhouse experiment. Seventeen of the low selections supported fewer (P≤0.05) egg masses, and seven supported less egg production per gram of fresh root weight than Florunner. Three selections for high egg-mas...
Groundwater quality and crop-yield responses to tillage management on a Sparta sand

Abstract Groundwater beneath sandy soils in the Lower Wisconsin River Valley has more detections and larger concentrations of atrazine and nitrate–nitrogen (NO 3 –N) than groundwater beneath other areas of sandy soils with similar genesis in Wisconsin, USA. A 2.8-ha field study initiated in 1989 compared water quality and production potential of no-tillage (NT) and moldboard-plow tillage (MB) for corn ( Zea mays L.) production with, and without, irrigation. Ridge-tillage (RT) under irrigation for corn and soybean [ Glycine max (L.) Merr.] was added in 1991 to test the value of banding herbicide and placing N in the hydrologically inactive ridge. Soybean grown under NT and MB was added in 1993. Atrazine residues and NO 3 –N were determined in soil and groundwater from 1989 to 1995. Soil samples were taken to a 1.5-m depth and groundwater samples collected from the surface of the aquifer. Atrazine and NO 3 –N leaching were related to rainfall and/or irrigation. Leaching of atrazine and NO 3 –N to groundwater below no-irrigation treatment was similar to that under RT with enough irrigation to meet evapotranspiration demands – atrazine application in RT was only one-third of that used for NT and MB. Atrazine concentrations in soil samples were inconclusive because of limited atrazine detection. Corn yields for RT, MB and NT under irrigation to meet evapotranspiration averaged 8.6, 8.4, and 7.0 Mg ha −1 , respectively. However, there were no statistical differences between RT and MB, primarily because of a different yield rank between years. Soybean yields, averaged over the study period, for MB were 3.07 Mg ha −1 , which is significantly greater than that for NT at 2.07 and RT at 2.19 Mg ha −1 . Atrazine loading from 1991 to 1994 under RT, where it was band applied, was 1.41×10 −3 kg ha −1 year −1 compared to 3.17×10 −3 kg ha −1 year −1 for broadcast applications in the MB/NT systems. Nitrate loading on a 4-year average for RT was 23.0 kg ha −1 year −1 compared to 45.2 kg ha −1 year −1 for MB/NT. The RT system, where atrazine was band applied over the top of the row and N was side-dressed, reduced atrazine leaching by 55% and NO 3 –N leaching by 49% when compared with NT/MB where atrazine was broadcast and N not side-dressed. Selective placement of agrichemicals in hydrologically neutral zones of the RT system reduced leaching to less than one-half of that when placement was not selective.
Large-Angle Neutron-Proton Elastic Scattering from 5 to 12 GeV/ c

Neutron-proton differential cross sections have been measured with good statistics for four-momentum transfers $0.14l\ensuremath{-}t\ensuremath{\lesssim}19.0$ ${(\mathrm{G}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{V}/\mathit{c})}^{2}$ at laboratory momenta ranging from 4.5 to 12.5 GeV/c. The experiment was carried out in a neutron beam at the Argonne National Laboratory zero-gradient synchrotron. These results in conjunction with previous $n\ensuremath{-}p$ charge-exchange data provide almost complete elastic-scattering angular distributions in this momentum range.
Entering and Exiting the Medicare Part D Coverage Gap: Role of Comorbidities and Demographics

BACKGROUND Some Medicare Part D enrollees whose drug expenditures exceed a threshold enter a coverage gap with full cost-sharing, increasing their risk for reduced adherence and adverse outcomes.
Hindered Settling in Unflocculated Suspensions

AbstractThe hindered settling of three sizes of microcapsules suspended at four different concentrations in silicone fluids with four viscosities was determined at 25°C in suspensions.The viscosities of the various suspensions determined by a Stormer Viscometer indicated pseudoplastic behavior. A viscosity constant was calculated using the power law of the formηsN = ηkGThe sedimentation rate of suspensions of microcapsules was determined at low Reynolds numbers. An equationVs = [(ρs - ρ)g/18η] · f(d,C, ηk)was proposed in which the exponent of [(ρs - ρ)g/18 η] was shown to be one. Various sedimentation parameters were fitted by multiple linear regression method to a curve. The empirical equation obtained wasVs = [(ρs - ρ)g/18 η] d1.63 (1/C1.27) ηk 0.07 e−4.31A comparison of sedimentation rate against suspension concentration was made for values calculated from the classical Stokes equation, experimental values, and predicted values from the fitted equation.
Moment solution to an urn model

A subset of Bernard's RD-model (replenishment-depletion) is considered from the viewpoint of the calculus of finite differences. The most general case is considered and includes an urn with balls of many colors, each color being replenished either deterministically or stochastically. Factorial moment generating functions (fmgfs) are employed to define probability generating functions. A new result is given for the two color case defining the fmgf and probability generating function (with probabilities) when the replenishments are positive valued random variables with given factorial moments. This result involves beta integral transforms defining a manifold of discrete distributions. Particular cases relate to hypergeometric discrete distributions.
Surfaces with high contact number and their characterization

The notion of contact number $${\mathfrak c}_\#(M)$$ of a Euclidean submanifold was introduced in an earlier article (Proc. Edinb. Math. Soc. 47:69–100, 2004) as the highest order of contact of geodesics and normal sections on the submanifold. It was proved in (Proc. Edinb. Math. Soc. 47:69–100, 2004) that the contact number relates closely with the notions of isotropic submanifolds and holomorphic curves. One important problem concerning contact number is to construct Euclidean submanifolds with high contact number. The purpose of this article is thus to construct Euclidean surfaces with high contact number and to provide simple geometric characterization of such surfaces.
Prospective assessment of postoperative complications and associated costs following inguinal lymph node dissection (ILND) in melanoma patients.

Background We prospectively assessed the incidence, risk factors, and costs associated with wound complications and lymphedema in melanoma patients undergoing inguinal lymph node dissection (ILND).
In Situ Imidazole Activation of Ribonucleotides for Abiotic RNA Oligomerization Reactions

The hypothesis that RNA played a significant role in the origin of life requires effective and efficient abiotic pathways to produce RNA oligomers. The most successful abiotic oligomerization reactions to date have utilized high-energy, modified, or pre-activated ribonucleotides to generate strands of RNA up to 50-mers in length. In spite of their success, these modifications and pre-activation reactions significantly alter the ribonucleotides in ways that are highly unlikely to have occurred on a prebiotic Earth. This research seeks to address this problem by exploring an aqueous based method for activating the canonical ribonucleotides in situ using 1-Ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide (EDC) and imidazole. The reactions were run with and without a montmorillonite clay catalyst and compared to reactions that used ribonucleotides that were pre-activated with imidazole. The effects of pH and ribonucleotide concentration were also investigated. The results demonstrate the ability of in situ activation of ribonucleotides to generate linear RNA oligomers in solution, providing an alternative route to produce RNA for use in prebiotic Earth scenarios.
Studies with tritiated digoxin in human subjects after intravenous administration

Abstract Thirteen patients were digitalized by the intravenous route with tritium-labeled digoxin. Radioactivity levels of the serum, urine, and stools were studied for 7 to 10 days. Three exponential curves constructed from H 3 -digoxin serum levels reveal: (1) a very steep early slope of serum distribution with a half-time of about 2 to 4 minutes; (2) a curve with a relatively steep slope probably representing organ distribution and tissue-binding with a half-time of 30 minutes; (3) a late plateau type of curve correlating with metabolism and excretion with a half-life of 33.3 hours. In the first 24 hours the renal excretion was 38 per cent of the total dose administered, and 80 per cent in 7 days. Excretion in the stools was 11.8 per cent of the total dose at 7 days. These data were compared with previously published data obtained in studies of the oral administration of H 3 -digoxin.
Caregivers' ratings of access: do children with special health care needs fare better under fee-for-service or partially capitated managed care?

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate how enrollment in a partially capitated managed care (MC) option versus the fee-for-service (FFS) system affects caregivers' ratings of dimensions of access to services among children with special health care needs (SHCN). Subjects: The data were collected from telephone interviews during the summer and fall of 2002 with a random sample of 1088 caregivers of children with SHCN who qualified for Supplemental Security Income and therefore were enrolled the Medicaid program for children with SHCN in the District of Columbia. Research Design: We used a 2-step procedure in which we first estimated plan choice and then constructed a selectivity correction to control for the potential selection bias linked to plan choice. We estimated the second stage equations predicting caregiver's ratings of dimensions of access as a function of the selectivity correction, the plan choice dummy variable and other exogenous variables. Results: After controlling for the potential selection bias linked to plan choice and other confounding factors, we find that caregivers of children in FFS are significantly more likely than caregivers of children enrolled in the partially capitated MC plan to rate the following dimensions of access as either fair or poor: "access to specialists' care" (P < 0.01),"access to emergency room care" (P < 0.01), "convenience of the doctor's office" (P < 0.01), and "waiting time between making the appointment actual visit" (P < 0.05). Conclusions: We attribute these differences in caregivers' ratings of dimensions of access that exist between partially capitated MC and FFS enrollees to case management and care coordination services along with higher fees paid for pediatrician's and specialists' services available under MC option.
Automated detection and characterization of microstructural features: application to eutectic particles in single crystal Ni-based superalloys

Serial sectioning methods continue to produce an abundant amount of image data for quantifying the three-dimensional nature of material microstructures. Here, we discuss a methodology to automate detecting and characterizing eutectic particles taken from serial images of a production turbine blade made of a heat-treated single crystal Ni-based superalloy (PWA 1484). This method includes two important steps for unassisted eutectic particle characterization: automatically identifying a seed point within each particle and segmenting the particle using a region growing algorithm with an automated stop point. Once detected, the segmented eutectic particles are used to calculate microstructural statistics for characterizing and reconstructing statistically representative synthetic microstructures for single crystal Ni-based superalloys. The significance of this work is its ability to automate characterization for analysing the 3D nature of eutectic particles.
Dirichlet process based context learning for mine detection in hyperspectral imagery

Hyperspectral imagery (HSI) has been shown to be a powerful remote sensing phenomenology that is appropriate for a variety of classification and detection tasks. Standard detection and classification algorithms applied to hyperspectral data are hindered by environmental factors that alter the statistics of the data such as sun intensity, atmospheric conditions or soil properties. Detection and classification algorithms operating on HSI must account for the changing context underlying each observation for robust performance. This work focuses on algorithms that incorporate knowledge of underlying context for the discrimination of landmine responses from other surface or sub-surface anomalies using airborne HSI. This work compares both generative context models, that model context at a given location using features of the surrounding data, and discriminative context models that determine the context at a given location to maximize performance. Both approaches utilize a Dirichlet process prior to infer the number of contexts within the data without the need to explicitly label the context of each image or location within the image. Results indicate that Dirichlet process based generative context clustering determines contexts that are congruent with physical characteristics such as time of day, but does not necessarily lead to performance improvements. Dirichlet process based discriminative clustering, however, yields performance greater than a labeled generative approach.
Effect of Grain Source and Exogenous Phytase on Phosphorus Digestibility in Dairy Cows

Two experiments were conducted to determine P digestibility in lactating dairy cows fed corn or barley as grain sources. The first experiment utilized a replicated incomplete 5 × 4 Latin square design with 8 lactating Holstein cows fed diets containing either corn alone or corn in combination with one of 4 barley varieties that differed in chemical composition. Total tract digestibility of P ranged from 11 to 29% for diets containing the barley varieties and was approximately 35% for the corn diet. A second experiment compared P digestibility in cows fed diets containing corn or barley when exogenous phytase was added to the diets. Lactating Holstein cows (n = 16) were arranged in 4 replications of a Latin square with 2 grains (barley or corn), fed separately or with added exogenous phytase (427 phytase units/kg of total mixed ration and 4 periods of 21 d. Phytate P comprised about 50% of the total P (0.46% P) in the total mixed ration. The concentration of serum inorganic P was higher in cows fed diets with exogenous phytase (5.8 vs. 6.5 mg/dL in cows fed barley diets and 5.5 vs 6.0 mg/dL in cows fed corn diets). Using acid detergent lignin as an internal marker, hydrolysis of phytate P was increased by the exogenous phytase, and total P digestibility tended to be increased. In contrast to Experiment 1, in Experiment 2 there was no effect of grain source on P digestibility and total fecal P. Dry matter intake and efficiency of milk production were not affected by exogenous phytase or grain type. Although phytase activity occurs in the rumen, physical properties of the diet and ruminal passage rates may prevent total hydrolysis of phytate in the rumen of lactating cows. Thus, exogenous dietary phytase might improve P digestibility in dairy cows in some dietary situations.
Gutterdämmerung (twilight of the gutter margins): e‐books and libraries

Several aspects of the e‐book revolution are reviewed, as well as some related issues confronting libraries. Regardless of format, texts and text‐bearing devices have relationships of mutual dependence, and readers simultaneously experience both. The dominant relationship between texts and text‐bearing devices is shifting from static to dynamic. The e‐book revolution is more about new distribution systems for content, new digital rights management systems, and perhaps an unwitting or inchoate power struggle among the principal interested parties, than it is about the design and diffusion of dedicated reading devices. The e‐book revolution opens up possibilities for new and improved post‐retrieval processing of texts, defined as anything a person can do with a text after it has been retrieved. Librarians need to reassert – especially to the fledgling e‐book industry – the enduring principle of libraries as a social good. The two biggest challenges facing libraries are how to make the transition to an era dominated by dynamic relationships between texts and text‐bearing devices, and how to foster and facilitate robust and complex post‐retrieval processing of texts.
Rate Constant for the Reaction of OH Radicals with Dichloromethane

The rate constant for the reaction of CH2Cl2 with OH was measured by the flash photolysis resonance fluorescence technique over the temperature range 277−370 K to give the following Arrhenius expression: kDCM = ( ) × 10-12 exp{−(944 ± 29)/T} cm3 molecule-1 s-1, where the uncertainties represent 95% confidence limits associated with the statistical fitting procedure and include the contribution for the expanded uncertainties in the individual rate constant. Based on this new value, the results of recent relative studies of the OH reactions with CHCl2−CFCl2, CH2ClBr, CH2Br2, and CH2FCl have been reanalyzed.
Fallacies of progression in theories of brain-size evolution

The tacit assumption that relative enlargement and differentiation of brains reflect a progressive evolutionary trend toward greater intelligence is a major impediment to the study of brain evolution. Theories that purport to establish a linear scale for this presumed correlation between brain size and intelligence are undermined by the absence of an unbiased allometric baseline for estimating differences in encephalization, by the incompatibility of allometric analyses at different taxonomic levels, by the nonlinearity of the ‘criterion of subtraction” used to partition the somatic and cognitive components of encephalization, and by the failure to independently demonstrate any cognitive basis for the regularity of brain/body allometry. Analyzing deviations from brain/body allometric trends in terms of “encephalization” obfuscates the complementarity between brain and body size and ignores selection on body size, which probably determines most deviations. By failing to analyze the effects of allometry at many levels of structure, comparative anatomists have mistaken methodological artifacts for progressive evolutionary trends. Many structural changes, which are assumed to demonstrate progression of brain structure from primitive to advanced forms, are the results of allometric processes. Increased brain size turns out to have some previously unappreciated functional disadvantages.
Mezlocillin Pharmacokinetics After Single Intravenous Doses to Patients with Varying Degrees of Renal Function

Abstract The pharmacokinetics of mezlocillin were examined after single 2- and 4-g intravenous injections to three groups of male patients with creatinine clearances of I ≥ 60, II = 21 to 59, and III ≤ 20 ml min−1 1.73 m−2. The decline in serum antibiotic levels was biphasic in all groups, and serum data were interpreted in terms of the pharmacokinetic two-compartment model. The mean elimination half-life of mezlocillin after the 2-g dose was 1.3, 1.5, and 2.3 h in groups I, II, and III, respectively. Equivalent values after the 4-g dose were 1.2, 1.6, and 4.4 h. In three functionally anephric patients the mean serum half-life of mezlocillin was 1.5 h during hemodialysis. Mean antibiotic levels in serum were greater than 10 μg ml−1 for 4 h after the 2- and 4-g doses in group I and 8 h in group II. In group III, levels greater than 10 μg ml−1 were maintained for 6 h after the 2-g dose and over 12 h after the 4-g dose. Mezlocillin distribution characteristics were largely independent of renal function and dose size. The only observable change occurred in the value of Vdss, which was significantly increased to 0.32 with 0.38 liter kg−1 in severe renal impairment, compared to ca. 0.2 liter kg−1 in subjects with normal or slightly impaired renal function. Cumulative 24-h urinary excretion accounted for 50, 40, and 3.2% of the dose in groups I, II, and III, respectively. Urine levels of mezlocillin were uniformly greater than the minimum inhibitory concentration for susceptible organisms for 12 h after dosing in all patients who produced urine. Because of the relatively small increase in the mezlocillin elimination half-life with declining renal function, dose reduction is necessary only in cases of severe renal impairment.
Meckel's diverticulum mimicking infantile colic: sonographic detection.

We report a case of Meckel's diverticulum in a 6-month-old girl who presented with a 5-month history of chronic screaming but no symptoms or signs of intestinal obstruction. Infantile colic was the presumptive diagnosis. Abdominal sonography at 6 months of age demonstrated an abdominal mass with an anechoic center and a double-layered wall, surrounded by bowel loops. Abdominal CT and barium enema x-ray studies demonstrated nonspecific findings of a cystic mass with compression of adjacent bowel loops. Histologic examination of the resected mass revealed a Meckel's diverticulum with a perforation sealed off by the neighboring bowel and mesentery to form an inflammatory mass.
Precreation Discourse in Psalms 74 and 77: Struggling with Chaoskämpfe

AbstractThe way in which Psalms 74 and 77 deal with historical turmoil in the psalmists’ lives is to weave together reflections on the concrete problems being experienced with succinct myths about God’s precreative struggle with chaos: Chaoskampfe. The cultural intertextural background for these myths is to be found in Near Eastern accounts about the divine battle against chaotic sea gods. Each psalmist tailors this component in ways that fit the theodicy and the basis of appeal for divine intervention in their own lives that they are attempting to construct. In the interplays of these overarching constructions and the roles of the Chaoskampfe in them the larger functions of the precreative discourses in these psalms are to be found.
Spatiotemporal Variation of Bacterial Assemblages in a Shallow Subtropical Coastal Lagoon in Southern Brazil

A study on the bacterioplankton of Conceicao Lagoon (27°34′ S–48°27′ W), Southern Brazil, was carried out in July 2005 (austral winter) and January 2006 (austral summer) to characterize the bacterial spatiotemporal distribution and to determine the heterotrophic and photoautotrophic bacterial dominance in hypoxic/oxic stratified waters. Bacterial abundance increased significantly (p < 0.05) in summer with averages of coccus cyanobacteria (CCY) ranging from 1.02 × 105 (winter) to 3.21 × 106 cells mL−1 (summer), heterotrophic coccus/rod-shaped (HCR) cells from 7.00 × 104 to 3.60 × 106 cells mL−1, and heterotrophic filamentous (HF) bacteria from 2.90 × 103 to 2.74 × 105 cells mL−1. Bacterial biovolumes also increased in summer with mean biovolumes of CCY ranging from 0.38 to 1.37 μm3, HCR cells from 0.31 to 1.12 μm3, and HF from 3.32 to 11.34 μm3. Principal component analysis showed that salinity, temperature, and light were the abiotic factors that better explained the temporal variability of bacterial assemblages. Bacterial heterotrophy dominated in the lagoon, excepted by the southern and part of central sector in January 2006, when autotrophic-dominated microbial community occurred. Spatially, bacterial assemblages were influenced by nutrient gradient, oxygen, and salinity with a positive relationship between biovolumes and nutrients and a negative relationship between abundance of coccus cyanobacteria and nutrients. area revealed a singular temporal pattern with hypoxic bottom waters in winter and oxygen-rich waters appearing in summer related with the availability of light and predominant microbes. Thus, oxygen consumption/production is likely to be regulated by the amount of light reaching the bottom, stimulating the production of oxygen by oxygenic phototrophs.
The Minimal Number of Subtrees of a Tree

In this note, we consider the trees (caterpillars) that minimize the number of subtrees among trees with a given degree sequence. This is a question naturally related to the extremal structures of some distance based graph invariants. We first confirm the expected fact that the number of subtrees is minimized by some caterpillar. As with other graph invariants, the specific optimal caterpillar is nearly impossible to characterize and depends on the degree sequence. We provide some simple properties of such caterpillars as well as observations that will help finding the optimal caterpillar.
Relative apparent molar enthalpies and standard enthalpies of solution of potassium bromate and potassium iodate in water at 298.15 K

Abstract Measurements of the relative apparent molar enthalpies L φ for aqueous KBrO 3 and KIO 3 have been made at 298.15 K over the entire solutibility range. New measurements on the enthalpies of solution yielded ΔH soln ∞ (298.15 K) equal to (40930 ± 35) and (27683 ± 30) J mol −1 respectively for KBrO 3 (cr) and KIO 3 (cr). Literature values of ΔH soln for the salts were reduced to ΔH soln ∞ with the new L φ values, and “best values” of the standard enthalpy of solution, ΔH soln o , are recommended: (40920±40) J mol −1 for KBrO 3 (cr), and (27690±35) J mol −1 for KIO 3 (cr).
Middleware techniques and optimizations for real-time, embedded systems

Due to constraints on footprint, performance, and weight/power consumption, real time, embedded system software development has historically lagged mainstream software development methodologies. As a result, real time, embedded software systems are costly to evolve and maintain. Moreover, they are often so specialized that they cannot adapt readily to meet new market opportunities or technology innovations. To further exacerbate matters, a growing class of real time, embedded systems require end-to-end support for various quality of service (QoS) aspects, such as bandwidth, latency, jitter, and dependability. These applications include telecommunication systems (e.g., call processing and switching), avionics control systems (e.g., operational night programs for fighter aircraft), and multimedia (e.g., Internet streaming video and wireless PDAs). In addition to requiring support for stringent QoS requirements, these systems are often targeted at highly competitive markets, where deregulation and global competition are motivating the need for increased software productivity and quality. Requirements for increased software productivity and quality motivate the use of Distributed Object Computing (DOC) middleware (A. Gokhale and D.C. Schmidt, 1999). Middleware resides between client and server applications and services in complex software systems. The goal of middleware is to integrate reusable software components to decrease the cycle time and effort required to develop high quality real time and embedded applications and services.
Real time video sharpness enhancement by wavelet-based luminance transient improvement

Sharpness is a perceptual feature, which is determined by the human visual system. The human eye is more sensitive to the sharpness of the luminance signal than to that of the chrominance, however, higher resolution images, e.g. high definition images (HDTV), require the co-joint enhancement of both the luminance (black and white) and the chrominance sharpness. Even though improving the edge transitions results in an improved overall sharpness, the lack of adaptability to the picture contents produces irritating artifacts and reduces the overall impression of sharpness improvement. Other methods for sharpness enhancement used edge transition to better improve the picture quality, but either lacked adaptability to the picture contents, degraded with noisy sequences and/or required complex hardware (complex filters support and associated hardware needed for processing). We introduce a real time video sharpness enhancement method, which adaptively sharpens the picture by improving the edge transitions (variable edge enhancement at different parts of the image) using wavelet transforms. The results show a perceived desired sharpness improvement while avoiding the introduction of any artifact.
Domain-decomposed Fully Coupled Implicit Methods for a Magnetohydrodynamics Problem

1 University of Colorado at Boulder, Department of Computer Science, 430 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309, USA, serguei.ovtchinnikov@colorado.edu 2 Old Dominion University, Department of Computer Science, 3300 ECS Building, Norfolk, VA 23529, USA, dobrian@cs.odu.edu 3 University of Colorado at Boulder, Department of Computer Science, 430 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309, USA, cai@cs.colorado.edu 4 Columbia University, Department of Applied Physics & Applied Mathematics, 500 W. 120th St., New York, NY 10027, USA, david.keyes@columbia.edu
Iron oxide nanoparticle-based radio-frequency thermotherapy for human breast adenocarcinoma cancer cells

Iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) with diameters of 15, 25, and 41 nm were evaluated as mediators of thermal cytotoxicity under radio-frequency (RF) exposure. The 25 nm IONPs were found to be the most efficient of the three in killing cancer cells at 350 kHz low-frequency RF irradiation. However, at a higher frequency of 13.56 MHz, 15 nm IONPs produced the highest percentage of cell death. Moreover, the killing effect was concentration-dependent in that a higher concentration of IONPs resulted in increased cellular death. Size-dependent internalization of IONPs in MCF-7 cells was quantified by using inductively coupled-plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Dark-field microscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed that MCF-7 cells internalize IONPs through endocytosis after 24 hours of incubation. In addition, after RF treatment, the cancer cells underwent the apoptosis process, and the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) increased significantly after hyperthermia. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and TEM further established that the ultrastructure morphological changes in the cancer cells originated from the apoptosis process.
Microcomputed tomography characterization of shoulder osseous deformity after brachial plexus birth palsy: a rat model study.

Background: Shoulder deformities are common secondary sequelae associated with brachial plexus birth palsy. The aim of the present study was to characterize three-dimensional glenohumeral deformity associated with brachial plexus birth palsy with use of microcomputed tomography scanning in a recently developed animal model. Methods: Brachial plexus birth palsy was produced by a right-sided neurotomy of the C5 and C6 nerve roots in seven five-day-old Sprague-Dawley rats. Microcomputed tomography scanning was performed when the rats were four months of age. Glenoid size, version, and inclination; humeral head size; and acromion-glenoid distance were measured. Normal shoulders of age-matched rats (n = 9) served as controls. Statistical analysis was performed with use of the unpaired two-tailed Student t test. Results: There were significant increases in glenoid retroversion (–7.6° ± 4.9° compared with 3.6° ± 2.1°; p = 0.038) and glenoid inclination (38.7° ± 7.3° compared with 11.2° ± 1.9°; p = 0.015) in the shoulders with simulated brachial plexus birth palsy in comparison with the normal, control shoulders. The glenohumeral joints were more medialized in the joints with simulated brachial plexus birth palsy as reflected by the acromion-glenoid distance measurement; however, the difference was not significant (3.20 ± 0.51 compared with 2.40 ± 0.18 mm; p = 0.12). Although the mean humeral head height and width measurements, on the average, were smaller in the brachial plexus birth palsy shoulders as compared with the normal, control shoulders, only the measurement of humeral head height was significantly different between the two groups (4.25 ± 2.02 compared with 4.97 ± 0.11 mm [p = 0.008] and 3.56 ± 0.27 compared with 4.19 ± 0.17 mm [p = 0.056], respectively). Conclusions: In this animal model, rats with simulated brachial plexus birth palsy developed gross architectural joint distortion characterized by increased glenoid retroversion and inclination. In addition, humeral heads tended to be smaller four months after simulated brachial plexus birth palsy. Clinical Relevance: Combined with the microcomputed tomography technique, this animal model may provide a useful means of studying the natural history of shoulder deformity associated with brachial plexus birth palsy.
A direct-conversion W-CDMA front-end SiGe receiver chip

A W-CDMA direct-conversion front-end receiver chip consisting of a low-noise amplifier (LNA), a dual-gain RF variable-gain amplifier (RF-VGA), two direct-down-conversion mixers, a I/Q quadrature generator, and a base-band five-gain-stage VGA is designed and manufactured in a 0.25 /spl mu/m IBM SiGe BiCMOS production process. A very low DC offset value (<300 /spl mu/V) is measured at the output of the mixers as the LO signal is fed into the chip at twice the RF frequency. An extremely low local oscillator (LO) leakage of -105 dBm is measured at the LNA input, partly due to the excellent LO-to-RF isolation provided by the RF-VGA and the direct-conversion mixers. The measured cascaded noise figure for the chip (including the SAW filter) is 4.3 dB at the maximum gain mode, and the IIP2 and IIP3 are +37 and -16.5 dBm, respectively. The I/Q channels exhibit a small mismatch in magnitude (<0.1 dB) and in phase (1/spl deg/-1.5/spl deg/). The chip draws 24.9 mA from a 2.85V supply. The overall chip performance meets all the essential parameters of W-CDMA receiver front-end specs.
The Influence of Culture on End-of-Life Decision Making

In their research, scholars have documented racial and ethnic differences in end-of-life care preferences, which have translated into cultural barriers. However, few studies have explained the racial differences. In the present study, focus groups with semi-structured follow-up interviews were utilized to elicit explanations for variance in decision making in a sample of Black and White community-dwelling residents. Participants identified specific cultural beliefs, values, and communication patterns that can be used to promote cultural competency among practitioners who provide care at end of life.
Chemical reaction mediated self-assembly of PTCDA into nanofibers

Uniform and crystalline nanofibers of perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic dianhydride (PTCDA), an insoluble organic semiconducting molecule, have been achieved by self-assembling the molecules using chemical reaction mediated conversion of an appropriately designed soluble precursor, perylene tetracarboxylic acid (PTCA) using carbodiimide chemistry.
Validation of color-enhanced composite lung images

This study involved an evaluation of our V/Q system by five radiologists using forty-nine clinical data sets. The experts compared the quality of the registration and the color visualization methods. A Web-based user interface was developed to display color-enhanced images and to manipulate those images. The original gray scale image sets were also transformed to a green color table for ventilation images and a red color table for perfusion images to improve visualization. V/Q ratios are calculated and displayed on color-enhanced superimposed images. The user-friendly design enabled the experts to evaluate results quickly and efficiently. The physicians recorded their degree of satisfaction with each registration method and the effect of color/visualization on the superimposed ventilation/perfusion (V/Q) images. The outcome of a subjective survey and other objective validation methods were compared to assess registration functionality.
The Ideological Organization of Latin American Legislative Parties: An Empirical Analysis of Elite Policy Preferences

Are legislative party systems in Latin America organized along ideological lines? This article presents a cross-country analysis of legislators’ positions on a variety of issues, such as government intervention in the economy, the value of democratic competition, attitudes toward cultural minorities, and views on international openness. The study is based on discriminant analysis of data from a 1997 survey of legislators in 12 countries. The purpose is to explore whether legislative parties in the region are ideologically organized and if so, to understand the substance and structure of the ideological dimensions that underlie legislative party systems. The analysis reveals variation in the programmatic organization of Latin American legislatures, emphasizing that political, cultural, and economic dimensions coalesce in different ways across countries to account for ideological disagreement among legislative parties.
O Conceito de Operação Estabelecedora na Análise do Comportamento

In general terms, establishing operations can be defined as environmental events that alter the reinforcing effectiveness of a stimulus, as well as evoke all behavior that, in the past, has been followed by such a stimulus. The concept seems to describe, in behavioral terms, what is usually called motivation. The present paper is an attempt to didactically present the theoretical development of the concept and discuss its current status in the Experimental Analysis of Behavior and Applied Behavior Analysis.