cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Review of using glass in high-performance fiber-reinforced cementitious composites

Abstract As an increasing amounts of waste glass are produced annually, recycling glass in manufacturing concrete shows economic and environmental benefits. Recently, glass has been used as one of the ingredients to prepare high-performance fiber-reinforced cementitious composites (HPFRCCs), like strain-hardening cementitious composite and ultra-high-performance concrete, featuring high mechanical properties and long-term durability. While the application of glass particles may reduce the material cost, however, fundamental knowledge of the effects of using glass to replace concrete components on the key properties (e.g., mechanical properties, fresh properties, durability) and the underlying mechanisms is still lacking. This study aims to reveal the roles of waste glass particles on the key properties, clarify the fundamental mechanisms, and point out viable strategies to enhance the key properties of HPFRCCs incorporating glass. To this end, the paper reviews existing studies on using glass in preparing HPFRCCs and discusses possible methods to develop HPFRCCs with glass particles. While there are different types of glass, this review focuses on soda-lime glass, which is representative among all types of glass. At last, life cycle analysis is conducted to assess the effect of using glass particles on reducing the cost, CO2 emission, and energy consumption. This review aims to enhance the fundamental knowledge of HPFRCC and propose further research of HPFRCCs incorporating glass.
Additional medical costs of chronic conditions among adolescent and young adult cancer survivors

Adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer survivors are more likely to have multiple chronic conditions compared to AYAs without history of cancer. The financial hardship of chronic conditions associated with cancer can substantially impact cancer survivors. We aim to assess health risk behaviors and health care access factors associated with increased medical expenses in AYA cancer survivors. We utilized 2011–2016 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) data to identify the prevalence of chronic conditions, health risk behaviors, and health care access in 2326 AYA cancer survivors. The association between health risk behaviors, health care access factors, and chronic conditions with medical expenditures was assessed using multivariable regression with gamma distribution and log link. Analyses were adjusted for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, and marital status. Expenses were adjusted for inflation to 2016 dollars. Most AYA cancer survivors had ≥1 chronic condition (74%) and were diagnosed with cancer ≥10 years prior to the survey (76%). AYA cancer survivors with chronic conditions spent an additional $2777 (95% CI, $480 to $5958) annually compared to survivors with no chronic conditions. Additional annual expenses also were associated with physical inactivity ($3558; 95% CI, $2200 to $4606) and being unable to get care when needed ($1291; 95% CI, $198 to 3335). Chronic conditions are associated with a substantial increase in medical expenses well after cancer diagnosis in AYA cancer survivors. Getting care when needed and adopting healthy behaviors, particularly exercise, may reduce medical expenses associated with chronic conditions in AYAs.
Case 15-2021: A 76-Year-Old Woman with Nausea, Diarrhea, and Acute Kidney Failure

A Woman with Nausea, Diarrhea, and Acute Kidney Failure A 76-year-old woman with a history of type 2 diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea, coronary artery disease, and heart failure with reduced eject...
SuperCaustics: Real-time, open-source simulation of transparent objects for deep learning applications.

Transparent objects are a very challenging problem in computer vision. They are hard to segment or classify due to their lack of precise boundaries, and there is limited data available for training deep neural networks. As such, current solutions for this problem employ rigid synthetic datasets, which lack flexibility and lead to severe performance degradation when deployed on real-world scenarios. In particular, these synthetic datasets omit features such as refraction, dispersion and caustics due to limitations in the rendering pipeline. To address this issue, we present SuperCaustics, a real-time, open-source simulation of transparent objects designed for deep learning applications. SuperCaustics features extensive modules for stochastic environment creation; uses hardware ray-tracing to support caustics, dispersion, and refraction; and enables generating massive datasets with multi-modal, pixel-perfect ground truth annotations. To validate our proposed system, we trained a deep neural network from scratch to segment transparent objects in difficult lighting scenarios. Our neural network achieved performance comparable to the state-of-the-art on a real-world dataset using only 10% of the training data and in a fraction of the training time. Further experiments show that a model trained with SuperCaustics can segment different types of caustics, even in images with multiple overlapping transparent objects. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first such result for a model trained on synthetic data. Both our open-source code and experimental data are freely available online.
Impact of Peer-Assisted Learning on Ultrasound.

PURPOSE The aim of this study was to understand how peer-assisted learning (PAL) could be utilized by physician assistant (PA) students in an ultrasound student interest group (USIG) as a means of developing cognitive confidence and practical competence with the imaging modality. METHODS An observational study that included 3 USIG workshops was designed. Pre- and postworkshop surveys were administered. All first-year PA students, regardless of participation in the USIG workshops, were asked to complete the voluntary and anonymous surveys. RESULTS A statistically significant difference between those who attended at least one workshop and those who did not attend any workshops on their postworkshop scores (p = 0.02) was seen. There was a statistically significant association between the number of workshops attended and the postworkshop difference (p = 0.03). CONCLUSION Results show that, in the context of social cognitive theory, PAL is an efficacious learning modality that enhances learner and tutor performance in ultrasound.
OPERATIVE TREATMENT OF ADENOCARCINOMA OF THE ENDOMETRIUM IN OBESE WOMEN.

Abstract A series of 98 very obese patients with adenocarcinoma of the endometrium is presented in which a surgical applicability rate of 90 per cent was achieved. The results show that standard simple techniques for hysterectomy can be safely applied to this type of patient with no increase in operative mortality. The survival among these obese patients compares favorably with that among nonobese patients with the same disease and treated in the same manner.
Constructing Utopias: China's Emerging Eco-cities

Each year about 16 millions of China’s rural residents – equivalent to the total population of the Netherlands – are moving into cities. This trend has continued for nearly two decades in this “largest mass migration ever seen in human history” (David Harvey). Amid such dramatic demographic shift and the resulting construction boom are ambitious plans throughout China to create new towns to house swelling population and to sustain economic growth. A series of prototype eco-new towns have been proposed in this wave of mass urbanization. They are often conceived as exemplary piece of urbanism showcasing the latest design and environmental technologies in town building, and represent a new chapter in China’s continuing effort of organized urbanization as a strategy to address complex economic and environmental issues. This paper studies three eco-new town projects, including Dongdan Eco-city, Binhai Eco-city,and Qingdao Eco-block. They were intended as “models” to showcase the best practice in planning and development and to provide duplicable experience for other cities in the country. The paper examines these eco-new towns through the lens of urbanism and utopianism, focusing on the relationship between place making and social development. These projects were either initiated by the governments or created by private organizations or joint ventures, demonstrating different strategies of developing eco-city and representing different politicaland economic agendas. However, they were all encountered some dilemmas due to the current land policies and prevalent patterns of urban development in China, which indicates more fundamental issues to tackle to move toward a sustainable society. Studying China’s emerging eco-city movement from design and policy perspectives, this paper contribute to the understanding of new patterns of urban growth in our globalized era, and shed a new light onthe strategies of dealing with the current environmental crises.
Opening the door to breakthroughs that address strategic organizational needs: Applying technology roadmapping tools and techniques at an electric utility

Over the course of a decade, the Bonneville Power Administration's Technology Innovation Office has developed a roadmapping approach that captures business challenges and opportunities critical to the agency, links these with barriers to success, and connects these with technical solutions and research questions. Senior leaders from across the agency establish strategic goals and objectives, and international technical subject matter experts are convened to articulate technology-associated paths to achieve these. Each roadmap captures insights from diverse experts in highly collaborative environments and focuses them on critically important topics. These roadmaps are an important element in the Bonneville Power Administration's strategic
Increasing physician activity with treadmill desks

BACKGROUND: Prolonged sitting has been shown to increase mortality and obesity. OBJECTIVE: We sought to determine whether physicians would use a treadmill desk, increase their daily physical activity and lose weight. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty overweight and obese physicians aged 25 to 70 with Body Mass Index > 25. METHODS: Participants used a treadmill desk, a triaxial accelerometer, and received exercise counseling in a randomized, cross-over trial over 24 weeks. Group 1 received exercise counseling, accelerometer feedback, and a treadmill desk for 12 weeks and then accelerometer only for 12 weeks. Group 2 received an accelerometer without feedback for 12 weeks followed by exercise counseling, accelerometer feedback, and the treadmill desk for 12 weeks. RESULTS: Daily physical activity increased while using the treadmill desk compared to not using the desk by 197 kcal per day (p = 0.003). The difference in weight during the two 12 week periods was 1.85 kg (p = 0.03). Percent body fat was 1.9% lower while using the treadmill desk (p = 0.02). There were no differences in metabolic or well-being measures. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that physicians will use a treadmill desk, that it does increase their activity, and that it may help with weight loss. Further studies are warranted.
Numerical methods in engineering education: An example student project in convection heat transfer

Good discipline-specific projects wherein computational schemes may be applied are generally difficult to find and time-consuming to develop. This article describes one such case study in the area of convective heat transfer involving what is known as a laminar, thermal entry-length flow. The algorithm follows directly from first principles and is straightforward to implement, while demonstrating many of the principles of successful computational techniques.
Avian myeloblastosis virus reverse transcriptase: Effect of glycerol on its hydrodynamic properties

Although reverse transcriptase has been the subject of intensive investigation, minimal information is available regarding the physical properties of the enzyme. The basic hydrodynamic properties of avian myeloblastosis virus reverse transcriptase in solution were measured by both sedimentation velocity and equilibrium measurements in two buffer systems. In a 0.3 M potassium phosphate buffer system, pH 7.8, the enzyme sedimented as a homogenous particle with a sedimentation coefficient of (7.1 +/- 0.3) S with a weight-average molecular weight, Mw, of (1.52 +/- 0.05) x 10(5). Since the enzyme consists of an alpha and beta subunit of equal molar ratio with Mw of 6.3 x 10(4) and 9.4 x 10(4), respectively, it was concluded that the enzyme exists as an alpha beta heterodimer in this buffer system. In a Tris buffer system, pH 7.9, containing 0.46 M NaCl and 4% glycerol, the native enzyme also sedimented as a homogeneous particle with an apparent sedimentation coefficient of (10.1 +/- 0.5) S, without considering the effect of glycerol on solvent-protein interaction. Based on the results of Gekko and Timasheff (Gekko, K., and Timasheff, S. N. (1981) Biochemistry 20, 4667-4676) and the polarity of the enzyme, it was estimated that there is significant solvent-protein interaction even at 4% glycerol leading to a value of -0.06 g/g in the preferential solvent interaction parameter. When the solvent effect was taken into consideration, the value for s020,w increased from 10.1 to 11.9 S, implying that the native enzyme dimerizes in the presence of 4% glycerol. The combined results of gel filtration and sedimentation velocity showed that the dimerization of the enzyme to form (alpha beta)2 is favored at 20 degrees C with the alpha beta form predominating at 4 degrees C. The secondary structure of the reverse transcriptase was measured by circular dichroism. Results showed that the enzyme consists of (16 +/- 2)% alpha-helix, (24 +/- 2)% beta-sheet, (24 +/- 2)% beta-turn, and (36 +/- 4)% undefined structures.
Infra-red spectra of several salts of acidic organophosphorus compounds

Abstract The infra-red spectra of several sodium salts of acidic organophosphorus compounds (GO) 2 PO(OH), (GO)G′PO(OH) are discussed. It is observed that the salt spectra are sharper than the acid spectra. The phosphoryl absorption (P ⇀ O) in the acids is replaced by two new peaks—the POO − asymmetric vibration (1210–1283 cm −1 ), which is at a higher frequency when the G group is aryl, and the POO − symmetric vibration (which appears to remain constant for the phosphates at about 1100 cm −1 ). The position of the POO − asymmetric vibration for the salts of p -substituted aryl phosphoric acids appears to shift to higher frequency as the Hammett function σ p decreases. In the aryl phosphoric acids and the aryl hydrogen phosphonates, the region of about 960–1000 cm −1 attributed to the [PO]-aryl vibration disappears on salt formation, and a new region at 900–930 cm −1 appears. In the alkali, alkaline earth, Co(II) and Sc(III) salts of bis-(2-ethylhexyl)-phosphoric acid, there appears to be a trend toward lower values of Δ (where Δ is v poo - asymmetric - v poo - symmetric) as φ (charge/ionic radii) increases.
The role of retinoblastoma and p53 tumor suppressor pathways in human mammary epithelial cell immortalization (Review)

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women in the United States. Approximately 180,000 new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed each year and a quarter of these are fatal. Early detection is a key to survival of these patients. Unfortunately, no definitive markers are available to diagnose breast cancer at early stages. Identification of such early markers, therefore, is an important priority in breast cancer research. In order to identify early markers, we have focussed on understanding the molecular mechanisms that can lead to conversion of the normal mammary epithelial cells into precancerous immortal cells. Over last several years, we have developed in vitro models of human mammary epithelial cell immortalization which have allowed us to invoke the critical roles of the known tumor suppressor pathways in the maintenance of the untransformed state of mammary epithelial cells. These models are now being used to identify novel genes whose expression is important for normal mammary epithelial cell growth and whose altered expression contributes to breast cell transformation. Characterization of the molecular machinery whose alterations result in early preneoplastic transformation should help identify candidate genes for evaluation as potential early diagnostic markers.
A rapid method for the detection of tryptophanase in anaerobic bacteria.

A total of 633 anaerobic bacteria were examined for tryptophanase production using a rapid method which distinguishes within 5 to 180 minutes between anaerobes that contain tryptophanase and those that do not. Of the 196 tryptophanase-positive isolates tested, 99% showed tryptophanase activity within 2 hours as compared with 94.4% in 24 hours by a conventional method. A total of 299 tryptophanase-negative organisms were tested. Ninety three percent of these remained negative after 24 hours as compared with 95.3% when tested with a 24-h conventional method. Additional information was obtained on the sensitivity of this test and the time-dependent production of indole by tryptophanase.
Geology of Crater Elegante, Sonora, Mexico

Crater Elegante is a circular, flat-floored, volcanic depression 1.6 km in diameter located in the Pinacate volcanic field, northwestern Sonora, Mexico. Exposed in its steep walls is an eruptive sequence of late Pleistocene age that is made up of numerous flows and pyroclastic units of porphyritic alkali basalt and hawaiite. Rapid alternation of effusive and pyroclastic activity is evident. The forms of intravolcanic sills and dikes are displayed in vertical cross section in the crater walls, as are structural relationships between flows and pyroclastic layers deposited on them while the flows were still mobile. Eruptive activity at Crater Elegante culminated catastrophically with ejection and base-surge dispersal of large quantities of pyroclastic materials. These form a blanket of tuff breccia and contain vesicular juvenile ash as their dominant constituent at the crater rim. Fine-grained accidental ejecta in the tuff breccia deposits increase in relative abundance with distance from the rim. The volume of accessory debris in the ejecta blanket is much smaller than the volume of the crater. Although the diameter of the original vent is not known, it must have been much smaller than the diameter of Crater Elegante. The crater formed chiefly by wholesale collapse of the volcanic edifice following eruption of ultravesiculating magma and evisceration of a large chamber located within fine-grained, water-bearing sediments beneath the volcanic pile. Thus, Crater Elegante in some respects resembles a maar but is in fact a small collapse caldera.
Interocular transfer of reversed and nonreversed discriminations via the anterior commissure in monkeys

Abstract The function of inferotemporal cortex in monkeys was investigated by testing for interocular transfer of visual discriminations via the anterior commissure. Good transfer was found when the stimulus rewarded during testing was the same as that rewarded during original training. Transfer was disrupted, however, when testing was carried out with the reward values reversed, which shows that the anterior commissure carries information about reward values. Interpretation in terms of two-stage theories of discrimination learning indicates that inferotemporal cortex is not concerned exclusively with selective attention.
Intracellular potential characteristics of some orthopteroid insect hearts

Abstract 1. 1. The heart of the stick insect, Carausius morosus , beats rhythmically for long periods in saline solutions of either high Na or high Mg ion. 2. 2. A plateau phase of the spontaneous electrical potentials in Carausius heart was always evident when bathed in high Mg. The plateau in Carausius intracellular potentials was eliminated by perfusing with a high Na saline. A plateau phase was not ordinarily present in the intracellular potentials from the cockroach heart, Periplaneta americana , when bathed in normally high Na saline. However, a plateau was induced into the electrical potentials by treatment with Sr or Mg ions. 3. 3. The membrane potential of the cockroach heart, P. americana , was directly related to the concentration of potassium ion in the external medium. High potassium concentrations reversibly depolarized the myocardium in K-contracture. 4. 4. Intracellular potential activity in the hearts of Periplaneta, Carausius and the locust, Schistocerca gregaria was characteristic of myogenic pacemakers with a clear generator potential phase.
Surveillance Imaging in Pediatric Hodgkin Lymphoma

Children with Hodgkin Lymphoma (HL) routinely undergo surveillance computed tomography (CT) imaging for up to 5 years post-therapy (Rx), resulting in increased cost and radiation exposure without clear benefit. A number of recent studies have demonstrated that routine surveillance imaging, by CT, positron emission tomography (PET)/CT, as well as other imaging techniques, may be over-utilized for routine surveillance of patients with Hodgkin Lymphoma, and—in addition to contributing to increased cost and radiation exposure—show no clear survival benefit. The purpose of this review is to summarize recent data evaluating routine surveillance imaging and its role in detecting disease relapse in patients with Hodgkin Lymphoma.
Design, Chemical Synthesis, and Expression of Genes for the Three Human Color Vision Pigments

Color vision in humans is mediated by three pigments from retinal cone photoreceptor cells: blue, green, and red. We have designed and chemically synthesized genes for each of these three pigments. The genes were expressed in COS cells, reconstituted with 11-cis-retinal chromophore, and purified to homogeneity using an immunoaffinity procedure. To facilitate the immunoaffinity purification, each pigment was modified at the carboxy terminus to contain an additional eight amino acid epitope for a monoclonal antibody previously used to purify bovine rhodopsin. The spectra for the isolated pigments had maxima of 424, 530, and 560 nm, respectively, for the blue, green, and red pigments. These maxima are in excellent agreement with the maxima previously observed by microspectrophotometry of individual human cone cells. The spectra are the first to be obtained from isolated human color vision pigments. They confirm the original identification of the three color vision genes, which was based on genetic evidence [Nathans, J., Thomas, D., & Hogness, D.S. (1986) Science 232, 193].
Aortic Valve Replacement

he development of the ball-valve prosthesis for replacement of the diseased aortic valve by Starr et al. [22] extended operability T to many patients for whom palliative surgical treatment had not been previously available. Many of these patients now survive and are subject to the benefits and risks of this prosthesis, for which the long-term results are as yet incompletely assessed. Moreover, with the recent development of significant alterations in the design of prosthetic valves and the interest in the use of allografts and xenografts to replace the aortic valve, it seemed desirable to evaluate our results to date with the use of the Starr-Edwards aortic valve prosthesis.
Ionizing beam-induced adhesion enhancement and interface chemistry for AuGaAs☆

MeV ion beam-induced adhesion enhancement of Au-films (∼500 A thick) on p-type and n-type GaAs substrates has been studied by the scratch test, ESCA, and nuclear reaction hydrogen profiling. For films resistively deposited in a diffusion pumped chamber at 2−5×10^(−6)torr, the data indicate that the adhesion enhancement is associated with oxide layers on the substrate surface adsorbed before the film deposition. The ESCA data suggest that water vapour dissociates and forms Ga(OH)_3 at the interface layers under ionizing radiation. The oxide concentration at the interface varies with substrate electronic properties and gives a large difference in the adhesion enhancement. However, the data obtained so far on the hydrogen concentration at the interface indicate that within our range of sensitivity it is about the same for substrates with different electronic properties. Our data demonstrate the importance of a thin absorbed (impurity) layer for the interface chemistry and adhesion enhancement by ionizing radiation.
Single intranasal neuropeptide Y infusion attenuates development of PTSD-like symptoms to traumatic stress in rats.

Abstract Exposure to severe stress leads to development of neuropsychiatric disorders, including depression and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in at-risk individuals. Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is associated with resilience or improved recovery. Therefore exogenous administration to the brain has therapeutic potential although peripheral administration can trigger undesirable side effects. Here, we established conditions with intranasal (IN) NPY infusion to rats to obtain CSF concentrations in the proposed anxiolytic range without significant change in plasma NPY. Rats were pretreated with IN NPY or vehicle before exposure to single prolonged stress (SPS) animal model of PTSD and compared to untreated controls. The IN NPY appeared to lessen the perceived severity of stress, as these animals displayed less time immobile in forced swim part of the SPS. Thirty minutes after SPS the elevation of plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and corticosterone was not as pronounced in NPY-infused rats and the induction of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) in locus coeruleus (LC) was attenuated. Seven days after SPS, they displayed lower depressive-like behavior on Forced Swim Test and reduced anxiety-like behavior on Elevated Plus Maze. The prolonged effect of SPS on Acoustic Startle Response was also lower in NPY-infused rats. Plasma ACTH, corticosterone, and hippocampal glucocorticoid receptor levels were significantly above controls only in the vehicle – but not IN NPY-treated group 1 week after SPS. Baseline TH mRNA levels in LC did not differ among groups, but increased with forced swim in the vehicle – but not NPY-pretreated animals. Administration of IN NPY after exposure to SPS led to similar, but not identical, reduction in development of anxiety, depressive-like behavior and hyperarousal. The results show that single IN NPY can alter stress-triggered dysregulation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis and activation of central noradrenergic activity. These findings provide proof of concept for potential of IN NPY for non-invasive prophylactic treatment or early intervention in response to traumatic stress.
Effect of previous nutritional status on the formation of cholesterol gallstones in the prairie dog

In the prairie dog model of cholesterol cholelithiasis, a high incidence of gallstones is achieved by feeding a semipurified lithogenic diet containing 0.4% cholesterol for 2 mo. On occasion, we noted a decrease in the percentage of animals with gallstones from 90–100% to 50–55%. To explain this phenomenon, we studied the effect of dietary history on gallstone formation. After weaning, animals were fed either rodent chow or alfalfa plus corn (mo 0–3) followed by a cross-over experiment at mo 4–6. Gallstone formation then was studied by feeding the lithogenic diet from mo 7 to 8. At sacrifice, the incidences of gallstones, biliary lipids and tissue cholesterol levels were correlated with dietary history. The incidence of gallstones was 100% only in animals fed the alfalfa-corn diet from weaning to 3 mo. In addition, the feeding of the alfalfa-corn diet at mo 4–6 increased gallstone incidence from 65% to 86%. The lithogenic index of all groups was highest when the animals received only alfalfa-corn prior to the lithogenic stimulus. The activity of hepatic HMG-CoA reductase was elevated in animals fed alfalfa-corn from weaning to 8 mo, suggesting that this diet stimulates hepatic cholesterol synthesis, leading to increased biliary cholesterol secretion. It is concluded that previous nutritional conditioning affects the incidence of gallstones. The prairie dog is a useful model of cholesterol cholelithiasis, but the dietary history of the animals plays an important role in lithogenesis.
Cellular binding characteristics of human interferon.

Abstract The binding of human Interferon to a line of human amnion cells was studied by exposing the cells to Interferon and recovering interferon from cell extracts. The bulk of cell-associated interferon was present in the 180 g pellet containing large membrane fragments. Trypsin treatment of cells prior to the exposure to interferon decreased the amount of interferon bound. Cell-bound interferon was resistant to trypsin digestion. In cells continuously exposed to interferon at 37 °, the amount of cell-associated interferon increased up to about 30 min, remaining at this level until about 90 min, and decreasing thereafter to a constant level. This decrease, after 90 min of contact, was not seen when the binding was carried out at 4 ° or in cultures treated with puromycin, UV-irradiation or concanavalin A. Prior exposure to interferon made cells completely refractory to the binding of a subsequent interferon dose. After having bound interferon at 37 °, cells were incubated in interferon-free medium either at 37 ° or at 4 °; release of interferon from the cells into the medium occurred only at 37 °. Binding of human interferon was not demonstrated in mouse L cells which are insensitive to the antiviral action of human interferon.
Constructing Web search queries from the user's information need expressed in a natural language

This paper focuses on improving the quality of information retrieval on the Web through the use of long queries. Long queries allow use of natural language and provide for a more complete description of the user's information need. We propose and analyze several novel algorithms dealing with long query information retrieval on the Web. These algorithms include selecting of search terms, constructing multiple query formulations, merging and ranking search results. We developed a meta-search engine, incorporating the proposed algorithms, and conducted a series of experiments to evaluate the performance of various algorithms. We also compared search results of the new engine with the results of popular search engines on the Web. These experiments clearly demonstrate that using long queries in the Web environment is practical and can substantially improve the quality of information retrieval.
Momentum dependence and nodes of the superconducting gap in the iron pnictides

Received 31 March 2009; revised manuscript received 1 October 2009; published 29 October 2009 Using general symmetry arguments and model calculations we analyze the superconducting gap in materials with multiple Fermi-surface pockets, with applications to iron pnictides. We show that the gap in the pnictides has an extended s-wave symmetry but is either nodeless or has nodes, depending on the interplay between intraband and interband interactions. We argue that the nodes in the gap emerge without a phase transition as the tendency toward a spin-density-wave order gets weaker. These findings provide a way to reconcile seemingly conflicting results of numerical and experimental studies of the pnictides.
Determination of the Level of Variation in Polyploidy among Kentucky Bluegrass Cultivars by Means of Flow Cytometry

Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) is an important cool-season grass species in the turfgrass and forage industries. Understanding the genetics of Kentucky bluegrass is useful in developing improved cultivars and hybrids. However, studying the genetics of Kentucky bluegrass can often be difficult because of the high variation in ploidy level that results from its facultative apomictic reproductive nature. Flow cytometry provides an easy and accurate method for assessing this variation by quantifying DNA content. The purpose of our study was to determine the level of variation in ploidy in Kentucky bluegrass by analyzing its DNA content using flow cytometry. In addition, DNA content was compared with genetic similarity derived from DNA marker data, and was also correlated with chromosome number. Twenty-two cultivars of Kentucky bluegrass were selected for the study by considering the range of variability in morphological traits and genetic distance derived from DNA marker data. We found that the DNA content of Kentucky bluegrass genotypes from the 22 cultivars ranged from 5.39 to 17.69 pg of DNA/2C and that a majority of the genotypes had a DNA content value in the range of 7 to 13 pg. A significant correlation between DNA content and chromosome number was detected. Euploid chromosome numbers (x = 7) with a range from the pentaploid (2n = 5x = 35) to the quindecaploid (2n = 15x = 105) were found along with aneuploid numbers. The results of this research could aid both breeders and researchers in studying the genetics of the species and in improving Kentucky bluegrass cultivars via intra- and interspecific hybridizations.
Use of Microsatellite Polymorphisms for Paternity Exclusion in Rhesus Macaques (Macaca mulatta)

A total of 224 infant rhesus macaques and their dams and potential sires in 11 multimale groups in 2 different specific pathogen free breeding colonies were screened for up to 6 different microsatellite polymorphism using cross-species PCR amplification. Observed and expected success of paternity exclusion analysis (based on gene frequencies of sires and dams in each colony) were computed by individual locus and cumulatively. Greater or less success of PEA than expected was observed at most loci due to the nonrandom distribution of genotypes between sires and dams and among breeding groups at each colony and because genotypes at different loci did not provide completely independent information about parentage. The combined success of PEA using all loci, however, was slightly greater than predicted both with and without assuming knowledge of one parent's (i.e. the dam's) genotype and was far greater than that based on protein coding loci or DNA restriction fragment length polymorphisms.
The Nursebot Project: Developing a Personal Robotic Assistant for Frail Older Adults in the Community:

Robots, once merely a product of the creative imagination, are now part of contemporary life. They can be found in the form of toys for children, in industry and the military performing repetitive and often dangerous tasks, and in pioneering procedures to diagnose and treat disease. The Nursebot Project, a unique and exciting collaboration involving the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, and the University of Michigan, aims to bring robots to older adults living in the community. The major source of Nursebot funding is the National Science Foundation.
Blood transfusion history in colorectal cancer patients and cancer-free controls

Pretransplantation blood transfusions associated with immunosuppression and prolonged allograft survival may contribute to the high incidence of subsequent malignancy in transplant recipients. The relationship of blood transfusion to malignancy was investigated in 354 patients with colorectal cancer, matched by age and sex to control subjects with hernia (105 patients) or gallbladder (249 patients) disease. The incidence of prior blood transfusion was significantly lower in the cancer patients than in the control group (9 versus 17%, chi-square = 9.98, p less than 0.01). Control subjects differed from cancer patients by having more prior transfusions for major joint, cardiac, and urologic procedures. The mean intervals between transfusion and operation were 11.7 years for the cancer patients, 9.7 years for the gallbladder patients, and 7.4 years for the hernia patients. A comparison of cancer patients with and without prior blood transfusion revealed no differences in age, sex, stage of disease, tumor location, or tumor differentiation. Cancer has recurred in 33 percent of patients with previous transfusion and in 18 percent of those without previous transfusion (p = 0.2). This study does not support an association between prior blood transfusion and the development of colorectal cancer.
The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder Version 6 cloud products

Abstract. The version 6 cloud products of the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) and Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU) instrument suite are described. The cloud top temperature, pressure, and height and effective cloud fraction are now reported at the AIRS field-of-view (FOV) resolution. Significant improvements in cloud height assignment over version 5 are shown with FOV-scale comparisons to cloud vertical structure observed by the CloudSat 94 GHz radar and the Cloud-Aerosol LIdar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP). Cloud thermodynamic phase (ice, liquid, and unknown phase), ice cloud effective diameter (De), and ice cloud optical thickness (τ) are derived using an optimal estimation methodology for AIRS FOVs, and global distributions for 2007 are presented. The largest values of τ are found in the storm tracks and near convection in the tropics, while De is largest on the equatorial side of the midlatitude storm tracks in both hemispheres, and lowest in tropical thin cirrus and the winter polar atmosphere. Over the Maritime Continent the diurnal variability of τ is significantly larger than for the total cloud fraction, ice cloud frequency, and De, and is anchored to the island archipelago morphology. Important differences are described between northern and southern hemispheric midlatitude cyclones using storm center composites. The infrared-based cloud retrievals of AIRS provide unique, decadal-scale and global observations of clouds over portions of the diurnal and annual cycles, and capture variability within the mesoscale and synoptic scales at all latitudes.
The role of TGF-β in growth, differentiation, and maturation of B lymphocytes

Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) affects B cells at all stages in development. It appears to be involved in lymphopoiesis and is required for the development of plasma cells secreting all secondary isotypes. Its ability to inhibit proliferation and stimulate apoptosis suggest that it may be involved both in germinal center development and regulation of B-cell proliferation at sites of high antigen load such as the gastrointestinal tract. Although TGF-beta appears to be required for the generation of B cells secreting secondary isotypes, it inhibits secretion of IgM and IgA from cells expressing those isotypes. In this regard, TGF-beta may alter the level of RNA processing factors either directly or indirectly by inhibiting progression through the cell cycle. One of the best characterized effects of TGF-beta is its ability to stimulate isotype switching to IgA in both mouse and man. There is some controversy concerning its mechanism of action in this process, but its critical role is without question. The controversy may stem in part from an inability to separate the effects of endogenous and exogenous TGF-beta in the multiple models of isotype switching. The influence of endogenous TGF-beta is perhaps best exemplified by analysis of production of the different classes of IgG in mouse strains producing different levels of TGF-beta.
Numerical Solution of the Inverse Eigenvalue Problem for Real Symmetric Toeplitz Matrices

H. J. Landau has recently given a nonconstructive proof of an existence theorem for the inverse eigenvalue problem for real symmetric Toeplitz (RST) matrices. This paper presents a procedure for the numerical solution of this problem. The procedure is based on an implementation of Newton's method that exploits Landau's theorem and other special spectral properties of RST matrices. With this version of Newton's method, together with the strategy proposed for applying it, the method appears to be globally convergent; however, this is not proved.
Romanticism and Motivation to Marry in the United States, Singapore, Burma, and India

Attitudes toward marriage of 3,847 American, Singapore Chinese, Burmese, and Indian students are analyzed to determine whether there is evidence of acceptance of the American type romantic orientation to marriage among the most highly educated and Westernized classes in Chinese Singapore, Burma, and India. It is found that the three groups of Asian respondents while all showing a persistence of a contractual orientation to marriage may be ranked by degree of contractualism. This ranking is related to the interaction of two analytical variables-contractualism of the traditional culture and degree of cultural change. Motivation to marry in the four cultures is then analyzed, and found to follow the same rank order as degree of romanticism. T he impact of industrialization on traditional values in non-Western societies has long been a subject of interest for social scientists as well as political leaders. There has been much discussion of whether traditional values, even in modified form, will be able to withstand the onslaught of Westernizing influences.' The effect of these Westernizing influences on values associated with the family is particularly crucial because of the central position of the institution of the family in maintaining the tradititonal social structure. I'he study presented in this paper deals with respondents drawn from an urbanized, educated, and Western-influenced segment of three nonWestern societies, Chinese Singapore, Burma, and India. Their attitudes toward the husbandwife relationship first will be analyzed to determine whether the impact of industrial, urban culture and Western education has led to their abandonment of the traditional contractual orientation to marriage in favor of the romantic orientation, characteristic of modern American society. Secondly, the relationship between romanticism and motivation to marry will be considered. This paper is not primarily concerned with changes in specific family norms, for example those regulating the position of women. Rather it is concerned with a broader value-orientation, contractualistic or romantic, which conceivably may change or remain constant despite changes in more spe-
Predictors for internet usage of teenagers in the United States: A multivariate analysis

Teenagers between the ages of 15 and 19 make up approximately 17% of the world population. In the United States, there are 31 million teenagers representing the largest age segment of the American population since Baby Boomers. The significant impact made by teen consumption, demographics, lifestyle, and media usage on the American economy, as well as on the global market, has been increasingly drawing advertiser interest. This study surveyed 437 American teenagers who attend 11 high and middle schools in a Midwestern state. Findings provide insight on effects of teen socialization needs on Internet motivations. It also sheds light on the methods for effectively reaching segments of the teen audience for marketing communications that incorporate interactive media. Implications for market segmentation, marketing promotions, product selections, social engagement on the Internet, and website design are discussed.
Study on an inspection method of repeated pattern

LCD(Liquid Crystal Display) became one of the most popular display devices in these days. The TFT(Thin Film Transistor) substrate is the key part of active matrix LCD. TFT is an electrical device to activate a displaying cell. To display an image precisely, several millions of identical transistors are patterned on a wide glass panel. Since a minute damage on the pattern can causes a serious defect to display, it is important to inspect the pattern precisely. Taking the advantage of the fact that the pattern of good cell should be identical to that of adjacent cells, it would be a convenient way to compare a cell with its neighbor cells to find a defect. In practical applications, if the period of repetition could be represented as an integer number of digitized image pixel, it would be possible to find a damaged pixel readily. However, the period of pattern depends on the product size and cannot be determined as an integer always. In this paper, so called, pseudo-matching magnification algorithm has been introduced to solve the problem. A digital image was magnified and period of pattern can be determined as an integer from the processed image. It has been shown that the defects could be enhanced after the preprocessing of digital image. As a result, a TFT-pattern inspection system has been developed and it has been shown the proposed method is compatible for the inspection of repeated pattern.
Changes in Neck and Back Pain, Cervical Range of Motion and Cervical and Lumbar Flexion-relaxation Ratios after Below-knee Assembly Work

Changes in Neck and Back Pain, Cervical Range of Motion and Cervical and Lumbar Flexion- relaxation Ratios after Below-knee Assembly Work: Seung-je SHIN, et al. Department of Physical Therapy, The Graduate School, Inje University, Republic of Korea—Objectives: This study examined the changes in neck and back pain visual analog scale (VAS) scores, cervical range of motion (CROM), cervical flexion-relax- ation ratio (FRR) and lumbar FRR after below-knee assembly work. Methods: Fifteen young male workers were recruited. Neck and back pain VAS scores, active CROM and cervical and lumbar FRRs were measured in all subjects once before and once after 10 minutes of below-knee assembly work. Results: The VAS scores for both neck and back pain increased signifi- cantly with below-knee assembly work. The CROM for all measures decreased significantly with below-knee assembly work. Both the cervical and lumbar FRRs on the left and right sides decreased significantly with below-knee assembly work. Conclusions: We postu- late that 10 minutes of below-knee assembly work can increase neck and back pain and cause changes in the active CROM and cervical and lumbar FRRs. (J Occup Health 2014; 56: 150-156)
DNase I and nuclease S1 sensitivity of the rabbit β1 globin gene in nuclei and in supercoiled plasmids

We have examined the nuclease sensitivity of the 5' flanking region of the rabbit beta 1 globin gene in bone marrow nuclei and in supercoiled plasmids. A DNase I hypersensitive site was found about 100 base-pairs 5' to the cap site in bone marrow nuclei. S1 nuclease can introduce a specific double-strand cut in the DNA in the same region. The presence of the nuclease-hypersensitive region correlates with the active transcription of gene beta 1 in bone marrow. Treatment with nuclease S1 of a supercoiled plasmid containing 1400 base-pairs of 5' flanking sequences as well as part of the beta 1 gene reveals a major double-strand cut 400 base-pairs 5' to the cap site. This cut maps within a stretch of repeating dinucleotides (C-T)12 and does not correspond to the in vivo site. Introduction of an RsaI fragment containing the nuclease S1-hypersensitive site into plasmid pBR322 shows that this fragment alone is sufficient to generate the hypersensitive site. Deletion of that RsaI fragment from the beta 1 plasmid reveals another site 1300 base-pairs upstream. Further deletion of this secondary site uncovers numerous other sites, none of which corresponds to the site in nuclei. Chromatin reconstitution with plasmids carrying the 5' flanking region of beta 1 and histones is capable of suppressing the in vitro nuclease-S1-hypersensitive site at --400 but is incapable of generating the in vivo site at --100. Fine analysis at the nucleotide level of the early events in the digestion with nuclease S1 shows that the enzyme attacks preferentially the sequence (G-A)12 on the message complementary strand. The region of DNA containing the supercoil-dependent S1 site adopts at least three different conformations that can be resolved electrophoretically. These different conformations are detected in linear restriction fragments and may represent non-B DNA or unusual B-form DNA.