cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
New Fokker-Planck derivation of heavy gas models for neutron thermalization

This paper is concerned with the derivation of new generalized heavy gas models for the infinite medium neutron energy spectrum equation. Our approach is general and can be used to derive improved Fokker-Planck approximations for other types of kinetic equations. In this paper we obtain two distinct heavy gas models, together with estimates for the corresponding errors. The models are shown in a special case to reduce to modified heavy gas models proposed earlier by Corngold (1962). The error estimates show that both of the new models should be more accurate than Corngold's modified heavy gas model, and that the first of the two new models should generally be more accurate than the second.
Laser generation of narrow-band and directed ultrasound

Abstract An aluminium hemicylindrical sample has been irradiated with an array of laser lines, with each line acting as a source of acoustic waves. Detection of the generated ultrasonic waves was performed using both a wide-band stabilized Michelson interferometer and a 20 MHz piezoelectric transducer. Experimental and theoretical results are presented which reveal that the use of a spatially modulated laser source produces significant narrow-banding of the detected ultrasound, compared with a single point or single line source case. Additionally, for a given line spacing, ultrasound of a particular frequency can be directed. Owing to the nature of the acoustic signals generated by each individual array element, superposition of several signals does not result in any energy directivity similar to that encountered in phase electromagnetic array antennas. While time or frequency feature enhancement may be obtained in a desired direction, in most cases the far field energy directivity pattern is simply the incoherent sum of the energy directivity of each array element.
Modeling the glass transition of amorphous networks for shape-memory behavior

Abstract In this paper, a thermomechanical constitutive model was developed for the time-dependent behaviors of the glass transition of amorphous networks. The model used multiple discrete relaxation processes to describe the distribution of relaxation times for stress relaxation, structural relaxation, and stress-activated viscous flow. A non-equilibrium thermodynamic framework based on the fictive temperature was introduced to demonstrate the thermodynamic consistency of the constitutive theory. Experimental and theoretical methods were developed to determine the parameters describing the distribution of stress and structural relaxation times and the dependence of the relaxation times on temperature, structure, and driving stress. The model was applied to study the effects of deformation temperatures and physical aging on the shape-memory behavior of amorphous networks. The model was able to reproduce important features of the partially constrained recovery response observed in experiments. Specifically, the model demonstrated a strain-recovery overshoot for cases programmed below T g and subjected to a constant mechanical load. This phenomenon was not observed for materials programmed above T g . Physical aging, in which the material was annealed for an extended period of time below T g , shifted the activation of strain recovery to higher temperatures and increased significantly the initial recovery rate. For fixed-strain recovery, the model showed a larger overshoot in the stress response for cases programmed below T g , which was consistent with previous experimental observations. Altogether, this work demonstrates how an understanding of the time-dependent behaviors of the glass transition can be used to tailor the temperature and deformation history of the shape-memory programming process to achieve more complex shape recovery pathways, faster recovery responses, and larger activation stresses.
Public Health and the Politics of School Immunization Requirements

Compulsory vaccination has contributed to the enormous success of US immunization programs. Movements to introduce broad "philosophical/personal beliefs" exemptions administered without adequate public health oversight threaten this success. Health professionals and child welfare advocates must address these developments in order to maintain the effectiveness of the nation's mandatory school vaccination programs. We review recent events regarding mandatory immunization in Arkansas and discuss a proposed nonmedical exemption designed to allow constitutionally permissible, reasonable, health-oriented administrative control over exemptions. The proposal may be useful in political environments that preclude the use of only medical exemptions. Our observations may assist states whose current nonmedical exemption provisions are constitutionally suspect as well as states lacking legally appropriate administrative controls on existing, broad non-medical exemptions.
Global gravity inversion of bodies with arbitrary shape

Gravity inversion allows us to constrain the interior mass distribution of a planetary body using the observed shape, rotation, and gravity. Traditionally, techniques developed for gravity inversion can be divided into Monte Carlo methods, matrix inversion methods, and spectral methods. Here we employ both matrix inversion and Monte Carlo in order to explore the space of exact solutions, in a method which is particularly suited for arbitrary shape bodies. We expand the mass density function using orthogonal polynomials, and map the contribution of each term to the global gravitational field generated. This map is linear in the density terms, and can be pseudo-inverted in the under-determined regime using QR decomposition, to obtain a basis of the affine space of exact interior structure solutions. As the interior structure solutions are degenerate, assumptions have to be made in order to control their properties, and these assumptions can be transformed into scalar functions and used to explore the solutions space using Monte Carlo techniques. Sample applications show that the range of solutions tend to converge towards the nominal one as long as the generic assumptions made are correct, even in the presence of moderate noise. We present the underlying mathematical formalism and an analysis of how to impose specific features on the global solution, including uniform solutions, gradients, and layered models. Analytical formulas for the computation of the relevant quantities when the shape is represented using several common methods are included in the Appendix.
Age and sex dependence of forced expiratory central airway collapse in healthy volunteers.

Background A recent estimate for the normal range of forced expiratory tracheal collapse differs substantially from that in an earlier study performed with comparable measurement methods. Given differences in subject characteristics between the two samples, we hypothesized that these discrepant findings may reflect a heretofore unrecognized association between forced expiratory tracheal collapse and age or sex. Methods We enrolled 40 female and 41 male healthy volunteers between 25 and 75 years of age who were without respiratory symptoms or known risk factors for tracheomalacia. Subjects underwent low-dose CT scanning at total lung capacity (TLC) and during forced exhalation (Expdyn) with spirometric monitoring and coaching. Percentage forced expiratory collapse was regressed on age for the total sample and separately within sex. Results Mean tracheal cross-sectional area (CSA) was 2.54 cm 2 ± 0.57 cm 2 at TLC and 1.15 cm 2 ± 0.53 cm 2 at Expdyn. Mean percentage forced expiratory collapse (%collapse) was 54% ± 20%. Men aged 24 to 31 years (n = 12) had mean %collapse of 36% ± 19%, comparable to results previously reported for similarly aged men (35% ± 18%). Men, but not women, showed a significant positive correlation ( R 2 = 0.40, P P = .02) and smaller CSA at Expdyn ( P = .001) than younger men. Conclusions Men exhibit positive age dependence of forced expiratory tracheal collapse. The influence of age and sex on forced expiratory tracheal collapse should be considered in the diagnostic evaluation of expiratory dynamic airway collapse and/or tracheomalacia.
A Convex Approach to Fault Tolerant Control

The design of control laws for dynamic systems with the potential for actuator failures is considered in this work. The use of Linear Matrix Inequalities allows more freedom in controller design criteria than typically available with robust control. This work proposes an extension of fault-scheduled control design techniques that can find a fixed controller with provable performance over a set of plants. Through convexity of the objective function, performance bounds on this set of plants implies performance bounds on a range of systems defined by a convex hull. This is used to incorporate performance bounds for a variety of soft and hard failures into the control design problem.
MODEL‐BASED APPROACHES TO ANALYSING INCOMPLETE LONGITUDINAL AND FAILURE TIME DATA

Since Wu and Carroll (Biometrics 44, 175-188) proposed a model for longitudinal progression in the presence of informative dropout, several researchers have developed and studied models for situations where both a vector of repeated outcomes and an event time is available for each subject. These models have been developed for either longitudinal studies with dropout or for survival studies in which a random, time-varying covariate is measured repeatedly across time. When inference about the longitudinal variable is of interest, event times are treated as covariates and are often incomplete due to censoring. If survival or event time is the primary endpoint, repeated outcomes observed prior to the event are viewed as covariates; this covariate process is often incomplete, measured with error, or observed at unscheduled times during the study. We review several models which are used to handle incomplete response and covariate data in both survival and longitudinal studies.
A fast switching method for PM synchronous motor speed control

In the recent years, due to high performance, power density, and less generated noise of permanent magnetic synchronous motors (PMSM), they have received a lot of attention for traction application in land, sea and under sea vehicles. In this paper, a new digital controller is proposed and applied to a PMSM. The proposed control technique adjusts motor current amplitude and phase to achieve different ranges of speed. Several levels of current and power angle are defined for the motor. Fast adaptive switching between these levels is used to achieve the desired speed. However, the control logic is different for below and above motor nominal speed. In this method, the typical PID controllers, which cause complicated control strategies, are removed. This new technique is simple, fast, stable, and reliable to drive PMSM in wide range of speed.
Mixing and chemical reactions in a turbulent liquid mixing layer

An experimental investigation of entrainment and mixing in reacting and non-reacting turbulent mixing layers at large Schmidt number is presented. In non-reacting cases, a passive scalar is used to measure the probability density function (p.d.f.) of the composition field. Chemically reacting experiments employ a diffusion-limited acid–base reaction to directly measure the extent of molecular mixing. The measurements make use of laser-induced fluorescence diagnostics and high-speed, real-time digital image-acquisition techniques. Our results show that the vortical structures in the mixing layer initially roll-up with a large excess of fluid from the high-speed stream entrapped in the cores. During the mixing transition, not only does the amount of mixed fluid increase, but its composition also changes. It is found that the range of compositions of the mixed fluid, above the mixing transition and also throughout the transition region, is essentially uniform across the entire transverse extent of the layer. Our measurements indicate that the probability of finding unmixed fluid in the centre of the layer, above the mixing transition, can be as high as 0.45. In addition, the mean concentration of mixed fluid across the layer is found to be approximately constant at a value corresponding to the entrainment ratio. Comparisons with gas-phase data show that the normalized amount of chemical product formed in the liquid layer, at high Reynolds number, is 50% less than the corresponding quantity measured in the gas-phase case. We therefore conclude that Schmidt number plays a role in turbulent mixing of high-Reynolds-number flows.
Virtuous Viragos: Female Heroism and Ethical Action in Shakespearean Drama

Virtue, from the Latin vir for manly courage and strength, was the mark of male excellence in Renaissance culture. Embodying both physical and moral strength through the famous figure of Hercules, virtue took on other values of courtly gentility and political prudence as the medieval warrior society was gradually transformed into the modern state. In inverse proportion to the expansion of male virtue, the conception of the virago underwent a corresponding constriction and decline from a manlike, heroic woman to a scold. Encompassing both physical and moral excellence (OED 2a, 7), male virtue came to appropriate the heroic definition of virago, and female virtue, by Shakespeare’s time, became confined to chastity (OED 2c). Challenging the traditions of male virtue and female monstrosity in Renaissance drama, this essay examines the virtuous viragos populating the Shakespearean canon, who present themselves as better models of ethical action than men, with whom virtue is etymologically and historically associated. This study examines two nuanced conceptions of female heroism and ethical action centering on the erotic and politic Cleopatra and the chaste, self-affirming Desdemona as virtuous viragos. Moreover, the notion of heroism, traditionally associated with tragedy, translates to the less exalted but more prudentially successful ethical action of viragos in Shakespeare’s comedies such as The Taming of the Shrew. I argue that virtuous viragos attain their ethical stature against this male-inflected standard of tragic heroism even while calling for its dismantling and replacement with the more discerning framework of neo-Aristotelian virtue grounded on practical wisdom.
Median filters: a tutorial

The author defines median filters and describes their properties. The concepts of impulse removal and root signals are discussed. The state-space approach for studying median filters is covered, as well as the threshold-decomposition technique. >
Dissociative photodetachment studies of I2-.Ar: coincident imaging of two- and three-body product channels.

Van der Waals clusters serve as prototypical systems for studying processes of energy transfer. The I 2 ·Ar system has attracted particular interest due to the wide array of decay processes occurring in competition with one another. Here, we present systematic dissociative photodetachment (DPD) studies of the I 2 - and I 2 - ·Ar anions in the region 4.24-4.78 eV. The resulting neutral fragments are detected by time- and position-sensitive (TPS) coincident imaging. Photofragment mass distributions and translational energy distributions from the DPD of I 2 - are presented and facilitate understanding of the I 2 ·Ar system. For the I 2 ·Ar complex, channels resulting from two-body dissociation leading to I 2 + Ar photoproducts are observed at all photon energies employed. We also report the first direct observation of the previously inferred three-body dissociation channel leading to I + I + Ar photoproducts. The relative intensities of each decay channel are investigated in relation to the electronic state being accessed. Translational energy distributions of the I 2 ·Ar complex lend further insight into the decay mechanism for each channel.
Impaired CCR7 Expression on Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cells in HIV Infected Children on HAART With Virologic Failure

Materials and methods Patients with perinatal HIV infection (n = 19, ages 11–18 yr, on HAART) were classified as immunologic responders (IR+; CD4>25%), and virologic responders (VR; plasma HIV RNA < 400 copies/mL). mDC (Lin-, HLA DR+CD11c+) and pDC (Lin-, HLA DR+ CD11c-) were evaluated in a novel whole blood assay by flow cytometry for expression of maturation markers CD83, CD80, homing receptor CCR7 and intracellular cytokines (TNF-α and IFN-α) after short-term stimulation with a TLR7/8 agonist, resiquimod.
Endocrine autoimmunity in Turner syndrome.

Background Turner syndrome is caused by numeric and structural abnormalities of the X chromosome. An increased frequency of autoimmunity as well as an elevated incidence of autoantibodies was observed in Turner patients. The aim of this study was to conduct a retrospective analysis of the incidence of autoimmunity in 66 Italian patients affected by Turner syndrome.
Equilibrium Wage Dispersion and Interindustry Wage Differentials

This paper develops a search-theoretic explanation of interindustry wage differentials. Given coordination problems in the labor market, the probability of filling a vacancy is an increasing function of the wage offered; in equilibrium, firms that find vacancies more costly will offer higher wages. The model thus explains the persistence of interindustry wage differentials and their correlation with industry-average capital-labor ratio and profitability. Additionally, the model predicts that high-wage firms will receive more applications per job opening and that wages in the labor market will behave as strategic complements.
Overcoming misconceptions in religious education: The effects of text structure and topic interest on conceptual change

Overcoming Misconceptions in Religious Education: The Effects of Text Structure and Topic Interest On Conceptual Change
Investigation of metronidazole use during pregnancy and adverse birth outcomes

To assess whether treatment with metronidazole during pregnancy is associated with preterm birth, low birth weight, or major congenital anomalies, we conducted chart reviews and an analysis of electronic data from a cohort of women delivering at an urban New York State hospital. Of 2,829 singleton/mother pairs, 922 (32.6%) mothers were treated with metronidazole for clinical indications, 348 (12.3%) during the first trimester of pregnancy and 553 (19.5%) in the second or third trimester. There were 333 (11.8%) preterm births, 262 (9.3%) infants of low birth weight, and 52 infants (1.8%) with congenital anomalies. In multivariable analysis, no association was found between metronidazole treatment and preterm birth (odds ratio [OR], 1.02 [95% confidence interval [CI], 0.80 to 1.32]), low birth weight (OR, 1.05 [95% CI, 0.77 to 1.43]), or treatment in the first trimester and congenital anomalies (OR, 0.86 [0.30 to 2.45]). We found no association between metronidazole treatment during the first or later trimesters of pregnancy and preterm birth, low birth weight, or congenital anomalies.
Sexual Orientation of Adult Sons of Gay Fathers

The sexual development of children of gay and lesbian parents is interesting for both scientific and social reasons The present study is the largest to date to focus on the sexual orientation of adult sons of gay men. From advertisements in gay publications, 55 gay or bisexual men were recruited who reported on 82 sons at least 17 years of age . More than 90% of sons whose homosexual orientation could be rated were heterosexual. Furthermore, Gay and heterosexual sons did not differ on potentially relevant variables such as the length of time they had lived with their fathers. Results suggest that any environmental influence of gay fathers on their sons' sexual orientation is not large. An appreciable minority of both gay men and lesbians have children (Bell & Weinberg, 1978), and although difficult to document, it seems likely that increasing numbers of openly gay and lesbian people are forming families. Development of children of gay and lesbian parents has begun receiving the attention of researchers (e.g., Patterson, 1992) for both scientific and social reasons. A primary scientific question is whether children of gay and lesbian parents are especially likely to become gay or lesbian themselves, and if so, why. The primary social question, whether gay and lesbian parents are as desirable as heterosexual parents, has arisen most vividly in child custody cases. The scientific and social issues are closely related, because a primary focus of expert testimony in custody cases has been the impact of being reared by a gay or lesbian parent on children's sexual orientations (Falk, 1989; Harvard Law Review, 1989). Sexual Development of Children of Gay and Lesbian Parents Children of gay and lesbian parents might be expected to have elevated rates of homosexuality because they receive both environmental and genetic input from their parents. At least three environmental transmission routes are conceivable. The most obvious possibility is that children may acquire their sexual orientations in part by imitating their parents. By this model (discussed generally by, e.g., Sears, Rau, & Alpert, 1965). a child identifies with his same-sex parent and thereby adopts the kind of love object preferred by that parent. An immediate problem with this model is that most gay men and lesbians have heterosexual parents and thus develop opposite to the model's prediction. Psychoanalytic theorists (eg., Bieber, 1962) haw attempted to resolve this paradox by hypothesizing that, as children, homosexual individuals identified with their opposite-sex parents. In men, such atypical identification supposedly results from an unusually dose mother-son relationship coupled with a distant father-son relationship. In women, according to psychoanalytic theory, an especially antagonistic relationship with the mother impedes identification. Consistent with the theory, gay men tend to recall their fathers as having been emotionally distant and lesbians tend to report poorer
Product Involvement as a Determinant of Consumer Satisfaction

The potential effect of a consumer‘s level of product involvement on perceived satisfaction was examined in this study. Consumer satisfaction determinant literature was reviewed. The expectation-performance paradigm was discussed. A link between involvement and satisfaction was suggested. An attempt was made to discover the nature of the relationships between consumer satisfaction and involvement. Subjects were divided based on level of involvement with the stimulus product, given the product for three weeks of use, and later assessed for their perceived satisfaction along with certain other variables. Results were as predicted, indicating that highly involved consumers perceive greater satisfaction with the product. Though the data do not permit direct analysis of the situation to cognitive dissonance, a theoretical link is discussed indicating that satisfaction may become a function of involvement.
A method to cope with soft errors

Radiation effects account for increasing soft error occurrences in deep submicron circuits. A method for calculating an upper bound for the width of an erroneous pulse that may reach a flip flop or a primary output is presented. This is required in order to determine pulse removal (PR) circuit characteristics for error correction at each flip flop or primary output side.
Characterization of the cytolethal distending toxin (typhoid toxin) in non-typhoidal Salmonella serovars

For many putative Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica virulence genes, functional characterization across serovars has been limited. Cytolethal distending toxin B (CdtB) is an incompletely characterized virulence factor that is found not only in Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhi (Salmonella Typhi) and dozens of Gram negative bacterial pathogens, but also in non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) serovars. A comparative genomics approach was performed to characterize sequence conservation of the typhoid toxin (TT), encoded in the CdtB-islet, between Salmonella Typhi and NTS serovars. The cytotoxic activity of representative Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovars Javiana, Montevideo and Schwarzengrund strains and their respective isogenic cdtB mutants was determined in human intestinal epithelial Henle-407 cells by assessment of cell cycle progression of infected cells using fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). Two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to determine whether cdtB deletion had a significant (p < 0.05) effect on the percentage of Henle-407 cells at each stage of the cell cycle. Here we show that a CdtB-islet encoding the cytolethal distending toxin B (CdtB), pertussis-like toxin A (PltA), and pertussis-like toxin B (PltB) is present in a dozen NTS serovars and that these proteins have a high level of sequence conservation and each form monophyletic clades with corresponding Salmonella Typhi genes. Human epithelial Henle-407 cells infected with three representative CdtB-encoding NTS serovars displayed G2/M phase cell cycle arrest that was absent in cells infected with corresponding isogenic cdtB null mutants (p < 0.0001 for the factor ∆cdtB deletion). Our results show that CdtB encoded by NTS serovars has a genomic organization, amino acid sequence conservation and biological activity similar to the TT, and thus, may contribute to disease pathogenesis.
LV-powered coronary sinus retroperfusion reduces infarct size in acutely ischemic pigs

Abstract Background . We developed a prosthetic left ventricle (LV) to coronary sinus (CS) shunt (LVCSS) that is autoregulating and provides LV-powered retrograde perfusion of the coronary sinus. Methods . Each of 20 Yorkshire pigs underwent 1 hour of left anterior descending diagonal artery occlusion followed by 3 hours of reperfusion. The controls (n = 5) did not have shunt treatment. The LVCSS group (n = 9) underwent shunt treatment during the ischemic period. The LVCSS with partial coronary sinus occlusion (PCSO) group (LVCSS+PCSO, n=6) underwent shunt treatment and PCSO during the ischemic period. Vital staining and planimetry techniques were used to determine the area at risk for infarction and the area of necrosis. Results . The area at risk was not significantly different among groups. The area of necrosis was decreased by 53% in the LVCSS group and by 73% in the LVCSS+PCSO group when compared to controls ( p Conclusions . The LVCSS reduces infarct size in pigs after acute coronary artery occlusion. The addition of PCSO to LVCSS further improves myocardial salvage.
Homopheneity in speechreading: Effects of phonemic equivalence classes on the structure of the lexicon

Visible speech affords less phonetic distinctiveness than acoustic speech. As a result, the speechreader perceives a reduced set of phonemic distinctions, resulting in homopheneity among words. The number and nature of words rendered homophenous by visual phonetic similarity necessarily contributes to the intelligibility of visible speech. We examined how the distribution of words (i.e. distribution in terms of phoneme patterns) constrains the potential for homopheneity caused by loss of visual phonetic distinctiveness. These effects were studied via computational modeling of the lexicon. In this paper, we discuss 1) the computational methods employed in modeling the loss of phonemic distinctions, 2) several results, given specific modeling assumptions, and 3) the implications of those assumptions. The results revealed that even with substantial reductions in phonetic distinctiveness, the distribution of word patterns in the lexicon restricts the number of homophenous words that can occur. The results also demonstrate how moderate increases in phonetic distinctiveness can result in large decrements in homopheneity.
The Ambiguity Tolerance Interface: A Modified Social Cognitive Model For Leading Under Uncertainty:

This paper proposes a modification of McCormick's (2001) self-regulatory leadership confidence model by including an intervening variable referred to as the Ambiguity Tolerance Interface (ATI). Aft...
Moving Helicobacter pylori vaccine development forward with bioinformatics and immunomics

The problem Helicobacter pylori infects the gastric mucosa of half the human population, leading to chronic gastric inflammation in all, and clinically important adverse outcomes in a sizable minor...
Efficient synthesis of 6-chloro-3-((2-(S)-azetidinyl)methoxy)-5-((E)-2-(2-[18F]fluoropyridin-4-yl)vinyl)pyridine ([18F]NIDA 52289), a very high affinity radioligand for nicotinic acetylcholine receptors

6-Chloro-3-((2-(S)-azetidinyl)methoxy)-5-((E)-2-(2-[18F]fluoropyridin-4-yl)vinyl)pyridine ([18F]NIDA 52289), a very high affinity radioligand for studying nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) by positron-emission tomography, was synthesized through Kryptofix 222 assisted no-carrier-added nucleophilic [18F]fluorination of 6-chloro-3-((1-(tert-butoxycarbonyl)-2-(S)-azetidinyl)methoxy)-5-((E)-2-(2-bromopyridin-4-yl)vinyl)pyridine, followed by acidic deprotection. The overall radiochemical yield of the radiosynthesis was 10% (non-decay-corrected), the specific radioactivity was in the range of 93–326 GBq/µmol (2.5–8.8 mCi/µmol) and the radiochemical purity was greater than 99%. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Introduction: New Thinking

This essay on the philosophy and methodology of Chaim Perelman is written by an author who enjoyed the friendship of and exchanged ideas, personally, with the founder of the New Rhetoric. I have been deeply influenced by his creative thinking and conclusions.
The risks to education systems from design mismatch and global isomorphism

The incredibly low levels of learning and the generally dysfunctional public sector schooling systems in many (though not all) developing countries are the result of a capability trap (Pritchett et al. 2010). Two phenomena reinforce persistent failure of schooling systems to produce adequate learning outcomes. One is the mismatch between system design--the allocation of activities across organizations and mechanisms of accountability--and the insights of the 'new institutional economics' from principal agent models and contract theory. In particular, many education systems attempt to manage teaching and learning as a 'thin' or 'logistical' activity that can be managed with top-down control and an emphasis on compliance. The reality is that teaching is a 'thick' or 'implementation intensive' activity that performs better when teachers and operators of schools are given performance standards, have multiple in-depth accountability channels, and are given greater autonomy. The second phenomena that facilitates persistent failure is global isomorphism on enrollment and inputs (Meyer et al. 1977; Boli et al. 1985; Meyer et al. 1997). That is, the field (in the sense of Bourdieu 1993) of global education has produced a near exclusive emphasis on enrollments and duration in school, adequacy of physical inputs, and formal qualifications that allowed, perhaps encouraged, national systems to ignore completely performance on child-learning (of any type, measured in any way). I conclude with a comparison in India of the national governments recent efforts in basic education which have been almost exclusively isomorphic.
The New Religious Dimension in Western Marxism: II

Both Marxists and phenomenologists have a critical attitude toward religion. For the phenomenologist critique means clarification of meaning; for the Marxist it means the emancipation of men and women from the quasi-natural forces of opaque and ossified traditions, from irrational authorities, and from the ideology which but-tresses unjustifiable dialectical contradictions in civil and socialist society. Marxists such as Georg Lukacs, Max Horkheimer, and Leszek Kolakowski apply ideology critique to the dimension of religion. Lukacs acknowledges not only reactionary, but also progressive aspects in the Catholic and Protestant form of Christianity. For Horkheimer, complete emancipation from faith in a power independent from history and at the same time determining it belongs to the most primitive intellectual clarity and veracity of modern humanity. But Horkheimer continues to read the Bible. He observes and suffers deeply from the immeasurable gap between the moral norms and values which Europeans have acknowledged since the introduction of Christianity and the behaviour of the European Christians, which is the difference between Christian theory and practice. Kolakowski finds the antagonism between the philosophy of the priest and the philosophy of the jester in all spheres of human life, including religion. The priest eternalizes and guards the absolutes acknowledged at certain times in certain societies. The jester, on the other hand, continually questions what societies consider ultimate and doubts everything “given” in any social formation. Finally Horkheimer sums up the whole Western Marxist theory of religion in his assertion that the concept of God kept alive the idea that there are other norms besides those to which the finite world considered as nature, society and history gives expression. The concept of Infinity preserves an awareness of the finality of human life and of the inalterable aloneness and abandonment of humanity. Horkheimer cannot affirm any philosophy or politics which does not also embrace a theological moment. Theology is the hope and the longing that the injustice which characterizes the world as society, state and history today may not have the last word.
Displacement-based Smoothing Hybrid Finite-element Representation for Stress Analyzing Perforated Composites

A reliable and effective displacement-based smoothing finite-element representation is demonstrated for determining stresses on, and near, the edge of a geometric discontinuity in finite, orthotropic composites. Relatively little measured displacement data are necessary and they originate away from the cutout. Data acquisition positions can be selected at the user’s discretion and scatter in the measured input information is automatically filtered.
Making Air Traffic Management-Weather Integration a Reality: A Concept of Integration of Weather Information into Time-Based Flow Management

6After introducing the notion of Air Traffic Management-Weather Integration, this paper attempts to make the concept real by providing a practical example of a systems engineering-based approach towards integrating weather information into an existing air traffic management system, Time-Based Flow Management (TBFM). A Concept of Integration (CONINT) of Weather Information into TBFM details a number of changes that will result in the integration of hazardous weather information into TBFM systems and decision making processes. Functional and performance analyses and requirements associated with the CONINT further solidify the integration plan. It is felt that the integration methods described in the CONINT, the layout of the document itself and the associated body of system engineering analyses can potentially serve as models for the critical task of fully integrating weather into other current and future systems and processes, a key Next Generation Air Traffic System (NextGen) requirement.
Meteorological Influences on Leukocyte Curve

When leukocyte counts are made at short time intervals (5 or 10 minutes) in human subjects or in experimental animals the fluctuations afford an excellent index of the autonomic balance of the splanchnoperipheral system.1 In addition to this tide, the general leukocytic level will reflect the functional status of the bone marrow and the lymphatic system.In the course of observations on various constitutional types and their reactions to the environment, we have made daily leukocyte counts under morning basal conditions. These revealed several interesting facts. First, that the leukocytic level is rather characteristic of the constitutional type, the pyknic in general having the most deficient bone marrow and the higher leukocytic levels.Second, that the fluctuations in the level occur simultaneously in all individuals. While the pyknic may react more vigorously, the leptosome and the asthenic show a synchronous increase or decrease in the level, although the fluctuations may be of minor degree in such per...
Uncoupling of the Glucagon Receptor-Adenylate Cyclase System by Glucagon in Cloned Differentiated Rat Hepatocytes

The ability of glucagon to induce a state of desensitization to glucagon responsiveness has been examined in a cloned line of normal, differentiated, diploid rat hepatocytes (RL-PR-C). These cells, which respond to glucagon with increased production of cyclic AMP, become refractory to further stimulation of cyclic AMP synthesis following a 4 hour exposure period of the cells to the hormone. Refractoriness to glucagon was demonstrated over a wide range of hormone concentrations (10(-12) to 10(-6) M). In desensitized cells that were subsequently washed free of the hormone, recovery from refractoriness was complete by 20 hours. The mechanism underlying this desensitization does not appear to involve decreased receptor numbers, increased efflux of cyclic AMP from the cells, increased degradation of cyclic AMP by phosphodiesterase, or an alteration in the catalytic unit of the adenylate cellular cyclic AMP responsiveness to glucagon in normal RL-PR-C hepatocytes may involve glucagon a reversible uncoupling of glucagon receptors from adenylate cyclase. In addition, late passage, spontaneously transformed RL-PR-C hepatocytes were found to exist in a state in which glucagon receptors are permanently uncoupled from adenylate cyclase.
Research of Impedance Protection of Generator-Transformer Unit

The operation characteristics of impedance protection of generator-transformer unit used as the backup protection for interphase short circuit are introduced in the paper.With analysis and dynamic simulation,the principle that low impedance protection can be used as backup protection is proved to be imperfect.
Design and Application of Comprehensive Onboard Information Recorder for UAVs

Complete recording of UAV flight state and environment information is crucial for fault and accident analysis in UAV flight tests.A comprehensive onboard information recorder is designed to record UAV telemetry and tele-control information,flight image and engine noise.A complete solution is provided to record and replay the information synchronously.Also measures are taken to reduce the size and weight of the recorder,and to enhance the electro-magnetic compatibility.Test result shows that the recorder is applicable for UAV system and it strongly supports the flight performance analysis,fault and accident analysis for UAV system.
Bioelectronic retinal prosthesis

Retinal prosthesis have been translated to clinical use over the past two decades. Currently, two devices have regulatory approval for the treatment of retinitis pigmentosa and one device is in clinical trials for treatment of age-related macular degeneration. These devices provide partial sight restoration and patients use this improved vision in their everyday lives to navigate and to detect large objects. However, significant vision restoration will require both better technology and improved understanding of the interaction between electrical stimulation and the retina. In particular, current retinal prostheses do not provide peripheral visions due to technical and surgical limitations, thus limiting the effectiveness of the treatment. This paper reviews recent results from human implant patients and presents technical approaches for peripheral vision.
Development and validation of an analytical charge–hold–vent model for cryogenic tank chilldown

Abstract To enable future in-space cryogenic fuel depots, efficient methods are required for the tank chilldown and transfer process to minimize the amount of consumed propellant. This paper presents a transient charge–hold–vent (CHV) analytical model which is compared against the single set of liquid hydrogen tank chilldown data. The model solves conservation of mass and energy, uses quasi-unsteady steps in time to simulate natural convection and jet impingement heat transfer, and tracks two-phase fluid thermodynamic properties as the chilldown process evolves. The additional cooling potential made available through a cyclic tank venting process is also calculated in the code. The flexible code can simulate multiple CHV cycles, be used to optimize tank geometry and nozzle location, and provide predictions on the amount of propellant mass used for each cycle. This model compares within 7% of the liquid hydrogen tank chilldown experimental data.
Clinical pastoral education with students from other cultures: the role of the supervisor.

Outlines an approach for Clinical Pastoral Education Supervisors in working with students in a cross-cultural context, based on his many years of experience as supervisor and theological educator. ...
Treating a hypertensive emergency

A hypertensive crisis is characterized by a massive blood pressure increase of sudden onset, with systolic pressures in excess of 220 mmHg or diastolic pressures of more than 120 mmHg usually being found in patients with underlying hypertensive disease. Of decisive importance for the severity of the patient's presenting state, however, is not the absolute level of the blood pressure, but rather the extent of the acute blood pressure increase. Of decisive importance for the therapeutic approach to the acute case is whether the hypertensive crisis is accompanied by organic manifestations (hypertensive emergency) or is unaccompanied by this life-threatening clinical presentation (hypertensive urgency). The former patients must always be hospitalized, and the preferential treatment is parenteral medication, which is associated with a more rapid and calculable onset of action than can be achieved via the oral or sublingual route.
Scavenging nucleic acid debris to combat autoimmunity and infectious disease

Nucleic acid-containing debris released from dead and dying cells can be recognized as damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) or pattern-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) by the innate immune system. Inappropriate activation of the innate immune response can engender pathological inflammation and autoimmune disease. To combat such diseases, major efforts have been made to therapeutically target the pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) such as the Toll-like receptors (TLRs) that recognize such DAMPs and PAMPs, or the downstream effector molecules they engender, to limit inflammation. Unfortunately, such strategies can limit the ability of the immune system to combat infection. Previously, we demonstrated that nucleic acid-binding polymers can act as molecular scavengers and limit the ability of artificial nucleic acid ligands to activate PRRs. Herein, we demonstrate that nucleic acid scavengers (NASs) can limit pathological inflammation and nucleic acid-associated autoimmunity in lupus-prone mice. Moreover, we observe that such NASs do not limit an animal’s ability to combat viral infection, but rather their administration improves survival when animals are challenged with lethal doses of influenza. These results indicate that molecules that scavenge extracellular nucleic acid debris represent potentially safer agents to control pathological inflammation associated with a wide range of autoimmune and infectious diseases.
Blind source separation-based adaptive filtering of physiological and ARFI-induced tissue, blood, and cyst fluid motion, in-vivo

In the context of complex tissue motion patterns including physiological and acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) -induced tissue, blood, and cyst fluid motion, the same adaptive blind source separation (BSS)-based filtering method is effective for four diverse applications: 1) clutter filtering prior to blood velocity estimation, 2) extracting axial velocity components from noisy velocity measurements given large flow angles, 3) reducing noise in measured ARFI displacement profiles, and 4) complex phase clutter filtering to measure ARFI-induced cyst streaming. RF data was collected using ARFI imaging beam sequences from the carotid arteries of healthy volunteers and from female subjects (recruited under IRB guidance), each presenting one breast lesion. Biopsy determined that one lesion was a fluid-filled cyst and the other was a malignant mass. In the examined arteries, velocity profiles are parabolic in shape, with nearly zero axial velocity beyond the vessel lumen following BSS clutter filtering and BSS extraction of small axial velocity components. The method maintains peak displacement (1.81 to 21.5/spl mu/ m) and time to 63% recovery (1.38 to 2.20 ms) parameters after BSS noise reduction in ARFI displacement profiles. Colorflow images generated after BSS complex phase clutter rejection reveal ARFI-induced streaming in the fluid-filled cyst but no streaming in the malignant lesion. Successful filtering for four diverse purposes illustrates the breadth of applications for BSS adaptive filtering in the clinical imaging environment.
Assessing beans as a source of intrinsic fiber on satiety in men and women with metabolic syndrome.

Dietary fiber is well-known for its satiety inducing properties. Adding fibers to mixed dishes is one way to increase fiber intake. However, adding fibers to foods versus including foods inherently containing fiber may reveal differing effects on satiety. The present study aimed to explore the satiety effects of adding fiber to a mixed meal versus using beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) as a source of intrinsic fiber in the meal. In this pilot study, 12 men and women with metabolic syndrome were randomly assigned to eat three standard meals in a crossover design on three different occasions that contained either no added fiber (control (NF)), extrinsic or added fiber (AF), or whole black beans as the source of intrinsic fiber (BN). Meals were matched for energy and macronutrient composition. Five hour postprandial subjective satiety was measured along with blood glucose, insulin, and the GI hormones, cholecystokinin (CCK) and peptide tyrosine tyrosine (PYY3-36). All meals induced fullness to a similar degree; however, the AF meal suppressed prospective consumption (F2,187 = 9.05, P = 0.0002) compared to the BN or NF meals. The NF meal tended to result in more satisfaction than the BN meal (F2,187 = 5.91, P = 0.003). The BN meal produced significantly higher postprandial CCK concentrations compared to the AF (F2,187 = 6.82, P = 0.001) and NF meals (F2,187 = 6.82, P = 0.002). Similar findings were observed for PYY3-36 response for BN > AF meal (F2,170 = 9.11, P < 0.0001). Postprandial insulin was significantly reduced after the BN meal, compared to the NF (F2,187 = 22.36, P < 0.0001) meal. These findings suggest that incorporating whole black beans into a meal has acute beneficial metabolic and GI hormone responses in adults with metabolic syndrome and are preferred over adding equivalent amounts of fiber from a supplement.
The T-test and clinical relevance. Is your beta error showing.

The t-test, as usually performed in the clinical laboratory for methods comparisons, does not consider the clinical relevance of the difference between the methods. Two procedures are presented which incorporate medical criteria into the t-test thereby making it a more relevant statistical tool. This is done by defining beta error in addition to alpha error. Since a positive action; i.e., adoption of the "test" methods, is taken when there is no difference between the "test" and reference methods, commission of a beta error has a potentially damaging effect. Therefore, evaluation of beta error is an appropriate part of methods comparison in the clinical laboratory.
Comparative Growth of AlN on Singular and Off-Axis 6H and 4H-SiC by MOCVD

A comparison study of the growth of aluminum nitride (AlN) single crystal epitaxy on 6H-SiC and 4H-SiC substrates has been performed. The material has been characterized using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and reflective high energy electron diffraction (RHEED). AlN crystals were deposited on the following 6H-SiC substrates: singular with and without an initial SiC epilayer, and 3.5° off-axis with and without an initial SiC epilayer. AlN crystals were deposited on 8.0° off-axis 4H-SiC with and without initial SiC epilayers. AFM shows that the deposition of AlN on 6H-SiC and 4H-SiC with an initial SiC epilayer displays high quality quasi-two dimensional growth as atomically flat or step flow epitaxy.