cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Leaching of Nitrate, Atrazine, and Metribuzin from Sugarcane in Southern Louisiana

We have studied the leaching losses of NO 3 , atrazine [6-chloro-Nethyl-N'-(1-methylethyl)-1,3,5-triazine-2,4-diamine], and metribuzin [4-amino-6-(1,1-dimethylethyl)-3-(methylthio)-1,2,4-triazine-5(4H)-one] applied to sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) planted in Mississippi River alluvial soil in southern Louisiana. Nitrogen (122 kg/ha) and atrazine (2.24 kg/ha) were applied in June, and atrazine (2.24 kg/ha) and metribuzin (1.12 kg/ha) were applied in December ; losses through a Sharkey clay (very fine, montmorillonitic, nonacid, thermic Vertic Haplaquepts) into subsurface drains (5.5- and 10.9-m spacing) were measured for about 100 d in both seasons. Five days after application NO 3 -N appeared in its highest concentrations (5-11 mg/L) in the drain water ; after this first event, concentrations remained below 10 mg/L throughout the summer season. After application in the summer atrazine appeared in the subsurface drains at its highest seasonal concentrations (114-144 μg/L) on the day of application ; after 4 to 7 wk these concentrations remained below 3.0 μg/L. Total losses in the summer amounted to 3 to 8% of the NO 3 application and 0.6 to 1.2% of the atrazine application. Almost 50% of the NO 3 leaching into the subsurface drains occurred after Day 76, whereas 82% of the atrazine leached into the drains by Day 8. After the winter application, high concentrations of atrazine (67-81 μg/L) and metribuzin (52-94 μg/L) were measured within 8 d. Similarly, large concentrations of atrazine occurred in the drain water throughout the winter season. The much higher concentrations of atrazine during the winter study, compared with the summer, coincided with soil surface concentrations that were 3 to 10 times those of the summer. Total losses during the winter were 0.4 to 2.0% (atrazine) and 0.4 to 1.7% (metribuzin) of the applications. Evidence for preferential flow into the drains of the NO 3 and the herbicides is presented.
The stochastic p-hub center problem with service-level constraints

Small package delivery companies offer services where packages are guaranteed to be delivered within a given time-frame. With variability in travel time, the configuration on the hub-and-spoke delivery network is vital in ensuring a high probability of meeting the service-level guarantee. We present the stochastic p-hub center problem with chance constraints, which we use to model the service-level guarantees. We discuss analytical results, propose solution heuristics, and present the results from computational experiments.
UMImaging: A Software Package for Image Reconstruction From 3D-Position-Sensitive Gamma-Ray Detectors

In order to support analysis of data from 3D-position-sensitive gamma-ray detectors, a software package, UMImaging, has been designed and implemented. UMImaging is designed to apply to a wide range of hardware configurations and analysis needs. Its framework centers around reconstruction methods that perform analysis including spectroscopy, imaging, and detection. These methods are supported by classes that supply events, describe geometry, set options, store and manipulate results, and interact with the user. The ability to bin and display highly multidimensional data is presented, drawing numerous examples from the analysis of data from a CdZnTe array system. Parallel computing integrated into the structure of UMImaging is shown to provide almost a seven-fold speedup on a six-core computer with hyper-threading, and the parallel implementation of iterative reconstruction is described. Design choices that make UMImaging platform independent and easily extendable are also discussed.
Documentation of Swedish Patchwork Quilts: 1830 to 1929:

Patchwork quilts are recognized as a valid data source for historical research and are no longer deemed important solely for artistic workmanship and aesthetic value. The purpose of this research w...
Ethanol‐Lock Therapy for the Prevention of Central Venous Access Device Infections in Pediatric Patients With Intestinal Failure

Background: Central venous access device (CVAD) infections are a major complication in pediatric patients receiving long-term parenteral nutrition (PN) and are particularly prevalent in patients with intestinal failure. This study evaluated the outcomes of outpatient ethanol-lock therapy (ELT) for the prevention of CVAD infections in children with intestinal failure. Methods: In this retrospective analysis, the primary outcome measure was the rate of bloodstream infection (BSI) due to CVAD infections per 1,000 catheter days, and secondary measures included type of organisms cultured and complications of ELT. Results: Over the course of 2 years, 15 patients received outpatient ELT. Sixty-seven percent were male; patients had a mean ± standard deviation age at enrollment of 5.6 ± 6.9 years and body weight of 19.9 ± 15.4 kg. Mean duration of ELT was 263 ± 190 days. Mean BSI rate per 1,000 catheter days significantly decreased from 8.0 before ELT to 1.3 after ELT (P < .01). Seventy-three percent of patients r...
KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS FOR THE BEGINNING GERMAN TEACHER

The job analysis study described in this report was c Aducted to serve as one of the bases for documenting the content validity of the Praxis II Subject Assessment in German. The purpose was to describe the most important' knowledge and skills domains needed by newly licensed (certified) German teachers in order to perform their jobs in a competent manner. An inventory of knowledge and skills German teachers need to teach was constructed and sent to 636 teachers, 294 teacher educators, and 68 state department foreign language supervisors. Frequency distributions across background information categories, mean importance ratings by relevant subgroups, and corrections of mean importance ratings within subgroups were determined. Without qualifications, 86% of the knowledge/skills areas may be used to develop test specifications. Correlat;ons for relevant subgroups were in the 0.90s, which suggests that there is substantial agreement among varicus subgroups of -espondents with respect to the relative importance of the knowledge and skills. Eleven tables summarize study findings. Eight appendixes contain the job analysis inventory and supplemental information about the study methodology. (Contains 10 references.) (SO) ******************************i.AA************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * from the original document. *****************************************A.*************-fc************** IN VIM ISA" ERIE Professional Assessments for Beginning Teachers.' Knowledge and Skills for the Beginning German Teacher
Advanced Treatment of Reverse Osmosis Concentrate by Integrated Activated Carbon and Iron-Activated Persulfate Oxidation

Treatment of reverse osmosis concentrate (ROC) has been complicated in terms of feasibility, cost, and most importantly, efficiency in removing contaminants. While adsorbents such as activated carbon, coal, and fly ash can remove organics, they may not be effective in removing nutrient salts that cause algae growth. Moreover, with regards to physical treatment, removing contaminants using adsorbents may not be appropriate, as toxic and non-biodegradable pollutants are not transformed or degraded into non-toxic forms. In this study, a series of processes involving adsorption using activated carbon and oxidation by hydroxyl and sulfate radicals were assessed as a means of treating ROC. The method includes treating water containing organics with an adsorbent, and adding nano-sized zero-valent iron (nZVI) to the water in the presence of oxygen, followed by the addition of persulfate, where the water is oxidized with reactive oxygen species (e.g., hydroxyl radical, peroxide, superoxide anion) produced by the addition of ZVI and persulfate radicals generated from persulfate activated by the addition of nZVI. Removal of non-biodegradable organics (as well as nitrogen and phosphorous) and nutrient salts not readily removed by conventional treatment methods can be effectively accomplished through the physical removal method described, using activated carbon, and by a chemical removal method using radical oxidation.
In Memoriam: Professor Fang Zhao: The Computing in Civil Engineering Community Loses a Great Friend

With sadness, we inform readers that Professor Fang Zhao passed away on December 7, 2010. At Florida International University, Fang was the interim chair of Civil and Environmental Engineering and deputy director of the Lehman Center for Transportation Research. She was also an active and valuable specialty editor of the ASCE Journal of Computing in Civil Engineering in the transportation engineering area. Fang graduated from the Beijing Institute of Civil Engineering and Architecture in China, and then she moved to the United States in the mid-1980s and received her master’s and doctorate degrees in civil engineering from Carnegie Mellon University in 1987 and 1991, respectively, under the direction of Professor Mary Lou Maher. She joined Florida International University in 1992 as an assistant professor and spent the remainder of her career at FIU. She specialized in computer applications to civil engineering problems, with a specific focus on transportation. Her research covered a wide range of computing topics. FIU Dean Amir Mirmiran stated, “She was a nationally recognized expert on GIS-T, especially on temporal GIS applications in transportation. For the last three years she led the department so ably as the interim chair, not only maintaining its operations, but also significantly enhancing its enrollment, degrees awarded, and research funding, as well as obtaining ABET accreditation of its two programs—civil and environmental.” Fang was an amazing person who will be sorely missed by our community. In honor of her life and her dedication to helping this journal increase its publications in the transportation area, we dedicate this issue of the Journal to our friend and colleague, Professor Fang Zhao. We will miss you, Fang.
An intergenic alcohol dehydrogenase isozyme in sunflowers.

The isozymes of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH; E.C. 1.1.1.1) in wild and cultivated sunflower (Helianthus annuus) seeds can be resolved electrophoretically into 12 bands. The slowest- and probably the fastest-migrating sets of three are allozymic products of two genes, Adh1 and Adh2, each having two alleles, F (for fast) and S (for slow). Evidence from dissociation-recombination experiments utilizing bands excised from starch gels indicates that an intermediately-migrating isozyme is a dimeric intergenic product consisting of ADH-1F and ADH-2S subunits. The hybrid isozyme was unstable in vitro in that its monomers spontaneously dissociated and recombined to produce ADH-1FF and ADH-2SS isozymes. The molecular weights of the hybrid as well as the parental isozymes were estimated at approximately 98,000.
Ultrasonographically guided subclavian vein catheterization in critical care obstetrics and gynecologic oncology

Invasive hemodynamic monitoring has become an integral part of intensive care management. Whereas the pulmonary artery catheter is the mainstay for determination of the hemodynamic profile and differentiation between cardiogenic and noncardiogenic forms of pulmonary edema, immediate central venous access in itself is of importance in rapid volume replacement in cases complicated by severe hypovolemia. Central venous catheters are also the preferred route of administration of total parenteral nutrition to patients with cancer. We present our experience with real-time ultrasonographic guidance during subclavian vein catheterization in critical care obstetrics and gynecologic oncology.
Tertiary cytoreduction in patients with recurrent ovarian carcinoma.

Abstract Objectives The literature on the role of cytoreductive surgery beyond the secondary cytoreductive setting is limited. In this study, we reviewed the outcomes of patients with recurrent epithelial ovarian carcinoma who underwent tertiary cytoreduction. Methods We performed a retrospective chart review of all patients with recurrent epithelial ovarian carcinoma who underwent tertiary cytoreduction at our institution from 1/1/90 to 12/31/02. Disease-specific survival (DSS) was calculated from the time of tertiary cytoreduction to last follow-up. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to analyze outcomes and to identify potential prognostic factors. Results A total of 26 patients were identified. The median follow-up after tertiary cytoreduction was 22.3 months (range, 0–71.7 months), with an overall median DSS of 33.4 months (95%CI, 20.4–46.4). On univariate analysis, treatment-free interval (TFI) before tertiary cytoreduction and residual disease after the procedure, as well as time to first recurrence, were found to be significant prognostic factors. Median DSS was 15 months for a TFI ≤ 12 months compared with 60.4 months for a TFI > 12 months ( P = 0.002). The median DSS for patients with residual disease ≤0.5 cm was 36.3 months compared with 10.6 months for patients with residual disease >0.5 cm ( P P Conclusion Further cytoreductive surgery may offer a survival benefit in patients who experience a recurrence after secondary cytoreduction. This benefit appears to be greatest in patients with a longer TFI (>12 months) and in whom an optimal (≤0.5 cm) cytoreduction can be achieved.
Synthesis and characterization of a novel inhibitor of c-reactive protein-mediated proinflammatory effects

Abstract Background: Numerous studies have shown that high C-reactive protein (CRP) levels predict cardiovascular disease and augur a poor prognosis in patients with acute coronary syndromes. Much in vitro and in vivo data support of a role for CRP in atherogenesis. There is an urgent need to develop inhibitors that specifically block the biological effects of CRP in vivo. The one-bead–one-compound (OBOC) combinatorial library method has been used to discover ligands against several biological targets. In this study, we use a novel fluorescence-based screening method to screen an OBOC combinatorial library for the discovery of peptides against human CRP. Methods: Human CRP was labeled with fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) and human serum albumin (HuSA) was labeled with phycoerythrin (PE) and used for screening. The OBOC library LWH-01 was synthesized on TentaGel resin beads using a standard solid-phase “split/mix” approach. Results: By subtraction screening, eight peptides that bind specifically to CRP a...
Endothelial type nitric oxide synthase in skeletal muscle fibers : mitochondrial relationships.

Immunohistochemistry shows that skeletal muscle fibers express endothelial-type (ec)-NOS in a heterogeneous pattern distinct from that of neuronal (nc)-NOS. Analysis of adjacent serial sections reveals: 1) a strong correlation of ec-NOS expression to mitochondrial content (visualized histochemically by succinate dehydrogenase); 2) lack of correlation of ec-NOS to fiber ATPase type (in contrast to nc-NOS); and 3) constitutive co-expression of ec- and nc-NOS in some fibers. Preparations of mitochondria from diaphragm exhibited calcium-dependent NOS activity, which functioned to inhibit in vitro oxygen consumption. The results establish that normal skeletal muscle cells can express two constitutive isoforms of NOS (nc- and ec-) and suggest a functional role for ec-NOS in oxidative, mitochondria-rich fibers.
Integrating nonpoint source pollution modeling with a geographic information system

Abstract The major impediments in using computer models for simulating the consequences of nonpoint source pollution are the intensive data requirements and time involved in compiling the model input file. These problems can be overcome by integrating nonpoint source pollution models with geographic information systems (CIS). This paper presents a computerised system developed by integrating CIS and a dynamic, event-based, nonpoint source pollution model. The CIS software used for the integration was pc-ARC/INFO (Environmental Systems Research Institute, Redlands, CA). Using the pc-ARC/INFO Simple Macro language (SML), Pascal, and batch programming, a menu-driven system was developed thai integrates the Agricultural Nonpoint Source pollution model (AGNPS) willi pc-ARC/INFO. Running on a DOS platform with 640 KB of memory, the integration prototype converts a set of pc-ARC/INFO coverages into an AGNPS input data file. Tlie output from the ACNPS model is converted back into pc-ARC/INFO coverage and can he displayed as a map using tlie user-selected map format.
Henry's law constants and isosteric heats of adsorption at zero loading for multi-wall carbon surfaces with different geometries

Abstract Henry’s law constants and isosteric heats of adsorption at zero loading are calculated for several gases adsorbed on multi-wall carbon surfaces for slit-shaped, cylindrical, and spherical geometries. The Henry’s law constant is found to be sensitive to the pore width, surface mean curvature, and number of layers of wall. We examine the importance of multiple layer walls on the heat of adsorption. For argon adsorbed on multi-wall carbon surfaces, over 99% of the total maximum heat of adsorption is from the first seven layers. For slit-shaped carbon surfaces, heats of adsorption obtained from Steele’s 10-4-3 potential are also included for comparison. Good agreement is found between our calculated results and experimental and simulation results in the literature. In Appendix A , we develop simple equations that can be used to convert Henry’s law constants from an absolute volume basis to an accessible volume basis for single-wall geometries.
Segmentation of Fluorescence Microscopy Cell Images Using Unsupervised Mining

The accurate measurement of cell and nuclei contours are critical for the sensitive and specific detection of changes in normal cells in several medical informatics disciplines. Within microscopy, this task is facilitated using fluorescence cell stains, and segmentation is often the first step in such approaches. Due to the complex nature of cell issues and problems inherent to microscopy, unsupervised mining approaches of clustering can be incorporated in the segmentation of cells. In this study, we have developed and evaluated the performance of multiple unsupervised data mining techniques in cell image segmentation. We adapt four distinctive, yet complementary, methods for unsupervised learning, including those based on k-means clustering, EM, Otsu's threshold, and GMAC. Validation measures are defined, and the performance of the techniques is evaluated both quantitatively and qualitatively using synthetic and recently published real data. Experimental results demonstrate that k-means, Otsu's threshold, and GMAC perform similarly, and have more precise segmentation results than EM. We report that EM has higher recall values and lower precision results from under-segmentation due to its Gaussian model assumption. We also demonstrate that these methods need spatial information to segment complex real cell images with a high degree of efficacy, as expected in many medical informatics applications.
Energy intensity of manufacturing processes

Abstract A generic approach is presented for estimating the energy-intensity of manufacturing processes. The major improvements in this technique over conventional methods of estimating energy-intensity in the manufacturing sector are the use of energy-intensity measures that are product-oriented and are based on physical measures of product output. The method is used to estimate electric intensities in the paper industry. The superiority of physical electric intensities over economic-based intensities for describing trends in the paper industry is demonstrated. The potential of this approach to provide control totals for detailed process-oriented engineering models is described.
Selection of indigenous isolates of entomopathogenic soil fungus Metarhizium anisopliae under laboratory conditions

Eight native isolates of the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae (Metschnikoff) Sorokin were obtained by monitoring soils cultivated in a conventional manner. These isolates were compared in three areas: (a) conidial germination, (b) radial growth and sporulation and (c) ability of conidia to infect Tenebrio molitor larvae. All bioassays were carried out at constant temperatures of 10, 15, and 20 °C. Conidia of individual isolates demonstrated differences in germination after a 24-h long incubation at all evaluated temperatures. At 20 °C, the germination ranged from 67 to 100 % and at 15 °C from 5.33 to 46.67 %. At 10 °C, no germination was observed after 24 h; nevertheless, it was 8.67-44.67 % after 48 h. In terms of radial growth, the culture diameters and the associated production of spores of all isolates increased with increasing temperature. At 10 °C, sporulation was observed in three isolates while all remaining cultures appeared sterile. Three weeks post-inoculation, conidia of all assessed isolates caused 100 % cumulative mortality of treated larvae of T. molitor at 15 and 20 °C with the exception of isolate 110108 that induced 81.33 % mortality at 15 °C. At 10 °C, larval cumulative mortality ranged from 6.67 to 85.33 % depending on the isolate. Isolates 110108 and 110111 showed significantly slower outset and a much lower rate of infection at all temperatures compared to other tested isolates of M. anisopliae. The bioassays were carried out with the purpose to sort and select indigenous isolates of M. anisopliae useful as biocontrol agents in their original habitat.
Relation of Dietary Salt and Aldosterone to Urinary Protein Excretion in Subjects With Resistant Hypertension

Experimental data indicate that the cardiorenal effects of aldosterone excess are dependent on concomitant high dietary salt intake. Such an interaction of endogenous aldosterone and dietary salt has not been observed previously in humans. We assessed the hypothesis that excess aldosterone and high dietary sodium intake combine to worsen proteinuria in patients with resistant hypertension. Consecutive subjects with resistant hypertension (n=84) were prospectively evaluated by measurement of 24-hour urinary aldosterone (Ualdo), sodium, and protein (Uprot) excretion. Subjects were analyzed according to aldosterone status (high: Ualdo >or=12 microg/24 hours; or normal: <12 microg/24 hours) and dietary salt intake based on tertiles of urinary sodium. The mean clinic blood pressure for all of the subjects was 161.4+/-22.4/89.8+/-13.5 mm Hg on an average of 4.3 medications. There was no blood pressure difference between study groups. Uprot was significantly higher in the 38 subjects with high Ualdo compared with the 46 subjects with normal Ualdo (143.0+/-83.8 versus 95.9+/-81.7 mg/24 hours; P=0.01). Among subjects with high Ualdo, Uprot increased progressively across urinary sodium groups (P<0.05). In contrast, there was no difference in Uprot across sodium tertiles among subjects with normal Ualdo. A positive correlation between Uprot and urinary sodium (r=0.47; P=0.003) was observed in subjects with high Ualdo but not in subjects with normal Ualdo (r=0.18; P value not significant). These results suggest that aldosterone excess and high dietary salt combine to increase urinary protein excretion.
Hypocomplementemic urticarial vasculitis: report of a pediatric case.

Hypocomplementemic urticarial vasculitis syndrome (HUVS) is well described in adults but is quite rare in children. We report a pediatric case of HUVS initially diagnosed as juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and then as Henoch-Schonlein purpura. Beginning at 3 years of age, our patient developed polyarthritis with hypocomplementemia. She subsequently experienced an intermittent purpuric rash beginning at age 4 years, and she continued to have episodic arthritis and rash for years. Hematuria and proteinuria were noted at 12 years of age; renal biopsy revealed membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis with membranous features. Serum complement evaluation revealed activation of the classical pathway, consistent with HUVS. Therapy with oral dapsone led to improvement in proteinuria. HUVS should be considered in the differential diagnosis of pediatric patients with glomerulonephritis, urticarial rash, arthritis/arthralgias, and obstructive pulmonary disease.
A technique for evaluation of spatial data using asymmetrical weighted overlap values

Abstract Abstract. Behavioural analyses often require documentation of spatial overlap of individuals or groups. Most often these data have been presented as unweighted overlaps, calculated as the percentage of home range area that is shared between neighbours. This metric does not take into consideration the frequency of use of space in the area of overlap, which often is less than in the core of a home range. A method for calculating asymmetrical weighted overlap values between neighbouring individuals or groups is described using a program written for SAS. This method yields a null expectation of the likelihood of interaction between neighbours, by taking into consideration their respective frequency of use of space in the area of overlap. A comparative analysis of a sample data set is presented using both unweighted and weighted overlap values. The results indicate that the two methods would generate different null expectations of the frequency of social interactions. The asymmetrical weighted overlap method is a valuable approach for the characterization of the texture of space use by animals and the generation of expectations for interaction frequency between neighbours.
Admission stool guaiac test: Use and impact on patient management

Abstract purpose: A stool guaiac test is often performed on newly hospitalized patients as part of the admission evaluation. However, little is known regarding the value of testing stool obtained by digital rectal examination. We sought to document the use of the admission stool guaiac test in a teaching hospital, to determine its diagnostic yield, and to assess its potential benefit to patients. materials and methods: We performed a retrospective review of the medical records for 264 consecutive patients admitted to internal medicine services during a single month, of whom 202 received a stool guaiac test on admission. Information was collected on the frequency of guaiac testing, indications for testing, test results, and diagnoses established. results: Criteria were established to distinguish "clinically indicated" from "routine" use of the admission stool guaiac test. Indicated tests were positive more often than routinely performed tests (35% versus 11%, p conclusions: Like other commonly applied diagnostic tests, the stool guaiac test obtained during the admission physical examination is best reserved for patients whose clinical presentation provides a reason for testing. In patients without clinical indications, the test is of uncertain value and only infrequently leads to important diagnoses.
Towards efficient supercomputing: searching for the right efficiency metric

Efficiency in supercomputing has traditionally focused on execution time. In early 2000's, the concept of total cost of ownership was re-introduced, with the introduction of efficiency measure to include aspects such as energy and space. Yet the supercomputing community has never agreed upon a metric that can cover these aspects completely and also provide a fair basis for comparison. This paper examines the metrics that have been proposed in the past decade, and proposes a vector-valued metric for efficient supercomputing. Using this metric, the paper presents a study of where the supercomputing industry has been and where it stands today with respect to efficient supercomputing.
Tubular neighborhoods of totally geodesic hypersurfaces in hyperbolic manifolds

We show that a closed embedded totally geodesic hypersurface in a hyperbolic manifold has a tubular neighborhood whose width only depends on the area of the hypersurface. Namely, we construct a tubular neighborhood function and show that an embedded closed totally geodesic hypersurface in a hyperbolic manifold has a tubular neighborhood whose width only depends on the area of the hypersurface (and hence not on the geometry of the ambient manifold). The implications of this result for volumes of hyperbolic manifolds is discussed. In particular, we show that ifM is a hyperbolic 3-manifold containingn rank two cusps andk disjoint totally geodesic embedded closed surfaces, then the volume ofM is bigger than $$(\tfrac{{\sqrt 3 }}{4})n + (4.4)k$$ . We also derive a (hyperbolic) quantitative version of the Klein-Maskit combination theorem (in all dimensions) for free products of fuchsian groups. Using this last result, we construct examples to illustrate the qualitative sharpness of our tubular neighborhood function in dimension three. As an application of our results we give an eigenvalue estimate.
Decision Support for Mitigating the Risk of Tree Induced Transmission Line Failure in Utility Rights-of-Way

Vegetation management is a critical component of rights-of-way (ROW) maintenance for preventing electrical outages and safety hazards resulting from tree contact with conductors during storms. Northeast Utility’s (NU) transmission lines are a critical element of the nation’s power grid; NU is therefore under scrutiny from federal agencies charged with protecting the electrical transmission infrastructure of the United States. We developed a decision support system to focus right-of-way maintenance and minimize the potential for a tree fall episode that disables transmission capacity across the state of Connecticut. We used field data on tree characteristics to develop a system for identifying hazard trees (HTs) in the field using limited equipment to manage Connecticut power line ROW. Results from this study indicated that the tree height-to-diameter ratio, total tree height, and live crown ratio were the key characteristics that differentiated potential risk trees (danger trees) from trees with a high probability of tree fall (HTs). Products from this research can be transferred to adaptive right-of-way management, and the methods we used have great potential for future application to other regions of the United States and elsewhere where tree failure can disrupt electrical power.
Considerations regarding solar and lunar modulation of geophysical parameters, atmospheric electricity and thunderstorms

The basic thesis of this paper is that the proper scope of meteorology should include, besides the earth's atmosphere, the sun's atmosphere (the solar corona), the associated interplanetary magnetic field, and lunar modulation of this environment. Recent advances in space science have enabled us to make direct measurements in this region for the first time. The shape and characteristics of the magnetosphere have been completely redefined during the last ten years from a simple magnetic dipole to the present model with an elongated tail stretched out by the solar wind. The interplanetary magnetic field has been defined with its spiral structure and sectors tied into the solar surface. This provides a magnetic link between the sun and earth. It is probable that extra-terrestrial factors do play a role in regulating weather, although the extent of this influence remains to be determined. Possibly such effects are most significant or easily detectable in the realm of atmospheric electricity. In view of the limitations in our present knowledge of all the variables responsible for regulating weather, it would seem appropriate to pursue the study of extra-terrestrial influences. Such research could lead to a better understanding of atmospheric circulation, precipitation mechanisms and thunderstorms. The field of meteorology which might particularly benefit from such research is long range weather forecasting.
A HIGH-SPEED 4096-CHANNEL ANALOGUE-DIGITAL CONVERTER FOR PULSE HEIGHT ANALYSIS

Abstract A 12-bit analogue-digital converter of the successive binary approximation type is described. The unit accepts input pulses less than 1 μsec long and produces a 12-bit digital output in a register in less than 25 μsec. Use of the random pedestal technique described by Gatti 1 ) and careful design results in essentially equal channel widths from channel 40 to 4000. Integrated circuits are used for all digital operations, producing a compact unit despite the circuit complexity of the successive approximation technique. The unit is designed for convenient linking to a computer using either its program interrupt or direct memory access facilities, but can be operated equally well with any memory unit.
Analysis of a Multi-angle FOV Forward Scattering Probe

Traditional particle sizing techniques employing forward scattering angles to separate detection channels. These techniques require 2D detector geometry as well as collimating optics. Under certain approximations, forward scattering may be analyzed as a diffraction process that greatly simplifies data inversion. However, in that process, much of the particle size sensitivity in the sub-micron regime is lost due to the severe limits imposed by the diffraction approximation. To both improve the size range of operation and to develop a practical in-situ probe, we investigate another geometry that utilizes a simple single fiber-optic spectro radiometric detector in combination with a mechanism providing multiple field of view of the sample. This is obtained by using an expanding aperture that opens to a set of discrete radii. Different regions of the angular scattering spectrum are obtained by calculating the scattered signal difference between neighboring radii. For sizing applications, the system scattering kernels within Mie Scattering theory are calculated for unit concentration and variable size parameter 1 for each aperture using a simplified far-field plane wave approximation. The resulting multi angular/multispectral kernels provide a superset of scattering information that can lead to improved inversion capabilities to those obtained from multiangle measurements alone.
Antegrade continence enema for the treatment of fecal incontinence in adults: use of gastric tube for catheterizable access to the descending colon.

AbstractPurpose: We describe the use of a gastric segment in performing the antegrade continence enema procedure in patients with refractory fecal incontinence.Materials and Methods: The antegrade continence enema procedure was performed in 4 women and 3 men with refractory neurogenic fecal incontinence. Preoperative evaluation included defecography and anorectal manometry. Operative technique involves tunneling a 10 cm. segment of tubularized stomach isolated along the greater curve with preservation of the right gastroepiploic vessels through the anterior tenia of the colon just distal to the splenic flexure. After the stoma is mature the patient passes a catheter and runs 1 to 21. warm tap water through it while seated on the toilet. Digital stimulation may be required to initiate bowel emptying and irrigation is continued until clear.Results: Creation of a nonrefluxing catheterizable gastric tube to the descending colon was successful in all 7 patients. At a mean postoperative followup of 22.4 months ...
Cotton radiation use efficiency response to plant growth regulators

Plant growth regulators are widely used in cotton production to improve crop management. Previous research has demonstrated changes in crop growth, dry matter (DM) partitioning and lint yield of cotton after the application of plant growth regulators. However, no reports are available demonstrating the effect of plant growth regulators on light interception and radiation use efficiency (RUE). Field studies were conducted in Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA in 2006 and 2007. RUE was estimated for the period between the pinhead square stage (PHS) of growth and 3 weeks after first flower (FF+3) from plots receiving three applications of the nitrophenolate and mepiquat chloride with Bacillus cereus plant growth regulators (Chaperone™) at 7·19 g a.i./ha and Pix Plus ® at 41·94 g a.i./ha compared with an untreated control. No differences between the Chaperone treatment and the untreated control were found in the present study. However, Pix Plus significantly reduced plant height (both 2006 and 2007) and leaf area (2007 only), and altered the canopy structure of the crop as recorded by increased values of canopy extinction coefficient. Although DM accumulation was found not to be affected by plant growth regulator treatments, RUE was significantly increased after Pix Plus application, by 33·2%. RUE was increased because less light was intercepted by the Pix Plus treatment for the same biomass production, and this is probably a result of changes in photosynthetic capacity of the leaves and changes in light distribution throughout the canopy.
Racial and community factors influencing coronary artery bypass graft surgery rates for all 1986 Medicare patients.

Objective. —This study examines the differences in the rates of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) between white and black Medicare patients. Design. —This is a cross-sectional study with data from the 1986 Health Care Financing Administration hospital claims records on all Medicare patients, the 1988 update of the Bureau of Health Professions area resource file, and the 1985 Census Bureau's county population estimates file. Setting. —Data are from all Medicare patients in the United States in 1986. Main Outcome Measures. —Sex- and age-adjusted CABG rates for whites and blacks over the age of 65 years were computed for each of 50 states and 305 Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas (SMSAs). Results. —Nationally the CABG rate was 27.1 per 10000 for whites (40.4 for white men and 16.2 for white women), but only 7.6 for blacks (9.3 for black men and 6.4 for black women). Racial differences were greater in the Southeast, particularly in nonmetropolitan areas, than in other regions. Neither white nor black SMSA rates were associated with the rate of admission for acute myocardial infarction (an indication of the amount of coronary artery disease). White rates, but not black rates, were associated with the number of thoracic surgeons per 100 000 people. Conclusions. —For patients insured by Medicare, race is strongly associated with CABG rates, and this association is greater for men than for women and greater in the Southeast than in other parts of the country. Physician supply may relate to the CABG rates for whites. (JAMA. 1992;267:1473-1477)
P: a domain-specific language for asynchronous event-driven programming (invited talk abstract)

Asynchrony is fundamental to a broad class of software systems such as device drivers, cloud infrastructure, interacting web services, and client-server web applications. These software systems exhibit reactive and concurrent execution whose control requires carefully designed and implemented protocols. Traditional programming languages provide little support to specify and validate protocols. To address this gap, we have developed a domain-specific language called P for specification, implementation, and validation of protocols in asynchronous software. P is being used inside Microsoft in Windows and Windows Phone for developing device drivers; the USB device driver stack that ships with Windows and Windows Phone is implemented in P. In this talk, I will present the design and implementation of the language features and the systematic testing framework of P. I will also touch upon our current work extending P for programming fault-tolerant distributed services.
Feasibility of disinfection kinetics and minimum inhibitory concentration determination on bacterial cultures using flow cytometry.

Disinfection kinetics has been well established for selected antimicrobial agents on isolated bacterial strains. Due to the difficulties of culturing most bacteria, the majority of these studies have been limited to readily cultivable microorganisms of a single type or family. This study explores the feasibility of using flow cytometry for characterising the disinfection kinetics and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of an Escherichia coli culture and a microbial consortium. The proposed method relies on fluorescent dye molecules to indicate the morphological and physiological status of numerous individual cells. Biocides of varying effectiveness and inactivation mechanisms (chlorine, iodine, and silver) were used to evaluate this novel application. Using pseudo-first-order kinetics, the coefficients of specific lethality of chlorine and iodine on Escherichia coli were 4.71 and 3.78×10 −3 L mg −1 min −1 and MIC of silver ion was between 60 and 80 μg L −1 . The coefficients of specific lethality of chlorine and iodine on the microbial consortium were 4.96 and 8.89×10 −3 L mg −1 min −1 and MIC of silver ion was between 40 and 60 μg L −1 . This method can be used to provide a rapid and consistent way of determining disinfection kinetics and MICs for pure and mixed bacterial cultures and can potentially be used to examine water and wastewater disinfection efficiency. However, caution should be used to ensure that the physiological and morphological status characterised by cytodyes is a result of the inactivation mechanisms of the disinfectants evaluated.
Predictability of Low-Level Winds by Mesoscale Meteorological Models

Abstract This study describes the verification of model-based, low-level wind forecasts for the area of the Salt Lake valley and surrounding mountains during the 2002 Salt Lake City, Utah, Winter Olympics. Standard verification statistics (such as bias and mean absolute error) for wind direction and speed were compared for four models: the Eta, Rapid Update Cycle (RUC-2), and Global Forecast System of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction, and the fifth-generation Pennsylvania State University–NCAR Mesoscale Model (MM5). Even though these models had horizontal grid increments that ranged over almost two orders of magnitude, the highest-resolution MM5 with a 1.33-km grid increment exhibited a forecast performance similar to that of the other models in terms of grid-average, conventional verification metrics. This is in spite of the fact that the MM5 is the only model capable of reasonably representing the complex terrain of the Salt Lake City region that exerts a strong influence on the local c...
Strabismus in the Aphakic Patient

Fifty patients with aphakia and strabismus were studied. The chief complaint was diplopia following full optical correction. Prism therapy was recommended if the diplopia persisted after 3 to 4 months. When prism therapy was ineffective or impractical, surgery was recommended. The result of therapy was not influenced by the cause of the cataract treatment was considered successful in approximately 80% of patients. Patients who had convergence insufficiency did well with prism therapy alone. Half of the patients who had divergence excess needed extraocular-muscle surgery. One fourth of the patients had esotropia, nearly half associated with lateral rectus palsy. While prism therapy resulted in fusion, a reduction in prism power was not tolerated in this group. For this reason, surgery was suggested for all patients who had esotropia.
Accurate analysis of multitone signals using a DFT

Optimum data windows make it possible to determine accurately the amplitude, phase, and frequency of one or more tones (sinusoidal components) in a signal. Procedures presented in this paper can be applied to noisy signals, signals having moderate nonstationarity, and tones close in frequency. They are relevant to many areas of acoustics where sounds are quasistationary. Among these are acoustic probes transmitted through media and natural sounds, such as animal vocalization, speech, and music. The paper includes criteria for multitone FFT block design and an example of application to sound transmission in the atmosphere.
Lattice Monte Carlo Simulation of Cluster Coalescence Kinetics with Application to Template-Assisted Synthesis of Quantum Dots

A Lattice Monte Carlo (LMC) simulation technique has been developed to describe the synthesis of a single semiconductor nanocrystal inside the droplets of a microemulsion. The LMC simulation can track the diffusion of a precursor, its irreversible reaction with a second precursor to form nuclei, and the diffusion and coalescence of the nuclei into clusters and eventually into a single particle. In this paper we compare two scenarios for forming a single nanocrystal. The first scenario involves very rapid (spontaneous) conversion of a precursor dispersed in the droplet to nuclei that diffuse and coalesce into a single particle. The second scenario involves diffusion of a precursor to the droplet interface where an irreversible reaction with a second precursor forms nuclei that subsequently diffuse into the droplet and coalesce. Simulations were performed describing the synthesis of ZnSe nanocrystals with diameters up to 7 nm, i.e., below the quantum confinement threshold of 9 nm for this material. Comparis...
Programming video cards for computational electromagnetics applications

Recently, programming tools have become available to researchers and scientists that allow the use of video cards for general-purpose calculations in computational electromagnetics applications. Over the past few years, developments in the field of graphic processing units (GPUs) for video cards have vastly outpaced their general central processing unit (CPU) counterparts. As specifically applied to vector mathematic operations, the newest generation GPUs can generally outperform current CPU architecture by a wide margin. With the addition of large onboard memory units with significantly higher memory bandwidth than those found in the main system, graphic cards can be utilized as a highly efficient vector mathematic coprocessor. In the past, this power has been harnessed by writing low-level assembly code for the video cards. Recently, new tools have become available to make programming possible in high-level languages. By formulating proper procedures to realize general vector computations on the GPU, it will be possible to increase the processing power available by at least an order of magnitude compared to the current generation of CPUs
Minimal energy for elastic inclusions

We consider a variant of the isoperimetric problem with a non-local term representing elastic energy. More precisely, our aim is to analyse the optimal energy of an inclusion of a fixed volume the energy of which is determined by surface and elastic energies. This problem has been studied extensively in the physical/metallurgical literature; however, the analysis has mainly been either (i) numerical, or (ii) restricted to a specific set of inclusion shapes, e.g. ellipsoids. In this article, we prove a lower bound for the energy, with no a priori hypothesis on the shape (or even number) of the inclusions.
Polyelectrolyte-Enhanced Ultrafiltration of Copper from a Waste Stream

Abstract The concentration of copper in a simulated wastewater was successfully reduced from 100 ppm to less than 1 ppm by polyelectrolyte-enhanced ultrafiltration. In polyelectrolyte-enhanced ultrafiltration, copper is ionically bound to the polymeric chain of an anionic polyelectrolyte. Ultrafiltration then filters out this large copperpolyelectrolyte complex. At the same polyelectrolyte-to-copper ratio in the 1:1 to 3:1 (weight basis) range and a feed temperature in the 15 to 40°C range, sodium carboxymethyl cellulose was more efficient for copper removal and exhibited higher flux values than sodium polystyrene sulfonate. The experiments showed that transmembrane pressure has a minimal effect on removal of copper whereas the polyelectrolyte-to-copper ratio has considerable influence. It was also seen that the permeate copper concentration decreased with a decrease in feed temperature. Decreasing the feed temperature also caused a reduction in flux because of an increase in the viscosity of the feed sol...