cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Development and validation of a short-lag spatial coherence theory for photoacoustic imaging

We previously derived spatial coherence theory to be implemented for studying theoretical properties of ShortLag Spatial Coherence (SLSC) beamforming applied to photoacoustic images. In this paper, our newly derived theoretical equation is evaluated to generate SLSC images of a point target and a 1.2 mm diameter target and corresponding lateral profiles. We compared SLSC images simulated solely based on our theory to SLSC images created after beamforming acoustic channel data from k-Wave simulations of 1.2 mm-diameter disc target. This process was repeated for a point target and the full width at half the maximum signal amplitudes were measured to estimate the resolution of each imaging system. Resolution as a function of lag was comparable for the first 10% of the receive aperture (i.e., the short-lag region), after which resolution measurements diverged by a maximum of 1 mm between the two types of simulated images. These results indicate the potential for both simulation methods to be utilized as independent resources to study coherence-based photoacoustic beamformers when imaging point-like targets.
GBB: a generic blackboard development system

This paper describes a generic blackboard development system (GBB) that unifies many characteristics of the blackboard systems constructed to date. The goal of GBB is to provide flexibility, ease of implementation, and efficient execution of the resulting application system. Efficient insertion/retrieval of blackboard objects is achieved using a language for specifying the detailed structure of the blackboard as well as how that structure is to be implemented for a specific application. These specifications are used to generate a blackboard database kernel tailored to the application. GBB consists of two distinct subsystems: a blackboard database development subsystem and a control shell. This paper focuses on the database support and pattern matching capabilities of GBB, and presents the concepts and functionality used in providing an efficient blackboard database development subsystem.
Prehistory of the Development of Written Language

In the practice of school training, writing still holds a somewhat limited place in comparison with the enormous role it plays in the process of the cultural development of the child. The teaching of writing is treated as if it were of little practical value. The child is taught to pick out letters and make words of them, but he is not taught written language. The mechanics of reading is put forward so much that it shades written language as such, and for this reason, teaching the mechanics of writing and reading is dominant over an intelligent use of this mechanism. Something similar took place in teaching oral speech to deaf-mutes when all the attention of the teachers was directed toward teaching the children correct articulation, the placement of individual sounds and pronunciation of them precisely. Beyond the technique of pronunciation the deaf-mute pupil did not note oral speech itself. What developed was guttural speech.
Risk factors for hospitalizations (HOS) among older adults with gastrointestinal (GI) cancers receiving chemotherapy.

e21523Background: Older adults undergoing chemotherapy for GI cancers are at increased risk of HOS due to treatment related toxicity; however, there are limited data regarding which individuals are...
Benchmarking Tools for Copy Number Aberration Detection from Single-cell DNA Sequencing Data

Abstract Background Accurate detection of copy number aberrations (CNA) can aid in understanding the genetic causes of diseases. Three methods (CopyNumber, Ginkgo, and HMMcopy) have been applied to single-cell DNA sequencing data for CNA detection. Results In this paper, we benchmarked these three methods on simulated as well as biological datasets. We found that HMMcopy has the best accuracy of the three methods in terms of breakpoint detection but that Ginkgo is better in terms of detecting the actual copy numbers. In terms of computational requirements, HMMcopy consumes the least memory, but is in between the two other methods in terms of running time. Conclusion While single-cell DNA sequencing is very promising for elucidating and understanding CNAs, even the best existing method does not exceed 80% accuracy. New methods that significantly improve upon the accuracy of these three methods are needed. Furthermore, with the large datasets being generated, the methods must be computationally efficient.
A Real- Time Solver for Time-Optimal Control of Omnidirectional Robots with Bounded Acceleration

We are interested in the problem of time-optimal control of omnidirectional robots with bounded acceleration (TOC-ORBA). While there exist approximate solutions for such problems, and exact solutions with unbounded acceleration, exact solvers to the TOC-ORBA problem have remained elusive until now. In this paper, we present a real-time solver for true time-optimal control of omnidirectional robots with bounded acceleration. We first derive the general parameterized form of the solution to the TOC-ORBA problem by application of Pontryagin's maximum principle. We then frame the boundary value problem of TOC-ORBA as an optimization problem over the parameterized control space. To overcome local minima and poor initial guesses to the optimization problem, we introduce a two-stage optimal control solver (TSOCS): The first stage computes an upper bound to the total time for the TOC-ORBA problem and holds the time constant while optimizing the parameters of the trajectory to approach the boundary value conditions. The second stage uses the parameters found by the first stage, and relaxes the constraint on the total time to solve for the parameters of the complete TOC-ORBA problem. Furthermore, we implement TSOCS as a closed loop controller to overcome actuation errors on real robots in realtime. We empirically demonstrate the effectiveness of TSOCS in simulation and on real robots, showing that 1) it runs in real time, generating solutions in less than 0.5ms on average; 2) it generates faster trajectories compared to an approximate solver; and 3) it is able to solve TOC-ORBA problems with nonzero final velocities that were previously unsolvable in real-time.
Role Model: Getting and Keeping a First Job:

A personal biography focused on the importance of gaining a realistic understanding of the skills and attributes needed to compete in the job market.
Vitamin D Deficiency and Air Pollution Exacerbate COVID-19 Through Suppression of Antiviral Peptide LL37

Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency (VDD) are widely recognized as risk factors for respiratory tract infections. Vitamin D influences expression of many genes with well-established relevance to airway infections and relevant to immune system function. Recently, VDD has been shown to be a risk factor for acquisition and severity of COVID-19. Thus, treating VDD presents a safe and inexpensive opportunity for modulating the severity of the disease. VDD is common in those over 60 years of age, many with co-morbid conditions and in people with skin pigmentation sufficient to reduce synthesis of vitamin D. Exposure to fine particulate air pollution is also associated with worse outcomes from COVID19. Vitamin D stimulates transcription of cathelicidin which is cleaved to generate LL37. LL37 is an innate antimicrobial with demonstrated activity against a wide range of microbes including envelope viruses. LL37 also modulates cytokine signaling at the site of infections. Fine particles in air pollution can interfere with LL37 destruction of viruses and may reduce effective immune signaling modulation by LL37. While vitamin D influences transcription of many immune related genes, the weakened antimicrobial response of those with VDD against SARS-CoV-2 may be in part due to reduced LL37. Conclusion: Vitamin D plays an important role reducing the impact of viral lung disease processes. VDD is an acknowledged public health threat that warrants population-wide action to reduce COVID-19 morbidity and mortality. While vitamin D influences transcription of many immune related genes, the weakened antimicrobial response of those with VDD against SARS-CoV-2 may be in part due to reduced LL37. Action is needed to address COVID-19 associated risks of air pollution from industry, transportation, domestic sources and from primary and second hand tobacco smoke.
Machine learning prediction of combat basic training injury from 3D body shape images.

Introduction Athletes and military personnel are both at risk of disabling injuries due to extreme physical activity. A method to predict which individuals might be more susceptible to injury would be valuable, especially in the military where basic recruits may be discharged from service due to injury. We postulate that certain body characteristics may be used to predict risk of injury with physical activity. Methods US Army basic training recruits between the ages of 17 and 21 (N = 17,680, 28% female) were scanned for uniform fitting using the 3D body imaging scanner, Human Solutions of North America at Fort Jackson, SC. From the 3D body imaging scans, a database consisting of 161 anthropometric measurements per basic training recruit was used to predict the probability of discharge from the US Army due to injury. Predictions were made using logistic regression, random forest, and artificial neural network (ANN) models. Model comparison was done using the area under the curve (AUC) of a ROC curve. Results The ANN model outperformed two other models, (ANN, AUC = 0.70, [0.68,0.72], logistic regression AUC = 0.67, [0.62,0.72], random forest AUC = 0.65, [0.61,0.70]). Conclusions Body shape profiles generated from a three-dimensional body scanning imaging in military personnel predicted dischargeable physical injury. The ANN model can be programmed into the scanner to deliver instantaneous predictions of risk, which may provide an opportunity to intervene to prevent injury.
Does Ureteral Stent Drainage Prior to Cystectomy Increase the Risk of Subsequent Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma and Ureteral Complications

Abstract OBJECTIVE To guide management of preoperative hydronephrosis prior to radical cystectomy (RC), we compared post-RC risks of upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) and ureteroenteric anastomotic complications between ureteral stent and percutaneous nephrostomy tube drainage. METHODS Patients who underwent RC for urothelial carcinoma without a prior diagnosis of UTUC at our institution between 2000 and 2015 were included and divided into 4 patient groups: (1) no hydronephrosis (75%, N = 787); (2) hydronephrosis without preoperative upper tract drainage (13%, N = 132); (3) hydronephrosis treated with nephrostomy tube (3%, N = 36); (4) hydronephrosis treated with ureteral stent (9%, N = 94). The incidence of post-RC UTUC and ureteral complications was compared using Kaplan-Meier analyses and multivariable Cox proportional hazard modeling. RESULTS We identified a total of 1049 patients who underwent RC (median postoperative follow-up 4.3 years). Five-year post-RC UTUC incidence was 6.6%, 10.2%, 17%, 18.7% for groups 1-4, respectively (P= .13). On multivariable analysis, nephrostomy tube drainage (hazard ratio [HR] 4.10, P = .02) and preoperative ureteral stenting (HR 2.35, P = .04) were both associated with UTUC after RC, but ureteral stenting did not have a significantly higher association with UTUC than nephrostomy tube drainage. Severe hydronephrosis was also associated with development of UTUC (HR 4.03, P = .02). The incidence of ureteroenteric anastomotic complications did not vary by drainage modality. CONCLUSION Preoperative hydronephrosis was associated with UTUC after RC, but ureteral stent placement did not increase the risk of UTUC or ureteral complications relative to nephrostomy tube placement. The choice of hydronephrosis drainage pre-RC should not be guided by concern for UTUC risk.
Peptide Induction of Systemic Lupus Autoimmunity

Systemic lupus erythematosus often is cited as the classic representative of systemic autoimmunity, in contrast to organ-specific autoimmune disorders such as myasthenia gravis or Graves' disease. Autoantibodies are the unifying feature of lupus autoimmunity. Immunization with peptides is also capable of generating lupus autoimmunity and a clinical illness that closely resembles some forms of human lupus. The peptide immunization model of lupus grew from the immunochemical description of the fine specificity of the autoantigens. The Ro autoantigen is molecularly complicated. The specificity was originally defined as a precipitin line by Ouchterlony immunodiffusion and was appreciated to contain both RNA and protein. The spliceosome contains small nuclear RNPs (snRNPs) which are common antigenic targets for lupus autoantibodies, commonly called Sm and nRNP. Immunization with the major epitope of Sm D, which contains the glycine-arginine repeat, also produces a diversified response directed against Sm Dl, D2, and D3, as well as other spliceosomal autoantigens. Immunization with Ro peptides has also been carried out with mice. A myriad of additional predictions and molecular relationships must be defined and must be consistent with the possibility that Epstein-Barr virus is importantly involved in the pathogenesis of lupus before it will generally be accepted that Epstein-Barr virus is etiologically relevant to lupus. The animal model of lupus and of B-cell epitope spreading is also likely to teach fundamental lessons about the immune system and of the immunopathology of lupus autoimmunity.
Comparison of spatially smoothed weighted subspace methods

The performances of spatially smoothed weighted MUSIC and weighted state space methods/ESPRIT are analyzed, and compared for the direction of arrival (DOA) estimation problem. A key outcome of the analysis is the observation that, when a forward-backward spatially smoothed approach is used, optimally weighted MUSIC and optimally weighted state space methods/ESPRIT have identical asymptotic behavior. It is also shown that the forward-backward covariance matrix is better conditioned than the forward-only covariance matrix, providing additional justification for the use of the forward-backward approach. The analysis is shown to be extendable to the time-series frequency estimation problem, thereby providing a unified framework for dealing with DOA estimation and time-series frequency estimation. >
Reliable energy efficient routing in wireless sensor networks

This paper describes algorithms for creation and maintenance of a spanning tree connecting nodes to the central observer (root) in wireless sensor networks. The tree is dynamically reconfigured to route around failed nodes, while minimizing energy consumption. Reconfiguration uses only local information, so that the algorithm scales to large sensor networks. The performance of the algorithm is compared to the single path with repair routing scheme
Prohibiting Sex Discrimination in the Workplace: An Economic Perspective

Much has changed in the 25 years since conservative Southern congressmen attempted to derail Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act by offering an amendment that would extend its prohibitions to employment discrimination against women.' It is difficult to capture in the dry text the mocking condescension with which Congressman Smith of Virginia offered the amendment as his supporters chortled their approval:
Polar coding for empirical and strong coordination via distribution approximation

We design low-complexity polar codes for empirical and strong coordination in two-node network. Our constructions hinge on the observation that polar codes may be used to approximate distribution; which we leverage to prove that nested polar codes achieve the capacity region of empirical coordination and strong coordination.
Nonprimary Sensory Projections on the Cat Neocortex

Publisher Summary Clinical observations on man as well as ablation studies on monkeys suggest sensory integrative or associative functions for cortical areas lying outside the anatomically and electrophysiologically defined sensory receiving areas. This chapter presents physiological examination of the organization of such nonprimary areas that has been conducted on cats. In unanesthetized cats, sensory stimuli elicit evoked activity in various cortical regions outside the receiving area for the modality being stimulated. Sensory input to cortex, as detected by electrophysiological techniques, is not confined to receiving areas but also attains nonprimary cortex. In contrast to primary fields, certain nonprimary areas are similarly responsive, in unanesthetized preparations, to stimulation of several modalities and are, thus, “polysensory” in character. Microelectrode studies on these areas have shown that the polysensory inputs converge on common neuron pools, thereby providing a physiological basis for the proposed integrative functions of polysensory areas.. Nonprimary responses, in particular those in polysensory areas, are considerably more labile, variable, and susceptible to depressants than primary evoked responses. They are especially sensitive to barbiturate anesthesia, and hence cannot be studied under such conditions. In contrast, they are enhanced by chloralose and can, thus, be more easily investigated under the latter conditions than in absence of anesthesia.
Locational factors and the urban fringe land market

Abstract The rural-urban fringe land market is a complex interaction of behavioral, institutional and locational economic factors. These factors are analysed in relation to transactional sales prices for undeveloped fringe land. The resultant models estimate the role of several of these factors in the demand for fringe land. Parcel size, access to peripheral urban centers, zoning, land use and the interactions of location and specific land uses are the primary determinants of the transactional sale prices. Understanding the composition of the demand function within the fringe land market context will assist in comprehending the complexity of the fringe land market and the land conversion process.
Dislocation of primary THA done through a posterolateral approach in the elderly

UNLABELLED We assess the rate of dislocation of total hip arthroplasty (THA) through a posterolateral approach in elderly patients and determine if this complication can be minimized. We retrospectively reviewed 150 THAs done between 1992 and 2002, through a posterolateral approach in patients 80 years and older. A hybrid THA was done in 46% of patients and both components were cemented in 54% of patients. A 28-mm head was used in 83% of the patients and a 32-mm head was used in 17% of patients. An elevated liner, with the elevation placed posteriorly, was used in 38% of hybrid cases. Starting in mid-1998, the posterior capsule was preserved and repaired at the time of wound closure (n = 77, 51%). Dislocation occurred in eight hips (five recurrent) at an average time to dislocation of 26.9 months (range, 1-79 months). No dislocations occurred when using a 32-mm head or a 28-mm head with a lipped liner in association with repair of the posterior capsule. Statistical regression analysis indicated that capsular repair was the single most important predictive factor for dislocation. When using the posterolateral approach for THA in patients older than 80 years, we suggest using a 32-mm head in combination with posterior capsular repair to reduce the incidence of dislocation. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Therapeutic study, Level III-1 (retrospective comparative study). See the Guidelines for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
Safe Osteocutaneous Radial Forearm Flap Harvest with Prophylactic Internal Fixation

We studied the efficacy of prophylactic plate fixation technique and a modified harvest of the osteocutaneous radial forearm free flap (OCRFFF) to minimize the incidence of postoperative donor radius pathological fracture. We retrospectively studied of the first 70 consecutive patients undergoing OCRFFF harvest by the University of Kansas Head and Neck Microvascular Reconstruction Team. Mean follow-up was 13 months. One of two patients undergoing OCRFFF harvest without prophylactic fixation developed a pathological radius fracture. The 68 subsequent OCRFFF patients underwent prophylactic fixation of the donor radius, and none developed a symptomatic radius fracture. Five of 68 patients did have a radiographically visible fracture requiring no intervention. The plate fixation technique was further modified to exclude monocortical screws in the radius bone donor defect (subsequent 39 patients), without any further fractures detected. One patient required forearm hardware removal for an attritional extensor tendon tear. The described modified OCRFFF harvest and prophylactic plate fixation technique may eliminate postoperative pathological fracture of the donor radius. Donor morbidity is similar to that of the fasciocutaneous radial forearm free flap , affording safe use of OCRFFF in head and neck reconstruction.
Exuberant sprouting of sensory and sympathetic nerve fibers in nonhealed bone fractures and the generation and maintenance of chronic skeletal pain

Skeletal injury is a leading cause of chronic pain and long-term disability worldwide. While most acute skeletal pain can be effectively managed with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and opiates, chronic skeletal pain is more difficult to control using these same therapy regimens. One possibility as to why chronic skeletal pain is more difficult to manage over time is that there may be nerve sprouting in nonhealed areas of the skeleton that normally receive little (mineralized bone) to no (articular cartilage) innervation. If such ectopic sprouting did occur, it could result in normally nonnoxious loading of the skeleton being perceived as noxious and/or the generation of a neuropathic pain state. To explore this possibility, a mouse model of skeletal pain was generated by inducing a closed fracture of the femur. Examined animals had comminuted fractures and did not fully heal even at 90+days post fracture. In all mice with nonhealed fractures, exuberant sensory and sympathetic nerve sprouting, an increase in the density of nerve fibers, and the formation of neuroma-like structures near the fracture site were observed. Additionally, all of these animals exhibited significant pain behaviors upon palpation of the nonhealed fracture site. In contrast, sprouting of sensory and sympathetic nerve fibers or significant palpation-induced pain behaviors was never observed in naive animals. Understanding what drives this ectopic nerve sprouting and the role it plays in skeletal pain may allow a better understanding and treatment of this currently difficult-to-control pain state.
Exploring the Written Dialogues of Two First-Year Secondary Science Teachers in an Online Mentoring Program

This study explored the yearlong learning processes of two first-year secondary science teachers participating in an online mentoring program, through examination of their written dialogues within the program and other data. Using a case study method, this study (a) explored the patterns of written dialogues between the two new teachers and their mentors over the course of a year, (b) documented pertinent topics of importance, and finally (c) illustrated the new realities created in the mentees’ classrooms as a result of the online mentoring process. Penelope and Bradley, who taught at an urban school and at a suburban school respectively, were selected as subjects. Our analysis revealed that the two pairs of mentee–mentors showed different participation patterns that affected the intensity of the creation of new realities, and affected whether the mentees tried/vetted new teaching practices suggested by their mentors. Yet, analysis also revealed that certain elements in the written dialogues between pairs were found to be similar, in that construction of knowledge was evident between both pairs when friction developed and appropriate teamwork emerged to deal with it. The topics of greatest interest and importance within the dialogues were those related to the logistics of the school system and the processes and methodologies of teaching. These results suggest that online mentoring programs are an effective dialogical tool for transferring the knowledge of experts to novices, and for thus expediting the professional induction and growth of new science teachers.
Autocatalytic Subunit Processing Couples Active Site Formation in the 20S Proteasome to Completion of Assembly

The eukaryotic 20S proteasome is responsible for the degradation of many cellular proteins, but how it is assembled and how its distinct active sites are formed are not understood. Like other proteasome subunits, the yeast Doa3 protein is synthesized in precursor form. We show that the N-terminal propeptide is required for Doa3 incorporation into the proteasome and, remarkably, that the propeptide functions in trans, suggesting it serves a chaperone-like function in proteasome biogenesis. Propeptide processing is not required for proteasome assembly but is needed for maturation of a specific subset of active sites. The likely nucleophile for these sites is provided by the N-terminal threonine of mature Doa3. Additional data indicate that precursor processing is autocatalytic and requires association of the two halves of the proteasome particle, thereby preventing formation of proteolytic sites until the central hydrolytic chamber has been sealed off from the rest of the cell.
Analysis of Response Repetition as an Error-Correction Strategy During Sight-Word Reading

A great deal is known about the effects of positive reinforcement on response acquisition; by contrast, much less research has been conducted on contingencies applied to errors. We examined the effects of response repetition as an error-correction procedure on the sight-word reading performance of 11 adults with developmental disabilities. Study 1 compared single-response (SR) repetition and multiple-response (MR) repetition, and results showed that all 6 participants acquired more sight words with the MR procedure. Study 2 compared MR error correction following every incorrect response (continuous) and following one third of incorrect responses (intermittent), and results showed that all 6 participants acquired more sight words when error correction was continuous. Study 3 compared MR error correction in which errors required practice of the training word (relevant) versus a different word (irrelevant), and results showed that 3 of 9 participants showed better performance under the relevant condition; however, all participants showed improvement even under the irrelevant condition. Findings are discussed in terms of the behavioral processes by which error correction may enhance performance during acquisition.
Humanizing the technical speech

It is one thing to write a technical paper and quite another to present it to an audience so that the listeners not only will understand it but will remain interested in what the speaker is saying. There are certain fundamental principles involved which, if followed, will assist a speaker to hold his audience in more ways than one.
Signaling mechanisms in neuroendocrine tumors as targets for therapy.

Although neuroendocrine tumors are rare, the more common types such as gastrointestinal and pancreatic carcinoids, medullary thyroid cancers, and small cell lung cancers have been studied in detail during the last few years. Data published thus far indicate that multiple signaling pathways are involved in these cancers. Recent focus has been on developing novel therapeutics by targeting specific signaling pathways. This article details several of the signaling mechanisms that have been discovered to play a role in the development and progression of neuroendocrine tumors. The therapeutic options developed to address the various pathways, including their specific mechanisms of actions, are also discussed.
Mapping Subunit Contacts in the Regulatory Complex of the 26 S Proteasome S2 AND S5b FORM A TETRAMER WITH ATPase SUBUNITS S4 and S7

The 19 S regulatory complex (RC) of the 26 S proteasome is composed of at least 18 different subunits, including six ATPases that form specific pairs S4-S7, S6-S8, and S6'-S10b in vitro. One of the largest regulatory complex subunits, S2, was translated in reticulocyte lysate containing [(35)S]methionine and used to probe membranes containing SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis separated RC subunits. S2 bound to two ATPases, S4 and S7. Association of S2 with regulatory complex subunits was also assayed by co-translation and sedimentation. S2 formed an immunoprecipitable heterotrimer upon co-translation with S4 and S7. The non-ATPase S5b also formed a ternary complex with S4 and S7 and the three proteins assembled into a tetramer with S2. Neither S2 nor S5b formed complexes with S6'-S10b dimers or with S6-S8 oligomers. The use of chimeric ATPases demonstrated that S2 binds the NH(2)-terminal region of S4 and the COOH-terminal two-thirds of S7. Conversely, S5b binds the COOH-terminal two-thirds of S4 and to S7's NH(2)-terminal region. The demonstrated association of S2 with ATPases in the mammalian 19 S regulatory complex is consistent with and extends the recent finding that the yeast RC is composed of two subcomplexes, the lid and the base (Glickman, M. H., Rubin, D. M., Coux, O., Wefes, I., Pfeifer, G., Cejka, Z., Baumeister, W., Fried, V. A., and Finley, D. (1998) Cell 94, 615-623).
Route and Scheduling Choice Under Travel Time Uncertainty

This research develops a theoretical model to analyze commuters' joint decisions of route and departure time in a simple network with two parallel routes: one with free but congested lanes, the other with free-flowing tolled lanes with time-varying tolls. By accounting for trip distance, the theoretical model is able to examine the two different sources of travel time uncertainties: length of commute and type of route. Length of commute causes long-distance commuters to leave home earlier, but type of route may lead to a change of route as well as of departure time to compensate for the higher risk of arriving late for work. Results show that long-distance commuters are less likely to take toll lanes than people with short commutes; that travelers who plan to take toll lanes are unlikely to switch to free lanes en route because their later departure times reflect the savings and reduced uncertainty in travel time; and that provision of pretrip information favors the use of toll lanes and may result in commuters leaving home later, even in heavier-than-normal traffic. The theoretical model provides more flexible demand specification for simulation studies. In addition it has important policy implications because it allows a better understanding of commuters' travel behaviors on roads with value-pricing schemes, such as the express lanes on CA-91 and high-occupancy toll lanes on I-15 in California.
A Biomechanical Assessment of Hand/Arm Force with Pneumatic Nail Gun Actuation Systems

A biomechanical model is presented, and combined with measurements of tip press force, to estimate total user hand force associated with two pneumatic nail gun trigger systems. The contact actuation trigger (CAT) can fire a nail when the user holds the trigger depressed first and then "bumps" the nail gun tip against the workpiece. With a full sequential actuation trigger (SAT) the user must press the tip against the workpiece prior to activating the trigger. The SAT is demonstrably safer in reducing traumatic injury risk, but increases the duration (and magnitude) of tip force exertion. Time integrated (cumulative) hand force was calculated for a single user from measurements of the tip contact force with the workpiece and transfer time between nails as inputs to a static model of the nail gun and workpiece in two nailing task orientations. The model shows the hand force dependence upon the orientation of the workpiece in addition to the trigger system. Based on standard time allowances from work measurement systems (i.e. Methods-Time Measurement - 1) it is proposed that efficient application of hand force with the SAT in maintaining tip contact can reduce force exertion attributable to the sequential actuation trigger to 2-8% (horizontal nailing) and 9-20% (vertical nailing) of the total hand/arm force. The present model is useful for considering differences in cumulative hand/arm force exposure between the SAT and CAT systems and may explain the appeal of the CAT trigger in reducing the user's perception of muscular effort.
Consecutive film and surface renewal mechanism for heat or mass transfer from a wall

Abstract A mechanism of consecutive film and surface renewal for heat or mass exchange between wall and bed or flowing fluid is discussed. This mechanism is then applied to bed-wall heat transfer in both gaseous and liquid fluidized beds.
Restriction polymorphisms in the internal transcribed spacers and 5.8S rDNA of Saccharomyces.

Polymorphism in enzymatically amplified ribosomal DNA (rDNA) were examined in 18 strains ofSaccharomyces. Restriction patterns generated from the region spanning the internal transcribed spacers (ITS) and the 5.8S rDNA produced two clusters corresponding toS. bayanus andS. cerevisiae. The type culture ofS. carlsbergensis (ATCC 76529), which could not be separated from theS. cerevisiae group by small subunit (SSU) rDNA patterns, showed aScrfI profile that was distinct from all the other strains. The type culture ofs. intermedius var.turicensis (ATCC 76519) is assigned toS. bayanus on the basis of the combined results of SSU and ITS restriction analyses.S. kluyveri occurred at a separate branch of the distance tree and is unrelated to any of the strains. Results were in general agreement with reported DNA homologies and are discussed in relation to other molecular and genetic data.
“Divided Government” in State Executive Branches

The study of “divided government” has focused on the split partisan control of executive and legislative branches. The concept of divided government can also be applied to the study of state executive branches. There is no plausible reason for state electorates to prefer one party for governor and the opposing party for other state executive branch officials, yet many states have a governor of one party, while several of the state executive branch officers are of the opposing party. This study examines the extent of divided executive branches in state politics. Incumbency, state partisanship, and the changing nature of Southern politics affect levels of divisiveness in state executive branches. Electoral features do not affect levels of divisiveness. The data comprises states that have separately elected state executive officers between the years 1968 and 1993.
Sequence-specific triple helix formation with genomic DNA

We have previously demonstrated site-specific delivery of antiparallel phosphorothioate triplex forming oligonucleotide (TFO) specific to −165 to −141 promoter region of α1(I) collagen (abbreviated as APS165) to hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) of fibrotic rats after conjugation with mannose 6-phosphate-bovine serum albumin. However, we still need to determine whether there is correlation between transcription inhibition and triplex formation with genomic DNA. In this study, APS165 was modified with psoralen and the extent of triplex formation with α1(I) collagen DNA was determined in naked genomic DNA, isolated nuclei of HSC-T6 cells and whole cells by using a simple real-time PCR based method. In this method, a purification step was added to remove unbound APS165, which eliminated the possible artifacts during real-time PCR. Psoralen photoadduct formation was shown to be essential to retain triplex structure under denaturing conditions. On naked genomic DNA, 82.2% of DNA formed triplex and 36.7% of genomic DNA in isolated nuclei at 90 min contained triplex structure. As quantified by real-time PCR, 50% of genomic DNA in living cells at 12 h post incubation contained triplex structures. Furthermore, the triplex formation was dose-dependent with 26.5% and 50% of DNA having triplex structure at concentrations of 1 μM and 5 μM, respectively. Moreover, on a plasmid pCol-CAT220 containing rat α1(I) gene promoter (−225 to +113), 75.3% of triplex formation was observed, which was correlated with a 73.6% of transcription inhibition. These findings will further strengthen the therapeutic applications of APS165.
Media Effects and the Active Elite Audience: A Study of Communications in the London Stock Exchange

This article explores the impact of communications on investor behaviour and trading patterns in the London Stock Exchange (LSE). The significance of the work is two-fold. First, for many observers, the wild trading patterns that regularly occur in stock markets suggest the presence of ‘strong’ media effects in action; a finding in conflict with mainstream audience research. Second, the audience investigated is an elite one that most ‘actively’ consumes its media and is rarely observed in studies of media effects. The research thus attempts to identify in what ways the media are implicated in stock market movements and, at the same time, how exactly this active, elite audience makes use of its media. The empirical material presented here is primarily that gained from interviews with elite fund managers at the London Stock Exchange, Europe’s largest financial centre.
Generalized Empirical Likelihood-Based Model Selection Criteria for Moment Condition Models

This paper proposes model selection criteria (MSC) for unconditional moment models using generalized empirical likelihood (GEL) statistics. The use of GEL-statistics in lieu of J-statistics (in the spirit of Andrews, 1999, Econometrica 67, 543-564; and Andrews and Lu, 2001, Journal of Econometrics 101, 123-164) leads to an alternative interpretation of the MSCs that emphasizes the common information-theoretic rationale underlying model selection procedures for both parametric and semiparametric models. The result of this paper also provides a GEL-based model selection alternative to the information criteria-based nonnested tests for generalized method of moments models considered in Kitamura (2000, University of Wisconsin). The results of a Monte Carlo experiment are reported to illustrate the finite-sample performance of the selection criteria and their impact on parameter estimation.
Blue cone input to the photopic electroretinogram of the turtlePseudemys

Abstract Chromatic adaptation and response averaging were used to determine if blue cone input could be identified in the photopic ERG of the turtle, Pseudemys scripta elegans . In addition to the long wavelength peak near 630 nm typically seen in Pseudemys action spectra, a short-wavelength peak near 460 nm was also found when 666 or 566 nm adapting fields were used. It is concluded that blue cones contribute to the photopic Pseudemys ERG and that the blue cone system interacts with the red and green cone systems in this species.
Duration of evidence-based medical therapy and the hazard for atherothrombotic events following percutaneous coronary intervention

Abstract Background Patients who undergo coronary artery stent procedures are at risk for late atherothrombotic events, including stent thrombosis. The relationship between the duration during which evidence-based medical therapies are utilized after coronary artery stenting and the risk of late atherothrombotic events is not well characterized. Methods In a retrospective cohort study linking a hospital-based percutaneous coronary intervention registry with a health maintenance organization claims dataset, we related the duration of medical therapy utilization during follow up to the hazard for death, myocardial infarction, unstable angina, transient ischemic attack or stroke following a coronary artery stent procedure. Multivariable Cox models were employed in which medical treatments were entered as time-varying covariates; data were stratified by stent type and time period. Results The median [interquartile range, IQR] duration of follow up was 832 [460, 1420] days. During this time, 86 ischemic events occurred in 84 of 386 patients at a median [IQR] of 260 [110, 658] days. The incidence of atherothrombotic events following coronary artery stenting was highest during the first post-procedure year and declined substantially thereafter. Multivariable predictors of incident ischemic events included multivessel coronary artery disease (HR 2.01 [95% CI 1.30–3.11], p = 0.0018) and longer duration angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor/angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB), beta blocker or statin therapy (HR 0.52 [95% CI 0.28–0.99], p = 0.045). Conclusions The use of longer-term ACE inhibitor/ARB, beta blocker or statin therapy was associated with a significantly lower risk; these risk reductions were of greater magnitude than those associated with clopidogrel.
Diffraction from a shallow rectangular groove.

Infrared radiation scattered from a shallow groove is found to exhibit the same diffraction pattern as a single slit. A model based on a beam with a Gaussian intensity profile was found which explains the observed scattering patterns and which also describes the scattering pattern occurring when certain alignment errors are present in the system. The large scattering intensity from the shallow (depth ∼λ/20) groove has implications in the use of optical scattering as a tool for nondestructive evaluation of surface flaws.
Jejunal Intussusception: A Complication of Functional End‐to‐End Stapled Anastomoses in Two Ponies

Jejunojejunal intussusception occurred after jejunal resection and stapled functional end-to-end anastomosis in two pony mares. In both mares, the lead point of the intussusception was the stapled functional end-to-end (FEE) anastomosis. The stapled free ends of jejunum were oversewn with an inverting suture pattern. A possible explanation for development of the intussusception was the acute angle created in the intestine by the FEE anastomosis. This angulation may have impaired flow of ingesta causing motility changes that predisposed the site to intussusception. Because the oversewn blind intestinal ends acted as the lead point for formation of the intussusception, it may be inadvisable to oversew the stapled anastomotic ends.
Continuing the search for dyslexia genes on 6p

This study is a continuation and extension of the work with Orton Developmental Dyslexia (DD) pedigrees [Grigorenko et al., 1997; 2000, Grigorenko et al., 2001]. This study utilized an extended sample (N = 176) and a well-saturated map of chromosome 6p (30 markers). Six phenotypes were constructed to span a range of dyslexia-related cognitive processes. These phenotypes were: (1) Phonemic Awareness (of spoken words); (2) Phonological Decoding (of printed nonwords); (3) Rapid Automatized Naming (of colored squares or object drawings); (4) Single Word Reading (orally, of printed real words); (5) Phonemic Awareness/Decoding/Single-Word Reading pathway; and (6) Phonemic Awareness/Rapid Naming/Single-Word Reading pathway. The study resulted in two major findings. First, considering the distributions of the genetic linkage indicators across all phenotypes examined, there appear to be three regions of interest (around markers D6S109, D6S1261, and in the D6S105–D6S265 region). Any of these regions could serve as a starting point in the search for specific gene candidates contributing to the manifestation of DD, yet they all might be echo peaks of a single peak, the boundary of which is difficult to establish due to the limited power of this sample. Second, the DD-related linkage in 6p21.3 appears to be most closely related to the manifestations of DD through phonemic awareness and single-word reading deficits. © 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Integrated vertebrate, invertebrate and plant taphonomy of the Fossil Forest area (Fruitland and Kirtland formations: Late Cretaceous), San Juan County, New Mexico, USA

Abstract Outcrops of the upper Fruitland and lower Kirtland formations (Upper Cretaceous) in the Fossil Forest area of northwestern New Mexico, USA, contain abundant organic remains. This fossil accumulation is “typical” of the late Cretaceous of the Western Interior. The vertebrate fauna is characterized by a lack of coprocoenoses or soil accumulations, few bones with evidence of carnivore damage and a paucity of small bones. Macrovertebrate remains are disarticulated and hydrodynamically sorted. Microvertebrate accumulations are all hydrodynamic in origin. Macerated plant material is common in all rocktypes. An extensive fossil forest was preserved as the result of a large flood which drowned a floodplain forest. Invertebrates are mainly restricted to channel-lag deposits. Vertebrate fossils, and to a lesser extent petrified wood, are restricted to a single downcut fluvial complex.
NATURE OF STATIONARITY OF THE NATURAL FREQUENCIES AT THE NATURAL MODES IN THE RAYLEIGH–RITZ METHOD

Abstract A variational formulation of the Rayleigh–Ritz method to obtain approximate natural frequencies and natural modes is presented. The stationarity of the natural frequencies with respect to the arbitrary coefficients in the linear combination of the assumed deflection shapes, and also at the natural modes is investigated. It is concluded that the natural frequencies are stationary and need not always be minimum, with respect to the arbitrary coefficients; however, they are minimum with respect to the natural modes. This may provide a means of checking the accuracy of the computed natural frequencies obtained by using energy techniques such as the Rayleigh–Ritz, Galerkin, and finite element methods.
Diurnal migration and responses to simulated rainfall in desert soil microarthropods and nematodes

Abstract Diurnal patterns of microarthropod abundance in surface leaf litter were related to its moisture content. Leaf litter moisture was nearly 7% by weight at 0800h but fell to less than 1% by mid-day. Oribatid and tydeid mites moved into litter in the early morning and back into the soil before mid-day. There were no significant differences in numbers of nematodes in litter or soil and 78–98% of the nematodes were anhydrobiotic (coiled) in soil and litter at all times sampled. Following simulated rainfall there were fewer microarthropods in litter at mid-day in the absence of marked decreases in soil and litter moisture content. During drying, there were gradual reductions in numbers and species diversity of litter microarthropods. Nematode numbers did not change as litter dried. Anhydrobiotic nematodes in the soil increased from 14% on day 1 to 85% on day 4. Between 24 and 36 h after simulated rainfall, the proportion of anhydrobiotic litter nematodes increased from 35 to 80%,. Within 1 h after simulated rainfall, there were marked increases in numbers and diversity of microarthropods in surface litter. No collembolans were extracted from dry litter controls but the wet litter was dominated by isotomid, sminthurid and onychiurid collembolans. There were increases in numbers and diversity of oribatid, tydeid and gamasid mites in the wet surface litter within l h after wetting compared to controls.
Accurate LC Peak Boundary Detection for 16O/18O Labeled LC-MS Data

In liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), parts of LC peaks are often corrupted by their co-eluting peptides, which results in increased quantification variance. In this paper, we propose to apply accurate LC peak boundary detection to remove the corrupted part of LC peaks. Accurate LC peak boundary detection is achieved by checking the consistency of intensity patterns within peptide elution time ranges. In addition, we remove peptides with erroneous mass assignment through model fitness check, which compares observed intensity patterns to theoretically constructed ones. The proposed algorithm can significantly improve the accuracy and precision of peptide ratio measurements.