cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Solar Sailing Kinetic Energy Interceptor (KEI) Mission for Impacting/Deflecting Near-Earth Asteroids

A solar sailing mission architecture, which requires a t least ten 160-m, 300-kg solar sail spacecraft with a characteristic acceleration of 0.5 mm/sqs, is proposed as a realistic near- term option for mitigating the threat posed by near-Earth asteroids (NEAs). Its mission feasibility is demonstrated for a fictional asteroid mitigation problem created by AIAA. This problem assumes that a 200-m asteroid, designated 2004WR, was detected on July 4, 2004, and that the expected impact will occur on January 14, 2015. The solar sailing phase of the proposed mission for the AIAA asteroid mitigation problem is comprised of the initial cruise phase from 1 AU t o 0.25 AU (1.5 years), the cranking orbit phase (3.5 years), and the retrograde orbit phase (1 year) prior to impacting the target asteroid at its perihelion (0.75 AU from the sun) on January 1, 2012. The proposed mission will require at least ten kinetic energy interceptor (KEI) solar sail spacecraft. Each KEI sailcraft consists of a 160- m, 150-kg solar sail and a 150-kg microsatellite impactor. The impactor is to be separated from a large solar sail prior to impacting the 200-m target asteroid at its perihelion. Each 150-kg microsatellite impactor, with a relative impact velocity of at least 70 km/s, will cause a conservatively estimated AV of 0.3 cm/s in the trajectory of the 200-m target asteroid, due largely to the impulsive effect of material ejected from the newly-formed crater. The deflection caused by a single impactor will increase the Earth-miss-distance by 0.45Re (where Re denotes the Earth radius of 6,378 km). Therefore, at least ten KEI sailcraft will be required for consecutive impacts, but probably without causing fragmentation, to increase the total Earth-miss-distance by 4.5Re. This miss-distance increase of 29,000 km is outside of a typical uncertainty/error of about 10,000 km in predicting the Earth-miss- distance. A conventional Delta I1 2925 launch vehicle is capable of injecting at least two KEI sailcraft into an Earth escaping orbit. A 40-m solar sail is currently being developed by NASA and industries for a possible flight validation experiment within 10 years, and a 160-m solar sail is expected to be available within 20 years.
Effects of mindfulness interventions on depressive symptoms in adolescents: A meta-analysis.

Background Depression among adolescents is rising globally and is the leading cause of illness and disability among adolescents. While antidepressants and psychotherapy are effective, only about 40% of depressed adolescents receive treatments due to lack of professionals and barriers such as cost and personal obstacles including stigma, lack of motivation, and negative perceptions of treatment. Use of alternative and complementary treatments for depression is growing. One such treatment is mindfulness meditation. Objective We examined the effects of mindfulness interventions on depression among adolescents and explored the moderator effects of participants, methods, and intervention characteristics. Methods We searched 17 databases from their inception to April 2019 to identify studies written in English. Search terms included depress* AND mindful* OR meditat* AND adolescen* OR student*; 29 studies met inclusion criteria. Two researchers independently coded data from all primary studies. Discrepancies were discussed with a third researcher to reach consensus. Using the random effects model, we computed the effect sizes (ESs) of mindfulness interventions on depression using standardized mean differences (Hedge's g) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Funnel plot, Q statistics, and I2 were used to test the heterogeneity across studies. We examined moderators to explore sources of heterogeneity. Results Across 29 studies (N=3688), 1839 adolescents participated in mindfulness interventions; 1849 served as controls. Mean ages ranged from 10.2 to 19.5 years. Mindfulness groups showed reduced depression compared to control groups (g=.14, 95%CI[.01−.28], p Conclusion Mindfulness interventions are mildly effective interventions to reduce depressive symptoms among adolescents. Clinicians trained in mindfulness interventions might encourage mindfulness meditation as adjunctive/alternative treatment for adolescents with mild or moderate depressive symptoms as well as for at-risk adolescents to prevent depression. Funding, type of mindfulness interventions, individual counseling, and time to follow up were moderators of the effects of mindfulness interventions on depression in adolescents.
Epigenetic Age Acceleration and Cognitive Decline: A Twin Study.

Background Little is known about the role of DNA methylation (DNAm) epigenetic age acceleration in cognitive decline. Using a twin study design, we examined whether DNAm age acceleration is related to cognitive decline measured longitudinally in persons without a clinical diagnosis of dementia. Methods We studied 266 paired male twins (133 pairs) with a mean age of 56 years at baseline. Of these, 114 paired twins returned for a follow-up after an average of 11.5 years. We obtained six indices of DNAm age acceleration based on epigenome-wide data from peripheral blood lymphocytes. At both baseline and follow-up, we administered a battery of cognitive measures and constructed two composite scores, one for executive function and one for memory function. We fitted multivariable mixed regression models to examine the association of DNAm age acceleration markers with cognitive function within pairs. Results In cross sectional analyses at baseline, there was no association between DNAm age acceleration and cognitive function scores. In longitudinal analyses, however, comparing twins within pairs, each additional year of age acceleration using the Horvath's method was associated with a 3% decline (95% CI, 1% to 5%) in the composite executive function score and a 2.5% decline (95% CI, 0.01% to 4.9%) in the memory function score. These results did not attenuate after adjusting for education and other risk factors. Conclusions Middle-aged men who had older DNAm age relative to their brothers of the same demographic age, showed a faster rate of cognitive decline in the subsequent 11.5 years. These results point to the role of epigenetic modifications in cognitive aging.
Abstract WP39: Mechanical Embolectomy for Acute Ischemic Stroke Beyond Six Hours From Symptom Onset Using Advanced MR Imaging

Background: There is very limited data on the use of advanced neuroimaging to select patients with acute ischemic stroke and large vessel occlusion for intraarterial therapy beyond 6 hours from ons...
Ecological impacts of an invasive mesopredator do not differ from those of a native mesopredator: lionfish in Caribbean Panama

The impacts of invasive lionfish (Pterois volitans/miles) on native coral reef populations in the Western Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea can be enormous. However, how much lionfish differ from native predators and whether their effects outweigh the abundant mesopredators that occupy many reefs invite continued examination. Here, we present empirical evidence from Caribbean Panama and beyond suggesting that lionfish are less abundant than native mesopredators. Furthermore, we show that their direct impacts on survivorship and size distributions of one native prey species are similar to those of a native mesopredator. These results support calls for lionfish management that considers evolving local ecological and social dynamics, including prey community composition, the roles of native mesopredators, and regional goals for conservation and fisheries. Recognition of regional context creates the potential for synergies between conservation actions aimed both at the invasion and other consequential problems such as overexploitation and climate change.
Dielectric Properties of Epoxy/Paper Composites in the High-low Temperature Environment

Epoxy resin impregnated paper (ERIP) composites are the main insulation material of capacitance core of the capacitance graded bushing. The insulating property of ERIP composites are relevant with the change of environmental temperature. Therefore, the influences of high-low temperature environment on the dielectric response properties of ERIP composites were studied in the paper. Firstly, the cycles test of ERIP samples is carried out by high-low temperature environment from 20°C to 120°C, and the frequency domain dielectric spectroscopy (FDS) test is performed on the ERIP sample at each cycle. Then, the dielectric loss factor (tanδ) and the real and imaginary parts of complex capacitance at different cycle numbers and frequencies are all analyzed in the paper. Finally, the features are extracted from the frequency domain of the tanδ, and the relationship with the features and the cycles is established. The test results and analysis indicated that as the number of cycles increases, the value of the tanδ and the imaginary part of the complex capacitance has an increase trend, while the value of the real part of the complex capacitance decreases with the increase of the number of cycles. As the number of cycles increases, the rate of change of the power tanδ, the imaginary and real parts of the power complex capacitance are 46.79%, 39.73% and 4.26% respectively. The tanδ at 1Hz, 0.46Hz and 0.22Hz are the selected features, all of which have linear relationship with the cycle times. The conclusion can provide a data basis for insulation state of the ERIP composites within the capacitance graded bushing.
When an Energy-Efficient Scheduling is Optimal for Half-Duplex Relay Networks?

This paper considers a diamond network with $n$ interconnected relays, namely a network where a source communicates with a destination by hopping information through $n$ communicating/interconnected relays. Specifically, the main focus of the paper is on characterizing sufficient conditions under which the $n$ + 1 states (out of the 2n possible ones) in which at most one relay is transmitting suffice to characterize the approximate capacity, that is the Shannon capacity up to an additive gap that only depends on n. Furthermore, under these sufficient conditions, closed form expressions for the approximate capacity and scheduling (that is, the fraction of time each relay should receive and transmit) are provided. A similar result is presented for the dual case, where in each state at most one relay is in receive mode.
Reliability Optimization Techniques in High Power, High Duty Factor Klystrons

The Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) Radiofrequency (RF) Systems have enjoyed high reliability (>97.5 percent) over the past five years due in large part to the techniques used to optimize the operation of the klystron amplifiers. SNS klystrons operate at up to an 8 percent duty factor with a peak RF output power of up to 5 MW. Reliable operation starts with the process used to characterize each klystron and adjust its operational parameters in situ for the best performance. Techniques are described here with examples.
Decentralized optimal large scale multi-player pursuit-evasion strategies: A mean field game approach with reinforcement learning

Abstract In this paper, the intelligent design for the pursuit-evasion game with large scale multi-pursuer and multi-evader has been investigated. Due to the vast number of agents, the notorious ”Curse of Dimensionality” can seriously challenge the traditional design in multi-player pursuit-evasion game, especially under harsh environment with limited communication resource to support information exchange among multi-players. To address this intractable challenge, the emerging Mean Field Games (MFG) theory has been utilized to solve the optimal pursuit-evasion strategies based on a new form of probability density function (PDF) instead of detailed information from all the other players/agents. As such, not only the information exchange is reduced, but also the computation dimension for the optimal strategy derivation is decreased. Specifically, the MFG has been integrated into the pursuit-evasion game to generate a hierarchical structure where the pursuers and the evaders form two mean field groups separately. To online solve the mean field equations, i.e., two coupled partial differential equations, the actor-critic reinforcement learning mechanism is adopted and further extended to a novel actor-critic-mass-opponent (ACMO) approach. In ACMO, the actor neural network estimates the optimal control, the critic neural network approximates the optimal cost function, the mass neural network learns the agent’s group PDF, and the opponent neural network predicts the opponents’ average states in the form of PDF that causes maximum cost for the agent’s group. The Lyapunov theory is utilized to provide the convergence analysis for all neural networks and the stability analysis for the closed-loop system. Eventually, a series of numerical simulations are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the developed scheme.
Diaspora Literature and Visual Culture: Asia in Flight

Introduction I. Asian Diaspora Visual Culture 1. Shadow's Shadow in Visual Culture: Anime's Doll, Alien's Home 2. Inter-Asia Unbilical Love in Visual Culture 3. Chinese Cinema's Global Dream, Multilinguality and Dialect's Wake 4. Found(l)ing Taiwanese: From Chinese Fatherland to Japanese Okasan 5. Genesis by the Sword and Special Effects in Korean TV Costume Drama II. Asian Diaspora Literature 6. Chinese Graffiti: Poetic Out from Muk Lau, Tongyan Gaai, and House of English 7. Italic and Indiscernible Asianness in Asian Diaspora Literature 8. Tears of Asian Diaspora: Empathetic Nostalgia from an Eyehole 9. Eileen Chang and Zhang Ailing: A Bilingual Orphan 10. Chink Chic, a.k.a., Shitnoiserie
Einführung in die Theorie des Mikroskopes

Bei allen optischen Geraten, in denen man einen nichtleuchtenden Gegenstand mit Licht einer geeigneten Lichtquelle bestrahlt, wird die Storung, die das beleuchtende Lichtbundel durch das Untersuchungsobjekt erleidet, dazu benutzt, Informationen uber das Objekt zu erhalten. Der Begriff „optische Gerate“ soll hier sehr weit gefast sein. Wir verstehen darunter alle Meseinrichtungen, bei denen primar ein Wellenpaket auf das Untersuchungsobjekt trifft, gleichgultig ob es sich dabei um elektromagnetische Strahlung (sichtbares Licht, Rontgenstrahlung) oder Materie-Wellen (Elektronen-, Protonen-, Neutronenstrahlung) handelt. Je nach der Art der Storung spricht man von Absorption, Brechung, Lichtstreuung, Beugung, Interferenz usw. Die mestechnische Erfassung der Lichtstorung richtet sich erstens nach den experimentellen Moglichkeiten und zweitens nach dem Untersuchungsziel.
Representative Sampling of Drug Seizures in Multiple Containers

Exhibits of illicit drugs in a large number of containers are frequently submitted to crime laboratories. The forensic chemist often needs to select randomly and then examine a number of these containers to provide information regarding the composition of the overall exhibit which is sufficient to support the requirements of the criminal justice system. Although various methods of sampling can be shown to provide samples that will allow statistical inferences to be made with a high degree of confidence, no procedure has been identified that specifically meets the sampling objectives associated with an exhibit of this sort. The authors have addressed this sampling problem by applying the probability theory of the hypergeometric distribution to the sampling of drug exhibits contained in multiple containers. The resulting model will permit strong probability statements to be made regarding the presence of the controlled substance in a predetermined quantity of the exhibit, thereby supporting the prosecution and sentencing of violators of controlled substance laws.
Abstract 18613: Improved Adolescent Pre-Athletic Screening Sensitivity and Specificity with Seattle Criteria-interpreted ECGs

Introduction: Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is a rare but devastating cause of death in children and young adults. While electrocardiogram (ECG) can detect many causes of SCA, ECG are not routinely included in pre-athletic screening (PAS) protocols in the United States due, in part, to a high rate of false positive (FP) interpretations in adolescents. Recently, an expert consensus panel developed refined ECG criteria (Seattle Criteria) to improve the specificity for ECG identification of cardiac conditions associated with SCA. Methods: We compared standard ECG criteria with Seattle Criteria in the interpretation of ECGs obtained as part of a youth community SCA screening program. Students completed an AHA-endorsed PAS that included a cardiac specific history and physical exam. A 12 lead ECG was obtained and interpreted by a board certified pediatric cardiologist (PDC). Students found to have a positive PAS screen or abnormal standard ECG completed additional work up with a PDC. All ECGs referred for additional evaluation were interpreted by a PDC using Seattle Criteria in a blinded manner. Results: A total of 1,034 students 11-13 years of age were evaluated. No referrals for additional testing were made based on PAS history alone. There were 72 (7%) ECG abnormalities identified by standard PDC interpretation, while Seattle Criteria identified 21 (2%) ECGs that met criteria for further testing. Formal cardiology evaluation confirmed 4 students at risk for SCA (0.38%); LQTS (n=2), WPW (n=1) and PHTN (n=1); incidental findings isolated RBBB (n=1), MVP (n=1) and PFO (n=1). All students at risk for SCA were identified by both standard pediatric ECG and Seattle Criteria interpretations. Specificity for standard ECG was 93% and for Seattle criteria was 98%. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that inclusion of ECGs in PAS improves the sensitivity for identifying middle school students at risk for SCA compared to history and exam alone. While standard pediatric ECG interpretation yields a 6.5% incidence of FP, application of Seattle Criteria reduces the incidence of FP ECGs in this age group to 1.6% with no adverse effect on sensitivity. This data supports utilizing Seattle Criteria interpretation for community SCA screening programs that include ECG.
Crosstalk-aware wavelength assignment in dynamic wavelength-routed optical networks

In-band crosstalk has been widely considered as a major transmission impairment that significantly impacts the BER (bit error rate) performance of lightpaths in circuit-switched all-optical wavelength-routed networks. Such crosstalk usually occurs when multiple lightpaths occupying identical or adjacent wavelengths pass through an optical crossconnect node. Traditional WA (wavelength assignment) schemes pay little regard to the physical layer QoS (quality of service), and hence cannot provide optimized network performance in practice. In this paper, we propose four crosstalk-aware WA algorithms as variations of the well-known first-fit, random-pick, most-used and least-used schemes, with the crosstalk factor taken into consideration. Simulation results show that, independent of the network amplifier placement and the traffic, our WA algorithms can successfully suppress the in-band crosstalk throughout the network, and significantly decrease BER blocking rate.
Comparative Fuel Cycle Analysis of Critical and Subcritical Fast Reactor Transmutation Systems

Fuel cycle analyses are performed to evaluate the impacts of further transmutation of spent nuclear fuel on high-level and low-level waste mass flows into repositories, on the composition and toxicity of the high-level waste, on the capacity of high-level waste repositories, and on the proliferation resistance of the high-level waste. Storage intact of light water reactor (LWR) spent nuclear fuel, a single recycle in a LWR of the plutonium as mixed-oxide fuel, and the repeated recycle of the transuranics in critical and subcritical fast reactors are compared with the focus on the waste management performance of these systems. Other considerations such as cost and technological challenges were beyond the scope of this study. The overall conclusion of the studies is that repeated recycling of the transuranics from spent nuclear fuel would significantly increase the capacity of high-level waste repositories per unit of nuclear energy produced, significantly increase the nuclear energy production per unit mass of uranium ore mined, significantly reduce the radiotoxicity of the waste streams per unit of nuclear energy produced, and significantly enhance the proliferation resistance of the material stored in high-level waste repositories.
Safety verification of controlled advanced life support system using barrier certificates

In this paper we demonstrate how to construct barrier certificates for safety verification of nonlinear hybrid systems using sum of squares methodologies, with particular emphasis on the computational challenges of the technique when applied to an Advanced Life Support System. The controlled system aims to ensure that the carbon dioxide and oxygen concentrations in a Variable Configuration CO2 Removal (VCCR) subsystem never reach unacceptable values. The model we use is in the form of a hybrid automaton consisting of six modes each with nonlinear continuous dynamics of state dimension 10. The sheer size of the system makes the task of safety verification difficult to tackle with any other methodology. This is the first application of the sum of squares techniques to the safety verification of an intrinsically hybrid system with such high dimensional continuous dynamics.
A Web3D Based CAESAR Viewer

The CAESAR (Civilian American and European Surface Anthropometry Resource) project completed in 2002 has collected 3D scans of over 5000 subjects. We have created a 3D interface, the NIST CAESAR Viewer (NCV), utilizing the Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) to provide 3D access via the Web. In addition to simply viewing the 3D scans we have augmented the display of the body with interactive anthropometric landmarks and contour line displays. The landmarks and viewpoints associated with the landmarks are automatically placed onto the body as a visual anthropometric glossary. Display of the contours boundaries are adjusted by the user moving sagittal, coronal and transverse cutting planes. This paper describes the functionality of the evolving NCV viewer.
Mechanism of Action, Pharmacology, Clinical Efficacy and Side Effects of Auranofin: An Orally Administered Organic Gold Compound for the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis

The mechanism of action of auranofin, an oral organic gold compound used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, is probably similar to the previously available parenteral gold compounds. Auranofin affects polymorphonuclear cells and monocytes at lower concentrations than gold sodium thiomalate and generally affects humoral and cell-mediated immunity in the same direction as the latter drug. The pharmacokinetics of auranofin are different from the intramuscular gold compounds. Auranofin is 20-25% orally absorbed and has less total body retention, greater fecal excretion, and less urinary excretion than gold sodium thiomalate. This may be due in part to its differing chemistry, including its lipophilicity and monomeric structure (at least in vitro). While many clinical studies are not yet complete, auranofin (6 mg/day) is clearly more effective than placebo for treating rheumatoid arthritis. Its efficacy relative to gold sodium thiomalate is not clear. Auranofin may be slightly less effective than gold sodium thiomalate, but because it is generally less toxic than intramuscular gold compounds, its therapeutic index may be more favorable.
On Becoming a Stepparent

Data derived from a qualitative study with 32 remar- ried couples (N = 64), were analyzed to assess factors related to the adoption of alternative stepparenting styles. Five stepparent styles were found: the biological parent, the "super good" stepmother, the detached, the uncertain, and the friendship style. The choice of styles was influenced bv the various expectations and behaviors of the step- parent, stepchild,-spouse, and nonresidential parent. Implications fbr familv education and counseling approaches with stepfamilies are discuked.
One Kind of Freedom: The trap of debt peonage

More evils have come to the farmers of the State on account of the mortgage and lien bond system than from any other, and indeed from every other source. It has proved a worse curse to North Carolina than drouths, floods, cyclones, storms, rust, caterpillars, and every other evil that attends the farmer. W. N. Jones, Commissioner, Bureau of Labor Statistics, North Carolina, First Annual Report of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (Raleigh: Josephus Daniels, 1887), p. 76. Contemporary critics insisted that the monopoly power of the merchant was used not only to exploit southern farmers but to control southern agriculture. The specific charge was made that the merchant forced the farmer into excessive production of cotton by refusing credit to those who sought to diversify production. Charles Otken, one of the most strident critics of the South's merchandising system, insisted that: For years a class of merchants encouraged their credit customers to raise cotton exclusively, or very largely. They reasoned very naturally and very logically, that, the more goods sold to farmers, the greater their sales and the greater their aggregate profits…. The debts of the farmer bound him to cotton. He was powerless. Otken quoted Henry Grady, who, writing in 1889, had bluntly described how this was done: “When he [the farmer] saw the wisdom of raising his own corn, bacon, grasses, and stock, he WAS NOTIFIED that reducing his cotton acreage was reducing his line of credit .”
Reforming Laboratory Reimbursement: Issues, Impact and Innovations. A Summary of the Clinical Chemistry Forum Held on November 15, 2001

The focus of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry’s 11th Clinical Chemistry Forum, held in Alexandria, VA, on November 15, 2001, was on current and future direction of Medicare reimbursement. Reimbursement issues involve coverage policies, particularly as they relate to new tests, and coding system changes, with the continued influence of the Office of the Inspector General (OIG)1 in subtly defining laboratory policies. The speakers included representatives from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the profession of clinical chemistry, and experts on new test approval and coding issues as well as members of the legal profession with interests in laboratory-related fraud and trends in reimbursement. Appropriately, the lead-off speaker was Jeffrey Kang, Chief Clinical Officer and Director of Office of Clinical Standards and Quality, CMS. Kang, who envisages an expanded role for clinical laboratories in providing physician performance monitoring, discussed CMS’s priorities for clinical laboratories. These include coverage for tests, coding and reimbursement, medical review, enforcement of CLIA, and using laboratory data to measure physician performance. Coverage defines which items or services are eligible for reimbursement. Medical review defines when covered services are deemed medically necessary. CMS is moving toward an evidential approach to coverage and, therefore, expects evidence from those seeking coverage that use of a new technology leads to a health outcome at least as good as, if not better than the outcome with existing technology. Although CMS expects laboratory tests to have clinical validity and utility, it also recognizes that this is more difficult to demonstrate for laboratory tests than for medications or treatments. In response to the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 and the negotiated rule-making it required, CMS expects to implement 23 national coverage policies embracing 66 Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes covering ∼60% of laboratory tests currently billed to the Medicare …
A component based implementation of agents and brokers for design coordination

NASA's mission design coordination has been based on expert opinion of parametric data presented in Excel of PowerPoint. Common access is required to more powerful design tools supporting performance simulation and analysis. Components provide the means for inexpensively adding the desired functionality. An Information exchange was developed to provide the physical models required to perform performance analysis of mission designs. The exchange product is continuous polymorphic model data over finite time intervals. Using Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM) components, information brokers were developed to provide controlled access to the products. Each access is a persistent contextual transaction specific to a design team. Information agent Dynamic Link Libraries (DLLs) were developed to translate information requests, search among the brokers, retrieve the exchange products and ultimately generate high level model information such as state or attitude. An in-process dual component interface was developed to provide direct access from office productivity tools to the agent DLLs.
Results from the 1998–1999 runs of the cryogenic dark matter search

Abstract The Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS) uses low-temperature Ge and Si detectors to search for Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) via their elastic-scattering interaction with atomic nuclei while discriminating against interactions of background particles. CDMS data from 1998 and 1999 with a relaxed fiducial-volume cut (resulting in 15.8 kg-days exposure on Ge) are consistent with an earlier analysis with a more restrictive fiducial-volume cut. Twenty-three WIMP candidate events are observed, but these events are consistent with a background from neutrons. Resulting limits on the spin-independent WIMP-nucleon elastic-scattering cross-section are lower than those of any other experiment for WIMPs with masses between 10–70 GeV c −2 . Under the assumptions of standard WIMP interactions and a standard halo, the results are incompatible with the annual-modulation signal of DAMA at 99.99% CL in the asymptotic limit.
Viral and bacterial organisms associated with acute pharyngitis in a school-aged population

To investigate the causes and clinical characteristics of acute pharyngitis among school-aged children (4 to 18 years), we obtained throat cultures for respiratory viruses, Mycoplasma pneumoniae , group A streptococcus, and Chlamydia trachomatis from 320 patients with sore throat and 308 controls without respiratory complaints. The study was conducted from January to April 1985 in a private pediatric practice in central New York State. Sixty percent of the patients and 26% of the control subjects had positive cultures for at least one organism. Forty percent of patients had positive cultures for group A streptococcus, compared with 11.9% of the controls. Fifty (16%) patients had positive viral cultures, compared with eight (2.6%) controls; the predominant viral isolate was influenza A Phillippines. Patients infected with influenza A were significantly more likely to complain of cough and hoarseness, and were less likely to have pharyngeal exudate or tender cervical adenopathy, than were patients who had positive cultures for group A streptococcus. Although 49 (15.8%) patients with acute pharyngitis had cultures positive for M. pneumoniae , 53 (17.6%) asymptomatic controls were also had M. pneumoniae -positive cultures. Thus detection of M. pneumoniae in the throat of school-aged children with pharyngitis may not be sufficient to establish a diagnosis of disease caused by this organism. C. trachomatis was not isolated from any patient or control.
Mixed-basis band-structure interpolation scheme applied to the fluorite-structure compounds NiSi2, AuAl2, AuGa2, and AuIn2.

A mixed-basis band-structure interpolation scheme for fcc d-band metals has been extended to include fluorite-structure (${\mathrm{CaF}}_{2}$) compounds by incorporating more plane waves in the basis set. Since the fluorite and fcc structures belong to the same space group, the interpolation scheme originally developed for fcc d-band metals is also capable of generating fluorite band structures. The interpolation parameters for ${\mathrm{NiSi}}_{2}$, ${\mathrm{AuAl}}_{2}$, ${\mathrm{AuGa}}_{2}$, and ${\mathrm{AuIn}}_{2}$ have been determined by fitting nonrelativistic first-principles calculations using a nonlinear least-squares procedure. Good agreement with the first-principles results is obtained up to about 5 eV above the Fermi level for a basis set containing 39 plane waves and 5 d functions. The parameters for the intermetallic compounds containing Au were then adjusted to include the effects of spin-orbit splitting in the d bands and to improve the agreement of the calculated density of states with the results of photoelectron spectra. The adjusted d bands of ${\mathrm{AuAl}}_{2}$, ${\mathrm{AuGa}}_{2}$, and ${\mathrm{AuIn}}_{2}$ differ considerably from those calculated by first principles.
Leghemoglobins from alfalfa (Medicago sativa L. vernal) root nodules. I. Purification and in vitro synthesis of five leghemoglobin components

Abstract Leghemoglobin from alfalfa ( Medicago sativa L. Vernal) was purified and fractionated into two major (LbII and LbIII) and three minor (LbI, LbIV and LbV) electrophoretically distinct components. Translation of poly(A)-containing mRNA from alfalfa nodules in vitro gave a full complement of the components and suggested that they were not derivatives of each other or artifacts produced during fractionation. Spectral analyses of the reduced pyridine hemochromogen showed protoheme IX to be the heme moiety of all five components. The components cross-reacted immunologically but had different amino acid compositions and were coded for by different messages. The two major components, LbII and LbIII, had very similar spectral characteristics in the oxidized or reduced states and as nicotinate complexes but there were differences in the peptide maps of their partial tryptic digests. Antibody prepared against the purified components cross-reacted strongly with nodule extracts of pea, clover and milk vetch but not with those of soybean, lupine, jackbean and black locust.
UNTUTORED LAY KNOWLEDGE OF THE PRINCIPLES OF PSYCHOLOGY: DO WE KNOW ANYTHING THEY DON'T?

50 volunteer subjects without psychological training were paid $5 to answer 21 multiple-choice questions, each of which embodied one principle of learning or memory. 76% of the questions were answered correctly more often than chance. Number of questions answered correctly correlated positively with subjects' ages when the effect of education was partialed out. Number correct also correlated positively with education when age was partialed out. Taken together with Houston's 1983 findings, these results suggest that the general population has a good grasp of the essentials of psychology even without exposure to formal training in psychology.
Examining the Effect of Enactment of a Geospatial Curriculum on Students’ Geospatial Thinking and Reasoning

A potential method for teaching geospatial thinking and reasoning (GTR) is through geospatially enabled learning technologies. We developed an energy resources geospatial curriculum that included learning activities with geographic information systems and virtual globes. This study investigated how 13 urban middle school teachers implemented and varied the enactment of the curriculum with their students and investigated which teacher- and student-level factors accounted for students’ GTR posttest achievement. Data included biweekly implementation surveys from teachers and energy resources content and GTR pre- and posttest achievement measures from 1,049 students. Students significantly increased both their energy resources content knowledge and their GTR skills related to energy resources at the end of the curriculum enactment. Both multiple regression and hierarchical linear modeling found that students’ initial GTR abilities and gain in energy content knowledge were significantly explanatory variables for their geospatial achievement at the end of curriculum enactment, p < .001. Teacher enactment factors, including adherence to implementing the critical components of the curriculum or the number of years the teachers had taught the curriculum, did not have significant effects on students’ geospatial posttest achievement. The findings from this study provide support that learning with geospatially enabled learning technologies can support GTR with urban middle-level learners.
A Study of the Serpent Incantation KTU2 1.82: 1–7 and its Contributions to Ugaritic Mythology and Religion

Abstract This article treats KTU2 1.82: 1–7, an Ugaritic incantation. It deals, first, with matters of epigraphy, philology, morpho-syntax and lexicography. Thereafter, it discusses the contributions of this incantation to understanding Ugaritic mythology and religion. In particular, it assesses the relationship of KTU2 1.82: 1–7 to the Ugaritic Baʕlu Cycle.
Management of Abdominal Wall Defects Resulting from Complications of Surgical Procedures

This article presents the author's personal philosophy for treatment of various abdominal wall defects resulting from surgical complications and unfavorable results of previous abdominal interventions. The purpose is not to discuss and analyze care and management of all soft tissue complications encountered after abdominal surgery, but to present the ones for which the plastic surgeon most likely will be asked to manage.
The role of gamma interferon in DNA vaccine-induced tumor immunity targeting simian virus 40 large tumor antigen

The central role of CD4+ T lymphocytes in mediating DNA vaccine-induced tumor immunity against the viral oncoprotein simian virus 40 (SV40) large tumor antigen (Tag) has previously been described by our laboratory. In the present study, we extend our previous findings by examining the roles of IFN-γ and Th1-associated effector cells within the context of DNA immunization in a murine model of pulmonary metastasis. Immunization of BALB/c mice with plasmid DNA encoding SV40 Tag (pCMV-Tag) generated IFN-γ-secreting T lymphocytes that produced this cytokine upon in vitro stimulation with mKSA tumor cells. The role of IFN-γ as a mediator of protection against mKSA tumor development was assessed via in vivo IFN-γ neutralization, and these experiments demonstrated a requirement for this cytokine in the induction immune phase. Neutralization of IFN-γ was associated with a reduction in Th1 cytokine-producing CD4+ and CD8+ splenocytes, as assessed by flow cytometry analysis, and provided further evidence for the role of CD4+ T lymphocytes as drivers of the cellular immune response. Depletion of NK cells and CD8+ T lymphocytes demonstrated the expendability of these cell types individually, but showed a requirement for a resident cytotoxic cell population within the immune effector phase. Our findings demonstrate the importance of IFN-γ in the induction of protective immunity stimulated by pCMV-Tag DNA-based vaccine and help to clarify the general mechanisms by which DNA vaccines trigger immunity to tumor cells.
STAT1-dependent expression of energy metabolic pathways links tumour growth and radioresistance to the Warburg effect

The Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 1 (STAT1) has traditionally been regarded as a transmitter of interferon signaling and a pro-apoptotic tumour suppressor. Recent data have identified new functions of STAT1 associated with tumourigenesis and resistance to genotoxic stress, including ionizing radiation (IR) and chemotherapy. To investigate the mechanisms contributing to the tumourigenic functions of STAT1, we performed a combined transcriptomic-proteomic expressional analysis and found that STAT1 is associated with regulation of energy metabolism with potential implication in the Warburg effect. We generated a stable knockdown of STAT1 in the SCC61 human squamous cell carcinoma cell line, established tumour xenografts in athymic mice, and compared transcriptomic and proteomic profiles of STAT1 wild-type (WT) and knockdown (KD) untreated or irradiated (IR) tumours. Transcriptional profiling was based on Affymetrix Human GeneChip® Gene 1.0 ST microarrays. Proteomes were determined from the tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) data by searching against the human subset of the UniProt database. Data were analysed using Significance Analysis of Microarrays for ribonucleic acid and Visualize software for proteins. Functional analysis was performed with Ingenuity Pathway Analysis with statistical significance measured by Fisher's exact test. Knockdown of STAT1 led to significant growth suppression in untreated tumours and radio sensitization of irradiated tumours. These changes were accompanied by alterations in the expression of genes and proteins of glycolysis/gluconeogenesis (GG), the citrate cycle (CC) and oxidative phosphorylation (OP). Of these pathways, GG had the most concordant changes in gene and protein expression and demonstrated a STAT1-dependent expression of genes and proteins consistent with tumour-specific glycolysis. In addition, IR drastically suppressed the GG pathway in STAT1 KD tumours without significant change in STAT1 WT tumours. Our results identify a previously uncharacterized function of STAT1 in tumours: expressional regulation of genes encoding proteins involved in glycolysis, the citrate cycle and mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation, with predominant regulation of glycolytic genes. STAT1-dependent expressional regulation of glycolysis suggests a potential role for STAT1 as a transcriptional modulator of genes responsible for the Warburg effect.
Akt activation disrupts mammary acinar architecture and enhances proliferation in an mTOR-dependent manner

Activation of the serine/threonine kinase Akt/PKB positively impacts on three cellular processes relevant to tumor progression: proliferation, survival, and cell size/growth. Using a three-dimensional culture model of MCF-10A mammary cells, we have examined how Akt influences the morphogenesis of polarized epithelial structures. Activation of a conditionally active variant of Akt elicits large, misshapen structures, which primarily arise from the combined effects of Akt on proliferation and cell size. Importantly, Akt activation amplifies proliferation during the early stages of morphogenesis, but cannot overcome signals suppressing proliferation in late-stage cultures. Akt also cooperates with oncoproteins such as cyclin D1 or HPV E7 to promote proliferation and morphogenesis in the absence of growth factors. Pharmacological inhibition of the Akt effector, mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), with rapamycin prevents the morphological disruption elicited by Akt activation, including its effect on cell size and number, and the cooperative effect of Akt on oncogene-driven proliferation, indicating that mTOR function is required for the multiple biological effects of Akt activation during morphogenesis.
Geology of Terrestrial Planets with Dynamic Atmospheres

Geological exploration of the solar system shows that solid-surfaced planets and satellites are subject to endogenic processes (volcanism and tectonism) and exogenic processes (impact cratering and gradation). The present appearance of planetary suffaces is the result of the complex interplay of these processes and is the linked to the evolution of planets and their environments. Terrestrial planets that have dynamic atmospheres are Earth, Mars, and Venus. Atmospheric interaction with the surfaces of these planets, oraeolian activity, is a form of gradation. The manifestation of aeolian activity is the weathering and erosion of rocks into sediments, transportation of the weathered debris (mostly sand and dust) by the wind, and deposition of windblown material. Wind-eroded features include small-scale ventifacts (wind-sculptured rocks) and large-scale landforms such as yardangs. Wind depositional features include dunes, drifts, and mantles of windblown sediments. These and other aeolian features are observed on Earth, Mars, and Venus.
Measuring Molecular Weight by Atomic Force Microscopy

Absolute-molecular-weight distribution of cylindrical brush molecules were determined using a combination of the Langmuir Blodget (LB) technique and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). The LB technique gives mass density of a monolayer, i.e., mass per unit area, whereas visualization of individual molecules by AFM enables accurate measurements of the molecular density, i.e., number of molecules per unit area. From the ratio of the mass density to the molecular density, one can determine the absolute value for the number average molecular weight. Assuming that the structure of brush molecules is uniform along the backbone, the length distribution should be virtually identical to the molecular weight distribution. Although we used only brush molecules for demonstration purpose, this approach can be applied for a large variety of molecular and colloidal species that can be visualized by a microscopic technique.
Tomás Carrascón, Anti-Roman Catholic Propaganda, and the Circulation of Ideas in Jacobean England

Summary The article examines the figure of Tomas Carrascon de las Cortes y Medrano (1595–c. 1633) and his pamphleteering activity during the second decade of the seventeenth century in England. A close look at his anti-Catholic pamphlets, Hispanus conversus (London, 1623), Scrutamini Scripturas: The Exhortation of a Spanish Converted Monke (London, 1624), and Miracles Unmasked (London, 1625), reveals his astute use of Spanish and Portuguese Catholic sources against Rome. An examination of his reference lists and marginal annotations discloses a new and heretofore forgotten canon of Iberian Catholic authors who exerted considerable influence during this period. The evidence demonstrates a concerted effort to counteract the exertions of Recusant printing presses in England and northern Europe.
A multiplicity of muscarinic mechanisms: Enough signaling pathways to take your breath away

Since the classification by Dale of cholinergic responses as muscarinic or nicotinic and the subsequent identification of acetylcholine as the first neurotransmitter mediating the negative chronotropic response of cardiac muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChR), studies on muscarinic receptors have provided a wealth of new insights that have had a wide impact on neurobiology and pharmacology. Muscarinic receptors are present in neurons in the central and peripheral nervous system, cardiac and smooth muscles, and a variety of exocrine glands. Mammals possess genes encoding five different subtypes of mAChR, termed M1–M5, which can be divided into two broad functional categories: the M1, M3, and M5 receptors preferentially couple to the Gq family of G-proteins whereas the M2 and M4 receptors preferentially couple to the Gi family of G-proteins (1–3).
Methods for approximate reliability analysis

Abstract Approximate solutions are developed for reliability problems involving constant-in-time and time-dependent random parameters. They are based on estimates of the distribution of scalar control variables obtained from approximations of the safety condition (control variable approach) or on a transformation of the input space of parameters into a space in which the safety condition is nearly linear (linearization approach). The distribution of the control variable or of the random parameters in the transformed space can be estimated from moments of these variables. The control variable approach is most effective when the random parameters are constant in time while the linearization approach is useful for time-dependent reliability studies since it permits application of various rules (e.g., Turkstra's rule) for approximate load combination analysis.
Cobalt‐Substituted Magnetite Nanoparticles and Their Assembly into Ferrimagnetic Nanoparticle Arrays

12 ] based alloy NPs are ideal building blocks for fabricating FM NP arrays and for studying nanomagnetism due to the strong ferromagnetism observed within their unique structure. How-ever, monodisperse FePt NPs prepared from solution phase syntheses tend to be super-paramagnetic and require high-temperature annealing to convert their super-paramagnetism to strong ferromagnetism, which often causes NP aggregation or even sintering.