cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Instance selection for efficient and reliable camera calibration

The popularity of cameras for perception is enabled in part by powerful intrinsic calibration routines, commonly requiring a user to manually collect images of a known calibration target. The manual nature of this process produces training data that is unevenly spread in the camera relative pose space. If we desire camera parameters that perform well on average over the entire relative pose space, training on such a dataset results in poor performance. To address this, we show that reasoning about the training data distribution to select a more uniformly-spread subset of images produces more accurate and stable calibrations with fewer images. Our approach can be used easily with most camera calibration algorithms. We demonstrate in large-scale physical experiments the effect of non-uniform training data and show that our approach outperforms baselines in reprojection error and parameter variance.
Is this a true renaissance for the treatment of prostate cancer

The article by Rove et al represents a comprehensive review of the recent clinical advances in the treatment of metastatic, castrate-refractory prostate cancer. The therapeutic armamentarium for the treatment of prostate cancer remains limited compared to other malignancies, such as breast cancer. It took approximately 14 years after mitoxantrone data emerged for us to see the approval of another chemotherapy agent, docetaxel. The successful outcome of recent clinical trials confirms that true advancement in prostate cancer treatment can be achieved by rational and rigorous clinical testing, but participation in prostate cancer clinical trials remains low, especially participation by African-American patients. Research study enrollment should be a high priority for those health care professionals who treat this disease.
Role and genre expectations in undergraduate case analysis in Information Systems

Abstract This study examines case analysis writing in the field of Information Systems (IS), focusing on the roles students adopt in their writing and the functions that these roles perform. Previous research on case analysis in business has found that adoption of specific roles, such as business consultant or manager, is important in case analysis writing. In this study, we investigate role expectations in IS case analysis assignments across a 4-year IS curriculum, and students' performance of roles in writing in one IS course. We examined case analysis prompts from six courses as well as an interview with an IS faculty informant to identify roles expected in case analyses across an undergraduate IS curriculum. Secondly, we examined student writing in one IS course to examine students' performance of the expected roles. Results showed that students are expected to perform a wide range of roles, and that some roles included multiple distinct functions. In addition, prompts were arranged in many assignments in ways that structured a case analysis genre. Lower-graded analyses showed an over-reliance on reporting information from the case and on displaying disciplinary knowledge. Implications for teaching and incorporation of case analysis in information systems and business administration programs are discussed.
Analytically Significant Cases

How should cases be selected? Exciting stories about new IMF agreements unfold every week. When I first drafted this chapter in 1999, IMF agreements with Russia, Brazil, Korea, and Indonesia filled the headlines. As I revise this chapter in 2001, agreements with Argentina, Turkey, Kenya, and Guatemala have emerged as top stories. From all the hundreds of IMF agreements that have been signed in all the regions of the world, how does one select a few instances to provide insight on the question of selection? Note that a few anecdotes do not amount to much. To control for selection when estimating the effects of IMF programs, a general, systematic story of selection is required. But even though the ultimate test of the selection story will be a statistical one, one may gain greater insight to the process of IMF participation by selecting particular types of cases. If one were starting from scratch, one might want to start with a case selected randomly, to find the most typical characteristics of participating countries. But one does not have to start from scratch regarding IMF participation. The conventional story of participation is that governments turn to the Fund when they need an IMF loan. This assumption has led researchers to consider the economic determinants of IMF participation. As Chapter 1 describes, there is some consensus about the economic determinants of IMF programs, but disagreement over some key factors remains.
Brokering Literacies: Child Language Brokering in Mexican Immigrant Families.

This article reports from instances of child language brokering among emergent bilingual youths and parents at a New York City after-school community literacy program composed largely of Mexican immigrant families. I argue youth language brokers negotiated literacies with and for their parents in differing contexts, with different audiences, and under different dynamics of power relations. Young language brokers utilize bilingual practices to effectively increase translate, interpret, and advise between adults and family members of different ages. Language brokers, I argue, use their bilingual learning to help their families, and to show they care.
Histone deacetylase 10 structure and molecular function as a polyamine deacetylase.

Cationic polyamines such as spermidine and spermine are critical in all forms of life, as they regulate the function of biological macromolecules. Intracellular polyamine metabolism is regulated by reversible acetylation and dysregulated polyamine metabolism is associated with neoplastic diseases such as colon cancer, prostate cancer and neuroblastoma. Here we report that histone deacetylase 10 (HDAC10) is a robust polyamine deacetylase, using recombinant enzymes from Homo sapiens (human) and Danio rerio (zebrafish). The 2.85 A-resolution crystal structure of zebrafish HDAC10 complexed with a transition-state analogue inhibitor reveals that a glutamate gatekeeper and a sterically constricted active site confer specificity for N8-acetylspermidine hydrolysis and disfavour acetyllysine hydrolysis. Both HDAC10 and spermidine are known to promote cellular survival through autophagy. Accordingly, this work sets a foundation for studying the chemical biology of autophagy through the structure-based design of inhibitors that may also serve as new leads for cancer chemotherapy. Polyamines bind to nucleic acids and their function is regulated by reversible acetylation. Here, the authors show that histone deacetylase 10 is a polyamine deacetylase and present its crystal structure with a bound polyamine transition state analogue inhibitor.
A Tunable, Three-Dimensional In Vitro Culture Model of Growth Plate Cartilage Using Alginate Hydrogel Scaffolds.

Defining the final size and geometry of engineered tissues through precise control of the scalar and vector components of tissue growth is a necessary benchmark for regenerative medicine, but it has proved to be a significant challenge for tissue engineers. The growth plate cartilage that promotes elongation of the long bones is a good model system for studying morphogenetic mechanisms because cartilage is composed of a single cell type, the chondrocyte; chondrocytes are readily maintained in culture; and growth trajectory is predominately in a single vector. In this cartilage, growth is generated via a differentiation program that is spatially and temporally regulated by an interconnected network composed of long- and short-range signaling mechanisms that together result in the formation of functionally distinct cellular zones. To facilitate investigation of the mechanisms underlying anisotropic growth, we developed an in vitro model of the growth plate cartilage by using neonatal mouse growth plate chon...
Race/ethnicity and marijuana use in the United States: Diminishing differences in the prevalence of use, 2006-2015.

Background Marijuana use has been decreasing in the past several years among adolescents, though variation in the extent and rate of decrease across racial/ethnic groups is inadequately understood.
Does This Road Go on Forever? Modelling Sustainability of Infrastructure in Developing Countries:

There are not enough roads in developing countries but it is not for a lack of spending to address this shortfall. Multilateral and bilateral development agencies have invested billions of dollars ...
“Come out neville!”: Some thoughts on the myth of progress

This essay emerges from the author’s ongoing attempts to explore the implications of the postmodern condition on the activity called public administration. The approach is unorthodox; mixing current international events with history of science, administrative theory, and ending with an intriguing science fiction novel. The central theme of the essay is the myth of progress connected with Michael Spicer’s excellent analysis of competing theories of state. Whatever else might be said of the essay, the argument comes full circle. It begins with the idea that governing is hard work and ends on the same note.
Some dimension reduction strategies for the analysis of survey data

In the era of big data, researchers interested in developing statistical models are challenged with how to achieve parsimony. Usually, some sort of dimension reduction strategy is employed. Classic strategies are often in the form of traditional inference procedures, such as hypothesis testing; however, the increase in computing capabilities has led to the development of more sophisticated methods. In particular, sufficient dimension reduction has emerged as an area of broad and current interest. While these types of dimension reduction strategies have been employed for numerous data problems, they are scantly discussed in the context of analyzing survey data. This paper provides an overview of some classic and modern dimension reduction methods, followed by a discussion of how to use the transformed variables in the context of analyzing survey data. We highlight some of these methods with an analysis of health insurance coverage using the US Census Bureau’s 2015 Planning Database.
Invariant and heritable local cortical organization as revealed by fMRI

Local cortical circuitry involves orderly neuronal interactions. A key feature of these interactions is that they are stronger the closer the interacting neurons. Here we quantified this crucial de...
International Criminal Courts and Tribunals

Crimes against humanity have long necessitated international responses. In this article, we outline two ways in which crimes against humanity (e.g., genocide, war crimes) have been addressed in recent history on a global scale: international criminal courts and truth and reconciliation commissions. While international criminal courts and tribunals represent a more punitive approach toward addressing human rights atrocities, truth and reconciliation models focus on establishing an accurate account of human rights abuses and using restorative justice methods to address and prevent future violations against victims.
Supply chain resilience: a multi-level framework

There is increasing research interest on how to build resilient supply chains. Despite this widespread interest, very few studies have directly explored resilience at different levels of analysis. ...
Quantifying the effects of solar geoengineering on vegetation

Climate change will have significant impacts on vegetation and biodiversity. Solar geoengineering has potential to reduce the climate effects of greenhouse gas emissions through albedo modification, yet more research is needed to better understand how these techniques might impact terrestrial ecosystems. Here, we utilize the fully coupled version of the Community Earth System Model to run transient solar geoengineering simulations designed to stabilize radiative forcing starting mid-century, relative to the Representative Concentration Pathway 6 (RCP6) scenario. Using results from 100-year simulations, we analyze model output through the lens of ecosystem-relevant metrics. We find that solar geoengineering improves the conservation outlook under climate change, but there are still potential impacts on terrestrial vegetation. We show that rates of warming and the climate velocity of temperature are minimized globally under solar geoengineering by the end of the century, while trends persist over land in the Northern Hemisphere. Moisture is an additional constraint on vegetation, and in the tropics the climate velocity of precipitation dominates over that of temperature. Shifts in the amplitude of temperature and precipitation seasonal cycles have implications for vegetation phenology. Different metrics for vegetation productivity also show decreases under solar geoengineering relative to RCP6, but could be related to the model parameterization of nutrient cycling. The coupling of water and carbon cycles is found to be an important mechanism for understanding changes in ecosystems under solar geoengineering.
Designing for people and place in shrinking cities

Shrinking cities confront the urban designer with a variety of challenges. Chief among them is the novel physical condition of the shrinking city, a condition in which vacant parcels and abandoned ...
Forests of West Virginia, 2017

This publication provides an overview of the forest resources in West Virginia based upon inventories conducted by the U.S. Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program of the Northern Research Station. Information about the national and regional FIA program is available online at www.fia.fs.fed.us. Since 2004, FIA has implemented an annual inventory measuring 14 percent of sample plots each year. For the 2017 inventory, estimates for current variables, such as area, volume, and biomass, are based on 2,424 (2,086 forested) plots inventoried from 2011–2017. Change variables, such as net growth, removals, and mortality, are based on 2,003 (1,676 forested) plots inventoried in 2009–2012 and resampled in 2011–2017. Estimates from earlier annual and periodic inventories are included for comparison. See Bechtold and Patterson (2005) and O'Connell et al. (2017) for definitions and technical details. Additional data and reports are available online (www.nrs.fs.fed.us/fia/data-tools/state-reports/WV). A complete set of inventory tables is available at https://doi.org/10.2737/FS-RU-174.
Further investigation of poly(glycidyl methacrylate-co-styrene) as a curing agent for soy-based wood adhesives

ABSTRACTIn this study, poly(glycidyl methacrylate-co-styrene) (PGS) was investigated as a curing agent for soybean flour (SF)-based wood adhesives in the presence of polyethyleneimine (PEI). The seven-ply plywood panels made with the SF-PGS-PEI adhesives passed a three-cycle soak test that is the industrial standard test for evaluation of the water resistance of decorative plywood panels in the USA. SF, PGS, and PEI were found to be all essential components for the adhesives. The mixing of SF and PGS first, followed by addition of PEI, was found to be the only mixing order that was able to result in superior properties of the adhesives. The viscosity of SF-PGS-PEI adhesives remained relatively low for at least 60 min of the storage, which made the adhesives easy to use. Effects of weight ratios among SF, PGS, and PEI in the adhesives, the molar ratio between glycidyl methacrylate and styrene in the PGS, and hot-press conditions of making the plywood panels on the water resistance of the resulting plywood ...
Intravenous thiotepa for treatment of breast cancer-related leptomeningeal carcinomatosis: case series

Leptomeningeal carcinomatosis (LMC) secondary to metastatic breast cancer (MBC) has increased in incidence with improved systemic disease control. Current treatment options include radiation therapy (to symptomatic sites) and systemic treatment [intrathecal (IT) or intravenous (IV) chemotherapy]. Methotrexate (MTX), thiotepa and cytarabine are the most commonly used IT agents, while high-dose MTX is the most common IV regimen. While IT treatments are generally well tolerated, complications like chemical meningitis, leukoencephalopathy, etc. occur. LMC may cause a breakdown in the blood-brain barrier and thus allow systemic agents to penetrate; however, efficacy is reported only for agents administered at high doses (MTX). We report our institution's experience in using IV thiotepa as treatment for LMC secondary to MBC. We conducted a retrospective chart review of 13 patients with MBC who developed LMC and treated with IV thiotepa at our institution. It was administered at 40 mg/m(2) every 21 days; median number of thiotepa cycles administered was 5 with the major dose-limiting toxicity being myelosuppression. Four had partial response, 3 had stable disease and 6 had progressive disease. The 6-month survival rate was 69 % and 1-year survival rate was 31 %. Despite retrospective nature of our case series, we found the use of IV thiotepa as sole treatment for LMC in patients with MBC to be well tolerated, easily administered in the ambulatory setting, and with efficacy comparable to the other chemotherapeutic agents commonly used in the treatment of LMC. This regimen warrants further investigation in prospective studies.
The Analysis of Aerosolized Methamphetamine From E-cigarettes Using High Resolution Mass Spectrometry and Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry.

The use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigs) has expanded from a nicotine delivery system to a general drug delivery system. The internet is rife with websites, blogs and forums informing users how to modify e-cigs to deliver illicit drugs while maintaining optimal drug delivery of their device. The goal of this study was to qualitatively identify the presence of methamphetamine in the aerosol produced by an e-cig and to quantitatively assess the effect voltage on the concentration of aerosolized methamphetamine. A KangerTech AeroTank electronic cigarette containing a 30, 60 or 120 mg/mL of methamphetamine in 50:50 propylene glycol: vegetable glycerin formulation was used to produce the aerosol. To qualitatively identify aerosolized methamphetamine, the aerosol was generated at 4.3 V, trapped in a simple glass trapping system, extracted using solid-phase microextraction (SPME), and analyzed by high-resolution Direct Analysis in Real Time AccuTOF™ Mass Spectrometry (DART-MS). To assess the effect of voltage on the concentration of aerosolized methamphetamine, the aerosol was generated at 3.9, 4.3 and 4.7 V, trapped and quantified using gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC/MS). SPME-DART-MS and SPME-GC-MS demonstrated the aerosolization of methamphetamine. The concentration of aerosolized methamphetamine at 3.9, 4.3 and 4.7 V was not statistically different at 800 ± 600 ng/mL, 800 ± 600 ng/mL and 1,000 ± 800 ng/mL, respectively. The characterization of the vapors produced from e-liquids containing methamphetamine provides an understanding of the dose delivery dynamics of e-cigarettes.
Educating the Mildly Retarded: A Review:

A review of articles and comments emanating from Dunn's (1968) criticisms of the education of the mildly retarded is presented to analyze some of the facets of the current controversy. Many writings prior and subsequent to Dunn's are cited to show a growing disenchantment with the current course of special education and the lack of viable alternatives currently available. The review is concluded with an emphasis on change rather than reaction and on the desire that inappropriate practices be altered rather than abolished as advocated by some writers.
The Stockley Verdict: An Explainer

The purpose of this document is to help explain some of the existing Missouri law that Judge Wilson used in his opinion. It does not take a side on the opinion itself. At the end of the day, the decision Judge Wilson made was based on his call on various disputed factual questions. The law was not, for the most part, at issue. I attempt only to describe the legal framework within with Judge Wilson decided the case; not to support or to criticize his verdict. Each person will ultimately have to make his or her own judgment about whether the decision was correct.
Discrepancy between self-reported and actual colonoscopy polypectomy practices for the removal of small polyps

Background and Aims Cold snare polypectomy (CSP) is associated with higher rates of complete resection compared with cold biopsy forceps (CBF) for the removal of small polyps (4-9 mm). This study aimed to evaluate self-reported polypectomy preferences and actual practice patterns among endoscopists at an academic center and to identify factors associated with the use of CSP for small polyps. Methods In phase A, endoscopists completed a survey evaluating preferences for polypectomy techniques. In phase B, we performed a retrospective analysis of all consecutive colonoscopies with polypectomy (January 2016 to September 2018). Uni- and multivariate analysis were performed to identify factors associated with CSP for small polyps. Results Nineteen of 26 (73%) endoscopists completed the survey (phase A); 3 (15.8%) were interventional endoscopists. Most respondents indicated that they use CSP (89.5%) for small polyps and identified no reasons for choosing CBF over CSP (73.7%). In phase B, we identified 1118 colonoscopies with 2625 polypectomies for polyps ≤9 mm. Most diminutive polyps (≤3 mm) were removed with CBF (819 of 912; 90%). CBF (46.2%) was also preferentially used for removal of small polyps (n = 1713), followed by hot snare polypectomy (27.2%), and CSP (26.6%). On multivariate analysis, interventional endoscopists were associated with a higher likelihood of using CSP for small polyps (odds ratio, 1.38; 95% confidence interval, 1.07-1.79; P = .01). Conclusions Significant discrepancy exists between self-reported preferences and actual polypectomy practices. CBF is still preferentially used over CSP for the removal of polyps sized 4-9 mm; further strategies are needed to monitor and implement adequate polypectomy techniques.
Dynamics of intraseasonal oscillations in the Bay of Bengal during summer monsoons captured by mooring observations

Abstract The intraseasonal variabilities of current and temperature in the southern Bay of Bengal (BoB) were examined using in-situ observations collected in the upper 500 m of the water column for a period of 20 months, between December 2013 and August 2015. Data were sampled by six subsurface moorings deployed by the United States Naval Research Laboratory as part of an international effort focused on the dynamics of the northern Indian Ocean. The moored observations captured motions of multiple time-scales, including seasonal circulations, eddies, and planetary waves that underlie intraseasonal variability. This study focuses on 30–60-day intraseasonal oscillations (ISOs). Spectral analysis of currents shows enhanced energy and momentum fluxes for the period 46–52-days. The ISO velocity fluctuations were coherent in the upper 500 m of the water column, strongest near the surface and nearly uniform below 100 m. The ISO kinetic energy appeared at the beginning of the 2014 summer monsoon and lasted throughout the summer, but the associated potential energy dropped rapidly after it peaked at the beginning of the monsoon season. The correlation between the 30–60 day ISOs of local winds and the oceanic variability below 120 m depth was fund to be as small as 25% suggesting thus that the local winds were not the main forcing mechanism for ISOs. The 30–60-day band-passed sea-surface-height anomalies indicate westward propagating anomalies with phase speeds between 0.17 m s−1 at 8°N and 0.43 m s−1 at 4°N, within the phase-speed ranges of mode-1 and mode-2 linear baroclinic Rossby waves, pointing to the role of Rossby waves in 30–60-day ISOs. The background mean flow acceleration resulting from the meridional divergence of wave momentum flux in the thermocline was about 10−8 m s−2. As a result, within a wave period, ISOs can enhance the eastward flow in the thermocline by about 25%. The negative shear production computed for the same period is consistent with this finding, suggesting that the mean flow has gained kinetic energy at the expense of the ISO band at a rate of about 0.5 × 10 − 8 m2 s−2. The meridional heat-flux divergence was -10−7 °C s−1, and has a tendency for cooling the thermocline by about 0.5 °C when the ISOs are active. The ISOs appear to play an important role in the ocean dynamics of the southern BoB during the summer monsoon.
Cerebral Vasculopathy: CNS Vasculitis, RCVS, and PRES

Cerebral vasculopathy is a heterogeneous group of diseases characterized by the angiographic finding of multifocal intracranial arterial irregularity and stenosis. The most common entities include intracranial atherosclerosis, CNS vasculitis, and RCVS. CNS vasculitis can be primary or secondary to infection or systemic inflammation. Brain MRI may show multifocal infarctions in different vascular territories and various ages, but the findings are frequently nonspecific. RCVS is a distinct clinico-radiologic entity that can be indistinguishable from CNS vasculitis based on angiographic findings, although patients typically present with thunderclap headache and have a triggering event. High-resolution MRI vessel wall imaging holds promise to distinguish different types of cerebral vasculopathy.
Regulation of p14ARF by Siva1 in H. pylori-infected gastric epithelial cells.

243Background: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is the strongest known risk factor for gastric cancer. Bacterial degradation of tumor suppressor proteins affect the host microbe’s interactions and h...
Application of Safety Systems Based on Laser Scanners for Installations with Automatically Relocatable Industrial Robots.

The fourth industrial revolution brought a concept of interchangeability in manufacturing. Thanks to the diversity of sensors applied in the production lines, manipulators may perform their tasks at various workstations. Their relocation may be solved with the application of automated mobile robots. However, this generates a problem of preventing workers in the factories from potential harm caused by machines. Furthermore, traditional safety systems are not effective, as they restrict too much area form human access. Hence, a flexible method of creating safety system based on laser scanners is considered. The following paper is based on a real case study. Even though a used setup is dedicated to training in automotive, the results of simulations and analysis are scalable and applicable to the factories of the future. The paper compares traditional and non-conventional approaches towards creating safety systems, presents capabilities of the ones based on laser scanners and assesses possibilities of their practical application in different sectors of industry.
LOOSE BODY VERSUS TROCHLEAR BIOPSY MATRIX-INDUCED AUTOLOGOUS CHONDROCYTE IMPLANTATION (MACI) MOCART SCORES AND IKDC REPORTED OUTCOMES IN PEDIATRIC PATIENTS:

Background:Third generation autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI) has traditionally used biopsies from non-weightbearing sites within the knee for culture and growth. Given the potential risk o...
Aging, Empathy, and Prosocial Behaviors During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Objectives Previous literature suggests age-related increases in prosociality. Does such an age-prosociality relationship occur during the COVID-19 pandemic, or might the pandemic-as a stressor that may differently influence young and older adults- create a boundary condition on the relationship? If so, can empathy, a well-known prosocial disposition, explain the age-prosociality relationship? The present study investigated these questions and whether the target (distant- compared to close-others) of prosocial behaviors differs by age. Method Participants completed a series of surveys on dispositional empathy and prosocial behaviors for a study assessing their experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. There were 330 participants (ages 18-89) from the USA who completed all of the surveys included in the present analyses. Results Age was positively related to greater prosocial during the pandemic. Although empathy was positively associated with individuals' prosociality, it did not account for the age-prosociality association. Interestingly, increasing age was associated with greater prosocial behaviors towards close-others (i.e., family, friends). Discussion Results are discussed in the context of socioemotional goals, and substantiate that findings of age differences in prosocial behaviors occur during the period of limited resources and threat associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Water Dynamics in a Peptide-appended Pillar[5]arene Artificial Channel in Lipid and Biomimetic Membranes

Peptide-appended Pillar[5]arene (PAP) is an artificial water channel that can be incorporated into lipid and polymeric membranes to achieve high permeability and enhanced selectivity for angstrom-scale separations [Shen et al. Nat. Commun. 9 :2294 (2018)]. In comparison to commonly studied rigid carbon nanotubes, PAP channels are conformationally flexible, yet these channels allow a high water permeability [Y. Liu and H. Vashisth Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 21 :22711 (2019)]. Using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, we study water dynamics in PAP channels embedded in biological (lipid) and biomimetic (block-copolymer) membranes to probe the effect of the membrane environment on water transport characteristics of PAP channels. We have resolved the free energy surface and local minima for water diffusion within the channel in each type of membrane. We find that water follows single file transport with low free-energy barriers in regions surroundings the central ring of the PAP channel and the single file diffusivity of water correlates with the number of hydrogen bonding sites within the channel, as is known for other sub-nm pore-size synthetic and biological water channels [Horner et al. Sci. Adv. 1 :e1400083 (2015)].
High-performance liquid chromatographic procedure for the determination of di-(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate in human blood specimens. Problems of variable-extraction yield and the use of standard addition for calibration.

A high-performance liquid chromatographic procedure was developed for the determination of di-(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) concentrations in human whole blood samples. The solvent extraction of DEHP was found to be highly variable between samples obtained from different subjects (coefficient of variation of 30.4%). The recovery of DEHP following extraction with ethyl acetate was negatively correlated with serum lipid content, as expressed by the sum of serum cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations (r = −0.864). The technique of standard addition of DEHP allowed a single-point calibration of DEHP extractability in individual blood samples, and provided an accurate estimation of DEHP concentration (coefficient of variation of approximately 6% in replicate samples). The potential for intersample variability in the solvent extraction of other highly lipid-soluble compounds should be considered.
Mean Stress Effects in Stress-Life and Strain-Life Fatigue

Various approaches to estimating mean stress effects on stress-life and strain-life behavior are compared with test data for engineering metals. The modified Goodman equation with the ultimate tensile strength is found to be highly inaccurate, and the similar expression of Morrow using the true fracture strength is a considerable improvement. However, the Morrow expression employing the fatigue strength coefficient ′ σ f may be grossly non-conservative for metals other than steels. The Smith, Watson, and Topper (SWT) method is a reasonable choice that avoids the above difficulties. Another option is the Walker approach, with an adjustable exponent γ that may be fitted to test data, allowing superior accuracy. Handling mean stress effects for strainlife curves is also discussed, including the issue of mathematical consistency with mean stress equations expressed in terms of stress. A new and mathematically consistent method for incorporating the Walker approach into strainlife curves is developed. With γ = 0.5, this result gives a new strain-based interpretation of the SWT method.
Population and agent based models for language convergence

Adaptive agents cooperating in rich, open environments will need shared ontologies and linguistic conventions to communicate critical information. In the face of open systems and environmental change, pre-defined ontologies are suboptimal. In open systems, new agents or web services can require new conventions not captured in existing conceptualizations. A more adaptive and more theoretically interesting approach is to have agents negotiate repertoires of categories, meanings, and linguistic forms among themselves. Many related issues arise in the general arena of “emergent semantics”; the case of language serves as an excellent “model organism” for studying the issues, and results generalize nicely to other domains including “collaborative tagging” and bioinformatics. One central problem in emergent, adaptive language is getting a population of agents to converge on shared meanings and forms—this is called the “Language Convergence” problem. The problem can be framed as follows. Suppose we have a population of N agents, each of which is using their own language. The population arrives at a converged state when all the agents are speaking the same language. When this state is achieved, the agents can communicate with each other. There are many different ideas on what a language is, but for our purposes we will use a simple definition. We assume that the lexicon (the set of possible words) is fixed, and that a language is a mapping from meanings (objects in the world to words). This is a common abstraction of language. When the mapping is represented as a matrix, it is often called an association matrix
Justice Douglas and Lawyers with a Cause

Throughout his life Justice Douglas was a controversial figure. Although history will certainly place him among the greatest of our Justices, he did not, during his lifetime, appeal to everybody. Much of the legal academic elite indicted him for failing to follow "neutral principles," official bureaucracies were inclined to feel he ignored their efforts to maintain effective government, and large segments of the establishment looked upon him with disfavor if not alarm. On the other hand, Justice Douglas had a remarkably broad constituency. It extended far beyond the legal profession, to ordinary citizens, to the molders of opinion, to environmentalists, to peoples of foreign lands. My concern here, however, is with his impact upon lawyers. Justice Douglas was a source of inspiration and hope for many members of the legal profession. But his presence on the Supreme Court was of special importance to liberal, progressive, and radical lawyers, to young idealistic law students and practitioners, toolder lawyers with old-fashioned values, to that part of the legal academic world that was attempting to push beyond legal realism, and in general to all lawyers fighting for causes and seeking to change the world. Whatever the crisis of the time-McCarthyism, civil rights, the Vietnam War, Watergate-these lawyers could find understanding and support in Justice Douglas. More than that, they often found new ideas, for Justice Douglas was usually ahead of his constituency. Justice Douglas's influence lay not only in his extraordinary ability, though a lesser person taking his course might not have survived; nor only in his courage, though that was an integral part; nor only in his length of service on the Supreme Court, though that heightened his impact. It also lay in a series of themes that he consistently sounded throughout his life and work. Those themes, which in combination made Douglas a unique Justice, could be illustrated profusely from his legal opinions and other writings. They can only be sketched in bare outline here. At the core of Justice Douglas's world is his view of the role of the individual in American life. From Justice Brandeis, whom Justice Douglas succeeded on the bench and who greatly influenced him, he
The analysis and synthesis of jazz by computer

The jazz musician has two problems. The first is the creation of melodic material. The second is the problem of fitting the melodic material into a particular harmonic structure. The work described in this paper concentrates on this second problem. To solve the problem we utilized a harmonic theory which allowed the identification of key centers and the assignment of functional meaning to chords. From this we constructed scales that were compatible with the analyzed harmonic structure. These scales were then used to translate abstract melodic material into sequences of notes that sound compatible with the background chords.
Applications of temporal imaging in optical signal processing

In this paper, the authors use temporal imaging concepts in building the novel instrumentation for optical signal processing. Two temporal imaging devices are used, time-lenses and time-prisms. For one instrument, the authors use a time-lens to build a multiwavelength pulse generator ideal for WDM parallel processing that eliminates the need for mode-locking or nonlinear spectrum generation used in current similar sampling instruments. In another device, the authors use a time-prism pair to achieve a programmable ultrafast optical delay line.
Inhibition of the intrinsic NAD+ glycohydrolase activity of CD38 by carbocyclic NAD analogues

Carba-NAD and pseudocarba-NAD are carbocyclic analogues of NAD+ in which a 2,3-dihydroxycyclopentane methanol replaces the beta-d-ribonucleotide ring of the nicotinamide riboside moiety of NAD+ [Slama and Simmons (1988) Biochemistry 27, 183-193]. These carbocyclic NAD+ analogues, related to each other as diastereomers, have been tested as inhibitors of the intrinsic NAD+ glycohydrolase activity of human CD38, dog spleen NAD+ glycohydrolase, mouse CD38 and Aplysia californica cADP-ribose synthetase. Pseudocarba-NAD, the carbocyclic dinucleotide in which l-2,3-dihydroxycyclopentane methanol replaces the d-ribose of the nicotinamide riboside moiety of NAD+, was found to be the more potent inhibitor. Pseudocarba-NAD was shown to inhibit the intrinsic NAD+ glycohydrolase activity of human CD38 competitively, with Ki=148 microM determined for the recombinant extracellular protein domain and Ki=180 microM determined for the native protein expressed as a cell-surface enzyme on cultured Jurkat cells. Pseudocarba-NAD was shown to be a non-competitive inhibitor of the purified dog spleen NAD+ glycohydrolase, with Kis=47 miroM and Kii=198 microM. Neither pseudocarba-NAD nor carba-NAD inhibited mouse CD38 or Aplysia californica cADP-ribose synthetase significantly at concentrations up to 1 mM. The results underscore significant species differences in the sensitivity of these enzymes to inhibition, and indicate that pseudocarba-NAD will be useful as an inhibitor of the enzymic activity of human but not mouse CD38 in studies using cultured cells.
Rapid Preparation and Photoelectrochemical Screening of CuInSe2 and CuInMSe2 Arrays by Scanning Electrochemical Microscopy

CuInSe2 and CuInMSe2 (M = Ga, Zn, Cd) arrays were prepared from precursor aqueous:glycerol (3:1) solutions with a robotic piezoelectric dispenser on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) conductive glass. Studies of the photoresponse of spots on the array by scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) with an optical fiber tip showed that different annealing temperatures affected the position on the array of the optimal spot (the spot that showed the highest photocurrent). Depositing a thin layer of CdS on the CIS-250 array improved the photoactivity of the spots and also affected the optimal spot position. Adding 20−40% Ga into the CIS array increased the photocurrent, but addition of Zn or Cd did not.
Novel Locations; Familiar Functions: Obscurin at the Cardiac Intercalated Disc

The intercalated disc (ID) of cardiac muscle embodies a highly ordered, multifunctional network, which is essential for the transmission of electrical stimuli and mechanical force resulting in the synchronous contraction of the heart. Recently, a plethora of proteins have been identified as novel components of the ID. The challenge now lies in their characterization as it relates to the mechanical and electrical coupling of neighbouring cardiomyocytes. Here we focus on the molecular and functional description of one of these novel members, obscurin-90.Obscurins are a family of proteins expressed in striated muscles where they localize to distinct subdomains, i.e. the sarcoplasmic reticulum, the sarcomeric cytoskeleton, and the sarcolemma, and function in their assembly and integration. Previous studies have shown that transcripts arising from the single OBSCN gene are extensively spliced, resulting in several obscurin isoforms. Complex splicing at its 3' end gives rise to obscurin-90 (obsc90), the isoform that preferentially localizes to the ID. Obsc90 contains tandem RhoGEF and PH motifs, two Ig domains, and a non-modular COOH-terminus with ankyrin-binding sites and ERK phosphorylation cassettes. Using immunofluorescence and immunoelectron microscopy, we show that obsc90 localizes to the ID, and specifically at the outer edge of the transition zone. Consistent with this, biochemical assays demonstrated that obsc90 is in a complex with major ID proteins, including N-cadherin, connexin-43, vinculin, and ankyrinG. Obsc90 is targeted to the ID through the direct binding of its PH domain to membrane lipids, and its functions are likely regulated by phosphorylation of its COOH-terminus. Preliminary evidence indicates that the phosphorylation profile of obsc90 is altered in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.. Further experiments are underway to examine the function of obsc90 at the ID and its regulation via phosphorylation in health and disease.
The layout of the Lefkandi 'Heroon'

The only way to gain insight into ancient architectural planning is by converting the metric dimensions into the architect's foot unit, which must be calculated on the basis of measurements within the building. In the case of the Lefkandi ‘heroon’, a monumental building unique for its time, such an analysis is rewarding. When we try a foot length of 30 cms, the repartition becomes clear. The width (interior measurement 30 ft) consists of two equal naves of 15 ft. This bay determined the interior length of (10 × 15 ft =) 150 ft. This length was divided into a main room of (5 × 15 ft =) 75 ft, and the remaining half was divided into a front hall (30 ft), the north and south rooms (15 ft), and the apse room (30 ft). To these interior dimensions lengthwise were added a porch of 8 ft, a rear wall (2 ft) and a colonnade (6 ft), a total of 166 ft (11 × 15 + 1 ft). To the interior width (30 ft) were added two length walls (2 × 2 ft) and the colonnade (2 × 6 ft): a total of (30 ft + 2 × 2 ft + 2 × 6 ft =) 46 ft. Reduced to these foot measurements the Lefkandi ‘heroon’ appears to us as a simple construction, in which the interaxial or bay of 15 ft seems to be the planning unit for the ground plan.
Visual Purple System in Fresh-water Fishes

THE visual purple of mammals, birds, amphibians, and certain marine fishes 1,2 absorbs light maximally at 500 m and participates with retinene and vitamin A in a retinal cycle3,4. I shall refer to this substance specifically as rho-dopsin5. The visual purple of freshwater fishes possesses different spectral properties1; i shall refer to it as por-phyropsin.
Hemodynamic profiles of ED patients with acute decompensated heart failure and their association with treatment.

Abstract Background The hemodynamic profile of patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) with acutely decompensated heart failure (ADHF) provides the basis for initial management. We characterized the hemodynamic profiles of patients presenting to the ED with ADHF and their association with treatments and outcomes. Methods We conducted a retrospective analysis of the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (2006-2010) including ED subjects presenting with ADHF. Patients were classified into 3 groups based on their presenting systolic blood pressure (SBP): hypertensive (HTN) (SBP, ≥160), normotensive (NT) (SBP, 100-159), or hypotensive (HYPO) (SBP, χ 2 test and logistic regression. Results There were an estimated 3.4 million ED patient visits for ADHF. Mean age was 69 years, 51% were men, and 65% were white. Hemodynamic profiles at presentation were HTN (32%), NT (48%), and HYPO (21%). Age, sex, and ethnicity were similar across hemodynamic profiles. Rates of admission (HTN [78%], NT [75%], and HYPO [72%]; P = .39) and ED mortality (HYPO, 0.8%; HTN and HYPO, 0% each; P = .12) were not associated with hemodynamic group. Although administration of loop diuretics was similar across groups (approximately 60%-70% each), vasodilator use (mostly nitroglycerin) was greatest in the HTN group (42%, HTN; 23%, NT; 12%, HYPO; P Conclusions Of HTN ADHF patients, less than half received vasodilators, and approximately one-third did not receive diuretics, in the ED. The development of stratified protocols for therapy based on these profiles should be considered.
Cyclicity results for Jordan and compressed Toeplitz operators

A vectorx in a Hilbert spaceH iscyclic for a bounded linear operatorT∶H→H if the closed linear span of the orbit {Tnx∶n≥0} ofx underT is all ofH. Operators which have a cyclic vector are said to be cyclic.
Relationship of Chemical Structure to Central Nervous System Effects of Tranquilizing and Anticonvulsant Drugs

Isolated mice provide a method of testing tranquilizing and anticonvulsant drugs on abnorml animals. Trifluoroperazine was effective in abolishing head twitch in lower doses than chlorpromazine, showing potency of the added piperazine ring. Phenobarbital inhibited convulsive movements induced by tactile stimulation but did not abolish head twitch.
A nodal analysis approach for 2D and 3D magnetic-circuit coupled problems

This paper presents a unified approach for magnetic-circuit coupled problems in 2D and 3D. The approach is based on the A/spl I.oarr/-V formulation with the Coulomb gauge for low frequency eddy currents, and the modified nodal analysis method for electric circuit simulation. It supports static, time-harmonic and transient analysis types. Both stranded coils without eddy currents and massive conductors with eddy currents are included. Compared to other methods, the present approach can be easily implemented in existing finite element electromagnetic codes. Numerical examples are presented to validate the theory.
Depression and HIV Disease

Depressive disorders are common among 20% to 32% of people with HIV disease but are frequently unrecognized. Major depression is a recurring and disabling illness that typically responds to medications, cognitive psychotherapy, education, and social support. A large percentage of the emotional distress and major depression associated with HIV disease results from immunosuppression, treatment, and neuropsychiatric aspects of the disease. People with a history of intravenous drug use also have increased rates of depressive disorders. Untreated depression along with other comorbid conditions may increase costly clinic visits, hospitalizations, substance abuse, and risky behaviors and may reduce adherence to treatment and quality of life. HIV clinicians need not have psychiatric expertise to play a major role in detecting, screening, treating, and preventing major depression. Screening tools improve case finding and encourage early treatment. Effective treatments can reduce major depression in 80% to 90% of patients. Clinicians who mistake depressive signs and symptoms for those of HIV disease make a common error that increases morbidity and mortality.