cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Bias Analysis Gone Bad.

Quantitative Bias Analysis comprises the tools used to estimate the direction, magnitude, and uncertainty from systematic errors affecting epidemiologic research. Despite the availability of methods and tools, and guidance for good practices, few reports of epidemiologic research incorporate quantitative estimates of bias impacts. The lack of familiarity with bias analysis allows for the possibility of misuse, which is likely most often unintentional, but may occasionally include intentional efforts to mislead. We identified three examples of suboptimal bias analysis: one for each common bias. For each, we describe the original research and its bias analysis, compare the bias analysis with good practices, and describe how the bias analysis and research findings might have been improved. We assert no motive to the suboptimal bias analysis by the original authors. Common shortcomings in the examples were lack of a clear bias model, computed example, and computing code; poor selection of the values assigned to the bias model's parameters; and little effort to understand the range of uncertainty associated with the bias. Until bias analysis becomes more common, community expectations for the presentation, explanation, and interpretation of bias analyses will remain unstable. Attention to good practices should improve quality, avoid errors, and discourage manipulation.
Evaluation and Management of Neurogenic Thoracic Outlet Syndrome with an Overview of Surgical Approaches: A Comprehensive Review

Neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome (NTOS) represents a disorder believed to involve compression of one or more neurovascular elements as they exit the thoracic outlet. This comprehensive literature review will focus on the occurrence, classification, etiology, clinical presentation, diagnostic measures, and both nonoperative and operative therapies for NTOS. NTOS represents the most common subtype of thoracic outlet syndrome and can significantly impair quality of life. Botulinum toxin injection into the anterior scalene muscle, or even the middle scalene or pectoralis minor muscles, can reduce the symptoms of this syndrome. The best available evidence for botulinum toxin therapy to the cervicothoracic muscles supports the value of this treatment for reducing pain in the affected extremity, and for an approximate duration of 2 months or more. Surgical approaches and newer minimally invasive surgical approaches offer high rates of improvement in select centers.
Chapter 11 – Highly Accurate Mental Rehearsals: Correlation with Top Performance in Sports

This chapter focuses on the remarkable temporal reproducibility of mental rehearsals (MR). It is an extremely high level brain function that is routinely performed, for example, by many musicians, dancers, athletes, pilots, and surgeons. Anecdotally, and in some controlled studies, these MRs are known to complement actual rehearsals of the highly skilled task in improving performance. This chapter is meant especially to anyone who follows sports. To understanding higher brain function, it is important to focus on the high end of the range of cognitive tasks, by examining the performances of professionals in highly trained demanding tasks. Furthermore, the chapter emphasizes on the existence of an accurate and accessible clock in the human central nervous system. A test of self-awakening was performed by recording the lights out time, planned awakening time, and actual awakening time. The results showed that planned awakening times varied, thus reducing the possibility that environmental cues determined the awakening times. The striking finding is extreme accuracy in the time domain. This performance suggests the operation in the brain of a continuously accessed clock. This chapter also discusses high-level performance in sports and MR time duration reproducibility.
Dimensionality reducing expansion of multivariate integration

In this chapter, we will discuss DRE construction using the generalized integration by parts rule, DREs with algebraic precision, and the minimum estimation of the remainders in DREs with algebraic precision. Some optimal DREs will also be given. As the starting point, we will look at Darboux formulas, which can be considered as one-dimensional DREs.
Desiccant Dehumidification Wheel Test Guide

NREL's Desiccant Dehumidification Wheel Test Guide intends to facilitate execution of the new standards by certification labs and manufacturers. The Test Guide is a product of more than 20 years of experience gained at NREL's desiccant research facilities. It details practical experimental experience with rotary mass exchangers in relation to the standards and aims to develop testing expertise in industry quickly and cost effectively.
Nuclear Deoxyribonucleic Acid Polymerase: PURIFICATION AND PROPERTIES OF THE HOMOGENEOUS ENZYME FROM HUMAN KB CELLS

Abstract We have purified the small nuclear DNA polymerase from cultured KB cells to ≥95% homogeneity. Electrophoresis on sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel slabs demonstrates that the polymerase is comprised of a single polypeptide chain of molecular weight 43,000, and this size is in agreement with that of the polymerase activity as determined by gel filtration. Although the enzyme carries out a conventional polymerization reaction, incorporating complementary deoxynucleoside triphosphates at 3'-hydroxyl termini with concomitant stoichiometric release of PPi, it cannot be demonstrated to carry out PPi exchange. The polymerase is devoid of exonuclease activities, particularly the 3'→5'-exonuclease activity, as tested by the most sensitive available assays. However, the enzyme does exhibit prominent primer-template-dependent conversion of deoxynucleoside triphosphate to deoxynucleoside monophosphate. We propose that this reaction represents an independent polymerase-associated activity that is unrelated to 3'→5'-exonuclease, in contrast to the model that has been developed from studies with prokaryotic polymerases. Finally, the KB polymerase is unable to excise mismatched primer termini from a synthetic homopolymer primer-template, but rather can utilize such termini as functional initiation sites for polymerization.
Dynamic Programming Algorithms as Products of Weighted Logic Programs

Weighted logic programming, a generalization of bottom-up logic programming, is a successful framework for specifying dynamic programming algorithms. In this setting, proofs correspond to the algorithm's output space, such as a path through a graph or a grammatical derivation, and are given a weighted score, often interpreted as a probability, that depends on the score of the base axioms used in the proof. The desired output is a function over all possible proofs, such as a sum of scores or an optimal score. We describe the PRODUCT transformation, which can merge two weighted logic programs into a new one. The resulting program optimizes a product of proof scores from the original programs, constituting a scoring function known in machine learning as a "product of experts." Through the addition of intuitive constraining side conditions, we show that several important dynamic programming algorithms can be derived by applying PRODUCT to weighted logic programs corresponding to simpler weighted logic programs.
A Comparison of Natural and Synthetic Speech: With and Without Simultaneous Reading

The present study assessed college students’ ability to comprehend passage materials when input is provided in different modalities: Listening–only (listening to the text; L–only), Reading–only (reading the text silently; R–only), and Reading While Listening (simultaneously reading and listening to the text; RWL). In addition, we assessed comprehension when auditory input was provided by natural (human) and synthetic (computerized) speakers. A total of 66 participants received eight passages in three different conditions (L–only, R–only, RWL) and answered multiple–choice questions following each passage. We found comprehension was significantly poorer in the L–only as compared to the RWL and R–only conditions; however, we found no difference in comprehension in the RWL and R–only conditions. In addition, we found no differences in comprehension for natural versus synthetic stimuli in any of the conditions. Our results suggest that less cognitive effort is required by the listener for auditory encoding of discourse–length material when print is available. Findings from the study are discussed in relation to previous results comparing speech perception with natural and synthetic stimuli.
Demand for God and Government: A Dynamic Model of Religion and Politics

We explore the relationship between the public's religiosity and the public's demand for more government over the past fifty years. We argue that public opinion and religiosity both reflect the demands of the citizenry for goods in the face of insecurity, and therefore, they should move together over time. Using a dynamic time series approach, we find that in periods of higher religiosity, demand from government increases. We also find evidence of reciprocal causation, that a more liberal public is a more religious one. Our findings shed new light on the role of religion in U.S. politics, and they offer a new understanding of the dynamics of public opinion change.
Bonkers. Increasing Literacy Skills: An Eclectic Electronic Teaching Approach Gone Bonkers

This position paper accounts the vision of a former public school speech-language pathologist and present day university clinical director. The vision is for the application of interactive exciting software technology to increase the literacy skills of children and youth with language and literacy disorders. Miss Bonkers, the bouncy and excited teacher and heroine in Dr. Suess' Hooray for Diffendoofer Day, provides her students with eclectic teaching and learning strategies. Multimedia software is the "Miss Bonkers" of computer learning. Multimedia software provides the student with exciting interactive learning possibilities. This clinician argues that the implementation of various inexpensive multisensory software, offered by publishers such as Dorling-Kindersley Family Learning, Disney Interactive, and MacMillon would aid in the rehabilitation of those children and youth identified with communication disorders- specifically those with the following problems: expressive language delay, reading/ reading comprehension disorder, spelling/writing failure, learning a second language, and attention deficit disorder [4].
Limits on differential rotation of the inner core from an analysis of the Earth's free oscillations

Differential rotation of the Earth's inner core has been inferred by several seismic ‘body-wave’ studies1,2,3,4,5,6 which indicate that the inner core is rotating at a rate between 0.2° and 3° per year faster than the Earth's crust and mantle. The wide range in inferred rotation rate is thought to be caused by the sensitivity of body-wave studies to local complexities in inner-core structure3,7. Free-oscillation ‘splitting functions’, on the other hand, are insensitive to local structure and therefore have the potential to estimate differential rotation more accurately. A previous free-oscillation study8, however, was equivocal in its conclusions because of the relatively poor quality and coverage of the long-period digital data available 20 years ago. Here we use a method for analysing free oscillations9 which is insensitive to earthquake source, location and mechanism to constrain this differential rotation. We find that inner-core differential rotation is essentially zero over the past 20 years (to within ±0.2° per year), implying that the inner core is probably gravitationally locked to the Earth's mantle10.
THz frequency multiplier chains based on planar Schottky diodes

The Herschel Space Observatory (HSO), an ESA cornerstone mission with NASA contribution, will enable a comprehensive study of the galactic and the extra galactic universe. At the heart of this exploration are ultra sensitive coherent detectors for high-resolution spectroscopy. Successful operation of these receivers is predicated on providing a sufficiently powerful local oscillator (LO) source. Historically, a versatile space qualified LO source for frequencies beyond 500 GHz has been difficult if not impossible. This paper will focus on the effort under way to develop, build, characterize and qualify a LO chain to 1200 GHz (Band 5 on HSO) that is based on planar GaAs diodes mounted in waveguide circuits. State-of-the-art performance has been obtained from a three-stage (×2×2×3) multiplier chain that can provide a peak output power of 120 μW (1178 GHz) at room temperature and a peak output power of 190 μW at 1183 GHZ when cooled to 113 K. Implementation of this LO source for the Heterodyne Instrument for Far Infrared (HIFI) one of three instruments on HSO will be discussed in detail.
Blood Pressure Monitoring During the Induction and Maintenance Period of Propranolol Therapy for Complicated Infantile Hemangiomas: A Prospective Study of 109 Infants.

Background Propranolol has become the first-line treatment for complicated infantile hemangiomas (CIHs) worldwide. Recommendations for monitoring infants undergoing propranolol therapy vary. Data on long-term blood pressure (BP) monitoring have not been reported before. Objective The objective of the current study was to monitor BP in full-term infants during the induction and maintenance phase of propranolol therapy. Methods BP was monitored prospectively in 109 infants (mean age 2.8 mos, range 1–5 mos) with CIHs during the induction (3–4 days in the hospital during up-dosing from 0.5 to 2.0 mg/kg/day) and maintenance (6 mos) phases of oral propranolol therapy. Results Four children were excluded from the study because of sinus bradycardia (n = 2 [1.8%]) or lethargy (n = 2 [1.8%]). Mean systolic BP (SBP) decreased by 5 mmHg with the increase in propranolol dosage. Low (<5th percentile) SBP or diastolic BP (DBP) was observed in 2 of 105 children (1.9%) each. During the maintenance phase, 2 of 105 children (1.9%) had occasional SBP readings of less than 70 mmHg. No hypotension was observed after the third month of therapy. Low DBP (<36 mmHg) was recorded in 16 (15.2%) children after the first month, in 8.6% after the second, and in 2.9% during the third and fourth months of therapy. No patients exhibited clinical hypotension, bradycardia, or other known side effects of propranolol. Clinical response to therapy was excellent. Limitations Reference BP values were derived from published tables, not from an untreated control group. Conclusions In healthy full-term infants, propranolol (2 mg/kg/day divided in three doses) is well tolerated. No clinically significant hypotension was observed. We conclude that for otherwise healthy infants, BP monitoring during long-term propranolol therapy for CIHs is not necessary.
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in severely obese adolescent and adult patients.

Objectives: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is increasingly an indication for liver transplantation in adults. While severe obesity (SO, BMI ≥40 kg m−2) in adults is long standing, it is recent in duration in adolescents. With adolescent obesity on the rise, NAFLD is becoming the most frequent liver disease in adolescents. The hypothesis that SO adolescents and adults have different severity of NAFLD because of longer duration of obesity in SO adults was tested. Design and Methods: Preoperative clinical data, NAFLD activity and NASH (Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis) scores from intraoperative liver biopsies were extracted from a prospective database of consecutively operated SO adolescents and adults (n = 24 each). Fasting preoperative serum inflammatory mediators were evaluated by ELISA. Results: Other than age, baseline BMI, ethnicity and gender distribution, the incidence and extent of dyslipidemia, hypertension, and metabolic syndrome were comparable between groups. Histologic scores for steatosis and inflammation were similar. Adolescents have significantly higher NASH incidence, hepatocyte injury scores and fibrosis. This was associated with higher serum C-reactive protein and sCD14 levels. Conclusion: For comparable BMI and metabolic profile, SO adolescents have more advanced liver damage, more severe systemic inflammation, suggesting differences in NAFLD etiologies and more aggressive disease progression in the young obese population.
The Homelessness Problem

More Americans were homeless in 1984 winter than at any time since the Great Depression. The Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development estimates that only 250,000 to 350,000 are homeless nationwide. Whatever the number is, everyone agrees it is growing. There are no reliable national data on the homeless, even though they have always been numerous in American cities. At a time when the accepted solution to the homelessness problem is to establish more shelters, this finding has disturbing implications. The statement that a majority of the homeless are mentally ill does not in itself explain why their number is growing or why a particular individual joins their ranks. Chronic mental illness, even when it is severe enough to impair the ability to function in society, does not by itself cause homelessness, any more than unemployment does. The public debate on homelessness would undoubtedly be enlightened by more rigorous research into the causes of the problem.
Spin-echo, double-resonance NMR with flipped spinning (SEDORFS)

Abstract A simple experiment for the measurement of rare-spin, heteronuclear dipolar couplings while sample spinning is reported here. The experiment uses a single, dephasing π pulse and requires reorientation of the sample spinning axis.
The failure of police ‘fusion’ centers and the concept of a national intelligence sharing plan

The National Criminal Intelligence Sharing Plan (NCISP) originated primarily in response to the September 11 attacks with the intended goal of improving the coordination of law enforcement agencies through better mechanisms of intelligence sharing. These mechanisms have taken form as fusion centers whereby information is collected, stored, analyzed, converted into intelligence, and subsequently disseminated to other agencies. According to the NCISP, local fusion centers report to state fusion centers that ultimately report to the National Counter Terrorism Center for a coordinated response to potential criminal and terrorist threats. Though well-intentioned, there is very little evidence to suggest that the goals of improved communication and coordination have been accomplished through the NCISP or fusion centers. The authors argue that the structure and mission of law enforcement agencies undermines the very essence of fusion centers and what they are intended to do. In particular, agencies still possess...
Low-repetition-rate high-peak-power Kerr-lens mode-locked Ti:Al 2 O 3 laser with a multiple-pass cavity

We demonstrate a novel, long, multiple-pass cavity (MPC) to obtain low repetition rates and high peak intensities from Kerr-lens mode-locked lasers. We show that the MPC provides a zero effective length by a unity transformation of the q parameter after a given number of transits of the laser beam. Pulse durations of 16.5??fs with 0.7??MW of power at a 15-MHz repetition rate are achieved. This is, to our knowledge, the lowest repetition rate ever achieved directly from a femtosecond laser resonator without use of additional active devices and cavity dumping. The combination of low repetition rates and high peak intensity is extremely useful for femtosecond pump–probe and other nonlinear experiments because it permits the application of high peak intensity without excessive average power.
Modeling task performance for a crowd of users from interaction histories

We present TOME, a novel framework that helps developers quantitatively evaluate user interfaces and design iterations by using histories from crowds of end users. TOME collects user-interaction histories via an interface instrumentation library as end users complete tasks; these histories are compiled using the Keystroke-Level Model (KLM) into task completion-time predictions using CogTool. With many histories, TOME can model prevailing strategies for tasks without needing an HCI specialist to describe users' interaction steps. An unimplemented design change can be evaluated by perturbing a TOME task model in CogTool to reflect the change, giving a new performance prediction. We found that predictions for quick (5-60s) query tasks in an instrumented brain-map interface averaged within 10% of measured expert times. Finally, we modified a TOME model to predict closely the speed-up yielded by a proposed interaction before implementing it.
Phosphates, phosphites, and phosphides in environmental samples

The common assumption that phosphorus occurs exclusively as phosphate in the environment is deserving of increased scrutiny. If a sample contained reduced phosphorus compounds (P in an oxidation state of less than +5), standard methods of phosphorus determination would incorrectly classify the compounds mostly as organic P, although significant fractions were sometimes misclassified as orthophosphates and condensed P. The disappearance of gaseous hydrogen phosphide (PH3) from samples was a function of solution composition, in that certain acids and metals enhanced removal whereas other constituents increased PH3 stability. No previously used extraction method could detect a significant portion of reduced phosphorus in representative samples by measuring PH3 evolution, particularly for highly recalcitrant iron phosphides. Despite analytical limitations, clear evidence was gathered that reduced phosphorus compounds can be leached from cast iron to water and that reduced phosphorus is also present in the scale (rust) that forms on the metal.
Deamidation of Protein in a Soy Extract by Ion Exchange Resin Catalysis

Proteins in a soy extract were partially deamidated in dilute HCl (0.05N) with and without the use of Dowex 50 resin as a catalyst. In the presence of Dowex 50 resin, soy protein underwent about 1.5 to 3.0 times as much deamidation, depending on temperature, as did protein in the absence of resin. Increasing the temperature from 58° to 85°C increased both deamidation and peptide bond hydrolysis. The ratio of deamidation to total hydrolysis (the sum of deamidation and peptide bond hydrolysis) decreased as temperature increased. This ratio was higher for the catalyzed reaction. The deamidated protein showed improvement in various functional properties including solubility, water-binding, whippability, and the ability to emulsify oil.
DEVELOPMENTAL INTERACTIONS BETWEEN THE TOBACCO HORNWORM MANDUCA SEXTA AND ITS BRACONID PARASITE APANTELES CONGREGATUS1

After newly hatched Manduca sexta larvae were parasitized by Apanteles congregatus, the wasps emerged from third, fourth, fifth, or supernumerary sixth stage host larvae. The number of parasites present within a host determined the time required for Apanteles development and the final host instar. In addition, the percent of parasites within a host which successfully completed their development and emerged was determined by the parasite load. Parasitized larvae gained weight more slowly and attained lower final weights than did unparasitized control larvae; this was attributed to reduced food consumption by the parasitized larvae. Following parasitization of freshly ecdysed fifth-instar Manduca larvae, the rate of Apanteles development was accelerated with respect to that observed when young larvae served as hosts. Parasitism also induced developmental changes in Manduca larvae which encapsulated Apanteles and from which no parasites emerged. Our findings suggest that such larvae retain high juvenile titers late in larval life, preventing normal metamorphosis. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG WECHSELWIRKUNGEN BEI DER ENTWICKLUNG DES TABAKSCHWARMERS, MANDUCA SEXTA, UND SEINES PARASITEN, DES BRACONIDEN APANTELES CONGREGATUS Nachdem frischgeschlupfte Manduca sexta Raupen durch Apanteles congregatus parasitiert worden waren, schlupften Wespen aus dem dritten, vierten, funften oder aus einem uberzahligen sechsten Raupenstadium des Wirts. Die Zahl der Parasiten in einem Wirt bestimmte die fur die Entwicklung von Apanteles erforderliche Zeit und das Endraupenstadium des Wirts. Zudem wurde der Prozentsatz der Parasiten, die in einem Wirt erfolgreich ihre Entwicklung abschlossen und schlupften, durch die Parasitenzahl bestimmt. Parasitierte Raupen nahmen langsamer an Gewicht zu und erreichten ein geringeres Endgewicht als nichtparasitierte Vergleichsraupen; dies wurde auf geringere Futteraufnahme der parasitierten Raupen zuruckgefuhrt. Nach der Parasitierung von Manduca Raupen direkt nach der funften Hautung war die Entwicklungsgeschwindigkeit von Apanteles beschleunigt im Vergleich zu derjenigen in parasitierten Jungraupen. Die Parasitierung verursachte auch Entwicklungsanderungen in Manduca-Raupen, die Apanteles einkapselten und aus denen keine Parasiten schlupften Unsere Beobachtungen deuten an, dass solche Raupen einen hohen Juveniltiter bis spat in der Raupenentwicklung behalten, was eine normale Metamorphose verhindert.
Self redigestion of native chromatin.

Abstract Chromatin prepared by micrococcal nuclease digestion of nuclei and fractionated by sucrose density gradient ultracentrifugation selfredigests to a higher percentage of monomer DNA at a rate which depends on the enzyme concentration in the initial digestion. Thus, micrococcal nuclease becomes part of the native chromatin structure. A degree of caution should therefore be exercised when handling material prepared by this technique.
Modeling Cl concentration in Cayuga Lake, U.S.A.

The annual average concentration of Cl in Cayuga Lake, NY, has decreased from a value of approximately 102 mg L−1 in 1970, when the discharge of NaCl fines from an adjoining rock salt mine was discontinued, to a concentration of approximately 46 mg L−1 in 1988. A complete-mixed model for Cl concentration accurately simulated this decrease in concentration, establishing that the decrease was the result of an abrupt reduction in loading. The time course of the decrease strongly supports the position that the high Cl concentrations that prevailed in the lake in the late 1960's were largely a result of the discharge from the mining facility, and not due to the input of enriched groundwater as previously hypothesized. The predicted steady-state Cl concentration associated with the complete flushing of the mining facility input, expected in about the year 2000, is approximately 32 mg L−1. Further, the model analysis supports previous speculation that the major source of material loading to the lake, the Seneca River, ‘short-circuits’ to the outlet; i.e., this tributary should not be included in material budgets for the lake.
A comparison of model order reduction techniques for a four-dimensional population balance model describing multi-component wet granulation processes

Abstract Three-dimensional (3-D) population balance equations are often used to model wet granulation processes, simulating distributions in particle size, liquid binder content, and porosity. In multi-component granulation, two or more solid components are present, and granule composition becomes a fourth distributed parameter. In this study, a four-dimensional (4-D) population balance model for multi-component wet granulation is presented and solved. Population balance models of high order are computationally expensive, limiting their applicability in analysis and design. The 4-D model was reduced to a combination of lower-dimensional models using the lumped parameter technique, in which one or more particle characteristics is assumed to be fixed within the remaining distributions. The reduced order models were compared with the full 4-D model for accuracy and computation time. Significant time savings were observed for all reduced order models. The 3-D model with gas volume as the lumped parameter showed the most promising results as an alternative to the 4-D model, which can be attributed to the limited influence of gas volume on aggregation and breakage rates.
Actions at GABAA receptors in the hippocampus may mediate some antiseizure effects of progestins

Progestins can have antiseizure effects; however, the mechanisms and sites of action of these effects are not well-understood. Whether progesterone's actions at GABA(A) receptors in the hippocampus are important for its antiseizure effects was investigated. In Experiment 1, ovariectomized rats were administered sesame oil vehicle or a regimen of progesterone (500 microg sc, which produces physiological concentrations in plasma and the hippocampus), followed 2.5 hours later by administration of saline vehicle or a regimen of bicuculline (1 mg/kg, sc), a GABA(A) receptor antagonist, which does not produce any intrinsic effects on seizures. Progesterone, compared with vehicle, significantly increased the latency to, and decreased the number of, pentylenetetrazole-induced tonic seizures and increased GABA-stimulated chloride flux. Co-administration of bicuculline attenuated progesterone's antiseizure effects and decreased GABA-stimulated chloride flux in the hippocampus. Bicuculline did not alter ictal behavior compared with vehicle. In Experiment 2, ovariectomized rats were subcutaneously administered sesame oil or progesterone (500 microg), followed 2.5 hours later by bilateral infusions of bicuculline (100 ng) or vehicle (saline) into the hippocampus. Infusion of bicuculline into the hippocampus of progesterone-primed rats significantly increased ictal activity, compared with that induced by progesterone administration alone, but alone did not alter seizures compared with that produced by saline infusions into the hippocampus. These data suggest that actions of progesterone at GABA(A) receptors in the hippocampus are important for progesterone's antiseizure effects.
On the Way to Sophia: Heidegger on Plato's Dialectic, Ethics, and Sophist

Defendant l'idee de l'echec d'une appropriation philosophique de Platon par Heidegger, l'A. souligne les limites de la pensee heideggerienne en ce qui concerne la relation entre l'ethique et l'ontologie. Examinant la sous-estimation de la methode dialectique au profit du principe superieur de la sophia chez Heidegger, l'A. montre que son interpretation du «Sophiste» de Platon neglige le probleme de la dissociation entre philosophie et sophistique, fondee sur la conception pratique du bien, d'une part, et manque la distinction entre la dialectique socratique et la dialectique de l'etranger, d'autre part
Therapeutic uses of aspirin in renal diseases

Inhibition, by aspirin, of platelet aggregation, prostaglandin synthesis, smooth muscle cell proliferation, and thromboxane genesis has potential therapeutic uses in renal diseases. Clinically, some benefit from aspirin has been shown in some forms of glomerulonephritis but not in others, such as renovascular hypertension, pregnancy-induced hypertension, and diabetic nephropathy. Experimentally, aspirin aided in amelioration of cyclosporine toxicity and in preservation of explanted kidneys being prepared for transplantation.
Factors Associated With Individual Differences in Clinical Measures of Speech Recognition Among the Elderly

In the present study, the speech-recognition performance of 50 subjects aged 63 to 83 years was measured for a wide range of materials (nonsense syllables, monosyllabic words, sentences) and listening conditions (presentation levels of 70 and 90 dB SPL, both in quiet and in a noise background). In addition to complete audiologic evaluations, measures of auditory processing (the Test of Basic Auditory Capabilities [TBAC], Watson, 1987) and cognitive function (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised [WAIS-R], and the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised [WMS-R], Wechsler, 1981, 1987) were obtained from all subjects. Principal component analyses were applied to each of the three sets of measures (speech-recognition, auditory, and cognitive) prior to examining associations among the sets using canonical analyses. Two principal components captured most of the systematic variation in performance sampled by the set of 20 speech-recognition measures. Hearing loss emerged as the single largest factor associated with in...
Fungal degradation of anaerobically digested sewage sludge

Fifty isolates of fungi were screened for their ability to grow on and degrade sludge. Cunninghamella elegans was selected for further study of degradation as affected by moisture, nutrients, time and temperature. Maximal sludge degradation (total dry weight basis) was 5.8% by Rhizopus oligosporus, 5.4% by C. elegans and 5.3% by Myrothecium verrucaria, representing approximately 11% degradation of the organic matter present. Added nutrients had little or no effect on sludge degradation. Maximal sludge degradation by C. elegans occurred in three weeks at 30-35 C or four weeks at 25 and 40 C.
A Comparison of Wolf's Reconstructed Record of Annual Sunspot Number with Schwabe's Observed Record of Clusters of Spots for the Interval of 1826-1868

Samuel Heinrich Schwabe, the discoverer of the sunspot cycle, observed the Sun routinely from Dessau, Germany during the interval of 1826–1868, averaging about 290 observing days per year. His yearly counts of ‘clusters of spots’ (or, more correctly, the yearly number of newly appearing sunspot groups) provided a simple means for describing the overt features of the sunspot cycle (i.e., the timing and relative strengths of cycle minimum and maximum). In 1848, Rudolf Wolf, a Swiss astronomer, having become aware of Schwabe's discovery, introduced his now familiar ‘relative sunspot number’ and established an international cadre of observers for monitoring the future behavior of the sunspot cycle and for reconstructing its past behavior (backwards in time to 1818, based on daily sunspot number estimates). While Wolf's reconstruction is complete (without gaps) only from 1849 (hence, the beginning of the modern era), the immediately preceding interval of 1818–1848 is incomplete, being based on an average of 260 observing days per year. In this investigation, Wolf's reconstructed record of annual sunspot number is compared against Schwabe's actual observing record of yearly counts of clusters of spots. The comparison suggests that Wolf may have misplaced (by about 1–2 yr) and underestimated (by about 16 units of sunspot number) the maximum amplitude for cycle 7. If true, then, cycle 7's ascent and descent durations should measure about 5 years each instead of 7 and 3 years, respectively, the extremes of the distributions, and its maximum amplitude should measure about 86 instead of 70. This study also indicates that cycle 9's maximum amplitude is more reliably determined than cycle 8's and that both appear to be of comparable size (about 130 units of sunspot number) rather than being significantly different. Therefore, caution is urged against the indiscriminate use of the pre-modern era sunspot numbers in long-term studies of the sunspot cycle, since such use may lead to specious results.
Metastable changes to the temperature coefficients of thin-film photovoltaic modules

Transient changes in the performance of thin-film modules with light exposure are a well-known and widely reported phenomenon. These changes are often the result of reversible metastabilities rather than irreversible changes. Here we consider how these metastable changes affect the temperature dependence of photovoltaic performance. We find that in CIGS modules exhibiting a metastable increase in performance with light exposure, the light exposure also induces an increase in the magnitude of the temperature coefficient. It is important to understand such changes when characterizing temperature coefficients and when analyzing the outdoor performance of newly installed modules.
Chromosomal proteins in fixed metaphase cells.

The usual Carnoy fixative (acetic acid: methanol, 1:3) for metaphase preparations removes most histone as well as other nuclear proteins from rat and mouse embryo fibroblasts. Acrylamide gel electrophoresis patterns of fixatives from treated cells and the residual cell pellets show that significant amounts of histones are extracted into the Carnoy fixative. In contrast, formalin treatment fixes histones in the cells and renders them unextractable by the usual procedures. Autoradiographic studies with H3-lysine-labeled cells and electrophoretic analysis of cell extracts and fixative confirm these findings. The demonstration of typical quinacrine and trypsin-G-banding patterns with cells from both fixation procedures suggeststhat chromosomal banding patterns are independent of either the presence or absence of basic histone proteins.
CONTRIBUTION OF CIGARETTE SMOKING TO CADMIUM ACCUMULATION IN MAN

Abstract Cadmium, a non-essential, potentially toxic metal, accumulates in human tissues with increasing age. Because many foods contain cadmium, the diet has been considered the major source for man. Cigarette tobacco contains appreciable amounts of cadmium, which on burning passes into the smoke. Analysis of necropsy material has shown that non-smokers accumulate smaller amounts of cadmium in their organs than smokers. In addition, the accumulation in smokers is related to the number of pack-years smoked. It is concluded that tobacco constitutes a major source for cadmium accumulation in man; and in heavy smokers, inhalation of the cadmium contained in tobacco smoke may make a greater contribution to the total body burden than the amount derived by dietary intake.
Applications of Second-Harmonic Generation Imaging Microscopy in Ovarian and Breast Cancer

In this perspective, we discuss how the nonlinear optical technique of second-harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy has been used to greatly enhance our understanding of the tumor microenvironment (TME) of breast and ovarian cancer. Striking changes in collagen architecture are associated with these epithelial cancers, and SHG can image these changes with great sensitivity and specificity with submicrometer resolution. This information has not historically been exploited by pathologists but has the potential to enhance diagnostic and prognostic capabilities. We summarize the utility of image processing tools that analyze fiber morphology in SHG images of breast and ovarian cancer in human tissues and animal models. We also describe methods that exploit the SHG physical underpinnings that are effective in delineating normal and malignant tissues. First we describe the use of polarization-resolved SHG that yields metrics related to macromolecular and supramolecular structures. The coherence and corresponding phase-matching process of SHG results in emission directionality (forward to backward), which is related to sub-resolution fibrillar assembly. These analyses are more general and more broadly applicable than purely morphology-based analyses; however, they are more computationally intensive. Intravital imaging techniques are also emerging that incorporate all of these quantitative analyses. Now, all these techniques can be coupled with rapidly advancing miniaturization of imaging systems to afford their use in clinical situations including enhancing pathology analysis and also in assisting in real-time surgical determination of tumor margins.
Hierarchical spatial gossip for multi-resolution representations in sensor networks

In this paper we propose a lightweight algorithm for constructing multi-resolution data representations for sensor networks. We compute, at each sensor node u, O(log n) aggregates about exponentially enlarging neighborhoods centered at u. The ith aggregate is the aggregated data among nodes approximately within 2i hops of u. We present a scheme, named the hierarchical spatial gossip algorithm, to extract and construct these aggregates, for all sensors simultaneously, with a total communication cost of O(n polylog n). The hierarchical gossip algorithm adopts atomic communication steps with each node choosing to exchange information with a node distance d away with probability 1 /d3. The attractiveness of the algorithm attributes to its simplicity, low communication cost, distributed nature and robustness to node failures and link failures. Besides the natural applications of multi-resolution data summaries in data validation and information mining, we also demonstrate the application of the pre-computed spatial multi-resolution data summaries in answering range queries efficiently.
Monolithic integration of CMOS and nanophotonic devices for massively parallel optical interconnects in supercomputers

High-performance computing (HPC) systems capable of delivering Exaflops performance are envisioned to become a reality by the end of this decade. In order to provide the enormous communication bandwidth that is necessary, hundreds of millions of optical interconnects will have to be deployed to connect together racks, modules and chips. To achieve such massive level of parallelism for HPC systems, monolithic integration of deeply scaled silicon optical circuits into the front-end of standard CMOS process have been demonstrated as a promising technology [1–3].
MinEX: a latency-tolerant dynamic partitioner for grid computing applications

Abstract The Information Power Grid (IPG) being developed by NASA is designed to harness the power of geographically distributed computers, databases, and human expertise, in order to solve large-scale realistic computational problems. This type of a metacomputing infrastructure is necessary to present a unified virtual machine to application developers that hides the intricacies of a highly heterogeneous environment and yet maintains adequate security. In this paper, we present a novel latency-tolerant partitioning scheme, called MinEX, that dynamically balances processor workloads while minimizing data movement and runtime communication, for applications that are executed in a parallel distributed fashion on the IPG. The number of IPG nodes, the number of processors per node, and the interconnect speeds are parameterized in a simulation experiment to derive conditions under which the IPG would be suitable for solving such applications. Experimental results demonstrate that MinEX is an effective load balancer for the IPG when the nodes are connected by a high-speed asynchronous interconnection network.
INFLUENCE OF COOKING ON TOXIC STRESS METABOLITES IN SWEET POTATO ROOT

Microwave and bake cooking operations destroyed approximately 90% of the ipomeamarone in sweet potato roots. 4-ipomeanol was more heat stable than ipomeamarone, although it also decreased substantially as a result of normal cooking. These findings are contrary to a previous report which indicated that these toxins were not destroyed by cooking.
Interactions between vasopressin and food restriction on stress-induced analgesia

To investigate the role of the hormone vasopressin (VP) in mediating the response of an organism to food restriction stress-induced analgesia, tail flick latencies and scored qualitative behavioral responses were recorded in VP-containing (LE) rats and VP-deficient (DI) rats. These variables were measured under nonstressed (ad lib) and stressed (food restriction) conditions. In the ad lib condition, DI and LE rats had a similar tail flick latency and scored qualitative behavioral response to the stimulus eliciting the tail flick. During the food restriction condition, however, LE animals developed significant food restriction stress-induced analgesia, as measured by tail flick latency. On the other hand, DI animals did not develop significant analgesia. In addition, DI animals exhibited a significantly greater scored qualitative behavioral response to the stimulus eliciting the tail flick than LE animals. These results demonstrate that VP plays an important role in the regulation of food restriction stress-induced analgesia, as well as the scored qualitative behavioral response elicited by the tail flick stimulus.
Corneal epithelial injury thresholds for multiple-pulse exposures to erbium fiber laser radiation at 1.54 μm

Corneal epithelial damage thresholds for exposures to sequences of pulses of 1.54 μm infrared radiation produced by an Er fiber laser were investigated. Thresholds were determined for sequences of 8 to 128 pulses at a repetition frequency of 10 Hz and 8 to 256 pulses at 20 Hz. The duration of the individual pulses was 0.025 sec and the 1/e diameter of the laser beam was 0.1 cm. The results show that threshold damage is correlated by an empirical power law of the form H th = CN -β , where H th is the threshold radiant exposure per pulse, and N is the number of pulses. The constant C is different for the 10 Hz and 20 Hz exposures and, for both cases, is greater than the estimated threshold for a single 0.025 sec pulse. Thus the empirical power law breaks down for small numbers of pulses (viz., N< 8), where it overestimates the damage thresholds. Temperature calculations for the threshold exposure conditions show that a critical temperature model also correlates the multiple-pulse injury thresholds.
1,2-Dimethylimidazole-4-sulfonyl chloride, a novel derivatization reagent for the analysis of phenolic compounds by liquid chromatography electrospray tandem mass spectrometry: application to 1-hydroxypyrene in human urine.

Abstract A novel derivatization method employing 1,2-dimethylimidazole-4-sulfonyl chloride (DMISC) to improve the mass spectrometric response for phenolic compounds in liquid chromatography electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LC–ESI-MS) and tandem mass spectrometry (LC–ESI-MS/MS) is described. Several environmentally relevant compounds, including chloro-, aryl- and alkylphenols, steroidal estrogens, and hydroxy-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (OHPAHs), were selected to evaluate this technique. A facile derivatization procedure employing DMISC results in dimethylimidazolesulfonyl (DMIS) derivatives that are stable in aqueous solution. These DMIS derivatives produced intense [M + H]+ ions in positive-ion LC–ESI-MS. The product ion spectra of the [M + H]+ ions of simple phenols were dominated by ions representing the DMIS and dimethylimidazole moieties, whereas product ion spectra of the DMIS derivatives of OHPAHs with three or more fused aromatic rings showed prominent ArO+ ions, the relative intensity of which increased with the number of rings. The DMIS derivatives of the selected phenolic compounds showed excellent chromatographic properties. To substantiate the utility of derivatization with DMISC, an analytical method employing enzyme hydrolysis, solid phase extraction, derivatization with DMISC, and analysis by LC–ESI-MS/MS with multiple reaction monitoring for determination in human urine of 1-hydroxypyrene, a widely used biomarker for the assessment of human exposure to PAHs, was developed and validated.
An evaluation corpus for temporal summarization

In recent years, a lot of work has been done in the field of Topic Tracking. The focus of this work has been on identifying stories belonging to the same topic. This might result in a very large number of stories being reported to the user. It might be more useful to a user if a summary of the main events in the topic rather than the entire collection of stories related to the topic were presented. Though work on such a fine-grained level has been started, there is currently no standard evaluation testbed available to measure the accuracy of such techniques. We describe a scheme for developing a testbed of user judgments which can be used to evaluate the above mentioned techniques. The corpus that we have created can also be used to evaluate single or multi-document summaries.