cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A survey of 100 aphasic medicare patients in a speech pathology program.

100 aphasic Medicare (over age 65) patients were studied with respect to age and sex, duration and severity of symptoms, and length of speech therapy. These patients were referred to a speech pathology service in a rehabilitation center. In general, Medicare aphasic patients are older, more severely impaired, and seek services earlier in comparison to previously reported populations of aphasic patients. There is need for studying alternative methods of management for the severely aphasic group.
QUESTIONNAIRE BASED RESULTS OF THE BULBOURETHRAL SLING PROCEDURE

Purpose: The success rate of the bulbourethral sling procedure to treat post-radical prostatectomy incontinence has been reported in a previous chart review analysis. We present further evaluation of the procedure using postoperative mailed questionnaires. Materials and Methods: Between October 1994 and October 1997, 66 men underwent the bulbourethral sling procedure at our hospital. Postoperatively all patients with indwelling bolsters were mailed questionnaires to assess continence status, discomfort and voiding patterns. Results: Of the 66 patients 4 required bolster removal for infection (2), erosion (1) or pain (1), and 1 died. These patients were not assessed further. Questionnaire data were obtained from the remaining 61 patients. At a median followup of 9.6 months (mean 11.9, range 3 to 30) 25 patients (41%) reported complete cure of incontinence, 32 (53%) required no pad for protection and 52 (85%) required 2 pads or less. Persistent perineal numbness or discomfort was present in 32 patients (52%). Of 12 patients who received adjuvant radiation therapy only 1 (8%) was cured. Conclusions: The short-term success rate following the bulbourethral sling procedure is high but persistent perineal discomfort is common. Adjuvant radiation predisposes to treatment failure.
Cops, Teachers, and the Art of the Impossible: Explaining the Lack of Diffusion of Innovations That Make Impossible Jobs Possible

In their 1990 book Impossible Jobs in Public Management, Erwin C. Hargrove and John C. Glidewell argue that public agencies with limited legitimacy, high conflict, low professional authority, and weak agency myths have essentially impossible jobs. Yet some such positions have proven operationally possible. For example, over a 17-year period, the New York City Police Department achieved dramatic reductions in crime. A second impossible job discussed by James Q. Wilson, the urban school superintendent, has also proven possible, with Washington, D.C., having considerable success educating disadvantaged children. However, these successes in urban crime control and public schooling have not been widely copied. Building on the work of Manuel P. Teodoro, the authors use these cases to discuss how the inflexibility of personnel systems and political costs of disruptive reforms combine with the professional norms and progressive ambition of agency leaders to limit the diffusion of innovations in law enforcement and schooling. The article concludes with hypotheses for future testing.
Of GMOs, McDomination and Foreign Fat: Contemporary Franco-American Food Fights

This essay examines some recent developments in the food market and in eating habits in France and the anxieties that these developments — blamed by many on the forces of `Americanisation' — appear...
A reusable graphical user interface for manipulating object-oriented databases using Java and XML

This paper describes the design and functionality of a graphical user interface (GUI) written in Java Swing that is used to support instructional activities associated with teaching object-oriented database (OODB) concepts. The GUI supports the manipulation of objects in an OODB, assuming the implementation of a specified interface for interacting with an OODB. By using the interface, students can focus on object-oriented design and programming concepts associated with OODB concepts rather than the development of a user interface. Since the GUI uses the Extensible Markup Language (XML) for defining the database schema and data import/export, the use of the GUI provides the added benefit of demonstrating the manner in which XML interacts with database technology.
Stochastic equilibrium discounting

Abstract This paper considers the determination of equilibrium asset prices in an infinite-horizon diffusion model of an exchange economy. It is shown that asset prices can be expressed as properly weighted sums of asset payouts. Equilibrium properties are also investigated under the assumption that the state of the economy follows its invariant distribution.
The in vitro Testing of Ointments Containing Medication Adsorbed on Ion Exchange Resins

The exchange capacities of neomycin and sulfadiazine toward certain ion exchange resins were determined, and these resin-adsorbates incorporated into selected ointment bases for in vitro drug diffusion studies into serum. A comparison of the percentages of drug released from preparations containing free drug and those with resin-adsorbed drug showed little differences. However, bacteriological testing by a specially adapted agar plate method showed that ointments containing resin-adsorbed neomycin showed a more prolonged effective antibacterial action than their free drug counterparts. Little differences were noted in the case of the sulfadiazine preparations. It was concluded that ointments containing drugs on ion exchange resins are of value with drugs effective at low concentrations, such as antibiotics, but are less effective with drugs requiring a higher concentration for activity, such as the sulfonamides. Additional work is indicated to establish the exact concentration requirements for such ointments.
THE PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES OF THE CLANCE IMPOSTOR SCALE

The Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale was designed to measure the concept that individuals are successful by external standards but have an illusion of personal incompetence. The scale assesses components of the phenomenon such as ideas about self-doubt and achieving success by chance. Psychometric properties of the scale were examined based on a sample of engineering college students. Internal consistency reliability and construct validity via confirmatory factor analysis were examined. The scale scores had satisfactory internal consistency reliability. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the original theoretical model may be problematic and the factor structure requires additional consideration. Implications and future directions are discussed.
Social Network Moderators of Naltrexone and Behavioral Treatment Effects on Heavy Drinking in the COMBINE Study

Background Oral naltrexone is an efficacious medication for treatment of alcohol dependence, but small effect sizes and variability in outcomes suggest the presence of person-level moderators of naltrexone response. Identification of contextual or psychosocial moderators may assist in guiding clinical recommendations. Given the established importance of social networks in drinking outcomes, as well as the potential effects of naltrexone in reducing cue reactivity which may be especially important among those with more heavy drinkers and more alcohol cues in their networks, we examined pretreatment social network variables as potential moderators of naltrexone treatment effects in the COMBINE study. Methods The sample included all COMBINE study participants in medication conditions with full data on the Important People Inventory (IPI) and covariates at intake (N = 1,197). The intake IPI assessed whether participants had any frequent drinkers in their network and the average frequency of contact with these drinkers. The effects of treatment condition, pretreatment network variables, and their interactions on percent heavy drinking days were tested in hierarchical linear models, controlling for demographics and baseline clinical covariates. Results In treatment conditions involving medical management and combined behavioral intervention (CBI), the effects of active naltrexone on heavy drinking were significantly greater for individuals with frequent drinkers in their network (z = −2.66, p < 0.01) and greater frequency of contact with those drinkers (z = −3.19, p < 0.01). These network variables did not moderate the effects of active naltrexone without CBI. Conclusions When delivered in conjunction with behavioral interventions, naltrexone can be more potent for alcohol-dependent adults who have greater contact with frequent drinkers prior to treatment, which may indicate patterns of environmental exposure to alcohol. Contextual, social risk factors are a potential avenue to guide personalized treatment of alcohol dependence.
Low-energy M1 strength in the 7Li(p,γ0)8Be reaction

Abstract The 7 Li( p , γ 0 ) 8 Be reaction is studied in a microscopic cluster model. All relevant subsystem properties are well reproduced. The calculated astrophysical S -factor is in good agreement with the experimental data, although some M1 strength is missing in the 1 + ; 1 resonance region, and there is no contribution from the 1 + ; 0 state. Our model predicts, in contradiction to experiment, a dominant I = 1 channel spin contribution to the cross section. We estimate an M1 strength of 3.5% at 80 keV. By assuming the experimental resonance parameters and channel spin ratio for the first 1 + state that M1 strength is 6.3%, in good agreement with an R -matrix analysis.
Measurement of cAMP-dependent protein kinase activity using a fluorescent-labeled Kemptide

Measurement of cAMP-dependent protein kinase activity using a fluorescent-labeled Kemptide. Background Traditional protein kinase assays include the use of [ 32 P] labeled ATP as phosphate donor and a substrate protein or peptide as phosphoreceptor. Since this approach has a number of drawbacks in addition to generating ionizing radiation, several non-isotopic methods have been developed. Although shown to reflect the activity of purified enzymes, none have been demonstrated to detect physiological changes in endogenous enzyme activity in cell homogenates. Methods Studies were performed to examine the kinetics, reproducibility, and optimal assay conditions of a novel non-radioisotopic kinase assay that detects PKA activity by phosphorylation of the peptide substrate Kemptide covalently bound to a fluorescent molecule (f-Kemptide). Basal and agonist-induced PKA activity in epithelial cell homogenates was measured. Results The kinetics of f-Kemptide were similar to the standard radioisotopic method with intraassay and interassay variations of 5.6 ± 0.8% and 14.3 ± 2.6%, respectively. Neither fluorescence quenching nor enhancing effects were found with consistent amounts of homogenate protein. Specific PKA activity was determined as the IP 20 -inhibitable fraction to account for nonspecific phosphorylation, perhaps due to S6 kinase or a similar enzyme. The basal activity of 38% of total PKA in A6 cells increased by 84% after exposure to vasopressin and by 58% after short exposure to forskolin. In T84 cells exposed to VIP there was a 360% increase over basal activity. Conclusions These results show that f-Kemptide exhibits acceptable kinetics, and that the assay system can quantitatively and reproducibly measure basal and stimulated PKA activity in cell homogenates.
Risk factors for postcesarean endomyometritis

Abstract Postcesarean endomyometritis is the most common nosocomial Infection treated by obstetrician-gynecologists. One important prevention strategy is the use of perioperative antibiotic prophylaxis initiated after occlusion of the umbilical cord for parturient patients with a high risk of this infection. However, the identification of these high risk patients remains problematic. Numerous clinical risk factors have been identified in the literature. Important Intrinsic risk factors include indigent socioeconomic status, anemia, and preterm gestational age at the time of cesarean section. The three most consistently identified extrinsic risk factors include labor prior to cesarean section, the duration of ruptured chorioamniotic membranes, and the number of preoperative vaginal examinations. Alternatively, many investigators have attempted to define high-risk patients utilizing various laboratory tests, such as Gram staining or bacterial culture of amniotic fluid, chorioamniotic membranes, or endometrial biopsy specimens; although specific, these tests have not been sufficiently sensitive predictors of infection. Currently, assessment of the duration of ruptured membranes and length of labor remain the most sensitive, readily available, and therefore clinically useful predictors of postcesarean endomyometritis.
Interpretability and robustness of sieve analysis models for assessing HIV strain variations in vaccine efficacy.

From data on HIV-1 characteristics measured on viruses isolated from vaccinated and unvaccinated persons infected while enrolled in preventive HIV-1 vaccine trials, interpretable inferences into strain variations of vaccine efficacy can be made with recently developed sieve analysis models. Four assumptions are needed for the parameters in these models to have meaningful interpretations in terms of vaccine-induced reductions in strain-specific per-contact transmission probabilities: (A1) vaccination impacts each strain-specific transmission probability homogeneously in vaccinated persons (leaky vaccine effect); (A2) for each strain biological susceptibility to infection given exposure is homogeneous among vaccinated trial participants and among unvaccinated trial participants; (A3) the distribution of exposure is equal in vaccinated and unvaccinated trial participants; (A4) the relative prevalence of circulating HIV-1 strains during the trial follow-up period is constant. Through theoretical considerations and simulations of an ongoing phase III HIV-1 vaccine efficacy trial in Bangkok, we evaluate the importance and necessity of these assumptions. We show that the models still provide estimates of biologically interpretable parameters when A1 is violated, but with bias the extent to which vaccine protection is heterogeneous. We also show that the models are highly robust to departures from A4, with implication that the time-independent models are adequate for applications. In addition, we suggest extensions of the sieve analysis models which incorporate random effects that account for unmeasured heterogeneity in infection risk. With these mixed models, usefully interpretable strain-specific vaccine efficacy parameters can be estimated without requiring A2. The conclusion is that A3, which is justified by randomization and blinding, is the essential assumption for the sieve models to provide reliable interpretable inferences into strain variations in vaccine efficacy.
Effect of Fence on Linear Aerospike Plume-Induced Base-Heating Physics

A computational heat transfer analysis is conducted to study the effect of the presence of an engine factor on the X-33 linear aerospike plume-induced base heating during vehicle ascent. A fence is an extension of plug side wall that reduces the plume spillage. A detailed three-dimensional thermoflowfield of the entire vehicle is computed such that an accurate freestream flow environment is assured for the base-flow development. The compupational methodology is based on a finite difference, viscous flow, chemically reacting, pressure-based computational fluid dynamics formulation and a finite volume, spectral-line-based weighted sum of gray gases absorption computational radiation heat transfer formulation. The computed base-flow physics are analyzed and compared with those of a subscale model hot-flow test. The effect of base bleed is also analyzed
Ebelactones inhibit cutinases produced by fungal plant pathogens.

In determining the inhibitory activity of the ebelactones against fungal cutinases, two representative enzymes purified from Venturia inaequalis and Rhizoctonia solani were employed.
HENRY EYRING (1901-1981): A 20th CENTURY PHYSICAL CHEMIST AND HIS MODELS

He would fill the blackboard with his equations. He would begin in one corner; he would describe his model with picturesque visualizations; he would give the phenomenological equations; he would develop his model drawing on statistical mechanics; he would stop, charismatically introduce a needed supporting derivation; he would carefully draw a chalk line around each supporting argument setting it aside from the main argument.
READING HALL READING MARX

This essay introduces and highlights the significance of Stuart Hall' essay, ‘Marx' Notes on Method: A “Reading” of the “1857 Introduction’’ which follows. Hall' essay is a key text in understanding the theoretical work of the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies in the mid-1970s, specifically the Centre' engagement with Althusser. Hall' text sets the theoretical groundwork for the concept of articulation and raises important questions of method within cultural studies. It also represents an exemplary reading of Marx.
Side effects of using nitrates to treat heart failure and the acute coronary syndromes, unstable angina and acute myocardial infarction

Nitrates are potent venous dilators and anti-ischemic agents. They are widely used for the relief of chest pain and pulmonary congestion in patients with acute coronary syndromes and heart failure. Nitrates, however, do not reduce mortality in patients with acute coronary syndromes. Combination of nitrates and hydralazine when given in addition to beta-blockers and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors reduce mortality and heart failure hospitalizations in patients with heart failure due to left ventricular systolic dysfunction who are of African-American origin. Side effects during nitrate therapy are common but are less well described in the literature compared with the reported side effects in patients with stable angina pectoris. The reported incidence of side effects varies highly among different studies and among various disease states. Headache is the most commonly reported side effect with an incidence of 12% in acute heart failure, 41-73% in chronic heart failure, 3-19% in unstable angina and 2-26% in acute myocardial infarction. The reported incidence of hypotension also differs: 5-10% in acute heart failure, 20% in chronic heart failure, 9% in unstable angina and < 1-48% in acute myocardial infarction, with the incidence being much higher with concomitant nitrate therapy plus angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors. Reported incidence of dizziness is as low as 1% in patients with acute myocardial infarction to as high as 29% in patients with heart failure. Severe headaches and/or symptomatic hypotension may necessitate discontinuation of nitrate therapy. Severe life threatening hypotension or even death may occur when nitrates are used in patients with acute inferior myocardial infarction associated with right ventricular dysfunction or infarction, or with concomitant use of phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors or N-acetylcysteine. Despite the disturbing observational reports in the literature that continuous and prolonged use of nitrates may lead to increased mortality and recurrent myocardial infarction in patients with stable coronary artery disease, no such adverse effects of nitrates have been reported in the large randomized trials in patients with acute myocardial infarction or chronic heart failure.
Brain serotonin content: physiological dependence on plasma tryptophan levels.

Brain serotonin cocentrations at 1 p.m. were significantly elevated 1 hour after rats received a dose of L-tryptophan (12.5 milligrams per kilogram. intraperitoneally) smaller than one-twentieth of the normal daily dietary intake. Plasma and brain tryptophan levels were elevated 10 to 60 minutes after the injection, but they never exceeded the concentrationis that occur nocturnally in untreated aninmals as result of their normal 24-hour rhythms. These data suggest that physiological changes in plasma tryptophan concentration influenice brain serotonin levels.
The giant dipole resonance in 55Co

Abstract Recent measurements of the 54Fe(p, γ)55Co cross section indicate the existence of a splitting between the T components of the giant dipole resonance. We have calculated the (p, γ) cross section in the shell-model formalism. The bound-state interaction was determined by a fit to fp and sd shell nuclei. The calculation predicts the isospin splitting of ≈ 2.4 MeV and is consistent with all data in the energy region Ep = 9–15 MeV as well as the low-lying 55Co spectrum.
Quantum simulation and phase diagram of the transverse-field Ising model with three atomic spins

We perform a quantum simulation of the Ising model with a transverse field using a collection of three trapped atomic ion spins. By adiabatically manipulating the Hamiltonian, we directly probe the ground state for a wide range of fields and form of the Ising couplings, leading to a phase diagram of magnetic order in this microscopic system. The technique is scalable to much larger numbers of trapped ion spins, where phase transitions approaching the thermodynamic limit can be studied in cases where theory becomes intractable.
Acoustic Measurements of High-Speed Jets from Rectangular Nozzle with Thrust Vectoring

Laboratory experiments were conducted to characterize the noise produced by jets from a rectangular nozzle with thrust-vectoring capability. Such exhaust jets are present on state-of-the-art fighter aircraft designed for supermaneuverability. This scaled nozzle research was facilitated by the design of a model with rectangular exit geometry and thrust-vectoring attachments, thus simulating one configuration of such aircraft. A supersonic, helium―air mixture jet issued from this nozzle, and acoustic measurements were made with four microphones arranged in a circular arc in the far-field region. Schlieren photographs were recorded to establish the major features of the jet flow. Significant among the results was the fact that the addition of thrust-vectoring attachments set to 0 deg deflection, on an otherwise clean rectangular nozzle, decreases the intensity of sound radiated on each axis plane to below that of a round nozzle jet. Furthermore, deflection of the flow in the minor axis plane by virtue of these nozzle attachments induces an approximately corresponding deflection of the acoustic field without significant additional noise components in the peak emission direction. The frequency spectra as well as overall sound pressure levels of microphone measurements with the rectangular nozzle jet at several observation positions and thrust-vectoring configurations are presented and summarized in the results of this paper.
Multiple-joint neurons in somatosensory cortex of awake monkeys.

Abstract (1) The somatosensory cortex of alert monkeys, 55 neurons were found which receive convergent information from two or more adjacent joints. Most of these multiple-joint neurons were excited by postures of the hand, particularly those involved in grasping. (2) Three basic types of joint interactions were observed. The simplest neurons (occlusion neurons) responded to postures of several different joints, but combination of the preferred postures produced no further increase in firing. The more complex cells showed summated responses to combined postures of adjacent joints, or subliminal facilitation between joints. The responses of both summation neurons and subliminal facilitation neurons were graded with joint angle, and there was an optimum or preferred position for both joints which gave the strongest response. (3) Multiple-joint neurons may provide a neuronal substrate for extracting postural information from several different populations of kinesthetic neurons. They therefore act as feature-detecting neurons, abstracting information about specific body postures.
Research Progress on Manual Ice Measurement Devices for Overhead Transmission Lines

Sufficient icing data are very important for the design and operation of power grid in the places with potential accreted ice, meaning that it is necessary to pay due attention to the ice measurement devices. In this paper, the current ice measurement devices are classified into different types according to corresponding classification criteria with the aim of understanding the characteristics of each type of devices. Moreover, the research progress of the manual ice measurement devices are introduced in detail, including the diameter of conductors, the angle between conductor and wind direction. Finally, the existing problems are proposed for the further development of manual ice measurement devices for overhead transmission lines.
High salinity adaptation of ion transport and epidermal lipids of frog skin

Abstract 1. 1. Epidermal lipids and ion transport were measured in individual isolated frog skins and correlated. 2. 2. Significant lysolecithin-Na conductance and phosphatidylethanolamineCl conductance correlations were detected in the epidermis of unconditioned frogs. 3. 3. The absence of these lipid-transport correlations and a relative increase in sphingomyelin, found to be associated with suppression in active Na transport and Cl conductance in high salinity conditioning, could be related to the NaCI transport adaptive process. 4. 4. A correlation was found between relative proportions of several phospholipid fractions and Na resistance in conditioned frogs, compatible with phospholipid stoichiometry of some structure or substance in the Na transport pathway.
The Nixon Doctrine: A Saga of Misunderstanding

When President Richard Nixon met with reporters in Guam on July 25, 1969 to discuss the U.S. role in Asia, he did not intend his comments to be understood as constituting a new policy doctrine. After some reporters began referring to key elements of his remarks as the “Nixon Doctrine,” Nixon came to appreciate the political value of the phrase and publicly began using it himself, even though his policies toward some of the nations of Asia were inconsistent with the “new” policy, and as he was also about to embark on a course of action in Vietnam that contradicted the “doctrine.”
Concealed weapon identification using terahertz imaging sensors

Terahertz imaging sensors are being considered for providing a concealed weapon identification capability for military and security applications. In this paper the difficulty of this task is assessed in a systematic way. Using imaging systems operating at 640 GHz, high resolution imagery of possible concealed weapons has been collected. Information in this imagery is removed in a controlled and systematic way and then used in a human observer perception experiment. From the perception data, a calibration factor describing the overall difficulty of this task was derived. This calibration factor is used with a general model of human observer performance developed at the US Army Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate to predict the task performance of observers using terahertz imaging sensors. Example performance calculations for a representative imaging sensor are shown.
Defacement: Public Secrecy and the Labor of the Negative

Defacement: Public Secrecy and the Labor of the Negative. Michael Taussig. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1999. 311 pp.
Flip-Flop and Repeater Insertion for Early Interconnect Planning

We present a unified framework that considers flipflop and repeater insertion and the placement of flip-flop/repeater blocks during RT or higher level design. We introduce the concept of independent feasible regions in which flip-flops and repeaters can be inserted in an interconnect to satisfy both delay and cycle time constraints. Experimental results show that, with flip-flop insertion, we greatly increase the ability of interconnects to meet timing constraints. Our results also show that it is necessary to perform interconnect optimization at early design steps as the optimization will have even greater impact on the chip layout as feature size continually scales down.
A comparison of Java and C

Java is becoming very prevalent as a first programming language in some major universities. While other universities are still using C++ and planning to switch to Java, we have a new and emerging language C# (pronounced as C Sharp) on the block. It seems to be the appropriate time to look at these two languages in terms of their introductory programming concepts and discuss the strengths and weaknesses harnessed in each separating one from the other. Keeping this in mind, we have looked at both of these languages, developed some simple programs, and provided our initial impressions. We believe that this comparison will be very helpful; not only in selecting the first programming language, but also knowing what features should remain in future programming languages to come.
Two-port amplifiers using gallium arsenide as the active element

Two-port transmission amplifiers using gallium arsenide as the active element have been designed and built. These are capable of providing more than 25 dB gain in the vicinity of 2 GHz with a saturation power of more than 1 watt. Reciprocal operation can be obtained and the degree of reciprocity controlled by a relatively simple adjustment of the microwave circuit.
Current status of robotic surgery for rectal cancer: A bird's eye view

Minimally invasive surgery for rectal cancer is now widely performed via the laparoscopic approach and has been validated in randomized controlled trials to be oncologically safe with better perioperative outcomes than open surgery including shorter length of stay, earlier return of bowel function, better cosmesis, and less analgesic requirement. Laparoscopic surgery, however, has inherent limitations due to two-dimensional vision, restricted instrument motion and a very long learning curve. Robotic surgery with its superb three-dimensional magnified optics, stable retraction platform and 7 degrees of freedom of instrument movement offers significant benefits during Total Mesorectal Excision (TME) including ease of operation, markedly lower conversion rates and better quality of the specimen in addition to shorter (steeper) learning curves. This review summarizes the current evidence for the adoption of robotic TME for rectal cancer with supporting data from the literature and from the authors' own experience. All relevant articles from PubMed using the search terms listed below and published between 2000 and 2014 including randomized trials, meta-analyses, prospective studies, and retrospective reviews with substantial numbers were included.
The stability of power system markets

Market equilibrium conditions can be derived from more general dynamic equations describing the marketplace. Dynamic equations provide insights into the behavior and stability of markets which are not available from static models. For example, markets with a single supplier with declining linear costs (economies of scale) may or may not be stable, depending on specific cost characteristics. Markets with more than one supplier with declining linear costs are always unstable. This paper illustrates a situation where the removal of congestion makes a market unstable.
Interactions in the ammonia-deuterium system under pressure

We have investigated the NH3-D2 mixture to 50 GPa using micro-Raman spectroscopy. Proton exchange was observed in the mixture, resulting in the formation of deuterated isotopes of ammonia and the formation of HD and H2. We report the changes in the vibrational spectra of the various components of the mixture, which include blueshifts and splitting in the vibration modes of hydrogen. These frequency shifts in the mixture are compared to frequency shifts in mixtures composed of the hydrogen isotopes. The changes not accounted for by interactions between the hydrogen molecules suggest repulsive interactions between the hydrogen and ammonia. The bond length of the hydrogen molecules is calculated using a Morse potential, revealing a bond length shorter than in pure hydrogen. Additionally, a change in slope of the bond length as a function of pressure was observed around ~10-18 GPa, which is attributed to the reordering Phase IV to V transition in ammonia.
A Built-in Test and Characterization Method for Circuit Marginality Related Failures

With the advent of ultra deep-submicron (UDSM) regime of integrated circuits, the issues with circuit marginality related transient failures are on the rise. An example of such failures is the thermal hotspot-induced ones, which are common when a particular functional unit experiences high switching activity for a considerable duration. In this paper, we propose an on-line hotspot-induced transient failure testing scheme using the built-in self-test (BlST)-based approach which accurately distinguishes such a transient failure from a hard fail and greatly reduces the test cost by dissociating a tester from the test process. We apply the principle of Fmax testing based on frequency shmoo to obtain the maximum safe operating frequency for individual functional units in a chip. We also propose a DFT scheme to characterize the impact of a "hot" unit on its neighborhood and also the influence of a "hot" neighborhood on an otherwise "cold" unit in the reverse way. Thus the proposed architecture extends the capability of the conventional BIST to test a certain class of circuit marginality related transient failures with a very low hardware overhead.
Techniques for the practical application of duality to power circuits

Techniques are presented that simplify the application of duality to power convertor circuits. Duals are derived for ideal switches, including two- and four-quadrant switches and SCRs (silicon-controlled rectifiers), transformers and coupled inductors (including multiwinding components), and saturable inductors and capacitors. A collection of common topological structures and the corresponding duals is given. The library of dual relations allows even complicated circuits to be transformed primarily by substitution. >
The State of Teleradiology in 2003 and Changes Since 1999

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of our study is to describe in detail the use of teleradiology in 2003 and to report on changes since 1999 in this rapidly evolving field.MATERIALS AND METHODS. We analyze non-individually identified data from the American College of Radiology's 2003 Survey of Radiologists, a stratified random sample mail survey that achieved a response rate of 63%, and data from the American College of Radiology's 1999 Survey of Practices. Responses were weighted to represent the distribution of individual radiologists and radiology practices nationwide. We present descriptive statistics and multivariable regression analysis results on the prevalence and uses of teleradiology in 2003 and comparisons with 1999.RESULTS. Overall, 67% of all radiology practices in the United States, which included 78% of all U.S. radiologists, reported using teleradiology. A significant increase (p < 0.05) was seen in the prevalence of teleradiology or PACS, from 58% of practices in 1999 to 73% in 2003. Regression resu...
A Reach and Bound algorithm for acyclic dynamic-programming networks

Node pruning is a commonly used technique for solution acceleration in a dynamic-programming network. In pruning, nodes are adaptively removed from the dynamic programming network when they are determined not to lie on an optimal path. We introduce an e-pruning condition that extends pruning to include a possible error in the pruning step. This results in a greater reduction of the computation time; however, as a result of the inclusion of this error, the solution can be suboptimal or possibly infeasible. This condition requires the ability to compare the costs of an optimal path from a node to a terminal node. Therefore, we focus on the class of acyclic dynamic programming networks with monotonically decreasing optimal costs-to-go. We provide an easily implementable algorithm, Reach and Bound, which maintains feasibility and bounds the solution's error. We conclude by illustrating the applicability of Reach and Bound on a problem of single location capacity expansion. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. NETWORKS, 2008
Exchange of censorship types and its impact on the estimation of parameters of a Weibull Regression model

The objective of this paper is to examine whether treating failure times, actually derived under type-I censorship, but treated as though type-II censorship were used, leads to important reduction in efficiency of the maximum likelihood (ML) estimators of the parameters of a Weibull Regression model, frequently used in accelerated life testing studies. This paper shows that exchange of censorship types results in minor reduction in the efficiency of various estimators. Such a conclusion suggests that results obtained under type-II censorship apply to corresponding (in terms of number of observed failures) type-I situations. The only exception to this general rule occurs when the number of test items at each level of stress drops below 5. >
Story telling: an old skill in a new context

Story telling is a uniting and defining component of all communities. The quality of story telling and its conformity or otherwise with desired corporate values is one measure of the overall health of an organisation. Stories exist in all organisations; managed and purposeful story telling provides a powerful mechanism for the disclosure of intellectual or knowledge assets in companies, it can also provide a non-intrusive, organic means of producing sustainable cultural change; conveying brands and values; transferring complex tacit knowledge. Too many management theories are based on mechanical models of the organisation, which fail to recognise that success is best achieved by treating the organisation as a complex ecology, whose workings cannot be fully predicted. In this article the use of story telling will be explored in respect of different business purposes. This will provide a pragmatic approach to the use of the age-old ability of communities to convey complex knowledge through story telling that will provide readers with tools and concepts that can be readily applied in their own organisations. In the first, of two articles Dave Snowden explores some examples of story telling with a purpose and draws some conclusions. In the concluding article he will examine a structured approach to the creation of stories in a modern organisation and will look at the various repository structures that can be used to disseminate stories in virtual communities. Authors note: Please note that the Cynefin Centre now uses the term ‘narrative’, rather than ‘story-telling’ to differentiate the tools, processes and approaches of The Cynefin Centre from those of the organisational story telling movement.
“To Fit you All for Freedom”: Jamaican Planters, Afro-Jamaican Mothers and the Struggle to Control Afro-Jamaican Children during Apprenticeship, 1833–40

In 1837, one year before apprenticeship ended on the island of Jamaica, ten women from Lansquinet Estate in the parish of St Ann refused to carry their children into the fields with them because it...
New formula for predicting annual runoff of some California watersheds

For some years electric utility companies in Southern California have been using ocean surface-temperatures at La Jolla as an index to the probable runoff in the Owens Valley and Big Creek areas which are important from the standpoint of city water-supply as well as power generation. Recent investigations seem to indicate the possibility of using atmospheric temperatures at San Diego (or Los Angeles) and the advantage of this method is that it permits a comparison of observed and predicted values of runoff for the years prior to the beginning of the ocean temperature-record. Indeed if the method proves to be well founded it will be possible to obtain a check by using the precipitation records in San Diego and Los Angeles which now extend to 1850.
Adaptive nonlinear control of a pH neutralization process

An adaptive nonlinear control strategy for a bench-scale pH neutralization system is developed and experimentally evaluated. The pH process exhibits severe nonlinear and time-varying behavior and therefore cannot be adequately controlled with a conventional PI controller. The nonlinear controller design is based on a modified input-output linearization approach which accounts for the implicit output equation in the reaction invariant model. Because the reaction invariants cannot be measured online and the linearized system is unobservable, a nonlinear output feedback controller is developed by combining the input-output linearizing controller with a reduced-order, open-loop observer. The adaptive nonlinear control strategy is obtained by augmenting the non-adaptive controller with an indirect parameter estimation scheme which accounts for unmeasured buffering changes. Experimental tests demonstrate the superior performance of the adaptive nonlinear controller as compared to a non-adaptive nonlinear controller and conventional PI controller. >
Unconfined twist : a simple method to prepare ultrafine grained metallic materials.

A new simple method - unconfined twist was employed to prepare ultrafine grained (UFG) Fe,wire. A coarse grained (CG) Fe wire with a diameter of 0.85 mm was fixed at one end, and twisted at the other end. After maximum twist before fracture, in the cross-sectional plane, concentrically deformed layers with a width of several micrometers formed surrounding the center axis of the wire. The near-surface deformed layers consist of lamella grains with a width in submicrometer range. In the longitudinal plane, deformed bands (with a width of several micrometers) formed uniformly, which were composed of lamella crystallites (with a width in submicrometer range). The tensile yield strength and ultimate strength of the twisted Fe wire are increased by about 150% and 100% compared with the values of its CG counterpart.
Common genetic variation of the calcium-sensing receptor and lethal prostate cancer risk

Background: Bony metastases cause substantial morbidity and mortality from prostate cancer (PCa). The calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) is expressed on prostate tumors and may participate in bone metastases development. We assessed whether (i) common genetic variation in CaSR was associated with PCa risk and (ii) these associations varied by calcium intake or plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels. Methods: We included 1,193 PCa cases and 1,244 controls nested in the prospective Health Professionals Follow-up Study (1993–2004). We genotyped 18 CaSR single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) to capture common variation. The main outcome was risk of lethal PCa ( n = 113); secondary outcomes were overall ( n = 1,193) and high-grade PCa ( n = 225). We used the kernel machine approach to conduct a gene-level multimarker analysis and unconditional logistic regression to compute per-allele ORs and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for individual SNPs. Results: The joint association of SNPs in CaSR was significant for lethal PCa ( P = 0.04); this association was stronger in those with low 25(OH)D ( P = 0.009). No individual SNPs were associated after considering multiple testing; three SNPs were nominally associated ( P < 0.05) with lethal PCa with ORs (95% CI) of 0.65(0.42–0.99): rs6438705; 0.65(0.47–0.89): rs13083990; and 1.55(1.09–2.20): rs2270916. The three nonsynonymous SNPs (rs1801725, rs1042636, and rs1801726) were not significantly associated; however, the association for rs1801725 was stronger in men with low 25(OH)D [OR(95%CI): 0.54(0.31–0.95)]. There were no significant associations with overall or high-grade PCa. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that CaSR may be involved in PCa progression. Impact: Further studies investigating potential mechanisms for CaSR and PCa, including bone remodeling and metastases are warranted. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 22(1); 118–26. ©2012 AACR .
Latin America's Fledgling, Fumbling Democracies

By a small majority, Latin Americans are disposed toward preferring democracy over other forms of government, and for now almost all leaders in the region hold office from elections not military coups. Still, most Latin Americans quite correctly do not believe democracy has generally served their interests, that is, produced the jobs, houses, food, justice, and opportunities more and more people tell pollsters they want for themselves and their families. Personal observations and many studies, by the United Nations, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and others, confirm Latin America's unequaled inequalities and in many respects virtual economic stagnation as far as most people are concerned. The problem is not mainly bad individual leaders or foreign predators, as is often charged, but incompetent governance generally and the inability or refusal of Latins themselves to match their desires with the protracted effort needed to achieve their aspirations. Institutions and paternalistic thinking that go back for centuries persist in adapted forms and today are not only not producing for the majority but dragging Latin America farther and farther behind more successfully reforming countries, particularly in Asia. Latins have it in their power to change things, if they will.
New Findings on the Neurobiology of Dementia and Dementia Risk.

Over the last two decades there has been considerable progress in our understanding of the neural basis of dementia and associated neuropsychiatric symptoms. This progress has come from research using a variety of paradigms and approaches, including neuroimaging, genetics, peripheral blood markers, and advanced statistical methods. The current issue of the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry contains five new reports using these approaches. These articles either describe specific markers of disease progression or analyze the relationship of various neuropsychiatric symptoms to dementia. A major theme of current dementia research is to identify early markers of disease progression, with the ultimate aim of developing treatment to prevent illness progression. The prevailing view of Alzheimer disease (AD) pathogenesis is that the disease process begins decades before observable functional decline. During the early stages there may be pathophysiologic changes, such as alterations in amyloid processing, that eventually lead to the deposition of amyloid plaques, detectable with amyloid positron emission tomography. Subsequent progressive neurodegeneration, including synaptic and neural loss, is associated with clinical changes such as cognitive and behavioral symptoms. The intermediate stage (mild cognitive impairment [MCI]) is characterized by significant decline, yet not reaching the functional and cognitive impairment threshold of dementia. Among individuals with MCI the rate for progression to AD varies wildly. Identifying which individuals with MCI are most likely to progress quickly to AD is critical for identifying more effective prevention and treatment strategies.