cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A paleomagnetic investigation of the Lower Ordovician St. George Group, Port-au-Port Peninsula, Newfoundland: implications for the Iapetus Ocean and evidence for Late Paleozoic remagnetization

Abstract To obtain an early Ordovician paleomagnetic pole position for North America, and to determine the paleolatitude of its margin of the lapetus Ocean prior to the Taconic orogeny, a study of the lower St. George Group (Tremadocian-Arenigian) of western Newfoundland was undertaken. Analysis of 84 oriented core samples from six localities on Port au Port Peninsula indicates that the NRM of the St. George rocks is the resultant of three distinct paleomagnetic directions. The first is a steep downward component commonly observed in the low temperature range of demagnetization (room temperature 250°C) in virtually all samples, that roughly corresponds to the present day axial dipole field direction in situ ( D = 350° , I = 68° ). The second is a stable component with southerly declinations and shallow-intermediate negative inclinations ( D , I in situ = 176° , −20°; D , I tilt corrected = 173° , −5°, respectively) usually seen in the range of 450–600°C and found in approximately 46% of the specimens. The third is a stable southeasterly, shallow-intermediate positive component ( D , I insitu = 161° , 16°; D , I tilt correcied = 163° , 34°, respectively) generally unblocked within the 350–550°C or 450–600°C range which was observed in 40% of the specimens. These components of remanence are herein referred to as the Type 1, Type 2, and Type 3 components, respectively. The remaining 14% of the specimens were found to be either directionally unstable to thermal demagnetization or totally overprinted by the Type 1 component. The Type 2 component is interpreted to represent a post-folding, Late Paleozoic remagnetization possibly associated with the Alleghanian Orogeny. On the other hand, the Type 3 component is interpreted as an Early Ordovician, possibly pre-Taconic remanence and, in tilt corrected coordinates, yields a paleolatitude for this region of the North American craton of 19° S ± 6° .
Ionic Conductivity in LaCo1-XMgX03-δ: A Potential Cathode Material for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

A serious concern with present designs of solid oxide fuel cells is the requirement that “triple-point junctions” exist, sites at which the cathode, electrolyte and oxidizing gas are in simultaneous contact. Only at these junctions can the cathode catalyze the reduction of oxygen into 0= ions and initiate their subsequent transport through the electrolyte. Enhanced ionic conductivity in the cathode material may increase the surface area over which reduction can take place and relax the triple-point constraint. To this end, we have examined the electrical and structural properties of LaCo1-xMgx03-δ materials under various atmospheres. Oxygen ion transport in this and related ABO3 perovskites takes place via oxygen vacancy migration. We have opted to investigate the effect of Mg doping on the transition metal site in an effort to maintain a significant oxygen vacancy concentration in oxidizing atmospheres (as would be encountered during fuel cell operation) and to isolate the effects of A- and B-site doping.
Optical third-harmonic studies of the dispersion in χ ¯ ( 3 ) for gallium nitride thin films on sapphire

Third-harmonic (TH) transmission spectroscopy was used to study the dispersion in the ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\chi}}}_{\mathit{x}\mathit{x}\mathit{x}\mathit{x}}^{(3)}$ element of the third-order susceptibility in wurtzite-phase gallium nitride (GaN) films on sapphire. Analysis of the nonlinear response showed an enhancement in ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\chi}}}_{\mathit{x}\mathit{x}\mathit{x}\mathit{x}}^{(3)}$ when the photon energy of the TH field was tuned to the absorption edge, ${\mathit{E}}_{\mathit{g}}$=3.398 eV, with a peak value of 2.7\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}11}$ e.s.u. Comparison with previous band-structure calculations of ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\chi}}}_{\mathit{x}\mathit{x}\mathit{x}\mathit{x}}^{(3)}$ in wide-band-gap zinc-blende semiconductors shows that the dispersion in GaN is qualitatively similar to the third-order response in ZnSe near the absorption edge.
A comparison of urinary estrogens determined biologically and of "estroids" determined chemically.

PREVIOUS reports from this laboratory (Salter, Humm and Oesterling, 1948; Humm and Salter, 1948) have suggested that the Kober reaction, slightly modified from Venning’s procedure (Venning, Evelyn, Harkness and Browne, 1937), could be applied to 6-hour samples of urine in the study of physiological and clinical problems. The question has been raised repeatedly how such chemically determined values correlate with biological assays of urinary estrogens. As emphasized by Engel et al. (1950), fluorometric determinations of urinary “estroids” indicate that urine may contain a metabolite which has no estrogenic potency, even though it registers in the fluorometric determination. It is the purpose of the present report to compare the results obtained, colorimetrically and biologically, with the same urine extracts from several distinct groups of individuals. Of special interest is the question whether the low “estroid” excretion in nutritional gynecomastia previously described by Salter, Klatskin and Humm (1947)...
Radar ranges for carrier-based AEW aircraft

The intricate details of the initial flaw shape can be ignored in the first approximation, expecially since, upon incipient growth, the crack rapidly attains a stable configuration (normally semicircular, semielliptic, etc., depending on the stress distribution). Figure 3 shows an extrapolation of the macroscopic crack length record, a=f(N), over the life span preceding the macroscopic observations, down to a semicircular initial flaw length shown at the start of the cycling curve. Note that this is merely for illustration as the extrapolated X axis in Fig. 3 is not to scale. A median curve drawn through the macroscopic * crack growth record, a-f(N) with a>0.1 in., was differentiated graphically yielding da/d7V =/,(#) =/2(AA), which can be plotted against the corresponding AK levels given by
Magnetic structures of fcc systems with nearest-neighbor and next-nearest-neighbor exchange interactions.

The nature of the relationship of the magnetic structure in fcc systems to the values of ${J}_{1}$ and ${J}_{2}$, the nearest-neighbor and next-nearest-neighbor exchange interactions respectively, is examined. Fifteen experimental systems, with ordering varying from ferromagnetism to three different kinds of antiferromagnetism (AFI, AFII, AFIII), fit the predictions of the ter Haar-Lines model. Several other fcc systems where the exchange interactions need to be known more accurately for comparison with the model are noted.
Current controversies: Exercising during pregnancy

The current emphasis on physical fitness has motivated many women to participate in a variety of exercise programs. Increased participation by pregnant women is also occurring in the form of self-directed activities and/or as recommended by physicians in an effort to shorten labor and improve pregnancy outcome [1]. Whether exercise improves or presents a potential hazard to the mother and fetus is a concern. The implications for the “trained” woman as well as the “untrained’ exerciser are unclear and need definitive study.
Another approach to teaching programming concept course with object first

In an effort to better prepare students for success as a CS/CIS major, the Computer Science department at California Lutheran University introduced a pre-programming course four years ago. The course helped to increase the level of following two java programming courses. However programming concepts taught with its procedural language approach still left a large gap to Java programming courses.The course was overhauled in two ways. One is the paradigm shift from procedural language to object oriented programming language. The other is using a modern programming language environment with awareness of learning styles of students nowadays. The 3D interactive animated tool "Alice" is used in class and class is conducted as a studio model format.The preliminary result shows a positive response from students. This is a work in progress and evaluation will be continued at the start and the end of each semester. In this paper, we describe the need of a pre-programming course in general, design of our first course, design of the current pre-programming course with an object oriented paradigm and some findings.
Computational modeling of elastoplastic behaviour of homogeneous materials under indentation

Monotone operator theory and finite element analysis with remeshing algorithm is developed for study of elastoplastic behaviour of homogeneous materials under indentation. Convexity and continuity properties of the nonlinear functional related to plasticity operator is analyzed. In the considered formulation the problem is nonlinear even for physically linear (pure elastic) materials, since the unknown contact domain on each step of indentation is assumed to be unknown. Numerical algorithm presented is based on a locally adaptable mesh in order to find the unknown contact domain with high accuracy. Computational results show high predictive capability of the proposed model for indentation of inelastic homogeneous materials.
Discovery of permanent Amazon lakes and hydraulic disturbance in the upper Amazon Basin

We describe here the first autonomous permanent deep lakes found in the Amazon lowlands. Permanent Amazon lakes have hitherto been considered unlikely because the ubiquitous rivers meandering over flat terrain should obliterate ancient basins, resulting in lakes subject to annual flooding, the so-called ‘varzeas’1–4. The lakes described here are in the rain forests of Ecuador in western Amazonia, within 100 km of the Andes mountains, but at elevations below 700 m (Fig. 1). They occupy either deep abandoned channels of high-energy rivers or closed volcanic basins. Sedimentary histories and pollen data over several millennia from these lakes record disturbance of the Amazonian ecosystem by flooding, encouraging the view that high Amazonian species-richness is maintained by non-equilibrium processes5,6.
Training in structural heart interventions

Over the last decade, there have been tremendous advances in our ability to treat valvular heart disease and anatomic cardiac defects utilizing catheter-based approaches. At the same time, the number of patients with acquired valvular heart disease or adult congenital heart disease who may benefit
Trout hepatic enzyme activation of aflatoxin B1 in a mutagen assay system and the inhibitory effect of PCBs

In summary, it was demonstrated that the trout PMF may be successfully employed in the Ames mutagen assay method by utilization of proper salts solution and a metabolic preincubation period at 25 degrees C. It has also been observed that, unlike the rat, pretreatment of rainbow trout with various PCBs decrease the mutagen assay response to AFB.
Dreaming and offline memory processing

The activities of the mind and brain never cease. Although many of our waking hours are spent processing sensory input and executing behavioral responses, moments of unoccupied rest free us to wander through thoughts of the past and future, create daydreams, and imagine fictitious scenarios. During sleep, when attention to sensory input is at a minimum, the mind continues to process information, using memory fragments to create the images, thoughts, and narratives that we commonly call 'dreaming'. Far from being a random or meaningless distraction, spontaneous cognition during states of sleep and resting wakefulness appears to serve important functions related to processing past memories and planning for the future. From single-cell recordings in rodents to behavioral studies in humans, recent studies in the neurosciences suggest a new conception of dreaming as part of a continuum of adaptive cognitive processing occurring across the full range of mind/brain states.
Determination of the Hydrogeologic Properties of Lakebeds Using Offshore Geophysical Surveys

Studies of the relationships between ground-water systems and surface-water systems (lakes) generally require knowledge of the hydrogeologic properties of lakebed materials. Direct measurement of these properties may be prohibitively expensive or difficult in an offshore environment. A correlation between longitudinal conductance, a geoelectric parameter, and lakebed leakance (vertical hydraulic conductivity divided by thickness) may provide a rapid and inexpensive method for estimating lakebed hydrogeological properties using data collected by offshore seismic and electrical surveys. A test of the method at three study sites in Lake Michigan shows a positive linear relationship between the logarithm of longitudinal conductance and the logarithm of lakebed leakance at the three sites.
Fast neutron radiotherapy for the treatment of carcinoma of the urinary bladder. A review of clinical trials.

The major clinical investigations employing fast neutrons in the treatment of invasive bladder cancer are reviewed. Although data suggest that preoperative radiation schedules employing neutrons may result in a greater degree of pathologic downstaging than conventional precystectomy photon regimens,
Axigluon production in hadronic collisions

Recently proposed chiral-color models predict the existence of a massive color octet of vector bosons, the axigluon. In this paper we investigate axigluon production in hadronic collisions. We compute the single-jet inclusive cross section and the two-jet invariant-mass distribution for the CERN collider, the Fermilab Tevatron, and the Superconducting Super Collider. We use CERN data to exclude axigluon masses between 125 and 275 GeV, subject to a mild constraint on the width.
Incremental Mining of System Log Format

In modern computer system, system logs are important for problem determination in troubleshooting. Especially in the troubleshooting of systems, system administrators need to understand overview of the problems and identify the root causes quickly, and system logs can help the system administrators. However large numbers of unfamiliar system logs when are generated problems occur, and it's difficult to understand and use them. Most of the existing methods for interpreting system logs don't work immediately and are not useful for troubleshooting situations. We have devised a new method for mining log formats and retrieving log types and parameters in incremental log messages. By creating a structured tree using the nodes generated from log messages, we created a method for mining and refining log format continuously in realtime. Our experiments shows that our method can identify the formats of real system logs without prior knowledge.
Ethanol-induced oxidative stress and nutritional status.

The ability of dietary ethanol, administered over a 10-day period, to elevate production rates of reactive oxygen species and to alter glutathione levels has been determined in both liver and cerebellum, a brain region known to be susceptible to ethanol-induced damage. Two groups of ethanol-consuming rats were used. One set of treated animals that received an all-liquid ethanol-containing diet experienced weight gain, and this gain was matched in a pair-fed control group. The other ethanol-treated group that had free access only to solid chow and water containing ethanol lost weight during the exposure period. The corresponding control group that received unlimited water and chow was allowed to gain weight normally. In animals that lost weight as a consequence of ethanol in the drinking water, evidence of oxidative stress was enhanced relative to that in animals receiving ethanol by way of the liquid diet. This latter set gained weight, despite higher blood ethanol levels than the group that lost weight. An excess pre-oxidant condition prevailed in the liver and cerebellum of the ethanol-dosed malnourished group. In the case of liver, this difference may relate to a greater lability of iron-containing proteins in the rats that experienced weight loss, leading to the appearance of low molecular weight iron in the cytosol.
Quantifying arsenic-induced morphological changes in spinach leaves: implications for remote sensing

Arsenic (As) is a common soil contaminant that can be accumulated into plant parts. The ability to detect As in contaminated plants is an important tool to minimize As-induced health risks in humans. Near-infrared (NIR) spectra are strongly affected by leaf structural characteristics. Therefore, quantitative analyses of structural changes in the arrangement of mesophyll cells caused by As will help to explain spectral responses to As. The objectives of this study were to use stereological methods to quantify internal structural changes in leaves with As treatment in spinach plants, and to relate these changes to leaf spectral properties in NIR spectra. Hydroponically grown spinach was treated with 0, 5, 10 and 20 μmol l-1 for four weeks in a growth chamber. Spectral properties of leaves were obtained for visible and infrared frequencies. Leaf structural properties, such as mesophyll thickness and mesophyll surface area, were measured using stereological methods. Quantitative analysis of leaf structure showed that total leaf thickness and intercellular spaces in spongy mesophyll cells decreased with increasing As treatment. Changes in leaf reflectance in NIR wavelengths were strongly correlated with leaf As concentration and leaf structural changes. Multiple linear regression of leaf reflectance values at the highest correlated wavelengths (1048, 1098 and 1080 nm) generated an R2 value of 0.69. Results from this study support the hypothesis that relationships between leaf structure and reflectance may be useful in the interpretation of spectral data to detect plant leaf As concentration.
High-numerical-aperture effects in photoresist

Two-beam and three-beam vector interference in thin photoresist films is used to illustrate the striking differences between s -polarized and p-polarized high-numerical-aperture illumination. Both simulations and experiments are performed for several cases, including undyed photoresist on silicon, dyed photoresist on silicon, and the addition of an antireflective layer between the photoresist and the silicon. A 0.85 numerical-aperture system is examined. The major differences between s- and p-polarized illumination include elliptical versus rectangular features and lower contrast for p-polarized images.
Bickering In-Depth: Rethinking the Composition of Competing Security Systems

A vast array of security software exists, and because most of it addresses only relatively small facets of information security, it remains unclear how users should compose such software to achieve a reasonable degree of protection coverage. Furthermore, the many companies, organizations, and individuals that create such software don't design it to cooperate with similar software. We believe the resulting level of competition for resources and measurement points (kernel, library, or user hooks; disk access events; the system call API; and so on) can unnecessarily degrade system performance and interfere with the efficacy of the systems themselves. In essence, the broad call for "defense in-depth" can exacerbate existing performance and usability problems and lead to an unintentional loss of security. We suggest a paradigm in which security programmers intentionally design their code to cooperate with similar software by negotiating over security-critical resources, system measurement points, event types, and trusted information flow paths.
To G or not to G: is this still a question in allogeneic transplantation?

In this issue of Bone Marrow Transplantation, Battiwalla et al.1 review the role of G-CSF in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation providing an overview of the mechanism of action, the use of G-CSF in healthy HSC donors, chronic neutropenia patients, post-chemotherapy and post-hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. They carefully highlight controversies surrounding the use of G-CSF and appropriately recommend continuous pharmacovigilance. What is the take home message for transplant physicians caring for the donor considering progenitor cell mobilization and for the allograft recipient?
ACTION SPECTRUM AND QUANTUM YIELD FOR THE PHOTOINACTIVATION OF MNEMIOPSIN, A BIOLUMINESCENT PHOTOPROTEIN FROM THE CTENOPHORE MNEMIOPSIS SP.

— Ctenophores are bioluminescent marine invertebrates closely related to the coelenterates. The isolated bioluminescent systems of the ctenophores Mnemiopsis and Beroe and the hydrozoan jellyfish Aequorea are protein-luciferin complexes (photoproteins) which flash upon the addition of Ca2+ ions. The photoprotein mnemiopsin has an oxygen-independent quantum yield for photoinactivation of bioluminescence as high as 0.5, placing it among the most light-sensitive proteins known. We have measured the action spectrum for this photoinactivation at 107 narrow (3.4 nm) wavelength bands between 230 nm and 570 nm, covering a range of four decade units in the action. The action spectrum in the visible region is identical with the absorption spectrum of native photoprotein, implicating bound luciferin. The UV action spectrum implies that absorption by aromatic amino acid residues also leads to extremely efficient photoinactivation. Although photoinactivation is a rapid first-order reaction, destruction of the luciferin is a slower, multiple-order process. Therefore, protein-bound luciferin is not the ultimate target of the photoinactivation. Absorption of light results in the dissociation of “active oxygen” from the photoprotein. Therefore, the ctenophore photoprotein is a precharged enzyme already containing bound luciferin and oxygen.
Attachment with affectively ill and well mothers: Concurrent behavioral correlates.

The objective of this study is to explore relations between the quality of attachment relationships and control and affective interaction in families with unipolar depressed, bipolar depressed, and well mothers. As part of a large longitudinal project, attachment assessments were made, using the Strange Situation procedure, with 112 mothers and their children (aged 15–52 months). Sixty-seven percent of the children of bipolar depressed mothers were classified insecure, in comparison with 42% of children of well and unipolar mothers. Mothers of insecure children were more downcast, tended to show less tenderness/affection, were more likely to express extreme levels of anger/irritability, and were more likely to express high levels of two or more negative affects (i.e., anger, anxiousness, downcast) than were mothers of secure children. Relations were strongest in the depressed-mother groups. Insecure children expressed less tenderness/affection than did secure children (particularly in the unipolar group), and insecure girls were more likely to express high levels of anger/irritability than were secure girls. The value of studying risk and protective factors from an interactive perspective is emphasized.
Hybrid control strategy for five-fingered smart prosthetic hand

This paper presents a hybrid of soft computing or control technique of adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) and hard computing or control technique of finite-time linear quadratic optimal control for the 14 degrees of freedom (DOFs), five-fingered smart prosthetic hand. In particular, ANFIS is used for inverse kinematics, and the optimal control is used for feedback linearized dynamics to minimize tracking error. The simulations of this hybrid controller, when compared with the proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller showed enhanced performance.
Parent Care, Intergenerational Relationship Quality, and Mental Health of Adult Daughters:

This study examined the effects of parent care on the quality of adult daughter–aging parent relationships and the effects of these relationships on the mental health of daughters. One hundred ninety-six daughters who participated in the first two waves (18 months apart) of a longitudinal study of women in Wisconsin were included in this analysis. Structural equation modeling results show that providing care to a parent with both cognitive and physical impairments, but not to a parent with physical impairments only, takes a toll on the quality of the daughter-parent relationship. The quality of the daughter-parent relationship was found to be negatively associated with depressive symptoms in the daughter, and this association is largely accounted for by the daughter’s self-esteem.
JOHN FELTON, POPULAR POLITICAL CULTURE, AND THE ASSASSINATION OF THE DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM

This article analyses the motivation behind John Felton's assassination of the duke of Buckingham in August 1628. It focuses attention on his family's tortured relationship with the regime, and it highlights Felton's military service in Spain, Ireland, and France. Wounded in the disastrous withdrawal from the Ile de Re, he returned to London to convalesce, and there he slipped into the metropolitan ‘underground’ manuscript culture that was saturated with poems and tracts excoriating the duke. Finally he was able to witness the mounting violence in the city in the summer of 1628 that culminated in the murder of the duke's sorcerer, Dr Lamb. Felton's murder of the duke was far from inevitable, but as this article hopes to show, his ability to slot his own personal frustration into the increasingly virulent hostility to the favourite ultimately transformed Felton into the instrument of public retribution.
The Future of U.S. Agricultural Policy: Reflections on the Disappearance of the “Farm Problem”

The Federal Agricultural Improvement and Reform Act (FAIR) of 1996 continues direct subsidies on feed grains, wheat, cotton, and rice, replacing target prices with declining but fixed annual income transfers and eliminating all production controls. Tobacco, sugar, and peanut quota-based programs were continued with minor changes. Major changes were made in dairy policy including elimination of price supports and reduction of the number of marketing orders. Associated with the Act were hearings and media rhetoric some of which suggested that direct budget subsidies would or should end when the Act expires in 2002. The permanent 1949 legislation would, of course, have to be repealed for this to occur. Several interesting responses followed passage of the 1996 Act. Some general and agricultural economists, who have been consistent critics of the farm programs, celebrated with expressions implying that, now freed of distortions, agriculture would roll through the next millennium in an ideal state of grace (equilibrium?) apparently devoid of any necessity for national policy attention. Indeed, some express the belief that the 1930s farm legislation was an epic error from the start—a view common among general economists. A few agricultural economists have lamented that agricultural policy analysts would have little or nothing to do after 2002! However, especially cynical policy types noted that the 1949 permanent legislation had not been repealed and, as usual, commodity interests would use it as a club in 2002 to negotiate new and even more ingenious subsidies for politically deserving commodities. Some cynics were unkind enough to observe that, given then expected market conditions, the 1996 Act provided larger expenditures for farm subsidies than would have a simple extension of the 1990 Act. All of this leaves one wondering if anyone truly understands where we are in policy for agriculture.
Ebola Virus Disease: Radiology Preparedness

At present, there is a major emphasis on Ebola virus disease (EVD) preparedness training at medical facilities throughout the United States. Failure to have proper EVD procedures in place was cited as a major reason for infection of medical personnel in the United States. Medical imaging does not provide diagnosis of EVD, but patient assessment in the emergency department and treatment isolation care unit is likely to require imaging services. The purpose of this article is to present an overview of relevant aspects of EVD disease and preparedness relevant to the radiologic community.
Heterogeneity in Environmental Demand

Heterogeneity is a defining characteristic of environmental demand studies that use household-level data. People make different choices due to observed and unobserved differences in preferences and constraints, choice elements are quality-differentiated commodities that can be consumed in different ways, and observed characteristics of people are often import for policy. In this review I examine how environmental economists have responded to the challenges and opportunities this heterogeneity implies. I categorize the types of heterogeneity that can be present, provide examples of each, and propose criteria to use in deciding when explicit attention should be paid to the different types. I then show how a variety of economic and econometric models have been used to accommodate the various dimensions of observed and unobserved heterogeneity, and I discuss opportunities for further research on the topic.
Sequence alignment by passing messages

Sequence alignment has become an indispensable tool in modern molecular biology research, and probabilistic sequence alignment models have been shown to provide an effective framework for building accurate sequence alignment tools. One such example is the pair hidden Markov model (pair-HMM), which has been especially popular in comparative sequence analysis for several reasons, including their effectiveness in modeling and detecting sequence homology, model simplicity, and the existence of efficient algorithms for applying the model to sequence alignment problems. However, despite these advantages, pair-HMMs also have a number of practical limitations that may degrade their alignment performance or render them unsuitable for certain alignment tasks. In this work, we propose a novel scheme for comparing and aligning biological sequences that can effectively address the shortcomings of the traditional pair-HMMs. The proposed scheme is based on a simple message-passing approach, where messages are exchanged between neighboring symbol pairs that may be potentially aligned in the optimal sequence alignment. The message-passing process yields probabilistic symbol alignment confidence scores, which may be used for predicting the optimal alignment that maximizes the expected number of correctly aligned symbol pairs. Extensive performance evaluation on protein alignment benchmark datasets shows that the proposed message-passing scheme clearly outperforms the traditional pair-HMM-based approach, in terms of both alignment accuracy and computational efficiency. Furthermore, the proposed scheme is numerically robust and amenable to massive parallelization.
Recognition of incomplete polygonal objects

A partial-shape recognition technique for polygonal objects is described. Local shape features that are based on a polygonal approximation to the contour of the objects are extracted. Shape recognition is achieved by comparing an unknown object with the members of a library of known objects. This comparison requires finding the best matching sequence of local feature pairs for each known and unknown, a task that is accomplished by a best-first search. Experimental results are presented and discussed. >
Development, comparison, and preliminary experimental validation of nonlinear dynamic thruster models

This paper examines dynamical models for bladed-propeller-type marine thrusters. Previously reported thruster dynamics models are reviewed, and a simplified model is proposed. Experimental testing of both the transient and steady-state performance of a marine thruster corroborates previously reported data, validates the simplified thruster model, and raises new questions. A companion paper reports preliminary experiments in the design and testing of thrust controllers which incorporate the dynamical thruster models described in the present paper.
Effects of Cold Exposure on Rat Adrenal Tyrosine Hydroxylase: An Analysis of RNA, Protein, Enzyme Activity, and Cofactor Levels

: Long-term cold exposure (5–7 days) is known to induce concomitant increases in the levels of adrenomedullary tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) RNA, protein, and enzyme activity. In this report, we compare the time courses of these changes and investigate the effects of cold exposure on the levels of biopterin, the cofactor required for tyrosine hydroxylation. After only 1 h of cold exposure, TH mRNA abundance increased 71% compared with nonstressed controls. Increases in total cellular TH RNA levels were maximal (threefold over control values) within 3–6 h of cold exposure and remained elevated throughout the duration of the experiment (72 h). TH protein levels increased rapidly after 24 h of cold exposure and reached a maximal value threefold above that of controls at 48–72 h. Despite the relatively rapid and large elevations in TH RNA and protein content, only modest increases in TH activity were detected during the initial 48 h of cold exposure. Adrenomedullary biopterin increased rapidly after the onset of cold exposure, rising to a level approximately twofold that of the nonstressed controls at 24 h, and remained at this level throughout the duration of the stress period. Taken together, the results of this time course study indicate that cold-induced alterations in adrenal TH activity are mediated by multiple cellular control mechanisms, which may include pre- and posttranslational regulation. Our findings also suggest that cold stress-induced increases in the levels of the TH cofactor may represent another key event in the sympathoadrenal system's response to cold stress.
Building a community of history

This paper describes a virtual community tentatively entitled American Timewarp, which aims to bring kids and seniors together, both online and in person, to create shared historical artifacts. The beginnings of the project and future directions are discussed.
Participating in research for pregnancy complicated by breech.

Participant-centered clinical research is essential for client-centered evidence-based health care in pregnancy. Breech malpresentation can obstruct labor, contributing to maternal mortality. This qualitative study of women's and providers’ experience of breech led to five categories of themes related to participant-centered research: participation in this study, factors impeding women's participation, factors impeding clinical research, development of a participant-centered intervention, and improvement of a pregnancy research infrastructure. The findings contribute to understanding research participation during pregnancy. Gauging research protocols to fit questions of concern, women's and providers’ experiences, and practice settings supports participant-centered pregnancy risk reduction research that could decrease maternal mortality.
Sex differences in co-occurring conditions of children with autism spectrum disorders:

This study investigated differences in co-occurring diagnoses made in females compared to males with autism spectrum disorders in 913 children (746 males and 167 females) living in the United States with a current autism spectrum disorder diagnosis identified via caregiver-reported data from the National Survey of Children’s Health 2007. The results indicated that overall, females had significantly fewer reported autism spectrum disorder co-occurring conditions than males. Females, compared to males, with a current autism spectrum disorder diagnosis had lower rates of past learning disorder, current mild learning disorder, and past anxiety diagnoses. Females with a current autism spectrum disorder diagnosis were more likely than males to have been diagnosed with a speech problem in the past, while males with a current autism spectrum disorder diagnosis were more likely than females to have a current diagnosis of a mild learning disability and a past diagnosis of learning disability. In addition, males wit...
Cysteine pKa values for the bacterial peroxiredoxin AhpC

Salmonella typhimurium AhpC is a founding member of the peroxiredoxin family, a ubiquitous group of cysteine-based peroxidases with high reactivity toward hydrogen peroxide, organic hydroperoxides, and peroxynitrite. For all of the peroxiredoxins, the catalytic cysteine, referred to as the peroxidatic cysteine (C(P)), acts as a nucleophile in attacking the peroxide substrate, forming a cysteine sulfenic acid at the active site. Because thiolates are far stronger nucleophiles than thiol groups, it is generally accepted that cysteine-based peroxidases should exhibit pK(a) values lower than an unperturbed value of 8.3-8.5. In this investigation, several independent approaches were used to assess the pK(a) of the two cysteinyl residues of AhpC. Methods using two different iodoacetamide derivatives yielded unperturbed pK(a) values (7.9-8.7) for both cysteines, apparently due to reactivity with the wrong conformation of C(P) (i.e., locally unfolded and flipped out of the active site), as supported by X-ray crystallographic analyses. A functional pK(a) of 5.94 +/- 0.10 presumably reflecting the titration of C(P) within the fully folded active site was obtained by measuring AhpC competition with horseradish peroxidase for hydrogen peroxide; this value is quite similar to that obtained by analyzing the pH dependence of the epsilon(240) of wild-type AhpC (5.84 +/- 0.02) and similar to those obtained for two typical 2-cysteine peroxiredoxins from Saccharomyces cerevisiae (5.4 and 6.0). Thus, the pK(a) value of AhpC balances the need for a deprotonated thiol (at pH 7, approximately 90% of the C(P) would be deprotonated) with the fact that thiolates with higher pK(a) values are stronger nucleophiles.
Hapori: context-based local search for mobile phones using community behavioral modeling and similarity

Local search engines are very popular but limited. We present Hapori, a next-generation local search technology for mobile phones that not only takes into account location in the search query but richer context such as the time, weather and the activity of the user. Hapori also builds behavioral models of users and exploits the similarity between users to tailor search results to personal tastes rather than provide static geo-driven points of interest. We discuss the design, implementation and evaluation of the Hapori framework which combines data mining, information preserving embedding and distance metric learning to address the challenge of creating efficient multidimensional models from context-rich local search logs. Our experimental results using 80,000 queries extracted from search logs show that contextual and behavioral similarity information can improve the relevance of local search results by up to ten times when compared to the results currently provided by commercially available search engine technology.
Selective Attention and Audiovisual Integration: Is Attending to Both Modalities a Prerequisite for Early Integration?

Interactions between multisensory integration and attention were studied using a combined audiovisual streaming design and a rapid serial visual presentation paradigm. Event-related potentials (ERPs) following audiovisual objects (AV) were compared with the sum of the ERPs following auditory (A) and visual objects (V). Integration processes were expressed as the difference between these AV and (A 1 V) responses and were studied while attention was directed to one or both modalities or directed elsewhere. Results show that multisensory integration effects depend on the multisensory objects being fully attended—that is, when both the visual and auditory senses were attended. In this condition, a superadditive audiovisual integration effect was observed on the P50 component. When unattended, this effect was reversed; the P50 components of multisensory ERPs were smaller than the unisensory sum. Additionally, we found an enhanced late frontal negativity when subjects attended the visual component of a multisensory object. This effect, bearing a strong resemblance to the auditory processing negativity, appeared to reflect late attention-related processing that had spread to encompass the auditory component of the multisensory object. In conclusion, our results shed new light on how the brain processes multisensory auditory and visual information, including how attention modulates multisensory integration processes.
Masonry walls subjected to wind-induced lateral loads and uplift

Abstract A common construction method in the United States, particularly for light commercial and public buildings, is the use of lightweight metal roof decking supported by steel bar joists which span between load bearing masonry walls. This structural system is economic and performs well for gravity loads, but when subjected to high winds, these types of structures have performed poorly. The current practices used, some in accordancϵ with model codes, for anchoring the bar joists to the masonry wall cannot transmit the uplift forces down through the wall without exceeding the ultimate bond capacity between the mortar and masonry units. The objective of this research-in-progress is to experimentally evaluate the load-deformation behavior of a typical masonry wall when subjected to combinations of lateral wind pressure and uplift forces transmitted through a bar joist anchorage. A series of tests is under way involving walls carrying uplift forces with and without the presence of lateral loads (representing outer windward walls and interior bearing walls). Walls will be tested with and without a reinforced masonry bond beam to evaluate its effectiveness in improving the strength of the wall.
Detection of gratings and small features in speckle imagery

The extent of picture degradation of speckle, in particular in synthetic aperture radar pictures, has been investigated in the cases where an observer has to detect (a) a small feature immersed in a darker background, and (b) a square wave grating. In each case, a theoretical model is developed for the observer's detection mechanism, and the probability of correct decision is related to relevant picture parameters such as contrast, looks per pixel, and size. These calculations are verified by psychophysical experiments using computer-simulated pictures. Detectability of gratings as a criterion for characterizing picture quality is shown to be far inferior to feature detectability.
The appropriate use of risk scores.

Risk prediction for cardiovascular events has gained popularity in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Methods of estimating the risk of various cardiovascular disease outcomes at different time periods following a variety of interventions using risk score sheets are
Numerical investigation of chaotic flow in a 2D closed-loop pulsating heat pipe

Abstract In the present study, investigation of chaotic flow in a two-dimensional closed-loop pulsating heat pipe has been carried out numerically. Constant temperature boundary conditions have been applied for the heating (evaporator) and the cooling (condenser) sections. The width of the tube was 3 mm and water was used as working fluid. Structured meshing configuration has been used and Volume of Fluid (VOF) method has been employed for two-phase flow simulation. The investigated temperature ranges for the evaporator and the condenser were 100–180 °C and 20–50 °C, respectively. The range of filling ratio was from 30 to 80%. Volume fraction of liquid and vapor in the pulsating heat pipe was investigated for different operating conditions. Time series analysis of the adiabatic wall temperature, correlation dimension, power spectrum density, Lyapunov exponent and autocorrelation function were used to investigate chaos in the pulsating heat pipe. Chaotic behavior was observed under several operating conditions. It was found that the time series has complicated, irregular and aperiodic behavior. Absence of dominating peaks in the power spectrum density curves denoted the existence of chaos in the pulsating heat pipe. It was observed that by increasing the filling ratio and evaporator temperature, the correlation dimension increases. Positive values of Lyapunov exponent were obtained for temperatures between 140 and 180 °C at filling ratio of 30%. At filling ratio of 75%, all of the Lyapunov exponents were positive for the temperature interval between 120 and 180 °C.
SARCOMA FORMATION IN PAGET'S DISEASE OF BONE

A case of Paget's disease of bone is presented in which sarcoma formation occurred in the lower end of the femur, and, apparently, at the same time in other areas. The histological picture of the tumor varies from polymorphonuclear sarcoma to spindle-cell sarcoma and fibrosarcoma. The tumor led to pathological fracture at the lower end of the femur, and to invasion of the cavity of the knee joint and of the popliteal vein, with sarcoma metastases in the lungs. It seems that osteitis fibrosa is the predisposing cause of the tumor growth, because only those portions with very mature fibrous bone marrow show tumor formation, whereas the parts with looser bone marrow and younger bony changes, in the sense of Paget's disease, are not affected by tumor growth. It is questionable whether von Albertini's distinction between a presarcomatous and a real sarcoma formation can be made.
Modeling Vestibulo-Ocular Reflex Dynamics: From Classical Analysis to Neural Networks

The vestibulo-ocular reflex which stabilizes the eyes during head rotation is an elegant sensorimotor system that has long attracted the attention of theoretical neuroscientists. Previous models based on classical analysis and control systems theory provided precise descriptions of overall vestibulo-ocular reflex dynamics but indicated little about the nature of the neurons that mediate this response. More recently dynamic neural network models have extended the description to the neural level providing new insights into the mechanisms of sensorimotor signal processing in the vestibulo-ocular reflex.
Theorizing a Hybrid Feminism: Motherhood in Margarita Nelken’s En torno a nosotras (1927)

This essay explores the complex feminist philosophy that comes to the fore in En torno a nosotras, an overlooked novel written by Margarita Nelken, one of early twentieth-century Spain’s most vocal and polemic feminists. The analysis juxtaposes the novel with Nelken’s essays, La condicion social de la mujer en Espana and La mujer ante las cortes constituyentes, in order to encourage a hybrid interpretation of first-wave feminist thought in Spain. Specifically, this essay concentrates on the incorporation of maternity and motherhood into modern female identities. It provides a thorough examination of the debate, defence and theorization of this traditional female role within a fictional novel by considering the implications of Platonic and Socratic dialogues. The resulting analysis argues for a re-evaluation of first-wave Spanish feminism that takes into account both liberal and conservative tendencies.
Atomic-Resolution Z-Contrast Imaging and Its Application to Compositional Ordering and Segregation

In the last ten years, the scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) has become capable of forming electron probes of atomic dimensions making possible a new approach to high-resolution electron microscopy, Z-contrast imaging. Formed by mapping the intensity of high-angle scattered electrons as the probe is scanned across the specimen, the Z-contrast image represents a direct map of the specimen scattering power at atomic resolution. It is an incoherent image, and can be directly interpreted in terms of atomic columns. High angle scattering comes predominantly from the atomic nuclei, so the scattering cross section depends on atomic number (Z) squared. Z-contrast microscopy can therefore be used to study compositional ordering and segregation at the atomic scale. Here we present three examples of ordering: first, ferroelectric materials, second, III-V semiconductor alloys, and finally, cooperative segregation at a semiconductor grain boundary, where a combination of Z-contrast imaging with first principles theory provides a complete atomic-scale view of the sites and configurations of the segregant atoms.