cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
C-reactive protein and coronary heart disease: diagnostic and therapeutic implications for primary prevention.

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the leading cause of death in the industrialized world. Recent laboratory and clinical studies have shown that inflammation plays a pivotal role in the inception, progression, and destabilization of atheromas. The acute-phase reactant C-reactive protein (CRP) has been shown to reflect systemic and, perhaps, vascular inflammation and to predict future cardiovascular events in asymptomatic individuals. The relative risk associated with CRP is independent of other cardiovascular disease risk factors. High-sensitivity assays (hs-CRP) are needed for the measurement of CRP concentration for the purpose of predicting the risk of future coronary events. Available assays must be standardized because patients' results will be interpreted using population-based cutpoints. An algorithm for risk stratification incorporating hs-CRP and total cholesterol to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio has been developed. Statin class drugs and aspirin appear to modulate CHD risk in those with increased hs-CRP concentration. Several prospective studies, are now underway to specifically develop novel clinical utilities and therapeutic strategies for hs-CRP.
Mining emerging user-centered network structures in location-based social networks

The digitization of social networks has enabled the passive collection of large scale data, which in turn have fostered social studies that have been traditionally dependent on small scale, interview-based data. During the last years, a new class of digital social networks has emerged, namely, location-based social networks (LBSNs). The main interaction between users of an LBSN is location sharing, i.e., declaring their presence to specific places. The latter ties the virtual, online world with the real space that users interact in. Thus, except from the social graph, a number of implicit network structures emerge. As an example, two people can be considered to be connected if they have been to at least k common places. Similar structures play crucial role in fields such as epidemiology and urban planning, while they can have implications in communication networks as well (e.g., mobile peer-to-peer content delivery). In this study, we examine the characteristics and the evolution of these structures using two LBSN datasets. As our analysis indicate, (i) these structures can deviate significantly from the pure social network and, (ii) they are highly dynamic (i.e., these implicit connections are ephemeral). © 2014 IEEE.
Whose Evolution? Which Theology?

The importance of scientific conflicts for theology and philosophy is difficult to judge. In many disputes of significance, prominent scientists can be found on both sides. Profound philosophical and religious implications are sometimes said to be implied by the new theory as well. This article examines the dispute over natural selection between Richard Dawkins and Stephen Jay Gould as a contemporary instance of such a conflict. While both claim that profound philosophical conclusions flow from their own alternative account of evolution, I suggest that the implication is not as great as is claimed and that the alleged implications have as much to do with their own perceptions of theology as with the actual theories themselves. Nevertheless, evolutionary theory is not irrelevant for theology. Theologians should be aware of the possible implications of evolutionary theory and at the same time the extent and limits of such implications.
The Caregivers of Stroke Patients: An Investigation of Factors Associated with Depression

Caregivers of the elderly and infirm are often under more stress and report lower life satisfaction than matched groups of noncaregivers. Forty caregivers of stroke patients (usually a spouse) were interviewed an average of 9 months poststroke to determine the factors associated with poorer caregiver adjustment. Four classes of variables were expected to be related to depression in caregivers: level of functioning of the patient, caregiver perceptions of increased work and burden due to the stroke, the quality of the patient-caregiver relationship, and caregivers' interpretations of their situation. Background characteristics were also measured. As predicted, variables in each class were significantly related to depression. Multiple regression analysis showed three significant independent predictors of caregiver depression. Caregivers are more depressed if the patient is more physically impaired, if caregivers report disharmony in the family, and if they have lesser perceptions of hope Ways to apply these findings to the development of interventions to ameliorate caregiver depression are discussed.
Amount of narrowing by atherosclerotic plaque in 44 nonbypassed and 52 bypassed major epicardial coronary arteries in 32 necropsy patients who died within 1 month of aortocoronary bypass grafting.

Abstract In 32 necropsy patients who died within 30 days of an aortocoronary bypass operation performed for relief of angina pectorls, the lumens in 42 (95 percent) of 44 nonbypassed and in 52 (100 percent) of 52 bypassed arteries were narrowed 76 to 100 percent in cross-sectional area by atherosclerotic plaque. Of 616 five mm segments of the 44 nonbypassed arteries examined histologlcally, 292 (47 percent) were narrowed 76 to 100 percent in cross-sectional area by atherosclerotic plaque; of 728 segments examined in the 52 bypassed arteries, 375 (52 percent) were similarly narrowed. Thirty-two (73 percent) of the 44 nonbypassed coronary arteries (In 23 patients) had been Judged to be narrowed 50 percent or less in diameter on preoperatlve coronary anglography, but at necropsy 31 (97 percent) of these arteries were narrowed 76 to 100 percent in cross-sectional area and the other artery was narrowed 51 to 75 percent. Thus, significant amounts of atherosclerotic plaque tend to be present at necropsy in all three major coronary systems of patients with angina pectorls who die early after an aortocoronary bypass operation.
General and Specific Goal Orientations as Correlates of Adult Student Degree Completion: Lessons from the Community College of the Air Force

This research examined degree completion through the lens of Snyder's hope theory (Snyder, 2000) in an effort to expand the research on student retention from Tinto's sociological theory to a theor...
Road grade quantification based on global positioning system data obtained from real-world vehicle fuel use and emissions measurements

Abstract Real-world vehicle fuel use and emission rates depend on engine load, which is quantified in terms of Vehicle Specific Power (VSP). VSP depends on vehicle speed, acceleration, and road grade. There is not a standard method for measuring road grade from a moving vehicle. A method for quantifying grade is evaluated based on statistical analysis of multiple runs using low cost consumer grade Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers with in-built Barometric Altimeter (GPS/BA). The average grade precision is ±0.71, ±0.46, and ±0.31 percentage points, for sample sizes of 9, 18, and 36 GPS/BA runs, respectively, among 2213 individual 0.08 km road segments. In addition, 4 sets of repeated measurements were performed on the same routes using a high cost, high accuracy Differential GPS (DGPS). Both sets of GPS-based grade estimates compared well with those derived from LIght Detection And Ranging (LIDAR) data. GPS/BA and DGPS grade estimates were similar, except for high magnitude grades of 8–10 percent for which DGPS estimates are more accurate. DGPS is more sensitive to loss of signal; thus, a hybrid approach for substituting GPS/BA data for missing DGPS data at specific locations along a route is demonstrated. The local and overall effects of road grade on fuel use and emission rates are investigated for an example light duty gasoline vehicle.
Response perseveration and adaptation in heavy marijuana-smoking adolescents

The present study examined two behavioral processes - response perseveration and response adaptation - in adolescents who were heavy marijuana smokers and control adolescents. Testing took place in a controlled laboratory setting, using customized software and either a computer keyboard or a custom built response panel for response input. Adolescents age 14-18 were recruited into a heavy smoking (near daily) group (N=22) or a control group (N=31) with <15 lifetime uses of marijuana and no history of substance abuse or dependence. Marijuana use was verified by daily quantification of urinary cannabinoids and self-reports. Participants completed laboratory tasks designed to measure response perseveration (Wisconsin Card Sort Task, WCST) and response adaptation (concurrent variable-ratio reinforcement schedule with changing contingencies). Data were analyzed via ANOVA, controlling for multiple factors including: gender, age, nicotine use, presence of conduct disorder, and subscales of the Youth Self Report. After controlling for these compared to controls marijuana-using participants made significantly more perseverative and total errors on the WCST and showed significantly impaired (e.g., less adaptive) response allocation to the changing reinforcement contingencies on the concurrent-reinforcement task. Within the constraints of the study's limitations in controlling for alternative sources of between-subject variability, the data suggest that individuals who regularly smoke marijuana during adolescence show measurable perturbations in important basic behavioral processes. The data are also consistent with a previous laboratory study demonstrating reduced motivation in marijuana-smoking adolescents versus controls [Lane, S.D., Cherek, D.R., Pietras, C.J., and Steinberg, J.L. (2005). Performance of heavy marijuana-smoking adolescents on a laboratory measure of motivation. Addictive Behaviors, 30, 815-828].
Prediction of outcome in anorexia nervosa from neuropsychological status.

To evaluate the possibility that subtle brain dysfunction may exist in anorexia nervosa and indicate a poor prognosis, 20 anorexia nervosa patients received neuropsychological assessments covering a broad array of cognitive performances. The patients were examined at admission and again at the end of an inhospital treatment program when they were at normal weight for their age and height. Pretreatment performance on the assessment battery was not associated with outcome 1 year after discharge. However, posttreatment performance and significantly associated with outcome. A majority (71%) of patients with two or more cognitive deficits showed an unfavorable outcome (i.e., did not maintain their weight). In contrast, a majority (85%) of patients with less than two cognitive defects had a favorable outcome (i.e., maintained or increased their weight). The findings suggest that the hypothesis of a central nervous system disorder limiting the capacity for anorectics to recover deserves further exploration.
Application of thermodynamics to the examination of the diamond CVD process II. A model of diamond deposition process from hydrocarbon-hydrogen mixtures

A model of the diamond deposition process from gas phases activated by thermal methods, consisting of the four following stages, is proposed: (1) activation of a hydrocarbon-hydrogen mixture; (2) transport of the activated gas phase to the substrate surface; (3) simultaneous deposition of carbon in sp3 and sp2 hybridization at the growth surface; (4) etching of co-deposited sp2 hybridized carbon. Carbon deposition with maintenance of sp3 hybridization can proceed only on the condition that the gas phase is in a non-equilibrium state, generally called the activated state, in which a non-equilibrium partial pressure of atomic hydrogen is present. A definition of the activated state is proposed. Depending on the degree of activation carbon is deposited in stage (3) by potentially many different reactions. When the gas phase is activated to a “high”, “very high” or “extremely high” degree, the most important reactions, according to which carbon is deposited, are the reactions C2H2(g) + 2 H(g) = C(diamond & graphite) + CH4(g), C2H(g) + 3 H(g) = C(diamond & graphite) + CH4(g), or 2 CH(g) + 2 H(g) = C(diamond & graphite) + CH4(g), respectively. The most important reaction, according to which graphite is etched or gasified in stage (4), is reaction C(graphite) + 4 H(g) = CH4(g). Atomic hydrogen in a super-equilibrium concentration is necessary not only to etch graphite in stage (4) but also to precipitate carbon in stage (3). Conclusions following from the model are in good agreement with the results of experimental investigations reported in the current literature.
Resetting and entrainment of reentrant ventricular tachycardia associated with myocardial infarction

Resetting and entrainment are specific responses to programmed stimulation that are useful in determining the mechanism of ventricular tachycardia (VT), localizing critical components of a reentrant circuit to guide ablation, determining how antiarrhythmic drugs affect the tachycardia, and developing antitachycardia pacing modalities. While resetting and entrainment have certain things in common, they differ significantly in the ability to characterize the properties of VT. Only resetting, which is the interaction of a single extrastimulus with the tachycardia, can characterize the properties of the VT itself. Entrainment assesses the effect of overdrive pacing on a reset circuit, not the VT itself. The terms for these techniques are often incorrectly used interchangeably. The present review details the characteristics and uses of both stimulation techniques.
Utilizing the decomposition of organic residues to increase infiltration rates in water spreading

Decomposition rates were determined for several plant residues which were incubated under controlled conditions in the absence of soil. Three of these plant residues, having a range in decomposition rate from high to low, were mixed with soil, and incubated. The decomposition rates in the absence of soil were similar to those obtained when the plant residues were mixed with soil. Microbial counts made during the decomposition of the plant residues in soil showed that the greatest number of microorganisms occurred in the soils containing plant residues which decompose rapidly. Ammonium nitrate applied to the soil mixed with plant residue stimulated decomposition slightly. Percolation rates of soil mixed with organic residues varied with the amount of material applied, decomposition rate of the material, and the length of the incubation period. These studies indicate that initial decomposition at a moisture content near field capacity followed by decomposition at saturation may produce the highest infiltration rate for a given amount of organic residue. Infiltration rates on 0.005-acre test ponds containing vegetative cover or treated with cotton gin trash and alfalfa hay are presented. The use of organic residues to increase the infiltration rate of water-spreading areas is discussed.
The origin and specification of cortical interneurons

GABA-containing interneurons are crucial to both the development and function of the cerebral cortex. Unlike cortical projection neurons, which have a relatively conserved set of characteristics, interneurons include multiple phenotypes that vary on morphological, physiological and neurochemical axes. This diversity, and the relatively late, context-dependent maturation of defining features, has challenged efforts to uncover the transcriptional control of cortical interneuron development. Here, we discuss recent data that are beginning to illuminate the origins and specification of distinct subgroups of cortical interneurons.
The long-term sequelae of sexual abuse: support for a complex posttraumatic stress disorder.

This study examined the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and symptoms of a newly proposed complex posttraumatic stress disorder or disorder of extreme stress not otherwise specified (DESNOS). Compared to 34 women without histories of sexual abuse, 74 survivors of sexual abuse showed increased severity on DESNOS symptoms of somatization, dissociation, hostility, anxiety, alexithymia, social dysfunction, maladaptive schemas, self-destruction, and adult victimization. In addition, a logistic regression found that a complex of symptoms representing DESNOS was significantly related to a history of sexual abuse. Consistent with other studies, the results of this study provide support for the idea that symptoms of DESNOS characterize survivors of sexual abuse.
The modal equations applied to continuous systems

Abstract The modal equations method of solving vibration problems for linear elastic systems in free vibration is extended from discrete to continuous systems. Several sample problems are presented to illustrate the method.
On the acoustic heating of the polar night mesosphere

Contribution of aerodynamically produced atmospheric acoustic waves to heating of polar night mesosphere
XLIV. A suspected case of the electrical resonance of minute metal particles for light-waves. A new type of absorption

(1902). XLIV. A suspected case of the electrical resonance of minute metal particles for light-waves. A new type of absorption. The London, Edinburgh, and Dublin Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science: Vol. 3, No. 16, pp. 396-410.
Transparent motives: democratic advantage in international credit markets

Do democracies have an advantage in international credit markets? According to Schultz and Weingast (2003), they do, as democratic governments can be held accountable and, thus, their commitments to pay are more credible. However, this argument does not apply to much of the developing world, in which potential lenders are often not domestic and lack the ability to punish the sovereign through domestic political institutions. Saiegh (2005) argues that there is no ‘democratic advantage’ in developing states, as he finds developing democracies more likely to reschedule foreign debt than non-democracies. In this paper, we also find that democratic governments are more likely to default. However, we argue that this ability to reschedule loans precisely is a democratic advantage. Democratic countries are more likely to default because they can do so without fear of being punished by global credit markets; and when they do, developing democracies are also more likely to receive credit following default. The source of this democratic advantage is transparency, which makes democratic governments credible, not only in their promises to pay, but also in their claims about their ability to pay.
Conceptualizing emergent archival forms: A case study of the occupy wall street “archive”

In this paper, the author begins to conceptualize how online archival collections can be understood and evaluated. The author uses the Occupy Wall Street archives project as a case study for looking at this new form of archive, one constituted by multiple collecting institutions. Expanding the concept of interface as a tool for examining an archival collection that transcends typical physical demarcation, the author analyzes the links and navigation between different archival websites and institutions, and draws conclusions about the nature of these new types of archival collections. This paper provides a new approach for research into online archives, suggesting future avenues of inquiry, including future work on studying user behavior within online archives.
Synthesis of Chymotrypsin Inhibitor I Protein in Potato Leaflets Induced by Detachment

Chymotrypsin inhibitor I is a protein that can be induced to accumulate in potato leaflets within hr in the light when leaflets are detached from intact plants and supplied with water. This increase in inhibitor I is not accompanied by an increase in all proteins in the detached leaflets. The accumulation is polar, proceeding from the base of the leaflets toward the tip. Low inhibitor I levels can be effectively maintained in detached leaflets by supplying them either water in the dark or solutions of indole acetic acid or 2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid in the light. Inhibitor I from leaflets is not identical to inhibitor I isolated from potato tubers as determined by immunochemical analyses.
Flow and heat transfer on a flat plate normal to a two-dimensional laminar jet issuing from a nozzle of finite height

Abstract The two-dimensional laminar jet issuing from a nozzle of half width which terminates at height above a flat plate normal to the jet is analyzed theoretically. The available potential flow solution obtained by conformal mapping is used for the distribution of main-stream velocity over the flat plate. Then, the boundary-layer equations and the energy equation are solved by a finite difference method to evaluate the local friction factor Cf and Nusselt number Nu. Results are presented graphically for the non-dimensional nozzle heights H = 1· 0, 1· 5, 2· 0, 3· 0 and ∞, and for the Prandtl numbers Pr = 0· 7, 1· 0, 5· 0 and 10· 0. The profile of main-stream velocity for H = 3· 0 coincides substantially with that for H = ∞; also there are no distinguishable differences between the two cases in the flow-friction and heat-transfer characteristics. Cf varies linearly close to the point of jet impingement as for a stagnation flow in infinite fluid, attains its maximum value, and then approaches asymptotically the value for the flow over a flat plate. Cf increases with decrease in H, and the maximum value for H = 1·0 reaches approximately 3·5 times the value for H = ∞. Nu varies similarly to Cf except close to the point of impingement where it remains constant. The maximum value of Nu for H = 1·0 is approximately 1· 7 times the value for H = ∞ so that the increase of flow friction due to small nozzle height is much more remarkable than the enhancement of heat transfer rate.
The role of individual and organizational factors in promoting firm environmental practices

Purpose – This study seeks to explore the roles of organizational support and environmental manager commitment on organizational environmental management practices.Design/methodology/approach – A survey of environmental managers was conducted to examine the role of organizational support and individual environmental commitment on key informant perceptions of environmental organizational practices including participation in extra‐organizational voluntary environmental programs, adoption of a company‐specific environmental management system (EMS), and involvement in ISO 14000 certification.Findings – Study findings demonstrate that high perceptions of organizational support for the environment affect the likelihood of an organization's implementation of environmental practices. Similarly, study findings indicate that higher levels of environmental commitment of the individual responsible for environmental management practices affects the likelihood of an organization's implementation of environmental practi...
Three-dimensional cone-beam computed tomography for assessment of mandibular changes after orthognathic surgery

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to assess alterations in the 3-dimensional (3D) position of the mandibular rami and condyles in patients receiving either maxillary advancement and mandibular setback or maxillary surgery only. Methods: High-resolution cone-beam computed tomography scans were taken of 21 patients before and after orthognathic surgery. Ten patients with various malocclusions underwent maxillary surgery only, and 11 Class III patients received maxillary advancement and mandibular setback. Presurgery and postsurgery 3D models were registered on the surface of the cranial base. A new tool was used for graphical overlay and 3D display with color maps to visually assess the locations and to quantify positional changes in the posterior border of the mandibular rami and condyles between superimposed models. Results: The average displacements in condylar position were small—0.77 mm (SD, 0.12 mm) and 0.70 mm (SD, 0.08 mm)—for 2-jaw and 1-jaw surgeries, respectively (not significant, P >.05). All 2-jaw surgery patients had backward rotational displacements of the mandibular rami (mean, 1.98 mm; SD, 1.03 mm), with a maximum surface distance change of ≥2 mm in 8 of 11 subjects. For the 1-jaw surgery, all subjects had small backward rotational displacements of the mandibular rami (mean, 0.78 mm; SD, 0.25 mm), with only 1 subject having a maximum surface distance change ≥2 mm. The difference in mean backward rotational displacement was statistically significant ( P Conclusions: The visualization of 3D model superimposition clearly identified the location, magnitude, and direction of mandibular displacement. The 3D imaging allowed quantification of vertical, transverse, and anteroposterior ramus displacement that accompanied mandibular, but not maxillary only, surgery.
Visual and auditory evoked phase resetting of the alpha EEG

Abstract An increasing number of studies over the last decade or so have suggested that evoked potential (EP) morphology is partially due to a reorganization of the phase of the ongoing EEG. Phase resetting is common to non-linear oscillatory systems in response to a perturbation and has been observed in a number of biological systems such as circadian rhythms and the ECG. However, it has not been studied adequately in the context of EP research. Five clinically normal male volunteers (age 25–32) were subjected to randomly occurring light flashes for approximately 1 h. EEG recordings were obtained from a midline parieto–occipital site (POz) referenced to linked ears. An additional five male subjects (age 26–36) participated in an auditory P3 study of the effects of nimodipine, a calcium channel blocker, on brain electrical activity. Four of the latter subjects were diagnosed as crack cocaine abusers and one was negative for crack use. The single trials were bandpass filtered in the 8–13 Hz band and the phase angle at the moment of stimulation was computed. We examined the relationship between initial phase angle and both latency and amplitude of the first two post-stimulus negative peaks. The results demonstrate that these peaks undergo phase and (pre-stimulus) amplitude sensitive latency reorganization during presentation of both visual flash stimuli and auditory non-target oddball stimuli in a P3 experiment. © 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.
Stabilization procedures in coupled poromechanics problems: A critical assessment

Numerical solutions for problems in coupled poromechanics suffer from spurious pressure oscillations when small time increments are used. This has prompted many researchers to develop methods to overcome these oscillations. In this paper, we present an overview of the methods that in our view are most promising. In particular we investigate several stabilized procedures, namely the fluid pressure Laplacian stabilization (FPL), a stabilization that uses bubble functions to resolve the fine-scale solution within elements, and a method derived by using finite increment calculus (FIC). On a simple one-dimensional test problem, we investigate stability of the three methods and show that the approach using bubble functions does not remove oscillations for all time step sizes. On the other hand, the analysis reveals that FIC stabilizes the pressure for all time step sizes, and it leads to a definition of the stabilization parameter in the case of the FPL-stabilization. Numerical tests in one and two dimensions on 4-noded bilinear and linear triangular elements confirm the effectiveness of both the FPL- and the FIC-stabilizations schemes for linear and nonlinear problems. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Virus-like particle vaccine activates conventional B2 cells and promotes B cell differentiation to IgG2a producing plasma cells.

Abstract We have previously shown that immunization with SIV-, SHIV-, or HA (influenza hemagglutinin)-virus-like particles (VLPs) elicits a strong humoral immune response in mice. However, little is known about the action VLPs exert on immune effector cells, including B cells. In this study, we found that all three types of VLPs could directly bind and activate B cells in vitro . VLPs stimulated the proliferation of B220 + IgM + CD43 − CD5 − B2 cells and their differentiation to plasma cells that preferentially produce IgG2a antibodies. Up-regulation of Blimp-1, XBP-1, IRF4, and AID genes, which are responsible for class-switch recombination and somatic hypermutation, was observed in VLP-activated B2 cells. Stimulation of naive splenocytes with VLPs led to a high expression of IL-12, RANTES and MIP, the cytokine milieu that favors B cell differentiation into IgG2a secreting cells. VLP immunization of C57BL/6 mice corroborated our in vitro data showing enlarged germinal centers and expanded conventional B2 cells, but no enlarged marginal zone B1 cells, in the spleen. Enhanced antigen-specific plasma cell formation, antibody production, and IgG2a class switching were found in VLP-immunized groups. The current study details the interaction between VLPs and B cells which result in preferential IgG2a antibody production following VLP immunization.
Hysteroscopic management of cornual ectopic pregnancy

Abstract BACKGROUND: Cornual ectopic pregnancies have traditionally been treated with systemic methotrexate, cornual resection, or hysterectomy. CASE: A 36-year-old newly gravida presented with an 8-week history of amenorrhea and a positive home pregnancy test. A transabdominal sonogram revealed a left cornual ectopic pregnancy. The patient was treated with multiple methotrexate doses, but the gestational sac persisted. Through the hysteroscope, the sac was ruptured, and the placental tissue was removed from the left cornu under sonographic guidance. Two weeks postoperatively, the patient’s β-human chorionic gonadotropin level was negative, and she had a normal pelvic examination and sonogram. CONCLUSION: Hysteroscopic removal under sonographic guidance after methotrexate treatment is a conservative option for the treatment of cornual ectopic pregnancy in some patients.
A thermoelectric refrigerating system for submarines

An investigation for determining the feasibility of this system is divided into three phases: (1) general investigation of cooling capacity and performance of thermoelectric couples; (2) design of a refrigerating system for a large frozen stores room and a smaller chilled stores room; and (3) determination of the performance and operation of the entire system.
Monte Carlo simulation of the quasi-two-dimensional xy model

Abstract Monte Carlo simulations of coupled planes of two-dimensional xy spins are performed for a range of values of the interplane coupling. The low temperature magnetization is found to be in reasonable agreement with scaling and spin wave calculations. In the limit of small interplane coupling, the transition temperature is not in agreement with the scaling result. It is argued that the range of the coupling in which the scaling result is valid cannot be easily probed by simulations or experiments.
Fine Structure of Zoll Spectra

This paper is concerned with the wave equation on a Zoll manifold, i.e. a compact Riemannian manifold (M, g) all of whose geodesics are closed. By a result of V. Guillemin, such metrics exist in abundance onS2: for any odd functionfonS2there exists a one-parameter deformation of the canonical metricgothru Zoll metrics,gt=eftwithft=tf+…. And, as has been known for a long time [DG][CV.1][HoIV][W.1,2], the periodicity of the geodesic flow leads to a near periodicity in the wave groupUt=eitΔ. Precisely, there exists a unitary equivalenceΔ=R+Q−1where [R, Q−1]=0, where the spectrum ofRlies on an arithmetic progression and whereQ−1is a pseudodifferential operator of order −1. Hence the eigenvalues fall into clusterCkaround spec(R) with widthsO(k−1). The main result of this paper is to determine the limit distribution of the eigenvalues in the clusters. It was long ago shown by Weinsten [loc. cit] that (when properly normalized) the limit distribution has the formσQ−1dμwheredμis the Liouville measure onS*M. We complete the calculation by determiningσQ−1. It was conjectured [W.2][Ku] that up to universal constants,σQ−1=R(τ) whereRis the Radon transform of (M, g) andτis the scalar curvature [W.2][Ku]; but it turns out there is a second term involving the Jacobi fields. In addition, we show that the cluster projections define almost isometric minimal immersions of (M, g) into spheres and that in the case of maximally degenerate Zoll metrics the errors are of rapid decay.
Logic tree-based GIS inference of geologic structure

We describe the concept for a logic-tree based geographic information system (GIS) that can infer subsurface geology and material properties using geoinformatics concepts. A proof-of-concept system was devised and tested integrating the capabilities of traditional terrain- and image-analysis procedures with a GIS to manipulate geospatial data. Structured logic trees were developed to guide an analyst through an interactive, geologic analysis based on querying and mentoring heuristic logic. The hypotheses were that a GIS can be programmed to 1) follow the fundamental logic sequence developed for traditional terrain- and image analysis procedures; 2) augment that sequence with correlative geospatial data from a variety of sources; and 3) integrate the inferences and data to develop "best-guess" estimates. We also developed a method to estimate depth to bedrock, and expanded an existing method to determine water table depth. Blind evaluations indicate that an analyst can infer the correct geologic conditions 70-80% of the time using this method. This geologic analysis technique can be applied wherever an estimate of subsurface geology is needed. We apply the results of our geological analysis to the prediction of local site specific seismic propagation. Comparisons are made with synthetic seismograms computed from a limited set of geological vignettes.
Patient-provider language concordance and colorectal cancer screening.

Background and Objective Patient-provider language barriers may play a role in health-care disparities, including obtaining colorectal cancer (CRC) screening. Professional interpreters and language-concordant providers may mitigate these disparities.
Relationship Between Temperature, Hematoma Growth, and Functional Outcome After Intracerebral Hemorrhage

Fever and hematoma growth are known to be independent predictors of poor outcome after intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). We sought to assess the distribution of temperature at different stages in relation to hematoma growth and functional outcome at 90 days in a cohort of ICH patients. Data of patients registered in the Virtual International Stroke Trials Archive—ICH were analyzed. Temperatures at baseline, 24, 48, 72, and 168 h were assessed in relation to the hematoma growth and functional outcome at 90 days. We calculated the daily linear variation of each subject’s temperature by subtracting 37 °C from the maximal daily recorded temperature (delta-temperature). We used logistic regression and mixed-effects models to identify factors associated with hematoma growth, poor outcome, and temperature elevation after ICH. 303 patients were included in the analysis. The average age was 66 ± 12 years, 200 (66 %) were males, median admission NIHSS was 13 [Interquartile range (IQR), 9–18), median GCS was 15 (IQR, 14–15). Hematoma growth occurred in 22 % and poor functional outcome at 90-days occurred in 41 % of the patients. Cumulative delta-temperature at 72 h was associated with hematoma growth; age, ICH score, hematoma growth, and cumulative delta-temperature at 168 h were associated with poor outcome at 90 days. Factors associated with fever in mixed-models were day after onset of ICH, hypertension, base hematoma volume, intraventricular-hemorrhage, pneumonia, and hematoma growth. There is a temporal and independent association between fever and hematoma growth. Fever after ICH is associated with poor outcome at 90 days. Future research is needed to study the mechanisms of this phenomenon and if early protocols of temperature modulation would be associated with improved outcomes after ICH.
A Socratic approach to helping novice programmers debug programs

A technique is described which can be used to help novice programmers become more self-reliant in analyzing and debugging programs. The technique requires the instructor to interact one on one with students who seek help with their programs, and has been observed informally to have beneficial results for most of these students. Although the technique has not been tested experimentally, other experimental research involving novice programmers suggests that an approach of this kind should be effective.
Four-wave mixing in silicon “photonic molecule” resonators with port-selective, orthogonal supermode excitation

We propose coupled-cavity resonators for four-wave mixing (FWM) that support strong nonlinear interaction between distributed pump, signal and idler modes, yet allow independent coupling of these modes to separate ports. We demonstrate seeded FWM and discuss applications of such orthogonal coupling.
The failure of rank-one connections

This article is concerned with interface problems for Lipschitz mappings f +:ℝ n +→ℝ n and f −:ℝ n −→ℝ n in the half spaces, which agree on the common boundary ℝ n − 1=∂ℝ n +=∂ℝ n −. These naturally occur in mathematical models for material microstructures and crystals. The task is to determine the relationship between the sets of values of the differentials Df + and Df −. For some time it has been thought that the polyconvex hulls [Df +] pc and [Df −] pc satisfy Hadamard's jump condition or are at least rank-one connected. Our examples here refute this idea. The estimates of the Jacobians we obtain in the course of solving the so-called Monge-Ampere inequalities seem also to be of independent interest. As an application, we construct uniformly elliptic systems of first order partial differential equations in the same homotopy class as the familiar Cauchy-Riemann equations, for which the unique continuation property fails.
Lagrangian Point State Estimation with Optimized, Redundant Induction Coil Gauges

This research effort studies the use of redundant induction coil gauges to reduce state estimation uncertainties for moving Lagrangian points (LPs); e.g. discrete points, moving interfaces, projectiles, etc. The technique embeds a small, high-strength magnet at the LP and simultaneously tracks the magnet continuously with five (5) or more induction coils along a single axis of motion. A calibrated coil gauge model is presented as a function of LP position and velocity. The optimized LP state (position and velocity) estimate based upon redundant LP observations allows direct solution for LP velocity; requiring only one differentiation step to obtain acceleration. A specific experimental implementation (Particulate Materials Meso-scale Diagnostics system) is simulated to evaluate and minimize the expected state estimation errors. Induction coil signals with various levels of noise are simulated based upon a prescribed LP state variation with time. The state optimization algorithm attempts to recover the truth state values. Worst-case position estimation errors of ±0.3 mm and velocity estimation errors of ±0.46 m/s are determined for LPs travelling 0–1,000 m/s at realistic in-lab data noise levels.
Inflating parachute canopy differential pressures

A scheme is presented whereby local aerodynamic loading during the inflation of a symmetrical parachute in an incompressible airflow may be calculated. The technique is based upon an unsteady vortex sheet mathematical representation of the canopy and relies upon matching a calculated axial force with one anticipated for any particular canopy and set of flight conditions. Differential pressures computed in this fashion compare favorably with those measured OR 3-ft diam wind-tunnel models inflating under infinite mass conditions.
A Microfluidic Tensiometer

Recent theoretical predictions indicate that a shift in surfactant transport mechanism from diffusion controlled to kinetically controlled occurs at highly curved interfaces where the length scale is on the same order as feature sizes in microfluidic devices. At present, experimental evidence of this shift in transport mechanism is lacking and this is due to the limitations on degree of interface curvature imposed by traditional methods of surface tension measurement. We show that the measurement of dynamic surface tension is possible at highly curved interfaces using a microfluidic tensiometer that utilizes glass micropipettes to control curvature dimension. Comparison of dynamic surface tension data from our microfluidic tensiometer with data obtained from traditional techniques will validate the theoretical arguments reported, and will improve understanding of two phase flows in microfluidic devices.Copyright © 2004 by ASME
A note on the combinatorial structure of the visibility graph in simple polygons

Abstract Combinatorial structure of visibility is probably one of the most fascinating and interesting areas of engineering and computer science. The usefulness of visibility graphs in computational geometry and robotic navigation problems like motion planning, unknown-terrain learning, shortest-path planning, etc., cannot be overstressed. The visibility graph, apart from being an important data structure for storing and updating geometric information, is a valuable mathematical tool in probing and understanding the nature of shapes of polygonal and polyhedral objects. In this research we wish to initially focus our attention on a fundamental class of geometric objects. These geometric objects may be looked upon as building blocks for more complex geometric objects, and which offer an ideal balance between complexity and simplicity, namely simple polygons. A major theme of the proposed paper is the investigation of the combinatorial structure of the visibility graph. More importantly, the goals of this paper are: 1. (i) To characterize the visibility graphs of simple polygons by obtaining necessary and sufficient conditions a graph must satisfy to qualify for the visibility graph of a simple polygon 2. (ii) To obtain hierarchical relationships between visibility graphs of simple polygons of a given number of vertices by treating them as representing simple polygons that are deformations of one another. 3. (iii) To exploit the potential of complete graphs to be natural coordinate systems for addressing the problem of reconstructing a simple polygon from visibility graph. We intend to achieve this by defining appropriate “betweenness” relationships on points with respect to the edges of the complete graphs.
Structural length-scale sensitivities of reflectance measurements in continuous random media under the Born approximation

Which range of structures contributes to light scattering in a continuous random media, such as biological tissue? In this Letter, we present a model to study the structural length-scale sensitivity of scattering in continuous random media under the Born approximation. The scattering coefficient μs, backscattering coefficient μb, anisotropy factor g, and reduced scattering coefficient μs* as well as the shape of the spatial reflectance profile are calculated under this model. For media with a biologically relevant Henyey–Greenstein phase function with g∼0.93 at wavelength λ=633 nm, we report that μs* is sensitive to structural length-scales from 46.9 nm to 2.07 μm (i.e., λ/13 to 3λ), μb is sensitive from 26.7 to 320 nm (i.e., λ/24 to λ/2), and the spatial reflectance profile is sensitive from 30.8 nm to 2.71 μm (i.e., λ/21 to 4λ).
Schottky barriers and semiconductor band structures.

Various models of Schottky-barrier formation suggest Fermi-level pinning in midgap. Elemen- tary band-structure considerations indicate that, for diamond-structure semiconductors, the physically relevant gap is the indirect gap, corrected for spin-orbit splitting. Schottky-barrier heights for elemental and III-V compound semiconductors can be predicted to 0.1 eV from measured indirect gaps and splittings. The dimensionless pinning strength S\ifmmode\bar\else\textasciimacron\fi{} is given by the optical dielectric constant. Chemical trends are thus simply explained.
Nonlinear estimation applied to the nonlinear inverse heat conduction problem

Abstract The estimation of the surface temperature or heat flux density utilizing a measured temperature history inside a heat-conducting solid is called the inverse heat conduction problem. This problem becomes nonlinear if the thermal properties are temperature-dependent. A new finite-difference method is given. It is based in part upon the concepts of a general technique for solving inverse problems called nonlinear estimation. The method (or family of methods) estimates the components of the heat flux one at a time and thus, may be considered an on-line method. Another method is outlined for which all of the components of the heat flux are found simultaneously. As suggested by the developments in nonlinear estimation, the sensitivity coefficients can be utilized to gain insight into these methods. The sensitivity coefficients help indicate that the on-line method requires “future” temperatures when small time steps are to be used. Several examples of the use of the on-line method are given. These examples are for cases with non-exact data. The results demonstrate a method that is rather remarkable in its ability to extract information about the surface condition from experimental measurements that lag and are damped compared to the surface condition.
On the behavior of some associative neural networks

Since Hopfield published his work on an associative memory model, a large number of works have studied the model from several angles and showed in particular its weaknesses, and presented ways to overcome them. Most of the proposed solutions seem to us however not biologically plausible. In this paper we present a simple statistical analysis of two networks similar to the Hopfield net, and show that the usage of positive feedback enhances the net recognizing capability without jeopardizing the stability. We also describe a layered parallel network composed of modules, each module being a modified Hopfield net. We finally present computer simulation results to support our analytical findings. The most important principles of this network are supported by data from the world of neurobiology.
Changmarín: Race, Identity, and Children's Literature in Panama

This essay reviews the work that Carlos Francisco “Chico” Changmarin, Panamanian poet, essayist, and novelist, wrote especially for children. In particular, it analyzes the role of race in the formation of Panamanian national identity. Changmarin distinguished himself from the predominant voices of his time by spending his career documenting and celebrating the plurality of races that make up what he sees as Panamanian identity and merging his construction of identity with the uniqueness of the natural environment. He spoke out in defense of ecological concerns way before it became popular to do so and denounced the racially segregated Canal Zone as antithetical to everything that Panama valued. In so doing, he flipped Domingo Faustino Sarmiento's long-held dichotomy between civilization and barbarism on its head questioning the very foundations of colonialism and modernity. Ultimately, for Changmarin, it is the particular ecology of Panama, the water, the butterflies, the orchids, the tree after which Panama is named, combined with its art, music, and the language of the people, that most clearly inform Panamanian identity. Panama, according to Changmarin, has been built on the backs of all races: the indigenous, the “cholos,” the blacks, and the Chinese. Each group has had a role to play in defining the nation, and thus, the self.
Phase Relations in the System Li2O.B2O3‐B2O3‐NiO

Phase equilibria were determined by standard quench methods in binary systems NIO-B2O3, the binary join Li2O.B2O3-NiO, and three other sections through the Li2O.B2O3-B2O3-NiO system. The only new compound observed was 2NiO.B2O3, which is stable from 1303° to 1480°C.
Creativeness: Its Meaning and Measurement.

Sixty-seven subjects Q-sorted 47 written messages according to creativeness. Message ratings were factor analyzed. Subjects were tested for creative aptitude on the Remote Associates Test. The pred...