cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Classification of Relationships Between ASes in Complex Inter-domain Routing System

A summarization is made on the relationships between autonomous systems and their behaviors in the complex inter-domain routing system.This paper points out that the peer-peer and customer-provider are basic relationships in current inter-domain routing system,coming with a series of complex relationships derived from them.An analysis is given why the existence of these relationships.It discusses their different implementations and some current technology bottle-necks.It also gives an enhanced algorithm,which can identify the relationships between autonomous systems and can constrain the inter-domain routing behavior automatically.The algorithm is in consistent with RFC1771 series inter-domain routing standards.
Phased Array Ultrasonic Testing for Post-Weld and OnLine Detection of Friction Stir Welding Defects

ABSTRACTNondestructive evaluation (NDE) techniques of phased array ultrasonic testing (PAUT) and digital X-ray radiography were employed on friction stir (FS)-welded Aluminum Alloy (AA)-2219-T87 specimens. PAUT intricacies required for scanning of FS-welded specimens with a 10-MHz 32-element transducer are discussed. The time corrected gain (TCG) calibration is required for scanning with an increase in index offset to compensate for decrease in A-Scan signal peak amplitude. Calibration techniques to find small defects with appropriate size tolerances are also established. The NDE technique of digital X-ray radiography is compared to PAUT, where it was found that a calibrated PAUT system is able to discover defects less than 0.2 mm where X-ray radiography could not. Incomplete penetration (IP), wormhole (WH), surface cavity (SC), and internal void (IV) defects are analyzed. Furthermore, an online PAUT system for FSW has been developed and successfully tested. The work provided herein will provide a gateway...
Indian Languages and Cultures

The most endangered aspect of the culture and distinctiveness of an Indian people, and the most difficult to preserve, is the language spoken by at least the older generation of its members. No other issue, it is safe to say, has so divided Indian leadership as whether and in what forms traditional cultures should be maintained, and to what length Indian parents and educators should go to maintain the proficient use of Indian languages. While cultural elements may be maintained in the form of familial and communal practices with relatively little effort, the worldviews or mentalites that give them deep meaning are more fragile, and only disciplined effort can maintain a minority language when daily activities impose that of the majority. Nevertheless, languages have enormous symbolic meaning. As sociolinguist Joshua Fishman has written, To abandon the language may be viewed as an abandonment not only of the traditional doings and knowings, but as an abandonment of personal ancestral kin and cultural ancestral heroes per se. Similarly, guaranteeing or fostering the specific language’s acquisition and use is often viewed as fostering one’s own personal (in addition to the culture’s) triumph over death and obliteration via living on in one’s own children and grandchildren. Life and death imagery is pervasive in ethnolinguistic consciousness the world over.1
The Implications of Brain MRI in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Our objective was to describe the types of providers who refer children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) for brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the referral reason, and MRI results. The most common referral reasons were autism spectrum disorder with seizures (33.7%), autism spectrum disorder alone (26.3%), and autism spectrum disorder with abnormal neurologic examination or preexisting finding (24%). Neurology (62.5%), general pediatric (22.3%), and developmental/behavioral practitioners (8.9%) referred the most patients. The prevalence of definite pathology was highest in children referred for autism spectrum disorder with abnormal neurologic examination/preexisting finding (26.2%, 95% CI: 16.8%-36%), headaches (25.7%, 95% CI: 11.2%-40.2%), or seizures (22%, 95% CI: 14.6%-29.5%), and was lowest in children referred for autism spectrum disorder alone (6.5%, 95% CI: 1.5%-11.6%). We concluded that there is a low prevalence of definite pathology in children with autism spectrum disorder undergoing brain MRI. In children with abnormal neurologic examination or preexisting finding, seizures, or headaches, one may consider performing brain MRI given the higher prevalence of pathology.
Pattern of life for radar port and river security

Ground-based radar can provide inexpensive wide-area surveillance of river and port traffic for both security and emergency response. Electronically scanning the radar beam over multiple azimuthal angles rapidly provides extremely wide area coverage. A compact X-band radar was used to scan over a ninety degree sector on a river/harbor environment. An individual moving target indicator (MTI) track triggered a long-range camera, which pans and zooms to get a quality image and allows an exact identification of the mover. We demonstrate the simultaneous tracking of multiple vessels in a river environment along with the associated imagery over several days. We also evaluate the micro-Doppler signatures of different classes of small vessels, including kayaks and zodiacs, as well as pattern of life and port interactions.
Technology path-finding framework for directed-self assembly for via layers

Directed self assembly (DSA) is a very promising patterning technology for the sub-7-nm technology nodes, especially for via/contact layers. In the graphoepitaxy type of DSA, a complementary lithography technique is used to print the guiding templates, where the block copolymer (BCP) phase-separates into regular structures. Accordingly, the design-friendliness of a DSA-based technology is affected by several factors: the complementary lithography technique, the legal guiding templates, the number of masks/exposures used to print the templates, the related design rules, the forbidden patterns (hotspots), and the characteristics of the BCP. Thus, foundries have a huge number of choices to make for a future DSA-based technology, affecting the design-friendliness, and the cost of the technology. We propose a framework for DSA technology path-finding, for via layers, to be used by the foundry as part of design and technology co-optimization. The framework optimally evaluates a DSA-based technology in which an arbitrary lithography technique is used to print the guiding templates, possibly using many masks/exposures, and provides a design-friendliness metric. In addition, if the evaluated technology is not design-friendly, the framework computes the minimum-cost technology change that makes the technology design-friendly. The framework is used to evaluate technologies like DSA+193-nm immersion (193i) lithography, DSA+extreme ultraviolet (EUV), and DSA+193i self-aligned double patterning. For example, one study showed that one mask of EUV in a DSA+EUV technology can replace three masks of 193i in a DSA+193i technology.
Psychiatric Care of the Radiation Oncology Patient.

Background In recent decades, psychiatrists have become increasingly involved in the care of patients with cancer. Psychiatrists are often less familiar with the field of radiation oncology than with other medical specialties. Objective Therefore, it is beneficial for consulting psychiatrists to be familiar with the basic principles of radiation therapy (RT) and its potential neuropsychiatric sequelae. Methods We performed a PubMed search to identify articles describing neuropsychiatric symptoms resulting from RT, including anxiety, claustrophobia, posttraumatic stress disorder, and neurocognitive impairment. We also searched for other sequelae of RT that may produce psychiatric symptoms, such as radiation necrosis and endocrinopathies. We provide a basic introduction to the delivery of RT. Results Psychiatrists may be involved in the treatment of patients before, during, or after RT, and each phase of treatment produces unique considerations. Anxiety about the treatment, especially the need for immobilization with a mask, can be treatment-limiting. Adverse effects from treatment, including cognitive impairment and endocrinopathies, can result in psychiatric symptoms. Conclusions Consulting psychiatrists should be familiar with the basic principles of RT and the neuropsychiatric sequelae that may result from the treatment. Further research is needed to identify strategies to help patients tolerate RT and to identify additional preventive and therapeutic options for RT-induced cognitive impairment.
CANOMAD and other chronic ataxic neuropathies with disialosyl antibodies (CANDA)

INTRODUCTION CANOMAD/CANDA are syndromes characterized by ataxic neuropathy, ophthalmoplegia, monoclonal gammopathy, cold agglutinins and disialosyl antibodies. METHODS A retrospective review of our neuromuscular autoantibody panel database was performed. Anti-GD1b seropositive patients with ataxia were included. RESULTS Eleven patients were identified. Median age at onset was 56 years. Median disease duration was 6 years. All patients had gait disorders. Nine had ocular motility abnormalities. Most had a monoclonal protein and all had elevated serum IgM. Electrodiagnostic studies showed a mixed axonal/demyelinating pattern (6), an axonal pattern (4), or a pure demyelinating pattern (1). Ultrasounds showed nerve enlargement patterns consistent with acquired demyelination. A nerve biopsy showed near complete loss of myelinated axons with preservation of smaller axons. Rituximab was the most effective immunotherapy. CONCLUSION CANOMAD/CANDA are rare and debilitating disorders with characteristic clinical and diagnostic findings. In our cohort, nerve ultrasound showed regional nerve enlargement and rituximab was the most effective immunomodulatory therapy.
The Truth about Subjectivity in Research

(2003). The Truth about Subjectivity in Research. SCHOLE: A Journal of Leisure Studies and Recreation Education: Vol. 18, No. 1, pp. 124-128.
The Asymptotic Behavior of a Probabilistic Model for Tumor Growth

We discuss here the behavior for large time of a cancer model introduced by Williams and Bjerknes [5], Cells are of two types, normal and abnormal, and are located on the planar lattice, one at each site. With each cellular division, one daughter cell stays put; the other usurps the position of a neighbor, who disappears from the population. Abnormal cells are assumed to reproduce at a faster rate than normal cells; the cancer therefore has a tendency to spread. It is shown that, conditioned on its nonextinction, a tumor commencing from a single abnormal cell will have an asymptotically linear rate of radial growth; asymptotically, the tumor assumes a fixed shape.
Endogenous substrates of the insulin receptor: studies with cells expressing wild-type and mutant receptors.

The insulin receptor has an intrinsic tyrosine kinase activity which appears to be required for insulin to elicit its various biological responses (1). Identification of endogenous substrates of the insulin receptor kinase and other tyrosine kinases has been greatly advanced in the last few years by the development of high affinity polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies to phosphotyrosine (2–4). These reagents can be used to identify substrates of tyrosine kinases by immunoblotting and immunoprecipitation as well as to purify substrates by utilizing affinity columns composed of anti-phosphotyrosine antibodies. Via these and other techniques, numerous proteins have been identified as becoming phosphorylated on tyrosine residues. These include a number of proteins with unknown functions. One such protein, Mr ~160,000 to 180,000, has been reported to be tyrosine phosphorylated in response to both insulin and insulin-like growth factor I in a variety of cell types (5–6). Other proteins that have been identified as substrates of tyrosine kinases include various enzymes as well as other defined molecules. One such identified molecule is another tyrosine kinase, called pp60C-SRC. Activation of the platelet derived growth factor (PDGF) receptor tyrosine kinase was shown to increase the extent of tyrosine phosphorylation of the SRC protein and increase its enzymatic activity (7, 8). More recently, a phospholipase C (9–11), the type I phosphatidylinositol kinase (12–13), the GTPase activating protein of Ras (called GAP) (14, 15)and several serine/threonine kinases (the MAP2 kinase, the proto-oncogene Raf kinase and a cell cycle dependent kinase, CDC-2) (16–18) have all been shown to be tyrosine phosphorylated. The role of the tyrosine phosphorylation of these different molecules is not always clear. Only the physiological role of the tyrosine phosphorylation of the yeast cell cycle dependent kinase has been directly demonstrated (19).
Rethinking Italian American Ethnicity: A Middle Space

This chapter argues that a reformulation of the assimilation model is necessary to account for social and cultural changes positioned between Italian immigrant culture and post-ethnic “white privilege”. The segmented assimilation model is especially relevant for New York City and its metropolitan area with large and dense population settlements during the period of mass immigration, but also a renewed immigration after 1945 that fortified outer borough areas into the new millennium. The emergence of a youth subculture underscores the importance of popular culture, leisure, and consumption as construction sites for ethnic identity. Guido is a variable response to the “struggle for recognition and respect” that is at the core of assimilation for minority immigrant groups (Lipsitz 1994). The identity that symbolizes a particular youth style has become the dominant ethnic stereotype for Italian Americans in American society, reworking historical slurs like dago and guinea and suggesting a project rooted in ethnic minority group culture.
Abstract P263: Gestational Diabetes and Patterns of Cardiometabolic Risk Factors Before and After Childbearing: Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study

Introduction: Cardiometabolic risk factor levels before pregnancy affect risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), and unfavorable risk factors have been found after pregnancy. However, changes ...
Understanding waiting and wellbeing through liminal experiences of Syrian refugees

Using the anthropological concept of liminality, this paper describes an ethnographic study examining the wellbeing of Syrian refugees as they recount narratives of forced displacement and resettlement. The author observed 37 Syrian participants who had been relocated to Austin, Texas, United States, and interviewed 15 Syrian participants about their migration experiences. Through observation, interviews, and field notes, the author examines the refugees’ ideas of wellbeing during periods of peace, war and displacement, and resettlement. Throughout the displacement journey, Syrian refugees implemented resilience tactics to escape instances of waiting in order to reach their desired destination—resettlement.
Humanist vestiges in contemporary science fiction

Both Spike Jonze’s her and Alex Garland’s ex machina make references to such outdated media and cultural techniques as the handwritten letter, the hand-drawn sketch, oil paintings and the bound volume of the book. An analysis of the use and function of these seemingly obsolete cultural techniques in the two science fiction movies reveals a surprising commitment to traditionally humanist values as grounded in the invocation of the individualized, mortal human body. --- Original in English.
The Intersection of Sentient Beings and Species, Traditional and Modern, in the Practices and Doctrine of Dharma Drum Mountain

At Dharma Drum Mountain (DDM), a Taiwanese Buddhist organization, the interplay of scientific and traditional Buddhist cosmologies produces hybrid modes of environing. This study uses ethnographic field research conducted at DDM’s World Center for Education in 2014 to examine multi-species relationships that surround practices such as tree preservation and animal release. Buddhist cosmologies may be on the margins of a global discourse on the human place in world ecosystems, but DDM, its clerics, and its scientists integrate modern ecology with traditional Buddhist notions to generate a hybrid ethics of being specially attuned to the forest of the monastery. The result is an ethics of compassionate conservation practices that balance the interests of humans, trees, fungi, spirits, dharma protectors, and the whole ecosystem.
Harmonizing Small-Group Cohesion and Status in Creative Collaborations: How Songwriters Facilitate and Manipulate the Cowriting Process:

Because of economically induced changes in record label contracts, recording artists are now required to cowrite their songs. Despite this obligation, many recording artists are unskilled as writer...
A High-performance 65 W Universal ac-dc Converter Using a Variable-Inverter-Rectifier-Transformer with Improved Step-down Capability

This paper presents the design and implementation of an ac-dc converter for portable charger applications that uses a new variant of the recently-proposed Variable-Inverter-Rectifier-Transformer (VIRT) technique. This new version of the VIRT technique provides improved efficiency and step-down capability through inclusion of a bypass switch. The proposed design adopts both the Variable Frequency Multiplier (VFX) and the VIRT with bypass technique to maintain high performance across a wide range of input (85 - 265 V ac ) and output voltages (5 - 20 V dc ) at an output power of up to 65 W. The VIRT with bypass technique enables full utilization of the transformer core area across all modes of operation and significantly reduces transformer loss. The hardware prototype achieves a displacement power density of 44.6 W/in3 and peak efficiency of 95.1% at the rated power of 65 W.
A comparison of objective-C and C#: implementing Cbox class

Due to the recent popularity of mobile devices from Apple and Microsoft, there is a surge in interest to develop applications for the latest version of iOS in Objective-C and Windows Phone in C#. It is the perfect time for the academic community to offer expertise in mobile software development to prepare their students for a highly-competitive, global workplace. It is well-known that Objective-C has a steep learning curve as it is based on C and Smalltalk. On the other hand, C# is a hybrid of C++ and Java. With this in mind, a comparison of Objective-C and C# is presented in this paper. After gaining familiarity with the syntax of C#, one can easily transfer that expertise to develop in Objective-C from existing C# code, and vice versa.
Hydrous Nickel–Iron Turnbull’s Blue as a High-Rate and Low-Temperature Proton Electrode

Proton batteries are emerging as a promising solution for energy storage; however, their development has been hindered by the lack of suitable cathode materials. Herein, a hydrous Turnbull’s blue a...
How Graduate Computing Students Search When Using an Unfamiliar Programming Language

Developers and computing students are usually expected to master multiple programming languages. To learn a new language, developers often turn to online search to find information and code examples. However, insights on how learners perform code search when working with an unfamiliar language are lacking. Understanding how learners search and the challenges they encounter when using an unfamiliar language can motivate future tools and techniques to better support subsequent language learners. Research on code search behavior typically involves monitoring developers during search activities through logs or in situ surveys. We conducted a study on how computing students search for code in an unfamiliar programming language with 18 graduate students working on VBA tasks in a lab environment. Our surveys explicitly asked about search success and query reformulation to gather reliable data on those metrics. By analyzing the combination of search logs and survey responses, we found that students typically search to explore APIs or find example code. Approximately 50% of queries that precede clicks on documentation or tutorials successfully solved the problem. Students frequently borrowed terms from languages with which they are familiar when searching for examples in an unfamiliar language, but term borrowing did not impede search success. Edit distances between reformulated queries and non-reformulated queries were nearly the same. These results have implications for code search research, especially on reformulation, and for research on supporting programmers when learning a new language.
Measuring and improving quality of life

Abstract Measuring and monitoring quality of life (QOL) in ESRD may contribute to more patient-centered care and higher-quality care. This chapter reviews unique issues impacting the QOL of patients with ESRD. It reviews the literature comparing QOL of patients receiving renal replacement therapies through different dialysis modalities. There is a detailed discussion of strategies to assess QOL and issues related to its measurement. The chapter also reviews the literature on interventions designed to improve QOL and concludes with recommendations and future directions of the field.
Property Beyond Flatland

Property has a complexity problem. Although both “property” and “complexity” are often invoked in property theory, we need more and better notions of both. Much theorizing about property law and institutions suffers from an excessive and misguided reductionism, what I call “Flatland.” The Flatland style of theorizing reduces law to a heap of rules and property to a merely additive bundle of rights. By incorporating complexity based on dense interaction into the picture, we can overcome some false dichotomies in property theory. These include the unstructured collection of “sticks,” the flattening of system, all-or-nothing formalism, misunderstandings of the role of information costs, and the assumption that purposes must be directly reflected in individual rules of property. By contrast, seeing system in property as a method of managing complexity points to the importance of exclusion versus governance; hybrid regimes of private, common, and public property; a spectrum of formalism including law versus equity; degrees of modularity and thing-ness; a combination of spontaneous and directed evolution; and a synergy of common law and legislation. Implementing these aspects of system and overcoming problematic reductionism and false dichotomies will require an encounter with practice. Applications to the law of possession, aerial trespass, nuisance, and the integration of property “bundles” demonstrate how theory can meet practice.
Design Process of a Social Network System for Storage and Share Files in the Workplace

This paper explores the design process of a social network based storage and share application in the workplace. One of the big challenges of our era is to handle the amount of data available. This may result in a high cost with additional servers to store the data and guarantee availability and reliability. We interviewed ten employees to understand better their share and storage practices in everyday life, and also identify opportunities to inspire the design of storage applications. As a result, we provided 20 recommendations to develop social network storage systems. Additionally, we created personas and scenarios inspired by interviewed participants. We envisioned how the system should work and we illustrated it by interaction cycles with a low-tech prototype. Finally, we provide lessons learned towards the design of storage and share files in the workplace leveraging the social relationship amongst co-workers.
A General Framework for Temporal Calibration of Multiple Proprioceptive and Exteroceptive Sensors

Fusion of data from multiple sensors can enable robust navigation in varied environments.However, for optimal performance, the sensors must be calibrated relative to one another. Full sensor-to-sensor calibration is a spatiotemporal problem: we require an accurate estimate of the relative timing of measurements for each pair of sensors, in addition to the 6-DOF sensor-to-sensor transform. In this paper, we examine the problem of determining the time delays between multiple proprioceptive and exteroceptive sensor data streams. The primary difficultly is that the correspondences between measurements from different sensors are unknown, and hence the delays cannot be computed directly. We instead formulate temporal calibration as a registration task. Our algorithm operates by aligning curves in a three-dimensional orientation space, and, as such, can be considered as a variant of Iterative Closest Point (ICP). We present results from simulation studies and from experiments with a PR2 robot, which demonstrate accurate calibration of the time delays between measurements from multiple, heterogeneous sensors.
A novel scheme for optimal edge detection and generic recognition

Expansion matching is a template recognition scheme which optimizes a new similarity measure called Discriminative Signal to Noise Ratio (DSNR) and has been shown to robustly recognize templates under conditions of noise, severe occlusion and superposition. The DSNR criterion is better suited to practical conditions than the traditional SNR since it considers as "noise", even the off-center response of the filter to the signal itself. We have also recently extended the expansion filter to simultaneously recognize multiple templates while optimizing the DSNR. In this paper we introduce a new family of optimal DSNR edge detectors based on the expansion filter for several edge models. The step edge detector is compared with the widely used Canny Edge Detector (CED). Experimental comparisons show that our edge detector is superior to the CED in terms of DSNR even under very noisy signal conditions. We also use the optimal DSNR multiple template expansion filter for generic recognition of faces. We create a "generic face" filter by requiring the designed filter to elicit equal responses to all the training faces while optimizing DSNR. >
Bile acids and lipid metabolism: III. Influence of bile acids on phospholipids in liver and bile of the isolated perfused dog liver

Abstract The isolated perfused dog liver was used to study the effect of bile acids on the excretion of biliary phospholipids and [32P]phospholipids and the 32P-labeling of the individual plasma, liver, and biliary phospholipids. Although high amounts of [32P]phospholipids were found in the liver, none was excreted in the bile unless taurocholate was infused. Biliary phospholipid excretion continued to increase throughout the taurocholate infusion period. The liver was the source of the biliary phospholipids. However, during the taurocholate infusion the specific activity of the biliary phospholipids greatly exceeded the liver phospholipids which suggests that a specific phospholipid is secreted into the bile by the liver or that biliary phospholipids are derived from a specific pool in the liver. There was a marked heterogeneity in the labeling pattern of the plasma, liver, and biliary phospholipids. The bile [32P]phosphatidyl choline fraction accounted for over 95% of the total [32P]phospholipids. Marked differences between the composition of the liver and plasma [32P]phospholipids were noted. The data support the view that the stimulatory effect of bile acids on biliary phospholipid excretion is related to the formation of a biliary micellar complex, and that highly selective mechanisms are involved in the formation of plasma and biliary phospholipids.
Implementation of an Advanced Practice Provider Service on an Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplant Unit: Impact on Patient Outcomes

Allogeneic stem cell transplantation (ASCT) is a complex medical procedure for some patients with hematologic malignancies. Most ASCTs occur at academic centers where either medical residents (house staff [HS]) or advanced practice providers (APPs) provide daily care. As a result of increasing work-hour regulations, APPs have assumed greater responsibilities, including those traditionally held by HS. In this study we evaluate ASCT patient outcomes by inpatient provider service. A retrospective, single-center chart review of ASCT patients was performed. ASCT patients admitted to an HS service from May 2011 to May 2012 (N = 86) were compared with ASCT patients admitted to a newly formed APP service from October 2012 to October 2013 (N = 81). As part of a secondary sensitivity analysis, we compared ASCT patients on the APP service to a subset of ASCT patients admitted to the HS service also from October 2012 to October 2013 (n = 27). Our primary outcomes were 100-day survival and relapse-free survival rates. Additional outcomes included length of stay (LOS), inpatient complications, and ordering behavior. Our primary pre- and post-analyses found no differences in 100-day overall survival and 100-day relapse-free survival rate between the services. The rate of pneumonia was lower on the APP service (15% versus 28%, P = .04), with no significant differences in other infectious complications. HS ordered more blood cultures (6.7 versus 4.2, P = .03) per patient than the APP service. There was no difference in LOS, readmission rates, or inpatient mortality. With regards to our secondary sensitivity analysis, no differences were found in 100-day overall survival and 100-day relapse-free survival rates between the services. There was a decreased LOS on the APP service (29.4 versus 37.2 days, P = .01). HS ordered more blood cultures (9.3 versus 4.2, P < .01) and more radiological films (8.1 versus 5.2, P = .05) per patient than the APP service. This increased ordering and LOS was associated with an increase in mean hospital charges on the HS service (P = .04). ASCT patients on an APP service had similar 100-day outcomes as those on the HS service. In the setting of limited resources, APPs are potential alternative providers for complex transplant inpatients.
Changes in human amniotic fluid lecithin/sphingomyelin ratio and dipalmitoyl lecithin associated with maternal betamethasone therapy.

In an effort to understand the biochemical changes responsible for the decreased incidence of neonatal RDS observed in premature infants delivered after maternal glucocorticoid therapy we have compared quantitative changes in L/S ratio and qualitative changes in dipalmitoyl lecithin in serial amniotic fluid samples from 20 pregnant women treated with betamethasone and 11 patients who had repeated amniocentesis at similar gestational age but did not receive glucocorticoids. Initial L/S ratio values were not significantly different between treated (1.24 +/- 0.24 [S.D.]) and control (1.09 +/- 0.29 [S.D.]) groups but the values obtained within 1 week after therapy (1.49 +/- 0.21 [S.D.]) were significantly higher (t=3.8; p less than 0.01) than those obtained after a similar period in the untreated group (1.24+/- 0.29 [S.D.]). However, only one of the treated patients reached a mature L/S ratio (2.0 or more). Simultaneously, 10 of 17 treated patients exhibited increases in the amount of dipalmitoyl lecithin within the first week after treatment, wheras no change was detected in serial samples from six control patients (p = 0.016). These results indicate that qualitative changes in amniotic fluid lecithin composition are a part of the fetal response to glucocorticoids which may be responsible for the decreased incidence of RDS observed after treatment.
A model of auroral potential structures based on Dynamics Explorer plasma data

Dynamics Explorer 1 hot plasma data are used to investigate three major features of the mid-altitude auroral electron distribution -- the hole, the bump (at large pitch angles), and the loss cone. The results of a computer simulation show that these features can be approximately reproduced by a model involving an initial plasma sheet electron distribution and two potential drop regions that are widely separated in altitude. The observed distributions could not be reproduced, even qualitatively, by any of a wide range of distributed potential drops involving parallel electric fields at the point of observation.
Genetic variability in ABCB1, occupational pesticide exposure, and Parkinson's disease.

Abstract Background Studies suggested that variants in the ABCB1 gene encoding P-glycoprotein, a xenobiotic transporter, may increase susceptibility to pesticide exposures linked to Parkinson's Disease (PD) risk. Objectives To investigate the joint impact of two ABCB1 polymorphisms and pesticide exposures on PD risk. Methods In a population-based case control study, we genotyped ABCB1 gene variants at rs1045642 (c.3435C/T) and rs2032582 (c.2677G/T/A) and assessed occupational exposures to organochlorine (OC) and organophosphorus (OP) pesticides based on self-reported occupational use and record-based ambient workplace exposures for 282 PD cases and 514 controls of European ancestry. We identified active ingredients in self-reported occupational use pesticides from a California database and estimated ambient workplace exposures between 1974 and 1999 employing a geographic information system together with records for state pesticide and land use. With unconditional logistic regression, we estimated marginal and joint contributions for occupational pesticide exposures and ABCB1 variants in PD. Results For occupationally exposed carriers of homozygous ABCB1 variant genotypes, we estimated odds ratios of 1.89 [95% confidence interval (CI): (0.87, 4.07)] to 3.71 [95% CI: (1.96, 7.02)], with the highest odds ratios estimated for occupationally exposed carriers of homozygous ABCB1 variant genotypes at both SNPs; but we found no multiplicative scale interactions. Conclusions This study lends support to a previous report that commonly used pesticides, specifically OCs and OPs, and variant ABCB1 genotypes at two polymorphic sites jointly increase risk of PD.
Limited Liability and the Development of the Business Corporation

The economic historian of the future may assign to the nameless inventor of the principle of limited liability, as applied to trading corporations, a place of honor with Watt and Stephenson, and other pioneers of the Industrial Revolution. The genius of these men produced the means by which man's command of natural resources was multiplied many times over; the limited liability company, the means by which huge aggregations of capital required to give effect to their discoveries were collected, organized, and efficiently administered. -The Economist, December 18, 1926
Decreased fidelity of DNA polymerases and decreased DNA excision repair in aging mice: effects of caloric restriction.

Hepatic DNA polymerases from calorie restricted and ad libitum 26 month old C57BL6 mice showed a decline in fidelity of nucleotide incorporation compared with weanling animals. Both α and β polymerases from calorie restricted aged mice exhibited a higher level of fidelity than polymerases from ad libitum aged mice. UV-initiated unscheduled DNA synthesis was significantly higher in hepatocytes from weanling and 18 month old calorie restricted animals compared with cells from 18 month old ad libitum animals, while MMS-initiated unscheduled DNA synthesis did not differ significantly between cells from young and old or ad libitum and calorie restricted animals. These data suggest that calorie restriction could play a significant role in decreasing the age-related decline of cellular mechanisms expected to reduce the rate at which mutations accumulate during aging, and could potentially prolong the onset age of mutation-associated diseases of the elderly.
Fabrication deflation? The mixed effects of lying on memory

This study explored what happens when participants lie in order to convince others that false stories are true. Participants' memories were assessed by comparing their likelihood ratings for the events before and after lying about them. Results showed that most participants rated the events as less likely to have happened after lying about them. Therefore, the most common result of lying seems to be a strengthening of, not a distortion of, the truth. This decrease in likelihood rating for the statement lied about is termed ‘fabrication deflation’. In both studies, however, there were 10–16% of the participants who indicated maximum belief that the lie item was true. Whether this increase in likelihood rating for a lied about event is evidence of memory creation or the triggering of an actual memory is discussed. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Prevalence and characteristics of sadistic personality disorder in an outpatient veterans population

This study is designed to examine the prevalence, demographics, and the Axis I and Axis II diagnoses of sadistic personality disorder (SPD) in a previously unexamined population (outpatient veterans). It also represents the first attempt to examine the family history of those with SPD. Standardized methods were used to select 144 nonpsychotic subjects from a veterans psychiatric outpatient clinic. The population was then divided into three groups: those with SPD, those without SPD but with antisocial personality disorder or traits, and those with no Axis II disorders. A fourth group consisted of 28 control veterans without psychopathology. Subjects with SPD tended to be younger and to have lower scores on the Global Assessment Scale than did clinical control subjects without personality disorders; they also had significantly more bipolar and panic disorder than were found in the antisocial traits group. High levels of depression and alcohol dependence were also present. SPD traits correlated with DSM-III-R dramatic cluster, compulsive, passive-aggressive, and self-defeating personality disorders. The SPD group could be distinguished from other groups on the basis of family history. It was concluded that sadistic personality traits and disorders are prevalent (8.1%), associated with reduced functioning, and may have specific associations with certain Axis I and Axis II disorders. It is possible that they have a distinct familial pattern.
The Predominant Cultivable Microbiota of the Periodontal Abscess

The formation and pathogenesis of the periodontal abscess is not completely understood. Most investigators agree that it is formed by occlusion or trauma to the orifice of a periodontal pocket resulting in extension of infection from the pocket into supporting tissues and localization of suppurative inflammation.1 Several factors may be responsible for the exacerbation of the acute abscess. The increased activity of the bacteria acting in combination with lowered tissue resistance and the virulence and number of organisms determine the rapidity and amount of destruction which is produced.2 The nature of the bacteria which are associated with abscess formation and acute infection have not been adequately described. A search of the literature revealed that only a few microbiological studies of acute dentoalveolar abscesses have been reported and none specifically directed at describing the aerobic and anaerobic flora associated with the periodontal abscess.'1"11 Past reports revealed problems in sampling, cultivation and enumeration of isolated bacteria. Often bacteria from periodontally involved sites were mixed (pooled) with bacteria from healthy sites obscuring differences which may have been present. The inability to adequately cultivate oxygen-sensitive organisms suggested that the previous bacterial description of this periodontal condition may have been incomplete. The purpose of this study was to describe the predominant cultivable microbiota of the periodontal abscess utilizing newly developed anaerobic techniques. Knowledge gained will improve our understanding of the prognosis, early diagnosis, treatment and eventually, prevention of the periodontal abscess.
Monitoring process cheese meltability using dynamic stress rheometry

Meltability of process Cheddar cheese made with disodium phosphate (DSP) and trisodium citrate (TSC) at various moisture contents was determined with a Rheometrics dynamic stress rheometer using 25 mm parallel plate geometry. Slippage was controlled either by bonding ethyl-2-cyanoacrylate adhesive directly to the plates or using serrated plates. Results from serrated plates were more consistent and repeatable than the technique with adhesive. Transition temperature was defined as the lowest temperature at which tan δ = 1 and reflects a change in cheese properties such that elastic and viscous properties are equivalent. Moisture contents between 38.60 to 39. 80% did not significantly influence the transition temperature ofdisodium phosphate and trisodium citrate process cheese. Transition temperature of process cheese containing TSC was lower than cheese containing DSP. Arrhenius plot of complex viscosity (η * ) versus temperature indicated that the rate ofchange in viscosity of TSC process cheese was higher than that of DSP cheese.
Bladder outlet obstruction treated withtransurethral ultrasonic aspiration one-year follow-up on 59 patients

Abstract Fifty-nine males with bladder outlet obstruction were treated with transurethralultrasonic aspiration of the prostate. Utilizing a 26.5F urethral sheath, surgery was accomplished with a 10F, 0-700-micron-vibration-level ultrasonic tip with an excursion rate of 39 kHz. Complete removal of the adenoma was accomplished followed by transurethral electrocautery biopsies of both lateral lobes to compare pathologic specimens. One year follow-up revealed satisfactory voiding patterns in 57 of 59 men (96%). Bladder neck contractures developed in 2 men. Pathologic comparisons showed 100 percent correlation between aspirated and TUR specimens (56 BPH, 3 adenocarcinoma). Forty-seven men were active sexually preoperatively (6 with inflatable penile prostheses). Post ultrasonic aspiration, 46 men had erectile function similar to preoperative levels with 1 patient suffering erectile dysfunction. Forty men (85%) had antegrade ejaculation while 7 (15%) experienced retrograde or retarded ejaculation. No patients were incontinent.
Motor skill learning in children with Developmental Coordination Disorder.

Abstract Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) are characterized as having motor difficulties and learning impairment that may last well into adolescence and adulthood. Although behavioral deficits have been identified in many domains such as visuo-spatial processing, kinesthetic perception, and cross-modal sensory integration, recent studies suggested that the functional impairment of certain brain areas, such as cerebellum and basal ganglia, are the underlying causes of DCD. This review focuses on the “motor learning deficits” in DCD and their possible neural correlates. It presents recent evidence from both behavioral and neuroimaging studies and discusses dominant neural hypotheses in DCD. Given the heterogeneity of this disorder, a successful intervention program should target the specific deficits on an individual basis. Future neuroimaging studies are critical steps in enhancing our understanding of learning deficits in DCD.
Three forms of realism

The debate surrounding realism is hampered by an aversion to expli cit formulation of the doctrine. The literature is certainly replete with resounding one-liners: There are objective facts', Truth is cor respondence with reality', 'Reality is mind-independent', 'Statements are determinately either true or false', Truth may transcend our capacity to recognize it'. But such slogans are rarely elaborated upon. All too often the arguments, for or against, will proceed as though the nature of realism were so well-understood that no careful statement of the position is required. Consequently, several distinct and in dependent positions have at various times been identified with real ism, and the debate is marked by confusion, equivocation and arguments at cross-purposes to one another. I think it is worth distinguishing the following three doctrines, each deserving to be regarded as a separate form of realism. For the sake of definiteness I shall write mainly about theoretical entities in science. But the points are intended to apply more generally to issues surrounding realism in other areas, concerning, for example, numbers, mental states, values, and ordinary material objects. First, there is what might be called epistemological realism. This consists in the commonplace claim concerning some specified class of postulated entities that they really do exist. In this sense we are almost all realists about prime numbers and bacteria, but not about dragons and tachyons. No particular conception of truth is involved, nor any commitment to what the existence of the supposed entities would have to consist in. However, this brand of realism is not without philosophical interest. Concerning material things and the entities proposed by established scientific theories, the view will be opposed only by the rare sceptic with the courage of his convictions, who denies that our beliefs may be justified and is able to confine his own convictions accordingly. Thus, epistemological realists about X's are opposed to those who, for either philosophical or non-philoso phical reasons, deny that there are such things.1 Secondly, there is what I'll call semantic realism. By this I mean the
A continuous membrane diffusion column.

Abstract The construction and operation of a continuous membrane diffusion column are described. The column allowed the suspension of large areas of cellophane in a zig-zag fashion so that thin films of solutions could be made to flow continuously on both sides of the membrane. Data are presented on the dialyzing efficiency of the apparatus and on the concentration contours of solutions processed. Thickness of the solutions, mixing, and time of travel on the column were found to give conditions such that the diffusion coefficients of the solutes rather than pore size of the cellophane could be made the controlling factor in the operation of the apparatus. On the basis of experimental data found, one design for use of the apparatus as a molecular rectifier is proposed.
Satellite remote sensing of water turbidity

Abstract Remote sensing instruments obtain an optical measure of water colour and turbidity. Colour increases the absorption of light in water and decreases the remotely sensed signal; turbidity increases the backscatter of light. For low concentrations of suspended materials, spectral reflectance is determined mostly by the absorptance characteristics of water; for higher concentrations, the absorptance characteristics of suspended particles are the most important factor. Remote sensing offers considerable advantages for the study of large areas, determination of current and circulation patterns, and monitoring of sedimentation, water productivity, and eutrophication.
A spatial filtering approach to texture analysis

A theory regarding the information processing strategies in human vision motivates the development of a texture feature space. The feature space is used in texture classification and segmentation problems. A statistic for determining the number of different textures in the image is developed and demonstrated.