cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Measured Performance of Braced Excavation

This paper documents the measured performance of a test section of braced excavation for a subway. The excavation was 37 ft wide and 58 ft deep, and five levels of struts were installed. The subsoil consists of fill, silt, till and rock. The water table was from 6 ft to 8 ft below ground surface. The instruments installed were slope indicators, piezometers, and strain gages. The typical horizontal inward movement of the sheeting was 5 in., and the maximum movement on one sheeting was 9 in. A maximum surface settlement of 7 in. occurred outside the excavation. Large drops in pore pressure occurred in the soil over a distance (greater than 70 ft) far back from the excavation. The strut loads measured showed a wide variation but the average maximum values, except in the top strut, were less than half the design loads. The maximum strut loads occurred at an intermediate state of excavation. Details of construction procedure greatly influenced the behavior of the braced excavation.
Length of Time to Resolve Criminal Charges of Child Sexual Abuse: A Three‐County Case Study

The present study sought to examine the court culture of three Oregon counties and their timelines for resolving felony child sexual abuse cases. Specifically, we examined (a) case outcomes, churning (i.e., the extent to which four court events were rescheduled), the length of time to reach a criminal case resolution, and how this length of time compared to that for felonies generally; (b) whether mandatory minimum sentences affected resolution timeliness; and (c) key stakeholders’ perceptions about their local court culture. Data included retrospective case-file abstraction (N = 532) on all felony child sex crimes for a 2-year period and interviews with legal professionals (N = 23). Across all three counties, a minority of child sexual abuse cases (18% to 47%) were resolved within the target timeframe of 4 months. In contrast, most felonies (65% to 77%) were resolved within this timeframe. The rescheduling of trials and the requirement of mandatory minimum sentences for some felony child sexual abuse crimes increased the time until case resolution. Results suggest that court cultures that are hierarchical and cooperative may lead to longer case resolution times than court cultures that are self-managing or autonomous. Implications of these results and other results are discussed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Parametric yield analysis and constrained-based supply voltage optimization

Parametric yield loss has become a serious concern in leakage dominated technologies. We discuss the impact of leakage on parametric yield and show that leakage can cause yield windows to shrink by imposing a two-sided constraint on the window. We present a mathematical framework for yield estimation under device process variation for given power and frequency constraints. The model is validated against Monte Carlo simulations for an industry process and is shown to have typical error of less than 5%. We then demonstrate the importance of optimal supply voltage selection for yield maximization. We also investigate the sensitivity of parametric yield to applied frequency and power constraints. Finally, we apply the proposed framework to the problem of maximizing the shipping frequency in the presence of given yield and power constraints.
Selections that isolate recombinant mitochondrial genomes in animals

Homologous recombination is widespread and catalyzes evolution. Nonetheless, its existence in animal mitochondrial DNA is questioned. We designed selections for recombination between co-resident mitochondrial genomes in various heteroplasmic Drosophila lines. In four experimental settings, recombinant genomes became the sole or dominant genome in the progeny. Thus, selection uncovers occurrence of homologous recombination in Drosophila mtDNA and documents its functional benefit. Double-strand breaks enhanced recombination in the germline and revealed somatic recombination. When the recombination partner was a diverged Drosophila melanogaster genome or a genome from a different species such as Drosophila yakuba, sequencing revealed long continuous stretches of exchange. In addition, the distribution of sequence polymorphisms in recombinants allowed us to map a selected trait to a particular region in the Drosophila mitochondrial genome. Thus, recombination can be harnessed to dissect function and evolution of mitochondrial genome.
Sclerostin and Insulin Resistance in Prediabetes: Evidence of a Cross Talk Between Bone and Glucose Metabolism

OBJECTIVE A gene mutation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling cascade is present in rare patients with the insulin resistance syndrome. Sclerostin is a circulating peptide inhibiting Wnt/β-catenin signaling. Our aims were to evaluate serum sclerostin in subjects with prediabetes and to analyze its relationship with insulin resistance and β-cell function. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We performed a cross-sectional study including 43 healthy normal glucose tolerant (NGT) individuals and 79 individuals with impaired glucose regulation (IGR), which included subjects with impaired fasting glucose (IFG), impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), and combined IFG-IGT, undergoing oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. A subgroup of 18 with NGT and 30 with IGR also underwent an euglycemic–hyperinsulinemic clamp with tracer. RESULTS Sclerostin levels were higher in IGR compared with NGT (50.8 ± 2.4 vs. 38.7 ± 2.3 pmol/L; P = 0.01), positively correlated with HOMA-insulin resistance (IR) ( r = 0.62; P r = −0.40; P r = 0.48 and r = 0.62; r = 0.61, P r = −0.52 and r = −0.44; respectively; both P r 2 associated to HOMA-IR ( r 2 change: 0.055; F change: 28.893; P = 0.001) and insulin-mediated total body glucose disposal ( r 2 change: 0.059; F change: 4.938; P = 0.033). CONCLUSIONS Sclerostin levels are increased in individuals with prediabetes and correlated with insulin resistance in skeletal muscle, liver, and adipose tissue. The correlation between sclerostin and insulin clearance at fasting state and during OGTT is novel; thus, studies are needed to explore the potential causal relationship.
The photometric determination of the hemagglutinating activity of soyin and crude soybean extracts

Abstract A photometric procedure for measuring the hemagglutinating activity of soyin and crude soybean extracts is described. This method is based on the observation that rabbit erythrocytes sediment at a rate which is proportional to the concentration of the hemagglutinin. Hemagglutinating activity is calculated from absorbance measurements of the suspension of unsedimented cells after a given time. This technique was found to have potential value for predicting the nutritive value of soybean meals subjected to various degrees of heat treatment.
Treatment of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia at a regional non‐academic center in Belarus

The outlook for children with cancer is improving in the less privileged nations of the world. This report from Belarus is representative of results that can be achieved. Med Pediatr Oncol 2002;39:202–206. © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Sigmund Freud and James Putnam: Friendship as a Form of Sublimation

This article focuses on Freud’s lectures at Clark University in 1909 and the correspondence that followed from Freud’s visit to America with the Boston neurologist James Jackson Putnam. Particular emphasis is given to the concept of sublimation, specifically to Putnam’s desire to make sublimation a goal of psychoanalysis and his view that sublimations should reflect the individual’s recognition of the interests of the community or desire for an ideal community. Against Putnam, we endorse Freud’s view that sublimation should not be a goal of psychoanalysis. However, we support Putnam’s emphasis on the social value of sublimations, but in a more limited sense than he proposes in his correspondence with Freud. We suggest that the correspondence between Putnam and Freud reflects the very fact that the lifting of sexual repressions makes possible the development of male friendships. Thus, we view the correspondence between Freud and Putnam as an instance of sublimation, and suggest that the friendship that this correspondence reflected and nurtured is an example of the ideal community to which we humans aspire but which often remains elusive and unrealized.
Longitudinal sound velocity in oriented, Single helium-4 crystals

Abstract The velocity of 10 Mhz longitudinal waves has been measured in X-ray oriented single crystals of hcp 4 He at a molar volume of 20.5 cm 3 . The waves propagate at a velocity of 570 m/sec along the c -axis and 490 m/sec in the basal plane.
Left ventricular outflow tract obstruction defined by active three-dimensional echocardiography using rotational transthoracic acquisition.

A rotational data acquisition system was used to create three-dimensional images from thoracic and subxiphoid echocardiographic windows in children with various types of subaortic stenosis. Thirteen patients, ranging in age from 2 days to 17 years, were examined. Subaortic obstruction was caused by a discrete fibrous ridge in six patients, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in two patients, subaortic tunnel in two patients, and septa1 malalignment, restrictive VSD, and abnormal suture placement each in one patient. Unique views could be obtained equivalent to surgical or autopsy dissections, and allowed more complete understanding of morphology than conventional imaging techniques. (ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY, Volume 11, November 1994) three-dimensional echocardiography, ventricular outflow obstruction
Spectral properties of hydromagnetic fluctuations near 4 and 5 a.u.

Abstract Power spectra of vector components of interplanetary magnetic field fluctuations near 4–5 a.u. during quiet intervals show a frequency dependence very close to fs over the frequency range 4 × 10−5 to 9 × 10−3 Hz (corresponding to periods of 7 h-2 min). While the spectra are generally very close to power law in frequency, variations in slope among the spectra exceed those expected from random errors and may represent true temporal variations. Mean slopes corrected for systematic error are s = − 1.50±0.02 (Pioneer 10, mean heliocentric distance 5.3 a.u.) and s = − 1.52±0.02 (Pioneer 11, mean heliocentric distance 3.9 a.u.) and are consistent with several determinations of spectral slope for magnetic fluctuations near 1 a.u. Radial evolution of the perturbations is investigated by choosing data samples in which Pioneer 10 and 11 and the sun are nearly colinear. The dependence on heliocentric distance of σc2, the composite vector variance, and of σc/Bmag, where Bmag is the mean magnitude of the magnetic field, show that the radial variation of fluctuation amplitude is highly variable in time with a dependence on heliocentric distance typically in the range R−1 to R−1.5. These observations are compared with theoretical models of outward propagating Alfven waves of solar origin and of MHD turbulence. The mean slopes agree well with that expected for turbulence. The significant variability observed in spectral slopes and in the radial dependence of fluctuation amplitude in data selected specifically for conditions of relative magnetic quiet is noteworthy and urges caution in modeling heliospheric magnetic microstructure in studies of galactic cosmic ray modulation.
Effect of decreasing column inner diameter and use of off-line two-dimensional chromatography on metabolite detection in complex mixtures.

Capillary liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization to a quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometer was explored as a method for the analysis of polar anionic compounds in complex metabolome mixtures. A ternary mobile phase gradient, consisting of aqueous acidic, aqueous neutral and organic phases in combination with an aqueous compatible reversed-phase stationary phase allowed metabolites with a wide range of polarities to be resolved and detected. Detection limits in the full scan mode for glycolysis and tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates were from 0.9 to 36 fmol. Using this system, 111 ± 9 (n = 3) metabolites were detected in Escherichia coli lysate samples. Reducing column I.D. from 50 to 25 μm increased the number of metabolites detected to 156 ± 17 (n = 3). The improvement in number of metabolites detected was attributed to an increase in separation efficiency, an increase in sensitivity, and a decrease in adduct formation. Implementation of a second separation mode, strong anion exchange, to fractionate the sample prior to capillary RPLC increased the number of metabolites detected to 244 ± 21 (n = 3). This improvement was attributed to the increased peak capacity which decreased co-elution of molecules enabling more sensitive detection by mass spectrometry. This system was also applied to islets of Langerhans where more significant improvements in metabolite detection were observed. In islets, 391 ± 33 small molecules were detected using the two-dimensional separation. The results demonstrate that column miniaturization and use of two-dimensional separations can yield a significant improvement in the coverage of the metabolome.
Receptor and neural responses in auditory masking of low frequency tones

Abstract Responses from cochlea and cochlear nucleus were recorded in cats through gross electrodes, using stimulus conditions under which masking effects were demonstrated with human subjects. With successive intensity increments of the noise masker relative to the tone stimulus, the neural “frequency-following response” (FFR) showed a significantly greater diminution in amplitude than did the cochlear microphonic. Results suggested masking is mediated neurally in the cochlear nucleus and is separable from interfernce effects known to occur at the cochlea. In order to explore further the neural mechanisms involved, experiments were performed to study the activity of single cells in the cochlear nucleus under the same stimulus conditions. Cells that fired in phase-locked fashion to the tone frequency showed progressive desynchronization with increasing intensity of the noise masker. These results support the hypothesis that the noise pre-empts the activities of units which would otherwise be part of the phase-locked neural population contributing to the grossly recorded FFR envelope and suggest at least one neural mechanism involved in the masking of low frequency tones.
Molecular karyotype alterations induced by transformation in Aspergillus nidulans are mitotically stable

Clamped homogeneous electric field (CHEF)-gel electrophoresis was used to define the electrophoretic molecular karyotype of Aspergillus nidulans strain OC-1 before and after protoplast-based genetic transformation. The transforming DNA caused alterations in the molecular karyotypes in all transformants examined. Rather dramatic changes were observed in karyotypes, including apparent chromosome loss, massive size alterations, and the appearance of large chromosomes. Changes in molecular karyotype were mitotically stable.
Experiments on the Dynamic Behavior of Cavitating Pumps

This paper describes experiments performed to measure the dynamic transfer matrices for cavitating (and noncavitating) pumps. These transfer matrices describe the relationship between small linear oscillatory perturbations in the pressures and mass flow rates at inlet and discharge from the hydraulic machine. The matrices were deduced from direct measurements of these fluctuating quantities for different modes of excitation of the machine. Results for a cavitating inducer are presented as functions of frequency and mean operating state. Though some of the trends in the data are consistent with existing theoretical models of inducer dynamics, others are not, indicating a need for further theoretical investigation of the dynamic characteristics of such flows. The results exhibit increasingly complex dynamics with increasing cavitation; it appears that the hydraulic machine deviates from an essentially passive response without cavitation to an increasingly active response as the cavitation number is reduced.
Testing for peripheral vigilance: do birds value what they see when not overtly vigilant?

Previous studies showed that dark-eyed juncos, Junco hyemalis, gain only partial information when their flockmates detect threats, and that they can detect threats peripherally even when they are feeding intensely. Here, we tested how this ‘peripheral (head-down) vigilance’ interacts with overt (head-up) vigilance and the collective detection of threats. Low barriers were used to prevent juncos from seeing to the side while pecking for food on the ground; a bird with its head raised could easily see over the barriers. Juncos and other ground-feeding birds preferred to feed without the barriers. When the barriers were present, birds generally took longer scans but spent similar periods between scans. Also, scanning patterns were less variable when the barriers were present. Following the threat-induced departure of a single bird, nondetectors were more likely to initiate scans when feeding among barriers. Barriers prevented feeding juncos from seeing the early stages of threat-induced departures of flockmates and thus impeded the collective detection of attack. The results suggest that juncos value peripheral vigilance and that scanning patterns are affected by interactions between peripheral vigilance and overt scanning behaviour.
Development of rotating prism mechanism and athermalized prism mounting for space

Space and launch environments demand robust, low mass, and thermally insensitive mechanisms and optical mount designs. The rotating prism mechanism (RPM), a component of the stabilized dispersive focal plane system (SDFPS), is a spectral disperser mechanism that enables the SDFPS to deliver spectroscopic or direct imaging functionality using only a single optical path. The RPM is a redundant, vacuum-compatible, self-indexing, motorized mechanism that provides robust, athermalized prism mounting for two sets of matching prisms. Each set is composed of a BK7 and a CaF2 prism, both 70 mm in diameter. With the prism sets separated by 1 mm, the RPM rotates the two sets relative to one another over a 180° range, and maintains their alignment over a wide temperature range (190-308K). The RPM design incorporates self-indexing and backlash prevention features as well as redundant motors, bearings, and drive trains. The RPM was functionally tested in a thermal vacuum chamber at 210K and <1.0x10-6 mbar, and employed in the top-level SDFPS system testing. This paper presents the mechanical design, analysis, alignment measurements, and test results from the prototype RPM development effort.
Winning the Game of Policy at the State and Federal Levels: First We Need to Know How to Play

Everything we do in our everyday lives as citizens is influenced directly or indirectly by political actions. Simply saying that someone is not interested in politics is equivalent to saying that t...
Experimental philosophy and philosophical intuition

The topic is experimental philosophy as a naturalistic movement, and its bearing on the value of intuitions in philosophy. This paper explores first how the movement might bear on philosophy more generally, and how it might amount to something novel and promising. Then it turns to one accomplishment repeatedly claimed for it already: namely, the discrediting of armchair intuitions as used in philosophy.
Comparative civil procedure and the style of complex contracts

Among businessmen and lawyers familiar with commercial practice in complex transactions on both sides of the Atlantic, it is a common observation that a contract drafted in the United States is typically vastly more detailed than a contract originating in Germany or elsewhere on the Continent. My purpose in this paper is to inquire into the causes of that notable difference in the style of contracting. The Belgian legal writer Georges van Hecke discussed this subject in a stimulating paper that is now a quarter-century old. He illustrated the phenomenon with an anecdote. He told of a transaction in which an American company and a European company were planning to affiliate by exchanging shares. The lawyers for the American firm drafted two contracts to embrace the transaction. The combined drafts ran about 10,000 words in length. The European businessman had no prior experience with American lawyers, and when presented with the elephantine American drafts he was so shocked that he nearly renounced the deal. Thereupon it was decided to start over, and the European businessman arranged for his lawyer to prepare a counterdraft. "The result was a document of 1400 words. It was found by the American party to include all the substance that was really needed, and it was readily executed by both parties and adequately performed."1
Meromorphic Continuation of Scattering Matrices: Long Range, Stark Case

Long range quantum mechanical scattering in the presence of a constant electric field of strength F > 0 is discussed. It is shown that the scattering matrix, as a function of energy, has a meromorphic continuation to the entire complex plane as a bounded operator on L(ℝ n−1) where n is the space dimension. There is a marked contrast between this result and the comparable result in the Schrodinger case (F = 0). The scattering matrix is constructed using two Hilbert space wave operators and time dependent modified wave operators both and the constructions are compared.
Pretty Pane Tiling of Pretty Windows

Certain graphic windows on VDT screens — called pretty windows — are more aesthetically pleasing than arbitrary rectangles. The user interface described here enforces this aesthetic.
Measuring g with a joystick pendulum

A method for experimentally measuring g, the Earth’s gravitational acceleration, is presented. This method uses a computer joystick and computer as the primary measuring device. If a computer is available, it costs almost nothing to implement, and can be adapted for use as a high school or undergraduate lab exercise, or as a lecture demonstration.
Proton pump inhibitor therapy for chronic laryngo-pharyngitis: a randomized placebo-control trial.

Abstract Objective To determine the efficacy of proton-pump inhibitor (PPI) therapy for chronic laryngo-pharyngitis treated with lifestyle modification. Study design and methods Double-blind, randomized trial comparing two-month Rabeprazole (20 mg b.i.d.) to placebo control. Results Compared to baseline, both PPI and control patients had significant improvement in total reflux symptoms (P = 0.002 and P = 0.03 respectively), with significant improvement in “laryngo-pharyngeal” but not “typical” reflux symptoms. No significant difference was noted for change in reflux symptoms between PPI-treated and control patients (P = 0.44). Significant global improvement was noted by 50% of control and 53% of PPI-treated patients (P = 1.0). No significant differences were noted within or between treatment groups for change in health status or videostrobolaryngoscopy grade. Lifestyle modification compliance correlated significantly with global improvement. Conclusion Compared to baseline, lifestyle modification for 2 months significantly improved chronic laryngo-pharyngitis symptoms. When compared to control, treatment with a PPI failed to demonstrate significantly greater improvement in reflux symptoms, health status, or laryngeal appearance.
Vibration energy harvesting by magnetostrictive material

A new class of vibration energy harvester based on magnetostrictive material (MsM), Metglas 2605SC, is designed, developed and tested. It contains two submodules: an MsM harvesting device and an energy harvesting circuit. Compared to piezoelectric materials, the Metglas 2605SC offers advantages including higher energy conversion efficiency, longer life cycles, lack of depolarization and higher flexibility to survive in strong ambient vibrations. To enhance the energy conversion efficiency and alleviate the need of a bias magnetic field, Metglas ribbons are transversely annealed by a strong magnetic field along their width direction. To analyze the MsM harvesting device a generalized electromechanical circuit model is derived from Hamilton’s principle in conjunction with the normal mode superposition method based on Euler‐Bernoulli beam theory. The MsM harvesting device is equivalent to an electromechanical gyrator in series with an inductor. In addition, the proposed model can be readily extended to a more practical case of a cantilever beam element with a tip mass. The energy harvesting circuit, which interfaces with a wireless sensor and accumulates the harvested energy into an ultracapacitor, is designed on a printed circuit board (PCB) with plane dimension 25 mm × 35 mm. It mainly consists of a voltage quadrupler, a 3 F ultracapacitor and a smart regulator. The output DC voltage from the PCB can be adjusted within 2.0‐5.5 V. In experiments, the maximum output power and power density on the resistor can reach 200 μW and 900 μ Wc m −3 , respectively, at a low frequency of 58 Hz. For a working prototype under a vibration with resonance frequency of 1.1 kHz and peak acceleration of 8.06 m s −2 (0.82 g), the average power and power density during charging the ultracapacitor can achieve 576 μ Wa nd 606 μ Wc m −3 , respectively, which compete favorably with piezoelectric vibration energy harvesters. (Some figures in this article are in colour only in the electronic version)
X-ray emission from O-type stars - Parameters which affect it

As a result of previous analyses of the X-ray fluxes of O-type stars, it has been established that, surprisingly, there is no correlation between X-ray flux and such basic parameters as M, R, v(rot), T(eff), mass accretion rate v(infinity), L(w) = mass accretion rate v(infinity), and wind energy. In this paper, other factors influencing the X-ray flux of the hottest stars are sought. As a result of the present analysis, it is found that stars embedded in dense clouds are often X-ray brighter, runaway stars are fainter in X-rays, massive binaries emit more X-rays than single stars, and radio-bright stars are also more active in X-rays. All these correlations lead to the conclusion that the stellar environment and the interaction of the stellar wind with circumstellar matter (possible remnants of protostellar clouds) play a dominant role in the production of the X-ray flux.
Rice mitochondrial genome contains a rearranged chloroplast gene cluster.

We have previously reported the isolation and partial sequence analysis of a rice mitochondrial DNA fragment (6.9 kb) which contains a transferred copy of a chloroplast gene cluster coding for the large subunit of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase (rbcL), β and e subunits of ATPase (atpB and atpE), methionine tRNA (trnM) and valine tRNA (trnV). We have now completely sequenced this 6.9 kb fragment and found it to also contain a sequence homologous to the chloroplast gene coding for the ribosomal protein L2 (rpl2), beginning at a site 430 bp downstream from the termination codon of rbcL. In the chloroplast genome, two copies of rpl2 are located at distances of 20 kb and 40 kb, respectively, from rbcL. We have sequenced these two copies of rice chloroplast rpl2 and found their sequences to be identical. In addition, a 151 bp sequence located upstream of the chloroplast rpl2 coding region is also found in the 3′ noncoding region of chloroplast rbcL and other as yet undefined locations in the rice chloroplast genome. Hybridization analysis revealed that this 151 bp repeat sequence identified in rice is also present in several copies in 11 other plant species we have examined. Findings from these studies suggest that the translocation of rpl2 to the rbcL gene cluster found in the rice mitochondrial genome might have occurred through homologous recombination between the 151 bp repeat sequence present in both rpl2 and rbcL.
The efficacy of cardiovascular nuclear medicine exercise studies.

Radionuclide stress tests were initially introduced Into medicine as new diagnostic tests for coronary artery disease (CAD). These tests are very effective for this purpose when applied to populations with an intermediate pre-test probability of coronary artery disease. Radionuclide stress tests, however, also are used now in guiding many management decisions in patients with established CAD, based on the ability of these tests to assess the extent and severity of myocardial ischemia, the functional significance of coronary stenoses, and myocardial viability. Specific uses beyond diagnosis include decisions regarding whom to catheterize, send to coronary bypass surgery, or angioplasty; risk stratification following myocardial infarction or before noncardiac surgery; and evaluation of the results of therapy. This article reviews both the diagnostic efficacy of radionuclide stress tests and their efficacy in guiding management decisions in patients with known coronary artery disease.
Training social interpersonal skills in two autistic children

Two children, a 10-year-old girl and a 9-year-old boy both of whom were autistic and mentally retarded and one of whom was also hyperactive, were treated for social skill deficits. Targets of treatment were refraining from perseveration, appropriate affect, appropriate content of speech, appropriate sitting, and eye contact. Training included modeling, instructions, performance feedback, role-playing, rehearsal, and tangible and social reinforcers. A multiple baseline within subjects and across behaviors design was employed. Marked improvements were noted soon after treatment was implemented. The significance of these effects and their implications for future research are discussed.
Activation of IL-27 p28 Gene Transcription by Interferon Regulatory Factor 8 in Cooperation with Interferon Regulatory Factor 1

Interferon regulatory factor (IRF) family members, especially interferon regulatory factor-1 (IRF-1) and interferon regulatory factor-8 (IRF-8 or ICSBP), play important roles in interferon signaling in a wide range of host responses to infection and tumor growth. Interleukin-27 (IL-27), as a member of the IL-12 cytokine family, not only acts as a proinflammatory cytokine that regulates the differentiation of naive T helper cells but also possesses anti-inflammatory properties. IL-27 consists of EBI3 (Epstein-Barr virus-induced gene 3) and p28 subunits. Our previous work has shown that IRF-1 regulates IL-27 p28 gene transcription by specifically binding to the IRF-1 response element in the p28 promoter. In this study, we found that IRF-8-deficient macrophages were highly defective in the production of IL-27 p28 at both mRNA and protein levels. Circulating IL-27 p28 in serum was also decreased in IRF-8−/− mice in a septic shock model. Lipopolysaccharide, as a potent inducer of IL-27 p28 expression, could activate IRF-8 expression in a MyD88-dependent pathway, which in turn induced p28 gene transcription through NF-κB and/or IRF-8. Transcriptional analyses revealed that IRF-8 activated p28 gene transcription through binding to a site located at −57 to −48 in the p28 promoter overlapping the IRF-1 binding site. Consistent with this observation, overexpression of both IRF-8 and IRF-1 additively activated IL-27 p28 promoter. This study provides further mechanistic information regarding how signals initiated during innate and adaptive immune responses synergize to yield greater IL-27 production and sustained cellular immunity.
Contrast-enhanced CT and MR imaging of renal vessels

In the evaluation of renal vessels, the accepted diagnostic gold standard digital subtraction angiography is now being challenged by state of the art CT and MR imaging. Currently in many centers, cross-sectional imaging modalities are being used as a first line diagnostic tool to evaluate arterial and venous system of the kidneys and conventional angiography has been reserved only for therapeutic intervention. CT and MR imaging display not only the lumen of the vessel as in conventional angiography, but also allow the visualization of the vessel wall, renal parenchyma, collecting system, and other adjacent soft tissue structures. Therefore, CT and MRI have each become a one-stop shop for a thorough evaluation of kidneys. In this pictorial essay, we reviewed normal anatomical variants and wide range of pathologies involving renal arteries and veins with illustrated contrast-enhanced CT and MR imaging samples.
Bearing Ambiguity and Resolution in Interference Direction Finders

Radio direction finders based on the principles of interference measurement provide increased angular resolution as the number of bearing ambiguities increase. In spite of the diversity of interference direction finder design, the resolution of bearing ambiguities reduces to a simple relative phase measurement on crossed baselines less than ?/2 long. This principle is applied in a review of current interference direction finder (DF) designs from the Adcock to the multiwavelength interferometer including both analog and digital bearing computation and display. Analysis shows that simple digital logic circuits may be used to resolve bearing ambiguities in multichannel DF rather than the "sense" displays of conventional analog design. This technique has the advantage of keeping direction finding and sense finding functions simultaneous but separate so that the DF information is not degraded by the injection of the ambiguity resolving sense signal.
Structural Cerebral Variations as Useful Endophenotypes in Schizophrenia: Do They Help Construct “Extended Endophenotypes”?

Endophenotypes represent intermediate phenotypes on the putative causal pathway from the genotype to the phenotype. They offer a potentially valuable strategy to examine the molecular etiopathology of complex behavioral phenotypes such as schizophrenia. Neurocognitive and neurophysiological impairments that suggest functional impairments associated with schizophrenia have been proposed as endophenotypes. However, few studies have examined the structural variations in the brain that might underlie the functional impairments as useful endophenotypes for schizophrenia. Over the past three decades, there has been an impressive body of literature supporting brain structural alterations in schizophrenia. We critically reviewed the extant literature on the neuroanatomical variations in schizophrenia in this paper to evaluate their candidacy as endophenotypes and how useful they are in furthering the understanding of etiology and pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Brain morphometric measures meet many of the criteria set by different investigators, such as being robustly associated with schizophrenia, heritable, quantifiable, and present in unaffected family members more frequently than in the general population. We conclude that the brain morphometric alterations appear largely to meet the criteria for endophenotypes in psychotic disorders. Some caveats for the utility of endophenotypes are discussed. A proposal to combine more than one endophenotype (“extended endophenotype”) is suggested. Further work is needed to examine how specific genes and their interactions with the environment may produce alterations in brain structure and function that accompany psychotic disorders.
The Influence of Religion on Sexual HIV Risk

This systematic review examines the relationship between religion and sexual HIV risk behavior. It focuses primarily on how studies have conceptualized and defined religion, methodologies, and sexual risk outcomes. We also describe regions where studies were conducted and mechanisms by which religion may be associated with sexual risk. We included 137 studies in this review, classifying them as measuring: (1) only religious affiliation (n = 57), (2) only religiosity (n = 48), and (3) both religious affiliation and religiosity (n = 32). A number of studies identified lower levels of sexual HIV risk among Muslims, although many of these examined HIV prevalence rather than specific behavioral risk outcomes. Most studies identified increased religiosity to be associated with lower levels of sexual HIV risk. This finding persists but is weaker when the outcome considered is condom use. The paper reviews ways in which religion may contribute to increase and reduction in sexual HIV risk, gaps in research, and implications for future research on religion and HIV.
Fowler's Stages of Faith Development in an Honors Science-and-Religion Seminar

According to Paul Tillich's understanding of religion as “ultimate concern,” a religious dimension is implicit in all university curricula. A science-and-religion course, such as one taught at Southeast Missouri State University, can offer students the opportunity to integrate their worldview, taking seriously both religious ideas and scientific information. Assignments based on A. E. Lawson's model of a learning cycle provide a vehicle for evaluating significant student learning leading toward fuller integration. The stages of faith developed by James W. Fowler serve as a fruitfull framework for interpreting changes in student viewpoints. Fowler's six stages of faith are characterized. Examples from student writing assignments demonstrate shifts in the cognitive understanding of faith that coincide with Fowler's stages.
Improved Survival Associated with Neoadjuvant Chemoradiation in Patients with Clinical Stage IIIA(N2) Non–Small-Cell Lung Cancer

Introduction Optimal management of clinical stage IIIA-N2 non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is controversial. This study examines whether neoadjuvant chemoradiation plus surgery improves survival rates when compared with other recommended treatment strategies. Methods Adult patients from the National Cancer Database, with clinical stage IIIA-N2 disease definitively treated between 1998 and 2004 at American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer accredited facilities, were included in the study. Treatment was defined as neoadjuvant chemoradiation plus either lobectomy (NeoCRT+L) or pneumonectomy (NeoCRT+P), lobectomy plus adjuvant therapy (L+AT), pneumonectomy plus adjuvant therapy (P+AT), and concurrent chemoradiation (CRT). Median follow-up and overall survival (OS) were defined from date of diagnosis to last contact. Five-year OS was estimated using Kaplan–Meier methods. Cox proportional hazard regression was used to estimate hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), adjusting for sociodemographic, clinical, and facility characteristics. Results Median follow-up was 11.8 months for 11,242 eligible patients. Five-year OS was 33.5%, 20.7%, 20.3%, 13.35%, and 10.9% for NeoCRT+L, NeoCRT+P, L+AT, P+AT, and CRT, respectively (p Conclusion This large study demonstrates that patients with clinical stage IIIA-N2 NSCLC, who underwent neoadjuvant chemoradiation followed by lobectomy, were associated with an improved survival.
Mobility and Geometrical Analysis of a Two Actuated Spoke Wheel Robot Modeled as a Mechanism With Variable Topology

In this paper, the mobility and geometrical analysis of a novel mobile robot that utilizes two actuated spoke wheels is presented. Intelligent Mobility Platform with Active Spoke System (IMPASS) is a wheel-leg hybrid robot that can walk in unstructured environments by stretching in or out three independently actuated spokes of each wheel. First, the unique locomotion scheme of IMPASS is introduced and the definitions of the coordinate systems are developed to describe the kinematic configurations. Since this robot is capable of utilizing its metamorphic configurations to implement different types of motion, its topology structures are classified into different groups based on the cases of ground contact points. For each contact point case, the mobility analysis is performed using the conventional Grubler and Kutzbach criterion. However, as for the cases in which the structure is overconstrained, the Modified Grubler and Kutzbach criterion based on reciprocal screws are implemented to obtain the correct number of degrees of freedom. Line geometry is adopted to assist in the process. Additionally, the geometrical constraint equations of the robot are derived. The results in this work lay the foundation of the future research on inverse and forward kinematics, instantaneous kinematics, dynamics analysis and motion planning of this unique locomotion robot.Copyright © 2008 by ASME
From Concept to Design: Progress on the J-2X Upper Stage Engine for the Ares Launch Vehicles

In accordance with national policy and NASA's Global Exploration Strategy, the Ares Projects Office is embarking on development of a new launch vehicle fleet to fulfill the national goals of replacing the space shuttle fleet, returning to the moon, and exploring farther destinations like Mars. These goals are shaped by the decision to retire the shuttle fleet by 2010, budgetary constraints, and the requirement to create a new fleet that is safer, more reliable, operationally more efficient than the shuttle fleet, and capable of supporting long-range exploration goals. The present architecture for the Constellation Program is the result of extensive trades during the Exploration Systems Architecture Study and subsequent refinement by the Ares Projects Office at Marshall Space Flight Center.
The subprime mortgage debacle and its linkages to corporate governance

Two alleged contributing factors of the subprime mortgage debacle are (1) ‘misaligned incentives’ linked to securitisation–disintermediation and (2) ‘asymmetric information’ wherein the most informed assessments of specific individual residential mortgage defaults are held by residential borrowers and not by loan originators, investment banking securitisers, and institutional investors purchasing mortgage back securities. The empirical evidence supports the proposition that the securitisation–disintermediation increased substantially the magnitude of lending to riskier residential mortgages (ie subprime residential mortgages) and, in due course, to a high default rate. One particularly relevant empirical study supportive of the above conclusions is by professors Atif Mian and Amir Sufi of the University of Chicago. They utilise a flow of funds income level–mortgage originations–mortgage default–zip code methodology. As to the ‘asymmetric information’ proposition, there is an abundance of ad hoc as well as survey information suggesting that residential mortgage borrowers were borrowing rate and transaction costs uninformed. A useful and informative survey by two Federal Reserve System economists was conducted by Brian Bucks and Karen Pence, ‘Do Homeowners Know Their House Value and Mortgage Terms?’, Federal Reserve System — Board of Governors, Washington, DC, January, 2006, which indicated that homeowners were unaware of their mortgage terms. Indeed, Mark Zandi, the chief economist of Moody's, feels that the fundamental cause of the subprime mortgage debacle was the financial illiteracy of homebuyers. The most important corporate governance failure of the subprime mortgage debacle was the executive compensation of chief executive officers (CEOs). More specifically, the executive compensation of CEO was not remotely linked to either corporate performance or actual realised returns of the equity shareholders. The three marquis names of excessive compensation in the subprime mortgage area were: (1) Countrywide Financial and Angelo Mozilo, (2) Citigroup and Charles Prince, and (3) Merrill Lynch and Stanley O'Neil. According to Lucian Bebechuk, Alan Greenspan, and Jack and Suzy Welch and others, the culprit in the excessive compensation (ie pay without performance) are the independent directors of public corporations.
A Simple Model for Weakly Coupled Lossy Transmission Lines of Finite Length

A simple formula for coupling between two parallel lossy wires of finite length above a conducting plane is derived. Weak coupling is assumed. The first wire is driven by a source at one end and terminated with an impedance at the other end. The second wire is terminated with an impedance at each end. The formula is shown to agree well with the results of a previously reported experiment. For low frequencies, the formula reduces to the familiar inductive and capacitive coupling terms plus a term which is contributed by wire losses. For higher frequencies, the lossiness of the wires is shown to be a dominant factor in the coupling mechanism if the undriven wire is terminated by large impedances and the driven wire is terminated by low impedances.
A collective chain of signification in conceptualizing fractions: a case of a fourth-grade class ☆

Abstract Fourth graders who participated in a yearlong teaching experiment constructed their own bridge between natural number knowledge and initial conceptualizations of fractions in discrete wholes. This bridge was established by a chain of signs individually and collectively generated. Students came to re-conceptualize natural number as “manifold of units” mediated by linguistic arithmetical expressions, double counting, and numerical diagrams. Linguistic arithmetical expressions, double counting, and numerical diagrams were powerful “representamens” dialectically determining and representing the inverse relations between iteration and decomposition and between part and whole in order to mediate the construction of quantitative fractional relations. These fourth graders’ transition from decomposition and iteration of natural number units to conceptualization of fractions in discrete wholes is analyzed using the Peircean notions of sign, chain of signification, and semiosis.
THE DNA POLYMERASE GENE OF A BROWN ALGAL VIRUS: STRUCTURE AND PHYLOGENY

We have reported the complete sequence of the DNA polymerase gene from the virus that infected a filamentous brown alga, Feldmannia sp. (FsV). The DNA polymerase gene from FsV encoded 986 amino acids and contained all the conserved motifs of 3′-5′ exonuclease domains and catalytic domains found in B-family (α-like) DNA polymerases. The codons for the FsV DNA polymerase appeared to have some bias toward guanine/cytosine (G/C) in the third position. The phylogenetic analysis of the FsV DNA polymerase gene and other viral DNA polymerase genes indicated that FsV belongs to a family of algal viruses recently defined as Phycodnaviridae.
MVP: a mutation-based validation paradigm

A mutation-based validation paradigm that can handle complete high-level microprocessor implementations is presented. First, a control-based coverage measure is presented that is aimed at exposing design errors that incorrectly set control signal values. A method of automatically generating a complete set of modeled errors from this coverage metric is presented such that the instantiated modeled errors harness the rules of cause-and-effect that define mutation-based error models. Finally, we introduce an automatic test pattern generation technique for high-level hardware descriptions that solves multiple concurrent constraints and is empowered by concurrent programming.
A Two-Dimensional Photon Counter

The 2D-Frutti instrument is a spectroscopic detector used at the cassegrain spectrograph of the Palomar 5-meter telescope. A Fairchild 380 x 488 element CCD array is used to detect photon event scintillations in a high-gain image intensifier. The diodes are inspected serially at a 15 MHz rate. As little as 1/8 of the CCD vertical format can be inspected in a minimum frame time of 1 msec. The event centers are located to 0.25 diode horizontally and 0.5 diode vertically. Up to 600 FWHM resolution elements are produced in the horizontal direction. Coincidence corrections are no more than a few percent for count rates up to 105/ sec when the array is uniformly illuminated.© (1984) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.