cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Phase diagram, fluctuations, and phase transitions near the liquid-crystal nematic-smectic-A-smectic-C multicritical point.

We have performed high-resolution x-ray scattering studies of the binary liquid-crystal system of octyloxycyanobiphenyl and heptyloxypentylphenylthiolbenzoate (80CB+7\ifmmode\bar\else\textasciimacron\fi{}S5) near the nematic--smectic-A--smectic-C (NAC) multicritical point. We find that the phase diagram and smectic-order fluctuations are well described by a Lifshitz-point model. Above the nematic--smectic-C(N-SmC) phase boundary, we find a line along which the fluctuations change from being SmA-like to SmC-like; this is signaled by the vanishing of the transverse quadratic term in the expression for the x-ray scattering intensity; that is, the transverse fluctuations scale like ${q}_{\ensuremath{\perp}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}4}$. The geometry of this Lifshitz line appears to mirror that of the SmA-SmC boundary. A much more extended SmC fluctuation region is observed for lower concentrations of 80CB. Thus the N-SmC pretransitional area is divided into two regions: a pure N-SmC region and a multicritical region. The tilt angle exhibits a first-order transition at the N-SmC boundary. Along the SmA-SmC phase boundary, the tilt is well described either by a power law with an average exponent \ensuremath{\beta}=0.43\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.03 or by mean-field theory including a sixth-order correction. No crossover to critical or tricritical behavior is observed as the NAC point is approached. Along the N-SmA phase boundary, we observe second-order N-SmA transitions with average values of the exponents in this region of ${\ensuremath{\nu}}_{?}$=0.90, ${\ensuremath{\nu}}_{\ensuremath{\perp}}$=0.75, and \ensuremath{\gamma}=1.55 for the parallel and perpendicular correlation lengths and susceptibility, respectively. Very near the NAC concentration, we observe multicritical behavior, with the above exponents renormalized by the crossover exponent of the N-SmA phase boundary.
Acute promyelocytic leukemia: where did we start, where are we now, and the future

Historically, acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) was considered to be one of the most fatal forms of acute leukemia with poor outcomes before the introduction of the vitamin A derivative all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA). With considerable advances in therapy, including the introduction of ATRA initially as a single agent and then in combination with anthracyclines, and more recently by development of arsenic trioxide (ATO)-containing regimens, APL is now characterized by complete remission rates of 90% and cure rates of ∼80%, even higher among low-risk patients. Furthermore, with ATRA–ATO combinations, chemotherapy may safely be omitted in low-risk patients. The disease is now considered to be the most curable subtype of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in adults. Nevertheless, APL remains associated with a significant incidence of early death related to the characteristic bleeding diathesis. Early death, rather than resistant disease so common in all other subtypes of AML, has emerged as the major cause of treatment failure.
Traditional Chinese medicine research and education in Canada.

Abstract Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is one of the oldest forms of medicine in the world. There has been a growing interest in TCM in Canada in terms of consumers and also among the research community. To cater for this interest, the Canadian Institute of Chinese Medicinal Research (CICMR) was established in 2004. Since its formation, CICMR has been organizing annual meetings. In 2008, the CICMR meeting, jointly organized with the Ontario Ginseng Innovation Research Centre, was held from October 16th to 19th, in London, Ontario, Canada. The meeting saw a number of participants and speakers from many countries who discussed TCM in a Canadian perspective. The talks and presentations focused on TCM practices in Asia and Canada; analytical techniques for unravelling the science behind TCM; basic and clinical research findings in the areas of cancer and cardiovascular diseases; safety and quality control issues; the regulatory and educational framework of TCM in Canada; and the latest findings in agricu...
Midazolam as an effective intravenous adjuvant to prolonged ketamine sedation in young rhesus (Macaca mulatta) and Vervet (Cercopithecus aethiops sabaeus) monkeys: A preliminary report

The present study investigated a recently developed benzodiazepine, midazolam, as an intravenous adjuvant to ketamine in infant monkeys undergoing prolonged sedation during positron emission tomography of the brain and heart. Subjects were two rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) and ten vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops sabaeus) ranging in age from 26 to 260 days. Midazolam was an effective intravenous adjuvant to ketamine. This treatment regime resulted in complete immobilization of the animals. Ketamine infusion rates did not vary significantly with age for either species. Sensitivity to midazolam appeared to be age-dependent in vervets because significantly lower dose rates were sufficient to maintain anesthesia in older animals. For rhesus monkeys, midazolam dose rates decreased until approximately 4 months of age, and increased gradually thereafter. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Social Science Computer Labs as Sites for Teaching and Learning: Challenges and Solutions in Their Design and Maintenance.

Electronic information technology is an increasingly important aspect of teaching and learning in the social sciences. While we have constructed a substantial body of scholarship on the use of this technology for direct instructional purposes, we know far less about how to design and maintain infrastructures capable of enabling and supporting good instructional principles and practice. We need to understand not only the pedagogy of teaching and learning with computer technology, but also a host of administrative, technical, training, and managerial issues. We describe our experience with the design, implementation, and operation of a social science computer laboratory at our own institution. There is little codified knowledge about how to go about establishing these labs. Our purpose is to provide advice and recommendations to those who wish to enhance the teaching mission at, their institutions by engaging in similar activities
Taking the Tags with You: Digital Photograph Provenance

Prior to digital photography, the back of the glossy photo paper served as the canvas to write the important photo details. The photos were then transferred to a series of photo albums. The general public creates too many pictures to sustain the physical photo album. One byproduct of taking digital photos is the automatic number scheme embedded in the digital device. The semantic context of any photo can not be represented with this automatic labeling method. Hence, the user is responsible for concisely renaming the digital images. The rise of digital pictures creates a need for more reliant on storage technology for longevity. We present a suite of annotation tags that capture provenance details. We classify consumer photography provenance in terms of photo manipulation, photo clustering and photo semantics.
Low-cost sensing with ring oscillator arrays for healthier reconfigurable systems

Electronic systems on a chip increasingly suffer from component variation, voltage noise, thermal hotspots, and other subtle physical phenomena. Systems with reconfigurability have unique opportunities for adapting to such effects. Required, however, are low-cost, fine-grained methods for sensing physical parameters. This article presents powerful, novel approaches to online sensing, including methods for designing compact reconfigurable sensors, low-cost threshold detection, and several enhanced measurement procedures. Together, the approaches help enable systems to autonomously uncover a wealth of physical information. A highly efficient counter and improved ring oscillator are introduced, enabling an entire sensor node in just 8 Virtex-5 LUTs. We describe how variations can be measured in delay, temperature, switching-induced IR drop, and leakage-induced IR drop. We demonstrate the proposed approach with an experimental system based on a Virtex-5, instrumented with over 100 sensors at an overhead of only 1.3p. Results from thermally controlled experiments provide some surprising insights and illustrate the utility of the approach. Online sensing can help open the door to physically adaptive computing, including fine-grained power, reliability, and health management schemes for systems on a chip.
The importance of the geophysical context in statistical evaluations of climate reconstruction procedures

A portion of the debate about climate reconstructions of the past millennium, and in particular about the well-known Mann-Bradley-Hughes (“MBH” 1998, 1999) reconstructions, has become disconnected from the goal of understanding natural climate variability. Here, we reflect on what can be learned from recent scientific exchanges and identify important challenges that remain to be addressed openly and productively by the community. One challenge arises from the real, underlying trend in temperatures during the instrumental period. This trend can affect regression-based reconstruction performance in cases where the calibration period does not appropriately cover the range of conditions encountered during the reconstruction. However, because it is tied to a unique spatial pattern driven by change in radiative balance, the trend cannot simply be removed in the method of climate field reconstruction used by MBH on the statistical argument of preserving degrees of freedom. More appropriately, the influence from the trend can be taken into account in some methods of significance testing. We illustrate these considerations as they apply to the MBH reconstruction and show that it remains robust back to AD 1450, and given other empirical information also back to AD 1000. However, there is now a need to move beyond hemispheric average temperatures and to focus instead on resolving climate variability at the socially more relevant regional scale.
BREFELDIN A INDUCES p53 -INDEPENDENT APOPTOSIS IN PRIMARY CULTURES OF HUMAN PROSTATIC CANCER CELLS

Purpose: The objective of this study was to investigate growth-inhibitory and apoptotic activity of the experimental antitumor drug, brefeldin A (BFA), on primary cultures of human epithelial cells derived from prostatic adenocarcinomas.Materials and Methods: Clonal assays were performed to evaluate the effects of BFA on growth of prostatic cancer cell strains. Loss of cell viability in response to BFA was assessed by trypan blue exclusion. Induction of apoptosis by BFA was evaluated by morphologic criteria, electrophoretic assay of DNA fragmentation, and a cell death ELISA. Immunoblots were used to monitor p53 and pRB expression in response to BFA.Results: BFA was growth-inhibitory at a half-maximal concentration of 5 ng./ml. (18 nM). Morphological manifestations of apoptosis were evident by 24 hours of treatment. Cell viability declined and the cell death ELISA indicated an 18-fold increase in apoptosis in BFA-treated versus untreated cells at 48 hours. DNA fragmentation was also seen at 48 hours. Level...
Effects on immune responses by chronic stress are modulated by aging

Male Fischer-344 rats at 5, 11, and 18 months of age were exposed to chronic stress for 6 months and subsequently allowed a 1-month interval with no stress before examination of splenic lymphocyte proliferative responses, IL-2 secretion by T cells, and NK cell activity in stressed and age- and sex-matched control animals. All four responses declined as a function of age in control rats. Stress exposure significantly decreased concanavalin A and lipopolysaccharide proliferative responses in 12- and 18-month-old compared to control rats without altering IL-2 secretory capacity. NK cell activity was slightly depressed by stress only in 18-month-old rats. By contrast, in 25-month-old animals that already demonstrated immune response levels lower than those of younger animals, stress did not significantly affect the responses examined. Thus, younger rats were more susceptible to a decline in host-defense responses induced by long-term chronic stress than older rats. Overall, the data suggest that aging significantly and differentially modulates the ability of environmental stress to influence the immunocompetent status of the organism.
The influence of mixing speed on the of high-copper amalgams

This study was undertaken to assess the effect of mixing speed on the setting rate of high-copper dental amalgam. The surface hardness during setting of two representative brands of dental amalgam was related to working and carving times determined by clinicians. From this information, a means of evaluating setting rate of amalgam based on surface hardness was developed.
Tinnitus and otoacoustic emissions: is there a link?

ABSTRACTAttempts to identify the mechanisms underlying tinnitus and to develop effective treatments have been frustrating, in part because there are no objective measures of tinnitus. Following Kemp's initial reports of evoked and spontaneous otoacoustic emissions (OAEs), many people hoped that OAEs
On the widget remanufacturing operation

Abstract For many materials, recycling technology (material recovery) is broadly available. However, the design of most products does not favor the recovery of added value. Products designed for optimal marketing and ease of manufacturing are not necessarily good candidates for a recovery scheme. This article provides a framework for designing an efficient remanufacturing procedure for a generic durable good at the end of its useful life. Design measures such as recyclability, disassemblability, and reusability are defined and used as the basis of the product recovery routine. A numerical experiment illustrates the framework.
Use of dietary rutin to study molt initiation in Manduca sexta larvae

Abstract Manduca sexta larvae were used to examine whether rutin, an allelochemical which causes a disproportionate increase in the time spent molting by M. sexta , may be used to probe the mechanisms of molt initiation. Rutin (12 μmol g −1 fresh weight of diet) was given to fourth or fifth instars, and growth and developmental characteristics associated with larval and pupal molts were examined. In fourth instars, rutin extended feeding and to a lesser extent molting, and depressed biomass gained and consequently relative growth rate. However, rutin had no effect before larvae reached a critical weight permissive to the gated release of prothoracicotropic hormone (PTTH). Rutin also caused a shift in the expected gate distribution among individuals developmentally competent to release PTTH. Fifth instars responded similarly to rutin, showing depressed biomass gained, shift in expected gate distribution, and extensions of feeding and non-feeding intervals. Again, rutin had little effect before larvae reached a critical weight for metamorphosis. Overall, these results suggest that rutin affects molt initiation. We discuss how rutin may interfere with physiological integration of growth information and developmental competence, and its potential impact on PTTH release and/or the ecdysteroid-dependent early events of the molt.
On pulsar-driven isothermal blast-wave models of supernova remanants

We investigate the ‘equilibrium’ and stability of spherically-symmetric self-similar isothermal blast waves with a continuous post-shock flow velocity expanding into medium whose density varies asr−ω ahead of the blast wave, and which are powered by a central source (a pulsar) whose power output varies with time astω−3. We show that: (1) for ω<0, no physically acceptable self-similar solution exists; (ii) for ω>3, no solution exists since the mass swept up by the blast wave is infinite; (iii) ϕ must exceed zero in order that the blast wave expand with time, but ϕ<2 in order that the central source injects a finite total energy into the blast wave; (iv) for 3>ωmin(ϕ)>ω>ωmax(ϕ)>0, where $$\begin{gathered} \omega _{\min } (\varphi ){\text{ }} = {\text{ }}2[5{\text{ }} - {\text{ }}\varphi {\text{ }} + {\text{ }}(10{\text{ }} + {\text{ 4}}\varphi {\text{ }} - {\text{ 2}}\varphi ^2 )^{1/2} ]^2 [2{\text{ }} + {\text{ (10 }} + {\text{ 4}}\varphi {\text{ }} - {\text{ 2}}\varphi ^2 {\text{)}}^{{\text{1/2}}} ]^{ - 2} , \hfill \\ \omega _{\max } (\varphi ){\text{ }} = {\text{ }}2[5{\text{ }} - {\text{ }}\varphi {\text{ }} - {\text{ }}(10{\text{ }} + {\text{ 4}}\varphi {\text{ }} - {\text{ 2}}\varphi ^2 )^{1/2} ]^2 [2{\text{ }} - {\text{ (10 }} + {\text{ 4}}\varphi {\text{ }} - {\text{ 2}}\varphi ^2 {\text{)}}^{{\text{1/2}}} ]^{ - 2} , \hfill \\ \end{gathered} $$ two critical points exist in the flow velocity versus position plane. The physically acceptable solution must pass through the origin with zero flow speed and through the blast wave. It must also pass throughboth critical points if\(\varphi > \tfrac{5}{3}\), while if\(\varphi 5/3) (through whichall solutions pass with thesame slope) has not been established; (v) for 3>ω>ωmin(ϕ) it is shown that the two critical points of (iv) disappear. However a new pair of critical points form. The physically acceptable solution passing with zero flow velocity through the origin and also passing through the blast wave mustby-pass both of the new critical points. It is shown that the solution does indeed do so; (vi) for 3>ωmin(ϕ)>ωmax(ϕ)>ω it is shown that the dependence of the self-similar solution on either ω or ϕ is non-analytic and therefore, inferences drawn from any solutions obtained in ω>ωmax(ϕ) (where the dependence of the solutionis analytic on ω and ϕ) are not valid when carried over into the domain 3>ωmin(ϕ)>ωmax(ϕ)>ω; (vii) all of the physically acceptable self-similar solutions obtained in 3>ω>0 are unstable to short wavelength, small amplitude but nonself-similar radial velocity perturbations near the origin, with a growth which is a power law in time; (viii) the physical self-similar solutions are globally unstable in a fully nonlinear sense to radial time-dependent flow patterns. In the limit of long times, the nonlinear growth is a power law in time for 5 ω+2ϕ, and the square of the logarithm in time for 5=ω+2ϕ.
Wavelet-based wavefront control: wavelet phase determination and adaptive wavelet distortion cancellation

High-resolution and large-range wavefront aberration sensing and analysis present the principal challenges to wavefront control. Innovative alternatives to present wavefront sensing approaches are necessary to address these challenges. Wavelet-Based Wavefront Control is being developed to sense wavefront aberration using wavelet-based phase determination and to cancel phase distortion by means of adaptive wavelet echo cancellation. This approach has the potential of overcoming many hardware limitations while increasing sensitivity to wavefront distortion. Wavefront sensing of a distorted beam is achieved by an interferometer generating an interferogram. The phase properties of the Morlet wavelet transform are used to compute the phase of the 1-D signal taken from the 2-D interferogram. Assembled corrected 1-D signals can then be assembled as a corrected 2-D wavefront. For distortion cancellation, the phase determined above has two parts: signal and distortion. The signal needs to be reproduced while suppressing the distortion in a manner analogous to echo cancellation. The distorted signal can be decomposed into high and low subbands. High frequencies will be applied to cancel random noise in the distorted signal. Distorted fringes are broadened. Further subband decompositions will be carried out and a series of thresholds applied to produce the corrected 1-D signal.
Hormonal control of epidermal detachment during the final feeding stage of the tobacco hornworm larva

Abstract During the final feeding stage of the tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta , the abdominal epidermis was found to undergo a transient apolysis coincident with the first surge of ecdysone that initiates metamorphosis. During this detachment, the epidermal cells become committed to form pupal cuticle, but morphological and histological studies indicated that larval endocuticle was still being deposited. The cells reattached to the larval cuticle with the decline in ecdysone titre. Infusion of as little as 0.01 μg β-ecdysone ( ca. 2.6 ng/ml haemolymph) over an 8-hr period into larval abdomens isolated before the ecdysone surge was sufficient to initiate this detachment provided that juvenile hormone was absent.
Many-Body Problem for Strongly Interacting Particles. II. Linked Cluster Expansion

An approximation method developed previously to deal with many particles in strong interaction is examined in further detail. It is shown that the series giving the interaction energy is a development in a sequence of linked or irreducible cluster terms each of which gives a contribution to the energy proportional to the total number of particles. Consequently the convergence of the expansion is independent of the total number of particles. The origin of this simple feature is illustrated by showing that a similar situation exists in the expansion of standard perturbation theory. The numerical convergence of the expansion is quantitatively discussed for the nuclear problem where it is shown that the correction arising from the first cluster term involving three particles is less than the leading term by a factor of about ${10}^{\ensuremath{-}4}$. The smallness of the correction is largely a result of the action of the exclusion principle.
Atomistic simulations of amorphous alumina surfaces

The surface structure of amorphous ${\mathrm{Al}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}$ has been studied using atomistic molecular dynamics simulations. The density profiles indicate that oxygen is preferred at the surface causing Al enrichment just below $(l2\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{\AA{}})$ the surface. Distributions of coordination numbers, bondlengths and bond angles indicate that edge sharing Al tetrahedra configurations are more preferred at the surface than in the bulk. Structural differences of amorphous and crystalline alumina surfaces are discussed.
Persistent alanine aminotransferase elevations in children with parenteral nutrition-associated liver disease

Abstract Background Parenteral nutrition-associated liver disease (PNALD) is a serious condition affecting many children with short bowel syndrome. The aim of this study was to longitudinally assess serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), a marker for hepatocyte injury, in enterally fed children with PNALD. Methods Retrospective chart review of 31 patients treated from 1999 to 2006 by the Center for Advanced Intestinal Rehabilitation at Children's Hospital Boston (Mass). Inclusion criteria included PN duration of greater than 3 months with subsequent tolerance of full enteral nutrition and evidence of PN-associated liver injury. Time to normalize ALT and direct bilirubin were estimated using Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazards methods. Results Mean age PN cessation was 6 months (range, 2-14 months). Median PN duration was 18 weeks (interquartile range [IQR], 13-33 weeks), and median follow-up was 24 weeks (IQR, 14-48 weeks). After transition to full enteral nutrition, 74% of children normalized direct bilirubin, whereas only 50% normalized ALT. Kaplan-Meier median time to direct bilirubin and ALT normalization were 13 weeks and 35 weeks, respectively (P = .001). Conclusion Children with PNALD who have achieved PN independence have persistent ALT elevation despite normal direct bilirubin levels. This implies that hepatic injury may be ongoing beyond the time of bilirubin normalization in this cohort of patients.
Electroconvulsive shock impedes the learning of taste aversions: Absence of blood-brain-barrier involvement

Rats made ill by lithium chloride injection 30 min after drinking saccharin-flavored water avoided that flavor upon subsequent encounter unless ECS was interpolated during the taste-illness interval. Preinjection of animals with trypan blue, a supravital dye known to mitigate dysrhythmic effects of ECS on brain EEG and thought to do so by preventing increased permeability of the blood brain barrier (BBB), did not prevent the disruptive effect of ECS on avoidance learning. Interpretation of the data suggested that increased permeability of the BBB may not be the mechanism of an ECS-induced decrement in taste avoidance learning.
Cytotoxic Activity Generated from Channel Catfish Peripheral Blood Leukocytes in Mixed Leukocyte Cultures

In previous work, lysis of allotargets was routinely observed with PBL from nonimmune channel catfish. In the work reported here, greatly increased (approximately 100-fold) cytotoxic responses were generated by stimulation of channel catfish PBL with irradiated cells of allogeneic cloned B cell lines in mixed leukocyte cultures (MLC). This increased cytotoxicity did not appear to be simply a consequence of cell proliferation since stimulation of catfish PBL proliferative responses with polyclonal mitogens did not result in increased lysis. Somewhat surprisingly, the MLC-generated cytotoxicity did not exhibit allospecificity; i.e., allogeneic targets from other fish were as susceptible to lysis as were the cells used as stimulators. This apparent lack of allospecificity in MLC-generated cytotoxicity was confirmed by "cold" target inhibition assays. However, autologous targets were not killed, clearly demonstrating that MLC-generated effectors could distinguish "self" from "nonself" at the level of lysis/recognition. Although their origin is unresolved, the MLC-generated effectors may be a source of highly enriched fish cytotoxic cells and thus facilitate directly addressing questions pertaining to the evolution of such cells.
The risks and rewards of expanding ICU capacity

ICU capacity strain is associated with increased morbidity and lost hospital revenue, leading many hospitals to increase the number of ICU beds. However, this approach can lead to inefficiency and waste. A recent report in Critical Care highlights a different approach: creating new service lines for low-risk patients. In this case, the authors started a post-anesthesia care unit with an intensivist-led care team, resulting in lower hospital costs with no changes in ICU mortality. Although this type of change carries some risks, and will not work for every hospital, it is an example of the creative solutions hospitals must sometimes undertake to maintain the supply of critical care in response to a rising demand.
The generalization of information entropy to MANET metrics

A need exists to characterize Mobile Adhoc Networks, MANET, scenarios for modeling and simulation and testing purposes. A number of researchers have generalized Shannonpsilas information entropy to MANET associated metrics. This paper provides an analysis and critical review of two such metrics, relative motion entropy and energy entropy. We find that the relative motion entropy metric lacks the features to be useful for characterizing MANET node motion predictability, while the maximum energy entropy criterion leads to effective energy use by clusterheads communicating to cluster members. In both cases, the use of information entropy analogues is unnecessary if the metrics are used individually. Under those conditions, the parameters defined in the entropy framework can be evaluated directly. The information entropy analogue will be useful when disparate metrics are compared or combined. This can be either to assess the scenariopsilas difficulty when testing MANET protocols or in optimization routines designed to maximize protocol performance.
Insect Immune Defense System, Part I: Innate Defense Reactions

In the strictest sense, invertebrate organisms, including insects, do not possess immune capabilities. Immune response is defined as that response made by the immune system of a vertebrate when invaded by foreign substances or by microorganisms (Alberts et al., 1994). Immune response is anticipatory, meaning that once a vertebrate animal acquires an infection, it is unlikely to develop this same infection again. This is due to the fact that protein molecules called antibodies or immunoglobulins (Ig), which are highly specific for the immunostimulatory molecules produced by the agent that caused the initial infection, can be rapidly generated by memory cells. Memory cells are lymphocytes (white blood cells) that do not actively engage in making a response to a foreign antigen during the primary challenge, but they react readily upon re-exposure of the animal to the same antigen. Invertebrates lack the lymphocytes necessary to produce the antibodies needed for immunological memory and subsequent anticipatory immune response. Thus, to classify invertebrate intrahemocoelic cellular and humoral defense mechanisms as components of an immune defense system is inaccurate. However, this is often done in order to distinguish these activities from other defensive strategies. As examples, in many insects the exoskeleton serves as a highly resistant barrier against the entry of pathogenic organisms; similarly, the behavioral practices of insects (e.g., grooming) can provide significant protection against infection.
A fast algorithm for solution of a scattering problem using a recursive aggregate τ matrix method

An algorithm based on the recursive operator algorithm is proposed to solve for the scattered field from an arbitrarily shaped, inhomogeneous scatterer. In this method, the scattering problem is first converted to an N-scatterer problem. Then, an add-on procedure is developed to obtain recursively an (n + 1)-scatterer solution from an n-scatterer solution by introducing an aggregate τ matrix in the recursive scheme. The nth aggregate τ(n) matrix introduced is equivalent to a global τ matrix for n scatterers so that in the next recursion, only the two-scatterer problem needs to be solved: One scatterer is the sum of the previous n scatterers, characterized by an nth aggregate τ(n) matrix; the other is the (n + 1)th isolated scatterer, characterized by τn + 1(1). If M is the number of harmonics used in the isolated scatterer T matrix and P is the number of harmonics used in the translation formulas, the computational effort at each recursion will be proportional to P2M. (Here we assume M is less than P.) Consequently, the total computational effort to obtain the N-scatterer aggregate τ(N) matrix will be proportional to P2MN. In the low-frequency limit, the algorithm is linear in N because P, the number of the harmonics in the translation formulas, is independent of the size of the object.
Phased logic: supporting the synchronous design paradigm with delay-insensitive circuitry

Phased logic is proposed as a solution to the increasing problem of timing complexity in digital design. It is a delay-insensitive design methodology that seeks to restore the separation between logical and physical design by eliminating the need to distribute low-skew clock signals and carefully balance propagation delays. However, unlike other methodologies that avoid clocks, phased logic supports the cyclic, deterministic behavior of the synchronous design paradigm. This permits the designer to rely chiefly on current experience and CAD tools to create phased logic systems. Marked graph theory is used as a framework for governing the interaction of phased logic gates that operate directly on Level-Encoded two-phase Dual-Rail (LEDR) signals. A synthesis algorithm is developed for converting clocked systems to phased logic systems and is applied to benchmark examples. Performance results indicate that phased logic tends to be tolerant of logic delay imbalances and has predictable worst-case timing behavior. Although phased logic requires additional circuitry, it has the potential to shorten the design cycle by reducing timing complexities.
Acute pelvic inflammatory disease after surgical sterilization

Study objective: Physicians are very cognizant of the possibility of pregnancy after surgical sterilization, but the potential for acute pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) is thought to be rare. This study was undertaken to determine if upper tract PID occurred more frequently than previously reported in patients remote from surgical sterilization. Design: Retrospective review of hospitalized patients with the primary discharge diagnosis of PID. Setting: Urban, university hospital. Participants: Three hundred sixty-four hospitalized patients with the primary discharge diagnosis of PID over a six-year study period. Measurements and main results: Patients' age; gynecologic histories and diagnoses; and laboratory, clinical, and surgical findings were noted. Twenty-three cases of acute PID were identified in 21 patients previously sterilized (6%). Nine of the 23 cases had systemic toxicity warranting surgical evaluation; 18 of the 23 cases were admitted from the emergency department. Mean statistical characteristics of the study group were age, 27.3 ± 0.8 (SE) years; time interval from sterilization, 49.8 ± 7.4 months; WBC 15,000 ± 1,200; and temperature, 38.0 ± 0.2 C. Conclusion: We conclude that acute PID may occur more frequently than previously reported in patients with prior surgical sterilization. An increased awareness of this entity is warranted.
Optimal Generic Advertising Decisions in Supply-managed Industries: Clarification and Some Further Results

Supply control enhances the incentive to promote through its ancillary trade policies that protect the domestic industry from foreign competition. Incentives are intensified when supply control is coupled with a price discrimination scheme that renders the supply of the agricultural product to the higher-priced (premium) market perfectly elastic. In this case, aper-unit levy imposed on the premium market to finance the advertising is shifted entirely to consumers, which means that the producer cost of advertising the premium product is nil. This in essence is the situation for fluid milk in Canada, Taiwan and California, which explains in part why fluid milk dominates the generic advertising scene in these regions. This article investigates these and related issues in some detail, using an earlier analysis by Goddard and McCutcheon as the point of departure. La gestion de l'offre amplifie les incitations a produire par le biais de ses politiques corrollaires de commerce exterieur qui mettent le secteur interieur a I'abri de la concurrence etrangere. Les incitations sont defait intensifiees lorsque le controle de I'offre est couplea un systeme de discrimination des prix qui rend I'offre d'unproduit agricole donne sur le marche les plus lucratifs parfaitement elastique. Dans ce cos, le droit unitaire impose au marche le plus rentable pourfinancer la publicite est refile entierement aux consommateurs, de sorte que le cout a la production de la promotion duproduit vedette est nul. C'est essentiellement la situation qui prevaut pour le lait de consommation au Canada, a Taiwan et en Californie, ce qui en partie explique la predominance de ce produit dans la publicite generique dans ces regions. Nous examinons ces questions plus ou moins en detail utilisant comme point de depart une analyse anterieure faite par Goddard et McCutcheon.
The Process of Infection with Bacteriophage φX174: XXXII. Early Steps in the Infection Process: Attachment, Eclipse and DNA Penetration

Three distinct stages are demonstrated in the process whereby φX174 invades its host: 1. (1) Attachment: the phage attach to the cell in a manner that does not irreversibly alter the phage particles. Phage attachment per se does not harm the cell. 2. (2) Eclipse: the attached phage undergo a conformational change. Some of the altered phage particles spontaneously detach from the cell (in a non-infective form) while the remainder are more tightly bound to the cell. The altered phage particles detached (spontaneously or chemically) from such complexes have at least 40% of their DNA extruded from the phage coat. It is proposed that this particle is, or derives from, a direct intermediate in the penetration of the viral DNA. 3. (3) DNA penetration: a fraction of the attached, eclipsed phage particles corresponding in number to the phage-forming units complete DNA penetration. The penetrated DNA is found in the cell as RF, and the empty phage protein coat remains firmly attached to the exterior of the cell. This step is inhibited by prior irradiation of the phage with relatively high doses of ultraviolet light. Both eclipsed phage particles and empty phage protein coats may be dissociated from infected cells; some of their properties are described.
A comparison study of optimal and suboptimal intervention policies for gene regulatory networks in the presence of uncertainty

Perfect knowledge of the underlying state transition probabilities is necessary for designing an optimal intervention strategy for a given Markovian genetic regulatory network. However, in many practical situations, the complex nature of the network and/or identification costs limit the availability of such perfect knowledge. To address this difficulty, we propose to take a Bayesian approach and represent the system of interest as an uncertainty class of several models, each assigned some probability, which reflects our prior knowledge about the system. We define the objective function to be the expected cost relative to the probability distribution over the uncertainty class and formulate an optimal Bayesian robust intervention policy minimizing this cost function. The resulting policy may not be optimal for a fixed element within the uncertainty class, but it is optimal when averaged across the uncertainly class. Furthermore, starting from a prior probability distribution over the uncertainty class and collecting samples from the process over time, one can update the prior distribution to a posterior and find the corresponding optimal Bayesian robust policy relative to the posterior distribution. Therefore, the optimal intervention policy is essentially nonstationary and adaptive.
Airborne brightness temperature measurements of the polar winter troposphere as part of the Airborne Arctic Stratosphere Experiment II and the effect of brightness temperature variations on the diabatic heating in the lower stratosphere

In this paper we report radiometric measurements of tropospheric brightness temperatures obtained during the AASE 2 experiment. These measurements represent the first attempt to characterize effective radiative temperatures as seen from above the troposphere during the Arctic winter. The reported measurements include brightness temperatures at 6.7 and 10.5 microns as seen from the NASA DC-8 aircraft flying at about 11 km altitude. We also present radiative transfer calculations to estimate the effect of tropospheric brightness temperature on the lower stratospheric heating rates. Because of the recent massive eruption of the Pinatubo volcano, we also discuss the effects of a volcanic aerosol layer. It is concluded that small particles like the volcanic aerosol or polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) type 1 do not affect stratospheric heating rates by much; on the other hand, larger particles, PSCs types 2 and 3, may have significant effects on heating rates and consequently on dynamics of the lower stratosphere. The dynamical effects of local stratospheric temperature variations are briefly discussed.
Unifying first and last conjunct agreement

The paper investigates first and last conjunct agreement in Serbo-Croatian, the latter being a rather rare phenomenon for head initial languages. The paper gives a uniform account of first and last conjunct agreement based on the operation Agree (Chomsky 2000). The account captures both the contexts where first and last conjunct agreement exhibit parallel behavior and the contexts where the parallelism between the two breaks down. The analysis also captures interaction between gender and number agreement. Given the complexity of the first/last conjunct agreement paradigm in Serbo-Croatian, to the extent that it is successful the analysis presented in the paper provides strong evidence in favor of the operation Agree in general, as well as the particular approach to Agree adopted in the paper. The system developed in the paper allows one instance of uninterpretable features, namely valued uninterpretable features, not to undergo feature checking and does not require uninterpretable features in general to undergo feature checking with interpretable features, differing in these respects from Chomsky (2000, 2001a) and Pesetsky and Torrego (2007).
Hemostatic Mouthwashes in Anticoagulated Patients Undergoing Dental Extraction

Objective:To evaluate the efficacy and safety of local acting hemostatic agents in patients who are undergoing dental extraction(s) and are taking oral anticoagulants.Data Sources:A search of MEDLINE (1966–July 2006), International Pharmaceutical Abstracts (1970–July 2006), and EMBASE (1966–July 2006) was conducted using the key terms anticoagulation, warfarin, hemostatic mouthwashes, epsilon aminocaproic acid, tranexamic acid, dental extraction, and oral surgery. Bibliographies of relevant papers were reviewed for additional references.Study Selection and Data Extraction:English-language literature, including abstracts, clinical trials, and review articles, were reviewed. Clinical trials were included if they evaluated hemostatic mouthwashes in patients receiving continued anticoagulation and undergoing dental extractions or various oral surgeries including dental extraction. Eight clinical trials met study selection criteria for evaluation of hemostatic mouthwashes in anticoagulated patients undergoing ...
Localization of the Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia Type I (MEN1) Gene Based on Tumor Loss of Heterozygosity Analysis

Multiple endocrine neoplasia type I (MEN1) is an inherited syndrome that results in parathyroid, anterior pituitary, and pancreatic and duodenal endocrine tumors as well as foregut carcinoids in affected patients. The gene responsible for the disease has been linked to chromosome 11q13. We analyzed loss of heterozygosity (LOH) in 188 tumors from 81 patients in an attempt to further define the location of the MEN1 gene. Both tumors from MEN1 patients and corresponding sporadic tumors were analyzed. Tumor types included parathyroid, gastrinoma, pancreatic endocrine, pituitary, and lung carcinoid. Six tumors (three MEN1 and three sporadic tumors) were identified that provided important LOH boundaries. Four tumors (two parathyroid tumors, one gastrinoma, and one lung carcinoid tumor) showed allelic loss that placed the MEN1 gene distal to marker PYGM . Two tumors (one gastrinoma and one parathyroid tumor) showed an LOH boundary that placed the gene proximal to D11S449 , one of which further moved the telomeric boundary to D11S4936 . Taken together, the present data suggest that the MEN1 gene lies between PYGM and D11S4936 , a region of approximately 300 kb on chromosome 11q13.
Conversational Language Use as a Predictor of Early Reading Development: Language History as a Moderating Variable

Purpose The present study examined the nature of concurrent and predictive associations between conversational language use and reading development during early school-age years. Method Language an...
Effects of amino and sulfhydryl reactive agents on respiration and ethylene production in tomato and apple fruit discs

We have examined the effects of the enzyme inhibitors 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS) and 5,5′-dithiobis-2-nitrobenzoic acid (DTNB) on ethylene and CO2 production in apple and tomato fruit discs. In the past these inhibitors have been used to inhibit membrane bound enzyme systems in various animal tissues. The amino reactive inhibitor TNBS was shown to decrease ethylene production in tomato discs without affecting rates of respiration; similar results were obtained with apple. The effects of the sulfhydryl reactive inhibitor DTNB were not as clearcut as TNBS. There was little effect of DTNB on ethylene production in tomato discs, however, in apple discs ethylene production was significantly reduced. DTNB also reduced the respiration rate in apple discs, although not to the same extent as ethylene production. The inhibition of DTNB was reversed by a brief treatment with dithioerythritol. The results indicate that ethylene production takes place at the cell surface.
Creating and visualizing fuzzy document classification

Fuzzy classification ranks items by degree rather than assigning them either within or without of a category. The novelty of our work is in integrating fuzzy classification algorithms with an interface to visualize fuzzy results. An advantage of our algorithms' ‘fuzziness’ is that it provides additional information per retrieved result that helps in deciding whether to drill down to the document or skip it. An advantage of our interface is that it allows users to visualize those differences quickly. We have created a prototype that allows the retrieval of journal articles by content word or by ontology-supported browse categories that can be selected independently or in tandem. Journal articles in our digital library pertain to paleontology, but techniques demonstrated viable in indexing and ranking paleo-journal literature should apply to other knowledge domains with little modification.
Fractional clearance for verapamil N-demethylation in the isolated rat liver preparation.

We read with great interest the manuscript by [Yang et al. (2015)][1], which was published in a recent issue of the journal. The authors report the utility and advantages of an elegant physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model compared with the traditional area under the concentration-time
Surveying and Mapping Research 1978-1988: An Overview

As background for forecasts of surveying and mapping research in the 1978-1988 decade, the experience of the 1965-1978 period is reviewed. Prognostications for the next decade by several authors in the fields of land surveys, geodetic surveys, engineering surveys, and oceanographic and hydrographic surveys are discussed. Major research objectives in each field are spelled out and a prediction is presented for each objective. Predictions include: development of photogrammetric survey standards; use of inertiial-surveying systems; development of economical minicomputers and automated plotters; use of satellites for position determination; adoption of the North American datum of 1983; implementation of a nationwide digital cartographic data base; introduction of holographic techniques; conversion to metric measurements on cartographic products; and increased automation of cartographic procedures. Technology for implementing most of the predicted developments already exists, in theory; to reduce them to practice requires engineering, funds and incentive.
Development of an outpatient pharmacist-managed clozapine clinic.

The atypical antipsychotic clozapine can have profound clinical benefits for patients with severe schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder when alternative agents have been ineffective.[1][1] In 2009, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Pharmacy Benefits Management and Office of Mental Health