cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Importance of Hydroxyl Radicals as Intermediates in the Cross-linking of High Polymers by γ-Irradiation

WE have irradiated thin gelatin films (thickness 0.5–1.0 mm.) with cobalt-60 γ-rays at a dose-rate of 4.2 × 104 r. hr.−1 at 10° C. The film was either suspended in a stoppered bottle containing oxygen or nitrogen or immersed in a liquid which filled the bottle. After irradiation of the film, attempts were made to dissolve it in 19 times its own weight of water at 40° C., and the viscosity of any resultant solution was measured. No increase in relative viscosity was observed when the irradiation was carried out in an atmosphere of oxygen or nitrogen, or when the film was suspended in liquid paraffin, benzene, ether, cyclohexanone, pyridine, acetone or an alcohol, even when the dose exceeded 1 mega-roentgen. In the presence of water, however, the gelatin became cross-linked, as was shown by the fact that it was merely swollen by treatment with boiling water.
Comment on relativistic transition-probability calculations for the Be isoelectronic sequence

Recent calculations of oscillator strengths by Armstrong, Fielder, and Lin employing relativistic multiconfiguration Hartree-Fock (MCHF) methods give a disparity between length- and velocity-gauge results. It is shown here that the disparity is due in part to the neglect of certain "exchange overlap" terms in the evaluations of transition-matrix elements in MCHF calculations. Including such exchange overlap terms brings velocity-gauge values into substantial agreement with length-gauge results for high-$Z$ members of the Be isoelectronic sequence. The disparity for lower members of the sequence is increased and the resulting difference between length- and velocity-gauge values reflects the changing reliability of the MCHF calculation as $Z$ increases along the sequence.
Torsional Diplopia After Transantral Orbital Decompression and Extraocular Muscle Surgery Associated With Graves' Orbitopathy

Graves' orbitopathy can be associated with horizontal, vertical, and torsional diplopia. Of 428 patients treated with transantral orbital decompression, 21 had incycloduction (mean, 12.8 degrees; range, 5 to 20 degrees) and five had excycloduction (mean, 12 degrees; range, 5 to 20 degrees). All 26 patients had had recessions of the medial or inferior rectus muscle (or both) before onset of torsional diplopia. Mean recession was 5.5 mm (range, 4 to 10 mm) and 5.3 mm (range, 2 to 10 mm) of medial rectus muscle and inferior rectus muscle, respectively. An A pattern was often associated with the condition. Superior oblique tenectomy and inferior oblique myectomy were performed most frequently for incycloduction and excycloduction, respectively. Superior oblique tenectomy induced a mean incycloduction decrease of 7.1 degrees (range, 0 to 12 degrees). Exotropia in downgaze was decreased, and a small ipsilateral hyperdeviation was induced. Bilateral inferior oblique myectomy in one patient decreased excycloduction 10 degrees without inducing new deviation. At follow-up (mean, 63.7 months) after last strabismus operation, 15 patients with incycloduction and two with excycloduction had no diplopia.
Detection of decomposition and analytical interferences in pharmaceutical preparations containing corticosteroids

Since the blue tetrazolium and phenylhydrazine reagents for corticosteroids react with the intact side chain at C17, and the isonicotinic acid hydrazide method and UV spectro-photometry depend upon conjugation in Ring A at the other end of the molecule, the analytical results by the four methods give information concerning decomposition caused by oxidation of the C17 side chain and by deconjugation in Ring A. Methods are proposed which allow the detection and determination of both acidic and neutral decomposition products. Measurement of the variation of absorbance with time can be used to detect unidentified interferences in the blue tetrazolium, phenylhydrazine, and isonicotinic acid procedures. The extent of interference of several substances which interfere in at least one of the color reactions is reported. Several examples of the use of the proposed methods to detect and determine decomposition and/or interference are given.
Variational assimilation of HF radar surface currents in a coastal ocean model off Oregon

Abstract The impact of assimilation of sea surface velocity fields observed by a set of high-frequency (HF) radars is studied using a three-dimensional ocean circulation model configured along the Oregon coast. The study period is June–July 2008 featuring upwelling and separation of the coastal currents into the adjacent interior ocean. The nonlinear model is based on the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) and the data assimilation (DA) component on the AVRORA system utilizing the representer-based variational algorithm. Assimilation proceeds in a series of 3-day windows, providing an analysis solution in each window and a 3-day forecast into the next window. Experiments with two different initial condition error covariances are compared (one is dynamically balanced, based on the linearized equation of state, temperature-salinity relation, and geostrophic and thermal wind balance relations and the other is multivariate unbalanced). While the assimilation impact is statistically better in the case of the balanced covariance, the case with the unbalanced covariance also provides sensible improvement in terms of surface velocity and sea surface temperature (SST) model-data forecast statistics. The analysis of representer functions shows that even if the initial condition error covariance is unbalanced, the correction fields at the model initial time are partially balanced after each dynamical field is smoothed independently, due to inherent dynamical properties of the adjoint model. Assimilation of the HF radar surface currents improves not only surface velocity forecasts, but also geometry of the upwelling SST front and the sea surface height (SSH) slope near the coast, as verified against unassimilated satellite SSH and SST data. The assimilation also alters the latitudinal distribution of the time-averaged offshore transport. Combined HF radar velocity and other observations, e.g., altimetry, is needed to better constrain surface geostrophic currents in the entire model domain, including the area not covered by the HF radar data.
Spatial-frequency bands in complex visual stimuli: American Sign Language

Dynamic images of individual signs of American Sign Language (ASL) with a resolution of 96 × 64 pixels were bandpass filtered in adjacent frequency bands. Intelligibility was determined by testing deaf subjects fluent in ASL. The following results were obtained. (1) By iteratively varying the center frequencies and bandwidths of the spatial bandpass filters, it was possible to divide the original signal into four different component bands of high intelligibility. (2) The measured temporal-frequency spectrum was approximately the same in all bands. (3) The masking of signals in band i by noise in band j was found to be inversely proportional to log |fsignal/fnoise|. At constant performance, the ratio of root-mean-square signal amplitude to noise amplitude, s/n, was the same for bands 2, 3, and 4 and higher for band 1. (4) When weak signals i and j were added linearly, there was a slight intelligibility advantage for signals in the same band (i = j) compared with signals in adjacent bands and for signals in adjacent bands compared with signals in distant bands.
Tobacco Smoke Carcinogens and Lung Cancer

The complexity of tobacco smoke leads to some confusion about the mechanisms by which it causes lung cancer. Among the multiple components of tobacco smoke, 20 carcinogens convincingly cause lung tumors in laboratory animals or humans and are, therefore, likely to be involved in lung cancer induction. Of these, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and the tobacco-specific nitrosamine 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone are likely to play major roles. This review focuses on carcinogens in tobacco smoke as a means of simplifying and clarifying the relevant information that provides a mechanistic framework linking nicotine addiction with lung cancer through exposure to such compounds. Included is a discussion of the mechanisms by which tobacco smoke carcinogens interact with DNA and cause genetic changes--mechanisms that are reasonably well understood--and the less well defined relationship between exposure to specific tobacco smoke carcinogens and mutations in oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes. Molecular epidemiologic studies of gene-carcinogen interactions and lung cancer--an approach that has not yet reached its full potential--are also discussed, as are inhalation studies of tobacco smoke in laboratory animals and the potential role of free radicals and oxidative damage in tobacco-associated carcinogenesis. By focusing in this review on several important carcinogens in tobacco smoke, the complexities in understanding tobacco-induced cancer can be reduced, and new approaches for lung cancer prevention can be envisioned.
Response of soil biota to elevated atmospheric CO 2 in poplar model systems

We tested the hypotheses that increased belowground allocation of carbon by hybrid poplar saplings grown under elevated atmospheric CO2 would increase mass or turnover of soil biota in bulk but not in rhizosphere soil. Hybrid poplar saplings (Populus×euramericana cv. Eugenei) were grown for 5 months in open-bottom root boxes at the University of Michigan Biological Station in northern, lower Michigan. The experimental design was a randomized-block design with factorial combinations of high or low soil N and ambient (34 Pa) or elevated (69 Pa) CO2 in five blocks. Rhizosphere microbial biomass carbon was 1.7 times greater in high-than in low-N soil, and did not respond to elevated CO2. The density of protozoa did not respond to soil N but increased marginally (P < 0.06) under elevated CO2. Only in high-N soil did arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and microarthropods respond to CO2. In high-N soil, arbuscular mycorrhizal root mass was twice as great, and extramatrical hyphae were 11% longer in elevated than in ambient CO2 treatments. Microarthropod density and activity were determined in situ using minirhizotrons. Microarthropod density did not change in response to elevated CO2, but in high-N soil, microarthropods were more strongly associated with fine roots under elevated than ambient treatments. Overall, in contrast to the hypotheses, the strongest response to elevated atmospheric CO2 was in the rhizosphere where (1) unchanged microbial biomass and greater numbers of protozoa (P < 0.06) suggested faster bacterial turnover, (2) arbuscular mycorrhizal root length increased, and (3) the number of microarthropods observed on fine roots rose.
Characterization of polynucleotide kinase/phosphatase enzymes from Mycobacteriophages omega and Cjw1 and vibriophage KVP40.

Coliphage T4 Pnkp is a bifunctional polynucleotide 5′-kinase/3′-phosphatase that catalyzes the end-healing steps of a RNA repair pathway. Here we show that mycobacteriophages Omega and Cjw1 and vibriophage KVP40 also encode bifunctional Pnkp enzymes consisting of a proximal 5′-kinase module with an essential P-loop motif, GXGK(S/T), and a distal 3′-phosphatase module with an essential acyl-phosphatase motif, DX- DGT. Biochemical characterization of the viral Pnkp proteins reveals several shared features, including an alkaline pH optimum for the kinase component, an intrinsic RNA kinase activity, and a homotetrameric or homodimeric quaternary structure, that distinguish them from the monomeric DNA-specific phosphatase/kinase enzymes found in mammals and fission yeast. Whereas the phage 5′-kinases differ from each other in their preferences for phosphorylation of 5′ overhangs, blunt ends, or recessed ends, none of them displays the preference for recessed ends reported for mammalian DNA kinase. We hypothesize that Pnkp provides phages that have it with a means to evade an RNA-damaging antiviral host response. Genetic complementation of the essential end-healing steps of yeast tRNA splicing by the Omega and Cjw1 Pnkp enzymes establishes their capacity to perform RNA repair reactions in vivo. A supportive correlation is that Omega and Cjw1, which are distinguished from other mycobacteriophages by their possession of a Pnkp enzyme, are also unique among the mycobacteriophages in their specification of putative RNA ligases.
SOA-based regenerative amplification of phase noise degraded DPSK signals

SOA-based regenerative amplification of phase noise degraded DPSK signals is demonstrated for a single and two non-demultiplexed channels. Q-factor improvement is 1.6 dB in the single channel and about 0.8 dB in the two channel regime.
Naming Legislative Resources

In this chapter the principles of legal documents identification, as pre-condition to guarantee interoperability between legal information systems, are discussed. In particular the main initiatives aiming to provide unique identifiers to sources of law, in accordance with the Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR) model, are presented. The http-based and URN identification schemes, based on the FRBR model, as conceived within the CEN Metalex initiative are presented.
The impact of systemic chemotherapy on testicular FDG activity in young men with Hodgkin’s lymphoma

Purpose Based on prior reports suggesting a positive correlation between fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake on positron emission tomography (PET)/CT and total sperm count and concentration, we sought to identify changes in testicular FDG uptake over the course of chemotherapy in young men with Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Data alignment of loop nests without nonlocal communications

In this paper, how to distribute data to different memory modules and how to distribute computations to different processors for execution in a distributed memory parallel computer without nonlocal communications or with minimum nonlocal communications are addressed. Nonlocal communications are much more expensive compared to local communications, e.g., nearest neighbor shifts of data. Algorithms are classified to uniform communication algorithms where communication patterns are regular and affine communication algorithms where communication patterns are affine functions of loop index variables. Necessary and sufficient conditions on the existence of mappings without nonlocal communications are presented. If such mappings exist, constraints posed by the mapping without nonlocal communications are constructed and used to guide the selection of mappings with minimum local communications. >
Recent advances in behavioral research in geriatric dentistry.

This paper examines recent studies in behavioral science and health services aspects of geriatric dentistry. With the increased focus on special needs of older patients, researchers have become concerned with psychological and sociocultural factors that influence older people's oral health status, behavior, and attitudes. Studies of dental service utilization patterns among subgroups of the elderly, including those in long-term care settings, will be reviewed. Research on methods to improve oral health care behaviors will be discussed, with their implications for developing oral health promotion and service delivery programs. The special oral health needs of cognitively impaired and frail elderly will be reviewed. Studies of clinical decision-making in geriatric dentistry have been conducted. These studies have revealed significant gaps in dental professionals' knowledge and attention to the special needs of older patients. This and other aspects of behavioral research suggest the need for better methods to disseminate research findings in geriatric dentistry to clinical practice in this field. The presentation will discuss ways of improving dissemination and transfer of research findings to the clinical management of aged patients.
Robust synthesis in mechanism design

This paper considers two topics in mechanism design: fragility of optimal auctions and computationally constructive procedures for dynamic mechanisms. The first part of the paper considers the well studied topic in mechanism design of optimal auctions, i.e., auctions that produce maximal revenue. The design of an optimal auction in a general setting requires the principal to have complete knowledge of the probabilistic beliefs of the agents (bidders). This work shows that such an assumption leads to fragile designs in which a slight perturbation to these beliefs can alter the outcome of the auction significantly. We propose an alternative approach where the designer takes into account a nominal environment and provides incentives that are robust to perturbations on the beliefs of the agents. Using the theory of robust optimization, we find relevant uncertainty classes for which the proposed robust mechanisms have the same computational complexity as the nominal designs. The second part of the paper discusses dynamic mechanism design. Whereas standard mechanism design presumes a one shot scenario, dynamic mechanism design considers perpetual phenomena, e.g., the allocation of a limited resource to transient users. The dynamic mechanism problem has received considerable attention given the wealth of applications. Most work has concentrated on finding appropriate conditions according to which static designs have natural extensions to the dynamic setting. This paper considers optimal dynamic mechanisms using tools from robust control theory. In this framework the design of incentives for a desired social planner's policy reduces to the search of a storage function, analogous to synthesis problems involving dissipation inequalities. For specific structures, optimizing the incentives reduces to solving a linear program.
Charging Information Collection Modeling and Analysis of GPRS Networks

Charging is one of the most important functionalities in a telecommunication service system. In a general packet radio service (GPRS) wireless network, the load of charging information flow depends on the intensity of call traffic and the size of charging records. During busy hours, the GPRS network might not be able to transfer charging records on a timely basis if new charging records are generated too fast. On the other hand, when a call happens, the related charging information must be collected and transferred to the billing system. If a failure of the data link occurs, a secondary data link must be employed to transfer the charging information. However, this redundant operation might result in charging information duplication. This paper formally addresses these two issues. A timed Petri net model is built to support the analysis of the charging system performance versus various factors when the system works in the normal status, which, in particular, gives the maximum supportable busy hour call attempts of the GPRS network. The Petri net approach is also used to model and verify the correctness of the redundancy operation in case a connection failure occurs.
CaCO3 biomineralization: acidic 8-kDa proteins isolated from aragonitic abalone shell nacre can specifically modify calcite crystal morphology.

Acidic proteins from many biogenic minerals are implicated in directing the formation of crystal polymorphs and morphologies. We characterize the first extremely acidic proteins purified from biomineralized aragonite. These abalone nacre proteins are two variants of 8.7 and 7.8 kDa designated AP8 (for aragonite proteins of approximately 8 kDa). The AP8 proteins have compositions dominated by Asx (∼35 mol %) and Gly (∼40 mol %) residues, suggesting that their structures have high Ca2+-binding capacity and backbone flexibility. The growth of asymmetrically rounded CaCO3 crystals in the presence of AP8 reveals that both proteins preferentially interact with specific locations on the crystal surface. In contrast, CaCO3 crystals grown with nacre proteins depleted of AP8 retain the morphology of unmodified calcite rhombohedra. Our observations thus identify sites of protein−mineral interaction and provide evidence to support the long-standing theory that acidic proteins are more effective crystal-modulators tha...
Effect of 4 weeks of aerobic or resistance exercise training on arterial stiffness, blood flow and blood pressure in pre- and stage-1 hypertensives

The benefits of aerobic exercise (AE) training on blood pressure (BP) and arterial stiffness are well established, but the effects of resistance training are less well delineated. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of resistance vs aerobic training on haemodynamics and arterial stiffness. Thirty pre- or stage-1 essential hypertensives (20 men and 10 women), not on any medications, were recruited (age: 48.2 +/- 1.3 years) and randomly assigned to 4 weeks of either resistance (RE) or AE training. Before and after training, BP, arterial stiffness (pulse wave velocity (PWV)) and vasodilatory capacity (VC) were measured. Resting systolic BP (SBP) decreased following both training modes (SBP: RE, pre 136 +/- 2.9 vs. post 132 +/- 3.4; AE, pre 141 +/- 3.8 vs. post 136 +/- 3.4 mm Hg, P = 0.005; diastolic BP: RE, pre 78 +/- 1.3 vs post 74 +/- 1.6; AE, pre 80 +/- 1.6 vs. post 77 +/- 1.7 mm Hg, P = 0.001). Central PWV increased (P = 0.0001) following RE (11 +/- 0.9-12.7 +/- 0.9 ms(-1)) but decreased after AE (12.1 +/- 0.8-11.1 +/- 0.8 m s(-1). Peripheral PWV also increased (P = 0.013) following RE (RE, pre 11.5 +/- 0.8 vs. post 12.5 +/- 0.7 ms(-1)) and decreased after AE (AE, pre 12.6 +/- 0.8 vs post 11.6 +/- 0.7 m s(-1)). The VC area under the curve (VC(AUC)) increased more with RE than that with AE (RE, pre 76 +/- 8.0 vs. post 131.1 +/- 11.6; AE, pre 82.7 +/- 8.0 vs. post 110.1 +/- 11.6 ml per min per s per 100 ml, P = 0.001). Further, peak VC (VCpeak) increased more following resistance training compared to aerobic training (RE, pre 17 +/- 1.9 vs. post 25.8 +/- 2.1; AE, pre 19.2 +/- 8.4 vs post 22.9 +/- 8.4 ml per min per s per 100 ml, P = 0.005). Although both RE and AE training decreased BP, the change in pressure may be due to different mechanisms.
Epigenetic Changes in p21 Expression in Renal Cells after Exposure to Bromate

This study tested the hypothesis that bromate (KBrO3)-induced renal cell death is mediated by epigenetic mechanisms. Global DNA methylation, as assessed by 5-methylcytosine staining, was not changed in normal rat kidney cells treated with acute cytotoxic doses of KBrO3 (100 and 200 ppm), as compared with controls. However, KBrO3 treatment did increase p38, p53 and histone 2AX (H2AX) phosphorylation, and p21 expression. Treatment of cells with inhibitors of DNA methyltransferase (5-azacytidine or 5-Aza) and histone deacetylase (trichostatin A or TSA) in addition to KBrO3 increased cytotoxicity, as compared with cells exposed to KBrO3 alone. 5-Aza and TSA co-treatment did not alter p38 or p53 phosphorylation, but slightly decreased H2AX phosphorylation and significantly decreased p21 expression. We also assessed epigenetic changes in cells treated under sub-chronic conditions with environmentally relevant concentrations of KBrO3. Under these conditions (0-10ppm KBrO3 for up to 18 days), we detected no increases in cell death or DNA damage. In contrast, slight alterations were detected in the phosphorylation of H2AX, p38, and p53. Sub-chronic low-dose KBrO3 treatment also induced a biphasic response in p21 expression, with lower concentrations increasing expression, but higher concentrations decreasing expression. Methylation-specific PCR demonstrated that sub-chronic KBrO3 treatment altered the methylation of cytosine bases in the p21 gene, as compared with controls, correlating to alterations in p21 protein expression. Collectively, these data show the novel finding that KBrO3-induced renal cell death is altered by inhibitors of epigenetic modifying enzymes and that KBrO3 itself induces epigenetic changes in the p21 gene.
Atmospheric circulation during warm geologic periods: Is the equator-to-pole surface-temperature gradient the controlling factor?

Paleoclimatologists have hypothesized that the equator-to-pole surface-temperature gradient is a dominant control on the paleocirculation of the oceans and the atmosphere. Atmospheric simulations using realistic Cretaceous (100 m.y. ago) geography are used to examine quantitatively the relationships between paleogeography, surface-temperature gradients, and the nature of the atmospheric circulation. These results raise questions concerning the classical theories and interpretations of warm paleoclimates and suggest that paleogeography is an important factor governing the nature of the circulation.
Digital calibration of TR modules for real-time digital beamforming SweepSAR architectures

Real-time digital beamforming, combined with lightweight, large aperture reflectors, enable a new architecture, which is the baseline for the proposed DESDynI [Deformation, Ecosystem Structure, and Dynamics of Ice] SAR [Synthetic Aperture Radar] Instrument (or DSI). This new instrument concept requires new methods for calibrating multiple simultaneous channels. The calibration of current state-of-the-art Electronically Steered Arrays typically involves pre-flight TR (Transmit/Receive) module characterization over temperature, and in-flight correction based on measured temperatures. This method ignores the effects of element aging and any drifts unrelated to temperature. We are developing new digital calibration of digital beamforming arrays, which helps to reduce development time, risk and cost. Precision calibrated TR modules enable real-time beamforming architectures by accurately tracking modules' characteristics through closed-loop digital calibration, which tracks systematic changes regardless of temperature. The benefit of this effort is that it would enable a new, lightweight radar architecture, with on-board digital beamforming. This provides significantly larger swath coverage than conventional SAR architectures for solid earth and biomass remote sensing, while reducing mission mass and cost.
Chicano and Anglo Dreams of Death A Replication

To replicate an earlier study in which Chicanos reported having more dreams of death than did their Anglo counterparts, we solicited dream reports from eighty Chicanos (forty males and forty females) and eighty Anglos (forty males and forty females). The dreams were scored for the presence of death-related dream content. Chi-square tests revealed a statistically higher number of Chicano females reporting dreams of death (p < .005), but the significance between Chicano males and Anglo males was not significant. The results were linked to the greater phenomenological emphasis on death in Chicano culture and the greater tendency for Chicano women to carry the influences of the culture.
Effect of ciprofloxacin on lethal and sublethal challenge with endotoxin and on early cytokine responses in a murine in vivo model

The influence of ciprofloxacin on immune responses has been suggested by results of in vitro and in vivo studies. This effect was studied using a murine model that measured mortality and early cytokine responses after challenge with endotoxin. C57/BL6 mice weighing between 18 and 21 g were given a single intraperitoneal dose of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), ranging from 200 to 1000 microg. Mice were pre-treated with an intraperitoneal injection of 5% dextrose in sterile water containing 0.0-6.0 mg of ciprofloxacin 1 h before LPS challenge. Cytokine responses were assessed by measuring concentrations in serum separated from blood obtained by cardiac puncture of anaesthetized mice at 0, 1, 3, 6 and 24 h following LPS administration. Mice were observed for 72 h following administration of LPS and serum cytokines were measured using ELISA. More than 4.5 mg of ciprofloxacin (675-900 mg/m(2) or 225-300 mg/kg) given 1 h before LPS challenge consistently protected mice from a lethal dose of LPS (14/14 versus 0/7, P < 0.00001). Ciprofloxacin significantly attenuated the production of tumour necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-12 response after LPS challenge. In addition, ciprofloxacin significantly increased serum interleukin-10 concentrations but had little or no effect on interleukin-6 or interleukin-1beta serum concentrations. Similar effects were evident with sublethal doses of LPS and were most pronounced at the lowest dose of LPS studied. These observations indicate that ciprofloxacin can prevent endotoxin-mediated death and alter early host cytokine responses. This effect may influence the course of infection in a manner that is independent of the drug's antimicrobial activity.
A Unified Information Model for Product Family Design Management

A flexible information model for systematic development and deployment of product families during all phases of the product realization process is crucial for product-oriented organizations. In this paper we propose a unified information model to capture, share, and organize product design contents, concepts, and contexts across different phases of the product realization process using a web ontology language (OWL) representation. Representing product families by preconceived common ontologies shows promise in promoting component sharing while facilitating search and exploration of design information over various phases and spanning multiple products in a family. Three distinct types of design information, namely, (1) customer needs, (2) product functions, and (3) product components captured during different phases of the product realization process, are considered in this paper to demonstrate the proposed information model. Product vector and function component mapping matrices along with the common ontologies are utilized for designer-initiated information exploration and aggregation. As a demonstration, six products from a family of power tools are represented in OWL DL (Description Logic) format, capturing distinct information needed during the various phases of product realization.Copyright © 2005 by ASME
2-Oxo-1,2-dihydropyridine-3-carboxylic acid

The title compound, C6H5NO2, a tautomer of 2-hydroxy­nicotinic acid, adopts a planar conformation. An intra­molecular O—H⋯O hydrogen bond of 2.504 (2) A is found. The compound forms one-dimensional hydrogen-bonded chains along the [\overline{1}01] direction via an inter­molecular N—H⋯O hydrogen bond of 2.810 (2) A.
Residual vector quantization using a multilayer competitive neural network

This paper presents a new technique for designing a jointly optimized residual vector quantizer (RVQ). In conventional stage-by-stage design procedure, each stage codebook is optimized for that particular stage distortion and does not consider the distortion from the subsequent stages. However, the overall performance can be improved if each stage codebook is optimized by minimizing the distortion from the subsequent stage quantizers as well as the distortion from the previous stage quantizers. This can only be achieved when stage codebooks are jointly designed for each other. In this paper, the proposed codebook design procedure is based on a multilayer competitive neural network where each layer of this network represents one stage of the RVQ. The weight connecting these layers form the corresponding stage codebooks of the RVQ. The joint design problem of the RVQ's codebooks (weights of the multilayer competitive neural network) is formulated as a nonlinearly constrained optimization task which is based on a Lagrangian error function. This Lagrangian error function includes all the constraints that are imposed by the joint optimization of the codebooks. The proposed procedure seeks a locally optimal solution by iteratively solving the equations for this Lagrangian error function. Simulation results show an improvement in the performance of an RVQ when designed using the proposed joint optimization technique as compared to the stage-by-stage design, where both generalized Lloyd algorithm (GLA) and the Kohonen learning algorithm (KLA) were used to design each stage codebook independently, as well as the conventional joint-optimization technique. >
Landscape Heterogeneity and Diurnal Raptor Diversity in Honduras: The Role of Indigenous Shifting Cultivation1

Abstract I studied the relationship between diurnal raptor diversity, density, and richness, and landscape heterogeneity in continuous primary forests and forests farmed by native Amerindians in the Rio Platano Biosphere Reserve of northeastern Honduras from January to June 1996 and 1997. I estimated landscape heterogeneity—the variability in naturally occurring and/or anthropogenic habitat mosaics—by mapping the extent and distribution of five human-modified and natural habitats in 24 1 km2 survey plots. I used the Shannon index to calculate landscape heterogeneity values for the respective plots based on the proportion of total area of each habitat within each plot. Diurnal raptor surveys from canopy-emergent viewpoints in these plots resulted in 137 observations of 18 species of raptors. Four species (Coragyps atratus, Ictinia plumbea, Leucopternis albicollis, and Buteo magnirostris) differed significantly in abundance among heterogeneity classes. Raptor diversity, density, and richness all increased d...
FM Perturbations due to Near-Identity Linear Systems

Considered here is the disturbance induced in the frequency modulation (FM) of a signal passed through a linear system. For the case that the linear system is close to an identity system, closed-form approximations to the induced FM perturbations are derived. Taking the form of a linear operator acting on a system impulse response, the operator represents a well-behaved approximation to the true ill-behaved underlying non-linear operator. In its approximate linear form, the operator is amenable to standard linear theory. In addition, practical constraints including passband smoothness, zero group delay, and time localization are facilitated in the analysis. In general, the theory is suitable to determine practical and useful performance bounds in terms of system parameters and induced FM deviation. As an example, the FM perturbation analysis is applied in this chapter to determine systems that would produce maximal FM distortions in particular signals.
Essential Oils in the Control of Infections by Staphylococcus xylosus in Horses

Abstract The antimicrobial activity of nine essential oils (cinnamon, palmarosa, Indonesian and Madagascar cloves, niaouli, peppermint, oregano, rosemary, and sauce thyme) against Staphylococcus xylosus isolates obtained from the nasal mucosa of healthy and diseased horses has been valued. A total of 27 isolates with different resistance profile (susceptible, resistant to one antimicrobial class, resistant to ≥2 antimicrobial classes) were analyzed. An initial screening study was carried out to determine the antimicrobial activity of essential oils against 10 S. xylosus isolates, following the disk-diffusion method. Five essential oils with major inhibitory zone were selected, and the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) against the 27 isolates were performed by a broth microdilution method. All the essential oils, except rosemary (inhibitory zone diameter of 6 mm for 100% of isolates), showed antimicrobial activity against S. xylosus. The MIC and MBC values were obtained for cinnamon, clove, peppermint, oregano, and sauce thyme. Our results show that sauce thyme (0.07 ± 0.05% and 0.31 ± 0.39%, respectively) and oregano (0.12 ± 0.04% and 0.52 ± 0.42%, respectively) presented the lowest MIC and MBC average values. No significant differences were observed between the inhibitory activity and the resistance profile of the isolates. The sauce thyme and oregano could be used in the control of S. xylosus infection in horses. More studies are necessary to establish their clinical potential use, as well as their dose and application options.
Between- vs. Within-Patent Competition

A patent only protects an innovator from others producing the same product; it does not provide protection from others producing better products under new patents. Between-patent competition may be as important a limit on innovative returns as within-patent competition, particularly in high-tech fields such as the telecommunications, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical industries. Given the importance of both within- and between-patent competition, our study attempts to estimate their relative impacts on innovative returns for the U.S. pharmaceutical industry.
Comparing graphs and text: Effects of complexity and task

Graphs are commonly believed to facilitate users’ compre-hension. We explored the effect of graphs on comprehension compared to text, manipulating content complexity (single bar vs. double bar graphs) and question type (point-locating vs. comparison questions). A total 78 college students viewed graph and text stimuli and answered comprehension questions while their eye movements were recorded. The results indicate that students do not always process graphs more efficiently than text conveying the same information. Students processed graphs significantly faster than text only when the more complex questions were shown. When the more complex graphic patterns were presented, the advantage of graphs over text became less apparent. The students also spent the majority of their time looking at specific information on the axes and label regions of the graphs with the increasing complexity of graphs and tasks. These findings are discussed related to theories of learning including cognitive load theory and perceptual salience theory.
Analysis of HMFD etiology detection in Enshi in 2011

Objective To investigate the prevalence of hand-foot-and-mouth disease in Enshi in 2011,and provide basis for making prevention and control strategy.Methods The specimens of throat swab,herpes and anal swab were collected from HFMD patients to detect the enterovirus and identify the type by fluorescent PCR.Results There were 142 positive samples in 271 samples(52.40%),including 50 EV71 positive samples(18.45%),47 CA16 positive samples(17.71%) and 45 other EV positive samples(16.61%).In Enshi,hand-foot-mouth disease occurred frequently from May to July and from October to December,with peak in June.The positive rate of cases under 4 years old was 73.94%,while those above 4 years old was 26.06%,and there was statistical significance between the two(P 0.05).Conclusion There are HFMD cases in Enshi all year round,and summer and autumn were the high-occurrence seasons.EV71 and CA16 are the main virus among various enterovirus,while children below 4 years old are high-risk population.
Patient package inserts. I. Nature, notions, and needs

A total of 137 completed questionnaires were obtained from several population samples in an attempt to assess drug knowledge, information sources, and views on drug information with particular attention to the possible role of a patient-oriented package insert. The results indicated that the study population was variably informed and could make fairly accurate assessments by this knowledge. Responders placed great importance on the doctor and pharmacist as preferred and actual drug information sources. The mass media were accorded little prominence. Great emphasis was placed on the adequate provision of information, and this appears to be a crucial function in an adequate doctor-patient relationship. The results appear to indicate a favorable climate for establishing a patient-oriented package insert that should have summarized as well as detailed information to complement the doctor and pharmacist as primary information sources.
Kernel design for coordination of autonomous, time-varying multi-agent configurations

The coordination of agents in an autonomous system can greatly increase its ability to perform missions in a wide array of applications including distributed computing, coordination of mobile autonomous agents, and cooperative sensing. To expand the functionality of these systems to a wider array of applications, a need exists for coordinated control algorithms driving the system of nodes or agents to any prescribed state configuration in both time and space using only information passed between communicating agents. Using tools from graph theory, this paper derives a graph transformation method that maps the kernel of a graph's Laplacian matrix to any desired state configuration vector while retaining inter-agent communication characteristics of the graph. Using the transformation, this paper derives a theoretically-justified, decentralized control algorithm driving kinematic agents to any relative time-varying state configuration. Theoretical results are illustrated with numerical examples including load distribution in a computing network and surveillance of a moving target with kinematic agents.
The Effects of Oxygen on Ultrasound-Induced Blood-Brain Barrier Disruption in Mice.

Abstract Numerous researchers are investigating the use of microbubble-enhanced ultrasound to disrupt the blood–brain barrier (BBB) and deliver drugs to the brain. This study investigated the impact of using oxygen as a carrier gas for anesthesia on microbubble activity and BBB disruption. Targets in mice were sonicated in combination with administration of Optison microbubbles (100 μL/kg) under isoflurane anesthesia with either oxygen or medical air. A 690-kHz focused ultrasound transducer applied 10-ms bursts at peak pressure amplitudes of 0.46–0.54 MPa (n = 2) or 0.34–0.36 MPa (n = 5). After sonication of two locations in one hemisphere, the carrier gas for the anesthesia was changed and the sonications were repeated in the contralateral hemisphere. The BBB disruption, measured via contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging, was significantly greater (p
Modeling and design of K/Ka/V-band high power feed for the Luneburg lens

This paper considers several aspects of the design of a ridged horn for the Luneburg lens feed operating from 18 to 45 GHz. The main focus is on the phase center stabilization. The designed horn demonstrates the variation of phase center by less than 1.2 mm. The antenna is well matched to the waveguide cross-section and shows consistent impedance and gain performance with and without the lens.
Plasmonic Copper Sulfide-Based Materials: A Brief Introduction to Their Synthesis, Doping, Alloying, and Applications

Plasmonic copper sulfide-based colloidal nanocrystals (NCs) have attracted considerable attention due to their unique and versatile optical and electronic properties. In this Feature Article, we first introduce the optical properties of these p-type semiconductor nanostructures, particularly localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR). We then discuss nanostructures of copper sulfides [CuS and Cu2–xS, (0 ≤ x < 1)] with different crystal structures and optical properties. In addition to the synthesis and transformation between these copper sulfide phases, we review their doping or alloying with extrinsic cations, which can produce homogeneous alloy nanostructures, new crystal phases, and multidomain (e.g., core–shell or dimer) NCs. In general, divalent cations (e.g., Zn, Hg, Cd) do not form a homogeneous phase upon incorporation into copper sulfide NCs, but trivalent and tetravalent cations (e.g., In, Sn, Ga) can do so. Filling of the Cu vacancies responsible for p-type doping results in red-shifting and da...
An Analysis of the Commonality and Type of Preintervention Assessment Procedures in the Journal of Organizational Behavior Management (2000–2015)

ABSTRACTWe reviewed all issues of the Journal of Organizational Behavior Management (JOBM) from 2000 through 2015 to identify the percentage of empirical articles, which utilized some form of preintervention assessment. In addition, we categorized five types of assessment used and compared the number of assessments conducted in each category. Finally, because assessment is considered to be particularly important in the subdiscipline of behavioral safety (McSween, 2003), and prior research has not examined the commonality of assessment in this area, we also analyzed the frequency and type of assessment procedures used in behavioral safety and compared this to the use of assessment in OBM in general. Results indicated that 28% of the empirical articles in JOBM used some form of preintervention assessment. Indirect methods were the most often used type of assessment. In addition, 48% percent of the articles in JOBM, which employed a safety-related dependent variable, included some form of assessment. The mos...
IMCE: energy-efficient bit-wise in-memory convolution engine for deep neural network

In this paper, we pave a novel way towards the concept of bit-wise In-Memory Convolution Engine (IMCE) that could implement the dominant convolution computation of Deep Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) within memory. IMCE employs parallel computational memory sub-array as a fundamental unit based on our proposed Spin Orbit Torque Magnetic Random Access Memory (SOT-MRAM) design. Then, we propose an accelerator system architecture based on IMCE to efficiently process low bit-width CNNs. This architecture can be leveraged to greatly reduce energy consumption dealing with convolutional layers and also accelerate CNN inference. The device to architecture co-simulation results show that the proposed system architecture can process low bit-width AlexNet on ImageNet data-set favorably with 785.25μJ/img, which consumes ∼3× less energy than that of recent RRAM based counterpart. Besides, the chip area is ∼4× smaller.
Chamise Chaparral Dead Fuel Fraction Is Not Reliably Predicted by Age

Fire managers of southern California chaparral often assume that the amount of dead material in chaparral shrubs is closely related to canopy age. Analysis of chamise (Adenostoma fasciculatum), sampled from southern California shrublands, indicates that the ratio of dead to live components is not related reliably to age of shrub canopy. Further statistical description of the data indicates that fractions of dead material greater than 0.40 are rare. The results provide grounds for seriously questioning current assumptions about the strong relationship between age and fraction dead in southern California chaparral fuels.
Drug Conditioning and Drug Effects on Cardiovascular Conditional Functions

The modern application of some old and general laws of conditional behavior to physiologic and pharmacologic problems is a novel phenomenon in American science. The general laws of conditional behavior were first explored and postulated by Pavlov (1928) and Thorndike (1911) some fifty years ago. Pavlov established that the fundamental process of conditioning was psychic in nature and that it depended on two major variables: a conditional stimulus and a reinforcement. More recently, with the discovery of the stimulus properties of drugs, the area of conditioning and behavioral science acquired additional dimensions in terms of both experimental and clinical applications. The present report concerns the use of drugs and classical Pavlovian conditioning procedures in the study of cardiovascular function.