cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Tracking working status of HIV/AIDS-trained service providers by means of a training information monitoring system in Ethiopia

The Federal Ministry of Health of Ethiopia is implementing an ambitious and rapid scale-up of health care services for the prevention, care and treatment of HIV/AIDS in public facilities. With support from the United States President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, 38 830 service providers were trained, from early 2005 until December 2007, in HIV-related topics. Anecdotal evidence suggested high attrition rates of providers, but reliable quantitative data have been limited. With that funding, Jhpiego supports a Training Information Monitoring System, which stores training information for all HIV/AIDS training events supported by the same funding source. Data forms were developed to capture information on providers' working status and were given to eight partners who collected data during routine site visits on individual providers about working status; if not working at the facility, date of and reason for leaving; and source of information. Data were collected on 1744 providers (59% males) in 53 hospitals and 45 health centres in 10 regional and administrative states. The project found that 32.6% of the providers were no longer at the site, 57.6% are still working on HIV/AIDS services at the same facility where they were trained and 10.4% are at the facility, but not providing HIV/AIDS services. Of the providers not at the facility, the two largest groups were those who had left for further study (27.6%) and those who had gone to another public facility (17.6%). Of all physicians trained, 49.2% had left the facility. Regional and cadre variation was found, for example Gambella had the highest percent of providers no longer at the site (53.7%) while Harari had the highest percentage of providers still working on HIV/AIDS (71.6%). Overall, the project found that the information in the Training Information Monitoring System can be used to track the working status of trained providers. Data generated from the project are being shared with key stakeholders and used for planning and monitoring the workforce, and partners have agreed to continue collecting data. The attrition rates found in this project imply an increased need to continue to conduct in-service training for HIV/AIDS in the short term. For long-term solutions, retention strategies should be developed and implemented, and opportunities to accelerate the incorporation of HIV/AIDS training in pre-service institutions should be explored. Further study on reasons why providers leave sites and why providers are not working on HIV at the sites where they were trained, in addition to our project findings, can provide valuable data for development of national and regional strategies and retention schemes. Project findings suggest that the development of national and region-specific human resources for health strategy and policies could address important human resources issues found in the project.
Titanium matrix composite lattice structures

Abstract Cellular materials made from high temperature composites with efficient load supporting lattice topologies and small cell sizes would create new options for light weight, high temperature structures. A method has been developed for fabricating millimeter cell size cellular lattice structures with a square truss topology from 240 μm diameter Ti–6Al–4V coated SiC monofilaments. The compressive stiffness of the lattice structures was well approximated by that of the monofilament fraction in the loading direction. The strength of the lattices was controlled by elastic buckling and the results were accurately represented by an elastic buckling model. The post peak compressive deformation was accommodated by elastic buckling of the SiC fibers and plastic deformation of the titanium coating until the onset of monofilament fracture. The specific stiffness and strength of the lattices were found to be between 2 and 10 times that of other cellular structures and thus appear to be promising candidates for high temperature, ultralight weight load supporting applications.
The biology of a coelodendrid: a mesopelagic phaeodarian radiolarian

Abstract A coelodendrid phaeodarian with features diagnostic for several subfamilies is described from individual living specimens collected during mesopelagic submersible operations in the Bahamas. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy reveal features of the functional morphology of the organism which adapt it to its mesopelagic existence. There was no evidence of gelatinous material in the specimens examined, but these radiolaria maintained neutral buoyancy in vitro . There was an elaborate network of rhizopodial strands extending over the surfaces of the verticillate branches of the distal regions of the skeleton. These radiolaria readily accepted certain types of prey in the laboratory and remains of metazoan prey were found in recently collected organisms.
Analysis of the sex ratio in preimplantation embryos from B6.K1 and B6.K2 Ped gene congenic mice

Purpose: The mouse preimplantation embryo development (Ped) gene product, Qa-2, which is the homolog of human HLA-G, influences the rate of preimplantation embryonic development and overall reproductive success. The sex ratio in preimplantation embryos from Ped gene congenic mice was examined in order to determine whether embryo sex is a confounding factor in the control of the rate of preimplantation development. Methods: B6.K1 (Ped slow) and B6.K2 (Ped fast) congenic mice differ only in the absence (B6.K1) or presence (B6.K2) of the genes encoding Qa-2 protein. We analyzed the sex of B6.K1 (n=221) and B6.K2 (n=260) preimplantation embryos by using Real-Time PCR with primers specific for the X and Y chromosomes. Results: We found that there was no statistically significant difference in the ratio of male to female preimplantation embryos in either strain. Conclusions: We conclude that the sex of the embryos is not a confounding factor that affects the Ped gene control of the rate of preimplantation development. Therefore, the Ped gene is entirely responsible for mediating the faster development of B6.K2 embryos compared to B6.K1 embryos.
Raising Money for Non-Profits: A Learning Experience in Boston

I am new to applied anthropology. Nearly all of my past research has been on inter-ethnic relations, carried out on Indian reserves in western Canada. I have now served several years as a volunteer fund-raiser at the North American Indian Center of Boston, Inc. (NAICOB). In this article I will relate what I have learned, and am learning, about the occupation. I will speculate on how my training and experience as research anthropologist have contributed to work at the Center.
Interfacial Water Structure and Surface Charge of Selected Alkali Chloride Salt Crystals in Saturated Solutions: A Molecular Dynamics Modeling Study

An initial molecular dynamics simulation (MDS) study regarding interfacial phenomena at selected alkali chloride salt surfaces in saturated brine solutions is reported. Simulation results show that small surface cations (Li+ and Na+) with large local electric fields strongly interact with interfacial water molecules. Consequently, interfacial water molecules are stabilized at these salt surfaces with distinct orientations, which appear to inhibit the adsorption of surfactant molecules. On the other hand, the interaction between interfacial water and large surface cations (K+ and Rb+) is weak, which favors the surfactant adsorption despite the sign of the charge at the salt surface. The surface charge signs obtained for selected alkali chloride salts using MD simulation complement both the extended lattice ion hydration theory based on ion hydration energy calculations and the results from nonequilibrium laser-Doppler electrophoretic measurements. Due to their large hydration energy, Li+ ions are preferent...
Elliptic integral solutions for the kinetics of autocatalytic termolecular reactions with reactive intermediate species

Abstract The kinetics of an autocatalytic termolecular reaction with overall stoichiometry of A + B → C + D was investigated. It is assumed that each of the three components A, B and C dissociate into reactive intermediate species, with equilibrium always established in all three cases. The rate-limiting step is then assumed to be the reaction between the intermediates formed from A and B, respectively, catalyzed by the reactive intermediate formed from product C. Integration of the differential equation describing the chemical kinetics of this process was performed for various special cases of initial reactant concentrations—stoichiometric and non-stoichiometric. The analytical solution in the latter case incorporates incomplete elliptic integrals of the first kind. Numerical values of reaction times may then be readily computed with the aid of various extensive compilations of elliptic integrals.
Body Mass Index and Fat Patterning as Correlates of Lipids and Hypertension in an Elderly, Biracial Population

BACKGROUND Associations between anthropometric measurements of fat patterning and risk factors for cardiovascular disease have been demonstrated in several populations composed predominantly of White, young or middle-aged adults. Fat pattern changes with aging and older adults tend to have a more central or abdominal fat distribution. Few investigators have focused on relationships of fat patterning with plasma lipids or blood pressure in older adults or in Blacks. METHODS Body mass index (BMI), fat patterning, plasma lipids, and blood pressure were examined in participants of the Charleston Heart Study. Subjects included 216 White men, 95 Black men, 320 White women, and 155 Black women with a mean age of 72.7 years (range 61-106). RESULTS In each of the four race and gender groups, BMI was inversely correlated with HDL cholesterol and positively correlated with hypertension. BMI tended to be positively associated with total cholesterol, although the relationships were not statistically significant. After controlling for the effects of BMI, age, smoking, and alcohol intake (using regression analysis), waist to hip ratio was associated with cholesterol levels in the White men and women and the Black men. In similar models, waist circumference in Black women was inversely associated with HDL. There were no significant relationships between waist to hip ratio and hypertension in any of the groups after controlling for BMI. CONCLUSION In an elderly cohort, waist to hip ratio was associated with plasma lipids, but not with hypertension, when the effects of BMI were held constant.
Sexual Orientation and Smoking: Results From a Multisite Women's Health Study

Although lesbians are believed to be at disproportionately high risk for smoking, few published studies have focused on smoking rates in this population. We examined and compared rates and demographic correlates of smoking among 550 lesbians and 279 heterosexual women in Chicago, Minneapolis/St. Paul, and in New York City in 1994–1996 using a self-administered survey questionnaire. African-American lesbians were more likely than African-American heterosexual women or White lesbians to be current smokers. For the sample as a whole, education was the most robust predictor of both current and lifetime smoking. Racial/ethnic minority lesbians with high school education or less were most likely to report both current and lifetime cigarette smoking. The study's limitations are noted.
Chemical stability and application of a fluorophilic tetraalkylphosphonium salt in fluorous membrane anion-selective electrodes

The highly fluorophilic phosphonium salt (Rf8(CH2)2)(Rf6(CH2)2)3P+I−, 1, was used to provide cationic sites for anion-selective electrodes based on fluorous sensing membranes. The electrodes exhibited the theoretically expected “Nernstian” response slopes, and their selectivities for different anions were determined. For environmental analysis, the selective detection of perfluorooctanesulfonate and perfluorooctanoate is of particular interest. While previously reported electrodes based on a fluorophilic methyltriarylphosphonium salt suffered from OH− interference to the extent that OH− selectivities could not be determined, and general base catalysis caused decomposition of the phosphonium sites in the presence of weakly basic anions, electrode membranes based on 1 are much more robust. A loss of sensor response is only observed when the fluorous membranes doped with 1 are exposed to 0.1 M hydroxide solutions for 24 h. NMR and mass spectrometry show that the fluorophilic tetraalkylphosphonium cation of 1 decomposes under these extreme conditions to give two trialkylphosphine oxides and perfluoroalkylethanes. Interestingly, this decomposition is much slower than the base catalyzed exchange of the hydrogens in α position to the phosphonium center, which in the presence of D2O results in the quantitative formation of the octadeuterated tetraalkylphosphonium cation. While formation of a pentacoordinated transition state in the decomposition of 1 is likely, no pentavalent complexes of the phosphonium ion with OH− could be observed by NMR spectroscopy.
Section 10 prerequisites of successful lifestyle intervention

Abstract Evidence suggests links between lifestyle and disease but not all lifestyle interventions are equally likely to succeed. The four possible prerequisites to lifestyle intervention discussed here include issues of the certainty of our knowledge, the strength of the disease-lifestyle relationship, the availability of outcomes measures, and the accessibility of lifestyle related institutions. A variety of lifestyle phenomena are discussed with respect to the presence or absence of prerequisite conditions.
Caenorhabditis elegans Dosage Compensation Regulates Histone H4 Chromatin State on X Chromosomes

Dosage compensation equalizes X-linked gene expression between the sexes. This process is achieved in Caenorhabditis elegans by hermaphrodite-specific, dosage compensation complex (DCC)-mediated, 2-fold X chromosome downregulation. How the DCC downregulates gene expression is not known. By analyzing the distribution of histone modifications in nuclei using quantitative fluorescence microscopy, we found that H4K16 acetylation (H4K16ac) is underrepresented and H4K20 monomethylation (H4K20me1) is enriched on hermaphrodite X chromosomes in a DCC-dependent manner. Depletion of H4K16ac also requires the conserved histone deacetylase SIR-2.1, while enrichment of H4K20me1 requires the activities of the histone methyltransferases SET-1 and SET-4. Our data suggest that the mechanism of dosage compensation in C. elegans involves redistribution of chromatin-modifying activities, leading to a depletion of H4K16ac and an enrichment of H4K20me1 on the X chromosomes. These results support conserved roles for histone H4 chromatin modification in worm dosage compensation analogous to those seen in flies, using similar elements and opposing strategies to achieve differential 2-fold changes in X-linked gene expression.
Synthesis and Microphase Separation of Poly(styrene-b-acrylonitrile) Prepared by Sequential Anionic and ATRP Techniques

Carbonaceous templates with nanopores <10 nm in diameter have been produced using low molecular weight diblock copolymers of poly(styrene-b-acrylonitrile). PS-b-PAN was synthesized using sequential living and controlled polymerization approaches, where the first block was anionically synthesized while the second block was added using atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). Polystyrene with a hydroxy end group was synthesized anionically and then reacted with 2-bromoisobutyryl bromide to create the ATRP macroinitiator. Acrylonitrile was polymerized using ATRP procedures. Polymer microphase separation, stabilization, and subsequent pyrolysis were characterized by small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM).
Hydronephrosis: an unusual complication of neurogenic bowel in a patient with spinal cord injury: a case report

Case report. In this case report, a consequence of not following proper care of the bowel affecting the genitourinary system is reported and discussed. United States. Neurogenic bowel and bladder can result from a spinal cord injury. It is necessary for spinal cord injury patients to continually follow recommended bladder and bowel care programs to decrease complications.
ASEM - A Simple Engineering Training and Personal Automation Tool

This paper describes a simple systems engineering training and support tool called ASEM. Experiences in using ASEM to teach more than 300 students in formal university and professional training courses are described. The purpose of ASEM is to support (1) the functional analysis, (2) the requirements analysis and allocation, (3) the recording of architectural decisions, test requirements and results and (3) the hierarchical development of any system description. The systems engineering process was used to create, test, and apply this tool. The tool has been well received in a teaching environment.
Ultra Shallow Seismic Reflection in Unconsolidated Sediments: Rock Physics base for data acquisition.

In this paper we address the problem of ultra-shallow seismic acquisition in unconsolidated sediments. We show that the velocity profile in the upper few meters of unconsolidated sediments is pressure dependent, and the very near surface P- and S-wave velocities are very low. We show that, given this velocity profile, groundroll will be attenuated greatly by scattering attenuation in the presence of very mild surface roughness. This attenuation of the high frequencies of the groundroll causes the separation of the reflection energy from the groundroll energy in the frequency domain. This separation enables us to image seismic reflections very near the surface. We present field examples from three different locations where we were able to obtain very shallow reflections (1-3m) in unconsolidated sediments.
Has the incidence of end-stage renal disease in the USA and other countries stabilized?

Purpose of reviewRecent trends in incident rates of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in the USA suggest that ESRD incidence may be leveling off after decades of increases. This article examines recent worldwide ESRD incidence trends as well as population dynamics for their implications on ESRD treatme
The size effect in metal cutting

When metal is removed by machining there is substantial increase in the specific energy required with decrease in chip size. It is generally believed this is due to the fact that all metals contain defects (grain boundaries, missing and impurity atoms, etc.), and when the size of the material removed decreases, the probability of encountering a stress-reducing defect decreases. Since the shear stress and strain in metal cutting is unusually high, discontinuous microcracks usually form on the metal-cutting shear plane. If the material being cut is very brittle, or the compressive stress on the shear plane is relatively low, microcracks grow into gross cracks giving rise to discontinuous chip formation. When discontinuous microcracks form on the shear plane they weld and reform as strain proceeds, thus joining the transport of dislocations in accounting for the total slip of the shear plane. In the presence of a contaminant, such as CCI4 vapour at a low cutting speed, the rewelding of microcracks decreases, resulting in decrease in the cutting force required for chip formation. A number of special experiments are described in the paper that support the transport of microcracks across the shear plane, and the important role compressive stress plays on the shear plane. Relatively recently, an alternative explanation for the size effect in cutting was provided based on the premise that shear stress increases with increase in strain rate. When an attempt is made to apply this to metal cutting by Dineshet al (2001) it is assumed in the analysis that the von Mises criterion pertains to the shear plane. This is inconsistent with the experimental findings of Merchant. Until this difficulty is taken care of, together with the promised experimental verification of the strain rate approach, it should be assumed that the strain rate effect may be responsible for some notion of the size effect in metal cutting. However, based on the many experiments discussed here, it is very unlikely that it is totally responsible for the size effect in metal cutting as inferred in Dineshet al (2001).
Del (10)p autosomal deletion syndrome: clinical, cytogenetic and gene marker studies.

A 46,XX,del(10)p13 karyotype (Paris Conference, 1971) was identified in a 5-year-old Negro girl with mental and growth retardation, brachy-and trigonocephaly, downward slanting palpebral fissures, hypotelorism, epicanthal folds, ptosis, strabismus, dysplastic nose, high-arched palate, microdontia, small low-set posteriorly rotated ears, asymmetrical thorax, wide-spaced nipples, and minor abnormalities of hands and feet. Both parents and a brother had normal karyotypes.
Right Science and Right Results: Lifestyle Change, PBS, and Human Dignity.

This article provides an in-depth analysis of the comprehensive supports necessary for an adult with multiple disabilities and significant problem behavior to experience an inclusive adulthood. Written from the perspective of parents, the article highlights “lessons learned” about how to implement and finance comprehensive supports across domains of home living, work, friendships, community connections, wellness, as well as additional areas. Practice tips are provided in terms of potential replication.
Significance of exposure data recognizer modes in computed radiography

To take advantage of the wide latitude of computed radiography (CR), the AC series manufactured by Fuji uses an exposure data recognizer (EDR) system which may be operated in one of three modes: automatic, semi-automatic (semi auto), and fixed. This study evaluated the performance of these EDR modes in comparison with a conventional screen-film combination. Multiple images of foot and skull phantoms were obtained and measurements made of the resultant film density, density variability and contrast. The auto mode could correct for inaccurate exposures but introduced additional variability to CR film density. Semi auto mode had improved consistency but could result in suboptimal data processing parameters. For constant exposures, fixed mode had a consistency comparable to screen-film combinations but could not compensate for radiation dose variations. Selection of an optimal mode of operation requires an understanding of how the EDR affects CR performance and depends on the clinical problem at hand.
Is it Seeing or Believing? Exposure, Perceived Realism, and Emerging Adults' Perceptions of Their Own and Others' Attitudes About Relationships

The differential impact hypothesis predicts that media exposure is more likely to influence social-level than personal-level judgments unless individuals identify with media content. An important factor in determining identification is perceived realism. Research in other areas has found, however, that individuals engage in motivated differential perceptions (MDPs) of self and others and that the extent and nature of these MDPs are determined by both motivational and cognitive factors. This study found that emerging adults (N = 282) in both within-subjects and between-subjects conditions engaged in MDPs—rating peers as more likely to endorse recreational attitudes and less likely to endorse relational attitudes than themselves. Exposure was significantly related to social-level perceptions of peers, but not to personal attitudes. Perceived realism reduced MDPs and was significantly related to personal-level attitudes, but not to social-level perceptions. There were important gender differences in the natu...
Plane strain elastic–plastic bending of a strain-hardening curved beam

Abstract Elastic–plastic analysis of plane strain pure bending of a strain-hardening curved beam has been presented. Only a linear hardening case has been analyzed as the nonlinear equations for a general hardening case could not be solved analytically. A numerical scheme for the computation of stresses and displacements in different stages of deformation has been given and limited FEM verifications have been presented.
Wannier functions in crystals with surfaces

Generalized Wannier functions (GWF) are defined for one-dimensional crystals with surfaces, using an approach similar to that developed by Kohn and Onffroy for crystals with impurities. We show how an appropriate set of exponentially localized orthonormal GWF may be constructed for each band of the crystal; both the surface states and bulk states associated with a given band can be expressed as linear combinations of these GWF. The GWF have the same exponential decay into the crystal as the Wannier functions (WF) of the infinite lattice, even though the surface states themselves may have a longer range. In addition, successive GWF, starting from the surface, reduce to the WF in an exponential manner. These localization properties give the GWF several advantages over the energy eigenstates as a set of basis functions; and, using variational methods, they may actually be easier to compute.
The facile surface modification of poly(p-xylylene) ultrathin films

Abstract The parylene polymers studied here are vacuum deposited by a common but unique method that is self-initiating and unterminating. The lack of chain termination allows the chain endings of the polymers to react with atmospheric oxygen and 50 wt.% aqueous ammonium sulfide. However, the latter reaction in particular can only take place at the polymer's surface due to the excellent barrier properties of the parylenes, which leaves the surface of parylene hydroxyl terminated and consequently hydrophilic. High parylene polymer typically cannot be easily modified since few chain ends exist at its surface; however, this is in contrast to ultrathin oligomeric parylene films. The surface chemistry of the modified and annealed ultrathin parylene films was undertaken with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and contact angle goniometry. Results show that as-deposited ultrathin parylene films (15–32 A) react with atmospheric oxygen (from XPS) due to a rather large O1s peak and asymmetry in the C1s spectrum due to CO bonding. The ultrathin film also exhibits a precipitous drop in its contact angle after exposure to 50 wt.% ammonium sulfide. However, after post-deposition annealing at 200 °C, little oxygen is observed by XPS and none after 250 °C. Further, films annealed at 350 °C in high vacuum show little reaction with aqueous ammonium sulfide much like the thick parylene films >2000 A giving evidence that annealing forms a higher molecular weight polymer. The work here has implications for the gentle surface modification of parylene and most other polymers, both for functionalizing their surfaces and leading to improved adhesion to other dielectrics and metals.
History, Before and Beyond the Limit

What is the relation between past and present, and what role does historical research, writing and thinking play in regards to that relation? Does it, for instance, primarily record the features of objective breaks and continuities between past and future (as A. Danto has it) or does it rather institute those breaks and continuities (as C. Fasolt has recently argued)? Here I stress that historical understanding is a basic dimension of understanding in general, including understanding of the relation of past and future. Historical research, writing and thinking promise indefinite expansion and qualification of that understanding. In contrast to Danto and with Fasolt, I hold that the possibilities of qualification cannot be definitively foreclosed; against Fasolt I urge an epistemological optimism about the consequences of that admission.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Proximal Metacarpal and Metatarsal Regions

Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging provides a new imaging modality to evaluate the osseous and soft tissue structures in the equine limb. The metacarpal and metatarsal region, specifically the proximal aspect, has proven to be a difficult area to assess with radiography and ultrasonography due to the multiple vascular, soft tissue, and osseous structures in this area. MR evaluation of this region enables diagnosis of lesions within the suspensory ligament, the superficial and deep digital flexor (DDFT) tendons, the accessory ligament of the DDFT, the extensor tendons, as well as inflammatory changes associated with the bones of the metacarpal and metatarsal regions. This chapter provides information regarding MR imaging of this region and examples of pathologic change identified using this imaging modality.
Renal lesions in young rats induced by Salmonella enteritidis endotoxin.

Sepsis in newborns and infants is a major pediatric problem often associated with renal dysfunction. The present report deals with changes in renal tissue induced bySalmonella enteritidis endotoxin in 10- and 28-day-old Sprague-Dawley rats. Our studies revealed a 90% lethality within 24 h of 0.1 mg/kg and 35 mg/kgS. enteritidis endotoxin injection in 10- and 28-day-old rats, respectively. The 10- and 28-day-old animals received a single intraperitoneal injection of the 90% lethality dose and were sacrificed at different intervals for histopathological evaluation of kidneys by light and electron microscopy. The glomeruli showed visceral epithelial and endothelial cell swelling and polymorphonuclear leukocyte and platelet accumulation in the capillary lumina. Cortical and medullary tubules showed edematous separation, mild focal epithelial cell damage and focal intertubular hemorrhage. Renal sections of 28-day-old experimental rats showed increased numbers of polymorphs in the glomerulus and enlarged mesangial matrix. These sections also showed an increase in the number of hemorrhagic foci in 10x field compared with the 10-day-old experimental rats. Endothelial cells of renal vasculature showed cytoplsmic swelling, vacuolization, autophagic vesicle formation and presence of secondary lysosomes. Changes in the endothelial cells of peritubular microvasculature were extensive, resulting in focal degeneration and partial loss of endothelial lining. These studies show that infant rats are extremely sensitive toS. enteritidis endotoxin requiring 1/350 the dose given to young adults to induce histopathological changes in kidney; the endothelial cells of microvasculature appear to be the primary targets of endotoxic injury irrespective of age.
Making resonance a common case: A high-performance implementation of collective I/O on parallel file systems

Collective I/O is a widely used technique to improve I/O performance in parallel computing. It can be implemented as a client-based or as a server-based scheme. The client-based implementation is more widely adopted in the MPIIO software such as ROMIO because of its independence from the storage system configuration and its greater portability. However, existing implementations of client-side collective I/O do not consider the actual pattern of file striping over multiple I/O nodes in the storage system. This can cause a large number of requests for non-sequential data at I/O nodes, substantially degrading I/O performance. Investigating a surprisingly high I/O throughput achieved when there is an accidental match between a particular request pattern and the data striping pattern on the I/O nodes, we reveal the resonance phenomenon as the cause. Exploiting readily available information on data striping from the metadata server in popular file systems such as PVFS2 and Lustre, we design a new collective I/O implementation technique, named as resonant I/O, that makes resonance a common case. Resonant I/O rearranges requests from multiple MPI processes according to the presumed data layout on the disks of I/O nodes so that non-sequential access of disk data can be turned into sequential access, significantly improving I/O performance without compromising the independence of a client-based implementation. We have implemented our design in ROMIO. Our experimental results on a small- and medium-scale cluster show that the scheme can increase I/O throughput for some commonly used parallel I/O benchmarks such as mpi-io-test and ior-mpi-io over the existing implementation of ROMIO by up to 157%, with no scenario demonstrating significantly decreased performance.
Magnetosensory function in rats: Localization using positron emission tomography

The aim of this study was to show that low-strength electromagnetic fields (EMFs) produced evoked potentials in rats and to localize the activated region in the brain. In response to a 2.5-G, 60-Hz stimulus, onset- and offset-evoked potentials were detected (P < 0.05 in each of the 10 animals studied); the evoked potentials had the same magnitude, latency, and nonlinear relationship to the field seen in previous studies on rabbits and human subjects. The neuroanatomical region of activation associated with the electrophysiological effect was identified by positron emission tomography using fluorodeoxyglucose. Paired emission scans (the same animal with and without field treatment) from 10 additional rats were differenced and averaged to produce a t-statistic image using the pooled variance; the t value of each voxel was compared with a calculated critical t value to identify the activated voxels (P < 0.05). A brain volume of 13 mm(3) (15 voxels) located in the posterior, central cerebellum was found to have been activated by exposure to the field. Taken together, the results indicated that magnetosensory evoked potentials in the rats were associated with increased glucose utilization in the cerebellum, thereby supporting earlier evidence that EMF transduction occurred in the brain.
Shortest path problem with arc failure scenarios

We consider a shortest path problem from source to destination over a set of arc failure scenarios, considering the probability of different scenarios. A primary path is chosen, which is the first path a driver will take, along with a set of alternative paths to use when an impassible road is encountered. These paths should minimize the expected cost to reach the destination and be useful in natural disaster applications. Our paper includes a formal problem description and integer programming model for this new problem. We also provide an exact algorithm based on the modified label-correcting algorithm but with extended labels that preserve information about the scenarios. We describe dominance rules and how to use a version of the A-star algorithm to generate an initial bound. We conduct computational experiments with real road data sets with varying number of scenarios and disaster intensities. These experiments show the value of the dominance rules and initial bounds, as well as the structure of the chosen paths.
The impact of social norms and economic requirements on the strategic marketing of managed care organizations.

Abstract The trend in managed care is toward an increased emphasis on cost containment mechanisms. However, many people have begun to argue that cost controls are being implemented at the expense of the provision of appropriate care. By focusing on the impact of societal values on the performance of MCOs, it is argued that MCOs need to focus their marketing efforts on championing cost‐cutting efforts in areas that do not impact the quality of care provided, while at the same time, implementing a marketing campaign aimed at promoting their conformity to prevailing social norms.
THE REAL RATE OF U.S. NATIONAL SAVING

The conventional measure of national saving in U.S. accounts does not include saving in consumer durables, public investment, or intangible capital. It reflects a measure of net foreign investment that relates in considerable part to original cost rather than market values. It also does not include real capital gains. Comprehensive, adjusted measures of national saving are calculated for as many of the years from 1946 to 1989 as relevant components are available. They generally suggest much larger rates of national saving than are usually recognized. They also cast a sharp and substantially different light on the likely effects of policies designed to increase provision for the future.
Is the Poisoning Accidental

As this penetrating survey indicates, the need is for long term followup of self poisoning of children and adolescents. We must learn more about the incidence of repeated ingestions, drug abuse, suicide attempts, com pleted suicide and incapacitating disorders of personality and behavior.
Soil Salinity Sampling Strategy Using Spatial Modeling Techniques, Remote Sensing, and Field Data

The aim of this study was to develop a methodology for collecting soil salinity samples. The objectives of this paper are to: (1) estimate the number of soil salinity samples needed to capture the variability in the soil salinity data with high accuracy; and (2) compare two types of satellite images with different resolutions: Ikonos with 4 m resolution and Landsat 5 with 30 m resolution. To achieve these objectives, two satellite images were acquired (one for Ikonos and one for Landsat 5) to evaluate the correlation between the measured soil salinity and remote sensing data. From the observed data, three subsets were randomly extracted with each subset containing: 75, 50, and 25% of the data for each field. These three subsets were then used in the modeling process. Ordinary least squares (OLS) (i.e., multiple regression) was used to explore the coarse-scale variability in soil salinity as a function of the Ikonos and Landsat 5 bands. A stepwise procedure was used to identify the best subset of satellite bands to include in the regression models that minimized the Akakie information criteria (AIC). Then, the spatial structure of the residuals from the OLS models were described using sample variogram models. The variogram model with the smallest AIC was selected to describe the spatial dependencies in the soil salinity data. If the residuals were spatially correlated, ordinary kriging was used to model the spatial distribution of soil salinity in the fields. A tenfold cross validation was used to estimate the prediction error for soil salinity. To evaluate the effectiveness of the models, various measures of the prediction error were computed. This study provides an accurate methodology that can be used by researchers in reducing the number of soil samples that need to be collected. This is especially valuable in projects that last several years. The results of this study suggest that the number of soil samples that need to be collected and therefore their cost can be significantly reduced and soil salinity estimation can be significantly improved by using kriging. The results also show that the Ikonos image performed better than the Landsat 5 image.
Hard and Soft X-Ray Observations of Occulted and Nonocculted Solar Limb Flares

Using observations from the Yohkoh Bragg Crystal Spectrometer (BCS), the Soft X-Ray Telescope, and the Hard X-Ray Telescope, we have examined the properties of 45 limb flares. Twenty-eight of the flares appear to have most or all of their footpoints occulted by the solar limb, leaving only soft X-ray emission from a looptop source visible. The remaining 17 flares have exposed footpoints. In most observational characteristics, occulted limb flares are indistinguishable from nonocculted limb flares. There does appear to be some evidence that the peak temperature observed in the BCS Ca XIX channel is lower by 2-3 MK in the occulted flares. We also see some tendency for the hard X-ray spectra averaged over the entire event to exhibit a softer spectral index in the occulted limb flares. Most of the flares for which it is possible to measure a peak in the Ca XIX nonthermal broadening velocity as a function of time show that the peak in the nonthermal broadening velocity occurs after the first significant hard X-ray peak.
High-resolution analysis of Zn(2+) coordination in the alkaline phosphatase superfamily by EXAFS and x-ray crystallography.

Comparisons among evolutionarily related enzymes offer opportunities to reveal how structural differences produce different catalytic activities. Two structurally related enzymes, Escherichia coli alkaline phosphatase (AP) and Xanthomonas axonopodis nucleotide pyrophosphatase/phosphodiesterase (NPP), have nearly identical binuclear Zn^2+ catalytic centers but show tremendous differential specificity for hydrolysis of phosphate monoesters or phosphate diesters. To determine if there are differences in Zn^2+ coordination in the two enzymes that might contribute to catalytic specificity, we analyzed both x-ray absorption spectroscopic and x-ray crystallographic data. We report a 1.29-A crystal structure of AP with bound phosphate, allowing evaluation of interactions at the AP metal site with high resolution. To make systematic comparisons between AP and NPP, we measured zinc extended x-ray absorption fine structure for AP and NPP in the free-enzyme forms, with AMP and inorganic phosphate groundstate analogs and with vanadate transition-state analogs. These studies yielded average zinc–ligand distances in AP and NPP free-enzyme forms and ground-state analog forms that were identical within error, suggesting little difference in metal ion coordination among these forms. Upon binding of vanadate to both enzymes, small increases in average metal–ligand distances were observed, consistent with an increased coordination number. Slightly longer increases were observed in NPP relative to AP, which could arise from subtle rearrangements of the active site or differences in the geometry of the bound vanadyl species. Overall, the results suggest that the binuclear Zn^2+ catalytic site remains very similar between AP and NPP during the course of a reaction cycle.
Identification of a Lytic-Cycle Epstein-Barr Virus Gene Product That Can Regulate PKR Activation

The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) SM protein is a posttranscriptional regulator of viral gene expression. Like many transactivators encoded by herpesviruses, SM transports predominantly unspliced viral mRNA cargo from the nucleus to the cytosol, where it is subsequently translated. This activity likely involves a region of the protein that has homology to the herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) ICP27 gene product, the first member of this class of regulators to be discovered. However, SM also contains a repetitive segment rich in arginine and proline residues that is dispensable for its effects on RNA transport and splicing. This portion of SM, comprised of RXP triplet repeats, shows homology to the carboxyl-terminal domain of Us11, a double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) binding protein encoded by HSV-1 that inhibits activation of the cellular PKR kinase. To evaluate the intrinsic ability of SM to regulate PKR, we expressed and purified several SM protein derivatives and examined their activity in a variety of biochemical assays. The full-length SM protein bound dsRNA, associated physically with PKR, and prevented PKR activation. Removal of the 37-residue RXP domain significantly compromised all of these activities. Furthermore, the SM RXP domain was itself sufficient to inhibit PKR activation and interact with the kinase. Relative to its Us11 counterpart, the SM RXP segment bound dsRNA with reduced affinity and responded differently to single-stranded competitor polynucleotides. Thus, SM represents the first EBV gene product expressed during the lytic cycle that can prevent PKR activation. In addition, the RXP repeat segment appears to be a conserved herpesvirus motif capable of associating with dsRNA and modulating activation of the PKR kinase, a molecule important for the control of translation and the cellular antiviral response.
Delayed and Irregular Maturation Versus Minimal Brain Injury Recommendations for a Change in Current Nomenclature

We are increasingly aware of the harm, both actual and potential, done to patient and parents from the designation of children with delayed and irregular maturation as "brain-damaged" or "suffering from brain dysfunction."The terror and anxiety wrought by such diagnoses, despite the fact that they are based on no current evidence of actual brain disease, is the topic of this paper.
MPICH on the T3D: a case study of high performance message passing

The paper describes the design, implementation and performance of a port of the Argonne National Laboratory/Mississippi State University MPICH implementation of the Message Passing Interface standard to the Cray T3D massively parallel processing system. A description of the factors influencing the design and the various stages of implementation are presented. Performance results revealing superior bandwidth and comparable latency as compared to other full message passing systems on the T3D are shown. Further planned improvements and optimizations, including an analysis of a port to the T3E, are mentioned.
Interfacing Conducting Polymers and Biological Macromolecules: A Case Study of Insecticide Biosensor Development

The creation of smart materials is a current goal of many laboratories including our own. We are involved in studying a number of thin film and monolayer systems which share the common features of involving highly conjugated conducting organic polymers and the evolved properties of specific biological macromolecules. In this report we describe a generic ‘cassette’ methodology for immobilizing biotinylated biological macromolecules to hydrophobic surfaces using a novel class of conducting copolymers of polythiophene. These copolymers are derivatized with long alkyl chains and biotin moieties to bind, respectively, to the hydrophobic surface and the biotinylated species, through the biotin - streptavidin interaction. We utilize the monolayer ‘cassette’ approach to attach a signal transducing biomolecule alkaline phosphatase to the surface of a glass capillary. This produces a flexible system in which chemiluminescence provides the basis for a useful measurement strategy. A novel technique involving the generation of chemiluminescence signal from alkaline phosphatase catalyzed dephosphorylation of a macrocyclic phosphate compound is described. Detection of paraoxon and methyl parathion, both enzyme inhibitors, has been achieved at ppb levels. The technique is rapid, sensitive, and is applicable to the detection of all organophosphorus based insecticides. The technique will be used in developing a fiber;optic biosensor for remote detection of insecticides.
Position and Velocity Tracking in Mobile Networks Using Particle and Kalman Filtering With Comparison

This paper presents several methods based on signal strength and wave scattering models for tracking a user. The received-signal level method is first used in combination with maximum likelihood (ML) estimation and triangulation to obtain an estimate of the location of the mobile. Due to nonline-of-sight conditions and multipath propagation environments, this estimate lacks acceptable accuracy for demanding services, as the numerical results reveal. The 3-D wave scattering multipath channel model of Aulin is employed, together with the recursive nonlinear Bayesian estimation algorithms to obtain improved location estimates with high accuracy. Several Bayesian estimation algorithms are considered, such as the extended Kalman filter (EKF), the particle filter (PF), and the unscented PF (UPF). These algorithms cope with nonlinearities in order to estimate mobile location and velocity. Since the EKF is very sensitive to the initial state, we propose the use of the ML estimate as the initial state of the EKF. In contrast to the EKF tracking approach, the PF and UPF approaches do not rely on linearized motion models, measurement relations, and Gaussian assumptions. Numerical results are presented to evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithms when the measurement data do not correspond to the ones generated by the model. This shows the robustness of the algorithm based on modeling inaccuracies.