cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Correlation of F-18 FDG bowel uptake in PET/CT scans

2431 Objectives Increased F-18 FDG uptake is often observed in the bowel area of PET/CT images. The purpose of this study was to identify the incidence of diffusely increased F18-FDG bowel uptake in conventional PET/CT studies, and determine if this uptake can be correlated with the patients’ medical history and current medication use. Methods The F18-FDG PET/CT scans of 249 patients were retrospectively analyzed. Medical histories were evaluated to determine if colon cancer and/or inflammatory bowel disease correlation could be attributed to bowel uptake. Medications taken at the time of the study were assessed to determine metformin and/or antibiotic use. PET/CT images were read and visually evaluated by one of three nuclear medicine physicians to determine if the patient presented with diffusely increased bowel uptake. Results Of the 249 selected patients having PET/CT studies, 41 had diffusely increased FDG uptake in the bowel area. Sixteen of the 249 patients were taking metformin at the time of the study. Of the 41 patients with increased bowel uptake, 14 were taking metformin. Of the 41 patients with increased bowel uptake but not taking metformin or antibiotics, 3 had diabetes and 2 had a history of colon cancer. Twenty-two of the 41 patients with increased bowel uptake were not taking any medications and had no relevant medical history or illness. Conclusions This study suggests that patients taking metformin at the time of their PET/CT demonstrated increased instances of increased bowel uptake compared to patients who were not taking metformin. However, several instances of increased bowel uptake occurred that cannot be attributed to metformin use. Further research is needed to determine additional causes of increased bowel uptake
Brain-Specific Proteins: S-100 Protein, 14-3-2 Protein, and Glial Fibrillary Protein

The differentiated forms and functions of a specialized cell are expressed through the properties of its individual proteins, properties which are determined by their primary structure. Nervous system cells, having extremely specialized functions, are among the most highly differentiated of all types of cells. Therefore, it is important to know which proteins are specific to nervous system cells since these particular proteins would be related to specific functions within the nervous system, such as propagation of action potentials, synaptic transmission involving several chemical transmitters— each with its associated processes of synthesis, inactivation, release, and receptor activity, establishment of specific pathways and connections, action of supportive cells such as various types of glia, and many other functions.
AN IN-VITRO COMPARISON OF THE RETENTION OF PREFABRICATED PARALLEL-SIDED VENTED TITANIUM POSTS CEMENTED WITH THREE DIFFERENT DUAL-POLYMERIZABLE RESIN CEMENTS

AN IN-VITRO COMPARISON OF THE RETENTION OF PREFABRICATED PARALLEL-SIDED VENTED TITANIUM POSTS CEMENTED WITH THREE DIFFERENT DUAL-POLYMERIZABLE RESIN CEMENTS By Maha M. El-Sayed, B.D.S., D.M.D. A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2003 Thesis Director: David R. Burns, D.M.D. Professor and Program Director Graduate Prosthodontics Department of Prosthodontics Purpose: The purpose of this in-vitro study was to compare the retentive strength of an autopolymerizing resin cement to three dual-polymerizable resin cements when used to cement pre-formed posts without light activation and to correlate diametral tensile stress, viii hardness as a measure of the degree of polymerization and the retentive strength of the different dual-polymerizable resin cements. Material and methods: 60 human extracted premolar teeth were endodonticallytreated and randomly divided into 4 test groups (n=15). Parapost XP posts (size 5) were cemented using Panavia 21(control), Panavia F, RelyX Unicem and Linkmax resin cements. The latter three cements were dual-polymerizable and were not light-activated, and the control cement was autopolymerizable. Also, 140 resin cement samples were fabricated for diametral tensile stress and Knoop hardness testing. Each test had 70 samples, 10 of each of the following groups: Panavia 21, Panavia F dual-polymerized, Panavia F autopolymerized, RelyX Unicem dual-polymerized, RelyX Unicem autopolymerized, Linkmax dual-polymerized, Linkmax autopolymerized. Post retention, diametral tensile stress and Knoop hardness tests were performed 1 week after sample fabrication or post cementation. Results: ANOVA and Tukey-Kramer statistical analysis revealed significant differences among the test groups for the three tests. Scatterplots of the data revealed no correlation between the three tested properties. Conclusions: Within the limitations of this in vitro study, tested dual-polymerization resin cements had similar or superior parapost retention to the control autopolymerizing resin cement without photoactivation. Dual-polymerizable resin cements had improved diametral tensile stress and surface hardness when light-activated than when autopolymerized. No correlation was observed between surface hardness and diametral ix tensile stress or between the mechanical properties of the resin cements and their retentive qualities.
Comparison Between MCNP and Critical Experiments - A Determination of Bias Values to Be Utilized in Licensing Calculations for High-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal

Monte Carlo N-Particle Transport Code System (MCNP) criticality calculations were performed on a library of critical benchmark experiments to obtain preliminary bias values and subcritical margins to be utilized in licensing calculations for high-level radioactive waste disposal. The critical experiments library includes a broad range of system physical and neutronic characteristics that are representative ofa range of potential criticality configurations relevant to long-term deep geological disposal. Two hundred and eighty-nine critical benchmark experiments were selected and grouped into 20 critical experiment classifications. From the results of this study, an applicable subcritical margin or maximum allowable k eff can be selected for preliminary repository criticality analysis based on the similarity between the physical and neutronic characteristics of the system being analyzed and the relevant library classification. The results of this study provide quantification of both the confidence associated with the MCNP code and the presented conservative method for performing criticality evaluations relevant to repository emplacement of high-level radioactive waste.
“I Know It When I See It”: How Experts and Novices Recognize Good Design

Design novices have limited design experience and typically lack the skills or confidence to create good design, however, they may be able to recognize good design. To assess this ability, 53 novice designers and 52 expert designers participated in an online study where they evaluated a series of websites based on aesthetic appeal using two different modes of comparison. Results show that both experts and novices are able to recognize good design and that novices are able to do so almost as well as experts (76.5% accuracy compared to 81.2%). The greatest determinant of whether a participant would correctly identify a higher-rated design was the difference in the two websites’ ground-truth aesthetic ratings. However, expertise and the mode by which the comparison was presented had a significant impact on accuracy (Keep-the-Best = 83.6% and Tournament = 74.1%).
Nonclassical 5-substituted tetrahydroquinazolines as potential inhibitors of thymidylate synthase†

Classical inhibitors of thymidylate synthase such as Nl0-propargyl-5,8-dideazafolic acid (1), N-(5-[N-(3,4-dihydro-2-methyl-4-oxoquinazolin-6-ylmethyl)-N-methylamino]-2-thenoyl)-L-glutamic acid (ZD1694, 2) and N-[2-amino-4-oxo-3,4-dihydro(pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrintidin-5-yl)ethylbenzoyl]-L-glutamic acid (LY231514, 3) while potent, suffer from a number of potential disadvantages, such as impaired uptake due to an alteration of the active transport system required for their cellular uptake, as well as formation of long acting, non-effluxing polyglutamates via the action of folylpolyglutamate synthetase, which are responsible for toxicity. To overcome some of the disadvantages of classical inhibitors, there has been considerable interest in the synthesis and evaluation of nonclassical thymidylate synthase inhibitors, which could enter cells via passive diffusion. In an attempt to elucidate the role of saturation of the B-ring of non-classical, quinazoline antifolate inhibitors of thymidylate synthase, analogues 7-17 were designed. Analogues 13-17 which contain a methyl group at the 7-position, were synthesized in an attempt to align the methyl group in an orientation which allows interaction with tryptophan-80 in the active site of thymidylate synthase. The synthesis of these analogues was achieved via the reaction of guanidine with the appropriately substituted cyclohexanone-ketoester. These ketoesters were in turn synthesized via a Michael addition of the appropriate thiophenol with 2-carbethoxycyclohexen-1-one or 5-methyl-2-carbethoxycyclo-hexen-1-one to afford a mixture of diastereomers. The most inhibitory compound was the 3,4-dichloro, 7-methyl derivative 17 which inhibited the Escherichia coli and Pneumocystis carinii thymidylate syntheses 50% at 5 × 105 M. Our results confirm the importance of the 7-CH3 group and electron withdrawing groups on the aromatic side chain for thymidylate synthase inhibition.
Internalizing and externalizing psychopathology in middle age: genetic and environmental architecture and stability of symptoms over 15 to 20 years

BackgroundInternalizing and externalizing psychopathology factors explain much of the covariance among psychiatric conditions, especially at the level of genetic risk. However, few studies have examined internalizing and externalizing factors in middle-aged samples, especially their ability to predict later symptoms across midlife. The goals of the current study were (i) to quantify the genetic and environmental influences on internalizing and externalizing psychopathology in individuals in their early 40s, and (ii) examine the extent to which these genetic and environmental influences predict self-reported measures of internalizing and externalizing symptoms 15–20 years later.Method1484 male twins completed diagnostic interviews of psychopathology at mean age 41 and self-reported measures of anxiety, depression, substance use, and related variables at up to two time-points in late middle age (mean ages 56 and 62).ResultsStructural equation modeling of the diagnostic interviews confirmed that internalizing and externalizing factors accounted for most of the genetic variance in individual disorders, with substantial genetic (ra = 0.70) and environmental (re = 0.77) correlations between the factors. Internalizing psychopathology at age 41 was correlated with latent factors capturing anxiety, depression, and/or post-traumatic stress symptoms at ages 56 (r = 0.51) and 62 (r = 0.43). Externalizing psychopathology at age 41 was correlated r = 0.67 with a latent factor capturing aggression, tobacco use, and alcohol use at age 56. Stability of both factors was driven by genetic influences.ConclusionsThese findings demonstrate the considerable stability of internalizing and externalizing psychopathology symptoms across middle age, especially their genetic influences. Diagnostic interviews effectively predict self-reported symptoms and behaviors 15–20 years later.
Three-Dimensional Nanomolds Fabrication for Nanoimprint Lithography

Abstract Nanoimprint lithography is a fabrication method by applying nanomolds on resists to form inversed patterns. It can be utilized to fabricate high-resolution nanopatterns in a low cost and rapid fashion on both flat and curved surfaces. The fidelity of fabricated master nanopatterns and elastomer nanomolds are essential to the quality of the nanoimprinted features. Although two-dimensional nanoimprint lithography has been widely investigated, there are limited researches about three-dimensional master nanopatterns and nanomolds. Even less of them discussed the fidelity of entire procedures throughout the initial master fabrication to the final nanoimprinting. In this paper, we demonstrated the effectiveness of our approach, atomic force microscope (AFM) based ultrasonic vibration assisted nanomachining, in fabricating three-dimensional master nanopatterns with complex contours and continuously height changes. Nanomolds for nanoimprint lithography were fabricated subsequently based on the master nanopatterns with a positive draft, which is naturally generated from the AFM tip. We investigated the fidelity of the nanomachining results and the residual effect of reusing mater patterns. Besides, we demonstrated the 3D nanoimprinting capability of the solvent-assisted microcontact molding process, discovering the possibility of tuning the layer-thickness of imprinted 3D nanopatterns.
Abstract 284: Drp1 Protects the Heart Against High Fat Diet-Induced Diabetic Cardiomyopathy

Type II diabetes induces cardiomyopathy characterized by hypertrophy, diastolic dysfunction and mitochondrial dysfunction. We have shown recently that clearance of damaged mitochondria by mitophagy...
Partial Suture Fusion in Nonsyndromic Single-Suture Craniosynostosis:

Introduction:Partial synostosis of cranial sutures has been shown to have clinical and diagnostic significance. However, there is limited published information about how suture fusion progresses ov...
Factor structure of the Eating Disorder Examination - Questionnaire among heterosexual and sexual minority males.

Abstract Eating disorder (ED) pathology is increasingly recognized among males; however, presentations within males differ from traditional descriptions of ED pathology in females. Additionally, experiences of ED pathology differ between sexual minority (SM) and heterosexual males. These differences suggest that existing ED assessments, which are primarily based on female samples, do not adequately capture ED pathology in SM and heterosexual males. The Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire (EDE-Q) is a commonly used assessment of ED pathology; however, at present the factor structure of this instrument in SM and heterosexual males is unclear. This study aimed to determine the most appropriate factor structure of the EDE-Q by evaluating proposed factor structures in a large, non-clinical sample consisting of heterosexual and SM men. Additionally, this study examined differences in the factor structures and severities of ED pathology between SM and heterosexual males. Confirmatory Factor Analyses examining existing factor structures of the EDE-Q indicated that the brief three-factor model was the best fitting model for both heterosexual and SM males. Subsequent comparisons of factor scores between groups indicated that SM males in our sample experienced higher levels of dietary restraint, overvaluation of shape and weight, and body dissatisfaction than heterosexual males. Results provide preliminary support for the use of the brief three-factor model of the EDE-Q when assessing ED pathology among SM and heterosexual males in non-clinical research settings.
Where Is Communication in Web Development?: And Why Is Web Development in Communication?

Due to the unique history of web development, related training is scattered throughout the university. As the profession's requirements have become increasingly complex and interdisciplinary, however, it is unlikely that students in any unit attain professional-level skills. For these reasons, more work is needed to usefully articulate the relationship between web development topics and core disciplinary theories and perspectives. This report focuses on web development in communication programs. Pointing specifically to the growing prominence of JavaScript frameworks such as React and of the role of the full-stack developer, I raise concerns related to agency and the extent to which communication students can contribute to shaping online content and suggest that a focus on document genres and content modeling might usefully bridge the core concerns of communication scholars with the professional activities of web developers.
Association between tendon ruptures and use of fluoroquinolone, and other oral antibiotics: a 10-year retrospective study of 1 million US senior Medicare beneficiaries.

Objectives To assess the association of fluoroquinolone use with tendon ruptures compared with no fluoroquinolone and that of the four most commonly prescribed non-fluoroquinolone antibiotics in the USA. Design Retrospective observational study. Setting US seniors enrolled in the federal old-age, survivor’s insurance programme. Participants 1 009 925 Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries and their inpatient, outpatient, prescription drug records were used. Interventions Seven oral antibiotics, fluoroquinolones (ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, moxifloxacin) and amoxicillin, amoxicillin-clavulanate, azithromycin and cephalexin. Primary and secondary outcome measures All tendon ruptures combined, and three types of tendon ruptures by anatomic site, Achilles tendon rupture, rupture of rotator cuff and other tendon ruptures occurred in 2007–2016. Results Of three fluoroquinolones, only levofloxacin exhibited a significant increased risk of tendon ruptures—16% (HR=1.16; 95% CI 1.06 to 1.28), and 120% (HR=2.20; 95% CI 1.50 to 3.24) for rotator cuff and Achilles tendon rupture, respectively, in the ≤30 days window. Ciprofloxacin (HR=0.96; 95% CI 0.89 to 1.03) and moxifloxacin (HR=0.59; 95% CI 0.37 to 0.93) exhibited no increased risk of tendon ruptures combined. Among the non-fluoroquinolone antibiotics, cephalexin exhibited increased risk of combined tendon ruptures (HR=1.31; 95% CI 1.22 to 1.41) and modest to large risks across all anatomic rupture sites (HRs 1.19–1.93) at ≤30 days window. Notably, the risk of levofloxacin never exceeded the risk of the non-fluoroquinolone, cephalexin in any comparison. Conclusions In our study, fluoroquinolones as a class were not associated with the increased risk of tendon ruptures. Neither ciprofloxacin nor moxifloxacin exhibited any risk for tendon ruptures. Levofloxacin did exhibit significant increased risk. Cephalexin with no reported effect on metalloprotease activity had an equal or greater risk than levofloxacin; so we question whether metalloprotease activity has any relevance to observed associations with tendon rupture. Confounding by indication bias may be more relevant and should be given more consideration as explanation for significant associations in observational studies of tendon rupture.
Automating Fairness Configurations for Machine Learning

Recent years have witnessed substantial efforts devoted to ensuring algorithmic fairness for machine learning (ML), spanning from formalizing fairness metrics to designing fairness-enhancing methods. These efforts lead to numerous possible choices in terms of fairness definitions and fairness-enhancing algorithms. However, finding the best fairness configuration (including both fairness definition and fairness-enhancing algorithms) for a specific ML task is extremely challenging in practice. The large design space of fairness configurations combined with the tremendous cost required for fairness deployment poses a major obstacle to this endeavor. This raises an important issue: can we enable automated fairness configurations for a new ML task on a potentially unseen dataset? To this point, we design Auto-Fair, a system that provides recommendations of fairness configurations by ranking all fairness configuration candidates based on their evaluations on prior ML tasks. At the core of Auto-Fair lies a meta-learning model that ranks all fairness configuration candidates by utilizing: (1) a set of meta-features that are derived from both datasets and fairness configurations that were used in prior evaluations; and (2) the knowledge accumulated from previous evaluations of fairness configurations on related ML tasks and datasets. The experimental results on 350 different fairness configurations and 1,500 data samples demonstrate the effectiveness of Auto-Fair.
Substrate stoichiometric regulation of microbial respiration and community dynamics across four different ecosystems

Abstract Microbes decompose soil organic matter (SOM), yet it is unclear how substrate inputs (i.e., stoichiometry) directly mediate microbial activities and community dynamics. We hypothesized that C+N input has the largest effect on microbial respiration and community structure, followed by C input and N input. Soils were collected from four ecosystems (grassland, pinon-juniper, ponderosa pine, mixed conifer) and amended with NH4NO3 (N only; 100 μg g−1 wk−1), 13C-glucose (C only; 1000 μg g−1 wk−1), or C+N in a five-week laboratory incubation. We found that C+N input induced the greatest total respiration while C input induced the greatest SOM-derived respiration (i.e., priming effect) across ecosystems. Shifts in community composition were the largest with C+N input, followed by C input, and showed little response to N input. C only and C+N inputs increased both of the relative and absolute abundances of Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria (α, β, γ), but reduced the relative abundances of Verrucomicrobia and δ-Proteobacteria. C+N input increased the relative abundances of Bacillales, Rhizobiales, Burkholderiales and of 9 families, and reduced the relative abundances of Myxococcales and of 12 families, but showed little effect on the absolute abundances of these bacterial taxa. N input reduced the absolute abundances of Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, and Verrucomicrobia but did not affect their relative abundances in the mixed conifer soil; by contrast, N input reduced relative abundances of δ-Proteobacteria and increased the relative abundances of γ-Proteobacteria but did not affect their absolute abundances in the ponderosa pine soil. We also found that substrate inputs were the main driver of SOM decomposition, microbial respiration and diversity, while soil ecosystem was the main driver of community composition and abundances of most bacterial phyla. Our work suggests that substrate stoichiometry has predictable effects on soil C cycling, microbial diversity and community composition, but has variable effects on microbial abundances, and that incorporating bacterial gene copies in abundance calculations can help more accurately estimate microbial responses across taxonomic levels and ecosystems.
Duplicate detection and deletion in the extended NF 2 data model

A current research topic in the area of relational databases is the design of systems based on the Non First Normal Form (NF2) data model. One particular development, the so-called extended NF2 data model, even permits structured values like lists and tuples to be included as attributes in relations. It is thus well suited to represent complex objects for non-standard database applications. A DBMS which uses this model, called the Advanced Information Management Prototype, is currently being implemented at the IBM Heidelberg Scientific Center. In this paper we examine the problem of detecting and deleting duplicates within this data model. Several alternative approaches are evaluated and a new method, based on sorting complex objects, is proposed, which is both time- and space-efficient.
Understanding our student learners: A phenomenographic study revealing the ways that undergraduate women at Mills College understand using information

Purpose – This research project aims to provide an understanding of Mills College undergraduate students' experience of using information, which Mills librarians can use to develop effective information literacy instructional pedagogy.Design/methodology/approach – Using a phenomenographic methodology, 18 undergraduate students at Mills College in Oakland, California, were interviewed and the transcripts were analyzed to reveal the ways that undergraduates experience using information.Findings – Four distinct ways that Mills undergraduates experience information use are revealed in the paper.Research limitations/implications – The results of this research project share similarities with other phenomenographic research, supporting the phenomenographic premise that there are a limited number of ways that a phenomenon is experienced.Practical implications – Knowing the four ways that undergraduates experience using information provides Mills librarians with the necessary tools to develop effective learner‐cen...
Molecular biology of the adeno-associated viruses.

The adeno-associated viruses (AAV) are small, defective, DNA viruses which require co-infection with an adenovirus for productive infection (Atchison et al., 1965; Hoggan et al., 1966; Smith et al., 1966; Parks et al., 1967). They have also been termed adenovirus-associated virus, adeno satellite virus, and adeno-associated virus satellite virus. AAV particles were first noted as smaller particles contaminating adenovirus preparations when the latter were observed in the electron microscope (Archetti and Bocciarelli, 1963, 1964, 1965; Brandon and McLean, 1962; Hoggan, 1965; Hull et al., 1965; Melnick et al., 1965). Although initially considered to be cellular debris, or precursors or breakdown products of adenovirus, AAV was subsequently shown to be a separate virus which was structurally, immunologically, and genetically distinct from adenovirus (Atchison et al., 1965; Hoggan et al., 1966; Smith et al., 1966; Parks et al., 1967). The defectiveness of AAV with the subsequent requirement of an adenovirus as a helper was also shown at that time by these groups. Initially four distinctive serotypes of AAV were identified, AAV 1–3 from humans and AAV 4 from monkeys (see Hoggan, 1970).Subsequently, similar small viruses have been found associated with bovine, avian, and canine adenoviruses (Luchsinger et al., 1970; Dutta and Pomeroy, 1967; Yates et al, 1972; Domoto and Yanagawa, 1969).
On stochastic study of well capture zones in bounded, randomly heterogeneous media

[1] Accurately determining well capture zones is of great importance in aquifer cleanup and for the protection of drinking water. Earlier models in delineating capture zones assumed the medium to be homogeneous. Recently, stochastic approaches have been applied to studying capture zones in heterogeneous media. The Monte Carlo method is commonly used to infer the probability distribution of the resulting capture zones from multiple realizations of the aquifer of interest. In this study, we present a moment-equation-based approach to derive the time-dependent mean capture zones and their associated uncertainties. The flow statistics are obtained by solving the first two moments of flow, and the mean capture zones are determined by reversely tracking the nonreactive particles released at a small circle around each pumping well. The uncertainty associated with the mean capture zones is calculated based on the particle displacement covariance Xij for nonstationary flow fields. For comparison purposes, we also conducted Monte Carlo simulations. It has been found that our model results are in excellent agreement with Monte Carlo results.
Detection As Multi-Topic Tracking

The topic tracking task from TDT is a variant of information filtering tasks that focuses on event-based topics in streams of broadcast news. In this study, we compare tracking to another TDT task, detection, which has the goal of partitioning i>all arriving news into topics, regardless of whether the topics are of interest to anyone, and even when a new topic appears that had not been previous anticipated. There are clear relationships between the two tasks (under some assumptions, a “perfect” tracking system could “solve” the detection problem), but they are evaluated quite differently. We describe the two tasks and discuss their similarities. We show how viewing detection as a form of multi-topic parallel tracking can illuminate the performance tradeoffs of detection over tracking.
The Secrets Of Yesterday For The Security Of Tommorrow

About ten years ago the Army, responding to pointed suggestions of Luis Alvarez, decided that an army that could be effective night and day would be twice as useful and probably twice as effective as an army that could act only while the sun was up. With that decision came concerted efforts to turn the technology of cathodes, electron optics, phosphors and optical coupling into a viable program to give the soldier the ability to see at night.
Organizational and activational effects of hormones on insect behavior

The concepts of hormone organization and activation provide a framework for thinking about the influence of hormones on development, brain, and behavior in vertebrates. There is good evidence for activational effects of hormones on the nervous system and behavior in insects, but organizational effects are almost never discussed in the insect literature. This paper explores the utility of the concepts of hormonal organization and activation of behavior in insects. We describe the two concepts as developed from studies of vertebrates, review some insect examples that appear to fit this classification scheme, and consider how explicit use of the concept of organization might benefit studies of the insect brain and behavior.
Footfall Placement Variability and Falls in Multiple Sclerosis

Gait variability (i.e., fluctuations in walking) provides unique information about the control of movement and is associated with falls. This investigation examined the association between gait variability and falls in persons with multiple sclerosis (MS) and healthy controls. Traditional distributional metrics of gait variability (i.e., coefficient of variation (CV)) and a novel metric based on Fourier series analysis of footfall placement variability were determined for 41 individuals with MS and 20 age- and sex-matched controls. Spatiotemporal parameters of gait were collected using a 7.9 m electronic walkway that recorded individual footfalls during steady state comfortable walking. Persons with MS were divided into two groups based on fall history (non-fallers and recurrent fallers). Overall, persons with MS had greater gait variability than controls as indexed by CV and Fourier-based variability (p's 0.05). These observations highlight that footfall placement variability is related to fall status in MS. Future work determining the sensitivity of footfall placement variability to dysfunction is warranted.
Behavioral and electrophysiological effects of early repeated maternal separation

Maternal deprivation or “lack of care” has been identified as one possible risk factor in the development of psychopathology. Animal models of maternal deprivation have been developed in order to better understand the mechanisms underlying its possible long-term physiological and/or behavioral effects. The present study was designed to evaluate the effects of chronic early maternal separation on electrophysiology and behavior in adult male and female rats. Sprague-Dawley rats were maternally separated 6 h each day from postnatal day 2 (PN2) to PN6 and from PN9 to PN13. Rats were evaluated at 15 to 18 weeks of age. Overall, adult female rats were found to have higher amounts of slow waves, displayed increased locomotor behavior in photocell cages, and exhibited decreased “anxiety” in novel environments. Adult rats who had experienced early maternal separation were found to have increases in slow wave sleep. Early, repeated maternal separation was also found to reduce the amplitude of the NI component of the event related potential. Behaviorally, the maternally separated rats were less “anxious” as revealed by the open field assessment, but not by the elevated plus maze test. This study suggests that early, repeated maternal separation of 6 h/day may produce behavioral and electrophysiological effects that may be long-lasting, but not necessarily detrimental to sleep or behavioral regulation. Depression 2:43–53 (1994). © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
On the deviation of the average pressure at a fixed point in a moving fluid from its “hydrostatic” value

A homogeneous, non-viscid fluid with a free surface, moving under the influence of gravity, is considered. If the motion, between a fixed point P and the surface, can be considered as statistically steady and horizontally statistically homogeneous, the pressure at the point P, averaged over a sufficiently long time interval, is given by the corresponding average hydrostatic expression minus ρ\(\rho \overline {w1^2 } \), where ρ = density and \(\overline {w1^2 } \)= corresponding average square of the vertical velocity at the point P. The approximate validity of this relation is shown for the example of waves approaching and breaking over a sloping beach.
Borel transversals and ergodic measures on indecomposable continua

Abstract The first three parts of a theorem of Effros have been crucial to recent investigations in continua theory. The purpose of this paper is to examine some other parts of this theorem and apply them to continua theory as well. Here is one such application. A Borel transversal to the composants of an indecomposable continuum X is a Borel subset B of X such that B intersects each composant of X in exactly one point. It has been unknown for any indecomposable continuum whether or not it has a Borel transversal to its composants. In this paper it is shown that solenoids and Knaster continua do not have Borel transversals to their composants.
Segmented Ultralight Pre-Aligned Rotor for Extreme-Scale Wind Turbines

To alleviate the mass-scaling issues associated with conventional upwind rotors of extreme-scale turbines, a downwind rotor concept is proposed which employs fixed blade curvature based on force alignment at rated conditions. For a given peak stress constraint, the reduction in downwind cantilever loads allows reduced shell and spar thickness, and thus a reduced blade mass as compared with a conventional upwind rotor, especially as rotor sizes approach extreme-scales. To quantify this mass reduction, a Finite Element Analysis was conducted for a 10 MW rated rotor based on the NREL offshore 5 MW baseline wind turbine. The results show that this 'pre-alignment' yields a net downstream deflection of 32 deg, a downward hub-pitch angle of 6 deg, a 20% increase in blade length (to maintain the same radius as the conventional blade), and a net mass savings of about 50% through decreased shell and spar thicknesses. The pre-alignment may also allow a more straightforward and efficient segmentation of the blade since shear stresses near joints are substantially reduced. Segmenting, in turn, can dramatically reduce costs associated with fabrication, transport and assembly for extreme-scale off-shore systems. The pre-aligned geometric curvature can also help alleviate tower wake effects on the blades since blademore » tips (where shadow effects can be most problematic) are shifted downstream where the tower wake is weaker. In addition, the portion of the tower that is upstream of the blade tips can be faired with an externally-rotating aerodynamic shroud. Furthermore, the downwind rotor can allow a floating off-shore tri-pod platform to reduce tower weight and yaw-control requirements. A simple economic analysis of the segmented ultralight pre-aligned rotor (SUPAR) concept suggests that the overall system cost savings can be as much as 25%, indicating that more detailed (numerical and experimental) investigations are warranted.« less
Non-Darcian Effects in Open-Ended Cavities Filled With a Porous Medium

The importance and relevance of non-Darcian effects associated with the buoyancy driven convection in open-ended cavities filled with fluid-saturated porous medium is analyzed in this work. Several different flow models for porous media, such as Brinkman-extended Darcy, Forchheimer-extended Darcy, and generalized flow models, are considered. The significance of inertia and boundary effects, and their crucial influence on the prediction of buouancy-induced flow and heat transfer in open-ended cavities, are investigated. Analysis is made on the proper choice of parameters that can fully determine the criteria for the range of validity of Darcy’s law in this type of configuration. Critical values of the inertial parameter, Λcrit , below which, for any given modified Rayleigh number, the Darcy flow model breaks down, have been investigated. It is shown that the critical value of the inertial parameter depends on the modified Rayleigh number and that this critical value increases as Ra* increases. It is also observed that for higher modified Rayleigh number, the deviation from a Darcian formulation appears at Darcy numbers greater than 1×10−4 . The Prandtl number effects on convective flow and heat transfer are shown to be quite significant for small values of Pr. The Prandtl number effects are reduced significantly for higher values of the Prandtl number.
Benign Angioedema After Thrombolysis For Acute Stroke

We present a case of acute angioedema after administration of recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) for acute ischemic stroke. Our patient was treated with t-PA in accordance with the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) protocol, and subsequently developed angioedema of the lower lip that subsided within 2 hours. Five patients who required upper airway control after the use of t-PA for ischemic stroke have been reported in the literature. Although the outcome in our case was excellent, development of angioedema after t-PA administration is a potential complication of which treating physicians need to be aware.
12C + 7Li Reaction measurements and the 12C(7Li, t)16O reaction

Abstract A measurement of the residues from the 12 C + 7 Li reaction has been obtained for 7 Li energies from 10 to 38 MeV. From these measurements the fusion cross sections and critical angular momenta for the 12 C + 7 Li system have been deduced. Cross sections for the 7 Li( 12 C, t) 16 O reaction have been obtained for 12 C energies from 54 to 62 MeV at θ lab = 2.7°. The critical angular momenta obtained from the fusion cross sections have been used to perform Hauser-Feshbach calculations for the 12 C( 7 Li, t) 16 O reaction. These calculations have been compared to measured angular distributions over a wide energy range. By comparing the fusion cross sections required by the Hauser-Feshbach calculations to fit the 12 C( 7 Li, t) 16 O(8.87 MeV) reaction and the measured residue cross section it is estimated that at least 80 % of the measured residues are fusion products. The calculations also indicate that direct processes dominate the population of many 16 O levels at forward angles and the 10.35 MeV state at backward angles. The necessity for using a critical angular momentum in Hauser-Feshbach calculations is discussed.
A Nonimaging Receiver for Parabolic Trough Concentrating Collectors

The design of a nonimaging secondary reflector as part of a parabolic trough receiver has been developed and evaluated. A detailed optical model was used for evaluation, which offered insight into the optical performance of the secondary and showed that the design offers about a 1% net increase in optical efficiency. In addition, the secondary was estimated to reduce heat loss from a high-performance evacuated receiver by about 4%. Overall, the net performance advantage of the secondary reflector is calculated to be 1.4%, that is, the entire trough collector field would have a 1.4% greater annual thermal energy output. This performance increase is small, but the non-imaging secondary also achieves other indirect benefits such as better flux uniformity around the absorber tube, and increased tolerance of parabolic trough collectors to optical errors.Copyright © 2002 by ASME
Three-dimensional hydrodynamics of the deceleration stage in inertial confinement fusion

The deceleration stage of inertial confinement fusion implosions is modeled in detail using three-dimensional simulations designed to match experiments at the National Ignition Facility. In this final stage of the implosion, shocks rebound from the center of the capsule, forming the high-temperature, low-density hot spot and slowing the incoming fuel. The flow field that results from this process is highly three-dimensional and influences many aspects of the implosion. The interior of the capsule has high-velocity motion, but viscous effects limit the range of scales that develop. The bulk motion of the hot spot shows qualitative agreement with experimental velocity measurements, while the variance of the hot spot velocity would broaden the DT neutron spectrum, increasing the inferred temperature by 400–800 eV. Jets of ablator material are broken apart and redirected as they enter this dynamic hot spot. Deceleration stage simulations using two fundamentally different rad-hydro codes are compared and the flow field is found to be in good agreement.
Application of boron-modified nickel catalysts on the steam reforming of ethanol

Abstract This paper describes the fabrication of NiCe and BNiCe catalysts for steam reforming of ethanol (SRE) via co-precipitation and impregnation methods using Ni(NO3)2·6H2O, Ce(NO3)3·6H2O and H3BO3 as precursors. All samples were characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), BET surface area, temperature programmed reduction (TPR), temperature programmed oxidation (TPO), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), elemental analysis (EA) and thermogravimetry (TG) techniques at various stages of the catalyst. The results indicated that the incorporation of nickel and boron into the ceria lattice could increase the dispersion of the catalyst especially prepared by the co-precipitation method. The formation of Ni–B alloy and CeBO3 intermediate might be the impact factors necessary for enhancement of the catalytic performance and removal of deposited carbon. As a result, boron-modified catalysts are preferential to non-boron catalysts, where the Y H 2 exceeds 5 at 375 °C and only minor CO (
Improved techniques for extracting enthalpies of mixing from calorimetric data

Abstract Two techniques are suggested for obtaining enthalpies of mixing or dilution. The first technique improves the precision of the results for systems with rapid thermal effects while the second technique is particularly applicable to systems with slow thermal effects, reducing the experimental time significantly.
Designing Interval Type-2 Fuzzy Logic Systems Using an SVD-QR Method: Rule Reduction

A type-2 fuzzy logic system (FLS) can handle numerical and linguistic uncertainties, but, like a type-1 FLS, rule explosion is one of its major disadvantages. In this paper, we present a design method which can tremendously reduce rule number for interval type-2 fuzzy logic systems using an SVD-QR method. The SVD-QR method is performed after extracting two fuzzy basis function expansions from the interval type-2 FLS. We evaluate this method by applying it to a time-series forecasting problem in conjunction with back-propagation training, and demonstrate that tremendous rule number reduction ratio is achieved with very little performance degradation. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
What Matters (and What Does Not) in Households' Decision to Invest in Malaria Prevention?

This paper examines the take-up of a new malaria-control device by rural households in Kenya, and tests whether the demand curve for the device varies with the framing of marketing messages and with the gender of the person targeted by the marketing. Previous research suggests that the demand for malaria prevention is highly price-sensitive (Jessica Cohen and Dupas 2008), even though the private returns to preventing malaria are very large (Christian Lengeler 2004). In the standard model of investment in human capital, individuals invest in a health product if the expected benefits from the product outweigh its costs (Michael Grossman 1972). In this framework, the low take-up observed at relatively moderate prices by Cohen and Dupas (2008) could be due to people underestimating the expected benefits of investing in prevention; or due to people being credit-constrained and unable to pay the cost up front. It is also possible that the standard model does not apply, because people have time-inconsistent preferences or because they are uncertain about their own preferences and rely on external cues to resolve their own uncertainty when they need to make a decision. An extensive literature in psychology and marketing suggests that decision-making can be affected by frames or cues that do not add information about a product, but can be effective at persuading individuals to invest in it. For example, in a recent field experiment in South Africa, Marianne Bertrand et al. (2008) found What Matters (and What Does Not) in Households’ Decision to Invest in Malaria Prevention?
A stochastic master equation description of laserlike systems

We arrive at transition probabilities for a laserlike system by neglecting wave properties of matter and radiation, and treating the problem, in an analogy to chemical systems, entirely in a number representation. Thus, for example, stimulated emission is idealized as a collision between a photon and an excited atom and the transition rate is proportional to the amount of each species present in the cavity. In all, transition probabilities for stimulated emission, absorption of radiation, cavity loss, atomic deexcitation (other than stimulated emission), and pumping of atoms are included in the model. The resulting stochastic master equation analogous to that employed for the discussion of fluctuations in chemical systems is then used to obtain the deterministic behavior of atoms and field. This agrees with that of the quantum mechanical laser model of Casagrande and Lugiato; thus the rate parameters of the stochastic model may be related to the parameters of their model. Returning to the master equation, we project out the atomic variable and use adiabatic elimination to arrive at a closed, single-variable equation for P(n), the probability of having n photons in the cavity. The stationary solution of this equation is obtained and graphs of (n) and log[(n2)/(n)2] versus the pumping parameter show close agreement with the microscopic results of the Casa-grande-Lugiato model. A similar discussion of the fluctuations can also be given for a laser with saturable absorption. It shows a first-order phase transition. A comparison with the microscopic results of Lugiato et al. is outlined. Again a remarkable agreement of the stochastic approach via the master equation and the microscopic theory is obtained.
Total body calcium and bone mineral content: comparison of dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry with neutron activation analysis

The aim of this study was to compare the dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) measurement of bone mass with an independent measure of body calcium obtained by neutron activation analysis (NAA). Total body bone mineral content (BMC) was measured using DXA in 46 subjects in the age range 5-47 years (17 children, 28 young women, and 1 adult male). Total body calcium (TBCa) was measured in the same subjects by in vivo NAA. The correlation between the two measures of bone mass was highly significant (BMC[g] = 3.22 x TBCa[g] - 51.4, r > 0.98, p < 0.0001, SEEBMC = 122.7 g). When BMC was the independent parameter, the SEETBCa was 37.5 g. Bland-Altman analysis indicated a mean difference of 2.8 g with a standard error +/- 4.7 g for TBCaNAA versus TBCaDXA when the BMC values were converted to TBCa. The relative change in bone mass (delta TBCa/delta BMC) for DXA was higher than that reported for dual-photon absorptiometry versus NAA. The findings presented in this study provide translational equations among the DXA and NAA measurements and for the conversion of total body BMC to TBCa in children and young adults.