cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Comparison of the Wrat and the Piat With Learning Disability Children

This study was concerned with the comparative performance of learning disability children on the WRAT and the PIAT. Correlations between corresponding subtests of the two instruments were quite hig...
Computation of prime numbers by using a probabilistic algorithm

Abstract A probabilistic algorithm for testing primality of a large integer ‘ n ’ is introduced. The algorithm is then compiled and run on the Pascal programming language. If the algorithm determines n is composite, the result is always true. If it determines n is prime, the result has an error. The probability of error is very small and depends on the numbers of random integers used by the algorithm within the processing.
INCE NTIVE SYSTEMS IN ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION

The central problem of environmental and other regulation is identified as a control problem similar to that faced by principals in controlling their agents. An incentive systems framework, featuring the concept of incentive relation, is offered as a means of integrating and systematizing discussion of alternative means of regulation. The distinction of incentive and directive means of environmental regulation, together with the levels of their targets and the penalties for enforcement, are employed to develop a typology of regulatory means and to categorize environmental regulatory alternatives. Shifting from control of regulatees to control of regulators, some results of a study of the incentive systems facing state reclamation inspectors are reported. Dual external incentive relations (to the mining industry and to the federal Office of Surface Mining) are observed, and the design consequences for regulation in the federal system are discussed.
Preparation and Characterization of Energetic Crystals with Nanoparticle Inclusions

Energetic crystals with nanoparticle inclusions were preparated and characterized, focusing on the nano- sized iron(III) oxide-ammonium perchlorate system, gener- ated using an ethyl acetate/acetone antisolvent:solvent system. It is shown that capture is dependent on antisol- vent-to-solvent ratio; increased quantities of antisolvent lead to faster nucleation rates, smaller crystals, and im- proved capture. Additionally, the crystal habit formation is modified by the addition of nanoparticles, resulting in highly uniform rod-like crystal structures. Results with nanoaluminum-ammonium perchlorate and nanoalumi- num-cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine (RDX) systems have shown similar capture behavior.
Long-term causes of death following ileal pouch-anal anastomosis

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to identify the overall long-term causes of death in a large series of patients who were undergoing proctocolectomy with ileal pouch-anal anastomosis (IPAA). METHODS: Records of patients who underwent proctocolectomy with IPAA at the Mayo Clinic affiliated hospitals between January 1981 and October 1994 were reviewed to determine overall mortality, cause, and timing of death. RESULTS: A total of 1,603 patients underwent proctocolectomy with IPAA reconstruction (1,407 for chronic ulcerative colitis (CUC), 187 for familial polyposis (FAP), and 9 for other diagnoses). Thirty-two patients have died, with an overall mortality rate of 2 percent. Mean age at time of death was 40 (23–60) years. There was no significant difference in overall mortality between patients with CUC and patients with FAP. Three deaths occurred postoperatively (0.2 percent) because of pulmonary embolism, perforated gastric ulcer, and subarachnoid hemorrhage. Late deaths occurred in 29 patients (1.8 percent), 10 months to 10.4 years after the operation. The most common cause of late death was cancer, including colon and rectal carcinoma (10 patients), hematologic malignancies (4 patients), cholangiocarcinoma (3 patients), and germ-cell carcinoma (1 patient). Four patients died from unrelated sepsis, two died following myocardial infarction, two patients died from complications of subsequent orthopedic surgery, and one patient died of cirrhosis. Two additional patients committed suicide. No late deaths were directly attributable to the IPAA procedure. CONCLUSIONS: Proctocolectomy with IPAA is a safe procedure. Operative mortality is low, and late deaths are related to carcinogenic and extracolonic manifestations of underlying or unrelated coexisting diseases and events.
Chemotherapy for adenocarcinoma and alveolar cell carcinoma of the lung.

Abstract Ten patients with inoperable or recurrent adenocarcinoma or alveolar cell carcinoma of the lung have been treated with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). Four of the patients treated with this drug had a marked objective and subjective response. Although 5-FU has not had a measurable effect on bronchogenic carcinoma in general, reappraisal with particular attention to adenocarcinoma and alveolar cell carcinoma seems warranted.
Detecting the magnetic response of iron oxide capped organosilane nanostructures using magnetic sample modulation and atomic force microscopy.

A new imaging strategy using atomic force microscopy (AFM) is demonstrated for mapping magnetic domains at size regimes below 100 nm. The AFM-based imaging mode is referred to as magnetic sample modulation (MSM), since the flux of an AC-generated electromagnetic field is used to induce physical movement of magnetic nanomaterials on surfaces during imaging. The AFM is operated in contact mode using a soft, nonmagnetic tip to detect the physical motion of the sample. By slowly scanning an AFM probe across a vibrating area of the sample, the frequency and amplitude of vibration induced by the magnetic field is tracked by changes in tip deflection. Thus, the AFM tip serves as a force and motion sensor for mapping the vibrational response of magnetic nanomaterials. Essentially, MSM is a hybrid of contact mode AFM combined with selective modulation of magnetic domains. The positional feedback loop for MSM imaging is the same as that used for force modulation and contact mode AFM; however, the vibration of the s...
Regular formulation and sustained-release verapamil therapy in normotension and in mild to moderate hypertension.

Abstract Calcium entry blocker drugs have hypotensive effects that are mediated by both cardiac and noncardiac actions. Dihydropyridine calcium blockers, such as nifedipine and nicardipine, are potent vascular smooth muscle relaxants that lower blood pressure by decreasing peripheral arteriolar resistance. Reflex tachycardia, however, may blunt the magnitude of their hypotensive effect, especially in patients with increased baroreflex sensitivity. Nondihydropyridine calcium blocker drugs, such as verapamil and diltiazem, exert their hypotensive action by both cardiac and peripheral circulatory mechanisms. These drugs also act as arteriolar vasodilators. In addition, they slow the heart rate by decreasing the automaticity of sinoatrial pacemaker cells in the heart. The combined negative chronotropic and vasodilatory actions are especially useful in hypertensive patients with baroreflex sensitivity who are prone to fast heart rates, and in hypertensive patients with associated coronary artery disease. Coronary heart disease patients with or without coexisting hypertension usually show reduction in systolic blood pressure (SBP) and heart rate (HR) both at rest and during submaximal exercise on the treadmill or bicycle. A reduced double product (SBP X HR) with submaximal exertion results in a decrease in cardiac work and correlates with enhanced exercise capacity and delay in onset of angina during exercise testing. In some patients with both hypertensive and coronary heart diseases and ventricular dysrhythmias emerging during exercise, verapamil may confer antiarrhythmic as well as antihypertensive and antianginal benefits. At present, calcium blocker drugs, which have an elimination half-life of 3 to 6 hours, must be given 3 times a day for effective antihypertensive control. However, a sustained-release formulation of verapamil with a half-life of 12 ± 6 hours shows great promise as a 2-times-a-day antianginal and antihypertensive drug.
Protease-activated receptors 1 and 4 mediate thrombin signaling in endothelial cells.

Defining the relative importance of protease-activated receptors (PARs) for thrombin signaling in mouse endothelial cells is critical for a basic understanding of thrombin signaling in these cells and for the rational use of knockout mice to probe the roles of thrombin's actions on endothelial cells in vivo. We examined thrombin- and PAR agonist–induced increases in cytoplasmic calcium, phosphoinositide hydrolysis, extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) phosphorylation, and gene expression in endothelial cells from wild-type and PAR-deficient mice. PAR1 and PAR4 agonists triggered responses in wild-type but not in Par1 – / – and Par4 – / – endothelial cells, respectively. Calcium imaging confirmed that a substantial fraction of individual endothelial cells responded to both agonists. Compared with wild-type cells, Par1 – / – endothelial cells showed markedly decreased responses to low concentrations of thrombin, and cells that lacked both PAR1 and PAR4 showed no responses to even high concentrations of thrombin. Similar results were obtained when endothelial-dependent vasorelaxation of freshly isolated mouse aorta was used as an index of signaling in native endothelial cells. Thus PAR1 is the major thrombin receptor in mouse endothelial cells, but PAR4 also contributes. These receptors serve at least partially redundant roles in endothelial cells in vitro and in vivo and together are necessary for the thrombin responses measured.
The Role and Clinical Applications of Bioactive Lysolipids in Ovarian Cancer

OBJECTIVE: To review the current understanding of the role of bioactive lysolipids in ovarian cancer and their potential clinical applications. METHODS: A MEDLINE search and our own work, including some unpublished work, are the major sources of the review. The MEDLINE search terms used included lysophosphatidic acid, lysophophatidylcholine (LPC), lysophosphatidylinositol (LPI), sphingosine-1-phosphate, and sphingosylphosphorylcholine (SPC). RESULTS: Elevated lysolipid levels were detected in plasma and ascites samples from patients with ovarian cancer compared with samples from healthy controls or patients with nonmalignant disease. These lysolipids regulate growth adhesion, production of angiogenic factors, and chemotherapeutic drug resistance in ovarian cancer cells, Ovarian cancer cells were likely to be at least one of the sources for elevated lysolipid levels in the blood and ascites of patients with ovarian cancer. CONCLUSIONS: Bioactive lysolipid levels might be sensitive markers for detecting gynecologic cancers, particularly ovarian cancer. The prognostic value of lysolipids in ascites is worth further investigation, Bioactive lysolipid molecules can affect both the proliferative and metastatic potentials of ovarian cancer cells; therefore, regulation of the production or degradation of these lipids and interception of the interaction between these lipids and their receptors could provide novel and useful preventative or therapeutic measures.
Development of a Theoretically Based Treatment for Sentence Comprehension Deficits in Individuals with Aphasia.

We have developed two new treatments, one based on sentence to picture matching (SPM) and the other based on object manipulation (OM), that train patients on the relationship between syntactic structure and the meanings of sentences. Fifteen patients with aphasia were identified on the basis of two screening tests for syntactic comprehension (SPM & OM) with different sentence structures. Treatment stimuli comprise WH- movement structures and NP movement structures as well as untrained control structures. Results show that both treatments are effective in improving sentence comprehension of trained structures although the OM task is more effective than the SPM task.
Migration of Sr2+ impurity‐vacancy dipoles in RbCl

The first order recovery of deformed RbCl crystals doped with strontium has been investigated in the temperature range 40 to 80°C and at a frequency of 1.0 kHz by means of dielectric loss measurements. The migration energy of the Sr2+ impurity-vacancy dipole is found to be 0.85 eV. Die Erholung erster Ordnung von verformten RbCl-Kristallen, die mit Strontium dotiert wurden, wird im Temperaturbereich 40 bis 80°C und bei einer Frequenz von 1,0 kHz mittels dielektrischer Verlust-Messungen untersucht. Die Wanderungsenergie der Sr2+-Storstellen-Leerstellen-Dipole ergibt sich zu 0,85 eV.
Acute Aortic Dissection Presenting as Rupture of the Femoral Artery

A 44-year-old male with Marfan's disease presented acutely with severe chest and left groin pain. A pulsatile mass was present in the left groin and the left leg was pale and pulseless. CT imaging demonstrated the presence of a distal thoracic aortic dissection (AD) involving the left iliofemoral segment with extravasation of contrast into the left groin. The patient was treated with an urgent femoral-femoral bypass, which repaired the femoral artery and restored perfusion to the left lower extremity. Whereas rupture of the aorta into the chest or pericardium is common, femoral artery rupture complicating AD has not been previously reported. This case illustrates the need for peripheral branch intervention when compromised by the dissection process including isolated iliofemoral segments, which are typically benign. Given frank femoral artery rupture, urgent surgical repair was required and resulted in a satisfactory outcome.
Dielectric‐Constant‐Enhanced Hall Mobility in Complex Oxides

The high dielectric constant of doped ferroelectric KTa{sub 1-x}Nb{sub x}O{sub 3} is shown to increase dielectric screening of electron scatterers, and thus to enhance the electronic mobility, overcoming one of the key limitations in the application of functional oxides. These observations are based on transport and optical measurements as well as band structure calculations.
The Influence of the State Foreign Language Supervisor Upon Foreign Language Instruction in America

"IN THE long run the most important consequence of Title III [of the National Defense Education Act] may be not the acquisition of useful 'hardware,' but this increased leadership at the state level, and the new spirit of cooperation between colleges and public schools. These forces, eventually affecting teacher training, certification requirements, preparation of new teacher materials, and curriculum revision, may well do more to improve foreign language instruction than any number of language labs."' The "increased leadership at the state level" to which Dr. Parker refers is frequently traceable to the person who is variously referred to as state foreign language supervisor, coordinator, or specialist. By whatever name, the position was non-existent in most states before th Enactment of the National Defense Education Act (NDEA). The country's first state foreign language supervisor was William R. Price, Inspector of Foreign Languages, appointed in New York in 1911. In 1957 only New York and two other states were providing this service to the foreign language profession.2 The National Defense Education Act, which has profoundly affected almost every aspect of
The asymmetric temperature dependence of yield stress in tantalum single crystals at low temperatures

Abstract Single crystals of tantalum with a specific orientation for tensile axis were subjected to tests over the temperature range of 77°K to 483°K at two strain rates. The yield behavior at cryogenic temperatures was deduced to be asymmetric, i.e. , Schmid's law did not apply for the orientation investigated. The observed flow stress behavior is suggested to be controlled by a Peierls mechanism as verified by activation energy and activation volume calculations. The modified Peierls model of Dorn and Mukherjee, which suggests that low-temperature deformation of body-centered cubic metals is controlled by the rate of thermally assisted nucleation of kink pairs on asymmetric a/2[111] screw dislocations, is used and it is demonstrated that the theory account satisfactori for the temperature and strain-rate dependence of the yield stress.
Measurement of Refractive Index Change of Optical Fiber Core Induced by Femtosecond Laser Scanning

We report a new method to measure the refractive index change in optical fiber core induced by femtosecond (fs)laser exposure. An in-line Fabry-Perot interferometer, serving as the measurement platform, is constructed on a commercial single-mode optical fiber by one-step femtosecond (fs) laser fabrication. A positive refractive index change is observed and measured accurately as the laser pulse energy surpasses the ablation threshold.
Room temperature instabilities in MOS structures with pyrolytic SiO 2 films

Instabilities at room temperatures in MOS structures having SiO 2 films deposited by decomposition of TEOS are manifested in a shift, along the voltage axis, of the capacitance-voltage characteristics after voltage stress in the reverse direction. Typical shifts amounted to 13 volts and could not be reversed by a forward voltage.
Tests of cointegrating rank with a trend-break

Abstract The conventional testing procedure may mislead one into accepting the null of no cointegration or the null of a cointegrating rank smaller than the true rank when there is a trend-break under the alternative hypothesis. This paper proposes tests for cointegrating rank that have power against the trend-break alternative. The proposed tests are applied to the US money demand function. The results support the Campbell–Perron conjecture: money, income and interest rates are cointegrated around a broken trend.
Terrorist Attacks on Non-Governmental Organizations

Understanding the process by which terrorist groups decide on whom to target would seem to be a process that might lend itself to study and generalization that would be helpful in predicting later attacks. This study hopes to look at the attacks on non-governmental organizations and determine if there is a systematic set of measures that would allow us to determine if terrorist groups do rationally approach target selection in such a way to derive a pattern that would inform future attack avoidance.
Collision induced intermode energy transfer in small molecules

Abstract Vibrational energy transfer and relaxation processes in GH3F, COF3, CH3F/SO3 and O3/O are briefly reviewed. A technique for measuring vibrational temperatures is described. The importance of vibrational energy transfer pathways in determining vibrational temperatures is discussed.
Adaptive optics systems implemented using two-dimensional phase retrieval and a microelectromechanical deformable mirror

We present a fast 2-D phase retrieval approach used to per- form optical phase modulation of a microelectromechanical-deformable mirror (MEM-DM). Traditional solutions to beamsplitting, beam steering, and beam shaping (BS 3 ) involve multiple and sometimes costly optical components. For example, beamsplitting is normally accomplished with beamsplitters, beam steering is normally achieved with gimbaled me- chanical devices, and beam shaping is normally done with addressable, polarized, and potentially absorptive devices such as LCDs. Using the phase retrieval algorithm with a desired far-field amplitude pattern as a constraint, a segmented wavefront control device is shown to simulta- neously perform the functions of BS 3 . The MEM-DM used is a foundry- microfabricated device that is attractive for optical phase modulation ap- plications primarily because of its inherent low cost and low drive voltages. The MEM-DM shapes the beam based on the results of a modified Fienup and Roggemann/Lee phase retrieval algorithm imple- mented within the system. The optical bench setup and the experimental results for BS 3 are presented. Measured experimental data show good agreement with model simulations. A comparison between analog MEM- DMs and a digitally controlled MEM-DM is presented. Overall, experi- mental results demonstrate the efficacy of the phase retrieval algorithm and a single phase control device in solving optics problems normally solved through traditional techniques and multiple devices. © 2000 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers. (S0091-3286(00)02310-2)
Dielectric Tensors Via Non-scanning Variable Angle Ellipsometry

A non-scanning technique for measuring ellipsometric parameters as a function incident and azimuthal angles is presented. This technique is especially suited to measuring the dielectric tensor of arbitrarily oriented biaxial materials.
Who Needs Inpatient Detox? Development and Implementation of a Hospitalist Protocol for the Evaluation of Patients for Alcohol Detoxification

BACKGROUND Clinicians caring for patients seeking alcohol detoxification face many challenges, including lack of evidence-based guidelines for treatment and high recidivism rates.
DNA polymerase β mRNA and protein expression in Xiphophorus fish

Abstract Herein we report Xiphophorus DNA polymerase β ( Xiph Polβ) mRNA and protein expression levels in brain, liver, gill, and testes tissues from Xiphophorus maculatus , Xiphophorus helleri , and Xiphophorus couchianus parental line fish and two different tumor-bearing Xiphophorus interspecies hybrids. Polymerase β protein levels in the Xiphophorus tissues were measured by Western blot, and mRNA was measured with a quantitative real time RT-PCR method which employed cRNA construction to produce accurate calibration curves. We found significant differences in both mRNA and protein levels between the tumor-bearing hybrid animals and the three parental species. However, there were no significant differences in either mRNA levels or protein expression observed between the parental species. Thus, interspecies hybridization results in dysregulation of Polβ expression and this may manifest a modulation in DNA repair capability and susceptibility to latent tumorigenesis.
Oceanic Ridges and Eustatic Changes in Sea Level

Although the old idea of orogeny causing changes in sea level has recently been revived, this effect is too small to cause major transgressions or regressions1,2. Oceanic ridges, however, are considerably larger than continental mountain ranges and could cause important changes in sea level3,4. The mechanism of the formation of these ridges has been disputed5,6, but their genesis is immaterial to this hypothesis. The hypothesis requires the ridge to be a site of high heat flow which is in local isostatic equilibrium. The heat input causes the material of the ridge to decrease in density and to increase in volume. When the sources of heat are lost the reverse occurs.
HEMODYNAMIC EFFECTS OF E. COLI ENDOTOXIN IN PUPPIES

Serial hemodynamic changes following intravenous E. coll 0111B4 endotoxin were evaluated in 28 puppies, 1-18 days and 270-1800 grans. Serial cardiac outputs were measured by a modified reinfusion dye dilution technique. Heart rate and systemic arterial pressures also were measured. Changes were recorded at 5 min, 10 min and at 10 min intervals thereafter for 1 hour following endotoxin. Heart rate dropped from 210/min to 141/min at 5 min and stabilized at a slightly higher level thereafter (p < 0.01). Mean systemic pressure decreased gradually from 70 mm Hg to 42 mm Hg at 1 hour (p < 0.01). Cardiac index decreased from 266 ml/min/kg to 131 ml/min/kg at 5 min and continued to decline to 115 ml/min/kg at 1 hour (p < 0.01). Systemic vascular resistance rose from 0.467 unit to 0.846 unit at 5 min and remained elevated at slightly lower level at 1 hour (p < 0.01). Minute work decreased at 5 min from 0.301 Kg-m/kg to 0.134 Kg-m/kg and to 0.066 Kg-m/kg at 1 hour (p < 0.01). Mean ejection rate decreased from a control of 10.89 ml/kg/sec to 6.69 ml/kg/sec at 1 hour (p < 0.01). Puppies were divided into 3 groups by weight: 270-400 gm (group A), 401-800 gm (group B) and 801-1800 gm (group C). Cardiac function was comparatively more depressed in group C than in groups A and B. We conclude that 1) E. coli endotoxin has negative inotropic and chronotropic effects on the myocardium of newborn puppies, 2) depression of cardiac function is greater in the older, larger puppies.
Genetics of intestinal lactobacilli

Abstract The lactobacilli are important inhabitants of the intestinal tract of man and animals. Considerable evidence has implicated them in a number of potentially beneficial roles including immuno-stimulation, pathogen exclusion, and production of bioactive peptides and enzymes. Opportunities abound for incorporation of lactobacilli into functional foods, dietary adjuncts, and health-related products. Over the past decade, developments in the molecular taxonomy of lactobacilli have identified six distinct species within the group previously designated Lactobacillus acidophilus . It remains an important challenge to understand the intestinal roles and activities of the individual species and the group at large. In this context, genetic characterization and manipulation of lactobacilli is essential to define their contributions to the intestinal microbiota, and potentially exploit any beneficial or unique properties. This presentation will address the genetics of Lactobacillus species and generally describe the tools and strategies currently available for their manipulation. From this framework, future genetic targets and opportunities for the development of specialized Lactobacillus strains will be discussed.
Transmission electron microscope study of bacterial morphotypes on the anterior dorsal surface of human tongues.

The human tongue has been the subject of many cytological and histological studies. When a literature search disclosed no reports of the ultrastructure of the morphotypes of bacteria residing on the tongue's surface, a transmission electron microscope study of ultrathin sections of bacteria obtained by scraping eight human tongues was undertaken. The scrapings from the anterior dorsal tongue surfaces, processed conventionally for electron microscope study, revealed 33–35 different bacterial morphotypes. Several of the morphotypes were unique to a tongue. Morphotype differences were also related to donor characteristics such as smoking, tongue site, location in centrifuge pellet, diet, and medications. The predominant morphotypes were Gram-positive cocci. These preliminary findings suggest that the microbiota of the human tongue and variations in that microbiota, related to physical condition, lifestyle, medications, and dietary preferences, merit more attention from anatomists. Anat Rec 259:276–287, 2000. © 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
The nature of the 7×7 reconstruction of Si(111): As revealed by changes in oxygen sorption from 2 × 1 to 7×7☆

Abstract Room temperature adsorption of oxygen on 2 × 1 and 7 × 7 reconstructed Si(111) surfaces is shown by core level shift and sticking coeffcients to proceed differently, indicating strongly different nature of the two reconstructions and supporting the defect type models for the 7 × 7 reconstruction.
Issue Salience, Subconstituency Politics, and Legislative Representation

To what extent are citizens able to control their elected officials? Does representation improve when issues become visible? Conflicting results in studies of legislative representation are frequently attributed to issue salience or subconstituency politics. However, most conclusions about the effect of issue salience rely on studies of responsiveness on issues held to be either important or visible. Consequently, we have little idea of how changes in salience serve to alter the representational relationship. To examine this question, we employ a natural experiment to exploit the sudden increase in issue visibility surrounding the consideration of the Armenian Genocide Resolution. We are unable to detect any evidence that salience (as measured by visibility) enhances responsiveness to majority preferences. Instead, salience appears to alter legislators’ sensitivity to different intense subconstituency groups in their districts.
Pediatric Spigelian hernia: A case report

Report of a Spigelian hernia in a 13 yr old girl. The condition may well be more common than generally believed, and the diagnosis should be considered in all children with intermittent abdominal pain, even in the absence of a palpable mass.
Plato and his Critics

ONE OF THE ESSENTIAL ingredients of what we call Western civilization has certainly been a body of thought which is known as Platonism. Both philosophy and science owe an immeasurable debt to the early speculations of Plato and to the Academy which he founded. A. E. Taylor speaks of the founding of the Academy as "in some ways the most memorable event in the history of Western European science."1 Although generally critical of Plato, R. H. S. Crossman describes the Academy as "both a school and an institute of scientific research. There, for the first time, the two sides of modern university life were joined together. Visited by nearly all the famous scientists of the time, it soon ceased to be an Athenian institution and became one of the centers of Greek learning. The students, too, were by no means exclusively from Athens, but included sons (and daughters!) of some of the most distinguished families in Greece."2 The modern university with the liberal arts college at its center is one of the legacies left by Plato to the modern world. Plato's Academy was perpetuated into the sixth century of the Christian era. Chiefly through the influence of St. Augustine, but through the writings of other Church Fathers as well, Platonism had a profound influence upon Christian theology. The Schoolmen of the later Middle Ages thought so highly of his thought that they frequently spoke of him as one who had been divinely inspired. Plato's influence has been pervasive and persistent throughout the history of the Western world.3 During the Renaissance the Platonic Academy was revived in Florence under the leadership of Marsilio Ficino. In opposition to the teaching of Hobbes there emerged in seventeenthcentury England a school of philosophers known as the Cambridge Platonists. Generally known as Latitudinarians, they sought to effect a reconciliation between reason and revelation in a spirit of liberal tolerance. According to one of the ablest of twentieth-century
Electronic structure and magnetism of surfaces and interfaces: Selected examples

Abstract Magnetism in low dimensional systems continues as an exciting area of research both experimentally and theoretically. Recent developments of electronic structure theory include realistic theoretical local spin-density predictions of the electronic and magnetic properties of bulk materials, their surfaces, thin films and multi-layers. These results are essential ingredients in guiding the choice of systems to be studied experimentally, and in the interpretation of experimental results. This paper reports some recent predictions of theory including first principles determinations of magnetic anisotropy.
Application of zonal model on indoor air sensor network design

Growing concerns over the safety of the indoor environment have made the use of sensors ubiquitous. Sensors that detect chemical and biological warfare agents can offer early warning of dangerous contaminants. However, current sensor system design is more informed by intuition and experience rather by systematic design. To develop a sensor system design methodology, a proper indoor airflow modeling approach is needed. Various indoor airflow modeling techniques, from complicated computational fluid dynamics approaches to simplified multi-zone approaches, exist in the literature. In this study, the effects of two airflow modeling techniques, multi-zone modeling technique and zonal modeling technique, on indoor air protection sensor system design are discussed. Common building attack scenarios, using a typical CBW agent, are simulated. Both multi-zone and zonal models are used to predict airflows and contaminant dispersion. Genetic Algorithm is then applied to optimize the sensor location and quantity. Differences in the sensor system design resulting from the two airflow models are discussed for a typical office environment and a large hall environment.
Stress generation and exposure in a multi-wave study of adolescents: Transactional processes and sex differences

Given considerable overlap among individual difference predictors of stress generation, the current study sought to elucidate which individual factors are uniquely involved in the stress generation process for interpersonal and achievement events among adolescents. Further, we examined transactional processes between stressors and depressive symptoms and explored potential sex differences in the unique prediction of stress generation. At baseline, youth (6th–10th graders, n = 350, 57% female; 53% White) reported on various individual differences hypothesized to predict prospective increases in stressors. Youth also reported on depressive symptoms and stressors for 4 waves over 5 months. Multi-level modeling showed that different individual difference factors uniquely prospectively predicted increases in dependent (interpersonal and achievement) stressors. Central to this process was interpersonal vulnerabilities and psychopathology. Some of these predictions differed for boys and girls. In addition and in...
Mesh-Independent Fracture Modeling for Overlay Pavement System under Heavy Aircraft Gear Loadings

Flexible overlay systems often fail before reaching their design life due to the occurrence of reflective cracking caused by stress concentrations in the vicinity of joints and cracks in the underlying pavement. In this paper, a two-dimensional finite-element fracture model of a rehabilitated airfield overlay system subjected to mixed-mode loadings was developed to obtain accurate nonarbitrary critical fracture responses in asphalt overlays placed over rigid airfield pavements. A stress-intensity factor (SIF) and J-contour integral approach based on the fracture mechanics theory was selected and implemented to analyze the mechanism of airfield pavement cracking. The predicted SIFs using singular elements were verified by comparison with reference solutions based on the displacement correlation technique. The verified fracture model was applied to investigate a number of complicated environmental effects and critical aircraft gear loading conditions in an airfield overlay system associated with heavy aircraft. The gear configuration and tire pressure of a Boeing 777 aircraft were selected and applied at 12 different loading positions. Temperature-induced Mode-I SIFs were found to be extremely high, and although the magnitude of the responses would be expected to be lower with improved material models and more advanced temperature gradient modeling, the simulations nevertheless emphasized the importance of modeling temperature change in addition to gear loading in climates where daily diurnal temperature cycling is significant. A surprising finding was that aircraft gear loadings placed in the vicinity of the crack tip did not produce the most critical Mode-I stress intensities at the crack tip. Instead, counterflexure produced by gears located 3–4 m from the underlying joint produced higher stress intensities.
CD8+ T-cell responses rapidly select for antigen-negative tumor cells in the prostate

Stimulation of patients' immune systems for the treatment of solid tumors is an emerging therapeutic paradigm. The use of enriched autologous T cells for adoptive cell therapy (ACT) or vaccination with antigen-loaded dendritic cells have shown clinical efficacy in melanoma and prostate cancer, respectively. However, the long-term effects of immune responses on selection and outgrowth of antigen-negative tumor cells in specific tumor types must be determined in order to understand and achieve long term therapeutic effects. In this study, we have investigated the expression of a tumor specific antigen in situ after treatment with tumor specific CD8+ T cells in an autochthonous mouse model of prostate cancer. After T cell treatment, aggregates of dead antigen-positive tumor cells were concentrated in the lumen of prostate gland and were eventually eliminated from the prostate tissue. Despite the elimination of antigen-positive tumor cells, prostate tumor continues to grow in T cell treated mice. Interestingly, remaining tumor cells were antigen-negative and downregulated MHC class I expression. These results show that CD8+ T cells are effective in eliminating antigen-bearing prostate tumor cells but they also can select for the outgrowth of antigen-negative tumor cells. These findings provide insights into the requirements for an effective cancer immunotherapy within the prostate: not only inducing potent immune responses but also avoiding selection and outgrowth of antigen-negative tumor cells.
Population-Based Fish Consumption Survey and Probabilistic Methylmercury Risk Assessment

Af ish consumption survey was developed and administered by telephone to 820 Wyoming fishing license holders. Survey respondents provided the frequency, species, and quantity of Wyoming-caught and store-bought fish consumed for license holder and household members. Deterministic and probabilistic methylmercury exposure distributions were estimated by multiplying fish consumption by speciesspecific mercury concentrations for each household member. Risk assessments were conducted for children, women of childbearing age, and the rest of the population by comparing methylmercury exposure distributions to levels of concern. The results indicate that probabilistic risk assessment likely provides a more realistic view of the risk to the study population. The results of this study clearly indicate that: (1) there is no level of fish consumption that is without risk of methylmercury exposure, (2) fish advisories may be warranted for children and women of childbearing age, and (3) that store-bought fish generally contribute more to methylmercury exposure than do Wyoming-caught fish.
Visual Analysis of Scientific Data: Comparison of 3D-Topographic, Color and Gray Scale Displays in a Feature Detection Task:

Several display techniques were compared for representing scientific data in the context of a feature detection task. The data sets were rendered on a Silicon Graphics workstation using four display formats: linearized gray scale; rainbow scale; reduced hue (blue-green-yellow-white) scale; and a 3D-topographic format viewed in stereo. The task involved searching for features that were embedded in scientific data sets consisting of two spatial and one scalar variable. Data sets were drawn from three scientific domains: Landsat, medical MRI, and global atmospheric data bases. Two types of features were embedded within the data sets: circular (blob-like) discontinuities, and linear (cliff-like) discontinuities. Results showed a general advantage for the gray scale, and a marked disadvantage for the 3D-topographic format in both accuracy and response latency. Performance in the two color scale formats was intermediate, with the reduced hue scale supporting faster, if not more accurate performance than the ful...
Ranking and selection techniques with overlapping variance estimators

Some ranking and selection (R&S) procedures for steady-state simulation require an estimate of the asymptotic variance parameter of each system to guarantee a certain probability of correct selection. We show that the performance of such R&S procedures depends on the quality of the variance estimates that are used. In this paper, we study the performance of R&S procedures with two new variance estimators --- overlapping area and overlapping Cramer-von Mises estimators --- which show better long-run performance than other estimators previously used in R&S problems.
Determining the source and genetic fingerprint of natural gases using noble gas geochemistry: A northern Appalachian Basin case study

Silurian and Devonian natural gas reservoirs present within New York state represent an example of unconventional gas accumulations within the northern Appalachian Basin. These unconventional energy resources, previously thought to be noneconomically viable, have come into play following advances in drilling (i.e., horizontal drilling) and extraction (i.e., hydraulic fracturing) capabilities. Therefore, efforts to understand these and other domestic and global natural gas reserves have recently increased. The suspicion of fugitive mass migration issues within current Appalachian production fields has catalyzed the need to develop a greater understanding of the genetic grouping (source) and migrational history of natural gases in this area. We introduce new noble gas data in the context of published hydrocarbon carbon (C1,C2+) (13C) data to explore the genesis of thermogenic gases in the Appalachian Basin. This study includes natural gases from two distinct genetic groups: group 1, Upper Devonian (Marcellus shale and Canadaway Group) gases generated in situ, characterized by early mature (13C[C1 C2][13C113C2]: –9), isotopically light methane, with low (4He) (average, 1 103 cc/cc) elevated 4He/40Ar and 21Ne/40Ar (where the asterisk denotes excess radiogenic or nucleogenic production beyond the atmospheric ratio), and a variable, atmospherically (air-saturated–water) derived noble gas component; and group 2, a migratory natural gas that emanated from Lower Ordovician source rocks (i.e., most likely, Middle Ordovician Trenton or Black River group) that is currently hosted primarily in Lower Silurian sands (i.e., Medina or Clinton group) characterized by isotopically heavy, mature methane (13C[C1 – C2] [13C113C2]: 3), with high (4He) (average, 1.85 103 cc/cc) 4He/40Ar and 21Ne/40Ar near crustal production levels and elevated crustal noble gas content (enriched 4He, 21Ne, 40Ar). Because the release of each crustal noble gas (i.e., He, Ne, Ar) from mineral grains in the shale matrix is regulated by temperature, natural gases obtain and retain a record of the thermal conditions of the source rock. Therefore, noble gases constitute a valuable technique for distinguishing the genetic source and post-genetic processes of natural gases.
Uncertainty-Aware Autonomic Resource Provisioning for Mobile Cloud Computing

Mobile platforms are becoming the predominant medium of access to Internet services due to the tremendous increase in their computation and communication capabilities. However, enabling applications that require real-time in-the-field data collection and processing using mobile platforms is still challenging due to i) the insufficient computing capabilities and unavailability of complete data on individual mobile devices and ii) the prohibitive communication cost and response time involved in offloading data to remote computing resources such as cloud datacenters for centralized computation. A novel resource provisioning framework for organizing the heterogeneous sensing, computing, and communication capabilities of static and mobile devices in the vicinity in order to form an elastic resource pool—a hybrid static/mobile computing grid (also called a loosely-coupled mobile device cloud)—is presented. This local computing grid can be harnessed to enable innovative data- and compute-intensive mobile applications such as ubiquitous context-aware health and wellness monitoring of the elderly, distributed rainfall and flood-risk estimation, distributed object recognition and tracking, and content-based distributed multimedia search and sharing. In order to address challenges such as the inherent uncertainty in the hybrid grid (in terms of network connectivity and device availability), the proposed role-based resource provisioning framework is imparted with autonomic capabilities, namely, self-organization, self-optimization, and self-healing. A thorough experimental analysis aimed at verifying and demonstrating the benefits brought by autonomic capabilities of the framework is also presented in detail.
Total variation regularized deconvolution for extended depth of field microscopy

The depth of field of an optical system can be extended through a combination of point spread function (PSF) engineering and image processing. A phase mask inserted in the back aperture of the system creates a PSF that is focus-invariant over an extended depth. A digital deconvolution is then used to restore transverse resolution. The application and analysis of this technique to fluorescence microscopy is limited in the literature. In this paper we formalize a microscopy specific imaging model, and experimentally demonstrate a total variation regularized deconvolution approach. Results are compared to the Wiener filter.
A power-aware technique to manage real-time database transactions in mobile ad-hoc networks

A mobile ad-hoc network (AMNET) is a collection of wireless autonomous mobile hosts which are free to move randomly, thus forming a temporary network without any fixed backbone infrastructure. AMNET is typically used in battlefields and disaster recovery situations where temporary network connectivity is required Techniques that manage database transactions in AMNET need to address additional issues such as host mobility, energy limitation and real-time constraints. The paper proposes a solution for transaction management that reduces the number of transactions missing deadlines while balancing the energy consumption by the mobile hosts in the system. The paper then presents a performance study by means of simulation.
Development of Performance Requirements for a Rail Passenger Workstation Table Safety Standard

The American Public Transportation Association’s (APTA) Construction and Structural committee, a railroad industry group, with the support of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center), is creating an industry safety standard for an energy absorbing table. Workstation tables in passenger trains are an increasingly popular seating configuration both in the United States and abroad. Although a well-attached table can provide convenience and compartmentalization for the occupant, there is a risk of abdominal injury during a rail accident. In Fact, there have been several accidents in the United States in which impacts with workstation tables have severely or fatally injured occupants. In 2006, in response to these injuries, an FRA sponsored program developed a prototype table that distributed load over a wider area of the abdomen and absorbed energy during a collision. This table design was tested with specialized anthropomorphic test devices (ATDs) instrumented to measure abdominal impact response and was shown to decrease injury risk compared to a baseline table design. Building on the knowledge gained in the development of the prototype table, the proposed standard requires force to the abdomen be limited while energy is absorbed by the table. Since manufacturers do not have access specialized ATDs, researchers proposed a two part testing requirement. The first part is a quasi-static test which measures the energy absorption capacity of the table with a maximum force level determined from testing with specialized abdominal ATDs. The second part is a sled test with a standard Hybrid III 50th percentile (HIII) ATD to assess compliance with occupant protection standards of compartmentalization and ATD injury assessment reference values (IARVs). This paper discusses the research performed to develop the performance requirement in the draft standard. Current injury measures, originally developed for the automotive industry, were examined to assess their applicability to workstation table impacts. Multiple Mathematical Dynamic Models (MADYMO) model simulations show the estimated injuries during a simulated sled test scenario. Several force-crush parameters were examined, including the initial stiffness of the force-crush curve, the plateau force and the target energy absorbed by the table, to determined the force-crush design characteristics of a table that are likely to reduce injury risk. The results of this study, combined with testing of the current prototype table described in a companion paper [1], led to a draft standard that will greatly improve the safety of workstation tables in passenger rail cars.