cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Noise suppression in IR thermal-wave video images by real-time processing in synchronism with active stimulation of the target

We describe an infrared (IR) imaging system in which noise suppression and image enhancement occur as a result of real-time processing techniques, synchronized with active time-dependent heating of the target. The system consists of an JR video camera and a real time image processor under the control of a computer workstation, together with various time-dependent heat sources. The heat sources are used to launch pulsed or periodic thermal waves into the target, and the camera is used to record the thermal waves scattered back to the surface by sub-surface thermal features (cracks, coating substrate boundaries, inter-ply delaminations, etc.). The technique involves applying either a sequence of short (-S. 5 ms) heat pulses with relatively long time intervals between them, or a long train of square or sinusoidal heating pulses with frequencies of a few Hz to a few kHz. In the first (pulsed) case, the signal processor is operated as a pixel-by-pixel box-car averager with images being taken in several gated time windows after each pulse. After averaging over multiple pulses, and suitable arithmetic manipulation of the gated images, a resultant image with increased contrast and a considerably higher signal-to-noise ratio is obtained. The result is as if a quarter of a million box-car averagers (one for each pixel of the image) had processed the data. In the second (periodic heating) case, the system is operated as if it consisted of a similar number of vector lock-in amplifiers, again producing an improved signal-to-noise ratio. We show examples of sub-surface features in graphite-epoxy laminates and copper printed circuit traces embedded in polyimide.
MIS and SIS solar cells

In this review paper we show that MIS (metal-insulator-semiconductor) and SIS (semiconductor-insulator-semiconductor) solar cells are basically one and the same type of device, even though they are usually regarded as being separate and are reported as such. Experimental results on the two most common systems, Al-SiO x -pSi and ITO-SiO x -pSi (ITO designates indium-tin-oxide) are presented to support a model where tunnel current through the insulator or interface is the transport mechanism between the metal or oxide semiconductor (acting as a collecting grid) and the base converting semiconductor. However, the I-V characteristics of the devices are dominated by diffusion current flow in the bulk of the base converting substrate and display the usual Shockley diode equation behavior, in the absence of additional defect current mechanisms.
DARE: Adaptive Data Replication for Efficient Cluster Scheduling

Placing data as close as possible to computation is a common practice of data intensive systems, commonly referred to as the data locality problem. By analyzing existing production systems, we confirm the benefit of data locality and find that data have different popularity and varying correlation of accesses. We propose DARE, a distributed adaptive data replication algorithm that aids the scheduler to achieve better data locality. DARE solves two problems, how many replicas to allocate for each file and where to place them, using probabilistic sampling and a competitive aging algorithm independently at each node. It takes advantage of existing remote data accesses in the system and incurs no extra network usage. Using two mixed workload traces from Face book, we show that DARE improves data locality by more than 7 times with the FIFO scheduler in Hadoop and achieves more than 85% data locality for the FAIR scheduler with delay scheduling. Turnaround time and job slowdown are reduced by 19% and 25\%, respectively.
Prescriptions for Reading: The Medicinal Prologues of Gonzalo de Berceo's Saints' Lives

Gonzalo de Berceo remains an obscure figure beyond the confines of Hispanomedievalism despite a revitalization of medieval studies that has stirred new interrogations of such issues as the poeticization of hermeneutical imperatives, the poetics and politics of literary translation, and the complex strategies of authorial and cultural power that are mediated through the interplay of author and audience. His Lives of the Iberian Saints Oria, Millan de la Cogolla, and Domingo de Silos, although crucibles of just such concerns, remain at the margins even within the Hispanomedieval canon.' More marginal still are the prologues to the hagiographical poems. What notice the hagiographical prologues draw has tended to read them as blurbs of autobiographical throat-clearing, separate from and unnecessary to the lives of the saints that they introduce.2 This essay shifts the importance of the hagiographical prologues to the thematic and semantic center of the text and invites a reevaluation of the complex and challenging
Investigation of plasma polymerized benzene and furan thin films for application in opto‐electronic devices

Conjugated polymers are among the most promising organic materials for opto-electronic devices. In such applications, the main fabrication problem is to get uniform, defect-free, and reproducible thin films of these materials. In this investigation, an RF plasma reactor was used to produce cross-linked organic thin films from benzene and furan precursors. Uniform thin films of desired thickness were fabricated using this plasma polymerization technique. The composition of the plasma-polymerized films was determined with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Fourier transform infrared spectra of the monomers and plasma-polymerized thin films prepared were compared to analyze the chemical structure of the films. Ultraviolet–visible absorption spectroscopy shows a red shift of 45 nm in λmax for the case of plasma-polymerized benzene films and 52 nm in the case of plasma-polymerized furan films when compared to their respective monomer spectra. Photo luminescence spectra of these films show a blue emission with a broad peak at 460 nm for the plasma-polymerized benzene films and 445 nm for the plasma-polymerized furan films. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 87: 523–528, 2003
Alignment verification by wavefront testing of the composite infrared spectrometer

The composite infrared spectrometer (CIRS) instrument is scheduled to fly on NASA's Cassini Orbiter to Saturn in 1997. CIRS consists of two Fourier transform spectrometers, the mid-IR (MIR) and the far-IR (FIR), which measure a spectral range from 7 to 1000 microns. The optical alignment of CIRS begins with alignment of the optical subsystems which are then integrated and aligned to each other. These subsystems include the 0.5 meter Cassegrain telescope, collimating optics aft of the telescope, the moving mirror scanning mechanism, MIR and FIR interferometers, and the MIR and FIR focal planes. This paper discusses the alignment verification test developed to verify the opto-mechanical alignment of the collimating optics and the fixed mirrors of the interferometers. The verification test utilized the ZYGO Mark IVxp interferometer to test the wavefront of the aligned subsystem. The test set-up, requirements and results are presented.© (1996) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Outflow boundary conditions for three-dimensional finite element modeling of blood flow and pressure in arteries

Flow and pressure waves emanate from the heart and travel through the major arteries where they are damped, dispersed and reflected due to changes in vessel caliber, tissue properties and branch points. As a consequence, solutions to the governing equations of blood flow in the large arteries are highly dependent on the outflow boundary conditions imposed to represent the vascular bed downstream of the modeled domain. The most common outflow boundary conditions for three-dimensional simulations of blood flow are prescribed constant pressure or traction and prescribed velocity profiles. However, in many simulations, the flow distribution and pressure field in the modeled domain are unknown and cannot be prescribed at the outflow boundaries. An alternative approach is to couple the solution at the outflow boundaries of the modeled domain with lumped parameter or one-dimensional models of the downstream domain. We previously described a new approach to prescribe outflow boundary conditions for simulations of blood flow based on the Dirichlet-to-Neumann and variational multiscale methods. This approach, termed the coupled multidomain method, was successfully applied to solve the non-linear one-dimensional equations of blood flow with a variety of models of the downstream domain. This paper describes the extension of this method to three-dimensional finite element modeling of blood flow and pressure in the major arteries. Outflow boundary conditions are derived for any downstream domain where an explicit relationship of pressure as a function of flow rate or velocities can be obtained at the coupling interface. We developed this method in the context of a stabilized, semi-discrete finite element method. Flow rate and pressure distributions are shown for different boundary conditions to illustrate the dramatic influence of alternative boundary conditions on these quantities.
Production of anhydrous 1,4‐dioxane from ethylene oxide in the presence of amberlyst 15

The fast and exothermic reaction of ethylene oxide with the sulfonic acid groups of Amberlyst 15 (H+), suspended in an inert solvent, leads to the formation of polymeric ester species whose length aproaches a limiting value. The ester chains decompose to form cyclic ethers and this decomposition can be made selective for 1,4-dioxane in a two-step process by first esterifying the resin and then depolymerizing the esters. The resin can be used repeatedly with substantial capacity loss, but this loss can be removed by regeneration. 1,4-Dioxnne formatios from the esters was fousd to be described by the phenomenological model. with an apparent activation energy of 25.8 kcal/mol.
Further studies on adenyl cyclase in psoriasis.

SUMMARY Slices of human skin obtained with-a keratome were pre-incubated with [3H]adenine to label the ATP pool from which cyclic AMP was subsequently formed. The accumulation of radioactive cyclic AMP was measured as an index of adenyl cyclase activity. The data showed that both the ability to incorporate [3H] into ATP and adenyl cyclase activity were significantly lower in psoriatic plaques than in uninvolved skin of the psoriatic patients, or in normal skin of control subjects. The response of adenyl cyclase to the stimulation of 3.3 μM adrenaline was less than five fold in psoriatic plaques as compared to twelve to thirty-two fold in the uninvolved skin. The response to the stimulation of prostaglandin E2 (5 μg/ml) showed no significant difference between the plaque and normal skin. The adenyl cyclase activity in uninvolved skin of psoriatic patients appeared normal. Propranolol (10 μM) blocked the stimulatory effect of adrenaline but not that of PGE2 in normal skin. These resulsuggest that the adenyl cyclase system of the skin has different regulatory sites for adrenaline and PGE2, and that the enzyme is defective in the epidermis of the psoriatic plaque, especially at the adrenaline regulatory site. A preliminary report on this study was given at the Second International Conference on Cyclic AMP at Vancouver, Canada, 8-11 July 1974.
Cysteine 99 of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (NOS-III) is critical for tetrahydrobiopterin-dependent NOS-III stability and activity.

Tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) is an essential cofactor for all three isoforms of nitric oxide synthase (NOS). However, its binding sites and functional roles remain elusive. Here, we demonstrated that cys-99 of human endothelial NOS (ecNOS) is critical for BH4 involvement in NOS catalytic activity and stability. Mutation of cys-99 to alanine in ecNOS resulted in loss of catalytic activity which could be restored to the level of wild type by adding a high concentration of exogenous BH4 to the crude extract. Purified C99A mutant was unstable and its maximal activity was only about 20% of the purified wild type activity. Comparison of BH4 concentration-dependent citrulline formation between C99A and the wild type revealed that the BH4 concentrations required for generating half-maximal citrulline were 10-fold higher for C99A. Purified C99A had no detectable BH4 and had a reduced heme content when compared to the purified wild type, but retained the ability of forming CO-ferrous heme complex and had the same Km value for L-arginine (∼ 4 μM) as the wild type. These findings indicate that Cys-99 is critically involved in BH4 binding. Mutation of this residue leads to reduced affinity for BH4 and the resultant enzyme instability and irreversible heme loss.
Interfilament Spacing Is Preserved during Sarcomere Length Isometric Contractions in Rat Cardiac Trabeculae

It is generally assumed that the myofilament lattice in intact (i.e., nonskinned) striated muscle obeys constant volume. However, whether such is the case during the myocardial contraction is unknown. Accordingly, we measured interfilament spacing by x-ray diffraction in ultra-thin isolated rat right ventricular trabeculae during a short 10 ms shuttered exposure either just before electrical stimulation (diastole), or at the peak of the contraction (systole); sarcomere length (SL) was held constant throughout the contraction using an iterative feedback control system. SL was thus varied in a series of SL-clamped contractions; the relationship between SL and interfilament spacing was not different between diastole and systole within 1%; this was true also over a wide range of inotropic states induced by varied [Ca2+]o. We conclude that the cardiac myofilament lattice maintains constant volume, and thus constant interfilament spacing, during contraction.
Three-phase short circuit synchronous machines-V

This paper is the fifth of a series which the authors have presented on the subject of synchronous machines. Part I was an extension of the fundamental theory; Part II, a treatment of torque-angle characteristics under steady-state conditions; Part III, a study of torque-angle characteristics under transient conditions; and Part IV, an analysis of single-phase short circuits. In the present paper, equations for the currents in the armature phases and field under three-phase short circuit are developed. The analysis is divided into three parts. The first covers the case of short circuit at no-load when the resistance is negligible in determining the magnitude of the current although it must naturally be considered in finding the decrement factors; the second considers the same case where the resistance does affect the magnitude of the current; the third covers the case of short circuit under load when resistance is negligible as in the first case. The effect of the nature of the load, i. e., whether the power factor is lagging or leading, is studied and some interesting results are brought out. It is shown that short circuits under load may give less current than at no-load, and it is further developed that under certain practical operating conditions it is even possible to obtain sub-stantially no fundamental current. The paper is illustrated with comparisons of calculated curves and oscillograms showing the actual currents obtained in test.
Termination of Parental Rights—Ethical Issues and Role Conflicts

As the child psychiatrist shifts from the pure evaluative, diagnostic and therapeutic models to that of interfacing with the legal system in determining moral and ethical issues—specifically, the termination of parental rights—a role conflict ensues. This paper examines the historical context of children's, parent's, and society's rights. Current guidelines for the termination of parental rights are examined. Ways of alleviating some of the psychiatrist's role conflicts while interfacing with the law are explored.
100% uric acid stone formers: what makes them different?

Objective To identify what risk factors on 24-hour urinalysis, if any, predispose patients to have higher percentages of uric acid (UA) stone composition in their stones, with specific emphasis on patients with pure UA stones. Methods We retrospectively identified 308 patients from review of a kidney stone analysis database. Patients were grouped according to the percentage UA composition: 10%-20%, 30%-50%, 60%-90%, and 100% UA. Data were extracted from 24-hour urine collections and serum chemistries. Patients taking allopurinol, citrates, or thiazide diuretics were excluded. Results The percentage UA stone composition increased as patients became older (P = .05) or heavier (P Conclusion Older and heavier patients with higher serum UA levels are more likely to have a pure UA stone. This information combined with traditional predictors (urine pH, radiopacity of stone, and Hounsfield units) may help identify those most likely to respond to dissolution therapy.
Operant response topographies of rats receiving food or water reinforcers on FR or FI reinforcement schedules

Separate groups of food- and water-deprived rats pressed a lever for food or water, respectively, on continuous reinforcement and various fixed-ratio and fixed-interval reinforcement schedules. Food-reinforced rats on continuous, FR 2-, or FI 10-sec schedules showed consistently longer mean lever contact durations per leverpress than did water-reinforced rats on the same schedules. Mean lever-contact-duration differences between food- and water-reinforced rats were greatly attenuated or disappeared under FR 4-, FR 8-, FI 20-sec, and FI 30-sec schedules of reinforcement. These results are interpreted as supporting earlier hypotheses that there are respondent components of operantly conditioned and autoshaped leverpresses, but that these respondent components weaken with partial reinforcement and the leverpress topography comes under the control of operant contingencies.
THE INTERACTION OF IgE WITH RAT BASOPHILIC LEUKEMIA CELLS : II. Quantitative Aspects of the Binding Reaction

Previous studies indicated that cultured rat basophilic leukemia cells have surface receptors which bind IgE with high specificity. In this paper we describe some quantitative aspects of the phenomenon. The reaction mechanism appears to consist of a simple reversible binding reaction with k1 = 9.6 x 104 M–1 sec–1 and k–1 ⩽ 1.6 x 10–5 sec–1 at 37°C. The calculated KA is therefore ⩾ 6 x 109 M–1. The activation energy of binding was found to be 7.8 kcal/mol. The number of binding sites/cell varied between 3 x 105 to over 1 x 106. The binding was insensitive to pH's between 6–8 but at pH 3.0 complete dissociation of bound IgE occurred in ∼ 1 min at 0°C leaving the receptors for IgE intact. Ca++ plus EDTA and Mg++ plus EDTA produce a fairly marked reduction in binding capacity though these reagents alone produce much smaller effects.
Streak-camera observations of the pulse emission from a synchronously pumped continuous-wave mode-locked dye laser

Pulse emission from a synchronously pumped cw mode-locked dye laser is investigated with a streak camera. Prominent satellite pulses with nonrepetitive temporal spacing can be detected that are difficult to observe with an autocorrelator.
Machines et installations d'essai pour éléments de construction

Ce groupe de themes a ete le sujet de six exposes. Je voudrais essayer de resumer l'ensemble de ces exposes, en repondant aux trois questions suivantes: I. Pour quelle raison procede-t-on a l'essai d'elements de construction? II. Par quels moyens procede-t-on a l'essai d'elements de construction? III. De quelle facon procede-t-on a l'essai d'elements de construction?
Personality factors in resistance to illness after recent life changes

Abstract Three personality dimensions, derived by factor analysis from the Omnibus Personality Inventory, are examined as possible intervening variables between recent life experience and subsequent health change in a college population. All three personality measures, social conformity, liberal intellectualism and emotional sensitivity, are found to be independently and significantly predictive of health change; these relationships hold even when recent life experience is introduced as a significant predictor of health change. The addition of personality measures to information about recent life experience sinificantly improves the predicability of deleterious health change. The results are discussed in the context of factors which promote resistance to health breakdown after life changes.
Capacity of Hybrid Wireless Mesh Networks with Random APs

In conventional Wireless Mesh Networks (WMNs), multihop relays are performed in the backbone comprising of interconnected Mesh Routers (MRs) and this causes capacity degradation. This paper proposes a hybrid WMN architecture that the backbone is able to utilize random connections to Access Points (APs) of Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN). In such a proposed hierarchal architecture, capacity enhancement can be achieved by letting the traffic take advantage of the wired connections through APs. Theoretical analysis has been conducted for the asymptotic capacity of three-tier hybrid WMN, where per-MR capacity in the backbone is first derived and per-MC capacity is then obtained. Besides related to the number of MR cells as a conventional WMN, the analytical results reveal that the asymptotic capacity of a hybrid WMN is also strongly affected by the number of cells having AP connections, the ratio of access link bandwidth to backbone link bandwidth, etc. Appropriate configuration of the network can drastically improve the network capacity in our proposed network architecture. It also shows that the traffic balance among the MRs with AP access is very important to have a tighter asymptotic capacity bound. The results and conclusions justify the perspective of having such a hybrid WMN utilizing widely deployed WLANs.
SECONDARY GROWTH IN NEEDLE LEAVES OF PINUS LONGAEVA (BRISTLECONE PINE) AND OTHER CONIFERS: QUANTITATIVE DATA

Needle leaves of Pinus longaeva can be accurately dated and remain alive on branches for 30 or more yrs, making this species ideal to study secondary growth in leaves. Field observations and regression analysis of needle age versus mean needle length both indicate primary (elongation) growth of needles is completed in the first year. Statistical analysis of cell counts for one- to 33-yr-old needles indicate production along the entire length of needles of 1.0-1.7 cell layers per year of secondary phloem, but no secondary xylem. Microscopic measurements and cell counts reveal that with advancing needle age phloem increases radially and transfusion tissue buckles, but the number of endodermal cells and xylem width do not change. Living phloem remains constant in amount (ca. 9 layers) with advancing needle age, indicating yearly replacement of old by new phloem. For comparison to P. longaeva, needle leaves were also studied for ten other conifer taxa with maximum needle longevities ranging from 3 to 19 yrs. In needles of each taxon no secondary xylem is produced, but secondary phloem production occurs throughout the post-elongation lifespan of the needles regardless of maximum needle longevity.
Predictors of persistence of comorbid generalized anxiety disorder among veterans with major depressive disorder.

OBJECTIVE A limited number of randomized clinical trials show that efficacious pharmacologic treatments exist for comorbid major depressive disorder (MDD) and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). The aims of this effectiveness study were to describe the impact of a depression care management intervention on the persistence of comorbid GAD symptoms in a sample of primary care patients with MDD and to identify risk factors for persistent GAD. METHOD Data were collected from April 2003 to September 2005 for the Telemedicine-Enhanced Antidepressant Management (TEAM) study, a multisite, randomized effectiveness trial targeting US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) primary care patients with depression. Veterans aged 26.59-88.36 years received either the TEAM intervention or usual care in small VA community-based outpatient clinics. The TEAM care management intervention focused on optimizing antidepressant therapy through patient education and activation, symptom monitoring, adherence promotion, and side-effect management. Veterans who screened positive for MDD using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (based on DSM-IV criteria) and who met the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview criteria (maintaining consistency with DSM-IV-TR) for comorbid GAD at baseline were selected for the present study (N = 168). The primary outcome was persistence of GAD at 6 months and 12 months. All predictors available in the TEAM study data that were described in the literature to be associated with influencing GAD outcomes were examined. RESULTS Persistence of depression was the strongest predictor of persistence of comorbid GAD at both 6 months (OR = 5.75; 95% CI, 2.38-13.86; P < .05) and 12 months (OR = 15.56; 95% CI, 6.10-39.68; P < .05). Although the TEAM intervention significantly reduced depression symptom severity, it was not significantly associated with GAD persistence. Insomnia was a significant protective factor for persistence of GAD at 6 months (OR = 0.66; 95% CI, 0.44-0.99; P < .05). CONCLUSIONS Early screening for presence of comorbid GAD among those with MDD may be valuable both for further research and for enhancing clinical management of GAD and MDD comorbidity.
Long-term storage of learned birdsongs prior to production

Abstract Sixteen male swamp sparrows, Melospiza georgiana , were reared by hand in the laboratory and exposed in infancy to tape-recorded songs. Training ended around 2 months of age. Samples of singing were tape recorded sporadically from the age of 50 to 90 days and on a weekly basis from about 95 to 400 days. Analysis revealed that explicit rehearsal of learned songs did not begin, on the average, until 240 days after the last exposure to training songs. Swamp sparrows can commit song syllables to memory and produce imitations of them 8 months later with no rehearsal in the interim.
Quantifying physical characteristics of wildland fuels using the Fuel Characteristic Classification System

Wildland fuel characteristics are used in many applications of operational fire predictions and to understand fire effects and behaviour. Even so, there is a shortage of information on basic fuel properties and the physical characteristics of wildland fuels. The Fuel Characteristic Classification System (FCCS) builds and catalogues fuelbed descriptions based on realistic physical properties derived from direct or indirect observation, inventories, expert knowledge, inference, or simulated fuel characteristics. The FCCS summarizes and calculates wildland fuel characteristics, including fuel depth, loading, and surface area. Users may modify fuelbeds and thereby capture changing fuel conditions over time and (or) under different management prescriptions. Fuel loadings from four sample fuelbed pairs (i.e., pre- and post-prescribed fire) were calculated and compared by using FCCS to demonstrate the versatility of the system and how individual fuel components, such as shrubs, nonwoody fuels, woody fuels, and l...
The COOH-terminal Transactivation Domain Plays a Key Role in Regulating the in Vitro and in Vivo Function of Pax3 Homeodomain

Efficient transcription activation by Pax3 requires binding to a complex DNA sequence element containing binding sites for both the paired domain and the Prd type homeodomain. Previously, we have shown that this requirement is lost in PAX3-FKHR, the product of a t(2;13) chromosomal translocation associated with alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma. In contrast to Pax3, the chimeric PAX3-FKHR, which acts as an oncogene, can efficiently activate a DNA sequence element containing only a homeodomain binding site (TAATAN(2-3)ATTA), despite the presence of an intact Pax3 paired domain. Here, we showed that this alteration in sequence-specific transcription activity was determined in part by the transactivation domain. First, we demonstrated that in intact Pax3, substitution of the Pax3 transactivation domain with an unrelated viral VP16 transactivation domain enabled Pax3 to transactivate homeodomain-specific DNA sequence, as well as to transform fibroblasts. Furthermore, we could abolish the homeodomain-dependent transcription and transforming activities of PAX3-FKHR by replacing its FKHR transactivation domain with Pax3 transactivation domain. Collectively, these results suggested that the transactivation domain influences the DNA binding specificity of Pax3. The translocation process increased the oncogenic potential of Pax3 by removing the inhibitory action of Pax3 transactivation domain on its homeodomain.
Structural Prediction and Mutational Analysis of the Gifsy-1 Xis Protein

Background The Gifsy-1 phage integrates into the Salmonella Typhimurium chromosome via an integrase mediated, site-specific recombination mechanism. Excision of the Gifsy-1 phage requires three proteins, the Gifsy-1 integrase (Int), the Gifsy-1 excisionase (Xis) protein, and host encoded Integration Host Factor (IHF). The Gifsy-1 xis gene encodes the 94-residue Gifsy-1 excisionase protein that has a molecular weight of 11.2 kDa and a pI of 10.2. Electrophoretic Mobility Shift Assays (EMSA) suggested at least one region of the protein is responsible for protein-DNA interactions with a tripartite DNA binding site composed of three direct imperfect repeats.
Geometric parameter estimation with a multiscale template library

A common image processing problem is determining the location of an object using a template when the size and rotation of the object are unknown. In the case of known geometric parameters, it is possible to use an impulse reconstruction technique to determine object location. In the case of unknown parameters, we show that localization is possible by computing a likelihood surface for a dense sampling of the size and rotation space. However, the surface produced is not amenable to conventional minimization methods due to local minima and regions of small or zero gradient. Using a smooth approximate template, we can overcome these difficulties at the expense of estimation accuracy. We therefore demonstrate a technique which employs a library of templates starting from the smooth approximation and adding detail until the exact template is reached. Successively estimating the geometric parameters using these templates achieves the accuracy of the exact template while remaining within a well-behaved 'bowl' in the search space which allows standard minimization techniques to be used.© (2000) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Role for compartmentalization in nephron progenitor differentiation.

Embryonic nephron progenitor cells are segregated in molecularly distinct compartments of unknown function. Our study reveals an integral role for bone morphogenetic protein-SMAD in promoting transition of progenitors from the primitive Cbp/p300-interacting transactivator 1 expressing (CITED1+) compartment to the uniquely sine oculis-related homeobox 2 expressing (SIX2-only) compartment where they become inducible by wingless-type mouse mammary tumor virus integration site family member (WNT)/β-catenin signaling. Significantly, CITED1+ cells are refractory to WNT/β-catenin induction. We propose a model in which the primitive CITED1+ compartment is refractory to induction by WNT9b/β-catenin, ensuring maintenance of undifferentiated progenitor cells for future nephrogenesis. Bone morphogenetic protein 7-SMAD is then required for transition to a distinct compartment in which cells become inducible by WNT9b/β-catenin, allowing them to progress toward epithelialization.
ADR v. the Bench: Why are neutrality standards different?

Judith P. Meyer, of Haverford, Pa., discusses the intersection of judges' courtroom roles and arbitrator disclosure, and how they affect perceptions of fairness, in the first of two parts highlighting ADR ethical considerations
CARBON DIOXIDE FROM THE UNSEVERED VAGUS NERVE OF THE SNAKE

1. The vagus nerve of the gopher-snake, Drymarchon corais couperi (Holbrook), discharges carbon dioxide at an average rate of 0.00234 mgm. of gas per gram of nerve per minute. The extremes were 0.0032 mgm. and 0.0017 mgm. 2. These rates were maintained as well when the nerve was separated from its central and its peripheral connections as when these connections were intact showing that the resting metabolism of nerve is a local operation and is not immediately dependent upon distant connections. 3. These observations also point to the conclusion that the passage of normal impulses over a nerve call for an increase of activity that is unobservable by the method employed and that must be small in amount compared with that produced by artificial stimulation.
The Relationship between cumulative credits and student learning outcomes: A cross-sectional assessment

This article relates the efforts of faculty at one community college to define standards for achievement of two SLOs (critical thinking and effective communication) and to gather and analyze evidence of how well students meet those standards. Faculty from 13 disciplines assessed writing samples from 264 students. We found that, in general, students with more credits outperformed those with fewer credits. However, many students at every level demonstrated poor information literacy skills, indicating an area for curriculum improvement.
Urbanization, Lifestyle Changes and the Nutrition Transition

Abstract Broad shifts are occurring at a rapid pace in the structure of diet, physical activity patterns, and obesity patterns in urban areas in lower income countries. Examples from China and selected other countries along with pooled time-series and cross-sectional analysis of shifts in diet and occupation structure associated with urbanization are presented. Patterns of obesity from nationally representative surveys indicate that the problems of obesity and dietary excess represent an important challenge facing many lower income countries, particularly their urban populations.
Breaking the frequency barrier: Hearing aids based on digital signal processing and VLSI technology

Hearing-aid principles are presented, and the complexity of selecting and fitting hearing aids to patients due to the fact that the acoustic impedance of the ear varies significantly across individuals is discussed. The use of digital processing to solve this problem is described. The development of a unit is examined, and future improvements are briefly considered.
Environmentalisms and gender interests in the Third World

Much environment and development discourse assumes that women are the ‘natural’ constituency for conservation interventions. This article attempts to illuminate this assumption with the lens of a gendered critique of environmentalisms (technocentric, ecocentric and non-western). How do the intellectual roots of Western environmentalisms influence the positions, or non-positions, of contemporary environmentalism with regard to gender? What does research on environmental perceptions in non-Western societies imply about gender differentiation in environmental relations? The article concludes that there are no grounds for assuming an affinity between women's gender interests and those of environments and that such a view is symptomatic of the gender blind, ethnocentric and populist character of western environmentalisms. By contrast the application of gender analysis to environmental relations involves seeing women in relation to men, the disaggregation of the category of ‘women’, and an understanding of gender roles as socially and historically constructed, materially grounded and continually reformulated. The issue of how far women's gender interests and environmental interests go hand in hand leads us to pose a broader question of the degree to which environmental conservation is premissed upon social inequality.
What it means to be general cultural

Abstract Published and unpublished research with the Vocational Interest Inventory based on Anne Roe's interest scheme supported separating the General Cultural area out of the RIASEC framework. It emerged as a distinct fusion of certain verbal-artistic and social tendencies, and, as an occupational group, takes social scientists away from Roe's Science group. General Cultural provides a bridge in career counseling between interests and cognitive variables because of the repeated association of CUL scores with academic achievement and persistence.
Stereoselective synthesis of a chiral ferrosalen ligand using an aromatization strategy

Abstract A new chiral salen ligand based on two ferrocenyl groups is designed. Unlike known salen ligands, of which chirality originates from central and axial chiral centers, the chirality of this ligand comes from the planar chiral ferrocenyl groups. The ligand is synthesized stereoselectively using a novel aromatization strategy starting from a ferrocene derivative, which was readily prepared using a known chiral auxiliary approach.
Multichannel Autofocus Algorithm for Synthetic Aperture Radar

The autofocus problem in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is considered, where phase errors in the acquired signal data result in imagery that is improperly focused. We present a new non-iterative approach to SAR autofocus, termed the multichannel autofocus (MCA) algorithm, that allows the image focusing operator to be determined directly using a linear algebraic formulation. Specifically, we exploit the multichannel redundancy of the defocusing operation to create a linear subspace framework, where the unknown perfectly-focused image can be expressed in terms of a known basis expansion. By invoking an additional assumption on the underlying image support, the framework becomes sufficiently constrained so that a unique focusing filter can be solved for. The MCA approach is found to be computationally efficient and robust, and does not require prior assumptions about the characteristics of the SAR scene; the performance of previous SAR autofocus techniques relies upon the accuracy of priors such as sharpness metrics or dominant point scatterers. We present experimental results characterizing the performance of MCA in comparison with conventional autofocus methods, and discuss the practical implementation of the technique.
Differential response of humpback whales, Megaptera novaeangliae, to playback of song or social sounds

Playback experiments were performed with wild humpback whales, Megaptera novaeangliae, during their breeding and calving season off the island of Maui, Hawaii. Singing whales usually stopped singing upon playback of either songs recorded from lone whales or social sounds recorded from groups of five to eight humpback whales in which males were fighting, probably for access to a female in the group. Three out of four lone singers and six of the eight groups of one or two adults exposed to social sounds charged the playback boat, but the two cows with calves and two groups of three of more adults exposed to social sounds moved away.
Insecticide Residues on Weathered Passerine Carcass Feet

Nine brown-headed cowbirds ( Molothrus ater ) were exposed to turf sprayed with either EarthCare® (25% diazinon; 4.77 L a.i./ha) or Ortho-Klor® (12.6% chlorpyrifos; 5.21 L a.i./ha). Birds were euthanized and one foot from each bird was weathered outdoors for up to 28 days and the other foot was kept frozen until residue analysis. When compared to the unweathered feet, feet weathered for 28 days retained 43% and 37% of the diazinon and chlorpyrifos, respectively. Insecticide residues were below the level of detection (1.0 ppm) on control feet. Weathered feet may be used for determining organophosphorus insecticide exposure to birds.
Biologically Based Fiber-Reinforced/Clay Aerogel Composites

Ultralow-density clay aerogels are formed via the freeze-drying of clay hydrogels. Although unmodified clay aerogels exhibit generally poor mechanical properties, the incorporation of short-cut natural fibers forms a woven-like structure, which significantly increases the mechanical properties of these materials. Incorporation of a matrix polymer into the aerogel/fiber composites further enhances compressive strengths and moduli. A woven-like structure composed of clay aerogel “warp” and fiber “weft” materials seems to be responsible for the enhancements in the material properties in each case examined.
The effect of lidoflazine on exercise tolerance in patients with angina pectoris.

The effect of therapy with lidoflazine on maximal exercise m the upright position was evaluated in 21 patients with angina pectoris. The study consisted off the following there consecutive periods: (1) a three-month period of receiving placebo; (2) six months of therapy with lidoflazine; and (3) a six-month period in which patients were randomized to either therapy with lidoflazine or placebo. Functional status was monitored by multistage tests of exercise capacity and the amount of nitroglycerin consumed. From period 1 to period 2, the mean maximal exercise time increased from 4.4 to 6.5 minutes (48 percent; P
N- vs O-protonation and the transannular substituent interaction in 8-(Dimethylamino)-1-acetonaphthone

Dynamic NMR measurements of 8-(dimethylamino)-1-acetonaphthone 1 in neutral solutions reveal a solvent dependency of the barrier to NMe group interchange similar to that reported for N,N-dimethylacetamide. Titrating 1 with TFA in solvents of varying donicities gives rise to equilibrium mixtures of N-protonated aminoketone 2 and the O-protonated transannular addition product 3, the interconversion rate of which is slow on the NMR time scale at ambient temperature. The preference for O- or N-protonation is medium-dependent, the amount of N-protonated 2 increasing with a decrease in the nucleophilicity of the solvent. The set of equilibria which govern the interconversion of 2 and 3 in the titration mixtures are identified and their equilibrium constants evaluated from the NMR data. X-ray analysis of the crystalline trifluoroacetate salt of O-protonated 3 indicates that the transannular N···CO bond of 3 is formed to an extent of only 80%. The equilibrium distribution of 2 and 3, paired with the tetrafluorobo...
Deictic Abstractions:On the Occasional References to Ideal Objectivities Producible with the Words “This” and “Thus” *

This essay introduces the concept of deictic abstraction (deictic ideation), taking as a point of departure Husserl’s prototypical but insufficient description of the act of ideation in which a shade of color comes to givenness as an ideal object, i.e., a non-individual or abstract object, on the basis of a perceived individual object. This concept comprises not only color-ideation and ideations (abstractions) of universalities of the sensuous sphere (species infima of certain sounds, noises, smells, tastes), but all acts founded in perceptions in which ideal objects are directly referred to by means of demonstrative expressions (“this,” “like this,” “such,” etc.). This allows various types of deictic ideations or abstractions, corresponding to the degree of universality and the kind of ideal object concerned, to be brought to light through the analysis of particular cases of everyday acts of deictic abstraction, including deictic abstractions of predicative universals of the lowest level of universality (e.g., “this smell of perfume,” “a bug like this”); deictic abstractions of non-predicative universals, especially of universal ways (manners, schemata) of doing something (e.g., of tying a shoelace); and deictic abstractions of individual styles of doing something (e.g., of playing a musical composition in a typical individual way). Deictic abstractions not only turn out to be constitutive for the formation of perceptual concepts of the lower and lowest levels, but also prove to be foundational for all kinds of learning in which schemata of actions are acquired from a model (observational learning).
Mean-flow and turbulence measurements in the boundary layer and wake of a ship double model

Experiments have been conducted in a wind tunnel on a 10-foot-long model of a mathematical ship form to study the flow in the boundary layer and wake. The measurements were made with a five-hole pilot and a three-sensor hotwire probe, and extend from midships to 0.8 ship length downstream of the stern. The data include the pressure and mean-velocity fields, all six components of the Reynolds-stress tensor, and all ten components of the triple-product tensor. The evolution of the wake from the thick boundary layer over the stern has been documented in detail.
Ebola data from the Internet: An Opportunity for Syndromic Surveillance or a News Event?

Syndromic surveillance refers to the analysis of medical information for the purpose of detecting outbreaks of disease earlier than would have been possible otherwise and to estimate the prevalence of the disease in a population. Internet data, especially search engine queries and social media postings, have shown promise in contributing to syndromic surveillance for influenza and dengue fever. Here we focus on the recent outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease and ask whether three major sources of Internet data could have been used for early detection of the outbreak and for its ongoing monitoring. We analyze queries submitted to the Bing search engine, postings made by people using Twitter, and news articles in mainstream media, all collected from both the main infected countries in Africa and from across the world between November 2013 and October 2014. Our results indicate that it is unlikely any of the three sources would have provided an alert more than a week before the official announcement of the World Health Organization. Furthermore, over time, the number of Twitter messages and Bing queries related to Ebola are better correlated with the number of news articles than with the number of cases of the disease, even in the most affected countries. Information sought by users was predominantly from news sites and Wikipedia, and exhibited temporal patterns similar to those typical of news events. Thus, it is likely that the majority of Internet data about Ebola stems from news-like interest, not from information needs of people with Ebola. We discuss the differences between the current Ebola outbreak and seasonal influenza with respect to syndromic surveillance, and suggest further research is needed to understand where Internet data can assist in surveillance, and where it cannot.
Outcome of Cardiac Thrombi in Infants

Use of central lines in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) has led to the formation of intracardiac thrombi. A paucity of data exists on the management of neonatal cardiac thrombi, with the few reported cases focusing on outcomes following thrombolytic therapy. This study was undertaken to evaluate the outcome of cardiac thrombi in neonates who do not receive thrombolytic therapy. Nineteen patients younger than 3 months of age diagnosed with cardiac thrombi were included. All 19 patients had a central line. Management consisted of a combination of antibiotics and low-molecular-weight heparin (n = 16) or surgical removal (n = 2). In one case, no treatment was instituted. One patient was lost to follow-up after partial resolution of the thrombus. Complete thrombus resolution occurred in 18 patients, 9 with negative blood cultures and 9 with positive blood cultures. It took longer for resolution of thrombi associated with positive blood cultures than for sterile thrombi. No patient had evidence of thrombus embolization. From these data we concluded that the natural history of cardiac thrombi is resolution. Infected thrombi require more prolonged therapy. Surgery is seldom required and thrombolytics are not usually necessary for clot resolution.