cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Big Five and Southern Legislative Distinctiveness

Objective Previous research has found that southern state legislators demonstrate more progressive ambition than their nonsouthern counterparts. This presents an interesting puzzle with regard to why this difference exists. In this article, we apply the Five‐Factor Model (conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, openness, and extraversion) to investigate whether regional personality differences exist that can help explain why southern legislators exhibit greater levels of progressive ambition than nonsouthern legislators. Methods Data from a national survey of state legislator are analyzed using ordinal regression. Results Our findings show that higher levels of extraversion and openness among the legislators are directly related to greater levels of political ambition. More specifically, southern legislators appear to possess disproportionately higher levels of extraversion and openness than their nonsouthern counterparts. This helps explain the greater levels of progressive ambition they express. Conclusions In addition to providing insight into progressive ambition, the results reinforce the notion of southern distinctiveness among state legislatures.
The Problem of Acedia in Eastern Orthodox Morality

Eastern Orthodox accounts of acedia are often neglected in Catholic and Protestant circles, yet offer a range of insights for contemporary virtue ethics and moral psychology. Acedia is a complex co...
Molecular Biology of Prostate Cancer and Role of Genomic Testing in Diagnosis and Prognosis of Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer, like other cancers, develops as the result of multiple, complex molecular events of initiation, unregulated growth, invasion, and metastasis. These complex molecular events include both loss of specific genomic sequences that lead to inactivation of tumor suppressor genes and gain of specific chromosome regions that are associated with activation of oncogenes. In prostate carcinogenesis, androgen receptor is believed to play a central role. The most common chromosomal aberrations demonstrated in prostatic carcinoma are TMPRSS2: ETS gene fusions, PTEN deletion, TP53 gene mutation, gain of chromosome 7 (particularly 7q31), loss of 8p and gain of 8q, and loss of 10q, 16q, and 18q.
The Failure of 'Notice and Consent' as Effective Consumer Policy

Over the past several decades, the preferred model for consumer protection in most countries has emphasized a notice and consent (or choice) approach with less emphasis on normative laws that prohibit or mandate certain contract terms, acts or practices. In this essay, I argue that it is time for consumer advocates and policy makers to recognize that a notice and consent approach to standard contract terms and conditions is not likely to protect consumer interests in modern day contractual settings. Indeed, policy makers are doing more harm than good by continuing to focus on notice and consent, thereby giving a misleading impression that consumer interests are being protected when they are not. Moreover, by adhering to a notice and consent regime, they avoid discussing the more difficult yet most fundamental questions about what commercial practices should be permitted and which should be banned.
Predicting No-shows at a Student-Run Comprehensive Primary Care Clinic.

Background and objectives Missed appointments represent a significant challenge to the efficient and effective provision of care in the outpatient setting. High no-show rates result in ineffective use of human resources and contribute to loss of follow-up. Shade Tree Clinic (STC) is a student-run, comprehensive primary care clinic that serves more than 350 Middle Tennessee residents. This study aimed to use available data to predict no-shows to improve clinic efficiency and service quality. Methods Data were pulled from clinic scheduling software for all appointments at STC between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2015. Weather data were added for each appointment date using an online database. Multivariable logistic regression was used to create models from these historical data. Results A total of 13,499 appointments were included with an overall show rate of 69.2%. The final model contained previous show rate (OR 1.063; Pl.001), day of the week (OR 1.20; Pl.001), automated reminder (OR 1.40; Pl.001), snow in inches (OR .33; Pl.001), and high ambient temperature in degrees (OR 1.01; Pl.001). Using a cutoff probability of the 25th percentile, the model had a negative predictive value of 61.0%. Conclusions Based on readily available data and a novel conceptual framework, we can identify the quarter of patients least likely to present for scheduled appointments and target them for interventions, allowing care providers to more effectively address community health care disparities through the clinic. This analysis is replicable at any clinic using an electronic medical record.
An Open Label Pilot Study of Adjunctive Asenapine for the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

Objective Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) remain the first-line treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, adjunctive atypical antipsychotics are often used to target residual or refractory symptoms. Asenapine is a novel atypical antipsychotic that possesses a high serotonin (5-HT2A) to dopamine (D2) affinity ratio and alpha-adrenergic antagonism, which may be advantageous in treating PTSD. This pilot study aimed to identify the therapeutic potential of asenapine as an adjunctive treatment for PTSD. Method Eighteen subjects initiated treatment in this single-site prospective, open-label, 12-week trial of flexibly-dosed asenapine in Veterans with PTSD who had not responded to an adequate course of treatment with an SSRI, venlafaxine, or mirtazapine. Subjects remained on their antidepressant medication and were started on adjunctive asenapine 5 mg sublingual at bedtime, which was gradually titrated to a maximum of 10 mg twice per day, as tolerated. The primary outcome measure was the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) for DSM-IV. Results Fifteen subjects finished at least 4 weeks and eleven completed the 12 week study. There was a significant and clinically meaningful decrease in CAPS from baseline (77.56 ± 14.48) to week 4 (48.7 ± 30.6), and to week 12 (35.3 ± 19.7). Six participants experienced adverse events possibly related to asenapine; however, only three participants discontinued early due to related adverse events. Conclusion This pilot study demonstrated that adjunctive treatment with asenapine may provide additional benefit to some patients experiencing residual PTSD symptoms in spite of optimal antidepressant therapy. A larger efficacy study may be warranted.
"No more than one day per week" seems simple enough: So why is conflict of commitment so confusing?

Conflict of interest (COI) and conflict of commitment (COC) are similar in that both concern the “risk that professional judgment or actions regarding a primary interest will be unduly influenced b...
Possibilities of prison-based restorative justice: transformation beyond recidivism

Research on restorative justice in prison settings has focused largely on the relationship between restorative and criminal justice, or on the potential of such programs to reduce recidivism rates ...
Impact of Preoperative Lymphopenia on Survival Following Left Ventricular Assist Device Placement.

Lymphopenia has been implicated in poor outcomes in the heart failure population. However, the prognostic implication of lymphopenia in left ventricular assist device (LVAD) patients is unknown. We examine the impact of lymphopenia on all-cause mortality in this population over a 24-month period post-implantation. A total of 170 patients between June 2011 and July 2018 receiving permanent durable LVAD at a single center formed the study population. Criteria for lymphopenia on admission, defined as an absolute lymphocyte count (ALC) 4800/μl and nine with incomplete data. Survival across groups was compared with a Kaplan-Meier plot and log-rank statistics. The Cox proportional hazard model was used to examine the association between lymphopenia and 24-month all-cause mortality. In the lymphopenia group, mean ALC was 909.6 ± 331.9 versus 2073.6 ± 501.1 in the non-lymphopenic group. Twenty-four-month all-cause mortality was significantly higher in the lymphopenia group (p = 0.009). The lymphopenic patients had worse unadjusted (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.14, confidence interval [CI] = 1.19-3.82; p = 0.01) and adjusted survival (HR = 2.07, CI = 1.13-3.79; p = 0.02). Further clinical investigations are required to assess the utility of continued clinical monitoring of ALC levels beyond LVAD placement.
Improved reproducibility of diffusion MRI of the human brain with a four-way blip-up and down phase-encoding acquisition approach.

PURPOSE To assess the effects of blip-up and -down echo planar imaging (EPI) acquisition designs, with different choices of phase-encoding directions (PEDs) on the reproducibility of diffusion MRI (dMRI)-derived metrics in the human brain. METHODS Diffusion MRI data in seven subjects were acquired five times, each with five different protocols. The base design included 64 diffusion directions acquired with anterior-posterior (AP) PED, the first and second protocols added reverse phase-encoded b=0s/mm2 posterior-anterior (PA) PED images. The third one included 32 directions all with PED acquisitions with opposite polarity (AP and PA). The fourth protocol, also with 32 unique directions used four PEDs (AP, PA, right-left (RL), and left-right (LR)). The scan time was virtually identical for all protocols. The variability of diffusion MRI metrics for each subject and each protocol was computed across the different sessions. RESULTS The highest reproducibility for all dMRI metrics was obtained with protocol four (AP/PA-RL/LR, ie, four-way PED). Protocols that used only b=0s/mm2 for distortion correction, which are the most widely used designs, had the lowest reproducibility. CONCLUSIONS An acquisition design with four PEDs, including all DWIs in addition to b=0s/mm2 images should be used to achieve high reproducibility in diffusion MRI studies.
Understanding and Caring for LGBTQ+ Youth by the Oral Health Care Provider.

With growing visibility, there is an increasing prevalence of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) youth who feel empowered to own their true identity. Members of the oral health team frequently do not receive sufficient education in their training to recognize the nuance that treating this population may require. Although the tooth-level treatment does not materially change, a deeper appreciation of development of sexuality and gender identity, transgender medicine, and the health disparities LGBTQ+ youth face can promote more meaningful, trusting clinical relationships with this vulnerable population. This article aims to provide members of the oral health team with the requisite knowledge to deliver culturally competent care to LGBTQ+ youth.
More than half of opioids prescribed to pediatric patients after ambulatory knee surgery are unused.

Objective: To determine the number of opioid pills remaining after pediatric ambulatory knee surgery to provide insight into how many pills are actually used. Design: Prospective observational cohort study. Participants who were expected to be prescribed 20 (Group 1) versus 40 (Group 2) opioid pills according to the institutional policy (based on the type of surgery) were studied. Patient’s reported pain, medication use, and number of opioid pills remaining at postoperative days (PODs) 7 and 14. Participants were not randomly assigned to groups and no intervention was applied. Setting: An urban tertiary care musculoskeletal institution. Participants: Sixty adolescents between the ages of 12 and 19 undergoing ambulatory knee surgery. Interventions: Observational study, no experimental study intervention. Main outcome measure: The total number of opioid pills remaining. Results: By POD7, more than 70 percent of patients had stopped taking their prescribed opioid medication mainly because their knee pain was tolerable either without the opioid or by using other medications. By POD14, the mean number of pills taken was 6.3 ± 5.3 for Group 1 and 18.4 ± 13.9 for Group 2. The mean number of unused opioids was 13.5 ± 7.2 for Group 1 and 17.9 ± 13.7 for Group 2. Conclusions: Even with prescribing practice guidelines in place, opioids may be overprescribed and could be given in a smaller quantity without affecting the quality of acute postoperative pain control in adolescents undergoing ambulatory knee surgery. However, one needs to consider that some patients may need a larger than average amount in order to be appropriately treated for their level of pain and thus prescription amounts—preferably after reevaluation—should be individualized.
Flexible network address mapping for container-based clouds

Container-based clouds have recently received great attention from the industry. However, we notice that this new type of cloud inevitably requires complex network setups and configurations from both providers and customers when deployed on an existing cloud system; Providers need to install additional network elements such as proxy servers and Network Address Translation (NAT), and customers need to use subdomain names and randomly assigned port numbers to access their services. Thus, we propose a new network architecture that performs M-to-N mapping between network addresses and containers in order to simplify the network setup and configuration. To achieve our goals, we adopt a software-defined networking (SDN) approach. We discuss the benefits and use cases of our approach, and present detailed designs and implementation.
The Twitter Revolutions: Social Media in the Arab Spring

JURIST Guest Columnist Kevin Govern of Ave Maria School of Law says that social media and networking have proven pivotal in the success of the Arab Spring protest movements in a manner that was previously unforeseen by commentators and scholars.
Detecting outliers using rule-based modeling for improving CBR-based software quality classification models

Deploying a software product that is of high quality is a major concern for the project management team. Significant research has been dedicated toward developing methods for improving the quality of metrics-based software quality classification models. Several studies have shown that the accuracy of such models improves when outliers and data noise are removed from the training data set. This study presents a new approach called Rule-Based Modeling (RBM) for detecting and removing training data outliers in an effort to improve the accuracy of a Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) classification model. We chose to study CBR models because of their sensitivity to outliers in the training data set. Furthermore, we wanted to affirmthe RBM technique as a viable outlier detector. We evaluate our approach by comparing the classification accuracy of CBR models built with and without removing outliers from the training data set. It is demonstrated that applying the RBM technique for eliminating outliers significantly improves the accuracy of CBR-based software quality classification models.
Philosophy of Teaching: Developing a Statement That Thrives in the Classroom

(1997). Philosophy of Teaching: Developing a Statement That Thrives in the Classroom. The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas: Vol. 70, No. 3, pp. 125-128.
The Origins of Proslavery Christianity: White and Black Evangelicals in Colonial and Antebellum Virginia

This book deals with the evangelical roots of the proslavery argument. In the colonial and antebellum South, black and white evangelicals frequently prayed, sang, and worshipped together. Even though white evangelicals claimed spiritual fellowship with those of African descent, they nonetheless emerged as the most effective defenders of race-based slavery. As Charles Irons persuasively argues, white evangelicals' ideas about slavery grew directly out of their interactions with black evangelicals. Set in Virginia, the largest slaveholding state and the hearth of the southern evangelical movement, this book draws from church records, denominational newspapers, slave narratives, and private letters and diaries to illuminate the dynamic relationship between whites and blacks within the evangelical fold. Irons reveals that when whites theorized about their moral responsibilities toward slaves, they thought first of their relationships with bondmen in their own churches. Thus, African American evangelicals inadvertently shaped the nature of the proslavery argument. When they chose which churches to join, exercised the procedures set up for church discipline, rejected colonization, or built quasi-independent congregations, for example, black churchgoers spurred their white coreligionists to further develop the religious defense of slavery.
Bilingual Language Acquisition: Spanish and English in the First Six Years

How do children develop bilingual competence? Do bilingual children develop language in the same way as monolinguals? Set in the context of findings on language development, this book examines the acquisition of English and Spanish by two brothers in the first six years of their lives. Based on in-depth and meticulous analyses of naturalistic data, it explores how the systems of both languages affect each other as the children develop, and how different levels of exposure to each language influence the nature of acquisition. The author demonstrates that the children's grammars and lexicons follow a developmental path similar to that of monolinguals, but that cross-linguistic interactions affecting lexical, semantic and discourse-pragmatic aspects arise in Spanish when exposure to it diminishes around the age of four. The first of its kind, this original study is a must-read for students and researchers in bilingualism, child development, language acquisition and language contact.
Physiological roles of pyruvate ferredoxin oxidoreductase and pyruvate formate-lyase in Thermoanaerobacterium saccharolyticum JW/SL-YS485

Thermoanaerobacter saccharolyticum is a thermophilic microorganism that has been engineered to produce ethanol at high titer (30–70 g/L) and greater than 90 % theoretical yield. However, few genes involved in pyruvate to ethanol production pathway have been unambiguously identified. In T. saccharolyticum, the products of six putative pfor gene clusters and one pfl gene may be responsible for the conversion of pyruvate to acetyl-CoA. To gain insights into the physiological roles of PFOR and PFL, we studied the effect of deletions of several genes thought to encode these activities. It was found that pyruvate ferredoxin oxidoreductase enzyme (PFOR) is encoded by the pforA gene and plays a key role in pyruvate dissimilation. We further demonstrated that pyruvate formate-lyase activity (PFL) is encoded by the pfl gene. Although the pfl gene is normally expressed at low levels, it is crucial for biosynthesis in T. saccharolyticum. In pforA deletion strains, pfl expression increased and was able to partially compensate for the loss of PFOR activity. Deletion of both pforA and pfl resulted in a strain that required acetate and formate for growth and produced lactate as the primary fermentation product, achieving 88 % theoretical lactate yield. PFOR encoded by Tsac_0046 and PFL encoded by Tsac_0628 are only two routes for converting pyruvate to acetyl-CoA in T. saccharolyticum. The physiological role of PFOR is pyruvate dissimilation, whereas that of PFL is supplying C1 units for biosynthesis.
Effects of Computing Time Delay on Real-Time Control Systems

The reliability of a real-time digital control system depends not only on the reliability of the hardware and software used, but also on the speed in executing control algorithms. The latter is due to the negative effects of computing time delay on control system performance. For a given sampling interval, the effects of computing time delay are classified into the delay problem and the loss problem. Analysis of these two problems is presented as a means of evaluating real-time control systems. As an example, both the self-tuning predicted (STP) control and Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) control are applied to the problem of tracking robot trajectories, and their respective effects of computing time delay on control performance are comparatively evaluated. For this exmple, the STP (PID) controller is shown to outperform the PID (STP) controller in coping with the delay (loss) problem.
Problems in estimating amounts of food cholesterol 2. Three methods for self-selected mixed diets

Abstract Two analytical methods, gas-liquid chromatography (GLC) and the Zak colorimetric method, were used to analyze extracts from food composites that duplicated the self-selected diets of 18 free-living men, and those values were compared to values calculated from subjects' food records using data from food tables. GLC cholesterol was about 68% of the Zak value and between 84 and 89% of the calculated value. When compared to total sterols summed from GLC analysis, calculated cholesterol and Zak cholesterol varied from 93 to 109% and from 106 to 114%, respectively. Calculated cholesterol values were generally intermediate between Zak and GLC values. Cholesterol represented 70 to 74% of the total sterols; sitosterol represented 18 to 21%.
Alterations of gene expression in Novikoff hepatoma cells induced by a factor in human urine.

Proteins and protein subunits from Novikoff hepatoma cells have been mapped by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis utilizing the BASO-DALT system to resolve the basic proteins. Utilizing this technique, it has been demonstrated that human urine contains proteins that retain biological activity and can stimulate synthesis of several new proteins in neoplastic cells. This stimulatory activity has been detected in urine from cancer patients and normal individuals.
Spotted wing drosophila infestation of California strawberries and raspberries: economic analysis of potential revenue losses and control costs

BACKGROUND: Economic costs of spotted wing drosophila (SWD) include yield and associated revenue losses, labor and material costs for monitoring and management and revenue losses due to the closure of export markets should fruit from SWD-infested regions be banned by trading partners. This analysis focuses on two types of loss in the California raspberry and strawberry industries: yield losses in the absence of management, and insecticide material costs on a per treatment basis. It computes the cost of a specific management program for raspberries in California's Central Coast region. RESULTS: Insecticide material and application costs per treatment and the cost of the management program are small relative to the yield losses in the absence of management that are observed by growers, researchers and others in initial infestations. CONCLUSION: It is difficult to evaluate precisely the share of pest management program costs due to SWD because insecticides are sometimes used to manage multiple pests, and because labor-intensive field sanitation efforts to control SWD are recommended practices already. Given these considerations, this analysis finds that the benefits to SWD management well outweigh the costs examined here. Evaluating the efficacy of managing SWD is essential in assessing the risks that SWD poses and the benefits of pest management programs. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry
Enhancements of pose-tagged partial evidence fusion SAR ATR

This paper discusses enhancements of a recently developed system for robust, obscured object recognition by means of partial evidence reconstruction from object restricted measures (PERFORM). PERFORM employs a partial evidence accrual approach to form both an object identity metric and an object pose estimate. Recent enhancements of PERFORM resulted in significant performance improvements over those reported in our previous publications. Partial evidence information is obtained by applying several instances of the authors' linear signal decomposition/direction of arrival (LSD/DOA) pose estimation technique. The LSD/DOA ATR system avoids search techniques and is capable of detection and classification of possibly articulated, multiple objects with many degrees of freedom. Development of PERFORM was motivated by the fact that pose estimation in the LSD/DOA method is primarily degraded in practice by the presence of background clutter in the pose estimation filter's region of support. The use of several independent pose estimators based upon LSD/DOA's reciprocal basis set filters constructed for overlapping sub-regions of the object, allow for clutter independent pose estimation, and robust detection of obscured targets. Recent enhancements of the partial evidence fusion have been focused on introducing subhypothesis decisions related to the occupancy of the various subregions by target or clutter and fusion of information for target occupied regions. Presented results include receiver operating characteristic curves for SAR targets embedded in clutter with and without partial obscuration.© (1997) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
The international planetary patrol program

International photographic planetary patrol network, discussing filmstrips of Mars and Jupiter using blue, green and red filters
Coherent Splitting of Single Photons by an Ideal Beam Splitter

To a first approximation, a single photon incident upon an ideal beam splitter will either be transmitted or reflected. The author has recently shown, however, that an ideal beam splitter has a small probability of coherently splitting a single photon into a pair of secondary photons, conserving energy in the process. This process is analogous to parametric down-conversionl,2, except that the necessary nonlinearity does not come from any inherent nonlinearity of the medium but comes, instead, from the A 2 term in the Hamiltonian. The necessary inversion asymmetry is also not a property of the medium and is dependent upon the direction of the wave vectors of the incident and secondary photons. The secondary photons have little or no first-order coherence but they do possess second-order coherence, which allows their use in two-photon interferometry3.
Nucleotide sequence and promoter analysis of SPO13, a meiosis-specific gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Abstract The SPO13 gene, required for meiosis I segregation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, produces two developmentally regulated transcripts (1.0 and 1.4 kilobases) that differ in length at their 5' ends. The shorter transcript is sufficient to complement the spo13-1 mutation and contains a major open reading frame encoding a highly basic protein of 33.4 kilodaltons. A fragment upstream (-170 to -8) of the open reading frame confers meiosis-specific transcription on a spo13-HIS3 fusion. Deletions at the 5' end of spo13-lacZ fusions define a region between -140 and -80 that is essential for meiosis-specific expression. This region acts in an orientation-independent manner and is responsive to the MAT-RME regulatory cascade. It contains a 10-base-pair sequence, TAGCCGCCGA, found in a number of meiosis-specific genes, that appears to be required for SPO13 expression. This sequence is identical to URS1, a ubiquitous mitotic repressor element.
Inactivation of Escherichia coli O157:H7 during thermophilic anaerobic digestion of manure from dairy cattle

Inactivation of the pathogenic Escherichia coli serotype O157:H7 and a non-pathogenic E. coli strain isolated from dairy cattle manure was evaluated with batch tests at 50 and 55 degrees C in biosolids from a thermophilic anaerobic digester treating the manure. Using differential-selective plating on sorbitol-MacConkey (SMAC) agar to quantify E. coli, the decline in concentrations of both the sorbitol-negative (putative E. coli O157:H7) and sorbitol-positive (putative non-pathogenic E. coli) organisms followed a model that assumed there was a heat-sensitive fraction and a heat-resistant fraction. Inactivation rates of the heat-sensitive fractions were similar for both colony types at each temperature, suggesting that wild-type E. coli can be used as an indicator of inactivation of serotype O157:H7. The decimal reduction time for the heat-sensitive fractions was in the order of 10min at 55 degrees C and ranged from approximately 1-3h at 50 degrees C. Concentrations of heat-resistant organisms at 55 degrees C were 1.4-1.7log(10)cfu/mL. Confirmatory analyses conducted on 30 randomly selected colonies of heat-resistant sorbitol-negative cells from treatment at 55 degrees C indicated that none were serotype O157:H7, nor were they E. coli. Similar analyses on 10 sorbitol-negative isolates from untreated manure indicated that none were serotype O157:H7, although 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis indicated that eight were E. coli or closely related enteric bacteria. These findings suggest that plating on differential-selective media to quantify E. coli, including serotype O157:H7, in effluent samples from thermophilic anaerobic digestion can lead to false positive results. Therefore, more specific methods should be used to evaluate the extent of thermal inactivation of both pathogenic and non-pathogenic E. coli in manure treatment systems.
Churchill: The Prophetic Statesman. By James C. Humes. (Washington, DC: Regnery History, 2012. Pp. xiii, 244. $27.95.)

Regnery is self‐described as a conservative alternative to mainstream publishers, and James Humes is an accomplished author of over twenty books as well as a former speechwriter for Republican pres...
The remarkable saccades of asymmetrical vergence

Abstract The saccades that usually arise near the onset of asymmetrical changes in vergence, when one eye is aligned with both targets, are remarkably different from ordinary saccades: (1) the excursions of the two eyes are typically very unequal, often differing by several fold from each other; (2) mean excursion (version) is extremely variable across replicate tests with identical targets; (3) at the end of the saccades, eye orientation is usually not even briefly stable: the aligned eye immediately reverses its movement, indicating that the pulse in muscular forces is apparently not followed by a corresponding step ; and (4) a second saccade in the opposite direction can immediately follow the initial saccade of asymmetrical divergence, with no sign of refractoriness. These phenomena suggest that the pulse and step components of saccadic motoneuron activity may be generated by largely independent processes; that the step component for each eye depends only on that eye's visual input; and that the pulse components generated for each eye depend on weighted averaging of visual stimuli that impinge on both eyes. This interpretation is incompatible with most current models of saccade generation, but was anticipated in its essentials by Ditchburn [(1973) Eye movements and visual perception . Oxford: Clarendon Press]. A corollary of this hypothesis is that disparity-evoked vergence changes can be viewed as the general-case output from that system which produces fully conjugate saccades as a special case.
Meeting U.S. passenger vehicle fuel economy standards in 2016 and beyond

New fuel economy standards require new U.S. passenger vehicles to achieve at least 34.1 miles per gallon (MPG) on average by model year 2016, up from 28.8 MPG today. In this paper, the magnitude, combinations and timings of the changes required in U.S. vehicles that are necessary in order to meet the new standards, as well as a target of doubling the fuel economy within the next two decades are explored. Scenarios of future vehicle characteristics and sales mix indicate that the 2016 mandate is aggressive, requiring significant changes starting from today. New vehicles must forgo horsepower improvements, become lighter, and a greater number will use advanced, more fuel-efficient powertrains, such as smaller turbocharged engines, hybrid-electric drives. Achieving a factor-of-two increase in fuel economy by 2030 is also challenging, but more feasible since the auto industry will have more lead time to respond. A discussion on the feasibility of meeting the new fuel economy mandate is included, considering vehicle production planning realities and challenges in deploying new vehicle technologies into the market.
A synergic man-machine approach to shape optimization of structures

Abstract A synergic man-machine approach is presented for performing practical shape optimization of bridge trusses. Design constraints are the allowable tensile and compressive stresses, slenderness limits, allowable stress range in fatigue and displacement and fabricational constraints. The moving loads acting on the bridge and the design constraints are based on the American Association of State Highway and Transportation (AASHTO) specifications. The synergic man-machine approach to shape optimization is based on changing the key layout parameters of the bridge truss (that is, the height and the number of panels) and performing optimization for each layout in an interactive computer graphics environment. The method is applied to four types of steel bridge trusses, i.e. Pratt, Parker, parallel-chord K truss and curved-chord K truss for a span range of 100–500 ft.
Deposition of mullite and mullite-like coatings on silicon carbide by dual-source metal plasma immersion

Mullite and mullite-like coatings on silicon carbide have been produced by a metal plasma immersion ion implantation and deposition (Mepiiid) technique based on two cathodic vacuum arc sources and concurrent pulse biasing of the substrate in an oxygen atmosphere. The deposition was carried out at oxygen partial pressures of between 0.66 and 3.33 Pa. The Al:Si ratio in the films varied from 1:1 to 8:1 and was controlled by varying the pulse duration of the separate plasma guns. High bias voltage was used early in the deposition process in order to produce atomic mixing at the film-substrate interface, while lower bias voltage was used later in the deposition; low ion energy allows control of the physical properties of the film as well as faster deposition rates. The as-deposited films were amorphous, and crystalline mullite was formed by subsequent annealing at 1100{degree}C for 2 h in air. Strong adhesion between the mullite and the SiC was achieved, in some cases exceeding the 70 MPa instrumental limit of our pull-tester. {copyright} {ital 1997 Materials Research Society.}
ENHANCEMENT OF PYRUVIC ACID RELEASE AND FLAVOR IN DEHYDRATED ALLIUM POWDERS BY GAMMA GLUTAMYL TRANSPEPTIDASES

SUMMARY —The transpeptidase of sprouted onion, in conjunction with both endogenous and exogenous cysteine (sulfoxide) lyases, catalyzes the liberation of pyruvic acid from γ-L-glutamyl-L-cysteine (sulfoxide) dipeptides (precursors to flavor precursor) and increases the rate and extent of pyruvic acid formation and flavor in reconstituted samples of commercially dehydrated garlic and onion bulbs as well as in experimentally dehydrated onion roots and skins. Effects of enzyme concentration, time, pH, exogenous lyase and protease, as well as sample source have been investigated. The application of these enzymes may constitute a rapid and simple means for estimation in plants of the above mentioned dipeptides which appear, from such an analysis, to concentrate in the inner part of the onion bulb. Transpeptidases may be useful in enhancing the value and quality of dehydrated onion and garlic and other Allium species, improving the flavor of Allium-containing foods, as well as providing a use for a waste product, cull-sprouted onions. Other sources of transpeptidase such as mammalian kidney may also be suitable for enhancing onion flavor.
Structure of the gangrene α-toxin: the beauty in the beast

The crystal and molecular structure of the Clostridium perfringens alpha-toxin crowns over a century-long research into the mechanisms of pathogenesis of gas gangrene. The structure reveals a two-domain enzyme, with a catalytic all-helical N-terminal domain, and a C-terminal domain similar in its jelly-roll topology to those found in pancreatic lipase and lipoxygenases.
Three-dimensional view planning for noncontact dimensional inspection

For dimensional inspection, the information on what to inspect usually is first obtained from the model. That will include geometric dimensions and tolerances (GD&Ts) as well as topological information about the model. Once items to be inspected are identified, the next step is inspection planning. Generally, there are several inspection features in one object. Using a vision system, we can see several features in one image. However, the features are not always inspectable because of the verification resolution (in other words, tolerance) constraint. To completely inspect the desired items (called 'inspection features'), one needs an algorithm for finding the optimum view sequence. In this paper, we discuss how to find the best view and optimum view sequence for inspection taking the desired verification resolution into consideration. To find the best view of an object, we use the number of inspectable features and verification resolution as parameters. We define the admissibility as an average resolution difference for every inspectable feature between the desired resolution and the calculated verification resolution in the selected image. Generally speaking, if a view has higher admissibility, the inspectable features in that view have a better verification resolution. Thus, if a view has more inspectable features, admissibility will be smaller. A feature visibility checking algorithm for view planning for 3-D optical image sensing is developed using a Z-buffer algorithm. Since the models used in this paper are approximated by triangular surfaces to obtain geometric and topological information from the CAD drawing, inputs for the algorithms are triangular surfaces. The result is output information about the number of visible surfaces and visible surface area with respect to a defined camera viewpoint. Both the theoretical development and practical application results are presented in this paper.© (1996) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
A quantitative analysis of resistor networks with logarithmically wide distribution of conductances

We use a percolation analysis to study the conductivity of a random resistor network with bond conductances gi = g0 exp(λxi), where xi is a random variable. In the limit λ → ∞ we may write the network conductivity as σ = ca2−dgcλ−y where a is the lattice constant, y a critical exponent, c a constant, and gc the percolation conductance. We derive rigorous bounds to σ and we present evidence that supports the hypothesis that y = 0 for all 2D lattices.
Coarsening dynamics of self-accommodating coherent patterns

Abstract The coarsening kinetics of self-accommodating coherent domain structures is investigated using computer simulations based on a continuum phase-field model. The domain structures are produced from coherent hexagonal to orthorhombic phase transformations. It is found that the long-range elastic interactions arising from the lattice accommodation among different orientation domains of the orthorhombic phase dominate the domain morphologies and the kinetics of domain coarsening. It is shown that the long-range elastic interactions result in several new features for the domain coarsening as compared to normal grain growth. For example, the domain growth rate is reduced significantly and the growth exponent becomes a function of the relative contribution of the elastic energy reduction to the total driving force. In general, the elastic interaction is in favor of fine domains. Although triple junctions are dominant in the microstructure, a significant amount of quadrojunctions exist throughout the domain coarsening process. The average number of sides of the domain is also reduced.
Dynamics of shear aligning of nematic liquid crystal monodomains

The equations of linear and angular momentum for nematic liquid crystals have been described with Ericksen's transversely isotropic fluid [TIF] model and solved for start-up of shear flow at constant rate and varying initial alignment conditions. An analytical solution for the rotation provides predictions of the nematic director which closely agree with experimental results of Boudreau et al. (1999), supporting the validity of Ericksen's TIF model. The solution is limited to flows where the effects of director gradients are negligible.
Thyroxine analogs XVI: Synthesis and activity of 3,5-dibromo-3′-isopropyl-l-thyronine

3,5-Dibromo-3′-isopropyl-L-thyronine (V) has been synthesized by two independent routes. Its biological potency, greater than that of L-thyroxine in a number of test systems, demonstrates that iodine is not a required substituent for thyroxine-like effects.
3D referencing techniques for physical objects in shared augmented reality

We introduce an augmented reality referencing technique for shared environments that is designed to improve the accuracy with which one user can point out a real physical object to another user. Our technique, GARDEN (Gesturing in an Augmented Reality Depth-mapped ENvironment), is intended for use in otherwise unmodeled environments in which objects in the environment, and the hand of the user performing a selection, are interactively observed by a depth camera, and users wear tracked see-through displays. We present the results of a user study that compares GARDEN against existing augmented reality referencing techniques, as well as the use of a physical laser pointer. GARDEN performed significantly more accurately than all the comparison techniques when the participating users have sufficiently different views of the scene, and significantly more accurately than one of these techniques when the participating users have similar perspectives.
Electrostatic normal modes in an unmagnetized homogeneous Coulomb plasma. A Hamiltonian approach

Abstract The hamiltonian structure for fluid electrodynamics in the Coulomb case is used to derive the Bohm-Gross and ion-acoustic dispersion relations.
The effect of a terminal double bond on the micellization of a simple ionic surfactant

Abstract Conductance measurements have been employed to determine the critical micellization concentration (CMC) of sodium 10-undecenoate from 5 to 30°C and of sodium undecanoate from 10 to 30°C. The CMC for sodium 10-undecenoate was found to be about a factor of 2 greater than that for sodium undecanoate from 10 to 30°C, although this factor exhibited a small, but consistent, increase with increasing temperature.
Naturalistic Decision Making in After-Action Review Meetings: The Implementation of and Learning from Post- Fall Huddles

The purpose of this study was to add to our understanding of Naturalistic Decision Making (NDM) in healthcare, and how After Action Reviews (AARs) can be utilized as a learning tool to reduce errors. The study focused on the implementation of a specific form of AAR, a post-fall huddle, to learn from errors and reduce patient falls. Utilizing 17 hospitals that participated in this effort, information was collected on 226 falls over a period of 16 months. The findings suggested that the use of self-guided post-fall huddles increased over the time of the project, indicating adoption of the process. Additionally, the results indicate that the types of errors identified as contributing to the patient fall changed, with a reduction in task and coordination errors over time. Finally, the proportion of falls with less adverse effects (such as non-injurious falls) increased during the project time period. The results of this study fill a void in the NDM and AAR literature, evaluating the role of NDM in healthcare specifically related to learning from errors. Over time, self-guided AARs can be useful for some aspects of learning from errors.
Exposure to pheromones increases plasma corticosterone concentrations in a terrestrial salamander

Sensory cues involved in social interactions can influence plasma steroid hormone concentrations. Although pheromonal communication is common in amphibians, it is unknown whether pheromones can alter hormone levels in amphibians as they do in mammals. We tested whether courtship pheromones would alter steroid hormone concentrations in male and female terrestrial salamanders (Plethodon shermani). Plasma corticosterone concentrations were elevated in male salamanders exposed to mental gland courtship pheromones, as compared to males exposed to female skin secretions or a saline control. Chemosensory cues had no effect on testosterone levels in males or on corticosterone or estradiol levels in females. These results provide the first evidence that pheromones have priming effects on the endocrine system in amphibians.
Severe idiopathic pulmonary hemosiderosis in the absence of clinical or radiologic evidence of pulmonary disease.

Summary A case of idiopathic pulmonary hemosiderosis in a 9-year-old Caucasian boy is presented. In spite of moderate to severe recurrent iron deficiency anemia and an estimated daily pulmonary blood loss of 30 to 40 ml., the patient never had clinical or radiologic evidence of pulmonary disease. Idiopathic pulmonary hemosiderosis should be considered as a cause of iron deficiency anemia, especially in the older child in whom attempts to demonstrate a source of gastrointestinal bleeding are unrevealing.
Human serum antibody responses to the surface protein antigens of Campylobacter pyloridis

Abstract The surface protein antigens of Campylobacter pyloridis have been identified by western blotting and radioimmunoprecipitation techniques using sera from infected patients with gastro-duodenal disease. No single common surface protein antigen was detected by all sera but a number of major antigens, including 61 kDa, 56 kDA, 54 kDa, 48 kDa and 31 kDa proteins, were observed. Both the 54 kDa and 56 kDA, putative flagellar antigens cross-reacted with antisera from patients infected with Campylobacter jejuni, whilst the 62 kDa C. jejuni flagellar protein was frequently immunolabelled by human anti-C. pyloridis antisera. An antigenic material, extractable from C. pyloridis under acid conditions, contained many of the surface antigens, including the species-specific 61 kDa and 31 kDa proteins, and had reduced levels of the highly cross-reacting 54 kDa antigen. This material was more suitable for ELISA serodiagnostic assays than whole-cell sonicates though cross-reactivity with anti-C. jejuni antisera was not eliminated.
Formulas for Calculating Short-Circuit Forces Between Conductors of Structural Shape

THE mechanical forces acting on busbar supports during short circuit are determined both by the magnitudes of the mutual electromagnetic forces exerted among the bus conductors and by the elastic properties of the supporting structure: its motional resistance, natural frequencies, and physical nature and arrangement. Comprehensive mathematical studies,∗∗ substantiated by experimental data, of the individual and collective effects of these factors and general methods for calculating the magnitudes involved have been advanced by Schurig and Sayre,1 Dahlgren,2,3 and Pilcher.4 In shorter articles based on the work of the first-named Schurig, Fricke and Sayre,5 Tanberg,6 Specht,7 Edson,8 and others9 have presented certain charts, nonograms, and short cuts that facilitate the numerical labor incident to actual calculation.