cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Interactive health communication technology: where do clinical nursing interventions fit into the picture?

T HERE IS NO DOUBT that telecommunications and computer technologies are changing the manner in which individuals interact with their health care providers. A number of words have been used to describe an electronic encounter between a client and a health care provider (e.g., telehealth, telemonitoring, telemedicine, consumer health informatics). For the purposes of this column, I use the term interactive health communication (IHC), defined by the Science Panel on Interactive Communication and Health as “the interaction of an individual—consumer, patient, caregiver, or professional—with or through an electronic device or communication technology to access or transmit health information or to receive guidance and support on a health-related issue” (Robinson, Patrick, Eng, & Gustafson, 1998). This definition incorporates the use of various information and telecommunications technologies for functions such as (a) relaying information, (b) enabling informed decision making, (c) promoting healthful behaviors, (d) promoting peer information exchange and emotional support, (e) promoting self-care, and (f) managing demand for health services. These functions are well matched to the types of interventions delivered by nurses in clinical settings. The seminal research by Brennan and colleagues has documented the utility and safety of IHC as a nursing intervention strategy for clients and caregivers for aspects of care such as education, social support, and decision making (Brennan, Moore, & Smyth, 1991; Brennan et al., 2000; Brennan & Ripich, 1994; Brennan, Moore, & Smyth, 1995). Given its potential, how can nurses harness the power of IHC as a delivery mode for clinical nursing interventions? I suggest that it is the nursing, not the technology, that is the most important consideration in the use of IHC technologies for clinical nursing interventions. I use an illustration related to Principle 1 of the Core Principles on Telehealth document published by the American Nurses Association to illustrate my point of view: “Services provided via telehealth must adhere to basic assurance of quality and professional health care in accordance with each health care discipline’s clinical standards” (American Nurses Association, 1999, p. ix). The individualization of interventions based on the client’s needs and preferences as assessed by the nurse is a central part of the nursing process, a basic clinical standard for the profession of nursing. How can this standard be incorporated into an intervention that is delivered through IHC technologies? One way is through informatics-based approaches for targeting and tailoring interventions.
Thermal Parameters For Crystal-Mesophase And Crystal-Crystal Transitions Of Some Benzylideneanilines

Abstract In previous publications1,2 temperatures, enthalpies (latent heats) and entropies for liquid crystalline phase transitions of 35 N-(p-alkoxybenzylidene) -p-n-alkylaniline compounds, CnH2n+1O--CHN--CmH2m+1 (abbreviated nO.m), have been reported. The present note completes that study by summarizing thermal parameters for transitions involving crystalline phases of these same materials.
Progressive ratio performance varies with body weight in rats

The progressive ratio (PR) performance of male rats was assessed under varying states of food restriction (75-100% of free-feeding body weight). Because performance of this task requires subjects to increase, within each session, the amount of effort (lever presses) expended for subsequent food reinforcers, it is thought that measures of performance in this task provide an index of `motivation' to work for food. In earlier studies, subjects were `prefed' their daily food allotments at a variety of intervals (0.25-6 h) prior to PR testing. In those studies, it was determined that such feeding episodes did not significantly affect PR performance and thus, motivation to work for food. The present studies demonstrate that PR behavior varies significantly as a function of body weight. Thus, in the rat, body weight per se has a greater influence over food-related satiety than does the recent ingestion of a meal.
Discrete-time modeling of multiple-input DC energy conversion systems

Due to the widespread utilization of digital controllers in modern dc-dc converters, discrete-time model development for such converters has prompted a great attention in the field of power electronics. In addition, multiple-input dc-dc energy conversion systems have recently gained much interest in many applications, including electric ships, due to their ability to diversify the energy sources and their compact design. In this paper, a systematic methodology is proposed for developing the exact discrete-time model of the multiple-input dc-dc energy conversion systems. Numerical simulations are also presented to verify the validity of the proposed method.
New Biobased High Functionality Polyols and Their Use in Polyurethane Coatings

High-functionality polyols for application in polyurethanes (PUs) were prepared by epoxide ring-opening reactions from epoxidized sucrose esters of soybean oil-epoxidized sucrose soyates-in which secondary hydroxyl groups were generated from epoxides on fatty acid chains. Ester polyols were prepared by using a base-catalyzed acid-epoxy reaction with carboxylic acids (e.g., acetic acid); ether polyols were prepared by using an acid-catalyzed alcohol-epoxy reaction with monoalcohols (e.g., methanol). The polyols were characterized by using gel permeation chromatography, FTIR spectroscopy, (1)H NMR spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and viscosity measurements. PU thermosets were prepared by using aliphatic polyisocyanates based on isophorone diisocyanate and hexamethylene diisocyanate. The properties of the PUs were studied by performing tensile testing, dynamic mechanical analysis, DSC, and thermogravimetric analysis. The properties of PU coatings on steel substrates were evaluated by using ASTM methods to determine coating hardness, adhesion, solvent resistance, and ductility. Compared to a soy triglyceride polyol, sucrose soyate polyols provide greater hardness and range of cross-link density to PU thermosets because of the unique structure of these macromolecules: well-defined compact structures with a rigid sucrose core coupled with high hydroxyl group functionality.
Computer-assisted test interpretation: considerations in patient care

Computer-assisted test interpretation (CATI) is a set of developing technologies designed to support medical decision-making. This paper develops a taxonomy of computer-assisted test interpretation, giving specific consideration to the characteristics of the data that are to be interpreted, the nature of the interpretive task, the expected involvement of the health professional in the generation of the interpretation, the inference mechanism used for the interpretation, and the broader context of the interpretation. We go on to examine potential benefits and disadvantages of CATI systems in terms of accuracy, information management, interpretation time, patient management, medical communication, and expense. Finally, we examine electrocardiogram interpretation systems from the perspective of this taxonomy, and offer suggestions regarding areas of further inquiry into the effects of CATI on medical care.
Dimensions of psychobiologic reactivity: Cardiovascular responses to laboratory stressors in preschool children

Individual differences in children’s physiologic responses to environmental stressors may be responsible for significant, but modest, associations found in past studies between stress and various morbidities. Because no standardized approach currently exists for eliciting and measuring cardiovascular reactivity (CVR) to laboratory stressors in preschool children, we developed a laboratory-based reactivity protocol that derives three dimensions of CVR-intensity, variability, and attenuation-and collected reliability data for each. A sample of 137 children between the ages of three and five years completed a series of seven devel-opmentally challenging tasks, comprising interpersonal, cognitive, and fine motor problems. Pulse rate (PR), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), systolic blood pressure (SBP), and mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) were measured at twelve standardized points using a Dinamap oscillometric blood pressure monitor. CVR scores were calculated for each of the four cardiovascular measures using: (a) a difference score; (b) a standardized residual score; and (c) three scores characterizing the dimensions of intensity, variability, and attenuation. Four to six weeks following initial testing, the protocol was readministered to ascertain temporal stability of reactivity measures. All four cardiovascular measures were responsive to the presented tasks (p>.001), and extensive variability was found in the character of cardiovascular responses. Subjects less than four years of age showed higher task PRs and lower DBPs, SBPs, and MAPs compared to older peers, but no gender differences were found. Difference scores were highly correlated with standardized residual scores (r’s=.94 and .79,p>.001 for PR and MAP, respectively), but the three reactivity dimension scores showed a lack of intercorrelation and were independent of both difference and residual scores. Only the intensity and variability dimension scores showed modest and significant test-retest reliability (r’s=.25 to .50,P>.01). Although previous CVR research has generally utilized difference or residual scores, dimensional scores reflecting the intensity and variability of CVR may achieve greater reliability in preschool childen.
Housing Values, Aspirations, and Satisfactions as Indicators of Housing Needs

The major purposes of this study were to identify the housing related values, aspirations, and satisfactions of a group of randomly selected low-income rural residents living in private dwellings and a group of randomly selected low-income urban residents living in public housing; and to explore the usefulness of Maslow's theory of human motivation to an understanding and assessment of human needs related to housing. The interpretation of the findings as they related to the Maslow framework suggested that the public housing units provided for the physiological needs of the residents, but that deficiencies in environmental factors such as location, community services, and social aspects of the milieu frustrated satisfaction of the higher order needs.
Quantum state reconstruction for strongly excited Rydberg atom wave packets via a two-state Ramsey fringe inversion method

We show that wave-packet interference techniques can reconstruct the quantum state of wave packets excited by strong laser pulses. The measurement may be accomplished even when the strength of the excitation is sufficient to significantly deplete the ground state. The probe of the wave packet can still remain perturbative. An inversion algorithm is also developed that is a generalization of the standard Ramsey fringe probe of a wave packet. The normalized sums and differences of the populations of two of the Rydberg states display Ramsey fringes and from these fringes the relative phase between these two states can be found. The algorithm offers advantages in efficiency over previous interferometric algorithms. The algorithm is not sensitive to the precise nature of the distribution of the phase between the pump and probe pulses.
Insufficiency of Product-Moment Correlation for Factor Analysis of Bipolar Measurements

This study examined the problems in using product-moment correlations for the 2 general functions of factor analysis, identification (or verification) and use of psychological constructs embedded in bipolar ratings. For illustration, a set of fictitious semantic differential ratings, with known structural similarities and differences between concept profiles, were factored. The results were assessed against 12 criteria for evaluation derived from simultaneous considerations of issues in statistics, measurement, and psychosemantics. It was concluded that solutions from factor analysis of r coefficients do not identify or verify underlying attributional relationships among concepts implicit in subjects' cognitive processes and manifest in ratings. An alternative index, Beta Coefficient, was then used to illustrate its advantage in analysis of the hypothetical bipolar ratings. Implications of the present study are discussed.
Novel polyolefin nanocomposites: Synthesis and characterizations of metallocene-catalyzed polyolefin polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane copolymers

Novel organic/inorganic hybrid copolymers have been prepared using single site catalysis. Ethylene copolymers incorporating a norbornylene-substituted polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) macromonomer have been prepared using a metallocene/methylaluminoxane (MAO) cocatalyst system. Isotactic polypropylene-containing POSS nanoparticles were also synthesized for the first time using a similar approach utilizing a C2 symmetric ansa-metallocene. A wide range of POSS concentrations were obtained in these polyolefin POSS copolymers under mild conditions, up to 56 wt % for PE-POSS copolymers and 73 wt % for PP-POSS copolymers. Initial findings point to improved thermooxidative stability for these nanocomposite polyolefins containing the “molecular silica” side groups relative to their homopolymer analogues. Thermogravimetric analysis of the PE-POSS copolymers under air shows a 90 °C improvement, relative to a polyethylene control sample of similar molecular weight, in the onset of decomposition temperatur...
Conditional Expression of TGF-β1 in Skeletal Muscles Causes Endomysial Fibrosis and Myofibers Atrophy

To study the effects of transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1) on fibrosis and failure of regeneration of skeletal muscles, we generated a tet-repressible muscle-specific TGF-β1 transgenic mouse in which expression of TGF-β1 is controlled by oral doxycycline. The mice developed muscle weakness and atrophy after TGF-β1 over-expression. We defined the group of mice that showed phenotype within 2 weeks as early onset (EO) and the rest as late onset (LO), which allowed us to further examine phenotypic differences between the groups. While only mice in the EO group showed significant muscle weakness, pathological changes including endomysial fibrosis and smaller myofibers were observed in both groups at two weeks after the TGF-β1 was over-expressed. In addition, the size of the myofibers and collagen accumulation were significantly different between the two groups. The amount of latent and active TGF-β1 in the muscle and circulation were significantly higher in the EO group compared to the LO or control groups. The up-regulation of the latent TGF-β1 indicated that endogenous TGF-β1 was induced by the expression of the TGF-β1 transgene. Our studies showed that the primary effects of TGF-β1 over-expression in skeletal muscles are muscle wasting and endomysial fibrosis. In addition, the severity of the pathology is associated with the total amount of TGF-β1 and the expression of endogenous TGF-β1. The findings suggest that an auto-feedback loop of TGF-β1 may contribute to the severity of phenotypes.
Diagnosis and Treatment of Pediatric Feeding and Swallowing Disorders The Team Approach

Pediatric feeding and swallowing disorders are common. Given the multiple and overlapping factors playing major roles in the development of normal feeding and swallowing, a multidisciplinary team a...
Euler-Lagrange equation in the case of nonregular equality constraints

An optimization problem with inequality and equality constraints in Banach spaces is considered in the case when the operators which determine the equality constraints are nonregular. In this case, the classical Euler-Lagrange equation has the degenerate form, i.e., does not depend on the functional to be minimized. Applying some generalization of the Lusternik theorem to the Dubovitskii-Milyutin method, the family of Euler-Lagrange equations is obtained in the nondegenerate form under the assumption of twice Frechet differentiability of the operators. The Pareto-optimal problem is also considered.
Extracorporeal shock-wave lithotripsy in hypertensive patients. Importance of pretreatment cardiac evaluation.

Abstract We report a case of acute hypertension and congestive heart failure during extracorporeal shock-wave lithotripsy in a woman with pre-existing hypertension.
(Z)-3-Hexenol induces defense genes and downstream metabolites in maize

In response to insect feeding, corn plants (Zea mays cv. Delprim) release elevated levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including the C6-volatile (Z)-3-hexenol. The level of mRNA accumulation for a series of defense genes was monitored in response to application of (Z)-3-hexenol (50 nmol) to undamaged plants. The induction of transcripts for hpl (hydroperoxide lyase), fps (farnesyl pyrophosphate synthase), pal (phenylalanine ammonia-lyase), lox (lipoxygenase), igl (indole-3-glycerol phosphate lyase) and mpi (maize proteinase inhibitor) were compared with metabolites generated from the respective pathways. While headspace VOC analysis showed an increase in (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate and methyl salicylate with lox and pal induction, respectively, MPI accumulation was not observed with an increase in mpi transcripts. Moreover, (Z)-3-hexenol treatment did not elevate sesquiterpene emissions or activate fps transcription. Chemical labeling and bioassay experiments established that exogenous (Z)-3-hexenol can be taken up and converted to a less active acetylated form. These data indicate that (Z)-3-hexenol can serve as a signaling molecule that triggers defense responses in maize and can rapidly be turned over in planta.
Spatially constrained clustering and upper level set scan hotspot detection in surveillance geoinformatics

We discuss upper level set (ULS) scan as a type of spatially constrained clustering in relation to two ways of imposing the spatial constraint, retrospectively versus progressively. We show that ULS scan produces the same results both ways; whereas two popular clustering techniques, single-linkage and K-means, can yield different results when spatial constraints are imposed retrospectively versus progressively. The ULS scan approach examines spatially connected components of a tessellation as a threshold is moved from the highest level (value) in the data to the lowest level. When the variable of interest on the tessellation is a rate of incidence, then a significance test is available based on binomial or Poisson null models and Monte Carlo techniques. This is a common context for detecting hotspots of diseases in epidemiological work. We also discuss an approach for extending the univariate methodology to accommodate multivariate contexts.
The care of decubitus ulcers pressure sores.

Despite a large volume of literature particularly directed toward treatment, pressure sores (including decubitus ulcers) remain a difficult problem, especially in the nursing home environment. The treatment of pressure sores is somewhat controversial and quite diversified. Selection of a successful therapeutic modality must be preceded by correct evaluation, i.e., whether the sore is superficial or deep, open or closed. The treatment of superficial sores is conservative and directed toward cleanliness, relief of pressure, and exposure to air. Surgical debridement may be indicated. Proteolytic enzymes often are employed as adjunctive therapy, although there are some major drawbacks to their use. The plethora of therapeutic agents suggested for the treatment of deep pressure sores probably is related to the difficulties in achieving success. Surgical debridement is indicated, and proteolytic enzymes are widely used. Possible interactions. and factors leading to the inactivation of these enzymes are discussed, as is the use of various solutions, ointments, gold leaf, oxygen, dry heat, and other adjunctive devices. Of paramount importance in the management of pressure sores is the maintenance of cleanliness and dryness.
National survey of planted salt marshes (Vegetative stabilization and wave stress)

There have been many recent attempts to establish salt marshes in the coastal United States. Plantings are generally made for the purpose of shore protection, dredged material stabilization, or habitat development. During 1980 a survey was made of recent and historic salt marsh planting projects. Data were collected in 104 planted marshes in 12 coastal states. The relative stability of these plantings was compared to physical indicators of wave climate severity (fetch, shore slope, offshore depth, shore configuration, sediment grain size, orientation with respect to prevailing and storm winds, and proximity to boat traffic).
Building the New Zion: Unfinished Conversations between the Jews of Venta Prieta, Mexico, and Their Neighbors to the North

In 1950, Raphael Patai published his research on Venta Prieta, a Mexican town in which some residents lived as Jews despite having little knowledge of Judaism. Like other visitors, Patai was perplexed. Why did they wish to live as Jews? While Patai never answered this question to his satisfaction, he believed the answer would be found by developing a psychological profile of the residents, an approach in keeping with culture and personality theorists of the day. The present article provides a different solution. Drawing on additional sources, and short visits, we argue that Venta Prieta was not only a stop on the Jewish tourist circuit by 1950 but also developed out of a unique exchange. While U.S. Jews, as evangelical Protestants before them, provided a model for upwardly mobile Mexicans, Venta Prieta enabled middle-class tourists to experience Judaism in a pastoral setting and to "repair the world" (tikkun). [Keywords: Judaism, tourism, dialogical anthropology, social change, social mobility]
Effects of Supplemental Protein Source on lntraruminal Fermentation, Protein Degradation, and Amino Acid Absorption

Cannulated steers were used to determine the effects of supplemental soybean meal, heated soybean meal, fish meal, and a combination of fish meal, heated soybean meal, and corn gluten meal on intraruminal protein degradation and absorption of AA from the small intestine. Organic matter digestion in the reticulo-rumen was greater in steers fed diets supplemented with soybean meal, but whole tract digestibility was not affected by protein source. Total and bacterial CP flows to the abomasum were lower in steers fed diets supplemented with fish meal than in steers fed diets supplemented with heated soybean meal or the combination supplement. Dietary CP flow was 33.5% higher in steers fed diets supplemented with heated soybean meal than in steers fed diets supplemented with soybean meal, fish meal, or the combination supplement. Less essential and nonessential AA flowed to the abomasum and were absorbed from the small intestine of steers receiving diets supplemented with soybean meal. Digestibility of small intestine AA was 21.9% lower in steers receiving the soybean meal treatment. Abomasal flows of Met and Thr and absorption of Lys, Met, and Thr were increased in steers fed diets containing heated soybean meal, fish meal, and the combination supplement. These results suggest that the supply of AA deficient in microbial CP (Lys, Met, and Thr) can be increased and that absorbed AA balance can be changed markedly by selection of rumen escape protein supplements.
Energy-efficient long term physiological monitoring

Recently, several wireless body sensor-based systems have been proposed for continuous, long-term physiological monitoring. A major challenge in such systems is that a large amount of data is collected, and transmission of this data incurs significant energy consumption at the sensor. In this work, we demonstrate a data reporting method that significantly reduces energy consumption while maintaining a high diagnostic accuracy of the reported physiological signal. This is achieved by using a generative model of the physiological signal of interest at the sensor, and suppressing data transmission when sensed data matches the model. In this demonstration, we implement the proposed technique for electrocardiogram (ECG) signal and illustrate its performance in terms of energy savings and accuracy of reported data.
What Region of Tropomyosin Interacts with the N-terminal Half of Troponin T?

The thin filament of striated muscle is made up of troponin C, troponin I and troponin T (TnT) bound to actin- tropomyosin (actinTm). Previous photochemical cross-linking studies revealed that TnT interacts more closely with Tm near residue 174 than Tm near residue 146 (Mudalige et.al., JMB 2008).To determine the cross-linking site of TnT with Tm174, photolysed thin filaments were subjected to limited chymotryptic digestion. SDS-PAGE showed the presence of a new band corresponding to a molecular weight close to the molecular weight of cross-linked Tm-TnT2 and Tm-TnT1 (where TnT2 and TnT1 are the two major chymotryptic peptides of TnT) suggesting that Tm174 cross-linked with either the TnT1 or TnT2 regions of TnT or both. From preliminary MALDI-TOF analysis of trypsin in-gel digestion of the Tm174-TnT band(s), two new tryptic peptides were observed corresponding to a Tm174 tryptic peptide linked to three possible TnT tryptic peptides: 1) 171-174; 2) 139-144; 3) 113-115. Further analysis will determine if Tm 174 in the C-terminal half of TnT is close to the TnT1 (1-159) or TnT2 (160-282) regions of TnT. However, a preliminary photolysis study with the cross-linker at Tm100 showed no cross-linked bands in contrast to Tm174, suggesting that the N-terminal half of Tm does not interact with TnT. Further studies are underway to confirm this proposal. Supported by NIH HL22461-29.
A fibrous dynamic continuum model of the tympanic membrane.

The geometry and anisotropic ultrastructure of the tympanic membrane are used in combination with curvilinear shell equations to formulate a general continuum model describing its dynamic behavior. Primary terms appearing in the model are associated with shell membrane restoring forces, bending‐type structural damping, and transverse inertia. Since the model is based extensively on the physical characteristics of the membrane, it is relatively easy to account for differences between species as well as pathological conditions. The fibrous structure and cone‐shaped geometry, readily apparent in mammalian eardrums, introduce several small parameters into the model that are exploited in order to construct a closed‐form asymptotic solution. The solution includes the coupling to the three‐dimensional motion of the ossicular chain and it includes the frequency‐dependent pressure distribution in the auditory canal. When applied to the cat eardrum, this asymptotic solution is shown to reproduce a large manifold of experimentally observed frequency and excitation‐dependent vibrational shapes. In addition to the shapes, transient amplitude and phase data for the cat are reproduced.
Snail populations in arctic lakes: competition mediated by predation?

For 2 species of snails in arctic Alaskan lakes, I studied the patterns of snail distribution with respect to habitat, distribution of predatory fish, and the potential for interspecific competition. The snails Lymnaea elodes and Valvata lewisi co-exist in these arctic lakes, either in the presence of lake trout, Salvelinus namaycush, or in the absence of predation. Intensive sediment core sampling of Toolik Lake and Lake N-2, with trout and lacking trout, respectively, showed that the smaller snail, Valvata, was abundant in Toolik but ocurred at very low densities in Lake N-2. On the open sediments of lakes containing trout, diver surveys revealed very low densities of adult Lymnaea (0.12±0.12/m2), but similar surveys in lakes without trout revealed much higher densities of adult Lymnaea (7.1±1.8/m2). A survey of 14 lakes indicated that adult Lymnaea grew to a smaller mean size in lakes with trout than in lakes which lacked trout. In laboratory and field experiments, the presence of Lymnaea lowered the fecundity of Valvata. Laboratory experiments also showed that Lymnaea fecundity was enhanced by the presence of Valvata. Enhancement was not due to predation by Lymnaea on Valvata eggs or young. The observed patterns of distribution and abundance in the absence of trout, combined with results from laboratory experiments, are consistent with the hypothesis that competitive and facilitative interactions control the population dynamics of the two snails. The distribution and abundance patterns of snails where trout are present suggest that trout predation rather than competition controls snail population dynamics in lakes containing trout.
Field test of nonintrusive traffic detection technologies

Accurate, low-cost methods of collecting historical traffic information are essential in making well-informed transportation planning decisions. In addition, detection of real-time traffic conditions is a key element in advanced traffic management and traveler information systems. Until the last decade, inductive loop detectors, pneumatic road tubes, and temporary manual counts were the primary methods for collecting both real-time and historical traffic data. However, technological innovations have given rise to design many different types of advanced traffic detectors. Recently developed traffic detectors use sonic, ultrasonic, microwave, or infrared energy. Most of these detectors can be mounted overhead or to the side of traffic lanes. Magnetic sensors are now being built in sizes small enough to be placed in conduits under the roadway. Artificial intelligence algorithms can process videotaped images of road scenes and output many useful traffic parameters. Even though nonintrusive technologies have been available for several years, there are still many uncertainties regarding their use. Traffic engineers lack a comprehensive comparison of the various types of traffic detection technology. A study conducted by the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) and SRF Consulting Group, Inc. (SRF) and sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) seeks to address this need. Mn/DOT and SRF undertook a two-year effort to test a wide variety of nonintrusive traffic detection technologies. The purpose of this evaluation was to collect practical information on the performance, installation requirements, long-term maintenance requirements, and costs of various types of nonintrusive traffic detection technologies. More than a dozen devices representing magnetic, sonic, ultrasonic, microwave, infrared, and video image processing technologies were evaluated during this project. Devices were evaluated for their performance in both freeway and urban intersection monitoring situations. Testing consisted of two phases. During Phase I, which ran from November 1995 to January 1996, all participating devices measured traffic data on three lanes of Interstate 394 in Minneapolis at the Penn Avenue interchange. Phase II, which ran from February to November 1996, consisted of an all-season monitoring of the devices' performance and maintenance requirements and involved both freeway and intersection installations. The Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area provided an excellent opportunity to evaluate the devices in many types of weather extremes, including very cold and very hot temperatures, rain, snow, fog, and high winds.
Data management of an inflammatory bowel disease registry

The history and etiology of inflammatory bowel disease which is characterized by two major disease processes: ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, remain unknown. Research is focussing on seven major areas of genetic, environmental and physiologic factors that apparently relate to this disease. Based on this background, a population based Inflammatory Bowel Disease Registry was established in 1987 in the Lehigh Valley area of southeastern Pennsylvania. Consent forms, patient data forms and protocols for operation and implementation were developed, and databases were designed to accommodate demographic, basic history, follow-up and relative history data. The databases were correlated with an IBD registry ID number which both enabled relational analyses and ensured confidentiality of data information. The registry continues to grow, providing feedback for both continued medical research and supportive information for IBD patients and their physicians.
Uniform Asymptotic Expansions for Exponential Integrals E_n(x) and Bickley Functions Kin (x)

On represente les fonctions de Bickley en termes de series d'integrales d'exponentielles E n (x)
Fuel Price Subsidies in Gabon: Fiscal Cost and Distributional Impact

This paper looks at the fiscal cost and distributional impact of implicit fuel price subsidies in Gabon, where fuel prices have remained largely unchanged since 2002. Using estimated implicit import parity prices, we evaluate the total fiscal cost of the subsidies at 3.2 percent of non-oil GDP in 2005 - more than total public health expenditures. We also analyze the distribution of the subsidies using household survey data and find that the bulk of the subsidies benefit higher-income households. Finally, we suggest use of a number of existing programs to provide a more targeted and cost-effective means of protecting the real incomes of lower-income households from the effects of energy price increases.
Serotonin transporter availability in patients with schizophrenia: a positron emission tomography imaging study with [11C]DASB.

Background Postmortem studies have reported several alterations in serotonin transporter (SERT) binding parameters in patients with schizophrenia. The aim of this study was to compare SERT availability in vivo in patients with schizophrenia and matched control subjects. Methods Ten medication-free patients with schizophrenia and 10 healthy subjects underwent positron emission tomography (PET) scans for 90 min after 11 C-3-amino-4-(2-dimethylaminomethylphenylthio)benzonitrile ([ 11 C]DASB) injection. Metabolite-corrected arterial input function was measured. Regional distribution volumes (mL/g) were derived with a two tissue compartment kinetic model. Outcome measures for SERT availability included binding potential (BP) and the specific-to-nonspecific equilibrium partition coefficient (V 3 ″). Ten brain regions with high density of SERT and where SERT availability can be reliably quantified with [ 11 C]DASB were included in the analysis. Results No significant differences were observed in regional BP or V 3 ″ between patients and control subjects. No significant relationships were observed between regional SERT availability and severity of positive, negative, and depressive symptoms. Conclusions This study failed to detect alterations of SERT availability in patients with schizophrenia; however, this study does not rule out the possibility that schizophrenia might be associated with alterations of SERT density in the cortical regions, where the [ 11 C]DASB-specific binding signal is too low for reliable quantification of SERT.
Atrial selective strategies for treating atrial fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation (AF) increases risk of stroke and death. Available antiarrhythmic agents suffer from poor efficacy and potential for ventricular proarrhythmia. Electrophysiologic and biochemical analyses of human cardiac samples reveal the atrial specific expression of several ion channels. Drugs that target these channels and/or nonchannel targets should have less risk of proarrhythmia.
High-rate lithiation-induced reactivation of mesoporous hollow spheres for long-lived lithium-ion batteries

Hollow structured materials are promising electrodes for energy storage, but still suffer from mechanical and chemical degradations in operation. Here, the authors show that upon high-rate lithiation reactivation, hierarchically mesoporous structures can be created to mitigate the degradations.
Primary Refractory Anemia: Clinical and Laboratory Study of Erythropoiesis in 16 Patients

Erythropoiesis was studied in vitro in 16 selected patients with primary refractory anemia without excess of blasts who have been followed for an average of 4.8 years. The number of erythroid colonies and bursts grown in vitro from the patients' marrows did not correlate with any parameter of their disease or their prognosis. The response of marrow erythroid precursor cells to erythropoietin was found to be normal. In no case was a serum or IgG inhibitor of erythropoiesis detected either by quantitation of heme synthesized by marrow cells or by the erythroblast cytotoxicity assay. A clinically significant response of the anemia to corticosteroids was noted in three out of 14 patients. Ten patients died during the followup period, eight of them as a consequence of their hematologic disorder. Bone marrow aplasia with pancytopenia developed in six cases, increased number of marrow blasts in two cases, myelofibrosis with myeloid metaplasia in one case and a spontaneous remission in another case. Refractory anemia without excess of blasts is a heterogeneous disorder with variable natural history including evolution into marrow aplasia.
O clever ‘He’s streetwise.’ When gestures become quotable: The case of the clever gesture

Among urban black South Africans in the province of Gauteng, quotable gestures are a prominent feature of everyday communication. Most notable is a gesture commonly glossed as clever meaning ‘streetwise’ and ‘city slick.’ An analysis of the clever gesture in everyday communicative situations shows that it conveys a variety of meanings and functions related to the core paradigmatic meaning of ‘seeing’ and the core sociointeractional function of acceptance and inclusion. ‘Seeing’ is an important cultural value in black urban society particularly in relation to being clever. ‘Seeing’ is also the central characteristic of modern urban African identity in contrast to the ‘non-seeing’ rural, tribal, and primitive African. The clever gesture is a focused expression of this key social division within South African society. Consideration of the clever gesture in relation to its social role and the gestural repertoire suggests that key cultural concerns determine both quotable status and semantico-grammatical nature.
Multi-scale/multi-fluid simulations of the post plasmoid current sheet in the terrestrial magnetosphere

[1] Multi-scale/multi-fluid simulations are used to provide the first high resolution (∼120 km) simulations of a thin tail current sheet within the global framework of the Earth's magnetosphere during southward IMF. The current sheet in the tail is shown to thin to 1200 km in the wake of a plasmoid. A hydrogen boundary layer forms on the outside of the current sheet with a thickness on the order of 900 km. Kinks form in the cross-tail direction in the thin current sheet with a wavelength on the order of 1 RE. The amplitude grows up to 0.5 RE before the kinks become unstable, leading to the reformation of a thicker current sheet. These kinks initiate just earthward of the reconnection region and propagate both tailward, and earthward until they reach dipolar fieldlines. These processes occur as the result of the coupling between cross-tail flows in O+ and field-aligned flows in ionospheric H+.
FFPU: Fractured floating point unit for FPGA soft processors

Embedded systems designers frequently avoid using floating-point computation because it is too costly to include a floating-point unit (FPU) in an embedded processor. However, the performance of software floating-point libraries can be lacking. Therefore we propose a Fractured Floating Point Unit (FFPU)—a hybrid solution using a mix of custom hardware instructions and software code. An FFPU is designed as a compromise between software libraries and custom FPUs in both area and performance. We present three 32-bit FFPUs designs for a Nios II soft processor, and compare their performance and area to the baseline Nios II and a Nios II with a complete FPU. The FFPUs improve floating-point addition and subtraction performance by 24 to 52 percent over the baseline, with an ALM increase of only 12 to 32 percent, and no increase in DSP blocks.
Holocene Evolution of the Inner Shelf of Southern Virginia

ABSTRACT The southern Virginia shelf is traversed by a shelf valley which may constitute the retreat path of the ancestral James River during the late Holocene sea level rise. It is flanked by levee-like margins (shoal-retreat massifs) which are the retreat paths of littoral drift depostional centers that were maintained on the sides of the retreating estuary mouth. This transgressive nearshore marine topography has been heavily modified as Holocene sea level rise has continued; the water column has deepened, and the shoreline has receded. Strong south-trending currents associated with "northeaster" storms have redistributed the surficial sand. They have impressed patterns of transverse sand waves, current-parallel lineations, and large-scale, nearly current-parallel sand ridges. The sand ridges are a variety of large-scale bedform whose genesis is still not adequately understood. The ridges on the Virginia Beach Massif appear to have been incised into the massif as successive segments became exposed to open shelf flows, while the False Cape ridges appear to have formed by a somewhat different scheme of ridge growth and detachment during erosional retreat of the shoreface. However, both ridge sets have a number of significant characteristics in common. Trough talwegs and crestlines climb to the south in both sets. Both sets make northward-opening angles of 20-35° with the shoreline. For both sets the landward flanks are more coarse grained and more gently inclined than the seaward flanks, perhaps as a consequence of a cross-ridge component of flow. The sam or very similar hydraulic mechanisms appear to have been involved in their respective schemes of formation.
Implementation of a continuous-state Viterbi algorithm for MAP state estimation

The authors address the formation of a Viterbi algorithm for maximum a posteriori (MAP) state sequence estimation of a discrete-time continuous-valued Markov process observed in memoryless noise. The usual approach to this problem is to quantize the state space of the Markov process to obtain a standard discrete-state Viterbi algorithm. They introduce an alternate approach based on piecewise linear approximation that allows a continuous-state formulation of the Viterbi algorithm. The metric and survivor calculation is illustrated by using the piecewise linear approximations, and an example of the algorithm's use is presented. >
Development and Applications of a Bovine Coronavirus Antigen Detection Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay

We developed a monoclonal antibody-based, antigen capture sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for bovine coronavirus. We compared the ELISA with electron microscopy and the hemagglutination test and found a close correlation between them. The sensitivity of the ELISA was 104 bovine coronavirus particles per ml of 10% fecal suspension. Compared with electron microscopy, bovine coronavirus ELISA had 96% specificity.
Interspecific and Intraspecific Variation in Cercariae Release

Given the importance of temperature for the shedding of trematode infective stages (cercariae) from gastropod first intermediate hosts, we investigated the response to temperature increases of trematodes of the intertidal snail Zeacumantus subcarinatus collected from different latitudes (differing in mean annual summer temperature) on the South Island of New Zealand. We investigated whether shedding of cercariae at elevated temperatures differed both between species (interspecific variation) and among populations of each trematode species (intraspecific variation). The shedding of one trematode species, Maritrema novaezealandensis (Microphallidae), appears to decrease with increased temperature and differed among locations. In contrast, the shedding of a second species, Acanthoparyphium sp. (Echinostomatidae), increased at warmer temperatures. In particular, Acanthoparyphium sp.-infected snails from 1 location showed the greatest increase in the shedding of cercariae in response to elevated temperature. Our results demonstrate that different trematode species and populations may be dissimilarly impacted by temperature changes resulting from global warming. In addition, both interspecific and intraspecific variation may result in different impacts of trematodes on ecosystems at different locales.
Measurement of minority-carrier diffusion lengths using wedge-shaped semiconductor photoelectrodes

Measurement of the photocurrent as a function of the thickness of a light absorber has been shown herein both theoretically and experimentally to provide a method for determination of the minority-carrier diffusion length of a sample. To perform the measurement, an illuminated spot of photons with an energy well above the band gap of the material was scanned along the thickness gradient of a wedge-shaped, rear-illuminated semiconducting light absorber. Photogenerated majority carriers were collected through a back-side transparent ohmic contact, and a front-side liquid or Schottky junction collected the photogenerated minority carriers. Calculations showed that the diffusion length could be evaluated from the exponential variation in photocurrent as a function of the thickness of the sample. Good agreement was observed between experiment and theory for a solid-state silicon Schottky junction measured using this method. As an example for the application of the technique to semiconductor/liquid-junction photoelectrodes, the minority-carrier diffusion length was determined for graded thickness, sputtered tungsten trioxide and polished bismuth vanadate films under back-illumination in contact with an aqueous electrolyte. This wedge technique does not require knowledge of the spectral absorption coefficient, doping, or surface recombination velocity of the sample.
Statistical Analyses and Theoretical Models of Single-Molecule Enzymatic Dynamics

Real-time observation of enzymatic turnovers of single molecules has revealed non-Markovian dynamical behavior. Although chemical kinetics (such as the Michaelis-Menten mechanism) are sufficient to describe the average behavior of an ensemble of molecules, statistical analysis of the single-molecule fluorescence time trace reveals fluctuations in the rate of the activation step. These fluctuations are attributed to slow fluctuations of protein conformations. In this paper, we discuss models of the dynamical disorder behavior and relate them to observables of single molecule experiments. Simulations based on a discrete multistate model and a diffusive model are compared with experiment data. The role of various correlation functions, including higher order time correlation functions, in the interpretation of the underlying dynamics is discussed.