cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Clinical Impact of Implementation of a Multidisciplinary Endocarditis Team.

Abstract Background Infectious endocarditis is associated with substantial in-hospital mortality of 15%-20%. Effective management requires coordination between multiple medical and surgical subspecialties, which can often lead to disjointed care. Previous European studies have identified multidisciplinary endocarditis teams as a tool for reducing endocarditis mortality. Methods The multidisciplinary endocarditis team was formed in May 2018. The group developed an evidence-based algorithm for management of endocarditis that was used to provide recommendations for hospitalized patients over a 1-year period. Mortality outcomes were then retroactively assessed and compared to a historical control utilizing propensity matching. Results Between June 2018 and June 2019 the team provided guideline-based recommendations on 56 patients with Duke Criteria–definite endocarditis and at least 1 American Heart Association indication for surgery. The historical control included 68 patients with definite endocarditis and surgical indications admitted between July 1, 2014, and June 30, 2015. In-hospital mortality decreased significantly from 29.4% in 2014-2015 to 7.1% in 2018-2019 (P Conclusions Implementation of a multidisciplinary endocarditis team was associated with a significant 1-year decrease in all-cause in-hospital mortality for patients with definite endocarditis and surgical indications, in the presence of notable differences between the 2 studied cohorts. In conjunction with previous studies demonstrating their effectiveness, these data support the idea that widespread adoption of endocarditis teams in North America could improve outcomes for this patient population.
WHEN THE TIES THAT BIND UNWIND: EXAMINING THE ENDURING AND SITUATIONAL PROCESSES OF CHANGE BEHIND THE MARRIAGE EFFECT†

Despite the continued growth of research demonstrating that marriage promotes desistance from crime, efforts aimed at understanding the mechanisms driving this effect are limited. Several theories propose to explain why we observe a reduction in offending after marriage including identity changes, strengthened attachments, reduced opportunities, and changes to routine activities. Although mechanisms are hard to measure, we argue that each proposed mechanism implies a specific change process, that is, whether the change that ensues after marriage is enduring (stable) or situational (temporary). Drawing on a medical model framework, we cast the role of marriage as a treatment condition and observe whether the effect of marriage is conditional on staying married or whether the effect persists when the “treatment” is taken away (i.e., divorce). We use 13 years of monthly level data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY97), a nationally representative sample containing close to 3,000 individuals with an arrest history, to examine changes in relationship status and arrest from adolescence into young adulthood. Estimates from multilevel within-individual models reveal greater support for situational mechanisms in that divorce is detrimental particularly for those in longer marriages; yet they also reveal important caveats that suggest a closer examination of the marriage effect. This research adds to the growing body of knowledge regarding the marriage effect by redirecting desistance research away from asking if marriage matters to asking how marriage affects desistance. A better understanding of this change process has important implications for criminal justice policy.
On the Automatic PARMACS-to-MPI Transformation in Application Programs

The PARMACS message passing interface is in widespread use by application projects. With the emerging MPI standard for message passing(mp), many projects face the problem of replacing PARMACS with MPI. An automatic translation tool has been developed which translates all PARMACS 6.0 calls in an application program into their corresponding MPI calls.
« Moi je préfère danser et me taire » : un engagement altermondialiste désengagé?

Malgre son appartenance l’etiquette manifestive (qui allie la fete et l’engagement), l’auteur-compositeur-interprete Tomas Jensen se fait aussi tres cynique dans ses chansons, attitude qui parait aux antipodes de celle du chanteur engage traditionnel. Partant de ces constats, on postulera que la notion d’engagement, portee par des ideologies totalisantes, est aujourd’hui incompatible avec les modes de pensee postmodernes. A partir de cet antagonisme, les artistes engages auraient cree une facon contemporaine d’envisager l’engagement. Le present article se propose de questionner ces hypotheses en centrant son propos autour de Jensen pour degager la nouvelle ethique de l’engagement qui s’y profile
A new ESD design methodology for high voltage DMOS applications

A comprehensive methodology for synthesizing robust ESD performance in highly sensitive high voltage NLDMOS functional blocks is introduced. Optimizing high voltage output stage design for robust device- and system-level (IEC 61000–4–2)/HMM is assessed under 1-, 2-, 5-, 10-, 100-ns wide time frames of typical electrostatic discharge (ESD) stress models.
Aspergillus on tree nuts: incidence and associations

California exports tree nuts to countries where they face stringent standards for aflatoxin contamination. Trade concerns have stimulated efforts to eliminate aflatoxins and Aspergillus flavus from almonds, pistachios and walnuts. Incidence of fungi on tree nuts and associations among fungi on tree nuts were studied. Eleven hundred pistachios, almonds, walnuts and brazil nuts without visible insect damage were plated on salt agar and observed for growth of fungi. Samples came both from California nut orchards and from supermarkets. To distinguish internal fungal colonization of nuts from superficial colonization, half the nuts were surface-sterilized before plating. The most common genera found were Aspergillus, Rhizopus and Penicillium. Each species of nut had a distinct mycoflora. Populations of most fungi were reduced by surface sterilization in all except brazil nuts, suggesting that they were present as superficial inoculum on (rather than in) the nuts. In general, strongly positive associations were observed among species of Aspergillus; nuts infected by one species were likely to be colonized by other species as well. Presence of Penicillium was negatively associated with A. niger and Rhizopus in some cases. Results suggest that harvest or postharvest handling has a major influence on nut mycoflora, and that nuts with fungi are usually colonized by several fungi rather than by single species.
Cyclical dumping of steel products: Comment

Abstract This note suggests a more exact method of testing the cyclical dumping hypothesis examined by Tarr (1979). In contrast to Tarr's conclusion that there is no evidence of cyclical dumping of steel products, the results presented here indicate that there is evidence of cyclical dumping of steel products by European Community producers during the 1957–1973 period.
Abstract 12606: Autophagy is Required for Mitochondrial Biogenesis in the Heart

Autophagy is an essential process that maintains cellular homeostasis via lysosomal degradation pathways. Autophagy has been found to be involved in various pathophysiological conditions in the heart, including myocardial hypertrophy and ischemic heart disease. However, the precise mechanism by which autophagy maintains cardiac function in the non-stressed heart is incompletely understood. We generated cardiac-specific ATG3 deficient mice (cATG3 KO mice) by crossing αMHC-Cre mice with floxed ATG3 mice. Relative to their wild type (WT) littermates, cATG3 KO mice revealed reduced ATG3 expression and inhibited autophagy specifically in the heart. At 4 months of age, cATG3 KO mice showed impaired cardiac contractile function, characterized by a 25% reduction in fractional shortening by echocardiography (p <0.01), Moreover, cATG3 KO mice revealed increased lipid accumulation, reduced fatty acid oxidation and impaired mitochondrial respirations in the heart, without evidence of fibrosis or inflammation. Mitochondrial dysfunction in cATG3 KO mice was accompanied with mitochondrial content loss and reduced expression of mitochondrial biogenesis related genes (PGC1α, NRF1, NRF2 and TFAM). Interestingly, autophagy inhibition, induced mitochondrial biogenesis defects and mitochondrial dysfunction in neonatal cATG3 KO mice (1 week old), prior to the onset of cardiac contractile dysfunction and heart failure, suggesting that cardiac mitochondrial dysfunction may be an early event in the progression of heart failure in the autophagy deficient mice. Finally, in response to exercise training mitochondrial biogenesis (PGC1 alpha induction and increased respiration rates) was completely inhibited in ATG3 deficient mice. In conclusion, autophagy is essential for generating signals that promote mitochondrial biogenesis, and is indispensable for normal heart function under basal conditions.
Tributyltin-resistant bacteria from estuarine and freshwater sediments

Resistance to tributyltin (TBT) was examined in populations from TBT-polluted sediments and nonpolluted sediments from an estuary and from fresh water as well as in pure cultures isolated from those sediments. The 50% effective concentrations (EC50s) for populations were higher at a TBT-polluted freshwater site than at a site without TBT, suggesting that TBT selected for a TBT-resistant population. In contrast, EC50s were significantly lower for populations from a TBT-contaminated estuarine site than for those from a site without TBT, suggesting that other factors in addition to TBT determine whether populations become resistant. EC50s for populations from TBT-contaminated freshwater sediments were nearly 30 times higher than those for populations from TBT-contaminated estuarine sediments. We defined a TBT-resistant bacterium as one which grows on trypticase soy agar containing 8.4 microM TBT, a concentration which prevented the growth of 90% of the culturable bacteria from these sediments. The toxicity of TBT in laboratory media was influenced markedly by the composition of the medium and whether it was liquid or solid. Ten TBT-resistant isolates from estuarine sediments and 19 from freshwater sediments were identified to the genus level. Two isolates, each a Bacillus sp., may be the first gram-positive bacteria isolated from fresh water in the presence of a high concentration of TBT. There was a high incidence of resistance to heavy metals: metal resistance indices were 0.76 for estuarine isolates and 0.68 for freshwater isolates.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Robust overlapped speech detection and its application in word-count estimation for Prof-Life-Log data

The ability to estimate the number of words spoken by an individual over a certain period of time is valuable in second language acquisition, healthcare, and assessing language development. However, establishing a robust automatic framework to achieve high accuracy is non-trivial in realistic/naturalistic scenarios due to various factors such as different styles of conversation or types of noise that appear in audio recordings, especially in multi-party conversations. In this study, we propose a noise robust overlapped speech detection algorithm to estimate the likelihood of overlapping speech in a given audio file in the presence of environment noise. This information is embedded into a word-count estimator, which uses a linear minimum mean square estimator (LMMSE) to predict the number of words from the syllable rate. Syllables are detected using a modified version of the mrate algorithm. The proposed word-count estimator is tested on long duration files from the Prof-Life-Log corpus. Data is recorded using a LENA recording device, worn by a primary speaker in various environments and under different noise conditions. The overlap detection system significantly outperforms baseline performance in noisy conditions. Furthermore, applying overlap detection results to word-count estimation achieves 35% relative improvement over our previous efforts, which included speech enhancement using spectral subtraction and silence removal.
Porting a user-level communication architecture to NT: experiences and performance

This paper describes our experiences in porting the VMMC user-level communication architecture from Linux to Windows NT. The original Linux implementation required no operating system changes and was done entirely using device drivers and user-level libraries. Porting the Linux implementation to NT was fairly straightforward and required no kernel modifications. Our measurements show that the performance of both platforms is fairly similar for the common data transfer operations because they bypass the OS. But Linux performs better than NT on operations that require OS support.
Long‐Term Pancreatic Allograft Survival After Renal Retransplantation in Prior Simultaneous Pancreas–Kidney Recipients

Over a 23-year period, our center performed 82 renal retransplants in prior simultaneous pancreas–kidney recipients with functioning pancreatic allografts. All patients were insulin-independent at retransplantation. We aimed to quantify the risk of returning to insulin therapy and to identify factors that predispose patients to pancreatic allograft failure after renal retransplantation. Among these 82 patients, pancreatic allograft survival after renal retransplantation was 78%, 49% and 40% at 1, 5 and 10 years. When analyzing risk factors, we unexpectedly found no clear relationship between the cause of primary renal allograft failure, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) or fasting C-peptide level at retransplant and subsequent pancreatic allograft failure. An elevated HbA1c in the month after renal retransplant correlated with subsequent pancreatic graft loss and patients experiencing pancreatic graft loss were more likely to subsequently lose their renal retransplant. Although it is difficult to prospectively identify those patients who will return to insulin therapy after repeat renal transplantation, the relatively high frequency of this event mandates that this risk be conveyed to patients. Nonetheless, the survival benefit associated with renal retransplantation justifies pursuing retransplantation in this population.
Stilbestrol, adenosis, and adenocarcinoma

Abstract A registry of cases of clear-cell adenocarcinoma of the genital tract in women under 30 years of age was established in 1971. The first year's data amply confirmed the hypothesis that a simultaneous, nation-wide outbreak of this lesion had occurred and that, in 85 per cent of cases, exposure of the individual before the fourth month in utero to diethylstilbestrol or one of its congeners could be documented as an antecedent circumstance. General awareness of this new entity on the part of physicians and personal concern manifested by mothers who know that they were thus treated during pregnancy are bringing hundreds of the at-risk population group to medical attention. Gross and microscopic morphologic anomalies are being found in approximately 30 per cent of these girls and occasionally asymptomatic early carcinomas are detected. A study of 16 patients who give a history of no prior exposure to hormones of any description reveals a difference between them and the group with known exposure. This is in keeping with the literature published prior to the availability of diethylstilbestrol which indicated that primary vaginal adenocarcinoma in young women was unique, whereas such lesions of the cervix were only uncommon.
Isolation and expression of a cDNA clone encoding HLA-Cw6: unique characteristics of HLA-C encoded gene products

The HLA-C encoded gene products display several characteristics which distinguish them from HLA-A and -B. The HLA-C antigens are poorly expressed on the cell surface, they display multiple proteins with different isoelectric points, and alloimmunization to HLA-C antigens is less common. To investigate whether the multiple products result from differential splicing of HLA-C gene transcripts, we have isolated a full-length cDNA clone encoding the Cw6 antigen. Class I antigens produced by the cDNA clone in transfected cells were of the same relative mass as those observed in the parental cells when analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Isoelectric focusing (IEF) gel analysis of the cDNA translated products in transfectants revealed multiple IEF bands. All IEF bands detected in the transfectants were also found in the parental cells, indicating that the multiplicity of the C-locus products was not due to differential splicing of HLA-C gene transcripts, but was probably due to post-translational modification. Comparison of the sequences of C-locus alleles with those of A and B alleles did not show any apparent sequences which would generate multiple IEF bands. Comparison of the coding regions for seven HLA-C alleles and one HLA-C-related class I gene with available data for 15 HLA-A and 20 HLA-B alleles demonstrated several unique features for the HLA-C locus. Six sites in the extra cellular domains, three in a1 and three in a3, were unique. While the cytoplasmic (CP) domain of HLA-A and -B are almost identical, the CP of HLA-C alleles is unique. Similar unique features of HLA-C are also observed in the transmembrane domain, resulting in locus-specific residues between positions 295 and 300. The present study has ruled out differential mRNA splicing as a mechanism for the multiplicity of Cw6 antigens and demonstrated unique HLA-C locus sequences.
Heavy-Higgs-boson production and vector-boson scattering processes in e+e- collisions at high energy.

We study the reactions ${e}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}}$${e}^{+}$\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\nu}\ensuremath{\nu}\ifmmode\bar\else\textasciimacron\fi{}ZZ and ${e}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}}$${e}^{+}$\ensuremath{\rightarrow}${e}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}}$${e}^{+}$ZZ using exact matrix elements. In particular, we examine the cross section for the production of a standard-model Higgs boson at several machine energies. In addition, we study the behavior of the vector-boson scattering processes when the Higgs-boson mass is infinite, focusing on the percentage of longitudinally polarized Z's as a signature.
Limited proteolysis of the vasoactive intestinal peptide receptor: comparison of its folded structure in the membrane-bound and detergent-solubilized states.

Abstract Limited proteolysis was used to probe and compare the conformation of the rat lung vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) receptor in membrane-bound and detergent-solubilized states. It had been shown previously that the activity of the detergent-solubilized VIP receptor is sensitive to the nature of the detergent used for extraction (Patthi, S., Simerson S. and Velicelebi, G. (1988) J. Biol. Chem., 263, 19363–19369). Receptors that were extracted from the membrane using digitonin retained the ability to bind 125 I-VIP, while those solubilized in Triton X-100 displayed little or no detectable activity. In order to correlate the differences observed in the activity of the receptor with its folded state, membrane-bound and detergent-solubilized receptors were covalently labeled with 125 I-VIP and subjected to limited proteolysis using trypsin, chymotrypsin or carboxypeptidase Y. Digitonin-solubilized receptors most closely resembled the membrane-bound protein in terms of protease sensitivity and proteolytic cleavage products. By contrast, receptors solubilized in Triton X-100 displayed increased sensitivity to proteases and produced distinctly different proteolytic patterns. Thus, the differences observed in the activities of receptors solubilized in digitonin and those solubilized in Triton X-100 could be correlated with detectable differences in the conformation of the protein in each respective detergent solution. These results suggest that digitonin provides an environment that is more compatible with the native folded state of the receptor, similar to its conformation in the membrane.
The Immune Self: Theory or Metaphor?

Immunology is one of the unique products of the darwinian age--born in the controversies of that fresh announcement that all species, including ourselves, were not static entities, but subject to change as a result of the vicissitudes of time and circumstance. Darwinism postulated an everchanging species defined by evolutionary necessity. In this scheme, the organism is not given, but evolves. Always adapting, it is always changing. Thus, this raises the core issue of organismal identity as a problem. Here, Alfred Tauber explores the concept of self and traces the development of the term from Metchnikoff's theory that immunity resides in the active pursuit of identity.
3-Arylcoumarin derivatives manifest anti-proliferative activity through Hsp90 inhibition

The potential therapeutic benefits associated with Hsp90 modulation for the treatment of cancer and neurodegenerative diseases highlight the importance of identifying novel Hsp90 scaffolds. KU-398, a novobiocin analogue, and silybin were recently identified as new Hsp90 inhibitors. Consequently, a library of 3-arylcoumarin derivatives that incorporated the structural features of KU-398 and silybin was designed, synthesized, and evaluated against two breast cancer cell lines. Western blot analysis confirmed that the resulting 3-arylcoumarin hybrids target the Hsp90 protein folding machinery.
High-molecular-weight kininogen is cleaved in active erythema multiforme.

Abstract Erythema multiforme (EM) is an inflammatory disorder of the skin, which may include mucous membrane involvement, that features target (iris) lesions. Mediators specifically involved in EM are not well characterized; its pathogenesis remains enigmatic. In this study, evidence for participation of kinins in the pathophysiology of inflammation in EM was investigated by assessing cleavage of high-molecular-weight kininogen (HMWK) in plasma. These data were compared with analyses of plasmas from patients with serum sickness, chronic idiopathic urticaria/angioedema, and from normal control subjects. Patients with EM demonstrated significant levels of circulating cleaved HMWK in plasma during active disease ( p p p = not significant). Although the kininogenase responsible for HMWK cleavage in EM has not been conclusively demonstrated, these findings suggest that HMWK cleavage resulted from activation of the contact system and that some of the manifestations of EM in selected patients may in part be accounted for by inflammatory and proinflammatory actions of kinins. Based on these preliminary findings, it will be important to establish whether or not HMWK cleavage in EM is a general finding in patients with this disorder. Further investigation is needed to characterize more clearly kininogenase activity and elucidate the possible role of kinin generation in EM.
Automatic Structuring of IT Problem Ticket Data for Enhanced Problem Resolution

In this paper we propose a novel technique to automatically structure problem tickets consisting of free form, heterogeneous textual data, so that IT problem isolation and resolution can be performed rapidly. The originality of our technique consists in applying the conditional random fields (CRFs) supervised learning process to automatically identify individual units of information in the raw data. The CRFs have been shown to be effective on real-world tasks in various fields. We apply our technique to identify structural patterns specific to the problem ticket data used in call centers to enhance the problem resolution system used by remote technical assistance personnel. Most of the existing ticketing data is not explicitly structured, is highly noisy, and very heterogeneous in content, making it hard to effectively apply common data mining techniques to analyze and search the raw data. An example of such an analysis is the detection of the units of information containing the steps taken by the technical people to resolve a particular customer issue. We present a study of the accuracy of our results.
Photoinduced electron transfer reactions within zeolites: Detection of radical cations and dimerization of arylalkenes

Photosensitized electron transfer reactions between excited singlet acceptors and arylalkenes included within NaX zeolites have been studied using a combination of product studies, fluorescence spectroscopy, and diffuse reflectance laser flash photolysis. Steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence quenching of cyanoaromatic and ionic sensitizers by arylalkenes demonstrates that singlet quenching occurs predominantly by a static process. Diffuse reflectance flash photolysis studies indicate that quenching of singlet cyanoaromatic sensitizers by trans-anethole and 4-vinylanisole occurs via electron transfer and yields relatively long-lived radical cations. Signals due to trapped electrons (Na43+) are also observed, suggesting that photoionization of the cyanoaromatic sensitizer occurs in competition with electron transfer quenching of the excited singlet by the alkene. The long lifetimes of the radical cations indicate the utility of the zeolite environment for controlling the energy-wasting back electron ...
Local approach to the ferromagnetic ground state in the Hubbard-Hirsch model.

By using a Green's-function technique, the energy of the ferromagnetic ground state in the Hubbard-Hirsch model is calculated. The effect of electron correlation on the phase diagram and on the energy of the ground state is studied within the local approach. The results show that for a fixed Coulomb interaction U (\ensuremath{\ne}0) between electrons with opposite spins at the same site, the region of the ferromagnetic ground state becomes smaller as compared with that of the Hartree-Fock approximation. For a fixed (\ensuremath{\ne}0) and electronic density n, the system goes successively from the paramagnetic, the weakly ferromagnetic, and the strongly ferromagnetic phase with increasing exchange interaction J between electrons of nearest-neighbor sites. The absolute value of the correlation energy is large in the paramagnetic region, small in the weakly ferromagnetic region, and zero in the strongly ferromagnetic region.
Wind Uplift Capacity of Foam-Retrofitted Roof Sheathing Panels Subjected to Rainwater Intrusion

AbstractWidespread damage to residential roofing systems during Hurricane Andrew in 1992 highlighted the structural inadequacy of wood roof sheathing attachment in existing Florida homes. Prior research found that retrofitting wood decks with closed-cell spray-applied polyurethane foam (ccSPF) could provide adequate wind resistance to pre-1994 roofs. However, it is unknown whether this retrofit method increases the potential for moisture to accumulate in the roof sheathing, and if so, what effect this has on the strength of the bond between the ccSPF and the wood substrate. Five full-scale roofs were subjected to natural weathering for 3 months, and 131 small-scale laboratory samples of ccSPF bonded to wood sheathing were intermittently sprayed with water and stored in a high-humidity environment for up to 16 weeks. These tests enabled systematic assessment of the effects of water leakage on ccSPF-retrofitted roof structures. The attic roofs were retrofitted with two ccSPF configurations and covered with ...
Cell allocation in preimplantation mouse chimeras.

The mechanism of cell allocation in the preimplantation mouse chimera was studied in aggregation chimeras of 4- and 8-cell stage embryos. To follow the fate of cells, some embryos were labeled by a 16-h incubation (at the 2-cell stage) with 3H-thymidine. At the 4-8-cell stage both labeled and unlabeled embryos were treated with pronase to remove the zona pellucida and then aggregated in various combinations: one labeled 8-cell and three unlabeled 4-cell embryos (labeled 8-cell chimeras); one labeled 4-cell and three unlabeled 8-cell embryos or two labeled 4-cell and two unlabeled 8-cell embryos (labeled 4-cell chimeras). Autoradiography of air-dried preparations of inner cell masses isolated from the chimeras at the blastocyst or late blastocyst stage by immunosurgery revealed that labeled 8-cell embryos contributed a disproportionately large number (over 60%) of their descendant cells to the inner cell mass of labeled 8-cell chimeras. By contrast, in labeled 4-cell chimeras only 8% (with one labeled 4-cell embryo) or 31% (with two labeled 4-cell embryos) of inner cell mass cells were derived from the labeled embryos. These results suggest that cell allocation in preimplantation mouse chimeras is not a random process and that cells of embryos developing ahead of others are preferentially allocated to the inner cell mass.
Differences in microhabitat, abundance, biomass and body size between oxybiotic and thiobiotic free-living marine nematodes

Analysis of samples from a 15 m deep sandy bottom in the northern part of Oresund, Denmark shows that the nematode fauna comprises 2.9 million individuals per m2 down to 20 cm depth which averages of 0.40 g organic carbon. Highest densities are found in the uppermost cm. Biomass attains its highest value at 1-2 cm depth. Three results are discussed: 1) nematodes in the uppermost cm are, on average, three times smaller than those between 1-8 cm depth (60 ng org. C vs. 200 ng org. C ind. weight); 2) a distinct abundance trough is found at 8 cm depth, which correlates with the physical space occupied by the gallery of the lugworm Arenicola marina as well as with its possibly unselective feeding on the interstitial meiofauna at that depth; 3) the thiobiotic (deeper-living) species are significantly more slender than the oxybiotic (surface-dwelling) species, suggesting surface-dependent adaptations to life in oxygen poor and sulphide rich sediments where large amounts of dissolved organic matter occur. This is in contrast to previous assumptions that the body length or body shape reflects adaptations to the physical constraints of interstitial space.
Intelligent decision support system for diagnosis and maintenance of automated systems

ROBODOC, the diagnosis and maintenance consultant, is an off-line decision support utility that will help maintenance staff diagnose and correct robotic failures. It uses a group technology approach to classify symptoms and a decision tree approach in developing the system. It has the capability to produce both detailed as well as shallow reports of problems and their fixes. Its modularity makes it easier to add or revise the knowledge base or to transfer the diagnostic knowledge from one automated system to another, without necessitating complete development from scratch. The results of this work can contribute to the development of a design for a service expert system, which will be able to give design recommendations based on past experiences, which will produce more durable and easier to maintain equipment designs.
The Impact of Vietnam on Trust in Government

Trust in government dropped dramatically during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Data spanning this period are presented from two nationwide studies of young males. The results show that views about the role of the United States in the Vietnam War played a substantial part in the decline in government trust; however, actual service in the armed forces did not seem to produce a disproportionate drop in that trust. Along a number of other dimensions distinctions emerged between those who did and did not serve; nevertheless, the similarities outweighed the differences.
Development of Direct Multifrontal Solvers for Combustion Problems

Navier-Stokes finite-volume formulations are usually solved using segregated methods. Development of sparse direct solvers using multifrontal solvers has significantly reduced the computational time of direct solution methods. This study demonstrates the performance of multifrontal solvers in the context of finite-volume formulations for combustion problems. Here UMFPACK (Unsymmetric Multi-Frontal PACKage) has been used to solve the fully coupled linear system. The use of direct solvers can significantly reduce the computational time (subject to its memory limitations). The efficiency of multifrontal solvers is first demonstrated for a differential cavity benchmark problem and then extended to an axisymmetric candle flame. The feasibility of using multifrontal solvers for three-dimensional problems is also discussed.
Woodlands and agrobiodiversity in irrigation landscapes amidst global change: Bolivia, 1990-2002

The global shift to small- and medium-scale irrigation is potentially compatible with high-agrobiodiversity production. A case study of the Cochabamba region in central Bolivia between 1990 and 2002 is designed to examine new interactions of irrigation with agrobiodiversity through change and continuity of landscape structures and functions. Irrigation change contributed to increased commercial potato and peach farming. Still persistent interactions of canal woodland habitat (landscape matrix including uncultivated or “wild” agrobiodiversity) with patches of cultivated agrobiodiversity helped ensure nutrient transfer and likelihood of gene flow. Farmers' field-level responses continued to include agrobiodiversity, especially multiple farmer varieties (FVs) of Andean maize. Capacities of social–ecological resilience in the period from 1990 to 2002 are estimated to have been moderate in anthropogenic canal woodlands (> 95 percent continued cover, albeit with reduced connectivity) and cultivated agrobiodiver...
Host Discrimination: Isolation of Hydrocarbons from Dufour's Gland of a Braconid Parasitoid

Many hymenopteran parasitoids are able to recognize hosts that are parasitized and, consequently, reject them as unsuitable sites for oviposition. For some of these parasitoids this discriminatory ability results from the detection of a marking material, or spoor factor, left on the host (Rabb and Bradley 1970, Salt 1937) or in its immediate vicinity during a previous ovipositional attack by a female (Greany and Oatman 1972, Price 1970).
Photon lifetime within a droplet: temporal determination of elastic and stimulated Raman scattering

Time profiles of the elastically scattered and stimulated Raman scattered radiation from single ethanol droplets illuminated by 100-psec mode-locked pulses were measured with a streak camera. The Q factor of the droplet, which acts as an optical cavity, was deduced from the decay time of the internally trapped radiation. Based on the intensity dependence of time profiles, it is also deduced that the photon lifetime is limited by the depletion of the internal intensity in generating nonlinear-optical radiation.
Preference for oddity: uniqueness heuristic or hierarchical choice process?

Traditional economic theories assume decision makers in multialternative choice tasks “assign” a value to each option and then express rational preferences. Here, I report an apparent violation of such rationality in gray jays (Perisoreus canadensis). I tested the jays’ preference in a quaternary choice task where three options were the same color and the fourth option was a different color. All options offered an identical food reward and so the strictly rational expectation was that subjects would choose the odd-colored option in 25% of choices. In clear disagreement, every subject chose the odd option more frequently than expected. I speculate as to how this surprising preference for oddity might have been ecologically rational: by using a unique-choice heuristic, the jays might have been able to bypass a deliberative phase of the decision process and devote more attention to scanning for predators. Alternatively, it is conceivable that the jays did not prefer oddity per se. Instead, they might have used a hierarchical process, assigning options to color categories and then choosing between categories. If so, their behavior matches expectation after all (on average, subjects chose the odd option 50% of the time). It should be straightforward to test these competing hypotheses. The current results can be viewed as a new example of how simple mechanisms sometimes produce economically puzzling yet ecologically rational decision making.
Stria: Lines to Its Reconstruction

There is a story that goes with the next four articles about Stria and the forthcoming Computer Music Journal DVD. It is not simply a set of articles and a new recording with striking visualizations. It is a story of four researchers and how they rehabilitated a piece of music given a program with some missing code and missing data, two different sound recordings, and my memory (aided by fading notes and drawings) of what I had done more than 30 years ago then their carefully analyzing my not-veryclean code written in an old language, linking the code to my musical intentions, explaining the music-theoretical underpinnings, tracking down the versions and discrepancies, understanding how it was assembled in the days of very limited disk storage for sound files, confirming my intentions through contemporaneous notes of long-forgotten unpublished analyses, reconstructing the code for the composition and synthesis in modern languages, preserving my original programming errors that had an audible consequence, carefully analyzing the existing recordings and inferring what I must have done so they could faithfully recreate a critical lost version of the program and its data and finally, creating Stria anew. The four authors, Matteo Meneghini (a computer scientist/musician), Laura Zattra (a musicologist/ philologist), Olivier Baudouin (a composer/researcher), and Kevin Dahan (a composer/theorist), all had independent interests and motivations. At different times, each asked me for information about Stria, which I provided as completely as I could. They pushed hard, as the electronic mails, documents, and finally sound files moved from them to me and back. Excepting Laura and Matteo, the four were unknown to one another. Over the years, I had received a few inquiries regarding Stria some casual and some specific. Among the latter were those from Toby Mountain, Roberto Doati, and Giovanni De Poli, all of whose early work enriched this current effort. Then, in December 2002, 1 received an electronic mail that reflected a wholly different level of interest. Matteo Men ghini, then a graduate student in electronics and computer science, asked detailed questions about Stria and the program I had written to compose it. At various times, I had provided copies of the program when asked, and he had gotten hold of one. His questions were pointed, about my use of recursion and about the availability of the program's input data and any other documentation that would aid him in analyzing the program. His project was being guided by Giovanni De Poli, professor of computer science and director of Centro di Sonologia Computazionale at the University of Padua, with whom I had been at IRCAM at various times in
Calculation of Smoke Plume Opacity from Particulate Air Pollutant Properties

Calculation of smoke plume opacity from the properties of the particulate emission is facilitated with the use of a parameter K (specific particulate volume cm3/m3/extinction coefficient m−1) computed from theory. Graphs of K vs. the geometric mass mean particle radius at geometric standard deviations from 1 (monodisperse) to 10 are presented for particle refractive indices of 1.96–0.66i (carbon), 2.80–0.02i, 1.33 (water) and 1.50 at a wavelength of light of 550 nm. Experimental data of K for various sources are reported. Application to the estimation of the Ringelmann number is discussed and illustrated with an example.
Targeted therapies: Redefining the primary objective of phase I oncology trials

Cytotoxic agents are conventionally dosed on the basis of the maximum tolerated dose defined in phase I trials. A study assessing adverse events in over 2,000 patients treated with molecularly targeted agents suggests a need to redefine criteria for dosing of molecularly targeted agents, which should be based on randomized, dose-ranging phase II trials.
Dependence of photoreceptor glutamate release on a dihydropyridine-sensitive calcium channel

A "reduced retina" preparation, consisting of the photoreceptor layer attached to the pigment epithelium in the eyecup, was used to study the pharmacology of the calcium channels controlling glutamate release by photoreceptors in Xenopus. Glutamate release was evoked either by dark adaptation or by superfusion with elevated (20 mM) potassium medium. Both darkness- and potassium-induced release were blocked by cadmium (200 microM). The N-type calcium channel blocker, omega-conotoxin GVIA (500 nM), the P-type calcium channel blocker, omega-agatoxin IVA (20 nM), and the P- and Q-type channel blocker omega-conotoxin MVIIC (1 microM) had no effect on glutamate release. In contrast, the dihydropyridines, nifedipine (10 microM) and nitrendipine (10 microM), which affect L-type calcium channels, blocked both darkness- and potassium-induced release. Bay K 8644 (10 microM), which promotes the open state of L-type calcium channels, enhanced glutamate release. These results indicate that photoreceptor glutamate release is controlled mainly by dihydropyridine-sensitive calcium channels. A dependence of glutamate release on L-type calcium channels also has been reported for depolarizing bipolar cells of a fish retina. Thus, it appears that non-inactivating L-type calcium channels are appropriate to mediate transmitter release in neurons whose physiological responses are sustained, graded potentials.
Scattering of vertically-incident P-waves by an embedded pile

An exact theoretical formulation is presented for the analysis of a thin-walled pile embedded in an elastic half-space under vertically-incident P-wave excitation. In the framework of three-dimensional elastodynamics and a shell theory, the axisymmetrical wave-scattering problem is shown to be reducible to a set of Fredholm boundary integral equations. With the incorporation of the singular characteristics of the wave-induced contact load distributions into the solution scheme, a computational boundary element method is developed for a rigorous treatment of the seismic soil-structure interaction problem. Typical results for the dynamic contact load distributions, displacements, complex-valued foundation input motion functions, and resonant pile foundation response are included for direct engineering applications.
The Role of E6AP in the Regulation of p53 Protein Levels in Human Papillomavirus (HPV)-positive and HPV-negative Cells *

The E6 protein encoded by the oncogenic human papillomaviruses (HPVs) targets p53 for ubiquitin-dependent proteolysis. E6-mediated p53 degradation requires the 100-kDa cellular protein E6-associated protein (E6AP). E6AP and E6 together provide the E3-ubiquitin protein ligase activity in the transfer of ubiquitin to p53. In vitro studies have shown that E6AP can form a high energy thiolester bond with ubiquitin and, in the presence of E6, transfer ubiquitin to p53. In this study we have addressed the role of E6AP in vivo in the degradation of p53. Overexpression of wild-type E6AP in HeLa cells, which are HPV18-positive and express E6, resulted in a decreased steady state level of p53 and a decrease in the half-life of p53. Mutant forms of E6AP proteins were identified that were catalytically incapable of participating in E6-dependent ubiquitination of p53 and functioned in a dominant-negative manner in that they inhibited the E6-mediated ubiquitination of p53 by the wild-type E6AP in vitro. Transient transfection of one of these dominant negative (dn) mutants resulted in an increase in both the steady state level and half-life of p53 in vivo in HeLa cells. Consistent with this observation, overexpression of the dn E6AP resulted in a marked G1 shift in the cell cycle profile. In contrast, dn E6AP had no effect on p53 levels in U2OS cells, an HPV-negative cell line that contains wild-type p53. These studies provide evidence for the involvement of E6AP in E6-mediated p53 degradation in vivo and also indicate that E6AP may not be involved in the regulation of p53 ubiquitination in the absence of E6.
Simple Model of Thermal Emission from Burning Aluminum in Solid Propellants

There is a growing interest in accidental fires involving solid-propellant rocket motors. Many solid rocket motors are aluminized, and whether it is a large-scale launch booster or a smaller satellite orbital-transfer motor, fire spread in such situations would be significantly augmented by radiation from burning aluminium in the propellant. Thus, there is a need for simple, accurate models of thermal emissions properties of burning aluminium that can be incorporated in computational simulations of combustion of aluminized solid propellant
What can VR do for U? Virtual Reality for Training Uninhabited Aircraft Systems

The proliferation of Uninhabited Aircraft Systems (UAS) during forward deployed military operations presents compelling challenges to the training community. This presentation will examine how Virtual Reality (VR) technologies may be employed to instantiate novel training approaches targeted at UAS team coordination and tactics. The RQ-11 Raven-B, and its associated training issues will be used to illustrate challenges facing the U.S. Marine Corps. VR solutions currently applied to this domain and emerging research efforts will also be discussed.
Cost-Effectiveness of Angiographic Imaging in Isolated Perimesencephalic Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

Background and Purpose—The purpose of this study is to perform a comprehensive cost-effectiveness analysis of all possible permutations of computed tomographic angiography (CTA) and digital subtraction angiography imaging strategies for both initial diagnosis and follow-up imaging in patients with perimesencephalic subarachnoid hemorrhage on noncontrast CT. Methods—Each possible imaging strategy was evaluated in a decision tree created with TreeAge Pro Suite 2014, with parameters derived from a meta-analysis of 40 studies and literature values. Base case and sensitivity analyses were performed to assess the cost-effectiveness of each strategy. A Monte Carlo simulation was conducted with distributional variables to evaluate the robustness of the optimal strategy. Results—The base case scenario showed performing initial CTA with no follow-up angiographic studies in patients with perimesencephalic subarachnoid hemorrhage to be the most cost-effective strategy ($5422/quality adjusted life year). Using a willi...
Coherent dips revisited

The semiclassical two-level multiwave coefficients are presented in the limit that the population-difference lifetime T1, is much greater than the dipole lifetime T2. These coefficients are easy to understand analytically and show how pump-probe detuning shifts the phase and the amplitude of pump scattering off induced population pulsations. In particular, a simple formula is found that shows how energy can be exchanged by two waves in an apparently pure-index regime. An FM wave is shown to propagate unchanged through such a medium, and the beat-note component of an AM wave is shown to be unmodified by a thin medium. Simple formulas for T1 of the order of T2 are given that reveal intense pump-dispersive and Lorentzian features at a glance. The results are of use in saturation spectroscopy, modulation spectroscopy, optical instabilities, and phase conjugation.