cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Audio, Visual, and Electrodermal Arousal Signals as Predictors of Mental Fatigue Following Sustained Cognitive Work

Lapses in vigilance and slowed reactions due to mental fatigue can increase risk of accidents and injuries and degrade performance. This paper describes a method for rapid, unobtrusive detection of mental fatigue based on changes in electrodermal arousal (EDA), and changes in neuromotor coordination derived from speaking. Twenty-nine Soldiers completed a 2-hour battery of cognitive tasks intended to induce fatigue. Behavioral markers derived from audio and video during speech were acquired before and after the 2hour cognitive load tasks, as was EDA. Exposure to cognitive load produced detectable increases in neuromotor variability in speech and facial measures after load and even after a recovery period. A Gaussian mixture model classifier with crossvalidation and fusion across speech, video, and EDA produced an accuracy of AUC=0.99 in detecting a change in cognitive fatigue relative to a personalized baseline.
Abstract 646: CRISPR/Cas9 screening to identify mechanisms of azacitidine failure in myelodysplastic syndrome

Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is a heterogenous myeloid lineage malignancy characterized by blood cell morphological dysplasia, ineffective clonal hematopoiesis, and risk of secondary transformation to acute myeloid leukemia (sAML). The mainstay of treatment in patients with higher-risk MDS are the hypomethylating agents (HMAs) azacitidine and decitabine, which extend overall survival by approximately 12 to 18 months. Unfortunately, disease relapse and HMA resistance are inevitable and carry a very poor prognosis. Genomic sequencing of large MDS cohorts has led to the identification of recurrent genetic abnormalities in MDS, some of which predict sensitivity to HMA therapy. For example, abnormalities in TET2, but not ASXL1, are associated with a favorable response to the HMAs. However, it is unknown why some patients with otherwise similar clinical features have variable responses to HMA therapy. We hypothesize that there are common cellular mechanisms promoting resistance to HMA therapy and that these can be therapeutically targeted to enhance treatment responses. To uncover cellular processes promoting HMA treatment failure we performed duplicate genome-wide CRISPR/Cas9 screen in the human MDS-L cell line using resistance to azacitidine as a positive selection readout. MDS-L was established from bone marrow mononuclear cells in a 52-year-old male patient with high-risk MDS. We transduced the Brunello sgRNA CRISPR library into Cas9 expressing MDS-L cells and subjected the cells to azacitidine treatment for 7 days. Cells surviving azacitidine treatment were then expanded and harvested for genomic DNA. High throughput sequencing of the barcoded DNA produced raw reads that were analyzed using the PinAPL-Py web-based software. sgRNAs appearing in duplicate with over 10-fold enrichment compared to the control library were considered significant. We identified 125 candidate genes involved in HMA resistance from the CRISPR-Cas9 screen. Pathway analysis revealed a significant enrichment of genes involved in lipid metabolism, DNA methylation, and response to small molecule catabolism. Future experiments to validate these candidates as well as test whether they contribute in vivo to HMA resistance are underway. We conclude genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9 screens for drug-resistance in the MDS-L model are feasible and may uncover future therapeutic targets to augment HMA therapy or utilize upon HMA failure. Citation Format: Michael Schieber, John D. Crispino. CRISPR/Cas9 screening to identify mechanisms of azacitidine failure in myelodysplastic syndrome [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research 2020; 2020 Apr 27-28 and Jun 22-24. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(16 Suppl):Abstract nr 646.
Do Physicians Influence Each Other's Performance? Evidence from the Emergency Department

Understanding potential channels through which physicians impact each other's performance can yield new insights into better management of hospitals' operations. We use evidence from Emergency Medicine to study whether and how physicians who work alongside each other during the same shifts affect each other's performance. We find strong empirical evidence that physicians affect each other's speed and quality. Specifically, our results show that a faster peer decreases while a slower peer increases the average speed of a focal physician. Similarly, we find that a higher-quality peer decreases a focal physician's average quality while a lower-quality peer increases the average quality of the focal physician. We identify resource spillover from peers' utilization of shared resources as the main driver of the observed effects and show that during high-volume shifts (i.e., when the shared resources are most constrained), the magnitude of the effects increases. We provide further evidence for the resource spillover mechanism by showing that physicians influence their peers' speed and quality through affecting their test order count and admission rate, respectively. While some of these observed effects tend to be long-lived, we find that their magnitudes are fairly heterogeneous among physicians. In particular, our results show that newly-hired and/or high-performing physicians are typically more sensitive to the influence of their peers. Finally, we draw conclusions from our results and discuss how they can be utilized by hospital administrators to improve the overall performance of physicians via better scheduling patterns that require specific physicians to work during the same shifts.
Emergent slow dynamics of collapsed polymers flowing through porous media.

Using hydrodynamic simulations, we study the single polymers flowing through model porous media (close-packed colloidal crystal). In good solvent or high flow rates, the polymer transport is similar to gel electrophoresis, with size-dependent sieving for ${L}_{c}/L\ensuremath{\lesssim}1$ and size-independent biased reptation for ${L}_{c}/L\ensuremath{\gtrsim}1$ (${L}_{c}$ is the polymer contour length and $L$ is the diameter of colloids forming the porous media). Importantly, in bad solvent and low flow rates, the polymers show an extra window of size-dependent velocity for $1\ensuremath{\lesssim}{L}_{c}/L\ensuremath{\lesssim}2$, where the polymer transport is controlled by a globule-stretch transition at pore throats, and the transport velocity is much slower than reptation.
The Roles of Identity Conflict, Emotion, and Threat in Learning from Refutation Texts on Vaccination and Immigration

It is common for individuals to have misconceptions across a range of subject matters. Although interventions to correct misconceptions are largely successful, at times they may fail. The current s...
‘What do you think it is that makes them who they are’? The connections between Latinx stereotypes, claims of white difference, and characters’ deaths in Breaking Bad:

This article argues that while reliant on Latinx stereotypes in character construction, Breaking Bad (2008–2013) ultimately uses them to problematise American racial categories and conquest mytholo...
Anisotropic elastic behavior of a hydrogel-coated electrospun polyurethane: Suitability for heart valve leaflets.

Abstract Although xenograft biomaterials have been used for decades in replacement heart valves, they continue to face multiple limitations, including limited durability, mineralization, and restricted design space due to their biological origins. These issues necessitate the need for novel replacement heart valve biomaterials that are durable, non-thrombogenic, and compatible with transcatheter aortic valve replacement devices. In this study, we explored the suitability of an electrospun poly(carbonate urethane) (ES-PCU) mesh coated with a poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) hydrogel as a synthetic biomaterial for replacement heart valve leaflets. In this material design, the mesh provides the mechanical support, while the hydrogel provides the required surface hemocompatibility. We conducted a comprehensive study to characterize the structural and mechanical properties of the uncoated mesh as well as the hydrogel-coated mesh (composite biomaterial) over the estimated operational range. We found that the composite biomaterial was functionally robust with reproducible stress–strain behavior within and beyond the functional ranges for replacement heart valves, and was able to withstand the rigors of mechanical evaluation without any observable damage. In addition, the composite biomaterial displayed a wide range of mechanical anisotropic responses, which were governed by fiber orientation of the mesh, which in turn, was controlled with the fabrication process. Finally, we developed a novel constitutive modeling approach to predict the mechanical behavior of the composite biomaterial under in-plane extension and shear deformation modes. This model identified the existence of fiber–fiber mechanical interactions in the mesh that have not previously been reported. Interestingly, there was no evidence of fiber-hydrogel mechanical interactions. This important finding suggests that the hydrogel coating can be optimized for hemocompatibility independent of the structural mechanical responses required by the leaflet. This initial study indicated that the composite biomaterial has mechanical properties well-suited for replacement heart valve applications and that the electrospun mesh microarchitecture and hydrogel biological properties can be optimized independently. It also reveals that the structural mechanisms contributing to the mechanical response are more complicated than what was previously established and paves the pathway for more detailed future studies.
Studies on transmission of porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2)

The objective of this study was to determine the efficacy of inactivated (one or two dose) and live-attenuated chimeric PCV1-2 vaccines in sows using the PCV2-spiked semen model. Thirty-five sows were randomly divided into six groups: negative and positive controls, one dose inactivated PCV1-2 vaccine challenged (1-VAC-PCV2), two dose inactivated PCV1-2 vaccine challenged (2-VAC-PCV2), one dose live-attenuated PCV1-2 vaccine unchallenged (1-LIVE-VAC), and one dose live-attenuated PCV1-2 vaccine challenged (1-LIVE-VACPCV2). The inactivated PCV1-2 vaccine induced higher levels of PCV2-specific antibodies in dams. All vaccination strategies provided good protection against PCV2 viremia in dams, whereas the majority of the unvaccinated sows were viremic. Four of the 35 dams became pregnant: a negative control, a positive control, a 2-VAC-PCV2 sow, and a 1-LIVE-VACPCV2 sow. PCV2 DNA was detected in 100%, 67% and 29% of the fetuses obtained from the positive control, inactivated vaccinated or live-attenuated vaccinated dams. PCV2 antigen
Chapter 21 Procedure for Preparation and Characterization of Liver Cells Made Permeable by Treatment with Toluene

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the optimum conditions for toluene treatment of liver cells that render them permeable to exogenous molecules and examines some properties of such cells. The structural integrity of toluene-treated cells by both electron microscopy and the distribution of various enzyme markers is demonstrated in the chapter. The isolated individual liver cells are made permeable to charged molecules and macromolecules by treatment with toluene. Toluene treatment has been used to make bacterial cells permeable to nucleoside triphosphates so that DNA and RNA synthesis can be studied in these cells. However, toluene-treated bacteria lose their RNA, and protein synthesis does not occur in these bacteria. Toluene treatment is as efficient as various disruptive methods for making internal enzymes accessible to exogenous substrates. Electron microscopic and biochemical examination of the toluene-treated cells indicate that cell structure is not destroyed by the toluene treatment and that most cell constituents remain within the cell. The methods for the characterization of the toluene-treated liver cells are outlined.
Porous Silicon Electroluminescence Mechanisms and Defect Analysis

The purpose of this research was to determine the mechanisms contributing to the electroluminescence (EL) of porous silicon and to identify and analyze the effects of porous silicon defects on the luminescence. Time dependence of the EL, voltage excitation, and electrical current were compared. Luminescence spectra and temperature dependence were measured. Two components of the EL were observed with significantly different EL decay times. They appear to result from recombination in regions of the porous silicon having different structure sizes and different electrical connectivity. The larger structures can support extrinsic conduction, giving rise to electrical excitation of EL. The smaller particles are more isolated electrically and in addition behave more like insulators, by virtue of their increased binding energy of substitutional impurities. These considerations are manifested in significant differences in the temperature dependence of the EL. Defects in the porous silicon were examined using EPR. A Pb center defect has been unambiguously identified with a silicon dangling orbital. The disposition of these defects confirms that the nanocrystallites of silicon within the porous silicon skeletal structure retain their original crystal lattice and orientation. Correlation of defect density and photoluminescence (PL) under different conditions of anneal demonstrates that the Pb defect is responsible for some of the quenching of the PL, but that there is also another quenching mechanism.
Accelerating Time Integration for the Shallow Water Equations on the Sphere Using GPUs

The push towards larger and larger computational platforms has made it possible for climate simulations to resolve climate dynamics across multiple spatial and temporal scales. This direction in climate simulation has created a strong need to develop scalable time-stepping methods capable of accelerating throughput on high performance computing. This work details the recent advances in the implementation of implicit time stepping on a spectral element cube-sphere grid using graphical processing units (GPU) based machines. We demonstrate how solvers in the Trilinos project are interfaced with ACME and GPU kernels can significantly increase computational speed of the residual calculations in the implicit time stepping method for the shallow water equations on the sphere. We show the optimization gains and data structure reorganization that facilitates the performance improvements.
The influence of marketing and innovation investments on alliance type choice

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the gap in the literature as well as investigate how the combination of internal marketing or innovation investments with new product introductions influences alliance type choices. Most research on marketing–innovation resource allocation decisions has focused on trade-offs in internal investments such as advertising versus research and development. Absent from this discussion is whether firms offset a weakness internally by reaching outside the boundaries of the firm through alliances. As a result, managers lack a clear understanding of the potential for complementarity using internal–external approaches to a market. Design/methodology/approach – This paper draws on the resource-based view of the firm, using a longitudinal secondary data set and a choice model. Findings – The authors find that firms that internally emphasize either marketing or innovation maintain the same approach externally with respect to alliance type choices. Thus, efforts to comple...
Carnitine biosynthesis in hepatic peroxisomes. Demonstration of gamma-butyrobetaine hydroxylase activity.

We have investigated whether hepatic peroxisomes are capable of synthesizing carnitine. When purified peroxisomes were incubated with γ-butyrobetaine, a precursor of carnitine, formation of carnitine was observed. These results indicate that peroxisomes contain γ-butyrobetaine hydroxylase, the enzyme which catalyzes the final step in the biosynthesis of carnitine. This enzyme was previously believed to be present only in the cytosol. γ-Butyrobetaine hydroxylase activity in peroxisomes was not due to cytosolic contamination as evaluated by marker enzyme analysis. When proliferation of peroxisomes was induced by clofibrate treatment, γ-butyrobetaine hydroxylase/mass liver increased by 7.6-fold and the specific activity by 2.5-fold. We conclude that hepatic peroxisomes synthesize carnitine and this synthesis becomes substantial under conditions of peroxisomal proliferation.
Investigating the Relationship Between Battery Life and User Acceptance of Dynamic, Energy-Aware Interfaces on Handhelds

In a 24 x 7 mobile world experiencing a proliferation of handheld devices, battery life can be a limiting factor. In particular, handheld displays consume substantial battery power. One strategy to potentially reduce display battery consumption and support a positive user experience is to adopt emerging display technologies (e.g., OLEDs) that support energy-aware interfaces. The research reported here, the second investigation in a series, assessed user expectations regarding handheld battery life and explored the relationship between battery life and user acceptance of energy-aware, handheld interfaces. Twelve experienced handheld users engaged dynamic, prototype energy-aware interfaces to complete a scenario comprised of 5 representative tasks. Users identified battery life as an important handheld issue, were positive regarding a display-based approach to reducing battery consumption and varied consistently in their enthusiasm for specific interfaces. The findings highlight themes for the research and design of future energy-aware interfaces.
Environmental Barrier Coatings for Silicon‐Based Ceramics

Silicon-based ceramics, such as SiC fiber-reinforced SiC (SiC/SiC ceramic matrix composites (CMC) and monolithic silicon nitride (Si3N4), are prime candidates for hot section structural components of next generation gas turbine engines. Silicon-based ceramics, however, suffer from rapid surface recession in combustion environments due to volatilization of the silica scale via reaction with water vapor, a major product of combustion. Therefore, application of silicon-based ceramic components in the hot section of advanced gas turbine engines requires development of a reliable method to protect the ceramic from environmental attack. An external environmental barrier coating (EBC) is considered a logical approach to achieve protection and CP long-term stability. The first generation EBC consisted of two layers, mullite (3Al2O3-2SiO2) bond coat and yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ, ZrO2-8 Wt.% Y2O3) top coat. Second generation EBCs, with substantially improved performance compared with the first generation EBC, were developed in the NASA High Speed Research-Enabling Propulsion Materials (HSR-EPM) Program. The first generation EBC consisted of two layers, mullite (3Al2O3-2SiO2) bond coat and yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ, ZrO2-8 wt.% Y2O3) top coat. Second generation EBCs, with substantially improved performance compared with the first generation EBC, were developed in the NASA High Speed Research-Enabling Propulsion Materials (HSR-EPM) Program (5). They consist of three layers, a silicon first bond coat, a mullite or a mullite + BSAS (BaO(1-x)-SrO(x)-Al2O3-2SiO2) second bond coat, and a BSAS top coat. The EPM EBCs were applied on SiC/SiC CMC combustor liners in three Solar Turbines (San Diego, CA) Centaur 50s gas turbine engines. The combined operation of the three engines has accumulated over 24,000 hours without failure (approximately 1,250 C maximum combustor liner temperature), with the engine in Texaco, Bakersfield, CA, accumulating about 14,000 hours. As the commercialization of Si-based ceramic components in gas turbines is on the horizon, a major emphasis is placed on EBCs for two reasons. First, they are absolute necessity for the protection of Si-based ceramics from water vapor. Second, they can enable a major enhancement in the performance of gas turbines by creating temperature gradients with the incorporation of a low thermal conductivity layer. Thorough understanding of current state-of-the-art EBCs will provide the foundation upon which development of future EBCs will be based. Phase stability and thermal conductivity of EPM EBCs are published elsewhere. This paper will discuss the chemical/environmental durability and silica volatility of EPM EBCs and their impact on the coating's upper temperature limit.
RNA editing and alternative splicing of human serotonin 2C receptor in schizophrenia

Serotonin 2C receptor (5-HT2CR) heterogeneity in the brain occurs mostly from two different sources: (i) 5-HT2CR mRNA undergoes adenosine-to-inosine editing events at five positions, which leads to amino acid substitutions that produce receptor variants with different pharmacological properties; (ii) 5-HT2CR mRNA is alternatively spliced, resulting in a truncated mRNA isoform (5-HT2CR-tr) which encodes a non-functional serotonin receptor. 5-HT2CR mRNA editing efficiencies and the expression of the full-length and the truncated 5-HT2CR mRNA splice isoforms were analyzed in the prefrontal cortex of elderly subjects with schizophrenia vs. matched controls (ns = 15). No significant differences were found, indicating that there are no alterations in editing or alternative splicing of 5-HT2CRs that are associated with schizophrenia in persons treated with antipsychotic medications. Quantitation of 5-HT2CR and 5-HT2CR-tr mRNA variants revealed that the expression of 5-HT2CR-tr was ∼ 50% of that observed for the full-length isoform.
Apparent digestibility of macro‐nutrients and phosphorus in plant‐derived ingredients for Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar and Arctic charr, Salvelinus alpinus

Alternative protein sources for aquafeeds need to be indentified in order to increase the efficiency of production. Many studies have examined terrestrial plant meals/protein concentrates as alternatives. Recently the focus has turned to aquatic protists and plants as well as by-products from other industries, such as breweries. Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, and Arctic charr, Salvelinus alpinus, were fed diets containing canola meal, soybean meal, corn gluten meal, soy protein concentrate, barley protein concentrate, and solar dried algae included at 30% of the test diet. Barley protein concentrate had the highest apparent protein digestibility values for both species (96.3% for Atlantic salmon and 85.1% for Arctic charr), followed by corn gluten meal. Algae had the highest organic matter digestibility value for arctic charr (80.1%) while corn gluten meal had the highest organic matter digestibility value for Atlantic salmon (88.4%). Algae had a high energy apparent digestibility coefficient (82.4 salmon, 82.7 charr) along with corn gluten meal (78.5 salmon, 82.7 charr) for both species. In general, Atlantic salmon had higher apparent digestibility coefficients compared to Arctic charr for most of the tested ingredients. Both corn gluten and barley protein concentrate appear good candidates as alternative protein sources with both species.
Ab initio calculation for low-energy elastic scattering of electrons from chlorine atoms.

We have performed ab initio calculations of scattering length, differential, total, and momentum-transfer cross sections for elastic scattering of electrons from open-shell atoms; in particular, the chlorine atom. The polarization of chlorine atoms due to the scattered electrons and the electron correlation effects that are very important in the calculation are taken into account through the configuration-interaction procedure using the multiconfiguration Hartree-Fock method for continuum wave functions. Phase shifts for various partial waves calculated in this approximation have been used to calculate elastic differential, total elastic, and momentum-transfer cross sections for low energies ranging from 0--27.2 eV. The scattering length is calculated with wave functions computed exactly at zero energy. The results are compared with other available theoretical data. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.
Experimental techniques for measurements of vorticity and strain rates in compressible turbulence interactions with shock or expansion waves

AbstractThe present work describes The development and validation of a custom-made hot-wire vorticity probe capable of measuring the time-dependent highly fluctuating three-dimensional velocity and vorticity vectors, and associated total temperature, in non-isothermal and inhomogeneous flows with reasonable spatial and temporal resolution. The probe has been used in interactions of compressible homogeneous and isotropic turbulence with shock waves, interactions of vortices with shock waves, and interactions of homogeneous and isotropic turbulence with expansion waves. These flows have been configured in a large-scale shock tube facility. The availability of these data allowed the computations of several terms appearing in the transport equation of vorticity, the full dissipation rate of the kinetic energy term, and full rate-of-strain tensor. An analysis of the uncertainties involved in these measurements suggests that they depend on the particular flow under consideration.
Comparison of the ITS1 and ITS2 rDNA in Eimeria callospermophili (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) from Sciurid Rodents

Abstract The taxonomy of the coccidia has historically been morphologically based. The purpose of this study was to establish if conspecificity of isolates of Eimeria callospermophili from 4 ground-dwelling squirrel hosts (Rodentia: Sciuridae) is supported by comparison of rDNA sequence data and to examine how this species relates to eimerian species from other sciurid hosts. Eimeria callospermophili was isolated from 4 wild-caught hosts, i.e., Urocitellus elegans, Cynomys leucurus, Marmota flaviventris, and Cynomys ludovicianus. The ITS1 and ITS2 genomic rDNA sequences were PCR generated, sequenced, and analyzed. The highest intraspecific pairwise distance values of 6.0% in ITS1 and 7.1% in ITS2 were observed in C. leucurus. Interspecific pairwise distance values >5% do not support E. callospermophili conspecificity. Generated E. callospermophili sequences were compared to Eimeria lancasterensis from Sciurus niger and Sciurus niger cinereus and to Eimeria ontarioensis from S. niger. A single, well-suppor...
X-ray characterization of InxGa1-xAs/GaAs quantum wells

Abstract X-ray diffraction patterns have been measured for pseudomorphic In x Ga 1− x As/GaAs quantum well (QW) structures of widths 183, 121 and 61 ∢, and composition x of about 0.28 grown by molecular beam epitaxy. The measured patterns show Pendellosung fringes due to the 513 ∢ GaAs barriers. These Pendellosung fringes are modulated by a broad weak peak mostly coming from the 183 A In x Ga 1− x As well layer. The X-ray diffraction fringe modulating patterns between 32° and 33° are fairly symmetric for a non-interrupted growth procedure. The diffraction pattern for the same structures with interrupted growth is less symmetric, since there is further modulation by another weaker peak. This shows that the In x Ga 1− x As well layers have less well controlled In composition if grown with interruption times of tens of seconds at each interface. The thickest In x Ga 1− x As well layer exhibits the highest In composition. Layer thickness and In composition in thin layers (around 100 ∢ in the thickness) can be estimated by X-ray modeling and good agreement obtained between the measured and the calculated X-ray diffraction patterns.
Growth dynamics of pentacene thin films: Real-time synchrotron x-ray scattering study

Real-time synchrotron x-ray scattering in the anti-Bragg configuration was used to monitor the dynamics of pentacene film growth on inert substrates. A distributed-growth model, according to which pentacene molecules adsorbed on the nth layer can either nucleate and contribute to the growth of the (n+1)th layer or transfer downward and contribute to the growth of the nth layer, gave a good description of the data. For molecules adsorbed on the first and second layers, the probability of downward transfer was found to be dependent on the substrate, and independent of temperature within the range from 25 to 60 deg. C. For films grown on SiO{sub 2}, an Ehrlich-Schwoebel barrier of the order of 70 meV dominated downward transfer of pentacene molecules in layers away from the substrate. For films grown on an alkylated self-assembled monolayer, significant desorption of pentacene molecules from the substrate at elevated temperatures forced the growth mode toward the three-dimensional limit.
Toughened Optical Materials

Several methods exist for significantly' improving the strength and fracture toughness of ceramics. Analysis of these techniques indicates several should be applicable for optical window materials provided the morphologies and the physical and optical properties of the microstructural constituents are properly selected. Recent experimental results support the view that one of the most promising of these involves toughening with dispersions of (Zr,Hf)02, particularly when the dispersion size and refractive index match with the matrix can be suitably controlled.© (1982) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Routing in queueing networks under imperfect information: stochastic dominance and thresholds

Optimal policies for routing between two servers under imperfect information is treated by discrete time dynamic programming. It is proved that certain inequalities involving stochastic ordering of information measures can be propagated inductively from one epoch to the next. Convexity conditions on the instantaneous costs insure proper initiation and inductive continuation of these properties. Consequently, an inductive procedure shows that threshold routing policies are optimal, and that the total cost is convex and monotone. Two examples are provided. The first deals with a tandem queue having inputs to both work stations, and only inferential information available on the state of the second station. It is first shown that the optimal control is bang-bang, and then that the hypotheses dictating a threshold policy resulting in convex and monotone costs are satisfied. The second example considers optimal routing for customers arriving in a renewal stream, when the routing decision is between two parallel...
Gender and the Psychological Structure of Partisanship

Abstract Previous studies have demonstrated myriad ways in which men and women differ in political attitudes and political behavior. Particularly prominent in recent years is the gap in party identification between men and women. In this paper, rather than examiningsimple party preferences, we explore the underlying psychology of partisanship and how it varies between men and women. We conceptualize party identification as not just an affective attachment to party, but rather as a complex attitude consisting of affective, cognitive, and social identity components. Using a random survey of voters in a metropolitan, midwestern county, we compare men and women on the psychological bases of their partisanship as well as the separate positive and negative aspects of their partisan attitudes. As compared to men, women are found to have uniformly lower evaluations of the parties, resulting mainly from relatively less positive feelings and cognitions. We also find that the group component of partisanship, social ...
Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy of thiols and disulfides

Aromatic and alkyl thiols adsorb on gold surfaces from ethanol to form stable monolayers. Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) has been used to characterize the interactions of thiols and disulfides with gold surfaces immersed in aqueous solution. SERS provides the first direct evidence that thiols such as benzenethiol (thiophenol), benzenemethanethiol (benzylthiol), and 4-cyanobenzenemethanethiol adsorb dissociatively on gold, and interact with gold through the sulfur atom. The adlayers are quite robust, being stable between the potential required for the reduction of water and that required for oxidation of the gold substrate. Generation of hydrogen at the surface results in the formation of regions of low thiol coverage that are spectroscopically distinct from the high coverage regions that form spontaneously when the electrode is immersed in a thiol solution. The SER spectra of adsorbed aromatic thiols and the analogous disulfides are identical, indicating that the disulfide bond cleaves upon adsorption. SERS reveals that 4-bromobenzenethiol and 4-chlorobenzenethiol are reduced to benzenethiol at -1000 mV vs. SCE on gold. The corresponding 4-halo-benzenemethanethiols are reduced less readily, and 4-fluorobenzenethiol not at all. These reactions afford the possibility of preparing mixed thiol monolayers, and of subsequently modifying thiol monolayers in situ.© (1990) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Herpesvirus tegument protein activates NF-kappaB signaling through the TRAF6 adaptor protein

Viruses remodel the host cell to optimize their replication both by delivery of virion proteins into the cell and by de novo expression of viral proteins. The HSV particle contains several proteins that function to prepare the host cell for viral replication, including the VP16 transcriptional activator protein and virion host shutoff protein. HSV infection activates NF-κB pathways through Toll-like receptor (TLR) 2 and non-TLR pathways, and NF-κB activity is required for efficient viral replication. In a screen of the HSV proteome, we observed that the HSV UL37 tegument protein activates NF-κB signaling in a TLR2-independent manner. Expression of UL37 in transfected cells leads to IκB degradation and activation of both reporter genes and the endogenous IL-8 gene. This activation requires TNF receptor–associated factor 6 (TRAF6), and UL37 contains a TRAF6-binding domain that is required for interaction with TRAF6 and activation of NF-κB. A mutant virus encoding UL37 with an altered TRAF6-binding site shows reduced NF-κB activation in the early phase of infection. Therefore, the HSV UL37 virion structural protein can activate NF-κB through TRAF6. Activation of NF-κB by a virion tegument protein that is delivered into the host cell cytoplasm during viral entry represents a mechanism for activation of this pathway by a virus.
Human Psoriatic Skin in Organ Culture: Comparison with Normal Skin Exposed to Exogenous Growth Factors and Effects of an Antibody to the EGF Receptor

Organ cultures were established from psoriatic lesional skin of 24 different individuals and maintained for 8 days under serum-free, growth-factor-free conditions. Nonlesional skin from 14 of the same
Continuous recording and quantification of selective blood distribution in the amphibian Rana catesbeiana.

Abstract o 1. Thermally marked systemic venous return was employed to continuously record the pattern of blood distribution in the bullfrog ventricle and arterial arches. 2. Oscillations of cardiac cycle period indicative of separation and continuous grading of systemic and pulmonary bloods were observed at the conus outflow tract with systemic venous blood leaving first. 3. Systemic venous blood entered the conus first on systole followed by a progressively higher proportion of pulmonary venous return. 4. Blood entered the pulmocutaneous circuit before the systemic as evidenced by earlier temperature drop and pressure rise. 5. Minimal mean efficiency of separation on ejection from the ventricle was 39%.
Fluorescence in situ hybridization

Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) is a cytogenetic technique used to detect the presence or absence and location of specific gene sequences. It can visualize specific cytogenetic abnormalities (copy number aberrations) such as chromosomal deletion, amplification, and translocation. FISH has been used in prenatal diagnosis and has served both as a diagnostic and as a prognostic marker for various sarcomas. More recently, FISH entered the field of dermatology in aiding the evaluation of ambiguous melanocytic lesions. This article will discuss the concept of FISH, its application, and its advantages and limitations in dermatology, with an emphasis on melanoma.
Gender Differences in Implantable Cardioverter‐Defibrillator Patients at the Time of Insertion

Gender differences in physical and psychological health and responses in persons receiving implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) have been reported but are not well delineated. This study examined symptoms of pain and sleep difficulties, functional status, and psychological responses in 180 (75%) men and 60 (25%) women before and immediately following their first ICD implantation. Women were significantly younger, less likely to be married, and had less history of coronary artery disease than men. Forty-eight percent of women were New York Heart Association class III-IV vs. 27% of men (p<0.05). Women had lower functional status and were more likely to report symptoms of increased pain severity and sleep difficulties. Differences in functional status and pain were reduced after adjusting for New York Heart Association class and age, respectively. There were no differences in depressive symptoms or anxiety. Clinical implications of gender-related responses include the need to address symptoms of heart failure as well as increased pain and sleep difficulties in women at the time surrounding ICD implantation. Longitudinal studies and gender-focused nursing interventions should be developed to promote better understanding of responses and to improve recovery outcomes for ICD patients.
Some approaches to best-match file searching

The problem of searching the set of keys in a file to find a key which is closest to a given query key is discussed. After “closest,” in terms of a metric on the the key space, is suitably defined, three file structures are presented together with their corresponding search algorithms, which are intended to reduce the number of comparisons required to achieve the desired result. These methods are derived using certain inequalities satisfied by metrics and by graph-theoretic concepts. Some empirical results are presented which compare the efficiency of the methods.
The NLP Role in Animated Conversation for CALL

Language learning is a relatively new application for natural language processing (NLP) and for intelligent tutoring and learning environments (ITLEs). NLP has a crucial role to play in foreign language ITLEs, whether they are designed for explicit or implicit learning of the vocabulary and grammar. FLUENT is an implicit approach, in which NLP and shared-control animation support a two-medium conversation, designed to foster implicit learning of language. This report highlights specific ways that FLUENT already uses NLP, suggests potential benefits from additional use of NLP and grounds the method in widely used language learning pedagogy. It concludes by describing and evaluating the system's use in the classroom, with a particularly challenging kind of learner.
Glass Ductility and Fracture at the 50 to 100 - nm Scale

We discuss the ductile-brittle transition in optical glass either as ductility occurring at a sufficiently low indenting load (or depth of cut) or nanoindentation of patterned surfaces with features in the range 50-250 nm.
Models of arithmetic and categories with finiteness conditions

On etudie une interpretation naturelle des fragments de l'arithmetique en termes de theorie des categories, analogue a la correspondance entre les nombres finis et les ensembles finis
Tissue Cultures of Juvenile and Adult Specimens of Ivy

Robbins1 and Wareing2 have suggested that chemical or cellular differences are the basis of the striking dimorphism of the juvenile and adult growth phases of some plants. The following experiments support this view and show that differences can persist through repeated sub-cultures of tissues in vitro.
Shell-model determination of the interacting boson model parameters for two nondegenerate j shells

The interacting boson model is examined from a microscopic viewpoint using the generalized seniority scheme. The present discussion focuses on regions of the periodic table in which the many nondegenerate nucleon orbits can be approximated in terms of two nondegenerate orbits, the sum of whose occupancies is chosen to be the same as the total occupancy of the major shell being studied. Predictions for the interacting boson model parameters are obtained by constructing the zeroth-order boson images of the corresponding fermion operators. Calculations are carried out for the tungsten isotopes, and the predicted interacting boson model parameters are found to be in good overall agreement with the empirically determined values for the tungsten isotopes. The calculations reproduce the observed SU(3) or rotational character of the low-lying energy states in the N = 96 to 114 mass region.
Cortical regions recruited for complex active-learning strategies and action planning exhibit rapid reactivation during memory retrieval

Memory retrieval can involve activity in the same sensory cortical regions involved in perception of the original event, and this neural “reactivation” has been suggested as an important mechanism of memory retrieval. However, it is still unclear if fragments of experience other than sensory information are retained and later reactivated during retrieval. For example, learning in non-laboratory settings generally involves active exploration of memoranda, thus requiring the generation of action plans for behavior and the use of strategies deployed to improve subsequent memory performance. Is information pertaining to action planning and strategic processing retained and reactivated during retrieval? To address this question, we compared ERP correlates of memory retrieval for objects that had been studied in an active manner involving action planning and strategic processing to those for objects that had been studied passively. Memory performance was superior for actively studied objects, and unique ERP retrieval correlates for these objects were identified when subjects remembered the specific spatial locations at which objects were studied. Early-onset frontal shifts in ERP correlates of retrieval were noted for these objects, which parallel the recruitment of frontal cortex during learning object locations previously identified using fMRI with the same paradigm. Notably, ERPs during recall for items studied with a specific viewing strategy localized to the same supplementary motor cortex region previously identified with fMRI when this strategy was implemented during study, suggesting rapid reactivation of regions directly involved in strategic action planning. Collectively, these results implicate neural populations involved in learning in important retrieval functions, even for those populations involved in strategic control and action planning. Notably, these episodic features are not generally reported during recollective experiences, suggesting that reactivation is a more general property of memory retrieval that extends beyond those fragments of perceptual information that might be needed to re-live the past.
Enemies Maintain Hyperdiverse Tropical Forests

AbstractUnderstanding tropical forest tree diversity has been a major challenge to ecologists. In the absence of compensatory mechanisms, two powerful forces, drift and competition, are expected to erode diversity quickly, especially in communities containing scores or hundreds of rare species. Here, I review evidence bearing on four compensatory mechanisms that have been subsumed under the terms “density dependence” or “negative density dependence”: (1) intra- and (2) interspecific competition and the action of (3) density-responsive and (4) distance-responsive biotic agents, as postulated by Janzen and Connell. To achieve ontological integration, I examine evidence based on studies employing seeds, seedlings, and saplings. Available evidence points overwhelmingly to the action of both host-generalist and host-restricted biotic agents as causing most seed and seedling mortality, implying that species diversity is maintained via top-down forcing. The overall effect of most host-generalist seed predators a...
SU-GG-T-294: Quality Assurance for Small SRS Photon Field Using LUCY Phantom on BrainLab Iplan

Purpose: To use a high precision LUCY phantom designed specifically for stereotactic radiosurgery to perform comprehensive QA and determine which dosimeter to use for different cone sizes with the BrainLAB iPlan TPS. Methods and Materials: An image set was acquired in a Philips Big Bore CT simulator for the whole phantom and transferred to the BrainLAB iPlan TPS for contouring and planning. An SRS cone treatment plan was generated with the LUCY phantom as a patient. A treatment plan for the “patient” was generated using the same clinical approach as used for actual SRS patients. The LUCY patient plan was loaded and mapped onto the LUCY QA phantom with the iPlan Phantom Mapping software to create a QA plan. A PinPoint ionization chamber (0.016cm3) and Gafchromic EDR2 film were employed for dose measurement. Film calibration was performed running a “step‐wedge” calibration procedure. Films were stored overnight to allow for post exposure changes. An optical densitometer was used to read OD. Results and Discussion: The range of percentage differences between calculated and measured doses for the ion chamber was 3.83% to 0.2% for cone sizes of 30mm down to 10mm. For the two smallest cones, 7.5 and 5.0 mm, the percentage difference was beyond clinical tolerance (>5%). All film dosimetry results were within clinical tolerance. Discussion and Conclusion: The DQA for cone size of 30mm down to 10mm were verified with LUCY phantom using both the PinPoint ion chamber and EBT2 film. For cone sizes smaller than 10mm, the PinPoint ion chamber did not measure dose accurately because the ion chamber dimensions were of the same magnitude as the field size. Gafchromic EBT2 film was able to measure the dose for all cone sizes.
Restrained shrinkage cracking: the role of shrinkage reducing admixtures and specimen geometry

Early-age cracking may occur in concrete elements if shrink-age is prevented by the surrounding structure. The risk of early-age shrinkage cracking in any given structure is influenced by many factors including the magnitude of shrinkage, rate of shrinkage, degree of stress relaxation, degree of structural restraint, and rate at which material properties develop. In addition to the aforementioned factors, this paper highlights the fact that shrinkage cracking is also influenced by geometry. This paper compares two series of experiments to better understand the role of specimen geometry. In the first series ring specimens of varying size were prepared to undergo the same rate of shrink-age and maximum strain development. Although the maximum residual tensile stress that developed was nearly identical for all geometries, the age at which cracking occurred varied with specimen thickness. In the second series of experiments the combined effect of moisture gradients and specimen geometry was investigated. In these experiments specimen thickness was varied while the surface area exposed to drying was maintained constant. The age of cracking was measured, as was the development of a moisture gradient. Again the influence of specimen size/geometry was apparent with smaller specimens cracking at an earlier age. This paper provides an explanation for this geometry dependence through the use of fracture mechanics concepts.