cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Epidemiology of Voice Disorders in the Elderly: Preliminary Findings

Objectives: Epidemiologic studies of the prevalence and risk factors of voice disorders in the elderly, nontreatment seeking population are nonexistent. The purpose of this preliminary investigation was to 1) estimate the prevalence of voice disorders, 2) identify variables associated with increased risk of voice disorders, and 3) measure the socioemotional impact of voice disorders on the elderly who live independently. Study Design: Prospective, cross-sectional survey. Methods: One hundred seventeen seniors (39 males and 78 females; mean age, 76.1 yr; SD, 8.5 yr; range, 65–94 yr), residing in Utah and Kentucky, were interviewed using a questionnaire that addressed three areas related to voice disorders: prevalence, potential risk factors, and socioemotional consequences/effects. Results: The lifetime prevalence of a voice disorder was 47%, with 29.1% of participants reporting a current voice disorder. The majority of respondents (60%) reported chronic voice problems persisting for at least 4 weeks. Seniors who had experienced esophageal reflux, severe neck/back injury, and chronic pain were at increased risk. Voice-related effort and discomfort, combined with increased anxiety and frustration and the need to repeat oneself, were specific areas that adversely affected quality of life. Conclusions: This preliminary epidemiologic study confirmed that voice disorders are common among the elderly, and further research is needed to identify additional risk factors contributing to voice disorder vulnerability.
Parity and Other Symmetries in Strong Interactions

The question of whether the hlgh degree of P-conservation in nuclear phenomena precludes any P-violation in strong interactions is discussed. Reactions are given which give further guidance concerning P-conservation and the structure of a posslble doublet approxlmation (DA). lt ls obsenved that the posslble exlstence of n DA would hold out a promlse that CP-lnvsrlnnce ls the truly unlversal refiectlon prlnclple. (T.B.A.)
Inference to the Best Explanation

The common role of research programs in science and religion is now widely accepted. The next step in the methodology debate is to specify more concretely the shared standards for adequate explanations. The article presents a detailed account of the method of inference to the best explanation and gives examples of how the method can structure the philosophical and theological interaction with science. The resulting approach dispenses with deductive and inductive proofs of religious propositions and limits itself to initially plausible hypotheses that are to be assessed according to their explanatory power. Only when a domain of data and a particular explanatory task have been specified can any serious claim be made that religious theories are equal or superior to their naturalistic alternatives.
Personal and parental weight misperception and self-reported attempted weight loss in US children and adolescents, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2007-2008 and 2009-2010.

Introduction The objective of our study was to describe perceptions of child weight status among US children, adolescents, and their parents and to examine the extent to which accurate personal and parental perception of weight status is associated with self-reported attempted weight loss. Methods Our study sample comprised 2,613 participants aged 8 to 15 years in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from the 2 most recent consecutive cycles (2007-2008 and 2009-2010). Categories of weight perception were developed by comparing measured to perceived weight status. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to examine the association between weight misperception and self-reported attempted weight loss. Results Among children and adolescents, 27.3% underestimated and 2.8% overestimated their weight status. Among parents, 25.2% underestimated and 1.1% overestimated their child's weight status. Logistic regression analyses showed that the odds of self-reported attempted weight loss was 9.5 times as high (95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.8-23.6) among healthy-weight children and adolescents who overestimated their weight status as among those who perceived their weight status accurately; the odds of self-reported attempted weight loss were 3.9 (95% CI, 2.4-6.4) and 2.9 (95% CI, 1.8-4.6) times as high among overweight and obese children and adolescents, respectively, who accurately perceived their weight status than among those who underestimated their weight status. Parental misperception of weight was not significantly associated with self-reported attempted weight loss among children and adolescents who were overweight or obese. Conclusion Efforts to prevent childhood obesity should incorporate education for both children and parents regarding the proper identification and interpretation of actual weight status. Interventions for appropriate weight loss can target children directly because one of the major driving forces to lose weight comes from the child's perception of his or her weight status.
COMMENTARY: Commercialism in Classrooms

Opinions expressed in commentaries are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the American Academy of Pediatrics or its Committees. Commentaries are not peer-reviewed.
Simultaneous double adult kidney transplantation using single arterial and venous anastomoses.

Abstract Introduction To provide optimal nephron mass, two adult kidneys can be transplanted into a single recipient. Technical Considerations All techniques described to date have been based on the sequential transplantation of each transplant in a separate iliac fossa. We report on an operative technique allowing the simultaneous transplantation of both kidneys into the same iliac fossa, with simultaneous revascularization through a single arterial and single venous anastomosis in 12 patients. Conclusions This technique reduces the surgical dissection, anesthesia exposure, and risk to elderly recipients and can be added to the armamentarium of the transplant surgeon.
Digital Readout Circuits for Wire Spark Chambers

The wires of wire spark chambers or hodoscope planes are individually threaded through magnetic memory cores, which are "set" by the spark currents. Only a small fraction of the wires are struck by the sparks of one event, so that it is practical to generate addresses for those cores which have been "set." Circuits are described which scan the cores sequentially, 32 at a time, generating addresses and transmitting them to a buffer store or to a computer. A certain minimum time, in our case determined by the transit time of signals in cables, is required to scan the cores. A small additional time is required to generate and store each address. Any number of sparks may be handled in one event, and checking features have been incorporated in the system.
Arthroscopic suture anchor repair for lateral patellar instability

Several all-arthroscopic techniques have been described to address patellar instability. Most arthroscopic procedures focus on soft tissue plication or “tightening” of the medial retinacular structures to correct lateral patellar instability. We found these techniques to be ineffective when the medial stabilizers were avulsed from the patella. As a result, we have developed an arthroscopic technique to repair medial patellofemoral ligament avulsions to the patella using suture anchors.
The perturbed-hard-chain theory. Extensions and applications

Abstract The Perturbed-Hard-Chain theory (PHCT) was developed by Prausnitz and coworkers in the late 1970s. It can be used to calculate the properties of fluids and fluid mixtures containing both small and large molecules, including polymers, and at all fluid densities. Since that time, the theory has been extended to treat a wider variety of systems. This was done by taking into account several intermolecular interactions which were not considered in the original PHCT. The PHCT and the equations based on it now provide valuable tools for calculating thermodynamic properties of numerous systems since they can treat mixtures of fluids with large differences in molecular size and shape, and differences in both the strength and the nature of intermolecular forces.
Civilian Monitoring of U.S. Military Operations in the Information Age

Recent research on U.S. civil-military relations has applied principal-agent logic to analyze the post-cold war friction between civilian authorities and top military commanders. This article propo...
Modulation of monocyte Mo2 surface antigen expression by exposure to respiratory syncytial virus.

The Mo2 antibody recognizes a monocyte-specific cell surface antigen of unknown function. Upward modulation of Mo2 surface epitope density was demonstrated in response to 72-hr culture of monocytes with respiratory syncytial vcirus (RSV), but this was not seen after culture with phytohemagglutinin or other respiratory viruses. Monoclonal antibody probes for RSV proteins were used to demonstrate probable replication of RSV proteins in peripheral blood monocytes and pulmonary alveolar macrophages. These data provide possible clues to the biologic role of the Mo2 antigen.
OCEAN NOISE BUDGETS

1University of Rhode Island, Department of Ocean Engineering and Graduate School of Oceanography, Narragansett Bay Campus, Narragansett, RI 02882, USA. miller@uri.edu 2University of Washington, Applied Physics Laboratory, 1013 NE 40th Street, Seattle, WA 98105-6698, USA. nystuen@apl.washington.edu 3Pennsylvania State University, Applied Research Laboratory, State College, PA 16804-0030, USA. dlb25@psu.edu
Numerical and Experimental Investigations of the Head/Tape Interface in a Digital Linear Tape Drive

Finite element analysis is applied to simulate the head/tape interface in a Digital Linear Tape (DLT) drive. The numerical model was verified by contact spacing measurements using a three-bump glass head and three-wavelength interferometry. The effect of tape speed, tension and head contour parameters (island width, island radius, and penetration) on the head/tape spacing is investigated numerically for a three-bump and a five-bump DLT-type head. A Local Tape Wrap Angle is defined to characterize the head/tape interface.
An Interface for Passing Lead Wires Through the Skin of Laboratory Animals

A small interface which anchors lead wires passing through the skin of laboratory animals in order to prevent infection has been built. The effectiveness of the interface has been proven by bacteria culture and visual examination of the implant site.
Abstract B108: The novel HDAC inhibitor PCI-24781 synergizes with tamoxifen in ER-positive breast cancer by concertedly downregulating AKT1 expression.

Breast cancer continues to be the most frequently diagnosed malignancy in women, and is second only to lung cancer as the cause of cancer death. While aromatase inhibitors are more commonly used in postmenopausal women, tamoxifen remains the only approved hormonal therapy for premenopausal patients presenting with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive disease. However, the effectiveness of tamoxifen is limited, as many tumors develop resistance. As such, substantial effort has been made to improve and extend the effectiveness of tamoxifen. To this end, we have demonstrated that histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors potentiate the anti-tumor activity of tamoxifen in preclinical models, and in an early phase trial durable responses were achieved in a heavily pre-treated patient cohort. Mechanistic studies have revealed that HDAC inhibition directs breast cancer cells into mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis in part by altering the balance of apoptotic gatekeepers (e.g. Bax, Bak, and Bcl-2). In the current study, we extend our mechanistic understanding of this combination in ER-positive cells using the novel hydroxamic acid type HDAC inhibitor PCI-24781. Early clinical evaluation suggests that PCI-24781 is a potent HDAC inhibitor and is well tolerated at doses exceeding those needed for preclinical synergy. Here we demonstrate that PCI-24781 and tamoxifen act individually to additively abrogate AKT cell signaling by down regulating AKT1 mRNA and protein expression. Furthermore, PCI-24781 represses ESR1 transcription and thus exerts its effect on AKT1 expression in part through the regulation of ER expression. Attenuated AKT signaling manifests in elevated GSK3α/β phosphorylation, Bim, and p21 and a reduction in cyclin D. Cells exhibit an induction of an array of pro-apoptotic drivers, mitochondrial release of cytochrome C, caspase activation, and cell death. These results suggest that HDACs regulate the response of AKT to tamoxifen and that the cooperative effects of HDAC inhibitors and tamoxifen lead to enhance cell death. Therefore, early introduction of an HDAC inhibitor into hormonal therapy in patients with ER-positive breast cancer may counter the emergence of tamoxifen resistance. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference: Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics; 2011 Nov 12-16; San Francisco, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Ther 2011;10(11 Suppl):Abstract nr B108.
Product servicing for lifespan extension and sustainable consumption: An optimization approach

Abstract Sustainable consumption has been defined as “the consumption of goods and services that meet basic needs and quality of life without jeopardizing the needs of future generations” ( OECD, 2002 ). Lifespan extension of durable products underpins sustainable consumption. This paper describes a novel approach to extend product lifespans by using product servicing that conceptualizes the interactions of a producer, a policy-maker, and multiple consumer segments having different price–demand relationships. We propose a multi-period mathematical optimization model that maximizes the producer's profit while optimizing the prices of different servicing options, production quantities, and inventory levels. A computational study elicits several insights about how the optimal production (or alternatively) consumption quantities are affected by the introduction of product servicing, and the effects of various product characteristics and government incentive or penalty levels on producer's profitability and on product servicing decisions. We conclude that quantitative optimization models are useful for evaluating the impacts of different regulatory policies, assessing the benefits of offering product servicing options, and investing in design for durability and serviceability.
RIBONUCLEIC ACID SYNTHESIS DURING SEA URCHIN EMBRYOGENESIS.

Abstract Analytical ultracentrifugation of ribosomes of unfertilized and fertilized sea urchin eggs reveals no gross differences in their sedimentation behavior, and ribosomes from both stages require magnesium for integrity. Ribosomes extracted from gently lysed eggs show a variable amount of heavy ribosomes. The more rapidly sedimenting ribosomes are detectable only after fertilization, and they can be labeled at a specific activity greater than the bulk ribosomes by exposure to H 3 -uridine or a pulse of C 14 -amino acids. RNA labeled with H 3 -uridine during cleavage was examined by density gradient centrifugation. Small amounts of labeled RNA can be detected, and it sediments in a heterodisperse fashion. There is no detectable incorporation into heavy ribosomal RNA. As cleavage ceases, labeling of the ribosomal RNA can be detected. The RNA associated with the 70 S and heavy ribosomes was also characterized in a density gradient; the RNA from the heavy ribosome fraction is quite heterodisperse and does not sediment with structural ribosomal RNA. The evidence suggests some messenger RNA is synthesized following fertilization.
Direct and indirect water withdrawals for U.S. industrial sectors

Effective water management is critical for social welfare and ecosystem health. Nevertheless, information necessary to meaningfully assess sustainable water use is incomplete. In particular, little information is available on supply chain or indirect water use for the production of goods and services in the United States. We estimate a vector of water withdrawals for all 428 sectors in the 2002 U.S. economic input-output table. The vector was applied using economic input-output life cycle assessment (EIO-LCA) methods to estimate direct and indirect water withdrawals for each sector's production, both in terms of total withdrawals and per dollar of output. Agriculture and power generation account for an overwhelming majority of direct water withdrawals (90%). A majority of water use (60%) is indirect ("embodied" or "virtual" water) with 96% of the sectors using more water indirectly in their supply chains than directly. The food and beverage industry accounts for 30% of indirect withdrawals. These results can be useful for environmental life cycle assessment of U.S. production and other studies, especially to avoid truncation errors due to boundary setting associated with process based life cycle impact assessments. However, we conclude that better information on water use would be helpful for effective water management.
Changes in Reproductive Performance in Dairy Herds Using the Herd Reproductive Status System

Abstract Analysis of data for 66,492 cow-months from 1959 through 1967 revealed certain changes in reproductive performance for the North Carolina Institutional Breeding Association herds using the Herd Reproductive Status system. The average days open for cows conceiving and average monthly per cent of the herd open over 100 days (problem cows) decreased from 125 to 105 days and 13 to 8 per cent, respectively. The average Herd Reproductive Status increased from 58 in 1959 to 74 in 1967. Services per conception, average days open for problem cows and average days open for reproductive culls did not change significantly. Individual herd changes in reproductive performance differed. Seasonal changes in Herd Reproductive Status for the 9 years showed an average high of 77 ± 1 (Mean ± SE) in April contrasted to a low of 65 ± 2 for both August and September. Per cent of the herd conceiving each month showed a similar seasonal fluctuation with an average high of 11% in March and low of 4% in August. Simultaneous increases in production per cow per day occurred with decreases in average days open for cows conceiving and increases in Herd Reproductive Status. These improvements in reproductive performance are attributed primarily to changes in managemental rather than physiological factors.
Ideal- and resistive-MHD stability of one-dimensional tokamak equilibria

The MHD equilibrium and stability of a vertically elongated tokamak configuration are analysed in the one-dimensional limit corresponding to infinite elongation. Stability against all ideal-MHD modes can be obtained for beta values arbitrarily close to unity. In the finite-resistivity stability analysis, axisymmetric (m = 0) tearing modes, centred on the null trace of the poloidal field, can be stabilized by a loosely fitting conducting shell. The presence of the toroidal field component, however, introduces the possibility of non-symmetric tearing modes (m ? 0), centred away from the null trace. These modes can be stabilized only by a more tightly fitting shell, plus reliance on finite-pressure effects on the small-major-radius side of the plasma profile. Under these conditions, stable configurations with peak beta values approaching unity are readily found.
Benchmark study of run-to-run controllers for the lithographic control of the critical dimension

We present a systematic robustness analysis for several feedback controllers used in photolithographic critical dimension (CD) control in semiconductor manufacturing. Our study includes several controllers based on either the exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) estimation or Kalman filters. The robustness is characterized by two features, namely the controller's stability margin in the presence of model mismatch and the controller's sensitivity to unknown noise. Simulations on the closed-loop control system are shown for the performance comparison. Both the analysis and the simulations prove that the multiple-dimensional feedback controller developed in this paper using the average of previous inputs and outputs outperforms the other controllers in the group.
Nonlinear Optical Imaging of Thin Films of C60 and C60-PoIymer interfaces

We discuss the application of a microscope based on second harmonic generation to the problem of imaging thin films and interfaces.
Gonadal steroids and energy homeostasis in the leptin era

Gonadal steroids influence food intake and body weight. Although the specific mechanisms underlying these effects are not clear, a consideration of their effects in the context of current models of energy homeostasis may ultimately lead to the identification of these mechanisms. When compared with leptin, the prototypical humoral signal of energy balance, sex steroids share many common properties related to food intake and body weight. Specifically, gonadal steroids circulate in proportion to fat mass and current energy balance, and administration of these compounds influences food intake, energy expenditure, body weight, and body composition. Moreover, both estrogens and androgens modulate central nervous system effectors of energy homeostasis that are targets for the action of leptin, including pathways that contain neuropeptide Y, pro-opiomelanocortin, or melanin-concentrating hormone. Sex steroids and leptin also regulate one another's production. Although gonadal steroids, unlike leptin, are clearly not critical to the maintenance of normal energy homeostasis, they do appear to function as physiologic modulators of this process. Identifying the specific central mediators of their effects will contribute to our understanding of their role in energy homeostasis.
Adaptive control design for a class of doubly-salient motors

Adaptive feedback linearization techniques based on the extended matching condition are applied to a nonlinear model of doubly salient motors with linear materials. The model is sufficiently general to cover the magnetic switched reluctance motors and the electric switched capacitance motors as special cases, and the model contains several unknown mechanical and/or electrical parameters. The control system requires measurements of rotor position, rotor velocity, and the electrical states. The stability properties of the closed-loop system are discussed, and simulation results are provided. >
Tribology and mechanical properties of excimer laser mixed Ti--Si--C surface alloys

We have examined the wear and friction and surface hardness of the mixed phase Ti–Si–C alloy formed by excimer laser surface processing of Ti layers on SiC substrates. The friction between a ruby pin and the mixed surface shows a complex behavior depending on relative humidity, a behavior clearly moderated by the chemistry of the interface between the sliding pin and the surface. The friction is sometimes much lower and sometimes comparable to that between the ruby pin and the unalloyed substrate. Wear in the unalloyed case is characterized by fatigue fracture and flaking of the SiC surface which leads to abrasive wear of the ruby pin. In the alloyed case, a transfer film forms and even in the worst case, a smooth wear track results in the alloy and the pin is undamaged. The surface hardness is intermediate between that of the SiC and the unalloyed Ti surface layer. The wear results are understood in terms of changes in the grain boundary structure of the surface induced by the laser alloying process.
A Robust Communication Framework for Parallel Execution on Volunteer PC Grids

Volunteer PC grids represent massive computation capacity at a low cost, but are challenging to employ for parallel computing because of variable and unpredictable performance and availability. A communicating parallel program must employ explicit redundancy, or implicit redundancy with uncoordinated checkpoint-restart to make continuous forward progress in such an unreliable environment. A communication model based on one-sided Put/Get calls to an abstract global shared space is a good match as processes can execute their communication operations independently and asynchronously. However, no existing system is designed for redundant communicating processes. The key problem is that a single logical operation that impacts the global program state may be executed by different instances of the same process at different times leading to semantic inconsistency. This paper presents the design, execution model, implementation, and usage of {\em Volpex}, a communication layer for robust execution on volunteer PC grids. The research leads to a practical way to employ idle PCs for latency tolerant parallel computing applications.
A new gradient and region based geometric snake

In this paper, a new geometric snake model is proposed, based upon techniques of curve evolution and the utilization of gradient information and region information simultaneously. This model successfully solves the boundary leakage problem. With the help of a hierarchical approach, it can handle complicated cases, such as triple junctions. Furthermore, it supports vector-valued images and can be easily extended to handle color and textured images. Experimental results demonstrate the model's power in image segmentation.
Optimizing the use of GPU memory in applications with large data sets

With General Purpose programmable GPUs becoming more and more popular, automated tools are needed to bridge the gap between achievable performance from highly parallel architectures and the performance required in applications. In this paper, we concentrate on improving GPU memory management for applications with large and intermediate data sets that do not completely fit in GPU memory. For such applications, the movement of the extra data to CPU memory must be carefully managed. In particular, we focus on solving the joint task scheduling and data transfer scheduling problem posed in [1], and propose an algorithm that gives close to optimal results (as measured by running simulated annealing overnight) in terms of the amount of data transferred for image processing benchmarks such as edge detection and Convolutional Neural Networks. Our results enable a reduction of up to 30× in the amount of data transfers compared to an unoptimized implementation. They are up to 2× better than the methods previously proposed in [1] and less than 16% away from the optimal solution.
BIOMETRY OF CALCIUM, INORGANIC PHOSPHORUS, CHOLESTEROL, AND LIPOID PHOSPHORUS IN THE BLOOD OF RABBITS : I. NORMAL ANIMALS FROM RECENTLY ACQUIRED STOCK.

Determinations of calcium, inorganic phosphorus, cholesterol and lipoid phosphorus were made on a series of animals recently received from the dealer for the purpose of determining the trends of these 4 blood constituents throughout the year with the degree of their respective variations and mathematical correlation. It was found that for the 80 animals examined, calcium varied from 14.5 +/-0.10 to 18.5 +/-0.39 mg. and inorganic phosphorus 4.960 +/-0.20 to 6.820 +/-0.20 mg. per 100 cc. of blood serum. Cholesterol varied from 51.1 +/-1.18 to 73.3 +/-1.34 mg. and lecithin from 94.8 +/-1.397 to 168.3 +/-10.18 mg. per 100 cc. of whole blood. Of the 6 possible combinations in calculating the coefficient of correlation for the trend throughout the experiment, 3 stand out as of mathematical significance, namely the following. Between inorganic phosphorus and lecithin the coefficient of correlation was found to be -0.794 +/-0.088; between calcium and cholesterol -0.887 +/-0.051 and between cholesterol and lecithin +0.560 +/-0.164.
AAMPL: accelerometer augmented mobile phone localization

A variety of mobile phone applications are on the rise, many of which utilize physical location to express the "context" of information. This paper argues that physical location alone, unless remarkably precise, may not be sufficient to express this context. Even slight localization errors may cause a mobile phone to be placed in a grocery store, as opposed to its actual location in an adjacent coffee shop. Applications such as location specific advertisements, can get affected. This paper proposes accelerometer augmented mobile phone localization (AAMPL), a system that uses accelerometer signatures to place mobile phones in the right context. Early evaluation on Nokia N95 phones shows that AAMPL can correct locations derived from Google Maps. We believe that AAMPL can be extended to additional sensors (like light and sound) to further aid GPS-free localization.
Network motifs provide signatures that characterize metabolism

Motifs are repeating patterns that determine the local properties of networks. In this work, we characterized all 3-node motifs using enzyme commission numbers of the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology to show that motif abundance is related to biochemical function. Further, we present a comparative analysis of motif distributions in the metabolic networks of 21 species across six kingdoms of life. We found the distribution of motif abundances to be similar between species, but unique across cellular organelles. Finally, we show that motifs are able to capture inter-species differences in metabolic networks and that molecular differences between some biological species are reflected by the distribution of motif abundances in metabolic networks.
Aortic Aneurysms It’s All About the Stress

Abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) are present in 8% of men >60 years of age.1 The diagnosis of AAA in many patients is made only after aneurysm rupture, after which mortality is high. Depending on the size of the AAA, often times the only treatment available after its discovery is “watchful waiting.” Although aneurysm diameter is generally used to assess timing of surgical repair, rupture also occurs in AAAs less than 5 cm in diameter.2 The absence of effective medical therapy for AAA is explained in part by a poor understanding of the processes involved in the development of aneurysms. Treatment that could slow AAA growth would have important therapeutic value. See page 2017 An emerging concept is that AAAs develop in the setting of oxidative stress, whereby reactive oxygen species (ROS) mediate activation of matrix degrading proteins and smooth muscle cell apoptosis, resulting in loss of medial elastic lamellae and thinning of the tunica media. This concept is supported by the observations that infiltration of inflammatory cells into the vessel wall and subsequent elaboration of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are associated with formation of AAAs. ROS are abundantly produced by inflammatory cells and activate MMPs.3 And, in humans, ROS levels and oxidative injury are greater in AAAs compared with adjacent nonaneurysmal aortic segments.4 Mechanical forces also contribute to aortic remodeling. The artery wall is subject to three distinct …
Data Summary for Nominal 350 ?m DUO2 Kernels

This document is a compilation of characterization data obtained on the nominal 350 {micro}m depleted uranium oxide kernels (DUO{sub 2}) produced by ORNL for the Advanced Gas Reactor Fuel Development and Qualification Program under task 3.1.2. Samples were riffled for analysis from a 100 g batch (designated as DUN350-1), which was riffled from the 3.4 kg composite lot of DUO{sub 2} kernels (designated as DUN350). Table 2-1 contains a summary of property measurements in comparison to the current acceptance criteria for depleted 350 {micro}m UO{sub 2} kernels. All the criteria were met with the exception of the 95% confidence criteria on the impurity levels, which was only measured on a single small sample. In addition, microstructure was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The grain size was less than 10 {micro}m across in the plane of the cross section and typically about 5 {micro}m. SEM micrographs also provided evidence of closed pores that were less than 0.25 {micro}m in diameter.
Understanding the Unique Consumer Behavior of Japanese Tourists

Japan is the largest market for U.S. inbound overseas tourism, and international tourism is the largest source of earning foreign exchange for the U.S. economy. Japan has registered the highest growth in the world in the development of its outbound international tourism during the 1980AEs and is expected to continue its rapid growth in the foreseeable future. This paper examines the unique characteristics of the consumer behavior of Japanese tourist who are or will be vacationing I the U.S. Recommendations have been offered to marketers of tourism firms who can benefit by understanding the unique characteristics of a Japanese touristAEs consumer behavior and by changing their marketing strategies accordingly.
Visualizing a correlation between siRNA localization, cellular uptake, and RNAi in living cells

RNA interference (RNAi) is the process by which short-interfering RNA (siRNA) target a specific mRNA for degradation through interactions with an RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC). Here, a clear correlation between siRNA localization, cellular uptake, and RNAi activity was discovered by delivering siRNA into cells using siRNA-TAT(47-57) peptide, siRNA-TAT(47-57)-derived oligocarbamate conjugates, or nanoparticles. For successful RNAi, the localization of siRNA was distinctly perinuclear, suggesting that siRNA is targeted to these regions for interactions with RISC to induce RNAi. siRNA sequence variation and the presence of the target mRNA apparently did not change the subcellular localization pattern of siRNA. Intriguingly, siRNA conjugated to TAT(47-57) peptide or TAT(47-57)-derived oligocarbamate resulted in efficient RNAi activity and perinuclear localization of siRNA that was distinctly different from nonconjugated free TAT peptide nucleolar localization. These results suggest that interactions with RISC dictate siRNA localization even when siRNA is conjugated to TAT(47-57) peptide.
A Learning Classifier Systems Model

Specifying the model that is formed by a set of classifiers is central to the model-based approach. On one hand it explicitly defines the assumptions that are made about the problem that we want to solve, and on the other hand it determines the training methods that can be used to provide a solution. This chapter gives a conceptual overview over the LCS model, which is turned into a probabilistic formulation in the next chapter.
Panel - reforming mathematics requirements for a modern engineering education

The need for reform in undergraduate engineering curricula has been recognized in recent years. One important and vital aspect of such a reform concerns preparatory mathematics in engineering education and the revision of mathematics content in a modern engineering curriculum, the topic of this panel session. It has become increasingly obvious that the standard series of three calculus courses followed by one course on differential equations is now obsolete and insufficient to provide needed mathematical skills for a modern engineering education. ABET now requires discrete mathematics and applied statistics among other topics. Newly developed engineering programs have adopted different mathematics courses in their degree programs. A new electrical and computer engineering program is under development at the State University of New York at Oswego where a modern engineering curriculum must also face the challenge of smooth integration within the existing traditional curricular organization of a public university. The panelists will discuss the evidence in support of reform and engage discussions on directions, course content, and other issues for a successful revision of engineering education.
Decision Aids for Scheduling and Hedging (DASH) in deregulated electricity markets: a stochastic programming approach to power portfolio optimization

The DASH model for power portfolio optimization provides a tool which helps decision-makers coordinate production decisions with opportunities in the wholesale power market. The methodology is based on a stochastic programming model which selects portfolio positions that perform well on a variety of scenarios generated through statistical modeling and optimization. When compared with a commonly used fixed-mix policy, our experiments demonstrate that the DASH model provides significant advantages over several fixed-mix policies.
Can Theodicy be Avoided? The Claim of Unredeemed Evil

Theodicy begins with the recognition that the world is not obviously under the care of a loving God with limitless power and wisdom. If it were, why would the world be burdened with its considerable amount and variety of evil? Theodicists are those who attempt to answer this question by suggesting a possible rationale for the appearance of evil in a theocentric universe. In the past theodicists have taken up the cause of theodicy in the service of piety, so that God might be defended against libel from humans, particularly the accusation that God's reign lacks justice. Contemporary practitioners, who live in a world where the existence of God can no longer be presumed, tend to favour theodicy as an exercise in securing the rationality of religious belief. Their hope is that one crucial theoretical obstacle to responsible belief in God will have been eliminated, once the idea of God has been reconciled with the reality of evil. What has commonly united theodicists, at least since the Enlightenment, is that they must answer to a non–believing antagonist. Until relatively recently, theodicy has been a debate between apologists for theistic faith and their cultured detractors.
Mention Detection Crossing the Language Barrier

While significant effort has been put into annotating linguistic resources for several languages, there are still many left that have only small amounts of such resources. This paper investigates a method of propagating information (specifically mention detection information) into such low resource languages from richer ones. Experiments run on three language pairs (Arabic-English, Chinese-English, and Spanish-English) show that one can achieve relatively decent performance by propagating information from a language with richer resources such as English into a foreign language alone (no resources or models in the foreign language). Furthermore, while examining the performance using various degrees of linguistic information in a statistical framework, results show that propagated features from English help improve the source-language system performance even when used in conjunction with all feature types built from the source language. The experiments also show that using propagated features in conjunction with lexically-derived features only (as can be obtained directly from a mention annotated corpus) yields similar performance to using feature types derived from many linguistic resources.
Temporal-frequency tuning of direction selectivity in cat visual cortex.

Responses of 71 cells in areas 17 and 18 of the cat visual cortex were recorded extracellularly while stimulating with gratings drifting in each direction across the receptive field at a series of temporal frequencies. Direction selectivity was most prominent at temporal frequencies of 1-2 Hz. In about 20% of the total population, the response in the nonpreferred direction increased at temporal frequencies of around 4 Hz and direction selectivity was diminished or lost. In a few cells the preferred direction reversed. One consequence of this behavior was a tendency for the preferred direction to have lower optimal temporal frequencies than the nonpreferred direction. Across the population, the preferred direction was tuned almost an octave lower. In spite of this, temporal resolution was similar in the two directions. It appeared that responses in the nonpreferred direction were suppressed at low frequencies, then recovered at higher frequencies. This phenomenon might reflect the convergence in visual cortex of lagged and nonlagged inputs from the lateral geniculate nucleus. These afferents fire about a quarter-cycle apart (i.e. are in temporal quadrature) at low temporal frequencies, but their phase difference increases to a half-cycle by about 4 Hz. Such timing differences could underlie the prevalence of direction-selective cortical responses at 1 and 2 Hz and the loss of direction selectivity in many cells by 4 or 8 Hz.
Critical Issues Response: Revisiting Gendered Readings

UNIVERSITY As I have reflected on the perspectives in the Critical Issues articles and my work focusing on gendered readings (Rice, 2000, this issue), I see that each informs my work, specifically in terms of providing different lenses for examining gendered readings and how to move children beyond these types of readings. In my article, I note the importance of narrative in the social construction of gender, citing Davies (1993):
Influence of ionic liquid concentration on the electromechanical performance of ionic electroactive polymer actuators

We have investigated influence of ionic liquid concentration on the electromechanical response of ionic electroactive polymer actuators. Actuators were fabricated from ionomeric membrane and doped with different concentrations of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium trifluoromethanesulfonate ionic liquid. Samples were investigated for their electromechanical and electrochemical characteristics; and it was observed that the maximum electromechanical strain of approximately 1.4% is achieved at 22 wt% ionic liquid content. Increasing ionic liquid concentration results in saturation of the electrode–ionomer interface and formation of ionic double/multi layers, which in turn result an inward accumulation of ions; hence, generate strain in an undesired direction that deteriorates the electromechanical response of the actuator.
Query routing optimization in sensor communication networks

Interest in large-scale sensor networks for both civilian and military applications is burgeoning. The deployment of such networks will require new approaches in resource discovery, query processing and data routing. This paper presents a framework and some analytic results for query satisfaction and data routing in networks consisting of clients, sensors and data filtering/fusion servers. In this model, multiple clients pose queries that are satisfied by processing a set of sensor data streams through a set of filters or fuselets. Fuselets are lightweight data fusion algorithms that can be deployed in a network environment. The queries can have common subexpressions (sub-queries) that should be reused by multiple clients if possible and appropriate. Moreover, effective routing of data streams from sensors to clients requires routing the streams through network nodes that can implement the required filtering/fusion operations. We formulate these problems quantitatively and propose a dynamic programming based solution using sensor-fuselet location and performance tables. The framework is preliminary in that many details and variations are abstracted or ignored. However, at the end of the paper we discuss several directions that can be explored to make these preliminary results more relevant to real scenarios.
A short-time Wiener filter for noise removal in underwater acoustic data

A noise removal algorithm based on short-time Wiener filtering is described. An analysis of the performance of the filter in terms of the processing gain, mean square error, and signal distortion is presented. A generalized form of the filter is also discussed and results of applying the algorithm to some typical underwater acoustic data are presented.
Benefit to Family Members of Delivering Hand Massage With Essential Oils to Critically Ill Patients

Background In intensive care environments, patients' families are often encouraged to participate in their loved one's care; however, many family members feel anxious, depressed, and unsure about how to help patients. Objectives To determine (1) the feasibility of teaching family members a simple intervention combining hand massage with essential oils in a trauma intensive care unit and (2) an effect size for use in designing a more powerful trial. Method A quasi-experimental pilot study of the effect of a family-delivered touch treatment on anxiety and depression of family members of patients. Fifteen family members were assigned to a treatment group, and 15 family members were assigned to a control group. The treatment consisted of the application of hand massage with essential oils for 6 sessions. Each session lasted 5 minutes and was presented twice a day for 3 days. Results The 5-minute intervention was associated with positive change in anxiety and depression scores on the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) among family members visiting patients. The magnitude of change (improvement) in anxiety scores within the group of treated family members was significantly greater than within family members in the control group. Conclusion Administering a brief hand massage using pleasant-smelling oils to patients in an intensive care unit may reduce anxiety of family members who administer the treatment.
The Literary History of World‐Systems, I: Marxist Lineages

This essay is the first of a two-part series on the use of world-systems theory in literary studies. It argues that the recent popularity of world-systems theory among literary scholars has raised important questions about how we practice literary history. Appeals to a more “global” configuration of world literary space seem to promise a more inclusive literary history, but world-systems theory's expansive focus also clashes with literary studies' traditional definitions of cultural activity. In order to investigate this tension, the essay begins by examining the birth of world-systems theory. It shows how world-systems theory grew out of a number of intersecting currents in academic scholarship, including Marxist economics, dependista theory, and Annales historiography. The essay then proceeds to trace literary studies' earliest engagements with world-systems theory. As I show, these initial engagements took place within two distinct critical traditions: (1) in the Subaltern Studies project, which diagnosed intellectual production as an effect of the global division of labor; and (2) in Jamesonian Marxism, which attempted to map literature onto the world-system under the aegis of a leftist Hegelianism. The essay concludes by analyzing how these projects have helped to redefine the nature of the relationship between literary production and economic systems.