cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Mental Health Treatment for Older Veterans Newly Diagnosed with PTSD: A National Investigation.

Objective Older veterans are the largest cohort served by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The aim of this study was to examine mental health service utilization among older veterans recently diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), with an interest in sociodemographic and clinical characteristics related to receipt and type of mental health treatment. Design VA National administrative data set and pharmacy records. Setting VA Healthcare System. Participants The sample comprised 96,249 veterans aged 50+ years who received a new diagnosis of PTSD between fiscal years 2008–2011. Measurements Demographic/clinical characteristics and treatment variables (receipt of mental health treatment; number of days before first appointment; receipt of psychotherapy, medication, or combination treatment; type of medication; number of psychotherapy visits) were assessed and relations were examined using logistic, negative binomial, and Cox regressions. Results The majority of older veterans with newly diagnosed PTSD received at least one follow-up mental health visit. Increasing age was associated with decreased odds of receipt of any type of mental health treatment, and psychiatric comorbidities and greater number of medical appointments were associated with increased odds of treatment. Among veterans who received treatment, increased age was associated with decreased odds of receiving both psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy, decreased number of psychotherapy visits, and increased waiting times. Conclusion Among older veterans recently diagnosed with PTSD in the VA healthcare system, older individuals, particularly those over 80 years old, are at risk of not receiving timely and appropriate mental health treatment, indicating targeted outreach to this population could be helpful in improving care.
Nasal delivery of progestational steroids in ovariectomized rabbits. II. Effect of penetrant hydrophilicity

The influence of penetrant hydrophilicity on nasal pharmacokinetics and systemic bioavailability was studied in ovariectomized female New Zealand White rabbits. The systemic bioavailability of progesterone derivatives with one hydroxy (17-α-hydroxypro-gesterone, HP), two hydroxy (cortexolone, CT), and three hydroxy (hydrocortisone, HC) groups were compared to progesterone, in separate crossover studies, following i.v., oral, and nasal administrations. Nasal administration was accomplished using an immediate-release nasal spray formulation and a controlled-release nasal device. The rank order of systemic bioavailability after nasal spray was HP > P > CT > HC (97.10, 82.52, 71.99 and 60.90%, respectively), which correlates in a hyperbolic pattern with the nasal mucosa partition coefficients of the drugs. The controlled-release nasal device achieved a more prolonged and steady plasma level of drug than the other routes of administration. The systemic bioavailabilities of progesterone and its hydroxy derivatives after nasal administration were all significantly greater (P < 0.01) than those after oral administration (P 7.87%; HP 5.93%; CT 5.88%; HC, 2.67%). The results of this investigation demonstrate that the extent of nasal absorption is influenced by both the mode of nasal administration and the hydrophilicity of the penetrant, as expressed by the nasal mucosa partition coefficient.
Perspectives on high performance network computing

Abstract Networks of workstations have become increasingly popular for high performance computing. However, in order to become a real alternative for Massively Parallel Processors (MPPs), reliability and efficiency issues must be tackled. In this paper, we identify the key challenges for very large workstation networks, and describe implementation techniques at system software level to overcome these problems.
Research in active composite materials and structures: an overview

During the past several years, the Materials Science Division and the Mechanical and Environmental Sciences Division of the Army Research Office have been supporting projects focusing on basic resaserch in the area of smart materials and structures. The major emphasis of the ARO Structures and Dynamics Program has been on the theoretical, computational, and experimental analysis of smart structures and structural dynamics, damping, active control, and health monitoring as applied to rotor craft, electromagnetic antenna structures, missiles, land vehicles, and weapon systems. The research projects supported by the program have been primarily directed towards improving the ability to predict, control, and optimize the dynamic response of complex, multi-body deformable structures. The projects in the field of smart materials and structures have included multi-disciplinary research conducted by teams of several faculty members as well as research performed by individual investigators.
50-Gbaud/s Optical Addition and Dual-Directional Subtraction of Quaternary Base Numbers using Nonlinearities and 100-Gbit/s (D)QPSK Signals

We report an optical approach to addition/subtraction of quaternary numbers using nonlinearities and (D)QPSK signals. 50-Gbaud/s quaternary addition(A+B) and dual-directional subtraction(A-B/B-A) are demonstrated with 100-Gbit/s (D)QPSK. Power penalties <4 (addition) and 3dB (subtraction) are obtained.
External Force Fields and Phase Separation

We describe a method for treating phase separation and interphase surfaces using an external force field. We believe the method to have some advantages over another recently proposed method.
Maintenance of acute morphine tolerance in mice by selective blockage of κ opioid receptors with norbinaltorphimine

In this study we investigated the effect of the highly selective kappa opioid antagonist, norbinaltorphimine (norBNI) on the development of tolerance to a single dose of morphine. Mice were pretreated with 100 mg/kg of morphine sulfate (morphine), s.c. and 2 h later, norBNI (20 mg/kg s.c.) was administered and various times after this pretreatment, antinociceptive ED50 value of morphine was determined in the tail-flick assay. Twenty-four and 72 h after morphine injection, ED50 values of morphine were significantly increased by about 2.5-fold from those of their control mice that received saline instead of the tolerance-inducing dose of morphine. In a second set of experiments, animals were pretreated similarly with morphine and norBNI and 72 h after morphine injection, various opioid agonists were applied by the i.c.v. or i.t. route to see whether or not any cross-tolerance had developed to these agonists. The ED50 of i.c.v.-administered morphine was significantly greater than that of the non-pretreated controls. A small degree of cross-tolerance was observed with U-50,488H but not with DPDPE [D-Pen2,D-Pen5]enkephalin (DPDPE) at the supraspinal site. At the spinal site, tolerance to morphine was not observed. These results suggest that antagonism at kappa opioid sites after morphine administration, modulates positively the development of opioid tolerance.
Interior point evaluation in the boundary element method

Abstract In the boundary integral method, interior point values are calculated by means of an integration over the boundary. For interior points close to the boundary, some integrands will be nearly singular and standard numerical integration is highly inaccurate. In this paper, interior values are computed by means of analytical integration formulas obtained via symbolic computation. Numerical experiments for the two-dimensional Laplace equation ∇2φ = 0 demonstrate that the exact formulas accurately evaluate the potential φ arbitrarily close to the boundary. The interior potential gradient ∇φ is more difficult, and accurate results very near the boundary are obtained by suitably modifying the potential function.
Experience restores innate female preference for male ultrasonic vocalizations

Mouse models are increasingly contributing to our understanding of the neural genetics of sensory processing and memory. For example, strain differences have helped elucidate basic mechanisms of age-related hearing loss and auditory fear conditioning. Assessing sensory differences arising in acoustic communication contexts is also important for understanding natural audition. While this topic has not been well studied, it is currently being addressed through auditory neuroethological studies in the CBA/CaJ strain, where insights will help lay a foundation for future neural genetic studies. Here, we focus on the responses of adult females to ultrasonic vocalizations of males. We tested a group of female mice in a place-preference paradigm before and after auditory and olfactory experience with a male. A control group was housed with other female cagemates between trials. All females showed an initial preference for male calls that rapidly decayed over the course of a trial. However, only females that had been pair-housed with a male during the inter-trial interval displayed a reinstated interest in male vocalizations, suggesting possible group differences in the assessment of the calls' behavioral relevance. These findings provide a timeframe during which auditory processing of male ultrasounds might be expected to show a difference depending on behavioral relevance, and also suggest an importance of social interactions in maintaining call recognition.
Changes in the blood of the brown bullhead (Ictalurus nebulosus (Lesueur)) following short and long term exposure to copper(II)

Abstract Blood from brown bullheads exposed to Cu(II) from 3.4 to 104 μg/l for 6, 30 and 600 days was analyzed to identify and evaluate changes in red blood cells, hematocrit, hemoglobin, plasma chloride, plasma total protein, plasma glucose, plasma glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (PGOT, l -aspartate: 2-oxoglutarate aminotransferase) and plasma lactic dehydrogenase (PLDH, l -lactate: NAD oxido-reductase). After 6 days, glucose and hematocrit increased significantly above the controls; after 30 days, chloride and protein decreased, and hematocrit, hemoglobin and glucose increased; after 600 days, the transaminase decreased. The maximum concentration of Cu(II) having no detectable effect upon the brown bullhead was determined to be between 11 and 16 μg/l.
Common-ion effects on the deliquescence lowering of crystalline ingredient blends

Deliquescence points (RH0, RH0mix) of ionic crystalline food ingredients and blends thereof were determined using water activity and moisture sorption techniques. Measured RH0mix values of ingredient blends with and without a common ion were compared to Ross equation predictions of deliquescence lowering. In binary blends with no common ion, measured RH0mix values ranged from 5% RH lower to 6% RH higher than predicted; however, when a common ion was present, the measured RH0mix was consistently 6-8% RH higher than predicted. In tertiary blends with a common ion, RH0mix values were 15-18% RH higher than predicted. The higher RH0mix in blends with a common ion is caused by counterion dissociation competition from the common ion. At equilibrium, these solutions will have fewer solutes and a greater vapor pressure than assumed by the Ross equation. A modified Ross equation was developed to compensate for the common-ion effect and improve RH0mix predictions.
Leveraging attention scarcity to improve the overall user experience of Cloud services

Applications for mobile devices are increasingly relying on Cloud services to provide content and offload data processing tasks. Traditionally, web-based systems have been optimised to improve response time. Touch sensitive screens and the various sensors of mobile devices allow for better instrumentation, enabling providers to obtain more honest signals on how users utilise a service and learn about their behaviours. This work introduces an architecture that explores honest signals to determine a few user behaviours, e.g. the tendency to perform multiple tasks at a time, change focus, and expect fast response from a service. The architecture relies on a novel resource management strategy that considers such behaviours to prioritise service requests from users who demand fast response from a service. By comparing the proposed strategy with one that does not consider the signals, we show that the experience of users who demand faster response time can be improved without degrading the quality of service of those who often perform multiple activities. The proposed strategy also brings benefits to service providers as no additional resources are necessary to enhance overall user experience, which we modelled using Prospect Theory.
BUDGET BEHAVIOUR: VARIANCE OVER THE LIFE CYCLE OF LOW INCOME FAMILIES

Several circumstances contribute to the economic demands of low-income families. One of these is a family's stage of development. A family is most economically vulnerable during the expanding stage of development. The main objective of this study was to see if low-income families used budgeting to cope with the economic demands of the expanding stage. A sample of 199 randomly selected low-income families from Phoenix, Arizona, were surveyed to explore their use of budgeting, the style of budgeting used, their satisfaction with income and their attitudes toward money management practices. The results raised several questions about the emphasis that family economics and management professionals place upon budgeting.
Colony choice in birds: models based on temporally invariant site quality

We propose two stochastic models to explain how birds choose colonies. In the resource choice model, birds settle at each site at a rate proportional to the total resources the site contains. In the reduced resource choice model, a smaller cohort of birds enters sites at a rate determined by the total resources at each, and the remaining individuals enter sites at a rate that is linearly proportional to the total number of birds already nesting at each site. Thus, a fraction of birds chooses sites based on the resources present, and the remainder are attracted to a site by the presence of other birds. Colony site quality is assumed not to vary between years. Both models result, on average, in an ideal free distribution of colony sizes if the birds' settlement rate is linearly related to the resources in a site, if resources are distributed equally among individuals within sites, and if individuals with equal resources have equal fitness. We applied these models to long-term data on colony sizes and site usage of cliff swallows in south-western Nebraska. A test of the resource choice model suggested that the swallow population as a whole did not choose sites based strictly on site quality or the total resources contained at each site. However, a test of the reduced resource choice model suggested that a smaller fraction of the individuals in each colony may have based their choice of site on local resource availability, with the remaining birds aggregating at those sites based on the number of birds already settled there. Tests of these models may provide insight into how individuals choose colony sites and why colonies vary in size.
Teaching game development using microsoft XNA game studio

Electronics games, including video games and computer games, are an important part of American culture and entertainment. According to the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) [1], about 65 percent of American families play video or computer games. With the introduction of new generation game consoles, including Microsoft Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, and Sony PlayStation 3, the game player population is growing and becoming more diverse and as a result, the game industry has undergone substantial growth in the last few years. Using commercial consoles for teaching game development appeals to many students. Microsoft XNA Game Studio is a set of tools and libraries to facilitate game development for Windows PC, Xbox 360, and Zune device. XNA is an excellent tool for teaching game development due to its integrated development environment, extensive tutorials, starter kits, and comprehensive and detailed documentations. XNA is selected as the teaching tool in the course Introduction to Game Development offered at Old Dominion University. This paper briefly introduce the XNA Game Studio and discusses its use in the course Introduction to Game Development as well as the course content.
Swelling of ionic and neutral polymer networks in ionic solutions

Abstract The dynamic swelling of polymer networks in ionic solution was modelled with a Hamiltonian equation of motion which was transformed into an equation describing the system displacement vector as a function of time. The model was developed from first principles using the principles of conservation of energy. It reflects the effect of various physiological parameters like to the pH of the solution, ionic strength and composition of the buffer solution on the swelling behavior. The coefficients in the model were determined from equilibrium considerations. It was found that the coefficient of friction between the polymer gel and the solution obtained from experiments was almost constant for polymers swelling to a moderate degree. The equation was solved with appropriate boundary conditions. This model was used to calculate the swelling behavior of thin polymer films in buffer solutions.
Lacking Control Increases Illusory Pattern Perception

We present six experiments that tested whether lacking control increases illusory pattern perception, which we define as the identification of a coherent and meaningful interrelationship among a set of random or unrelated stimuli. Participants who lacked control were more likely to perceive a variety of illusory patterns, including seeing images in noise, forming illusory correlations in stock market information, perceiving conspiracies, and developing superstitions. Additionally, we demonstrated that increased pattern perception has a motivational basis by measuring the need for structure directly and showing that the causal link between lack of control and illusory pattern perception is reduced by affirming the self. Although these many disparate forms of pattern perception are typically discussed as separate phenomena, the current results suggest that there is a common motive underlying them.
A Proof-of-Concept Study for Measuring Gait Speed, Steadiness, and Dynamic Balance Under Various Footwear Conditions Outside of the Gait Laboratory

Background This pilot study examined the effect of custom and prefabricated foot orthoses on self-selected walking speed, walking speed variability, and dynamic balance in the mediolateral direction. Methods The gait of four healthy participants was analyzed with a body-worn sensor system across a distance of at least 30 m outside of the gait laboratory. Participants walked at their habitual speed in four conditions: barefoot, regular shoes, prefabricated foot orthoses, and custom foot orthoses. Results In the custom foot orthoses condition, gait speed was improved on average 13.5% over the barefoot condition and 9.8% over the regular shoe condition. The mediolateral range of motion of center of mass was reduced 55% and 56% compared with the shoes alone and prefabricated foot orthoses conditions, respectively. This may suggest better gait efficiency and lower energy cost with custom foot orthoses. This tendency remained after normalizing center of mass by gait speed, suggesting that irrespective of gait speed, custom foot orthoses improve center of mass motion in the mediolateral direction compared with other footwear conditions. Gait intercycle variability, measured by intercycle coefficient of variation of gait speed, was decreased on average by 25% and 19% compared with the barefoot and shoes-alone conditions, respectively. The decrease in gait unsteadiness after wearing custom foot orthoses may suggest improved proprioception from the increased contact area of custom foot orthoses versus the barefoot condition. Conclusions These findings may open new avenues for objective assessment of the impact of prescribed footwear on dynamic balance and spatiotemporal parameters of gait and assess gait adaptation after use of custom foot orthoses.
Update of heavy baryon mass predictions

Predictions of unknown heavy baryon masses based on an expansion in ${1/m}_{Q},$ ${1/N}_{c},$ and SU(3) breaking are updated to take into account a recent measurement of the ${\ensuremath{\Sigma}}_{c}^{*}$ mass. Values are given for the two remaining unknown charm baryon masses ${\ensuremath{\Xi}}_{c}^{\ensuremath{'}}$ and ${\ensuremath{\Omega}}_{c}^{*}$ and the seven unknown bottom baryon masses ${\ensuremath{\Xi}}_{b},$ ${\ensuremath{\Sigma}}_{b},$ ${\ensuremath{\Xi}}_{b}^{\ensuremath{'}},$ ${\ensuremath{\Omega}}_{b},$ ${\ensuremath{\Sigma}}_{b}^{*},$ ${\ensuremath{\Xi}}_{b}^{*}$, and ${\ensuremath{\Omega}}_{b}^{*}$.
A Bibliography of the Tarnished Plant Bug, Lygus lineolaris (Hemiptera: Miridae), on Applel

The Miridae, more commonly known as the “plant bugs,” include many economically important pest species. Oatman et al. (1964) conducted an ecological study of Arthropod populations in Wisconsin orchards and collected 24 different Mirids, among them Lygus lineolaris (P. de Beauvois), the tarnished plant bug. This insect feeds on a wide range of plants—including alfalfa ( Medicago sativa ), trefoil ( Trifolium sp.), carrot ( Daucus carota ), bean ( Phaseolus vulgaris ), strawberry ( Frayaria sp.), pear ( Pyrus communis ), and several ornamental plants including the chrysanthemum ( Chrysanthemum sp.)—which are all grown in Vermont.
The Politics of the Danish Cartoon Affair: Hegemonic Intervention by the Extreme Right

It is more than five years ago the Danish cartoon affair appeared for the first time on the monitors of the mainstream media, but the saga still continues. The controversy resulted in countless journal articles and more than two dozen books analyzing every aspect of the cartoon crisis. This was a true case of incitement to discourse about cultural and philosophical differences between Islam and the “West.” As such, the cartoons produced the effect that the publishers had hoped for. I argue in this article that the cartoon controversy should be understood in the context of populist radical right's hegemonic intervention. Through incessant series of moral panics around Muslim immigrants and their cultural practices, European populist right movements hijacked and culturalized public discourse and thus achieved unprecedented influence on how societies conceive of themselves. The international dimension involves the ideological and organic connections between right wing forces, and the agendas that they are co...
PIXE analysis of the hydrothermal leaching of trace elements in coal

The minor and trace element content in coal is of great interest due to the potential impact on the environment from the release of these elements during combustion. Reducing the concentrations of potentially hazardous elements in coal prior to combustion is one way of dealing with this issue. In this research particle induced X-ray emission (PIXE) was used to investigate a hydrothermal leaching process for the removal of trace elements from a bituminous coal. The leaching agents HNO3 and NaOH were evaluated along with the effects of process parameters (temperature, pressure, and time) on the method's effectiveness. The variable with the greatest influence was the leaching agent itself. HNO3 was determined to be more effective than NaOH in reducing elemental concentrations for nearly all the elements determined. Increasing the temperature did result in greater reductions for some elements (Cl, Br, Zn) whereas increasing the pressure and duration of the leaching process had minimal impact on reductions, in elemental concentrations.
Using virtual 3D audio in multispeech channel and multimedia environments

The advantages and disadvantages of using virtual 3-D audio in mission-critical, multimedia display interfaces were evaluated. The 3D audio platform seems to be an especially promising candidate for aircraft cockpits, flight control rooms, and other command and control environments in which operators must make mission-critical decisions while handling demanding and routine tasks. Virtual audio signal processing creates the illusion for a listener wearing conventional earphones that each of a multiplicity of simultaneous speech or audio channels is originating from a different, program- specified location in virtual space. To explore the possible uses of this new, readily available technology, a test bed simulating some of the conditions experienced by the chief flight test coordinator at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center was designed and implemented. Thirty test subjects simultaneously performed routine tasks requiring constant hand-eye coordination, while monitoring four speech channels, each generating continuous speech signals, for the occurrence of pre-specified keywords. Performance measures included accuracy in identifying the keywords, accuracy in identifying the speaker of the keyword, and response time. We found substantial improvements on all of these measures when comparing virtual audio with conventional, monaural transmissions. We also explored the effect on operator performance of different spatial configurations of the audio sources in 3-D space, simulated movement (dither) in the source locations, and of providing graphical redundancy. Some of these manipulations were less effective and may even decrease performance efficiency, even though they improve some aspects of the virtual space simulation.© (2000) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
An on-line graduate degree in computers and society

Leaders in today's world need an understanding of the ways that computers and computing are affecting society. To this end, a graduate degree in computers and society is proposed. This degree does not require any background in computer science or mathematics.
The rural-urban linkage to environmental policy making in the American West: A focus on Idaho

Abstract In a contemporary and comprehensive analysis of politics and public policy in the American West, Clive Thomas makes the case that one of the most significant factors driving the policy-making process in the West is the marked rise in the intensity of conflict between urban and rural areas. More importantly, Thomas specifically links this rural-urban tension to environmental issues. He argues that environmental and quality of life issues are likely to be the most significant factors facing policy makers as the Intermountain West continues to urbanize. Using counties as the unit of analysis, we investigate this rural-urban linkage to environmental policy making in the state of Idaho. Analysis is based upon both aggregate county data and survey of government elites (county officials). Our findings suggest that critical differences remain between urban and rural areas with respect to concern for the environment.
Cytotoxicity of acridine compounds for Leishmania promastigotes in vitro.

Abstract The effect of mammalian and bacterial topoisomerase II inhibitors on Leishmania promastigotes was studied in vitro. Parasites were incubated with drugs, and cytotoxicity was assessed on the basis of the loss of flagellar motility and cell lysis after 48 h. 9-Aminoacridines, which are structurally related to the known antileishmanial compounds quinacrine and chlorpromazine, showed activity against the parasite at concentrations in the range of 10 to 20 microM. Adriamycin showed far less activity, while etoposide and several quinolones were inactive at 100-microM concentrations. These results demonstrate that a particular structural class of compounds is cytotoxic to Leishmania species. The unique structure-activity relationship discovered suggests that leishmanial topoisomerase II could be a useful target for chemotherapy.
Correlation of K-factors for mixtures of hydrogen and heavy hydrocarbons

Abstract K -factors for hydrogen-heavy hydrocarbon mixtures are becoming increasingly important in new industrial applications, particularly in coal liquefaction. When equations of state such as Soave's are used to fit hydrogen-heavy hydrocarbon binary data, unrealistic binary interaction parameters k ij are required because equilibrium ratios are not sensitive to k ij for highly asymmetric binary systems containing a highly supercritical component. Reliable representation of experimental results can be obtained by modifying the composition dependence of the covolume parameter b for the mixture. The modification introduces a binary parameter E Hj which has a physically reasonable size. Upon adjusting E Hj to fit the binary data (setting k ij = 0), good results are obtained for seven hydrogen-heavy hydrocarbon binaries.
The noninvasive assessment of pulmonary capillary wedge pressure in mitral regurgitation.

Abstract The interval between the aortic closure sound and the mitral opening snap (A 2 -OS) has been shown to have a significant inverse correlation with pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCW) in mitral stenosis. The present study critically examines the relationship of several noninvasively determined diastolic intervals to PCW in patients with relatively pure mitral regurgitation (MR). Fifty-seven patients with MR of diverse etiologies were studied with echocardiograms and phonocardiograms in addition to right and left heart catheterization. Noninvasive determination of the time intervals of aortic closure sound to mitral valve opening (A 2 -MO), mitral D point to E point (D-E), aortic closure sound to mitral E point (A 2 -E), the interval from the onset of the QRS to mitral closure (Q-C), and the ratio Q-CA2-E were compared to invasive measurements of mean PCW, the height of the V wave of PCW (PCW-V), and the ratio of PCW-V to left ventricular (LV) peak systolic pressure (PCW-VLV). Correlation between each of the five noninvasive intervals and each of the three invasive pressure measurements was then determined. Of the noninvasive intervals studied, A 2 -MO had the best inverse correlation with all measures of PCW. All 18 patients having a short A 2 -MO ( 2 -MO (>85 msec) had a PCW-V of 2 -E also had a strong inverse correlation with PCW. No significant relationship was found to exist between Q-C and PCW, in contrast to what has been observed in mitral stenosis. As a result, Q-CA2-E did not improve the correlation between A 2 -E and any measure of PCW. The D-E interval had no correlation with any measure of PCW. Hemodynamic explanations for these observations are discussed.
Can Early Implementation of Salvage Radiotherapy for Prostate Cancer Improve the Therapeutic Ratio? A Systematic Review and Regression Meta-Analysis With Radiobiological Modelling

Purpose For prostate cancer that is thought to be locally recurrent after prostatectomy, the optimal timing, dose and techniques for salvage radiotherapy (SRT) have not been established. Here we perform a systematic review of published reports including regression meta-analysis and radiobiologic modelling to identify predictors of biochemical disease control and late toxicity.
Modelling overland flow based on Saint‐Venant equations for a discretized hillslope system

Mathematical modelling of overland flow is a critical task in simulating transport of water, sediment and other pollutants from land surfaces to receiving waters. In this paper, an overland flow routing method is developed based on the Saint-Venant equations using a discretized hillslope system for areas with high roughness and steep slope. Under these conditions, the momentum equation reduces to a unique relationship between the flow depth and discharge. A hillslope is treated as a system divided into several subplanes. A set of first-order non-linear differential equations for subsequent subplanes are solved analytically using Chezy's formula in lieu of the momentum equation. Comparison of the analytical solution of the first-order non-linear ordinary differential equations and a numerical solution using the Runge-Kutta method shows a relative error of 0·3%. Using runoff data reported in the literature, comparison between the new approach and a numerical solution of the full Saint-Venant equations showed a close agreement. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Universal Hashing in VLSI

A problem is presented with deterministic VLSI complexity AT det 2 =Ω(N2), but Las Vegas complexity only AT Las Vegas 2 =O (N poly(logN)). (The Las Vegas algorithm always decides correctly, but T is only the expected running time; A is the area of the chip). Previously AT Las Vegas 2 =O(N3/2 poly(logN)) has been shown for a similar problem with a more complicated algorithm. Here, we use a simple universal hashing technique based on random linear functions. We hope this will give rise to other applications of universal hashing in VLSI.
Soft Sensing Modeling Based on Stacked Least Square-Support Vector Machine and Its Application

The robust soft sensing model based on stacked least square - support vector machine is presented. Data for building nonlinear models is re-sampled using principle components analysis techniques to form a number of sets of training and test data. For each data set, a support vector machine model is developed and the developed models are then combined with different weigh factors. Model robustness is shown to be significantly improved as a direct consequence of using simple support vector machine representations. An improved algorithm for data sorting is also presented which deals with the problem of the stage division for the process. Based on the different contribution of the principal components, a new data set is formed of principal components by weighted them using contribution factors. The proposed soft sensing method has been applied to a penicillin fermentation process to estimate the product concentration, and the results of testing are listed.
Learning more by crossing levels: evidence from airplanes, hospitals, and orchestras

Summary Scholars generally conduct research at a single level of analysis (such as the individual, the group, or the organization level), although they often turn to the next-lower level for explanatory mechanisms. I suggest that robust understanding of social and organizational dynamics requires attention to higher as well as lower levels of analysis. The benefits of research and theory that ‘brackets’ one’s focal phenomenon by attending to constructs at both higher and lower levels of analyses are illustrated with findings from research on aircraft cockpit crews, hospital patient care teams, and professional musical ensembles. Copyright # 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Improvements in Canned Lowbush Blueberry Quality

Individually quick frozen lowbush (wild) blueberries (Vaccinium angusrifolium) were canned with 0, 1500, or 3000 ppm calcium from chloride or lactate salts and 0, 0.25, or 0.50% citric acid in water. Physical and pH changes were measured at 0, 6, and 12 mo, and sensory evaluations were made at 3 and 9 mo post-canning. Calcium increased firmness and berry calcium content. Calcium chloride and citric acid reduced pH and increased hue angle and off-flavor; calcium lactate increased drained weight and pH but reduced hue. Response surface methodology predicted changes in calcium lactate-treated berries, but not CaCl2-treated berries. Optimal conditions were 1200–1800 ppm calcium lactate at 3–6 mo storage.
Polycrystalline CdTe solar cells by pulsed laser deposition

Polycrystalline CdS/CdTe heterojunctions have been grown by pulsed laser-driven physical vapor deposition (LDPVD) using an XeCl excimer laser at 308 nm. The LDPVD process accommodates thin-film growth at low substrate temperatures ( >
Gold nanorods targeted to delta opioid receptor: plasmon-resonant contrast and photothermal agents.

Molecularly targeted gold nanorods were investigated for applications in both diagnostic imaging and disease treatment with cellular resolution. The nanorods were tested in two genetically engineer...
Geometric picture for coupled electron–nuclear dynamics

Equations of coupled electron-nuclear dynamics (CEND) that describe molecular dynamics within a fully classical approach have been derived. Utilization of the language of fiber bundles and connections (gauge fields) allows one to represent the resulting classical Hamilton equations in an invariant (coordinate-covariant) form. Applications of the CEND equations to calculations of off-resonant nonlinear molecular polarizabilities are outlined. The CEND equations are shown to resemble the END equations derived earlier once the Thouless representation of single Slater determinants
Convex optimization in robust identification of nonlinear feedback

A nonlinear system identification setup is formulated as a task of finding a stable feedback system of fixed complexity providing the best robust fit for a given set of input-output data. New techniques, based on incremental passivity, are proposed for casting such problems in a format which allows application of efficient convex optimization engines. Case studies of specific implementations of the approach are provided.
Suggested educational changes and restructuring of medical schools.

The highlights of this commentary may be recapitulated as follows: First, an attempt has been made to emphasize the merits of having medical education as a continuous process after high school under the complete control of medical schools, i.e., incorporating pre-medical into medical education. Second, to restructure the departments of medical schools on the basis of human organs rather than disciplines as they presently exist. Third, to expand the Department of Family Medicine and have it as the principle department in the medical school with other departments serving as satellites. This commentary is quite ambitious, costly, and impractical if realized all at once, especially at existing schools. It might be easier and more practical for a new medical school, in this country or abroad, to adopt it in full or in part and/or in stages.
Development of a High-Bandwidth XY Nanopositioning Stage for High-Rate Micro-/Nanomanufacturing

This paper presents the design analysis fabrication and testing of a high-bandwidth piezo-driven parallel kinematic nanopositioning XY stage. The monolithic stage design has two axes and each axis is composed of a doubly clamped beam and a parallelogram hybrid flexure with compliant beams and circular flexure hinges. The doubly clamped beam that is actuated by a piezoelectric actuator acts as a linear prismatic axis. The parallelogram hybrid flexures are used to decouple the actuation effect from the other axis. The mechanism design decouples the motion in the X- and Y-directions and restricts parasitic rotations in the XY plane while allowing for an increased bandwidth with linear kinematics in the operating region. Kinematic and dynamic analysis shows that the mechanical structure of the stage has decoupled motion in XY-direction while achieving high bandwidth and good linearity. The stage is actuated by piezoelectric stack actuators, and two capacitive gauges were added to the system to build a closed-loop positioning system. The results from frequency tests show that the resonant frequencies of the two vibrational modes are over 8 kHz. The stage is capable of about 15 μm of motion along each axis with a resolution of about 1 nm. Due to parallel kinematic mechanism design, a uniform performance is achieved across the workspace. A PI controller is implemented for the stage and a closed-loop bandwidth of 2 kHz is obtained.
Immune function abnormalities in peripheral blood mononuclear cell cytokine expression differentiates stages of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma/mycosis fungoides.

Purpose: Mycosis fungoides (MF) is a cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) characterized by neoplastic skin-homing T cells. To better understand the immunopathogenesis of MF, we analyzed the functional ability of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from early and late MF/CTCL patients to express cytokine genes. In late stage MF/CTCL, patients were separated into those with blood involvement (+B) and without blood involvement (−B). Experimental Design: We analyzed TH1 ( interleukin 2 (IL-2), IFN-γ ), TH2 ( IL-4, IL-5, IL-10, IL-13 ), and TH17 ( IL-17 ) cytokine gene expression from activated PBMCs from normal ( n = 12), psoriasis ( n = 6), early MF/CTCL ( n = 11), and late MF/CTCL+B ( n = 4) and MF/CTCL−B ( n = 3) by quantitative real-time PCR. Results: PBMCs from early MF/CTCL and psoriasis showed higher induction of IL-2, IL-4, and IFN-γ genes than those from normal and late MF/CTCL−B and MF/CTCL+B ( P < 0.05) in descending order. PBMCs from late MF/CTCL−B exhibited generally the highest level of IL-5, IL-10, IL-13, and IL-17 expression compared with the other groups. PBMCs from early MF/CTCL and late MF/CTCL−B had similarly elevated IL-13 and IL-17 . Of all groups, PBMCs from late MF/CTCL+B had the lowest levels of IL-2 ( P < 0.05), IL-4, IFN-γ, IL-13, and IL-17 . Conclusions: The different pattern of cytokine gene expression suggests a change in immune function in MF/CTCL from early MF/CTCL to late MF/CTCL−B to late MF/CTCL+B. These stages are consistent with localized disease associated with an anti-tumor immune response and late MF/CTCL associated with a loss of immune function mediated by malignant T cells that share regulatory T cell–like properties.
Financial Development, Financial Repression, And Growth In Developing Economies

Many studies have examined the relationship between economic growth and finance. A continuing question is the choice of a clear proxy for financial development. This paper attempts to elucidate this issue from a developing country perspective, while controlling for financial repression. The proxy of choice is the ratio of currency outside the banking system to real output (CB). This proxy is unique in that it is related to the degree of financial repression, and thus relates differently to economic growth depending on the level of financial development. The statistics support the hypothesis of a U-shaped behavior of CB with financial liberalization. The empirical results show that CB relates negatively to growth in countries that are less financially liberalized and positively with growth in countries that are more financially liberalized. The literature has used real interest rates as a measure of financial repression. An innovative measure of financial repression is then proposed that combines the use of currency inside banks and currency outside banks, and is tested concurrently with a broad money depth measure. The study is carried out using a panel approach, and the sample is also divided into different geographical regions, in order to see whether the relationship differs between geographical regions. The study concludes that there is overwhelming evidence that financial repression, which is indicative of financial under-development, is negatively related to growth.
Inheritance and Evolution of Conifer Organelle Genomes

Inheritance of organelle genomes in conifers is different from that in angiosperms. Restriction fragment-length polymorphisms have been used to demonstrate the paternal inheritance of chloroplast DNA in Douglas fir and coast redwood and the maternal inheritance of mitochondrial DNA in loblolly pine. Conifers have evolved mechanisms to exclude the maternal transmission of plastids and the paternal transmission of mitochondria. The genetic data from intraspecific crosses are consistent with expectations based on ultrastructural observations of organelle transmission during fertilization in conifers. Conifers have followed the general evolutionary trend towards uniparental inheritance of organelles, but curiously have evolved mechanisms for the paternal transmission of chloroplasts. Strict paternal inheritance of chloroplasts is not found in other taxa of higher plants.
Samaritans, Patriots, and Communitarians: An Investigation of Public Service Among Private Sector Mortgage Lenders

A great deal of public service motivation (PSM) research has focused on understanding different types of PSM to describe public sector employees, including Samaritans, communitarians, patriots, and humanitarians. This research investigates different types of PSM for private sector individuals working in a single policy area, mortgage lending, and how these diverse public service motivators influence the implementation and perception of a public program. Housing policies focused on assisting low-income families towards homeownership have resulted in the creation of publicly subsidized affordable mortgage programs. However, private lenders and their employees (loan originators) are often the key point of contact to connect low income borrowers to the public programs. But why would loan originators offer borrowers public loan programs, particularly when such programs provide no additional (and sometimes reduced) direct financial compensation and potentially increased workloads? One possible rationale, and the one investigated here, is that loan originators may be diversely motivated towards public service. Specifically, we investigate the ways in which a positive perception of and increased contact with government (patriotism), increased ties to the community (communitarianism), and a positive perception of assisting low income borrowers (samaritanism) are related to the rate of participation in a publicly subsidized mortgage program (e.g. the Mortgage Revenue Bond program) and the perception of the benefit of the public program. We conclude with a discussion of how these findings are important for understanding private sector motivation to advance public service-minded policies aimed at advancing public missions.
Assessing the Scope and Feasibility of First-Year Students' Research Paper Topics.

This study applied a content analysis methodology in two ways to evaluate first-year students’ research topics: a rubric to examine proposed topics in terms of scope, development, and the “researchability” of the topic, as well as textual analysis, using ATLAS.ti, to provide an overview of the types of subjects students select for a persuasive research essay. Results indicated that students struggle with defining an appropriate and feasible focus for their topics and that they often select topics related to education, health, and the environment. These findings were used to implement a new information literacy instruction model that better supports student topic development.
beta. -delayed proton decay of /sup 29/S

The $^{28}\mathrm{Si}$($^{3}\mathrm{He}$,$2n$) reaction at 32 MeV has been used to produce $^{29}\mathrm{S}$; delayed protons have been observed following the positron decay of $^{29}\mathrm{S}$ to proton unbound levels in $^{29}\mathrm{P}$. The half-life of $^{29}\mathrm{S}$ was measured to be 187\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}6 ms which, combined with previous results, gives a weighted average value of 188.0\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}4.3 ms. Precise level energies have confirmed several recently observed states in $^{29}\mathrm{P}$ from 4.0 to 9.5 MeV in excitation energy. From the intensities of these proton groups and assuming isospin purity for the lowest $T=\frac{3}{2}$ level in $^{29}\mathrm{P}$, absolute $log\mathrm{ft}$ values for each transition were determined. The measured excitation energies and $\ensuremath{\beta}$ decay transition rates to levels in $^{29}\mathrm{P}$ are compared to recent shell-model calculations.
An Intuitive Method for the Determination of Crystal-Field Parameters in Laser Crystals

Expanding the crystal field in terms of operators that transform as the irreducible representations of the T d group leads to an intuitive interpretation of the crystal-field parameters. We apply this method to the crystal field experienced by Nd 3+ dopants in the laser crystals YLiF 4 , YVO 4 , and KLiYF 5 .