cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Isolated Thoracic Injury Patients With Rib Fractures Undergoing Rib Fixation Have Improved Mortality.

Abstract Background Despite a lack of consensus recommendations for surgical stabilization of rib fractures (SSRF), SSRF has increased over the past decade. Outcomes of patients with isolated thoracic injuries undergoing SSRF are unknown. We hypothesized adult trauma patients with isolated thoracic injuries and rib fractures undergoing SSRF would have a decreased risk of mortality and in-hospital respiratory complications compared with those not undergoing SSRF. Materials and methods The Trauma Quality Improvement Program (2010-2016) was queried for patients presenting with a rib fracture. Patients who died in the emergency department or within 24-h, as well as those with a grade>1 for abbreviated injury scale of the head, face, neck, spine, abdomen, and extremities, were excluded. A multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed. Results From 60,000 patients with isolated thoracic injuries and rib fractures, 688 (1.1%) underwent SSRF. Compared with patients without SSRF, those undergoing SSRF had a similar median age (P = 0.83) and higher injury severity score (P Conclusions The risk of mortality in trauma patients with isolated thoracic injuries and rib fractures is lower when undergoing SSRF despite being associated with a higher rate of respiratory complications during their increased length of stay.
Talimogene laherparepvec with systemic immunotherapy in melanoma: A real-world experience.

e21549Background: Talimogene laherparepvec (TVEC) is an FDA approved oncolytic herpes virus for intralesional therapy in unresectable metastatic melanoma. Real world data is sparse regarding the ef...
Suturable Mesh Demonstrates Improved Outcomes over Standard Suture in a Porcine Laparotomy Closure Model.

Background Laparotomy closures fail due to suture pull-through. I hypothesize that a suturable mesh may limit pull-through via mechanisms of force distribution and fibrous encapsulation of the device filaments. Methods Fifteen domestic swine 74 kg in size were randomly allocated to three groups for laparotomy closure with either size 0 suturable mesh, number 1 suturable mesh, or number 1 polypropylene. All three devices were placed in running fashion with 1-cm bites and 1-cm travels. Primary endpoints were hernia formation at 13 weeks and a semiquantitative analysis of the histological tissue response. Secondary endpoints included adhesions, surgical site occurrence (SSO), and documentation of "loose sutures." Results There were numerically fewer hernias in the number 1 suturable mesh group. Nine of the 10 suturable mesh devices were well encapsulated within the tissues and could not be pulled away, whereas four of the five polypropylene sutures were loose. Adhesions were least for number 1 suturable mesh. Histologically, the suturable mesh implanted devices showed good fibrovascular ingrowth and were judged to be "nonirritants." The soft-tissue response was statistically greater (P = 0.006) for the number 1 suturable mesh than for the number 1 polypropylene. Conclusions The mechanism by which meshes support closure sites is clearly demonstrated with this model. Suturable mesh has the potential to change surgical algorithms for abdominal wall closure.
Limit Treatment of Space-Time Foam Calculations if Initial Length of Space-Time Collapses to a Non Pathological Big Bang Singularity Accessible to Modified Einstein Equations

Problems with space-time foam, if BB singularities no longer are inaccessible to modified version of Einstein equations, as given by Stoica (2012)
Doppler Velocimetry for Fetal Surveillance: Adverse Perinatal Outcome and Fetal Hypoxia

There is ample evidence that Doppler indices from the fetal circulation can reliably predict adverse perinatal outcome in an obstetric patient population with a high prevalence of complications, such as fetal growth restriction and hypertension. This efficacy is not evident, however, in populations with a low prevalence of pregnancy complications. It is also apparent that fetal Doppler indices are capable of reflecting fetal respiratory deficiency with varying degrees of efficiency. The umbilical arterial Doppler indices are more sensitive to asphyxia than to hypoxia, whereas cerebral Doppler indices demonstrate significant sensitivity to hypoxia. Compared to fetal heart rate monitoring and the biophysical profile, umbilical artery Doppler velocimetry shows mostly similar and often superior efficacy. Furthermore, progressive fetal deterioration manifests in sequential abnormalities of the various fetal assessment parameters, starting with middle cerebral artery vasodilation and eventual progression to disappearance of the fetal heart rate variability, late deceleration, and the absence or reversal of the end-diastolic velocity in the umbilical artery. Evidently, no single testing modality should be regarded as the exclusive choice for fetal surveillance, as these tests reveal different aspects of fetal pathophysiology, often in a complementary manner. Clearly, more work is needed to determine the optimal integration of the various surveillance methods for improving perinatal outcome in a cost-effective manner.
Interaction of Radiation with Matter: Energy Transfer from Fast Charged Particles

This chapter discusses the interaction of radiation with matter. In quantum mechanics, particle and radiation are used interchangeably. Electron–positron, muons, and X- and γ-rays constitute the light group. Other radiations—such as protons, α-particles, fission fragments—are considered to be in the heavy group, although in some radiological cases, higher-energy protons behave like light particles. Photons with sufficiently high energy can cause ionization of a medium in three different ways: the photoelectric effect, the Compton effect, and the pair production. As the photon energy increases, its dominant interaction changes gradually from the photoelectric to the Compton effect to the pair production. The radiations are grouped as low-, intermediate-, and high-linear energy transfer (LET) according to their specific rate of energy loss in water. Energy is transferred from a fast charged particle by electrostatic interaction with the electrons of the molecule. Exceptions are found at very low or very high speeds. At ultrarelativistic speeds, the electromagnetic interaction compares significantly with the electrostatic interaction. This additional interaction is largely masked by the interaction with the nuclei, generating bremsstrahlung, which is the major carrier of the energy transfer at highly relativistic speeds.
Research ethics in Internet-enabled research: Human subjects issues and methodological myopia

As Internet resources are used more frequently for research on social and psychological behavior, concerns grow about whether characteristics of such research affect human subjects protections. Early efforts to address such concerns have done more to identify potential problems than to evaluate them or to seek solutions, leaving bodies charged with human subjects oversight in a quagmire. This article critiques some of these issues in light of the US Code of Federal Regulations' policies for the Protection of Human Subjects, and argues that some of the issues have no pertinence when examined in the context of common methodological approaches that previous commentators failed to consider. By separating applicable contexts from those that are not, and by identifying cases where subjects' characteristics are irrelevant and/or impossible to provide, oversight committees may be able to consider research applications more appropriately, and investigators may be less ethically bound to ascertain and demonstrate those characteristics.
Minding the Gap: Realizing Our Ideal Community Writing Center.

What does it mean for a community writing assistance program to bridge the gap between the university and the community? What makes for a successful alliance between these two worlds usually considered distinct? Our paper addresses these questions by reflecting on the factors that have contributed to the growing success of our CWA program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Taking into account the varied alliances forged through our work — between the funding organization, instructors, community leaders, and writers themselves — we hope to offer a multi-faceted picture of local literacy outreach and partnership.
The asymptotic distribution of the order of elements in alternating semigroups and in partial transformation semigroups

The asymptotic distributions of the order of elements in alternating semigroups and in partial transformation semigroups are obtained and shown to coincide with that for the symmetric semigroup.
Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 colonization upregulates innate immunity and partially protects against human rotavirus infection in a neonatal gnotobiotic pig model (INC7P.422)

We evaluated how colonization with gram-positive or gram-negative commensal bacteria (alone or combined) modulates virulent human rotavirus (VirHRV) infection and innate immunity in a neonatal gnotobiotic (Gn) pig model. Gn pigs were colonized with Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 (EcN), Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) or both (EcN+LGG) and challenged with VirHRV 15 days later. Non-colonized VirHRV challenged pigs served as controls. Colonization with each bacteria alone or combined, decreased VirHRV shedding and diarrhea scores post-challenge. Among the colonized pigs, those were lowest in the EcN-, intermediate in EcN+LGG- and highest in the LGG-colonized pigs. EcN colonization induced the highest plasmacytoid dendritic cell (DC) frequencies (EcN or EcN+LGG, all tissues), significantly increased natural killer (NK) cell activity (EcN, spleen and blood) and decreased frequencies of VirHRV-induced apoptotic and TLR4+ mononuclear cells (MNCs) (EcN, all tissues). Consistent with the highest NK cell activity, SWC3a+ MNCs (DC enriched fraction) from spleen of EcN colonized Gn pigs produced the highest levels of IL12 (essential for NK cell activation) in vitro. LGG colonization had less effect on VirHRV induced innate immune responses, and those of EcN+LGG colonized pigs were intermediate, suggesting that LGG and EcN modulate each other’s effects. Our results indicate that EcN partially protects against VirHRV infection and diarrhea by modulating innate immune responses.
Mining user's Web searching skills through fuzzy cognitive state map

The vast majority of college students have been reared as researchers in an environment where boundaries for information have been clearly marked, i.e., that of books and paper text. Increasingly, however, they are called upon to perform tasks in an environment not clearly bounded, that of hyperspace. How do we learn to surf in the unbounded space of hyperlinks or the World Wide Web (WWW)? In order to effectively teach students new surfing skills we must be able to understand how neophyte Web users form the cognitive neurological networks that result in a mental pathway, or cognitive map, that makes more navigable the route to further information as well as the information they set out to find. A Markovian modeling of user behavior is introduced and compared to a fuzzy cognitive map (FCM) that represents the opinions of experts on how users surf the Web. Experts are divided on what causes users to fail their queries on the Web. The paper shows that a viable FCM model can be developed and some limit-cycle equilibria are uncovered. A FCM limit cycle repeats a sequence of events and actions. Limit cycles can reveal cognitive and behavioral patterns of users on the Web. An adaptive FCM is built to reflect its causal behavior in time. This change reflects the user behavior as knowledge of the Web increases with time. The causal behavior learns from data. Users learn new patterns and reinforce old ones.
Dinnebitodon amarali, a new tritylodontid (Synapsida) from the Lower Jurassic of western North America

Dinnebitodon amarali, a new genus and species of Tritylodontidae, is described from the Early Jurassic Kayenta Formation of northeastern Arizona. It is distinguished from Kayentatherium wellesi by the possession of three (rather than one) upper incisors and upper postcanine teeth with two (rather than three) lingual cusps.
Spatial Organization and Characterization of Soil Physical Properties Using Self-Organizing Maps

Soil moisture is a key component in describing transfer and distribution of mass and energy between the land and the atmosphere. The state of surface soil moisture plays an important role in partitioning net incoming radiation into sensible and latent heat fluxes and partitioning precipitation into runoff and storage. The space-time distribution of soil moisture can influence atmospheric system on time scales from several hours to many years. Currently, the most feasible procedure to obtain soil moisture over large areas is through remote sensing.
Formation of p-type CuInS2 absorber layers via sulfurization of co-electrodeposited Cu–In precursors

The electrodeposition of Cu–In alloy precursors with suitable stoichiometry and consisting mainly of intermetallic compounds, followed by sulfurization, is a promising method to form good quality CuInS2 thin films. In this work, Cu–In precursors forming intermetallic compounds were electrodeposited from an acidic solution on Mo substrates at 50 °C and sulfurized to form p-type CuInS2 absorber layers. We studied the crystal structure and compositional characteristics of films before and after sulfurization. Intermetallic compounds, namely Cu11In9 and Cu9In4, have been observed for precursor films suitable to form CuInS2, and p-type CuInS2 phase with small amounts of CuS was formed, showing the chalcopyrite and CuAu-type ordered phases for Cu/In ratios between 1.09–1.34. The carrier density was increased with increasing Cu/In ratio, but the photoelectrochemical response of the films was not directly related to this ratio. Film morphology has a critical influence on the photocurrent response. The highest photoelectrochemical current was achieved from compact and smooth precursors that were electrodeposited at −1.3 V while the lowest value was obtained with a rough dendritic precursor that was electrodeposited at −1.6 V.
Light Scattering from Long Submicron Glass Cylinders at Normal Incidence

Fused silica and Pyrex fibers having radii less than one micron have been prepared and mounted in a light-scattering photometer. Each of the polarized components of the scattered light has been observed over the angular range from 15° to 130° for perpendicular incidence. Experiments were carried out for λ=436 mμ and 546 mμ. By comparison of these data with computations corresponding to the model of an infinitely long circular cylinder, it has been possible to determine the radius to within less than 1%. These results have been compared with direct electron microscope observations which are considerably less precise and less accurate.Other fibers consisting of tungsten, platinum, gold-coated Pyrex and paraffin-coated tungsten were also studied, but these have not yet been successfully analyzed.
ADULT PROSTATE SARCOMA: THE M. D. ANDERSON CANCER CENTER EXPERIENCE

Purpose: Sarcoma of prostate origin is rare. Historically, long-term survival rates for adult patients with prostate sarcoma are poor. We analyzed the experience of 1 institution with prostate sarcoma during the last 3 decades.Materials and Methods: The records of 21 patients with prostate sarcoma were reviewed to identify symptoms at presentation, diagnostic procedures, presence and development of metastases, staging evaluation, histological subtype, grade and size of the primary tumor, and treatment sequence, including surgery, and preoperative and postoperative therapies. Several clinicopathological variables were assessed for prognostic importance.Results: Most patients presented with urinary obstruction. The diagnosis of prostate sarcoma was usually established with ultrasound guided biopsy or transurethral resection. Histological subtypes were leiomyosarcoma in 12, rhabdomyosarcoma in 4, malignant fibrous histiocytoma in 1 and unclassified sarcoma in 4 patients. At last followup, 8 patients had no e...
On the Posterior Mean and Variance of a Population Mean

Abstract This note shows that under a certain class of prior distributions of the vector, X = (X 1, …, XN ), of the unknown finite population values, the posterior mean and variance of the population mean, μ = Σ N 1 Xi /N, assume simple and intuitively appealing forms. For example, it is shown that the posterior mean of μ is a weighted average of the prior mean and the sample mean with weights inversely proportional to the prior variance of μ and the prior expected conditional sampling variance of the sample mean. The class of prior distributions of X is given by taking the Xi 's to be independent identically distributed conditional on some parameter θ, with conditional density in a particular exponential family, and assigning 8 a natural conjugate distribution. Similar properties are shown to hold for μ(θ) ≡ E(X|θ).
Nonlinear dynamics of a Bragg cell under intensity feedback in the near-Bragg, four-order regime

A detailed examination of the nonlinear dynamical behavior of an acousto-optic Bragg cell in the near-Bragg regime of operation for the case of four scattered orders under intensity feedback is carried out. This problem is an extension of the standard ideal-Bragg feedback model whereby traditionally bistability, hysteresis, and chaotic oscillations are observed under zeroth- or first-order feedback of the scattered light. For the present case, the closed-loop equations are developed from a priori knowledge of the open-loop analytical solutions for four-order near-Bragg scattering. The results, obtained via computer simulation, reveal a variety of interesting dynamics, including bistability, bifurcation, hysteresis, chaotic oscillations (including in this case the relatively uncommon period-three behavior, in addition to the more usual period-doubling phenomenon en route to chaos), and potentially useful parametric dependence of these features. The observed results are interpreted in terms of system behavior for varying feedback gain and bias, the so-called Klein-Cook parameter Q, and time delay, and are compared with earlier work based on the ideal Bragg regime.
East Asia's anti-dumping problem

East Asia accounts for a large and growing share of worldwide anti-dumping (AD) activity. East Asian countries have long been the main targets of AD actions, accounting for about one-third of all AD actions during the 1980s, more than 40 per cent of all AD actions during the 1990s, and almost 50 per cent of all AD actions in recent years. After controlling for factors that might influence filings such as the exchange rate and trade volume, it is found that East Asian countries are subject to about twice as many cases as either North American or Western European countries. Moreover, the trend in filings against East Asian countries is increasing, meaning that in recent years the propensity for countries to direct their AD filings against East Asian countries is growing. One concern is that the growing intensity of AD use against East Asia is driven by China-PRC. Importantly, but a rising propensity is found even excluding China-PRC.
Dose‐, route‐, and sex‐dependent urinary excretion of phenol metabolites in B6C3F1 mice

Phenol is the major oxidized metabolite of benzene, a known human leukemogen and ubiquitous environmental pollutant. Unlike benzene, phenol does not induce tumors in mice following oral exposure; benzene also exhibits sex‐related differences in genotoxicity to bone marrow cells that are not observed following phenol administration. We studied the urinary excretion of phenol metabolites in mice as a means to further investigate the metabolic basis for differences in benzene‐ and phenol‐induced toxicity. Male and female B6C3F1 mice (n = 3/group) were exposed to 15, 40, 100, or 225 μmol [14C]phenol/kg by iv tail vein injection (6 μCi/mouse). First‐pass intestinal metabolism of phenol was evaluated by comparison of urinary excretion of phenol metabolites following iv administration with additional groups of male mice that received the same dose levels by oral gavage. Mice were placed in glass metabolism cages, and urine was collected over dry ice for 48 h. Urinary metabolites were separated by high‐pressure l...
Drosophila Centrosomin Protein is Required for Male Meiosis and Assembly of the Flagellar Axoneme

Centrosomes and microtubules play crucial roles during cell division and differentiation. Spermatogenesis is a useful system for studying centrosomal function since it involves both mitosis and meiosis, and also transformation of the centriole into the sperm basal body. Centrosomin is a protein localized to the mitotic centrosomes in Drosophila melanogaster. We have found a novel isoform of centrosomin expressed during spermatogenesis. Additionally, an anticentrosomin antibody labels both the mitotic and meiotic centrosomes as well as the basal body. Mutational analysis shows that centrosomin is required for spindle organization during meiosis and for organization of the sperm axoneme. These results suggest that centrosomin is a necessary component of the meiotic centrosomes and the spermatid basal body.
7-Alpha-Hydroxytestosterone in Seminiferous Tubules of Rat Testis

Production of 4-androstene-7α, 17β-diol-3-one (7α-hydroxytestosterone) from testosterone was measured in seminiferous tubule and interstitial fractions of rat testis. In adults, specific activity of the 7α-hydroxylase was about 10 times higher in interstitial cells than in seminiferous tubules, but tubule production was a significant portion of the total. Seminiferous tubule 7α-hydroxylase was not detectable in weanlings. Also, we confirmed that 7α-hydroxytestosterone inhibits the activity of the 5α-reductase and 3α-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase active on testosterone and suggest a role in maturational changes.
Upgrade of a GEP50 robot control system

Recently the ASL at Tennessee Technological University was donated a GEP50 welder. The welding is done via off line point-to-point teaching. A state of the art robot was needed for research but because money was not available to purchase such an expensive item. It was therefore decided to upgrade the GEP50 control system to make the welder a multitasking robot. The robot has five degrees of freedom can be sufficient to pursue some research in robotics control. The problem was that the control system of the welder is limited to point-to-point control, using off-line teaching. To make the GEP50 a multitasking robot that can be controlled using different control strategies, the existing control system of the welder had to be replaced. The upgrade turned to be a low cost operation. This robot is currently in sue to test different advanced control strategies in the ASL. This work discusses all the steps and tasks undertaken during the upgrade operation. The hardware and software required or the upgrade are provided in this paper. The newly developed control system has been implemented and tested successfully.
Premackian Reinforcement of Classroom Behavior Through Topic Sequencing

Summary In a test of Premack's model of reinforcement, 108 fifth-grade students at Cactus Wren Elementary School were randomly assigned to three groups. All subjects participated in 15 daily 90-minute experimental sessions. Prior to initiating the treatment, all of the subject's preferences for reading, social studies, and science were measured by means of a 10-point rating scale. Ratings for each of the three topics ranged from zero (“I don't like it”) to 10 (“I like it very much”). On the basis of the pretest ratings, it was possible to determine for each subject his least preferred (L), intermediate or middle (M), and highest rated (H) topic. One of the treatment groups, designated Reward, studied the three topics in a sequence that conformed to Premack's prescription for reinforcement. These subjects were required to achieve some criterion level of performance in L in order to gain access to M. Criterion achievement in topic M earned the right to initiate activities related to the most preferred topic...
A temporal–contextual retrieval account of complex span: An analysis of errors

Abstract Complex working memory span tasks have been shown to predict performance on a number of measures of higher-order cognition including fluid abilities. However, exactly why performance on these tasks is related to higher-order cognition is still not known. The present study examined the patterns of errors made on two common complex span tasks. The results suggest that the patterns of errors made on these tasks are an important indicator of the processes that underlie performance and point to the importance of temporal–contextual cues. Furthermore, the individual differences data suggest that low scoring participants do not make more of each type of error at all serial positions, but rather the variability is localized to a few theoretically meaningful positions for each error type. The results suggest that low scoring participants have less precise temporal–contextual cues which leads to an inefficient search of memory.
Agent-mediated knowledge sharing for intelligent services management

For service-oriented architectures that span multiple businesses, organizations must transfer information back-and-forth about their available services. Because of the potential large volume, it is unreasonable and impractical to expect human practitioners to handle the scale of interactions desired and/or required on a continual basis. Intelligent agents offer the adaptability and flexibility to handle the knowledge transfer that must occur in order to share service offerings. Effectively transferring service-oriented information in this domain requires autonomous systems that adapt to heterogeneous environments. This work introduces an architecture and specialized communication procedures designed for this sort of knowledge sharing environment. We show that these procedures perform reasonably when evaluated with current agent communication technologies.
Initial comparisons between experiment and theory of the strain fields in a cracked copper plate.

Comparison is made between experimental and theoretical analyses of strain in a cracked copper plate. Correlation between the two is satisfactory at flow and high loading, but shows inaccuracies at intermediate loads. The cause appears to be uncertainty in the stress-strain curve in the region of initial yield
Importance of teamwork between allergists, other specialists, and general practitioners.

In the good old days, a good doctor could take care of all the needs of all his patients. However, with the “knowledge explosion” of the twentieth century, specialization became more and more widespread and necessary. While medicine has conquered a number of diseases, especially in the field of bacteriology, new ailments, many of them allergic in nature, are making their appearance every day. Some of them are due to our new ways of life with artificial preservatives, special make-ups for the skin and also some iatrogenic conditions caused by the use of certain medications. In the field of allergy it is estimated that 20 to 25%, or about 40 million people in the United States, are affected by some “major allergy”. To care for them, there are perhaps 2,000 full-fledged allergists on hand, representing a ratio of 1 : 20,000. As an example for one of the most important allergic conditions, figures on asthma in children under 17 years of age, as reported in a National Health Survey, are shown in Table 1.l The age of onset of asthma in childhood is shown in Table IL2 In Figure 1, the difference in doctor/patient ratio between rural and urban areas in New York’s Steuberi County is pre~ented.~ What is the solution to the problem? What should be done to insure the best possible care for the greatest number of people who need it? The answer, in my opinion, is teamwork, which means collaboration between allergists and other physicians. Possibly, the title of this presentation should read : “The Need for Teamwork.” Recently one of our elder statesmen of American medicine, Dr. Morris Fishbein, in an editorial, discussed “Teamwork in Public H~alth”.~ This makes me feel that my thoughts are in very good company. With reference to teamwork in allergy, one must remember that from the diagnostic standpoint, skin tests are most important. However, a certain amount of training and experience is needed to perform and interpret them properly. In most instances it is useless and misleading to perform only one or two tests, e.g. with histamine or dust. Whenever possible, allergic problems, especially if complicated, should be referred for diagnostic studies to a fullfledged allergist. This, however, does not mean that simpler problems, arising in remote places, should not or could not be properly diagnosed by other physicians who are sufficiently acquainted with allergy techniques and who keep informed about newer developments in this field. Physicians can increase their knowledge by attending a basic course on the subject, followed by
Maternal cesium chloride ingestion and the newborn

The effect of pre and postnatal maternal ingestion of CsCl on neonatal growth and development was studied in the Sprague-Dawley albino mouse. The effects of such treatment on selected offspring organ weights, some hepatic and cardiac enzymes were also studied. The CsCl was given in drinking water at conception, during gestation, lactation and throughout the 21 days of breast-feeding of the weanling. The weanlings were separated from the nursing dams for a subsequent 3 weeks and had access to food and distilled water. Maternal Cs treatment caused a sex-dependent decrease of weanling's body weight which attained the control level 3 weeks after discontinued breast-feeding. The offspring's brain and testis weights were decreased from corresponding control while spleen weight was increased during postnatal maturation and in the absence of maternal breast-feeding. Maternal CsCl ingestion resulted in an induction of weanling hepatic ethanol but not acetaldehyde metabolizing enzyme. The hepatic cytoplasmic, but not mitochondrial, NAD-linked aldehyde dehydrogenase was induced 3 weeks later in the developing offspring after cessation of maternal nursing. These neonatal toxicity measurements were not apparent in the maternal tissues studied. There was a differential developmental response in the induction of neonatal hepatic ethanol metabolizing enzyme by maternal exposure to Cs+. The cellular fractionation of developing offspring liver aldehyde dehydrogenase showed that such enzymatic induction was cellular specific and was confined to the subcellular cytoplasmic fraction. The results suggest that Cs+ was most probably transferred to the fetus and/or to breast milk to the suckling newborn.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Polyploidy in Ambrosia dumosa (Compositae: Ambrosieae)

Ambrosia dumosa (A. Gray ex Torr.) Payne is one of the most abundant shrubs of the Sonoran Desert. Allopatric and sympatric populations of this species frequently exhibit distinctive morphological features, particularly with regard to leaf-segment width, but also in blooming time and ecology. Chromosome numbers ofn = 18, 36, and 54 were frequently encountered in our preliminary investigations ofA. dumosa. Fifty-six chromosome number determinations have now accumulated for this taxon, and these additional counts confirm the existence of three major chromosome races withinA. dumosa. Diploids generally occur throughout the range of the species; hexaploids tend to be confined to the deserts of California; and tetraploids occur through most of the range of the species, with the exception of southern Baja California and Owens Valley, California. External morphology was found to be correlated with chromosome number only locally, but even in many local areas, morphological intergradation occurs between different chromosome races. It is therefore considered impractical to attempt a formal taxonomy which would recognize these chromosomal races.
An Efficient Acceleration of Symmetric Key Cryptography Using General Purpose Graphics Processing Unit

Graphics Processing Units (GPU) have been the extensive research topic in recent years and have been successfully applied to general purpose applications other than computer graphical area. The nVidia CUDA programming model provides a straightforward means of describing inherently parallel computations. In this paper, we present a study of the efficiency of emerging technology in applying General Purpose Graphics Processing Units (GPGPU) in high performance symmetric key cryptographic solutions. We implemented symmetric key cryptography algorithm using the novel CUDA platform on nVidia Geforce 280 GTX and compared its performance with an optimized CPU implementation on a high-end AMD Opteron Dual Core CPU. Our experimental results show that GPGPU can perform as an efficient cryptographic accelerator and the developed GPU based implementation achieve a significant performance improvement over CPU based implementation and the maximum observed speedups are about 100 times.
The role of scatter in determining the radiative properties of surfaces

Abstract The efficiency of devices using solar energy as a source of heat and the temperature control of units subject to solar irradiation are strongly dependent on the emissivities and absorptivities of the exposed surfaces. In this paper a fundamental study of the effect of scatter on the radiative properties of surfaces is reported. Experimental values of the directional reflectance of well-defined particulate layers are presented. Reflectances calculated using various theoretical models are compared with the experimental values.
Pioneer Venus Occultation Radio Science Data Generation

Previous to the Pioneer Venus Orbiter mission, occultation radio science data were generated at the Deep Space Stations of NASA's Deep Space Network via the analog recording of the baseband frequency output signal of a relatively wide bandwidth open-loop receiver. Signal digitization was a separate and subsequent operation at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. During Pioneer Venus Orbiter radio science operations, the open-loop receiver baseband frequency output signal bandwidth was substantially reduced. This was made possible by programming the open-loop receiver first local oscillator with the predicted Doppler frequency profile. In addition, the receiver output signal was digitized and recorded directly on computer compatible magnetic tape in real time. Initial results obtained with this new process, referred to as ?real-time bandwidth reduction,? during the prime Pioneer Venus Orbiter mission, compare very favorably to results obtained with the previous occultation system.
Interactions between lysergic acid diethylamide and dopamine-sensitive adenylate cyclase systems in rat brain.

Investigations were carried out on the interactions of the hallucinogenic drug, D-lysergic acid diethylamide (D-LSD), and other serotonin antagonists with catecholamine-sensitive adenylate cyclase systems in cell-free preparations from different regions of rat brain. In equimolar concentration, D-LSD, 2-brono-D-lysergic acid diethylamide (BOL), or methysergide (UML) strongly blocked maximal stimulation of adenylate cyclase activity by either norepinephrine or dopamine in particulate preparations from cerebral cortices of young adult rats. D-LSD also eliminated the stimulation of adenylate cyclase activity of equimolar concentrations of norepinephrine or dopamine in particulate preparations from rat hippocampus. The effects of this hallucinogenic agent on adenylate cyclase activity were most striking in particulate preparations from corpus striatum. Thus, in 10 muM concentration, D-LSD not only completely eradicated the response to 10 muM dopamine in these preparations but also consistently stimulated adenylate cyclase activity. L-LSD (80 muM) was without effect. Significant activation of striatal adenylate cyclase was produced by 0.1 muM D-LSD. Activation of striatal adenylate cyclase of either D-LSD or dopamine was strongly blocked by the dopamine-blocking agents trifluoperazine, thioridazine, chlorpromazine, and haloperidol. The stimulatory effects of D-LSD and dopamine were also inhibited by the serotonin-blocking agents, BOL, 1-methyl-D-lysergic acid diethylamide (MLD), and cyproheptadine, but not by the beta-adrenergic-blocking agent, propranolol. However, these serotonin antagonists by themselves were incapable of stimulating adenylate cyclase activity in the striatal preparations. Several other hallucinogens, which were structurally related to serotonin, were also inactive in this regard, e.g., mescaline, N,N-dimethyltryptamine, psilocin and bufotenine. Serotonin itself produced a small stimulation of adenylate cyclase activity in striatal preparations and, in relatively high concentration (100 muM), partially blocked the activation by 10 muM dopamine, but was without effect on the stimulation by 10 muM D-LSD. The present results indicate that serotonin antagonists, in general, are potent inhibitors of catecholamine-induced stimulation of adenylate cyclase systems in brain cell-free preparations. In addition, these results, coupled with earlier findings on the capacity of D-LSD to interact with serotonin-sensitive adenylate cyclase systems from rat brain23,24 and other neural systems16, strongly suggest that this hallucinogenic agent is capable of acting as an agonist at central dopamine and serotonin receptors, as well as functioning as an antagonist at dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin receptors in the brain.
Infrared photodissociation spectroscopy of small Fe+–(CO2)n and Fe+–(CO2)nAr clusters

Abstract Infrared photodissociation spectra of mass-selected Fe + –(CO 2 ) n and Fe + –(CO 2 ) n Ar clusters are reported. Under low power conditions, Fe + –(CO 2 ) n clusters evaporate one CO 2 molecule, while at higher fluence multiphoton absorption leads to the loss of multiple ligands. Photodissociation spectra show a blue-shift of the CO 2 asymmetric stretch within the complexes which decreases with cluster size. Fe + –(CO 2 ) n Ar clusters fragment by the loss of argon. Their spectra appear at the same frequencies as those for the corresponding pure Fe + –(CO 2 ) n clusters, but with significantly narrower linewidths. The IR bands observed suggest specific structures for each of these complexes.
Use of a Directional Spray System Design to Control Respirable Dust and Face Gas Concentrations Around a Continuous Mining Machine

A laboratory study assessed the impacts of water spray pressure, face ventilation quantity, and line brattice setback distance on respirable dust and SF6 tracer gas concentrations around a continuous mining machine using a sprayfan or directional spray system. Dust levels were measured at locations representing the mining machine operator and the standard and off-standard shuttle car operators, and in the return airway. The results showed that changes in all three independent variables significantly affected log-transformed dust levels at the three operator sampling locations. Changes in setback distance impacted return airway dust levels. Laboratory testing also identified numerous variable interactions affecting dust levels. Tracer gas levels were measured on the left and right sides of the cutting drum and in the return. Untransformed gas levels around the cutting drum were significantly affected by changes in water pressure, face ventilation quantity, and setback distance. Only a few interactions were...
SYNTHETIC FUELS DERIVED FROM COAL FOR MARINE APPLICATIONS

This paper presents a summary of work which is being conducted in the United States in the area of synthetic fuels derived from coal for marine applications, and also gives an overview of the current supply and demand for oil fuels and defines the impact of this picture on the future fuel needs of the maritime and naval communities.Copyright © 1978 by ASME
Fiber optic pressure and temperature sensors for oil down hole application

Detailed studies on fiber optic pressure and temperature sensors for oil down-hole applications are described in this paper. The sensor head is an interferometric based fiber optic senor in which the air-gap will change with the pressure or temperature. For high-speed applications, a novel self-calibrating interferometric/intensity-based (SCIIB) scheme, which realizes compensations for both the light source drift and the fiber loss variation, was used to demodulate the pressure (or temperature) signals. An improved white light system was developed for sensor fabrication. This system is also used as the signal demodulation system providing very high resolution. Experiment results show that the SCIIB system achieves 0.1% accuracy with a 0-8000psi working range for the pressure sensor and a 0-600 degree(s)C working range for the temperature sensor. The resolution of the white light system is about +/- 0.5 nm with a dynamic range up to 10 micrometers. The long -term testing results in the oil site are also presented in this paper.© (2002) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Molecular diffusion effects in LES of a piloted methane–air flame

Abstract Molecular diffusion effects in LES of a piloted methane–air (Sandia D) flame are investigated on a series of grids with progressively increased resolution. The reacting density, temperature and chemical composition are modeled based on the mixture fraction approach combined with a steady flamelet model. With a rationale to minimize interpolation uncertainties that are routinely introduced by a flamelet table look-up, quadratic splines relationships are employed to represent thermochemical variables. The role of molecular diffusivity in effecting spatial transport is studied by drawing a comparison with the turbulent diffusivity and analyzing their statistics conditioned on temperature. Statistical results demonstrate that the molecular diffusivity in the near-field almost always exceeds the turbulent diffusivity, except at low temperatures (less than 500 K). Thus, by altering the jet near-field, molecular transport plays an important role in the further downstream jet development. Molecular diffusivity continues to dominate in the centerline region throughout the flow field. Overall, the results suggest the strong necessity to represent molecular transport accurately in LES studies of turbulent reacting flows.
VC-Dimension and Rademacher Averages: From Statistical Learning Theory to Sampling Algorithms

Rademacher Averages and the Vapnik-Chervonenkis dimension are fundamental concepts from statistical learning theory. They allow to study simultaneous deviation bounds of empirical averages from their expectations for classes of functions, by considering properties of the functions, of their domain (the dataset), and of the sampling process. In this tutorial, we survey the use of Rademacher Averages and the VC-dimension in sampling-based algorithms for graph analysis and pattern mining. We start from their theoretical foundations at the core of machine learning, then show a generic recipe for formulating data mining problems in a way that allows to use these concepts in efficient randomized algorithms for those problems. Finally, we show examples of the application of the recipe to graph problems (connectivity, shortest paths, betweenness centrality) and pattern mining. Our goal is to expose the usefulness of these techniques for the data mining researcher, and to encourage research in the area.
The preparation of selected benzopyrano[3,4‐b]pyrazoles by the condensation of c(α), n‐dilithiocarboalkoxyhydrazones and salicylate esters

Selected C(α),N-dilithiocarboalkoxyhydrazones were prepared in an excess of lithium diisopropylamide (LDA) and condensed with a variety of salicylate esters to give intermediates that were acid-cyclized to benzopyrano[3,4-b]pyrazoles (coumarin-pyrazoles).
A GENERAL PROGRAM FOR ITEM‐RESPONSE ANALYSIS THAT EMPLOYS THE STABILIZED NEWTON–RAPHSON ALGORITHM

A general program for item-response analysis is described that uses the stabilized Newton—Raphson algorithm. This program is written to be compliant with Fortran 2003 standards and is sufficiently general to handle independent variables, multidimensional ability parameters, and matrix sampling. The ability variables may be either polytomous or multivariate normal. Items may be dichotomous or polytomous.
CLIMAP SSTs re-revisited

Since the 1976 publication of the CLIMAP ice age sea surface temperature (SST) reconstruction showing a 1–2 ∘C tropical cooling a substantial debate has arisen as to whether tropical SSTs may instead have been 4–5∘ colder than present. Herein I review the arguments for large SST variations and question a number of key findings, particularly the validity of ice-age coral SST estimates and “down-projecting” tropical snowline changes to the surface. GCM results indicate that an intermediate solution requiring ∼2.5 ∘C warm pool cooling is consistent with most quantitative low elevation surface land data and is small enough to allow the persistence of tropical biota in the ocean during glacial times. The proposal reduces estimated ice-age climate sensitivity (for a doubling of CO2) from a “high-end” sensitivity of about 4.5 ∘C (for a 5–6 ∘C tropical cooling) to a “mid-range” sensitivity of about 3.0 ∘C for a 2.5 ∘C warm-pool decrease.
SACRAL NEUROMODULATION IN THE TREATMENT OF URGENCY-FREQUENCY SYMPTOMS: A MULTICENTER STUDY ON EFFICACY AND SAFETY

Purpose: Neuromodulation of sacral nerves has shown promising results in correcting voiding dysfunction. We report the results of a multicenter trial designed to assess the efficacy of sacral nerve neuromodulation in patients presenting with refractory urinary urgency-frequency.Materials and Methods: A total of 51 patients from 12 centers underwent baseline assessment, including a detailed voiding diary, urodynamic evaluation and percutaneous test stimulation of the sacral nerves at S3 and/or S4. All patients enrolled in the study had undergone prior conventional treatment, such as pharmacotherapy, hydrodistention and surgical intervention, which failed. All patients demonstrated a satisfactory response to trial stimulation and were randomly divided into a stimulation group (25 patients) and a control group (26). A sacral nerve stimulation device was implanted after 6 months in the control group. Patients were followed at 1, 3 and 6 months, and at 6-month intervals for up to 2 years after implantation of ...
The effect of particles on wall turbulence

Abstract The effect of a dilute suspension, of near neutral-density particles, on the wall turbulence in a horizontal channel was investigated by means of a laser Doppler anemomentry and flow visualization. We found that the particles increase the period between bursts. However, due to the mixing effect of the particles and effects similar to a rough wall, the overall Reynolds stress increases somewhat near the wall. Furthermore, because of increased Reynolds stress levels within the bursts, the fraction of the Reynolds stress in the bursts remains at about the same value (∼85%) as for flows without particles. Quadrant analysis of the Reynolds stress data indicates that particles increase sweep activity near the wall, i.e. in the region ≤10 wall units. All this results in increased wall normal velocity fluctuations in the viscous sublayer that may significantly impact heat and mass transfer rates. Estimates based on the data indicate an increase of ∼18% in heat transfer rates with only 5% increase in wall friction.