cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Visualizing monolayers with a water-soluble fluorophore to quantify adsorption, desorption, and the double layer

Contrast in confocal microscopy of phase-separated monolayers at the air–water interface can be generated by the selective adsorption of water-soluble fluorescent dyes to disordered monolayer phases. Optical sectioning minimizes the fluorescence signal from the subphase, whereas convolution of the measured point spread function with a simple box model of the interface provides quantitative assessment of the excess dye concentration associated with the monolayer. Coexisting liquid-expanded, liquid-condensed, and gas phases could be visualized due to differential dye adsorption in the liquid-expanded and gas phases. Dye preferentially adsorbed to the liquid-disordered phase during immiscible liquid–liquid phase coexistence, and the contrast persisted through the critical point as shown by characteristic circle-to-stripe shape transitions. The measured dye concentration in the disordered phase depended on the phase composition and surface pressure, and the dye was expelled from the film at the end of coexistence. The excess concentration of a cationic dye within the double layer adjacent to an anionic phospholipid monolayer was quantified as a function of subphase ionic strength, and the changes in measured excess agreed with those predicted by the mean-field Gouy–Chapman equations. This provided a rapid and noninvasive optical method of measuring the fractional dissociation of lipid headgroups and the monolayer surface potential.
Intraosseous infusion : a re-discovered procedure as an alternative for pediatric vascular access

The intraosseous infusion has numerous advantages over other techniques that provide vascular access during emergencies. It is a rapid and safe alternate route for fluid and certain drug administration in the infant or child. Few contra-indications or restrictions exist and the success rate for the technique is very high, even when performed by paramedical personnel, and the rate of complications is very low. At this time the technique should be reserved for children in crisis such as cardiac arrest, shock, trauma, life threatening status epilepticus, or any situation in which the potential benefit of rapid venous access outweights the low incidence of complication. Intraosseous infusion is intended only for emergency resuscitation and stabilization, after which another route of vascular access should be sought. The technique may offer even more promise for those who rarely care for critically ill children, because this skill is easily mastered with even limited opportunity for pratice.
Detection of antibodies to cell surface antigens by a simplified cellular ELISA (CELISA).

An improved method for screening human hybridoma antibodies to cell surface antigens is described. The following modifications have been developed: (1) rapid expansion of desired screening cell types by EBV transformation; (2) use of only 5 × 104 cells/well; (3) elimination of the need for glutaraldehyde fixation; (4) elimination of the requirement for PLL to attach cells to microplates; (5) preparation of a large number of plates which can be stored at 4° for 3 months; (6) Protein A-peroxidase ELISA assay yielding excellent replicates, low background “noise”, and high OD readings for positive wells. The techniques we have developed should greatly simplify and shorten the assay procedures for detecting human antibodies to a variety of cell surface antigens.
An electron‐ and light‐microscope study of sinus structure in perfused rabbit and dog spleens

The removal of blood cells by low-pressure perfusion produced well-delineated views of the sinus wall in rabbit and dog spleens. The sinus wall contained three elements: an inner layer of sinus cells, an intermediate layer of basement membrane, and an outer layer of cord-limiting cells. Sinus and cord-limiting cells, apparently similar to each other in cytoplasmic detail, appeared to be reticular cells that possessed only a limited capacity for phagocytosis of gold particles. Apertures in the sinus wall enabled blood cells to pass through the wall. Many apertures in perfused spleen contained no cells and yet remained patent. Sinus cells often were contiguous and commonly did not alternate with apertures. However, sinus-cell interdigitation was slight, and evidence for tight junctions and desmosomes between sinus cells was inconclusive.
Rise in late onset vitamin K deficiency bleeding in young infants because of omission or refusal of prophylaxis at birth.

Background Newborns are at risk for vitamin K deficiency and subsequent bleeding unless supplemented at birth. Vitamin K deficiency bleeding is an acquired coagulopathy in newborn infants because of accumulation of inactive vitamin K-dependent coagulation factors, which leads to an increased bleeding tendency. Supplementation of vitamin K at birth has been recommended in the United States since 1961 and successfully reduced the risk of major bleeding. Refusal or omission of vitamin K prophylaxis is increasing and puts newborn infants at risk for life-threatening bleeding. Patients Over an eight month period, we encountered seven infants with confirmed vitamin K deficiency; five of these patients developed vitamin K deficiency bleeding. Results The mean age of the seven infants with vitamin K deficiency was 10.3 weeks (range, 7-20 weeks); manifestations ranged from overt bleeding to vomiting, poor feeding, and lethargy. None of the infants had received vitamin K at birth, and all were found to have profound derangement of coagulation parameters, which corrected rapidly with administration of vitamin K in IV or intramuscular form. Four of the seven infants had intracranial hemorrhage; two of these infants required urgent neurosurgical intervention. Conclusion Supplementation of vitamin K at birth for all newborns prevents major hemorrhagic complications, such as intracranial bleeding, due to vitamin K deficiency. Parental refusal of vitamin K is increasingly common. It is critical that health care providers and the public be made aware of the varied presentation of this preventable acquired coagulopathy.
Defining the air sparging radius of influence for groundwater remediation

A theoretical study of air sparging for the removal of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from groundwater is presented. A simple relationship is developed between the observed subsurface pressure increase due to sparging and the gas saturation at that location, thus providing a quantitative measure of the sparging radius of influence. Multiphase numerical simulations using a radially symmetric cylindrical geometry are used to confirm this relation, and to relate the injected gas radius of influence to the zone of VOC cleanup during sparging. These simulations also illustrate the transient and steady-state behavior of air sparging systems in both homogeneous and heterogeneous systems.
Age-related calcium changes, oxyradical damage, caspase activation and nuclear condensation in hippocampal neurons in response to glutamate and beta-amyloid.

Abstract Neuronal degeneration increases with age in response to stressors, but the sub-cellular mechanism is unknown, partly because of previous difficulty in studying aged neurons in isolation. We studied the mechanism of enhanced neuronal susceptibility to glutamate and β-amyloid in terms of condensed nuclei and other upstream events in hippocampal neurons cultured from old rats (24 months) compared to middle-age (10 months) and embryonic rats. Treatment of neurons from old animals with β-amyloid (or glutamate) produced condensed nuclei 1.5× (2×) more frequently than middle-age and 3× (4×) more frequently than embryonic neurons. In addition to age-related baseline levels of caspase activation, neurons from old animals showed a 50% greater increase in caspase activation compared to middle-age and embryonic neurons. In contrast to glutamate treatment, β-amyloid caused oxyradical damage as protein carbonyls increased 2-fold higher for old neurons than middle-age and 10-fold higher than embryonic neurons. Contrary to expectations, steady-state calcium levels for adult neurons did not increase in response to β-amyloid. Overall, these results suggest that aged neurons have an inherent increased susceptibility to β-amyloid toxicity through an early action of oxyradicals followed by caspase activation and nuclear condensation, a common pathway of apoptosis. Age-related glutamate toxicity involves other steps that lead to nuclear condensation, but neuron responses to calcium influx appear more important to cell death than the amount of influx.
Surgical complications following liver transplantation in patients with portal vein thrombosis--a single-center perspective.

Introduction Portal vein thrombosis (PVT) was once considered a contraindication for liver transplantation (LTx) because of technical difficulties. Though no longer a contraindication, it remains a risk factor. Aim A study of surgical complications following LTx in patients with and without PVT. Patients and methods A retrospective review of 1,171 consecutive patients who underwent LTx between June 1995 and June 2007 was performed, and 78 recipients with PVT (study group) were compared with a stratified random sample of 78 contemporous recipients without PVT (control group) for postoperative complications. Both groups were comparable with respect to age, sex, race, and other confounding variables. Results The rate of primary nonfunction (PNF) in the study and control groups was 9.0% and 1.3%, (p=0.063), while that of retransplantation was 17.9% and 7.7% (p=0.055), respectively. The mean donor risk index (DRI) among the patients with and without PNF in the study group was 2.58±0.44 and 2.08±0.42, respectively (p=0.014). A significantly higher number of packed red blood cells and fresh frozen plasma transfusions were observed in study group compared to controls (p=0.012, 0.007, respectively). Conclusion A higher rate of PNF was related to the complexity of the surgical procedure and the use of donor livers with a high DRI. Higher rates of PNF eventually led to a higher rate of retransplant. A strategy of offering donor livers with a low DRI might be helpful in decreasing the rate of PNF. Further, a PV interposition graft in difficult cases instead of thrombectomy could lead to a lower rethrombosis rate.
Squamous carcinoma of the foot arising in association with long-standing verrucous hyperplasia in a patient with congenital lymphedema

A patient is reported with congenital lymphedema who developed a squamous cell carcinoma on his affected foot. Parallels are drawn between the development of a squamous cell carcinoma with condylomatous and spindle cell features arising in a setting of long-standing verrucous hyperplasia, as seen in this patient, and the well-recognized phenomenon of angiosarcoma occurring in areas of lymphangiomatous proliferation in patients with chronic lymphedema. The importance of a random genetic mutation occurring in hyperplastic tissue in an immunologically privileged site is discussed. Additional consideration is given, in the current case, to the possibility of viral oncogenesis and the role of ulceration as a promoter factor.
Inhibition of growth of MDA-MB-468 estrogen-independent human breast carcinoma by bombesin/gastrin-releasing peptide antagonists RC-3095 and RC-3940-II.

BACKGROUND The growth of breast carcinoma is promoted by autocrine growth factors such as the bombesin (BN)-like peptides and epidermal growth factor (EGF). The stimulatory action of BN-like peptides can be blocked by the use of BN/gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP) antagonists. METHODS The authors investigated the effects of synthetic BN/GRP antagonists RC-3095 and RC-3940-II on tumor growth and the expression of mRNA for EGF receptors and three BN receptor subtypes in MDA-MB-468 human breast carcinoma. Athymic nude mice with xenografts of MDA-MB-468 human breast carcinoma were injected subcutaneously for 6 weeks with RC-3940-II at doses of 20 or 40 μg/day. In another study, the effects of RC-3940-II and RC-3095 were compared. RESULTS RC-3940-II caused a significant and dose-dependent growth inhibition of MDA-MB-468 tumors in nude mice; therapy with either dose of RC-3940-II significantly (P 50% of all tumors. One of 3 tumors treated with 20 μg of RC-3940-II and 3 of 5 tumors treated with 40 μg were found to have regressed completely by the end of the study. When RC-3940-II and RC-3095 were compared at the dose of 20 μg/day, both powerfully suppressed growth of MDA-MB-468 tumors, with RC-3940-II causing a complete regression of 2 tumors and RC-3095 a complete regression of 1 tumor. Receptor analyses of untreated MDA-MB-468 tumors revealed an overexpression of EGF receptors and two classes of binding sites for BN/GRP. mRNAs for receptors of GRP, neuromedin B, and BN receptor subtype-3 were detected by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. CONCLUSIONS A virtual arrest of growth or regression of MDA-MB-468 human breast carcinoma after therapy with RC-3940-II and RC-3095 indicates that these BN/GRP antagonists could provide a new treatment modality for breast tumors expressing BN and EGF receptors. Cancer 2000;88:1384–92. © 2000 American Cancer Society.
Analysis of π + p Elastic Scattering from 2.74 to 4.0 GeV/ c at All Angles

We analyze ${\ensuremath{\pi}}^{+}p$ elastic scattering in terms of $s$-channel helicity amplitudes. We demonstrate that the data are consistent at all angles with the picture of scattering from an interaction region of radius 0.8 F, with special edge effects accounting for backward scattering.
Extended x-ray-absorption fine structure of liquid water.

Extended x-ray-absorption fine structure (EXAFS) of liquid water above the oxygen K edge is reported for the first time. Major features of the EXAFS spectrum agree with the calculated spectrum based on the known O-O pair correlation function in water. Other features are tentatively identified as due to the effect of the hydrogen atoms on the photoelectrons.
Why some people loaf in groups while others loaf alone

This article discusses research that examined the concept of social loafing. The author defines social loafing as a situation in which a person is placed in a group and removed from individual accountability. The study was conducted by P. Christopher Earley of the University of California at Irvine. The author discusses some of Earley's findings which suggests that managers from different societies that are considered more collectivistic than Americans do not necessarily work better in groups than Americans, who are largely considered to be individualistic. The managers from collectivistic societies did; however, perform more poorly were assigned tasks to complete on their own. The study was addressed some of the implications of incentive systems for decreasing social loafing.
Students’ job satisfaction in a therapeutic recreation service learning project

Abstract Service learning in higher education links college campuses with the community using unique engagement opportunities. The purpose of this case study was to: (a) measure student job satisfaction in the hands on portion of a service learning course that links course work with a week-long outdoor therapeutic recreation camp and (b) determine whether the satisfaction in the work experience at the camp influences future involvement in similar activities. The study employed Spector׳s Job Satisfaction Scale and found that students were satisfied with the work experience and the nature of the work was a predictor of future service learning involvement.
CONSEQUENCES OF SPATIAL SAMPLING FOR HUMAN MOTION PERCEPTION

This paper describes evidence for spatial aliasing in human motion perception. For a certain range of spatial frequencies, interference fringes drifting across the extrafoveal retina resemble two-dimensional spatial noise drifting in the opposite direction. For retinal locations within 10 deg of the fovea, the perceived direction of motion is veridical up to spatial frequencies near the cone Nyquist frequency, reverses between one and two times the cone Nyquist frequency, and sometimes reverses back to the correct direction at still higher frequencies. Thus two "motion nulls", or spatial frequencies at which the direction of motion is ambiguous, are typically observed at each retinal eccentricity. A computational model is described in which sinusoidal gratings are sampled by a cone mosaic and the direction of motion of the filtered output is computed. The model predicts that the second motion null, but not the first, should be relatively immune to postreceptoral processing and should roughly equal twice the cone Nyquist frequency. This prediction is confirmed by psychophysical experiments, providing a new technique to estimate cone spacing in the living human eye.
Excess noise in cooled L-band HEMT amplifiers

Measurements of the noise temperature of a cooled 1–2 GHz HEMT amplifier show excess low frequency noise with several different HEMT devices. The noise appears to be generated in the devices and there is no correlation between the room temperature noise performance and the excess noise observed at 15K. Illuminating the devices does not decrease the excess noise. The effect may be important in determining the optimum first IF frequency for millimetre-wave receiver systems.
Race-specific association of lipoprotein(a) with vascular access interventions in hemodialysis patients: The CHOICE Study

Race-specific association of lipoprotein(a) with vascular access interventions in hemodialysis patients: The CHOICE Study. Background Elevated serum levels of lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] and low molecular weight apolipoprotein(a) [apo(a)] isoforms are associated with atherothrombotic disease in the general population and in patients with kidney failure. Lp(a) may be more atherothrombotic in whites than in blacks. Data on the relation of Lp(a) and apo(a) isoform size to hemodialysis vascular access complications are limited. Methods We analyzed the intervention-free survival of the first arteriovenous (AV) access among 215 white and 112 black incident hemodialysis patients participating in the CHOICE Study, a national multicenter prospective cohort study. Results Median levels of Lp(a) protein were higher among blacks than whites (81.0 versus 37.5 nmol/L; P r = -0.57; P N = 193) than native fistulae ( N = 134; 1.0 vs. 0.5 interventions per access-year; P N = 161) than others ( N = 166; 0.9 vs. 0.6; P 145 nmol/L) had a significantly higher incidence rate than other blacks (1.4 vs. 0.7; P = 0.04), whereas no association was found in whites. The association in blacks remained after adjustment for access type and other characteristics (relative hazard=1.68; 95% confidence interval: 0.98 to 2.86). No association was found with apo(a) isoform size in either race. Conclusions Elevated Lp(a) may be a risk factor for arteriovenous access complications among black hemodialysis patients. Future studies should explore this possibility and be adequately powered to allow race-specific analyses.
Substance Abuser Impulsivity Decreases with a Nine-Month Stay in a Therapeutic Community

Background: Substance abuse continues to be a major public health problem. Keeping substance abusers in treatment is a challenge, and researchers continue to investigate ways to increase retention. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between impulsivity in substance abusers and length of stay in the context of therapeutic community. Methods: The Barratt Impulsiveness Scale– 11 (BIS-11) was used to assess impulsivity in 138 substance abusers at admission and at nine months in a therapeutic community. Results: Impulsivity significantly decreased in subjects who completed nine months in the therapeutic community. Legal stipulation increased length of stay, on average, by three months. On admission, female participants were on average more impulsive than their male counterparts. Conclusion: Impulsivity decreased in subjects who remained in therapeutic community for nine months although self-reported impulsivity at baseline did not seem to be associated with retention. Scientif...
Impact of obsessive-compulsive disorder on quality of life

Background: Although obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has been found to be the 10th leading cause of disability of all medical conditions in the industrialized world, comparatively little is known about psychosocial functioning and quality of life (QOL) in OCD, particularly with regard to their relationship with symptom severity. Method: Quality of life and psychosocial function of 197 adults were assessed as part of a larger intake interview for a 5-year prospective study of OCD course. Two self-report measures (the Quality of Life Enjoyment and the Medical Outcomes Survey 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey) and 2 clinician-rated measures (the Range of Impaired Functioning Tool and the Social and Occupational Functioning Assessment Scale), each with established reliability and validity, were administered. Symptom severity was assessed with the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (YBOCS). Results: Quality of life was significantly impaired compared with published community norms with large effect sizes found for all domains assessed. The correlations (r) between all QOL measures and the YBOCS total score were significant, ranging from 0.40 to 0.77. Correlations between the YBOCS obsessions subscore and QOL measures were higher than those found between the YBOCS compulsions subscore and QOL. Insight as measured by the Brown Assessment of Beliefs Scale was significantly correlated with 5 of the 7 measures, although more modestly than the YBOCS correlations (r = 0.22 to 0.37). Subjects with a YBOCS score of 20 or higher had significant decline in QOL compared with those subjects with YBOCS scores lower than 20. Severity of obsessions and depressive symptoms, as well as marital status, were significant predictors of impairment in QOL. Conclusions: These findings indicate that all aspects of QOL are markedly affected in individuals with OCD and are associated with OCD severity (particularly obsessional severity) and depression severity. Exploratory results suggest that QOL and psychosocial functioning begins to be more significantly affected at YBOCS scores higher than 20. This score might be considered as a threshold criterion for OCD for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition.
Enforcement risk and deterrence: A re-examination

Abstract Empirical measures of the risk of apprehension for alleged criminal offenses have taken two forms: (1) police presence (inputs) and (2) arrest/clearance rates (outputs). Both types of measures have been used in economic research as objective surrogates of the perceived risk of arrest in the minds of criminal offenders. Cameron questions studies reporting evidence of deterrence using clearance rates because of the paucity of evidence in support of a strong link between the amount of police input and the arrest rate. In the present study, evidence is found that certain measures of police input are statistically superior measures of deterrence to measures of police output for certain categories of criminal behavior.
Action execution engages human mirror neuron system more than action observation

The existence of mirror neurons in Macaque monkeys helps to explain many social abilities of primates. Controversy exists, however, over whether human functional brain measures reveal mirror neuron activity. Claims have been made that measures such as electroencephalographic μ suppression reflect a human mirror neuron system such as that seen in monkeys, but more data are needed to support these claims. Here we report significantly greater μ suppression for participants' execution of an action compared with observation of the same action, similar to the pattern seen in monkeys. Current data therefore support the claim that electroencephalographic μ suppression reflects mirror neuron activity in humans.
Multiple-object detection in natural scenes with multiple-view expectation maximization clustering

Mobile robots and robot teams can leverage multiple views of a scene to improve the accuracy of their maps. However non-uniform noise persists even when each sensor's pose is known, and the uncertain correspondence between detections from different views complicates easy "multiple view object detection." We present an algorithm based on expectation/maximization (EM) clustering that permits a principled fusion of the views without requiring an explicit correspondence search. We demonstrate the use of this algorithm to improve mapping performance of robots in simulation and in the field.
Substrate-containing gel electrophoresis: Sensitive detection of amylolytic, nucleolytic, and proteolytic enzymes

Abstract Electrophoresis of hydrolytic enzymes under nondenaturing conditions on acrylamide gels containing the appropriate high-molecular-weight substrates entrapped on the gel has been explored as a general method for sensitive enzyme resolution and detection. Under electrophoresis conditions of optimal enzyme activity, the enzymes may bind tightly to the fixed substrate and can only migrate in the electrophoretic field as the substrate is hydrolyzed. When the gels after electrophoresis in this “binding mode” are stained with substrate-detecting reagents, clear tracks of enzyme migration are observed, and the length of each track is a function of the amount of enzyme present in that track. Multiple forms of a given enzyme activity have not been and are not likely to be observed under these conditions. Under electrophoresis conditions of minimal (or suboptimal) enzyme activity, the enzymes do not bind to the fixed substrate and their mobility in the electrophoretic field does not appear to be significantly affected by the presence of substrate. After electrophoresis in this “nonbinding mode” the gels are incubated under conditions of optimal enzyme activity to allow substrate hydrolysis to take place before they are stained with substrate-detecting reagents, and active enzymes are detected as clear bands. Multiple forms of a given activity which were resolved during electrophoresis in the nonbinding mode are reflected by the presence of individual bands. The substrate-containing gel electrophoresis technique does not appear to be amenable to precise quantification of enzymes. By comparing the length of the clear tracks or the degree of staining of the activity bands for a range of enzyme concentrations, however, it is possible to establish the smallest amount of enzyme that can unequivocally be detected under a given set of conditions; from such studies we estimate that the sensitivity of detection with the substrate-containing gel electrophoresis technique can be orders of magnitude better than that obtained with other methods. The levels of detection observed in the work presented here were about 50 pg for α-amylase run on starch-containing gels, 1 pg to 1 ng for nucleases run on DNA- or RNA-containing gels, and 100 pg to 10 ng for 11 different pure and crude protease preparations run on gels containing heat-denatured bovine serum albumin.
A methodology for correct-by-construction latency insensitive design

In Deep Sub-Micron (DSM) designs, performance will depend critically on the latency of long wires. We propose a new synthesis methodology for synchronous systems that makes the design functionally insensitive to the latency of long wires. Given a synchronous specification of a design, we generate a functionaly equivalent synchronous implementation that can tolerate arbitrary communication latency between latches. By using latches we can break a long wire in short segments which can be traversed while meeting a single clock cycle constraint. The overall goal is to obtain a design that is robust with respect to delays of long wires, in a shorter time by reducing the multiple iterations between logical and physical design, and with performance that is optimized with respect to the speed of the single components of the design. In this paper we describe the details of the proposed methodology as well as report on the latency insensitive design of PDLX, an out-of-order microprocessor with speculative-execution.
A membrane phosphoprotein associated with neural development, axonal regeneration, phospholipid metabolism, and synaptic plasticity

Abstract It has now been shown that a membrane phosphoprotein initially studied independently by several laboratories and given different designations, is in fact the same protein. Thus, the growth-associated proteins, GAP-43 and GAP-48, a phosphoprotein of the growth cone, pp46, a C-kinase substrate related to phosphatidylinositol turnover in synaptic membranes, B-50, and a C-kinase substrate associated with hippocampal long-term potentiation, F1, are identical. This protein may thus play a general role in the formation of synaptic relationships during development or regeneration, and a continuing role in the functional modulation of certain synapses throughout life.
The Natural History of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Guatemala

The natural history of American cutaneous leishmaniasis was studied in Guatemala by analyzing the characteristics of 355 untreated leishmanial lesions, observing the evolution of 57 lesions on persons who received a placebo in treatment trials, and analyzing data from a population-based survey concerning the duration of 82 untreated lesions. Of 25 lesions caused by Leishmania mexicana that were followed prospectively, 22 (88%) completely reepithelialized by a median lesion age of 14 weeks, and 17 (68%) were classified as cured (no residual wound inflammation or reactivation during at least 6 months of follow-up). In contrast, 7 (22%) of 32 lesions caused by Leishmania braziliensis reepithelialized by a median lesion age of 13 weeks, and only 2 (6%) cured. These data demonstrate that the species of Leishmania is the primary determinant of the clinical course and outcome of untreated lesions and underscore the need for field-applicable diagnostic techniques that provide rapid species identification.
Comparison of Raindrop Size Distribution Measurements by Collocated Disdrometers

An impact-type Joss-Waldvogel disdrometer (JWD), a two-dimensional video disdrometer (2DVD), and a laser optical OTT Particle Size and Velocity (PARSIVEL) disdrometer (PD) were used to measure the raindrop size distribution (DSD) over a 6-month period in Huntsville, Alabama. Comparisons indicate event rain totals for all three disdrometers that were in reasonable agreement with a reference rain gauge. In a relative sense, hourly composite DSDs revealed that the JWD was more sensitive to small drops (,1 mm), while the PD appeared to severely underestimate small drops less than 0.76mm in diameter. The JWD and 2DVD measured comparable number concentrations of midsize drops (1-3mm) and large drops (3-5 mm), while the PD tended to measure relatively higher drop concentrations at sizes larger than 2.44mm in diameter. This concentration disparity tended to occur when hourly rain rates and drop counts exceeded 2.5mm/h and 400/min, respectively. Based on interactions with the PD manufacturer, the partially inhomogeneous laser beam is considered the cause of the PD drop count overestimation. PD drop fall speeds followed the expected terminal fall speed relationship quite well, while the 2DVD occasionally measured slower drops for diameters larger than 2.4mm, coinciding with events where wind speeds were greater than 4m/s. The underestimation of small drops by the PD had a pronounced effect on the intercept and shape of parameters of gamma-fitted DSDs, while the overestimation of midsize and larger drops resulted in higher mean values for PD integral rain parameters
The Distribution of Benefits in an Urban Environment: Parks and Libraries in Houston

The research reported here examines the neighborhood distribution of park and library services in Houston. The analysis reveals that inequalities in distribution on the basis of race and wealth are dispersed rather than cumulative. The distribution of park acreage and facilities is equal while the location pattern is skewed in the direction of low income neighborhoods. The distribution of library resources favors upper income neighbor hoods, while the spatial distribution of branch libraries advantages black and other low income areas. Distributional decisions are made on the basis of bureaucratic rules and appear to be little affected by explicit racial and socioeconomic criteria. However, these rules may have distributional consequences.
The morphology of freeze-dried rubidium chloride powder

We have formed powders of a strongly ionic compound, RbCl by freezedrying. Stock solutions, varying from very low concentrations with 4 gm RbCl reagent dissolved in 100 cc water to saturated solutions with 80 gm reagent in 100 cc water, were sprayed into isopentane at -160°C. The droplet size in the spray was varied from relatively large 4-mm diameter droplets to extremely small droplets in an aerosol spray. It was determined that both the concentration of the stock solution and the droplet size affect the average size and the size distribution of the primary particles formed and the way in which these primary particles are bonded together. Unlike the powders of many less ionic compounds that are produced by freeze-drying, the primary particles in these RbCl powders are crystalline rather than amorphous. Analysis with an x-ray diffractometer with a cold stage indicates that crystallization occurs during the freezing cycle rather than during the sublimation period of the freeze-drying process.
Regioselectivity in base-promoted imine formation☆☆☆

Abstract Specific base-solvent combinations control orientation in eliminations from N-chloro-2-ethylpyrrolidine to give substantial proportions of previously-unreported 5-ethyl-l-pyrroline.
Incorporation of corpus-specific semantic information into question answering context

In today's environment of information overload, Question Answering (QA) is a critically important research area for the Semantic Web. In order for humans to make effective use of the expansive information sources available to us, we require automated tools to help us make sense of large amounts of data. Within this framework, Question Context plays an important role. We define Question Context to be an semantic structure that can be used to enrich queries so that the user's information need is better represented. This paper describes the theoretical foundations of a novel approach that uses statistical language modeling techniques to create Question Context and to then integrate it into the Information Retrieval stage of QA. We base our approach on two established language modeling methods - the Aspect Model, which is the basis of Probabilistic Latent Semantic Analysis (PLSA) and Relevance-Based Language Models. Our approach proposes an Aspect-Based Relevance Language Model as the Question Context Model, and our methodology incorporates corpus-specific semantic concepts into the QA process. Words from the most heavily relevant aspects are then incorporated into the query. We present some interesting preliminary qualitative results that show the potential usefulness of the Question Context Model to both the first (IR) and second (Intelligent Information Processing) stages of QA.
The Effect of Acupuncture on Migraine Headache

Twenty-one females and 4 males were referred by physicians (family physician, neurosurgeon, and neurologist). Nine needles were inserted on the charted acupuncture loci and left for 30 minutes and followed for 6 months. Frequency of headaches and duration was reduced 68% and 60%, respectively. Sixty-eight percent of patients were improved enough to stop their use of medication after the treatment. Twelve out of 28 patients were completely well. Common symptoms of migraine headaches such as vomiting, bed rest, absence from work was reduced by 82%.
Advancing information technology at AGU

Since its inception in 1990, AGU's Information Technology Committee has been charged with considering and advising the Union on applications of established and emerging technology to Union activities. The committee has focused its attention on electronic access to AGU information and services, advanced publication technology and ways that AGU can assist members in preparing author-produced manuscripts, considered a new journal to publish numerical methods and algorithms related to geophysical and space sciences, and made recommendations regarding a Union position on the development of the National Research and Educational Network (NREN). Current members of the committee include Ray Walker (chair), Ray Arvidson, Bob Clauer, Jeff Dozier, Bill Emery, Jim Green, Andy Lazarewicz, Russ Merrill, and J. Bernard Minster. The improvement of Kosmos, AGU's electronic communication and information system, is considered by the committee to be of fundamental importance because Kosmos provides basic electronic access to AGU information and products. A Kosmos connection is available through PINET, which is operated by the American Institute of Physics. Using Kosmos on PINET provides access to a variety of data bases, including the AGU membership directory, meetings information, and various geophysical and political news. Connection to PINET may be made through the TCP/IP Internet (pinet.aip.org) or through SPRINTNET. Local access numbers for SPRINTNET can be obtained by calling 800-336-0437. The AGU computer is also now directly connected to the TCP/IP Internet (kosmos.agu.org).
Structure and specificity of a quorum-quenching lactonase (AiiB) from Agrobacterium tumefaciens.

N-Acyl-l-homoserine lactone (AHL) mediated quorum-sensing regulates virulence factor production in a variety of Gram-negative bacteria. Proteins capable of degrading these autoinducers have been called “quorum-quenching” enzymes, can block many quorum-sensing dependent phenotypes, and represent potentially useful reagents for clinical, agricultural, and industrial applications. The most characterized quorum-quenching enzymes to date are the AHL lactonases, which are metalloproteins that belong to the metallo-beta-lactamase superfamily. Here, we report the cloning, heterologous expression, purification, metal content, substrate specificity, and three-dimensional structure of AiiB, an AHL lactonase from Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Much like a homologous AHL lactonase from Bacillus thuringiensis, AiiB appears to be a metal-dependent AHL lactonase with broad specificity. A phosphate dianion is bound to the dinuclear zinc site and the active-site structure suggests specific mechanistic roles for an active site ...
Distributed Manipulation of Flat Objects With Two Airflow Sinks

Distributed manipulation systems induce motions on objects through the application of forces at many points of contact. Current forms of distributed manipulation include multiple mobile robots, vibrating plates, actively controlled arrays of air jets, and planar micro- and macro-mechanical arrays of actuators. The authors have presented a new form of distributed manipulation using passive airflow fields. This paper lays out infrastructure for manipulation algorithms using logarithmic potential fields applicable to passive airflow distributed manipulators. It uses a line-integral form of the lifted force equations, and provides a numerical approach to check the uniqueness of the robust pivot point for given objects in a logarithmic potential field. The numerical method is proved analytically to require a finite resolution to find all robust pivot points. It also proposes a squeeze-like sequential manipulation algorithm to bring an object with a unique robust pivot point to a unique final pose using airflow fields without sensors. The algorithm has been verified by experiments which are conducted for three different starting orientations, and end up with a unique final pose at the end of the manipulation sequence
Machine learning for affective computing

Affective computing (AC) is a unique discipline which includes modeling affect using one or multiple modalities by drawing on techniques from many different fields. AC often deals with problems that are known to be very complex and multi-dimensional, involving different kinds of data (numeric, symbolic, visual etc.). However, with the advancement of machine learning techniques, a lot of those problems are now becoming more tractable. The purpose of this workshop was to engage the machine learning and affective computing communities towards solving problems related to understanding and modeling social affective behaviors. We welcomed participation of researchers from diverse fields, including signal processing and pattern recognition, statistical machine learning, human-computer interaction, human-robot interaction, robotics, conversational agents, experimental psychology, and decision making. There is a need for a set of high standards for recognizing and understanding affect. At the same time, these standards need to take into account that the expectations and validations in this area may be different than in traditional research on machine learning. This should be reflected in the design of machine learning techniques used to tackle these problems. For example, affective data sets are known to be noisy, high dimensional, and incomplete. Classes may overlap. Affective behaviors are often person specific and require temporal modeling with real-time performance. This first edition of the ACII Workshop on Machine Learning for Affective Computing will be a proper venue to invoke such discussions and engage the community towards design and validation of learning techniques for affective computing.
Expression Profiling of Human Donor Lungs to Understand Primary Graft Dysfunction After Lung Transplantation

Lung transplantation is the treatment of choice for end-stage pulmonary diseases. A limited donor supply has resulted in 4,000 patients on the waiting list. Currently, 10-20% of donor organs offered for transplantation are deemed suitable under the selection criteria, of which 15-25% fail due to primary graft dysfunction (PGD). This has spawned efforts to re-examine the current selection criteria as well as search for alternative donor lungs selection criteria. In this study, we attempt to further our understanding of PGD by observing the changes in gene expression across donor lungs that developed PGD versus those that did not. From our analysis, we have obtained differentially expressed transcripts that were involved in signaling, apoptosis and stress-activated pathways. Results also indicate that metallothionein 3 was over expressed in lungs that didn't develop PGD. This is the first such attempt to perform expression profiling of actual human lungs used for transplantation, for the identification of a molecular signature for PGD.
Coordinating the Medical Home With Hospitalist Care

The Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) is an approach to providing comprehensive primary care for children, youth, and adults.1 PCMH facilitates partnerships with individual patients, their personal physicians, and family. In pediatrics, PCMH is usually referred to as the Patient and Family Centered Medical Home, or just the Medical Home (MH). The MH was named over 40 years ago as a way to maintain centralized medical records of children and has evolved over the years to the current concept. The MH should be accessible, continuous, comprehensive, patient- and family-centered, coordinated, compassionate, community-based and culturally effective.2,–,4 The principles of the MH are: 1. Each patient has an ongoing relationship with a personal physician; 2. The personal physician participates in a team of individuals who take responsibility for the ongoing care of that patient; 3. The personal physician is responsible for providing all of the patient’s health care needs or appropriately arranging care with other qualified professionals; 4. The patients’ health care is coordinated across all elements of the health care system (including hospitals) as well as with community-based organizations (schools, mental health centers, etc). Care coordination is one of the key principles of the MH.5 Care coordination tracks ancillary studies, referrals, and transitions in care to ensure completion and document outcomes. Consistent, timely, bidirectional communication is at the heart of care coordination. Such communication includes the primary care MH, the other involved health care professionals, and the patient or family. Knowing the patient and family’s preferences and wishes for care and sharing that information with other caregivers is essential.6 When a child requires hospitalization the child may arrive self-referred, by ambulance, or by referral from the MH. Hospitalization is a significant …
“A Terror to Their Neighbors”: Beliefs About Mental Disorder and Violence in Historical and Cultural Perspective

This tribute to the enduring legacy of Bernard Diamond explores public perceptions of a link between mental disorder and violent behavior. Research on contemporary American beliefs is summarized and compared both to historical accounts of public perceptions in Western cultures and to anthropological investigations of public perceptions in non-Western cultures. The conclusion of these reviews is that the belief that mental disorder bears some moderate association with violent behavior is both historically invariant and culturally universal.
Overview of Urea and Creatinine

Urea, commonly referred to as blood urea nitrogen (BUN) when measured in the blood, is a product of protein metabolism. BUN is considered a non-protein nitrogenous (NPN) waste product. Amino acids derived from the breakdown of protein are deaminated to produce ammonia. Ammonia is then converted to urea via liver enzymes. Therefore, the concentration of urea is dependent on protein intake, the body’s capacity to catabolize protein, and adequate excretion of urea by the renal system. 1 Urea accounts for the majority (up to 80%-90%) of the NPNs excreted by the body. The body’s dependency on the renal system to excrete urea makes it a useful analyte to evaluate renal function. An increase in BUN can be the result of a diet that is high in protein content or decreased renal excretion.
An approach to enhancing mobile applications with situation-awareness capabilities

In ubiquitous computing environments, mobile applications reside in devices that move arbitrarily and communicate with each other through wireless means. They are presented with fast changing situations, such as the location variation, service availability change, and resource fluctuation. Under these circumstances, situation-awareness is a desirable feature for mobile applications. Being situation-aware, a mobile application is capable of detecting situation changes and responding to it on-the-fly without bothering the user all the times. This paper presents an approach to enhancing mobile applications with situation-aware capabilities using middleware service.
John Dewey's “Wholly Original Philosophy” and Its Significance for Museums

John Dewey's lifework was to create a philosophy that encompassed both life-experience and thought. He attempted to construct a philosophical system that incorporated life as it is lived, not in some ideal form. He rejected all dualisms, such as those between thought and action, fine and applied arts, or stimulus and response. An analysis of “experience” (defined as almost synonymous with “culture”) is central to Dewey's writing and leads him to emphasize process, continuity, and development, rather than static, absolute concepts. This paper examines the significance of Dewey's educational views for museum exhibitions and education programs, and his complex definitions of relevant concepts, with special emphasis on his interpretation of “experience.” Dewey's faith in democracy and his moral philosophy require that the value of any educational activity depends on its social consequences as well as its intellectual content, a proposition that is discussed and applied to museums. This argument suggests that exhibitions and programs can strengthen democracy by promoting skills that improve visitors' ability to become critical thinkers and by directly addressing controversial issues, taking the side of social justice and democracy.