cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Patterns of Vocalization Use by Female Red‐winged Blackbirds (Aves: Emberizidae, Icterinae): Variation and Context

Variation within communication systems can be examined at several levels: variation among individual notes, variation in the arrangement of notes, and variation in delivery. Here, variation in the arrangement and delivery of notes used in female red-winged-blackbird vocalizations is described, and this variation is examined for correlations with the context in which the vocalizations were given. Within a vocalization, notes were normally arranged in a series of similar notes. Of the 75 different note arrangements recorded from the population, 12 arrangements accounted for 84 % of vocalizations. Provisional results indicate that the arrangement of notes was influence by the following contexts: 1. The stage of the breeding season; 2. The individual female; 3. The breeding status of the female; 4. Certain female behaviour patterns; 5. Other red-winged-blackbird vocalizations; and 6. The presence or absence of a female's mate in the territory. Variation in delivery was measured by the number of notes within a vocalization; delivery was influenced by the stage of the breeding season, the individual female, and the breeding status of a female. Most note arrangements were used in a wide variety of contexts and did not appear to be functionally distinct.
Risk-based management of solid tumors in children.

Abstract Background: During the past 25 years significant improvements in survival (56% to 75%) have been observed for children with malignant solid tumors. Multidisciplinary cooperative studies using combined therapy (surgery, chemotherapy, and irradiation) have played a major role. This report describes how recognition of biologic and genetic factors has permitted risk categorization and resulted in new treatment protocols that individualize care. Methods: Genetic alterations and biologic factors concerning the multiple endocrine neoplasia syndromes, Wilms’ tumor, and neuroblastoma are described. Results: Using the these data new treatment protocols are designed according to whether a patient is categorized as having a low-, intermediate-, or high-risk tumor, which determines the intensity and type of treatment required. Conclusions: Identification of biologic markers and specific gene alterations may be critical in establishing the behavior of tumors (low versus high-risk). Risk-based management permits individualized care for each patient, maximizes survival, minimizes morbidity, and improves the quality of life.
Antimicrobial Use and Resistance.

As antimicrobial use continues to rise, we are experiencing a concomitant rise in the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance. The precise relationship between use and resistance, however, has been challenging to define. Although the selection pressure exerted by antibiotic therapy appears to be the primary force promoting resistance, it is clear that the pathway to resistance is different for various organisms and antimicrobial agents. By understanding the mechanisms by which resistance emerges and spreads, it should be possible to design intervention strategies to slow or halt the process. This review summarizes some of our current understandings about the development and transmission of antibioticresistant bacteria, some of the control measures designed to interrupt the process, and how mathematical modeling can help us to better understand these complex pathways.
A Multicenter Study of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Usage among ED Patients

Objectives To estimate the prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) usage among emergency department (ED) patients. Methods This study was a cross-sectional study in four Boston-area EDs. For two 24-hour periods, the authors interviewed consecutive patients age 18 and older about whether they had ever used or had recently (within the past year) used CAM "remedies" (e.g., herbal treatments) or "therapies" (e.g., chiropractic). The authors also asked about the patient's disclosure of CAM usage to allopathic health care providers. Results Of 978 patients, 752 patients were eligible. Among these, 539 (72%) were interviewed. Of these patients, ever having used CAM was reported by 57% (95% CI = 52% to 61%), and 37% (95% CI = 33% to 41%) reported use in the past year. In a multivariate model of recent CAM usage, independent predictors were younger age, higher education level, and chronic pain. Patients who spoke Spanish as their primary language were less likely to report CAM usage. Disclosure of CAM usage to allopathic providers was low, yet >80% reported that they would be comfortable discussing their CAM usage with allopathic providers. Conclusions CAM usage was common among ED patients enrolled in our study, despite underreporting to ED staff. Given the growing evidence of benefits and hazards from popular CAM remedies and therapies, ED staff should consider raising this health issue with their patients.
Murine cytomegalovirus protein pM92 is a conserved regulator of viral late gene expression.

In this study, we report that murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) protein pM92 regulates viral late gene expression during virus infection. Previously, we have shown that MCMV protein pM79 and its human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) homologue pUL79 are required for late viral gene transcription. Identification of additional factors involved is critical to dissecting the mechanism of this regulation. Here we showed that pM92 accumulated abundantly at late times of infection in a DNA synthesis-dependent manner and localized to nuclear viral replication compartments. To investigate the role of pM92, we constructed a recombinant virus SM in 92, in which pM92 expression was disrupted by an insertional/frame-shift mutation. During infection, SM in 92 accumulated representative viral immediate early gene products, early gene products, and viral DNA sufficiently but had severe reduction in the accumulation of late gene products, thus unable to produce infectious progeny. Co-immunoprecipitation and mass spectrometry analysis revealed the interactions between pM92 and pM79 as well as between their HCMV homologues pUL92 and pUL79. Importantly, we showed that the growth defect of pUL92-deficient HCMV could be rescued in trans by pM92. This study indicates that pM92 is an additional viral regulator of late gene expression, that these regulators (represented by pM92 and pM79) may need to complex with each other for their activity, and that pM92 and pUL92 share a conserved function in CMV infection. pM92 represents a potential new target for therapeutic intervention in CMV disease, and a gateway into studying a largely uncharted viral process that is critical to the viral life cycle.
Polymeric Scaffolds for Stem Cell Growth

The concept of tissue engineering stems from efforts regarding transplantation, a technique which has roots dating back over 2400 years to the time of Socrates. Realizing the limitations involved with transplantation, including low availability of donor materials and immunological barriers, modern tissue engineers have attempted to create viable tissues in the laboratory through the judicious use of cell culture and the transfer of cultured cells into supporting scaffolds. The aim of this approach remains unchanged from the centuries-old goal of transplantation—to benefit a patient population in need of tissue replacement due to trauma, congenital defect, or disease. Tissues such as bone,[1] cartilage,[2] muscle,[3] nerve,[4] blood vessel,[5] and cornea,[6] among others, all have been under intense investigation for years. As the field of tissue engineering has matured, the target tissues have become more complex, with projects in existence that are aimed at whole organs. Engineered skin is already available in the clinic (Apligraf, from Organogenesis Inc.), and research toward engineered liver,[7] bladder,[8] kidney,[9] and pancreas[10] continues to progress. Although the goals of tissue engineering have progressed into some complex structures that involve dozens or even hundreds of cell types, the fundamental protocols remain the same. Cells must be cultured, and scaffolds must be seeded. It is easy to say that we are going to grow, say, hepatic cells and put them into a three-dimensional scaffold to create an engineered liver, but the details of such an endeavor are elusive even today. Simply finding an acceptable method to culture cells is in itself a significant task. Keeping the cells alive in an incubated culture medium is not enough—if the conditions are not correct then the cells may alter their behaviors by expressing different genes, excreting different signals or
The Design And Implementation Of A Radiology Information System

An evaluation of information flow within the radiology department revealed efficient and accurate techniques for information aquisition but little ability to analyze and disseminate the information. A computer was aquired to replace an obsolete card access system for filing patient x-ray numbers. The computer, while costing about the same as a replacement card system, enabled the acquisition of patient information and its distribution throughout the department. The system was adapted to existing procedures and personnel, causing a minimum of disruption in department operations. The system is capable of billing, reporting and generating statistical reports through the use of simple filing and sorting programs. These programs were developed in-house at a lower cost and have more flexibility than limited packaged programs. Adding an 80 megabyte disk to the system's original three 2.5 megabyte disks and expanding the computer memory to 96K words from 32K, has enabled other departments in the hospital to utilize the system. Other clinical applications in radiation therapy, nuclear medicine and information imaging have been considered. With the increasing utilization of computers in radiology, an understanding of computer capabilities as well as their applications to multiple tasks are important in reducing costs and improving patient care. The development of an in-house system has been a valuable learning experience.© (1979) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Nonlinear interactions in gas-filled photonic band-gap fibers

We discuss recent studies of nonlinear optical processes in gas-filled photonic band-gap fibers. Such fibers can support pulses with intensities of 1013 W/cm2 over distances exceeding 100 meters and thus allow for unexplored regimes of nonlinear optics with gases.
A closer look at the impact of globalization on science education

This paper provides a historical overview of globalisation in order to illustrate how globalisation both shapes and is shaped by external forces. The authors use this perspective to generate a dialogue about the science education project The Case of Sustainability by the Bay, and raise some questions to further the discussion on the impact of globalisation on science education. The paper also discusses the importance of recognizing the historic developments around globalisation in order to understand how changes in the global economy have shaped and continue to shape education through policy regarding funding, curriculum development and implementation, as well as trends in teacher preparation and education. The paper concludes by offering implications for policy makers, researchers, and teacher educators as it relates to science education generally, and globalisation particularly.
Concentration dependence in coherent Raman scattering

We investigate the concentration dependence of the femtosecond coherent anti-stokes Raman scattering (CARS) signals collected from several mixtures of molecules. We demonstrate a clear quadratic dependence of the transmitted CARS signal on the number of molecules of pyridine in water by looking at the Raman signal at 1030 cm−1. Using a backscattering configuration we study the quadratic concentration dependence in solid mixtures of dipicolinic acid, calcite, and gypsum in powder form.
Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri: factors affecting successful eradication of citrus canker.

SUMMARY Taxonomic status: Bacteria, Proteobacteria, gamma subdivision, Xanthomodales, Xanthomonas group, axonopodis DNA homology group, X. axonopodis pv. citri (Hasse) Vauterin et al. Microbiological properties: Gram negative, slender, rod-shaped, aerobic, motile by a single polar flagellum, produces slow growing, non-mucoid colonies in culture, ecologically obligate plant parasite. Host range: Causal agent of Asiatic citrus canker on most Citrus spp. and close relatives of Citrus in the family Rutaceae. Disease symptoms: Distinctively raised, necrotic lesions on fruits, stems and leaves. Epidemiology: Bacteria exude from lesions during wet weather and are disseminated by splash dispersal at short range, windblown rain at medium to long range and human assisted movement at all ranges. Crop loss: Severe infections cause defoliation, blemished fruit, premature fruit drop, die-back of twigs and general debilitation of the tree. Distribution: Citrus canker is not present in all subtropical to tropical regions of citriculture in the world, so considerable regulatory efforts are expended to prevent the introduction and spread of X. axonopodis pv. citri into areas in the Americas, Australia and elsewhere, with climates conducive to the disease. Importance: Limited strategies exist for suppression of citrus canker on more susceptible cultivars. Blemished fruit are unmarketable and exposed fruit are restricted in market access. The economic impact of loss of markets is much greater than that from yield and quality reductions of the crop. Useful websites: http://doacs.state.fl.us/canker , http://www.apsnet.org/education/lessonsplantpath/citruscanker/top.htm , http://www.apsnet.org/online/feature/citruscanker/ , http://www.plantmanagementnetwork.org/pub/php/review/citruscanker/ , http://www.abecitrus.com.br/fundecitrus.html , http://www.biotech.ufl.edu/PlantContainment/canker.htm , http://www.aphis.usda.gov/oa/ccanker/ .
Cultural (Re)production of digital inequality in a US community technology initiative

In the US, community technology centers (CTC) are a policy response to facilitate the diffusion of information and communication technologies (ICT) to citizens who might otherwise lack access to these resources. The implicit assumption guiding CTC initiatives is that access to ICT will improve the life chances of the individuals who become involved in these centers. It is, however, prudent to empirically examine this assumption because the case for community technology interventions is somewhat weakened if the benefits of ICT use fail to accrue to those who are disadvantaged. Informed by Bourdieu's theory of reproduction, this study of a CTC initiative in an inner-city community explores the role of culture in reproducing digital inequality. Digital inequality reflects not only disparities in the structure of access to and use of ICT; it also reflects the ways in which longstanding social inequities shape beliefs and expectations regarding ICT and its impacts on life chances. While this initiative is cons...
Ethnographic methods and interpretive analysis: Expanding the methodological options of psychologists

Abstract This paper focuses on two procedures which, although established in anthropology and sociology, appear particularly well-suited for developmental research due to their ability to embed developmental processes in their historical and socio-cultural contexts; i.e., ethnographic data collection and interpretive analysis. Our aims are to underscore the congruence between the procedures' underlying principles (i.e., rationale, tenets, etc.) and the social constructionist philosophy of science and to contrast these principles with those of quantitative research. The methodological implications of social constructionism are explicated, and ethnographic data collection and interpretive analysis are shown to be effective in meeting these conditions because of the commitments to prolonged engagement, field entry, triangulation of information sources, and negative case analysis. Second, the philosophical underpinnings of interpretive and quantitative research are contrasted in order to underscore the need to evaluate individual studies with the appropriate criteria. Finally, we demonstrate the utility of interpretive procedures for developmental research by reviewing a recent application of these approaches in developmental psychology and by underscoring some of the integrative possibilities between its findings and the findings of others employing quantitative methods. Substantively, this research allowed promising insights into the process of young children's friendships, especially concerning the origins of friendships, conflicts, and children's knowledge of friendship. We hope not only to foster a better understanding of interpretive research among traditionally trained developmentalists, but also to stimulate the development of social constructionism as a research paradigm by explicating some of its methodological requirements and ramifications.
Degradation of GaAs MESFETs in Radiation Environments

The effects of gamma and neutron irradiation on lownoise, GaAs MESFETs are reviewed, with emphasis on microwave amplifier characterisitics. With gamma irradiation, the amplifier noise figure degrades above 107 rads (Si), without change in signal parameters. With neutron irradiation, amplifier gain and noise figure degrade above 1014 n/cm2. With gamma irradiation, unidentified levels are apparently introduced that respond at microwave frequencies. With neutron irradiation, changes are caused principally by carrier compensation in the graded region between the channel and substrate. Device characterization procedures, experimental results, and degradation mechanisms are discussed.
Irradiation-Induced Broadening of the F-Absorption Band in KCl

Earlier workers observed that in the initial stages of room-temperature F-band irradiation of additively-colored, freshly-quenched alkali halide crystals a low energy broadening of the F band appeared. Here this broadening in KCl was measured and similar results for two very different sodium concentrations were obtained. This indicates that sodium F A centers are not responsible for the effect. The “resonance broadening” due to the dipolar interaction of two F centers was calculated. It was found that this mechanism could account for the observed phenomenon if most of the F centers were about 3 nearest neighbors apart, or if 5% of them were about 2 nearest neighbors apart. Published experimental results indicate that in the early stages of irradiation few of the F centers are this close together, although a number as small as 5% is not necessarily ruled out. Other possible explanations of the experimental results are discussed.
The effects of NPY and 5-TG on responding to cues for fats and carbohydrates.

Abstract Previous research has shown that glucoprivic and lipoprivic metabolic challenges selectively augment the performance of appetitive responses conditioned to carbohydrate- and fat-associated cues, respectively (2) . The present experiment investigated whether intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) infusion of neuropeptide Y (NPY) has a similar selective effect on appetitive behavior. We trained rats to associate two different conditioned stimuli (CSs) with two different macronutrient (peanut oil and sucrose pellets) unconditioned stimuli (USs). After training, the rats were food sated and responding to each CS was then tested in extinction. In one test session, the effects of NPY were compared to isotonic saline. A second test compared the effects of these two treatments with i.c.v. infusion of the glucose antimetabolite 5-thio- d -glucose (5-TG). Replicating our earlier result, 5-TG selectively promoted conditioned responding to the CS for sucrose pellets. In contrast, the capacity of NPY to promote appetitive behavior did not depend on the macronutrient that was signaled by the CS. These results suggest that NPY and 5-TG promote appetitive behavior via different mechanisms.
Coordinate space structure in the parton model

Abstract We study the relation between the parton model and light cone analyses for highly inelastic leptonic processes. Results are displayed which follow from scaling laws in general, independently of specific parton model predictions. We conclude that the assumptions of the light cone analysis of inelastic electron scattering are supported by the parton model. However, the parton model matrix element for massive muon pair production is not light-cone dominated, nor does it have the same light cone singularity as inelastic electron scattering.
Spectroelectrochemical Measurements at Colloidal Au Multilayer Optically Transparent Electrodes

Application of thin colloidal Au multilayers on glass substrates as optically transparent electrodes is reported herein. Evaluation of the electrode by scanning electron microscopy and as an optically transparent thin layer electrode (OTTLE) illustrate its use for spectroelectrochemical applications. A spectroelectrochemical Nernst plot acquired for the oxidation of o-tolidine yielded a value of E°=0.605 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) and n=1.88. Both of these values are in excellent agreement with previously published values obtained using a traditional Au minigrid OTTLE. The colloidal Au multilayer electrode is expected to offer many advantages over the minigrid OTTLE in specific applications. These advantages include direct control over microscopic surface topography, large electrochemical surface area, applicability to many different electrode geometries, and increased microscopic surface roughness for SERS and SPR applications.
A Cervical Cancer CD-ROM Intervention for College-Age Women: Lessons Learned from Development and Formative Evaluation

Despite the decline of incidence rates of cervical cancer over the past 50 years, data suggest an increase of precervical cancer among college women. This increase may be the result of the high pre...
Description of a Shock-Wave Velocity Barrier

Summary An analogy can be drawn between the sonic barrier in transonic flight, the thermal barrier in supersonic or hypersonic flight, and the limiting of the detonation process in high explosives.
The extraction and determination of molybdenum as the thiocyanate complex

Abstract A method is presented for the determination of molybdenum by extraction of its thiocyanate complex with methyl isobutyl ketone. The method is accurate to ±4% or 3 μg of molybdenum, whichever is greater. The only elements which cause interference are rhenium (serious), platinum, palladium, rhodium, selenium and tellurium. The method has been applied to a number of standard samples with excellent results.
Cancer Immunotherapy: A Future Paradigm Shift in the Treatment of Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer

Emerging evidence on the role of the antitumor activity of the immune system has generated great interest in immunotherapy even for tumors that were historically considered as nonimmunogenic. Immunotherapy is emerging as a major modality in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treatment focusing on vaccine approaches to elicit specific immune responses and development of inhibitors of the molecular mediators of cancer-induced immunosuppression (immune checkpoints) to boost antitumor immune responses. Amplification of the host response against evolving tumors through vaccination is being investigated in ongoing clinical trials with tumor cell vaccines; however, the clinical efficacy of these agents has been limited. Blocking inhibitory pathways such as the CTL antigen 4 (CTLA-4) and programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) checkpoint pathways with mAbs has generated antitumor immune responses that are transforming cancer therapeutics. PD-1 and programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) antibodies have shown durable responses in NSCLC, with a favorable safety profile and manageable side effects. The activity of immune checkpoint inhibitors is currently been assessed in treatment-naive patients with PD-L1-positive advanced NSCLC. Combinatorial approaches with other immune checkpoint inhibitors, chemotherapy, or targeted agents are being explored in ongoing clinical trials, and may improve outcome in NSCLC.
From a Raised Eyebrow to a Turned Back: The FCC and Children's Product-Related Programming

Structural changes in the broadcasting industry, new ways of financing and distributing programs, aggressive marketing by the toy industry, and, most importantly, the deregulatory climate at the FCC have together created a favorable environment for children's “program-length commercials,” whose primary purpose is to sell toys through, the shows’heroes.
Majority-logic-like decoding of vector symbols

The use of the structure of one-step decodable majority logic codes for enhanced and simplified vector symbol decoding, such as outer code decoding of concatenated codes, is proposed. For J equations checking a particular symbol, the technique to be described almost always corrects the symbol if there are J-1 or fewer symbol errors, and often corrects cases of far more than J symbol errors. Ordinarily, majority level decoding with J equations for a symbol corrects the symbol in all cases where there are up to [J/2] errors. The decoding power is comparable to Reed-Solomon codes, but decoding is simpler than for Reed-Solomon codes.
An open surface integral formulation for electromagnetic scattering by material plates

Using the surface equivalence theorem, four coupled integral equations are developed for electromagnetic scattering by a thin material plate. Using symmetry properties, it is shown that these equations can be written as open surface integral equations. Surface impedance relationships are obtained and used to eliminate two of the four integral equations. The remaining two equations are solved using the method of moments (MM). Numerical results for penetrable and impenetrable material plates are in reasonable agreement with measurements.
What Is the Right Way to Respect Patient Perspectives

Kelley and colleagues' research provides much-needed empirical evidence about patient perspectives on research, but also highlights major challenges in translating descriptive information on patien...
Networks-on-chip: the quest for on-chip fault-tolerant communication

In this paper, we discuss the possibility of achieving on-chip fault-tolerant communication based on a new communication paradigm called stochastic communication. Specifically, for a generic tile-based architecture, we present a randomized algorithm which not only separates computation from communication, but also provides the required fault-tolerance to on-chip failures. This new technique is easy and cheap to implement in SoCs that integrate a large number of communicating IP cores.
Landau’s Inequality for the Differential and Difference Operators

We survey known results on the best constants in Landau’s Inequality relating norms of a function y and its first two derivatives y′, y″ and between a sequence x and Its first two differences Δx, Δ2x. Some of these have been known for decades; others have just recently been found and are not yet published while still others have not been found yet. Extremals are also discussed as well as some related results.
PORT, a CESM tool for the diagnosis of radiative forcing

Abstract. The Parallel Offline Radiative Transfer (PORT) model is a stand-alone tool, driven by model-generated datasets, that can be used for any radiation calculation that the underlying radiative transfer schemes can perform, such as diagnosing radiative forcing. In its present distribution, PORT isolates the radiation code from the Community Atmosphere Model (CAM4) in the Community Earth System Model (CESM1). The current configuration focuses on CAM4 radiation with the constituents as represented in present-day conditions in CESM1, along with their optical properties. PORT includes an implementation of stratospheric temperature adjustment under the assumption of fixed dynamical heating, which is necessary to compute radiative forcing in addition to the more straightforward instantaneous radiative forcing. PORT can be extended to use radiative constituent distributions from other models or model simulations. Ultimately, PORT can be used with various radiative transfer models. As illustrations of the use of PORT, we perform the computation of radiative forcing from doubling of carbon dioxide, from the change of tropospheric ozone concentration from the year 1850 to 2000, and from present-day aerosols. The radiative forcing from tropospheric ozone (with respect to 1850) generated by a collection of model simulations under the Atmospheric Chemistry and Climate Model Intercomparison Project is found to be 0.34 (with an intermodel standard deviation of 0.07) W m−2. Present-day aerosol direct forcing (relative to no aerosols) is found to be −1.3 W m−2.
Science to Practice: Can Macrophage Infiltration Serve as a Surrogate Marker for Stem Cell Viability?

Following in vivo prelabeling of host macrophages with ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles, it was shown that their MR imaging-visible migration into knee implants of scaffolded adipose-derived stem cells undergoing apoptosis can serve as a surrogate marker of stem cell death.
Bile Acid Nephropathy in a Bodybuilder Abusing an Anabolic Androgenic Steroid

Bile acid nephropathy, also known as cholemic nephrosis or nephropathy, is an entity that can be seen in patients with severe cholestatic liver disease. It typically is associated with acute kidney injury (AKI) with various forms of hepatic disease. Most often, patients with severe obstructive jaundice develop this lesion, which is thought to occur due to direct bile acid injury to tubular cells, as well as obstructing bile acid casts. Patients with end-stage liver disease also can develop AKI, in which case a more heterogeneous lesion occurs that includes hepatorenal syndrome and acute tubular injury/necrosis. In this circumstance, acute tubular injury develops from a combination of hemodynamic changes with some contribution from direct bile acid–related tubular toxicity and obstructive bile casts. We present a case of AKI due to bile acid nephropathy in a bodybuilder who developed severe cholestatic liver disease in the setting of anabolic androgenic steroid use.
Neutron Activation of Masked Samples

A nonuniform distribution of a radioactive tracer was produced within a glass specimen by partially masking it with Cd and irradiating it with thermal neutrons. The calculated distribution of the tracer in the given geometry agreed reasonably well with the measured distribution. The latter, in turn, served as the initial condition for a self-diffusion experiment which gave results consistent with previous studies. This technique avoids problems associated with interfaces in conventional diffusion couples.
A mathematical basis for selection of wedge angle and orientation

The treatment plan optimization criterion that dose be homogeneous over an irradiated volume is equivalent to the criterion that the magnitude of the dose gradient be zero throughout that volume. If the dose gradient due to an individual beam is represented by a vector, the dose gradient due to an ensemble of beams is given by the weighted vector sum of the constituent beams’ individual gradients. Given a fixed ensemble of beams, the two ways in which the total dose gradient can be modified are (1) by changes in relative beam weights and/or (2) by changes in the direction and/or magnitude of the dose gradient of one or more of the individual beams. Conventional wedges provide a simple mechanism for altering the dose gradient of a single beam. This paper describes a mathematical basis for the selection of wedge angles, wedge orientations, and relative beam weights, with the goal of producing a field of zero gradient over the volume of beam intersection. The approach is based on 3‐dimensional vector analysis of dose gradients, and is valuable not only for its formalism, but also for the conceptual basis it provides for discussing and solving general wedge selection problems.
USING COPULAS TO MODEL DEPENDENCE IN SIMULATION RISK ASSESSMENT

Typical engineering systems in applications with high failure consequences such as nuclear reactor plants often employ redundancy and diversity of equipment in an effort to lower the probability of failure and therefore risk. However, it has long been recognized that dependencies exist in these redundant and diverse systems. Some dependencies, such as common sources of electrical power, are typically captured in the logic structure of the risk model. Others, usually referred to as intercomponent dependencies, are treated implicitly by introducing one or more statistical parameters into the model. Such common-cause failure models have limitations in a simulation environment. In addition, substantial subjectivity is associated with parameter estimation for these models. This paper describes an approach in which system performance is simulated by drawing samples from the joint distributions of dependent variables. The approach relies on the notion of a copula distribution, a notion which has been employed by the actuarial community for ten years or more, but which has seen only limited application in technological risk assessment. The paper also illustrates how equipment failure data can be used in a Bayesian framework to estimate the parameter values in the copula model. This approach avoids much of the subjectivity required to estimate parameters in traditional common-cause failure models. Simulation examples are presented for failures in time. The open-source software package R is used to perform the simulations. The open-source software package WinBUGS is used to perform the Bayesian inference via Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling.
Otoconia-deficient mice show selective spatial deficits

The vestibular system contributes to the performance of various spatial memory tasks, but few studies have attempted to disambiguate the roles of the semicircular canals and otolith organs in this performance. This study tested the otolithic contribution to spatial working and reference memory by evaluating the performance of otoconia-deficient tilted mice on a radial arm maze and a Barnes maze. One radial arm maze task provided both intramaze and extramaze cues, whereas the other task provided only extramaze cues. The Barnes maze task provided only extramaze cues. On the radial arm maze, tilted mice performed similar to control mice when intramaze cues were available, but committed more working and reference memory errors than control mice when only extramaze cues were available. On the Barnes maze task, control and tilted mice showed similar latency, distance, and errors during acquisition training. On the subsequent probe trial, both groups spent the greatest percentage of time in the goal quadrant, indicating they were able to use extramaze cues to guide their search. Overall, these results suggest signals originating in the otolith organs contribute to spatial memory, but are not necessary for all aspects of spatial performance.
Suboptimal decoding of linear codes: partition technique

General symmetric channels are introduced, and near-maximum-likelihood decoding in these channels is studied. First, we define a class of suboptimal decoding algorithms based on an incomplete search through the code trellis. It is proved that the decoding error probability of suboptimal decoding is bounded above for any q-ary code of length n and code rate r by twice the error probability of its maximum-likelihood decoding and tends to the latter as n grows. Second, we design a suboptimal trellis-like algorithm, which reduces the known decoding complexity of the order of q/sup n min (r,1-r)/ operations to that of q/sup nr(i-r)/ operations for all cyclic codes and virtually all long linear codes. We also consider the corresponding bounds for concatenated codes. An important corollary is that this suboptimal decoding can provide complexity below the lower bounds on trellis complexity at a negligible expense in terms of decoding error probability.
Corneal alanine metabolism demonstrated by NMR spectroscopy.

This study confirms the feasibility of monitoring corneal metabolism of an amino acid using high resolution NMR spectroscopy. Alanine metabolism to lactate was detected in intact, freshly isolated rabbit corneas. Progressively decreasing aianine resonances were noted after 4–5 hours of incubation while increasing amounts of lactate were detected. No similar signal was noted in de-epithelialized tissue.This study demonstrates the ability of corneal epithelium to utilise aianine as a metabolic substrate. This technique may be useful to determine the essential amino acids and their optimal concentrations necessary to maintain corneal viability during storage.
HIV Monoinfection Is Associated With Increased Aspartate Aminotransferase-to-Platelet Ratio Index, a Surrogate Marker for Hepatic Fibrosis

Background. Although liver disease commonly causes morbidity and mortality among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)‐infected individuals, data are limited on its prevalence in HIV monoinfection. We used the aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index (APRI) as a surrogate marker of hepatic fibrosis to characterize liver disease in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study. Methods. Men were categorized based on their HIV and viral hepatitis status: uninfected (n 5 1170), HIV monoinfected (n 5 509), viral hepatitis monoinfected (n 5 74), and HIV‐viral hepatitis coinfected (n 5 66). Results. The median APRI in the HIV-monoinfected group was similar to that in the hepatitis-monoinfected group (0.42 vs 0.43; P . .05), higher than in the uninfected group (0.42 vs 0.27; P , .001) but lower than in the coinfected group (0.42 vs 1.0; P , .001). On multivariable analysis, HIV infection (1.39-fold increase [FI]; P , .001), viral hepatitis infection (1.52-FI; P , .001), and the interaction between HIV and viral hepatitis infections were independently associated with a higher APRI (1.57-FI; P , .001). Among the HIV-infected men, viral hepatitis coinfection (2.34-FI; P , .001), HIV RNA $100 000 copies/mL (1.26-FI; P 5 .007), and CD4 count #200 cells/mL (1.23-FI; P 5 .022) were independently associated with a higher APRI. Conclusions. HIV and viral hepatitis are independently associated with an increased APRI. Further studies are needed to understand the biological basis for the association between HIV and liver disease.
Economistic and Humanistic Narratives of Leadership in the Age of Globality - Towards a Renewed Darwinian Theory of Leadership

Drawing on insights from evolutionary psychology and modern neuroscience, this paper highlights propositions about human nature that have far reaching consequences, when applied to leadership. We specifically examine the main factors of human survival and extend them to a model for leadership in the 21st century. The discussion concludes with an outlook on the organizational and structural condition that would allow for better and more balanced leadership.
A developmental psychopathology perspective on child and adolescent treatment policy

This article considers the implications of theory and research in developmental psychopathology for existing and emerging social policy concerning treatment of child and adolescent psychopathology. Based on the concept that all psychopathology is a process, four core principles of a developmental psychopathology perspective are discussed. In turn, each is applied to an evaluation of policy issues with implications for intervention, including mental health parity, treatment guidelines, mental health reimbursement, and level of intervention. It is concluded that social policy on treatment must be based on an empirically supported theory of developmental psychopathology and on evidence-based interventions that link treatments to pathogenic processes.
Calibration of Quality-Adjusted Life Years for Oncology Clinical Trials

Context Quality-adjusted life year (QALY) estimation is a well-known but little used technique to compare survival adjusted for complications. Lack of calibration and interpretation guidance hinders implementation of QALY analyses.
Shear stress activation of the glucocorticoid receptor transcription pathway

Summary form only given. Steroid hormones have profound physiological effects, controlling the transcription of genes involved in areas such as development, differentiation, metabolism, and reproduction. This study focuses on interactions between shear stress-induced and hormone-induced transcription pathways. Specifically, the present study tests the hypothesis that steady laminar shear stress activates the glucocorticoid receptor signaling pathway in endothelial cells. A functional chimeric protein of the green fluorescent protein (GFP) and the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) is used to track translocation of the receptors in cells. In both bovine aortic endothelial (BAEC) and 3T3 fibroblast cells, shear stress at 10 and 25 dynes/cm/sup 2/ activates the receptors, causing GFP-GR to nuclear localize in a manner similar to induction with 25 /spl mu/M dexamethasone, a potent glucocorticoid. However, in BAEC cells, but not in 3T3 cells, GFP-GR nuclear localization is blocked substantially by kinase inhibitors (PD098059 and LY294002). Promoter studies using a secreted alkaline phosphatase (SEAP) reporter plasmid with glucocorticoid response elements as enhancer sequence indicate that SEAP production in BAEC cells exposed to shear stress of 10 and 25 dynes/cm/sup 2/ for up to 8 hrs produces SEAP at a level comparable to induction with 25 /spl mu/M dexamethasone. These results indicate the potential role glucocorticoid receptors play in shear-induced anti-inflammatory responses and transcriptional changes in endothelial cells. Potential impact of this project can be considered in terms of biotechnology, gene therapy, drug delivery, and tissue engineering.
Interseismic coupling and refined earthquake potential on the Hayward-Calaveras fault zone

Interseismic strain accumulation and fault creep is usually estimated from GPS and alignment arrays data, which provide precise but spatially sparse measurements. Here we use interferometric synthetic aperture radar to resolve the interseismic deformation associated with the Hayward and Calaveras Faults (HF and CF) in the East San Francisco Bay Area. The large 1992–2011 SAR data set permits evaluation of short- and long-wavelength deformation larger than 2 mm/yr without alignment of the velocity field to a GPS-based model. Our time series approach in which the interferogram selection is based on the spatial coherence enables deformation mapping in vegetated areas and leads to refined estimates of along-fault surface creep rates. Creep rates vary from 0 ± 2 mm/yr on the northern CF to 14 ± 2 mm/yr on the central CF south of the HF surface junction. We estimate the long-term slip rates by inverting the long-wavelength deformation and the distribution of shallow slip due to creep by inverting the remaining velocity field. This distribution of slip reveals the locations of locked and slowly creeping patches with potential for a M6.8 ± 0.3 on the HF near San Leandro, a M6.6 ± 0.2 on the northern CF near Dublin, a M6.5 ± 0.1 on the HF south of Fremont, and a M6.2 ± 0.2 on the central CF near Morgan Hill. With cascading multisegment ruptures the HF rupturing from Berkeley to the CF junction could produce a M6.9 ± 0.1, the northern CF a M6.6 ± 0.1, the central CF a M6.9 ± 0.2 from the junction to Gilroy, and a joint rupture of the HF and central CF could produce a M7.1 ± 0.1.
We the peoples? The strange demise of self-determination

The self-determination of peoples is a fundamental legitimating principle of the international system; it justifies the system’s very existence. Through a vast diachronic corpus and pertinent data sets, this article nevertheless reveals a puzzling decline in the public discourse on, and practice of, self-determination over the last 50 years. I identify and assess four structural explanations for this decline: “lexical change” (replacing self-determination with alternative terms); “silent hegemony” (taking the norm for granted); “reactive rhetoric” (echoing conflicts and new state formation post hoc); and “mission accomplished” (rectifying the incongruence between national boundaries and state borders). Complementing these structural causes with agential reasons, I further suggest that powerful state actors and persuasive academics have sought to “tame” self-determination as both principle and practice, retaining the term but altering its meaning from a source of threat into a resource for containing it. S...
Scaphosepalum manningii Luer (Orchidaceae: Pleurothallidinae), a new species for Costa Rica

Scaphosepalum manningii , previamente conocida solo por una unica recolecta de Venezuela, fue recien descubierta en la reserva forestal Boracayan, en el suroeste de Costa Rica. La especie es ilustrada y comparada con Scaphosepalum clavellatum , una especie estrechamente relacionada y talvez simpatrica.
Densification of W–Ni–Fe powders using laser sintering

Abstract In this paper, Laser Sintering (LS) of 90%W–7%Ni–3%Fe (wt.%) powders have been investigated, with the goal to understand the influence of final density by laser power, scanning speed, laser trace width, and the number of scanning passes. The results suggest that the laser power and scanning speed are the most important factors influencing density; the influence of trace width and number of scanning passes are not significant. With the increase of laser power and decrease of scanning speed, higher density can be achieved. The microstructure analysis indicated that the porosity changed from open porosity to closed porosity with higher laser energy input. Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDX) analysis shows that during the sintering process, W was not melted but dissolved into the Ni–Fe matrix. Contact flattening and grain accommodation of W grains have been observed. It suggests that both rearrangement and solution-reprecipitation mechanisms are responsible for the densification. The sintered density with respect to laser power and scanning speed was modeled by continuum modeling theory and compared with experimental results.
The Application of the Revised Condyle–C1 Interval Method to Diagnose Traumatic Atlanto-occipital Dissociation in Adults:

Study Design Retrospective study. Objective Traumatic atlanto-occipital dissociation (AOD) remains a diagnostic challenge, and delay in diagnosis is associated with catastrophic outcomes. Recently, a revised version of the condyl–C1 interval (CCI) utilizing parasagittal computed tomography (CT) reconstruction was used successfully with unilateral dislocation of 2.5 mm at the level of that joint diagnostic of AOD. We report the utility of this simple technique in the diagnosis of six patients with AOD. Methods Two blinded neurosurgeons assessed CTs of six patients with AOD and 30 patients without AOD. The following methodologies were applied: basion–dens interval (BDI), basion–axial interval (BAI), Lee X-lines, Powers ratio, CCI, and revised CCI. The average sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) as well as the kappa statistic indicating interrater reliability of each method were investigated. Results The average sensitivity for BDI, BAI, Lee X-lines, Power ratio, CCI, and revised CCI was 0.75, 0.33, 0.67, 0.50, 1.00, and 1.00, respectively. The average specificity was 1.00, 1.00, 0.50, 1.00, 0.94, and 1.00, respectively. The average PPV was 1.00, 1.00, 0.25, 1.00, 0.80, and 1.00, respectively. The average NPV was 0.96, 0.88, 0.89, 0.91, 1.00, and 1.00, respectively, and the kappa statistic was 0.57, 0.25, 0.25, 0.20, 1.00, and 1.00, respectively. Conclusion Based on this study, the revised CCI method is simple yet the most sensitive and reliable technique for the diagnosis of AOD.