cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The relationship of feminist ideology and date expense sharing to perceptions of sexual aggression in dating

Abstract This study compares the incidence of sexual aggression reported by college women today with comparable reports from the past. Additionally, the relationship of adherence to feminist ideology and the sharing of dating expenses to reports of offensive male sexual aggression on dates is examined. The sample consisted of 400 unmarried, undergraduate women attending a large, southeastern university during the spring of 1979. Findings indicate that the pervasiveness of experience with offensive sexual aggression has not changed perceptibly during a 20‐year span, although it appears that the aggressive advances are becoming more coitally‐directed. Contrary to the hypotheses, adherence to feminist ideology and the sharing of dating expenses are shown not to be associated with fewer reports of offense on dates. Possible explanations for these findings are discussed.
Bimolecular Kinetic Studies with High-Temperature Gas-Phase 19F NMR: Cycloaddition Reactions of Fluoroolefins†

A gas-phase NMR kinetic technique has been used for the first time to obtain accurate measurements of rate constants of some bimolecular, second-order cycloaddition reactions. As a test of the potential use of this technique for the study of second-order reactions, the rate constants and the activation parameters for the cyclodimerization reactions of chlorotrifluoroethylene (CTFE) and tetrafluoroethylene (TFE) were determined in the temperature range 240−340 °C, using a commercial high-temperature NMR probe. Obtaining excellent agreement of the results with published data, the technique was then applied to the reaction of 1,1-difluoroallene with 1,3-butadiene, the results of which indicate that the use of gas-phase NMR for reaction kinetics is particularly valuable when a reagent is available only in small amounts and in cases where there are several competing processes occurring simultaneously. The major processes observed in this reaction are regioselective [2+2] and [2+4] cycloadditions, whose rates a...
Some corrections to GRASP92

Abstract The GRASP92 package is a suite of programs for atomic structure calculations based on Dirac–Hartree–Fock theory. In this paper we report corrections that concern three issues. Corrections to a logical error are reported that affect extended optimal level (EOL) calculations important for correlation studies. The removal of a limitation on diagonal energy parameters is recommended for correlation orbitals. Another correction removes an error in the evaluation of one-electron matrix elements for tensors of rank greater than zero. This error affects electric quadrupole (E2) transition probabilities, off-diagonal hyperfine parameters, and quadrupole moments.
Health effects of ingestion of mercury-polluted urban soil: an animal experiment

Rio Grande, the southernmost Brazilian port and industrial center, is marked by mercury-polluted ground cover. This pollution varies spatially, with levels exceeding 1,000 μg kg−1 in 30% of the urban territory. The risk of Hg impact as a result of deliberate and involuntary geophagy is increased by restrained urban conditions in combination with the large proportion of the population living at low-income levels. Laboratory tests have demonstrated that ingestion of Hg-polluted soil by rats results in significant alterations in animal health such as stagnation in body weight increase, and significant mercury accumulation in the liver and kidney. The consumption of Hg-contaminated urban soil also provoked changes in hematological profiles of experimental animals by increasing the number of platelets. The present study indicates the potential for the local population of Rio Grande living in mercury-polluted districts, specifically young children, to experience health disturbances.
A built-in BTI monitor for long-term data collection in IBM microprocessors

A circuit for long-term measurement of bias temperature instability (BTI) degradation is described. It is an entirely on-chip measurement circuit, which reports measurements periodically with a digital output. Implemented on IBM's z196 Enterprise systems, it can be used to monitor long-term degradation under real-use conditions. Over 500 days worth of ring oscillator degradation data from customer systems are presented. The importance of using a reference oscillator to measure performance degradation in the field, where the supply voltage and temperature can vary dynamically, is shown.
Combined Bending-Torsion Fatigue Reliability of AISI 4340 Steel Shafting With Kt = 2.34

Results generated by three, unique fatigue reliability research machines which can apply reversed bending loads combined with steady torque are presented. Six-inch long, AISI 4340 steel, grooved specimens with a stress concentration factor of 2.34 and RC 35/40 hardness were subjected to various combinations of these loads and cycled to failure. The generated cycles-to-failure and stress-to-failure data are statistically analyzed to develop distributional S-N and Goodman diagrams. Various failure theories are investigated to determine which one represents the data best. The effect of the groove and of the various combined bending-torsion loads on the S-N and Goodman diagrams are determined. Three design applications are presented. The third one illustrates the weight savings that may be achieved by designing for reliability.
Levels of gamma-aminobutyric acid in cerebrospinal fluid and plasma during alcohol withdrawal

γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) is implicated in the biochemical pathophysiology of alcohol intoxication, dependence and withdrawal. We therefore measured GABA in both cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma from 14 male alcohol-dependent patients during acute alcohol withdrawal (day 1) and again after 21 days of inpatient treatment (day 21). Plasma GABA levels on admission correlated with indices of liver function. When corrected for differences in liver function, plasma levels of GABA levels on day 1 were significantly higher than on day 21. CSF GABA concentrations were also significantly higher during withdrawal compared with concentrations after 3 weeks of abstinence. The change in plasma GABA levels correlated significantly with the change in CSF GABA levels, although there was no correlation between plasma and CSF levels at either time. These findings demonstrate that changes in CSF GABA may be reflected in plasma GABA, and they highlight the potential importance of the GABA system in alcohol dependence and withdrawal.
Hugh E. Huxley (1924–2013)

The field of structural biology lost a giant on July 25, 2013 when Hugh E. Huxley passed away at age 89. At the time of his death he was Professor Emeritus of Biology, Brandeis University. But for much of his career he was at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB) in Cambridge, England. Huxley was a Ph.D. research student in Cambridge, England from 1948–1952, after reading Physics for his undergraduate degree. After entering Christ’s College, Cambridge in 1941 to study Physics, his studies were interrupted by service in the RAF from 1943–1947.
Neighborhood Residents' Production of Order: The Effects of Collective Efficacy on Responses to Neighborhood Problems:

Community policing agencies seek to engage communities to build working partnerships, solicit the input of neighborhood residents, and stimulate informal control of crime. A common barrier to these efforts is a lack of citizen participation. The purpose of this article is to assess the relationship between neighborhood-level variables and citizen response to neighborhood problems. The authors'predictions are guided by recent research on collective efficacy and the relationship between neighborhood conditions and citizen actions. Accordingly, the authors expect neighborhood variables will affect residents'responses to perceived problems. Results show that residential-unit variables do not have significant effects on the likelihood that residents respond to neighborhood problems they identified. Methodological limitations must be overcome before it can be concluded that collective efficacy is not predictive of citizen responses to neighborhood problems, but research must consider this important outcome vari...
Chronology and histology of exfoliation and eruption of mandibular premolars in dogs

Exfoliation of third deciduous mandibular premolars and their replacement by the third permanent premolars were compared in young dogs of purebred beagle and mongrel stock. Radiographic and histologic studies showed that eruption of the permanent premolar begins during the 16th postnatal week and is completed in 7 weeks. Root elongation proceeds with eruption, but fibers of the peridontal ligament are not anchored in alveolar bone and do not attain their final orientation with respect to the long axis of the tooth until the final phase of the eruptive period. These data define a predicatable system in which various stages in the mechanism of eruption of noncontinuously erupting teeth may be examined experimentally. Furthermore, the observation that these processes are identical in timing and sequence in beagle and mongrel dogs suggests that less expensive, more readily availabel mongrel dogs can be used for these studies.
Inhibitory control of the conditional pupillary dilation response in the paralyzed cat.

This study examined differential control of pupillary behavior by the same stimulus presented under two conditions, in order to find a model paradigm for the investigation of brain-behavioral relationships in paralyzed cats during attention and learning. Five paralyzed cats were habituated to white noise and tactile stimuli, followed by acquisition training to white noise conditioned stimulus (CS) paired with shock. After the cats had achieved conditional dilation responses to a 7-sec CS, a 9-sec nonreinforced tactile stimulus was first presented alone and then paired with the white noise. Shock was never present on tactile plus white noise trials. These inhibitory stimulus trials (IS), were intermixed with CS trials. There were significantly larger pupillary dilation responses to white noise during CS trials than to white noise during IS trials for four of the five cats. The cat which failed to demonstrate significant inhibitory control also required more acquisition trials and was the only cat which failed to exhibit inhibition of delay responses. This research demonstrates the feasibility of obtaining differential stimulus control of pupillary behavior in a paralyzed animal.
Spectrophotometric simultaneous determination of Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate and Emtricitabine in combined tablet dosage form by ratio derivative, first order derivative and absorbance corrected methods and its application to dissolution study

Three simple, economical, precise, and accurate methods are described for the simultaneous determination of Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TE) and Emtricitabine (EM) in combined tablet dosage form. The first method is ratio derivative spectra, second is first-order derivative spectrophotometry and third is absorption corrected method. The amplitudes at 271.07 and 302.17 nm in the ratio derivative method, 224.38 and 306.88 nm in the first order derivative method were selected to determine Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TE) and Emtricitabine (EM), respectively, in combined formulation. Beer’s law is obeyed in the concentration range of 3-21 µ g/ml for TE and 2-14 µ g/ml for EM for first two methods and range for third method was 6-30 µ g/ml of TE and 4-20 µ g/ml of EM. The percent assay for commercial formulation was found to be in the range 98.91%–101.72% for both the analytes by the proposed three methods. Absorption corrected method was successfully applied to carry out dissolution study of commercial tablet formulation by using USP II dissolution test apparatus. The methods were validated with respect to linearity, precision, and accuracy. Recoveries by proposed methods were found in the range of 99.06 %-101.34 % for both the analytes.
GeoScience Information Society: 2003 National Meeting

Outlines the topics covered at the 2003 National Meeting of the GeoScience Information Society (GSIS) in Seattle, November 2003, which also included the announcement of the launch of GeoScience World, an aggregator resource for research and communications in geological and earth sciences on the Internet.
Recurrent myoglobinuria in a sporadic patient with a novel mitochondrial DNA tRNAIle mutation

The differential diagnosis of myoglobinuria includes multiple etiologies, such as infection, inflammation, trauma, endocrinopathies, drugs toxicity, and primary metabolic disorders. Metabolic myopathies can be due to inherited disorders of glycogen metabolism or to defects of fatty acid oxidation. Primary respiratory chain dysfunction is a rare cause of myoglobinuria, but it has been described in sporadic cases with mutations in genes encoding cytochrome b or cytochrome c oxidase (COX) subunits and in four cases with tRNA mutations. We describe a 39-year-old woman with myalgia and exercise-related recurrent myoglobinuria, who harbored a novel mitochondrial DNA mutation at nucleotide 4281 (m.4281A>G) in the tRNA-isoleucine gene. Her muscle biopsy revealed ragged-red and COX-deficient fibers. No deletions or duplication were detected by Southern blot analysis. The m.4281A>G mutation was present in the patient's muscle with a mutation load of 46% and was detected in trace amounts in urine and cheek mucosa. Single-fiber analysis revealed significantly higher levels of the mutation in COX-deficient (65%) than in normal fibers (45%). This novel mutation has to be added to the molecular causes of recurrent myoglobinuria.
Surface Curvature as a Classifier of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms: A Comparative Analysis

An abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) carries one of the highest mortality rates among vascular diseases when it ruptures. To predict the role of surface curvature in rupture risk assessment, a discriminatory analysis of aneurysm geometry characterization was conducted. Data was obtained from 205 patient-specific computed tomography image sets corresponding to three AAA population subgroups: patients under surveillance, those that underwent elective repair of the aneurysm, and those with an emergent repair. Each AAA was reconstructed and their surface curvatures estimated using the biquintic Hermite finite element method. Local surface curvatures were processed into ten global curvature indices. Statistical analysis of the data revealed that the L2-norm of the Gaussian and Mean surface curvatures can be utilized as classifiers of the three AAA population subgroups. The application of statistical machine learning on the curvature features yielded 85.5% accuracy in classifying electively and emergent repaired AAAs, compared to a 68.9% accuracy obtained by using maximum aneurysm diameter alone. Such combination of non-invasive geometric quantification and statistical machine learning methods can be used in a clinical setting to assess the risk of rupture of aneurysms during regular patient follow-ups.
SEXUAL DIMORPHISM IN BIOMASS ALLOCATION AND CLONAL GROWTH OF XANTHOXYLUM AMERICANUM

Reproduction can have a high resource cost. It has been suggested that greater investments in sexual reproduction by female dioecious plants leads to a lower rate of vegetative growth in females than in males. In this study, we investigated sexual dimorphism in biomass allocation and genet growth ofthe dioecious clonal shrub, northern prickly ash (Xanthoxylum americanum). The allocation of biomass over the course of one growing season to reproductive tissue, leaves, and growth of aboveground first-year wood, was compared in 18 clones growing in fields and six clones in woods in southeastern Wisconsin during 1985 and 1986. In addition, the number of shoots per clone, and weight of nonfirst-year wood (accumulated biomass) above- and belowground were estimated. In open field sites, male clones allocated more biomass to new wood and less to reproduction than females, although males allocated more to flowers alone. Accordingly, male clones had significantly more shoots and more accumulated biomass both aboveand below-ground than female clones. In the woods, where fruit set was near zero, there were few significant differences between male and female clones in either biomass allocation or accumulated biomass. These results support the hypothesis that the high resource investment in fruit production by females reduces their vegetative growth relative to males. SEXUAL REPRODUCTION in plants is costly in terms of the resources required for flowering
ENVIRONMENTAL INJUSTICE: AN EMERGING PUBLIC POLICY ISSUE

ABSTRACT Environmental justice is a major issue today and of interest to citizens, administrators, and scholars of public administration. In this introduction, we review the emergence of the environmental justice movement and discuss the development of the field by presenting an overview of the literature and existent research on environmental justice. This research has focused to a large extent on siting issues and on the causes and explanations of environmental equity. In particular, five causes or explanations of environmental injustice have been emphasized in the literature: (a) race; (b) economic and market factors; (c) political and administrative issues; (d) attitudinal issues; and (e) post-materialism. We review the major pieces of research and evidence in these areas and compare and contrast the explanations of environmental injustice. for the most part we find that there is considerable controversy over the different explanations and causes of environmental injustice. In the third section of the...
Gastrointestinal symptom representation in cancer symptom clusters: a synthesis of the literature.

Patients with cancer often experience many debilitating and bothersome symptoms. Research has shown that almost half of the most frequently reported and most distressing treatment-related symptoms for patients with advanced cancer are gastrointestinal (GI) in nature (Tong, Isenring, & Yates, 2009). GI symptoms may be caused by the disease or its treatments, often chemotherapy. Although pharmacologic therapies for GI symptoms have improved over time, the inherent toxicity of chemotherapy causes many bothersome GI symptoms to remain prevalent. GI symptoms may lead to secondary issues such as electrolyte imbalance, weight loss, and infections including Candida albicans. Severe symptoms may cause patients to refuse further cancer treatment (Schnell, 2003). Because many chemotherapy-related GI symptoms may share a similar cause, they may be experienced together in treatment-related symptom clusters. Although knowledge has been advancing in symptom cluster research, little is known about how GI symptoms are represented within symptom clusters. The purpose of this article is to review the current evidence for GI symptom representation within symptom clusters in patients with cancer who are receiving chemotherapy.
Continuity and Change in Cameroonian Land Policy

This article discusses the evolution of modern land policy in Cameroon. Emphasis is placed on the land reform efforts of the countrys different colonial and post-colonial governments, especially the nature and rationale for these efforts. It is argued that while there might have been some changes in the tactics employed by the different governments, the rationale has always been the same, namely to bestow the state with as much control as possible over land. Such control is necessary to facilitate attainment of the states ideological, economic and political objectives. Continuity in the land reform policies is thus explained by the fact that these objectives have remained unchanged since the colonial era.
Evidence for the Involvement of a Tryptophan Residue in the Reaction of Diisopropylphosphorofluoridate with α-Chymotrypsin

Evidence for the Involvement of a Tryptophan Residue in the Reaction of Diisopropylphosphorofluoridate with α-Chymotrypsin
Derrida, Negative Theology and the Trespass of the Sign

La deconstruction et la theologie negative entretiennent souvent d'etroites relations. Selon une interpretation de la deconstruction, la transcendance est une impossibilite. En meme temps, le mysticisme apophatique et les theologies allant avec ont ete presentes comme des assurances d'un Dieu supremement transcendant, les hommes pouvant connaitre quelque chose de cette transcendance. Derrida suggere a la fin que seul un acte pur de priere non discursif, si il pouvait seulement exister, ne pourrait etre soumis a une critique deconstructive
Development of insulin resistance in normal dogs following alloxan-induced insulin deficiency.

Insulin resistance was measured in 16 normal dogs by a method involving the continuous intravenous infusion of epinephrine, propranolol, glucose and insulin. With this approach, endogenous insulin secretion is inhibited, similar steady state levels of exogenous insulin are achieved in all dogs, and the resultant steady state plasma glucose level provides a direct estimate of the ability of insulin to dispose of the infused glucose load. Thus, the higher the steady state plasma glucose level, the more the insulin resistance. Different amounts of alloxan were then administered to these dogs in order to produce insulin deficiency of varying degrees. Insulin resistance was then measured again in each dog. The results indicated that insulin resistance did not develop in dogs with only a moderate degree of insulin deficiency (fasting plasma glucose levels 150 mg/100 ml). Furthermore, the insulin resistance that developed in dogs with severe insulin deficiency could be returned to normal with insulin replacement for one week. These results indicate that insulin resistance can occur as a secondary manifestation of insulin deficiency.
Are different proteins synthesized in distinct domains in a neuron

Are different messenger RNA species translated in distinct, limited domains within a cell? For the particular case of the giant R2 neuron from Aplysia californica an answer to this question is possible for the more abundantly synthesized proteins. After brief labeling with 35S-methionine, the R2 neuron soma was frozen and divided into two or three parts. The newly synthesized proteins were analyzed following two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. No evidence for limited domains of synthesis for 26 abundantly synthesized polypeptides in the R2 neuron was found.
Unraveling transcription regulatory networks by protein–DNA and protein–protein interaction mapping

Metazoan genomes contain thousands of protein-coding and noncoding RNA genes, most of which are differentially expressed, i.e., at different locations or at different times during development, function, or pathology of the organism. Differential gene expression is achieved in part by the action of regulatory transcription factors (TFs) that bind to cis-regulatory elements that are often located in or near their target genes. Each TF likely regulates many targets in the context of intricate transcription regulatory networks. Up to 10% of a genome may encode TFs, but only a handful of these have been studied in detail. Here, I will discuss the different steps involved in the mapping and analysis of transcription regulatory networks, including the identification of network nodes (TFs and their target sequences) and edges (TF-TF dimers and TF-DNA target interactions), integration with other data types, and network properties and emerging principles that provide insights into differential gene expression.
Effects of cortisol on the microvasculature of mouse skin isografts and allografts

Abstract The mouse transparent skin chamber has been improved to permit high magnification in vivo observations of the cellular and microcirculatory events within a full-thickness skin graft from the time of transplantation to ultimate rejection of the allograft. The effects of systemic cortisol have been observed to: 1. Suppress vascularization and suppress maturation of the invading graft vessels; 2. Cause tortuosity of the new vessels and cause formation of microaneurysms; 3. Produce vessel fragility with resultant petechia formation; 4. Suppress WBC sticking to allograft endothelium and minimize cellular infiltrate within allografts; and 5. Prolong the microcirculatory flow through full-thickness skin allografts for an additional 7–10 days. The primary mechanism for prolonging the blood flow through a full-thickness skin allograft appears to be a function of cortisol suppression of the inflammatory response within the microvasculature of the graft.
Linear symmetric quark theories of baryon magnetic moments

A phenomenological and theoretical analysis of the baryon magnetic moments leads to a definition of the class of linear symmetric quark theories for the baryon moments. In this class of theories there are members that can reproduce the experimental results fairly well. However, it seems that despite SU(3) breaking the average of the light-quark magnetic moments (1/3)(..mu../sub u/+..mu../sub d/+..mu../sub s/) is unexpectedly small. A possible explanation is an anomalous moment for the quarks.
A modular segmentation approach for comprehensive electromagnetic modeling of the power distribution network

The accurate electromagnetic modeling of the power distribution network at the board level is critical for today's digital applications. In this work, we propose a modular approach for board power distribution network design. The proposed approach relies on the decomposition of the board metallization layers into parallel-plate polygons and the various geometric discontinuities introduced by vias, slots and splits in metallization planes, and the edges of the board. Electromagnetic models for the various segments are generated a-priori and are brought together in a physically consistent manner to yield a compact model for the board that lends itself to an expedient numerical solution toward the generation of a SPICE-compatible, broadband, frequency-dependent multi-port network. Numerical studies are presented that validate the proposed methodology and demonstrate its attributes.
Effect of site-directed mutagenesis of conserved aspartate and arginine residues upon farnesyl diphosphate synthase activity

All polyprenyl synthases catalyze the condensation of the allylic substrate, isopentenyl diphosphate, with a specific homoallylic diphosphate substrate. Polyprenyl synthases from Homo sapiens, Ratus rattus, Escherichia coli, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Neurospora crassa, and Erwinia herbicola contain two conserved "aspartate-rich domains" (Ashby, M.N., and Edwards, P.A. (1992) J. Biol. Chem. 267, 4128-4136). In order to determine the importance of these domains in catalysis, the conserved aspartates or arginines in domains I and II of rat farnesyl diphosphate synthase were individually mutated to glutamate or lysine, respectively. The putative "active site" arginine (Brems, D.N., Breunger, E., and Rilling, H. C. (1981) Biochemistry 20, 3711-3718) was mutated to lysine. Each mutant enzyme was overexpressed in E. coli and purified to apparent homogeneity. Detailed kinetic analyses of the wild type and mutant enzymes indicated that mutagenesis of Asp104, Asp107, Arg112, Arg113, and Asp243 resulted in a decreased Vmax of approximately 1000-fold compared to wild type. However, no significant change in the Km values for either the isopentenyl diphosphate or geranyl diphosphate substrate were observed. The results strongly suggest that these amino acids, and to a lesser extent Asp244, are involved in either the condensation of isopentenyl diphosphate and geranyl diphosphate to form farnesyl diphosphate and/or the release of the farnesyl diphosphate product from farnesyl diphosphate synthase. The conservation of these amino acid residues in different enzymes from several species suggests that these domains play a similar role in other polyprenyl synthases.
[18F]Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography Predicts Outcome for Ewing Sarcoma Family of Tumors

Purpose Response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy is a significant prognostic factor for the Ewing sarcoma family of tumors (ESFTs). [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) is a noninvasive imaging modality that accurately predicts histopathologic response in several malignancies. To determine the prognostic value of FDG PET response for progression-free survival (PFS) in ESFTs, we reviewed the University of Washington Medical Center experience. Patients and Methods Thirty-six patients with ESFTs were evaluated by FDG PET. All patients received neoadjuvant and adjuvant chemotherapy. FDG PET standard uptake values before (SUV1) and after (SUV2) chemotherapy were analyzed and correlated with chemotherapy response, as assessed by histopathology in surgically excised tumors. Thirty-four patients had both SUV1 and SUV2. Results The mean SUV1, SUV2, and ratio of SUV2 to SUV1 (SUV2:1) were 7.9 (range, 2.3 to 32.8), 2.1 (range, 0 to 4.3), and 0.36 (range, 0.00 to 1.00), respectively. Good FDG ...
Evaluation and reduction of multipath-induced bias on GPS time-of-arrival

New expressions are presented for the multipath-induced pseudorange error (i.e. bias) and variance introduced by multipath onto the time-of-arrival estimate obtained using a noncoherent early-late gate discriminator. The results include the effect of front-end bandwidth and early-late gate spacing. We also investigate a blind method for cancelling the multipath, in order to improve the time-of-arrival estimate. Our approach uses early-late gate processing on an objective function derived from an adaptive finite impulse response (FIR) filter that attempts to match the crosscorrelation of the received signal with a multipath-free replica of the desired crosscorrelation. This method performs reasonably well, and decreases the multipath-induced pseudorange error by approximately a factor of 2, even in very stressing multipath environments.
Four-dimensional phase contrast magnetic resonance angiography: Potential clinical applications

Unlike other magnetic resonance angiographic techniques, phase contrast imaging (PC-MRI) offers co-registered morphologic images and velocity data within a single acquisition. While the basic principle of PC-MRI dates back almost 3 decades, novel time-resolved three-dimensional PC-MRI (4D PC-MRI) approaches have become increasingly researched over the past years. So-called 4D PC-MRI includes three-directional velocity encoding in a three-dimensional imaging volume over time, thereby providing the opportunity to comprehensively analyze human hemodynamics in vivo. Moreover, its large volume coverage offers the option to study systemic hemodynamic effects. Additionally, this offers the possibility to re-visit flow in any location of interest without being limited to predetermined two-dimensional slices. The attention received for hemodynamic research is partially based on flow-based theories of atherogenesis and arterial remodeling. 4D PC-MRI can be used to calculate flow-related vessel wall parameters and may hence serve as a diagnostic tool in preemptive medicine. Furthermore, technical improvements including the availability of sufficient computing power, data storage capabilities, and optimized acceleration schemes for data acquisition as well as comprehensive image processing algorithms have largely facilitated recent research progresses. We will present an overview of the potential of this relatively young imaging paradigm. After acquisition and processing the data in morphological and phase difference images, various visualization strategies permit the qualitative analysis of hemodynamics. A multitude of quantitative parameters such as pulse wave velocities and estimates of wall shear stress which might serve as future biomarkers can be extracted. Thereby, exciting new opportunities for vascular imaging and diagnosis are available.
Agent-Based Knowledge Discovery for Modeling & Simulation

This paper describes extending the automated discovery mechanism of the Knowledge Encapsulation Framework (KEF) through the use of agent technology. KEF is a suite of tools to enable the linking of knowledge inputs (relevant, domain-specific evidence) to modeling and simulation projects, as well as other domains that require an effective collaborative workspace for knowledge-based tasks. This framework can be used to capture evidence (e.g., trusted material such as journal articles and government reports), discover new evidence (covering both trusted and social media), enable discussions surrounding domain-specific topics and provide automatically generated semantic annotations for improved corpus investigation. The current KEF design is described along with the new agent based knowledge management system, which addresses the weaknesses of the current knowledge acquisition approach.
Land subsidence due to groundwater withdrawal: potential damage of subsidence and sea level rise in southern New Jersey, USA

Land subsidence due to groundwater withdrawal combined with a global sea level rise creates a serious environmental problem in the coastal region. Groundwater withdrawal results in fluid pressure change in the layers. The pressure change in the layers induces both elastic and inelastic land compaction. The elastic compaction can be recovered if the water level rises again and inelastic compaction becomes permanent. Groundwater response to barometric pressure change is used to estimate the elastic compaction in this study. The storativity, specific storage and other layer and hydrological information are used to estimate the inelastic compaction of the layers due to fluid withdrawal. The discussed methods are applied to estimate and predict the subsidence potentials resulting from overdrafting of the groundwater in the southern New Jersey. The estimated subsidence is about 2–3 cm near the location of monitoring wells in Atlantic, Camden, Cumberland and Cape May Counties over the past 20 years. If the current trend of water-level drop continues, the average subsidence in southern New Jersey in the vicinity of some monitoring wells will be about 3 cm in the next 20 years. The rise of global sea level is about 2 mm/year on average. Because of the very gentle slope in southern NJ, the combination of subsidence and sea level rise will translate into a potentially substantial amount of land loss in the coastal region in each 20 year period. This combination will also accelerate the coastal flooding frequency and the erosion rate of the New Jersey coastal plain, and pose a serious threat to the coastal economy.
Spring peas from New York State; nucleation and growth of fresh water hollow ooliths and pisoliths

ABSTRACT Delicate hollow spheroids (1 to 2 mm) composed of radially fibrous calcite occur in, and on the surface of, calcareous travertine being deposited from water of the Orenda Spring, Saratoga Springs, New York State. Field observations suggest that spheroids form by the precipitation of calcite on the surface of water droplets that contain newly formed bubbles of CO2. Although many of the spheroids subsequently disintegrate, some grow by the addition of laminae consisting of radial bundles of fibrous calcite, commonly separated by thin (? seasonal) laminae of fine-grained calcite and detritus. These spheroids are either incorporated into laminar travertine sheets or grow by successive increments into fresh-water ooliths and pisoliths with both a concentric and a radial structur .
Adaptive controller design and disturbance attenuation for SISO linear systems with noisy output measurements and partly measured disturbances

We present robust adaptive controller design for SISO linear systems with noisy output measurements and partly measured disturbances. Using the worst-case analysis approach, we formulate the robust adaptive control problem as a nonlinear H/sup /spl infin//-optimal control problem under imperfect state measurements, and solve it using game theory. The design paradigm is the same as that in (Z. Pan et al., July 2000) with the only difference being the treatment of the measured disturbances. The same results as those in (Z. Pan et al., July 200) are achieved. In addition, when the relative degrees from the measured disturbances to the output are no less than that from the control input, the controllers designed achieve the zero disturbance attenuation level with respect to the measured disturbance inputs. The asymptotic tracking objective is achieved even if the measured disturbance is only uniformly bounded, without requiring it to be of finite energy. This strong robustness property is then illustrated by a numerical example.
Kelly’s Criterion

The nature of markets in finance is one of almost constant ups and downs. Against this environment investors make every effort to succeed in their investments relying on studies of equity fundamentals, market dynamics, experience and other factors to assure success. Fortunately most of the time their efforts are rewarded thus growing their investment capital. But not always. Individual stocks may plunge in value only to remain suppressed for a long period of time or even to never recover. And from time to time it gets worse; this can happen to the entire market.
Unusual Variant of Lactate Dehydrogenase Isoenzymes

Thirteen electrophoretic bands of lactate dehydrogenase isoenzyme activity were detected in the serum of a 69-year-old Negro woman who died of pseudomonas pneumonia. No evidence of tumor was found at necropsy, and additional studies of the enzymatic activity of crude extracts of liver, lung, spleen, kidney, brain, skeletal muscle, lymph node, and heart revealed 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 separate isoenzyme bands for lactate dehydrogenase isoenzymes 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, respectively (a total of 15 isoenzyme bands). Serum and erythrocyte hemolysate from one of two healthy daughters displayed a similar pattern of multiple isoenzyme bands in isoenzymes 2 and 3. The observed pattern is consistent with the heterozygous form of a mutation of the genetic locus controlling synthesis of the M monomer such that two differently charged monomeric proteins are produced, each of which apparently combines with H chains with equal facility, leading to the multiband enzymatic specificity seen.
Effects of technology-enhanced language learning on second language composition of university-level intermediate spanish students

Today's global culture makes communication through writing in a foreign language a most desirable tool to expand personal and professional relations. However, teaching writing is a complex, time-consuming endeavor in any language. Foreign language teachers at every level struggle to fit writing into an already full curriculum and need the most effective methods and tools with which to teach. Technology may provide a viable scaffold to support writing instruction for teachers and students. The purpose of this research was to determine any benefits of weekly/structured, in-class, computer-assisted grammar drill and practice on the composition quality and quantity of intermediate university Spanish learners. A related purpose was to determine whether students who participated in such practice would access a computer-based writing assistant differently during writing than students without the treatment. The research design was a nonequivalent groups pretest-posttest design. Fifty-two subjects' compositions were graded with both holistic and analytic criteria to analyze composition quality and quantity, and statistical analyses assessed interactions of treatment and effects. The computer-based Atajo writing assistant, which could be accessed during composition, had a logging feature which provided unobtrusive observation of specific databases accessed by each student. There were no statistically significant differences found between the two groups in overall composition scores or in subscale scores. Improvements across time were observed in composition performance for both the experimental and control groups. The implementation of computer-based grammar and vocabulary practice did show a small to moderate positive effect; that is to say, students who received weekly, structured computer grammar and vocabulary practice had higher scores for composition quality and quantity on the posttest measure and accessed the databases less than the control group. The consistent positive trends in the composition data results intimate that over a more extended period of time, computer-based grammar instruction might enhance the quality and quantity of written composition in the foreign language classroom.
Benchmark test cases for evaluation of computer-based methods for detection of setup errors: Realistic digitally reconstructed electronic portal images with known setup errors

Abstract Purpose: The purpose of this investigation was to develop methods and software for computing realistic digitally reconstructed electronic portal images with known setup errors for use as benchmark test cases for evaluation and intercomparison of computer-based methods for image matching and detecting setup errors in electronic portal images. Methods and Materials: An existing software tool for computing digitally reconstructed radiographs was modified to compute simulated megavoltage images. An interface was added to allow the user to specify which setup parameter(s) will contain computer-induced random and systematic errors in a reference beam created during virtual simulation. Other software features include options for adding random and structured noise, Gaussian blurring to simulate geometric unsharpness, histogram matching with a "typical" electronic portal image, specifying individual preferences for the appearance of the "gold standard" image, and specifying the number of images generated. The visible male computed tomography data set from the National Library of Medicine was used as the planning image. Results: Digitally reconstructed electronic portal images with known setup errors have been generated and used to evaluate our methods for automatic image matching and error detection. Any number of different sets of test cases can be generated to investigate setup errors involving selected setup parameters and anatomic volumes. This approach has proved to be invaluable for determination of error detection sensitivity under ideal (rigid body) conditions and for guiding further development of image matching and error detection methods. Example images have been successfully exported for similar use at other sites. Conclusions: Because absolute truth is known, digitally reconstructed electronic portal images with known setup errors are well suited for evaluation of computer-aided image matching and error detection methods. High-quality planning images, such as the visible human CT scans from the National Library of Medicine, are essential for producing realistic images. Sets of test cases with systematic and random errors in seelcted setup parameters and anatomic volumes are suitable for use as standard benchmarks by the radiotherapy community. In addition to serving as an aid to research and development, benchmark images may also be useful for evaluation of commercial systems and as part of a quality assurance program for clinical systems. Test cases and software are available upon request.
The Laboratory Diagnosis of Venous Thromboembolic Disease by Measurement of Fibrinogen/Fibrin Degradation Products and Fibrin Monomer

The utility of two blood tests for screening patients with suspected venous thromboembolic disease was evaluated. Eighty-two patients who underwent venography and 38 patients who were investigated with radioisotope lung scans or pulmonary angiograms were included. At the time of their radiographic study, their blood was tested for fibrinogen/fibrin degradation products and fibrin monomer by the staphylococcal clumping test (SCT) and the serial dilution protamine sulfate (SDPS) test. Patients in whom the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism or symptomatic deep vein thrombosis was confirmed had a significantly higher incidence as well as more strongly positive blood tests compared to the remaining patients. The SCT was more sensitive but the SDPS test was found to be more specific. The study indicates that these tests are sufficiently practical and precise to be used to help resolve the differential diagnosis in suspected venous thromboembolism. When both tests were negative, significant thromboembolic disease was not found. Evidence is presented suggesting that the coagulation products measured represent the result and not the cause of the thrombosis.
Bargaining and the Interdependent Stages of Civil War Resolution

This article examines civil war resolution as a process comprised of multiple interdependent stages. It engages directly the idea that peace emerges only as a process comprised of battle, negotiati...
Agricultural Labor and Migration Policy

Farmers in high-income countries invest in the political process to gain access to foreign workers, with potentially far-reaching social welfare ramifications both at home and abroad. This review examines the unique features of the farm labor market that result in an intimate relationship between some types of agricultural production and migration policy. A theoretical model and Monte Carlo simulations are used to illustrate the farm labor problem. The agricultural labor history of the United States and comparisons of experiences across countries reveal a diversity of policies to secure workers for farms through immigration. There are reasons, however, to question the sustainability of a labor-intensive agricultural system's dependence upon low-cost imported labor.
Study of particle size effects on an optical fiber sensor response examined with Monte Carlo simulation

Optical fiber sensors based on the total light transmittance are widely used to measure the volume fraction of particles in suspensions. However, the sensor response depends not only on the volume fraction but also on the particle size. The particle size effect is studied for a sensor configuration consisting of two linear arrays of fibers on each of two blocks: the emitting and receiving blocks. These two linear arrays are arranged with three adjacent fibers (one fiber on the first array, two fibers on the second array) forming a perfect triangle. The almost superimposition of the calculated sensor response versus the extinction factor for different particle sizes allows for the application of single- curve models. Two single-curve models that describe the sensor response for all particle sizes ranging from 36 to 200 μm are proposed. The models are validated by Monte Carlo simulation for different particle sizes and are valid within a detectable volume fraction. The single-curve models proposed provide an easier approach to creating a database for sensor calibration for suspended sediment concentration measurements.