cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Next Four Orders of Magnitude in Performance for Parallel CFD

Many of the “Grand Challenges” of HPCC, ASCI, and SSI are formulated as PDEs, however, PDE simulations have struggled to hold their own among recent Bell Prize submissions, as they require a balance among architectural components that is not necessarily met in a machine designed to “max out” on the standard LINPACK benchmark. Until recently, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has successfully competed against applications with more intensive data reuse only on special-purpose machines (vector or SIMD) in statically discretized, explicit formulations. PDEs come in many varieties and complexities, but though their mathematical properties differ greatly, their computational implementations are surprisingly similar, whether of evolution or equilibrium type. This chapter briefly reviews the algorithmic structure of typical PDE-based CFD codes that is responsible for this situation and consider possible architectural and algorithmic sources for performance improvement towards the achievement of the remaining four orders of magnitude required to reach 1 Petaflop/s.
TCP PACKET TRACE ANALYSIS

Examination of a trace of packets collected from the network is often the only method available for diagnosing protocol performance problems in computer networks. This thesis explores the use of packet traces to diagnose performance problems of the transport protocol TCP. Unfortunately, manual examination of these traces can be so tedious that effective analysis is not possible. The primary contribution of this thesis is a graphical method for displaying the packet trace which greatly reduces the tediousness of examining a packet trace. The graphical method is demonstrated by the examination of some packet traces of typical TCP connections. The performance of two different implementations of TCP sending data across a particular network path is compared. Traces many thousands of packets long are used to demonstrate how effectively the graphical method simplifies examination of long complicated traces. In the comparison of the two TCP implementations, the burstiness of the TCP transmitter appeared to be related to the achieved throughput. A method of quantifying this burstiness is presented and its possible relevance to understanding the performance of TCP is discussed.
An Inexpensive Moored Water Sampler for Investigating Chemical Variability

Recent developments in moored oceanographic sampling devices and in satellite techniques have led to a realization of the inadequacies of past descriptions of the sea which, due to limitations in technology, placed a heavy reliance on coarse-scale measurements and the assumption of a steady-state ocean. The increasing interest in Gulf Stream Rings and long period coastal trapped wave phenomena with several-day periods (e.g. Smith, 1978) are just two illustrations of the increased recognition of the need for better definitions of the ocean’s temporal and spatial variability. Over the last 15 years or so, chemical and biological oceanographers have attempted to redress the problem of inadequate sampling densities by continuous mapping of temperature, salinity, nutrients and chlorophyll a at the sea-surface (e.g. Packard, in press; Schink et al. in press), by using vertically lowered shipboard pumping systems to better resolve high vertical gradients in chemical and biochemical properties (e.g. Anderson, 1982) and by a heavier reliance on satellite information and other optical techniques (Yentsch and Yentsch, 1984). Attempts to develop moored devices for sampling chemical and biological variables have, however, tended to lag behind development of modern high resolution instruments for measuring physical variables.
UNEXPECTED YOUNG STAR CLUSTERS IN THE TIDAL DEBRIS OF NGC2782

We report on a study of a nearby minor merger, NGC 2782, which is the result of a merger between two disk galaxies with a mass ratio of 0.25 occurring ∼ 200 Myr ago. This merger produced an Hi-poor, optically bright Eastern tail and an Hi-rich, optically faint Western tail. Deep optical images reveal the presence of blue (B − V∼0.0) clusters along both tails, suggesting that they are young (<100 Myr) and possibly formed within the tail. The presence of young clusters in the Western tail is unexpected due to the lack of molecular gas observed in previous studies. These results suggest that star cluster formation is a common outcome of minor mergers regardless of molecular gas content in the tidal debris.
CXC chemokine receptor-4 signaling limits hepatocyte proliferation after hepatic ischemia-reperfusion in mice

The role of stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1 or CXCL12) and its receptor CXC chemokine receptor-4 (CXCR4) in ischemic liver injury and recovery has not been studied. Some reports suggest that this chemokine may aid in liver regeneration, but others suggest that it may be profibrotic through its activation of hepatic stellate cells. In this study we sought to elucidate the role of SDF-1 and its receptor CXCR4 during liver injury, recovery, and regeneration after ischemia-reperfusion (I/R). A murine model of partial (70%) I/R was used to induce liver injury and study the reparative and regenerative response. CXCR4 was expressed constitutively in the liver, and hepatic levels of SDF-1 peaked 8 h after reperfusion but remained significantly increased for 96 h. Treatment of mice with the CXCR4 antagonist AMD3100 or agonist SDF-1 had no effect on acute liver injury assessed 8 h after I/R. However, treatment with AMD3100 increased hepatocyte proliferation after 72 and 96 h of reperfusion and reduced the amount of liver necrosis. In contrast, treatment with SDF-1 significantly decreased hepatocyte proliferation. These effects appeared to be dependent on the presence of liver injury, as AMD3100 and SDF-1 had no effect on hepatocyte proliferation or liver mass in mice undergoing 70% partial hepatectomy. The data suggest that signaling through CXCR4 is detrimental to liver recovery and regeneration after I/R and that clinical therapy with a CXCR4 antagonist may improve hepatic recovery following acute liver injury.
ERYTHROMYCIN AND ALKALINISATION OF THE URINE IN THE TREATMENT OF URINARY-TRACT INFECTIONS DUE TO GRAM-NEGATIVE BACILLI

Abstract In an alkaline medium, the in-vitro Summary antibacterial activity of erythromycin is increased and its spectrum expanded. In an attempt to determine whether this in-vitro effect could be translated into a useful therapeutic effect in vivo, 37 patients with chronic bacteriuria were treated with erythromycin estolate and alkalinisation of the urine. The infecting gram-negative bacteria were eradicated in 73% of the patients during therapy, and urine cultures remained negative 3 weeks after treatment in 17 patients. In further follow-up, 14 of these 17 patients had negative urine cultures 2-6 months after treatment. Erythromycin and alkalinisation of the urine is suggested as an alternative therapy for selected patients with urinary-tract infections.
A chiral salen vanadyl complex with two significantly different configurations in solid state: synthesis, characterization, and molecular structure

A chiral vanadyl complex prepared from a chiral Salen ligand possessing branched bulky groups at 3- and 5-positions showed two independent molecules in solid state in which the core conformations are significantly different.
Returning home: Djibril Diop Mambety's Hyènes

This paper investigates how African filmmaker Djibril Diop Mambety transforms the notable Swiss playwright and novelist Friedrich Durrenmatt's play Der Besuch der alten Dame (The Visit) into a portrait of the universality of moral corruption in modernity. The title of his film is Hyenes.
Pattern coarsening in a 2D hexagonal system

We have studied the ordering dynamics of a two-dimensional system which consists of a single layer of spherical block copolymer microdomains in a thin film. We follow the annealing process after a quench from the disordered state by electron microscopy and time-lapse atomic force microscopy. At late times the orientational correlation length ξ6 of the microdomain lattice exhibits a t1/4 temporal power law. We compare the time evolution of the densities of dislocations, disclinations and the dislocation orientational correlation function. While most disclinations condense into dislocations and most dislocations condense into "grain boundaries", the dynamics appear to involve the interplay of disclinations and lines of dislocations. Rather than isolated grains shrinking, the most frequently observed process is the collapse of a smaller grain which resides on the boundary of two larger grains.
The Nutritional Value of Milks—Raw vs. Pasteurized and Summer vs. Winter

Summary Rats started on experiment in October and grown on mineralized raw milk and mineralized pasteurized milk showed no differences in growth or development over a period of 30 weeks. The average daily gains during the first six weeks for rats on mineralized raw milk were less for the animals started in April than those started in October. In April the rate of growth for rats on pasteurized milk was inferior to that obtained on raw milk. A decrease was observed in the daily rate of growth in male rats on mineralized milk from 19gm. for milk produced in October to 3.32gm. for milk produced in December to 2.45gm. for milk produced in February. The decrease for male rats on pasteurized milk for the same periods was 3.90 to 1.96 and to 1.14gm. The female rats showed some decrease in growth on winter milk but the impairment in. growth during this period was not nearly as great as that, observed in the case of the male rats. The kind of feed ingested by the cow has a greater effect upon the nutritive value of milk than does pasteurization. Pasteurization has practically no detrimental effect, as measured with rats, upon the nutritive value of a milk of high nutritive quality but may further decrease the value of a milk of low nutritive quality.
Phosphate‐limited growth of the marine diatom Thalassiosira weissflogii (Bacillariophyceae): evidence of non‐monod growth kinetics1

The marine diatom Thalassiosira weissflogii (Grunow) G. A. Fryxell & Hasle was grown in a chemostat over a series of phosphate-limited growth rates. Ambient substrate concentrations were determined from bioassays involving picomolar spikes of (33) P-labeled phosphate, and maximum uptake rates were determined from analogous bioassays that included the addition of micromolar concentrations of unlabeled phosphate and tracer concentrations of (33) P. The relationship between cell phosphorus quotas and growth rates was well described by the Droop equation. Maximum uptake rates of phosphate spikes were several orders of magnitude higher than steady state uptake rates. Despite the large size of the T. weissflogii cells, diffusion of phosphate through the boundary layer around the cells had little effect on growth kinetics, in part because the cellular N:P ratios exceeded the Redfield ratio at all growth rates. Fitting the Monod equation to the experimental data produced an estimate of the nutrient-saturated growth rate that was ~50% greater than the maximum growth rate observed in batch culture. A modified hyperbolic equation with a curvature that is a maximum in magnitude at positive growth rates gave a better fit to the data and an estimate of the maximum growth rate that was consistent with observations. The failure of the Monod equation to describe the data may reflect a transition from substrate to co-substrate limitation and/or the presence of an inducible uptake system.
Time-dependent boundary-layer response in a propeller slipstream

The time-dependent behavior of a wing boundary layer immersed in a propeller slipstream has been studied experimentally in wind-tunnel tests and in flight. Hot-wire anemometer measurements were made through the boundary layer for time-dependent, ensemble-average velocity and turbulence-intensity profiles at various chord locations. The boundary layer has a coherent, time-dependent cycle of transitional behavior, varying from a laminar to a turbulent-transitional state. Local drag coefficients determined from the velocity profiles for the freewheeling propeller case in flight show that the time-dependent drag in the propeller slipstream varies from the undisturbed laminar value to a value less than that predicted for fully turbulent flow. Local drag coefficients determined from the thrusting propeller case in the wind tunnel indicate that the effects of the slipstream are to enhance the stability of the boundary layer and to reduce the drag coefficient in the laminar portion of the cycle below its undisturbed laminar value.
Collagenase pretreatment and the mitogenic effects of hepatocyte growth factor and transforming growth factor-α in adult rat liver

Hepatocyte growth factor and transforming growth factor-α are two well-known hepatomitogens for primary hepatocyte cultures. Here we report that these two growth factors also stimulate in vivo DNA syntheses in normal, unoperated, adult rat liver after 24-hr continuous intraportal infusion. As determined by an immunohistochemical staining technique, 5-bromo-2′-deoxyuridine incorporation was increased in a dose-dependent fashion after infusion of up to 10 μg of growth factor/100 gm body weight in the rat. Stimulation of DNA synthesis was seen in the periportal area. Pretreatment using intraportal infusion of collagenase (1 U/kg body weight) for 4 hr before administration of growth factor increased the labeling by 2- to 4-fold to a labeling index range of 48% to 52%. These results suggest that collagenases and possibly other proteases are involved in making hepatocytes competent to respond to growth factors at very early stages of liver regeneration. (HEPATOLOGY 1994;19:1521–1527.)
CROSS-STUDY HIERARCHICAL MODELING OF STRATIFIED CLINICAL TRIAL DATA

Hierarchical random-effects models can be used to estimate treatment or other covariate effects in single-study analyses coordinated over multiple clinical units and can also be extended to a wide variety of cross-study applications. After reviewing the single-study case, we use data from five trial protocols to look for units that tend to have treatment effects consistently above or below the study-specific grand mean across several studies. As a first step, we summarize the patient-level data as study-specific and unit-specific estimated treatment effects and standard errors using independent Cox regression models. We then compare the results of a hierarchical model using these data summaries as input to those produced by a more fully Bayesian method that uses the actual patient-level survival data. We also compare various different models using a deviance information criterion, a recent extension of the Akaike information criterion designed for hierarchical models. Our procedure appears to be effective...
Computing Hypergeometric Solutions of Second Order Linear Differential Equations using Quotients of Formal Solutions

Let L be a second order differential equation with coefficients in C(x). The goal of this paper is to find solutions of L in the form exp(∫r dx#8226;2; F1(a1a2b1; f)(1) where r; f E Q(x), and a1; a2; b1 EQ.
SANS studies of ferrofluids

Abstract Stable colloidal dispersions of magnetic particles, or ferrofluids, form a technologically important class of magnetic fluids with novel structural features at the microscopic level. Small angle neutron scattering (SANS) has proved to be ideally suited to the study of these structures. Recent studies have concentrated on using ferrofluids as new dispersion media for non-magnetic colloids, such as macromolecules. This technique, known as ferrodispersion, is leading to new methods for creating ordered macromolecular structures in dispersed phases.
Can medical school admission committee members predict which applicants will choose primary care careers

PURPOSE To determine the accuracy of admission committee members' predictions regarding which applicants are likely to become generalists, and to determine which applicant characteristics are used and should be used in making these predictions. METHOD Thirteen characteristics of each applicant who entered medical school in 1990-1993 and graduated in 1994-1997 were obtained from their applications. Committee members reviewed these characteristics and assigned a probability of each applicant's choosing a generalist career. Just before their graduation, the students were surveyed to ascertain their career plans. The relationships between the characteristics and career predictions were analyzed using regression models. A secondary analysis examined the relationship between the students' stated career preferences at matriculation and career plans at graduation. RESULTS The accuracy of the committee members' predictions was low. Predictions of generalist careers were significantly related to seven applicant characteristics: rural legal residence, gender (women), lower science grades, lower MCAT science scores, lower levels of parents' education, no reported research activity, and higher levels of community service. In contrast, the students' actual generalist career plans at graduation were significantly related only to gender (women) and higher levels of community service. In the secondary analysis, applicants' stated career preferences at matriculation were the strongest predictor of their having generalist career plans at graduation. CONCLUSIONS Admission committee members often made inaccurate predictions about applicants' career plans. This may be because they based their judgments on applicants' characteristics that were not significantly related to the students' career plans at graduation.
Diagnosis interval estimation in process analysis for troubleshooting tasks

Abstract The paper presents an approach for dealing with the problems of process diagnosis interval estimation for troubleshooting tasks including the stochastic factors involved in the decision environment, and taking the issue of parameter variability relevance into consideration. It integrates Taguchi's deterministic approach for determining optimal diagnosis interval with the more traditional statistical decision making tools for use in troubleshooting investigations applicable to repair maintenance. Suggestions for extending these methods for decision making in preventive maintenance scheduling, as well as in other process control tasks are included.
Quest for Excellence Inspiration From the Ileum

The occasion of the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition 33rd Presidential Address was used to glean wisdom and inspiration from the ileum. Not only is this intestinal segment so central to the chief organ involved in specialized nutrition support, but it is a complex, yet elegant system that: (1) is interdisciplinary with actions coordinated to achieve a common goal; (2) looks to the future by mentoring the next generation of leaders; (3) constantly seeks evidence of its effectiveness and accordingly adjusts its practice; and (4) strategically forges synergistic partnerships with other habitants within its environment. As relevant within many other realms, it remains true that much can be learned from looking within.
The weak subintegral closure of an ideal

Abstract For an ideal I of a ring A , we introduce the notion of the weak subintegral closure of I in an extension B of A . This gives an ideal of the weak normalization of A in B and enables us to identify the homogeneous components of the weak normalization of the Rees ring A[It] in B[t] . We get a new closure operator on ideals of A by considering the weak subintegral closure in A .
Three-dimensional simulation of the Denver 11 July 1988 microburst-producing storm

Near Denver on July 11 1988, a moderate-reflectivity thunderstorm produced a microburst of unusual intensity during the test operation of the Terminal Doppler Weather Radar (TDWR) system. This microburst-producing storm, unlike those previously investigated, contained a complex updraft structure and an intense microburst downstream from the main precipitation shaft. Of special significance is that several successive airliners inadvertently encountered the microburst during final approach to Stapleton Airport. This paper focuses on the numerical investigation of this storm-via simulation with the Terminal Area Simulation System (TASS). Evolution and structure of the storm, including hazard indices based onF-factor, are presented and compared with “observed” data, including that measured by Doppler radar and aircraft flight data recorders.
Bioreduction of uranium(VI) complexed with citric acid by Clostridia affects its structure and solubility.

Uranium contamination of the environment from mining and milling operations, nuclear-waste disposal, and ammunition use is a widespread global problem. Natural attenuation processes such as bacteri...
A special report on the chitosan-based hemostatic dressing: experience in current combat operations.

Background:Hemorrhage remains a leading cause of death in both civilian and military trauma patients. The HemCon chitosan-based hemostatic dressing is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for hemorrhage control. Animal data have shown the HemCon dressing to reduce hemorrhage and imp
Attachment to God, Spiritual Coping, and Alcohol Use

We examined the effect of emotional God attachment on undergraduates' alcohol use generally and for coping purposes and whether spiritual coping styles (collaborative, deferring, and self-directing) drive this effect. As hypothesized, people who feel secure in their emotional relationship with God use significantly more deferring, more collaborative, and less self-directing coping styles than people who feel anxious-ambivalent in their emotional relationship to God. Anxious-ambivalents use significantly more deferring, more collaborative, and less self-directing coping than people who feel disengaged from God (avoidants). Secures use alcohol significantly less than anxious-ambivalents, who use alcohol significantly less than avoidants. The effect of God attachment on general alcohol use was mediated by the use of self-directing (but not deferring or collaborative) spiritual coping style.
The need for an organizational knowledge management

Projects can cause organizations to perform in new ways resulting in the generation of knowledge. Project learning occurs when new knowledge is captured, disseminated, and used by the project team. Y2K utility projects were studied with respect to knowledge benefits and management. Projects from developed countries using western technology were found to have knowledge benefits but their organizations were doing a poor job of capturing them. It was hypothesized that the failure to capture knowledge benefits was due to organizations not having an organizational knowledge management strategy. The respondents were surveyed with respect to their organization's knowledge strategy. The number of knowledge benefits and capture actions taken was compared between projects that had a knowledge strategy and those that did not. A significant correlation was found between the dependent variables and knowledge management strategy for those organizations having an organizational strategy both during Y2K and now. No significant correlation was found with those projects that had a strategy either during Y2K or now. Finally, types of capture actions taken were assessed using percent of respondents taking the capture action. Modifying existing processes and procedures was found to occur much more often in projects having a knowledge strategy. The implications are that project-based knowledge management systems, KMS, within organizations can successfully capture and transfer tacit knowledge without capturing context. However, organizations are much more likely to capture knowledge benefits if they have an organizational knowledge management strategy.
Microstructure and Room Temperature Properties of a High-Entropy TaNbHfZrTi Alloy (Postprint)

Abstract : A refractory alloy, Ta20Nb20Hf20Zr20Ti20, was produced by vacuum arc-melting. The as-solidified alloy had a dendritic structure, which was not affected by hot isostatic pressing (HI Ping) conducted at T = 1200 deg C and p = 207 MPa for 3 hours. The alloy had a single-phase body-centered cubic (BCC) structure with the lattice parameter a= 340.44 pm. The alloy density and Vickers microhardness after HIPing were p = 9.94 g/cm3 and Hv = 3826 MPa. Room temperature compression testing of HIPd samples revealed excellent ductility. The samples deformed homogeneously without any evidence of cracking at least up to 50% compression strain. Continuous strengthening followed yielding at 807 MPa. A simple model of solid-solution strengthening is proposed to explain the behavior.
A possible role for endogenous glucocorticoids in orchiectomy-induced atrophy of the rat levator ani muscle: studies with RU 38486, a potent and selective antiglucocorticoid

RU38486, a potent and selective antiglucocorticoid, was employed to study a possible role for endogenous glucocorticoids in atrophy of the levator ani muscle secondary to castration of male rats. RU38486 was shown to block (3H) triamcinolone acetonide binding to cytosol from levator ani muscle. Daily oral administration of RU38486 to castrated rats partially prevented atrophy of the levator ani muscle, as well as a decrease in RNA concentration. In a control group receiving RU38486 alone, the levator ani underwent significant (20%) hypertrophy. Administration of exogenous dexamethasone also caused pronounced atrophy of the levator ani muscle. This atrophy was prevented, to a significant degree, by simultaneous oral administration of RU38486. It is concluded that endogenous glucocorticoids, the actions of which are blocked by RU38486, may be involved in regulation of the mass of the levator ani muscle in intact rats.
Improved fluid management utilizing humidified incubators in extremely low birth weight infants.

Improved Fluid Management Utilizing Humidified Incubators in Extremely Low Birth Weight Infants
ADHD and Stroop interference from age 9 to age 41 years: a meta-analysis of developmental effects.

BackgroundIn this meta-analysis, we investigated whether response inhibition is sensitive to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) status and, if so, what influence maturation has on this attentional symptom of ADHD.MethodWe examined 25 studies that reported data on the Stroop color word test in children and adults with ADHD and in age-matched controls; average ages ranged from 9 to 41 years. We utilized a hierarchical approach to analyze the strength of the Stroop effect and whether the effect varies as a function of age. Additionally, we assessed potential differences in maturation rates based on reaction time (RT) of color and color-word conditions.ResultsFirst, we found that the relationship between color-word and color RT was multiplicative, and the slope of this function (the ratio of color-word RT over color RT) was identical across age groups and ADHD status. Second, we found that although ADHD individuals were on average 1.14 times slower than age-matched controls in both the color and the color-word condition, the maturation rate was identical for both groups.ConclusionsThe results from this analysis indicate that the Stroop interference effect is not larger in ADHD individuals than in age-matched controls. Further, we did not find evidence for differential maturation rates for persons with ADHD and the control groups. The Stroop interference effect appears to be immune to age, regardless of ADHD status.
Reversed-phase liquid chromatographic isolation of lubimin and solavetivone from Hyoscyamus muticus “hairy” root cultures

Abstract A high-performance liquid chromatographic reversed-phase procedure was developed to estimate the concentration of sesquiterpene phytoalexins secreted into the media by Agrobacterium transformed root cultures of Hyoscyamus muticus . An isolation procedure based on solid-phase extraction (C 18 Sep-pak) results in very rapid analysis and gives full recovery, compared to sequential chloroform extraction. A simple isocratic procedure permits quantification of sesquiterpene production by these root cultures in response to exposure to fungal elicitors. Calibration curves for lubimin and solavetivone content were obtained by fractionating sufficient material to provide a measurable weight. The identity of these compounds was confirmed by TLC, UV, GC-MS, and NMR. This experimental system is being used to examine the regulation of sesquiterpene biosynthesis, and to develop large-scale processing techniques for the production of secondary metabolises from plant roots grown in bioreactor systems.
The electronic spectrum of AuO: a combined theoretical and experimental study.

The near-infrared electronic spectrum of AuO1 has been re-examined in light of the new microwave data on the nu = 0 and nu = 1 vibrations of the X-2 Pi(3/2) state of AuO. The two observed bands in the spectrum, with red-degraded bandheads located at 10726 and 10665 cm(-1), have been reanalyzed. New theoretical work on AuO clarifies the electronic structure, and the bands in the infrared are now assigned as the (0,1) and (1,2) bands of the a(4)Sigma(-)(3/2) - X-2 Pi(3/2) transition, respectively.
Uniqueness of Connecting Orbits in the Equation Y(3) = Y2 - 1.

Abstract The differential equation of the title arises (in particular) in the study of shock waves (N. Kopell and L. Howard, Advan. in Math. 18 (1975), 306–358). The equation has two rest points; the question is whether there are solutions running between them. Existence of such connecting solutions is proved independantly in C. Conley (“Isolated Invariant Sets and the Morse Index,” Cont. Bd. Math. Sci, No. 38, Amer. Math. Soc., Providence, R. I. 1978) and Kopell and Howard ( ibid. ). The uniqueness is proved in this paper.
Self-care practices of college students.

Abstract The literature indicates that the majority of symptoms of minor illness or injury experienced by individuals are handled routinely through some form of self-care. Less well described are the sources of information relied on in the self-care decision-making process. The purpose of this study was to assess the use of self-care measures by college students prior to visiting a student health service and, if self-care was undertaken, to determine the source(s) of self-care information. Results indicated that almost two thirds of the subjects had engaged in self-care for the symptoms that led to their visits. The most popular sources of self-care information included family members or friends, prior interaction with a health care provider, and nonprescription medication advertisements. This study did not address the appropriateness of the self-care information obtained; therefore, the quality of the information was not analyzed. Due to the prevalence of self-care among college students, attempts should...
EC catalysis of ascorbic acid oxidation using plasma polymerized vinylferrocene film electrodes

Abstract The use of radio frequency plasma discharges of neat vinylferrocene to chemically modify pyrolytic graphite electrode surfaces is discussed. The plasma process yields a stable coating of electroactive polymer, the thickness of which may be varied by controlling the duration of the plasma discharge reaction. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy has been utilized to characterize the modified electrode surfaces, and the results indicate that the surface composition varies as a function of placement of the substrate in the plasma reactor. The electrochemical behavior of the plasma polymerized vinylferrocene films has been investigated by cyclic voltammetry. The voltammograms show marked differences in charge transport kinetics in aqueous vs. nonaqueous (acetonitrile) media. The plasma-deposited films are shown to be electrocatalytically active in the oxidation of ascorbic acid in aqueous acidic solutions. The implications of charge transport, counter ion transport, and substrate (ascorbic acid) transport kinetics with respect to the efficiency of the electrocatalytic reaction are also discussed.
LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS FOR RESPONSE EXERCISE PROGRAM1

ABSTRACT The National Preparedness for Response Exercise Program (PREP) was developed to meet the intent of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90). PREP is a unified federal effort and incorporates...
Geometric substitution: a tutorial

A collection of rewrite rules that transform simple polyhedral models (and polyhedral control meshes) into richer, more visually expressive models is presented. All are based on simple transformations that can be easily implemented and extended. The focus is mostly on techniques of cell replacement, where a unit of the structure (typically a polygon or polyhedron) is replaced by one or more variant units. Such replacements are encoded in rewrite rules. The approach presented helps a modeler who, having created a simple low-detail model, wants to amplify that shape's complexity. Features of the substrate model (such as symmetry relationships and prominent surface features) are generally conserved and often echoed and enhanced in the amplified shape. >
High-throughput simultaneous determination of the HIV protease inhibitors indinavir and L-756423 in human plasma using semi-automated 96-well solid phase extraction and LC-MS/MS.

Abstract A method for the simultaneous determination of the HIV protease inhibitors indinavir and L-756423, in human plasma has been developed. Plasma samples (0.5 ml) were extracted using a 3M Empore™ 96-well plate in the mixed phase cation exchange (MPC) format. The extraction method was automated through the application of both the Packard 204DT and TOMTEC Quadra 96 work stations, and the resulting extracts were analyzed using a PE-Sciex API-3000 LC-MS/MS with a heated nebulizer interface (500°C). The assay was linear in the concentration range 1–2500 ng/ml for indinavir and 5–2500 ng/ml for L-756423 when 0.5-ml aliquots of plasma were extracted. Recoveries of indinavir and L-756423 were greater than 76 and 80%, respectively, over the calibration curve range when using the described sample preparation method. Within-batch precision and accuracy for the quantitation of indinavir over the range 1–2500 ng/ml were 5.4% R.S.D. or less and within 4.0%, respectively. Within-batch precision and accuracy for the quantitation of L-756423 over the range 5–2500 ng/ml were 5.3% R.S.D. or less and within 3.4%, respectively. Interbatch variability for the analysis of indinavir QC samples at low (3 ng/ml), middle (250 ng/ml) and high (2250 ng/ml) were 3.2, 2.9, and 1.9%, respectively. Interbatch variability for the analysis of L-756423 QC samples at low (15 ng/ml), middle (250 ng/ml) and high (2250 ng/ml) concentration were 2.0, 2.5, and 3.3%, respectively. The validated assay was used in support of human clinical trials.
Inflammation-induced changes in serum modulate chicken macrophage function ☆

Abstract Inflammation-induced changes in serum protein profiles and the effects of such serum on a chicken macrophage cell line HD11 were studied to find whether the changes in serum affect cellular immunity. Four-week-old male broiler chickens were injected subcutaneously with either olive oil or 50% croton oil mixed in olive oil to induce inflammation. The birds were bled at 48 h after injection, and serum protein profiles were compared using sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and densitometric evaluation. At 48 h post-injection the serum from croton oil-injected birds showed distinct changes in protein profiles characterized by a selective increase or decrease in levels of several serum proteins. The protein bands which showed increases had relative molecular weights (Mr) corresponding to 65 kilo Daltons (kD), 42 kD, and two or more proteins with Mr≥200 kD. The levels of serum albumin (49 kD), and a 56 kD protein were reduced in croton oil-injected birds. The modulating effects of such serum on HD11 cells were studied using bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) induced functional activation of these cells. The LPS-induced interleukin-6 (IL-6) production by HD11 cells was not affected by the presence of either olive oil-treated control or croton oil-treated inflammatory serum but nitrite production was enhanced by the inflammatory serum. Similarly, inflammatory serum also enhanced PMA-induced respiratory burst measured using dichlorofluorescein diacetate (DCF-DA) oxidation mediated by reactive oxygen intermediates. These results suggest that inflammatory serum can modulate macrophage function by influencing the production of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species which could affect their phagocytic and bactericidal activities.
Numerical demonstration of high sensitivity to initial conditions in solutions of the complete Maxwell–Bloch equations for certain parameters

Abstract The solutions of Maxwell–Bloch equations in a slab of homogeneously broadened two-level atoms almost all initially inverted and prepared in a coherent state exhibit high sensitivity to initial conditions for slabs having width in narrow windows around n λ 0 / 2 (n is an integer and λ 0 is the wavelength of the atomic transition). Sectors with two dominant modes define these windows. I compute the changes in the ratio of the forward over backward fluxes, in these sectors, as a function of the slab width and the difference in initial atomic population.
Quantum fluctuations in CP(1): Equivalence of Coulomb and dilute gas descriptions☆

Abstract We show that the Coulomb gas description of quantum fluctuations in CP(1) is precisely equivalent to the dilute gas formula.
Susceptibility of Rorschach distress correlates to malingering.

This study examined whether faking depression can affect Rorschach variables associated with distress. Fifty-eight nondepressed undergraduates were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups of 29 subjects each. All subjects took the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) Depression Scale, Rorschach Inkblot Test, and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) under standard administration procedures. Immediately before taking the Rorschach and BDI, experimental group subjects were: (a) instructed to fake depression, (b) provided with a clinical description of the disorder, and (c) offered a cash incentive for the most convincing test display of depression. These conditions increased scores on the BDI, p < .0001, Morbid Special Score, p < .05, Bl, p < .005, and reduced R, p < .05, but affected no determinants. Power to detect a clinically significant effect of faking on the sum of gray-black determinants was .99 (α = .05). Major implications are: (a) abnormal frequencies of determinants should n...
Benefits of dynamic susceptibility-weighted contrast-enhanced perfusion MRI for glioma diagnosis and therapy

Glioma are the most common supra-tentorial brain tumor in the USA with an estimated annual incidence of 17,000 new cases per year. Dynamic susceptibility-weighted contrast-enhanced (DSC) perfusion MRI noninvasively characterizes tumor biology allowing for the diagnosis and therapeutic monitoring of glioma. This MRI technique utilizes the rapid changes in signal intensity caused by a rapid intravascular bolus of paramagnetic contrast agent to calculate physiologic perfusion metrics. DSC perfusion MRI has increasingly become an integrated part of glioma imaging. The specific aim of this article is to review the benefits of DSC perfusion MRI in the therapy of glioma.
Infant Day Care Facilitates Preschool Social Behavior.

Seventy-one preschool-age children entering infant day care at varying times and receiving varying amounts of infant day care were compared on their reunion-with-parent behavior, teacher and parent ratings of their behavior, and playground play interactions. Age of entry into day care (≤ 6 months vs. > 6 months) had no significant effect on attachment to mother as measured by reunion behaviors or on play and socialization skills as measured by observation and behavior rating scales in a full-time day-care setting. Furthermore, children with more hours and months of day care engaged in less watching, solitary play, and teacher comfort-seeking behavior, and they showed more cooperative play, positive affect, peer interaction, and positive verbal interaction. Thus continuous infant day care in quality centers appears to facilitate preschool social behavior and does not negatively affect attachment behavior.
Stability of an extemporaneously prepared alcohol-free phenobarbital suspension.

Purpose. The physical and chemical short-term stability of alcohol-free, oral suspensions of phenobarbital 10 mg/mL prepared from commercially available tablets in both a sugar and a sugar-free vehicle was assessed at room temperature. Methods. Phenobarbital oral suspension 10 mg/mL was prepared by crushing 10 60-mg tablets of phenobarbital with a mortar and pestle. A small amount of Ora-Plus was added to the phenobarbital powder to sufficiently wet the particles. A 1:1 mixture of Ora-Plus and either Ora-Sweet or Ora-Sweet SF was combined with the phenobarbital powder to produce a final volume of 60 mL. Three identical samples of each of the two different formulations were prepared and stored at room temperature in 2-oz amber plastic bottles. Immediately after preparation and at 15, 30, 60, and 115 days, the samples were assayed in duplicate by stability-indicating high-performance liquid chromatography. The samples were tasted and inspected for color and odor changes. The percent of the initial concentration remaining at each study time for each phenobarbital suspension was determined. Stability was defined as the retention of at least 90% of the initial concentration. Results. There were no detectable changes in color, odor, and taste and no visible microbial growth in any sample. At least 98% of the initial phenobarbital concentration remained throughout the 115-day study period in both preparations. Conclusion. An extemporaneously prepared alcohol-free suspension of phenobarbital 10 mg/mL in a 1:1 mixture of Ora-Plus and Ora-Sweet or Ora-Sweet SF was stable for at least 115 days when stored in 2-oz amber plastic bottles at room temperature.
Nonvolatile bistability effect based on the electrically controlled phase transition in scaled magnetic semiconductor nanostructures

We explore the bistability effect in a dimensionally scaled semiconductor nanostruncture consisting of a diluted magnetic semiconductor quantum dot (QD) and a reservoir of itinerant holes separated by a barrier. The bistability stems from the magnetic phase transition in the QD mediated by the changes in the hole population. Our calculation shows that when properly designed, the thermodynamic equilibrium of the scaled structure can be achieved at two different configurations; i.e., the one with the QD in a ferromagnetic state with a sufficient number of holes and the other with the depopulated QD in a paramagnetic state. Subsequently, the parameter window suitable for this bistability formation is discussed along with the the conditions for the maximum robustness/non-volatility. To examine the issue of scaling, an estimation of the bistabiity lifetime is made by considering the thermal fluctuation in the QD hole population via the spontaneous transitions. A numerical evaluation is carried out for a typical carrier-mediated magnetic semiconductor (e.g., GaMnAs) as well as for a hypothetical case of high Curie temperature for potential room temperature operation.
The role of race in time to treatment after subarachnoid hemorrhage.

OBJECTIVE Blacks have higher mortality rates from aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) than Caucasians. The time to treatment for aneurysmal SAH has been found to correlate with mortality and outcome. Therefore, we examined racial differences in the time to treatment of aneurysmal SAH among patients from the Greater Cincinnati area. METHODS We evaluated data from 439 adult aneurysmal SAH patients prospectively identified from May 1997 to August 2001 and July 2002 to March 2005. The primary outcome measure was time to treatment, defined as elapsed time from arrival in the emergency department to aneurysm treatment. A multivariable model was constructed to determine the role of potential variables, including race, on time to treatment for SAH. RESULTS In univariate analysis, Caucasian patients were significantly older than black patients (P < 0.0001) and were more likely to be male (P = 0.014), insured (P < 0.0001), and transferred from emergency departments of presentation to other hospitals (P < 0.0001). Black patients were more likely to have anterior circulation aneurysms (P = 0.009) and preexisting hypertension (P < 0.001). In univariate analysis, anterior circulation aneurysms showed a trend toward earlier treatment than posterior circulation aneurysms (P = 0.07). In multivariable models, race was not associated with time to treatment or case-fatality rate. Patients transferred from other facilities were treated more expeditiously than patients who presented directly to the emergency department (P = 0.003), and a history of diabetes mellitus was associated with delay in treatment (P = 0.05). CONCLUSION Race was not associated with time to treatment after aneurysmal SAH in the Greater Cincinnati area. Reducing the increased burden of SAH mortality among blacks must be addressed at the prevention stage.
A New Chroma-Processing IC Using Sample-and-Hold Techiques

This paper describes a monolithic integrated circuit for processing the chrominance signal in a color television receiver. In performing the functions of color subcarrier regeneration and chroma control, emphasis has been placed on utilizing all the information available in the signal so as to approach ulti-mate system performance capability, while at the same time substantially reducing the number of external components and adjustments.
Power of Affected Sibling Method Tests for Linkage

When the mode of inheritance of a disease susceptibility (DS) gene is unknown, the affected sibling method can be applied to study whether a DS gene and a marker gene are linked. This method considers
Contribution of the Shigella flexneri Sit, Iuc, and Feo Iron Acquisition Systems to Iron Acquisition In Vitro and in Cultured Cells

Shigella flexneri possesses multiple iron acquisition systems, including proteins involved in the synthesis and uptake of siderophores and the Feo system for ferrous iron utilization. We identified an additional S. flexneri putative iron transport gene, sitA, in a screen for S. flexneri genes that are induced in the eukaryotic intracellular environment. sitA was present in all Shigella species and in most enteroinvasive Escherichia coli strains but not in any other E. coli isolates tested. The sit locus consists of four genes encoding a potential ABC transport system. The deduced amino acid sequence of the S. flexneri sit locus was homologous to the Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium Sit and Yersinia pestis Yfe systems, which mediate both manganese and iron transport. The S. flexneri sit promoter was repressed by either iron or manganese, and the iron repression was partially dependent upon Fur. A sitA::cam mutation was constructed in S. flexneri. The sitA mutant showed reduced growth, relative to the wild type, in Luria broth containing an iron chelator but formed wild-type plaques on Henle cell monolayers, indicating that the sitA mutant was able to acquire iron and/or manganese in the host cell. However, mutants defective in two of these iron acquisition systems (sitA iucD, sitA feoB, and feoB iucD) formed slightly smaller plaques on Henle cell monolayers. A strain carrying mutations in sitA, feoB, and iucD did not form plaques on Henle cell monolayers.