cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Structural Characteristics and Diffusion Coefficient of Alginate Hydrogels Used for Cell Based Drug Delivery

Alginate is a hydrogel polymer commonly used in multiple drug delivery and cellular tissue transplantation applications. Tunability, gel formation, and stabilization properties of this biopolymer contributes to a better controlled and prolonged release of encapsulated drugs as well as the ability to provide immunoisolation to transplanted cells. One commonly used application of this biopolymer is pancreatic islet transplantation, as a promising approach of providing insulin to type 1 diabetics. The encapsulant alginate provides passage to nutrients, glucose and oxygen and allows the insulin to diffuse while blocking immunoglobulins. In this study, a hydrogel encapsulator is designed and used to fabricate spherical alginate microcapsules. These capsules are then incubated in either a calcium chloride solution typical used to polymerize alginate or a physiological media formulated to mimic in vivo conditions. The diffusion of different molecular weight particles tagged with spectrally distinct fluorescent molecules into the microspheres is observed using confocal laser microscopy. We characterize changes in diffusional characteristics of these molecules within alginate spheres as a function of incubation duration. We estimate diffusion coefficients (D) from fluorescence image series and observe a notable increase in capsule permeability once incubated in physiological media. Our strategy can serve as quantitative method to analyze structural changes in hydrogels.
Toward Computed Detection of Nodules in Chest Radiographs

The detection of pulmonary nodules is recognized by radiologests as an important segment of the analysis and diagnosis of chest radiographs. Garland (1950) and others have demonstrated that radiologists routinely miss about 30% of the abnormalities visible in chest film radiographs. Ziskin et al. (1971) show that radiologists produce about as many or more false positives than false negatives when they search for a solitary nodule in a chest radiograph.
Plant germplasm preservation: a global perspective

An enormous amount of crop genetic resources has been collected in the past two decades. Emphasis now is shifting to the post-collecting phases and to problems of storing material not easily conserved as seed. Coordination of work among genebanks is badly needed to carry out conservation and evaluation work efficiently. However, the budgets to support necessary research and development will be large, but are not yet in evidence. There is a growing awareness of the importance of germplasm conservation, but translation into financial support must come from various national, international, and industry sources. This paper relates action taken by the International Board for Plant Genetic Resources since its creation in 1974; draws out the lessons from this experience; and outlines future needs in research and organization.
Towards a Unified Approach to (In)Decision: Routing, Games, Circuits, Consensus, and Beyond

In this paper, we explore a unified treatment of the difficulty of reaching a decision in constrained distributed computing environments in which there is a lack of global coordination or knowledge. We show a general impossibility result for a broad class of decision protocols. Importantly, our impossibility result holds, in particular, for “asynchronous, distributed, historyless computation”, in which each computational node’s selection of actions only depends on the current actions of other nodes, even under the assumption that no node can be faulty. We consider implications of our impossibility result across a wide variety of interesting and timely applications in which historyless computation arises: Internet interdomain routing protocols, congestion-control protocols, diffusion of technologies in social networks, dynamics in games, and asynchronous circuits. We also show that Fischer, Lynch, and Paterson’s classical result showing the impossibility of consensus in the presence of faults can be easily derived from our general result. The power and generality of our approach suggest that it may be useful for further unifying the constraints imposed by local knowledge, leading to a deeper understanding of the boundary of what is and is not possible in a range of computing environments. Supported in part by the DIMACS Special Focus on Communication Security and Information Privacy Partially supported by NSF grants 0751674 and 0753492. Supported by NSF grant 0331548. Partially supported by NSF grant 0753061.
FATODE: a library for forward, adjoint and tangent linear integration of stiff systems

The FATODE, which is extracted from the KPP numerical libraray, is a Fortran programming library for the integration of stiff ODE systems. It incorporates a set of generic linear solvers suitable for large sparse systems. And the set allows users to add their own implementation conveniently. FATODE contains three families of methods - fully implicit Runge-Kutta methods, SDIRK methods and Rosenbrock methods. For each family, forward, adjoint and tangent linear models are implemented, which enables FATODE for direct and adjoint sensitivity analysis. In this paper, we describe the implementation aspects of FATODE, code organization and usage aspects. Then we demonstrate a simple example of its application on a small chemical mechanism for both ODE integration and sensitivity analysis.
Coexistence of Different Types of Sodium Channels in Striated Muscle and Nerve

The multiplicity of sodium channels found in excitable tissues has been represented most commonly as differences in binding affinities of the channels for certain highly specific neurotoxins, notably tetrodotoxin (TTX), saxitoxin (STX), and their respective derivatives. The discovery of functional differences between channel types is more recent and there are still relatively few well-described cases. Examples of functional differences between sodium channels may be categorized as follows: (i) differences between sodium channels in different tissues, for example, innervated muscle and nerve versus heart muscle; (ii) differences between distinct populations of sodium channels in the same cell membrane, and (iii) different open states of a single sodium channel type that interconverts.
Pupae of the Nearctic species of Culicoides Latreille subgenus Monoculicoides Khalaf (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae).

There are 160 valid species of Culicoides Latreille described from the Nearctic Region, but many are unknown as immatures or, although partially described, cannot be readily identified. We provide pupal diagnoses, descriptions, and a key to all seven known species of Culicoides subgenus Monoculicoides Khalaf occurring in the Nearctic biogeographic region. A diagnosis of several characters unique to this subgenus is provided to allow for the recognition of the included species from those of other subgeneric groupings. Microphotography of important morphological characters for both the key and descriptions are provided. This study highlights the usefulness of examining the pupae of Culicoides as a tool for species identification. The pupae of Culicoides grandensis Grogan & Phillips, C. occidentalis Wirth & Jones, and C. shemanchuki Grogan & Lysyk are newly described and those of C. riethi Kieffer, C. stigma (Meigen), and C. variipennis Wirth & Jones are redescribed in detail. The seventh species, C. sonorensis , was fully described recently.
Multi-Stakeholder Consensus Decision-Making Framework Based on Trust: A Generic Framework

The decision-making process is one we encounter in every aspect of our lives. Decision-making becomes more challenging when dealing with multi-stakeholder decisions due to the existence of conflicts among them and the diversity in their expertise. As a result, the influence among them, which is represented by trust, is considered to be an important criterion when one is making a final decision. Such trust is a result of the interactions among those stakeholders. Rating is one of the methods that stakeholders use in their interactions to express their opinions of one another. It requires a decision that is agreed upon by everyone; of course, it might take several rounds to reach a final consensus decision. In this research study, we built a consensus decision-making framework based on trust. The trust framework has been proposed previously and is based on measurement theory. Then, we developed software to simulate the decision-making scenarios to study the rating convergences in these decision-making rounds and to investigate their convergences with and without trust. This simulator was designed to emulate humans' behaviors from a social science perspective. Our result showed that measurement theory-based trust is useful in the consensus-creating process, as it decreases the number of necessary rounds and even creates a consensus when an extreme conflict in preferences exists.
Misperceptions at Work: Failure to Drink, Failure to Launch

While drinking in most work contexts is strictly prohibited, it may be encouraged in some work contexts such as happy hours, office parties, and after-work socialization activities. In particular, ...
Response sensitivity for geometrically nonlinear displacement-based beam-column elements

Abstract Accurate and efficient response gradients are required in structural reliability, optimization, and system identification applications where the structural system is expected to yield under significant deformations. The direct differentiation method (DDM) is applied to the response sensitivity of displacement-based beam-column finite elements with geometric nonlinearity due to moderate rotations in the basic system. The derived sensitivity equations are implemented in the OpenSees software framework. Stand-alone sensitivity analyses using the DDM and finite difference method (FDM) validate the sensitivity equations for example structures with nonlinear static and dynamic response. Finite element reliability analysis of a steel frame shows that, relative to a geometrically linear formulation, using geometrically nonlinear displacement-based elements increases the probability of failure and affects the importance ranking of the random variables. In addition, for a performance function based on residual capacity at a target lateral displacement, the frame strength at the design point is higher than that obtained when using geometrically linear elements. The developed sensitivity equations increase the number of nonlinear finite element formulations available for gradient-based applications in structural engineering.
Robotic Reliability Engineering: Experience from Long-Term TritonBot Development

While many researchers have built service robot prototypes that work perfectly under close human supervision, deploying an autonomous robot in an open environment for a long time is not always trivial. This paper presents our experience with TritonBot, a long-term autonomous receptionist and tour guide robot. We deployed TritonBot as an example to study reliability challenges in long-term autonomous service robots. During the past two years, we regularly did maintenance, fixed issues, and rolled out new features. In the process, we identified reliability engineering challenges in three aspects of long-term autonomy: scalability, resilience, and learning; we also formulated techniques to confront these challenges. Our experience shows that proper engineering practices and design principles reduce manual interventions and increase general reliability in long-term autonomous service robot deployments.
Evaluation of immunologic and intestinal effects in rats administered an E 171-containing diet, a food grade titanium dioxide (TiO2)

Abstract The toxicity of dietary E 171, a food grade titanium dioxide was evaluated. A recent study reported rats receiving E 171 in water developed inflammation and aberrant crypt foci (ACF) in the gastrointestinal tract. Here, rats received food containing E 171 (7 or 100 days). The 100-day study included feeding E 171 after dimethylhydrazine (DMH) or vehicle only pretreatment. Food consumption was similar between treatment groups with maximum total cumulative E 171 exposure being 2617 mg/kg in 7 days and 29,400 mg/kg in 100 days. No differences were observed due to E 171 in the percentage of dendritic, CD4+ T or Treg cells within Peyer's patches or the periphery, or in cytokine production in plasma, sections of jejunum, and colon in 7- or 100-day E 171 alone fed rats. Differences were observed for IL-17A in colon (400 ppm E 171 + DMH) and IL-12p70 in plasma (40 ppm E 171 + DMH). E 171 had no effect on histopathologic evaluations of small and large intestines, liver, spleen, lungs, or testes, and no effects on ACF, goblet cell numbers, or colonic gland length. Dietary E 171 administration (7- or 100-day), even at high doses, produced no effect on the immune parameters or tissue morphology.
Intimations of the Utopian Dream

The books reviewed here reconsider the idea of ecosocialism in light of the realities of climate change, and of recent publicity granted to climate change in public discourse. Climate change mitiga...
Ferrate(VI) pretreatment before disinfection: An effective approach to controlling unsaturated and aromatic halo-disinfection byproducts in chlorinated and chloraminated drinking waters

Abstract Disinfection is an essential process of drinking water treatment to eliminate harmful pathogens, but it generates potentially toxic disinfection byproducts (DBPs). Ferrate (FeO42-, Fe(VI)) was used to pre-oxidize natural organic matter (NOM, the precursor of DBPs) in source water to control DBP formation in subsequent chlorine or chloramine disinfection. Currently, it is unclear how Fe(VI) changes the structure of NOM, and no information details the effect of Fe(VI) pretreatment on the aromatic DBPs or the speciation of overall DBPs generated in subsequent disinfection of drinking water. In the present paper, Fe(VI) was applied to pretreat simulated source water samples at a Fe(VI) to dissolved organic carbon mole ratio of 1:1 at pH 8.0. 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy was newly employed to characterize NOM in simulated source waters with and without Fe(VI) treatment, and it was demonstrated that Fe(VI) converted unsaturated aromatic C functional groups in NOM to saturated aliphatic ones. High-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) and high performance liquid chromatography/triple quadrupole MS were applied to analyze the DBPs generated in chlorination and chloramination of the source waters with and without Fe(VI) pretreatment. It was confirmed that Fe(VI) pretreatment followed by chlorination (or chloramination), generated DBPs containing less unsaturated, halogenated, and aromatic moieties than chlorination (or chloramination) without pretreatment by Fe(VI). Finally, the cytotoxicity of disinfected drinking water samples were assessed with the human epithelial colorectal adenocarcinoma Caco-2 cell line (a model of the intestinal barrier for ingested toxicants), and the results show that Fe(VI) pretreatment detoxified the chlorinated and chloraminated drinking waters.
Promoting Human Security: Planned Relocation as a Protection Tool in a Time of Climate Change:

Executive SummaryIn light of the science and evidence on hazards and climate risk, and the scale and breadth of large-scale disasters witnessed around the world, it is time for states and other act...
How anxious is too anxious? State and trait physiological arousal predict anxious youth’s treatment response to brief cognitive behavioral therapy

Exposure therapy is the gold standard for treating childhood anxiety, yet not all youth improve. Children do not always have insight on their distress, which can limit the utility of self-reported units of distress (SUDS) during exposures. Physiological assessment provides an objective means of monitoring emotional arousal. Electrodermal activity (EDA) in particular indexes sympathetic nervous system arousal which is heavily linked to anxiety. The aim of the current study was to examine the feasibility and utility of incorporating EDA assessment in an in-session exposure. We examined concordance between EDA and SUDS, and whether either predicted treatment response. Thirty-four youth who met DSM-5 criteria for generalized, separation, and/or social anxiety disorder completed brief CBT (8 sessions) and completed a survey on trait physiological arousal. EDA and SUDS were collected from 18 youth (9 female, ages 9–14) during a mid-treatment exposure. Changes in anxiety severity were examined post-treatment. SUDS were not correlated with trait or state physiological arousal. There was a large association between heightened sympathetic arousal and poorer post-treatment response. Similarly, SUDS indices of greater fear activation and habituation were associated with poorer post-treatment response with a small to moderate effect size. Supplemental analyses among the full sample aligned: trait physiological arousal predicted poorer treatment response. The lack of concordance between sympathetic arousal and SUDS indices highlights the limitations of relying solely on SUDS with pediatric populations. EDA provided unique data on youth’s distress during exposures. Thus, results indicate that physiological assessment may exhibit clinical utility for aiding clinicians in monitoring youth’s progress in exposure therapy. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02259036.
Adaptation of Group-Based Suicide Intervention for Latinx Youth in a Community Mental Health Center

The purpose of this study was to better understand the sociocultural and logistical treatment needs and barriers of low-income Latinx suicidal youth; and to solicit feedback and identify best practices to adapt and implement a suicide treatment program for this population in a community mental health clinic. Working with the largest mental health care provider for urban area under- and uninsured patients, we conducted semi-structured interviews with Latinx suicidal youth (n = 6), their parents (n = 6), and clinical staff (n = 8). Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed thematically using a deductively-driven codebook corresponding to interview domains. We supplemented semi-structured interview findings with knowledge gleaned from an exhaustive literature search, including best practice findings from other studies. We also conducted a brief provider survey to ensure a diverse sample. Many parents and providers focused on several unmet mental health needs and multiple barriers to accessing treatment that are common among uninsured populations: a need to prioritize parent and adolescent work schedules, lack of transportation, unstable housing, and unmet childcare needs. Additionally, participants described several factors that play a critical role in treatment: stigma, religion, fear related to immigration, gender roles, and acculturation. We mapped these findings, along with literature-identified best practices, to create components of a culturally-tailored adaptation. We combined primary and secondary evidence of Latinx suicidal youth and families’ mental health needs and barriers to treatment to propose a tailored adaption of an intensive outpatient program that provides transdiagnostic, suicide-specific care to Latinx adolescents and families in a community setting.
The Ability of Practices to Report Clinical Quality Measures: More Evidence of the Size Paradox?

Purpose: To assess whether primary care practices with and without support from a larger organization differ in their ability to produce timely reports on cardiovascular disease quality measures. Background: Although many primary care practices are now part of larger organizations, it is not clear whether such a shift will improve the ability of those who work in these primary care settings to easily access and use their own data for improvement. Methods: Smaller primary care practices were enrolled in a trial of external practice support to build quality improvement (QI) capacity. A request for clinical quality measure (eCQM) data were sent to each practice and study outcomes were defined based on the date on which practices first submitted valid data for at least 1 of the 3 measures. A practice survey completed by a clinic manager captured practice characteristics, including the presence of QI support from a larger organization. Results: Of the 209 enrolled practices, 205 had complete data for analysis. Practices without central QI support had higher rates of eCQM submission at 30 days (38% vs 20%) and 60 days, (63% vs 48%) than practices with central QI support. Practices with central QI support took longer to submit data (median, 57 days) compared with practices without centralized support (median, 40 days) although this difference was not significant. Conclusion: The ability of smaller practices without centralized QI support to report their eCQMs more quickly may have implications for their subsequent ability to improve these measures.
Inventor Innovative Inequality in Software Technologies

Although the distribution of valuable inventions is highly skewed, the economics of superstars and increasing returns may increase inequality in inventor innovative activity. This paper develops a theoretical model to identify the relationship between increasing returns and inventor innovative inequality. Specifically, increased value of the dominant product, greater inventive value on the dominant product, and network effects increase innovative inequality, while the increased tendency for successful entrepreneurs to erode the incumbents position would decrease innovative inequality. Patent data from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is used to show that innovative inequality across inventors and patent assignees is increasing within software technologies, relative to other technologies over time. The empirical results are robust to controlling for a variety of characteristics of the industry life cycle.
In men with rectal chlamydia, 7-d doxycycline increased microbiologic cure at 4 wk vs. 1-dose azithromycin.

SOURCE CITATION Lau A, Kong FYS, Fairley CK, et al. Azithromycin or doxycycline for asymptomatic rectal chlamydia trachomatis. N Engl J Med. 2021;384:2418-27. 34161706.
Desarticulación de la máquina antropológica en “Axolotl” de Julio Cortázar.

RESUMEN: La literatura de Julio Cortazar ha expresado en diversos momentos la cuestion animal, dando constancia de su habilidad para exponer la percepcion del tiempo animal, su espacio, su campo visual, su umwelt, el medio del animal (vox Uexkull). En este articulo se analiza la obra “Axolotl” (1956), como pieza crucial de las preocupaciones de Cortazar en su busqueda por confrontar la maquina antropologica, vista como la forma de negacion de la animalidad humana y la subordinacion de lo animal, segun Giorgio Agamben. De ahi que la hipotesis de este articulo sostiene que “Axolotl”, mas que expresar una confrontacion humano-animal, incide en el devenir-animal (Deleuze y Guattari) como via de acceso a una posibilidad ontologica. Con ello, el devenir animal conforma un dispositivo de oposicion y desarticulacion de la maquina antropologica, a traves de lineas de fuga y desterritorializaciones; ademas, en el plano discursivo, esta ficcion plantea la posibilidad para una zoo-autobiografia, una capacidad compartida para producir un discurso del yo, animal y humano, ambos como animales autobiograficos (Derrida).
Geographic location, ownership and profitability of Washington log trucking companies

Deregulation of hauling rates can create more intense competition among log truck- ing companies within the industry, making it more difficult for firms to operate profitably. This paper investigates the role of ownership and geographic location in the profitability of commer- cial log trucking companies inWashington State, using data from an extensive 2007 log trucking survey. Overall, we found that profitability of the log trucking firm is significantly influenced by ownership and geographic location. Density positively affects firm profitability, indicating that benefits from clustering outweigh the decrease in hauling rates due to competition of spatially close trucking firms.
New Governance, Financial Regulation, and Challenges to Legitimacy: The Example of the Internal Models Approach to Capital Adequacy Regulation

This Article considers the application of “new governance” theory and scholarship to financial regulatory reform by examining the recent trend of incorporating proprietary internal risk models into capital adequacy regulatory regimes. I contend that theoretical scrutiny of the methodologies and tools by which financial institutions are regulated - especially the modes of interaction between financial firms, their regulators, and other nonstate stakeholders - is relatively under-emphasized in financial regulation legal scholarship. New governance scholarship focuses on these modes of interaction and tools of governance as primary units of inquiry, and offers important insights into the causes and potential remedies of regulatory dysfunction, as well as the dangers associated with increased involvement of regulatees and other nonstate actors in regulatory processes. This Article finds that the bank regulators adopted this “internal models approach” to capital adequacy in order to bridge information deficits that had grown between regulators and the increasingly complex financial institutions they regulated. Banks developed a new financial “code” using advances in computer technology and theoretical finance, which accelerated the complexity paradigm of post-Bretton Woods finance. Regulators were overwhelmed and sought to use the new financial code to better comprehend the banks’ operations. Despite its manifold advantages as a new governance tool in a highly complex and dynamic regulated field, the internal models approach falls into traps familiar to new governance reforms that render it susceptible to literal and softer forms of agency capture, and which compromise its democratic legitimacy and effectiveness.
Invention by design: how engineers get from thought to thing

Preface Introduction Paper Clips and Design Pencil Points and Analysis Zippers and Development Aluminum Cans and Failure Facsimile and Networks Airplanes and Computers Water and Society Bridges and Politics Buildings and Systems References and Further Reading Illustration Credits Index
A Model for the Shared Care of Elderly Patients with Cancer

A model of care for elderly patients with cancer is suggested that incorporates the concept of shared care by various disciplines but in particular the oncologist and primary care provider or geriatrician. Degrees of participation will vary over time, depending upon the needs of the patient and family.
Modelling distributed systems

Abstract : Distributed systems are multi-processor information processing systems which do not rely on the central shared memory for communication. This paper presents ideas and techniques in modelling distributed systems and its application to Artificial Intelligence. In section 2 and 3, we discuss a model of distributed systems and its specification and verification techniques. We introduce a simple example of air line reservation systems in Section 4 and illustrate our specification and verification techniques for this example in the subsequent sections. Then we discuss our further work. (Author)
Pilot Study on the Feasibility and Indicator Effects of Collaborative Online Projects on Science Learning for English Learners

The 2006 National Science Board called for new strategies and instructional materials for teachers to better serve English Learners' (EL) needs. Bilingual Collaborative Online Projects in science were created to assist ELs' construction of science knowledge, facilitate academic English acquisition, and improve science learning. Two bilingual Collaborative Online Project units in science are freely available on an instructional website: the Let's Help Our Environment and the What Your Body Needs units. These projects combine two constructivist approaches, Project-Based Learning and the Cognitive-Affective Theory of Learning with Media, for the teaching of science embedded in culturally and linguistically relevant instruction. This study hypothesizes that Collaborative Online Projects will assist ELs' construction of science knowledge and facilitate academic English. Results of a pre-/post-test design pilot study (N=136) showed statistically significant differences for both tested science units. Teachers also reported that the Collaborative Online Projects were an effective method of online science instruction.
Conversion of acrylonitrile-based precursors to carbon fibres

The progress of stabilization of two compositions of acrylic fibres with various orientations has been followed by a variety of techniques. The thermooxidative treatments for stabilization have been carried out in a continuous process and also in a batch process under free shrinkage, constant length and constant tension conditions. The morphological model of acrylic fibres consists of an alternating sequence of laterally ordered and laterally disordered regions along the fibre direction. This structure is consistent with the observations based on small-angle X-ray scattering of copper- impregnated precursor fibres and thermomechanical response, thermal stress development, calorimetry, wide- and small-angle X-ray scattering and sonic modu-lus measured at different extents of stabilization. Lateral as well as orientational order in these fibres can be increased markedly through a high-temperature deformation process prior to stabilization. An increase in perfection and extent of order is observed in the early stages of stabilization. There is also a simultaneous decrease in the orientation of the disordered phase at this stage and the extent of this decrease depends on the axial constraints imposed on the fibre. Little difference in the rate of stabilization is observed as measured by density or oxygen uptake for fibres with different extents of orientation, lateral order or restraint. Fibres containing itaconic add, a stabilization catalyst did show an increased rate of stabilization. Inferences have been drawn regarding additional research pertaining to achieving high order in precursor fibres, minimizing orientational relaxation during oxidative stabilization, and the techniques for monitoring the extents of the stabilization treatment and the changes in relevant morphological parameters.
“I Was Becoming Increasingly Uneasy About the Profession and What Was Being Asked of Me”: Preserving Integrity in Teaching

AbstractThis article offers a model of the relationship between three dimensions of integrity in teaching: personal integrity, professional integrity, and the integrity of teaching and illustrates the model through interview excerpts from 13 experienced former teachers. I argue that experienced teachers’ decisions to leave work they love can be understood not only as attempts to preserve their personal integrity, but also to preserve the integrity of teaching by withdrawing their corroded professional integrity. Only by looking at all three dimensions of integrity can the actions of teaching’s conscientious objectors be viewed as moral commentary on a moral enterprise rather than the private and personal laments of disgruntled individuals. When the role of teacher serves as a significant source of moral identity, protecting the integrity of teaching is deeply connected to protecting one’s personal integrity. Diminishment in what counts as teaching results in a diminishment of the self. Rather than viewing...
Further experimental evidence that pulmonary capillary pressures do not reflect cyclic changes in left atrial pressure (mitral lesions and pulmonary embolism).

Wedged catheter pressures (PC) were compared with those in the aorta, left atrium, and pulmonary artery before and after production of mitral stenosis, insufficiency, and pulmonary embolism. In general it was found that "PC" pressures follow closely changes in left atrial pressures even when pulmonary artery pressure changes in an opposite direction (for example, pulmonary embolism). However, properly recorded "PC" pressure pulses did not display the large cyclic pressure variations recorded from the left atrium during mitral stenosis and insufficiency. It is concluded that pressures recorded through a properly wedged catheter represent the constant pulmonary capillary pressure but do not reflect cyclic pressure variations in the left atrium.
Some basic determinants of computer programming productivity

The purpose of this research was to examine the relationship between processing characteristics of programs and experience characteristics of programmers and program development time. The ultimate objective was to develop a technique for predicting the amount of time necessary to create a computer program. The fifteen program characteristics hypothesized as being associated with an increase in programming time required are objectively measurable from preprogramming specifications. The five programmer characteristics are experience-related and are also measurable before a programming task is begun. Nine program characteristics emerged as major influences on program development time, each associated with increased program development time. All five programmer characteristics were found to be related to reduced program development time. A multiple regression equation which contained one programmer characteristic and four program characteristics gave evidence of good predictive power for forecasting program development time.
Service learning in computer science and engineering

Attention is increasing on the need to educate students in areas that extend beyond the traditional technical basis for their field: the Kellogg Commission's mandate for a "scholarship of engagement" [3]; the Engineering Deans Council report's emphasis on teamwork, communication, and the need for students to "understand the economic, social, environmental and international context of their professional activities" [2]; the CSAB Criteria 2000 requirements in written and oral communication and "coverage of social and ethical implications of computing" [1]; the growth of broad IT programs and schools.Service learning offers the opportunity to broaden the educational experience by engaging students in "real-world" projects. However, it also poses new questions: Should students earn academic credit for courses in which a significant portion of their time is spent on "soft" skills? Are students gaining valid technical experience on projects defined by an outside customer rather than by CS&E faculty? How can curriculum structures support projects that aren't constructed to fit within semester boundaries?The panel includes faculty and students from service-learning programs, the chief technical officer for a software company, and a community "customer."
Effects of task size on work-related and aberrant behaviors of youths with autism and mental retardation

Abstract The effects of task size of rate of responding and on-task behavior as well as on nontask-related behaviors of students with autism and mental retardation on a repetitive task under conditions of no reinforcement for responding was analyzed. Task size, defined as the presence of either 3 or 250 beads in a container at the onset of the session, was compared in an alternating treatment design. The small-task condition resulted in higher on-task behavior for all participants and in higher work rate for four of the five participants. For the four participants who engaged in inappropriate use of task materials, higher levels of this behavior occurred in the large-task conditions. Other nontask-related behaviors were higher in the large-task condition for all participants with the exception of stereotypy, which was higher in the small-task condition for one participant. Better work-related behavior occurred for these participants in small- than in large-task conditions even though no tangible reinforcement was provided for task responding. Implications of these results are discussed in the context of arranging workplace environments to maximize productivity of persons with developmental disabilities.
Micromechanically-based acoustic characterization of the fiber orientation distribution function of morphologically textured short-fiber composites: prediction of thermomechanical and physical properties

Abstract We apply our recently-developed acoustic approach to characterize the fiber orientation distribution function (ODF) of short fiber composites to predict relevant anisotropic thermomechanical properties of such composites. The acoustic approach consists of a tight coupling of acoustic velocity measurements and micromechanics modeling. It can not completely characterize the ODF, but delivers information regarding lower-order terms of the ODF when expanded in a series of generalized spherical harmonics. We apply the approach to two composite material systems (SiC/Al and glass/polyphenylene sulfide) with different overall symmetry (transversely istropic and orthotropic). For the two composites, we predict the overall anisotropic elastic moduli, thermal expansion coefficients, elastic–plastic constitutive behavior, and thermal conductivity. The predictions agree well with measurements in all cases; this demonstrates that the lower-order terms of the ODF expansion are sufficient to characterize a large number of other physical and mechanical properties of the composite, when coupled with the appropiate models. As a result, we conclude that the combination of acoustic velocity measurements and micromechanics modeling provides a powerful approach to characterize the fiber ODF, and its effect on overall composite properties.
Electronic Processes in Conjugated Diblock Oligomers Mimicking Low Band-Gap Polymers: Experimental and Theoretical Spectral Analysis†

Conjugated oligomers containing a common central thienothiophene unit symmetrically connected to two identical thiophene oligomers were studied as model systems for a series of low bandgap organic diblock copolymers. The oligothiophene side chain fragments were varied in length as a means to tune the electronic coupling between the thienothiophene and oligothiophene moieties. The fragment length dependence of both the ground- and excited-state electronic and structural properties of a series of diblock oligomers were investigated in detail. The charge transfer character in these diblock oligomers, revealed by their optical absorption and fluorescence spectra, is responsible for their low band gap and energy gap tunability compared with their homooligomer counterparts. The electronic spectra and theoretical analysis indicate a partially localized central charge in the first excited state. Using experimental results and comparing them with theoretical calculations, we estimate that the electronic effects from a single thienothiophene unit spreads over seven to nine adjacent units through π-conjugation along the oligomers.
Aortic glycosaminoglycans in atherosclerosis-susceptible and -resistant pigeons

Abstract Quantitative electrophoretic profiles of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) in the upper thoracic aorta and at the celiac bifurcation were obtained from atherosclerosis-susceptible White Carneau (WC) and atherosclerosis-resistant Show Racer (SR) pigeons at four ages ranging from 1 day to 3 years. While thoracic aortas of WC and SR pigeons contained similar total amounts and similar amounts and profiles of the five individual GAGs (hyaluronic acid, heparitin sulfate, dermatan sulfate, chondroitin 4-sulfate, and chondroitin 6-sulfate) at each age, celiac sites did not show these similarities. Celiac sites in WC pigeons contained more total GAG than corresponding SR sites at all four ages, and, after 6 months of age, WC foci showed an increased amount of chondroitin 6-sulfate, decreased amounts of heparitin sulfate and chondroitin 4-sulfate, and a lower chondroitin 4-sulfate/chondroitin 6-sulfate ratio when compared with corresponding SR celiac foci. In addition, heparitin sulfate in preatherosclerotic and moderately atherosclerotic WC celiac foci was more heterogeneous than in the thoracic aorta of either breed or in SR celiac foci. Differences in GAG content between sites also existed, since the thoracic aorta contained more total GAGs than the celiac foci at each age examined. These findings indicate that changes in aortic GAG content occurring with age are different than those related to atherogenesis and suggests a role for specific GAGs in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis.
The utility of collateral informant assessment in college alcohol research: results from a longitudinal prevention trial.

Objective: Collateral informants have been used to assess independently the validity of college student self-report data. However, it is unclear under what conditions collateral reports might be valid and useful in college research. We present two studies that examine aspects of these issues using data from 1,264 college student participants in a brief intervention prevention trial conducted at a public university. Method: The first study describes the characteristics and predictors of agreement on reports of alcohol use and problems from 219 student-collateral informant pairs. The second study investigates potential "pipeline effects"; that is, whether collateral verification resulted in changes in student self-reports on two subsequent survey assessments over 1 year using longitudinal data from 1,264 students. Results: Little support was found for the assumption that nondependent college drinkers underreport drinking behaviors and consequences. Collaterals who reported more occasions of drinking togethe...
Gonioscopy in dogs and cats with glaucoma and ocular tumours.

Iridocorneal angle abnormalities were detected by gonioscopy in five dogs and one cat with glaucoma and intraocular neoplasms. Gonioscopic photographs and the histological abnormalities were compared in the neoplasia cases (the cat and two dogs). Congenital mesodermal, iridocorneal angle anomalies may occur more frequently in canine glaucoma than previously suspected. Resume. La gonioscopie a permis de deceler des anomalies de l'angle irido-cornten chez cinq chiens et un chat atteints de glaucome et de neoplasies intraoculaires. Les photographies gonioscopiques et les anomalies histologiques ont ete comparees chez les animaux porteurs de neoplasmes (le chat et deux chiens). Des anomalies mesodermiques congenitales de l'angle irido-corneen peuvent s'observer dans le glaucome du chien dans une proportion de cas plus grande qu'on ne l'admettait jusqu'ici. Zusammenfassung. Mittels Gonioskopie wurden bei funf Hunden und einer Katze mit Glaukom und intraokularen Neoplasmen iridocorneale Winkelanomalien festgestellt. Die gonioskopischen Photographien und die histologischen Anomalien wurden in den Neoplasmen-Fallen (die Katze und zwei Hunde) verglichen. Kongenitale mesodermale Anomalien des iridocornealen Winkels konnen beim Glaukom des Hundes haufiger auftreten als bisher angenommen wurde.
Change in a lake benthic community over a century: evidence for alternative community states

Aquatic communities are one of the most studied systems where alternative states or regime shifts have been detected. We used data spanning a century of time to test whether the zoobenthic community of Lake Mendota, Wisconsin, USA, was relatively stable through time, variable, or whether there was any evidence of alternative community states. We used multivariate statistical analyses to test for community structure similarity and whether detected differences corresponded to major changes in the local environment. Surprisingly, the benthic community in Lake Mendota was not statistically different from the mid 1960s to the present. Similarly, the benthic community was not significantly different from 1914 to the 1950s. However, between the 1950s and mid 1960s there was a dramatic change in the zoobenthic community, including the loss of key taxa and a decrease in the diversity of several major taxa. This dramatic change cannot be attributed to any single environmental factor, and is correlated with multiple factors acting simultaneously, including increased urban development, human population density, intensive agriculture, and the introduction of a major invasive species, Eurasian watermilfoil. The long-term similarity in the benthic community before and after the shift suggests two alternative states that switched with the confluence of multiple stressors.
Towards the elucidation of shrinkage stress development and relaxation in dental composites

Summary Objective Although various photo-curing techniques aiming to partially relieve the shrinkage stress by flow have been proposed and investigated, the direct monitoring and observation of stress relaxation behavior received little attention. In this study, the elucidation of stress relaxation behavior and its impact on the overall stress development were investigated. Methods A novel experimental set-up capable of real-time, simultaneous shrinkage stress and double bond conversion measurements on the same sample was utilized. The coupled shrinkage stress and conversion for specimens of a barium glass filled Bis-GMA/TEGDMA composite were continuously monitored during and after irradiation for various intervals (2, 3, 6, 10 and 60 s). Results Specimens irradiated for 60 s reached the highest conversion (67.9±1.2%) and shrinkage stress (2.9±0.1 MPa). Shrinkage stress relaxation phenomena were only observed prior to vitrification, which only applied to specimens partially cured for 2 or 3 s; specimens irradiated for 2 s exhibit the largest capability to relieve stress (approximately 40%). However, to achieve this a much longer post-cure stress relaxation time is required as compared to clinically practical time scales. For specimens irradiated for 6, 10 or 60 s, the majority of the shrinkage stress is developed during and after the vitrification stage, and no appreciable stress relaxation can be observed. Significance Although stress relaxation prior to vitrification stage has been observed, this study revealed that it did not provide a significant benefit towards the reduction of overall shrinkage stress since, to achieve clinically relevant conversion, the majority of the shrinkage stress is developed during and after the vitrification stage, which does not permit stress relaxation on the time scales used in this study.
Urinalysis: a review of methods and procedures

There is much value in using urine as a diagnostic aid in the critical care setting. As a noninvasive source of data, urine reveals a wealth of information about the body's biochemical status. It is important for critical care nurses to understand the processes that occur in the renal system and to comprehend the depth of information that can be obtained through an analysis of urine. This discussion provides an overview of common urine tests and provides information for nurses about urine collection methods. The discussion will help the critical care nurse describe various urine test procedures, common urine collection methods, nursing interventions, and patient education important to each study.
Experiments with an ODE solver on a multiprocessor system

Abstract A natural approach for giving a positive answer to the need of faster ODE solvers consists in the use of parallel computers or distributed systems. Unfortunately, there are only a small number of software packages available for these machines which are dedicated to ODEs. Therefore, the design of a new ODE solving environment for stiff or large ODE systems must take into account some facilities for parallel or distributed computation. We describe briefly a prototype of a solving environment for IVPs of the following form: y′(t) = f(t,y(t)), y(t0) = y0, where f : [t0,t0 + T] × Rn → Rn, y0 ϵ Rn, in which sequential or parallel methods can be described, tested, and compared relative to the practical problems given by the user. Numerical results are presented and interpreted. It is proved that parallel implicit methods can be used with success to generate the numerical solutions of large and sparse IVPs not only on parallel computers but also on computer networks.