cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Numerical solution for the problem of flame propagation by the random element method

A numerical, grid-free algorithm is presented for the one-dimensional reaction-diffusion model of laminar flame propagation in premixed gases. It is based on the random element method developed by the authors for the analysis of diffusional processes. The effect of combustion is taken into account by applying the principle of fractional steps to separate the process of diffusion, modeled by the random walk of computational elements, from the exothermic effects of chemical reaction monitoring their strength. The validity of the algorithm is demonstrated by application to flame propagation problems for which exact solutions exist. The flame speed evaluated by its use oscillates around the exact value at a relatively small amplitude, while the temperature and species concentration profiles are self-correcting in their convergence to the exact solution. A satisfactory resolution is obtained by the use of a small number of computational elements which automatically adjust their distribution to fit sharp gradients.
Anger control: A case study of a stress inoculation treatment for a chronic aggressive patient

A 27-year-old female, hospitalized primarily for anger and aggressive behavior, was treated using a stress inoculation model. Unobtrusive and self-report measures were obtained for a 3-month baseline period, 1-month treatment period, and 12-month follow-up period. Results showed that there was a long-term and stable reduction in perceived anger by the client, and in actual aggressive acts. In addition, there was a long-term and stable increase in the client's prosocial behaviors. The results demonstrated that this model is an effective treatment modality for hospitalized patients with severe anger and aggressive behavioral problems.
Size Distribution Evolution of Fine Aerosols Due to Intercoagulation with Coarse Aerosols

Abstract Controlling the emission of submicron particles of toxic metals in a combustion system poses a challenge. One possible mechanism for removing these fine particles is through intercoagulation with coarse particles. A bimodal lognormal model was applied to investigate the impact of intercoagulation rate on the size distributions of fine-mode aerosols. Fine-mode particle removal time was found to depend strongly on the number concentration of coarse-mode particles, but it was independent on the number concentration of fine-mode particles. An increase of geometric standard deviation of fine-mode particles from 1 to 1.6 significantly increased the dimensionless removal time 27 times. On the contrary, an increase of the deviation of coarse-mode particles in the same range only decreased 3% of the dimensionless removal time. The variation of geometric mean size ratio, meanwhile, had only insignificant effects on dimensionless removal time. For a constant mass concentration, removal time decreased as geo...
Approximation of the classical isoperimetric problem

Hestenes' method of multipliers is used to approximate the classical isoperimetric problem. A suitable sufficiency theorem is first applied to obtain minimizing arcs for a family of unconstrained problems. Given an initial estimate of the Lagrange multipliers, a convergent sequence of arcs is generated. They are minimizing with respect to members of the above family, and their limit is the solution to the original isoperimetric problem.
Site occupancy in solid solutions of Nb in the intermetallic compounds TiAl and Ti3Al

Ti aluminides are receiving attention as potential candidates for elevated temperature applications. The compounds Ti/sub 3/Al and TiAl both exhibit reasonable strength at elevated temperatures but have limited ductilities at room temperature. In the case of Ti/sub 3/Al there appear to be two causes for this limited ductility: firstly, an inhomogeneous distribution of slip dislocations and secondly, a lack of a significant number of dislocations which have Burgers vectors with a c-component. It has been found that significant additions of Nb to Ti/sub 3/Al improve mechanical properties, both strength and ductility. These improvements have been attributed to an increase in the number of dislocations with Burgers vectors having c-component.
American Society of Nephrology clinical pathological conference.

A 13-year-old girl presented with proteinuria and acute kidney failure. She was born at full term via cesarean delivery (due to nuchal cord), but there were no other prenatal or perinatal complications. In early childhood the patient had two hospitalizations at ages 4.5 and 9 years, respectively, the latter for pneumonia. She had no history of symptoms of kidney disease. She came to the hospital at age 12 years for routine bilateral molar extractions. She was treated with oral antibiotics and discharged after the procedure without complications. At age 13 years, 10 months after the molar extraction, she was seen by a pediatrician because of puffiness and increased BP. She had had respiratory symptoms 2 weeks before presentation. The pediatrician prescribed furosemide and amlodipine. A few days later, the patient returned to the pediatrician’s office because of hand, ankle, and facial swelling and malaise. The pediatrician recommended hospitalization and the patient was admitted at this time.
The reaction of hydrogen chloride with liquid sodium and a sodium-barium alloy

Abstract The reaction of hydrogen chloride with ligand sodium and sodium containing 4 At% dissolved barium was studied in the temperature range 100–250°C. The reaction took place in two distinct steps: (1) HCl → 1 2 H 2 + Cl − and (2) 1 2 H 2 → H − , with only the first step involving hydrogen chloride. The effect of barium was to decrease the rate of the hydrogen chloride reaction, step (1), but to increase that hydrogen, step (2). However, in both cases molecular hydrogen was produced quantitatively in the gas phase, indicating the absence of net hydrogen uptake in the presence of unreacted hydrogen chloride. The initial reaction of hydrogen chloride with pure sodium exhibited autocatalytic behavior. A reaction scheme was suggested in which the rate controlling process would be the growth of crystalline sodium chloride on the metal surface. In the presence of barium, however, barium chloride was the predominant product, and the hydrogen chloride reaction rate was found to decrease with time. The rate controlling process in this case was considered to involve diffusion of hydrogen chloride molecules through pores created in an otherwise protective barium chloride layer. Thus in each case, the overall reaction of hydrogen chloride was controlled by processes involving the solid reaction products. In contrast, under the conditions employed, the kinetics of the hydrogen reaction reflects the nature of the reactants.
Functional Fault Modeling and Simulation for VLSI Devices

Functional fault modeling and simulation for VLSI devices is described(*). A functional fault list is compiled using model perturbation and mapping of circuit defects into functional faults. A set of test vectors is then derived which detects all faults in the functional fault list. This same test vector set is then applied to a gate level model of the device. For the test case analyzed, a very high level of equivalent gate coverage was achieved. Conclusions are drawn as to the effectiveness of the technique and how amenable it is to automation.
Doubly stochastic matrices whose squares are idempotent

Formulas for the doubly stochastic square roots of the idempotents are presented. Such square roots must necessarily satisfy per A2 ≤perA.
Membrane interactions and pore formation by the antimicrobial peptide protegrin.

Protegrin is an antimicrobial peptide with a β-hairpin structure stabilized by a pair of disulfide bonds. It has been extensively studied by solid-state NMR and computational methods. Here we use implicit membrane models to examine the binding of monomers on the surface and in the interior of the membrane, the energetics of dimerization, the binding to membrane pores, and the stability of different membrane barrel structures in pores. Our results challenge a number of conclusions based on previous experimental and theoretical work. The burial of monomers into the membrane interior is found to be unfavorable for any membrane thickness. Because of its imperfect amphipathicity, protegrin binds weakly, at most, on the surface of zwitterionic membranes. However, it binds more favorably onto toroidal pores. Anionic charge on the membrane facilitates the binding due to electrostatic interactions. Solid-state NMR results have suggested a parallel NCCN association of monomers in dimers and association of dimers to form octameric or decameric β-barrels. We find that this structure is not energetically plausible for binding to bilayers, because in this configuration the hydrophobic sides of two monomers point in opposite directions. In contrast, the antiparallel NCCN and especially the parallel NCNC octamers are stable and exhibit a favorable binding energy to the pore. The results of 100-ns simulations in explicit bilayers corroborate the higher stability of the parallel NCNC barrel compared with the parallel NCCN barrel. The ability to form pores in zwitterionic membranes provides a rationalization for the peptide’s cytotoxicity. The discrepancies between our results and experiment are discussed, and new experiments are proposed to resolve them and to test the validity of the models.
Residual stress induced fracture in glass-sapphire composites: cylindrical geometry

Abstract A distinctive form of cracking is seen to occur as a result of the thermal exopansion mismatch stresses created between a cylindrical sapphire rod and a borosilicate glass matrix cooled after bonding at high temperature. The cracks, having a resemblance to cone cracks formed on Hertzian contract, nucleate at the free surface of the matrix in the vicinity of the rod intersection with the surface. However, rather than form at the rod/matrix interface, the cracks nucleate at some distance away that is found to vary from one sample to another. In general, the cracks extend further into the matrix the closer they nucleate to the rod. In addition, the crack trajectories vary both in angle to the rod axis and in shape, sometimes being curved. The crack path is calculated to be dependent on the relative magnitudes of the axial and radial residual stresses in the matrix. The cracks did not form immediately after cooling but only after exposure to the laboratory air. In some cases cracking was initiated by mechanical action, such as sectioning. In addition to the cone cracks at the ends of the rod, cone-like cracks were occasionally also seen to form from internal fractures of the sapphire rod on cooling after fabrication.
Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry Method for Profiling of Steroid Metabolome in Human Tissue

In humans, steroids play a broad and vital role in regulation of gene expression, secondary sexual characteristics, maturation, reproduction, cardiovascular health, neurological functions, etc., but imbalance in steroid metabolism is also linked to development and progression of many diseases, such as cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, and cardiovascular diseases. Hence, measurement of steroids in biological samples is essential to monitor human health. Currently, there is radioimmunoassay, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS), and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) methods developed for steroid measurements in biological samples. However, these methods require elaborate sample preparation procedures and have concerns(s) related to reproducibility, dynamic range, time, costs, and most importantly the total coverage of steroids. Also currently, there is no method available for comprehensive steroid profiling in a single LC-MS run that includes androgens, corticosteroids, progestogens, estrogens, estrogen metabolites, estrogen conjugates, and estrogen-DNA adducts as well as exogenous steroid derivatives. Here, I present a global steroid metabolic profiling method based on liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) followed by ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC)-tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) for simultaneous measurement of over 100 indigenous as well as exogenous steroids in about 12 min, without derivatization. The method was successfully applied to determine steroid hormone levels in the breast tissue of healthy women. Overall presence of all major classes of steroids as well as estrogen derivatives was detected in breast tissue.
Non-surgical treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma

A decade ago, surgery was the only satisfactory treatment modality for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but it was limited only to selected cases. For the majority of cases of HCC, systemic chemotherapy was one of the few treatment alternatives, but provided only marginal benefit. In the past 20 years, diagnostic methods have improved to an extent that small HCC less than 1 cm can be detected. Moreover, non-surgical treatment is available, of which regional therapy has been shown to prolong patients' survival, and may even replace surgical resection in some cases. Regional therapy is indicated for the treatment of HCC when there is no extrahepatic metastasis and the patient has adequate liver function reserve, thus permitting repeated therapy. Transcatheter hepatic arterial embolization (TAE) using various embolizers has been well documented to include controlled studies. However, it is not indicated for patients with thrombosed main portal veins. Its therapeutic effect is also doubtful when the tumour is infiltrative in nature or is hypovascular, too large or too small. Additional chemotherapeutic agents mixed into the embolizer with lipiodol and degraded starch microspheres or styrene-maleic acid-neocarzinostatin in which chemotherapeutic agents are embedded, are used with a better response, but the survival rate has not shown significant improvement. Ultrasound-guided local injection therapy is another new method of treatment of HCC. Of these techniques, percutaneous ethanol injection therapy (PEIT) is widely used with excellent results for small, encapsulated tumours in livers with less than three HCC. Percutaneous ethanol injection therapy can also be used in cases with portal vein thrombosis, but it is not suitable for patients having coagulopathy or ascites. Using acetic acid, OK-432, interferon or anti-cancer drugs in the injection therapy shows no further benefit over ethanol alone. Transcatheter echoguided thermotherapy or cryotherapy has been reported in small series of patients, as has target therapy with immune or radiotherapy and conformal radiotherapy. Preliminary studies show encouraging results. Systemic therapy with either single drug or multidrugs is ineffective, with a response rate of less than 20%. Immunotherapy, such as with interferon or other cytokines, is not beneficial. Hormone therapy has not been promising, except for treatment with tamoxifen, which has been reported to show some beneficial effect. Gene therapy is still in its infancy. In summary, recent progress in non-surgical treatment of HCC has resulted in a breakthrough of regional therapy looking quite promising. Moreover, a combination of different types of regional therapies may yield better outcomes in selected individuals.
Impact of Blood Transfusions in Patients Presenting With Anemia and Suspected Acute Coronary Syndrome

Anemia has been shown to predict adverse events in patients presenting with acute coronary syndromes and non–ST-elevation myocardial infarctions (MIs). Less is known about the value of blood transfusions in this setting. We sought to evaluate the impact of red blood cell transfusions on outcomes. Transfusion in anemic patients admitted with suspected acute coronary syndrome/non–ST-elevation MIs led to a significant increase in 30-day recurrent MI or death (odds ratio 3.05, 95% confidence interval 1.80 to 5.17, p
ISOTOPE EFFECTS IN ELECTRON TRANSFER ACROSS THE ELECTRODE-ELECTROLYTE INTERFACE : A MEASURE OF SOLVENT MODE QUANTIZATION

The free energy of electron transfer (ET) is computed for the electrochemical Fe2+/Fe3+ reaction with a Pt electrode. The quantum mechanical effects of the solvent nuclei are included via the metho...
Relative Stability of Recombinant Versus Native Peroxidases fromPhanerochaete chrysosporium

Two types of glycosylated peroxidases are secreted by the white-rot fungusPhanerochaete chrysosporium,lignin peroxidase (LiP) and manganese peroxidase (MnP). The thermal stabilities of recombinant LiPH2, LiPH8, and MnPH4, which were expressed without glycosylation inEscherichia coli,were lower than those of corresponding native peroxidases isolated fromP. chrysosporium.Recovery of thermally inactivated recombinant enzyme activities was higher than with that of the thermally inactivated native peroxidases. Removal of N-linked glycans from native LiPH8 and MnPH4 did not affect enzyme activities or thermal stabilities of the enzymes. Although LiPH2, LiPH8, and MnPH4 contained O-linked glycans, only the O-linked glycans from MnPH4 could be removed by O-glycosidase, and the glycan-depleted MnPH4 exhibited essentially the same activity as nondeglycosylated MnPH4, but thermal stability decreased. Periodate-treated MnPH4 exhibited even lower thermal stability than O-glycosidase treated MnPH4. The role of O-linked glycans in protein stability was also evidenced with LiPH2 and LiPH8. Based on these data, we propose that neither N- nor O-linked glycans are likely to have a direct role in enzyme activity of native LiPH2, LiPH8, and MnPH4 and that only O-linked glycans may play a crucial role in protein stability of native peroxidases.
From Nation-States to Member States: Accession Negotiations as an Instrument of Europeanization

This paper analyzes recent accession negotiations to evaluate pressures for ‘Europeanization' upon countries seeking to join the European Union (EU). Despite the European Commission's policy of evaluating applications for membership on a country-by-country basis, the paper finds that accession negotiations followed an unexpectedly uniform process, whereby a similar sequence of policy areas were opened for evaluation and closed across diverse countries that had, in some cases, initiated their applications at different times. Using data from the EU's regular reports on progress towards accession, the paper compares and analyzes patterns of negotiations with the European Commission, contrasting the sequence of openings and closings of chapters of the acquis communautaire, the duration of negotiations for each chapter, and patterns of transition periods. Second, the paper finds that applicant countries have made substantial and similar adaptations of policies and institutions to comply with the EU's requirement that they adopt the acquis. The paper compares adaptations for the chapter on regional policy to highlight an arena in which the demands for institutional and policy adaptation are high and conditionality is especially powerful due to prospective EU funds associated with this chapter. The paper raises questions about whether changes in new member states can be considered to be deep or long-lasting and considers the future prospects for Europeanization.
Inherently injected unstable resonators

The geometrical theory of resonators having nonuniform magnification is extended to include a magnification function which is singular at the resonator axis. A hole naturally occurs in one mirror through which all eigenrays are injected. In theory, no portion of the injected beam is reflected back through the hole, so the reference oscillator is isolated. The geometrical modes, eigenvalues, and mirror sag functions are derived for two such resonators.
Deception to Get a Date

Two studies examined whether some people use more deceptive self-presentation to initiate a dating relationship. Participants reviewed information depicting prospective dates and constructed profiles to be used by the prospects to select a date. In this context, high self-monitoring men and women engaged in more deceptive self-presentation to the person that they desired to date than low self-monitors. Study 2replicated this finding with a variety of personal dimensions and revealed that high self-monitors hold more favorable attitudes toward using deception in dating initiation and admit altering their self-presentation in an attempt to initiate a date. No sex differences in the amount of deceptive self presentation were found. These outcomes suggest that high self-monitors behave in a chameleon-like fashion during dating initiation, strategically and deceptively changing their self-presentation in an attempt to appear more desirable to the person they want to date. Motivations for using deception are di...
Monk in the Middle: The Awful Disclosures of the Hotel Dieu Nunnery and the Making of Catholic Identity

This article examines the controversy surrounding the publication in 1836 of Maria Monk's Awful Disclosures of the Hotel Dieu Nunnery , a sensational expose of life in a Montreal convent supposedly written by a former nun. Previous scholarship on the Monk episode has focused principally on anti-Catholic nativism and on the Awful Disclosures ' place in the larger genre of antebellum convent tales. This study will provide a new interpretation of the controversy surrounding Monk's book by demonstrating its usefulness for historians seeking to understand how Catholics apprehended their position in the American community. Catholics frequently used the Awful Disclosures to stake a claim as authentic Americans and often inverted anti-Catholic rhetoric to suit their political and social needs. Through their response to the Monk episode, Catholic leaders effectively redeployed anti-Catholic rhetoric to undermine the claims of Monk and her supporters, ultimately forging a distinctive form of Catholic anti-Protestantism and serving with their sectarian foes as partners, perhaps unwittingly, in a common antebellum project of defining and reasserting patriarchy.
Kinetics of Dust Removal from Cotton by Repetitive Mechanical Cleaning Part I: Theory

Two models of the kinetics of dust removal from cotton by repetitive mechanical processing are considered on the basis of the fiber-frictional force applied to clean the fiber. The approach in the constant-force model is to hold the fiber-frictional force constant with repetitive processing. In the decreasing-force model, the fiber-frictional force decreases with each successive stage of processing. The primary "pool" of dust in the cotton is assumed to be the in situ dust, that is, already present in the cotton and adhered to the fiber surface. Rate equations are derived to calculate at each stage of mechanical processing the remaining concentration of in situ dust, the cumulative generation of airborne dust, and the amount of airborne dust generated at each stage of cleaning. Diagnostic criteria are presented to fit experimental data to either of the models and to calculate the rate constant. Results of the theoretical calculations indicate the rate of dust removal from cotton is greater for the constant-force model. An equation is derived to compute the theoretical dust removal efficiency of the decreasing-force model relative to the constant-force model.
The effect of age-related factors on behavior induced by cocaine.

Abstract Age-related effects on cocaine-induced behavior (CIB) following acute and chronic administration of drug were evaluated in three groups of female rats representing increasing weights and ages. Three parameters of CIB, rated for 150 minutes during and following a 14-day treatment period, were measured: (1) latency of onset; (2) maximum level; and (3) duration of effect. Initially, the duration of CIB was significantly longer in the oldest, heaviest group. Decreases in latency of- and increases in maximum level of-CIB developed in all groups as a function of daily treatment with cocaine. These effects persisted throughout the 63-day post-treatment period. It was concluded that, in within-subject experimental designs, prolongation of CIB, which has been attributed to receptor supersensitivity, may reflect age-related factors, as heavier, older rats show prolonged CIB upon initial injection. In contrast, decreased latency of CIB, as well as increased maximum levels of CIB, were identified as indices of response augmentation which did not differ initially as a function of age-related factors, as they developed similarly in all groups with chronic treatment. Changes observed during and following chronic treatment are discussed in terms of possible changes in biotransformation and/or altered dopamine receptor function.
Kinesin transport: driving kinesin in the neuron

A plethora of cytoplasmic motors contribute to the directed transport of a wide range of cellular organelles and molecules. Recent studies have advanced our understanding of cargo attachment to motor molecules and the regulation of intracellular transport.
Learning to Track Objects Through Unobserved Regions

As tracking systems become more effective at reliably tracking multiple objects over extended periods of time within single camera views and across overlapping camera views, increasing attention is being focused on tracking objects through periods where they are not observed. This paper investigates an unsupervised hypothesis testing method for learning the characteristics of objects passing unobserved from one observed location to another. This method not only reliably determines whether objects predictably pass from one location to another without performing explicit correspondence, but it approximates the likelihood of those transitions. It is robust to non-stationary traffic processes that result from traffic lights, vehicle grouping, and other non-linear vehicle-vehicle interactions. Synthetic data allows us to test and verify our results for complex traffic situations over multiple city blocks and contrast it with previous approaches.
Association of Cdk-activating kinase subunits with transcription factor TFIIH

The RNA polymerase II large subunit contains an essential carboxy-terminal domain (CTD) believed to be involved in the response to regulators during transcription initiation. The CTD is phosphorylated on a portion of RNA polymerase II molecules in vivo and it can be phosphorylated by the general transcription factor TFIIH in vitro. A highly purified TFIIH from rat liver has been described; this, like human and yeast TFIIH, contains associated CTD kinase and helicase activities. We report here that two polypeptides of the purified mammalian TFIIH are the MO15/Cdk7 kinase and cyclin H subunits of the Cdk-activating kinase Cak, previously identified as a positive regulator of Cdc2 and Cdk2. TFIIH and Cak preparations are each capable of phosphorylating recombinant CTD and recombinant Cdk2 proteins. The presence of Cak in TFIIH indicates that Cak may have roles in transcriptional regulation and in cell-cycle control.
Competence as a Predictor of Sexual and Reproductive Health Outcomes for Youth: A Systematic Review

Abstract To examine the association between "competence" and adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH) outcomes. Competence refers to the development of skills to perform tasks successfully in four areas including social and behavioral, cognitive, emotional, and moral competence. We conducted a systematic review of research published from 1985 through 2007. Inclusion criteria included use of multivariate analyses, a sample size of ≥100, publication in a peer-reviewed journal, and measurement of an ASRH outcome. We coded findings as protective, risk, or no association and as longitudinal or cross-sectional. We considered the presence of two longitudinal studies with consistent findings for at least one outcome to be sufficient evidence for a risk or protective association. We identified 77 studies that examined cognitive competence , 27 studies that examined social and behavioral competence , 12 studies that examined emotional competence, and no studies that met inclusion criteria for moral competence . The evidence indicated that cognitive competence and social and behavioral competence can be protective factors for ASRH, with findings from at least two longitudinal studies demonstrating a protective association with an ASRH outcome. Findings across cognitive , social and behavioral subconstructs and ASRH outcomes were more mixed. There was insufficient evidence to draw conclusions about emotional and moral competence and ASRH. Helping adolescents to achieve cognitive, social, and behavioral competence may reduce the likelihood of sexual activity and teen pregnancy, and increase contraceptive use. Additional research is needed to examine other outcomes and the generalizability of findings.
Citizen Preferences for Housing as Community Social Indicators

The emerging demand for policy-relevant social information represents an exciting multidisciplinary challenge to develop a system of empirically derived social indicators. A review of the social in...
LAPAROSCOPIC MANAGEMENT OF CALICEAL DIVERTICULAR CALCULI

Purpose: We describe laparoscopic techniques for the definitive management of symptomatic caliceal diverticular stone disease.Materials and Methods: Five patients underwent retroperitoneoscopic management of a symptomatic, stone bearing caliceal diverticulum. Techniques for intraoperative localization of the stone bearing diverticulum included retrograde injection of indigo carmine, fluoroscopy and/or laparoscopic ultrasound. In 2 cases the patent neck of the diverticulum was sutured via laparoscopy.Results: Complete stone clearance and obliteration of the diverticular cavity was achieved in all cases without any open conversion. Mean operative time was 133.8 minutes. Mean estimated blood loss was less than 50 cc in 4 cases and 150 cc in 1. Mean hospital stay was 36 hours. There were no laparoscopic or postoperative complications.Conclusions: The laparoscopic approach to symptomatic caliceal diverticula represents an effective and minimally invasive modality for complete clearance of the stone burden and ...
Human phagocytic cells as oxygen metabolite scavengers.

Human neutrophils or monocytes decreased hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) concentrationsin vitro. Neutrophils or monocytes decreased H2O2 concentrations as well as human erythrocytes. Treatment with aminotriazole or azide decreased both phagocyte and erythrocyte catalase activity and the ability of each cell to decrease H2O2 concentrationsin vitro. Prestimulation of phagocytic cells with phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) or opsonized zymosan decreased neither their catalase activity nor their ability to decrease H2O2 concentrations. The results suggest that unstimulated or stimulated phagocytic cells can scavenge H2O2 and may potentially decrease H2O2-mediated tissue injury. The H2O2 scavenging potential of phagocytic cells is due at least partially to their catalase activity.
TNM staging for malignancies of the digestive tract: 2003 changes and beyond.

In preparation for the 6th edition of the UICC and AJCC publications on TNM staging, all data regarding sites of the digestive system (gastrointestinal and hepatobiliary) were reviewed by expert site teams. Although the information for several sites (esophagus, small bowel, and anal canal) required no change from the 5th editions, significant changes were recommended for the pancreas, liver, extrahepatic biliary system, colon, and rectum. Minor but important changes were made regarding gastric and peri-ampullary malignancies. The changes were made based on new prognostic information and analysis of available data sets. The importance of large national registries, such as the National Cancer Data Base (NCDB; American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer), is stressed.
Developing online ICALL exercises for Russian

We outline a new ICALL system for learners of Russian, focusing on the processing needed for basic morphological errors. By setting out an appropriate design for a lexicon and distinguishing the types of morphological errors to be detected, we establish a foundation for error detection across exercises.
Dynamic motion replanning for unexpected obstacles

Motion-planning problems are discussed for a mobile robot with an incomplete map. For the given start and goal positions, the robot will preplan a collision-free path based on the given map, this is known as the find-path problem. A solution of the find-path problem is presented for randomly shaped obstacles using an improved retraction method, namely, retraction with local replacement by visibility graph. Three different versions of a motion replanning algorithm are presented that patch the world model and regenerate a path from the current location to the goal location. In this scheme, the recomputation of a completely updated world model is avoided by patching the locally updated environment. >
Reinforcement learning in multiresolution object recognition

In this work, we propose an adaptive automatic target recognition (ATR) technique that exploits reinforcement learning (RL) for multiresolution object recognition. The RL structure is the implementation of neuro-dynamic programming (NDP) for the critic and action networks. The critic network calculates the cost-to-go function J* based on a simplistic ATR plant that involves multiresolution images as the input state variable. The calculation of this function, J* includes the role of the reinforcement signal in the critic network. Output of this critic stage is fed back to update the weights of both action and critic networks respectively. Our simulation results suggest that RL may be successfully integrated into an adaptive multiresolution ATR framework.
Single and stacked circular microstrip patch antennas backed by a circular cavity

In this communication, a full wave moment method solution for a probe-fed circular microstrip patch antenna, backed by a circular cavity both in single and in stacked configurations, is used to analyze the effect of a parasitic patch on antenna bandwidth. In addition, the effect of recessing a single patch into the antenna cavity is studied. In both cases, theoretical results for the scattering and radiation characteristics of the antenna are presented. >
Introduced invertebrates are important prey for a generalist predator

Concern over biological invasions has drawn increased attention to the impacts of introduced predators or competitors, but not to the importance of introduced prey. North American forests are rich in introduced invertebrates, including species that represent relatively novel taxonomic or trophic guilds and show biased distributions among forest types. We analysed the diets of red-backed salamanders, Plethodon cinereus, from three upland and three lowland forests to determine whether introduced prey are important contributors to geographical or temporal variation in salamander food resources. We found several introduced species were volumetrically important salamander prey, and were responsible for resource differences between forest types and much of the seasonal fluctuation in food resources in both forest types. In lowland forests, rain had a stronger effect on salamander predation on non-native earthworms than native taxa, creating more dynamic resource fluctuations in resource levels than was observed in upland forests where earthworms were absent. With one exception, predation on non-native species was positively associated with predation on native species, suggesting non-native prey have added to salamander resources rather than replaced salamander predation on native taxa. We hypothesize that the novel resource gradients created by non-native prey introductions are contributing to patterns of geographical and temporal phenotypic variation among salamander populations.
Direct Determination of Controller Parameters in Adaptive Pole Placement

For single-input single-output linear time-invariant discrete-time systems, a simple procedure is given for directly determining the controller parameters in adaptive pole placement. The given system is not required to be minimum phase. The only assumption on the system model is that the minimal order of the system is known a priori. The controller parameters are estimated using a standard recursive least squares algorithm. If an expanded regression vector is sufficiently exciting (as opposed to persistently exciting), the closed-loop system is exponentially stable with the closed-loop poles located close to the desired poles in the limit.
On Some Multisample Permutation Tests Based on a Class of U-Statistics

Abstract A class of permutation tests based on appropriate U-statistics is proposed for the multisample location, scale, and association problems. These U-statistics need not be functions solely of the ranks of the different sample observations and for the application of the tests the parent distributions need not be continuous. The proposed tests are based on the existence of some equally likely permutations of the sample observations and are valid for small as well as large sample sizes. Further, the underlying permutation principle yields optimum estimators of the variances and covariances of U-statistics entering into the expressions for the test statistics. The large sample test procedure is thereby simplified. This paper consists partly of expository material and partly of extensions of some allied two-sample results, considered earlier by the author (Sen [28]).
Monopoles as big as a universe and the universe inside a bubble

One of the most beautiful concepts in theoretical physics was the idea of fridmons, the semi-closed worlds which from the outside look like an elementary particle, but which may contain the whole universe in their heart. This idea was developed 25 years ago by Markov and his collaborators [1]. In this paper I will discuss some related ideas which have been developed very recently in the context of inflationary cosmology. The first one is the possibility that magnetic monopoles and other topological defects in a certain class of theories inflate, become exponentially large, and unceasingly produce other inflationary monopoles. The second idea is the possibility that an infinitely large open inflationary universe may fit into an interior of a single bubble of a finite size produced during the false vacuum decay.
Non-Equilibrium Chemistry Models for Shock-Heated Gases

We demonstrate the utility of Information Theory for the efficient computation of state-specific reaction rates needed in hypersonic flow computations. We summarize our recent work on vibrational state-specific inelastic rates and dissociation cross-sections. The reaction rate matrix we generate is used to compute the spatially homogenous relaxation process of a diatomic gas dilute in an inert bath gas when the temperature is suddenly raised to a high value. Linear algebraic methods are used to solve the master equation efficiently. We find that almost the entire relaxation process, including vibrational state populations, can be described accurately using data related to the translational temperature only.
Association between myocardial infarction and fractures: an emerging phenomenon.

Background—Data on the association between myocardial infarction (MI) and fractures are scarce. Recent changes in the epidemiology of MI justify exploring this relationship. We evaluated whether MI constitutes a risk factor for osteoporotic fracture and examined secular trends in this association. Methods and Results—Consecutive Olmsted County, Minnesota, residents with incident MI diagnosed in 1979 to 2006 and community control subjects individually matched (1:1) to cases on age, sex, and year of onset (n=6642) were followed up through 2009. Outcome measures were time to osteoporotic fracture, overall and by anatomic site, and death. Fracture incidence rates were stable in controls but increased markedly over time among MI cases. Accordingly, although an overall excess of fracture risk after MI was observed (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.32; 95% confidence interval, 1.12 to 1.56), substantial temporal variations were noted (1979 to 1989: hazard ratio, 0.81; 95% confidence interval, 0.58 to 1.12; 1990 to 1999:...
Left atrial volume measurement with automated border detection by 3-dimensional echocardiography: comparison with magnetic resonance imaging

Left atrial size is an important marker for adverse cardiovascular events. There is general consensus that left atrial volume index (LAVI) is the best measurement of size. The current LAVI measurement techniques are laborious. Semi-automated measurement with a 3-dimensional echocardiography (3DE) system may be a practical clinical alternative to measure LAVI, but it has not been adequately evaluated against Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) gold standard. The aim of this study was to compare the accuracy of a commercially available 3D algorithm for measurement of LAVI against LAVI obtained from MRI and Area Length Method (ALM). In 27 consecutive subjects referred for cardiac MRI (age 54 ± 13 years, 63% male), LAVI was measured using 3 imaging modalities: 3DE, ALM, MRI and the results were correlated. ALM was measured using standard American Society of Echocardiography guidelines. The time required to measure LAVI by 3DE and ALM were compared. There was a significant correlation in systolic and diastolic LA volumes and left atrial ejection fraction between 3DE and MRI (r = 0.86 for systole, r = 0.76 for diastole, r = 0.88 for ejection fraction, P < 0.0001 for all). There was also significant correlation of diastolic volumes between 3DE and ALM (r = 0.77, P < 0.0001). The time to obtain LAVI was shorter using 3DE versus ALM (56 ± 8 vs 135 ± 55 seconds, P < 0.0001). Three-dimensional echocardiography with semiautomatic border detection is a practical alternative for obtaining the left atrial volume in a time-efficient manner compared to the current standard.
Topographic, meteorologic, and canopy controls on the scaling characteristics of the spatial distribution of snow depth fields

[1] In this study, LIDAR snow depths, bare ground elevations (topography), and elevations filtered to the top of vegetation (topography + vegetation) in five 1-km 2 areas are used to determine whether the spatial distribution of snow depth exhibits scale invariance, and the control that vegetation, topography, and winds exert on such behavior. The one-dimensional and mean two-dimensional power spectra of snow depth exhibit power law behavior in two frequency intervals separated by a scale break located between 7 m and 45 m. The spectral exponents for the low-frequency range vary between 0.1 and 1.2 for the one-dimensional spectra, and between 1.3 and 2.2 for the mean twodimensional power spectra. The spectral exponents for the high-frequency range vary between 3.3 and 3.6 for the one-dimensional spectra, and between 4.0 and 4.5 for the mean two-dimensional spectra. Such spectral exponents indicate the existence of two distinct scaling regimes, with significantly larger variations occurring in the larger-scale regime. Similar bilinear power law spectra were obtained for the fields of vegetation height, with crossover wavelengths between 7 m and 14 m. Further analysis of the snow depth and vegetation fields, together with wind data, support the conclusion that the break in the scaling behavior of snow depth is controlled by the scaling characteristics of the spatial distribution of vegetation height when snow redistribution by wind is minimal and canopy interception is dominant, and by the interaction of winds with features such as surface concavities and vegetation when snow redistribution by wind is dominant.
Monopropellant powered actuators for use in autonomous human-scaled robotics

This paper presents a liquid-fuel powered pneumatic actuator appropriate for human-scale autonomous robotics. The motivation for this work is the development of a lightweight actuation system with system energy and power densities significantly greater than a DC motor and battery combination. For the scale of interest, the design tradeoffs between complexity of an energy conversion system and fuel specific energy density make many conventional approaches inappropriate. Conventional actuation, such as a battery powered DC motor system, does not possess adequate energy storage to perform significant amounts of mechanical work for significant periods of time autonomously. A system design comparison for a six-degree of freedom walking robot is presented which compares the expected performance of a monopropellant powered actuation system to a battery powered DC motor system. Results from this comparison demonstrate the viability of such an approach and indicate significant increases in energy and power densities. A single-degree of freedom manipulator was constructed to demonstrate this approach. Experimental results corroborate the expected energetic advantages.
Environmental contamination due to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus: possible infection control implications.

Objective:To study the possible role of contaminated environmental surfaces as a reservoir of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in hospitals.Design:A prospective culture survey of inanimate objects in the rooms of patients with MRSA.Setting:A 200-bed university-affiliated teaching hospital.Patients:Thirty-eight consecutive patients colonized or infected with MRSA. Patients represented endemic MRSA cases.Results:Ninety-six (27%) of 350 surfaces sampled in the rooms of affected patients were contaminated with MRSA. When patients had MRSA in a wound or urine, 36% of surfaces were contaminated. In contrast, when MRSA was isolated from other body sites, only 6% of surfaces were contaminated (odds ratio, 8.8; 95% confidence interval, 3.725.5; Pく.0001). Environmental contamination occurred in the rooms of 73% of infected patients and 69% of colonized patients. Frequently contaminated objects included the floor, bed linens, the patient's gown, overbed tables, and blood pressure cuffs. Sixty-five percent of nurses who had performed morning patient-care activities on patients with MRSA in a wound or urine contaminated their nursing uniforms or gowns with MRSA. Forty-two percent of personnel who had no direct contact with such patients, but had touched contaminated surfaces, contaminated their gloves with MRSA.Conclusions:We concluded that inanimate surfaces near affected patients commonly become contaminated with MRSA and that the frequency of contamination is affected by the body site at which patients are colonized or infected. That personnel may contaminate their gloves (or possibly their hands) by touching such surfaces suggests that contaminated environmental surfaces may serve as a reservoir of MRSA in hospitals.