cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effect of macrophage-specific colony-stimulating factor (CSF-1) on swine monocyte/macrophage susceptibility to in vitro infection by African swine fever virus.

Abstract Swine cells of the monocyte/macrophage lineage (MM) proliferate and survive for several weeks in vitro in medium supplemented with the murine macrophage-specific hematopoietic growth factor, colony-stimulating factor 1 (CSF-1). The extent to which MM, cultured in CSF-1, supported African swine fever virus (ASFV) growth in vitro was investigated. MM, cultured in medium with CSF-1, were sensitive to infection and viral-induced cytipathogenic damage by both natural field isolates of ASFV and fibroblast-adapted ASFV strains, as were primary MM (P-MM). Without CSF-1, blood mononuclear leukocytes (MNL), containing lymphocytes and MM, and P-MM could be reliably used in microculture for ASFV titration when inoculated at times limited to no more than 3 to 5 days after culture inception; inclusion of CSF-1 in the media stimulated continued MM survival and growth, and allowed for the use of MNL and P-MM for ASFV titration when inoculated as long as 2 to 3 weeks after microculture inception. MM that were propagated beyond 1 week in secondary culture in medium with CSF-1 (MM-CSF) were useful in microcultures for infective-ASF titration, only when the cells were kept in medium with CSF-1 and inoculated no later than 3 days of culture inception. In vitro studies of ASFV infection in P-MM and in MM-CSF showed comparable kinetics in ASFV-induced hemadsorption (HAd), cytopathogenic effect (CPE), cytoplasmic viral antigens and nucleic acid material. Compared to P-MM in culture without CSF-1, relatively minor delays in CPE onset induced by some ASFV strains were noticed in MM-CSF and in P-MM that were placed in media with CSF-1. The effects of ASFV on DNA synthesis in the virus-susceptible MM, cultured with or without CSF-1, were also examined at different times of infection by measurement of 3 H-thymidine ( 3 H-TdR) incorporation into total precipitable culture material. ASFV-infection of P-MM, placed in culture medium with CSF-1, caused a pronounced transient increase in total 3 H-TdR incorporation at the early onset of CPE and HAd. When compared to uninfected P-MM that were stimulated by CSF-1 to synthesize DNA, infected P-MM failed to incorporate 3 H-TdR after CPE was fully evident. For P-MM that were cultured without CSF-1 and for MM-CSF, that were kept in culture with CSF-1, transient increases in 3 H-TdR incorporation at the onset of CPE and HAd by ASFV-infection were evident, but were much less pronounced.
Increased Frequency of Alleles Associated with Elevated Tumor Necrosis Factor-α Levels in Children with Kawasaki Disease

Genetic polymorphisms influence the magnitude of the cytokine response after an inflammatory stimulus. To determine whether such polymorphisms might play a role in Kawasaki disease (KD), we analyzed white and Japanese children with KD and control populations for two polymorphic loci in which the A allele is associated with high tumor necrosis factor-alpha secretion. The lymphotoxin-alpha+250 A/A genotype was overrepresented among white children with KD compared with controls (0.59 versus 0.36; p = 0.013). The tumor necrosis factor-alpha-308 A/G genotype was overrepresented among whites with KD who had coronary artery abnormalities compared with those with normal echocardiograms (0.36 versus 0.09; p = 0.044). No significant difference was seen at either locus between Japanese children with KD and Japanese controls. The increased frequency of the high secretor alleles in white children with KD suggests that these loci may be related to susceptibility to KD and to outcome after disease.
Direct Measurement of Conjugated Polymer Electronic Excitation Energies Using Metal/Polymer/Metal Structures

We report electroabsorption measurements of built-in electric fields and internal photoemission measurements of Schottky barriers to determine the charge transfer and single-particle energy gaps of the conjugated polymer poly[2-methoxy, 5-(2\ensuremath{'}-ethyl-hexyloxy)-1,4-phenylene vinylene] (MEH-PPV). For MEH-PPV, with an exciton absorption peak of 2.25 eV, or results yield a single-particle energy gap of 2.45 eV and a charge transfer energy gap of at least 2.35 eV. Therefore the exciton binding energy is 0.2 eV and the bipolaron binding energy is less than 0.1 eV.
IN VIVO TENDON FORCES CORRELATE WITH ACTIVITY LEVEL AND REMAIN BOUNDED : EVIDENCE IN A RABBIT FLEXOR TENDON MODEL

While some tendons and ligaments in the lower extremity develop peak forces proportional to the intensity of activity (Komi 1990; Komi et al., 1992; Korvick et al., 1996), others maintain a steady force regardless of activity level (Herzog et al., 1993; Prilutsky et al., 1994). Investigators (Biewener et al., 1988; Korvick et al., 1996) have also shown that peak knee and ankle tendon forces approach one-quarter to one-third of ultimate or failure force values. In the rabbit flexor digitorum profundus (FDP) tendon model we tested several hypotheses, chiefly that peak in vivo forces not only increase with increasing activity but do not exceed one-third of their ultimate or failure values. The FDP tendon was instrumented in three animals, and each rabbit subjected to an experimental design involving three activity levels. Peak tensile forces and rates of rise and fall in tendon force increased significantly with increasing activity (p < 0.01). Further, the tendon maintained a non-zero force level throughout all trials. For the most vigorous activity, inclined hopping, tensile forces and stresses were, on average, within 30% of the tendon's ultimate force and stress values, respectively. Such in vivo measurements in different tendon systems should help investigators better understand the recruitment and contribution of important muscle-tendon units to joint stability and gait.
Reclassification of Ruminococcus obeum as Blautia obeum comb. nov.

During our previous studies we reclassified Clostridium coccoides and a number of misclassified ruminococci into a novel genus Blautia within the family Lachnospiraceae . However, the Rules of the Bacteriological Code currently require that the types of all species and subspecies with new names (including new combinations) be deposited in two different collections in two different countries. The type strain of Ruminococcus obeum was, at that period in time, only deposited in the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) and a second independent deposit, as required by the Code, was not available. Consequently, the transfer of this species to the genus Blautia could not be made, because the resulting species name would not conform to the Rules governing the valid publication of species names and deposit of type material (Rules 27 and 30) and consequently would not be considered to be validly published. This resulted in a nomenclatural and taxonomic anomaly with R. obeum being phylogenetically placed among members of the genus Blautia with 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities of between 91.8 and 96.6 %. In order to rectify this unsatisfactory situation, through our discussions with the ATCC, the deposit of strain R. obeum ATCC 29174T to the DSMZ as strain number DSM 25238T was completed. Hence, the transfer of R. obeum to the genus Blautia as Blautia obeum comb. nov. is now proposed. The type strain is ATCC 29174T ( = DSM 25238T = KCTC 15206T).
Unlikely amazons: Brazilian indigenous gender constructs in a modern context

Feminist theory predicts that when traditional societies with egalitarian gender relations contact European state societies in which gender stratification exists, the traditional society will adopt the European gender construct. This rule may be modified in cases where the relations between the two types of society are modulated by interpretive processes which allow the state society to appropriate symbols of the indigenous culture for their own purposes, and the indigenous society to shape contact and change as they occur. This article describes how European contact transformed gender constructs among the Bakairi Indians of central Brazil, while accounting for the presence of an anomalous group of women who behave differently to the typical Indian woman. It explains how individual Bakairi, along with the support of key Brazilian institutions, have employed interpretively the early-contact indigenous version of the female gender role to authenticate the indigenous identity.
Mental causation and explanatory exclusion

Kim argues that we can never have more than one complete and independent explanation for a single event. The existence of both mental and physical explanations for behavior would seem to violate this principle. We can avoid violating it only if we suppose that mental causal relationships supervene on physical causal relationships. I argue that although his solution is attractive in many respects, it will not do as it stands. I propose an alternate understanding of supervenient causation which preserves the advantages of Kim's account while avoiding the problems. My analysis involves appeal to counterfactuals. Any counterfactual analysis must confront the problem that mental states appear to be ‘screened off’ from causal relevance by physical states. I argue that screening off is not a problem, because cases in which mental states appear to be screened off are cases in which background conditions are not held constant.
Maximizing Spectral Efficiency for High Mobility Systems with Imperfect Channel State Information

This paper studies the optimum system design that can maximize the spectral efficiency of high mobility wireless communication systems with imperfect channel state information (CSI). The fast time-varying fading in high mobility systems can be tracked with pilot-assisted channel estimation. The percentage of pilot symbols in the transmitted symbols plays a critical role on the system performance: a higher pilot percentage yields a more accurate channel estimation, but also more overhead. The effects of pilot percentage are quantified through the derivation of the channel estimation mean squared error (MSE), which is expressed as a closed-form expression of various system parameters through asymptotic analysis. It is discovered that, if the pilots sample the channel above its Nyquist rate, then the estimation of the channel coefficients of data symbols through temporal interpolation yields the same asymptotic MSE as the direct estimation of the channel coefficients of the pilot symbols. Based on the statistical properties of the channel estimation error, we quantify the impacts of the imperfect CSI on the system performance by developing the analytical symbol error rate (SER) and a spectral efficiency lower bound of the communication system. The optimum pilot percentage that can maximize the spectral efficiency lower bound is identified through both analytical and simulation results.
The development of sensory projection patterns in embryonic chick hindlimb under experimental conditions

In the chick, sensory neurons grow to their segmentally appropriate target sites in the hindlimb from the outset during normal development. To elucidate the underlying mechanisms, we performed various manipulations of the neural tube, including the neural crest, or of the hindlimb, before axonal outgrowth and assessed the resulting sensory projections using retrograde and anterograde HRP labeling and electrophysiological techniques. Previous experiments had shown that motoneurons are specified to project to their appropriate target muscles prior to axon outgrowth and that they respond to cues in the limb in order to grow to those targets (C. Lance-Jones and L. Landmesser, 1980, J. Physiol (London) 302, 559-602; C. Lance-Jones and L. Landmesser, 1981, Proc. R. Sot I,ondon, B 214, 19-52). When several segments of neural tube and neural crest were deleted, sensory neurons in the remaining segments still projected along their correct pathways, as did motoneurons. In situations in which motoneurons grew to their correct targets from altered positions with respect to the limb (e.g., small neural tube reversals), sensory neurons also tended to project along the segmentally appropriate pathways both to skin and to muscle. In situations in which motoneurons were displaced greater distances from their normal point of entry into the limb and made wrong connections (e.g., large neural tube reversals, anterior-posterior limb reversals), sensory neurons also projected incorrectly. The patterns of sensory projections to muscles were, in each situation, generally similar to the motoneuron projections. These results are consistent with the possibility that sensory neurons, like motoneurons, are specified with respect to their peripheral connectivity. Alternatively, the results suggest that motoneurons may play a role in the process of pathway selection by sensory neurons.
Skeletal status of men with early and late ankylosing spondylitis

Abstract PURPOSE: To assess the influence of extent of disease on the skeletal status of men with ankylosing spondylitis (AS). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Fourteen men with AS were studied at entry and again after 15 months. Bone mineral density (BMD) was assessed by single photon absorptiometry (SPA), dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA), and quantitative computed tomography (QCT). Calciotropic hormones and bone turnover were also assessed, and biopsies of iliac crest and skin were taken after tetracycline double-labeling from 10 subjects. Clinical evaluation and Health Assessment Questionnaires were used to assess functional status. RESULTS: Of the 14 participants, 7 had sacroiliitis alone without radiologic evidence of spinal involvement (early disease) and 7 had sacroiliitis with extensive vertebral calcifications and immobilization (late disease). QCT baseline lumbar spine BMD was very low in both groups compared with normative standards (Z score=−3.08 ± 1.83, P P P = 0.005) but not in the late disease group. DXA BMD was also low at the all three hip sites (Z score=−0.96 ± 0.86, P Histomorphometry of the iliac crest showed no consistent change in bone turnover. Bone volume and trabecular width were low in many cases. Cancellous bone volume correlated with lumbar spine BMD by QCT (r = 0.69, P = 0.026) but not with DXA. Although beneficial changes occurred in exercise tolerance and pain over time, anthropometric measurements did not improve. CONCLUSION: BMD is low in both the axial and peripheral skeleton in men with AS and is independent of spinal immobilization. Anterioposterior lumbar spine DXA in late AS is less useful than QCT in determining the degree of osteopenia in late AS. Bone mineral deficits in AS do not reflect measurable metabolic derangement or hypogonadism. Although bone histomorphometry suggests both trabecular thinning and loss of structural elements as mechanisms involved in low bone volume, the exact cause of osteopenia in AS remains to be determined.
Activities associated with conflict behaviour in mice.

Summary Although many studies of conflict behaviour in mice have been made, the activities associated with the behaviour are ill defined. The present study is directed to an elucidation and understanding of the behavioural concomitances of conflict behaviour. Isolated mature male C57BL/10J mice, an inbred strain of the house mouse, Mus musculus, served as subjects. They were divided into twelve categories of four mice each and tested by the round robin method. A single food pellet was introduced in six of the twelve categories at the time of testing. The amount of time spent in an activity or the number of occurrences of a behavioural pattern were recorded. The dominant mice spent significantly more time in social grooming, social sniffing, genital sniffing and food control than did the subordinate mice. Humping and tail lashing also were exhibited significantly more by the dominants. Significantly more tail lashing occurred in pair contacts when fighting, usually accompanied by attacks and chases, took place than when only attacks and chases occurred. Correlations between latency and time spent in conflict behavior and in social sniffing were significant. It is concluded that tail lashing appears to be related to conflict behaviour and probably serves as a threat to other animals. Humping is probably related to the mincing and excitatory running reported by other workers. Social grooming appears to be related to conflict behaviour in some cases, while in other instances it appears to be a more amicable type of behaviour. Several characteristics are associated with dominance in mice. Dominant animals engage in a greater amount of tail lashing, humping, social grooming, social sniffing, genital sniffing, and control of a food pellet than do subordinate mice.
Distribution and metabolism of ellagic acid in the mouse following intraperitoneal administration

Abstract The distribution and metabolism of ellagic acid (EA), a naturally occurring plant phenolic compound with reported antimutagenic and anticarcinogenic activity, was investigated in mice following intraperitoneal injection. Male Swiss-Webster mice were given a single i.p. injection of [3H] EA and sacrificed at 15 min, 30 min, 60 min, 120 min and 24 h post-injection. At these times urine, blood and bile samples were obtained from each animal and various organs were removed, weighed and homogenized. Radioactivity in the samples was determined at each time interval and expressed as nmol [3H] EA/mg sample. Metabolites in urine and bile were analyzed by high- performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and water-soluble conjugates were isolated by eluting samples of urine and bile from an alumina column. Radioactivity expressed as nmol [3H] EA/mg sample (wet weight) decreased with time in most organ homogenates. The peak radioactivity in bile appeared at 60 min post-injection while the peak radioactivity in urine occurred at 120 min. The two organs showing the highest amount of radioactivity were kidney and liver and the lowest was in brain. HPLC analysis revealed one unidentified metabolite of EA in bile and three in urine. Most of the radioactivity recovered from both bile and urine was associated with EA. Watersoluble conjugates in urine were isolated as sulfate esters, glucuronide and glutathione conjugates. Water-soluble conjugates in bile were evenly distributed as glucuronide and glutathione conjugates.
Field Correlations And Spectra Produced By Locally Incoherent Primary Sources

In this paper the correlation properties (in the space-frequency domain) and spectra of wavefields produced by a class of sources which occupy a finite domain and are locally incoherent, i.e., by finite sources which are correlated only over distances which are small compared to the wavelengths of interest, are investigated. For points inside the source the complex degree of spectral coherence and the spectrum of the field are investigated. For points in the far zone of the source the spectrum of the field is studied.
Mechanisms of stacking fault tetrahedra destruction by gliding dislocations in quenched gold

The destruction processes of stacking fault tetrahedra (SFTs) induced by gliding dislocations were examined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) in situ straining experiments for SFTs with edge lengths ranging from 10 to 50 nm. At least four distinct SFT destruction processes were identified: (1) consistent with a Kimura–Maddin model for both screw and 60° dislocations, (2) stress-induced SFT collapse into a triangular Frank loop, (3) partial annihilation leaving an apex portion and (4) complete annihilation. Process (4) was observed at room temperature only for small SFTs (∼10 nm); however, this process was also frequently observed for larger SFTs (∼30 nm) at higher temperature (∼853 K). When this process was induced, the dislocation always cross-slipped, indicating only screw dislocations can induce this process.
Temporally resolved infrared spectra from the detonation of advanced munitions

A suite of instruments including a 100 kHz 4-channel radiometer, a rapid scanning Fourier-transform infrared spectrometer, and two high-speed visible imagers was used to observe the detonation of several novel insensitive munitions being developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory. The spectral signatures exhibited from several different explosive compositions are discernable and may be exploited for event classification. The spectra are initially optically thick, resembling a Planckian distribution. In time, selective emission in the wings of atmospheric absorption bands becomes apparent, and the timescale and degree to which this occurs is correlated with aluminum content in the explosive formulation. By analyzing the high-speed imagery in conjunction with the time-resolved spectral measurements, it may be possible to interpret these results in terms of soot production and oxidation rates. These variables allow for an investigation into the chemical kinetics of explosions and perhaps reveal other phenomenology not yet readily apparent. With an increased phenomenological understanding, a model could be created to explain the kinetic behavior of the temperature and by-product concentration profiles and thus improve the ability of military sensing platforms to identify explosive types and sources.
Violence and the Dialectics of Landscape: Memorialization in Cambodia

Between 1975 and 1979, approximately two million people were killed in the Cambodian genocide. To date, considerable research has examined the legacies of this period of Cambodia's history, as well...
Edge Processing and Enterprise Integration: Closing the Gap on Deployable Industrial Sensor Networks

The next frontier of sensor networking is integration: building operational systems that meet business requirements and integrate with existing business processes. We describe an industrial deployment and the system architecture that overcomes challenges in energy efficiency, system reliability, data fidelity, and flexible integration. We evaluate the performance of these deployments and consider various system enhancements that impact performance.
Essentialism and the Cultural Psychology of Gender in Extreme Son Preference Communities in India

Using a cultural ecological framework, the authors examined key psychological antecedents of a pressing public health problem in Tamilnadu, India: the persistence of extreme forms of female neglect including female infanticide and feticide. Community-based respondents (N = 798) were recruited from Tamilnadu, a south Indian state, from villages with highly male biased sex ratios. Study 1 examined beliefs about behavioral gender transgressions in the villages that are identified as having extremely male-biased sex ratios. Study 2 examined the same participants several weeks later, investigating beliefs about biological gender essentialism and attitudes toward violence. Although behavioral and biological aspects of gender were essentialized differently, a regression analysis controlling for SES and marital status found that the more men essentialized female identity, the more they endorsed violence against women and the less anxiety they felt. The authors conclude by discussing the cultural psychological implications of this asymmetry in the essentialist beliefs about gender.
Axiomatic definability and completeness for recursive programs

The termination assertion pq means that whenever the formula p is true, there is an execution of the possibly nondeterministic program S which terminates in a state in which q is true. Termination assertions are more tractable technically than the partial correctness assertions usually treated in the literature. Termination assertions are studied for a programming language which includes local variable declarations, calls to undeclared global procedures, and nondeterministic recursive procedures with call-by-address and call-by-value parameters. By allowing formulas p and q to place conditions on global procedures, we provide a method for reasoning about programs with calls to global procedures based on hypotheses about procedure input-output behavior. The set of first-order termination assertions valid over all interpretations is completely axiomatizable without reference to the theory of any interpretation. Although uninterpreted assertions have limited expressive power, the set of valid termination assertions defines the semantics of recursive programs in the sense of Meyer and Halpern [10]. Thus the axiomatization constitutes an axiomatic definition of the semantics of recursive programs.
Reflections on the verification of the security of an operating system kernel

This paper discusses the formal verification of the design of an operating system kernel's conformance to the multilevel security property. The kernel implements multiple protection structures to support both discretionary and nondiscretionary security policies. The design of the kernel was formally specified. Mechanical techniques were used to check that the design conformed to the multilevel security property. All discovered security flaws were then either closed or minimized. This paper considers the multilevel security model, the verification methodology, and the verification tools used. This work is significant for two reasons. First, it is for a complete implementation of a commercially available secure computer system. Second, the verification used off-the-shelf tools and was not done by the verification environment researchers.
Improvement in gastrointestinal symptoms and quality of life after cholecystectomy

Abstract Background Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) is the accepted treatment for symptomatic cholelithiasis but has been criticized as an overused procedure. This study assesses the effectiveness of LC on reduction in gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms and the impact on quality of life (QOL). Methods A prospective cohort of subjects evaluated for gallstone disease between August 2001 and July 2004 completed preoperative and postoperative GI gallbladder symptom surveys (GISS) and SF36 QOL surveys. The GISS was developed to quantify the magnitude, severity, and distressfulness of 16 GI symptoms. Surveys were scored and evaluated using paired t tests. Results Fifty-five subjects were included in the final analysis. The GISS revealed significant improvement in biliary type symptoms but not reflux or irritable bowel symptoms after LC ( P > .05). Significant improvement was seen in QOL ( P Conclusion This study supports the utility of LC by showing not only a significant reduction of GI symptoms but also marked improvement in patients’ general QOL.
Canine distemper virus in primary and continuous cell lines of human and monkey origin

Canine distemper virus produced characteristic cytopathic effects in primary and continuous cell cultures of human and monkey origin. The importance of selection of variants for successful adaptation to a given cell type was indicated by the marked differences in growth and CPE demonstrated by CDV lines of varying background. The Onderstepoort strain which had previously been passaged in ferret kidney cell cultures readily induced lesions in the AV3 human amnion cell line and virus yields of 105 to 106 TCD50 per ml. were obtained. On serial passage in AV3 cells, a rapid CPE variant of this strain was obtained which induced lesions within 24 hrs. of inoculation. A chick embryo cell culture passaged line of the Onderstepoort strain also induced cytopathic effects in AV3 cells. However, the lesions developed slower and were not as extensive as those obtained with the ferret kidney propagated virus. The following additional cell types were also sensitive to canine distemper virus: primary human amnion, human fibroblasts, HeLa cells, primary rhesus and tamarin kidney cells, and continuous cell lines derived from rhesus and green monkeys. The Rockborn and 4856 strains of canine distemper also produced cytopathic effects in one or more of the above cell types. The lesions induced by canine distemper virus were compared to those produced by measles virus in a number of the above cell types. In all cases, similar, if not identical cytopathic effects were observed in a given cell type. The two viruses produced a similar type of cytopathic effect in human fibroblast cells which differed from that induced in epithelial cells.
Patient Responses to Genetic Information: Studies of Patients With Hereditary Cancer Syndromes Identify Issues for Use of Genetic Testing in Nephrology Practice

Summary Advances in the genetic basis of kidney disease may mean that genetic testing is increasingly important in reducing disease morbidity and mortality among patients. However, there is little research examining patient responses to genetic information for Mendelian and common kidney diseases. Existing research on kidney and other hereditary cancer syndromes can inform three major issues relevant to the nephrology context as follows: (1) how patients understand their risk of disease after genetic counseling and testing, (2) their emotional responses to the information, and (3) their uptake of recommended risk-reducing strategies. Prior research suggests that genetic counseling and testing may improve patient understanding of genetics, but patients still might not fully understand the meaning of their results for disease risk. Genetic counseling and testing does not appear to result in long-term negative emotional effects among patients who carry mutations or those who do not. Finally, although genetic counseling and testing may improve adherence to recommended screening strategies, adherence varies substantially across different risk-reduction options. Previous research also suggests that computer-based interventions might be a useful adjunct to genetic counseling approaches. Examining whether and how these prior findings relate to the context of hereditary kidney disease is an important area for future research.
Part I: Bond strain and defects at Si-SiO2 and dielectric interfaces in high-k gate stacks

The performance and reliability of aggressively-scaled field effect transistors that include deposited high-k dielectrics and interfacial SiO2 buffer layers are determined in large part by electronically-active defects and defect precursors at the Si-SiO2, and internal SiO2-high-k dielectric interfaces. A crucial aspect of reducing interfacial defects and defect precursors is associated with bond-strain driven bonding self-organizations that take place during high temperature annealing in inert ambients. These interfacial self-organizations, and intrinsic interface defects are addressed through an extension of bond constraint theory from bulk glasses to interfaces between non-crystalline SiO2, and i) crystalline Si, and ii) non-crystalline and crystalline alternative gate dielectric materials.
Experimental investigation of stochastic parafoil guidance using a graphics processing unit

Control of autonomous systems subject to stochastic uncertainty is a challenging task. In guided airdrop applications, random wind disturbances play a crucial role in determining landing accuracy and terrain avoidance. This paper describes a stochastic parafoil guidance system which couples uncertainty propagation with optimal control to protect against wind and parameter uncertainty in the presence of impact area obstacles. The algorithm uses real-time Monte Carlo simulation performed on a graphics processing unit (GPU) to evaluate robustness of candidate trajectories in terms of delivery accuracy, obstacle avoidance, and other considerations. Building upon prior theoretical developments, this paper explores performance of the stochastic guidance law compared to standard deterministic guidance schemes, particularly with respect to obstacle avoidance. Flight test results are presented comparing the proposed stochastic guidance algorithm with a standard deterministic one. Through a comprehensive set of simulation results, key implementation aspects of the stochastic algorithm are explored including tradeoffs between the number of candidate trajectories considered, algorithm runtime, and overall guidance performance. Overall, simulation and flight test results demonstrate that the stochastic guidance scheme provides a more robust approach to obstacle avoidance while largely maintaining delivery accuracy.
Tilting the Tablet: The Effect of Tablet Tilt on Hand Occlusion

During use of touch-screen tablet devices, the user's hand can occlude regions of the screen. Here, we present results from an exploratory study of hand orientation and occlusion among American primary school students using a touch-screen tablet device. We investigated hand orientations, amount of occlusion, and the effects of tablet tilt angle (flat or tilted) on students preferred hand orientations when using a touch-screen tablet device. From 18 interviews with 5th-7th grade students using interactive science simulations, we found five common hand orientations corresponding to a range from high to low occlusion. Tablet tilt angle considerably impacted students preferred hand orientations. Based on these results, we suggest that encouraging students to work on tablets with a moderate tilt angle (30-45 degrees), rather than lying flat on a table, could significantly decrease occlusion and increase the effectiveness of touch-screen tablet devices for learning.
Computerized identification of suspicious regions for masses in digitized mammograms.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES A simple and effective computerized detection scheme was developed to identify suspicious mass regions in digitized mammograms. METHODS This method identifies a maximum of five suspicious mass regions per image and was tested with a database of 510 images, including 162 verified masses. It includes a series of five rule-based processes that select one region with each of the following characteristics: 1) a global minimum of optical density in a smoothed image; 2) a local minimum of optical density in the original image; 3) a local minimum of optical density in a filtered image; 4) a small "mass" of low contrast; and 5) a small "mass" of high contrast. RESULTS This multi-stage process achieved a sensitivity of 95% while limiting false-positive detection rates to below an average of two per image. CONCLUSION Because this method limits the initial number of suspicious mass regions while retaining high sensitivity, it may be applicable to clinically usable computer-aided diagnosis schemes.
Reactor dynamics and molecular weight distributions: Some aspects of continuous polymerisation in tubular reactors

A study was made of the effect of residence time distribution and thermal nonuniformities on molecular weight dispersion in continuous nonchain and chain polymerizations, respectively. The analyses were conducted with the aid of the assumption of microsegregation, which facilitated and unified the computational approach. Holdback was examined and found to be a good criterion for characterizing the importance of residence time distribution. Power-law flow index was found to have a direct effect on molecular weight dispersion in isothermal nonchain polymerizations as well as an indirect influence in chain polymerizations via its role as a parameter for thermal sensitivity. It was concluded that the isothermal, segregated, continuous stirred tank reactor has a greater effect on molecular dispersion in nonchain-type polymerizations than the worst isothermal tubular reactor, as correctly predicted by holdback, and temperature nonuniformities have a profound influence on molecular dispersion in chain-type polymerizations. On a fait respectivement une etude de l'effet de la ripartition du temps de sejour moyen dans un reacteur ainsi que des irregularites thermiques sur la dispersion du a ide moleculaire dans des polymerisations continues a chaine ou non. On a execute lee analyses en suppoeant qu'il y avait microsegregation, ce qui a permis de faciliter et d'unifier la methode de calcul. On a examine la retenue et trouve qu'elle constituait un bon critere pour caracteriser I'importance de la distribution du temps de sejour. On a trouve que I'indice d'ecoulement de la loi d'energie exergait un effet direct Bur la dispersion du poids moleculaire dans lee polymerisations isothermiques sans chaine ainsi qu'une influence indirecte dans des poly. merisations i chaine, grace a son role comme param6tre pour la sensibilite thermique. On a conch que le reacteur a reervoir isothermique separe et agite constamment exergait une influence plua considerable Bur la dispersion molbulaire dans les diepersions sans chaine que le pire reacteur tubulaire isothermique (comme la retenue le laissait privoir avec justesse) et quc lee irregularites de temperature ont un effet profondsur la dispersion moleculaire dans les polymerisations a chaine.
Stress concentration along interfaces of elastic-plastic thin films

Abstract Finite element techniques are used to calculate the stress concentrations near the free edge and along the interface of thin films which are bonded to stiff substrates. The material of the film is modeled as elastic-plastic with a linear power-law hardening stress-strain curve in simple shear. It is assumed that the film material is characterized by J 2 deformation theory, and that far from the free edges the film is in a state of uniform balanced biaxial stress which may be due to misfit strain, to thermal strain or to intrinsic stress. Emphasis is placed on the stress concentrations in films of small aspect ratio (modeling the early stages of island growth) or of large aspect ratio (modeling epitaxial or layer-by-layer growth) and on the effect of the hardening exponent on the resulting stress concentrations. It is found that stress concentrations are localized near the film-substrate interface, that films of small aspect ratio have smaller stress concentrations than films of large aspect ratio, and that plastic deformation significantly reduces the stress levels near the interface, although close to the free edge the stress levels are still higher than the far field uniform stresses.
Stratifications and Mackey Functors II: Globally Defined Mackey Functors

We describe structural properties of globally defined Mackey functors related to the stratification theory of algebras. We show that over a field of characteristic zero they form a highest weight category and we also determine precisely when this category is semisimple. This approach is used to show that the Cartan matrix is often symmetric and non-singular, and we are able to compute finite parts of it in some instances. We also develop a theory of vertices of globally defined Mackey functors in the spirit of group representation theory, as well as giving information about extensions between simple functors.
COMPOSITION OF SOME COMMERCIAL DRY SAUSAGES

Moisture content of 8 types of dried sausage products varied from 58.9–26.4%. Fat, ash, protein nitrogen and total acidity values of each type increased as the moisture content decreased Bacterial counts indicated that the majority of the sausages were fermented, containing the same range of lactic acid bacterial counts as found for total plate counts. Sausage pH ranged from a low of 4.42 to 5.58. A classification system of dried sausages based on moisture-to-protein ratio and percent moisture was found by regression analysis to fit a linear plot. The classification system also included descriptive terminology generally used in industry to denote the stage of product dryness.
VISUAL CULTURE STUDIES IN MESOAMERICA

This essay surveys recent trends in studies of Mesoamerican visual culture. Visual culture is defined here as more than an inclusive art history. I outline a tradition of approaches and methods in visual culture studies, arguing that this tradition pays particular attention to the reception and use of objects, as well as to their place in ancient economies. Several current trends in Mesoamerican studies, especially Postclassic period world-systems approaches and Classic period Maya courtly studies, have been particularly fecund strategies for visual culture studies. Other major trends in the field include studies of the symbolism of architecture and urban planning as well as performance studies. The insistence on economic contexts, the desire to capture indigenous visualities, and the need to situate the visual experience in larger cultural phenomena all bode well for future interdisciplinary work in visual cultural studies.
Hyperosmotic properties of the fluids of the perivisceral coelom and water vascular system of starfish kept under stable conditions

Abstract 1. 1. Osmotic measurements were made on the perivisceral coelomic and water vascular fluids of 4 species of northwest Pacific starfish and their stable sea-water media. 2. 2. Mean levels of both fluids were hyperosmotic in every species, often at statistically significant levels. 3. 3. For all species combined, mean hyperosmolality (mosmol/kg ± SE ) of perivisceral coelomic fluid was 1.49 ± 0.17, and water vascular fluid 6.07 ± 0.74. 4. 4. The hyperosmotic nature of these fluids contributes to water balance, working in conjunction with madreporitic inflow and other factors.
Statistics and probabilistic modeling of simulated intergranular cracks

Abstract Using Monte Carlo simulation, the statistical properties of intergranular crack trajectories in polycrystalline materials are estimated. The polycrystalline microstructures are two dimensional and are modeled by a Poisson–Voronoi tessellation for the grain geometry and a uniform orientation distribution function for the crystallographic orientation. A heuristic is introduced for determining the path of crack propagation when the crack tip arrives at a grain boundary triple junction. This heuristic applies a combination of two criteria for determining the direction of crack propagation, the maximum circumferential stress criterion, and a criterion in which the crack is assumed to propagate in the direction with the least material resistance. The resistance of grain boundaries is assumed to be related to the crystallographic misorientation at the grain boundary. The trajectories of microcracks can be treated as a random process, and simulation results indicate that the crack process exhibits linear variance growth, the rate of which is related to the importance attached to the circumferential stress and the material resistance in determining the direction of propagation. The rate of variance growth is shown to vary with the average grain diameter, so that microcracks in polycrystals with small grain size will exhibit less spatial uncertainty. The statistics and distributions of the increments of the crack process are also given. Through a small change made to the normalization applied to non-dimensionalize the statistics, the results are extended to polycrystals that have spatially varying grain size. Finally, a probabilistic model is proposed that is able to produce synthetic crack trajectories that replicate the important statistical properties of the simulated cracks. Such a model may prove useful in studies of the transition from micro to macrocracking.
ANALYSIS OF THE EARLY STAGE OF THERMAL RUNAWAY.

It is shown that a variable grouping containing a logarithmic time-dependent factor is required for the development of a coordinate-perturbation expansion which realistically describes the spatially varying thermal-runaway process. The resulting solution is in good agreement with careful numerical computations. It describes a self-focussing temperature growth, the form and behaviour of which are remarkably independent of both the conditions leading to thermal runaway and the topology of the thermal-runaway region. The detailed solution also reveals an underlying structure in the temperature development, in which a strongly supercritical thermal runaway (where the relative effects of conduction are initially small) is found to be very much like a less strongly supercritical, but more highly-developed, thermal runaway. In this development the local rate rate of self-heating accelerates dramatically while, in comparison, the conductive impediment to the temperature growth diminishes towards zero. Attempts to develop a solution using a variable grouping without the logarithmic factor are shown to produce results which are unsuitable for describing inhomogeneous thermal runaway. Some numerically computed results are presented, detailing the Ignition Kernel formed as a result of supercritical thermal runaway in a fixed-temperature symmetric container.
In vitro activity of ramoplanin against vancomycin-resistant gram-positive organisms.

Abstract In vitro activity of ramoplanin, a cyclic lipoglycopeptide, against 92 vancomycin-resistant gram-positive organisms was evaluated. Ramoplanin demonstrated potent activity against many highly vancomycin-resistant organisms including enterococci (MICs for 90% of strains tested of 0.5 micrograms/ml) and against Lactobacillus spp., Leuconostoc spp., and Pediococcus spp., all of which were inhibited at concentrations of < or = 0.25 micrograms/ml. This drug or a derivative compound merits further investigation as a potential therapeutic agent for infections due to vancomycin-resistant enterococci.
The Role of Animacy in Children's Understanding of "Move.".

Animals are distinctive in that they are the causal agents of their own actions (e.g. a dog moves itself), whereas artifacts generally are not (e.g. a marble doesn't move itself). We examined whether children make use of this conceptual link between animacy and agency when interpreting the verb 'move' in English. Specifically, we hypothesized that the semantic interpretation of 'move' would differ, depending on whether the subject noun refers to an animal or to an inanimate object. We hypothesized that, for in animates, children would allow 'move' to have a patient subject (e.g. 'the marble moved' could mean 'the marble was moved by someone else') but not so for animates (e.g. 'the dog moved' could not mean 'the dog was moved by someone else'). In two studies, 65 three-year-olds, 57 five-year-olds, and 74 adults viewed video clips of animals or inanimate objects being transported by a person. For each clip, the child was asked whether the animal or object was moving. A 'yes' response would indicate acceptance of a patient subject (e.g. 'the dog/marble moved' means 'the dog/marble was moved by someone else'). Both five-year-old children and adults more often reported that the toys were moving, than that the animals were moving. However, three-year-olds showed no animacy effects. Thus, between the ages of three and five, children begin to link animacy and agency in language. These findings suggest that children's language use is guided by similar conceptual constraints as those of adults, and/or that children are sensitive to distributional information linking form and meaning in the input language.
Text Display and Graphics Control on a Paintable Computer

Consider a display architecture where every pixel has its own dedicated graphics engine. Toward this end, we recast the rendering and graphics control of text for use on a paintable computer. Work on paintable computing is reviewed with a focus on the programming model based on autonomous, mobile code fragments (pfrags) which self-assemble into larger virtual structures. A device simulator is used to demonstrate pfrags interacting to form 2D coordinate scaffolds. Text characters, embodied as pfrag "seeds", use the scaffold to direct their migration and distribute models of the text and associated graphics code to the paint nodes. Affine transformations are demonstrated as an example of finely distributed graphics control.
Simulation of the Self-Adhesive Label Printing Pressure Based on Non-Linear Contact

Based on the finite element non-linear contact theory, the calculation model of the self-adhesive label printing pressure is achieved, then doing the non-linear contact of this model by using ANSYS. By changing the magnitude of interference between the printing cylinder and the printing platform, printing pressure is achieved in different magnitudes of interference. Contrast to the traditional empirical method, this method make up for the lack of calculating the printing pressure. It turns out help correcting mechanism parameters to achieve the optimal design.