cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Ab initio description of polarization in low-energy electron collisions with polar molecules: Application to electron- NH 3 scattering

We report the results of a theoretical study of low-energy electron-${\mathrm{NH}}_{3}$ scattering in which target polarization effects are included by using an ab initio optical potential. The calculations employ the complex Kohn variational technique and are undertaken at both the static-exchange and polarized-self-consistent-field levels. Particular attention is paid to the complications attending electron scattering from target molecules that possess a permanent dipole moment. We describe the steps necessary to extract meaningful differential cross sections from fixed-nuclei calculations that ignore the rotational motion of the target. Good agreement is found between our results and recent experimental measurements.
Phthalimide-based polymers for high performance organic thin-film transistors.

The synthesis and characterization of two new thiophene copolymers with backbone phthalimide units is reported. Thin-film optical and wide-angle X-ray diffraction measurements indicate extended electronic conjugation and close intermolecular π-stacking for both polymers. Ambient carrier mobility of thin-film transistors prepared from these polymers is as high as 0.28 cm2/(V s) with an on/off ratio greater than 105.
Silicon-photonics-based wideband radar beamforming: basic design

Proposed is silicon-photonics-based phased array antenna beamforming for high-resolution long-range radars with wide instantaneous radio frequency (rf) bandwidth. Specifically, the proposed silicon-photonics beamformer platform offers the potential for cost-effective monolithic chip-scale integration of photonic delay lines, 2×2 optical switches, variable optical attenuators, and optical amplifiers that form the base unit of a rf transmit/receive array signal processor. In effect, the proposed silicon-photonics devices empower the design of a powerful proposed photonic beamformer with one time-delay unit per antenna element. Device-level designs studies are shown that promise meeting the high-resolution radar mission-critical requirements via time delays of up to 2.5 ns, switching times of less than 100 ns, optical isolations as good as 50 dB, and optical gains of up to 6 dB. Longer delays are achieved off chip using optical fibers.
Improving Operational Efficiency in the Emergency Department—The Children's Hospital of Michigan Experience

Efficiency, the ability to accomplish a task with a minimum expenditure of time and effort, is essential in any emergency department (ED). Traditional quality of care measures evaluate systems using individual patient data and aggregate these data to identify opportunities for improvement. Operational efficiency (OE) tools examine population-based data and focus on the processes that impact systems performance. This macroperspective facilitates the delivery of the greatest care to the greatest number of patients. In view of the challenges faced in measuring quality of care to a population, it is imperative to accept that OE is a critical driver in determining quality of care. This article will describe the OE model used at the Children's Hospital of Michigan to change an existing system in a tertiary pediatric ED. Our work resulted in reducing ED admission time by 83%, the left without being seen rate by 91%, and the ED length of stay by 48%; improved the door-to-doctor time; and eliminated waiting room deaths.
Raman imaging of domains and fine structure of domain walls in YFeO 3 crystals

A new method of Raman imaging of the domain structure and the fine structure of domain walls in magnetically ordered media is described. Possibilities of the proposed method are demonstrated by imaging the structure of domains and domain walls in a weakly ferromagnetic plate of YFeO3 by constructing hyperspectral distributions of intensity variation for Raman scattering at 221 cm−1.
Low-Energy Optical Absorption in ReO3

The absorptivity of polycrystalline samples of Re${\mathrm{O}}_{3}$ has been measured in the range 0.11 to 2.8 eV using a calorimetric technique. New structures have been found in the absorptivity, appearing at about 0.4 and 1.0 eV. The data have been Kramers-Kronig analyzed to obtain the optical constants. Band-calculation results of Mattheiss are presented and a tentative identification of the origin of the new structures is made. A comparison of the present data with those of Feinleib, Scouler, and Ferretti is made.
Ottawa knee rule: a comparison of physician and triage-nurse utilization of a decision rule for knee injury radiography

The Ottawa Knee Rule (OKR) is a clinical decision rule for the ordering of knee radiographs by physicians in patients with blunt knee injuries. However, in many Emergency Departments, radiographs are also ordered by nurses during triage. This study was designed to compare application of the OKR by triage nurses and physicians. A consecutive sample of all patients presenting to the Emergency Department (ED) of a tertiary care military teaching hospital with blunt knee injuries that met OKR inclusion criteria were enrolled. Radiographs were ordered on all patients. Nurses and physicians were blinded to each other's examinations. Nurse-physician inter-reviewer reliability was compared using the kappa statistic. Of 172 enrolled subjects, 38 were excluded for incomplete data or multiple entries, leaving 134 study patients. Four fractures (3%) were detected. Fair inter-observer reliability was found on four of the five OKR components: patellar tenderness (PT, kappa = 0.31), proximal fibula tenderness (PFT, kappa = 0.31), inability to flex > 90 degrees (FLEX, kappa = 0.24) and inability to walk four steps (WALK, kappa = 0.44). Nurses were more likely to overestimate the presence of individual components (PT 3.5x, PFT 6.6x, FLEX 1.9x and WALK 4.8x) and were 3.6 times more likely than Emergency Physicians (EP), overall, to order radiographs, representing a 21% vs. 37% reduced radiography rate, respectively. No fractures were missed by physicians or nurses. Triage nurses and EPs in this study had fair agreement in their application of the OKR. Triage nurses greatly overestimated knee injuries, while maintaining sensitivity, at the expense of specificity and cost savings.
Constraints-based models: Regulation of Gene Expression Reduces the Steady-state Solution Space

Constraints-based models have been effectively used to analyse, interpret, and predict the function of reconstructed genome-scale metabolic models. The first generation of these models used "hard" non-adjustable constraints associated with network connectivity, irreversibility of metabolic reactions, and maximal flux capacities. These constraints restrict the allowable behaviors of a network to a convex mathematical solution space whose edges are extreme pathways that can be used to characterize the optimal performance of a network under a stated performance criterion. The development of a second generation of constraints-based models by incorporating constraints associated with regulation of gene expression was described in a companion paper published in this journal, using flux-balance analysis to generate time courses of growth and by-product secretion using a skeleton representation of core metabolism. The imposition of these additional restrictions prevents the use of a subset of the extreme pathways that are derived from the "hard" constraints, thus reducing the solution space and restricting allowable network functions. Here, we examine the reduction of the solution space due to regulatory constraints using extreme pathway analysis. The imposition of environmental conditions and regulatory mechanisms sharply reduces the number of active extreme pathways. This approach is demonstrated for the skeleton system mentioned above, which has 80 extreme pathways. As regulatory constraints are applied to the system, the number of feasible extreme pathways is reduced to between 26 and 2 extreme pathways, a reduction of between 67.5 and 97.5%. The method developed here provides a way to interpret how regulatory mechanisms are used to constrain network functions and produce a small range of physiologically meaningful behaviors from all allowable network functions.
Adaptive Movable Neural Interfaces for Monitoring Single Neurons in the Brain

Implantable microelectrodes that are currently used to monitor neuronal activity in the brain in vivo have serious limitations both in acute and chronic experiments. Movable microelectrodes that adapt their position in the brain to maximize the quality of neuronal recording have been suggested and tried as a potential solution to overcome the challenges with the current fixed implantable microelectrodes. While the results so far suggest that movable microelectrodes improve the quality and stability of neuronal recordings from the brain in vivo, the bulky nature of the technologies involved in making these movable microelectrodes limits the throughput (number of neurons that can be recorded from at any given time) of these implantable devices. Emerging technologies involving the use of microscale motors and electrodes promise to overcome this limitation. This review summarizes some of the most recent efforts in developing movable neural interfaces using microscale technologies that adapt their position in response to changes in the quality of the neuronal recordings. Key gaps in our understanding of the brain-electrode interface are highlighted. Emerging discoveries in these areas will lead to success in the development of a reliable and stable interface with single neurons that will impact basic neurophysiological studies and emerging cortical prosthetic technologies.
Phase space density distributions of energetic electrons in the outer radiation belt during two Geospace Environment Modeling Inner Magnetosphere/Storms selected storms

[1] The phase space density distributions of energetic electrons during two storm periods, including the two storms on 21–23 October 2001 and 4–9 September 2002 selected by Geospace Environment Modeling Inner Magnetosphere/Storms campaign as the radiation belt assessment challenge in 2004 workshop, are presented in this paper. Electron data from the Synchronous Orbit Particle Analysis instrument aboard three Los Alamos National Laboratory geosynchronous satellites as well as the Comprehensive Energetic Particle and Pitch Angle Distribution instrument aboard Polar are used. The Tsyganenko 2001 storm model is chosen for the storm time magnetic field presentation, compared to the best-fitting magnetic model achieved in a previous study. By tracing the temporally evolving radial distributions, we conclude that while the dropout of electron phase space density during storm main phases appears to be energy-independent, the enhancement in recovery phases shows an energy-dependent pattern. The average outwardly decreasing radial gradients of phase space density obtained during the recovery phases of the two storm periods strongly suggest the in situ acceleration is most likely the main source of new energetic electrons, along with a possible contribution from an external source.
The inactivation of the bacterial killing property in T2 bacterial virus by ionizing radiation.

Abstract The bacterial killing property of T2 virus has been inactivated by irradiation of dry virus with deuterons and alpha particles and assayed by measurement of the rate of decrease of ability of bacteria to form colonies in the presence of the virus. Bacterial killing is more sensitive to ionizing radiation than is attachment. The data indicate a requirement of two ionizations for suppression of ability to kill bacteria, and a molecular weight of 1,560,000 for the corresponding viral unit.
mudpack: Multigrid portable fortran software for the efficient solution of linear elliptic partial differential equations

mudpack is a package of portable fortran subprograms which use multigrid iteration for solving real or complex elliptic partial differential equations. The solution regions are rectangles in two dimensions and boxes in three dimensions. Any combination of periodic, Dirichlet, and mixed-derivative boundary conditions is allowed. The equations are automatically discretized using second-order finite differencing. The package will vectorize on Cray computers. Examples are given which demonstrate ease of use, efficiency, and applicability to a wide range of problems.
Prospective Evaluation of Biceps to Triceps and Deltoid to Triceps for Elbow Extension in Tetraplegia

Abstract Purpose The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare the deltoid to triceps and biceps to triceps transfers for restoration of elbow extension in young persons with tetraplegia. Methods This was a prospective randomized study. Sixteen arms of 9 subjects between 8 and 20 years of age with cervical-level spinal cord injuries were assigned randomly to undergo either a deltoid to triceps transfer or a biceps to triceps transfer. All arms were followed-up prospectively for at least 2 years after surgery. Results Elbow extension was restored in 8 arms via the deltoid and in 8 arms via the biceps transfers. At the 24-month follow-up evaluation 7 of the 8 biceps transfers produced antigravity strength (grade 3 or better); in contrast only one arm with the deltoid transfer was able to extend against gravity. There was a considerable but subclinical loss (no subject appreciated any functional deficit) of elbow flexion torque after both transfers. Three months after surgery the deltoid group showed a 51% loss of elbow flexion torque and the biceps group showed a 52% loss of elbow flexion torque. By 24 months after surgery both groups improved but still showed a loss of flexion torque (deltoid 32%, biceps 47%). After gaining elbow extension the subjects in both groups rated the performance of most activities of daily living (ADL) and all self-selected activities as better, as measured on the Modified University of Minnesota Tendon Transfer Functional Improvement Questionnaire and the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure, respectively. Likewise all subjects were more satisfied with performance of their goals after undergoing elbow extension reconstruction. Conclusions This study showed the benefits of restoring elbow extension in persons with tetraplegia and provided support for the biceps transfer as an alternative to the deltoid to triceps transfer in individuals with good brachialis and supinator strength.
Time of relapse after initial therapy significantly adds to the prognostic value of the IPI-R in patients with relapsed DLBCL undergoing autologous stem cell transplantation

We explored the concomitant effect of the International Prognostic Index at the time of relapse (IPI-R) and the time from initial diagnosis to relapse (TTR) on outcome of 80 uniformly treated patients receiving BEAM conditioning followed by SCT for relapsed, chemosensitive diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Median age at the time of transplantation was 62 years (range 26-77). Median follow-up of survivors was 31.4 months. Median overall survival (OS) from the time of transplant for patients with TTR >18 months vs or =3 was 23.3 months and not reached for patients with IPI-R or =3 were combined in a prognostic system where patients with none (n=32), one (n=39) or two (n=9) of these factors had median OS not reached, of 50 and 5 months, respectively (P<0.01). Patients with early, high IPI-R relapse after first-line therapy have a dismal outcome with SCT and should receive experimental therapies.
RELIABILITY OF BONDED INTERFACES FOR AUTOMOTIVE POWER ELECTRONICS

In automotive power electronics packages, conventional thermal interface materials such as greases, gels, and phase change materials pose bottlenecks to heat removal and are also associated with reliability concerns. There is an industry trend towards high thermal performance bonded interfaces. However, due to coefficient of thermal expansion mismatches between materials/layers and resultant thermomechanical stresses, adhesive and cohesive fractures could occur, posing a problem from a reliability standpoint. These defects manifest themselves in increased thermal resistance in the package.The objective of this research is to investigate and improve the thermal performance and reliability of emerging bonded interface materials for power electronics packaging applications. We present results for thermal performance and reliability of bonded interfaces based on thermoplastic (polyamide) adhesive, with embedded near-vertical aligned carbon fibers, as well as sintered silver material. The results for these two materials are compared to conventional lead-based (Sn63Pb37) bonded interfaces. These materials were bonded between 50.8-mm × 50.8-mm cross-sectional footprint silicon nitride substrates and copper base plate samples. Samples of the substrate/base plate bonded assembly underwent thermal cycling from −40°C to 150°C according to Joint Electron Devices Engineering Council standard Number 22-A104D for up to 2,000 cycles. The dwell time of the cycle was 10 minutes and the ramp rate was 5°C/minute. Damage was monitored every 100 cycles by acoustic microscopy as an indicator of an increase in thermal resistance of the interface layer. The acoustic microscopic images of the bonded interfaces after 2,000 thermal cycles showed that thermoplastics with embedded carbon fibers performed quite well with no defects, whereas interface delamination occurred in the case of sintered silver material. Both these materials showed a superior bond quality as compared to the lead-based solder interface even after 1,000 thermal cycles.Copyright © 2013 by ASME
Precise determination of SmNd ratios, Sm and Nd isotopic abundances in standard solutions☆

The methods used for precise calibrations of Sm/Nd ratios and the average isotopic abundances obtained for normal Sm and Nd are given. A mixed Sm-Nd normal solution with a precisely known ^(147)Sm/^(144)Nd ratio close to the nominal average chondritic value is described and the calibration discussed. Aliquots of this standard solution are available on request and may be useful for precise interlaboratory calibration of Sm and Nd.
Membrane binding mechanisms of the PX domains of NADPH oxidase p40phox and p47phox.

Phox (PX) domains are phosphoinositide (PI)-binding domains with broad PI specificity. Two cytosolic components of NADPH oxidase, p40phox and p47phox, contain PX domains. The PX domain of p40phox specifically binds phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate, whereas the PX domain of p47phox has two lipid binding sites, one specific for phosphatidylinositol 3,4-bisphosphate and the other with affinity for phosphatidic acid or phosphatidylserine. To delineate the mechanisms by which these PX domains interact with PI-containing membranes, we measured the membrane binding of these domains and respective mutants by surface plasmon resonance and monolayer techniques and also calculated the electrostatic potentials of the domains as a function of PI binding. Results indicate that membrane binding of both PX domains is initiated by nonspecific electrostatic interactions, which is followed by the membrane penetration of hydrophobic residues. The membrane penetration of the p40phox PX domain is induced by phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate, whereas that of the p47phoxPX domain is triggered by both phosphatidylinositol 3,4-bisphosphate and phosphatidic acid (or phosphatidylserine). Studies of enhanced green fluorescent protein-fused PX domains in HEK293 cells indicate that this specific membrane penetration is also important for subcellular localization of the two PX domains. Further studies on the full-length p40phox and p47phox proteins showed that an intramolecular interaction between the C-terminal Src homology 3 domain and the PX domain prevents the nonspecific monolayer penetration of p47phox, whereas such an interaction is absent in p40phox.
A nonequilibrium heat transfer model for dispersed droplet post-dryout regime

Abstract A model for the dispersed droplet post-dryout regime has been developed by considering nonequilibrium heat transfer between the vapor and the liquid droplets. The analysis has resulted in two correlations for the volumetric mass rate of vapor generation. The first correlation is based on the effectiveness of vapor-to-droplet heat transfer, and the second is based on the droplet size. Both the correlations, used with the Heineman correlation for superheated steam, are successful in predicting the wall temperatures in steam-water round tube systems (6–15 mm ID) for a wide range of pressures (29–120 bar), mass fluxes (393–2590 kg/m2 s), equilibrium qualities (0.17–1.50) and wall superheats (167–556°C).
Impact of Salmon Spawning on Microbial Communities in a Northern California River

ABSTRACT We studied microbial communities in the water column during the fall 2002 Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) run on the Feather River in northern California. We quantified culturable heterotrophic bacteria, live/dead bacteria, and Aeromonas spp. bacteria in the water column. Concentrations of each group peaked two weeks following the peak of new salmon carcasses in the river then declined. During the fall 2003 Chinook salmon spawning season we used fluorescent in situ hybridization with domain-specific DNA probes to characterize changes in epilithic biofilm communities. Eukarya counts were lower than Bacteria counts earlier in the salmon run; however, by the end of the salmon migration season, cell concentrations of Bacteria and Eukarya were approximately equal. Chlorophyll a concentrations from epilithic biofilm began to increase in parallel with the increase in Eukarya. Since the biofilms persisted through the spawning season, it is possible that these communities support a food chain th...
Parallel color-coding

New shared- and distributed-memory parallelizations of the color-coding method.Bioinformatics applications: motif detection, signaling pathway discovery in protein interaction networks.Parallel performance analysis of optimized color-coding implementations. We present new parallelization and memory-reducing strategies for the graph-theoretic color-coding approximation technique, with applications to biological network analysis. Color-coding is a technique that gives fixed parameter tractable algorithms for several well-known NP-hard optimization problems. In this work, by efficiently parallelizing steps in color-coding, we create two new biological protein interaction network analysis tools: Fascia for subgraph counting and motif finding and FastPath for signaling pathway detection. We demonstrate considerable speedup over prior work, and the optimizations introduced in this paper can also be used for other problems where color-coding is applicable.
A method for tissue engineering of cartilage by cell seeding on bioresorbable scaffolds

: This chapter describes a method for the in vitro generation of a 3-dimensional cartilage matrix from articular chondrocytes seeded onto a bioresorbable polymeric scaffold. This particular growth system was chosen for the subject of this chapter owing to the relative simplicity of the methods required and the ease with which the necessary materials can be obtained. The tissue produced using this protocol is a cellular, metabolically active hyaline-like matrix, containing the major cartilage constituents: sulfated proteoglycan, collagen type II, and water. It serves as a useful in vitro tool for studying the influence of various mechanical and chemical factors on cartilage metabolism, as well as providing an implantable material for in vivo cartilage repair studies.
Use of silane coupling agents to enhance the performance of adhesively bonded alumina to resin hybrid composites

Abstract Silane coupling agents were employed to improve the adhesion of vinyl-ester to alumina (Al2O3). Shear test by compression loading (ASTM D905) was used to study dry and wet adhesion. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to study the uniformity of silane coatings and the fracture modes after shear testing. Results showed that the adhesion and durability of the sandwiched alumina/vinyl-ester systems were significantly improved by certain silane surface treatment for most of the systems.
Saddam's Perceptions and Misperceptions: The Case of ‘Desert Storm’

Abstract A large collection of captured documents from the very highest levels of the Iraqi government offers a chance to gain insight into why Saddam Hussein was unwilling and unable to alter his strategy on the eve of the 2003 war that toppled his regime. This paper explores some of the perceptions and misperceptions that Saddam Hussein took away from the 1991 Gulf War and shows how they affected his decisionmaking on the eve of the war in 2003. It concludes with some thoughts on the policy implications of these findings.
The next generation in shock resuscitation

Resuscitation of the severely injured patient who presents in shock has improved greatly, following focused wartime experience and insight from laboratory and clinical studies. Further benefit is probable from technologies that are being brought into clinical use, especially hypertonic saline dextran, haemoglobin-based oxygen carriers, less invasive early monitors, and medical informatics. These technologies could improve the potential of prehospital and early hospital care to pre-empt or more rapidly reverse hypoxaemia, hypovolaemia, and onset of shock. Damage control surgery and definitive interventional radiology will probably combine with more real-time detection and intervention for hypothermia, coagulopathy, and acidosis, to avoid extreme pathophysiology and the "bloody vicious cycle". Although now widely practised as standard of care in the USA and Europe, shock resuscitation strategies involving haemoglobin replacement and fluid volume loading to regain tissue perfusion and oxygenation vary between trauma centres. One of the difficulties is the scarcity of published evidence for or against seemingly basic intervention strategies, such as early or large-volume fluid loading. Standardised protocols for resuscitation, representing the best and most current knowledge of the clinical process, could be devised and widely implemented as interactive computerised applications among trauma centres in the USA and Europe. Prevention of injury is preferable and feasible, but early care of the severely injured patient and modulation of exaggerated systemic inflammatory response due to transfusion and other complications of traditional strategies will probably provide the next generation of improvements in shock resuscitation.
Model independency and three-particle systems

Abstract We consider systems made of three particles interacting with a short distance potential with a real or virtual two-particle bound state close to threshold, as found in the three-nucleon and in atomic systems. We discuss how to obtain model independent predictions using Effective Theory methods and exemplify the method by presenting results of calculations of the neutron-deuteron elastic scattering up to third order.
Investigation of the causes of seasonal variations in NOx emissions from waste-coal-fired circulating fluidized-bed utility plants

The results of a study aimed at identifying and understanding possible causes of seasonal variations in NO x emissions from circulating fluidized-bed (CFB) coal-fired power plants are discussed. Historical data on fuel properties, operating conditions, and emission characteristics provided by two plants were used. The extensive data were carefully and thoroughly examined and analyzed for any evidence of seasonal variations in NO x and any of the variables and relationships between NO x and the pertinent parameters. Prior to the comprehensive data analyses, a review of the literature was conducted to identify the NO x dependence parameters or variables of importance. Results obtained reveal that relatively higher ammonia was required to control NO x in the winter compared to the rest of the year at the plant that uses this compound to control NO x , NO x emission and a number of operating conditions/factors (bed temperature, excess oxygen, cyclone outlet temperature, and Ca/S ratio) were observed to vary unpredictably with season, whereas a predictable seasonal variation was observed for a few other factors (humidity ratio, ammonia consumption, fuel moisture content, and ambient air temperature). Bed temperature, excess oxygen, cyclone outlet temperature, Ca/S ratio, and ammonia consumption were suspected to be related to the variations in NO x emission.
The Langerhans Cell: An Overview and Update

AbstractThe Langerhans cell was discovered 116 years ago. During the past one and a half decades, after almost 100 years of little exploration, investigators have made remarkable advances in unfolding the morphologic and functional intricacies of this unique epidermal cell. At this time, it is known that the Langerhans cell is of mesenchymal origin and that it functions most significantly in antigen presentation. Its possible role in epidermal differentiation and keratinization has also been a subject of study and speculation. The Langerhans cell itself, as well as a unique set of surface markers, have been found to be subject to a varbty of external stimuli. Exposure of the skin to Langerhans cell depletors or factors which alter surface characteristics should be taken into account when evaluating patch and use test results. While intentional depletion of the epidermal Langerhans cell population may have therapeutic value in certain conditions such as allergic contact hypersensitivity, such manipulation ...
PENILE AGENESIS WITH A SEPARATED SCROTUM AND NORMAL RENAL FUNCTION IN AN IDENTICAL TWIN

Penile agenesis is a rare malformation with an incidence of 1/10 to 30 million live births. Fewer than 100 reported cases exist. In previous cases of penile agenesis renal function was often compromised and the scrotum was usually located in the midline. We report a twin with penile agenesis, a completely separated hemiscrotum, normal renal function and an unaffected co-twin. CASE REPORT
Elution of in vivo bound antiprostatic epithelial antibodies following multiple cryotherapy of carcinoma of prostate

Abstract Antibodies reactive with the cytoplasmic membrane or intercellular areas of autologous human and monkey prostatic secretory epithelial cells have been demonstrated by immunofluorescence in an eluate prepared from prostatic tissue obtained from a patient with metastatic adenocarcinoma of the prostate following multiple cryotherapy of his primary prostatic tumor. Elution of antiprostatic antibodies provides preliminary evidence that prostatic tissue (tumor?)-specific or tumor-associated antigens are liberated into the circulation following cryotherapy of the prostate in man.
Post-silicon debugging for multi-core designs

Escaped errors in released silicon are growing in number due to the increasing complexity of modern processor designs and shrinking production schedules. Worsening the problem are recent trends towards chip multiprocessors (CMPs) with complex and sometimes non-deterministic memory subsystems prone to subtle, devastating bugs. This deteriorating situation is causing a growing portion of the validation effort to shift to post-silicon, when the first few hardware prototypes become available and where validation experiments are run directly on newly manufactured prototype hardware. While post-silicon validation enables much higher raw performance in test execution, it is a much more challenging environment for bug diagnosis and correction. In this work we briefly overview some of the current methodologies used in industry. We then discuss some recent ideas developed in our research group to leverage the performance advantage of post-silicon validation, while sidestepping its limitations of low internal node observability and expensive bug fixing. Finally we present some of today's general trends in post-silicon validation research.
Unmanned vehicles come of age: The DARPA grand challenge

While the DARPA Grand Challenge has revitalized interest in intelligent highway systems, autonomous vehicles, and sensing technology, a host of other novel issues afford interesting design and computer-engineering challenges for the future.
Biologically childless women 60+ often live in extended family households in Latin America.

This paper shows empirically that many biologically childless elderly women in Latin America at the turn of the 21st century lived in extended family households, often as the sibling or aunt of the household head. (We focus on women because most censuses limit fertility data to adult females.) Such a high level of extended family living was unexpected given Nydegger’s comment about childless elders in cross-cultural perspective:
Reciprocal framing of relationship definitions and episodic interaction

This research explored the impact of relationship frames on judgments of conversations and the reciprocal influence of the conversations on projections for the relationships. Respondents were presented with three sequential conversations under conditions describing the interactants as romantic partners or friends either growing closer or growing apart. The growing apart relationships were perceived as less personalized and less honest than the growing closer relationships for the first conversation only. The conversational stimuli, in turn, were related to projected relationship processes.
RF MEMS for channelizing low-power radios

RF MEMS technologies are evaluated with regard to their potential to realize the RF frequency gating function targeted for true software-defined cognitive radios and ultra-low power autonomous sensor network radios. Here, RF channel-selection, as opposed to band selection, is key to substantial increases in call volume with simultaneous reduction in power consumption. The MEMS technologies most conducive to RF channel-selecting front-ends include vibrating micromechanical resonators that exhibit record on-chip Q's at GHz frequencies; resonant switches that provide extremely efficient switched-mode power gain for both transmit and receive paths; and medium-scale integrated micromechanical circuits that implement on/off switchable filter-amplifier banks.
Diffusion transient analysis for field-aided transport processes in pulsed MIS EL sources†

A theoretical diffusion–transient analysis for field-aided transport, processes in MIS photosources is presented. The MIS photosource requires pulsing with an alternating supply voltage to achieve a series of surface inversion, each followed by a gate–field reversal and a corresponding injection of minority carriers into the semiconductor volume for optical generation, The field-aided diffusion–transient profiles for optical generation are normalized with respect to effective minority carrier diffusion length and effective minority carrier lifetime. These curves are generally applicable to the case of a semiconductor with n surface limited source of diffusing carriers and a longitudinal electric field.
Association of RB97D, an RRM protein required for male fertility, with a Y chromosome lampbrush loop in Drosophila spermatocytes

The Y chromosome of Drosophila melanogaster, which is required only for male fertility, contains six loci that are essential for spermatogenesis. In primary spermatocytes, three of these loci form large lampbrush loops containing RNA transcripts and associated proteins. The identities and functions of these Y chromosome loop-binding proteins are largely unknown. This report demonstrates that the RB97D protein, which is essential for spermatogenesis, bound to a specific lampbrush loop. RB97D contains two copies of a well-characterized RNA binding domain, the RNA recognition motif, followed by a proline-glutamine rich domain. Immunohistochemical and immunofluorescence experiments showed that in the testis, RB97D was found only in primary spermatocyte nuclei and associated with the C loop from the ks-1 fertility locus in an RNAse-sensitive manner. The anti-RB97D antibodies also bound a single Y chromosome loop in D. hydei, suggesting that the protein and its loop-binding function have been evolutionarily conserved. These results demonstrate that the proteins that bind lampbrush loops can be essential for fertility. Since RB97D was present only premeiotically, its function is likely to be directly related to the metabolism of the C loop transcripts.
New Avenues for Sociological Inquiry: Evolving Forms of Ethnographic Practice

This work examines evolving forms of ethnographic practice generated in response to advances in mediated communication. It chronicles phases in the transformation of offline ethnography, beginning ...
Description of a new genus in the Chlidanotini and review of phylogenetic relationships among chlidanotine tribes (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae: Chlidanotinae)

Pseudocomotis, new genus, is described to accommodate Orthotaenia scardiana Dognin, Cnephasia citroleuca Meyrick (both formerly in Orthocomotis Dognin), Eulia agatharcha Meyrick, and two new species, serendipita and albolineana. The presence of a broad saccus - vincu-1um complex, hami, a hairpencil from abdominal segment VIII in the male, and the wide basal separation of hindwing veins M2 and M3, indicate that Pseudocomotis belongs in the Chlidanotini (Chlidanotinae). The single female associated with the new genus lacks the abdomen, prohibiting genitalic diagnosis and comparison with closely related genera. Phylogenetic relationships among the Polyorthini, Hilarographini, and Chlidanotini are discussed.
"The Great Arcana of the Deity": menstruation and menstrual disorders in eighteenth-century British medical thought.

Au XVIII e siecle, les medecins definissaient le cycle menstruel des femmes comme une faiblesse de leur coprs et un barometre de leur sante
Developmental differences in megakaryocytopoiesis are associated with up-regulated TPO signaling through mTOR and elevated GATA-1 levels in neonatal megakaryocytes.

Multiple observations support the existence of developmental differences in megakaryocytopoiesis. We have previously shown that neonatal megakaryocyte (MK) progenitors are hyperproliferative and give rise to MKs smaller and of lower ploidy than adult MKs. Based on these characteristics, neonatal MKs have been considered immature. The molecular mechanisms underlying these differences are unclear, but contribute to the pathogenesis of disorders of neonatal megakaryocytopoiesis. In the present study, we demonstrate that low-ploidy neonatal MKs, contrary to traditional belief, are more mature than adult low-ploidy MKs. These mature MKs are generated at a 10-fold higher rate than adult MKs, and result from a developmental uncoupling of proliferation, polyploidization, and terminal differentiation. This pattern is associated with up-regulated thrombopoietin (TPO) signaling through mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and elevated levels of full-length GATA-1 and its targets. Blocking of mTOR with rapamycin suppressed the maturation of neonatal MKs without affecting ploidy, in contrast to the synchronous inhibition of polyploidization and cytoplasmic maturation in adult MKs. We propose that these mechanisms allow fetuses/neonates to populate their rapidly expanding bone marrow and intravascular spaces while maintaining normal platelet counts, but also set the stage for disorders restricted to fetal/neonatal MK progenitors, including the Down syndrome–transient myeloproliferative disorder and the thrombocytopenia absent radius syndrome.
Variation in MPK12 affects water use efficiency in Arabidopsis and reveals a pleiotropic link between guard cell size and ABA response

Plant water relations are critical for determining the distribution, persistence, and fitness of plant species. Studying the genetic basis of ecologically relevant traits, however, can be complicated by their complex genetic, physiological, and developmental basis and their interaction with the environment. Water use efficiency (WUE), the ratio of photosynthetic carbon assimilation to stomatal conductance to water, is a dynamic trait with tremendous ecological and agricultural importance whose genetic control is poorly understood. In the present study, we use a quantitative trait locus-mapping approach to locate, fine-map, clone, confirm, and characterize an allelic substitution that drives differences in WUE among natural accessions of Arabidopsis thaliana. We show that a single amino acid substitution in an abscisic acid-responsive kinase, AtMPK12, causes reduction in WUE, and we confirm its functional role using transgenics. We further demonstrate that natural alleles at AtMPK12 differ in their response to cellular and environmental cues, with the allele from the Cape Verde Islands (CVI) being less responsive to hormonal inhibition of stomatal opening and more responsive to short-term changes in vapor pressure deficit. We also show that the CVI allele results in constitutively larger stomata. Together, these differences cause higher stomatal conductance and lower WUE compared with the common allele. These physiological changes resulted in reduced whole-plant transpiration efficiency and reduced fitness under water-limited compared with well-watered conditions. Our work demonstrates how detailed analysis of naturally segregating functional variation can uncover the molecular and physiological basis of a key trait associated with plant performance in ecological and agricultural settings.
Cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers for differentiation of frontotemporal lobar degeneration from Alzheimer's disease

Accurate ante mortem diagnosis in frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) is crucial to the development and implementation of etiology-based therapies. Several neurodegenerative disease-associated proteins, including the major protein constituents of inclusions in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) associated with amyloid-beta (Aβ1-42) plaque and tau neurofibrillary tangle pathology, can be measured in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) for diagnostic applications. Comparative studies using autopsy-confirmed samples suggest that CSF total-tau (t-tau) and Aβ1-42 levels can accurately distinguish FTLD from AD, with a high t-tau to Aβ1-42 ratio diagnostic of AD; however, there is also an urgent need for FTLD-specific biomarkers. These analytes will require validation in large autopsy-confirmed cohorts and face challenges of standardization of within- and between-laboratory sources of error. In addition, CSF biomarkers with prognostic utility and longitudinal study of CSF biomarker levels over the course of disease are also needed. Current goals in the field include identification of analytes that are easily and reliably measured and can be used alone or in a multi-modal approach to provide an accurate prediction of underlying neuropathology for use in clinical trials of disease modifying treatments in FTLD. To achieve these goals it will be of the utmost importance to view neurodegenerative disease, including FTLD, as a clinicopathological entity, rather than exclusively a clinical syndrome.
A new approach to the decomposition of incompletely specified multi-output functions based on graph coloring and local transformations and its application to FPGA mapping

An approach to the decomposition of incompletely specified Boolean functions is introduced, and its application to lookup-table-based field programmable gate array (FPGA) mapping is described. Three methods are developed: fast graph coloring to perform a quasi-optimum 'don't care' assignment; variable partitioning to quickly find the 'best' partitions; and local transformation to transform a nondecomposable function into several decomposable ones. The methods perform global optimization of the input function. A short description of a FPGA mapping program (TRADE) and an evaluation of its results are provided. >
The Association of Asbestos-induced Pleural Disease and Rounded Atelectasis

Rounded atelectasis, also known as folded lung or Blesovsky's syndrome, is a clinically innocuous entity. Its association with asbestos-induced pleural disease has been known since 1966. This complication of asbestos exposure is being recognized with increasing frequency. This unusual form of peripheral lobar collapse has sufficient characteristic radiologic findings to preclude thoracotomy for diagnosis.
BDNF mobilizes synaptic vesicles and enhances synapse formation by disrupting cadherin–β-catenin interactions

Neurons of the vertebrate central nervous system have the capacity to modify synapse number, morphology, and efficacy in response to activity. Some of these functions can be attributed to activity-induced synthesis and secretion of the neurotrophin brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF); however, the molecular mechanisms by which BDNF mediates these events are still not well understood. Using time-lapse confocal analysis, we show that BDNF mobilizes synaptic vesicles at existing synapses, resulting in small clusters of synaptic vesicles "splitting" away from synaptic sites. We demonstrate that BDNF's ability to mobilize synaptic vesicle clusters depends on the dissociation of cadherin-beta-catenin adhesion complexes that occurs after tyrosine phosphorylation of beta-catenin. Artificially maintaining cadherin-beta-catenin complexes in the presence of BDNF abolishes the BDNF-mediated enhancement of synaptic vesicle mobility, as well as the longer-term BDNF-mediated increase in synapse number. Together, this data demonstrates that the disruption of cadherin-beta-catenin complexes is an important molecular event through which BDNF increases synapse density in cultured hippocampal neurons.
An Application of the AKADAM Approach to Intelligence Analyst Work

This paper emphasizes the use of cognitive task analysis to gain significant insight into the unique domain of intelligence analysts, how intelligence analysts view this domain, and how this domain can be replicated in a controlled simulation environment in which innovative tools and procedures can be empirically tested. Details of two comprehensive knowledge elicitation sessions involving intelligence analysts are provided as an example of using the Advanced Knowledge Acquisition and Design (AKADAM) methodology to obtain contextually relevant information for use in developing a homeland defense-oriented simulation/experimental task. Several distinctive characteristics of intelligence analyst functionality were discovered, including the multi-source integration of relevant information, complex cognitive analysis, and team collaboration in decision-making. Additional themes such as social interaction and the limitations of current analysis tools were identified.
TOWARD A MEANINGFUL DEFINITION OF VOCABULARY SIZE

Studies using dictionary-sampling methods to estimate vocabulary size have left a bewildering trail of widely differing estimates. We argue that many estimates are misleading (generally too high) principally because the definition of a word is too liberal. For practical purposes (e.g., planning vocabulary instruction), it makes sense to define a word as a base form, resembling what linguists call a lemma, and to disregard certain word forms from estimates of vocabulary size (e.g., proper names and archaic words). By providing a clear rationale for the word source which was sampled, and by using clearly defined operational criteria for what constitutes a word as well as for the procedures used in the estimation task, we found that the average number of different words known by a college student is 16,785. We suggest that vocabulary size, and corresponding rates of vocabulary growth, may not be as great, nor attempts to directly teach vocabulary as futile, as some would suggest. Approximately 100 years ago, Kirkpatrick (1891, p. 108) estimated "the vocabulary of a citizen of the United States with a common-school education and of ordinary intelligence and reading at about ten thousand words, and that of a wellread college graduate, and of those who pursued a college course, at from twenty thousand upwards to perhaps one hundred thousand." These estimates were based on Kirkpatrick's own knowledge of words sampled from the 1870 edition of Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, as well as on an analysis of words appearing in the literary classic, Robinson Crusoe. Estimates of vocabulary size based on an individual's knowledge of words sampled from a dictionary or on frequency counts of words found in running text have continued to be the main sources of information about vocabulary size (see Lorge & Chali, 1963). Nevertheless, results of decades