cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Observed and modeled solar cycle variation in geocoronal hydrogen using NRLMSISE‐00 thermosphere conditions and the Bishop analytic exosphere model

[1] High precision observations during Solar Cycle 23 using the Wisconsin H-alpha Mapper (WHAM) Fabry-Perot quantify a factor of 1.5 ± 0.15 higher Balmer α column emission intensity during near-solar-maximum than during solar minimum conditions. An unresolved question is how does the observed solar cycle variation in the hydrogen column emission compare with that calculated from the hydrogen distribution in atmospheric models? We have compared WHAM solar minimum and near-solar-maximum column intensity observations with calculations using the thermospheric hydrogen density profile and background thermospheric conditions from the Mass Spectrometer Incoherent Scatter (NRLMSISE-00) empirical model extended to exospheric altitudes using the analytic exosphere model of Bishop (1991). Using this distribution, we apply the lyao_rt global resonance radiative transfer code of Bishop (1999) to calculate expected intensities that would be observed from the ground for the viewing conditions of the observations. The observed intensities are brighter than those calculated for the corresponding conditions, indicating that when MSIS is used as the thermospheric hydrogen distribution the derived intensities are too low. Additionally, both the observed and calculated WHAM hydrogen column emission intensities are higher for near-solar-maximum than for solar minimum conditions. There is better agreement between observations and intensities calculated using the evaporative analytic exosphere model at solar maximum, suggesting an underestimation of modeled satellite atoms at high altitudes. This result is consistent with sensitivity studies using the option for a quasi-exobase for satellite atoms to account for the creation of satellite orbits from charge exchange collisions.
Course Structure Effects on Students' Computer Anxiety, Confidence and Attitudes

This study investigated the effects of course structure variables on the computer anxiety, confidence, and attitudes of pre- and in-service teachers. These course structure variables included the n...
Acoustic and Thermal Properties of Stycast 1266 below 100 mK

We report on the acoustic and thermal behavior of a Stycast 1266 - quartz composite torsional oscillator below 100 mK. The epoxy exhibits heat release manifested by a strong time dependence of the sound velocity below 10 mK. Also, the Stycast sample is sensitive to both γ and μ radiation, displaying transients superposed on the resonant response of the composite oscillator, as well as heating when exposed to a 22Na source. The long thermal relaxation time of the tunneling states together with the high thermal resistance limits the lowest achievable temperature in this insulating amorphous material.
Quantification of Feature Space Changes With Experience During Electromyogram Pattern Recognition Control

Pattern recognition of the electromyogram (EMG) has been demonstrated in the laboratory to be a successful alternative to conventional control methods for myoelectric prostheses. Pattern recognition control is dependent upon both machine and user learning; the user learns to generate distinct classes of muscle activity while the machine learns to interpret them. With experience, users may learn to generate distinct classes by reducing intraclass variability or by increasing interclass distance. The goal of this study was to identify which of these strategies best explained differences in EMG patterns between subjects with and without experience using pattern recognition control. We compared classification errors of novice nonamputee subjects with experienced nonamputee subjects. We found that after brief exposure to the control method, classification error in novices was reduced, although not to the level of experienced subjects. While the level of intraclass variability in novices was similar to that of the experienced subjects, they did not achieve the same level of interclass distance. These differences can be used to guide the development of much needed rehabilitation methods to train subjects to use pattern recognition devices. In particular we recommend training protocols that emphasize increasing the interclass distance.
Regenerative Medicine in Diabetes

Diabetes is a common multisystem disease that results in hyperglycemia due to a relative or absolute insulin deficiency. Improved glycemic control decreases the risk of development and progression of microvascular and, to a lesser extent, macrovascular complications and prevents symptomatic hyperglycemia. However, complex treatment regimens aimed at improving glycemic control are associated with an increased incidence of hypoglycemia. On paper at least, cellular therapies arising from reprogramed stem cells or other somatic cell types would provide ideal therapy for diabetes and the prevention of its complications. This hypothesis has led to intensive efforts to grow β cells from various sources. In this review, we provide an overview of β-cell development as well as the efforts reported to date in terms of cellular therapy for diabetes. Engineering β-cell replacement therapy requires an understanding of how β cells respond to other metabolites such as amino acids, free fatty acids, and ketones. Indeed, efforts thus far have been characterized by an inability of cellular replacement products to adequately respond to metabolites that normally couple the metabolic state to β-cell function and insulin secretion. Efforts to date intended to capitalize on current knowledge of islet cell development and stimulus-secretion coupling of the β cell are encouraging but as yet of little clinical relevance.
The Scales of Granulation, Mesogranulation, and Supergranulation

Solar granulation is described as an advection-fragmentation process in the upper layers of the convection zone. The fundamental hydrodynamic unit is the downflow plume, and from its structure the granular scale follows. Moreover, through the collective advective interaction of many small-scale and short-lived granular plumes, large spatial and long temporal mesogranular and supergranular scales naturally arise. We illustrate and examine this process of scale selection using a simplified n-body advective-interaction model. For parameters set by granulation observations and numerical plume simulations, clustering scales remarkably close to observed mesogranulation and supergranulation result.
Quantitation of mitral regurgitation.

Mitral regurgitation (MR) is the most frequent valve disease. Nevertheless, evaluation of MR severity is difficult because standard color flow imaging is plagued by considerable pitfalls. Modern surgical indications in asymptomatic patients require precise assessment of MR severity. MR severity assessment is always comprehensive, utilizing all views and methods. Determining trivial/mild MR is usually easy, based on small jet and flow convergence. Specific signs of severe MR (pulmonary venous flow systolic reversal or severe mitral lesion) are useful but insensitive. Quantitative methods, quantitative Doppler (measuring stroke volumes) and flow convergence (aka PISA method), measure the lesion severity as effective regurgitant orifice (ERO) and volume overload as regurgitant volume (RVol). Interpretation of these numbers should be performed in context of specific MR type. In organic MR (intrinsic valve lesions) ERO ≥ 0.40 cm2 and RVol ≥ 60 mL are associated with poor outcome, while in functional MR ERO ≥ 0.20 cm2 and RVol ≥ 30 mL mark reduced survival. While MR assessment should always be comprehensive, quantitative assessment of MR provides measures that are strongly predictive of outcome and should be the preferred approach. The ERO and RVol measured by these methods require interpretation in causal context to best predict outcome and determine MR management.
Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) and Lymphomagenesis

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the major cause for non-A, non-B hepatitis. Most HCV-infected individuals do not clear the virus resulting in a chronic infection that may potentially lead to liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. In addition to hepatic manifestations, HCV infection is associated with B cell lymphoproliferative disorders, including mixed cryoglobulinemia, usually a benign condition, and overt B cell lymphoma. A direct role of HCV infection in the genesis of these B cell lymphoproliferative disorders has been suggested initially by epidemiological studies and is supported by recent studies, which analyzed the monoclonal B cells that proliferate in these disorders. How HCV induces B cell lymphoproliferative disorders is still unclear, it is probably not due to direct change of phenotype in B cells after viral infection, but may be due to an HCV-antigen driven process. Support for this hypothesis comes from the analysis of monoclonal B cells found in these disorders, which use a restricted repertoire of immunoglobulin variable region genes that are similar to those used by B cells that secrete anti-HCV antibodies. The fact that monoclonal IgM is resolved in HCV-infected patients who responded to anti-viral treatment supports the linkage between antigen persistence and B cell proliferation. Finally, the linkage between benign B cell proliferation and overt lymphoma is supported by the identification of a pre-malignant B cell clone that subsequently converted to an overt B cell lymphoma. The molecular basis for viral induced B cell proliferation is still unknown. One possibility is that HCV stimulates the proliferation of monoclonal B cells via their HCV-specific B cell receptor (BCR) on the cell surface. Binding of the HCVenvelope proteins to a cellular ligand, CD81, may also enhance this antigen-driven process. A recent report on regression of splenic marginal zone lymphoma after anti-viral treatment with interferon and ribavirin has significantly strengthened the cause-effect relationship between HCV infection and lymphoma. Further studies should determine whether BCRs expressed on HCV-associated lymphomas, particularly those that regress in response to anti-viral therapy, bind HCV antigens that stimulate their proliferation.
Abstract 1435: Analyzing the role of CXCR and IGF-IR in modulating actin dynamics in neuroblastoma cells

Proceedings: AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011‐‐ Apr 2‐6, 2011; Orlando, FL The sensory cues that developing neurons use to control the pattering of neurite outgrowth are currently not well defined. CXCR4 and the insulin like growth factor receptor (IGF1r) have been implicated in the regulation of chemotaxis, neuronal migration, and axonal guidance. In addition to these chemokine receptors role in the guidance of neuronal development, an increasing body of evidence shows they are up-regulated in many late stage and metastatic cancers. Neuroblastoma, a cancer of neural crest origin, often expresses high levels of CXCR4 and IGF1r, and depending upon the level of differentiation, is capable of producing fully extended axons. The mediator of the cytoskeletal changes seen in axonal extension is primarily carried out by actin polymerization. In order to better understand the role of CXCR4 and IGF1r role in mediating these cytoskeletal changes we used western blots and immunocytochemistry / confocal microscopy to analyze the neuroblastoma cell line SHSY-5Y. We were able to show that indeed both receptors are involved in neuronal outgrowth. However, the individual effects of treatment with the receptors ligand resulted in different cellular morphologies. CXCR4 stimulation resulted in a more differentiated neuronal form, while IGF1r stimulation resulted in a very immature neuronal morphology with shorter broader processes. Finally, we were able to quantitate the effects of treatment to a wide array of phenotypic patterns that shows the connection between our observed morphological changes to show that these observations are real effects of treatment. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1435. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-1435
Kinetics and Mechanism of Ketonization of Acetic Acid on Ru/TiO2 Catalyst

Ru/TiO2 shows great promise as a catalyst in ketonization of carboxylic acids, an effective reaction for upgrading pyrolysis vapors that contain significant amounts of acetic acid. In this study, we have investigated the kinetics of acetic acid ketonization over Ru/TiO2 catalysts from different pre-treatments. The observed reaction order (>1.5) with respect to acetic acid lends support to a bimolecular pathway of adsorbed carboxylates that produces a β-ketoacid intermediate. The negative reaction orders with respect to CO2, water, and acetone reflect the inhibition by competitive adsorption on the active sites. The observed rate enhancement by reduction in H2 and inhibition by the presence of O2 indicate that the active sites for this reaction include coordinatively unsaturated cation sites.
Pediatric body composition analysis with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry

Pediatric applications of body composition analysis (BCA) have become of increased interest to pediatricians and other specialists. With the increasing prevalence of morbid obesity and with an increased awareness of anorexia nervosa, pediatric specialists are utilizing BCA data to help identify, treat, and prevent these conditions. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) can be used to determine the fat mass (FM) and lean tissue mass (LTM), as well as bone mineral content (BMC). Among the readily available BCA techniques, DXA is the most widely used and it has the additional benefit of precisely quantifying regional FM and LTM. This review evaluates the strengths and limitations of DXA as a pediatric BCA method and considers the utilization of DXA to identify trends and variations in FM and LTM measurements in obese and anorexic children.
Competing risk analysis after radical prostatectomy for clinically nonmetastatic prostate adenocarcinoma according to clinical Gleason score and patient age.

Purpose: Factors important for determining appropriate therapy for localized prostate cancer are biopsy tumor grade, patient age and co-morbidity. We estimated the probability of dying from prostate cancer or other competing causes stratified by age at diagnosis and clinical histological grade in men diagnosed with clinically nonmetastatic prostate cancer who were treated with radical prostatectomy.Materials and Methods: A total of 751 men comprised a retrospective cohort with clinically nonmetastatic prostate cancer diagnosed and treated with bilateral pelvic lymphadenectomy and radical prostatectomy at our institution between 1971 and 1984. All patients were between 55 and 74 years old (median age 65) at diagnosis and they were followed a median of 14.7 years. The cumulative incidence of prostate cancer death or death from any cause was estimated using methods of competing risk survival analysis.Results: Overall 435 men died with 32% of the deaths attributable to prostate cancer. In 62%, 27% and 11% of ...
The corporate energy policy: A management planning perspective

Abstract The energy problems facing the world have been receiving increasing attention in the press and in business journals. This article examines the attitudes of 224 U.S. business executives toward the energy crisis and examines the role of a corporate energy policy in minimizing the economic impact of future energy price increases and/or shortages. A plan for a corporate energy policy is proposed.
Pulmonary capillary length in dogs, cat and rabbit.

Abstract We perfused isolated, air-filled lungs of dog, cat and rabbit via the pulmonary artery with whole blood followed by olive oil stained black. The oil did not pass into the capillary bed so that the arteries were black and the veins red. We rapidly froze the lungs and on random samples we measured the average minimal capillary path between arterioles (less than 60 μ diameter) and venules (less than 60 μ diameter) both on the lung surface and in the interior in different planes. The average length of pulmonary capillaries is 600–800 μ in dog and cat and 550–650 μ in rabbit. On the average each capillary is continued over 5 to 7 different alveoli. Using available data on red cell velocity in capillaries at the pleural surface in closed-thorax, anesthetized animals we calculated the average transit time (contact time) of red cells with alveolar gas to be 0.35 to 1.7 sec (average 0.8 sec). This is essentially the same as determined by the indirect measurement of pulmonary capillary blood volume by carbon monoxide methods. There is thus adequate time of oxygen diffusion and reaction with hemoglobin to reach completion.
The Importance of Context in Understanding Behavior and Promoting Health

Behavior, the roles of behavior in health, health promotion, health, quality of life, and death are all context-dependent. This paper begins with a review of behavioral and ecological models, emphasizing their shared emphasis on context. It then turns to genetics and the importance of contexts in understanding genetic influences. Jumping from genes to geography, it examines how spatial analysis provides both a model and framework for considering contextual influence. Continuing with analytic models, it returns to genetics, and considers how it provide models for integrating our understanding of broad social and community influences. The paper extends this thinking through multilevel analysis and proposes "analytic multilevel designs" as a way of studying "context focused interventions" (as opposed to context independent interventions for which conventional experimental designs are often well-suited). It closes with reflections on ways in which we cultivate and extend our knowledge base and on the intellectual contexts of positivism and postmodernism that surround behavioral and ecological thinking.
Chloride fertilizer effects on winter wheat inoculated with Fusarium culmorum

(...) The objectives of this study were to address these issues. Field experiments were conducted in south central Montana during 1988 and 1989 on a Fort Collins soil (fine-loamy, mixed, mesic Ustollic Haplargids) that contained 57 and 39 kg Cl ha −1 (0-120 cm), respectively. The experiment consisted of two cultivars of winter wheat (Redwin and Cree), three seed treatments (heat sterilized F. culmorum, live F. culmorum plus chemical protectant, and live F. culmorum, and four Cl fertilizer levels (0, 22.5, 45, and 90 kg CL ha −1 ) in complete factorial arrangement
Fiscal Federalism, Collusion, and Government Size: Evidence from the States

This study uses a state-level panel data set (1979-1992), encompassing all levels of government, to test the applicability of three theories concerning government size-the Wallis and Brennan/Buchanan versions of the decentralization hypothesis and the Brennan/Buchanan collusion hypothesis-to determine which one or ones should be used when modeling the public sector in the United States. The results indicate that as fiscal decentralization increases, state and local public expenditures increase and federal government expenditures decrease, as theorized by Wallis, whereas total government spending decreases, as predicted by Brennan and Buchanan. It is also shown that collusion among the different levels of government leads to an increase in overall government spending and an increase in spending at each individual level of government-evidence supporting the Brennan/Buchanan collusion hypothesis. Thus, this study shows that collusion among the different levels of government weakens the disciplining power of ...
Long-term clinical and radiographic follow-up following ligation of the suprarenal vena cava

The overwhelming mode of traumatic injury to the IVCoccurs from penetrating trauma when compared to blunt trauma.Due to the high mortality rates of IVC injuries there is only aminimal amountofdataavailableregardinglongtermfollow-upofthese patients. Most of the long term follow-up data pertaining toIVC ligation stems from patients who underwent infra-renal IVCligation.
Geographic differentiation and speciation in Cerion–a preliminary discussion of patterns and processes

Cerion's exuberant morphological diversity (600 described ‘species’) combined with the extreme rarity of reproductive isolation among morphotypes (only one unambiguous case of sympatry in the Bahamas) has long made this genus an object of fascination for evolutionists and of frustration for taxonomists. We have pursued an integrated approach of genetic and morphometric study based on field investigations of ecology and biogeography in the Bahamas. Cerion's morphotypes are not distributed haphazardly, but show definite patterns of correlation with habitat and geography. Although all morphotypes interbreed, hybrid zones tend to be narrow and characterized by highly local genetic anomalies–unique alleles present in neither parental population. Different patterns of covariance in ontogeny, and habitat preferences, also indicate mat the morphotypes are distinctive, non-amalgamating entities (despite little difference in the frequencies of structural genes among them) that may be called species once a definition based on strict reproductive isolation is abandoned. Variation in structural genes, anatomy and morphology is non-concordant, but orderly for each criterion. Similar morphologies are often polyphyletic and evolved repeatedly as one possible ontogenetic route within a developmental program common to all Cerion. Although we cannot always distinguish among competing causes for observed patterns, we can establish genetic, morphological, anatomical, and biogeographic criteria for decisions when adequate evidence is available. The species of Cerion will be reduced by more than an order of magnitude from a list currently described.
Fitting a Cartesian prediction model to radial-velocity data from single-Doppler radar

Abstract Previous experiments with the adjoint technique for determining the three-dimensional wind and thermodynamic fields from single-Doppler radar data have assumed that the radar observes one component of the velocity in Cartesian coordinates. This technique is generalized to radial velocity observations by fitting a Cartesian prediction model to interpolated radial velocity data in Cartesian coordinates. The three-dimensional wind and temperature are determined by minimizing the difference between simulated single-Doppler observations of radial velocity and reflectivity in Cartesian coordinates and their predictions from a numerical model. An application of this technique to a simulation of dry convection gives successful results.
Secure Decoupled Linkage (SDLink) system for building a social genome

Population informatics is the systematic study of populations via secondary analysis of massive data collections about people, called the social genome. A major challenge in building the social genome is the difficulty in data integration of heterogeneous and uncoordinated data while protecting the confidentiality of the data subjects. Here, we present our work in designing a flexible computerized third party linkage platform, Secure Decoupled Linkage (SDLink), which can provide both privacy protection and accurate high quality integrated data using a hybrid human-machine data integration system. Our evaluation results show that chaffing used in combination with universe manipulation is very effective in blocking inferences during the clerical review process.
Luck and Desert

One 'condition of moral judgment' is that matters beyond a person's control cannot bear on what he deserves. For example, to be born in Pakistan cannot make you deserve to fare less well than if you had been born somewhere else. Nor can you deserve credit for winning a lottery through sheer luck, or blame for bleeding when you are cut. Those are all matters beyond your control, and thus beyond your responsibility: a connection so fundamental that Nagel can say 'It seems irrational to take or dispense credit or blame for matters over which a person has no control .... And yet, Nagel also argues, 'If the condition of control is consistently applied, it threatens to undermine most of the moral assessments we find it natural to make.'3 For one thing, says Nagel, we take the consequences of a person's behaviour to bear on just how bad a thing he has done, and thus on how harsh a response he should receive-even though the consequences may be determined by something beyond his control! Consider the driver who roars through a school zone at 70 m.p.h., oblivious to the children darting a few feet from his path. If he is lucky enough to pass through without hitting anyone, he is guilty of reckless driving, and will be criticized accordingly. But what if a child chooses precisely the wrong moment to dash after a ball, and ends up crushed beneath our driver's wheels? Then it will be manslaughter he has committed, a far worse thing to have done, and we will take him to deserve much harsher treatment. What makes the difference, though, is something beyond the driver's control: his luck in what the children do. So here, Nagel would argue, we give luck the very power we deny it can have: the power to make a person deserve harsher or milder treatment. And, says he, we could not stop doing so without abandoning an equally fundamental tenet that those who do more harm deserve harsher treatment than those who do less. Similarly,
Antianxiety and antidepressive behavior produced by physiological estradiol regimen may be modulated by hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity

Variations in estradiol (E(2)) may influence expression of stress-related anxiety and depression symptoms among women. Effects of E(2) and stress on anxiety and depressive behavior were investigated using an animal model. E(2) was administered subcutaneously (0, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 mug/rat) to ovariectomized rats 2 days before testing. In experiment 1, open field (anxiety), elevated plus maze (anxiety), or forced swim test (depressive) behavior was evaluated following 20 min of restraint or no such stressor. Rats administered 5 or 10 mug E(2), which produced physiological plasma E(2) concentrations, showed significantly less anxiety and depressive behavior and lower corticosterone levels compared to vehicle, lower, or higher E(2) dosages. Restraint stress prior to behavioral testing attenuated the antianxiety and antidepressive effects of 5 or 10 mug E(2). In experiment 2, effects of adrenalectomy or sham surgery and vehicle or corticosterone replacement in their drinking water on behavior and neuroendocrine measures of rats administered 0, 10, or 50 mug E(2) were examined. E(2), 10 mug, compared to vehicle or 50 mug, reduced anxiety and depressive behavior of sham and adrenalectomized rats administered the low dosage of corticosterone, but not vehicle or the high dosage of corticosterone, suggesting that there may be an optimal level of corticosterone necessary for E(2) to exert these effects. Together, these data suggest that E(2) may have dose-dependent effects on anxiety and depressive behavior of female rodents, which may depend on the tone of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.
Ion selective electrodes for measurement of sodium and chloride in salinity experiments

Abstract A method of measuring sodium (Na+) and chloride (Cl‐) content of plant tissue and root uptake of these ions using ion selective electrodes (ISE) was developed and tested. Peach [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch.] and barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) plants were grown for 52 days in solution culture with up to 50 and 100 mM NaCl added, respectively. During this time, samples of nutrient solution were collected at the beginning and end of four time periods to estimate the amount of Na+ and Cl‐ extracted. At the end of the experiment, plants were destructively harvested to determine the concentration of Na+ and Cl‐ in tissues. Values obtained with Na+ and Cl‐ ISEs were compared against inductively coupled plasma spectrometry (for Na+) or Bran‐Leubbe autoanalyzer (for Cl") at independent laboratories. Readings of Na+ and Cl‐ in plant tissue obtained by ISEs were highly correlated with those obtained from independent labs, with average errors of 1.3% for Na+ and 6.3% for Cl‐. Both ISEs also read nutrient solutio...
Geometric estimation of fixed points of Lipschitzian mappings, II

In this paper we investigate (for L < 1) the construction of sequences to approximate a fixed point with discussion of error estimation. For L < 1 and H = [WI a rapidly convergent scheme is given, and for L < 1 and general H a scheme is given which appears to be especially effective computationally for values of L near to 1. For notation, B.P.C. refers to the strict contraction principle of BanachPicard-Caccioppoli, R, refers to the set given in Theorem 1 in which the fixed point set F(T) must be contained, and for L # 1 let
Using computer simulation for analyzing educational strategies

Mathematical modeling and computer simulation methods are proposed for studying educational strategies that cannot be examined easily in an operational setting. The computer simulator developed follows students from K-12 and computes a measure of the effect of different educational strategies on learning. Issues modeled included teacher burnout, allocation of training funds, and hiring/firing practices.
Using self, story, and intuition to understand child and youth care work

The author discusses how child and youth care practitioners and researchers use their experiences, stories, and intuition to frame their observations and to understand child and youth care work. His premise is that greater understanding can be achieved by thinking of research and practice as a process of self-inaction.
A tapped delay line optical spectrum analyzer

Abstract A novel method for the spectral measurement of narrow-band optical signals is proposed. Temporal variations of an input signal are linearly converted into spatio-temporal variations across a coherent array of optical radiators via a tapped delay line wave-guiding structure. The power spectrum is estimated from the resulting diffraction pattern, with significantly larger angular dispersion than that obtainable using conventional gratings.
Radar backscatter and surface roughness measurements for stationary breaking waves

In this study the surface features and the radar backscatter associated with breaking waves generated by a uniform flow past a stationary submerged hydrofoil were examined. The level of energy dissipation due to breaking was varied by changing the foil angle of attack. Time series of surface elevation profiles were obtained for the breaking crest region and the following waves. Radar backscatter (X-band) was also measured for an incidence angle of 45° with the radar looking both upwave and downwave for HH and VV polarizations. These measurements were compared to model predictions of radar backscatter using the surface elevation data as inputs to the model. The breaking crest region exhibited the largest surface disturbances, as measured by the temporal variance of the surface elevation. The maximum in the variance was associated with large low-frequency disturbances in the ‘toe’ region. Downstream-moving waves appear just ahead of the crest and, due primarily to interaction with the spatially varying current set up by the stationary wave, decrease in amplitude by an order of magnitude as they propagate downstream. These surface disturbances remain at a low level thereafter. A maximum radar cross-section per unit area of about 0.5 was observed near the breaking crest, for both HH and VV polarization in the upwave look direction. The maximum value for the upwave look direction was about twice as large as for the downwave look direction. Downstream of the breaking crest, the radar cross-section decreased rapidly and then leveled off, and an increasing difference between the VV and HH backscatter was observed as the overall backscatter level decreased. Near the second crest, there was a small increase in the height variance and in the radar cross-section. The surface-elevation measurements were used as inputs for a Bragg-scattering model and the expected radar backscatter was calculated. The variations in the observed radar cross-section downstream of the breaking crest are satisfactorily explained by the Bragg model when surface-tilt effects are taken into account. However, the backscatter from the breaking crest itself is not accurately predicted since, in this region, the small-scale surface roughness exceed the limits of validity for the Bragg model.
Family Caregiver Involvement for Long-Term Care Residents at the End of Life

Objectives. T o examine family caregiver involvement for long-term care (LTC) residents during the last month of life. We examined direct (personal care and meals) and indirect (management and monitoring) types of caregiver involvement and the relationship between the type of involvement and predisposing, enabling, and need characteristics. We also examined whether the frequency of involvement changed during the end-of-life (EOL) period. Method. W e used an expanded version of Andersen’s Behavioral Model to conceptualize predictors of family involvement for 438 residents in 125 residential care/assisted living and nursing home settings. Bivariate and multivariate analyses examined relationships among variables. Results. More than one-half of f amily caregivers monitored, managed care and assisted with meals, and 40% assisted with personal care tasks. The enabling characteristic of days visited and the need characteristic of caregiver role strain were related to each of the 4 types of involvement. However, the other correlates were distinct to the type of involvement. Discussion. F amilies are involved in EOL care in LTC settings. Higher role strain is related to more involvement in each of the 4 types of involvement, suggesting that whether involvement is by desire, perceived need, or both, there is cause to more critically examine the family caregiver’s desired role and need for support.
Distinct Molecular Events during Secretory Granule Biogenesis Revealed by Sensitivities to Brefeldin A

The biogenesis of peptide hormone secretory granules involves a series of sorting, modification, and trafficking steps that initiate in the trans-Golgi and trans-Golgi network (TGN). To investigate their temporal order and interrelationships, we have developed a pulse-chase protocol that follows the synthesis and packaging of a sulfated hormone, pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC). In AtT-20 cells, sulfate is incorporated into POMC predominantly on N-linked endoglycosidase H-resistant oligosaccharides. Subcellular fractionation and pharmacological studies confirm that this sulfation occurs at the trans-Golgi/TGN. Subsequent to sulfation, POMC undergoes a number of molecular events before final storage in dense-core granules. The first step involves the transfer of POMC from the sulfation compartment to a processing compartment (immature secretory granules, ISGs): Inhibiting export of pulse-labeled POMC by brefeldin A (BFA) or a 20 degrees C block prevents its proteolytic conversion to mature adrenocorticotropic hormone. Proteolytic cleavage products were found in vesicular fractions corresponding to ISGs, suggesting that the processing machinery is not appreciably activated until POMC exits the sulfation compartment. A large portion of the labeled hormone is secreted from ISGs as incompletely processed intermediates. This unregulated secretory process occurs only during a limited time window: Granules that have matured for 2 to 3 h exhibit very little unregulated release, as evidenced by the efficient storage of the 15-kDa N-terminal fragment that is generated by a relatively late cleavage event within the maturing granule. The second step of granule biogenesis thus involves two maturation events: proteolytic activation of POMC in ISGs and a transition of the organelle from a state of high unregulated release to one that favors intracellular storage. By using BFA, we show that the two processes occurring in ISGs may be uncoupled: although the unregulated secretion from ISGs is impaired by BFA, proteolytic processing of POMC within this organelle proceeds unaffected. The finding that BFA impairs constitutive secretion from both the TGN and ISGs also suggests that these secretory processes may be related in mechanism. Finally, our data indicate that the unusually high levels of unregulated secretion often associated with endocrine tumors may result, at least in part, from inefficient storage of secretory products at the level of ISGs.
Artificial neural network performance degradation under network damage: Stuck-at faults

Biological neural networks are spectacularly more energy efficient than currently available man-made, transistor-based information processing units. Additionally, biological systems do not suffer catastrophic failures when subjected to physical damage, but experience proportional performance degradation. Hardware neural networks promise great advantages in information processing tasks that are inherently parallel or are deployed in an environment where the processing unit might be susceptible to physical damage. This paper, intended for hardware neural network applications, presents analysis of performance degradation of various architectures of artificial neural networks when subjected to ‘stuck-at-0’ and ‘stuck-at-1’ faults. This study aims to determine if a fixed number of neurons should be kept in a single or multiple hidden layers. Faults are administered to input and hidden layer(s) and analysis of unoptimized and optimized, feedforward and recurrent networks, trained with uncorrelated and correlated data sets is conducted. A comparison of networks with single, dual, triple, and quadruple hidden layers is quantified. The main finding is that ‘stuck-at-0’ faults administered to input layer result in least performance degradation in networks with multiple hidden layers. However, for ‘stuck-at-0’ faults occurring to cells in hidden layer(s), the architecture that sustains the least damage is that of a single hidden layer. When ‘stuck-at-1’ errors are applied to either input or hidden layers, the network(s) that offer the most resilience are those with multiple hidden layers. The study suggests that hardware neural network architecture should be chosen based on the most likely type of damage that the system may be subjected to, namely damage to sensors or the neural network itself.
Clock-frequency assignment for multiple clock domain systems-on-a-chip

Modern systems-on-a-chip platforms support multiple clock domains, in which different sub-circuits are driven by different clock signals. Although the frequency of each domain can be customized, the number of unique clock frequencies on a platform is typically limited. We define the clock-frequency assignment problem to be the assignment of frequencies to processing modules, each with an ideal maximum frequency, such that the sum of module processing times is minimized, subject to a limit on the number of unique frequencies. We develop a novel polynomial-time optimal algorithm to solve the problem, based on dynamic programming. We apply the algorithm to the particular context of post-improvement of accelerator-based hardware/software partitioning, and demonstrate 1.5times-4times additional speedups using just three clock domains
Effects of supplemental oxygen administration on coronary blood flow in patients undergoing cardiac catheterization

Patients with heart disease are frequently treated with supplemental oxygen. Although oxygen can exhibit vasoactive properties in many vascular beds, its effects on the coronary circulation have no...
Virologic response and resistance to adefovir in patients with chronic hepatitis B

Background The incidence and risk factors for adefovir-resistant HBV have not been clearly defined. Aims To characterize the virologic response to adefovir, to determine the rate of adefovir resistance and to explore factors associated with initial virologic response (IVR) and adefovir resistance. Methods All hepatitis B patients who received adefovir for ≥6 months at our center were prospectively monitored for virologic response and adefovir resistance. Results Forty three patients were included; mean treatment duration was 18 months (range 6–45). Thirty four (79%) patients had prior lamivudine. IVR was observed in 44% patients and associated with higher pretreatment ALT ( P =0.05) and the absence of HBeAg ( P =0.02). Six (14%) patients were found to have adefovir-resistant mutations. The cumulative probability of genotypic resistance to adefovir at month 24 was 22%. Patients with adefovir resistance were more likely to have been switched from lamivudine to adefovir monotherapy ( P =0.01), to be older ( P =0.04), and to be infected with HBV genotype D ( P =0.02). Conclusions Roughly 50% of patients failed to achieve IVR on adefovir. The cumulative probability of adefovir resistance at 2 years was 22%. Our data suggest that combination of lamivudine and adefovir may prevent emergence of adefovir resistance in patients with lamivudine-resistant HBV.
ON THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE SUBMILIARY MYOCARDIAL NODULES OF ASCHOFF IN RHEUMATIC FEVER.

1. In rheumatic myocarditis, foci, termed submiliary nodules of Aschoff, are present which are characteristic of the rheumatic infection. 2. They are most frequently found in the walls of the left ventricle, the auricles usually escaping. 3. The nodules were found in three cases of chorea without joint manifestations, proving the close relation of this condition to rheumatism. 4. They were absent in fourteen cases of subacute bacterial endocarditis due to Streptococcus mitis. 5. They were not found in infections of the endocardium with the gonococcus, staphylococcus, streptococcus, or pneumococcus. 6. Even in the absence of a rheumatic history we believe, in accordance with Fraenkel, that the presence of Aschoff bodies signifies a previous rheumatic infection. 7. Aschoff bodies are not always found in rheumatic carditis, where the infection antedates death by a long period, but the healed remains, represented by sclerotic patches ("Schwielen"), are present. 8. We suggest that the cases of arthritis characterized by the presence of the submiliary nodules of Aschoff in the myocardium be placed in one group and called for the time being "rheumatism"; and the cases with articular manifestations, yielding positive bacteriological findings and no Aschoff bodies, should be classified according to the infecting microorganisms concerned, and not as rheumatism.
Identifying the cholesterol binding domain in the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor with [125I]azido-cholesterol.

A novel photoreactive analog of cholesterol, 3K-(4-azido-3-[ 125 I]iodosalicylic)-cholest-5-ene ([ 125 I]azido-cholesterol), was used to label both native acetylcholine receptor (AChR)-rich membranes from Torpedo californica and affinity-purified Torpedo AChRs reconstituted into lipid vesicles. In both cases all four AChR subunits incorporated [ 125 I]azido-cholesterol on an equal molar basis and neither the pattern nor the extent of labeling was affected by the presence of the agonist carbamylcholine. Labeled regions in each of the AChR subunits were initially mapped by Staphylococcus aureus V8 protease digestion to large fragments which contain the AChR transmembrane segments. Sites of [ 125 I]azido-cholesterol incorporation were further mapped by exhaustive tryptic digestion of the V8 protease subunit fragments KV8-20 (KSer-173-Glu-338), KV810 (KAsn-339-Gly-439), and QV8-14 (QLeu-373-Pro-489). The digests were separated by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography and labeled peptides identified by amino-terminal sequence analysis. [ 125 I]Azido-cholesterol labeling was localized to peptides that contain almost exclusively the K-M4, K-M1 and Q-M4 membrane spanning segments. These results establish that the binding domain for cholesterol is at the lipid^protein interface of the AChR. fl 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Ethical and social issues in nanobiotechnologies: Nano2Life provides a European ethical 'think tank' for research in biology at the nanoscale.

Nanobiotechnologies represent a rapidly growing field of interest. Several European conferences during the past year have highlighted the wide‐ranging potential of applying techniques at the molecular and atomic levels to understand and transform biosystems, and of using biological principles and materials to create new devices at the nanoscale. This convergence of disciplines holds great promise in medicine for improved diagnostics, less invasive monitoring devices and more targeted therapies, and also has potential for agricultural and environmental applications. However, relatively little has been written about the ethical and social implications of this emerging research area. This article seeks to examine some of these questions, and is based on a report produced by the ethical, legal and social advisory (ELSA) board of the Nano2Life European Network of Excellence in Nanobiotechnology (Bruce, 2006). Nano2Life is funded by the European Commission (EC) under the Sixth Framework Programme. It brings together European research groups from 12 countries to collaborate in specific multidisciplinary projects, which combine the life sciences with microtechnologies and nanotechnologies, materials science, physics and chemistry. The aim is to develop new research tools and applications for medical diagnosis and therapy, and for monitoring food safety and environmental health. Seeking to learn from the major controversy in Europe over genetically modified (GM) foods, Nano2Life established—as an integral part of the network—an advisory board to evaluate possible ethical, legal and social implications. Its role is to advise on particular research projects, to educate participating scientists, and to produce a broad overview of the ethical and social issues (Bruce, 2006), which are summarized in this article. The reflections presented here are insights from board members and some participating scientists, and draw on an initial literature survey (Jomann, 2006). A main aim is to make researchers in both academia and industry aware of the broad ethical …
Ontology-supported webpage classifier for scholar’s webpages in ubiquitous information environment

In this most developed and shifting era of Internet, the information of Internet does massively increase. Webpage indexing catalogues or search engines which can help Demanders on information to rapidly and precisely collect Web information on Internet have already become the indispensable and important tools in Internet. How to precisely do Webpage classification that can effectively assist with information searching, the semantic-supported automatic classifiers can provide this mechanism. This paper proposed the ontology-supported Webpage classifier ldquoOntoClassifierrdquo, in which users can input some related documents, under the domain ontology-supported, and then the system can handle and analyze those document contents for actively extracting and computing the domain word frequency to do those documents classification. The preliminary experiment outcomes proved the technology proposed in this paper could really up-rise the precision rate of Webpage classification.