cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Liquids with Lower Wettability Can Exhibit Higher Friction on Hexagonal Boron Nitride: The Intriguing Role of Solid-Liquid Electrostatic Interactions.

We investigate the wetting and frictional behavior of polar (water and ethylene glycol) and nonpolar (diiodomethane) liquids on the basal plane of hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) using molecular dynamics simulations. Our results for the wettability of water on the hBN basal plane (contact angle 81°) are in qualitative agreement with the experimentally deduced mild hydrophilicity of the hBN basal plane (contact angle 66°). We find that water exhibits the lowest wettability, as quantified by the highest contact angle, but the highest friction coefficient of (1.9 ± 0.4) × 105 N-s/m3 on the hBN basal plane among the three liquids considered. This intriguing finding is explained in terms of the competition between dispersion and electrostatic interactions operating between the hBN basal plane and the three liquids. We find that electrostatic interactions do not affect the wetting behavior appreciably, as quantified by a less than 3° change in the respective contact angles of the three liquids considered. On the ...
Suburbs or Skyscrapers? The Effect of China’s Leasing Market on Housing Decentralization

A key policy instrument fueling China’s rapid urban growth has been the urban land lease, which generates municipal revenue through the sale of land rights to developers. By linking local infrastructure investment to farmland development, the policy creates the potential for shifts in urban form. This paper examines the impact of China’s leasing policy on housing decentralization from 1990 to 2000, exploiting exogenous variation arising from a pilot phase and addressing potential selection bias with a matched difference-in-differences estimator. I find the land leasing policy resulted in a 19.1% decline in construction in the urban core and a 26.2% increase in peri-urban areas.
Generative Deep Learning in Architectural Design

Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) are an emerging research area in deep learning that have demonstrated impressive abilities to synthesize designs, however, their application in architectural ...
Machine vision for natural gas methane emissions detection using an infrared camera

Abstract In a climate-constrained world, it is crucial to reduce natural gas methane emissions, which can potentially offset the climate benefits of replacing coal with gas. Optical gas imaging (OGI) is a widely-used method to detect methane leaks, but is labor-intensive and cannot provide leak detection results without operators’ judgment. In this paper, we develop a computer vision approach for OGI-based leak detection using convolutional neural networks (CNN) trained on methane leak images to enable automatic detection. First, we collect ∼1 M frames of labeled videos of methane leaks from different leaking equipment, covering a wide range of leak sizes (5.3–2051.6 g CH4/h) and imaging distances (4.6–15.6 m). Second, we examine different background subtraction methods to extract the methane plume in the foreground. Third, we then test three CNN model variants, collectively called GasNet, to detect plumes in videos. We assess the ability of GasNet to perform leak detection by comparing it to a baseline method that uses an optical-flow based change detection algorithm. We explore the sensitivity of results to the CNN structure, with a moderate-complexity variant performing best across distances. The generated detection probability curves show that the detection accuracy (fraction of leak and non-leak images correctly identified by the algorithm) can reach as high as 99%, the overall detection accuracy can exceed 95% across all leak sizes and imaging distances. Binary detection accuracy exceeds 97% for large leaks (∼710 g CH4/h) imaged closely (∼5–7 m). The GasNet-based computer vision approach could be deployed in OGI surveys for automatic vigilance of methane leak detection with high accuracy in the real world.
Borrowing Patterns for Small Firms: A Comparison by Race and Ethnicity

This article explores the use of debt capital by small firms using data from the 1998 Survey of Small Business Finances. An examination of the data reveals differences in the characteristics and borrowing experience of small firms by race and ethnicity. Results indicate that although minority firm owners were just as likely to apply for loans, they were significantly less likely to be approved for them. Further, black small business owners were less likely to even bother applying for a loan, because they assumed they would be denied. These findings have implications for the ability of minority small business owners to grow their firms and contribute to the economic well-being of their communities.
Epidemic Spreading Curing Strategy Over Directed Networks

Epidemic processes on networks have been thoroughly investigated in different research fields including physics, biology, computer science and medicine. Within this research area, a challenge is the definition of curing strategies able to suppress the epidemic spreading while exploiting a minimal quantity of curing resources. In this paper, we model the network under analysis as a directed graph where a virus spreads from node to node with different spreading and curing rates. Specifically, we adopt an approximation of the Susceptible-Infected-Susceptible (SIS) epidemic model, the N-Intertwined Mean Field Approximation (NIMFA). In order to control the diffusion of the virus while limiting the total cost needed for curing the whole network, we formalize the problem of finding an Optimal Curing Policy (OCP) as a constrained optimization problem and propose a genetic algorithm (GA) to solve it. Differently from a previous work where we proposed a GA for solving the OCP problem on undirected networks, here we consider the formulation of the optimization problem for directed weighted networks and extend the GA method to deal with not symmetric adjacency matrices that are not diagonally symmetrizable.
Co-registration of infarct core location with angiography during mechanical thrombectomy procedures for treatment progression monitoring.

Purpose: The standard workflow for patients affected by acute ischemic stroke (AIS) due to large vessel occlusions (LVO) includes diagnosis using CT-perfusion (CTP) followed by image-guided mechanical thrombectomy (MT). The CTP is used to establish the ischemic tissue location and size; however, during the MT procedure this information is not currently available in the angiographic suites. We developed a method to co-register the infarct location with the angiograms in order to monitor the reperfusion of the tissue affected by the ischemia. Materials and Methods: We used the complex tortuosity of the cerebral vasculature as its own fiducial system to co-register the CTP data with the angiographic sequences acquired during MT. A carotid segment was used to create a complete set of projections for different 3D transformations which included: rotation and translation. The 3D transformation which minimized the difference between the projected data and the angiogram section containing the carotid was selected and applied to co-register the infarct core from CTP onto the angiographic sequences. Angiographic parametric imaging was performed and average mean transit time (MTT), time to peak (TTP), cerebral blood volume (CBV) and cerebral blood flow (CBF) measurements were monitored in the infarct core pre-and post-thrombectomy. We then tested coregistration accuracy using phantoms as a ground truth to evaluate registration accuracy. Results: Using the proposed method we were able to monitor flow changes in the infarct core during MT. Changes of parameters between 50% and 100% were observed following the MT. Co-registration performance analysis yielded a 0.69 average DICE coefficient score for the entire image and a 0.82 average DICE coefficient for the Circle of Willis. Conclusions: CTP data can be used to improve guidance during MT for patients with AIS using infarct core co-registration with angiographic sequences.
Evaluation of a Modified Heat Dissipation Sensor for Measuring Water Content in Geotechnical Centrifuge Modeling

A commercial heat dissipation sensor was modified and tested for use in centrifuge modeling applications. This sensor can be used to directly measure water content that is used to estimate matric suction in soil. Advantages of the modified sensor include significant reduction in size and capability of measuring water content in a short period of time. The measured water content can be used to evaluate the corresponding soil matric suction. A series of experimental tests were conducted to establish the testing protocol to achieve the optimal RT for the modified sensor. A relationship between soil water content and temperature change measured from the heat dissipation sensor was generated for different soil types. The corresponding matric suction at a given water content was evaluated with soil water characteristic curves. Results were validated with results measured from a conventional tensiometer for static (no flow) and transient flow conditions. Good agreement was found, and the modified sensor provided similar results to those obtained with the tensiometer. The sensor was successfully implemented and tested in a geotechnical centrifuge under different g-levels. This study provides an alternative method for measuring water content that can be used in centrifuge modeling as well as other laboratory testing applications.
Initiation of a novel mode of membrane signaling: Vanadium facilitated signal transduction

Abstract As a first-row transition metal, vanadium can undergo numerous hydrolytic and chemical reactions in eukaryotic cells under physiological conditions. In model membrane systems, vanadium compounds interact with the lipid surfactants and either partially or fully penetrate the lipid interface. In eukaryotic cells, vanadium compounds interact with the plasma membrane lipid bilayer and drive signaling by three membrane proteins, identified to date, that function as receptors for physiologically important hormones. Perturbations in lipid order caused by vanadium compounds indirectly drive cell signaling by receptors that, in response to changes in lipid order, become concentrated in plasma membrane rafts. Importantly, this response occurs without binding of ligand to its receptor or direct interactions between receptor and vanadium compounds. We review here results reported for two tyrosine kinase receptors, the insulin receptor involved in regulating glucose uptake into cells and the Type I Fce receptors (FceRI) involved in allergic responses. In addition, we examine the effects of vanadium compounds on a G protein-coupled receptor, the luteinizing hormone receptor (LHR), which is important in reproductive functions in both males and females. Together these observations document a novel mechanism of drug action that may be generalizable to other plasma membrane proteins using rafts to signal.
Health outcomes among detoxification patients: The role of chronic pain

Understanding associations between chronic pain and health outcomes among detoxification patients may help improve treatment outcomes and abstinence rates. Exercise is a modifiable lifestyle factor that may reduce the effect of pain on outcomes in this population. The current study examined whether baseline pain, exercise, and their interaction were associated with psychiatric and medical severity, and abstinence self-efficacy, over six months following detoxification. Participants were veteran patients in alcohol or opioid detoxification treatment (N = 298) who were followed for six months (91.1%). Psychiatric severity and abstinence self-efficacy improved over the six months after detoxification; medical severity was stable. More intense pain at baseline was associated with poorer psychiatric and medical outcomes during the post-detoxification period. Regular exercise at baseline was associated with less psychiatric severity and more abstinence self-efficacy during the post-detoxification period. A significant pain by exercise interaction at baseline indicated that regular exercise was associated with more abstinence self-efficacy during the post-detoxification period only among participants with less intense pain. Pain by exercise interactions was not significant for the outcomes of psychiatric and medical severity. Among detoxification patients, exercise may be beneficial in improving outcomes among those with less intense pain.
Design for computational storage simulation platform

Data movement between storage and compute resources represents a bottleneck in data-driven applications. This performance bottleneck can be mitigated by leveraging inherent parallelism in the user application and offloading component tasks, called compute kernels, for execution at the storage layer instead of on the host CPU. Performing computation on the storage device instead of moving the data through the memory hierarchy to the CPU cache provides opportunities for increased throughput and reduced energy consumption by exploiting data independence present in the application. Previous work in this domain requires either specialized hardware for each type of application, a restrictive set of operations executable on the storage device, or significant engineering effort to program the compute kernel offloaded to the device. While prior work has proposed accelerating certain compute tasks (e.g. encryption/decryption, compression/decompression) the application space has been very limited, because applications need to fulfill certain properties to be a good candidate. Currently there exists no way to figure this out. To extend the applicability of computational storage we propose a new simulator platform that enables large design space explorations for storage accelerators and applications. By reducing the cost of offload we can leverage more fine-grained compute kernels, increasing the applicability of computational storage. Researchers can use our simulator design to explore different approaches for accelerating applications, including different mechanisms for offloading compute tasks to the device and consuming results, different methods of interfacing between user applications and the device, and different device characteristics and capabilities. This system enables us to evaluate the scalability of compute offloading techniques without significant investment in hardware or engineering effort.
Black-Box and Data-Driven Computation

Black box has been an important tool in studying computational complexity theory and has been used for establishing the hardness of problems. With an exponential growth in big data recently, data-driven computation has utilized black box as a tool for proving solutions to some computational problems. In this note, we present several observations on this new role of black box using reduction techniques in the computational complexity theory.
Building an academic career

Abstract Academic careers encompass performance of clinical duties, education, research, and administrative activities. To succeed, a knowledge of the local institutional requirements is key. Mentorship can also facilitate more rapid and efficient promotion and progression in academic careers. Women face some unique issues in academia, particularly balancing work-life issues, which differ from men, and persistent societal perceptions that make self-promotion more difficult.
Analysis of Extreme Pattern Density and Interconnects Routing Impacts on Via Open

Two phenomena of dual damascene via open in extremely low local metal pattern density region, and when connected through a narrow width metal line to a big pad opening with high density sea of vias are identified. A systematic study was carried out to investigate the impact of extreme pattern density design on dual damascene via integrity. Local metal density, interconnects metal line width, length, and pad size connecting to an isolated via are investigated to establish the correlation to via open and to explain the failure mechanism. Finally design for manufacturing solution is proposed, apart from process fix as the total solution.
Cyber Conflict and the Thresholds of War

Cyberspace has revolutionized the way in which states engage in conflict with one another. While it is widely accepted that international law applies to cyberspace, there remains the question of whether cyberspace is truly novel and distinctive in its effects to the extent that our existing legal thresholds for war have become outdated. Namely, this chapter defines the “thresholds of war” as use of force, armed attack, and armed conflict. Through an analysis of the novelty of cyber conflict, this chapter seeks to make two contributions. First, to demonstrate that cyber conflict can be understood not only through its kinetic consequences, but also through a variety of mass-scale and devastating effects that lie below the thresholds of war as articulated through the decades. Second, that these thresholds of war are outdated and in need of recalibration to properly capture actions that legitimate and illegitimate in cyberspace. This chapter argues that the current international legal order is at danger of creating a lawless cyberspace, where states engage in offensive cyberspace behavior based on an assumption that any effects below the thresholds of war are permissible. Redrawing the line between the permissible and impermissible in cyberspace is of utmost importance to tackle this concern.
Coupling of Human DNA Excision Repair and the ATR-mediated DNA Damage Checkpoint

DNA repair and DNA damage checkpoints work in concert to help maintain genomic integrity. In vivo data suggest that these two global responses to DNA damage are coupled. It has been proposed that the single-stranded DNA gap generated by nucleotide excision repair is the signal that activates the ATR-mediated DNA damage checkpoint response and that the signal is enhanced by gap enlargement by EXO1. Here we have used purified core nucleotide excision repair factors (RPA, XPA, XPC, TFIIH, XPG, and XPF-ERCC1), core DNA damage checkpoint proteins (ATR-ATRIP, TopBP1, RPA), and DNA damaged by a UV-mimetic agent to analyze the basic steps of DNA damage checkpoint response in a biochemically defined system. We find that checkpoint signaling as measured by phosphorylation of target proteins by the ATR kinase requires enlargement of the excision gap generated by the excision repair system by the 5' to 3' exonuclease activity of EXO1. We conclude that, in addition to damaged DNA, RPA, XPA, XPC, TFIIH, XPG, XPF-ERCC1,...
Attitudes of Tennessee physicians toward euthanasia and assisted death.

Background: Although many studies of euthanasia and physician-assisted death (PAD) have been performed in the United States, none have specifically addressed attitudes among physicians practicing in Tennessee. Methods: In January 2001, we mailed a 30-item survey instrument to a stratified random sample of 1,117 physicians drawn from the Tennessee Licensing Bureau. Results: Tennessee physicians are highly polarized over the issues of euthanasia and assisted death. A slight majority (47%) did not favor euthanasia or PAD and would oppose the legalization of such procedures. Of the physicians supporting euthanasia or PAD (43%), only 25% would administer a lethal overdose and less than a third would counsel/prescribe medication for an overdose. Attitudes were influenced by three primary factors: ethics, religion, and the role of the physician to relieve pain and suffering. Conclusion: Regardless of their overall position, the majority of physicians agreed on basic restrictions and safeguards to prevent abuses and to protect vulnerable patients.
Selective reduction of the intermolecular disulfide bridge in human glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor using tris-(2-carboxyethyl) phosphine

Publisher Summary Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) is one of the more recently identified neurotrophic factors, first purified from the conditioned medium of a rat glial cell line (B49). Because of its ability in supporting the growth of midbrain dopaminergic neurons in vitro , GDNF has been implicated to have therapeutic potential in the treatment of Parkinson's disease. Mature GDNF is a single polypeptide with 134 amino acid residues, containing seven cysteines and functions as a glycosylated, disulfide linked dimer. Examination of the protein's primary structure suggests that GDNF is a distant member of the transforming growth factor-fi (TGF-fi) superfamily of growth factors. The recombinant protein has been expressed in Escherichia coli and is currently being developed as a candidate for human therapeutic use. Because of its complex structure, the protein was refractory to extensive proteolytic degradation under native conditions. This chapter discusses the issue of disulfide assignment by subjecting GDNF to partial reduction using the chemical reagent tris-(2-carboxyethyl)phosphine (TCEP) in 0.17 M acetic acid at pH 2.5 and the structural characterization of the single reduced disulfide bond is reviewed.
Designing Viral Product Features for Broader Reach

Companies increasingly rely on “network” and “viral” marketing within their communication strategies. This study showed that providing viral products with specific features can increase their diffusion substantially. Products that were enabled to send automated notifications within a user’s local Facebook network upon adoption generated a 450 % higher adoption rate among Facebook friends compared with products without any viral features. Products that enabled adopters to send personal invitations to install the app generated an increase in the adoption rate by friends by 750 % more than in the control group. Although each personalized referral had a much stronger impact, notifications outperformed invitations in overall adoption. Automated notifications require no effort, and therefore substantially more messages were generated. The number of users who took the effort to send out personalized invitations was much smaller. A simulation of adoption beyond immediate individual networks showed that the passive-broadcast app experienced a 246 % increase in the rate of adoption, whereas adding active-personalized viral messaging capabilities generated only an additional 98 % increase, compared with the group without viral features.
Symposium on Foundations of Set Theory: Some Applications of the Theory of Models to Set Theory

Publisher Summary This chapter presents a relatively simple “elementary” proof of the fact that every inaccessible cardinal Θξ satisfy the condition, such as 0
Old Man River: The Mississippi River in North American History

Review of: "Old Man River: The Mississippi River in North American History" by Patrick Nunnally.
The changing role of rural women: Nursing and health implications

Rural women in America represent a rapidly changing group with unique characteristics and health concerns. A review of the available literature reveals that rural women present unique health care needs, especially related to health promotion. Based on the scant data available, identifiable strengths among rural women include their pride in rural heritage and culture, tradition of self‐care, strong family attachment, and community involvement and support. Potential threats include insufficient data and research, isolation, inadequate support services, and potential sex‐role conflicts. Based on these strengths and potential weaknesses, health implications are drawn using the Neuman Systems Model. Specific implications for nursing practice, education and research are presented based on the review of literature and conceptual analysis.
Integration of the proteasome inhibitor PS-341 (Velcade) into the therapeutic approach to lung cancer

PS-341, a potent and selective proteasome inhibitor, is the prototype for a new class of therapeutics that targets the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. It is active as a single agent and potentiates chemotherapy and radiation in pre-clinical models. Early phase clinical studies have demonstrated tolerability and activity in multiple myeloma, lymphoma, prostate cancer and lung cancer. By its mechanism of inhibiting protein degradation, PS-341 targets a wide-range of pathways that are relevant to tumor progression and therapy resistance, and can directly modulate expression of cyclins, p27(Kip1), p53, NF-kappaB, Bcl-2 and Bax. PS-341 is currently in phase I/II clinical development in lung cancer. This paper will review the pre-clinical and clinical experience with PS-341 as it relates to lung cancer.
CMPT — a program giving the analytical result of Nordsieck's integral including powers of the radius from -1 to +6

Abstract A program is presented that gives the analytical result of the three-dimensional integral of a product of a confluent hypergeometric function, a plane wave, a damping exponential, and powers of the radial variable.
Prostacyclin has effects on proximal and distal tubular function in the dog.

Abstract The effect of prostacyclin (PGI2), the major metabolite of arachidonic acid in arterial and venous tissue, on renal function was studied in hypophysectomized dogs under conditions of a maximum water diuresis.PGI2 (0.04 μg/kg/min) significantly increased urine flow and urinary sodium and potassium excretion without affecting glomerular filtration rate. In addition, PGI2 significantly increased free water clearance and distal delivery of sodium and inhibited distal fractional reabsorption of glomerular filtrate. This suggests an effect of PGI2 on proximal as well as distal segments of the nephron. PGI2 is about 10 times more potent than PGE2 with regard to natriuresis and diuresis when studied under identical conditions. Thus, PGI2 may be the major prostaglandin involved in salt and water excretion.
Dollo on Dollo's law: Irreversibility and the status of evolutionary laws

Othenio Abel launched Palaeobiologica with a wish that the ideas of Louis Dollo might flourish and bring prosperity to the new journal.1 Palaeobiologica did not survive the war; Dollo's name lives as a masthead to the law of irreversibility, but his forgotten work presents this notion in a fashion altogether different from the formulations of our textbooks. Abel's journal may have met a kinder fate. Dollo's law, moreover, has fallen into disrepute along with the entire enterprise that sought to abstract historical laws from the phenomena of phylogeny. I find this unfortunate for two reasons:
The extraction and determination of tungsten with tetraphenylarsonium chloride

Abstract A rapid, accurate and selective spectrophotometric method for tungsten is described. Tetraphonylarsonium chloride is used to form an insoluble ion-pair tetraphenylarsonium thiocyanato-tungstate, with tungsten previously reduced with tin(II) chloride in 6 9 M HCl The ion-pair is formed the addition of thiocyanate, extracted into chloroform, and the absorbance is measured at 406 mm. The method is selective for tungsten under the conditions employed when niobium is masked with fluoride. The sensitivity is 12.58 μg W/ml of chloroform extract. The method has been applied successfully to 8 steels iand 2 heat-resisting alloys which contain widely varying amounts of tungsten and otther metals.
In vitro studies on yeast cytochrome c peroxidase and its possible function in the electron transfer and energy coupling reactions.

1. Yeast cytochrome c peroxidase (ferrocytochrome c:H2O2 oxidoreductase, EC 1.11.1.5) located in the intermembrane space of the mitochondrion rapidly decomposes H2O2 generated during the operation of the respiratory chain and efficiently oxidizes ferrocytochrome c. 2. Rapid utilization of H2O2 is linked to the oxidation of ferrocytochrome c generated through the usual metabolic pathway in which phosphorylation Sites I and II are operative.
Properties of parathyroid hormone receptors on circulating bovine lymphocytes.

Binding of parathyroid hormone (PTH) to circulating bovine lymphocytes was studied using, as the radioligand, a synthetic sulfur-free analog of bovine PTH, [Nle8,Nle18,Tyr34]bPTH-(1–34)amide, which was labeled to high specific activity with 125I and was purified by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. Binding of PTH to lymphocytes satisfies several criteria indicative of a specific interaction between the hormone and its receptor. Specific binding is saturable at 3.3 fmoles of radioligand bound per 107 cells, occurs more rapidly at 37°C than at lower temperatures, and reaches equilibrium within 2 hr at 15°C. Inhibition of specific binding occurs with intact PTH, with biologically active PTH analog or fragment, and with synthetic PTH antagonists, but not with biologically inactive PTH fragments, or peptide hormones unrelated to PTH. There is an excellent correlation between the binding affinities of PTH agonists with receptors on lymphocytes and those previously reported with receptors in canine renal membranes, and on rat osteosarcoma cells. The dissociation constant (Kd) is approximately 10−9M, as calculated from the association and dissociation rate constants. This correlates very closely both with the apparent Kd, as estimated from Scatchard analysis of radioligand saturation and competition studies, and with previously reported Kd of PTH receptors in canine renal membranes and on intact rat osteosarcoma and opossum kidney cells. In addition, the relative binding affinity of intact hormone and a synthetic PTH agonist to receptors on lymphocytes correlates closely with the relative biologic potency of these peptides in stimulating adenylate cyclase in membranes from these cells. The presence of PTH specific receptors on lymphocytes is consistent with evidence suggesting that PTH-lymphocyte interactions may modulate bone resorption in vitro. Also, the ready accessibility of circulating lymphocytes may serve as a useful model system for examining PTH-receptor regulation in vivo.
Understanding anhedonia in schizophrenia through lexical analysis of natural speech

Anhedonia is a negative prognostic indicator in schizophrenia. However, the underlying nature of this emotional deficit is unclear. Laboratory studies examining patients’ emotional reactions under controlled circumstances have failed to find evidence for a diminished hedonic response, instead finding that patients’ reactions to laboratory stimuli are characterised by high levels of negative emotion. The present study employed lexical analysis of natural speech in 52 patients and 49 non-patient controls while they discussed separate neutral, pleasant and unpleasant autobiographical memories. Patients with clinically rated anhedonia, versus other patients and controls, showed a dramatic increase in negative emotion expression when discussing pleasurable memories, but they showed no corresponding decrease in positive emotion. These findings provide further evidence that “anhedonia” is more reflective of negative emotional states than the absence of positive ones. These findings also raise questions about how...
The evolution of the vectorcardiogram and electrocardiogram of the normal infant

1. 1. Vectorcardiograms and electrocardiograms were obtained in thirty-one normal infants at one month of age and in thirty-two at three months of age. These infants were members of an original group of fifty who were first studied at birth. 2. 2. The QRS sE loop shifted progressively to the left and less anteriorly as compared with the newborn. In addition, the QRS sE loop was inscribed in a counterclockwise direction in the horizontal plane at three months of age as opposed to predominantly clockwise inscription in that plane at birth. 3. 3. The electrocardiographic changes were less striking. The RS ratio in lead I was reversed from less than one at birth to greater than one at three months of age. The tall R wave in lead aVR of the newborn diminished and at three months of age the QRS complex in that lead was predominantly negative. No left axis deviation was noted. At three months of age, the height of the R wave exceeded the depth of the S wave in right precordial leads including tracings of those infants in whom a “left ventricular pattern” was seen at birth. It is theorized that the transient “left ventricular pattern” seen in precordial leads of some newborn infants is due to temporary left ventricular systolic overloading secondary to the occlusion of a previously patent ductus arteriosus. 4. 4. The vectorcardiogram oners an important advantage in the diagnosis of abnormal right ventricular hypertrophy in infants and children. It is often impossible to differentiate unequivocally the electrocardiogram of the normal child from that of a child with abnormal right ventricular hypertrophy, even up to eight years of age. However, at three months of age, the QRS sE loop in the horizontal plane is oriented to the left and inscribed counterclock-wise, while in abnormal right ventricular hypertrophy the loop is oriented to the right and is inscribed clockwise in that plane.
The log-normal distribution for hydraulic conductivity of compacted clays: Two or three parameters?

Risk and uncertainty assessments for waste containment systems employing clay barriers often include spatial variability in the hydraulic conductivity as part of the analysis. The two-parameter log-normal distribution is often used to describe the spatial variability, but for compacted clays the three-parameter form can be more appropriate. A statistical hypothesis test was developed that can be used to determine if the two- or three-parameter form of the log-normal distribution is more appropriate. The test is based on a likelihood ratio, comparing likelihood functions for the two- and three-parameter forms at their maximums. Likelihood functions are used assuming that a data set can be segregated into a set of distinct groups of hydraulic conductivities. A step-by-step calculation procedure is described and the test is applied to data collected from 45 sites.
A Pseudo-Rigid-Body Model for Rolling-Contact Compliant Beams

This paper presents a pseudo-rigid-body model (PRBM) for rolling-contact compliant beams (RCCBs). The loading conditions and boundary conditions for the RCCB can be simplified to an equivalent cantilever beam that has the same force-deflection characteristics as the RCCB. Building on the PRBM for cantilever beams, this paper defines a model for the force-deflection relationship for RCCBs. The definition of the RCCB PRBM includes the pseudo-rigid-body model parameters that determine the shape of the beam, the length of the corresponding pseudo-rigid-body links and the stiffness of the equivalent torsional spring. The behavior of the RCCB is parameterized in terms of a single parameter defined as clearance, or the distance between the contact surfaces. RCCBs exhibit a unique force-displacement curve where the force is inversely proportional to the clearance squared.Copyright © 2007 by ASME
PIPKIγ regulates focal adhesion dynamics and colon cancer cell invasion.

Focal adhesion assembly and disassembly are essential for cell migration and cancer invasion, but the detailed molecular mechanisms regulating these processes remain to be elucidated. Phosphatidylinositol phosphate kinase type Iγ (PIPKIγ) binds talin and is required for focal adhesion formation in EGF-stimulated cells, but its role in regulating focal adhesion dynamics and cancer invasion is poorly understood. We show here that overexpression of PIPKIγ promoted focal adhesion formation, whereas cells expressing either PIPKIγK188,200R or PIPKIγD316K, two kinase-dead mutants, had much fewer focal adhesions than those expressing WT PIPKIγ in CHO-K1 cells and HCT116 colon cancer cells. Furthermore, overexpression of PIPKIγ, but not PIPKIγK188,200R, resulted in an increase in both focal adhesion assembly and disassembly rates. Depletion of PIPKIγ by using shRNA strongly inhibited formation of focal adhesions in HCT116 cells. Overexpression of PIPKIγK188,200R or depletion of PIPKIγ reduced the strength of HCT116 cell adhesion to fibronection and inhibited the invasive capacities of HCT116 cells. PIPKIγ depletion reduced PIP2 levels to ∼40% of control and PIP3 to undetectable levels, and inhibited vinculin localizing to focal adhesions. Taken together, PIPKIγ positively regulates focal adhesion dynamics and cancer invasion, most probably through PIP2-mediated vinculin activation.
How alliances are reshaping telecommunications

Abstract The global telecommunication industry is undergoing tremendous change due to privatization and deregulation, evolving technological capabilities and increased competition. As competitive boundaries are shifting in service provision, firms need to acquire new skills to succeed in the future; and a major avenue for a firm to acquire new capabilities is through the formation of strategic alliances. Based on Miles and Snow's strategic orientation framework, the authors develop a framework to analyze the strategic alliances within the telecom industry. They study the alliance activities of 21 U.S. based telecom service firms from 1988–1996 to illustrate how the industry boundaries have changed.
Solute redistribution during crystallization at constant velocity and constant temperature

Abstract An analysis is presented for the time-dependent solute redistribution which occurs during crystallization at constant velocity and constant temperature. The analysis is suggested to be applicable to many studies of crystallization in glass-forming systems, where solidification takes place at temperatures well above the solidus and where the solubility in the crystalline phase is quite limited. Appropriate for these situations, the usual condition of Cs = kCL is replaced by the approximate condition of Cs = Csolidus. The results indicate a concentration of the liquid at the interface which is limited only by the liquidus composition, and not by a steady-state composition of CO/k. Limitations of the present analysis for cases where the growth rate becomes concentration-dependent are discussed.
A New Endowment Distribution Plan: How to Insure Current Spending While Growing the Fund Corpus

The management of an endowment fund poses unique investment challenges. Obviously there is the choice concerning the allocation of the endowment corpus between riskier investments with higher returns and virtually risk free investments. There is also a need to provide stability in the amounts distributed for spending to further the purposes of the endowment. The authors show one way to achieve these objectives is to split the fund principal between essentially risk-free commercial annuities for a selected fixed term and a diversified stock portfolio. This will allow the fund to guarantee fixed expenditures for current needs and provide an excellent opportunity to grow the fund.
“Unhallowed arts”: Frankenstein and the Poetics of Suicide

This essay interprets suicide as an essential trope in Mary Shelley's critique of the fantasy of individualism in Frankenstein, and posits that suicide operates as a metaphor through which to interpret Romanticism's interest in radical politics. Frankenstein engages the subject of suicide by way of three kinds of extra-textual discourses – Mary Shelley's attempt to come to terms with the role of suicide in her biography, as well as in the larger cultural debate on legal and medical aspects of suicide at the turn of the nineteenth century; the novel's engagement of Percy Shelley's account of the relationship between reading, sympathy, and love as it concerns the possibility of subject production; and a larger Enlightenment debate about how subjects are formed and maintain cohesion. Through the intersection of these three discourses, the novel uses suicide to stage Romanticism's interest in the political efficacy of the materials that the Shelleys saw as creating subjects – namely, texts.
The Elephant in the Room: Poverty, Disability, and Employment

Despite more than 40 years of legislation to improve the outcomes of children and youth with disabilities and those growing up in poverty, vast numbers of adults with severe disabilities are unempl...
Use of Vacuum During Formation of Meat Emulsions

Meat emulsion formation under vacuum was studied in a model system and in a sausage emulsion. Sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar extracts from beef and pork infraspinatus muscle were used to compare emulsification of vegetable oil with or without vacuum. Vacuum treatment permitted more oil to be emulsified by all protein extracts. The proportional increase was greater for water-soluble than for salt-soluble extracts. Sausage emulsion was evaluated using frankfurters prepared in a vacuum chopper with or without vacuum. Product stability was improved by application of vacuum only for the entire chopping procedure. Cured color development was more rapid and more complete in the vacuum treatment. Without vacuum chopping, frankfurters showed more obvious cavitation and less density, confirming presence of air within the emulsion.
Dependence of northern spotted owls Strix occidentalis caurina on old-growth forests in the western USA

Abstract Habitat requirements of northern spotted owls Strix occidentalis caurina have become the focus of a major controversy over how much old-growth forest in the western United States should be preserved. Analysis of three large data sets showed that the subspecies was rare or absent in areas with little older (i.e. >80-year-old) forest but with extensive stands nearing harvest age. The owls were also rare in areas with the small amounts of old-growth typically left after harvest operations. Old-growth stands in Wilderness Areas supported sparse populations of northern spotted owls, and their reproductive success was only about half that of owls outside Wilderness Areas. The results indicate that timber harvest operations, as currently practiced, lead to declines in numbers of northern spotted owls, and that currently protected old-growth stands are unlikely to provide enough high-quality habitat to maintain self-supporting populations of northern spotted owls.
How many light adaptation mechanisms are there

The generally positive response to our target article indicates that most of the commentators accept our contention that light adaptation consists of multiple and possibly redundant mechanisms. The commentaries fall into three general categories. The first deals with putative mechanisms that we chose not to emphasize. The second is a more extended discussion of the role of calcium in adaptation. Finally, additional aspects of cGMP involvement in adaptation are considered. We discuss each of these points in turn.
A modeling study of the TPC-C benchmark

The TPC-C benchmark is a new benchmark approved by the TPC council intended for comparing database platforms running a medium complexity transaction processing workload. Some key aspects in which this new benchmark differs from the TPC-A benchmark are in having several transaction types, some of which are more complex than that in TPC-A, and in having data access skew. In this paper we present results from a modelling study of the TPC-C benchmark for both single node and distributed database management systems. We simulate the TPC-C workload to determine expected buffer miss rates assuming an LRU buffer management policy. These miss rates are then used as inputs to a throughput model. From these models we show the following: (i) We quantify the data access skew as specified in the benchmark and show what fraction of the accesses go to what fraction of the data. (ii) We quantify the resulting buffer hit ratios for each relation as a function of buffer size. (iii) We show that close to linear scale-up (about 3% from the ideal) can be achieved in a distributed system, assuming replication of a read-only table. (iv) We examine the effect of packing hot tuples into pages and show that significant price/performance benefit can be thus achieved. (v) Finally, by coupling the buffer simulations with the throughput model, we examine typical disk/memory configurations that maximize the overall price/performance.
Integration of the infinitesimal generators of the inhomogeneous Lorentz group and application to the transformation of the wave function

Abstract We integrate the infinitesimal generators of the proper, orthochronous, inhomogeneous Lorentz group for the nonzero mass case when the infinitesimal generators are given in the Foldy-Shirokov form. We also integrate the infinitesimal generators for the zero mass case when they are given in the Lomont-Moses form. The results are essentially the same as those given by Ritus, but we use a notation which we believe is more convenient for our purposes. The formulas of the present paper will be used to obtain properties of generalized spherical harmonics and to obtain the relativistic quantization of the electromagnetic vector potential in an angular momentum basis in papers which we shall write shortly.
Recurrent meningitis in the pediatric patient--the otolaryngologist's role.

Abstract Objective: To assess the etiology of recurrent meningitis in the pediatric patient. Design: Retrospective case series and literature review. Setting: Tertiary-care pediatric hospital. Patients: Children ( Results: A review of 463 cases of bacterial meningitis over an 11 year period revealed six children aged 3 months to 15 years with the diagnosis of recurrent meningitis. The patient’s age, number of episodes of meningitis, diagnostic investigations performed and etiologies of recurrent meningitis were recorded. Fifteen episodes of meningitis were identified in these six patients; Streptococcus pneumoniae represented the bacteriology in 73% of the cases. Two patients were diagnosed with temporal bone abnormalities, two children with immunological deficiencies and no underlying etiology for the recurrent meningitis was identified in the remaining two patients. In this series, one-third of patients had an otolaryngologic etiology for their recurrent meningitis. These six patients, along with a review of the recent literature, will highlight the need for otolaryngological assessment and the importance of considering immunological investigations when managing recurrent meningitis in the pediatric patient. Conclusion: We propose that children with recurrent meningitis of unknown etiology undergo: (1) an audiological evaluation; (2) a CT scan of the temporal bones, skull base and paranasal sinuses; and (3) an immunological evaluation.
Analytical and experimental studies on the relationship between Na+, K+, and water uptake during volume increases associated with Fundulus oocyte maturation in vitro.

Oocytes of marine and estuarine teleosts often undergo pronounced volume increases during the maturation phase of development that precedes ovulation and fertilization. To examine the physiological correlates of these volume increases, prematuration follicles of the saltmarsh teleost, Fundulus heteroclitus, were cultured in vitro with a maturation-inducing steroid (17α-hydroxy-20β-dihydroprogesterone). Mean follicle volume rose significantly (75%) during a 40-h incubation period. Similar to the situation previously found in vivo, uptake of water by the maturing follicle was responsible for this volume increase in vitro, with the water content increasing from 62% to 78% of the total follicle mass. The follicle contents of two probable osmotic effectors-Na+ and K+-also rose, the increase in K+ being twice that of Na+. The influx of K+ even exceeded water uptake, resulting in a net increase in the concentration of this cation. It thus appears that the influx of these cations, in particular K+, is a major cause of the uptake of osmotically obligated water and subsequent volume increase experienced by maturing F. heteroclitus follicles. In a search for operant mechanisms, it was found that follicle hydration, but not maturation, was strictly dependent on external K+ in a concentration-dependent manner. The mechanism by which K+ accumulates in the follicle was insensitive to ouabain, so that a typical Na+, K+-ATPase mechanism does not appear to be involved. The ability of external K+ to promote follicle hydration was gradually lost during the maturation process as the oocyte dissociated from the surrounding granulosa cells in preparation for ovulation. Removal of all associated somatic cells prior to maturation prevented subsequent steroid-initiated hydration but not maturation. The results suggest that K+ may be translocated from surrounding granulosa cells to the oocyte via gap junctions during maturation.