cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Smooth Fault-Tolerant Control of Induction Motor Drives With Sensor Failures

A smooth fault-tolerant control (FTC) of induction motor drives with sensor failures is presented in this paper. The drive uses concurrently active direct torque control (DTC), indirect field-oriented control (IFOC), and volts-per-hertz ( V / f ) controllers as replacements of each other in the case of sensor failure or recovery. Speed encoder, current, and voltage sensors are considered. The DTC and IFOC controllers are properly modified and integrated with the V / f controller in synchronous frame, which allows switching between dc-type voltage commands of different controllers. Therefore, difficult synchronization of different controllers is avoided, and a simple rate limiter is able to achieve smooth handoff transition of different controllers. Details of the DTC, IFOC, and V / f controllers, as well as their integration are presented. Simulation and experimental verification of the proposed FTC are given, where normal abc -frame switching and the proposed synchronous-frame switching of controllers are compared with different switching schemes and at different machine operation conditions. Simulation and experimental results show significantly smoother handoff transients.
Explicit Attitudes, Working Memory Capacity, and Driving After Drinking.

Background Attitudes toward driving after drinking are strongly predictive of drinking and driving behavior. This study tested working memory capacity (WMC) as a moderator of the association between attitudes and drinking and driving behavior. Consistent with dual process models of cognition, we hypothesized that the association between perceived danger and drinking and driving would be stronger for individuals with higher WMC. Methods Participants (N = 161) enrolled in larger alcohol administration study were randomly assigned to an alcohol (n = 57), placebol (n = 52), or control (n = 52, not included) beverage condition. Past-year frequency of driving after drinking and WMC were assessed at baseline. Attitudes were assessed by asking participants to rate the perceived danger of driving at their current level of intoxication twice on the ascending limb (AL1, AL2), at peak breath alcohol concentration (BrAC), and twice on the descending limb (DL1, DL2). Results Analyses across the BrAC curve indicated that the hypothesized interaction was observed for the alcohol but not placebo condition. Analyses for each assessment point indicated that the interaction was significant for the ascending limb and peak BrAC. In the alcohol condition, for those higher in WMC, lower perceived dangerousness was strongly associated with increased driving after drinking (AL1: incident rate ratios [IRR] = 5.87, Wald's χ2 = 12.39, p = 0.006, 95% CI [2.19, 15.75]; AL2: IRR = 8.17, Wald's χ2 = 11.39, p = 0.001, 95% CI [2.41, 27.66]; Peak: IRR = 5.11, Wald's χ2 = 9.84, p = 0.002, 95% CI [1.84, 14.16]). Associations were not significant at low WMC. Conclusions Results suggest that individuals higher in WMC are more likely to act consistently with their explicit attitudes toward drinking and driving. Findings may have implications for existing drinking and driving interventions and suggest the potential for novel interventions targeting implicit associations or WMC.
Single Packet Authorization in a Multi-Layered Security Architecture

Single Packet Authorization (SPA) is a concealment method that hides the open ports, devices, and network components behind a firewall. SPA suffers from a known weakness i.e., the SPA client, and if the SPA client gets compromised by an attacker, the attacker can find his way to the SPA server. This paper explores the possible attacks from the SPA client with the focus on the implementation of SPA in multilevel security architecture such as Industrial Control Systems (ICS). It identifies the limitations of SPA on cascading the authorization packet in multiple security levels and proposes to combine SPA with access control. It is shown in the paper that the security of the whole SPA architecture can be improved by adding some features to the SPA server.
Society-driven Participatory Institutions: Lessons from Colombia’s Planning Councils

This article challenges the conventional wisdom that enthusiastic state support is a prerequisite to building strong participatory institutions. Through an analysis of Colombia’s planning councils, this study develops the concept of the societydriven participatory institution, in which civil society actors, rather than the state, undertake the core tasks involved in implementing participatory institutions. The article argues that while state neglect limits their involvement in decisionmaking, society-driven participatory institutions can still develop important policymaking roles in agenda setting and in monitoring and evaluating public policy.
Carbon Exports from Terrestrial Ecosystems: A Critical-Zone Framework

In terrestrial ecosystems, vascular plants photosynthesize and respire to produce organic matter and CO2, respectively. Fractions of these products dissolve and are processed belowground to become dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) for export in landscape drainage to receiving inland waters. This paper gathers findings from across the Earth and ecological sciences to assemble a simple framework explaining the interplay among these processes in the critical zone (CZ), the skin of Earth from the top of the vegetation canopy through soil and subsoil to the base of active groundwater circulation. In this framework, chemical weathering, that is the dissolution of soil and subsoil mineral material, is a keystone process fueling carbon and energy flow through the system. The ecologic function of weathering dynamically generates nutrients positively feeding back into biosynthesis (and DOC generation) supporting heterotrophy. Root and heterotrophic respiration in turn drive the geologic function of weathering, entraining and stabilizing CO2 in solution (DIC generation) for storage in the hydrosphere and lithosphere. The CZ framework supports straightforward explanations of spatiotemporal patterns of DOC and DIC exports from catchments, including how they differentially respond to hydrologic and ecosystem development dynamics. Mechanisms that generate and export dissolved C also fuel and affect dynamics of stream emission of CO2 to the atmosphere. At larger time scales, terrestrial C-export rates and dynamics co-evolve with CZ development and disturbance. Ultimately terrestrial C exports are plate-tectonically and thermostatically capped and floored by volcanic CO2 production and carbonate chemistry in Earth’s crust.
Global Environmentalism and the World-System: A Cross-National Analysis of Air Pollution:

Ambient air pollution represents a global health crisis, leading to 7 million annual deaths worldwide. The rise of a “global environmental regime” manifests in the widespread adoption of environmen...
Coupled-cluster and configuration-interaction calculations for odd-A heavy nuclei.

We compare coupled-cluster (CC) and configuration-interaction (CI) results for $^{55}\mathrm{Ni}$ and $^{57}\mathrm{Ni}$ obtained in the $pf$-shell basis, focusing on the practical equation-of-motion (EOM) CC approximations that can be applied to systems with dozens of correlated fermions. The weight of the reference state and the strength of correlation effects are controlled by the gap between the ${f}_{7/2}$ orbit and the ${f}_{5/2}$, ${p}_{3/2}$, ${p}_{1/2}$ orbits. Independent of the gap, the CC methods with up to $2p\mathrm{\text{\ensuremath{-}}}2h$ components in the cluster operator and $3p\mathrm{\text{\ensuremath{-}}}2h/3h\mathrm{\text{\ensuremath{-}}}2p$ components in the EOMCC excitation operator are more accurate than the computationally more demanding CI approach with up to $3p\mathrm{\text{\ensuremath{-}}}3h$ excitations and almost as accurate as the even more demanding CI approach truncated at $4p\mathrm{\text{\ensuremath{-}}}4h$ excitations.
Clinical trials and novel therapeutics in dermatomyositis.

Currently, there are no proven drugs that are FDA approved for the treatment of dermatomyositis (DM), even though multiple clinical trials are ongoing to evaluate safety and efficacy of novel thera...
Establishment of multiple novel patient-derived models of desmoplastic small round cell tumor enabling functional characterization of ERBB pathway signaling and pre-clinical evaluation of a novel targeted therapy approach

Desmoplastic small round cell tumor (DSRCT) is characterized by the t(11;22)(p13;q12) chromosomal translocation, which fuses the transcriptional regulatory domain of EWSR1 with the zinc finger DNA-binding domain of WT1, resulting in the oncogenic transcription factor EWS-WT1. DSRCT primarily affects young males and has a 5-year overall survival of about 15%. Typical treatment approaches for patients with DSRCT involve a multi-modal combination of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. The paucity of DSRCT disease models has hampered functional and pre-clinical therapeutic studies in this aggressive cancer. Here, we developed robust preclinical disease models and mined DSRCT expression profiling data to identify genetic vulnerabilities that could be leveraged for the identification of rational therapies. Specifically, we developed four new DSRCT cell lines and one patient-derived xenograft (PDX) model. Transcriptomic and proteomic profiling showed evidence of activation of the ERBB pathway. Ectopic expression of EWSR1-WT1 resulted in upregulation of ERRB family ligands and downstream signaling. Treatment of DSRCT cell lines with ERBB ligands resulted in activation of EGFR, ERBB2, ERK1/2 and AKT, and stimulation of cell growth. Conversely, targeting of EGFR using shRNA, small molecule inhibitors (afatinib, neratinib) or an anti-EGFR antibody (cetuximab) inhibited growth and induced apoptosis in DSRCT cells. Finally, treatment of mice bearing DSRCT xenografts with a combination of cetuximab and afatinib significantly reduced tumor growth. These data provide a rationale for the clinical evaluation of EGFR antagonists in patients with DSRCT.
Tax Your Sins, Experts Say

This chapter explains how sin taxes became a near-permanent strategy for governments to alter individual choice. It describes how sin taxes evolved from a politically- or religiously-motivated policy to the present-day conventional wisdom, which holds that sin taxes serve as economic penance for externality-generating choices and as a correction for cognitive biases. It illustrates how the conventional wisdom traces to the progressive era and its belief in the power of experts to diagnose and cure societal ills, especially those involving public health. The chapter contrasts that vision against criticism that paternalism overvalues experts’ abilities and that, despite its success in politics, paternalism tends to fail in practice.
Light-duty single and multi-shaft boosting and compounding studies with in-cylinder insulation:

A set of two-cylinder engine concepts utilizing a supercharger and piston- or turbine-compounding were compared to a turbocharged engine modeled with a consistent methodology developed in previous ...
Can we safely forgo hysterectomy in non-fertility-sparing surgery for borderline ovarian tumors?

Abstract Forgoing hysterectomy as part of borderline ovarian tumor (BOT) staging is considered appropriate for fertility preservation. We evaluated whether forgoing hysterectomy may also be acceptable in non-fertility-sparing surgery by evaluating the frequency of uterine involvement and the rate of recurrence involving the uterus. A review of all BOTs at one institution over ten years (2009–2019) was performed. Patients with hysterectomy prior to BOT diagnosis were excluded. Data were abstracted from electronic medical records. Bivariate statistics were used to compare groups. 129 patients with BOT on final pathology were identified. 67 cases included hysterectomy. Reasons for no hysterectomy (n = 62) included fertility preservation (40), benign intraoperative frozen pathology (4), patient preference (3), comorbidities (7), and unknown (8). Four of 67 (6.0%) uterine specimens had non-invasive serosal implants, of which two had grossly visible uterine involvement and all four had grossly visible extrauterine peritoneal disease. 12 of 129 (9.3%) patients had documented recurrence, of which all had uterine preservation at the time of initial surgery. Of the 12 recurrences with uterus in situ, none were documented to involve the uterus, and all were composed of non-invasive implants. In patients with BOT grossly confined to ovaries at the time of surgery, we found no cases of uterine involvement. We found no cases in which microscopic uterine serosal involvement changed stage and no cases of recurrence involving the uterus. Hysterectomy may be able to be safely excluded from non-fertility-sparing surgery for BOTs, particularly when disease is grossly confined to the ovaries.
Characterization of IPSCs-Derived Cardiomyocytes

Purpose Functional cardiomyocytes are instrumental to in vitro studies of myocardial diseases, understanding toxicities, and studying new therapies. Because functional cardiomyocytes in tissue culture are scarce and difficult to obtain we sought to differentiate and characterize cardiomyocytes derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) in our lab. Methods Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from dermal fibroblasts obtained from a healthy donor were utilized to derive cardiomyocytes. Cells were cultured until 70-85% confluent and differentiated to cardiomyocytes using differentiation kit that contain a high dose of GSK3B inhibitor to induce mesodermal lineage commitment for one day that will result in up-regulation of endogenous BMP4 and activin/NODAL followed by WNT signaling modulation for two days for Cardiac mesodermal induction. Immunocytochemistry for NKX2-5 and TNNT2 were used to characterize differentiated cardiomyocytes. NanoString micro RNA was used to profile commercial and lab differentiated cardiomyocytes. Results Cells start beating on day eight and stayed beating for 30 days in maintenance media. Furthermore, cells were positive for two key markers of the human cardiac lineage: NKX2-5 for early cardiac mesoderm and TNNT2/cTNT for cardiomyocytes. The percentage of differentiation to cardiomyocytes were about 70% of the total iPSCs. Both commercial and lab dedifferentiated cardiomyocytes have similar contractility function. We compared micro RNA profile of our differentiated cardiomyocytes to commercial iPSCs-derived cardiomyocytes and they cluster very close to each other. However, both were clustered differently from miRNA profile of normal adult tissue cardiomyocytes. Conclusion Unlimited iPSCs-derived cardiomyocytes can be obtained in a robust and cost-effective method from fibroblasts. The cells have similar miRNA profile, molecular markers and contractile function in comparison to commercially available cardiomyocytes but have unique patterns of gene expression in comparison to non-failing adult tissue.
Glial Cells in the Heart? Replicating the Diversity of the Myocardium with Low-Cost 3D Models

Excitation-contraction (EC) coupling in the heart has, until recently, been solely accredited to cardiomyocytes. The inherent complexities of the heart make it difficult to examine non-muscle contributions to contraction in vivo, and conventional in vitro models fail to capture multiple features and cellular heterogeneity of the myocardium. Here, we report on the development of a 3D cardiac Tissue towards recapitulating the architecture and composition of native myocardium in vitro. Cells are encapsulated within micropatterned gelatin-based hydrogels formed via visible light photocrosslinking. This system enables spatial control of cardiac microarchitecture, perturbation of the cellular composition, and functional measures of EC coupling via video microscopy and a custom algorithm to quantify beat frequency and degree of coordination. To demonstrate the robustness of these tools and evaluate the impact of altered cell population densities on cardiac Tissues, contractility and cell morphology were assessed with the inclusion of exogenous non-myelinating Schwann cells (SCs). Results demonstrate that the addition of exogenous SCs alter cardiomyocyte EC, profoundly inhibiting the response to electrical pacing. Computational modeling of connexinmediated coupling suggests that SCs impact cardiomyocyte resting potential and rectification following depolarization. Cardiac Tissues hold potential for examining the role of cellular heterogeneity in heart health, pathologies, and cellular therapies.
Constitutional Courts in Defective Democracies

Constitutional courts exercising the power to invalidate the outputs of elected bodies can strengthen the liberal democratic character of the polities they serve in three main ways: by reinforcing representation; protecting human rights, particularly those of members of socially disadvantaged groups; and promoting the political system’s stability over time. These functions may be especially important in defective democracies. This Essay expounds the utility of constitutional review through the example of the United States, which has a democracy that is defective in various respects, including its allocation of disproportionate political power to a racially identifiable elite. Even so, constitutional review is no panacea. In the face of the extraordinary threats unleashed by a former President and his authoritarian movement, jurists in the United States will need to display great courage to have a chance of preserving the nation’s democratic order.
Simulation of Low Temperature Combustion in Engines

The sections in this article are 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Numerical Models 2.3 HCCI Combustion 2.4 PCCI Combustion 2.4.1 Low-Pressure Injection 2.4.2 High-Pressure Injection 2.5 Summary Keywords: computational fluid dynamics; homogeneous charge compression ignition; kinetic mechanism; low temperature combustion; premixed charge compression ignition
Consistability: describing usually consistent systems

Current weak consistency semantics provide worst-case guarantees to clients. These guarantees fail to adequately describe systems that provide varying levels of consistency in the face of distinct failure modes, or that achieve better than worst-case guarantees during normal execution. The inability to make precise statements about consistency throughout a system's execution represents a lost opportunity to clearly understand client application requirements and to optimize systems and services appropriately. In this position paper, we motivate the need for and introduce the concept of consistability--a unified metric of consistency and availability. Consistability offers a means of describing, specifying, and discussing how much consistency a usually consistent system provides, and how often it does so. We describe our initial results of applying consistability reasoning to a keyvalue store we are developing and to other recent distributed systems. We also discuss the limitations of our consistability definition.
Ionic Currents of the Scyphozoa

Scyphozoans are members of the phylum Cnidaria and, according to Werner (1973), are the second most primitive extant class of this, the most primitive group of animals to possess a recognizable nervous system. Their nervous systems are, for the most part, composed almost entirely of diffuse two-dimensional plexuses of neurons, nerve nets (Passano, 1982), the most prominent of which is the motor nerve net (Anderson and Schwab, 1981), a diffuse plexus of large bipolar neurons that transmits motor activity from marginal pacemakers to the swimming muscle. This nerve net was previously called the Giant Fiber Nerve Net (Horridge, 1954), on account of the unusually large size of its component neurons.
Local Development Policies and the Foreclosure Crisis in California: Can Local Growth Policies Hold Back Global Tides?

There is a longstanding academic debate regarding whether local governments can meaningfully shape their long run fortunes through their own policymaking, or whether the autonomy of localities is swamped by larger macroeconomic forces. In the arena of development policy, specifically, some studies question whether, for example, local attempts to limit the pace or form of growth actually have the intended effects. We consider this set of issues by examining whether California municipalities’ policy orientations toward residential development – as measured in the late 1990s by surveys of local officials – are related to the incidence of foreclosures across these cities as of 2008. Controlling for a variety of local economic, demographic, and geographic characteristics, we find that in those cities where local officials said that citizen opposition or city council opposition tended to limit residential growth, foreclosures were less likely a decade later; homes in such cities also tended to lose less of their value. In short, although the “mortgage meltdown” and foreclosure crisis of the past few years may be viewed as an unstoppable force of national or international dimensions, antigrowth cities in one hard hit state apparently were able to moderate the severity of this contagion.
EL USO DE ISÓTOPOS ESTABLES EN BIOLOGÍA TROPICAL

El uso de isotopos estables en biologia ha aumentado en los ultimos anos debido al gran poder que tienen los isotopos para medir procesos que antes eran dificil o imposible de cuantificar utilizando otros metodos. A pesar de que la mayoria de los estudios con isotopos se han concentrado en zonas templadas, en anos recientes han aumentado los estudios realizados en los tropicos, lo cual ha permitido entender en detalle procesos complejos. Esta revision enfatiza aquellos estudios que utilizan la composicion isotopica de hidrogeno, carbono, nitrogeno y oxigeno para estudiar procesos biogeoquimicos en ambientes tropicales, tanto a escala molecular como regional. Al detallar los avances recientes sobre estudios en los tropicos, se espera estimular mas estudios en esta area. Tambien, con base en los resultados asombrosos que se obtienen usando isotopos en biologia tropical, se tiene certeza de que los isotopos estables proporcionaran avances exitantes en el futuro.
Ethanol intoxication in calves fed certain milk replacers.

Abstract A condition is described in young calves which is caused by fermentation of dietary carbohydrate to ethanol and characterized by high plasma ethanol, depression, poor body coordination, anorexia, and an unusual odor of exhaled air. Incidence of the condition in one experiment was high when calves were fed rations containing glucose or gelatinized starch plus an amyloglucosidase. Plasma ethanol concentrations were correlated with fecal yeast counts (r = 0.76). No calves fed milk or milk with added lactose had high plasma ethanol, but the condition did occur when the diet was milk with added starch plus enzyme. Analyses of digesta from various parts of the gastrointestinal tracts of calves with high plasma ethanol indicated that the abomasum was probably the site of most active alcoholic fermentation. Ethanol administered either orally or into intestinal flstulae was rapidly absorbed. The condition was not observed in calves fed all-milk-product milk replacers, but moderate plasma ethanol levels were observed in a few calves fed milk replacers containing starch.
Modulational Instabilities Due to Trapped Electrons

As a simple model for investigating the stability of an electrostatic plasma wave with trapped electrons, the plasma is regarded as a nonlinear, dispersive dielectric. A non-linear Schr\"odinger-type equation is found, which predicts instability for both electron plasma waves and ion acoustic waves. These instabilities do not depend on resonance with the bouncing motions of the trapped electrons, and thus have a different physical origin than those predicted by bunched-beam models.
Apathy predicts hedonic but not craving response to cocaine

Cocaine-induced craving has been implicated in the maintenance of ongoing cocaine use and is presumed to be mediated by enhanced synaptic availability of monoamines, including dopamine. Apathy is a neuropsychiatric syndrome that is associated with hypodopaminergic functioning and is neurobiologically distinct from depression. Apathy has been observed to be prevalent during the initial phases of abstinence in cocaine-dependent individuals. In the current report, we sought to investigate the relationship between apathy, depression, and craving in response to an acute intravenous administration of cocaine. To this end, sixteen non-treatment seeking volunteers were evaluated. Following acute administration of cocaine (40 mg, IV), patients with low apathy scores exhibited increased craving, whereas patients with high apathy scores exhibited decreased craving. In addition, patients with high apathy scores exhibited increased ratings of the subjective measure of "High", suggesting that high apathy predicts a greater hedonic response in dependence. Self-reported ratings of depression did not account for the observed differences. The data reveal that cocaine-induced craving is not ubiquitous, and may not play a critical role in the maintenance of cocaine dependence. Overall, the findings suggest that apathy predicts hedonic but not craving response to cocaine.
An Exploratory Study of Primary Care Physician Decision Making Regarding Total Joint Arthroplasty

For patients to experience the benefits of total joint arthroplasty (TJA), primary care physicians (PCPs) ought to know when to refer a patient for TJA and/or optimize nonsurgical treatment options for osteoarthritis (OA). To evaluate the ability of physicians to make clinical treatment decisions. A survey, using ten clinical vignettes, of PCPs in Indiana. A test score (range 0 to 10) was computed based on the number of correct answers consistent with published explicit appropriateness criteria for TJA. We also collected demographic characteristics and physicians’ perceived success rate of TJA in terms of pain relief and functional improvement. There were 149 PCPs (response rate = 61%) who participated. The mean test score was 6.5 ± 1.5. Only 17% correctly identified the published success rate of TJA (i.e., ≥90%). In multivariate analysis, the only physician-related variables associated with test score were ethnicity, board status, and perceived success rate of TJA. Physicians who were white (P = .001), board-certified (P = .04), and perceived a higher success rate of TJA (P = .004) had higher test scores. PCP knowledge with respect to guideline-concordant care for OA could be improved, specifically in deciding when to consider TJA versus optimizing nonsurgical options. Moreover, the perception of the success rate of TJA may influence a clinician’s decision making.
Perinatal events and the risk of intraparenchymal echodensity in very‐low‐birthweight neonates

A case-control study was performed to identify perinatal events associated with intraparenchymal echodensity on cranial ultrasonography – an important antecedent of cerebral palsy in very-low-birthweight infants. Forty-eight infants with birthweight < 1500 g and intraparenchymal echodensity on cranial ultrasound examination and 90 controls with normal cranial ultrasounds were identified within a cohort of 1791 consecutive very-low-birthweight infants born at a regional obstetric referral centre. Data about potential risk factors were obtained from medical records of cases and controls. Among prenatal factors, chorioamnionitis (odds ratio[OR]: 3.2; 95% confidence interval: 1.3, 8.1) and placental abruption (OR 2.6 [1.0, 6.6]) were associated most strongly with an increased risk of intraparenchymal echodensity and pre-eclampsia (OR 0.3 [0.1, 0.8]) was associated most strongly with a decreased risk. When controlling for gestational age, multiple gestation was also associated with an increased risk (OR 2.7 [1.0, 7.5]). Neonatal factors independently associated with an increased risk included low systolic blood pressure (< 33 mmHg in the first 12 h of life; odds ratio 8.0 [2.0, 31.3]), receipt of a fluid bolus in the first 12 h of life (OR 19.7 [4.6, 84.3]), need for cardiopulmonary resuscitation in the first 72 h (OR 6.9 [1.5, 31.3]) and pneumothorax in the first 72 h of life (OR 27.0 [4.3, 167.2]). When analyses were restricted to infants who were not given a fluid bolus, the associations with chorioamnionitis and placental abruption were attenuated. When excluding infants who had a pneumothorax, the associations with placental abruption and multiple gestation were attenuated. Restriction of infants with systolic blood pressure < 33 mmHg resulted in attenuation of associations with pre-eclampsia and multiple gestation. These analyses suggest the possibility that potentially modifiable postnatal events may be involved as intervening factors linking chorioamnionitis, placental abruption and multiple gestation with subsequent intraparenchymal echodensity.
Theory and analysis of plasma formed by hypervelocity impacts

Summary form only given. Meteoroid and space debris impacts on spacecraft are known to cause mechanical damage, but the associated electrical effects on spacecraft systems remain poorly understood. We present a theory to explain plasma production and subsequent electric fields occurring after a meteoroid strikes a spacecraft, and ionizes itself and part of the spacecraft. This plasma, with a charge separation commensurate with different species mobilities, can produce a strong electromagnetic pulse (EMP) spanning a broad frequency spectrum. Subsequent plasma oscillations can also emit signficant power. We present both the theory for a dust-free plasma expansion with coherent electron oscillations, as well as results from an experiment carried out at the Max Planck Institute in Heidelberg, Germany using the Van de Graaff dust accelerator. Our experiment used a suite of sensors, including retarding potential analyzers (RPAs), a photomultiplier tube (PMT), and radiofrequency (RF) patch antennas spanning VHF through UHF. The targets included both charged and uncharged material. Our results show that RF emission occurs in conjunction with strong returns in the plasma sensors and depends strongly on the target configuration. Charged targets produced “beamed” plasma clouds, while uncharged targets produce significant return at a broader expansion angle.
Fast parallel reordering and isomorphism testing of k-trees

In this paper two problems on the class of k -trees, a subclass of the class of chordal graphs, are considered: the fast reordering problem and the isomorphism problem. An O(log 2n) time parallel algorithm for the fast reordering problem is described that uses O(nk(n-k)/\kern -1ptlog n) processors on a CRCW PRAM proving membership in the class NC for fixed k . An O(nk(k+1)!) time sequential algorithm for the isomorphism problem is obtained representing an improvement over the O(n2k(k+1)!) algorithm of Sekharan (the second author) [10]. A parallel version of this sequential algorithm is presented that runs in O(log 2n) time using O((nk((k+1)!+n-k))/log n) processors improving on a parallel algorithm of Sekharan for the isomorphism problem [10]. Both the sequential and parallel algorithms use a concept introduced in this paper called the kernel of a k -tree.
F-actin flow drives affinity maturation and spatial organization of LFA-1 at the immunological synapse

Integrin-dependent interactions between T cells and antigen-presenting cells are vital for proper T cell activation, effector function, and memory. Regulation of integrin function occurs via conformational change, which modulates ligand affinity, and receptor clustering, which modulates valency. Here, we show that conformational intermediates of leukocyte functional antigen 1 (LFA-1) form a concentric array at the immunological synapse. Using an inhibitor cocktail to arrest F-actin dynamics, we show that organization of this array depends on F-actin flow and ligand mobility. Furthermore, F-actin flow is critical for maintaining the high affinity conformation of LFA-1, for increasing valency by recruiting LFA-1 to the immunological synapse, and ultimately for promoting intracellular cell adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) binding. Finally, we show that F-actin forces are opposed by immobilized ICAM-1, which triggers LFA-1 activation through a combination of induced fit and tension-based mechanisms. Our data provide direct support for a model in which the T cell actin network generates mechanical forces that regulate LFA-1 activity at the immunological synapse.
The optimization of CD uniformity and measurement on mask and wafer

As pattern size is shrinking, required mask CD specification is tighter and its effect on wafer patterning is more severe. To enhance the device performance, wafer CD uniformity should be enhanced and controlled by mask global CD uniformity. Mask global CD uniformity usually can be enhanced by mask process and optimal fogging effect correction. To enhance the mask global CD uniformity on mask, resist process and FEC (Fogging Effect Correction), reliable CD measurement tool and methods are necessary. Recently, group CD using OCD(Spectroscopic Ellipsometer) or AIMS(Aerial Image Measurement and Simulation) is used to represent global CD variation on mask. These methods are removing local CD variation on mask. Because local CD variation on wafer is large compared with the effect of local CD variation of mask, global CD uniformity can be measured with suppressed local CD variation [1]. In this paper, local CD variation of mask and wafer is evaluated, and area CD and smoothing methods are used to measure CD on mask and wafer, and the correlation of global CD of mask and field CD of wafer are evaluated. By these methods, CD measurement repeatability can be enhanced to get closer correlation of mask and wafer. Close correlation makes fine CD correction on mask to get better field CD uniformity on wafer. And the repeatability of field to field CD uniformity of wafer is evaluated according to measurement tool of CD-SEM and scatterometry.
A Simple and Valuable Approach for Measuring Customer Satisfaction

Objective To determine the financial impact of poor customer satisfaction and the value of information gained from using a 1-question customer-satisfaction survey in a medical setting. Study design and setting A single-question customer-satisfaction survey was collected from customers presenting to an academic otolaryngology head and neck surgery outpatient clinic. Results The overall response rate was 25%, overall net promoter score was 67.3%, lowest net promoter score occurred on Wednesday and Friday, overall net potential referrals were 872, and potential lost revenue from dissatisfied customers equaled $2.3 million. Conclusion A single-question customer-satisfaction survey may help identify areas of customer dissatisfaction that lead to a significant source of lost revenue. Significance The competitive forces in today’s health care environment require medical practices to address issues related to customer satisfaction.
Isolation and characterization of nuclear microsatellite loci in the tropical arboreal palm Oenocarpus bacaba (Arecaceae)

Studies of mating patterns are needed to determine how habitat heterogeneity created by deforestation influences tropical plant populations. Eight microsatellite loci were isolated with a subtractive hybridization method for Oenocarpus bacaba (Arecaceae), a subcanopy palm tree at the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project, near Manaus, Brazil. Additionally, two heterospecific loci originally developed for the heart palm Euterpe edulis were shown to be variable. Loci averaged 9.6 alleles per locus. Five loci did not fit Hardy–Weinberg expectations with significant deficits of heterozygous genotypes consistent with null alleles. Many loci had high average probabilities of paternity exclusion.
The Concentric Eyewall Cycle of Hurricane Gilbert

Abstract Hurricane Gilbert of 1988 formed an outer eyewall as it intensified rapidly toward a record minimum pressure of 888 hPa in the western Caribbean. The outer eyewall strengthened and contracted, while the inner eyewall showed some signs of weakening before landfall on the Yucatan Peninsula. Remarkably, both eyewalls survived passage over land, but the storm was much weaker when it entered the Gulf of Mexico. Although the primary cause of weakening was passage over land, the effect of the contracting outer eyewall may have contributed. Later, the outer eyewall completely replaced the inner eyewall. Subsequently, it contracted steadily but slowly as Gilbert maintained nearly constant intensity over the cooler waters of the Gulf before final landfall on the mainland of Mexico.
Resistance to cyclic fatigue failure of a new endodontic rotary file

Abstract Introduction A new nickel-titanium (NiTi) rotary file called the ProFile Vortex (PV; Denstply, Tulsa Dental Specialties, Tulsa, OK) has recently been released for endodontic use. The purpose of this study was to compare cyclic fatigue resistance of the new size 30 PV files with size 30 files of other popular brands. Other files tested include Twisted File (TF; Sybron Dental Specialties, Orange, CA), ProFile (PF; Denstply Tulsa Dental Specialties, Tulsa, OK), GTX (GTX, Denstply Tulsa Dental Specialties), and EndoSequence (ES; Brasseler, Savannah, GA). Methods Size 30 files with a constant .06-mm/mm taper were rotated at manufacturer-recommended speed and torque settings in a simulated canal until failure. Results Significant differences were found between the various brands of files. The differences between file brands may be because of a different manufacturing process or differences in file design. Conclusions Based on a simulated canal model, the PV, TF, and GTX files appear to offer greater cyclic fatigue resistance than ES and PF files.
MO‐D‐332‐03: Scatter Rejection Properties and Low‐Contrast Performance of a Scan Equalization Digital Radiography (SEDR) System: Initial Experience with Chest Phantom Images

Purpose: To investigate scatter rejection properties and low‐contrast performance of a flat‐panel based SEDR system for chest imaging.Method and Materials: A prototype SEDR system was developed to improve the image quality especially in heavily attenuated regions. Slot scan imaging geometry was used to reduce x‐ray scatter without attenuating primary x‐rays. Regional beam width modulation was used to equalize the x‐ray exposures at the detector input for more uniform image signal‐to‐noise ratios. A low‐dose chest phantom (pre‐scan) image was acquired with the slot‐scan technique to determine the equalization factors for SEDR imaging. A steel bar was placed in front of the chest phantom to measure the scatter component and scatter‐to‐primary ratios (SPRs) across the phantom image. Two images acquired with the same techniques were subtracted from each other for measuring the noise levels. SPRs, SNRs, and contrast‐to‐noise ratios (CNRs) of the SEDR images were measured and compared with those of the slot‐scan images and full‐field images acquired with and without anti‐scatter grid. Results: The SEDR technique resulted in lower SPRs in heavily attenuated regions like retrocardum and mediastinum than the slot‐scan and full‐field techniques. They resulted in similar SPRs in lungs as the slot‐scan technique. Both the SEDR and slot‐scan methods produced better SNRs than the anti‐scatter grid method in full‐field imaging. The SEDR technique resulted in the best CNRs, followed in order by the slot‐scan and anti‐scatter grid techniques. The improvement of CNR was more pronounced in heavily attenuated regions. Conclusion: The SEDR technique can effectively reject scatter without having to attenuate the primary x‐rays. Furthermore, it can improve image SNRs and CNRs by regionally compensating for x‐ray attenuation by patient's anatomy. Acknowledgement: This work was supported in part by grants CA104759 and CA124585 from NIH‐NCI, a grant EB00117 from NIH‐NIBIB, and a subcontract from NIST‐ATP.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa Cell-to-Cell Signaling Is Required for Virulence in a Model of Acute Pulmonary Infection

Cell-to-cell signaling controls many virulence genes in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. We tested the virulence of las and rhl quorum-sensing mutants in neonatal mice. A lasI rhlI double mutant was nearly avirulent, and the respective single mutant strains were reduced in virulence compared with the wild-type strain. Quorum sensing plays a role in P. aeruginosa pneumonia in neonatal mice.
RotoRouter: Router support for endpoint-authorized decentralized traffic filtering to prevent DoS attacks

RotoRouter addresses Denial-of-Service (DoS) attacks on networks with a novel protocol and router implementation. Sets of RotoRouters cooperate in detecting and filtering out invalid network traffic before it reaches network endpoints; a new router-enforceable connection protocol queries destination endpoints to authorize traffic flows and uses per-packet digital signatures to distinguish allowed from disallowed connections. A RotoRouter prototype was implemented on a four-port 1000BASE-T NetFPGA-10G platform and supports 1024 simultaneous active connections using 74 BRAMs (less than one quarter of the available NetFPGA-10G BRAMs). It is able to sustain 800 Mbps per port throughputs for 1500B packets with less than 0.3/its latency, even during a DoS attack. With additional logic and memory resources, the required validation and switching operations scale to port speeds in excess of 10 Gbps and links with more than 10,000 active flows.
Hypoxia modulates pulmonary epithelial cell turnover and surfactant gene expression. † 1576

Intermittent and sustained hypoxia are important clinical problems that occur frequently in the newborn period. Effects of hypoxia on pulmonary epithelial cell turnover and function are not well described. We tested the hypothesis that hypoxia decreases pulmonary epithelial cell growth and surfactant protein expression. We examined the cellular effects of various O2 concentrations (21%, 7%, 3%, and 1%) and durations(2-24h) using the human pulmonary epithelial cell line, NCI-H441. This line retains certain phenotypic features of pulmonary type II and clara cells. Cell death was assessed by trypan blue uptake and a LDH release assay. Cell proliferation was assessed by a colorimetric tetrazolium dye assay. Expression of surfactant proteins A & B (SP-A, SP-B) and the housekeeping gene GAPDH was assessed by northern blot hybridization with [^(32)P]-labeled antisense cRNA probes. We found that exposure to 7%, 3%, and 1% O2 for 8h increased cell death by, respectively, 9%, 14%, and 18% after 8h and by 14%, 20%, and 34%; after 24h (each point p<0.05 compared to normoxic controls, n=4). Exposure to graded hypoxia decreased cell proliferation by 22%, 35%, and 38% after 8h and by 12%, 17%, and 29% after 24h (each point p<0.05, n=3). Exposure to graded hypoxia was also associated with decreases in steady-state SP-B mRNA levels (normalized to the corresponding GAPDH signal intensities and to 28s rRNA ethidium bromide fluorescence). SP-B expression was decreased 4.5-fold (3% O2) and 8.6 -fold (1% O2) after 8h and was decreased 6.9-fold after 24h exposure to both 3% and 1% O2. In contrast, under these experimental conditions, hypoxia had no significant effect on SP-A expression. These findings indicate that hypoxia can modulate pulmonary epithelial cell growth and lung-specific gene expression. The molecular mechanism(s) and signal transduction pathways involved in hypoxia-mediated pulmonary epithelial cell turnover and differential gene expression remain to be determined. We speculate that some of these changes may be mediated through hypoxia-induced apoptosis and alterations in oxygen-regulated intracellular effector mollecules.
Intelligence, Machiavellianism and Social Mobility

Previous studies have shown that machiavellianism is unrelated to upward social mobility, but the possibility of a non-linear relationship between machiavellianism and mobility has not been considered. The present study utilized intelligence as a second variable in order to reexamine earlier findings. Greatest intergenerational mobility in occupational status was reported by subjects who obtained higher scores on both the IQ measure and the Machiavellianism Scale, but least upward mobility was reported by subjects who scored in the Low IQ—High Machiavellianism quadrant (P <0.001). The relationship between IQ and mobility was attenuated for non-machiavellian subjects. The findings suggest that higher intelligence may enable machiavellians to identify situations in which deceitful tactics are successfully deployed, and that future studies in machiavellianism should examine the responses of those who confront machiavellian tactics.
Single-source financing systems. A solution for the United States?

Although tax-based and social insurance—based forms of single-source financing differ in how they raise funds, they share a common set of structural characteristics. In particular, they both enable publicly accountable authorities to control aggregate expenditure levels by creating a countervailing power to pressures for increased expenditures from providers. While major reform initiatives are under way in European single-source financing systems, these initiatives have so far sought to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and/or responsiveness to patterns of service delivery without reducing their commitment to universal access to necessary care. The article concludes with a review of the advantages and disadvantages that could accompany the introduction of a single-source financing system in the United States. ( JAMA . 1992;268:774-779)
A benchmark study

Several recent articles speak to the problems involved in computer system performance evaluation in general and performance prediction for system selection in particular. The interest in this general area is growing in an almost exponential manner as demonstrated by the number of references per year for the period 1965 to 1969 listed in a recent bibliography on Computer Performance Analysis by Miller:3 6, 9, 28, 32, 42. However, while there is considerable general discussion in this referenced literature on the relative merits of benchmarking as a technique for system evaluation and selection, there are virtually no documented case studies of benchmarking for third generation, multiprogramming oriented system selection.
Über die Separierbarkeit der Differentialgleichung der Wellenmechanik

Betrachtet man ein Problem einmal vom Standpunkt der klassischen, dann vom Standpunkt der Wellenmechanik, so last sich nach Robertson das klassische Problem stets dann durch Separation der Variablen losen, wenn dies im wellenmechanischen Falle moglich ist. Wahrend im klassischen Falle die Separationskoordinaten geometrisch vollkommen durch die Schar der Bahnumhullenden definiert sind, geschieht die Bestimmung derselben im Falle einer Schwingung (Wellenmechanik) vollstandig durch die Schar der Knotenflachen, die also mit der Schar der Bahnenvelopen im entsprechenden klassischen Fall zusammenfallt. — Im weiteren werden einige wichtige Falle der Separierbarkeit behandelt, wobei sich herausstellt, das fur zwei Dimensionen alle klassisch separierbaren Falle auch in der Wellenmechanik separierbar sind.
Storage and time reversal of light pulses using photon echoes

We have studied the temporal profile of photon-echo signals generated by combined gated cw and pulsed dye-laser excitation of the inhomogeneously broadened, 555.6-nm absorption line of 174Yb vapor. We find that the echo profile is, after time reversal, essentially identical with that of the first excitation pulse. We give a new analysis of this effect. Since time-reversed pulse reproduction should also occur in inhomogeneously broadened solid samples, and since we observe time-reversed reproduced pulses up to 4% as intense as the input pulse, this effect may have important applications in optical signal-processing systems.