cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Influence of Glove Type on Simulated Wheelchair Racing Propulsion: A Pilot Study.

Our purpose was to examine the influence of glove type on kinetic and spatiotemporal parameters at the handrim in elite wheelchair racers. Elite wheelchair racers (n=9) propelled on a dynamometer in their own racing chairs with a force and moment sensing wheel attached. Racers propelled at 3 steady state speeds (5.36, 6.26 & 7.60 m/s) and performed one maximal effort sprint with 2 different glove types (soft & solid). Peak resultant force, peak torque, impulse, contact angle, braking torque, push time, velocity, and stroke frequency were recorded for steady state and sprint conditions. Multiple nonparametric Wilcoxon matched pair’s tests were used to detect differences between glove types, while effect sizes were calculated based on Cohen’s d. During steady state trials, racers propelled faster, using more strokes and larger contact angle, while applying less impulse with solid gloves compared to soft gloves. During the sprint condition, racers achieved greater top end velocities, applying larger peak force, with less braking torque with solid gloves compared to soft gloves. Use of solid gloves may provide some performance benefits to wheelchair racers during steady state and top end velocity conditions.
3D Scanning Using RGBD Imaging Devices: A Survey

The capture and digital reconstruction of tridimensional objects and scenarios are issues of great importance in computational vision and computer graphics, for the numerous applications, from navigation and scenario mapping, augmented reality to medical prototyping. In the past years, with the appearance of portable and low-cost devices such as the Kinect Sensor, which are capable of acquiring RGBD video (depth and color data) in real-time, there was a major interest to use these technologies, efficiently, in 3D surface scanning. In this paper, we present a survey of the most relevant methods from recent literature on scanning 3D surfaces using these devices and give the reader a general overview of the current status of the field in order to motivate and enable other works in this topic.
Is Clostridium difficile endemic in chronic-care facilities?

Abstract An apparent outbreak of Clostridium difficile diarrhoea on the chronic hospital ward of a long-term care facility prompted an investigation lasting seven months. Approximately a third of patients had stools that were positive for C difficile by either toxin or culture. Attempts to eradicate the infection by simultaneously treating all toxin-positive patients with metronidazole, limiting antibiotic use, and implementing enteric isolation were unsuccessful. New cases were both nosocomially acquired and imported into the facility. Of the C difficile toxin-positive patients, 34% had diarrhoea and 19/49 (38%) died during the study period. C difficile is not routinely sought by most clinical microbiology laboratories. and may therefore be endemic in many long-term care facilities for the elderly.
Field dependent ionizing radiation effects in LDD-MOSFETs

The ionizing radiation effects in w-channel lightly doped drain (LDD) MOS transistors are evaluated for a wide range of gate fields applied during irradiation. Various device parameters, such as threshold voltage, transconductance, interface state density and drain leakage current are measured before and after irradiation. It is seen, that, unlike single drain devices, the maximum threshold voltage shift for LDD devices occurs with negative bias applied during irradiation. The threshold voltage shift increases with a decrease of channel length of the device. The drain leakage current decreases with irradiation and the decrease is proportional to the increase of trapped carrier density in the oxide region.
The first-principles calculation of phase stability and thermodynamic properties

Abstract A well-defined formalism exists to predict macroscopic thermodynamic information from a series of quantum mechanical energy calculations. The availability of accurate implementations of density functional theory and the practice of using better parameterized cluster expansions is leading to practical phase diagram predictions on relatively complicated systems. Some progress is being made to include entropic contributions beyond those due to configurational disorder.
Explanatory models of black lung: understanding the health-related behavior of Appalachian coal miners.

Many retired coal miners who are eligible for care in a black lung treatment enter at little or no cost to themselves do not enter into available programs or discontinue soon after beginning therapy. Reasons for this behavior are related to the prevalent beliefs among Appalachians concerning the course of black lung and the appropriate treatment for it. The miners' health beliefs are clearly at odds with those of the health care providers who work in the centers. Using the concept of explanatory model, popular and professional health cultures are analyzed, focusing on course of disease, sick role, appropriate treatment, and expected outcome. Differences in explanatory models are discussed with regard to implications for the organization and delivery of care to retired coal miners with black lung.
A MECHANISTIC-BASED THERMOMECHANICAL FATIGUE LIFE PREDICTION MODEL FOR METAL MATRIX COMPOSITES

The framework for developing a mechanistic-based life prediction model for metal matrix composites is described. For a composite consisting of unidirectional silicon carbide fibers in a titanium aluminide matrix, SCS-6/Ti-24A1-1INb (at%) [0]8, three dominant damage mechanisms were identified: (1) matrix fatigue damage, (2) surface-initiated environmental damage, and (3) fiber-dominated damage. Damage expressions were developed for each mechanism along with a method for determining the constants. The damage is summed to obtain the total life. The model is capable of making predictions for a wide range of histories, including isothermal fatigue at different frequencies and stress-ratios, thermomechanical fatigue (TMF) under in-phase and out-of-phase cycling conditions, thermal cycling at constant stress, and stress holds at either maximum or minimum stress. Considering the wide range of cyclic conditions, the predictions compare favorably with experiments. In addition, the controlling damage mechanism for each history is predicted.
A controlled study of combined 1,3-bis-(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea and 5-fluorouracil therapy for advanced gastric and pancreatic cancer

Treatment with the combination of 1, 3-bis-(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea (BCNU) and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) was compared to therapy with each drug used alone in a prospective randomized study of 167 patients with advanced adenocarcinoma of the stomach and pancreas. At dosages producing comparable degrees of hematologic toxicity, the combination was associated with the highest rate of objective response, 41.3% in carcinoma of the stomach and 33.3% in carcinoma of the pancreas. The corresponding rates of objective response with 5-FU alone were 28.6% and 16.1%; and with BCNU alone 17.4% and 0%. In pancreatic carcinoma there was no discernible difference in survival among patients in each treatment arm. In gastric carcinoma, however, both 5-FU and die combination produced an increase in survival when compared to BCNU alone, and the combination of 5-FU and BCNU produced an increase in long-term survival compared to 5-FU alone.
Report: Science and Entertainment The 2004 Annual Meeting and Science Innovation Exposition of the American Association for the Advancement of Science

A record-breaking number of scientists, engineers, others interested in science, and science journalists convened in Seattle, Washington, February 12-16, 2004, to participate in a diverse array of seminars, symposia, plenary lectures, workshops, special events, and a first-ever two days of activities for parents and children. The occasion was the 2004 Annual Meeting and Science Innovation Exposition of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Included in this report are some of the highlights of the meeting.
Molecular model for messenger RNA splicing

A molecular model is presented for a messenger RNA (mRNA) "splice region." The model requires cation coordination to reduce backbone-backbone electrostatic repulsion and it allows for every base residue on the pre-mRNA to be stacked in A-form helical geometry with a recognition element on the intron or exon (or both) sides of the splice junction. The two nucleotides involved in the initial steps of the cleavage-ligation mechanism must adopt a non-A-form geometry, which ideally positions reactive groups on the pre-mRNA for the necessary catalytic chemistry. The model is also consistent with available biochemical data on splicing reactions.
Spirituality for managers: context and critique

Spirituality enables a businessperson to gain a more integrated perspective on their firm, family, neighbors, community and self. Hence, business people and business faculty show a significant increase in interest in spirituality in the workplace. The new interest is measured by the growing number of professional presentations, journal articles, books and conferences devoted to the subject. A consensus is emerging on the principal elements of a spirituality for working people. It includes acknowledging God, the importance of prayer, other people and a sustainable world. Some managers and firms encourage spirituality in the workplace. Many religiously‐oriented universities are integrating mission, spirituality and service in their education.
Clinical problems of syphilis in the presence of HIV

Abstract In 1987, we described an unusual, vascular growth found on the skin of patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (1HIV), naming it "epithelioid angiomatosis". 1,2 Five cases were initially reported from New York, two of whom died as a result of the disease. In retrospect, the syndrome may have been described earlier. 3,4 Subsequent reports described similar lesions found to contain bacteria, which were detected using Warthin-Starry stains. 5,6 These organisms were believed to represent the cat-scratch bacillus based on reactivity with antiserum to the cat-scratch agent. Similar lesions were also reported in HIV-infected individuals. 7 Performance of Warthin-Starry staining on many of these specimens has revealed the presence of clusters of bacteria in most lesions. Other histologic stains for bacteria were frequently negative. There is now a concensus that epithelioid angiomatosis is a bacterial infectious disease. 8,9
Non-ideality near the monotectic composition of a miscibility-gap type system: succinonitrile-water

Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) of near monotectic succinonitrile-water solutions, fast-quenched in hydrophilic and hydrophobic DSC pans, indicate, by degree of undercooling, thst there may be significant dependence of final ingot microstructure on the pre-quench equilibration temperature. Partial molal-volume determinations from density data, along with DSC data, suggest the nature of temperature dependent component associations from 20 to 55 C in homogeneous solutions. The undercooling profile in a hydrophilic container is explained in terms of solution-composition shifts arising from the Gibbs surface excess. The evidence shows that temperature-dependent preferred component aggregates may modulate surface-composition gradients. Similar effects may be present through intermetallic compound formation in metallic monotectic alloys.
Correcting for serial dependence in studies of respiratory dynamics

Understanding the physiological impact of drug treatments on patients is important in assessing their performance and determining possible side effects. While this effect might be best determined in individual subjects, conventional methods assess treatment performance by averaging a physiological measure of interest before and after drug administration for n subjects. Summarizing large numbers of time-series observations in two means for each subject in this way results in significant information loss. Treatment effect can instead be analyzed in individual subjects. Because serial dependence of observations from the same animal must then be considered, methods that assume independence of observations, such as the t-test and z-test, cannot be used. We address this issue in the case of respiratory data collected from anesthetized rats that were injected with a dopamine agonist. In order to accurately assess treatment effect in time-series data, we begin by formulating a method of conditional likelihood maximization to estimate the parameters of a first-order autoregressive (AR) process. We show that treatment effect of a dopamine agonist can be determined while incorporating serial effect into the analysis. In addition, while maximum likelihood estimators of a large sample with independent observations may converge to an asymptotically normal distribution, this result of large sample theory may not hold when observations are serially dependent. In this case, a parametric bootstrap comparison can be used to approximate an appropriate measure of uncertainty.
Educating highly competent and principled HR professionals in the 21st century

The purpose of this paper is to determine the effectiveness of US HR Graduate Programs in preparing highly competent and principled HR professionals functioning as strategic partners and helping organisations create sustainable competitive advantages through the HR function. The paper examines the major competencies necessary for HR to serve as business partners and analyses the graduate HR programmes in developing the requisite competencies. Multiple gaps in the curriculum are identified. Strategies to enhance the quality and relevance of the graduate programmes in developing highly competent and principled HR professionals in the 21st century are discussed.
Identification of WEE1 as a potential molecular target in cancer cells by RNAi screening of the human tyrosine kinome.

Breast cancers can be classified into those that express the estrogen (ER) and progesterone (PR) receptors, those with ERBB2 (HER-2/Neu) amplification, and those without expression of ER, PR, or amplification of ERBB2 (referred to as triple-negative or basal-like breast cancer). In order to identify potential molecular targets in breast cancer, we performed a synthetic siRNA-mediated RNAi screen of the human tyrosine kinome. A primary RNAi screen conducted in the triple-negative/basal-like breast cancer cell line MDA-MB231 followed by secondary RNAi screens and further studies in this cell line and two additional triple-negative/basal-like breast cancer cell lines, BT20 and HCC1937, identified the G2/M checkpoint protein, WEE1, as a potential therapeutic target. Similar sensitivity to WEE1 inhibition was observed in cell lines from all subtypes of breast cancer. RNAi-mediated silencing or small compound inhibition of WEE1 in breast cancer cell lines resulted in an increase in γH2AX levels, arrest in the S-phase of the cell cycle, and a significant decrease in cell proliferation. WEE1-inhibited cells underwent apoptosis as demonstrated by positive Annexin V staining, increased sub-G1 DNA content, apoptotic morphology, caspase activation, and rescue by the pan-caspase inhibitor, Z-VAD-FMK. In contrast, the non-transformed mammary epithelial cell line, MCF10A, did not exhibit any of these downstream effects following WEE1 silencing or inhibition. These results identify WEE1 as a potential molecular target in breast cancer.
One day, one goal? PUMA, corporate philanthropy and the cultural politics of brand ‘Africa’1

This essay addresses lifestyle sport brand PUMA and its recent activist endeavours with respect to ‘Africa’. Charting a path different from those of transaction-based philanthropic affairs such as ...
Politics on the brain: An fMRI investigation

Abstract We assessed political attitudes using the Implicit Association Test (IAT) in which participants were presented with faces and names of well-known Democrat and Republican politicians along with positive and negative words while undergoing functional MRI. We found a significant behavioral IAT effect for the face, but not the name, condition. The fMRI face condition results indicated that ventromedial and anterior prefrontal cortices were activated during political attitude inducement. Amygdala and fusiform gyrus were activated during perceptual processing of familiar faces. Amygdala activation was also associated with measures of strength of emotion. Frontopolar activation was positively correlated with an implicit measure of bias and valence strength (how strongly the participants felt about the politicians), while strength of affiliation with political party was negatively correlated with lateral PFC, lending support to the idea that two distinct but interacting networks—one emphasizing rapid, st...
A new type of wavefunction for BH

Abstract The wavefunctions of BH have been obtained using a gneralization of the valence bond and Hartree-Fock methods known as the Spin-Coupling Optimized GI (SOGI) method. The shapes of the bonding and especially the nonbonding orbitals are discussed as are several properties of the molecules.
Methods of solving rapid binding target-mediated drug disposition model for two drugs competing for the same receptor

The target-mediated drug disposition (TMDD) model has been adopted to describe pharmacokinetics for two drugs competing for the same receptor. A rapid binding assumption introduces total receptor and total drug concentrations while free drug concentrations CA and CB are calculated from the equilibrium (Gaddum) equations. The Gaddum equations are polynomials in CA and CB of second degree that have explicit solutions involving complex numbers. The aim of this study was to develop numerical methods to solve the rapid binding TMDD model for two drugs competing for the same receptor that can be implemented in pharmacokinetic software. Algebra, calculus, and computer simulations were used to develop algorithms and investigate properties of solutions to the TMDD model with two drugs competitively binding to the same receptor. A general rapid binding approximation of the TMDD model for two drugs competing for the same receptor has been proposed. The explicit solutions to the equilibrium equations employ complex numbers, which cannot be easily solved by pharmacokinetic software. Numerical bisection algorithm and differential representation were developed to solve the system instead of obtaining an explicit solution. The numerical solutions were validated by MATLAB 7.2 solver for polynomial roots. The applicability of these algorithms was demonstrated by simulating concentration–time profiles resulting from exogenous and endogenous IgG competing for the neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn), and darbepoetin competing with endogenous erythropoietin for the erythropoietin receptor. These models were implemented in ADAPT 5 and Phoenix WinNonlin 6.0, respectively.
Mechanisms through Which Gangliosides Inhibit PDGF-Stimulated Mitogenesis in Intact Swiss 3T3 Cells: Receptor Tyrosine Phosphorylation, Intracellular Calcium, and Receptor Binding

Abstract Several potential mechanisms through which gangliosides could modulate PDGF-stimulated events in Swiss 3T3 cells were studied using intact cells. Of the gangliosides studied, at low micromolar concentrations GM2 was the only one that inhibited PDGF-stimulated DNA synthesis, but GT1b was the most potent between 25 and 100 μM; GM1 was generally the least effective, and GD1a and GM3 had intermediate effects. All gangliosides tested inhibited the PDGF-stimulated increases in free intracellular calcium concentrations ([Ca2+]1) with the rank order of potency being GM1 ⩾ GT1b > GM2 > GM3. PDGF stimulated phosphorylation on tyrosine of a protein with apparent Mr = 170 kDa which was immunoprecipitated by an anti-PDGF receptor (β) antibody, indicating that it is a PDGF receptor. Preincubating the cells with specific gangliosides inhibited tyrosine phosphorylation of this protein in a dose-responsive fashion with the following rank order of potency GD1a = GT1b > GM1 > GM2 > GM3. Autoradiography showed that this was due to a decrease in the proportion of cells synthesizing DNA, and a time study showed that ganglioside did not delay entry of the cells into S phase. These effects were not due to gangliosides interfering with PDGF binding to its receptor because results of competitive binding studies showed that none of the gangliosides studied had an effect on either receptor number or affinity, and did not bind to PDGF in solution. These results show that gangliosides affect several specific components of the complex responses to PDGF in intact cells. The relative effectiveness of individual gangliosides, however, varied among the different cellular and molecular responses. This is interpreted to mean that specific gangliosides modulate to different degrees several molecular mechanisms which converge on the common biological response of mitogenesis, and suggests that gangliosides as a family of molecules may function as coordinators of different molecular events involved in complex cellular processes.
Sputtering of ices in the outer solar system

Exploration of the outer solar system has led to studies in a new area of physics: electronically induced sputtering of low-temperature, condensed-gas solids (ices). Many of the icy bodies in the outer solar system were found to be bombarded by relatively intense fluxes of ions and electrons, causing both changes in their optical reflectance and ejection (sputtering) of molecules from their surfaces. The small cohesive energies of the condensed-gas solids afford relatively large sputtering rates from the electronic excitations produced in the solid by fast ions and electrons. Such sputtering produces an ambient gas about an icy body, often the source of the local plasma. This colloquium outlines the physics of the sputtering of ices and its relevance to several outer-solar-system phenomena: the sputter-produced plasma trapped in Saturn{close_quote}s magnetosphere; the O{sub 2} atmosphere on Europa; and optical absorption features such as SO{sub 2} in the surface of Europa and O{sub 2} and, possibly, O{sub 3} in the surface of Ganymede. {copyright} {ital 1996 The American Physical Society.}
Actinomycin D Inhibition of DNA Strand Transfer Reactions Catalyzed by HIV-1 Reverse Transcriptase and Nucleocapsid Protein†

Actinomycin D was found to be a potent inhibitor of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase catalyzed DNA strand transfer reactions. Using an oligonucleotide model system, actinomycin D inhibition of DNA strand transfer was examined to elucidate the mechanism of inhibition and further define the mechanism of DNA strand transfer. Our results show that actinomycin D inhibits HIV-1 reverse transcriptase catalyzed DNA strand transfer without inhibiting RNA-dependent or DNA-dependent DNA polymerase activity. Actinomycin D was found to strongly inhibit annealing of a primary DNA product to the DNA acceptor template, preventing the formation of a key reaction intermediate. The HIV-1 nucleocapsid protein has been shown to participate in catalytic events during reverse transcription including DNA strand transfer. Recombinant nucleocapsid protein was used in conjunction with actinomycin D in this model system to investigate how NC may participate in the mechanism of inhibition by actinomycin D and in DNA strand transfer. The inclusion of nucleocapsid protein was found to partially relieve both DNA annealing and strand transfer inhibition caused by actinomycin D. This study suggests a potential new mechanism for inhibiting retroviral replication by preventing the formation of replication intermediates.
A novel reversible image authentication scheme for digital images

Image authentication is to protect the image integrity when the digital image is illegally modified. Most of the image authentication schemes proposed so far employed the irreversible data hiding approach to embed the authentication data into the cover images. In this paper, a novel reversible image authentication scheme for digital images is proposed. In the proposed scheme, the authentication codes are generated by using the random number values induced by the selected random number seed. Then, the authentication codes are embedded into the cover image. Experimental results show that the proposed scheme achieves good detecting accuracy while keeping good image quality of the embedded image. The proposed reversible image authentication can be employed to protect the image integrity of the general-purposed images as well as the special-purposed images such as the medical and military images.
Reaction of Protonated Tyrosine with Electronically Excited Singlet Molecular Oxygen (a1Δg): An Experimental and Trajectory Study

Reaction of protonated tyrosine with the lowest electronically excited singlet state of molecular oxygen, 1O2 (a1Δg), is reported over the center-of-mass collision energy (Ecol) range from 0.1 to 3.0 eV, using an electrospray-ionization, guided-ion-beam scattering instrument, in conjunction with ab initio electronic structure calculations and direct dynamics trajectory simulations. Only one product channel is observed, corresponding to generation of hydrogen peroxide via transfer of two hydrogen atoms from protonated tyrosine. Despite being exoergic, the reaction is in competition with physical quenching of 1O2 and is very inefficient. At low Ecol, the reaction may be mediated by intermediate complexes and shows strong inhibition by collision energy. At high Ecol, the reaction efficiency drops to ∼1% and starts to have contribution from a direct mechanism. Quasi-classical trajectory simulations were performed to probe the mechanism at high collision energies. Analysis of trajectories shows that, at Ecol o...
Optimally scaled and optimally conditioned Vandermonde and Vandermonde-like matrices

Vandermonde matrices with real nodes are known to be severely ill-conditioned. We investigate numerically the extent to which the condition number of such matrices can be reduced, either by row-scaling or by optimal configurations of nodes. In the latter case we find empirically the condition of the optimally conditioned n×n Vandermonde matrix to grow exponentially at a rate slightly less than $(1+\sqrt{2})^{n}$ . Much slower growth—essentially linear—is observed for optimally conditioned Vandermonde-Jacobi matrices. We also comment on the computational challenges involved in determining condition numbers of highly ill-conditioned matrices.
Synchronous ovarian metastases at the time of laparotomy for colon cancer

Abstract Objective . The aim of the study was to identify clinical features, define prognostic factors and optimize treatment in patients with colorectal cancer with synchronous ovarian metastases at the time of initial diagnosis. Methods . A retrospective analysis of patients treated by the gynecologic oncology service at Barnes Jewish Hospital between 1990 and 2001 was performed. Twenty-eight patients with colorectal carcinomas with synchronous ovarian metastases at the time of diagnosis were identified. Clinical and pathological characteristics were evaluated, and survival was analyzed by the method of Kaplan and Meier. Results . Abdominal pain was the most common symptom at presentation. Only 14% of the patients presented with gastrointestinal bleeding. Fifty-four percent of patients who underwent barium enema had intrinsic colonic lesions, while 40% of patients who had endoscopies performed had their colonic tumors identified. Preoperatively colon cancer was considered in the differential diagnosis of 71% of the patients. At exploration, the ovarian metastases were significantly larger than the primary colon tumors. Overall, 68% of patients had intraperitoneal nodal metastasis and 86% had transmural extension of their tumors. The only pathological variable associated with survival was tumor grade. The median disease-free survival was 10.3 months while the median overall survival was 18.4 months. Conclusion . Most patients with colon cancer with synchronous ovarian metastases present with vague symptoms. At exploration, locally advanced tumors and other distant metastases such as in the liver are common. Surgical management should include extirpation of the primary tumor and any bulky ovarian metastases. Cytoreduction may be considered in highly selected patients.
An Empirical Quest to Identify the Most Dominant Negotiating Styles Among American Sales Managers

SUMMARY This study addresses the proposition as to whether the collaborative negotiation style is the most prevalent among American sales managers in the competitive landscape created by the global economy. It also examines whether there are relationships between the sales managers' negotiation styles and selected personal and organizational characteristics that may affect negotiation styles. The findings of the study reveal that the collaborative style is indeed the most predominant. However, some sales managers do still emphasize the competitive style. This variation may imply Weitz's (1981) adaptive behaviors. There are also significant relationships between the sales managers' negotiation styles and personal and organizational characteristics.
Hybrid Silicon Photonics for Optical Interconnects

In this paper, we review the hybrid silicon photonic integration platform and its use for optical links. In this platform, a III/V layer is bonded to a fully processed silicon-on-insulator wafer. By changing the bandgap of the III/V quantum wells (QW), low-threshold-current lasers, high-speed modulators, and photodetectors can be fabricated operating at wavelengths of 1.55 μm. With a QW intermixing technology, these components can be integrated with each other and a complete high-speed optical interconnect can be realized on-chip. The hybrid silicon bonding and process technology are fully compatible with CMOS-processed wafers because high-temperature steps and contamination are avoided. Full wafer bonding is possible, allowing for low-cost and large-volume device fabrication.
Reduction in Exhaled Acetone Tracks with Weight Loss Following Diuretic Therapy in Acute Decompensated Heart Failure

human heart failure (HF). Methods: Thus, we measured serum NRG using ELISA in patients with HF, either due to ischemic (ISCH) or non-ischemic cardiomyopathy (NICM), and carefully characterized their clinical status to assess physiologic NRG response. Results: Serum NRG in 156 patients (mean age 60 6 13 years, 72% male, with mean LV ejection fraction (LVEF) of 30 6 14) who have symptomatic HF, either ISCH (n 5 68) or NICM (n 5 88), were measured. The entire cohort included 57% with hypertension, 32% diabetic and 38% with obesity while a high percentage were on optimal medical therapy including ACE inhibitor (82%), betablockers (91%) and diuretics (75%). There were no significant differences between groups regarding risk factors or percent on optimal medical therapy. Table 1 summarizes the NRG values and degree of HF between ISCH and NICM patients. Conclusion: Serum NRG values appear reduced in HF patients with ISCH compared to NICM etiology. This may reflect reduced production of this endothelial cell derived factor in the presence of advanced atherosclerosis.
Solid state monolithic variable phase shifter with operation into the millimeter wave wavelength regime

Information is provided on the theory and design, fabrication, and experimental results for a phase shifter designed to operate in the millimeter wavelength region. The device was fabricated in a manner that makes it compatible with present GaAs monolithic microwave circuit technology. Continuously variable phase shift is obtained by varying the bias voltage from −5.0 to +0.65 V on a Schottky microstrip line. Experimental phase shift and loss data are provided for two different width (w) Schottky lines, w=1.5 and 7.3 μm, for frequencies 2–18 GHz.
DEVELOPMENT OF A BIMODAL HEART RATE PATTERN IN UNDISTURBED FETAL HARBOR SEALS

Fetal and maternal heart rates were studied in unrestrained, pregnant harbor seals during the last third of gestation. Heart rates were recorded while the mothers were resting on land or performing trained simulated dives of up to 2.25 min. Data from resting mothers showed the development of a bimodal or two-speed fetal heart rate pattern during late gestation. The mean faster and slower fetal heart rates at term were 125 ± 3.7 and 79 ± 3.1 (mean + SEM) respectively. The amount of fetal bradycardia observed increased steadily towards term, and fetal heart rate changes were not correlated with changes in maternal heart rate or maternal respiration. The bimodal fetal heart rate was also seen during the simulated dives, and no decrease in either the faster or slower heart rate was found. Heart rates from resting, unrestrained harbor seal pups were also studied. The pups displayed a bimodal heart rate similar to the fetuses' with the slower rate occurring during breath-holds. The bradycardia in the pups was equivalent to the slower fetal heart rate. These findings suggest that the regulatory mechanism that determines the apneic bradycardia in young harbor seals during non-stressful conditions develops in the last quarter of gestation.
Chronic Eosinophilic Leukemia-Not Otherwise Specified (NOS) in the Background of a Large Cell Lymphoma.

Clonal eosinophilic disorders are rare among hematological malignancies. Most eosinophilia tends to be due to secondary causes such as infections, hypersensitivity conditions, drug reactions, and connective tissue disorders. The presence of a primary clonal eosinophilic disorder such as chronic eosinophilic leukemia—not otherwise specified (NOS) in the presence of a synchronous large cell lymphoma—is rare making the diagnosis challenging. We present a case of a 51-year-old female with the aforementioned presentation and demonstrate the extensive workup performed to identify the diagnosis.
Estimation and bias correction of aerosol abundance using data-driven machine learning and remote sensing

Air quality information is increasingly becoming a public health concern, since some of the aerosol particles pose harmful effects to peoples health. One widely available metric of aerosol abundance is the aerosol optical depth (AOD). The AOD is the integrated light extinction coefficient over a vertical atmospheric column of unit cross section, which represents the extent to which the aerosols in that vertical profile prevent the transmission of light by absorption or scattering. The comparison between the AOD measured from the ground-based Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) system and the satellite MODIS instruments at 550 nm shows that there is a bias between the two data products. We performed a comprehensive search exploring possible factors which may be contributing to the inter-instrumental bias between MODIS-Aqua land data set and AERONET. The analysis used several measured variables, including the MODIS AOD, as input in order to train a neural network in regression mode to predict the AERONET AOD values. This not only allowed us to obtain an estimate, but also allowed us to infer the optimal sets of variables that played an important role in the prediction. In addition, we applied machine learning to infer the global abundance of ground level PM2.5 from the AOD data and other ancillary satellite and meteorology products. This research is part of our goal to provide air quality information, which can also be useful for global epidemiology studies.
Determining the number of kanbans: a step toward non-stock-production

SUMMARY Just-in-time (JIT) production is a philosophy that calls for reducing work-in-process (WIP) inventory to aid process improvement and reduce process variability. In some cases, JIT production has been misinterpreted as a method that would lead to zero or minimal WIP with a lot size of one. There are no models or theories to achieve the JIT goal, i.e. non-stock-production (NSP), and, in particular, to help determine when and where to maintain this minimal inventory. A kanban system acts as the nerve of a JIT production system whose functions are to direct materials just-in-time to workstations in stages of manufacturing, and to pass information as to what and how much to produce. Indeed, the number of kanbans between two adjacent workstations decides the inventory level of that pair of workstations. With the objective of minimizing WIP inventory level, one model dealing with three cases of production configuration is developed for deciding the optimum number of kanbans. The model is then solved usin...
N * program at CLAS

The Nlow asterisk program is one of the major goals of CLAS experiments in Jefferson Lab and many outstanding results have been carried out. In this note, I will present some highlight recent measurements of nucleon resonance transition form factors from electro-production as the second resonances. The new pion electro-production data resolve a longstanding puzzle of the nature of the Roper resonance, and confirm the assertion of the symmetric constituent quark model of the Roper as the first radial excitation of the nucleon. The single pion electro-production data for high Q2 confirms the slow fall off of the S11(1535) transition form factor with Q2, and better constrain the branching ratios βNπ:βNη=0.50:0.45. For the first time, the longitudinal transition amplitude to the S11(1535) was extracted from the nπ+ data. Also, new results on the transition amplitudes for the D13(1520) resonance are presented showing a rapid transition from helicity 3/2 dominance seen at the real photon point to helicity 1/2 dominance at higher Q2.
GONADOTROPIC ANTAGONISM IN MATURE RATS

THE SO-CALLED ANTAGONISM PHENOMENON which is elicited when pituitary gonadotropic extracts are rapidly resorbed,1,2 and which is manifested by inhibiting or decreasing theeffects of gonadotropic agents in general has with one exception3 beenstudied in immature test animals. Evans et al.3 state that, “the effect ofthe antagonist inthe normal adult female rat is distinctly different from that in the immature rat. Here excessive luteinization is observed, the ovaries being increased in weight andbeing composed almost entirely of corpora.” We are presenting data for 3 experiments in which mature female rats received the same pituitary gonadotropic preparation1 which produced the antagonism effectto a high degree whenadministered to immature rats in soluble form either by the intraperitoneal or sub-cutaneous route. The purpose of the experiments was to ascertain whether antagonism would result against endogenous hormone. Injection was made once daily for 4 days. The rats were killed 96 hours after initial dosage.
Does Everybody Count as Human

(2002). Does Everybody Count as Human? Theory & Research in Social Education: Vol. 30, No. 2, pp. 178-189.
The Boole Lecture Quantum Information

Quantum and biological information processing could revolutionize computing and communication in the third millennium. In the 2007 Boole Lecture, we discussed the necessity to explore alternative paradigms for computing and communication and presented some striking features of quantum information processing and provided some insights into quantum parallelism as well as quantum communication and teleportation.
Structural heterogeneity and environmentally regulated remodeling of Francisella tularensis subspecies novicida lipid A characterized by tandem mass spectrometry

The structural characterization of environmentally-regulated lipid A derived from Francisella tularensis subspecies novicida (Fn) U112 is described using negative electrospray ionization with a linear ion trap Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (IT-FT-ICR) hybrid mass spectrometer. The results indicate that a unique profile of lipid A molecular structures are synthesized in response to Fn growth at 25°C versus 37°C. Molecular species were found to be tetra-acylated, sharing a conserved glucosamine disaccharide backbone, a galactosamine-1-phosphate linked to the reducing glucosamine, and multiple O- and N-linked fatty acyl groups. Deprotonated molecules were interrogated by MSn scanning techniques at both high and nominal mass resolution and were found to be complex heterogeneous mixtures where structures differed based on the positions and identities of the O- and N-linked fatty acyl substituents. For the dominant ion series, which consisted of five peaks, 30 unique lipid A structures were identified. Estimates for the relative abundance of each structure were derived from MS relative abundance ratios and fragment ion ratios from comparable dissociation pathways from MS2 through MS4 experiments. The results suggest a remodeling pathway in which the amide linked fatty acid of the reducing glucosamine favors a 3-hydroxyhexadecanoic acid substituent for growth conditions at 25°C versus a 3-hydroxyoctadecanoic acid substituent for growth conditions at 37°C.
Establishing a standard calibration methodology for MOSFET detectors in computed tomography dosimetry

Purpose: The use of metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET)detectors for patient dosimetry has increased by ∼25% since 2005. Despite this increase, no standard calibration methodology has been identified nor calibration uncertainty quantified for the use of MOSFETdosimetry in CT. This work compares three MOSFETcalibration methodologies proposed in the literature, and additionally investigates questions relating to optimal time for signal equilibration and exposure levels for maximum calibration precision. Methods: The calibration methodologies tested were (1) free in-air (FIA) with radiographic x-ray tube, (2) FIA with stationary CTx-ray tube, and (3) within scatter phantom with rotational CTx-ray tube. Each calibration was performed at absorbed dose levels of 10, 23, and 35 mGy. Times of 0 min or 5 min were investigated for signal equilibration before or after signal read out. Results: Calibration precision was measured to be better than 5%–7%, 3%–5%, and 2%–4% for the 10, 23, and 35 mGy respective dose levels, and independent of calibration methodology. No correlation was demonstrated for precision and signal equilibration time when allowing 5 min before or after signal read out. Differences in average calibration coefficients were demonstrated between the FIA with CTcalibration methodology 26.7 ± 1.1 mV cGy−1 versus the CTscatter phantom 29.2 ± 1.0 mV cGy−1 and FIA with x-ray 29.9 ± 1.1 mV cGy−1 methodologies. A decrease in MOSFET sensitivity was seen at an average change in read out voltage of ∼3000 mV. Conclusions: The best measured calibration precision was obtained by exposing the MOSFETdetectors to 23 mGy. No signal equilibration time is necessary to improve calibration precision. A significant difference between calibration outcomes was demonstrated for FIA with CT compared to the other two methodologies. If the FIA with a CTcalibration methodology was used to create calibration coefficients for the eventual use for phantom dosimetry, a measurement error ∼12% will be reflected in the dosimetry results. The calibration process must emulate the eventual CTdosimetry process by matching or excluding scatter when calibrating the MOSFETs. Finally, the authors recommend that the MOSFETs are energy calibrated approximately every 2500–3000 mV.
Constraints from sea beam bathymetry on the development of normal faults on the East Pacific Rise

We address the question of the horizontal extent of active upper crustal extension near a fast-spreading ridge by applying seafloor slope criteria for normal fault identification to twelve Sea Beam swaths that cross the axis of the East Pacific Rise between 9°10' and 9°50'N. Both the density of and the total throw on identified fault system increase with axial distance to at least 30 km from the rise, indicating that the half width of the zone of active normal faulting is 30 km or more. The densities of inward- and outward-facing normal fault scarps in this distance range appear to be similar. The distance from the rise to the nearest large-throw fault zone is approximately axisymmetric to the north of 9°23'N, but the mid-point between nearest large-throw fault zones is offset 2-3 km to the west of the bathymetric axis south of 9°23'N and thus tracks the center of the axial magma chamber reflector and presumably the axis of most recent magmatic emplacement.
Doppler velocimetry of spin propagation in a two-dimensional electron gas

An optical technique based on Doppler velocimetry reveals important aspects of the physics underlying the propagation of spin polarization in a two-dimensional electron gas. The spin mobility is shown to track the high electron mobility, but coherent spin precession is lost at temperatures near 150 K, posing a challenge for future spintronics devices.
Rapid Changes of Nuclease Activities in Spleens of Leukaemia Virus Infected Mice

INFECTION of mice with some leukaemia viruses results in marked alterations of spleen size, as well as in the number and type of spleen cells1–3. A few days after infection with a virus such as that which causes Friend disease leukaemia, many blast cells appear in the spleen, and splenomegaly occurs4. During studies concerning the effects of murme virus induced leukaemia on the immune responses of infected mice we found that major biochemical changes occurred very rapidly in the spleen5–7. Nucleic acid and protein synthesis increased markedly. It was also found that nuclease activity changed rapidly7.
Raman Scattering from Microcrystals of MgO

We have observed the Raman scattering spectrum from finite crystals of MgO. Lines have been observed at 595, 719, and 1096 ${\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$. Very good agreement is obtained between the observed lines and the lattice dynamic theory of finite crystals. However, no agreement is obtained with the macroscopic theory.
Reflections on E. E. Just, Black Apollo of Science, and the experiences of African American scientists.

The text below is a transcript of the keynote address Kenneth Manning gave at the symposium honoring E. E. Just that was held on the campus of Howard University on November 21, 2008. In his talk, Manning reflects on his experiences researching and writing Black Apollo of Science: The Life of Ernest Everett Just, his prize-winning biography published in 1983. In the process, he retells the fascinating story of the life of E. E. Just. Manning also discusses a number of other topics, including Just's legacy, the role of African Americans in science, and the importance of having minority representation on college campuses. (Transcribed by: W. Malcolm Byrnes, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Howard University College of Medicine, Washington, DC.) Mol. Reprod. Dev. 76: 897–902, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Fast, Robust Image Registration for Compositing High Dynamic Range Photographs from Hand-Held Exposures

Abstract In this paper, we present a fast, robust, and completely automatic method for translational alignment of hand-held photographs. The technique employs percentile threshold bitmaps to accelerate image operations and avoid problems with the varying exposure levels used in high dynamic range (HDR) photography. An image pyramid is constructed from grayscale versions of each exposure, and these are converted to bitmaps which are then aligned horizontally and vertically using inexpensive shift and difference operations over each image. The cost of the algorithm is linear with respect to the number of pixels and effectively independent of the maximum translation. A three million pixel exposure can be aligned in a fraction of a second on a contemporary microprocessor using this technique.