cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Directional scan path characterization of eye tracking sequences: A multi-scale approach

Historically, eye tracking systems have been a very useful tool for finding salient regions in interfaces that naturally attract the visual attention of users. Scan paths are created as the eye moves from one salient region to another. Research has shown that a relationship exists between scan path direction and cognitive load when navigating a user interface. The analysis of scan paths during interface navigation can therefore indicate specific user tendences that could give insight into the cognitive load required to navigate an interface. Thus far, the analysis of the scan paths has largely focused on measuring scan path similarity or analyzing scan paths and their relationship to a predetermined AOI sequence. The focus of this paper is the characterization of eye tracking results based on the analysis of scan path sequences. The proposed approach summarizes scan paths at a macroscale associated with the overall navigation of an interface and a microscale paths associated with saccades that occur within fixations. The approach uses nearest neighbor search and density-based clustering to differentiate between the macroscale and microscale. A directional sequence encoding technique based on the saccade angle is then applied at each level. Finally, frequent sequence mining is used to find frequent scan paths at both scales. Empirical results show that the resulting set of frequent sequences offer an interesting summary of summarize the users scan path for an eye tracking session and can be used to indicate information seeking tendencies of users and characterizes visual search patterns.
The Impact of Pathologic Complete Response in Patients with Neoadjuvantly Treated Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer-a Large Single-Center Experience.

Small cohort studies demonstrated better oncologic outcomes for patients with pathologic complete response (PathCR) after neoadjuvant treatment for locally advanced rectal cancer. This study reviews long-term outcomes of a large cohort of clinically stage II/III rectal cancer patients who received neoadjuvant chemoradiation and surgery. This is a retrospective analysis of a single-center cohort, including all clinical stage II/III rectal cancer patients who received neoadjuvant chemoradiation and surgery between 2004 and 2014 (n = 271). Cox regressions were done to assess the influence of PathCR on recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS), adjusting for postoperative chemotherapy, clinical AJCC staging, comorbidity, and age where appropriate. PathCR patients had significantly lower distant recurrence rates (4 vs. 15.8%; P = 0.028) and lower disease-specific mortality rates (0 vs. 8.1%; P = 0.052), compared to patients with residual disease. PathCR was associated with longer RFS (HR, 5.6 [95% CI 1.3–23.1] P = 0.018) and longer OS (HR, 3.4 [1.31–10.0] P = 0.014) compared to having pathological residual disease. This large single-center study shows that patients with PathCR have significant longer RFS and OS than patients with residual disease on pathology after neoadjuvant chemoradiation.
Abstract 038: A Novel Histology Based Classification System to Identify Patients at Risk for Postoperative Atrial Fibrillation

Postoperative atrial fibrillation (PoAF) is a common complication in up to 40% of patients after cardiac surgery, increasing morbidity, hospital stay and costs. The myocardial substrate underlying PoAF is not fully characterized. The objective was to assess the impact of atrial fibrosis on incident AF and define the fibrosis threshold level predictive of PoAF. Methods: Right atrial appendages removed from patients undergoing elective CABG with no history of AF or class III/IV heart failure were used to characterize the ratio of collagen to myocardium (Masson’s trichrome; NIH ImageJ software; Fig A), which was correlated with incident AF. Percentage burden of fibrosis predictive of PoAF with high sensitivity and specificity was determined by ROC curve. Results: Of 28 patients (67±10 years, 64% males), 15 had PoAF. There were no age, gender or comorbidity differences between groups. Compared to the group that remained in sinus rhythm, patients with PoAF had a significantly higher ratio of extracellular collagen to myocardium (45±16% vs. 5±4%, p <0.001; Fig B). A threshold ratio of 12.7% collagen to myocardium (ROC area under the curve 0.997; z statistic 137; P<0.0001) with 96% sensitivity and 97% specificity identified those with PoAF (Fig C). A classification system based on histological extent of atrial fibrosis is proposed for identifying patients at risk for PoAF (Fig D). Conclusion: Ongoing studies will confirm the predictive value of this new classification system for identifying the atrial substrate predisposing PoAF and correlate with preoperative cardiac imaging and circulatory serum biomarkers to provide a novel noninvasive tool to stratify patients at risk for PoAF. ![Graphic][1] [1]: /embed/inline-graphic-1.gif
Expanding the differential: toluene-induced toxicity

A 31-year-old woman presented to the hospital with generalised weakness and lower back and abdominal pain. The only significant finding on physical examination was the weakness of the legs. Laboratory analysis in the emergency department revealed that she was hypokalaemic with metabolic acidosis. She was treated with oral and intravenous potassium, which resolved her weakness. During the search for an explanation for her renal tubular acidosis, she said she was exposed to paint exposure while working on a friend's house. She was discharged on correction of her hypokalaemia, and a subsequent test revealed elevated blood toluene level.
Acceleration of Frequent Itemset Mining on FPGA using SDAccel and Vivado HLS

Frequent itemset mining (FIM) is a widely-used data-mining technique for discovering sets of frequently-occurring items in large databases. However, FIM is highly time-consuming when datasets grow in size. FPGAs have shown great promise for accelerating computationally-intensive algorithms, but they are hard to use with traditional HDL-based design methods. The recent introduction of Xilinx SDAccel development environment for the C/C++/OpenCL languages allows developers to utilize FPGA's potential without long development periods and extensive hardware knowledge. This paper presents an optimized implementation of an FIM algorithm on FPGA using SDAccel and Vivado HLS. Performance and power consumption are measured with various datasets. When compared to state-of-the-art solutions, this implementation offers up to 3.2× speedup over a 6-core CPU, and has a better energy efficiency as compared with a GPU. Our preliminary results on the new XCKU115 FPGA are even more promising: they demonstrate a comparable performance with a state-of-the-art HDL FPGA implementation and better performance compared to the GPU.
Endocrinology Update: Thyroid Disorders

Thyroid disease affects nearly every organ system in the body. Hypothyroidism is a state of thyroid hormone insufficiency that results in decreased metabolism and secondary effects including fatigue and weight gain. Primary hypothyroidism typically is a result of autoimmune thyroiditis or iodine deficiency and is assessed by measurement of the thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) level. This level usually is elevated in patients with hypothyroidism and low in patients with hyperthyroidism. Levothyroxine is the treatment of choice for hypothyroidism. Hyperthyroidism is a state of thyroid hormone excess, which increases the metabolic rate and causes symptoms including anxiety and tremor. Graves disease is the most common etiology in developed countries. Patients with hyperthyroidism are evaluated with measurement of TSH and free thyroxine levels. Management options include antithyroid drugs, radioactive iodine, and surgery. Thyroid nodules are detected commonly in family medicine, and may or may not be associated with thyroid hormone abnormalities. Patients with thyroid nodules should be evaluated with TSH level measurement and thyroid ultrasonography to guide further testing.
On the Use of van der Pauw Technique to Monitor Skin Burning in Patients Undergoing Interferential Current Therapy (IFC) with Extension to Other E-Stim Monitoring

Interferential Current (IFC) therapy is routinely used on patients in order to reduce pain, to speed up the healing of wounds in muscles, and to strengthen muscles and bodily structure. The van der Pauw (vdP) technique is a process used to measure a material’s sheet resistance when the material has a geometric shape that has a uniform thickness, but whose other two dimensions are arbitrary. By combining these techniques, the skin’s sheet resistance can be measured before, after, and during IFC therapy, and this will show a disturbance in skin sheet resistance caused by accidental burning. This technique can also be extended to monitoring TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) and other types of e-stim monitoring.
Liver Transplantation for Other Cancers

The first seven cases of liver transplantation were performed during 1963–1964. The indication for six of these procedures was malignancy, and three of these cases involved duct cell carcinomas and colon metastases. The results after this first experience were unsatisfactory and it was not until late 1990s, after the Milan multicenter study, that liver transplantation became a standard indication for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Currently, patients with HCC who meet Milan criteria have been found to have comparable results in terms of survival to patients with cirrhosis and no malignancy. In addition, promising results have been shown after downstaging for HCC in patients initially beyond Milan criteria. There are a few additional, although very uncommon, indications for liver transplantation in patients with cancers other than HCC. In the U.S., these include hilar cholangiocarcinoma, liver metastases from neuroendocrine tumors in the GI tract, unresectable tumors including hemangioendothelioma, large and/or multifocal hepatic adenoma, and unresectable hepatoblastoma in children, but all in a highly selective fashion. Improvements in resection techniques, the shortage of the donor pool, and the potential risk of recurrence enhanced by immunosuppression therapy after transplantation are some of the reasons why liver transplantation for malignancy is considered only in a highly selected way in such patients. In addition there is a great deal of center to center variability in the use of transplantation for such non-standard indications. Besides these features, the development of systemic therapies and well-defined protocols of chemoradiation before and after liver transplantation has played a role in protocol development in many of these transplant indications.
Fight for our health: Activism in the face of health insurance precarity

The Affordable Care Act, which expanded health insurance coverage to millions of Americans and federally mandated the provision of health insurance to individuals with “pre-existing conditions,” is a politically divisive law facing an ongoing ‘repeal and replace’ effort in Congress. As patients, caregivers, and health activists fight to resist the repeal of the ACA, they are sharing intimate illness narratives in an effort to frame the repeal effort as a looting of their insurance benefits and an attack on the investment in equity and justice they say the ACA represents. Drawing on a discourse analysis of primary documents from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and illness narratives shared by the Service Employees International Union’s Fight For Our Health activist campaign, this article examines how the illness narrative is deployed here as a political call to action. I consider how this resistance effort frames the inevitability of illness and the emotional burdens of what I call ‘health insurance precarity,’ or the uncertainty that defines the experience of being uninsured, as a justification for positioning health activism as a cultural and political obligation shared by all.
Spin Conductivity and Spin-Charge Separation in the High $T_c$ Cuprates

We study both the spin and electrical conductivities in models of relevance to the high $T_c$ cuprates. These models describe metallic states with or without spin-charge separation. We demonstrate that, given a linear in temperature dependence of the electrical resistivity, the spin resistivity should also be linear in temperature in the absence of spin-charge separation and under conditions appropriate at least for the optimally doped cuprates, but is in general {\it not} so in the presence of spin-charge separation. Based on these results, we propose to use the temperature dependence of the electron spin diffusion constant to diagnose spin-charge separation in the cuprates.
Revisiting the Role of the Stat Laboratory: Is It Safe to Perform Activated Clotting Time Determinations (ACTs) Out of the Operating Room

Abstract Abstract 4256 Background: Activated clotting time (ACT) is determined during cardiac procedures in order to assess the level of anti-coagulation. There are three main anticoagulants used during cardiac procedures:heparin, angiomax and Plavix. Heparin is often used in the cardiac OR for major procedures and is neutralized, over time, by platelet factor 4(PF4). Angiomax, bivalirudin, has a quick onset of action, but a much shorter half-life when compared to Heparin. Plavix, clopidogrel, irreversibly inhibits platelets from clotting and is used on patients in need of anticoagulation for an extended period of time. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the stability of ACT results over time utilizing different coagulation regimens. If the ACT value remains stable over time, this would enable us to remove the device from the OR and place it in a stat laboratory. Methods: ACTs were determined by the ISTAT (Abbott), a hand held point of care device, using kaolin activated cartridges. A single blood sample was obtained and was evaluated at intervals of 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 minutes. In addition, temperature, age, body surface area and platelet count of patient were recorded. The time 0 specimen was used to determine the patients ACT and interval testing was performed on the remnant. Results: 36 samples representing 22 patients had ACT tests performed using the ISTAT. There was no significant change from 0 to 20 minutes over the entire dada set. However, when divided into different anti-clotting agents there were significant changes. Patients who had only taken Angiomax had a significant difference within the first 5 minutes (p value=.0094). Patients taking Angiomax and Plavix together had no change in ACT values at 20 minutes. Patients on Heparin alone demonstrated a loss of ACT stability at 10 minutes with values both increasing and decreasing. Conclusions: Patients on Angiomax alone demonstrated a significant difference in ACT value within the first 5 minutes and all intervals thereafter. Based on Angiomax short half-life the ACT should be performed as soon as possible. The ACT values in patients taking both Angiomax and Plavix achieved steady state throughout the 20 minutes and had little if any decrease in value. The results for the Heparin group were unreliable at 10 minutes. As a result of these findings, performing an ACT outside the OR is feasible assuming the test can be performed by 10 minutes. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Mechanical Properties of Fibers Coated by Atomic Layer Deposition for Polymer-Matrix Composites with Enhanced Thermal and Ultraviolet Resistance

Interfacial engineering of fiber-reinforced composites is critical to control material properties, such as mechanical strength and toughness. In this study, we utilize atomic layer deposition (ALD) as a method to conformally coat structural fiber surfaces and study the impact of these interlayers on their mechanical adhesion to polymer-matrix materials. ALD of Al2O3, ZnO, and TiO2 were applied to Kevlar® and carbon fibers, and microbond testing was performed using droplets of PMMA and Epoxy. It was observed that the mechanical force required for debonding of the polymer droplet from the coated fiber surfaces depended on the composition and thickness of the coating. Post-mortem scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy for elemental analysis indicated that the ALD films remained adhered to the droplet, suggesting that the ALD/fiber interface limited the mechanical properties of the interphase region. Additionally, ALD of ZnO was demonstrated to prevent fiber degradation from ultraviolet (UV) and high-temperature thermal treatments, demonstrating a pathway towards multi-functional composite interphase engineering by ALD.
Teaching Evolutionary Principles in Health Promotion: A Pilot Study:

Introduction. Teaching evolutionary principles in a health promotion course may increase the relevance of evolutionary theory to students, enrich biological understanding of disease, and provide a ...
The Alpha-Defensin Prosthetic Joint Infection Test Has Poor Validity for Native Knee Joint Infection.

Abstract Background The alpha-defensin test known as Synovaure has been very effective in diagnosis of prosthetic joint infections (PJIs). Being able to easily and accurately differentiate septic and inflammatory arthropathies in native joints would improve diagnostic workup and management. We tested the ability of an alpha-defensin test to distinguish septic from inflammatory or crystalline arthropathy in the native knee. Methods 40 native knee joint fluid specimens were tested with cell count, fluid analysis, and culture and alpha-defensin testing. We determined the sensitivity and specificity of the alpha-defensin test using culture-positive fluid as the gold standard for septic arthropathy and positive crystals as the gold standard for crystalline arthropathy. Results The Synovasure PJI test had 100% specificity for septic arthritis coupled with a 28% false-positive rate when applied to native knee aspirations. False-positive rate was 5.3 times higher in patients with crystals found in the joint fluid. Conclusion Alpha-defensin testing, in the form of the Synovasure PJI test, has a high-false-positive rate when used to distinguish septic and inflammatory arthritis in the native knee joint. Future work will need to determine the sensitivity and specificity of the newer native joint panel. Clinicians should be cognizant of the specific alpha-defensin test used when sampling native knee synovial fluid.
Contraceptive provision in Oregon school-based health centers: Method type trends and the role of Title X.

Abstract Objective We describe provision of contraception to adolescents at Oregon school-based health centers (SBHCs). We examine trends over time, by race/ethnicity, and by Title X clinic status and test whether these factors are associated with provision of long-acting reversible contraception (LARC; intrauterine devices/IUDs and implants). Study design We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 33 SBHCs participating in a shared electronic health record 2012-2016. We identified 20,339 contraception provision visits to 5,934 adolescent females ages 14-19 using diagnosis and procedure codes. We used logistic regression to evaluate the association of clinic Title X status, race/ethnicity, and year with receipt of LARC, controlling for individual-, clinic-, and residence-level factors. We calculated adjusted probabilities. Results Provision of IUDs and implants increased at Oregon SBHCs between 2012 and 2016. IUD provision increased almost 5-fold, (from 0.9% to 4.4% of contraception provision visits), and implants increased approximately 6.5-fold (from 1.1% to 7.2%). More adolescent contraception provision visits occurred at Title X SBHCs, which had greater than twice the adjusted probability of providing LARCs than non-Title X SBHCs (4.4% versus 1.7%). After adjusting for adolescent-, clinic-, and residence-level covariates, non-white adolescents had lower probabilities of receiving LARC methods than white adolescents. Conclusions SBHCs play an important role in providing access to contraceptive services to adolescents in Oregon. Access to IUDs and implants is increasing over time in SBHCs, particularly those that participate in the Title X program. Implications Adolescents have expanding access to IUDs and implants in SBHCs over time in Oregon. Participation in the Title X program can help further increase access to effective contraception in SBHCs.
School Administrators' Experiences in a 6-Month Health and Wellness Community of Practice.

BACKGROUND A statewide 6-month school administrator health and wellness program encouraged participants to use a fitness tracker to self-monitor their physical activity and sleep patterns. The purpose of this study was to examine participants' experience in a school administrator health and wellness program and their perceptions of the impact on health-related behaviors, including activity/movement, nutrition, and sleep. METHODS Each of the 45 participants completed a semi-structured interview at three points in the program. Questions were designed to discern school administrators' perceptions of their ideal health and wellness balance at home and work. RESULTS School administrators reported new insights into their own well-being, benefits of social supports in their personal wellness journey, an expanded understanding of their ideal health and wellness balance at home and work, and a stronger sense of serving as a role model who needs to take care of him/herself. CONCLUSIONS Although the program was helpful in establishing an ideal health and wellness balance at home and work for some school administrators, future programs should better emphasize nutrition and scaffold opportunities to maintain new habits following program completion.
Movement Disorder: Medical Perspective

Movement disorders encompasses a wide range of neurologic diseases and syndromes that can be characterized by whether or not the motor manifestations are primarily hypokinetic or hyperkinetic. The hypokinetic disorders include such common syndromes as parkinsonism including Parkinson disease, multiple system atrophy (MSA), progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), and various other syndromes that clinically manifest bradykinesia, muscle rigidity, and gait impairment. The hyperkinetic disorders characterize a wide range of syndromes and diseases including Huntington disease, dystonia, Tourette syndrome, essential tremor, myoclonus, and tardive dyskinesia. Each of the hyperkinetic syndromes clinically manifests either as tremor, chorea, tics, myoclonus, or dystonia. Clinical descriptions of these disorders can be found in a wide variety of references [1], [2]. This chapter will focus on the advantages and disadvantages of radiosurgery versus medical treatment of movement disorders. Radiosurgery has been used most extensively to treat Parkinson disease and essential tremor. The chapter will define the clinical syndromes of Parkinson disease and essential tremor, discuss the medical therapy that is available, and finally discuss the advantages and disadvantages of radiosurgery in these two disorders.
Efficient indexing of versioned document sequences

Many information systems keep multiple versions of documents. Examples include content management systems, version control systems (e.g. ClearCase, CVS), Wikis, and backup and archiving solutions. Often, it is desired to enable free-text search over such repositories, i.e. to enable submitting queries that may match any version of any document. We propose an indexing method that takes advantage of the inherent redundancy present in versioned documents by solving a variant of the multiple sequence alignment problem. The scheme produces an index that is much more compact than a standard index that treats each version independently. In experiments over publicly available versioned data, our method achieved compaction ratios of 81% as compared with standard indexing, while supporting the same retrieval capabilities.
Cross-talk between Connexin 43 and CFTR in ER quality control (949.4)

An endoplasmic reticulum (ER) resident chaperone, ERp29, was previously identified to promote the quality control of cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator protein (CFTR). ERp29 also r...
Horizontal and Vertical Cultural Differences in the Content of Advertising Appeals

ABSTRACT The distinction between vertical (emphasizing hierarchy) and horizontal (valuing equality) cultures yields novel predictions regarding the prevalence of advertising appeals. A content analysis of 1211 magazine advertisements in five countries (Denmark, Korea, Poland, Russia, U.S.) revealed differences in ad content that underscore the value of this distinction. Patterns in the degree to which ads emphasized status benefits and uniqueness benefits corresponded to the countries’ vertical/horizontal cultural classification. These and other patterns of ad benefits are analyzed, and the predictions afforded by the vertical/horizontal distinction versus the broader individualism/collectivism distinction are compared and tested.
Trained manpower and medical anthropology:: Conceptual, organizational, and educational priorities☆

Abstract Despite its rapid growth as a substantive area within anthropology, medical anthropology is unable to produce sufficient numbers of trained persons to fill positions now available in academic and medical settings. This paper reviews the goals American Medical Anthropologists recently have set for themselves, discusses their significance for the field as a whole, and examines each one as it is relevant to the development and organization of the field. On the basis of the discussion conceptual, organizational, and educational priorities for enlarging the corps of specialists in medical anthropology are delineated.
Physicians' Retrospective Evaluations of Their Medical Education.

903 physicians evaluated 10 aspects of their medical education for relevance and quality. Skill in diagnosis is an example of an educational goal judged to be important and for which training was rated as good. Knowing how to establish a professional practice was also seen as a proper goal of medical education, but training was viewed as less satisfactory. Individual differences among the physicians in retrospective satisfaction were then related to premedical, medical school, and personality factors. Doctors whose evaluations were more favorable tended to receive above average grades in medical school, but somewhat below average in premedical work. Personality variables such as persistence and self-confidence were associated with higher retrospective satisfaction among men; among women satisfaction was correlated with variables such as psychological-mindedness and sensitivity to others.
Staffing global marketing positions: What we don’t know can make a difference

Abstract As the global environment for business becomes more volatile and the need to institute frame-breaking changes in the conventional wisdom of management increases, global organizational ignorance about the usability of its existing knowledge becomes a critical issue. Ignorance in its most simple form is the lack of factual knowledge but unawareness of ignorance is “not knowing what one does not know” (i.e., being ignorant of what information would be useful in solving global organizational problems). The focus of the paper is on the underlying factors that contribute to escalating organizational ignorance as more firms attempt to globalize their operations. In the paper we examine two types of organizational ignorance: pluralistic and probabilistic which both can be experienced in a global context. In addition, a means to reduce the risk of global organizational ignorance through an innovative global staffing process of combining expatriate and inpatriate managers is explored.
Civil liberties in the era of mass terrorism

This paper discusses the impact of the so-called war on terrorism on civil liberties. The United States government in Madison’s plan was to be distrusted and hemmed in to protect citizens against it. The terrorist attacks of 2001 have seemingly licensed the US government to violate its Madisonian principles. While the current government asks for citizen trust, its actions justify distrust. The courts, which normally are the chief defenders of civil liberties, typically acquiesce in administration policies during emergencies, and it has been during wartimes that the worst infringements of civil liberties have occurred.
Complete Twin Molar Pregnancy

Molar pregnancy, also known as gestational trophoblastic disease, is one of the most common benign tumors, occurring in 1 in 1000 pregnancies in the United States. Sonography plays a major role in diagnosing a molar pregnancy and monitoring the complications that may occur when a fetus is involved. The author presents the case of a complete twin molar pregnancy, the rarest form. In most cases, the fetus is terminated or does not survive. In this case, the patient, acknowledging the risks, decided to proceed with the pregnancy.
A structural equation model of energy consumption in the United States: Untangling the complexity of per-capita residential energy use

Abstract Globally, about 20–30% of total energy demand is for residential use. Yet, our understanding of household energy consumption remains obscure. Due to methodological issues, conventional residential energy research has often failed to untangle the complexities of household energy use. In addition, theoretical deficiencies have led to underestimation of the complexities of households’ role (vs. buildings’ role) in residential energy use processes. This research hypothesizes that households have an indirect effect on energy use – through their housing choice behaviors – that can be untangled from buildings’ effect. Using data from the latest Residential Energy Consumption Survey, this paper develops a Structural Equation Model to estimate the direct, indirect, and total effects of household and housing characteristics on per-capita residential energy use in the U.S. Outcomes support the research hypothesis and recommend that, when incorporating the housing choice effect, households’ overall effect on energy use is larger than what has been perceived conventionally. Findings of this study provide a new approach to understanding residential energy use by highlighting the role of households and their housing choices in shaping residential energy consumption patterns. Policy makers can incorporate housing policy into energy policy and reduce residential energy consumption more effectively.
Conjugate heat transfer in a channel with staggered ribs

Abstract Fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics were analyzed for a constant property fluid flowing laminarly through a parallel plate channel with staggered, transverse ribs and a constant heat flux along both walls. After a finite entry length the flow becomes periodically fully developed. Computations were carried out in the fully-developed regime for different Reynolds numbers, Prandtl numbers, and geometric arrangements. It is found that significant heat transfer augmentation is obtained for high Prandtl number fluids such as water or fluorocarbons. In addition, conduction in the channel walls is found to play a highly beneficial role in enhancing heat transfer.
Infrared and Raman spectroscopy of graphite-ferric chloride

Abstract We present the first detailed study of the stage dependence of the IR- and Raman-active optic graphitic modes in a graphite acceptor intercalation compound. The general frequency upshift observed with increasing FeCl3 concentration for all optic modes is interpreted to indicate an in-plane compression within the graphitic layers. An identification of the IR-active modes with bounding and interior graphite layers is made. A lineshape analysis of the IR spectra implies IR dipole moments corresponding to ∼70% of the effective charge in the graphite bounding layers, independent of stage, and ∼30% distributed among the graphite interior layers for stage n⩾3 compounds.
Gap Junctions Synchronize Action Potentials and Ca2+ Transients in Caenorhabditis elegans Body Wall Muscle

The sinusoidal locomotion of Caenorhabditis elegans requires synchronous activities of neighboring body wall muscle cells. However, it is unknown whether the synchrony results from muscle electrical coupling or neural inputs. We analyzed the effects of mutating gap junction proteins and blocking neuromuscular transmission on the synchrony of action potentials (APs) and Ca2+ transients among neighboring body wall muscle cells. In wild-type worms, the percentage of synchronous APs between two neighboring cells varied depending on the anatomical relationship and junctional conductance (Gj) between them, and Ca2+ transients were synchronous among neighboring muscle cells. Compared with the wild type, knock-out of the gap junction gene unc-9 resulted in greatly reduced coupling coefficient and asynchronous APs and Ca2+ transients. Inhibition of unc-9 expression specifically in muscle by RNAi also reduced the synchrony of APs and Ca2+ transients, whereas expression of wild-type UNC-9 specifically in muscle rescued the synchrony defect. Loss of the stomatin-like protein UNC-1, which is a regulator of UNC-9-based gap junctions, similarly impaired muscle synchrony as unc-9 mutant did. The blockade of muscle ionotropic acetylcholine receptors by (+)-tubocurarine decreased the frequencies of APs and Ca2+ transients, whereas blockade of muscle GABAA receptors by gabazine had opposite effects. However, both APs and Ca2+ transients remained synchronous after the application of (+)-tubocurarine and/or gabazine. These observations suggest that gap junctions in C. elegans body wall muscle cells are responsible for synchronizing muscle APs and Ca2+ transients.
Defects of Bile Acid Synthesis in Zellweger's Syndrome

Abnormal mitochondrial structure and function have been documented in patients with Zellweger's syndrome (cerebrohepatorenal syndrome). In vitro studies have suggested that the formation of C24 bile acids (chenodeoxycholic acid and cholic acid) from C27 cholesterol requires mitochondrial oxidative clevage of the terminal three carbons of the side chain. Therefore, three patients with Zellweger's syndrome were examined for the presence of mitochondrial defects in bile acid synthesis. All three excreted excessive amounts of 3 alpha, 7 alpha-dihydroxy-5 beta-cholestan-26-oicacid, 3 alpha, 7 alpha, 12 alpha-trihydroxy-5 beta-cholestan-26-oic acid, and 3 alpha, 7 alpha, 12 alpha, 24 xi-tetrahydroxy-5 beta-cholestan-26-oic acid (varanic acid), precursors of chenodeoxycholic acid and cholic acid that have undergone only partial side chain oxidation. These findings give added support to the role of mitochondrial oxidative side chain cleavage in the overall scheme of bile acid synthesis.
Home food and activity assessment. Development and validation of an instrument for diverse families of young children.

Abstract The purpose of this study was to refine and psychometrically test an instrument measuring the home food and activity environment of geographically and economically diverse families of preschool aged children. Caregivers of preschool aged children (n = 83) completed a modified self-report questionnaire. Reliably trained researchers conducted independent observations on 25 randomly selected homes. Agreement statistics were conducted at the item level (154 total items) to determine reliability. Frequency counts were calculated to identify item availability. Results showed Kappa statistics were high (.67–1.00) between independent researchers but varied between researchers and parents resulting in 85 items achieving criterion validity (Kappa >.60). Analyses of reliable items revealed the presence in the home of a high frequency of unhealthy snack foods, high fat milk and low frequency of availability of fruits/vegetables and low fat milk. Fifty-two percent of the homes were arranged with a television in the preschool child's bedroom. Physical Activity devices also were found to have high frequency availability. Families reporting lower education reported higher levels of sugar sweetened beverages and less low-fat dairy ( p p p
A multiple detector array helical x-ray microtomography system for specimen imaging

An x-ray computed microtomography system for specimen and small animal imaging was built and tested. The system used seventeen 48-microm-wide detector arrays (a charge coupled device camera) and helical acquisition techniques. Images were acquired using 540 rays/view and 400 views/2pi. The modulation transfer function (MTF) of the computed tomography images demonstrated 50 microm limiting resolution, with MTF > 10% for objects larger than 60 microm (approximately 8.3 cycles/mm). While soft tissue discrimination was compromised by a low signal-to-noise ratio, equine medullary bone core samples and the murine skeleton were well visualized. The incorporation of multiple detector arrays provided a 17-fold improvement in x-ray efficiency, which is a very important step toward improving the potential of microtomography as a scientific tool.
Investigation of interactions between metrology and lithography with a CD SEM simulator

The predictive power of computational lithography is often demonstrated by showing predicted 2D pattern shapes compared with top-down SEM images. However, image formation in a SEM is a complex process [1,2,3], and for most 3D lithography and OPC simulators, line width measurements and 2D pattern shapes are based on extracted resist polygons at a fixed height above the substrate. Generating resist polygon shapes with this method is driven by computationally efficiency instead of an attempt to describe the image formation process in an actual SEM. We present PROLITH photolithography simulations combined with simulation of the CD SEM to investigate the interactions between lithography and metrology. Our CD SEM simulator is a simplification of the complicated image formation process [4], but it captures many effects seen experimentally. For example, narrow trenches and contact holes are dark at the bottom in our simulated SEM images, while for isolated lines, the sidewall of the photoresist can clearly be observed all the way to the resist foot at the substrate. This simple result has important implications when evaluating lithographic phenomena such as LWR: for polygon-based metrology, simulated LWR is approximately constant with resist thickness; by contrast, the LWR increases with decreasing thickness when the same simulated 3D resist profiles are evaluated with the CD SEM simulator.
Contribution of the AIRS Shortwave Sounding Channels to Retrieval Accuracy

AIRS contains 2376 high spectral resolution channels between 650/cm and 2665/cm, including channels in both the 15 micron (near 667/cm) and 4.2 micron (near 2400/cm) COP sounding bands. Use of temperature sounding channels in the 15 micron CO2 band has considerable heritage in infra-red remote sensing. Channels in the 4.2 micron CO2 band have potential advantages for temperature sounding purposes because they are essentially insensitive to absorption by water vapor and ozone, and also have considerably sharper lower tropospheric temperature sounding weighting functions than do the 15 micron temperature sounding channels. Potential drawbacks with regard to use of 4.2 micron channels arise from effects on the observed radiances of solar radiation reflected by the surface and clouds, as well as effects of non-local thermodynamic equilibrium on shortwave observations during the day. These are of no practical consequences, however, when properly accounted for. We show results of experiments performed utilizing different spectral regions of AIRS, conducted with the AIRS Science Team candidate Version 5 algorithm. Experiments were performed using temperature sounding channels within the entire AIRS spectral coverage, within only the spectral region 650/cm to 1614 /cm; and within only the spectral region 1000/cm-2665/cm. These show the relative importance of utilizing only 15 micron temperature sounding channels, only the 4.2 micron temperature sounding channels, and both, with regards to sounding accuracy. The spectral region 2380/cm to 2400/cm is shown to contribute significantly to improve sounding accuracy in the lower troposphere, both day and night.
Characterization of Distance Error with Received Signal Strength Ranging

Location aware applications benefit from accurate position information. The position uncertainty can be reduced through cooperative localization in distributed systems with accurate point-to-point ranging. Received signal strength (RSS) measurement enables low cost, low complexity distance estimation. The distance estimate suffers from two sources of error: RSS estimation error and propagation model error. This paper explores the contribution of each type of error to the overall point-to-point distance error. Prior research focused on the model error which establishes a floor on the distance error. However, the oft ignored RSS estimation error significantly degrades the distance estimation accuracy as the distance increases. By including the affect of RSS estimation error, practical estimation algorithms can be compared. Two proposed RSS estimation algorithms are compared in terms of their impact on distance error.
Nonlinear photophoretic response of submicrometer coated aerosol particles to electromagnetic radiation

A numerical method, including dual Monte Carlo sampling, has been developed for simulation of the photophoretic force acting on an illuminated coated aerosol particle. At low light intensity, of the order of the solar constant, the response of the system (photophoretic force, photophoretic velocity) to the beam is linear. However, at high intensity the strong nonlinear dependence of evaporation rate and reradiation on temperature in boundary conditions and in the expression for the photophoretic force can cause significant deviation from linear response. In the simulated theoretical model of photophoresis, the mass, momentum, and energy fluxes at the particle surface were obtained in the “free molecule” regime and the distribution of heat sources within the particle was calculated according to the extension of the electromagnetic theory of light scattering from concentric spheres (A. L. Aden and M. Kerker, J. Appl. Phys. 22, 1242, 1951). In addition to the dual Monte Carlo sampling developed before (M. Sitarski and M. Kerker, J. Atmos. Sci., in press) we applied external Newton iteration for the nonlinear boundary condition at the surface of the volatile aerosol particle. Test computations were carried out for two-layered particles at the accumulation mode (0.16 μm radius) of atmospheric aerosols for conditions corresponding to the altitude of 10 km. The particles consist of spherical soot cores coated with concentric shells of dirty ice. The effect of ice sublimitation is taken into account in these calculations. The two assumed radii, 0.09 and 0.15 μm, of the internal sphere correspond to the minimum and maximum of the photophoretic force (M. Sitarski and M. Kerker, J. Atmos. Sci., in press), respectively. The present computer study shows significant deviation from the linear response model. The calculated values of the photophoretic force at luminous intensities of the order of 106 mW/cm2 are several times lower than the estimations based on the linear extrapolation of the former results for low intensities.
Lack of suppression by concanavalin A-activated neonatal mononuclear cells.

ABSTRACT: We studied the mixed leukocyte culture suppression generated by cord and newborn mononuclear cells stimulated by concanavalin A (Con A) compared to normal adult cells and cells from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. Also we studied the effect of supernatants from cord or adult cells stimulated with Con A linked to sepharose (Con A sepharose). Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 15 adults, 10 normal newborns, 23 cord blood samples, and 11 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus were preincubated with Con A for 48 hr, irradiated, and added to a one-way mixed leukocyte culture. Adult Con A-activated cells suppressed the mixed leukocyte culture by 30 ± 6.5%. By contrast cord cells and newborn cells had no suppressive activity; these cells resulted in stimulation of 18 ± 12.1 and 18 ± 7%, respectively. This lack of suppression also was present in systemic lupus erythematosus cells (11.2 ± 13.3). The supernatants of both Con A sepharose-stimulated cord and adult cells showed significant suppressive activity and there was some suppressive activity of sepharose-stimulated cells alone. These results suggest that the mixed leukocyte cultures suppressive activity observed previously by newborn cells is radiosensitive and dependent on ongoing cell division for its expression. It also is independent of prior mitogenic stimulation.
Pyridoxal- and metal ion-catalyzed oxidative deamination of alpha amino acids

Abstract This paper describes the pyridoxal- and metal ion- catalyzed oxidation of alanine and phenylalanine to pyruvic acid and phenylpyruvic acid, respectively. The reactions were found to occur at moderate, easily measurable rates at 25 °C in aqueous and methanol solutions. Conversions of amino acid to keto acid of up to 89% were observed in the presence of relatively low concentrations of catalysts. The relative catalytic activities of the metal ions employed, as measured by initial rate constants and product yields are Mn(II) > Co(II) > Cu(II) > Ni(II) ∼O. Of special interest is the fact that little or no ammonia was evolved from the reaction mixture and no hydrogen peroxide was formed. However a considerable amount of the ammonia was accounted for by the formation of pyridoxal oxime, and the trapping of some hydroxylamine from the volatile products. The results are discussed in terms of two possible intermediates involving different reaction mechanisms, one with dioxygen coordinated to the metal ion, originally suggested by Hamilton, and a mechanism by which the oxygen attacks the carbanionic form of the delocalized α-deprotonated intermediate to give a hydroperoxide, which then undergoes OO fission to form the keto acid and coordinated pyridoxal oxime. The relative merits of these reaction mechanisms are discussed.
Weighted likelihood estimating equations: The discrete case with applications to logistic regression

Abstract We discuss a method of weighting the likelihood equations with the aim of obtaining fully efficient and robust estimators. We discuss the case of discrete probability models using several weighting functions. If the weight functions generate increasing residual adjustment functions then the method provides a link between the maximum likelihood score equations and minimum disparity estimation, as well as a set of diagnostic weights and a goodness of fit criterion. However, when the weights do not generate increasing residual adjustment functions a selection criterion is needed to obtain the robust root. The weight functions discussed in this paper do not automatically downweight a proportion of the data; an observation is significantly downweighted only if it is inconsistent with the assumed model. At the true model, therefore, the proposed estimating equations behave like the ordinary likelihood equations. We apply our results to several discrete models; in addition, a toxicology experiment illustrates the method in the context of logistic regression.
COMPLAINTS AND COMPLAINING : FUNCTIONS, ANTECEDENTS, AND CONSEQUENCES

Although everyone complains at least occasionally, surprisingly little research attention has been devoted to the topic of complaining. In this review, complaints are defined as expressions of dissatisfaction, whether subjectively experienced or not, for the purpose of venting emotions or achieving intrapsychic goals, interpersonal goals, or both. A theoretical model of complaining is presented that examines the relationship between self-focus, the perceived utility of complaining, and complaining. In addition, this article examines variables related to people's dissatisfaction and complaining thresholds (i.e., negative affect, locus of control, self-presentational concerns, age, and gender), functions of complaining, and intrapersonal and interpersonal consequences of complaining.