cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Changes in total fluorescence intensity resulting from laser penetration depth in human arteries

The dependence of total fluorescence intensity emitted from normal artery on laser excitation power (30 mw - 230 mw) at 514 nm was studied. Variations in fluorescence profile and total fluorescence intensity were explored for normal arteries (n=13) and fibrous atheromas (n=32) using 488 nm laser excitation at 30 mw and 514 nm laser excitation at 40 mw respectively. In addition to changes in fluorescence profile, the total fluorescence intensity was considerably different for normal artery specimens and fibrous atheromas. The total fluorescence from normal artery was found to be twice as great as that from fibrous atheroma. A theoretical multi-layer model based on Beer's law was developed. This analysis was used to show that changes in total fluorescence intensity may be due to the variance in laser penetration depth in tissue when an incident laser of constant intensity was used. With the known absorption coefficients for plaque and normal wall at 488 and 514 nm excitation the calculations of total fluorescence intensity were made at tissue depths when the incident beam reached 1 mw. Thus according to the model, the penetration depth in normal artery is 1.70 mm and in fibrous atheroma is 0.85 mm at 488 nm laser excitation and 30 mw. The ratio of the total fluorescence from normal artery to that from atherosclerosis was calculated to be 1.8 multiplied by the ratio of their fluorescence coefficients. Also, the laser penetration depth in normal artery increased with the increase of the laser excitation power at 514 nm. The computed total fluorescence intensity was highly correlated with the experimental results obtained from tissue fluorescence (R = 0.996). Thus experimental results obtained from fresh necropsy normal and atherosclerotic
Vapor distribution above an evaporating sessile drop

Abstract An experimental technique was developed that uses infrared tomography to measure the three-dimensional vapor distribution above an evaporating sessile drop. The technique was applied to measure the vapor distributions above evaporating drops of hexane and 3-methylpentane (3MP) at room temperature and pressure. The molecular masses of these two species are heavier than air and the vapor from the evaporating drop forms a flat, disk-shaped cloud. A Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR) was used to measure the spectral absorbance along a set of paths passing through the vapor cloud. From a set of path-averaged absorbance measurements, a two-dimensional spatial concentration distribution was determined using a computed tomography routine. A three-dimensional concentration distribution was obtained from multiple two-dimensional distributions obtained at different elevations above the drop. The vapor distributions for both hexane and 3MP differ significantly from the values predicted by the solutions for diffusion-limited evaporation and indicate the effect of buoyancy-induced convection of the vapor. These measurements are the first quantitative measurements of the vapor distribution above a sessile drop and are important for advancing the understanding of the vapor phase transport mechanisms, and thus sessile drop evaporation.
Rock volatility - Some initial experiments.

Volatile elements from a basalt and from an obsidian were identified following slow neutron irradiation of the samples and a gamma ray spectroscopic assay of the room temperature distillate. The covariance of the enrichment factors for a variety of metals in the distillate and in atmospheric aerosols suggests that natural volatilization is responsible in part for the metal burdens in the atmosphere.
Singular perturbation potentials

Abstract This is a perturbative analysis of the eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of Schrodinger operators of the form −Δ + A + λV, defined on the Hilbert space L2(Rn), where Δ = Σ i=1 n ∂ 2 ∂X i 2 , A is a potential function and V is a positive perturbative potential function which diverges at some finite point, conventionally the origin. λ is a small real or complex parameter. The emphasis is on one-dimensional or separable problems, and in particular the typical example is the “spiked harmonic oscillator” Hamiltonian, −d 2 dx 2 + x 2 + l(l + 1) x 2 + λ|x| −α , where α is a positive constant. When this kind of perturbation is very singular, the first-order Rayleigh-Schrodinger perturbative correction, (u0, Vu0), where u0 is the unperturbed eigenfunction, diverges. This analysis constructs explicitly calculable terms in a modified perturbation series to a finite order, by using linear operator theory in concert with approximation methods for differential equations. Along the way a connection between a W-K-B type approximation and Bessel functions is exploited.
The synaptic organization of lemniscal projections to the ventrobasal thalamus of the cat.

Abstract The fine structure of degenerating synapses in VB following ablation of the dorsal column nuclei has been studied with the electron microscope. Within 24 h after the lesion, large synaptic knobs forming asymmetrical synapses are seen to fill with neurofilaments. The neurofilamentous degenerative changes become more marked 2–3 days following the lesion. The degenerating knobs exhibit an electrondense appearance after 3–5 days, and then are phagocytosed and most disappear after 5–10 days. The degenerating lemniscal synapses are found to synapse principally upon dendrites, and also upon other synaptic knobs or dendritic profiles giving rise to synapses. The fine structure of degeneration is compared to degeneration seen with the light microscope. Neurofilamentous synaptic degeneration corresponds to theformation of neurofibrillar rings stained by the Glees method. Electron-dense axons and synapses are correlated with staining of degeneration with Nauta methods. The morphological findings support physiological postulates concerning secure relations between lemniscal terminals and VB neurons, but are at variance with physiological models used to explain presynaptic inhibition.
Experimental Evidence of Recombination in Coronavirus Infectious Bronchitis Virus

Embryonated eggs were coinfected with two strains of the coronavirus avian infectious bronchitis virus (IBV), IBV-Beaudette and IBV-M41, to investigate whether recombination between the two strains would occur. Virions were isolated from the allantoic fluid of the coinfected eggs and putative hybrid RNAs were detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), using strain-specific oligonucleotides. PCR products, of the expected sizes, were obtained as predicted from potential recombination events between the nucleoprotein (N) gene and the 3'-untranslated region of the two IBV genomes. Sequencing confirmed that they corresponded to hybrid RNAs. Virus produced as a result of the mixed infection was treated with an M41-specific neutralizing monoclonal antibody and passaged in Vero cells, in which IBV-Beaudette, but not IBV-M41, replicated. Hybrid RNA was still detectable after three serial passages. Since no IBV-M41 was detectable this confirmed that infectious recombinant genomes had been produced in the embryonated eggs. These findings not only support the circumstantial evidence, from sequencing studies of IBV field strains, that recombination occurs during replication of IBV and contributes to the diversity of IBV, but also show that coronavirus RNA recombination is not limited to mouse hepatitis virus.
Infrared spectroscopy of the bent isomer of N2O-HF

Abstract We report the infrared spectrum of the bent isomer of N2O-HF in which the HF subnit is hydrogen bonded to the oxygen. This isomer was previously observed using microwave spectroscopy, while recent infrared measurements by Lovejoy and Nesbitt have shown that a linear (or slightly bent) ONNHF isomer also exists. We find that the linear ONNHF isomer is present under identical beam conditions to those used to record the spectrum of the bent isomer.
Testing Whether Independent Treatment Groups Have Equal Medians

The paper suggests new methods for comparing the medians corresponding to independent treatment groups. The procedures are based on the Harrell-Davis estimator in conjunction with a slight modification and extension of the bootstrap calibration technique suggested by Loh. Alternatives to the Harrell-Davis estimator are briefly discussed. For the special case of two treatment groups, the proposed procedure always had more power than the Fligner-Rust solution, as well as the procedure examined by Wilcox and Charlin. Included is an illustration, using real data, that comparing medians, rather than means, can yield a substantially different conclusion as to whether two distributions differ in terms of some measure of central location.
Statistical High-Level Synthesis under Process Variability

CMOS process variability is a major challenge in deep-submicron SoC designs. The variations in transistor parameters are complicating both timing and power consumption prediction. This article surveys recent progress in the statistical high-level synthesis area.
Social Network Influences on Adolescent Sexual Attitudes and Behaviors

Within a socialization paradigm, a model was developed and tested to examine social network influences on adolescent sexual behavior and contraceptive use. It was hypothesized that the social network influences of parents and peers would affect the contraceptive knowledge and premarital sexual attitudes of adolescents. In turn, knowledge and attitudes were expected to influence sexual behavior and contraceptive use. The sample comprised 161 male and 200 female high school students. Results from the LISREL analyses indicated that the model was a good fit to the data and that the model differed significantly between males and females and between virgins and nonvirgins. Approximately 50% of the variance was explainedfor virgin and nonvirgin females, and for virgin males. Parents were more influential for males, whereas friends were more important for females. The transition to nonvirginity seems to produce a greater change in the social environment offemales than of males.
Determining the structure of lexical entries and grammatical constructions in Construction Grammar

Research in Construction Grammar assumes no strict separation between syntax and the lexicon. However, recent work by Goldberg (1995, 2006) shows that there is indeed a separation between lexical entries and grammatical constructions, including constraints regulating the fusion of grammatical constructions with verbs. This paper argues that Goldberg’s characterization of the interactions between lexical entries and grammatical constructions faces some of the same difficulties as the interactions between lexical entries and transformational rules in the Chomskyan framework (Chomsky, 1965, 1981, 1995). Drawing on a variety of corpus data this paper presents specific proposals that should be considered in order to arrive at a solution that overcomes difficulties inherent to Goldberg’s approach. Based on a discussion of the concepts of analogy, collocational restrictions, frequency, and productivity this paper proposes to encode different types of semantic, pragmatic, and syntactic information in such a way that it is possible to account for a given utterance from a comprehension perspective, as well as a production perspective.
Analysis and optimization of terabit magnetic recording systems limited by down-track and cross-track write field gradients

Abstract In this work, a simple head field is analyzed to suggest optimal perpendicular recording system configurations in the 1 Tbit/in2 areal density range. The head field examined is that arising from a brick of magnetic material having a saturation induction, Bs, of 2.45 T, perfectly magnetized in the perpendicular direction and perfectly imaged in a soft underlayer (SUL). An algorithm is presented to identify the maximum density achievable for a particular signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), under conditions of (i) constant medium thermal stability ( K u V / kT = 50 ); (ii) constant adjacent track erasure of 20% magnetization loss after 106 adjacent track writes; (iii) and a head medium separation of 5 nm, and (iv) no separation between the medium and the SUL. The SNR is estimated from the number of grains across the read track width within the region where the transition is sharp enough to avoid percolation. Using this algorithm, we conclude that the optimum medium thickness is 15 nm, and the optimum pole width is 70 nm. A uniform background field of 150 kA/m added to the pole field in a direction perpendicular to the medium offered a slight improvement (5%) in achievable density. Interestingly, the same analysis also suggests that tilting the medium anisotropy orientation does not improve areal density at fixed SNR, although the grain volume at the optimum recording condition on tilted medium is about 25% smaller. While the head field considered here is idealized, it captures the variation of down-track field gradient with cross-track position, which is frequently neglected in such analysis, but appears to be a first-order consideration.
Alcohol Fuel Cells at Optimal Temperatures

High-power-density alcohol fuel cells can relieve many of the daunting challenges facing a hydrogen energy economy. Here, such fuel cells are achieved using CsH2PO4 as the electrolyte and integrating into the anode chamber a Cu-ZnO/Al2O3 methanol steam-reforming catalyst. The temperature of operation, ~250°C, is matched both to the optimal value for fuel cell power output and for reforming. Peak power densities using methanol and ethanol were 226 and 100 mW/cm^2, respectively. The high power output (305 mW/cm^2) obtained from reformate fuel containing 1% CO demonstrates the potential of this approach with optimized reforming catalysts and also the tolerance to CO poisoning at these elevated temperatures.
Genetic Analysis of Root and Shoot Traits in the 'Essex' By 'Forrest' Recombinant Inbred Line (RIL) Population of Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.)

Crop productivity is severely reduced by water deficit and drought in many plant species including soybean. Improved root and shoot traits can contribute to drought tolerance ability of the plant. This research was conducted to identify QTL that underlie several root and shoot traits in the ‘Essex’ by ‘Forrest’ (ExF RILs, n=94) recombinant inbred line (RIL) soybean population. Field collected samples were used for gathering phenotypic data of basal root thickness (BRT), lateral root number (LRN), maximum root length (MRL), root fresh weight (RFW), root dry weight (RDW), shoot fresh weight (SFW), shoot dry weight (SDW), and calculating RFW/SFW, and RDW/SDW ratios. All traits and ratios were compared against DNA markers using the composite interval mapping (CIM). A total of 12 QTL: 3 for MRL, 1 QTL for LRN, 1 QTL for BRT, 2 QTL for RFW, 2 QTL for RDW, 4 QTL for SFW, 3 QTL for SDW, and 3 QTL for SFW/SDW were identified and mapped on different linkage groups (LGs) A2, B2, C2, D1a, F, G, and N. The LOD scores of these QTL ranged from 2.5 to 6.0. No QTL were associated with RFW/RDW. The root and shoot trait QTL of this study may benefit breeding programs for producing cultivars tolerant to water deficit and high yield. Preliminary analyses of genes the QTL regions using GO annotation gave insight into genes that may underlie some of these QTLs.
Organizational success and failure

Abstract This paper provides an empirical test of a holistic model of organizational success. It builds upon previous work by Flamholtz (Flamholz, 1995) Managing organizational transitions: implications for corporate and human resource management, European Management Journal 13(1), 39–51.] to develop a model of organizational success and failure. The initial model proposes that there are six key factors or `strategic building blocks' of successful organizations, and the six key variables must be designed as a holistic system, which has been termed `The Pyramid of Organizational Development'. The current paper proposes a link between the organizational development model and the financial success of organizations. To test this hypothesized relationship, we have analyzed financial and non-financial information relevant to the hypothesized model for eight pairs of companies in different industries. Each company was evaluated in terms of the six key strategic building blocks, and scores were assigned to indicate the degree of the organization's development. This organizational development score and measures of financial performance were used in a Friedman two-way analysis of variance as well as in a regression analysis to test the predictive validity of the framework. The results of both the Friedman and regression analysis suggest that there is a statistically significant relationship between the development of the six critical success factors and overall financial success of organizations. This has significant implications for both management theory and practice.
Youth Motorcycle-Related Brain Injury by State Helmet Law Type: United States, 2005–2007

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Twenty-seven states have youth-specific helmet laws even though such laws have been shown to decrease helmet use and increase youth mortality compared with all-age (universal) laws. Our goal was to quantify the impact of age-specific helmet laws on youth under age 20 hospitalized with traumatic brain injury (TBI). METHODS: Our cross-sectional ecological group analysis compared TBI proportions among US states with different helmet laws. We examined the following null hypothesis: If age-specific helmet laws are as effective as universal laws, there will be no difference in the proportion of hospitalized young motorcycle riders with TBI in the respective states. The data are derived from the 2005 to 2007 State Inpatient Databases of the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project. We examined data for 17 states with universal laws, 6 states with laws for ages RESULTS: In states with a CONCLUSIONS: States with youth-specific laws had an increased risk of TBI that required hospitalization, serious and severe TBI, TBI-related disability, and in-hospital death among the youth they are supposed to protect. The only method known to keep motorcycle-helmet use high among youth is to adopt or maintain universal helmet laws.
The Gift (Book) That Keeps on Giving: Poe's "The Purloined Letter," Rereading, Reprinting, and Detective Fiction

Just published by Carey & Hart, and for sale by all booksellers. The Gift for 1845, with illustrations . . . and originally bound in calf extra . . . . We had reason, last year, to bestow high commendation on one of this class of American publications, and are glad to be [. . .] repeating it on the present volume. The Gift is still . . . so well printed, charmingly illustrated, as handsomely bound and as ably written as ever. This last is, after all, the feature which most attracts our regard . . . But [. . .] the story of “The Purloined Letter,” by Edgar A. Poe, we must regard [. . .] of literary merit.1
A modified p53 overcomes mdm2-mediated oncogenic transformation : A potential cancer therapeutic agent

The antiproliferative activities of wild-type (wt) p53 are inhibited by mdm2 (murine double minute2) oncogene product. We tested growth suppression activity of p53 14/19, an engineered p53 variant, which does not bind mdm2 and is completely resistant to the inhibition by mdm2. p53 14/19, unlike wt p53, suppressed the growth of cancer cells that contain amplified mdm2 oncogene efficiently by direct DNA transfection or adenovirus-mediated gene transfer. In addition, p53 14/19 also inhibited the growth of several different cancer cell lines expressing low levels of mdm2 oncogene product as efficiently as wt p53. We further examined the antioncogenic potencies of p53 14/19 in the rat embryo fibroblast cotransformation assay. Addition of wt p53 failed to cause any significant decrease in ras plus mdm2 foci counts. In contrast, cotransfection of p53 14/19 with ras and mdm2 significantly reduced foci number. In similar experiments, cotransfection of wt p53 or 14/19 p53 resulted in significant inhibition of oncogenic transformation in rat embryo fibroblast mediated by an activated ras plus c-myc, adenovirus E1A, or human papillomavirus E7 oncogenes. Therefore, these results suggest that p53 14/19 modified tumor suppressor gene may be a promising therapeutic agent for human cancers that express abnormally high levels of mdm2 oncogene product.
An Evolutionary Link between Natural Transformation and CRISPR Adaptive Immunity

ABSTRACT Natural transformation by competent bacteria is a primary means of horizontal gene transfer; however, evidence that competence drives bacterial diversity and evolution has remained elusive. To test this theory, we used a retrospective comparative genomic approach to analyze the evolutionary history of Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, a bacterial species with both competent and noncompetent sister strains. Through comparative genomic analyses, we reveal that competence is evolutionarily linked to genomic diversity and speciation. Competence loss occurs frequently during evolution and is followed by the loss of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPRs), bacterial adaptive immune systems that protect against parasitic DNA. Relative to noncompetent strains, competent bacteria have larger genomes containing multiple rearrangements. In contrast, noncompetent bacterial genomes are extremely stable but paradoxically susceptible to infective DNA elements, which contribute to noncompetent strain genetic diversity. Moreover, incomplete noncompetent strain CRISPR immune systems are enriched for self-targeting elements, which suggests that the CRISPRs have been co-opted for bacterial gene regulation, similar to eukaryotic microRNAs derived from the antiviral RNA interference pathway. IMPORTANCE The human microbiome is rich with thousands of diverse bacterial species. One mechanism driving this diversity is horizontal gene transfer by natural transformation, whereby naturally competent bacteria take up environmental DNA and incorporate new genes into their genomes. Competence is theorized to accelerate evolution; however, attempts to test this theory have proved difficult. Through genetic analyses of the human periodontal pathogen Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, we have discovered an evolutionary connection between competence systems promoting gene acquisition and CRISPRs (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats), adaptive immune systems that protect bacteria against genetic parasites. We show that competent A. actinomycetemcomitans strains have numerous redundant CRISPR immune systems, while noncompetent bacteria have lost their CRISPR immune systems because of inactivating mutations. Together, the evolutionary data linking the evolution of competence and CRISPRs reveals unique mechanisms promoting genetic heterogeneity and the rise of new bacterial species, providing insight into complex mechanisms underlying bacterial diversity in the human body.
Poor Glycemic Control Induces Hypertension in Diabetes Mellitus

We conducted this study to test the hypothesis that hypertension is a primary consequence of poor glycemic control per se very early in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. Sprague-Dawley rats (n=15) were instrumented with artery and vein catheters, placed in metabolic cages, and sodium intake was clamped throughout the study. Mean arterial pressure was measured 24 h/d. After a precontrol period, streptozotocin (70 mg/kg IV) was administered, and 15 hours later a continuous intravenous infusion was begun at 4 U/rat per day. The insulin infusion was titrated on an individual rat basis to maintain good glycemic control, and after this 7-day control period, blood glucose, urinary sodium excretion, and mean arterial pressure were not different from precontrol values, averaging 8.8 +/- 0.6 mmol/L, 2.8 +/- 0.2 mmol/d, and 103 +/- 2 mm/Hg, respectively, for control days 5 through 7. Subsequently, a 4-day period of poor glycemic control was initiated by reducing the insulin infusion rate. Blood glucose, urinary sodium excretion, and mean arterial pressure began to increase on day 1; for diabetes days 3 and 4, they averaged 23.4 +/- 1.0 mmol/L, 3.6 +/- 0.1 mmol/d, and 110 +/- 2 mm Hg, respectively. All were significantly elevated. When insulin treatment was restored, all variables returned to control levels during the next 4 days. A second 4-day diabetic period yielded similar results. These results indicate that elevated blood pressure is a primary consequence of poor glycemic control in insulin-dependent diabetes, occurring before renal injury has had time to develop, and therefore, may be a factor contributing to the initiation of end-organ injury.
Distributional Analysis and De Jong, Liang, and Lauber's (1994) Dual-Process Model of the Simon Effect

Marsh, 1975), respectively. It is also shown that the distributional analysis is a simple computational procedure that reflects fundamental statistical properties of the underlying reaction time distributions and their interrelationships and that De Jong et al.'s time-course assumptions precluded at least half of these interrelationships. Indeed, experimental results from tasks in which the Simon effect is obtained often violate these assumptions, as is demonstrated in this article. Finally, it is also shown that De Jong et al.'s data are consistent with the hypothesis that the Simon effect and its reversal, irrespective of the task type in which it is obtained, can be accounted for by a common mechanism with 2 independent functional components.
A Landsat time series approach to characterize bark beetle and defoliator impacts on tree mortality and surface fuels in conifer forests

article Insects are important forest disturbance agents, and mapping their effects on tree mortality and surface fuels represents a critical research challenge. Although various remote sensing approaches have been developed to monitor insect impacts, most studies have focused on single insect agents or single locations and have not related observed changes to ground-based measurements. This study presents a remote sensing framework to (1) characterize spectral trajectories associated with insect activity of varying duration and severity and (2) relate those trajectories to ground-based measurements of tree mortality and surface fuels in the Cascade Range, Oregon, USA. We leverage a Landsat time series change detection algorithm (LandTrendr), annual forest health aerial detection surveys (ADS), and field measurements to investigate two study landscapes broadly applicable to conifer forests and dominant insect agents of western North America. We distributed 38 plots across multiple forest types (ranging from mesic mixed-conifer to xeric lodgepole pine) and insect agents (defoliator (western spruce budworm) and bark beetle (mountain pine beetle)). Insect effects were evident in the Landsat time series as combinations of both short- and long-duration changes in the Normal- ized Burn Ratio spectral index. Western spruce budworm trajectories appeared to show a consistent tempo- ral evolution of long-duration spectral decline (loss of vegetation) followed by recovery, whereas mountain pine beetle plots exhibited both short- and long-duration spectral declines and variable recovery rates. Although temporally variable, insect-affected stands generally conformed to four spectral trajectories: short- duration decline then recovery, short- then long-duration decline, long-duration decline, long-duration decline then recovery. When comparing remote sensing data with field measurements of insect impacts, we found that spectral changes were related to cover-based estimates (tree basal area mortality (R 2
STUDIES ON THE MECHANISM OF RECOVERY IN PNEUMOCOCCAL PNEUMONIA : II. THE EFFECT OF SULFONAMIDE THERAPY UPON THE PULMONARY LESION OF EXPERIMENTAL PNEUMONIA.

Experimental pneumococcal pneumonia was produced in albino rats by intrabronchial inoculation of Type I pneumococci suspended in mucin. The resulting pneumonia was uniformly fatal in untreated rats. Eighty per cent of the animals so infected and treated with sulfonamide drugs 6 hours after inoculation survived the pneumonia. At the end of 1 week the surviving animals were sacrificed, and examination of the lungs showed sharply demarcated localized pulmonary lesions containing no pneumococci. Microscopic study of the lungs of treated animals sacrificed at 6, 18, 42, 66, 96, and 168 hours after the start of treatment revealed the following sequence of events. During the first 18 hours the drug apparently had little effect upon the pneumonic lesion, but at the end of 18 hours pneumococci in the edema zone began to show striking changes in their morphology, indicating bacteriostesis. Forty-two hours after the start of treatment the edema zone had disappeared, the pneumonia had ceased to spread, and the pneumococci at the margin of the lesion had been overtaken by leucocytes. Careful examination of the exudate in the periphery of the lesion revealed definite phagocytosis of pneumococci. By the 4th day no pneumococci could be found in the stained sections, and after 1 week there remained only macrophages in the rapidly clearing alveoli. In order to demonstrate the phagocytic reaction more clearly the effect of sulfonamide drugs was studied in pneumonic rats previously rendered leucopenic by exposure to x-ray. The pneumonia in these animals was relatively acellular, and the few macrophages present in each alveolus could be seen to have phagocyted large numbers of pneumococci after 18 to 42 hours of treatment. The macrophages not only phagocyted the pneumococci but ultimately destroyed them, the pneumonic lesion later going on to complete resolution. The fact that this phagocytic reaction was observed in the lungs of animals with bacteremia suggests that the phagocytosis is independent of circulating type-specific opsonins.
Modeling gait transitions of quadrupeds and their generalization with CMAC neural networks

In this paper, two gait transition models of a quadruped are derived based on gait kinematics. The learning and generalization capability of the cerebellar model articulation controller (CMAC) neural network in learning gait transitions is then studied. The two gait transition models are the transition between two general periodic gaits and the transition between a periodic gait and a continuous follow-the-leader (FTL) gait, while maintaining FTL mode during the transition. These models are nonlinear and require either heuristic rules or simultaneous solution of several nonlinear equations. Many transition gaits are then generated by these kinematic gait transition models under various gait conditions and evaluated in terms of stability and smoothness of leg movements. The CMAC neural network is then applied to learn the good transition gaits in four transition conditions: (1) from wave gait to wave gait; (2) from wave gait to FTL gait; (3) from walk to trot; and (4) from trot to transverse gallop. The learning and generalization capability of the trained CMAC neural network is evaluated and found to be satisfactory. This study has demonstrated the potential of applying neural networks to learn walking machine gaits and gait transitions.
Aloneness and Social Form

The Simmelian call for a formal sociology is applied to aloneness to uncover generic patterns of relation between the individual and the community. Three forms of aloneness are distinguished by focusing on the interactional and relational levels of sociation underlying each. Other-imposed aloneness as represented by isolation is an asymmetric form. It is the state of being cut off from immediate interaction or extended relations. Mutually constructed aloneness is represented by privacy and solitude. Both privacy and solitude are symmetric, intentional, and cooperative; but privacy is the temporary suspension of interaction and implies at most a common past and shared future, and solitude rests upon a foundation of committed, temporally extended relationships. Self-imposed aloneness as represented by escapism is asymmetrical and involves a negative affirmation of the community. It is rooted in a distorted temporal existence.
Protest and Congressional Behavior: Assessing Racial and Ethnic Minority Protests in the District

Although minority protest is often characterized as an effective form of political participation, previous research has been unsuccessful in establishing a direct link between protest activity and congressional support for minority interests. However, the shortcoming of the existing literature is related to an analytical focus at the aggregate level, where only the passage of congressional legislation and national-level protest events are considered. By linking district-level minority protest actions to individual roll-call votes on race, I hypothesize that minority activism can indicate constituency preferences and inform legislators’ votes. This analytical approach provides a more nuanced understanding of the influence that citizens’ behavior has on congressional policy. Using protest data and congressional roll-call votes from the 87th to the 101st Congress, the empirical analysis demonstrates that representatives are attuned to the social conditions of their district and use minority protest as an inf...
Study of analytical current ripple of three-phase PWM converter

The effects of the current ripple of three-phase PWM converters are very important for the design and control of this kind of converter, which is the most popular topology for the energy conversion system. Based on the previous study of single-phase converter's current ripple, analytical current ripple of three-phase converter is studied in this paper with the Thevenin equivalent circuit of 8 different voltage vectors. With the analytical expression, current ripple peak value and RMS value could be predicted and fit the simulation results and experimental results well. This analysis provides the basis for variable switching frequency PWM method discussed in the paper of “Variable Switching Frequency PWM for Three-phase Converter for Loss and EMI Improvement” in APEC 2012.
Fixed Grants and the Supply of Public Goods: the Case of Agricultural Research:

This article analyzes the provision of public goods and services by state and local Abstract governments with fixed intergovernmental grants. Equilibrium conditions are derived for an activity with private and pure public joint products, funded by state funds and fixed intergovernmental grants. Fixed grants are shown to impose an additional constraint on lower level governments and induce them to supply fewer units of the public good. Also, such grants impose a cost on the grantor equal to the potential loss in spillins for each agent.
Deadlock properties in discrete simulation systems

Deadlock is a situation when a set of entities, holding some resource(s), all request access to resource(s) held by other entities in the same set. Due to the stochastic nature of simulation and a lack of information of the chronology of events a priori, predicting deadlocks in simulation is a difficult task. In this paper, we present a graph theoretic model to capture the deadlock characteristics, and some deadlock properties of a general discrete simulation system. Finally, we suggest deadlock detection and resolution as an appropriate strategy in simulation systems. >
Fuel Reduction Management Practices in Riparian Areas of the Western USA

Two decades of uncharacteristically severe wildfires have caused government and private land managers to actively reduce hazardous fuels to lessen wildfire severity in western forests, including riparian areas. Because riparian fuel treatments are a fairly new management strategy, we set out to document their frequency and extent on federal lands in the western U.S. Seventy-four USDA Forest Service Fire Management Officers (FMOs) in 11 states were interviewed to collect information on the number and characteristics of riparian fuel reduction treatments in their management district. Just under half of the FMOs surveyed (43%) indicated that they were conducting fuel reduction treatments in riparian areas. The primary management objective listed for these projects was either fuel reduction (81%) or ecological restoration and habitat improvement (41%), though multiple management goals were common (56%). Most projects were of small extent (93% < 300 acres), occurred in the wildland-urban interface (75%), and were conducted in ways to minimize negative impacts on species and habitats. The results of this survey suggest that managers are proceeding cautiously with treatments. To facilitate project planning and implementation, managers recommended early coordination with resource specialists, such as hydrologists and fish and wildlife biologists. Well-designed monitoring of the consequences of riparian fuel treatments on fuel loads, fire risk, and ecological effects is needed to provide a scientifically-defensible basis for the continued and growing implementation of these treatments.
Proposal of a method for selecting suppliers considering risk management

Purpose – Due to the warming at the automotive market in the last years and consequently the growth of vehicle production has been moved and placed emphasis on the segment. In recent years, some have known, for example, as the earthquake that struck Japan in 2011 was able to disrupt the suppliers of the country. Due to these events, supply chain risk management has become essential to the supply chain operations success. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the supplier’s systematic selection at the automotive industry compared with the identified models in the literature. Design/methodology/approach – A case study applied at the automotive to propose a method for selecting suppliers considering the risk management. Findings – These results indicate that the organization has established criteria for suppliers selection, this systematic aims to identify the potential risks in the supply chain before the supplier award the project but it’s also the current practice can be improved using as reference the...
Supporting Fifth-Grade ELLs' Argumentative Writing Development.

This article reports instruction supporting the development of fifth grade English learners’ argumentative writing in an English language arts setting. Arguments analyzed for the study were produced by the same students on two occasions, roughly 3 months apart. In the first instance, students discussed the source text in detail, but were given no genre-specific support for writing. Following professional development, the teacher introduced students to the stages, or structural elements, expected in argumentation, with genre-specific scaffolds. Classroom data illustrate how the teacher scaffolded students’ argumentative writing. Analysis of writing data identifies the text- and stage-level features of students’ responses, with particular attention paid to students’ construction of the reason stage, in which writers must explain why textual evidence supports their overall position on a question about a character or theme. Findings describe the range of responses and point to characteristics of texts and pro...
Effects of Superimposed Pressure on Flow and Fracture of Two Bulk Amorphous Metals

Tension and compression tests have been performed with high alignment fixtures on two different zirconium-based bulk metallic glass specimens at atmospheric pressure as well as with levels of superimposed hydrostatic pressure up to 700 MPa. The results show essentially no difference in applied flow stress or fracture stress between compression and tension specimens over the range of pressures tested. However, a difference in fracture plane angle between compression and tension specimens was observed, suggesting a normal stress effect, as in granular solids, on the flow and fracture behavior of the bulk metallic glass specimens. The data are compared to various flow and fracture theories over a very wide range of normal stresses. Over the range tested, a Mohr-Coulomb flow theory appears to best describe the data.
Justice Field and the Jurisprudence of Government-Business Relations: Some Parameters of Laissez-Faire Constitutionalism, 1863–1897

HE institutional and economic growth of American society through the mid-nineteenth century entailed -close cooperation between the public and private sectors. Antebellum state and local politicians viewed government's resources as a means to attain the developmental goals of a society dedicated to material growth; public officials were more than willing "to seek the public good through private negotiations."' State legislatures chartered hundreds of corporations and lavished them with land grants, lottery franchises, eminent domain privileges, and tax exemptions.2 Local governments, too, engaged in the scramble for regional development and readily opened their treasuries to railroad corporations and other businesses.3 By the 1870s, however, various socioeconomic groups began to perceive that their interests were no longer congruent with those of the corporations that government had created and subsidized. In that decade, shippers waged successful struggles to impose stiff regulatory laws on grain
A New Species of Pseudoschoengastia (Acari: Trombiculidae) from a Forest Spiny Pocket Mouse (Rodentia: Heteromyidae) Taken in Panama

Pseudoschoengastia disparunguis is describedas new from specimens collected in Panama from the Forest Spiny Pocket Mouse, Heteromys desmarestianus (Rodentia: Heteromyidae).
Communicating about ocean health: theoretical and practical considerations.

As anthropogenic stressors threaten the health of marine ecosystems, there is a need to better understand how the public processes and responds to information about ocean health. Recent studies of ...
Abstract 531: Splanchnic Venous Compression With an Automated Binder is as Effective as Midodrine in the Treatment of Orthostatic Hypotension

Treatment of orthostatic hypotension (OH) with pressor agents can worsen supine hypertension, cause drug interactions, or may be contraindicated in patients with cardiovascular disease. Splanchnic ...
Antibodies to A19 and Bw35 complexes of human leukocyte antigens are present in infertile subjects with sperm antibodies

Sera and secretions from 100 couples with unexplained infertility were tested for sperm antibodies by cytotoxicity and passive hemagglutination and also for antibodies to human leukocyte antigen (HLA) by cytotoxicity assays. Lymphocytes of the study subjects were typed for 61 HLA-A and B alleles. Thirteen of 30 (43%) men with sperm autoimmunity also had HLA antibodies in their serum and/or seminal plasma samples, in contrast to 2 of 35 (6%) nonautoimmune males ( P =0.0003). Twenty-five of 35 (71%) sperm antibody-positive infertile women had HLA antibodies in their sera and/or secretions,while only 7 of 31 (23%) women without sperm antibodies were positive ( P =0.00007). Antibodies to HLA-A19 (A26, A29, AW30, AW31, AW32, AW33, and AW34) and Bw35 (B5, B15, B17, and B18) complexes were present in 19 of 22 (86%) infertile men and 44 of 48 (92%) infertile women positive for HLA antibodies ( P
Random Composite Forests

We introduce a broad family of decision trees, Composite Trees, whose leaf classifiers are selected out of a hypothesis set composed of p subfamilies with different complexities. We prove new data-dependent learning guarantees for this family in the multi-class setting. These learning bounds provide a quantitative guidance for the choice of the hypotheses at each leaf. Remarkably, they depend on the Rademacher complexities of the sub-families of the predictors and the fraction of sample points correctly classified at each leaf. We further introduce random composite trees and derive learning guarantees for random composite trees which also apply to Random Forests. Using our theoretical analysis, we devise a new algorithm, RANDOMCOMPOSITEFOREST (RCF), that is based on forming an ensemble of random composite trees. We report the results of experiments demonstrating that RCF yields significant performance improvements over both Random Forests and a variant of RCF in several tasks.
The evolving genomic landscape of urothelial carcinoma

Large-scale, next-generation sequencing collaborations have identified drivers and vulnerabilities of urothelial carcinoma. In this Review, the authors discuss the mutational landscape of urothelial carcinoma, including specific mutations in pathways and driver genes and describe how the next generation of therapies will be based on patient-specific targetable mutations observed in individual tumours.
How Do Nurses Practice

Understanding how nurses align theory with practice is key to the wellbeing of patients. In these times, there is a lack of regard for what patients want and need in living their quality of life. Since nurses are the facilitators of patient care, they must define how they are with patients and advocate for all people.
Extremely Elevated Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rates: Associations With Patients' Diagnoses, Demographic Characteristics, and Comorbidities

Abstract Objective To study associations between extreme erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) elevations (≥100 mm/h) and diseases, age, sex, race, Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), and C-reactive protein (CRP) level. Patients and Methods This was a retrospective cohort study of 4807 patients with extreme ESR values examined at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, from January 1, 2002, through December 31, 2011. Independent variables included diseases (infection, autoimmune, malignancy, renal disease, or miscellaneous), subcategories of diseases, patient demographic characteristics (age, sex, and race), CRP level, and CCI. The Wilcoxon rank sum test was used to assess comparisons of ESR between patients with and without disease as well as relationships between extreme ESR values and demographic characteristics of patients within disease categories. Associations between ESR and CRP level were determined using the Pearson correlation coefficient. Results The leading diagnosis associated with extreme ESR elevations (n [%]) was infection (1932 [40]), followed by autoimmune (1839 [38]) and malignancy (1736 [36]) ( P P =.008). Extreme ESR elevations correlated inversely with the CCI ( P =.008) and did not correlate with the CRP level. There were no correlations between extreme elevations in ESR and age or race. Conclusion We found that almost all patients have an identifiable etiology for extreme ESR elevations and that infection is the most common disease association. Unlike previous research, we identified higher ESRs in men than in women and no associations with age, race, and comorbid illness. These findings may enhance the diagnostic evaluation of patients with extreme ESR elevations.
Abstract TP390: Continuous Quality Improvement Implementation Across a Large Stroke Network of Affiliated Rural Hospitals Demonstrates Improved Care

Background and Purpose: Currently, the stroke care network includes 28 affiliate hospitals. One of the network missions is to improve quality of care through an evidence-based, standardized approach. In 2014, a formalized continuous quality improvement process began. Methods: Each affiliate receives quality education and utilizes a data report to collect and submit monthly stroke data elements quarterly. Data were compared for system analysis. Results: 18 of 24 (75%) affiliates submitted data in 2014, compared to 23 of 26 (88%) in 2015. For STK[PM]-7: dysphagia screening, 42% of the affiliates submitted data in 2014, compared to 73% in 2015. Out of the hospitals submitting inpatient data for both years, the average for all appropriate measures was 84% in 2014, compared to 88% in 2015. Of these, 27% (4/15) improved, 60% (9/15) remained the same and 13% (2/15) worsened on these inpatient measures. For CT interpretation time ( Conclusions: The network showed substantial improvement with the CQI program in: data submission rates, CT interpretation time, and Door to Needle time. Additionally, for inpatient measures, 87% of affiliates who submitted data for both years improved or remained the same. This is a great success overall. We believe this reflects focused improvement efforts at individual affiliates and network-wide. Areas for focus in the next year were determined: Door to Needle and CT interpretation times, STK-4, STK[PM]-7 and quality of abstraction.