cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Melatonin modulates intercellular communication among cultured chick astrocytes.

Abstract Melatonin, a pineal neurohormone, mediates circadian and seasonal processes in birds and mammals. Diencephalic astrocytes are sites of action, at least in birds, since they express melatonin receptors and melatonin affects their metabolism. We tested whether astrocytic calcium waves are also modulated by melatonin. Calcium waves, which we found to be regulated in cultured chick glial cells by an IP3-dependent mechanism, were potentiated by physiological concentrations of melatonin. Melatonin also increased resting calcium levels and reduced gap junctional coupling among astrocytes, at concentrations that facilitated calcium waves. These modulatory effects were diminished by melatonin receptor blockade and pertussis toxin (PTX). Thus, melatonin induced a functional shift in the mode of intercellular communication, between junctional coupling and calcium waves, among glial cells. We suggest a mechanism where neuroglial physiology, involving GTP-binding protein signaling pathways, links rhythmic circadian outputs to pervasive neurobehavioral states.
Plasticity of a different feather

Neurons in the brains of birds change their responses as the birds hear a birdsong over and over again. This “learning” persists and is then forgotten, but in a surprising report by Chew et al . ([p. 1909][1]) in this week's issue of Science , it is shown to disappear not in a gradual way over time but in a series of quantized steps. In her Perspective, Doupe comments on the implications of this result. [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.274.5294.1909
A micromechanical based three-dimensional DEM approach to characterize the complex modulus of asphalt mixtures

Abstract Asphalt mixture is a typical particulate system whose mechanical performance can be modeled based on the particle interactions (contacts) at microscale. Once calibrated microscopically, the model can be used to predict the macroscopic properties based on the same contact mechanisms. The effect of individual component on the performance of the mixture can also be captured by the calibrated micromechanical model. In this paper, a three-dimensional DEM approach is developed to model the complex modulus of asphalt mixtures. Complex modulus is a crucial viscoelastic material property which describes the stress and strain responses of asphalt mixtures and has been incorporated into the DARWin-ME mechanistic empirical pavement design program to guide pavement design. The model is found to be successful in predicting both the dynamic modulus and the phase angle of a conventional dense graded asphalt mixture over wide ranges of temperatures and frequencies. The nonlinear behavior of the phase angle at high temperature is also captured. The effect of the key model parameters on the dynamic modulus and the phase angle are evaluated which contributes to the fundamental understanding of the material mechanical properties and provides meaningful guidance for the design and modeling of asphalt mixtures.
Spatial and temporal development of chondrocyte-seeded agarose constructs in free-swelling and dynamically loaded cultures.

Abstract Dynamic deformational loading has been shown to significantly increase the development of material properties of chondrocyte-seeded agarose hydrogels, however little is known about the spatial development of the material properties within these constructs. In this study, a technique that combines video microscopy and optimized digital image correlation, was applied to assess the spatial development of material properties in tissue-engineered cartilage constructs cultured in free-swelling and dynamically-loaded conditions (3 h/day, 5 days/week, and maintained in free-swelling conditions when not being loaded) over a 6-week period. Although homogeneous at day 0, both free-swelling and dynamically loaded samples progressively developed stiffer outer edges and a softer central region. The distribution of GAGs and collagens were shown to mimic this profile. These results indicate that although dynamic loading augments the development of bulk properties in these samples, possibly by overcoming some of the diffusion limitation and nutrient transport issues, the overall profile of construct properties in the axial direction remains qualitatively the same as in free-swelling culture conditions. Poisson's ratio of these constructs increased over time in culture with increased fixed charged density contributed by the GAGs, but this increase was significantly less in dynamically loaded samples by day 42. Polarized light microscopy of Picrosirius Red labeled samples, at an angle perpendicular to the direction of loading, suggests that these differences in Poisson's ratio may be due to improved organization of collagen network in the dynamically loaded samples.
Use of the BET adsorption isotherm equation to examine styrene adsolubilization by nonionic surfactants at the water-silica interface

A modified BET adsorption isotherm equation was used to explain adsolubilization at the water-silica interface, producing a method for understanding adsolubilization that is independent of admicelle structure. The two constants k1 and k2 provide a measure of the surfactant-solute and solute-solute interactions, respectively. As predicted, k1 changed with various factors including surfactant structure, the presence and quantity of added lipophilic linker and hexane. On the other hand, k2 was fairly constant for all examined systems having the same solute. Commonly used partition coefficients can be easily related to the model and adsolubilization isotherms may be reproduced by the developed equation. Inferences about solute distribution at the interface and its location within the admicelle may be extracted from the results. The model is useful in explaining trends in adsolubilization and in predicting adsolubilization behavior for similar systems.
Real-time edge enhancement of femtosecond time-domain images by use of photorefractive quantum wells

Dynamic holograms written in a photorefractive multiple quantum well placed inside a Fourier femtosecond pulse shaper convert a space-domain image into the time domain. We demonstrate that edge-enhancement processing of the time-domain image can be performed by controlling hologram-writing intensities.
A note on functional CLT for truncated sums

Abstract Let {X,Xi}i⩾1 be i.i.d. random variables with a symmetric continuous distribution and EX2=∞, and {bn}n⩾1 be a sequence of increasing positive numbers. When X belongs to the Feller class, and nP(|X|>bn)∼γn↑∞, a functional CLT for the truncated sums Sn=∑i=1nXiI|Xi|⩽bn is proved.
Bench-Scale Fluidized-Bed Pyrolysis of Switchgrass for Bio-Oil Production†

The U.S. biomass initiative is counting on lignocellulosic conversion to boost the quantities of biofuels currently produced from starches in order to achieve much needed energy security in the future. However, with current challenges in fermentation of lignocellulosic material to ethanol, other methods of converting biomass to usable energy have received consideration nationally. One thermochemical technique, fast pyrolysis, is being considered by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) researchers of the USDA for processing energy crops such as switchgrass and other agricultural residues, e.g., barley hulls and alfalfa stems for bio-oil (pyrolysis oil or pyrolysis liquids) production. A 2.5 kg/h biomass fast pyrolyzer has been developed at ARS and tested for switchgrass conversion. The unit has provided useful data such as energy requirements and product yields that can be used as design parameters for larger systems based on the processing of perennial energy crops. Bio-oil yields greater than 60% by m...
The Historian and Art: A New Maturity

The growing use of images by historians is strewn with pitfalls that are not always self-evident. The purpose of an image, its comprehensibility, its audience, the conventions that it observes, and...
A Research Model for Studying Privacy Concerns Pertaining to Location-Based Services

Location-based services (LBS) are services that take into account the geographic location of a user. With the rapid growth of mobile devices, LBS are expected to spread rapidly. While LBS promise efficiency and effectiveness gains, their use also raises fundamental privacy issues. In a market survey, 24% of the respondents mentioned that they are seriously concerned about the privacy implications of disclosing their location. Thus the focus of this paper is to understand what antecedents determine intentions to use LBS. A research model is developed that incorporates constructs, such as personality traits, task and technology characteristics, perceived privacy, trust and risk, and usefulness as antecedents of LBS usage intentions.
Platelet Monoamine Oxidase in Families of Chronic Schizophrenics

Many reports have described low platelet monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity in chronic schizophrenia. In an effort to determine whether this low activity is genetically controlled, the authors studied platelet MAO activity in the first-degree relatives of 12 chronic schizophrenics (who themselves had low platelet MAO activity). The 29 relatives had significantly lower mean Vmax and Km values than a control group. The authors postulate that the low platelet MAO activity among chronic schizophrenics may be a genetic marker for vulnerability to chronic schizophrenia.
The role of outcome expectations and attitudes on decisions to seek professional help

Two studies examined the predictors of seeking psychological services. Study 1 examined the role of attitudes in mediating the relationship between 11 psychological factors and intent to seek help for 3 psychological problems. The results demonstrated that (a) the psychological factors and attitudes predicted 62% of the variance in intent to seek help for interpersonal problems and 18% of the variance for drug problems and (b) attitudes toward counseling mediated most of the relationships between the different psychological factors and help-seeking intent. Study 2, in turn, demonstrated that (a) anticipated outcomes of talking with a counselor were associated with the use of psychological services and (b) anticipated risks of disclosing emotions were salient for those having experienced a distressing event.
Comment on Foster's “Disease Etiologies in Non‐Western Medical Systems”

Discussion du modele theorique des systemes medicaux traditionnels elabore par Foster et de sa dichotomie entre systeme naturaliste et personnaliste.
Effects of compensated AC transmission links under normal/subnominal frequency operation

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of uncompensated & series capacitor compensated 400kV line working below the minimum allowable frequency of 48.5Hz , 49Hz and 50Hz. The method is based on the assumption that the ABCD generalised circuit constants of a long line change both in magnitude & phase angle.This method also highlights the effects of change of location of a series & shunt capacitor on the receiving end & sending end voltage ,active & reactive powers transferred by the line & on power factor of system load during the power frequency operation.This paper shows that the under frequency opertion of the power system is associated with the reduction in overall power factor of the system load & rise in receiving end voltage of the line. A comparative study is made between symmetrical and unsymmetrical schemes. An analytical approach is presented for comparative performance assessment of long distance AC transmission line.
INTERACTION OF SOMATOMEDIN-C WITH AN ANTIBODY DIRECTED AGAINST THE SYNTHETIC C-PEPTIDE REGION OF INSULIN-LIKE GROWTH FACTOR-I

Insulin-like growth factor-I is a human plasma peptide with strong structural homology to human prosinsulin. This peptide has been classified as a somatomedin on the basis of its biological actions and growth hormone dependence. We have generated an antibody to the synthetic 12 amino acid C-peptide region of insulin-like growth factor-I and used it to compare three somatomedin preparations to insulin-like growth factor-I. We also compared these somatomedin preparations to insulin-like growth factor-I using the standard SM-C RIA. We conclude that insulin-like growth factor-I and somatomedin-C behave identically in these two RIA1s and are very similar if not identical molecules.
Promoting Positive Peer Interactions in the Preschool Classroom: The Role and the Responsibility of the Teacher in Supporting Children’s Sociodramatic Play

Teachers play an important role in expanding and supporting children’s play and interactions with peers. This manuscript provides specific guidelines for interventions teachers can use to promote successful peer interactions in preschool settings. The strategies discussed include: (a) preparing the physical environment for play (e.g., toy selection, themes); (b) entering and exiting children’s play gracefully, (c) using talk to promote play episodes and social interactions, and (d) selecting the most appropriate intervention strategies based on direct obeservation.
Direct Rule Extraction and Classification with Incremental Neural Network

The purpose of this project is to present a direct method for rules extraction and the use of Neural Network for classification. A direct method with simplification (DMS) to extract rules from data using a hash table is also developed. Apart from the rules, DMS can also produce the corresponding decision tree for each subset with predefined class value. The merge of the paths of all the call values can produce the decision tree of the data. Therefore, DMS works as both direct and indirect method. The advantages of DMS are the ability to produce rules with a maximum number of conditions and prevention of subtree overlapping. Moreover, an incremental Backpropagation Neural Network (IBNN) is created using the instances of data grouping according to their predefined class. Comparisons show that IBNN outperforms DMS. Simulation results are provided.
Lighting control: Feasibility demonstration of a new type of system:

A new lighting control system was developed to improve the effective use of electrical energy, building space, and human effort. The prototype control system described in this report (ImCon) consists of a small charge-coupled device (CCD) camera, a personal computer, and peripheral lighting control gear. The computer is programmed with rules to adjust the lighting conditions to meet the demands imposed by multiple occupants and visual tasks in a single room while minimising wasted lighting energy. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the patented ImCon system and the philosophy behind it. Subsequent publications will contain performance data from a real space presently under construction.
Institutional and Management Approaches To Solid Waste Disposal in Large Metropolitan Areas

There are significant advantages to a consolidated institutional approach to the management of municipal solid waste transfer and disposal in large metropolitan areas. Both operational and environmental benefits can be achieved. On the other hand, it is argued that collection services do not necessarily benefit from centralization, since there are only limited economies of scale. Furthermore, there is abundant evidence that the private sector can provide conventional collection services more efficiently than the public sector. This paper examines a model of decentralized collection and centralized transfer and disposal that is in place at Norfolk, Virginia, U.S.A. and which is being applied in Monterrey, Mexico. The partial application of this model in the Federal District of Mexico City is also examined. Lessons are drawn for the application of such a model to metropolitan areas in other developing countries.
Treatment of severe axial tardive dystonia with clozapine: Case report and hypothesis

We report a patient with severe axial tardive dystonia who has had dramatic improvement for 4 years after treatment with the atypical antipsychotic drug clozapine (625 mg/day). Clozapine differs from conventional neuroleptics in that it has higher affinity for D1 and lower affinity for D2 dopamine receptors than do conventional antipsychotics, which are relatively selective D2 antagonists. We propose that repetitive stimulation of the D1 receptor by endogenous dopamine, resulting in sensitization of the D1-mediated striatal output in the presence of D2 receptor blockade, is a fundamental mechanism mediating tardive dyskinesia, including the dystonic type. According to this hypothesis, it is primarily the D1 antagonist action of clozapine that accounts for its inability to cause tardive dyskinesia as well as its therapeutic effect in tardive dystonia. Regardless of its mechanism of action, the sustained improvement observed in this case suggests that clozapine should be tried in cases of severe refractory tardive dystonia.
Choosing a Mouse Model: Experimental Biology in Context—The Utility and Limitations of Mouse Models of Breast Cancer

Genetically engineered mice are critical experimental models for the study of breast cancer biology. Transgenic mice, employing strong mammary epithelial promoters to drive oncogenes, develop carcinomas with phenotypes corresponding to the molecular pathway activated. Gene-targeted (knockout) mice, in which tumor suppressors are deleted, develop mammary neoplasms with phenotypes primarily including patterns seen in spontaneous mouse mammary tumors, albeit at higher rates. Improved genetic engineering, using inducible gene expression, somatic gene transduction, conditional alleles, and crossbreeding for combined/compound genetic engineering yields precise molecular models with exquisite experimental control and phenotypes with comparative pathologic validity. Mammary gland transplantation technology adds a practical and validated method for assessing biologic behavior of selected mammary tissues. Overall, the many mouse models available are a rich resource for experimental biology with phenocopies of breast cancer subtypes, and a variety of practical advantages. The challenge is matching the model to the experimental question.
Sustainability themed problem solving in data structures and algorithms

During the past two years, we have been creating curricular material centered around complex problems rooted in sustainability. Since multi-disciplinary learning is one of our primary goals, these projects are most meaningful when they connect students from different disciplines working toward a common understanding. However, strong disciplinary components present in their solutions also allow us to frame these projects from strictly disciplinary perspectives. In this paper, we show how they can be used for increased engagement in the context of data structures and algorithms. We review two new ones to explore (i) the structural characteristics of the western part of the U.S. power-grid, and (ii) the effects of over-harvesting on fish stocks.
APOLOGIZING WITHOUT REGRET

A common belief about the nature of agent regret is that regretting some event E is closely linked to being sorry for the occurrence of E. Or more specifically, that if one is sorry for E then she must regret E. I will call this ‘the sorry-regret hypothesis’. My contention is that one may be sorry for some action but not regret it. I take the rejection of this ‘truism’ to be a positive development. I offer two lines of argument for rejecting the sorry-regret hypothesis. One line of argument is based on counterexamples. The second attacks the validity of a reconstructed argument for the sorry-regret hypothesis. It is desirable to reject the sorry-regret hypothesis since there is a component of regret that many will not wish to be saddled with as a condition of apologizing. To regret an act, one must wish that she had not performed that act. Since a person is the person she is (speaking loosely) because of the actions she has performed, for many actions, if one regrets an action, then she wishes that she were a different person. This is a worrisome consequence.
Illumination Tolerant Face Recognition Using a Novel Face From Sketch Synthesis Approach and Advanced Correlation Filters

Current state-of-the-art approach for performing face sketch recognition transforms all the test face images into sketches, and then performs recognition on sketch domain using the sketch composite. In our approach we propose the opposite; which has advantages in a real-time sysrtem; we propose to generate a realistic face image from the composite sketch using a Hybrid subspace method and then build an illumination tolerant correlation filter which can recognize the person under different illumination variations from a surveillance video footage. We show how effective proposed algorithm works on the CMU PIE (Pose Illumination and Expression) database.
Directionally Solidified Mullite Fibers

Directionally solidified fibers with nominal mullite compositions of 3Al2O3·2SiO2 were grown by the laser heated float zone (LHFZ) method at NASA Lewis. High resolution digital images from an optical microscope evidence the formation of a liquid-liquid miscibility gap during crystal growth. Experimental evidence shows that the formation of mullite in aluminosilicate melts is in fact preceded by liquid immiscibility. The average fiber tensile strength is 1.15 GPa at room temperature. The mullite fibers retained 80 % of their room temperature tensile strength at 1450 °C. SEM analysis revealed that the fibers were strongly faceted and that the facets act as critical flaws. Examined in TEM, these mullite single crystals are free of dislocations, low angle boundaries and voids. Single crystal mullite showed a high degree of oxygen vacancy ordering. Regardless of the starting composition, the degree of order observed in polycrystalline fibers was lower than that observed in the mullite single crystals.
Evidence for a cytochrome bcc-aa3 interaction in the respiratory chain of Mycobacterium smegmatis.

Spectroscopic analysis of membranes isolated from Mycobacterium smegmatis, along with analysis of its genome, indicates that the cytochrome c branch of its respiratory pathway consists of a modified bc 1 complex that contains two cytochromes c in its c 1 subunit, similar to other acid-fast bacteria, and an aa 3-type cytochrome c oxidase. A functional association of the cytochrome bcc and aa 3 complexes was indicated by the findings that levels of detergent sufficient to completely disrupt isolated membranes failed to inhibit quinol-driven O2 reduction, but known inhibitors of the bc 1 complex did inhibit quinol-driven O2 reduction. The gene for subunit II of the aa 3-type oxidase indicates the presence of additional charged residues in a predicted extramembrane domain, which could mediate an intercomplex association. However, high concentrations of monovalent salts had no effect on O2 reduction, suggesting that ionic interactions between extramembrane domains do not play the major role in stabilizing the bcc–aa 3 interaction. Divalent cations did inhibit electron transfer, likely by distorting the electron-transfer interface between cytochrome c 1 and subunit II. Soluble cytochrome c cannot donate electrons to the aa 3-type oxidase, even though key cytochrome c-binding residues are conserved, probably because the additional residues of subunit II prevent the binding of soluble cytochrome c. The results indicate that hydrophobic interactions are the primary forces maintaining the bcc–aa 3 interaction, but ionic interactions may assist in aligning the two complexes for efficient electron transfer.
Quality of feeding assistance care in nursing homes

Abstract: Nutrition is an important component of quality of life for the elderly. International studies suggest that many elderly individuals have insufficient intake of foods and fluids. For elderly individuals residing in institutions, such as long-term care (LTC) facilities, cognitive and physical impairments are two major factors that contribute to a need for staff assistance with eating. The purpose of this chapter is to review research related to the quality of feeding assistance care in the LTC setting and the implications of this care for staffing needs.
A hypoplastic patella fracture in nail patella syndrome: a case report

Nail patella syndrome is a rare autosomal dominant hereditary condition, with an incidence of 22 per million in the United Kingdom. The syndrome’s most common features include iliac horns, hypoplastic patella and nail dysplasia. We report the case of a 26-year-old Caucasian man with nail patella syndrome who sustained a fracture of his right hypoplastic patella after a fall. His right knee became swollen and he was unable to extend against gravity immediately post fall. Radiographs revealed a fracture of the lower pole of his right patella with associated complete disruption of the extensor mechanism of the knee. He underwent operative fixation and his post operative course was uneventful. He was further treated post operatively with a full knee cast and graded immobilization. At six months he had regained the full range of motion at the knee joint. To the best of our knowledge, this is the only case report in the literature describing a patella fracture in an individual with nail patella syndrome. We hypothesize that given the extent of pre-existing knee joint impairment in these individuals, functional outcome may be inferior, suggesting the need for more frequent follow-up.
Between Polis and Empire: Aristotle's Politics

Aristotle lived during a period of unprecedented imperial expansionism initiated by the kings of Macedon, but most contemporary political theorists confine his political theorizing to the classical Greek city-state. For many, Aristotle's thought exhibits a parochial Hellenocentric “binary logic” that privileges Greeks over non-Greeks and betrays a xenophobic suspicion of aliens and foreigners. In response to these standard “polis-centric” views, I conjure a different perceptual field—“between polis and empire”—within which to interpret Aristotle's Politics. Both theorist and text appear deeply attentive to making present immediate things “coming to be and passing away” in the Hellenic world. Moreover, “between polis and empire,” we can see the Politics actually disturbing various hegemonic Greek binary oppositions (Greek/barbarian; citizen/alien; center/periphery), not reinforcing them. Understanding the Politics within the context of the transience of the polis invites a new way of reading Aristotle while at the same time providing new possibilities for theorizing problems of postnational citizenship, transnational politics, and empire.
Comparative statistical studies of aging models for polypropylene films

Accelerated aging experiments are conducted to investigate the effects of continuous thermal aging on the DC electrical lifetimes of capacitor grade biaxially-oriented isotactic polypropylene film. Statistical analysis of the lifetime data includes assessment of possible underlying parametric distributions such as the 2-parameter Weibull (weakest link time-to-failure) and the lognormal (cumulative damage time-to-failure) distributions via graphical, analytical and residual analysis. Parametric and nonparametric methods are used. The mean life is fitted into semi-empirical (quasi-theoretical) models available in the literature to describe the behavior of the film within the stress range tested. Multiple-linear regression is used to compute parameters of the life-stress models. A thorough regression analysis including goodness of fit measures such as (/spl chi//sup 2/ and R/sup 2/) is carried out using the SAS package. >
High performance dynamic lock-free hash tables and list-based sets

Lock-free (non-blocking) shared data structures promise more robust performance and reliability than conventional lock-based implementations. However, all prior lock-free algorithms for sets and hash tables suffer from serious drawbacks that prevent or limit their use in practice. These drawbacks include size inflexibility, dependence on atomic primitives not supported on any current processor architecture, and dependence on highly-inefficient or blocking memory management techniques.Building on the results of prior researchers, this paper presents the first CAS-based lock-free list-based set algorithm that is compatible with all lock-free memory management methods. We use it as a building block of an algorithm for lock-free hash tables. In addition to being lock-free, the new algorithm is dynamic, linearizable, and space-efficient.Our experimental results show that the new algorithm outperforms the best known lock-free as well as lock-based hash table implementations by significant margins, and indicate that it is the algorithm of choice for implementing shared hash tables.
Laparoscopic radical prostatectomy: A multi-institutional study of conversion to open surgery

Abstract Objectives To perform a multi-institutional review of the incidence and factors contributing to conversion from laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (LRP) to open radical retropubic prostatectomy (RRP) among eight surgeons. Methods The medical records from all patients undergoing LRP at seven institutions were reviewed to assess the incidence of open conversion to RRP. The clinical, operative, pathologic, and functional outcomes of patients who required conversion were compiled and analyzed. Results Of 670 operations, 13 (1.9%) were converted from LRP to RRP. The most common steps at which conversion occurred were the apical dissection (38%) and the posterior seminal vesicle dissection (31%). Failure to progress was the most common cause of conversion, followed by injury to adjacent structures and hypercarbia. Comorbidities associated with conversion were prior pelvic surgery and obesity (body mass index greater than 30). Six of the 13 conversions occurred in the surgeons' first 5 cases. Despite open conversion, patients were continent (no pads) (92%) and potent (44%) with at least 6 months of follow-up. Conclusions Open conversion from LRP to RRP is an uncommon event, but is more likely to occur during a surgeon's early experience. Surgeons beginning their experience with LRP are advised to select their patients carefully to minimize the need for conversion to open surgery. Obese patients and those at risk of periprostatic adhesions should initially not be considered for LRP. Despite open conversion, the functional outcomes did not appear to be adversely affected.
Hyperspectral technology for geologic applications

Hyperspectral radiometers were developed and flown in aircraft and spacecraft early in the decade of the 1980s. Laboratory, field and aircraft experiments with hyperspectral remote sensing instruments at moderate ground spatial resolutions during the decade of the 1980s have now established the basis for hyperspectral imaging spectrometers with ground spatial resolutions of 5 metres or better and with spectral resolutions exceeding 200 wavelength bands. High spatial resolution hyperspectral imagers developed in the 1990s should permit identification and monitoring of environmental changes and verification of treaty compliance. >
Can History Measure Eternity? A Reply to William Craig

I am grateful to Dr William L. Craig for his reply to an earlier article of mine in this journal, on the relationship between God and time. Craig and I agree on most points with respect to the relationship between God and time. What then is there for us to disagree about?The point Craig argues for is, eternity is ‘coincident’ with our history, i.e. the duration of our space–time is simultaneous with some duration of eternity. But I already agree to this point. In fact, I argued that if God sustains the universe, and if the universe and God are temporal, then God's time must be related to our time. We are in God's time, and God's time is our time, when by time we mean ‘ontological time’ or what I call duration, rather than Measured Time. If this is so, where is our disagreement?Our disagreement turns on this question: does history measure eternity? Does the ‘cosmic time’ of our universe give a proper measure to the same duration of God's time in eternity? I say it does not, while Craig says that it does.
The Nature of the Meteorological Fluctuations in Clouds

Abstract As in-cloud measurements have accumulated it has become increasingly apparent that clouds are markedly non-uniform in structure. This is demonstrated by sizable and rapid variations in the horizontal for almost all meteorological variables. A systematic study was made of the fluctuations in measurements obtained in hurricane clouds to establish whether they could be ascribed to a random process or whether they exhibited some spatial order. Variance spectrum analysis of continuous measurements of temperature, liquid-water content and air-speed for 49 cloud areas indicated that, in most cases, the variations were not random and that, in addition to the cloud scale, there were non-random components of smaller size. With considerable consistency, particularly in turbulent convection, the spectra indicated the existence of two frequency “domains” within which one or more dominant modes of activity occurred. These domains extended a) from 1.8–4 cycle mile−1 with peaks most frequent around 2.5 cycle mil...
The Influence of the Two-Body Spin-Orbit Interaction on Effective Charge

Valence particles normally carry an effective charge larger than their bare charge for electric transitions, due to the attractive nuclear interaction. However for the highest multipolarity transitions the particles have enough momentum that the two-body spin-orbit force can also play a substantial role. In the case of the E6 f7/2→f7/2 effective charge, the spin-orbit interaction interferes with the central interaction and yields a correction to the proton effective charge close to zero. This is consistent with a recent calculation of proton scattering in the g9/2 shell, which showed that the spin-orbit interaction dominated the central interaction for L=8.1) Our calculation fails to account for a recent experimental result in the f7/2 shell2), which requires an effective charge of magnitude 0.3-0.43).
Inside and outside Hollywood Highbrow

This essay reviews sociologist Shyon Baumann's Hollywood Highbrow: From Entertainment to Art (Princeton University Press, 2007). While Baumann's book might, at first, be intuitively situated as a sociological study, it is also fundamentally a work of film studies, using 1960s Hollywood cinema as a case study to raise more general questions about film and its relationship to art, questions which have long been explored by film historians and theorists.
Genetics of pigmentation and melanoma predisposition.

Abstract About 5-10% of human cutaneous malignant melanoma is hereditary and known to involve rare germline mutations in highly penetrant, autosomal dominant genes. These genes are important in cell cycle control but are not responsible for all familial cases of melanoma. Epidemiologic studies have linked specific phenotypic traits including fair skin, light-colored eyes, and poor tanning ability to melanoma risks. The ability to visually discern and define pigmentary phenotypes in humans and in animal models has permitted elucidation of many genes involved in pigmentation and melanin biosynthesis. Additional genetic epidemiological studies have recently identified a subset of these pigmentation genes that are associated with risk for melanoma and other cutaneous malignancies as well as photosensitivity. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have unveiled single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) or genetic variants in MC1R, TPCN2, ASIP, KITLG, NCKX5, TYR, IRF4, OCA2, and TYRP1 pigmentation genes. These findings emphasize the contribution of pigmentation pathways to melanoma predisposition and tumorigenesis through gene-environment interactions. Since pigmentation genes in the melanin synthesis pathway also confer risk for cutaneous malignancy, a better understanding of the operative molecular mechanisms involved in this relationship has the potential to impact individual risk assessment for cutaneous malignant melanoma in the future. This paper is an overview of our current understanding of pigmentation gene modifications that have been associated with melanoma risk and how these genes can enrich clinical management, prevention, and early detection of malignant melanoma.
Surgery for Rheumatoid Arthritis—Timing and Techniques: The Lower Extremity

In the patient with early rheumatoid involvement of the knee, synovectomy is the procedure of choice, and in the patient with late involvement, joint debridement, patelloplasty, patellectomy, arthroplasty, proximal tibia1 osteotomy, and finally arthrodesis should be considered. In the management of rheumatoid arthritis of the hip, results are not as succcessful as with pure degenerative joint disease, and frequent revisions are probable. When possible, the first procedure should be arthroplasty with a large, loose-fitting cup in association with synovectomy of the hip. When changes in the femoral head are such that a cup cannot be accepted, then an initial prosthetic replacement should be considered. After resorption of the femoral head beneath the cup, a prosthetic revision can be performed. Should it fail, the prosthetic revision can be converted into a resection type of excisional artroplasty. With severe, progressive arthritic involvement of both hips, bilateral excisional arthroplasties should be considered initially. In this regard, my colleagues and I are not yet definite in our feelings. Treatment of a totally ankylosed hip joint may include either excisional arthroplasty or cup or prosthetic arthroplasty, whichever seems most feasible under the circumstances. The frequent bilaterality of disease involvement creates one of the most severe problems in orthopaedics, and one of the most demanding since management of both hips may involve additional revisions of one or both hips. Each situation must be considered individually, with the understanding that, if excisional arthroplasty must be done eventually on one hip, differences in leg length will create additional problems in walking. In the rheumatoid foot, surgery on the fore part of the foot basically involves excisional arthroplasty, whereas that of the hind part involves bone stabilization by arthrodeois. Flexion deformities of the toes can easily be corrected manually by osteoclasis, or if the joints of only are toe are involved, the proximal joint can be resected or it can be fused by the use of an intramedullary Kirsehner wire.
Sediment and Contaminant Processes

Contaminated sediments exhibit many features and challenges that differentiate its assessment and remediation from that of contaminated soil. Both soils and sediments tend to accumulate the hydrophobic organic and inorganic constituents that give rise to environmental contamination and risk. Sediments, however, are often found in dynamic environments that can lead to substantial contaminant migration. In general, contaminated sediment sites are a legacy of past contaminant discharge practices and the contaminants have accumulated in environments that are most conducive to such accumulation. Thus, a preponderance of contaminated sediment sites are in fine-grained, often organic-rich, sediments that are more likely to absorb hydrophobic contaminants and in environments where such sediments tend to accumulate, i.e., low energy depositional environments. Contaminated soils, however, often represent the source areas themselves and may exhibit a broader range of environmental and media properties. In addition, many of the processes that influence contaminant migration and fate in sediments (erosion, bioturbation, hyporheic exchange) are less pronounced or nonexistent at contaminated soil sites. Even when soils and sediments exhibit similar properties, there may be significant differences due to sediment characteristics. For example, the erosion characteristics of sediments are often controlled by the cohesive nature of fine-grained sediment depositions compared to the minimal cohesion of dry, wind-blown soils.
Iterative Constrained Clustering for Subjectivity Word Sense Disambiguation

Subjectivity word sense disambiguation (SWSD) is a supervised and applicationspecific word sense disambiguation task disambiguating between subjective and objective senses of a word. Not surprisingly, SWSD suffers from the knowledge acquisition bottleneck. In this work, we use a “cluster and label” strategy to generate labeled data for SWSD semiautomatically. We define a new algorithm called Iterative Constrained Clustering (ICC) to improve the clustering purity and, as a result, the quality of the generated data. Our experiments show that the SWSD classifiers trained on the ICC generated data by requiring only 59% of the labels can achieve the same performance as the classifiers trained on the full dataset.
Modeling and Numerical Simulations of Microdiffraction from Deformed Crystals

Brilliant synchrotron microprobes offer new opportunities for the analysis of stress/strain and deformation distributions in crystalline materials. Polychromatic x-ray microdiffraction is emerging as a particularly important tool because it allows for local crystal-structure measurements in highly deformed or polycrystalline materials where sample rotations complicate alternative methods; a complete Laue pattern is generated in each volume element intercepted by the probe beam. Although a straightforward approach to the measurement of stress/strain fields through white-beam Laue microdiffraction has been demonstrated, a comparable method for determining the plastic-deformation tensor has not been established. Here we report on modeling efforts that can guide automated fitting of plastic-deformation-tensor distributions in three dimensions.
Using vehicle simulations to understand strategies for accommodating oversize, overweight vehicles at roundabouts

Abstract There is considerable evidence that roundabouts are the safest and most efficient form of traffic control for most intersections. The potential use of roundabouts with all their inherent benefits may be greatly diminished if they are not able to accommodate oversize/overweight (OSOW) vehicles, sometimes called “Superloads.” The problem, therefore, is how to accommodate OSOW vehicles without sacrificing the integrity, safety and other benefits of roundabouts. This study uses TORUS software to design six standard roundabouts using guidance from the latest Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) roundabout guide. Six OSOW check vehicles from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s library were used to modify the designs to accommodate these selected check vehicles at the roundabouts. These six OSOW check vehicles were used to conduct swept path analysis using AutoTURN software at the selected six standard roundabouts for right turn, through, and left turn simulations. The space requirements for these maneuvers were analyzed in detail. Various strategies for better accommodating these OSOW check vehicles were suggested and experimented with in this study using AutoTURN software simulations. The effectiveness of using a straight passage through the center island for OSOW vehicles was also addressed in this study and was found to be effective. All the strategies investigated in this study proved to be effective in accommodating OSOW vehicles when compared to conventional ways of using a roundabout. The needed total truck apron was calculated and used as a reference to determine an effective strategy for accommodating OSOW vehicles. This research can be used as guidance for transportation engineers, planners and decision makers to determine possible ways of designing a roundabout at an intersection where certain OSOW vehicles are expected.
Structure of Pd/CeOx/Al2O3 Catalysts for NOx Reduction Determined By in Situ X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy

In situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy at the Ce LIII edge and Pd K edge was used to characterize the oxidation state and structural parameters of CeOx/Al2O3 and Pd/CeOx/Al2O3 catalysts during the r...
Pot Calls Kettle Dictum: Expanded Secret Prior Art in Obviousness

A number of different definitions of dicta emerge from commentary on the distinction between holding and dicta. This essay applies three different definitions to the Federal Circuit line of cases on secret prior art in obviousness, and argues that the court’s treatment of the holding/dicta distinction is inconsistent and problematic under any of the three, thus demonstrating the need for more rigorous analysis with respect to what does or does not count as dicta.
A waveform analysis method to detect mixed-signal circuits states

Based on the characteristic of mixed-signal circuit simulation,a data structure for representing the state sequence is proposed according to the switching events so that information can be stored and retrieved effectively.Circuit states can be automatically detected with this data structure,and the algorithm can handle the time-shift difference properly in waveform comparison in consideration of some tolerance,greatly improving efficiency of validation in signal integrity.The resulting waveform comparison system has been successfully integrated into the mixed-signal design flow in Flash design team of Intel Inc.
An energy measurement based collision resolution protocol

A central problem in wireless packet networks is the efficient resolution of collisions among nodes with independent transmission schedules. Natural metrics for measuring the efficiency of any collision resolution scheme include total time taken for collision resolution, average participation time of each transmitter during contention resolution, average number of transmissions made by a transmitter, and average power consumption per a transmitter. While it is straightforward to design a centralized protocol that optimizes along each of these metrics, the challenge is in designing distributed protocols that are efficient along each one of these metrics. No existing approach performs well along all these metrics simultaneously. In this paper, we present EMCRR, a novel randomized distributed collision resolution protocol that is based on power control and energy measurement techniques. We study the performance of EMCRR both analytically and empirically. Our analytical and empirical results closely match each other and show that EMCRR compares very favorably to all existing schemes.
Digital Image Correlation Techniques Applied to Large Scale Rocket Engine Testing

Rocket engine hot-fire ground testing is necessary to understand component performance, reliability and engine system interactions during development. The J-2X upper stage engine completed a series of developmental hot-fire tests that derived performance of the engine and components, validated analytical models and provided the necessary data to identify where design changes, process improvements and technology development were needed. The J-2X development engines were heavily instrumented to provide the data necessary to support these activities which enabled the team to investigate any anomalies experienced during the test program. This paper describes the development of an optical digital image correlation technique to augment the data provided by traditional strain gauges which are prone to debonding at elevated temperatures and limited to localized measurements. The feasibility of this optical measurement system was demonstrated during full scale hot-fire testing of J-2X, during which a digital image correlation system, incorporating a pair of high speed cameras to measure three-dimensional, real-time displacements and strains was installed and operated under the extreme environments present on the test stand. The camera and facility setup, pre-test calibrations, data collection, hot-fire test data collection and post-test analysis and results are presented in this paper.