cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Models of heavy fermion superconductors; impurity scattering effect

Abstract We consider an anisotropic superconductor in the presence of resonance scattering due to impurities. For a conventional superconductor the gap equation is similar to the one for the two band model with resonance scattering. It is shown that a conventional superconductor with large anisotropy is compatible with recent experiment on U 1−x Th x Be 13 and Ce 1−x M x Cu 2.2 Si 2 . However, since the jump in the specific heat for an anisotropic superconductor is much reduced from the BCS value in the weak coupling theory, this indicates necessity of the strong coupling theory.
A peptide inhibitor of luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LH-RH).

ABSTRACT Intracarotid infusion of des-His-2-des-Gly-10-LH-RH-ethylamide (pGlu-Trp-Ser-Tyr-Gly-Leu-Arg-Pro-NH-CH2-CH3), an analog of LH-RH, into estrogen-progesterone pretreated rats effectively blocked responses to subsequent intravenous injections of LH-RH. The octapeptide antagonist itself possessed only minimal LH-releasing activity.
Improving Influenza/Pneumococcal Immunization in Hospitalized Patients

Abstract BACKGROUND: Annually, 20,000 deaths from influenza and 40,000 from pneumococcus occur in the United States. Vaccination against both can prevent associated morbidity and mortality but are underutilized. To improve vaccination rates, a standing order protocol (SOP) for hospitalized patients was initiated. METHODS: A multidisciplinary team designed the SOP form. Medical Board approval was obtained to ensure physician acceptance. Promotion of the program was done. On admission, registered nurses complete the SOP form for each patient and have authority to immunize without a physician order. The patient must be high risk for influenza or pneumococcus complications based on established criteria and must agree to be vaccinated. A patient is not immunized if they have contraindications or refuse, or if the physician writes an order not to immunize. RESULTS: SOP form analysis since 2001 shows that assessment of patients for the vaccines has increased dramatically. Nearly 2000 patients were assessed this fall. Influenza vaccinations increased by 17%. Of those not vaccinated, 29% had already received the vaccine, 46% refused, and 7% had physician orders not to vaccinate. Pneumococcal vaccination increased by 19%. Of those not vaccinated, 14% had already received the vaccine, 61% refused, and 4% had physician orders not to vaccinate. CONCLUSIONS: The SOP form is a useful quality-improvement tool for risk assessment and for improving vaccination rates. The number of immunizations given to hospitalized patients has increased with the use of standing orders. However, barriers to vaccination remain, including understanding by staff and the public for the need and benefits of these vaccinations.
Energy terms in tablet compression cycles

Abstract It is shown that in compression cycles performed at cycle times close to realistic tableting cycle times, the Parmentier equation holds fairly well, i.e. E = F' ln(P* /P0), where E is energy, F' is a constant, P* is maximum pressure applied and P0 is the pressure monitored at a reference displacement. It is shown that E is a function of the percent of moisture in a granulation being compressed, and that the elastic limits of the granulation can be deduced from plots of pressure versus moisture when E = 0.
Optimal trajectories for flexible-link manipulator slewing using recursive quadratic programming: Experimental verification

Procedures for trajectory planning and control of flexible link robots are becoming increasingly important to satisfy performance requirements of hazardous waste removal efforts. It has been shown that utilizing link flexibility in designing open loop joint commands can result in improved performance as opposed to damping vibration throughout a trajectory. The efficient use of link compliance is exploited in this work. Specifically, experimental verification of minimum time, straight line tracking using a two-link planar flexible robot is presented. A numerical optimization process, using an experimentally verified modal model, is used for obtaining minimum time joint torque and angle histories. The optimal joint states are used as commands to the proportional-derivative servo actuated joints. These commands are precompensated for the nonnegligible joint servo actuator dynamics. Using the precompensated joint commands, the optimal joint angles are tracked with such fidelity that the tip tracking error is less than 2.5 cm.
Analysis of pmpD expression and PmpD post-translational processing during the life cycle of Chlamydia trachomatis Serovars A, D, and L2

Background The polymorphic membrane protein D (PmpD) in Chlamydia is structurally similar to autotransporter proteins described in other bacteria and may be involved in cellular and humoral protective immunity against Chlamydia. The mechanism of PmpD post-translational processing and the role of its protein products in the pathogenesis of chlamydial infection have not been very well elucidated to date. Methodology/Principal Findings Here we examined the expression and post-translational processing of the protein product of the pmpD gene during the life cycle of C. trachomatis serovars A, D, and L2. Each of these three serovars targets different human organs and tissues and encodes a different pmpD gene nucleotide sequence. Our quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction results demonstrate that the pmpD gene is up-regulated at 12–24 hours after infection regardless of the Chlamydia serovar. This up-regulation is coincidental with the period of exponential growth and replication of reticulate bodies (RB) of Chlamydia and indicates a probable similarity in function of pmpD in serovars A, D, and L2 of Chlamydia. Using mass spectrometry analysis, we identified the protein products of post-translational processing of PmpD of C. trachomatis serovar L2 and propose a double pathway model for PmpD processing, with one cleavage site between the passenger and autotransporter domains and the other site in the middle of the passenger domain. Notably, when Chlamydia infected culture cells were subjected to low (28°C) temperature, PmpD post-translational processing and secretion was found to be uninhibited in the resulting persistent infection. In addition, confocal microscopy of cells infected with Chlamydia confirms our earlier hypothesis that PmpD is secreted outside Chlamydia and its secretion increases with growth of the chlamydial inclusion. Conclusion/Significance The results of this current study involving multiple Chlamydia serovars support the general consensus that the pmpD gene is maximally expressed at mid infection and provide new information about PmpD as an autotransporter protein which is post-translationally processed and secreted outside Chlamydia during normal and low temperature induced persistent chlamydial infection.
Vibrissa-signaled eyeblink conditioning induces somatosensory cortical plasticity.

Whisker deflection conditioned stimuli (CS) were demonstrated to activate physiologically and anatomically defined barrels in the contralateral somatosensory cortex and to support trace–eyeblink conditioned responses when paired with corneal airpuff unconditioned stimuli in rabbits. Analysis of cytochrome-oxidase-stained somatosensory whisker-associated cortical barrels revealed a row-specific expansion of the conditioned compared with the nontrained hemisphere. This expansion was not evident in pseudo-conditioned rabbits, suggesting that this expansion of conditioned cortical barrels in response to a hippocampal- and forebrain-dependent learning task (trace conditioning) is associative rather than activity dependent. Using whisker stimulation as a CS in the well studied eyeblink conditioning paradigm will facilitate characterizing sensory cortical involvement in controlling and modulating an associatively learned response at the neural systems and cellular level.
Intraspecific Trait Variation Driven by Plasticity and Ontogeny in Hypochaeris radicata

The importance of intraspecific variation in plant functional traits for structuring communities and driving ecosystem processes is increasingly recognized, but mechanisms governing this variation are less studied. Variation could be due to adaptation to local conditions, plasticity in observed traits, or ontogeny. We investigated 1) whether abiotic stress caused individuals, maternal lines, and populations to exhibit trait convergence, 2) whether trait variation was primarily due to ecotypic differences or trait plasticity, and 3) whether traits varied with ontogeny. We sampled three populations of Hypochaeris radicata that differed significantly in rosette diameter and specific leaf area (SLA). We grew nine maternal lines from each population (27 lines total) under three greenhouse conditions: ambient conditions (control), 50% drought, or 80% shade. Plant diameter and relative chlorophyll content were measured throughout the experiment, and leaf shape, root:shoot ratio, and SLA were measured after five weeks. We used hierarchical mixed-models and variance component analysis to quantify differences in treatment effects and the contributions of population of origin and maternal line to observed variation. Observed variation in plant traits was driven primarily by plasticity. Shade significantly influenced all measured traits. Plant diameter was the only trait that had a sizable proportion of trait variation (30%) explained by population of origin. There were significant ontogenetic differences for both plant diameter and relative chlorophyll content. When subjected to abiotic stress in the form of light or water limitation, Hypochaeris radicata exhibited significant trait variability. This variation was due primarily to trait plasticity, rather than to adaptation to local conditions, and also differed with ontogeny.
Fractionation of biologically active and inactive populations of human rhinovirus type 2

Abstract Infectious virions of human rhinovirus type 2 (HRV-2) migrate during electrophoresis to pH 6.4 in a sucrose-stabilized pH gradient. As already reported, acidification of HRV-2 produces two kinds of noninfectious components both of which have lost the smallest virion polypeptide, VP4: One has lost RNA in addition to VP4 and sediments at about 80 S, while the other retains RNA and sediments at 135 S. The 80 S particles migrate to pH 4.5 upon electrophoresis while the 135 S particles migrate to pH 4.2. Natural top component of HRV-2 is also separable into two subpopulations that are isoelectric at pH 6.3 and pH 4.5. Only the particles isoelectric at pH 6.3 react with virion (D) specific serum and attach to HeLa cells. The polypeptide compositions of both the attaching and nonattaching fractions of natural top component are the same, and therefore the differences in activity and isoelectric point may reflect the arrangement of the polypeptides in the capsids. After a preparation of purified infectious virus is focused to its isoelectric point some particles are found at pH 4.5. These particles are relatively noninfectious, yet contain RNA and a full complement of polypeptides, and they sediment at 140 S. They are unable to attach to host cells. These results argue against a direct role of VP4 or RNA in the attachment process and support the view that protein conformation changes occur during the inactivation of HRV-2 virions.
Effect of Alternating Current on the Atmospheric Corrosion of Low-Alloy Weathering Steel in Bolted Lap Joints

Abstract The present experimental work demonstrated that stray AC can pass through the internal corrosion product within bolted lap joints of low-alloy steel. Thus, electrolytic reactions within the corrosion products can accelerate corrosion within the joints. Polarization resistance measurements in the present study revealed an increase in corrosion rate within joint segments resulting from AC. Both the increase in corrosion rate and a negative shift in corrosion potential suggest depolarization of the anodic reaction by AC. Joints with sufficiently thick members and closely set bolts have sufficient strength to resist distortion by corrosion products, but they do not entirely prevent internal joint corrosion.
An adaptive optical filter based on thermo-optic (TO) polymeric waveguide lattice filters

An adaptive optical filter based on novel thermo-optic polymeric waveguide lattice filters is proposed. Unlike conventional interference or resonance based optical filter, the adaptive filter is based on thermo-optic two-port waveguide lattice filters, which can greatly reduce the size, complexity and considerably increase the tuning range of an optical filter. By employing integrated variable optical attenuators (VOA), which functioned as the dynamically reconfigurable filter coefficients, the profile of the filter can be dynamically controlled. The classical frequency sampling and step down recursion algorithms are used for the synthesis of the VOA filter coefficients. Simulation and preliminary experimental results show that a tuning range of 50nm can be realized with filter extinction ration of ~40dB. The larger tunaing range comes from the larger by thermo-optic (TO) coefficients of polymer materials. Since it is based on polymeric waveguides, this device can be easily integrated with other polymer waveguide devices such as optical switches, EO modulators, and thus form a building block for photonic intergrated circuits.
Julia Kristeva’s Maternal Passions

This article critically engages Julia Kristeva’s latest work on maternal passion as an antidote to what she calls “feminine fatigue.” Oliver elaborates, criticizes, and expands Kristeva’s view that maternity can be a model for thinking about passion and its relation to creativity and even to ethics. She relates Kristeva’s thinking about feminine fatigue to contemporary feminism in the United States.
Angioedema and urticaria as acute and late phase reactions to zinc fume exposure, with associated metal fume fever‐like symptoms

IgE-mediated acute and late phase reactions associated with occupational metal fume exposure are rare compared with the more common metal fume fever. The latter is a common acute industrial disease caused by inhalation of oxides of metals, especially zinc. It is a flu-like illness and is thought to be self-limited. This article describes the first case, to my knowledge, of an immediate and a late phase reaction (urticaria and angioedema) to zinc fumes, associated with a metal fume fever-like reaction. Hives and angioedema developed immediately and in a delayed fashion in a 34-year-old man after he had welded zinc at his job. There also was an associated metal fume fever-like reaction. The relationship was proved by a challenge test done at home. The patient has been asymptomatic since using complete protective measures while welding zinc. Possible immunologic mechanisms are discussed.
Adolescent expectancies, parent-adolescent communication and intentions to have sexual intercourse among inner-city, middle school youth.

Background: The incidence and prevalence of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections among American adolescents remain unacceptably high.Purpose: This research examines adolescent intentions to have sexual intercourse, their expectancies about having sexual intercourse, and maternal communication about the expectancies of engaging in sexual intercourse.Methods: Six hundred sixty-eight randomly selected inner-city middle school students and their mothers completed self-administered questionnaires. Adolescents reported their intentions to have sexual intercourse and the perceived positive and negative expectancies of doing so. Both mothers and adolescents reported on the frequency of communication about these expectancies.Results: Boys reported higher intentions, more positive expectancies, and lower levels of maternal communication than did girls. Expectancies statistically significantly associated with intentions focused on the positive physical, social, and emotional advantages of having sex rather than on concerns about pregnancy and HIV/AIDS. With some exceptions, maternal communication was associated with adolescents-expectancies about engaging in sexual intercourse. However, only modest correlations between maternal and adolescent reports of communication were observed.Conclusions: Results indicate that intervention programs should address the positive expectancies youth have about having sex, not just the threat of pregnancy and HIV/AIDS, and should address potential gender differences in expectancies between boys and girls.
Vergence target selection in rhesus monkeys: behavior and modeling

Previous studies have shown that a LATER (Linear Approach to Threshold with Ergodic Rate) race model can be used to explain saccadic target selection and latencies. The goal of the present study was to determine whether a comparable model could be applied to the underlying decision-making processes involved in target selection for transient vergence eye movements in rhesus monkeys. Luminance contrast of near and far Gabor pair stimuli were manipulated in a forced-choice paradigm to investigate their influence on vergence target selection. The distributions of responses and their latencies were evaluated by cumulative recinormal and reciprobit plots. With all targets set to 20% luminance contrast, animals showed a bias for the divergent target. Increasing luminance contrast of the near Gabor pair, while holding the far Gabor at the base contrast, resulted in increasing selection of the convergent target. This change in bias from divergent to convergent target selection correlated with decreases in convergent latency and increases in divergent latency. Monte Carlo simulations were used to estimate the internal rates of the divergent and convergent decision-making processes which, given a fixed threshold, would result in the observed distributions of vergence responses and their latencies. Statistical tests show that the LATER race model can predict observed values, and strongly suggests that competition between internal convergent and divergent target selection processes determines relative frequencies and latencies of these movements.
Phase relations in silicic systems at one-atmosphere pressure

An important control on magma rheology is the extent to which the magma crystallizes during ascent as a result of the effective undercooling created by volatile exsolution. To assess this undercooling, we need to know the final (anhydrous) one-atmosphere phase relations of silicic magmas. For this reason, we have performed one-atmosphere controlled-fO2 crystallization experiments on dacitic to rhyolitic melt compositions (67–78 wt% SiO2) and determined equilibrium phase assemblages, melt fractions, and some phase compositions over a range of temperatures. Experiments were run at oxygen fugacities between NNO+1 and NNO+2 and temperatures of 1,000 to 1,250°C. Constant phase compositions and sample crystallinities in runs longer than 3.5 days suggest that these runs closely approached compositional equilibrium. Additionally, melting experiments with similar compositions yielded results closely resembling those obtained in crystallization experiments. All samples have liquidus temperatures between 1,250 and 1,200 °C, with plagioclase the liquidus phase for the two most mafic samples and quartz for the most silicic sample. When associated glass compositions are projected into the Qz-Ab-Or system they define a revised one-atmosphere quartz-feldspar cotectic 5–10% less quartz normative than previously estimated. Glass compositions from each sample plot along this cotectic between 1,100 and 1,000 °C, consistent with the plagioclase-quartz co-crystallization textures found in runs at these temperatures. This cotectic constrains glass compositions to a maximum silica content of 76±1 wt% SiO2. Reported glass compositions in excess of 77 wt% SiO2 in volcanic samples suggest non-equilibrium crystallization, perhaps a consequence of large melt undercoolings.
Dielectric spectroscopy and electrophoretic mobility measurements interpreted with the standard electrokinetic model

Abstract We report results from complementary electrokinetic measurements—dielectric relaxation and electrophoretic mobility—undertaken to test the applicability of the standard electrokinetic theory with a model system. Dielectric spectra were obtained at frequencies between 1 kHz and 40 MHz with a new, two-electrode cell design [Hollingsworth and Saville, J. Colloid Interface Sci. 257 (2003) 65–76]; mobility data were acquired with an electrophoretic light scattering instrument. Data from the two-electrode cell were collected at different electrode separations and interpreted with newly developed procedures to remove the influence of electrode polarization. Methodology A employs extrapolation to infinite electrode separation to compute the dielectric constant and conductivity as functions of frequency. The contributions from suspended particles are reported in terms of dielectric constant and conductivity increments. Methodology B uses a theoretical model of electrode polarization and the standard electrokinetic model in a nonlinear regression scheme. Results are presented in several forms: frequency-dependent dielectric constant and conductivity increments, frequency-dependent dielectric constants and conductivities, and the complex dipole coefficient. It is shown that the standard model provides a consistent methodology for interpreting particle behavior; ζ-potentials inferred from mobility and dielectric relaxation agree to within experimental error. Moreover, the cell design and interpretation are straightforward and provide relatively simple ways to obtain complementary measurements over a wide frequency range. The results unambiguously show that electrokinetic character of this dispersion follows the standard model.
Code comprehension problems as learning events

Code comprehension problems have been shown to be effective assessment items in computer science education. In this paper we present qualitative and quantitative results of a study evaluating the effectiveness of code comprehension questions with feedback as learning events. Students taking an introductory programming course that satisfies a university requirement interacted with an online tutoring system using code comprehension problems about simple array algorithms as a part of a homework assignment. Students answered the problems in their own words first, before selecting a multiple choice option from the system.Both the open-ended and multiple-choice responses were collected and analyzed. Results indicate that code comprehension questions with appropriate feedback can be learning events. The use of open-ended and multiple choice responses to the same question is also shown to be useful in refining distracter items for future assessment. Recommendations from this study can be applied not only to tutoring systems, but also to the type of interactions used in worked examples in class lecture and textbook production.
Evidence for ferromagnetic ordering of films on graphite

Abstract Recent experiments at USC have shown that two-dimensional films of 3 He on graphite order ferromagnetically at finite temperatures ( T >0) for densities above 20 atoms / nm 2 . These results, obtained by measuring NMR on these films in the zero field limit, appear to contradict several studies which concluded that there is no spontaneous order by measuring magnetic susceptibility through conventional NMR in finite magnetic fields, and heat capacity in zero field. The low field limit is important in understanding these two-dimensional magnetic systems. At higher temperatures and/or fields, these films have been described in terms of the multiple spin exchange model. However, two-dimensional systems are extremely sensitive to anisotropies such as nuclear dipole interactions, even when they are several orders of magnitude less than the dominant exchange mechanism.
Evidence for Enhanced Dissociation of CO on Rh/Ceria

It is well known that ceria provides oxygen storage capacity (OSC) in three-way automotive catalysts and is important in maintaining oxidation activity during fuel-rich operating conditions. The adsorption and reaction of CO on Rh particles supported on oxidized and partially reduced epitaxial ceria films on yttria-stabilized cubic zirconia (YSZ)(100), (110), and (111) single crystals was studied using temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The ceria films on YSZ were highly reducible, reacting with CO adsorbed on Rh particles to produce CO{sub 2} during TPD. After reduction of the ceria, however, the CO TPD results contained two features: a low-temperature state resulting from desorption of molecular CO and a high-temperature state resulting from the recombination of C and O atoms produced by CO dissociation at lower temperature. The fraction of CO which dissociated on YSZ-supported Rh/ceria increased with the extent of reduction of the ceria surface. TPD studies with isotopically labeled CO demonstrated that the O atoms produced by CO dissociation undergo exchange with oxygen from the ceria lattice. The CO dissociation reaction was found to be metal specific and was not observed for either Pd or Pt supported on reduced ceria/YSZ.
Human posture recognition with a time-of-flight 3D sensor for in-home applications

A non-invasive system for human posture recognition suitable to be used in several in-home scenarios is proposed and validation results presented. 3D point cloud sequences were acquired by using a time-of-flight sensor in a privacy preserving modality and near real-time processed with a low power embedded PC. To satisfy different application requirements in terms of discrimination capabilities, covered distance range and processing speed, a twofold discrimination approach was investigated in which features were hierarchical arranged from coarse to fine exploiting both topological and volumetric spatial representations. The topological representation encoded the intrinsic topology of the body's shape in a skeleton-based structure, guarantying invariance to scale, rotations and postural changes, and achieving a high level of detail with a moderate computational cost. In the volumetric representation, on the other hand, postures were described in terms of 3D cylindrical histograms working within a wider range of distances in a faster way and also guarantying good invariance properties. The discrimination capabilities of the approach were evaluated in four different real-home scenarios especially related with ambient assisted living and homecare fields, namely dangerous event detection, anomalous behavior detection, activities recognition, natural human-ambient interaction, and also in terms of invariance to viewpoint changes, representation capabilities and classification performance, achieving promising results. The two approaches exhibited complementary characteristics showing high reliability with classification rates greater than 97% in four application scenarios for which the posture recognition is a fundamental function.
Hydrogen diffusion in Nb-Ta alloys

Gorsky effect measurements of the diffusivity of hydrogen were carried out in Nb-Ta alloys over the entire composition range and over the temperature range 165 K to 500 K. Measurements were made in the solid solution range of hydrogen solubilities and the diffusivities were corrected to zero hydrogen concentration using mean field interaction energies determined from the composition dependence of the diffusivities. Significant deviations from an Arrhenius temperature dependence were observed over the entire composition range. Over most of the temperature range the hydrogen diffusivity exhibited a monotonic decrease as the Ta concentration was increased. The mean field H-H interaction energies also varied with Ta concentration.
Free surface effects on the propagation of dynamic rupture

Dynamic rupture of reverse and normal fault intersecting the surface are investigated. In the case of a normal fault nucleating at depth and propagating upwards, coupling of rupture-radiated stress and free boundary conditions at the surface may induce a shallow secondary nucleation anticipating up to a few seconds the arrival of the main rupture front. Indeed, the free surface induces normal stress fluctuations modifying the fault frictional strength. No significant effect on rupture velocity is observed in the case of reverse faulting. These incidences are explained by a stress analysis and illustrated by some numerical simulations in the case of dynamic normal faulting in a homogeneous half-space. The described effects could explain some observations of high frequency radiation close to the surface in documented shallow earthquakes like in Kalamata, 1986 [Bouin, 1994].
Business impact of Web 2.0 technologies

What do wikis, blogs, podcasts, social networks, virtual worlds, and the rest do for corporate productivity and management?
Amperometric Resolution of a Prespike Stammer and Evoked Phases of Fast Release from Retinal Bipolar Cells

The neurotransmitter glutamate is used by most neurons in the brain to activate a multitude of different types of glutamate receptors and transporters involved in fast and relatively slower signaling. Synaptic ribbons are large presynaptic structures found in neurons involved in vision, balance, and hearing, which use a large number of glutamate-filled synaptic vesicles to meet their signaling demands. To directly measure synaptic vesicle release events, the ribbon-type presynaptic terminals of goldfish retinal bipolar cells were coaxed to release a false transmitter that could be monitored with amperometry by placing the carbon fiber directly on the larger synaptic terminal. Spontaneous secretion events formed a unimodal charge distribution, but single spike properties were heterogeneous. Larger events rose exponentially without interruption (τ ∼ 30 μs), and smaller events exhibited a stammer in their rising phase that is interpreted as a brief pause in pore dilation, a characteristic commonly associated with large dense core granule fusion pores. These events were entirely Ca2+-dependent. Holding the cells at −60 mV halted spontaneous release; and when the voltage was stepped to >−40 mV, secretion ensued. When stepping the voltage to 0 mV, novel kinetic phases of vesicle recruitment were revealed. Approximately 14 vesicles were released per ribbon in two kinetic phases with time constants of 1.5 and 16 ms, which are proposed to represent different primed states within the population of docked vesicles.
Vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhiza in guayule.

There is renewed interest in the cultivation of guayule (Parthenium argentatum A. Gray) as a domestic source of natural rubber. Guayule roots from Texas were observed for the presence of mycorrihizae. A symbiont identified as Glomus fasciculatus has been isolated. (ACR)
Improving the latissimus dorsi myocutaneous flap with tissue expansion.

Although the latissimus dorsi myocutaneous flap is a safe and reliable technique for breast reconstruction, its versatility is limited when large cutaneous units are needed to resurface a heavily irradiated or scarred breast and chest wall. The thick back skin, in particular, may be unsuitable for reconstruction opposite either a hyperplastic or moderate sized but ptotic breast. Also, the likely need for a prosthesis can result in encapsulation and firmness
Generation of plate tectonics from lithosphere–mantle flow and void–volatile self-lubrication

Abstract The formation of plate tectonics from mantle convection necessarily requires nonlinear rheological behavior. Recent studies suggest that self-lubricating rheological mechanisms are most capable of generating plate-like motion out of fluid flows. The basic paradigm of self-lubrication is nominally derived from the feedback between viscous heating and temperature-dependent viscosity. Here, we propose a new idealized self-lubrication mechanism based on void (e.g., pore and/or microcrack) generation and volatile (e.g., water) ingestion. We test this void–volatile self-lubrication mechanism in a source–sink flow model; this leads to a basic nonlinear system which permits the excitation of strike–slip (toroidal) motion (a necessary ingredient of plate-like motion) out of purely divergent (i.e., poloidal or characteristically convective) flow. With relatively inviscid void-filling volatiles, the void–volatile mechanism yields a state of highly plate-like motion (i.e., with uniformly strong “plate” interiors, weak margins, and extremely focussed strike–slip shear zones). Moreover, the void–volatile model obeys a chemical diffusion time scale that is typically much longer than the thermal convection time scale; the model thus complies with the observation that plate boundaries are long lived and survive even while inactive. The void–volatile model of self-lubrication therefore predicts self-focussing shear zones, plate generation, and plate-boundary longevity through what has long been suspected to be a key ingredient for the existence of plate tectonics, i.e., water.
Complete Rations for Dairy Cattle. I. Methods of Preparation and Roughage-to-Concentrate Ratios of Blended Rations with Corn Silage

Abstract Treatment means for dry matter intake, milk production, fat-corrected milk, milk fat test and body weight gains did not differ significantly when rations containing comparable proportions of corn silage and concentrate mixture (30% roughage and 70% concentrate) were fed ad libitum as an ensiled complete ration, a complete ration blended at feeding time, or as separate components in a switchback-type experiment. Ensiling dry matter loss and pH averaged 2.9% and 3.85 for the ensiled cpmplete ration, and 5.0% and 3.75 for the urea-treated silage. Dry matter density of the ensiled complete ration was 81% greater than that of urea-treated silages. In the second experiment, widening roughage-to-concentrate ratios of complete rations from 40:60 to 30:70 to 20:80, was accompanied by stepwise increases in milk production and non-significant increases in dry matter intake under ad libitum feeding. Solids-corrected milk production was higher on the 20:80 than on the 40:60 roughage-to-concentrate ration. Milk fat tests were lower and body weight gains higher on the 20:80 and 30:70 roughage-to-concentrate rations than on the 40:60 ration. Solids-not-fat percentages were similar on all rations.
On Gas Drag-Induced Rapid Migration of Solids in a Nonuniform Solar Nebula

We study the motions of small solids, ranging from micron-sized dust grains to meter-sized objects, in the vicinity of local pressure enhancements of a gaseous nebula. Integrating numerically, we show that as a result of the combined effect of gas drag and pressure gradients, solids tend to accumulate at the locations where the pressure of the gas maximizes. The rate of migration of solids varies with their sizes and densities and also with the physical properties of the gas. The results of our numerical simulations indicate that such migrations are most rapid for meter-sized objects. The applicability of the results to the enhancement of the collision and coagulation of solids and also to the growth rate of planetesimals is discussed.
Is there a benefit to the treatment of mild gestational diabetes mellitus

Despite widespread acceptance of the value of screening for and treating gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in the United States, evidence concerning a benefit to this approach has been lacking. Confounding variables have specifically raised the question as to whether mild forms of carbohydrate intolerance are associated with increased perinatal and maternal risks. The findings of 2 recently conducted large-scale randomized clinical trials both indicate significant reductions in fetal overgrowth, shoulder dystocia, and preeclampsia with treatment. Thus, compelling evidence now exists that the benefit outweighs risks associated with the treatment of mild GDM.
The soybean-Phytophthora resistance locus Rps1-k encompasses coiled coil-nucleotide binding-leucine rich repeat-like genes and repetitive sequences.

A series of Rps (resistance to P ytophthora s ojae) genes have been protecting soybean from the root and stem rot disease caused by the Oomycete pathogen, Phytophthora sojae. Five Rps genes were mapped to the Rps1 locus located near the 28 cM map position on molecular linkage group N of the composite genetic soybean map. Among these five genes, Rps1-k was introgressed from the cultivar, Kingwa. Rps1-k has been providing stable and broad-spectrum Phytophthora resistance in the major soybean-producing regions of the United States. Rps1-k has been mapped and isolated. More than one functional Rps1-k gene was identified from the Rps1-k locus. The clustering feature at the Rps1-k locus might have facilitated the expansion of Rps1-k gene numbers and the generation of new recognition specificities. The Rps1-k region was sequenced to understand the possible evolutionary steps that shaped the generation of Phytophthora resistance genes in soybean. Here the analyses of sequences of three overlapping BAC clones containing the 184,111 bp Rps1-k region are reported. A shotgun sequencing strategy was applied in sequencing the BAC contig. Sequence analysis predicted a few full-length genes including two Rps1-k genes, Rps1-k-1 and Rps1-k-2. Previously reported Rps1-k-3 from this genomic region [1] was evolved through intramolecular recombination between Rps1-k-1 and Rps1-k-2 in Escherichia coli. The majority of the predicted genes are truncated and therefore most likely they are nonfunctional. A member of a highly abundant retroelement, SIRE1, was identified from the Rps1-k region. The Rps1-k region is primarily composed of repetitive sequences. Sixteen simple repeat and 63 tandem repeat sequences were identified from the locus. These data indicate that the Rps1 locus is located in a gene-poor region. The abundance of repetitive sequences in the Rps1-k region suggested that the location of this locus is in or near a heterochromatic region. Poor recombination frequencies combined with presence of two functional Rps genes at this locus has been providing stable Phytophthora resistance in soybean.
Soil properties associated with organic matter-mediated suppression of bean root rot in field soil amended with fresh and composted paper mill residuals

Abstract The ability of an organic amendment to suppress soil-borne disease is mediated by the complex interactions between biotic and abiotic soil factors. Various microbiological and physicochemical soil properties were measured in field soils with histories of receiving 4 or 5 years of spring additions of paper mill residuals (PMR), PMR composted alone (PMRC), PMR composted with bark (PMRB), or no amendment under a conventionally managed vegetable crop rotation. The objectives of this study were to (i) determine the residual and re-amendment effects of the organic materials on root rot disease severity; (ii) determine the influence of amendment type on the structure of bacterial communities associated with snap bean roots grown in these soils; and (iii) quantify the relative contributions of microbiological and physicochemical properties to root rot suppression in the field and greenhouse. While all amendment types significantly suppressed root rot disease compared to non-amended soils in both environments, only soils amended with PMR or PMRB sustained suppressive conditions 1 year after the most recent amendment event. Disease severity was inversely related to microbial activity (fluorescein diacetate assay) in recently amended soils only. Terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis of the 16s rRNA gene was performed to obtain bacterial profiles. Principal component analysis (PCA) of terminal restriction fragments (TRFs) revealed general differences in bacterial community composition (PC1) among amendment types, and specific TRFs contributed to these differences. Correlation and multiple regression analyses of the measured soil variables revealed that the composition of root-associated bacterial communities and the amount of particulate organic matter—carbon in bulk soils imparted independent and relatively equal contributions to the variation in disease severity documented in the field and greenhouse. Together, our findings provide evidence that disease suppression induced by annual PMR inputs was mediated by their differential effects on bacterial communities and the amount and quality of organic matter in these soils.
Rust and corrosion in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: the problem of iron and oxidative stress

Iron overload is a common acute and long-term event associated with autologous and allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). In a state of iron excess, free iron becomes available to catalyze the conversion of reactive oxygen species (ROS) intermediates such as superoxide anion (O2*-) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to highly toxic free radicals such as hydroxyl radical (OH*). ROS may help to promote chronic liver disease, sinusoidal obstruction syndrome, idiopathic pneumonia syndrome and bacterial, fungal and other opportunistic infections. Phlebotomy has been effectively and safely used to deplete excess iron stores post-HSCT in thalassemic and other iron-overloaded patients. Intracellular iron levels may also be decreased through pharmacologic chelating agents, while antioxidants such as N-acetylcysteine, glutamine (glutathione precursor) and captopril have been shown to replenish glutathione redox potential and scavenge free radicals. A better understanding of the mechanisms involved in the iron-generated pro-oxidant state associated with HSCT will likely lead to reduced toxicity and improved patient outcomes.
Optimal learning for sequential sampling with non-parametric beliefs

We propose a sequential learning policy for ranking and selection problems, where we use a non-parametric procedure for estimating the value of a policy. Our estimation approach aggregates over a set of kernel functions in order to achieve a more consistent estimator. Each element in the kernel estimation set uses a different bandwidth to achieve better aggregation. The final estimate uses a weighting scheme with the inverse mean square errors of the kernel estimators as weights. This weighting scheme is shown to be optimal under independent kernel estimators. For choosing the measurement, we employ the knowledge gradient policy that relies on predictive distributions to calculate the optimal sampling point. Our method allows a setting where the beliefs are expected to be correlated but the correlation structure is unknown beforehand. Moreover, the proposed policy is shown to be asymptotically optimal.
The Study of Interpersonal Problems: A Leary Legacy

The Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP) is an instrument based on Leary's original theory that has been used to identify dysfunctional patterns in a person's interpersonal interactions. Interpersonal problems can be organized. in 2 dimensions, and the 2-dimensional space can be divided into 8 equal sector's (octants). Subscale of the IIP describe problems in each of these octants. The instrument has been used to identify interpersonal problems that are discussed most often in a brief dynamic psychotherapy and problems that are treated most easily. The results show that problems in the exploitable octant improve most frequently, whereas problems in the dominating, vindictive, and cold octants do not improve as readily. We have also examined people's attachment styles in adulthood (following a model proposed by Bowlby) ,and found that different attachment styles correspond to different types of interpersonal problems.
A Simulation Model of Intergroup Conflict

In this paper we investigate intergroup conflict and examine the impact of strategies to manage and hopefully reduce it. To do this, we use a probabilistic computer simulation model, based on feedback principles. The model examines how conflict between two groups evolves over time. Group differences and the occurrence of intergroup incidents drive the model. Intergroup hostility which depends on past history, recent conflict incidents, and group differences is the key variable that indicates the proclivity toward conflict between the two groups. We use the model to examine various cases and the effect of conflict management strategies. Based on the model results, we develop some conclusions about the applicability of the findings to actual situations, as well as directions for further research.
When cops “go native”: policing revolution through sexual infiltration and panopticonism

This article argues that the use of sexual infiltration by police and criminal collaborators represents a strategic deployment of surveillance technology by the state with the aim of creating Foucault’s “docile bodies” through the development of totalising omnipresence. The insertion of police into the private sphere of activists’ sexual relationships – a site presumed to be outside of state gaze – serves to not only disrupt the target communities but also to reverberate throughout social networks and create inactivity. By exposing informants from within one’s own “family”, the state is able to collect intelligence, spread insecurity and display totalising disciplinary power to the social movement under observation.
Multi-scale optical flow including normalized mutual information for planar deformable lung motion estimation from 4D CT

A novel energy function for computing planar optical flow from X-ray CT images was presented and reported in detail in [1]. The technique combines four terms: brightness constancy, gradient constancy, continuity equation based on mass conservation, and discontinuity-preserving spatio-temporal smoothness. Both qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the proposed method demonstrated that the method results in significantly better angular errors than previous well-known techniques for optical flow estimation. A multi-scale approach to motion field computation based on this framework is presented in this paper. The proposed approach significantly speeds up the calculations, realizing computational savings. Additionally, an approach to determination of optimum values of scalar weights in the energy function is herein proposed. Normalized mutual information measured between the first image warped with the estimated motion and the second image is used to determine the optimum value for weighting parameters.
Acid-induced osteoporosis: an experimental model of human osteoporosis.

Adult animals, male or female, react to ammonium chloride ingestion with a non-hormonal, generalized, slow but progressive and unrelenting mobilization of bone and develop osteoporosis which seems indistinguishable in all parameters measured from human osteoporosis. (Table I).
Effects of Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass Surgery on Visceral and Subcutaneous Fat Density by Computed Tomography

We aimed to test the hypothesis that noninvasive fat density by computed tomography (CT) increases after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) and correlates with improved cardiometabolic risk. We examined 21 obese adults before and 12 months after RYGB and 16 obese nonsurgical controls followed for 12 months. Visceral (VAT) and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) density increased after RYGB (P < 0.0001) while remaining stable in controls (P ≥ 0.1). In RYGB subjects, 12-month increase in VAT density correlated with decreased C-reactive protein (CRP) independent of change in VAT area or BMI (both P < 0.05). Twelve-month increase in SAT density correlated with increased HDL cholesterol independent of change in SAT area (P = 0.048), BMI (P = 0.03), or statin use (P = 0.002), and 1 unit increase in SAT density had increased odds of higher total abdominal fat loss (P = 0.002).
Giant suprasellar arachnoid cyst presenting with precocious puberty.

A 9-year-old boy presented with a several month history of precocious puberty. Two months before presentation he began to hear his voice gradually deepen; 3 weeks before presentation he noticed increased hair growth over his axillary and genital regions. Review of symptoms was negative for headache, nausea, vomiting or visual changes. In retrospect his growth chart revealed markedly accelerated weight and height over the last year to greater than the 90th centile and his genital examination was consistent …