cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
M2BMT: An Automated Ground Truth Generation Algorithm for Lane Detection

Safety is one of the primary requirements of automotive manufactures and buyers and regulatory bodies are supporting this by mandating the safety features in vehicles. To achieve safety, multiple sensors such as vision cameras, radars, LIDAR and ultrasound devices are installed in the vehicle at various locations and sensor data is processed continuously using advanced algorithms. Validation of these algorithms is a critical requirement to ensure quality of the system. The present paper proposes an enhancement of the ground truth determination for automated lane detection system. The approach of time-slicing [1] has been built up on the binary framework. But the classical binarization algorithms have some limitations to address the particular domain of lane detection in an unconstrained environment and varied scenarios such as curvy and dashed lane marks. The current paper proposes a novel binarization algorithm based on min-between-max thresholding (MBMT). The adaptive binarization addresses the issue of outlier rejection in an efficient way and handles the effect of shadow, illumination variation and other factors in time-sliced images automatically. In addition the current work identifies limitation of the classical timeslice (TS) based approach even with time MBMT (TMBMT) for ground truth determination and addresses the same through second level of adaptation by spatial MBMT (SMBMT). Finally a complete mathematical model is presented to determine ground truth through the said method of hybrid or Modified MBMT or M2BMT. Technology disclosed in this paper is subject matter of pending patent application.
Distributed motion tomography for time-varying flow fields

Knowledge of a flow field is crucial to guide oceanic mobile sensing platforms; yet, existing regional ocean models provide insufficient spatial and temporal resolutions for precise guidance of mobile platforms. By combining computational ocean models with real-time data streams collected from mobile platforms, generic environmental models (GEMs) provide high-resolution predictions of ocean currents near the mobile platforms. Motion tomography (MT), which is a novel method for constructing GEMs, employs trajectory information of multiple mobile platforms to create a high-resolution spatial map of ocean flow in the region traversed by the mobile platforms. This paper extends the MT method to resolve the coupling between temporal variations and spatial variations in flow modeling. To incorporate temporal variability of flow into MT mapping, MT employs a parametric flow model and constructs a time-varying flow field by estimating the parameters of the flow model. The original MT problem deals with collective information of all the mobile platform trajectories. To address the communication limitation for data collection, distributed MT is developed in which mobile platforms share their estimated model parameters with other mobile platforms nearby. The paper demonstrates that the proposed methods in both non-distributed and distributed fashion successfully construct an underlying time-varying flow field that affects the trajectories of mobile platforms.
Moderate Physical Activity in Healthy Adults Is Associated With Cardiac Remodeling.

Background— Cardiac mass and volumes are often elevated in athletes, but it is not known whether moderate physical activity is also associated with cardiac dilatation and hypertrophy in a healthy adult population. Methods and Results— In total, 1096 adults (54% female, median age 39 years) without cardiovascular disease or cardiomyopathy-associated genetic variants underwent cardiac magnetic resonance imaging to determine biventricular volumes and function. Physical activity was assessed using a validated activity questionnaire. The relationship between cardiac parameters and activity was assessed using multiple linear regression adjusting for age, sex, race, and systolic blood pressure. Logistic regression was performed to determine the effect of activity on the likelihood of subjects having cardiac dilatation or hypertrophy according to standard cardiac magnetic resonance normal ranges. Increasing physical activity was associated with greater left ventricular (LV) mass (β=0.23; P <0.0001) and elevated LV and right ventricular volumes (LV: β=0.26, P <0.0001; right ventricular: β=0.26, P <0.0001). Physical activity had a larger effect on cardiac parameters than systolic blood pressure (0.06≤β≤0.21) and a similar effect to age (−0.20≤β≤−0.31). Increasing physical activity was a risk factor for meeting imaging criteria for LV hypertrophy (adjusted odds ratio 2.1; P <0.0001), LV dilatation (adjusted odds ratio 2.2; P <0.0001), and right ventricular dilatation (adjusted odds ratio 2.2; P <0.0001). Conclusions— Exercise-related cardiac remodeling is not confined to athletes, and there is a risk of overdiagnosing cardiac dilatation or hypertrophy in a proportion of active, healthy adults.
Body Composition in Infancy, Childhood, and Adolescence

The preceding chapter dealt with changes that occur during fetal life, and mention was made of the fact that fetal tissues at term still differ in composition from those in the adult. The achievement of “chemical maturity” will require further changes in relative organ size, fluid compartments, and body fat content during the period of postnatal growth. The culmination of these processes results in what is known as the “standard man,” or “reference man,” a convenient construction for those investigators interested in such matters as energy and nutrient needs, radiation doses, trace element content, and so forth for population groups. However, it will become clear subsequently that there is considerable variation in body composition among ostensibly healthy individuals, just as there is variation in stature, weight, and hair color. Moreover, sex differences in body composition, which are present to a slight degree in early life, become significant during adolescence, and once established remain throughout most of the adult years. So in truth one should also consider the existence of a “standard woman.”
Preservice Music Teachers’ Descriptions of Successful and Unsuccessful Teachers

The purpose of this study was to examine how undergraduate music education students identify, through a reflective writing exercise, the major characteristics of successful and unsuccessful teacher...
Application to Animals

An animal functions within its habitat in response to a variety of factors that include the exchange of energy, gases, and nutrients between the animal and the environment. If one is to understand certain aspects of animal behavior, range limitation, and physiological adaptation to habitat conditions, then one must work with a model of the interaction of an animal with its environment that is as complete as possible. Once again, one is confronted with the difficulty of understanding the relationships between several dependent and many independent variables. When challenged with a multidimensional problem, it is essential to place the problem into a good analytical framework.
Gas generation during waste treatment of acidic solutions from the dissolution of irradiated LEU targets for 99Mo production

The goal of the Reduced Enrichment for Research and Test Reactors Program is to limit the use of high-enriched uranium (HEU) in research and test reactors by substituting low-enriched uranium (LEU) wherever possible. The work reported here documents our work to develop the calcining technologies and processes that will be needed for 99Mo production using LEU foil targets and the Modified Cintichem Process. The primary concern with the conversion to LEU from HEU targets is that it would result in a five- to six-fold increase in the total uranium. This increase results in more liquid waste from the process. We have been working to minimize the increase in liquid waste and to minimize the impact of any change in liquid waste. Direct calcination of uranium-rich nitric acid solutions generates NO2 gas and UO3 solid. We have proposed two processes for treating the liquid waste from a Modified Cintichem Process with a LEU foil. One is an optimized direct calcination process that is similar to the process currently in use. The other is a uranyl oxalate precipitation process. The specific goal of the work reported here was to characterize and compare the chemical reactions that occur during these two processes. Inmore » particular, the amounts and compositions of the gaseous and solid products were of interest. A series of experiments was carried out to show the effects of temperature and the redox potential of the reaction atmosphere. The primary products of the direct calcination process were mixtures of U3O8 and UO3 solids and NO2 gas. The primary products of the oxalate precipitation process were mixtures of U3O8 and UO2 solid and CO2 gas. Higher temperature and a reducing atmosphere tended to favor quadrivalent over hexavalent uranium in the solid product. These data will help producers to decide between the two processes. In addition, the data can be used to design appropriate off-gas systems for pilot and production facilities.« less
Sclerotherapy for splenic cysts in children

Abstract Background Sclerotherapy has been described as a treatment option for nonparasitic pediatric splenic cysts; however, there are limited data on its long-term effectiveness. Methods We performed a retrospective review and prospective follow-up imaging study of children treated for nonparasitic splenic cysts at our institution during 2006-2015. Included patients had International Classification of Disease, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification diagnosis code 289.59 or 759.0 and underwent either sclerotherapy or a partial splenic operation (partial splenectomy, cyst excision, or marsupialization). Charts were reviewed for demographics, imaging, treatments, and complications. Identified patients were contacted and asked to return for splenic ultrasonography. Results Six surgical patients and 19 sclerotherapy patients were identified. Sclerotherapy patients underwent a median of four treatments with a decrease in the size of the cyst or complete ablation in 89.5% (17/19). Of the two patients who underwent unsuccessful sclerotherapy, one patient had sclerotherapy with sotradecol and ethanol for eight treatments, developed infection, and underwent total splenectomy. The other patient did not improve with sclerotherapy and underwent partial splenectomy. Nine patients (eight patients treated with sclerotherapy and one patient treated with partial splenectomy) were successfully contacted and underwent follow-up imaging at a median follow-up of 2.4 y since last treatment. Of the eight patients treated with sclerotherapy, four patients remained cyst-free, three had small residual asymptomatic cysts stable in size, and one developed a recurrent small asymptomatic cyst; the patient treated with surgery had no recurrence. Conclusions Sclerotherapy appears to be an effective and durable alternative treatment for children with splenic cysts.
Time-optimal path planning: Real-time sea exercises

We report the results of sea exercises that demonstrate the real-time capabilities of our fundamental time-optimal path planning theory and software with real ocean vehicles. The exercises were conducted with REMUS 600 Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) in the Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound Regions on 21 October and 6 December 2016. Two tests were completed: (i) 1-AUV time-optimal tests and (ii) 2-AUV race tests where one AUV followed a time-optimal path and the other a shortest-distance path between the start and finish locations. The time-optimal planning proceeded as follows. We first forecast, in real-time, the physical ocean conditions in the above regions and times utilizing our MSEAS multi-resolution primitive equation ocean modeling system. Next, we planned time-optimal paths for the AUVs using our level-set equations and real-time ocean forecasts, and accounting for operational constraints (e.g. minimum depth). This completed the planning computations performed onboard a research vessel. The forecast optimal paths were then transferred to the AUV operating system and the vehicles were piloted according to the plan. We found that the forecast currents and paths were accurate. In particular, the time-optimal vehicles won the races, even though the local currents and geometric constraints were complex. The details of the results were analyzed off-line after the sea tests.
Fifty Shades of Deception: Characteristics and Consequences of Lying in Negotiations

Deception pervades our social interactions and can profoundly shape our relational and economic outcomes. This is particularly true in negotiations. We review the extant literature investigating de...
APPLICANT RACE, JOB STATUS, AND RACIAL ATTITUDE AS PREDICTORS OF EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION

It is important to understand why biased employee selection occurs in the workplace. We examined applicant race, job status, and the evaluator's attitudes toward blacks as possible predictors of unfair selection decisions. After completing an attitude toward blacks scale, one hundred and eighty-one people evaluated the qualifications of either a black or white applicant for either a high or low status job. Results showed no differences in the hiring decision. However, evaluators with more negative attitudes toward blacks reported greater confidence in their decision to hire the black applicant than the white applicant for the low status job compared to the confidence of evaluators with more positive attitudes. They also reported greater confidence in their decision to hire the white applicant than the black applicant for the high status job as compared to evaluators with more positive attitudes towards blacks. We observed the opposite results for less biased individuals. Evaluator ratings do not explain these findings. These data suggest that unfair discrimination may operate in subtle ways.
The role of the prefrontal cortex in dynamic filtering

Functional neuroimaging and neuropsychological methods have broadened our understanding of the human prefrontal cortex. Converging evidence suggests that this brain region contributes to executive control of information processing. Both cognitive and neural-based models have attempted to delineate the manner in which the prefrontal cortex mediates executive control. An analysis of these findings and models suggests four prominent aspects of executive control—selecting, maintaining, updating, and rerouting information processing. These four aspects are couched in terms of dynamic filtering theory, which proposes that the prefrontal cortex acts as a selective gating or filtering mechanism that controls information processing.
Effect of High-Temperature Structure and Diffusion on Grain-Boundary Diffusion Creep in fcc Metals

Molecular dynamics simulations of high-energy twist and tilt bicrystals of fcc palladium reveal a universal, liquid-like, isotropic high-temperature diffusion mechanism, characterized by a rather low self-diffusion activation energy that is independent of the boundary type or misorientation. Medium-energy grain boundaries exhibit the same behavior at the highest temperatures; however, at lower temperatures the diffusion mechanism becomes anisotropic, with a higher, misorientation-dependent activation energy. Our simulations demonstrate that the lower activation energy at elevated temperatures is caused by a structural transition, from a solid boundary structure at low temperatures to a liquid-like structure at high temperatures. We demonstrate that the existence of such a transition has important consequences for diffusion creep in nanocrystalline fcc metals. In particular, our simulations reveal that in the absence of grain growth, nanocrystalline microstructures containing only high-energy grain boundaries exhibit steady-state diffusion creep with a creep rate that agrees quantitatively with that given by the Coble-creep formula. Remarkably, the activation energy for the high-temperature creep rate is the same as that characterizing the universal high-temperature diffusion in high-energy energy bicrystalline grain boundaries.
Pollination mechanisms in Triadica sebifera (Euphorbiaceae) in the southeastern United States1

Effective pollination is essential to the ability of introduced plant species to establish and spread in novel habitats. In this study we examine the pollination biology of the introduced tree species Triadica sebifera on the Gulf Coast of the United States. We assessed its potential for reproduction via autogamy, self-fertilization, wind pollination, and pollen dispersal by insects, and compared visitation by native and introduced pollinators. We found little evidence of autogamy in emasculated inflorescences, and though trees were self-compatible, protandry within inflorescences and synchrony of flowering on branch systems were effective at preventing self-fertilization. Pollen was poorly dispersed by wind, and no pollen was found on traps 8 m from source trees. Although numerous insects visited inflorescences, only bees in the families Apidae and Halictidae carried more than traces of pollen. Both the introduced honeybee, Apis mellifera, and native bees carried large amounts of pollen, and native bees dominated the visitor community at three of four study sites. The results suggest that T. sebifera is primarily outcrossing and bee-pollinated, and is effectively pollinated by native generalist bees in its introduced range.
Dynamic changes in histone deacetylases following kidney ischemia-reperfusion injury are critical for promoting proximal tubule proliferation

Deranged histone deacetylase (HDAC) activity causes uncontrolled proliferation, inflammation, fibrosis, and organ damage. It is unclear whether deranged HDAC activity results in acute kidney injury...
When and How Implicit First Impressions Can Be Updated

Human perceivers continually react to the social world implicitly—that is, spontaneously and rapidly. Earlier research suggested that implicit impressions of other people are slower to change than ...
Strategies for Leg Amputation in Patients with Charcot’s Arthropathy

Charcot arthropathy is a challenging disease process to manage. Major lower extremity amputation is often the end-line treatment. However, special consideration must be taken during amputation of a Charcot’s limb because the hypervascularity and edema unique to these patients can be an obstacle to proper wound healing and subsequent independence on a prosthetic. We will discuss here staged amputation that takes into account the pathophysiology of Charcot arthropathy by incorporating negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) into the wound-healing process.
TO IMPLANT OR NOT TO IMPLANT: A CASE OF CLINICALLY-DIAGNOSED BUT GENETICALLY INDETERMINATE LONG-QT SYNDROME

Long QT syndrome (LQTS) encompasses one or more gene mutations of cardiac ion channels predisposing patients to ventricular dysrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. Due to seizures from dysrhythmia-induced cerebral anoxia, LQTS is often misdiagnosed as epilepsy. We discuss the decision to place an ICD
Mechanisms of UV-induced mutations and skin cancer

Ultraviolet (UV) irradiation causes various types of DNA damage, which leads to specific mutations and the emergence of skin cancer in humans, often decades after initial exposure. Different UV wavelengths cause the formation of prominent UV-induced DNA lesions. Most of these lesions are removed by the nucleotide excision repair pathway, which is defective in rare genetic skin disorders referred to as xeroderma pigmentosum. A major role in inducing sunlight-dependent skin cancer mutations is assigned to the cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPDs). In this review, we discuss the mechanisms of UV damage induction, the genomic distribution of this damage, relevant DNA repair mechanisms, the proposed mechanisms of how UV-induced CPDs bring about DNA replication-dependent mutagenicity in mammalian cells, and the strong signature of UV damage and mutagenesis found in skin cancer genomes.
Guns and Butter

The buzz about violence in schools has lightened during the COVID-19 pandemic, but without a plan or resolution to the problems of gun availability, pervasive gun culture and other issues of violence in U.S. schools and society. In recent, pre-COVID conversation with preservice teachers and school administrators (separate conversations), I was surprised by the support that was expressed for a highly-policed school environment that includes armed teachers, principals and other school personnel. At an intellectual level, I cannot grasp how increased policing in schools can promote any result other than the possibilities of increased racism and further inculcation of a police-state mentality in schools and society. As I mulled the issues around gun violence in particular, I realized that my objections go beyond a philosophy or an intellectual point of view, but are instead rooted in visceral, long-held feelings based in experience. In this autoethnographic essay, I recount my personal experiences in an attempt to illustrate through personal experience the folly of wide-spread gun ownership and to underscore the canard that guns can protect us in our homes and schools.
Toward A Contemplative Technopedagogy Framework: A Discourse Analysis

Digital technology features prominently in the higher education ecosystem, affecting the ways in which educators think, communicate, and teach. This research applies discourse analysis to articles published within The Chronicle of Higher Education (CHE) to understand: (1) The ways in which conceptions of digital technology in higher education pedagogy have changed and the ways in which they have remained consistent from 1993-2016 and (2) The extent to which CHE articles addressed attributes of contemplation with regard to technopedagogy. Research findings indicate that during the previous 23 years digital technology was portrayed as an overwhelmingly positive addition to higher education pedagogy. Less than half of articles analyzed contained attributes of contemplation. Non-contemplative technopedagogical approaches can lead to uncritical adoption or knee-jerk dismissal of digital technology – either of which can have substantial and long-lasting consequences within teaching-learning environments. Contemporary pedagogies need to pay closer attention to digital technologies, but must do so in a purposeful and engaged manner. This historical and discursive research inductively led to the development of the Contemplative Technopedagogy Framework, which provides an approachable introduction to using attributes of contemplation when making pedagogical decisions about digital technology in higher education.
Theoretical analysis of the adsorption of phosphoric acid and model phosphate monoesters on CeO2(111)

Abstract Ceria has been shown to catalyze the dephosphorylation of phosphate monoesters at ambient temperature. As a step toward understanding the reaction mechanism on ceria, first-principles density functional theory calculations in the GGA-PW91+U approach have been carried out to study the adsorption of phosphoric acid and two model phosphate monoesters, methyl phosphate and para-nitrophenyl phosphate, on CeO2(111). Consistent patterns are found in terms of energetic, structural, electronic, and vibrational properties upon adsorption. For the parent molecules, bonding of the phosphorous atom directly to a surface lattice oxygen atom (Olatt) is the only stable molecular adsorption state. Common entities that reduce Ce4+ to Ce3+ (e.g., co-adsorbed H atom, surface and subsurface oxygen vacancy) mildly perturb the P-Olatt bond, but Ce3+ by itself has only a negligible effect. Deprotonation is exothermic for all three phosphate species on CeO2(111), much more so if they are adsorbed in an oxygen vacancy via a phosphoryl O than on a stoichiometric surface. Infrared spectra have been simulated for the adsorbed states of the model phosphates for comparison with future experiments.
Design With Nature Now: Frederick Steiner, Richard Weller, Karen M’Closkey, and Billy Fleming (2019). Cambridge, MA: Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. 368 pages. $80 (hardcover)

The question of “where” has always been at the center of planning and urban design. More recently, the importance of where has been amplified by climate change impacts and the repercussions of poor...
Long-term multimodal imaging characterization of persistent retinal neovascularization using DL-alpha-aminoadipic acid in pigmented and white rabbits

Abstract Purpose Intravitreal (IVT) injection of DL-alpha-aminoadipic acid (AAA) is a new animal model for retinal neovascularization (RNV) reported in rabbits. This study performs longitudinal multimodal imaging for up to 1 year to evaluate DL-AAA RNV in both New Zealand white (NZW) rabbits and Dutch-Belted pigmented (DBP) rabbits. Method Detailed characterization and quantification of this model were performed in these two strains in 32 eyes by optical coherence tomography (OCT), fundus photography, and fluorescein angiography (FA) for up to 16 weeks following DL-AAA administration in 32 eyes and up to 52 weeks in 5 eyes. H & E histology was also performed in these two strains 8 weeks after injection of DL-AAA. Result RNV was successfully generated using 50 μL 80 mM DL-AAA solution for DBP rabbits and 80 μL 80 mM DL-AAA for NZW rabbits. The incidence of persistent vascular leakage is 100% (15/15) for DBP rabbits and 70.6% (12/17) for NZW rabbits at 16 weeks. Complications with NZW rabbits ultimately decreased the efficiency in NZW rabbits to 58.8% (10/17) of NZW rabbits getting persistent (to 16 weeks) vascular leakage without ocular complications as compared with 100% (15/15) in DBP rabbits. Five eyes (2 DBP and 3 NZW) were selected from those demonstrating RNV at 16 weeks and were monitored for up to 52 weeks. All 5 demonstrated persistent RNV to 52 weeks. Quantification of the mean leakage area (MLA) in DBP rabbits is more accurate than in NZW rabbits since the reduced contrast between the leakage and background in NZW rabbits makes it more challenging to quantify. Conclusion DL-AAA can induce persistent and quantifiable RNV in both DBP and NZW rabbits. DBP rabbits have a higher success rate, lower required volume of DL-AAA, and more accurate method for quantification that could be more desirable.
Circuit Court Dysphoria: The Status of Gender Confirmation Surgery Requests by Incarcerated Transgender Individuals

This Note questions the existing circuit split on how to approach the deliberate indifference standard of the Eighth Amendment regarding claims for gender confirmation surgery (GCS) by incarcerated transgender individuals. This Note criticizes the Fifth Circuit's unprecedented approach in Gibson v. Collier, which allows prisons to institute categorical bans on GCS without considering an individual’s factual circumstances and the evolution of medical knowledge on gender dysphoria. Ultimately, this Note suggests that courts adopt the “Kosilek–Edmo framework.” This framework proposes assessing the subjective prong of deliberate indifference on a case-by-case basis of medical need, relying on experts familiar with the WPATH Standards of Care, and applying increased caution when considering the security concerns prison officials may have in regard to incarcerated transgender individuals.
Comparison of convolutional neural networks for detecting large vessel occlusion on computed tomography angiography

Purpose Artificial intelligence diagnosis and triage of large vessel occlusion may quicken clinical response for a subset of time-sensitive acute ischemic stroke patients, improving outcomes. Differences in architectural elements within data-driven convolutional neural network (CNN) models impact performance. Foreknowledge of effective model architectural elements for domain-specific problems can narrow the search for candidate models and inform strategic model design and adaptation to optimize performance on available data. Here, we study CNN architectures with a range of learnable parameters and which span the inclusion of architectural elements, such as parallel processing branches and residual connections with varying methods of recombining residual information. Methods We compare five CNNs: ResNet-50, DenseNet-121, EfficientNet-B0, PhiNet, and an Inception module-based network, on a computed tomography angiography large vessel occlusion detection task. The models were trained and preliminarily evaluated with 10-fold cross-validation on preprocessed scans (n = 240). An ablation study was performed on PhiNet due to superior cross-validated test performance across accuracy, precision, recall, specificity, and F1 score. The final evaluation of all models was performed on a withheld external validation set (n = 60) and these predictions were subsequently calibrated with sigmoid curves. Results Uncalibrated results on the withheld external validation set show that DenseNet-121 had the best average performance on accuracy, precision, recall, specificity, and F1 score. After calibration DenseNet-121 maintained superior performance on all metrics except recall. Conclusions The number of learnable parameters in our five models and best-ablated PhiNet directly related to cross-validated test performance-the smaller the model the better. However, this pattern did not hold when looking at generalization on the withheld external validation set. DenseNet-121 generalized the best; we posit this was due to its heavy use of residual connections utilizing concatenation, which causes feature maps from earlier layers to be used deeper in the network, while aiding in gradient flow and regularization.
Water quality assessment of Raw and Chlorinated drinking water of a Residential University

The safety of water is essential for life on earth. Drinking contaminated water can give rise to many health issues. Tohighlight the major causes of contamination in water, this study was carried out to determine the physicochemical andbacteriological quality of raw and chlorinated water. Raw and chlorinated water samples were obtained from three locations (zones) of a residential university (National University of Sciences and Technology, NUST). Ten physicochemicalparameters were analyzed (pH, Electrical conductivity, Turbidity, Dissolved oxygen, Hardness, Alkalinity, Total suspendedsolids, Total dissolved solids, Total organic carbon, and Chlorine (free & total)). Bacteriological analysis was performedthrough the MPN technique. The results showed that all the physicochemical parameters were found within the permissible limits set by WHO and PSDWQ for raw and chlorinated water, except TSS and Chlorine (free & total). The TSS of raw and chlorinated water ranged from 3.3-14.3mg/L and 8.7-12.7mg/L, greater than the permissible limits. The free Chlorine for both raw and chlorinated water ranged from 0.04-0.09mg/L and 0.06-0.07mg/L and total Chlorine for both raw and chlorinated water in the range 0.10-0.09mg/L and 0.22-0.24mg/L, respectively, which were far below the recommended limit required for water disinfection. The MPN index for raw and chlorinated water ranged from 23 to >23MPN/100ml and 16 to >23MPN/100ml, exceeding the permissible limits. The results concluded that the water, whether raw or chlorinated, was not fit for drinking purposes. Proper dosages of Chlorine and filtration techniques are required to make the water fit for consumption.
The effects of reward on children's Stroop performance: Interactions with temperament.

The effects of rewards on executive function (EF) reflect bidirectional interactions among motivational and executive systems that vary with age and temperament. However, methodological limitations hinder understanding of the precise influences of incentives on early EF, including the role of reward sensitivity. In this within-subjects study, ninety-three 3.5- to 5-year-olds (42 girls; 22% Hispanic; 78% White) residing in the United States completed equivalent EF measures (Stroop and non-Stroop phases) in both rewarded and non-rewarded conditions. Rewards enhanced Stroop accuracy and slowed overall response times (ds = 0.29-0.40). Critically, children with low parent-reported reward sensitivity exhibited greater reward-based increases in Stroop accuracy (r = -.30). These findings provide valuable insights on early motivation-cognition integration, highlighting temperament as a mechanism underlying these interactions.
Heparin prevents vascular smooth muscle cell progression through the G1 phase of the cell cycle.

To gain insight into the mechanism of the antiproliferative effects of heparin on vascular smooth muscle cells (SMC), the influence of this glycosaminoglycan on cell cycle progression and the expression of the c-fos, c-myc, and c-myb proto-oncogenes and two other growth-regulated genes was examined. SMC, synchronized by a serum-deprivation protocol, enter S phase 12–16 h after serum stimulation. Pretreatment with heparin for 48 h blocked the induction of histone H3 RNA, an S phase-expressed product, and prevented cell replication. Thus, heparin prevents entry of cells into S phase. Conversely, heparin had essentially no effect on changes in expression of the c-fos and c-myc proto-oncogenes during the G0 to G1 transition. Normal increases in c-fos and c-myc RNA were observed 30 min and 2 h following serum addition, respectively. However, the increase in expression of the mRNA of the c-myb proto-oncogene and the mitochondrial ATP/ADP carrier protein, 2F1, which begins to occur 8 h following serum addition to SMC, was completely inhibited by heparin. Two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the products of a rabbit reticulocyte cell-free translation of RNA isolated at various times confirmed this temporal assessment of the effects of heparin. These results suggest that heparin does not inhibit cell proliferation by blocking the G0 to G1 transition. Rather, heparin may affect a critical event in the mid-G1 phase of the cell cycle which is necessary for subsequent DNA synthesis.
Divorce Comparative Style: A Paradigm of Divorce Patterns.

This article examines the social conditions that bring about changes in divorce law and behavior. Modernization was found to have an important effect on divorce patterns, but depending on other social variables, it may make divorce easier or more difficult. The other variables that appear to influence patterns of divorce are: the kinship system, attitudes toward property, the status of women, religion and its political influence, social class, the social meaning of marriage, and the role of the state.
Experiments and Counter-Experiments in the Urban Laboratory of Water- Supply Partnerships in India

Karen Bakker has characterized the scattered islands of networked water supply that are common in the cities of the global South as ‘archipelagos’. Those living outside of archipelagos utilize a variety of interventions, collectively referred to here as tendrils, to access water by informal means. Neoliberal imperatives driving infrastructure transformation aim to alter the paradigm of water-supply provision to diminish its plural composition and effectively transform tendrils into archipelagos. In this article, developing a conceptual and methodological synthesis between Science and Technology Studies (STS) and political ecology, I study the emergence of public-private partnerships in India as laboratories in the marketization of water-supply provision. These partnerships, initiated at local scales, aim to enroll informal water users into standardized modes of water-supply provision and effectively expand the archipelagos of modernity. I draw upon empirical research of a water-supply partnership in the city of Bengaluru, describing some of the characteristics of the experimental processes, and argue that they simultaneously forward the marketization of water-supply services while inadvertently providing opportunities for residents, local associations and activists to form networks of counter-experimentation. The description of these political acts, this article concludes, provokes re-examination of the efficacy of an instrumental understanding of water partnerships, but requires closer policy engagement with ‘governance failures’ that are rife in water-supply provision.
Ethics and Professional Responsibility

The sections in this article are 1 What is Engineering Ethics? 2 Who Does Engineering Ethics? 3 Role of Professional Societies in Engineering Ethics 4 Engineering and Society 5 Moral Dilemmas in Engineering 6 Frameworks for Engineering Ethics 7 Cases in Engineering Ethics 8 Critiques of Engineering Ethics 9 Some Current Developments in Engineering Ethics
The conversion of testosterone to 5-alpha-androstan-17-beta-ol-3-one by rat prostate in vivo and in vitro.

The identity of the nonpolar transformation products of testosterone-1,2-3H, the time course of the appearance of these metabolites in various tissue compartments, and the subcellular distribution of testosterone and its metabolites in prostate have been investigated following the intravenous administration of the hormone to normal and to functionally hepatectomized rats. Evidence has been obtained in both types of animals that within 1 min following its administration testosterone is taken up by the prostate, and at least 90% is converted to three products, androstandiol, dihydrotestosterone, and androsterone. From prostatic nuclei, however, only testosterone-3H and dihydrotestosterone-3H were recovered for as long as 2 hours following testosterone injection. Furthermore, it has been shown that in the presence of a NADPH2-generating system prostatic nuclei convert testosterone to dihydrotestosterone, whereas prostatic cytoplasm, in addition, reduces dihydrotestosterone to androstandiol. The nuclear enzyme which performs this reaction has been partially characterized and appears to be located within the chromatin. Finally, the tissue distribution of dihydrotestosterone-3H has been investigated at a short time interval following testosterone-1,2-3H injection; this metabolite was detected only in prostate, seminal vesicle, preputial gland, kidney, and plasma.
Cytological and Ultrastructural Studies on Root Tissues

The anatomy and fine structure of roots from oat and mung bean seedlings, grown under microgravity conditions for 8 days aboard the Space Shuttle, was examined and compared to that of roots from ground control plants grown under similar conditions. Roots from both sets of oat seedlings exhibited characteristic monocotyledonous tissue organization and normal ultrastructural features, except for cortex cell mitochondria, which exhibited a 'swollen' morphology. Various stages of cell division were observed in the meristematic tissues of oat roots. Ground control and flight-grown mung bean roots also showed normal tissue organization, but root cap cells in the flight-grown roots were collapsed and degraded in appearance, especially at the cap periphery. At the ultrastructural level, these cells exhibited a loss of organelle integrity and a highly-condensed cytoplasm. This latter observation perhaps suggests a differing tissue sensitivity for the two species to growth conditions employed in space flight. The basis for abnormal root cap cell development is not understood, but the loss of these putative gravity-sensing cells holds potential significance for long term plant growth orientation during space flight.
2D-3D registration based on shape matching

Describes a method for determining an object's pose given its 3D model and a 2D view. This 2D-3D registration problem arises in a number of medical applications, e.g. image guided spine procedures. Previous approaches often rely on a good initial estimate of the pose parameters and an optimization procedure to refine this initial pose estimate, e.g. the iterative closest point (ICP). However, such algorithms can identify local minima as global minima, leading to registration errors, if the initial pose is not carefully chosen. The specification of the appropriate initial conditions, however requires user interaction and is time consuming. The authors propose an approach where sample 2D views are generated from the 3D model and matched against the given view (2D-3D registration). Additional views are then generated in the vicinity of the best view and the procedure is repeated until convergence. Results of estimating the coordinates of a vertebrae spine bone from its 3D model, obtained from volumetric (CT or MR) data, and a 2D view, as might be obtained from fluoroscopic data, demonstrates that the pose can be reliably obtained without requiring an extensive user interface.
INHIBITORS OF APOPTOSIS AS TARGETS FOR CANCER THERAPY

Publisher Summary This chapter deals with inhibitors of apoptosis (IAP) and discusses the pros and cons of targeting these molecules in the development of novel anticancer agents. IAPs form a growing family of proteins that inhibit apoptosis induced by a wide variety of insults. Structure function analyses have revealed that all IAPs harbor varying numbers of baculoviral inhibitor of apoptosis repeat (BIR) domains. IAPs have also been implicated in the activation of anti-apoptotic nuclear factor κB (NF-κB). NF-κB is a transcription factor that is formed by the NF-κB/Rel protein family. Apollon is the largest human IAP discovered to date. It encodes a single BIR domain-containing protein of 530 κDa. Apollon is expressed at high levels in human gliomas. Survivin, the smallest IAP, is expressed at high levels in a wide variety of cancers compared with normal tissues and Survivin is expressed at high levels in fetal but not in adult tissues. The constitutive overexpression of Survivin in various cancer tissues fits the onco-fetal pattern of expression. The small peptides corresponding to the amino terminal end of Smac have been reported to relieve the XIAP-mediated inhibition of caspase 9. The utility of small peptides corresponding to the NH2 terminal region of Smac either alone or in combination with other chemotherapeutic drugs is predicated to be a novel therapeutic strategy, particularly in IAP overexpressing tumors.
Empirical Relation between the Linear and the Third-Order Nonlinear Optical Susceptibilities

A simple empirical relation is found to exist between the linear and the third-order nonlinear optical susceptibilities. This empirical relation holds within the available experimental accuracy for gases at low pressures. The applicability of this empirical relation to crystalline solids, and its bearing on the generalized Miller's rule for these solids, are discussed.
Inhibitory properties of the P1 Tyr variant of antithrombin

Antithrombin (AT) and protein Z-dependent protease inhibitor (ZPI) are among two physiological serpin inhibitors in plasma that are involved in the regulation of the clotting cascade. Unlike AT, which can inhibit the proteolytic activity of all coagulation proteases, ZPI has narrower protease specificity, inhibiting only factors Xa (fXa) and XIa. Unlike an Arg at the P1 site of the AT reactive center loop (RCL), this residue is a Tyr in ZPI. To investigate the contribution of P1 Tyr in restricting the specificity of ZPI, we engineered an AT mutant in which the P1 Arg of the RCL was replaced with the P1 Tyr of ZPI (AT-R393Y). The reactivity of AT-R393Y with fXa and thrombin was decreased 155- and 970-fold, respectively. However, the serpin mutant inhibited chymotrypsin with an efficiency higher by >4 orders of magnitude. By contrast, chymotrypsin did not exhibit any reactivity with ZPI. The substitution of Asp-189 of fXa with the corresponding residue of chymotrypsin (Ser) did not improve the reactivity of the protease mutant with AT-R393Y; however, the fXa mutant reacted normally with ZPI. These results suggest that the contribution of P1 Tyr to restricting the protease specificity of ZPI is RCL context-dependent and that in addition to P1 Tyr, other structural features within and/or outside the ZPI RCL are involved in determining the protease specificity of the serpin. The results further suggest that thrombin is less tolerant than fXa in accommodating the nonoptimal P1 Tyr of the AT mutant in its active-site pocket.
Screening solution-phase combinatorial libraries using pulsed ultrafiltration/electrospray mass spectrometry.

A method is described whereby a family of homologues is synthesized in a one-pot reaction, without isolation or purification, and the reaction mixture is screened using a competitive binding assay based on pulsed ultrafiltration/electrospray mass spectrometry (PUF/ESMS) to tentatively identify those derivatives having the highest affinity for a target receptor. As a model system to test this approach, a synthetic scheme designed to prepare a series of analogues of the adenosine deaminase inhibitor erythro-9-(2-hydroxy-3-nonyl)adenine (EHNA), as diastereomeric mixtures, was carried out. Pulsed ultrafiltration screening of the crude reaction mixture against controls without protein detected protonated molecules corresponding to EHNA-type derivatives and three of its linear, alkyl homologues but did not show protonated molecules for an isobutyl or benzylic EHNA derivative, suggesting the latter was inactive. To verify this conclusion, we prepared E/THNA, the linear homologues, and the benzylic derivative (ea...
Permanently Linked Monodisperse Paramagnetic Chains

Here we present a method for synthesizing permanently linked monodisperse paramagnetic chains by both covalently linking surface-functionalized polystyrene particles and physically linking electrostatically stabilized paramagnetic emulsion droplets. We observe the stability, field alignment, and flexibility of this new class of materials. These anisotropic magnetoresponsive materials should be of interest for their unique rheological, optical, electronic, and micromechanical properties.
Consumer brand relationships: A research landscape

This article sheds light on the current state of research on consumer brand relationships (CBR) and presents two distinct taxonomies, respectively, theoretical frameworks that help to classify CBR research. First, the ‘brand connection matrix’ that classifies brand relationships into functional-based (low versus high) and emotional-based (low versus high) connections to brands. This framework leads us with a 2 × 2 matrix consisting of four quadrants, each of which are discussed. Second, the ‘brand feeling matrix’ classifies consumer’s relationships with brands by grouping them into the strengths of relationships (weak versus strong) and the consumers’ feeling toward the brand (positive versus negative). The latter taxonomy leads to another 2 × 2 matrix where each of the four quadrants is discussed. Finally, this article discusses the papers in this special issue and applies the two frameworks by grouping the papers into the corresponding quadrants.
Choledochocele: an unusual form of choledochal cyst

Choledochocele, or type III choledochal cyst, is a rare anomaly. Two children with choledochocele, both younger than any previously reported patient, were recently cared for at the University of Michigan Medical Center and prompted a literature review of this subject. Since 1974, 40 cases of choledochocele have been reported with enough clinical information for critical review. Ten of these patients were 21 years of age or younger. Presenting symptoms were not specific for choledochocele; they were generally interpreted to result from other biliary or gastrointestinal disorders that are more common for each age group. In pediatric patients the most frequent signs and symptoms of choledochocele were abdominal pain (70%), nausea and/or vomiting (60%), jaundice (30%), and acute pancreatitis (30%). While two-thirds of adult patients with choledochocele had undergone prior cholecystectomy (with stones rarely found), this was observed only once in children. Obstructive symptoms led to evaluation of the stomach and duodenum with either barium upper GI series or endoscopy in all children. These demonstrated an extrinsic mass effect in 90% of the patients. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography identified a choledochocele in all cases in which the study was successfully executed. Intravenous cholangiography was sensitive in children, but less so in the adult patients reviewed. Other imaging efforts (computerized tomography, ultrasound, radionuclide scanning) were less dependable. Transduodenal marsupialization is the treatment of choice for patients of all ages and was provided in both of these newly reported children.