cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Particle Reentrainment from Fibrous Filters

ABSTRACT When a respirator wearer breathes normally, airborne bacteria and particles may be collected by the filter medium of the respirator. If these particles are reentrained again by sneezing or by coughing during the exhalation cycle, they may reach other targets. To study this hypothesis, particle reentrainment from polymer and glass fiber filters was investigated by measuring the number of reentrained particles when loaded filters were subjected to air velocities higher than typical filtration velocities in the direction opposite to the filtration flow. The filters were loaded with mono- or polydisperse solid particles or liquid droplets. Particle loading and reentrainment were quantified by a real-time aerosol size spectrometer. The maximum reentrainment air velocity used in the tests was 500 cm/s, almost one hundred times the 6.6 cm/s filtration velocity during particle loading. The latter is typical for inhalation through a half-mask respirator at medium work load. For the test conditions, the re...
Modeling the gel electrophoresis of short duplex DNA by Brownian dynamics: cubic gel lattice with direct interaction.

The technique of Brownian dynamics is used to model the electrophoretic mobility of spherical and rod-like particles in a three-dimensional cubic gel lattice. In addition to excluded volume interactions between the migrating particle and the gel, direct interactions are also included. The methodology is first applied to spherical particles in the absence of direct interactions and the resulting mobilities are shown to agree with independent studies. The methodology is then applied to rod-like models of short duplex DNA fragments 10-50 base pairs in length. In the absence of direct interactions between gel and DNA, calculated mobilities show a much weaker dependence on gel concentration than observed in experiments of DNA in Tris-acetate buffer and polyacrylamide gels. When an attractive interaction between gel and DNA of approximately -0.3 k B T per base pair at contact is included, good agreement between calculated and experimental mobilities is achieved.
The Magnetic Susceptibility of Helium, Neon, Argon, and Nitrogen

The apparatus described in a recent paper by Wills and Hector for the measurement of the magnetic susceptibilities of gases, has been rebuilt so as to enable the temperature to be controlled to.02\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{} and the sensitivity of the method increased. The gases used were all carefully purified, and spectroscopic examination showed no oxygen lines. The results obtained for the volume susceptibilities at 20\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}C and 760 mm pressure for helium, neon, argon and nitrogen are -0.780, -2.77, -7.52, and -4.91, respectively, all times ${10}^{\ensuremath{-}10}$. They are probably accurate to within 2 per cent. These results are of the order of magnitude required by Pauli's modification of the Langevin theory of diamagnetism and also agree with values predicted by Joos from the electron arrangements.
Germ Versus Soma Decisions: Lessons from Flies and Worms

The early embryo is formed by the fusion of two germ cells that must generate not only all of the nonreproductive somatic cell types of its body but also the germ cells for the next generation. Therefore, embryo cells face a crucial decision: whether to develop as germ or soma. How is this fundamental decision made and germ cell fate maintained during development? Studies in the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans and fruit fly Drosophila identify some of the decision-making strategies, including segregation of a specialized germ plasm and global transcriptional regulation.
Identifying elementary students' pre-instructional ability to develop algorithms and step-by-step instructions

The desire to expose more students to computer science has led to the development of a plethora of educational activities and outreach programs to broaden participation in computer science. Despite extensive resources (time and money), they have made little impact on the diversity of students pursuing computer science. To realize large gains, computational thinking must be integrated into K-12 systems, starting with elementary school. In order to do so, existing resources need to be adapted for a school setting. To make a curriculum with lessons that build on each other over several years, and accountability for student learning, we need standards, an understanding of how students learn, and identification of what students know before exposure to the curriculum. In this paper, we present our detailed findings of what fourth graders know before encountering a computational thinking curriculum. Groups of students participated in activities modified from CS Unplugged in order to discover their knowledge (rather than provide instruction). We identify aspects of the activities students were able to complete successfully, and where they will need further instruction. We then explain how we used these results to modify our pilot curriculum.
Measuring the host preference of parasites: an aid in evaluating biotypes of Anagrus epos [Hym.: Mymaridae]

Populations ofAnagrus epos Girault are being imported and evaluated for the biological control of variegated grape leafhopper,Erythroneura variabilis Beamer, a newly introduced pest of grapes in central California. To distinguish different biotypes, a field test was developed that quantifies host preference.E. epos collected from geographically isolated regions of western United States and northern Mexico showed different levels of preference towards the variegated leafhopper and its close relative the grape leafhopper,Erythroneura elegantula Osborn, a native to central California. Host preference values may aid in the identification of relased biotypes using leafhopper eggs on leaves sampled from release sites.
Nuclear receptor Rev-erbα: up, down, and all around

Rev-erbα is a nuclear receptor that links circadian rhythms to transcriptional control of metabolic pathways. Rev-erbα is a potent transcriptional repressor and plays an important role in the core mammalian molecular clock while also serving as a key regulator of clock output in metabolic tissues including liver and brown adipose tissue (BAT). Recent findings have shed new light on the role of Rev-erbα and its paralog Rev-erbβ in rhythm generation, as well as additional regulatory roles for Rev-erbα in other tissues that contribute to energy expenditure, inflammation, and behavior. This review highlights physiological functions of Rev-erbα and β in multiple tissues and discusses the therapeutic potential and challenges of targeting these pathways in human disease.
Transposition of the Great Arteries

ransposition of the great arteries (TGA) with T atrial situs solitus and d-loop ventricles occurs in 20-30 per 100,000 live births and accounts for nearly 10% of congenital heart disease in infants. The parallel and separated pulmonary and systemic circulations result in severe cyanosis. Survival, even for a short period, depends on either a patent foramen ovale or a ventricular septal defect (VSD) to allow mixing of pulmonary and systemic venous return and adequate systemic oxygen delivery. Most neonates with TGA have no extracardiac congenital defects. With the exception of the malpositioned great vessels and a VSD in 25%, the heart itself is well formed with balanced ventricles and welldeveloped, competent atrioventricular valves. The straightforward physiologic problem and the extremely poor natural history has inspired many attempts at treatment. The history of intervention for TGA parallels that of heart surgery in general, lacking not imaginative solutions, but rather the techno
Trilobites in Paleozoic carbonate buildups

The trilobite faunas found in carbonate buildups throughout much of the Paleozoic are remarkably similar in both composition and general morphological characteristics. This is primarily the result of the domination of these faunas by a limited number of trilobite families which are long-ranging in the buildup environment. Illaenids are the dominant trilobites in Ordovician-Devonian buildups and are generally accompanied by members of the Lichidae and Cheiruridae. Proetid trilobites are characteristic of Ordovician-Permian buildups but are seldom common. The number of trilobite families found in carbonate buildups is highest in the late Ordovician, with most of the important families persisting into the Devonian. After the Devonian only proetids are found in this environment. The conservative nature of these trilobite faunas suggests that the environmental characteristics of normal-marine Paleozoic carbonate buildups are similar. Trilobita, palaeoecology, faunistics, morphology. carbonate buildups. Palaeozoic.
The reactions of halocyclophosphazenes with dimethylsulfoxide

Abstract Reactions of compounds with the general formula [NP X 2 ] n with dimethylsulfoxide, DMSO, are reported. X was either chlorine or fluorine and n was 3 or 4. The halocyclophosphazenes were found to undergo degradation reactions with DMSO to yield partially or fully hydroxylated phosphazenes or phosphazanes. The DMSO was converted to a halomethyl-methyl sulfide with the formula X CH 2 SCH 3 . Experimental evidence is presented which indicates a stepwise mechanism for the reaction.
Characteristics of nondepolarizing neuromuscular block: (I) post-junctional block by alpha-bungarotoxin.

The characteristics of neuromuscular block produced by alpha-bungarotoxin, a post-junctionally active polypeptide toxin purified from snake venoms, have been studiedin vivo in 12 anaesthetized cats, using the sciatic nerve-tibialis anterior muscle preparation. The onset of the neuromuscular block was slow and without fasciculation. The block was persistently progressive. The time course of the block depended on the dosage. In general, 0.1 mg/kg of alpha-BuTX appeared to approximate the threshold dosage while 0.2 mg/kg completely eliminated the twitch response in 2-5 hours. No recovery was observed in 8-30 hours. Larger doses accelerated the progression of the block. During the block, tetanic contractions and train-of-four twitches did not fade. The post-tetanic twitches were markedly facilitated. The block was antagonized by edrophonium, neostigmine, pyridostigmine, and succinylcholine, but the antagonism was less effective and shorter-lasting than that observed on curare-block, and the block always resumed the projected progression. Attempts were made to explain the observed difference between alpha-BuTX-and dTc-induced neuromuscular blocks by the practically permanent nature of block and the purely post-junctional site of action of alpha-BuTX. It was concluded that a pure post-junctional block is not characterized by fade, which rather might be a pre-junctional effect of some nondepolarizing neuromuscular blocking agents like d-tubocurarine.
GALILEO ON THE SIZES AND DISTANCES OF THE PLANETS

title RIASSUNTO /title Galileo aveva appreso durante gli studi universitari le tradizionali misure e distanze dei corpi celesti. Il telescopio, tuttavia, gli mostr come le stelle fisse e i?CTRLerr type="1" mess="Doute Cars isoles avec recollage" ? pianeti possedevano diametri apparenti inferiori a quelli che si era ritenuto fino allora. Pur facendo riferimento a questa scoperta in varie opere, Galileo non prepar mai un nuovo schema a sostituzione di quello tradizionale. Lo fece per la prima volta Martinus Hortensius nel 1633. Le opinioni di Galileo relative alle distanze non si differenziarono da quelle accettate comunemente; perci il suo sistema solare era identico nella grandezza a quello di Copernico, con l'eccezione della terra, che, dopo il sole, veniva ad essere di gran lunga il corpo pi grande.
The effects of perceived physician competence on patients' symptom disclosure to male and female physicians

One hundred and ninety-two subjects (128 male and 64 female) rated their willingness to disclose symptoms of a personal nature, general nature, and mental illness nature to a male or female physician who had been described as being either high or low in technical competence and either high or low in social competence or “bedside manner.” In addition, subjects were given a photograph of the physician which had been pretested for either high or low physical attractiveness. Increased willingness to disclose all types of symptoms was related to (a) perceived high technical competence, (b) high social competence, and (c) male patients. Neither the sex of the physician nor the physical attractiveness of the physician influenced symptom disclosure. Implications are drawn concerning physician-patient diagnostic effectiveness and the management of unfavorable first impressions through patient training.
Inductive Effects on Molecular Ionization Potentials. V. Hydrogen Sulfide and Aliphatic Thioethers

The ionization energies of thioethers, R2S, have been correlated with the polar substituent constants and the inductive substituent constants. Good correlations are obtained which indicate that the effect of alkyl substituents on the S-atom is primarily an inductive one.
Virginia Dale Precambrian Ring-Dike Complex, Colorado-Wyoming

The Virginia Dale ring-dike complex is a roughly circular granitic feature bout nine miles in diameter in the northern Front Range, straddling the Colorado-Wyoming boundary. The deeply eroded complex is a part of a large batholith of Sherman Granite, of Precambrian age, and discordantly intrudes metamorphic rocks. It consists of four main units: an outer granite ring dike, which merges to the north with the main Sherman batholith; a composite zone of metamorphic rocks and mafic igneous rocks; and two inner zones of quartz monzonite, comprising the core. The outer ring dike, about a half mile wide, consists of coarse equigranular hornblende-biotite granite, and the two core zones consist of porphyritic biotite quartz monzonite. Both the granite and quartz monzonite are facies of Sherman Granite. Between the outer ring and the core in the southern portion of the complex is a composite zone consisting of pre-Sherman metamorphic rocks, and of diorite, andesite, quartz monzonite, and hybrid rocks. These rocks show much evidence of brecciation, mechanical mixing accompanied by flow, and metasomatism. Field relations and petrographic analysis suggest that the diorites are of hybrid origin. Chemical analyses, petrographic data, and trend analysis suggest that granite in the outer ring dike of the complex is of composition slightly different from that of granite outside the complex, and that it crystallized at higher water pressure. The quartz monzonite may have crystallized at even higher water pressure than that of granite and in addition was contaminated by mafic material. Relatively high magma volatile contents, as well as hybridization, seem to be characteristic of central complexes, even where erosion has been as deep as in the Virginia Dale complex. Gravity data indicate that the core did not form by cauldron subsidence. Rather, it appears to be a dome emplaced along old ring fractures. The outer ring dike may be a collapse structure, although the batholith to which it is connected to the north may have been emplaced as large sheets.
Recovering Illumination and Texture Using Ratio Images

In this paper we consider the problem of factoring illumination and texture from a pair of images of a diffuse object of known geometry. This problem arises frequently in 3D photography applications that use images to acquire photometric properties of a scanned object. Our approach uses the ratio of the images and the geometry information to compute the relative incident irradiance of one image with respect to the other. After the irradiance maps are recovered, we build a spatially varying albedo map, which can then be used to render the object under different illumination conditions. We present two algorithms, one for point-light source illumination, and another one based on spherical harmonics for more general illumination conditions.
NUCLEOTIDE SEQUENCE ANALYSIS OF THE BOVINE RESPIRATORY SYNCYTIAL VIRUS FUSION PROTEIN MRNA AND EXPRESSION FROM A RECOMBINANT VACCINIA VIRUS

Bovine respiratory syncytial (BRS) virus is an important cause of serious respiratory illness in calves. The disease caused in calves is similar to that caused by human respiratory syncytial (HRS) virus in children. The two viruses, however, have distinct host ranges and the attachment glycoproteins, G, have no antigenic cross-reactivity. The fusion glycoproteins, F, of the HRS and BRS viruses, however, have some antigenic cross-reactivity. To further compare the BRS virus and HRS virus fusion proteins, we determined the nucleotide sequence of cDNA clones to the BRS virus F protein mRNA, deduced the amino acid sequence, and compared these sequences with the HRS virus F protein sequences. The BRS virus F mRNA was 1899 nucleotides in length and had a single major open reading frame which could code for a polypeptide of 574 amino acids with an estimated molecular weight of 63.8 kDa. Structural features predicted from the amino acid sequence included an NH2-terminal signal sequence (residues 1-26), a site for proteolytic cleavage (residues 131-136) to generate the disulfide-linked F1 and F2 subunits, and a hydrophobic transmembrane anchor sequence (residues 522-549). The nucleic acid identity between the BRS virus and the HRS virus F mRNA sequences was 71.5%. The predicted BRS virus F protein shared 80.5% overall amino acid identity with the HRS virus F protein with 89% identity in the F1 polypeptide but only 68% identity in the F2 polypeptide. The position and number of the cysteine residues in the F1 and F2 polypeptides were conserved among all F proteins. However, BRS virus F protein had only three potential N-linked carbohydrate acceptor sites in comparison to four or five for the HRS viruses. A difference in the extent of glycosylation between the BRS and HRS virus F2 polypeptides was shown to be responsible for differences observed in the electrophoretic mobility of these proteins. A cDNA containing the complete open reading frame of the BRS virus F mRNA was inserted into the thymidine kinase gene of vaccinia virus and following homologous recombination, a recombinant virus containing the BRS virus F gene was isolated. The BRS virus F protein was expressed in recombinant virus infected cells as demonstrated by immunoprecipitation and was transported to and expressed on the surface of infected cells as shown by indirect immunofluorescence.
Pregnancy and Body Image Analysis of Clothing Functions of Maternity Wear

The purpose of this study is to investigate pregnant women’s maternity clothing practices in relation to their body image. The study’s participants were 137 women in the second or third trimester of their pregnancy. They were selected because maternity garments are required to accommodate changes in the body from the second trimester of pregnancy. They completed a questionnaire including their perception of body shape changes during pregnancy, body satisfaction, appearance evaluation, appearance orientation, and clothing functions. It was found that maternity clothing was worn primarily for comfort and assurance by pregnant women, not for camouflage. The results suggest that pregnant women are likely to be satisfied with their pregnant body, and their body image is a determinant of how they manage their physical appearance and self-presentation.
SELFE: A semi-implicit Eulerian–Lagrangian finite-element model for cross-scale ocean circulation

Unstructured-grid models grounded on semi-implicit, finite-volume, Eulerian–Lagrangian algorithms, such as UnTRIM and ELCIRC, have enjoyed considerable success recently in simulating 3D estuarine and coastal circulation. However, opportunities for improving the accuracy of this type of models were identified during extensive simulations of a tightly coupled estuary–plume–shelf system in the Columbia River system. Efforts to improve numerical accuracy resulted in SELFE, a new finite-element model for cross-scale ocean modeling. SELFE retains key benefits, including computational efficiency of existing semi-implicit Eulerian–Lagrangian finite-volume models, but relaxes restrictions on grids, uses higher-order shape functions for elevation, and enables superior flexibility in representing the bathymetry. Better representation of the bathymetry is enabled by a novel, “localized” vertical grid that resembles unstructured grids. At a particular horizontal location, SELFE uses either S coordinates or SZ coordinates, but the equations are consistently solved in Z space. SELFE also performs well relative to volume conservation and spurious oscillations, two problems that plague some finite-element models. This paper introduces SELFE as an open-source code available for community use and enhancement. The main focus here is on describing the formulation of the model and on showing results for a range of progressively demanding benchmark tests. While leaving details to separate publications, we also briefly illustrate the superior performance of SELFE over ELCIRC in a field application to the Columbia River estuary and plume.
“Are False Memories Permanent?”: An Investigation of the Long-Term Effects of Source Misattributions☆

Abstract With growing concerns over children's suggestibility and how it may impact their reliability as witnesses, there is increasing interest in determining the long-term effects of induced memories. The goal of the present research was to learn whether source misattributions found by Ceci, Huffman, Smith, and Loftus (1994) caused permanent memory alterations in the subjects tested. When 22 children from the original study were reinterviewed 2 years later, they recalled 77% of all true events. However, they only consented to 13% of all false events, compared to the 22% false consent rate (among the same subset of children) found by Ceci et al. (1994). Additionally, while children remained accurate in their recall of true events (they maintained assents 78% of the time), they “recanted” their earlier false consents 77% of the time, after the 2-year delay. Implications of these findings for child witnesses and the legal system are discussed.
Truncated Forms of a Novel Yeast Protein Suppress the Lethality of a G Protein α Subunit Deficiency by Interacting with the β Subunit

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the mating pheromone-initiated signal is transduced by a heterotrimeric G protein and normally results in transient cell cycle arrest and differentiation. A null allele of the Gα (GPA1/SCG1) subunit results in cell death due to unchecked signaling from the Gβγ (STE4, STE18, respectively) heterodimer. We have identified three high copy suppressors of gpa1 lethality. Two of these genes encode known transcription factors, Matα2p and Mcm1p. The third is a truncated form of a novel gene, SYG1. Overexpressed wild type SYG1 is a weak suppressor of gpa1. In contrast, the isolated mutant allele SYG1-1 is a strong suppressor that completely blocks the cell cycle arrest and differentiation phenotypes of gpa1 cells of both mating types. One deletion mutant (SYG1Δ340) can suppress the cell cycle arrest associated with gpa1, but the cells retain a differentiated morphology. SYG1-1 can suppress the effects of overexpressed wild type Gβ but is not able to suppress the lethality of an activated Gβ mutant (STE4Hpl). Consistent with these genetic observations, the suppressing form of Syg1p can interact with the STE4 gene product, as determined by a two-hybrid assay. SYG1-1 is also capable of promoting pheromone recovery in wild type cells, as judged by halo assay. The sequence of SYG1 predicts eight membrane-spanning domains. Deletion mutants of SYG1 indicate that complete gpa1 suppression requires removal of all of these hydrophobic regions. Interestingly, this truncated protein localizes to the same plasma membrane-enriched subcellular fraction as does full-length Syg1p. Three hypothetical yeast proteins, identified by their similarity to the SYG1 primary sequence within the gpa1 suppression domain, also appear to have related structures. The properties of Syg1p are consistent with those of a transmembrane signaling component that can respond to, or transduce signals through, Gβ or Gβγ.
Simulated, Emulated, and Physical Investigative Analysis (SEPIA) of networked systems

Tools are necessary for the DoD to analyze their information system's security, reliability, and resilience against cyber attack. Today's security analysis utilize real systems such as computers, network routers and other network equipment, computer emulations (e.g., virtual machines) and simulation models separately to analyze interplay between threats and safeguards. In contrast, we are developing new methods to combine these three approaches to provide hybrid Simulated, Emulated, and Physical Investigative Analysis (SEPIA) environments. Sandia Labs' current SEPIA environment enables simulated networks to pass network traffic and perform, from the outside, like real networks. We connect both emulated and physical routers and computers to the simulated networks. This provides higher fidelity representations of key network nodes while still leveraging the scalability and cost advantages of simulation tools. SEPIA includes tools that facilitate rapid configuration and deployment of experiments. The result is to rapidly produce large yet relatively low-cost multi-fidelity SEPIA networks of computers and routers that let analysts quickly investigate threats and test protection approaches.
Habitat time series analysis to define flow augmentation strategy for the Quinebaug River, Connecticut and Massachusetts, USA

We developed a habitat augmentation strategy for the Quinebaug River (Connecticut and Massachusetts, USA) in order to reduce impacts on fish habitat, water temperature and pollutant concentrations attributable to consistently low water flows. Using the MesoHABSIM approach and a uniform continuous under-threshold (UCUT) analysis of simulated habitat time series, we determined allowable periods of low-flow conditions that follow natural patterns. The amount of water necessary to achieve the required habitat levels was calculated for various river restoration scenarios. We also created a set of detailed rules for a habitat augmentation release that applies short ‘pulses’ of water to increase habitat availability and mitigate the effects of persistent drought conditions. A set of flow chart templates was developed to guide the planning of an augmentation scheme by utilizing flow releases from reservoirs. To test our augmentation procedures, we performed evaluation tests by applying the rules to flows that occurred in 1994 (a drought year). The test showed that the number of flow interventions necessary was limited, underlining the feasibility of a pulse-based approach. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Multiprogramming on multiprocessors

Many solutions have been proposed to the problem of multiprogramming a multiprocessor. However, each has limited applicability or fails to address an important source of overhead. In addition, there has been little experimental comparison of the various solutions in the presence of applications with varying degrees of parallelism and synchronization. The authors explore the tradeoffs between three different approaches to multiprogramming a multiprocessor: time-slicing, coscheduling, and dynamic hardware partitions. They implemented applications that vary in the degree of parallelism, and the frequency and type of synchronization. They show that in most cases coscheduling is preferable to time-slicing. They also show that although there are cases where coscheduling is beneficial, dynamic hardware partitions do no worse, and will often do better. They conclude that under most circumstances, hardware partitioning is the best strategy for multiprogramming a multiprocessor, no matter how much parallelism applications employ or how frequently synchronization occurs. >
Feeding behavior of larval black flies (Diptera: Simuliidae) with and without exposure to Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis.

ABSTRACT Behavioral time budgets were constructed for larval black flies of the Simulium jenningsi and S. tuberosum groups in a recirculating flume. Larvae spent the majority (54–80%) of time filter feeding. Flick rates of the labral fans, which averaged 0.7–1.9 flicks/sec, did not differ significantly between regimens of 0 mg/l and 10 mg/l of food. Larvae consistently flicked the fan nearest the water surface significantly more often than the lower fan. They also tended to flick the right fan more than the left, although this trend was significant in only one of four treatments. Although handedness cannot be dismissed, the differential flick rate appeared to be related to the position of the fans relative to the water surface, possibly because of different particulate concentrations in the microcurrents received by the upper and lower fans. Cessation of feeding by larvae of the S. jenningsi group from rivers regularly treated with Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis was independent of exposure to thi...
Relationship between drug company funding and outcomes of clinical psychiatric research

Background. Pharmaceutical industry funding of psychiatric research has increased significantly in recent decades, raising the question of a relationship between pharmaceutical company funding of clinical psychiatric studies and the outcomes of those studies. This study examines this relationship.Method. Abstracts of articles from 1992 and 2002 in four peer-reviewed psychiatric journals were examined. Drug outcomes (n=542) for clinical studies were evaluated and then compared across sponsorship source. Outcome raters were blind to source of sponsorship. The percentage of these studies sponsored by drug companies in 2002 v. 1992 was also compared. In a secondary analysis, the contribution of a series of potentially mediating variables to the relationship between sponsorship source and study outcome was assessed via logistic regression.Results. The percentage of studies sponsored by drug companies increased from 25% in 1992 to 57% in 2002. Favorable outcomes were significantly more common in studies sponsored by the drug manufacturer (78%) than in studies without industry sponsorship (48%) or sponsored by a competitor (28%). These relationships remained after controlling for the effects of journal, year, drug studied, time since FDA drug approval, diagnosis, sample size, and selected study design variables.Conclusions. These data indicate an association between pharmaceutical industry funding of clinical studies and positive outcomes of those studies. Further research is needed to elucidate the mechanisms underlying this relationship.
Weak associations between hospital mortality rates for individual diagnoses: implications for profiling hospital quality.

OBJECTIVES: This study examined the consistency of hospital mortality rates across different diagnoses. METHODS: Standardized mortality ratios for patients discharged in 1991 from US hospitals were determined via the Medicare Hospital Information Report. RESULTS: Correlations between standardized mortality ratios for different diagnoses were relatively weak, ranging from .03 to .34. Agreement between hospital rankings (based on standardized mortality ratios), as measured by the weighted kappa statistic, was also weak. CONCLUSIONS: The present results indicate that hospital mortality rates for individual diagnoses are weakly associated. Thus, it may not be valid to generalize conclusions about hospital performance from a single diagnosis.
Optimizing biologically targeted clinical trials for neurofibromatosis

Introduction: The neurofibromatoses (neurofibromatosis type 1, NF1 and neurofibromatosis type 2, NF2) comprise the most common inherited conditions in which affected children and adults develop tumors of the central and peripheral nervous system. In this review, the authors discuss how the establishment of the Neurofibromatosis Clinical Trials Consortium (NFCTC) has positively impacted on the design and execution of treatment studies for individuals with NF1 and NF2. Areas covered: Using an extensive PUBMED search in collaboration with select NFCTC members expert in distinct NF topics, the authors discuss the clinical features of NF1 and NF2, the molecular biology of the NF1 and NF2 genes, the development and application of clinically relevant Nf1 and Nf2 genetically engineered mouse models and the formation of the NFCTC to enable efficient clinical trial design and execution. Expert opinion: The NFCTC has resulted in a more seamless integration of mouse preclinical and human clinical trials efforts. Leve...
Single-site and distributed optimistic protocols for concurrency control

The authors consider that, in spite of their advantage in removing the overhead of lock maintenance and deadlock handling, optimistic concurrency control methods have been applied less in practice than locking schemes. Two complementary approaches are introduced that may help render the optimistic approach practically viable. For the high-level approach, integration schemes can be utilized so that the database management system is provided with a variety of synchronization methods each of which can be applied to the appropriate class of transactions. The low-level approach seeks to increase the concurrency of the original optimistic method and improve its performance. The author examines the low-level approach in depth, and presents algorithms that aim at reducing back-ups and improve throughput. Both the single-site and distributed networks are considered. Optimistic schemes using time-stamps for fully duplicated and partially duplicated database networks are presented, with emphasis on performance enhancement and on reducing the overall cost of implementation. >
Dialect leveling and /ai/ monophthongization among African American Detroiters

In this paper I present evidence that Detroit African Americans are participating in a recent sound change which is typically associated with some White, but not African American, varieties in the American South. Although both Southern White and African American speakers monophthongize /ai/ in pre-voiced phonetic contexts (tide), the spread of the monophthongal or glide-reduced variant to pre-voiceless environments (tight) is a salient characteristic of some subregions of the Southern U.S. I report a leveling pattern in which /ai/ monophthongization has expanded to the salient pre-voiceless context in Detroit African American English (AAE). I explain this is in terms of a change in the group with whom African American speakers perceive themselves as saliently contrastive.
Dissecting genomic diversity, one cell at a time

Emerging technologies are bringing single-cell genome sequencing into the mainstream; this field has already yielded insights into the genetic architecture and variability between cells that highlight the dynamic nature of the genome.
Precategorical acoustic storage (PAS)

A system for precategorical storage of acoustic information is described. Material in this store is subject to overwriting and to decay with time. Precategorical Acoustic Storage (PAS) receives information only from the ears; it is not affected by silent rehearsal or by visual stimulation, and is explicitly distinguished from storage in terms of articulation. Two experiments are reported in which these properties of PAS are tested. Postulation of PAS permits an account of serial position functions for visual and auditory presentation in immediate memory, a distinction between “recency” and “flnality” effects, the differential effects of a redundant prefix and a redundant suffix, effects of vocalization at presentation and at recall, and the relation between memory confusions and speech perception. Implications for a general theory of human memory are discussed.
Lovastatin prevents development of hypertension in spontaneously hypertensive rats

Abstract The present study evaluated the effects of lovastatin on renal function and the development of hypertension in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Four-week-old SHR were given lovastati...
Ranging Behavior of Two Species of Guenons (Cercopithecus lhoesti and C. mitis doggetti ) in the Nyungwe Forest Reserve, Rwanda

I studied the ranging behavior of one group of L'Hoest's monkeys (Cercopithecus lhoesti) and one group of blue monkeys (C. mitis doggetti) in the Nyungwe Forest Reserve, Rwanda. This study is the first to examine the ranging behavior of the more terrestrial L'Hoest's monkeys. Fruits composed 47% of blue monkey diet and 24% of the L'Hoest's monkey diet; terrestrial herbaceous vegetation composed 35% of the diet of the latter. While overall abundance of fruit resources in the home range and overall proportion of fruit in the diet were not related to ranging behavior in either group, temporal and spatial availability of specific fruit species was related. Measures of ranging behavior indicated a more concentrated ranging pattern when fruit resources were scarce and dietary diversity increased and when fruit resources were abundant and the groups focused on a few abundant fruit species. Current hypotheses concerning primate ranging behavior suggest that frugivorous species are expected to have greater day ranges and larger home ranges than folivorous species, and invertebrate consumption is expected to produce a more wide-ranging pattern. However, the L'Hoest's monkey group, which was more folivorous and consumed fewer invertebrates, traveled greater daily distances, had a more diverse and longer ranging pattern, and had larger home range areas than the blue monkey group in every month of the study. Both species were highly selective of forest habitats; L'Hoest's monkeys used secondary forest, while blue monkeys preferred primary forest.
Divide and conquer evolutionary TSP solution for vehicle path planning

The problem of robotic area coverage is applicable to many domains, such as search, agriculture, cleaning, and machine tooling. The robotic area coverage task is concerned with moving a vehicle with an effector, or sensor, through the task space such that the sensor passes over every point in the space. For covering complex areas, back and forth paths are inadequate. This paper presents a real-time path planning architecture consisting of layers of a clustering method to divide and conquer the problem combined with a two layered, global and local optimization method. This architecture is able to optimize the execution of a series of waypoints for a restricted mobility vehicle, a fixed wing airplane.
MCNP capabilities for nuclear well logging calculations

The Los Alamos Radiation Transport Code System (LARTCS) consists of state-of-the-art Monte Carlo and discrete ordinates transport codes and data libraries. The general-purpose, continuous-energy Monte Carlo code MCNP (Monte Carlo neutron photon), part of the LARTCS, provides a computational, predictive capability for many applications of interest to the nuclear well logging community. The generalized three-dimensional geometry of MCNP is well-suited for borehole-tool models. SABRINA, another component of the LARTCS, is a graphics code that can be used to interactively create a complex MCNP geometry. Users can define many source and tally characteristics with standard MCNP features. The time-dependent capability of the code is essential when modeling pulsed sources. Problems with neutrons, photons, and electrons as either single particle or coupled particles can be calculated with MCNP. The physics of neutron and photon transport and interactions is modeled in detail using the latest available cross-sectional data. A rich collection of variance reduction features can greatly increase the efficiency of a calculation. MCNP is written in FORTRAN 77 and has been run on a variety of computer systems from scientific workstations to supercomputers. >
Synthesis and Ligand Modification Chemistry of a Molybdenum Dinitrogen Complex: Redox and Chemical Activity of a Bis(imino)pyridine Ligand

The bis(imino)pyridine 2,6-(2,6-iPr2-C6H3NCPh)2-C5H3N (iPrBPDI) molybdenum dinitrogen complex, [{(iPrBPDI)Mo(N2)}2(μ2,η1,η1-N2)] has been prepared and contains both weakly (terminal) and modestly (bridging) activated N2 ligands. Addition of ammonia resulted in sequential NH bond activations, thus forming bridging parent imido (μ-NH) ligands with concomitant reduction of one of the imines of the supporting chelate. Using primary and secondary amines, model intermediates have been isolated that highlight the role of metal–ligand cooperativity in NH3 oxidation.
Complexities of Clinical Decision Support Illustrated by Pediatric Dosing Alerts

Health information technologies, such as computerized clinical decision support (CDS) systems, are being utilized increasingly in pediatric health care institutions as a means of medication error prevention. Most studies have suggested a positive impact of CDS on medication safety, but others have identified complexities that have prevented full optimization of these systems. Recent studies regarding the implementation of pediatric dosing alerts have illustrated the complexities that can be associated with the design, implementation, and refinement of CDS systems. Although CDS dosing alerts have likely improved the safety of medication use in pediatric patients, it is important to be aware of certain limitations of the dosing alert systems. A collaborative effort is required to optimize the effectiveness of CDS dosing alerts.
Clinical implications of hypoxia inducible factor in renal cell carcinoma

Management of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) has made considerable strides in the past decade, due in large part to identification of the von Hippel Lindau (VHL) tumor suppressor as a negative regulator of hypoxia inducible factor α (HIF-α) protein expression. Stabilization of HIF-α appears to be critical for renal tumorigenesis, and is observed even in VHL-independent RCC. Thus, an understanding of the pathways that regulate expression and activation of the different HIF-α isoforms is key to delineating the mechanism of renal transformation and for the development of novel therapeutics. A number of agents targeting HIF-α or its transcriptionally-regulated genes have shown promise in treatment of RCC. However, more effective treatment strategies are still needed. This report provides a directed review of recent discoveries defining the role of HIF in renal tumorigenesis and their relevance to the clinical advances in targeted therapy for advanced RCC.
A class of fractional integral transforms: a generalization of the fractional Fourier transform

The paper presents a systematic and unified approach to fractional integral transforms. We introduce a new class of fractional integral transforms that includes the fractional Fourier and Hankel transforms and the fractional integration and differentiation operators as special cases. These fractional transforms may also be viewed as angular transforms, indexed by an angular parameter /spl alpha/, since their kernels are obtained by taking the limits of analytic functions in the unit disc along a radius making an angle /spl alpha/ with the x-axis.
Multireselution quantization-based image watermarking

Illegal duplication and distribution of digital multimedia content over the Internet has been prevalent over the past years. Commercial businesses face millions of dollars in lost revenue each year due to these activities. The traditional approach to data protection is to apply encryption and scrambling. However, these methods alone are not adequate to provide complete content-protection since they cannot protect the data once it has been decrypted and descrambled. A recent technique called digital watermarking is proposed as a complementary approach to cryptography. Digital watermarking is a process in which security or authentication data is imperceptibly embedded within the host data. In this paper, we propose a robust blind image watermarking algorithm for embedding a binary watermark sequence under the wavelet domain. This algorithm demonstrates robustness to some common watermark distortions, or attacks, such as lowpass filtering, JPEG compression, and additive Gaussian noise. Performance comparisons are also given with respect to other robust algorithms.
Time domain passivity control of haptic interfaces

A patent-pending, energy-based method is presented for controlling a haptic interface system to ensure stable contact under a wide variety of operating conditions. System stability is analyzed in terms of the time-domain definition of passivity. We define a "passivity observer" (PO) which measures energy flow in and out of one or more subsystems in real-time software. Active behavior is indicated by a negative value of the PO at any time. We also define the "passivity controller" (PC), an adaptive dissipative element which, at each time sample, absorbs exactly the net energy output (if any) measured by the PO. The method is tested with simulation and implementation in the Excalibur haptic interface system. Totally stable operation was achieved under conditions such as stiffness >100 N/mm or time delays of 15 ms. The PO/PC method requires very little additional computation and does not require a dynamical model to be identified.
Temporal discordance between graft-versus-leukemia and graft-versus-host responses: a strategy for the separation of graft-versus-leukemia/graft-versus-host reactivity?

Abstract The graft-versus-leukemia (GVL) effect is often coexpressed with graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), although the temporal kinetics of these responses have not been critically examined. To evaluate this question in the absence of the confounding effects of the conditioning regimen, 23 patients who received donor lymphocyte infusions from HLA-identical siblings and subsequently developed GVHD and/or a GVL response were studied to determine whether these were temporally synchronous events. The GVL effect occurred significantly earlier than GVHD, being that 19 of 23 patients had a sustained GVL response that antedated the onset of clinical GVHD. The median difference between time to GVL and graft-versus-host (GVH) reactivity in the entire cohort was 14 days. There was no correlation between total T-cell dose and the relative onset of GVL versus GVH reactivity, indicating that temporal dissociation of GVL and GVH responses was not a function of the absolute number of infused donor T cells. These data support existing murine bone marrow transplantation studies indicating that GVL and GVH responses are not temporally synchronous events and raise the possibility that targeted elimination of alloreactive donor T cells after bone marrow transplantation may be an effective strategy for the separation of GVL/GVH reactivity.
Size-Depth Variation in Foraminifer Cyclammina Cancellata Brady from Peru-Chile Trench Area: ABSTRACT

End_Page 466------------------------------Cyclammina cancellata Brady shows marked variations of diameter and thickness in Holocene sediments from depths of 500 m to more than 3,500 m in the Peru-Chile Trench area. The mean diameter increases consistently to a maximum of 5 mm at 2,000 m. Fluctuations between 4 and 5 mm follow from 2,000 to 3,500 m, and a decreasing trend characterizes deeper samples. The mean thickness increases steadily downward to about 3,500 m where a slight decrease sets in. Using mean diameter, thickness, and a ratio between both, populations of this study can be characterized as to depth zones. Thus, small and relatively thick forms appear at about 500 m; larger and proportionally thinner forms live deeper than 1,000 m; large but relatively thick specimens characterize depths of about 2,000 to 3,500 m; and somewhat smaller and thicker ones are typical for depths below 3,500 m. Temperature may be the principal factor affecting size, because it increases markedly to about 2,000 m--which coincides with the greatest size change in the populations. In deeper water other factors may play a role. Oxygen, salinity, and nitrate values do not show significant trends. Pressure alone is not directly involved, because off southern California similar size variations occur in different depth zones. End_of_Article - Last_Page 467------------
Analogues of Euler’s Relation

In chapter 8 we have seen that the affine hull of the f(P d) of f-vectors of all d-polytopes is the Euler hyperplane. In the present chapter we shall be interested in finding the affine hulls of sets f(P), for certain families P of d-polytopes.