cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Event-Based Noise Filtration with Point-of-Interest Detection and Tracking for Space Situational Awareness

This paper explores an asynchronous noise-suppression technique to be used in conjunction with asynchronous Gaussian blob tracking on dynamic vision sensor (DVS) data, specifically for space-based object tracking. The technique presented treats each sensor pixel as a spiking cell whose activity can be filtered out of the resulting sensor event stream by user-defined threshold values. In the space environment, radiation effects can introduce both transient and persistent noise into the DVS event stream. For space applications, targets of interest may be no larger than a single pixel and can be indistinguishable from sensor noise. In this paper, the asynchronous approach is experimentally compared to a conventional approach applied to reconstructed frame data for both performance and accuracy metrics. The results of this research show that the asynchronous approach can produce comparable or superior tracking accuracy while also drastically reducing the execution time of the process by seven times on average.
Psoriasis With Eczematous Features: A Retrospective Clinicopathologic Study.

Background Dermatopathologists sometimes encounter patients with features of psoriasis vulgaris and additional changes of eczematous dermatoses. These cases are challenging to diagnose, and the clinical implications are unclear. In the age of targeted therapy, it is important to improve our understanding of these findings so that patients are managed appropriately. Objective To characterize the clinical characteristics, histopathological features, diagnostic workup, successful treatment, and outcomes of patients with overlapping histopathologic features of psoriasis vulgaris and eczema. Methods We conducted a retrospective chart review of 20 patients who had received the histopathologic diagnosis of psoriasis vulgaris with eczematous changes noted on skin biopsy. A database that included information about clinical characteristics, comorbidities, histopathological features, diagnostic workup, treatment modalities, and outcomes was created and analyzed. Results Twenty patients were included in this study, with an average age of 57.3 years. After clinicopathologic correlation, most patients were diagnosed with psoriasis (85%), and the remainder were determined to have an eczematous dermatitis. Thirty-five percent of patients were diagnosed with allergic contact dermatitis, either in combination with psoriasis (6 patients) or alone (1 patient). Topical glucocorticoids were the most common effective therapy used, and systemic therapies were required in nearly half of patients for successful treatment. Conclusion This study offers insights into the clinically and histopathologically challenging diagnosis of psoriasis vulgaris with eczematous changes and offers the diagnostic term "eczematized psoriasis" to describe these patients. The presence of allergic contact dermatitis should be considered in these patients.
Conditioned Natural Language Generation using only Unconditioned Language Model: An Exploration.

Transformer-based language models have shown to be very powerful for natural language generation (NLG). However, text generation conditioned on some user inputs, such as topics or attributes, is non-trivial. Past approach relies on either modifying the original LM architecture, re-training the LM on corpora with attribute labels, or having separately trained `guidance models' to guide text generation in decoding. We argued that the above approaches are not necessary, and the original unconditioned LM is sufficient for conditioned NLG. We evaluated our approaches by the samples' fluency and diversity with automated and human evaluation.
Rate of RhD-alloimmunization after the transfusion of multiple RhD-positive primary red blood cell-containing products.

Introduction Early transfusion reduces mortality in bleeding patients. In this setting, RhD-positive blood products might be transfused. This study determined the association between the RhD-alloimmunization rate and the number of RhD-positive products transfused. Methods RhD-negative patients between 13 and 50 years who were transfused with ≥1 RhD-positive red blood cell (RBC) or whole blood units between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2019 in a healthcare network were identified. Study patients had to have had at least one antibody detection test performed ≥14 days after the index RhD-positive transfusion and not receive RhIg. Patients were stratified into groups that received 1, 2, 3-5, 6-10, 11-20, and >20 RhD-positive transfusions and the RhD-alloimmunization rate was determined for each group. Results There were 335 patients included; 52/335 (15.5%) were females. Overall, there were 117/335 (34.9%, CI: 29.8%-40.3%) recipients who became RhD-alloimmunized. There was no significant dosage effect in the RhD-alloimmunization rates as the exposure to RhD-positive units increased from one RhD-positive unit to more than 20 RhD-positive units (p = .270 for non-parametric trend test). In an exploratory analysis, patients who received 100% of their RhD-positive transfusions within 72 h of the index transfusion had a significantly higher rate of RhD-alloimmunization compared to those who were transfused over a longer period of time (42.3% vs. 21.4%, respectively; p = .001). Conclusion These results suggest that there may not be an increased RhD-alloimmunization risk with transfusing multiple RhD-positive units after one RhD-positive unit has been transfused. These findings need confirmation in larger studies.
High-Entry Vertebral Artery Variant during Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion

Anterior surgical approaches to the cervical spine have allowed for treatment of common and complex pathologies with excellent outcomes. During the approach, complications can result from injury to the surrounding structures. The transverse processes usually protect the vertebral artery (VA) as it enters at C6 and courses cranially through the transverse foramina to C2 (referred to as the V2 segment). This is a case report of a patient who presented with myeloradiculopathy attributed to a C4-C5 disc herniation, severe canal stenosis, and marked bilateral neural foraminal stenosis. Preoperative imaging showed the right VA entering the C4 transverse foramen. This anatomic variant on a routine MRI led to further imaging and precautions when performing an uneventful anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) at C4-C5. A high VA entry point into the transverse foramen above C6 could increase the risk of iatrogenic vascular injury in anterior approaches to the cervical spine. Rarely reported, the currently presented case describes a patient with a C4 right VA entry variant and highlights the importance of proper surgical planning.
Correlation in Metallic Copper Oxide Superconductors: How Large is it?

The remarkably high superconducting transition temperatures (Tc) of the copper oxide superconductors suggest some unusual property is necessary to account for high Tc. Suggestions for such a characteristic property include (1) the layered, highly two-dimensional (2D) structure itself, (2) the proximity to metal/insulator, magnetic/nonmagnetic or structural transitions, (3) large anharmonicity, and (4) very large electron-phonon coupling, among others. However, the increasing number of distinct compounds1 which display Tc values ranging quasicontinuously from low temperature to above 100 K can be interpreted as indicating there is some property (related to pairing, of course) which is a rather general property of layered cuprates and which is variable. Moreover, the question of whether the layered cuprates are special is raised by the bismuthates, since (Ba,K)BiO3 (containing no Cu) superconducts above2 30 K.
PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS IN FERTILITY CONTROL.

Some of the psychological factors that have a bearing on fertility control were explored. Specific focus was on the importance of the patients psychological makeup and the interaction between husband and wife. 72 women on oral contraceptives (OCs) and their husbands were studied. Most of the subjects were referred to the study by the obstetrics and gynecology clinic of the University Hospital (Seattle Washington). The remainder joined the study after learning about it from friends. The sample consisted primarily of women from the lower-middle and upper-middle class. Both husbands and wives were required to complete the following psychological instruments: the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory the Edwards Personal Preference Schedule and the 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire. Historical data including information concerning past experiences with contraceptives sexual interactions and present life stiuations were obtained during a followup period of up to 2 years with visits scheduled at 3-month intervals. The interview material from the 3 most recent visits was used to rate the women on the occurrence of pill forgetting and the presence and type of major somatic complaints. The complaints considered were breakthrough bleeding nausea headaches cramps and fluid retention. Women with a considerable degree of immaturity who avoid taking responsibility and who tended to be impulsive were more likely to forget pills than mature women. There were no significant differences between the women who complained of side effects and those who did not. In the group made up of women who complained of side effects husbands and the wives tended to have similar personality characteristics. This similarity was particularly striking on those scales which indicate the tendency to have somatic complaints and which reflect the general level of integrative functioning. In the pill-forgetting group husbands and wives had opposite personality characteristics. The noncomplaining and nonforgetting groups consisted of couples in which husband and wife were neither significantly similar nor opposite to each other.
Accountability: Medical, Legal, and Quality Implications

The most effective skill a professional leader has is effective decision-making. The most effective novice, and experienced, leaders develop a decision-making model in everyday business life. When creating a development plan, it is necessary to consider a number of ideas. It may be necessary to have meetings with colleagues or superiors and take a diary and review events later to see how the information can be applied to the development plan. Another possible method for developing target goals is to attend a strategy meeting not normally attended, reviewing notes taken at a later date to see what they may add to the decision-making model. Four elements of a good decision-making model include: clear goal setting, what has happened so far (information about the past), ideas on how the goal can be achieved based on past, present, and future information, and a decision taken in the present with a strong commitment for follow through; the purpose of this paper is to discuss some factors associated with accountability. It is necessary for the business leader to take into consideration factors such as strategy and development, project development, medical management, and information systems management. This paper is an examination of these factors and explores some scenes of accountability.
Distribution of immunoreactive alkaline phosphatase in the adult rat ileum by immunoperoxidase staining at the light microscopic level

Abstract Our prior immunocytochemical studies using monospecific antibody to alkaline phosphatase, Bouin's fixation, and paraffin sections demonstrated a decreasing gradient of villus brush border staining from the proximal to the distal rat small intestine. In addition, we noted an unusual pattern of staining in the terminal centimeter of the adult rat ileum: the villus brush border staining was less intense than crypt brush border staining. To determine whether this pattern of staining was present throughout the entire ileum, we examined alkaline phosphatase staining in two separate jejunal sites and the entire lowest third of the intestine of adult Wistar rats. With Bouin's fixation and paraffin embedding, both conventional and germ-free rats showed the same unusual staining pattern throughout the entire ileum. This pattern suggested that bacterial proteases were not responsible for the diminished ileal brush border alkaline phophatase. However, when acetone fixation and cryostat sections were used with the avidin-biotin-peroxidase complex system, the previously noted reversed gradient of staining between the ileal villus and crypt areas was no longer present. Rather, ileal crypt brush border staining was less than ileal villus brush border staining. With either methodology, jejunal villus brush border staining was significantly more intense than ileal brush border staining, whereas the deep crypt brush border staining was not significantly different between the two regions. The present study reinforces the need for a combination of methodologies in order to best and most accurately localize certain antigens with immunocytochemistry. It also confirms a decreasing proximal to distal gradient for villus brush border alkaline phosphatase despite similar deep crypt brush border staining throughout the small intestine.
The Elasticity of Partisanship in Congress: An Analysis of Legislative Bipartisanship and Party Popularity

In recent election cycles, members of Congress distanced themselves, at least rhetorically, from an unpopular party image or president. Why should the behavior of members change in the short-term if there are no changes in ideology or membership? I argue that party popularity affects the relative benefits of pursuing individual or collective goals, and thus the extent to which members wants to distance themselves from or attach themselves to a party label. This project explores three complementary questions central to this idea. First, do members of Congress go beyond rhetoric, to actually changing their legislative behavior, in response to changes in the popularity of their party? Second, does the relationship between legislative behavior and party popularity vary depending on the closeness of an election? Third, are there groups of members who are more responsive to party popularity? By looking at the bill cosponsorship patterns of individual members from the 102nd - 109th Congresses, I examine the likelihood that members engage in bipartisan coalitions as a function of party popularity in the electorate. The evidence suggests that members do respond to the popularity of their party in the electorate, engaging in more bipartisanship when their party is less popular. However, these effects occur only when elections are close. The results of this study have implications for a number of areas of legislative politics, including legislative behavior and preferences, electoral responsiveness, and party branding.
T Cell-Intrinsic Requirement for NF-κB Induction in Postdifferentiation IFN-γ Production and Clonal Expansion in a Th1 Response

NF-kappaB/Rel transcription factors are linked to innate immune responses and APC activation. Whether and how the induction of NF-kappaB signaling in normal CD4(+) T cells regulates effector function are not well-understood. The liberation of NF-kappaB dimers from inhibitors of kappaB (IkappaBs) constitutes a central checkpoint for physiologic regulation of most forms of NF-kappaB. To investigate the role of NF-kappaB induction in effector T cell responses, we targeted inhibition of the NF-kappaB/Rel pathway specifically to T cells. The Th1 response in vivo is dramatically weakened when T cells defective in their NF-kappaB induction (referred to as IkappaBalpha(DeltaN) transgenic cells) are activated by a normal APC population. Analyses in vivo, and IL-12-supplemented T cell cultures in vitro, reveal that the mechanism underlying this T cell-intrinsic requirement for NF-kappaB involves activation of the IFN-gamma gene in addition to clonal expansion efficiency. The role of NF-kappaB in IFN-gamma gene expression includes a modest decrease in Stat4 activation, T box expressed in T cell levels, and differentiation efficiency along with a more prominent postdifferentiation step. Further, induced expression of Bcl-3, a trans-activating IkappaB-like protein, is decreased in T cells as a consequence of NF-kappaB inhibition. Together, these findings indicate that NF-kappaB induction in T cells regulates efficient clonal expansion, Th1 differentiation, and IFN-gamma production by Th1 lymphocytes at a control point downstream from differentiation.
Chapter 14 Bankruptcy Law

Abstract Bankruptcy is the legal process whereby financially distressed firms, individuals, and occasionally governments resolve their debts. The bankruptcy process for firms plays a central role in economics, because competition drives inefficient firms out of business, thereby raising the average efficiency level of those remaining. The main economic function of corporate bankruptcy is to reduce the cost of default by having a government-sponsored procedure that resolves all debts simultaneously. The main economic function of personal bankruptcy is to provide partial consumption insurance to individual debtors and therefore reduce the social cost of debt. This chapter surveys theoretical and empirical research on both types of bankruptcy.
The Mind and Its Stories: Four Hypotheses on Emotion and Narrative

DEFINING EMOTIONS AND NARRATIVE Keith Oatley and Philip Johnson-Laird have argued persuasively that emotion is the product of an agent's evaluations of his/her success or failure in achieving particular goals within what is, in effect, a narrative structure. In connection with this, they argue that there are five “basic” emotions: happiness, sadness, fear, anger, and disgust. In part, Oatley and Johnson-Laird are drawing on the research of Paul Ekman, who has demonstrated that the facial expressions for these emotions are universal, as are the expressions for surprise and “interest.” Ekman has maintained that all seven represent basic emotions. Oatley and Johnson-Laird delete surprise and interest from Ekman's list on the grounds that they are not genuine emotions. Surprise appears to be a mode of experiencing other emotions (Oatley 60). For example, surprise is what makes fear into fright; in this case, it is a mode of experiencing fear. Anyone who approaches the theories of Ekman, Oatley, and Johnson-Laird with a knowledge of classical Sanskrit dramatic theory is likely to be struck by the remarkable similarity between these modern developments of biological and cognitive science, on the one hand, and the ancient Indic ideas about narrative and emotion, presented in the Nāṭyaśāstra and elsewhere over two millennia earlier. The Nāṭyaśāstra distinguishes eight “permanently dominant” emotions or bhāvas. The list includes mirth, sorrow, fear, anger, and disgust, the five basic emotions of Oatley/Johnson-Laird. It also includes astonishment or wonder.
Integrated path planning and dynamic steering control for autonomous vehicles

A method is presented for combining two previously proposed algorithms for path-planning and dynamic steering control into a computationally feasible scheme for real-time feedback control of autonomous vehicles in uncertain environments. In the proposed approach to vehicle guidance and control, Path Relaxation is used to compute critical points along a globally desirable path using a priori information and sensor data. Generalized potential fields are then used for local feedback control to drive the vehicle along a collision-free path using the critical points as subgoals. Simulation results are presented to demonstrate the control scheme.
Debunking the climate hiatus

The reported “hiatus” in the warming of the global climate system during this century has been the subject of intense scientific and public debate, with implications ranging from scientific understanding of the global climate sensitivity to the rate in which greenhouse gas emissions would need to be curbed in order to meet the United Nations global warming target. A number of scientific hypotheses have been put forward to explain the hiatus, including both physical climate processes and data artifacts. However, despite the intense focus on the hiatus in both the scientific and public arenas, rigorous statistical assessment of the uniqueness of the recent temperature time-series within the context of the long-term record has been limited. We apply a rigorous, comprehensive statistical analysis of global temperature data that goes beyond simple linear models to account for temporal dependence and selection effects. We use this framework to test whether the recent period has demonstrated i) a hiatus in the trend in global temperatures, ii) a temperature trend that is statistically distinct from trends prior to the hiatus period, iii) a “stalling” of the global mean temperature, and iv) a change in the distribution of the year-to-year temperature increases. We find compelling evidence that recent claims of a “hiatus” in global warming lack sound scientific basis. Our analysis reveals that there is no hiatus in the increase in the global mean temperature, no statistically significant difference in trends, no stalling of the global mean temperature, and no change in year-to-year temperature increases.
Effect of tolbutamide and glyburide on pyruvate kinase flux in isolated rat hepatocytes

Abstract The effects of two representative sulfonylureas, tolbutamide and glyburide, on pyruvate kinase (RK) flux were examined in fasted rat hepatocytes. PK flux was estimated by trapping 14 C from NaH 14 CO 3 in a 2 mM lactate pool, accounting for any incomplete trapping by parallel incubations with L-[1- 14 C]alanine. Glyburide (20 μM) and tolbutamide (1 mM) decreased glucose formation by 34.9% and 54.8%, respectively, from 2 mM lactate. This decrease in glucose formation was associated with a proportional decrease in pyruvate carboxylase (PCOX) flux (32.7% and 50.5%, respectively). Under these conditions, no net change in PK flux was observed. When hepatocytes were preincubated with lactate and/or sulfonylurea addition for 30 min prior to radiolabeling with NaH 14 CO 3 , the metabolic state of the cells changed markedly. Glyburide produced a 34.6% decrease in glucose formation and a 31.3% decrease in PCOX flux, but no change in PK flux. In contrast, tolbutamide decreased glucose formation by 12.5% and increased PK flux by 53.2%, but no change in PCOX flux was observed. Such an increase in PK flux may be linked to tolbutamide-mediated increases in fructose-1,6-bisphosphate (F16P) via fructose-2,6-bisphosphate (F26P). These findings demonstrate that tolbutamide and glyburide decrease hepatic glucose production through various alterations in carbohydrate metabolism, depending upon the metabolic state of the cell. In addition, F26P may play a larger role in the hypoglycemic mechanism of action of tolbutamide than glyburide, since pyruvate carboxylase accounted for most of the decrease in glucose formation observed with glyburide and because preincubation with tolbutamide resulted in an activation of PK.
A prospective pilot study of curative-intent stereotactic body radiation therapy in patients with 5 or fewer oligometastatic lesions.

BACKGROUND. It is hypothesized that oligometastatic disease represents a state of potentially curable, limited metastases. Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) is an option for patients who are not amenable to or do not want resection. METHODS. From 2001 to 2006, 121 patients with ≤5 detectable metastases were enrolled in 2 prospective studies that used curative-intent SBRT. Most patients were treated with 10 fractions of 5 Gray. Stereotactic radiosurgery was offered to patients with brain metastases. RESULTS. The 2-year overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), local control (LC), and distant control (DC) rates were 50%, 26%, 67%, and 34%, respectively; and the respective 4-year rates values were 28%, 20%, 60%, and 25%. A greater net tumor volume predicted significantly worse OS, PFS, LC, and DC. Patients with breast cancer fared significantly better with respect to OS, PFS, LC, and DC; and patients with adrenal metastases had significantly worse OS, PFS, and DC despite the small number of such patients enrolled. Neither the number of metastatic lesions nor the number of organs involved was a significant predictor of outcome. Among 45 patients who remained alive at the last follow-up, 29 patients had no evidence of disease, including 23 patients with ≥2 years of follow-up. CONCLUSIONS. Oligometastatic disease is a potentially curable state of distant cancer spread. In this hypothesis-generating analysis, patients with less volume burden of their metastatic disease and those with primary breast cancer fared better. SBRT delivered with curative intent in patients with limited metastases should be investigated further. The Southwest Oncology Group is developing a prospective protocol to treat women who have limited breast cancer metastases with SBRT. Cancer 2008. © 2007 American Cancer Society.
Identification of neochlorogenic and 3-O-feruloylquinic acids in tomato plants

Abstract Neochlorogenic and 3-O-feruloylquinic acids have been identified for the first time in the leaves, stems, and roots of tomato plants.
The Moral Functions of an Apology

Etude des fonctions morale de l'apologie consideree comme une pratique sociale courante au sein de la communaute. S'interessant au contexte particulier du systeme judiciaire, l'A. montre que l'apologie concerne l'attribution d'une action ou d'une croyance a un groupe par l'intervention du gouvernement. Examinant les processus de compensation et de punition en reponse a la violation de certaines normes, l'A. met en evidence la prise de responsabilite de la communaute a travers le mecanisme apologetique.
The impact of perestroika on the soviet planned economy: Results of a survey of Moscow economic officials

(1991). The impact of perestroika on the soviet planned economy: Results of a survey of Moscow economic officials. Soviet Studies: Vol. 43, No. 5, pp. 859-873.
Adoptive transfer of dying cells causes bystander-induced apoptosis.

Abstract The anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 protein has the remarkable ability to prevent cell death from several noxious stimuli. Intriguingly, Bcl-2 overexpression in one cell type has been reported to protect against cell death in neighboring non-Bcl-2 overexpressing cell types. The mechanism of this “trans” protection has been speculated to be secondary to the release of a cytoprotective factor by Bcl-2 overexpressing cells. We employed a series of adoptive transfer experiments in which lymphocytes that overexpress Bcl-2 were administered to either wild type mice or mice lacking mature T and B cells (Rag-1−/−) to detect the presence or absence of the putative protective factor. We were unable to demonstrate “trans” protection. However, adoptive transfer of apoptotic or necrotic cells exacerbated the degree of apoptotic death in neighboring non-Bcl-2 overexpressing cells (p ⩽ 0.05). Therefore, this data suggests that dying cells emit signals triggering cell death in neighboring non-Bcl-2 overexpressing cells, i.e., a “trans” destructive effect.
Analysis of strengthening mechanisms in alloys by means of thermal-activation theory☆

Abstract Through a systematic measurement of the strain-rate sensitivity as a function of prestrain. theoretical models of thermally activated flow are used to identify and analyze the dominant strengthening mechanisms in a number of commercial and model alloys. Several examples of the usefulness of the technique as a diagnostic tool are given. At temperatures below the ‘plateau’ stress, measurements are in good agreement with predictions, even for relatively complex commercial materials, and it was demonstrated that changes in strengthening mechanisms (e.g. during age hardening or thermomechanical processing) can be followed directly even when the scale of the microstructure is too small for convenient observation by transmission electron microscopy. Experiments at high temperature (above the regime of jerky flow) demonstrate that, except at low stress, the material behavior at moderate strain rates is dominated by strain softening mechanisms such as dislocation rearrangement by cross-slip or climb. The major effect of solution hardening at high temperature is to increase the stress at which these processes occur.
The relationship of sodium intake to calcium and sodium excretion and bone mineral density of the hip in postmenopausal African-American and Caucasian women

During the past several decades in the United States, there has been a shift in dietary habits, with an increased consumption of processed foods that are high in sodium. It is known that calcium and sodium metabolism are linked and that higher sodium intakes may increase calcium excretion. Epidemiological studies in patients with idiopathic hypercalciuria suggest that hypercalciuria is linked to low bone mass. However, the relationship of sodium intake to bone mineral density (BMD) is controversial in Caucasians and has not been explored in African-Americans. To determine the consequences of sodium intake on bone in African-American and Caucasian postmenopausal women, sodium and calcium excretion and BMD of the total hip were measured in 50 Caucasian and 39 African-American postmenopausal women. After adjustment for race and urine volume, sodium excretion was a significant predictor of calcium excretion (P ≪ 0.01). This relationship was modulated by calcium intake (P ≪ 0.01), but not by race (P = 0.63). There was no significant effect of sodium excretion (P = 0.42) or calcium excretion (P = 0.90) on BMD of the total hip after adjusting for race and urine volume. Sodium excretion is a significant predictor of calcium excretion in both postmenopausal African-American and Caucasian women. The relationship between sodium and calcium excretion is modulated by calcium intake, and the relationship is strongest at low calcium intakes (≦1000 mg/day). However, sodium excretion in the range of 53.75–283.33 mmole/g/total volume (mmole/g/TV) is not a significant predictor of total hip BMD in elderly African-American and Caucasian postmenopausal women.
Rapid detection of bacteria with miniaturized pyrolysis-gas chromatographic analysis

Rapid detection and identification of bacteria and other pathogens is important for many civilian and military applications. The profiles of biological markers such as fatty acids can be used to characterize biological samples or to distinguish bacteria at the gram-type, genera, and even species level. Common methods for whole cell bacterial analysis are neither portable nor rapid, requiring lengthy, labor intensive sample preparation and bench-scale instrumentation. These methods chemically derivatize fatty acids to produce more volatile fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) that can be separated and analyzed by a gas chromatograph (GC)/mass spectrometer. More recent publications demonstrate decreased sample preparation time with in situ derivatization of whole bacterial samples using pyrolysis/derivatization. Ongoing development of miniaturized pyrolysis/GC instrumentation by this department capitalizes on Sandia advances in the field of microfabricated chemical analysis systems ((mu) ChemLab). Microdevices include rapidly heated stages capable of pyrolysis or sample concentration, gas chromatography columns, and surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensor arrays. We will present results demonstrating the capabilities of these devices toward fulfilling the goal of portable, rapid detection and early warning of the presence of pathogens in air or water.
A multi-Kalman filtering approach for video tracking of human-delineated objects in cluttered environments

In this paper, we propose a new approach that uses a motion-estimation based framework for video tracking of objects in cluttered environments. Our approach is semi-automatic, in the sense that a human is called upon to delineate the boundary of the object to be tracked in the first frame of the image sequence. The approach presented requires no camera calibration; therefore it is not necessary that the camera be stationary. The heart of the approach lies in extracting features and estimating motion through multiple applications of Kalman filtering. The estimated motion is used to place constraints on where to seek feature correspondences; successful correspondences are subsequently used for Kalman-based recursive updating of the motion parameters. Associated with each feature is the frame number in which the feature makes its first appearance in an image sequence. All features that make first-time appearances in the same frame are grouped together for Kalman-based updating of motion parameters. Finally, in order to make the tracked object look visually familiar to the human observer, the system also makes its best attempt at extracting the boundary contour of the object-a difficult problem in its own right since self-occlusion created by any rotational motion of the tracked object would cause large sections of the boundary contour in the previous frame to disappear in the current frame. Boundary contour is estimated by projecting the previous-frame contour into the current frame for the purpose of creating neighborhoods in which to search for the true boundary in the current frame. Our approach has been tested on a wide variety of video sequences, some of which are shown in this paper.
Neutron spectrum of a plutonium-beryllium source

Abstract The neutron spectrum of a plutonium-beryllium source (containing 80 g of plutonium) was obtained with the use of nuclear emulsions. Intensity maxima exist at less than 1.0 MeV and at 3.2, 4.7, 7.7 and 9.7 MeV. Maxima at 4.7, 7.7 and 9.7 MeV are well accounted for in a calculated spectrum. Those at less than 1.0 and at 3.2 MeV are partially explained. Comparison with other published spectra shows more low-energy neutrons for a source with 80 g of plutonium than for a source containing 13 g of plutonium.
Growth in Medicare Expenditures for Patients With Acute Myocardial Infarction: A Comparison of 1998 Through 1999 and 2008

Importance Medicare expenditures continue to grow rapidly, but the reasons are uncertain. Objective To compare expenditures from 1998 through 1999 and 2008 for Medicare beneficiaries hospitalized for acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Design, Setting, and Participants Cross-sectional analysis of a random 20% sample of fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries admitted with AMI from 1998 through 1999 (n = 105 074) and a 100% sample for 2008 (n = 212 329). Main Outcomes and Measures Per-beneficiary expenditures, standardized for price and adjusted for risk and inflation. Expenditures were measured across 4 periods: overall (index admission to 1 year), index (within the index admission), early (postindex admission to 30 days), and late (31-365 days). Results Compared with the subjects from 1998 through 1999, those in 2008 were older and had more comorbidities but slightly less ischemic heart disease and cerebrovascular disease. Although there was a 19.2% decline in the rate of hospitalizations for AMI, overall expenditures per patient increased by 16.5% (absolute difference, $6094). Of the total risk-adjusted increase in expenditures, 25.6% occurred within 30 days (22.0% attributed to the index admission), and 74.4% happened 31 to 365 days after the index admission. Spending per beneficiary within 30 days increased by $1560 (7.5%), and spending between 31 and 365 days increased by $4535 (28.0%). Expenditures for skilled nursing facilities, hospice, home health agency, durable medical equipment, and outpatient care nearly doubled 31 to 365 days after admission. Mortality within 1 year declined from 36.0% in 1998 through 1999 to 31.7% in 2008; of the decline, 3.3% was in the 30 days following admission, and 1.0% was in days 31 to 365. Conclusions and Relevance Between 1998 and 2008, Medicare expenditures per patient with an AMI substantially increased, with about three-fourths of the increase in expenditures occurring 31 to 365 days after the date of hospital admission. Although current bundled payment models may contain expenditures within 30 days of an AMI, they do not contain spending beyond 30 days.
A Comparison of Initially Teaching Division Employing the Distributive and Greenwood Algorithms with the Aid of a Manipulative Material.

Division of whole numbers is traditionally accepted as a part of the elementary school mathematics program and is considered to be the most difficult of the four basic operations with whole numbers. The Greenwood algorithm is employed in most contemporary elementary textbooks to initially develop the recording process. The common usage of the Greenwood algorithm for division of whole numbers today is largely due to the study by Van Engen and Gibb, General Mental Functions Associated with Division (1956). Later, in almost all textbook series, the standard algorithm is used for the final recording process. Van Engen and Gibb, however, did not recommend converting to the standard algorithm after learning the Greenwood algorithm. This transition stage is the source of substantial difficulty for many pupils. If the standard algorithm is to be the terminal algorithm, then perhaps an approach that initially employs the standard algorithm should be used.
A Chief Justice's Progress: John Marshall from Revolutionary Virginia to the Supreme Court

Prologue: Appointment Childhood in the Frontier Gentry, 1755-1774 The Revolutionary War Experience, 1774-1781 Lawyer and Lawmaker in the Old Dominion, 1781-1787 Virginia Nationalist, 1787-1791 Southern Federalist (I), 1791-1797 Diplomatic Interlude: The XYZ Mission, 1797-1798 Southern Federalist (II), 1798-1801 Chief Justice, 1801-1835 Bibliography
Simultaneous enhancement of current and breakdown voltage in AlGaN / GaN MOSHEMTs using sputtered / PECVD gate-dielectrics

A new SiO 2 -deposition scheme combining radio frequency (rf) magnetron sputtering and plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) has been developed to produce gate-SiO 2 for GaN-based metal-oxide-semiconductor high electron-mobility-transistors (MOSHEMTs). The high-density sputtered-SiO 2 was employed to suppress the gate leakage current while the low-density PECVD-SiO 2 was used to protect the sputtering damage, and also to increase the drain current via stress-induced-polarizations. Thus-obtained MOSHEMT exhibited a drain current of over 100 mA and a gate leakage current of 4.2 nA/mm. A high breakdown voltage of 634 V was achieved for a short gate-drain length of 6 µm, showing the promise of the new SiO 2 -deposition scheme for the fabrication of GaN-based MOSHEMTs for high-power applications.
Fault diagnosis in reconfigurable VLSI and WSI processor arrays

A systematic efficient fault diagnosis method for reconfigurable VLSI/WSI array architectures is presented. The basic idea is to utilize the output data path independence among a subset of processing elements (PEs) based on the topology of the array under test. The "divide and conquer" technique is applied to reduce the complexity of test application and enhance the controllability and observability of a processor array. The array under test is divided into nonoverlapping diagnosis blocks. Those PEs in the same diagnosis block can be diagnosed concurrently. The problem of finding diagnosis blocks is shown equivalent to a generalizedEight Queens problem. Three types of PEs and one type of switches, which are designed to be easily testable and reconfigurable, are used to show how to apply this approach. The main contribution of this paper is an efficient switch and link testing procedure, and a novel PE fault diagnosis approach which can speed up the testing by at leastO(?V?1/2) for the processor arrays considered in this paper, where ?V? is the number of PEs. The significance of our approach is the ability to detect as well as to locate multiple PE, switch, and link faults with little or no hardware overhead.
A VHF-level fully integrated multi-phase switching converter using bond-wire inductors, on-chip decoupling capacitors and DLL phase synchronization

This paper presents a fully integrated, four-phase, DC-DC switching converter with fast transient response. By applying effective clock and phase synchronization schemes to a current-mode hysteretic control, the multiphase converter achieves ripple cancellation and fast transient response seamlessly. Thanks to the very high frequency (VHF) operation (200 MHz) and the multiphase interleaving topology, the inductance and the capacitance in the power stage are reduced significantly, allowing the use of bond-wires as main inductors and all fully on-chip capacitors. The output voltage of the converter can be regulated at any level between 0.6 V and 0.9 V, with an input source of 1.1 V. The converter achieves 89% maximum efficiency at 170 mW and 79% efficiency at the full load of 540 mW. The transient response times from no load to 300 mA are within 10 ns with 8.8% voltage droop (VOUT=0.9V).
Onset of Vortex Shedding in a Periodic Array of Circular Cylinders

Hopf bifurcation of steady base flow and onset of vortex shedding over a transverse periodic array of circular cylinders is considered. The influence of transverse spacing on critical Reynolds number is investigated by systematically varying the gap between the cylinders from a small value to large separations. The critical Reynolds number behavior for the periodic array of circular cylinders is compared with the corresponding result for a periodic array of long rectangular cylinders considered in [Balanchandar, S., and Parker, S. J., 2002, “Onset of Vortex Shedding in an Inline and Staggered Array of Rectangular Cylinders ,” Phys. Fluids, 14, pp. 3714–3732]. The differences between the two cases are interpreted in terms of differences between their wake profiles.
PICKUP ION MEDIATED PLASMAS. I. BASIC MODEL AND LINEAR WAVES IN THE SOLAR WIND AND LOCAL INTERSTELLAR MEDIUM

Pickup ions (PUIs) in the outer heliosphere and the local interstellar medium are created by charge exchange between protons and hydrogen (H) atoms, forming a thermodynamically dominant component. In the supersonic solar wind beyond >10 AU, in the inner heliosheath (IHS), and in the very local interstellar medium (VLISM), PUIs do not equilibrate collisionally with the background plasma. Using a collisionless form of Chapman-Enskog expansion, we derive a closed system of multi-fluid equations for a plasma comprised of thermal protons and electrons, and suprathermal PUIs. The PUIs contribute an isotropic scalar pressure to leading order, a collisionless heat flux at the next order, and a collisionless stress tensor at the second-order. The collisionless heat conduction and viscosity in the multi-fluid description results from a non-isotropic PUI distribution. A simpler one-fluid MHD-like system of equations with distinct equations of state for both the background plasma and the PUIs is derived. We investigate linear wave properties in a PUI-mediated three-fluid plasma model for parameters appropriate to the VLISM, the IHS, and the solar wind in the outer heliosphere. Five distinct wave modes are possible: Alfven waves, thermal fast and slow magnetoacoustic waves, PUI fast and slow magnetoacoustic waves, and an entropy mode. The thermal and PUI acoustic modes propagate at approximately the combined thermal magnetoacoustic speed and the PUI sound speed respectively. All wave modes experience damping by the PUIs through the collisionless PUI heat flux. The PUI-mediated plasma model yields wave properties, including Alfven waves, distinctly different from those of the standard two-fluid model.
The presence of Na-Na and Na-K exchange in sodium extrusion by three species of fish.

ALTHOUGH it has been generally assumed that marine teleost fish balance the net influx of NaCl (from diffusional gain and oral ingestion of seawater) by active extrusion of both ions1–3, the proposition of active extrusion of Na has been questioned. It has been shown4–11 that marine teleosts generally maintain a transepithelial potential (t.e.p.) in the range +10−+25 mV (blood relative to seawater), which is nearly equal to that which could nullify the Na concentration gradient between the teleost and seawater. Thus, it has been suggested that Na is maintained in electrochemical equilibrium across the teleost gill and only Cl is actively extruded4,6–8,12. The Na efflux changes accompanying rapid changes in external Na or K concentrations have been used to support a model of both Na–Na and Na–K exchanges13–16, and have been shown to result at least partially from changes in the t.e.p. (refs 7–9, 12) rather than uncoupling of ionic exchange systems. Histochemical localisation of the Na–K-activated ATPase in teleost gill tissue indicates that it is predominantly basal rather than apical17,18. This suggests that the enzyme may be involved in gill cell volume regulation rather than transepithelial extrusion of Na.
Use of a predictor panel to evaluate susceptibility testing methods for ampicillin-sulbactam.

A predictor panel of clinical isolates that produce a variety of types and amounts of beta-lactamases was used to assess the accuracies of a variety of susceptibility tests for ampicillin-sulbactam. Combinations of ampicillin-sulbactam in ratios of 1:1 and 2:1 and with sulbactam held constant at concentrations of 4 and 8 micrograms/ml were examined in dilution tests performed in agar and broth. In addition, disks containing 10/10, 20/10, 20/20, and 20/30 micrograms of ampicillin-sulbactam were examined in diffusion tests. The results indicated that the MICs obtained in broth microdilution tests performed with each of the four combinations differed, on average, less than twofold. Of the disks tested, the 20/10-micrograms ampicillin-sulbactam disk provided the best separation between susceptible and resistant strains when interpretive criteria for resistance was a zone size of or = 21 mm. This disk also gave the highest overall agreement with MICs, regardless of the combination used in the broth microdilution test. Discrepancies between agar and broth microdilution MICs were greater than twofold, on average, and this necessitated recommendation of separate criteria for the two methods. Thus, a predictor panel was very useful in identifying the parameters of susceptibility tests that were most accurate in identifying strains that were susceptible and resistant to ampicillin-sulbactam.
Tetrahydromethanopterin-dependent serine transhydroxymethylase from Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum

Serine transhydroxymethylase of Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum has been purified to within 95% of homogeneity. Activity was strictly dependent on tetrahydromethanopterin, tetrahydrofolate being unable to serve as the acceptor C1 units from l-serine. The native protein has a molecular weight of about 102,000 daltons. The enzyme shows maximal activity at 60°C, has a pH optimum of 8.1, and required pyridoxal-5′-phosphate and Mg2+ for optimal activity.
Density of states for the two-dimensional, simple-square Anderson model

By means of the negative eigenvalue theorem, the density of states is evaluated for the two-dimensional, simple-square Anderson model with diagonal disorder.
Studies on Vinca major (Apocynaceae) II: Phytochemical Investigation

Vinca major L. (Apocynaceae), commonly known as “Pervenche Grande” or the “Greater Periwinkle,” has been mentioned frequently as a folk remedy. This plant, collected in Yugoslavia, has been subjected to a phytochemical screening and found to contain alkaloids, saponins, unsaturated sterols, organic acids, and phenols. Tannins, flavanols, and cardiac glycosides were not detected by the micromethods used. The results of a proximate analysis are also reported together with a method for the chromatographic separation of the total alkaloids. Paper partition and thin layer chromatographic data of the separated fractions are presented to indicate the complex character of the total alkaloids of this plant. An aqueous extract of the leaves and stems, as well as the total alkaloids, were shown to have no leukopenic activity in rats.