cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Automatic feature extraction for panchromatic Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter camera imagery

The Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) has produced tens of thousands of images, which contain a wealth of information about the surface of the planet Mars. Current manual analysis techniques are inadequate for the comprehensive analysis of such a large dataset, while development of handwritten feature extraction algorithms is laborious and expensive. This project investigates application of an automatic feature extraction approach to analysis of the MOC narrow angle panchromatic dataset, using an evolutionary computation software package called GENIE. GENIE uses a genetic algorithm to assemble feature extraction tools from low-level image operators. Each generated tool is evaluated against training data provided by the user. The best tools in each generation are allowed to 'reproduce' to produce the next generation, and the population of tools is permitted to evolve until it converges to a solution or reaches a level of performance specified by the user. Craters are one of the most scientifically interesting and most numerous features in the MOC data set, and present a wide range of shapes at many spatial scales. We now describe preliminary results on development of a crater finder algorithm using the GENIE software.
Influence of Calcium and Strontium on Tibial Uptake of 45Ca and 85Sr in Pullets Varying in Age

Abstract Day-old Single Comb White Leghorn pullets were fed diets containing 0.65, 1.30 or 2.60% Ca or 0.5% Ca and 0.328% Sr, 1.0% Ca and 0.656% Sr or 2.0% Ca and 1.312% Sr. Body weights were taken at 2, 5, 10, 15 and 20 weeks of age. At 5, 10, 15 and 20 weeks of age, the small intestines from 4 pullets per group were perfused with solutions containing 45 Ca and 85 Sr and the birds sacrificed immediately after perfusion. Concurrently 4 pullets from each group at 5, 10 and 15 weeks of age and 10 pullets at 20 weeks of age were orally administered 45 Ca and 85 Sr and sacrificed 24 hours later. The 5-week-old pullets were more sensitive to the calcium and strontium level of the diet than the older birds when growth or absorption and tibial content of 45 Ca and 85 Sr were considered. The ratios of 85 Sr: 45 Ca were not affected by age but were affected by the time of sacrifice after administration of the isotopes. The pullets seemed to adjust to the dietary calcium and strontium over the 20 weeks of the experiment.
Evaluation of the Absorption of Radioactive Sodium Iodide from Various Ointment Bases by Means of a Chick Embryo Technique

Forty-seven ointment bases were evaluated for their ability to release radioactive sodium iodide when evaluated by a chick embryo technique. In general, ointments of the hydrophilic type indicated better release of the isotope than did bases of the absorption or oleaginous type.
Family processes and the competence of adolescents and primary school children

Associations were examined between 12 measures of family process and 6 measures of personal and social competence for 102 adolescents aged 15-16 and 99 children aged 8-9. Canonical correlations analysis revealed that general competence among primary school children was associated with high levels of support from parents, a high allocation of household responsibility, a high level of parental control, and a low level of parental punishment. Among adolescents, general competence was associated with a high level of support from parents, a low level of parental control, a high allocation of household responsibility, parental use of induction, a low level of parental punishment, high-quality sibling relationships, and high family cohesion. The findings suggest that as children enter adolescence, general competence becomes more closely bound up with the quality of sibling relations and the degree of parental control, and less closely bound up with support from parents.
The action of(±)-MDMA on medial prefrontal cortical neurons is mediated through the serotonergic system

The mechanism of action of systemically administered (+/-)-MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) on spontaneously active neurons in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFc) of chloral hydrate anesthetized rats was examined using standard single unit extracellular recording techniques. Intravenously administered MDMA dose-dependently decreased the firing rates of the majority of mPFc neurons in control rats. In contrast, in rats that were pretreated with p-chlorophenylalanine (PCPA), which depletes the brain serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) content by inhibiting tryptophan hydroxylase, the rate-limiting enzyme in the synthesis of 5-HT, MDMA was largely ineffective in inhibiting the firing of mPFc cells. In PCPA-treated animals, the administration of 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP), which presumably restored the brain 5-HT content, but not L-DOPA, reinstated MDMA's inhibitory action in PCPA-treated rats. In rats that were pretreated with alpha-methyl-p-tyrosine (AMPT), which depletes the brain dopamine (DA) content by inhibiting tyrosine hydroxylase, the rate-limiting enzyme in the synthesis of DA, MDMA inhibited the firing of all of the mPFc cells. MDMA's effect on mPFc neurons was reversed by 5-HT receptor antagonists such as granisetron and metergoline. These results strongly suggest that MDMA exerts its action on mPFc cells indirectly by releasing endogenous 5-HT.
ArnH2O (n=1–14) van der Waals clusters: Size evolution of equilibrium structures

Size evolution of the equilibrium structures of Ar n H2O van der Waals clusters with n=1–14 has been investigated. Pairwise additive intermolecular potential energy surfaces (IPESs) for Ar n H2O clusters were constructed from the spectroscopically accurate Ar–Ar and anisotropic 3D Ar–H2O potentials. For each cluster size considered, we determined the global minimum of the respective IPES and several other lowest‐lying Ar n H2O isomeric structures. This was accomplished by using simulated annealing followed by a direct minimization scheme. The minimum‐energy structures of all Ar n H2O clusters considered in this work are fully solvated; up to n=12, the Ar atoms fill a monolayer around H2O. For n=12, the optimal Ar12H2O structure has the Ar atoms arranged in a highly symmetrical icosahedron, with H2O in its center. The icosahedral Ar12H2O structure is exceptionally stable; the energy gap separating it from the next higher n=12 isomer (289.55 cm−1) exceeds that for any other cluster in this size range. The observed preference for solvated Ar n H2O structures was carefully analyzed in terms of the relative energetic contributions from Ar–Ar and Ar–H2O interactions. For n≤9, the monolayer, cagelike geometries are favored primarily by providing optimal Ar–H2O interactions, significantly larger than for alternative Ar n H2O structures. For n≳9, the solvated Ar n H2O isomers offer the best Ar–Ar packing, in addition to the strongest total Ar–H2O interactions. A detailed comparison was made with the minimum‐energy structures of Ar n HF clusters, determined by us recently [J. Chem. Phys. 100, 7166 (1994)], revealing interesting differences in the growth patterns of the optimal cluster structures.
Evaluation of Mannose-binding Protein as a Predictor of Serious Bacterial Illness in Febrile Infants 784

Mannose-binding protein (MBP) is an acute phase reactant important in innate host defence. It recognizes and binds pathogens, promotes their opsonization and phagocytosis and activates complement. Low MBP levels are associated with allelic variants that are unable to activate complement. It is hypothesized that low levels of MBP are associated with serious and/or recurrent infection. To determine whether MBP level is a predictor of serious bacterial illness and if low levels of MBP are associated with increased risk of bacterial infection, we measured MBP in infants <3 years old (n=570) who presented to the Children's Hospital Emergency Department for evaluation of fever. To enhance the number of patients with serious bacterial infection (n= 92), febrile infants with positive cultures were included selectively by using stored discarded blood samples. Temperature, CBC, present diagnosis and history of previous positive culture were recorded for each patient. C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were measured selectively. MBP level was compared in febrile infants and age-matched controls. MBP level was not significantly different between febrile infants and controls or between infants with current or previous serious bacterial illness and those with presumed viral illness with or without otitis media. MBP level was not correlated with IL-6 or CRP. The percent of patients with MBP levels <100, 500, and 1000 ng/ml did not differ between febrile patients with and without serious bacterial illness. We conclude that a single MBP level is not a predictor for bacterial illness and that febrile infants with low MBP levels are not universally at significant risk for serious bacterial illness.Sponsored by Bristol-Myers Squibb.
Synoptic and Mesoscale Aspects of an Appalachian Ice Storm Associated with Cold-Air Damming

Abstract An interesting ice storm of moderate severity occurred along the east slopes of the Appalachians on 13–14 January 1980. Though surface temperatures were initially below freezing in most of this region, objective guidance indicated that large-scale warm would render the atmosphere conducive to rain. Warm advection did occur above about 900 mb, but below this level warm advection was prevented by a cold ~ shaped ridge of high pressure which became entrenched along the east slopes. Temperature in the lowest 0.5–1 km remained below freezing and an ice storm resulted. This case study documents the evolution of the wedge ridge and the temperature and wind fields associated with it. Comparisons are made between the evolution of these fields within the quasi-stationary wedge ridge (a weather regime known as cold-air damming and their evolution during the preceding period, when the pressure ridge was progressing eastward across the Midwest The processes controlling the charges of temperature in these regi...
f-wave correlations in superfluid 3He.

Recent analyses of the collective mode data in both the A and B phases of superfluid /sup 3/He suggest that the f-wave pairing interaction is attractive and large enough to lead to observable shifts in the frequencies of the real squashing mode of /sup 3/He-B and the clapping mode of /sup 3/He-A. Here I consider the possibility that f-wave pairing correlations exist in the ordered phases of /sup 3/He, with or without further reduction in symmetry, as a result of an attractive f-wave pairing interaction.
Electron Microscopic Studies on Substrate Specificity of T4 Excision Repair Endonuclease

FOLLOWING infection of a suitable host by bacteriophage T4, a phage-specific endonuclease that makes single-strand breaks in ultraviolet-irradiated DNA1,2 is produced. This enzyme is presumably involved in pyrimidine dimer excision, since a mutant phage T4ν1, which does not produce detectable enzyme, is abnormally sensitive to ultraviolet light and fails to excise dimers from its DNA3. This endonuclease has been extensively purified4. Previous in vitro studies utilizing sedimentation velocity of DNA in sucrose density gradients showed ultraviolet dose-dependent reduction in sedimentation velocity of ultraviolet-irradiated T4 and T7 DNA following incubation with the purified enzyme. The sedimentation velocity of unirradiated DNA was not detectably reduced. Furthermore, the average number of enzymatically-induced nicks per molecule correlated well with the calculated number of dimers per molecule4. These studies suggested that the only substrate sites in ultraviolet-irradiated DNA were pyrimidine dimers. Unirradiated DNA was unaffected by the enzyme and it was concluded that such DNA either does not contain areas of distortion in the secondary structure such as might be produced by pyrimidine dimers, or if such distortions are present they are not recognized as substrate sites by the endonuclease.
Differential expression of arginase and iNOS in the lung in sepsis

The primary metabolic fates of L-arginine are conversion to L-citrulline by nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and to L-ornithine by arginase. In the lung, arginine utilization is increased after the inducible form of NOS (iNOS) is expressed during inflammation. The expression of arginase in normal lung and after sepsis, and its potential relationships with iNOS, however, are not known. Since arginase and iNOS share the substrate L-arginine, we tested the hypothesis that lung arginase would be co-induced with iNOS in sepsis and its cellular distribution would be related to that of iNOS in the lung. Lungs from cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) and sham-operated (S) rats were harvested 6 or 16 hours after the procedures. Lung wet-to-dry weight ratio, myeloperoxidase content, and lipid peroxidation products were measured as indices of lung injury. Western blot analyses were performed with polyclonal antibodies against two isoforms of rat arginase (I and II) and iNOS. Additional lungs from CLP and S animals were inflation-fixed for immunohistochemistry using the same antibodies. We found by Western blot that arginase II at 39 kDa was the main isoform present in normal rat lung. The enzyme was distributed diffusely in alveolar and bronchial epithelial cells, endothelial cells, and alveolar macrophages. After CLP, arginase II was almost undetectable in rat lungs at 16 hours. In contrast, in normal lung, the iNOS was not detectable by Western blot or immunohistochemistry. After CLP, strong expression of iNOS was found in similar cell types to arginase II. These data demonstrate loss of constitutive expression of arginase II in rat lung as iNOS is upregulated by the response to sepsis.
CMOS wideband analogue delay stage

A new second-order all-pass filter with maximum achievable delay-bandwidth-product (DBW) is presented. The proposed circuit will be used as a wideband delay element in impulse radio ultra-wideband transceivers. Benefiting from a simple architecture, the proposed circuit achieves a 60 ps delay across a 10 GHz bandwidth, which is the largest delay ever reported over such a wide bandwidth. In addition, the most noticeable advantage of this delay circuit is the small variation of group delay across a wide frequency range, which means negligibly small phase distortion introduced by the circuit.
Histological and electrophysiological properties of crypt cells from the olfactory epithelium of the marine teleost trachurus symmetricus

Crypt cells from the olfactory epithelium of the Pacific jack mackerel Trachurus symmetricus were characterized by light and electron microscopy and analyzed in dissociation with the patch-clamp technique in its cell-attached, perforated patch and normal whole-cell mode. Isolated crypt cells remained united with their supporting cells, and both were electrically coupled through gap junctions. Under voltage-clamp, depolarizing voltage steps triggered a transient sodium current, a sustained calcium current, and two types of potassium currents with fast and slow inactivation kinetics. No calcium-dependent potassium current could be observed. The sodium current was blocked by saxitoxin, the calcium current by cobalt and furnidipine, and the potassium currents by tetraethylammonium chloride. In the cell-attached configuration, crypt cells displayed spontaneous spike activity and responded to amino acid solutions with dose-dependent excitation, followed by a period of spike inhibition. These first recordings of individual crypt cells provide the basis for future studies of their odorant specificity, transduction mechanism, and overall function in the fish olfactory epithelium. J. Comp. Neurol. 495:113–121, 2006. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
The effect of structural difference on critical temperature in La2−xBaxCuO4 and YBa2Cu3O7−x

Abstract Within the framework of the resonating valence bond model, a mechanism based on the difference in the crystal structures of La 2− x Ba x CuO 4 and YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7− x , is proposed to account for the higher T c of the Y-compound.
Competition for electron transfer between cytochromes P450scc and P45011β in rat adrenal mitochondria

Abstract Rat adrenal mitochondria contain approximately equal levels of P450scc and P45011β, each reduced by NADPH through adrenodoxin reductase (ADX-reductase) and adrenodoxin (ADX). Constitutive cholesterol side-chain cleavage (SCO can be increased over 20-fold through a combination of hormonal activation and inhibition of cholesterol metabolism in vivo prior to isolation of the mitochondria. This stimulation, which results from accumulated reactive cholesterol, does not significantly affect either the dependence of activities on the concentration of isocitrate (IC) and succinate (SU) or the ratio of maximum activities [3:1]supported by these reductants. Thus, the rate of cholesterol SCC is determined independently by electron transfer and the amount of reactive cholesterol. Hydroxylation of deoxycorticosterone (11β and 18 positions) required much higher levels of each reductant, indicating less effective reductant transfer to P45011β. Reactions at P450scc and P45011β, mediated by IC, are enhanced by low concentrations of various dicarboxylates anions (fumarate, SU). The actions of SU dehydrogenase inhibitors and the activity of fumarate, a poor direct reductant, suggest that higher production of NADPH results from malate-enhanced uptake of isocitrate. Only synergistic combinations of reductants are sufficient to sustain maximum rates of 11-deoxycorticosterone (DOC) metabolism, whereas IC is fully effective for P450scc. Increased reaction at P450scc (cholesterol loading or addition of 20α-hydroxycholesterol) decreased simultaneous DOC metabolism at P45011β in inverse proportion to the estimated intramitochondrial generation of NADPH (1 mM or 10 mM SU > 1 mM IC > 10 mM IC). These decreases were reversed by inhibition of P450scc. Crossover inhibition caused by maximum DOC metabolism was less pronounced. EGTA/albumin treatment, which enhanced activities at both P450scc and P45011β, presumably via increased NADPH, diminished this cross-competition. The differential dependence on reductants and the characteristics of crossover competition are consistent with a roughly three-fold more favorable partitioning of electron transfer to P450scc, possibly caused by preferential interaction of reduced adrenodoxin with P450scc.
Evolving L-systems to generate virtual creatures

Abstract Virtual creatures play an increasingly important role in computer graphics as special effects and background characters. The artificial evolution of such creatures potentially offers some relief from the difficult and time consuming task of specifying morphologies and behaviors. But, while artificial life techniques have been used to create a variety of virtual creatures, previous work has not scaled beyond creatures with 50 components and the most recent work has generated creatures that are unnatural looking. Here we describe a system that uses Lindenmayer systems (L-systems) as the encoding of an evolutionary algorithm (EA) for creating virtual creatures. Creatures evolved by this system have hundreds of parts, and the use of an L-system as the encoding results in creatures with a more natural look.
A Process Approach for Developing Skills in a Consumer Behavior Course

The need for skills in marketing curricula in the 1990s is widely acknowledged; however, questions remain as to how to develop skills in specific courses. This article examines skills development with respect to a consumer behavior course. The core contribution is the presentation of a process approach for integrating skills into various course components. The authors conclude with a critical evaluation of the process approach that discusses implementation issues.
The Reliability of a Fault-Tolerant Configuration Having Variable Coverage

An expression is derived for the reliability of an r-on-m fault-tolerant configuration (r spares supporting m identical operating units) when both the hazard and the coverage probability are functions of time. In addition, the coverage probability is allowed to be a function of the number of spares that have to be tested before an operational unit is found.
Bacteriële meningitis: niet altijd volgens het boekje

Van Boxel I, Knuistingh Neven A. Bacteriele meningitis: niet altijd volgens het boekje. Huisarts Wet 2013;56(4):182-3.
Photonic-Crystal Heterostructure Waveguides

Photonic crystals (PC) are periodic dielectric structures that, if suitably designed, prohibit light propagation within a frequency band even though the constituent materials may be transparent in this range. One of the remarkable applications of such artificial photonic materials has been to provide guiding of light. Ultimately, to guide light in directions other than straight lines, PC waveguide (PCW) bends are needed, and thus are expected to be essential building blocks of photonic integrated circuits. While bending light through large angles is possible with conventional waveguides, the corner radii of such bends cannot typically be reduced to the electromagnetic wavelength, which hinders the realization of extremely compact devices. And though sharp two-dimensional (2-D) PCW bends have been proposed, the transmission is typically low and/or narrow band. Here we focus on PCWs obtained by introducing line defects in otherwise period 2-D PCs with the aims of enhancing the typical poor and low-bandwidth transmission through tight bends. We show how PCW bends occurring at heterojunctions between different PCs may enable unprecedented flexibility in meeting these aims. The deformation introduced to the usual PC lattice lifted off the angle constraint and resulted in the power transmission greater than 90% over in the 95-nm bandwidth
Sources of Dietary Fiber and the Association of Fiber Intake with Childhood Obesity Risk (in 2–18 Year Olds) and Diabetes Risk of Adolescents 12–18 Year Olds: NHANES 2003–2006

Increased fiber intake has been linked with lower risk of overweight and obesity in adults, but data are sparse for children. To address this issue, NHANES 2003–2006 data was used to evaluate (1) the food sources of fiber in children, (2) the dietary fiber density levels and risk of being classified as overweight/obese, and (3) the association between fiber intake level and impaired glucose metabolism in children. Analyses were restricted to the subsample of children with biological plausible diet reports (𝑁=4,667) and stratified by 2–11 year olds (𝑛=2072) and 12–18 year olds (𝑛=2595). Results showed that the food sources are predominantly foods that are low in dietary fiber, but are consumed at high levels. In 2–18 year old plausible reporters, the risk for overweight/obesity decreased by 17% from children in the medium tertile of fiber density intake compared to the lowest tertile (OR=0.83, P value = 0.043) and by 21% between the highest compared to the lowest tertile (OR=0.79, P value = 0.031). There was a protective effect of being in the medium tertile of dietary fiber density (OR=0.68, P value <0.001) on impaired glucose metabolism. These results indicate a beneficial effect of higher fiber density in children’s diets.
Piezohydraulic Actuator Development for Microjet Flow Control

This paper describes the development of a piezohydraulic actuator for broadband microjet flow control applications. The actuator utilizes a lead zirconate titanate (PZT) stack actuator and a hydraulic amplification design to achieve relatively large displacements in a compact actuator to control flow through a microjet orifice. Displacement amplification of 81 times the stack actuator displacement was achieved using a new dual-diaphragm design. The nonlinear and hysteretic field-coupled material behavior, structural dynamics, and fluid dynamics of the actuator are modeled using a system dynamic model and compared with experimental results. The nonlinear and hysteretic piezohydraulic actuator characteristics are shown to be strongly dependent on the nonlinear deformation of the rubber diaphragm and minor loop hysteresis of the PZT stack actuator. The modeling technique provides a design tool for broadband performance predictions and system optimization to facilitate implementation of the actuator in a flow environment.
Measuring economic interdependence: A geopolitical perspective

Political scientists employ the concept of economic interdependence for three theoretical purposes: to evaluate whether expanding international economic ties diminish the autonomy of states; to study the relationship between international trade and international conflict; and to assess the efficacy of economic sanctions. To date, they have almost exclusively measured interdependence with crude indices which gauge the volume of international trade and factor price linkages. Consequently, they overlook the most strategically important aspect of trade: its material composition. We introduce a new method for measuring economic interdependence that considers the goods that are traded and the availability of substitutes or alternative supplies. Our Strategic Goods Test assesses a state's dependence on its potential adversaries for continued access to the resources that are essential for national survival. Applied to Anglo‐German economic relations before the First World War, our test reveals that earlier studie...
Garment quality evaluation: influence of fashion leadership, fashion involvement, and gender

How consumers evaluate garment quality affects consumers’ decision-making, hence it is imperative to study how consumers evaluate quality. The purpose of the study was to contribute to a better understanding of how consumers evaluate garments and how variables such as fashion leadership, fashion involvement, and gender influence garment evaluation. Participants were 309 students from two Midwestern universities. A convenient stratified sample was used. The Garment Quality Evaluation Scale (GQES) was used to measure garment quality, the measure of fashion innovativeness and opinion leadership was used to subdivide participants into fashion leaders and fashion followers, and the Fashion Clothing Involvement Scale was used to divide participants into high and low fashion-involved consumers. MANOVA (multivariate analysis of variance) and ANOVA (analysis of variance) results indicated that how consumers evaluated garment quality was significantly influenced by fashion leadership, fashion involvement, and gende...
Activated carbons with metal containing bentonite binders as adsorbents of hydrogen sulfide

Abstract Wood-based activated carbon was ground and mixed with 10% bentonite binders containing either iron, zinc or copper cations adsorbed within the interlayer space and/or on the external surface of bentonite flakes. To better understand the role of transition metals, carbon was also impregnated with iron, zinc and copper salts. The structure of materials after modification was determined using nitrogen adsorption. The modification resulted in a decrease in porosity, especially in micropore volume, as a result of combined mass dilution effect and adsorption/re-adsorption of metals in small pores. Introduction of bentonite binders containing adsorbed metal increased the capacity of carbon for hydrogen sulfide only in the case of material containing copper. Copper also significantly increases the performance of carbon as an H 2 S adsorbent when impregnation is applied whereas the effects of other metals used in this study are much less pronounced. It is likely that copper present in the small pores acts as a catalyst for oxygen activation causing hydrogen sulfide oxidation. As a result of this process, elemental sulfur is formed which, when present in small pores, is oxidized to weakly adsorbed SO 2 . The SO 2 is removed from the surface when continuous reaction with hydrogen sulfide occurs. Thus, even though binding carbon with spent bentonites after copper adsorption increases the capacity of carbon toward H 2 S removal, the formation of SO 2 , another undesirable pollutant, does detract somewhat from the procedure.
Active optics technology - An overview

A brief development history and current development status evaluation are presented for active (as opposed to 'adaptive') optical techniques, giving attention to this technology's successful application to date in large telescopes using active primary mirror controls and prospective, more ambitious active optics systems. Reliable models and simulation tools are noted to already exist for establishing the flexural limits of active structures. Current examples include the ESO's 3.5-m New Technology Telescope and the Keck 10-m TMT; future applications are in Japan's NLT, the ESO VLT, and the SOFIA airborne IR telescope.
THE ROLE OF U.S. IMPORTS IN THE SOVIET GROWTH STRATEGY FOR THE SEVENTIES

This paper discusses the role of machinery and equipment imports from the U.S. in achieving the goals of the Soviet Ninth and Tenth Five-Year Plans. The analysis utilizes both import data and signed agreements for future purchases to determine the extent to which the Soviets are seeking to increase efficiency of production by importing foreign technology and to identify those industries and their technologies which seem to be most critical for plan fulfillment. Finally, the paper discusses what insights this analysis provides for U.S. policy-makers and American businessmen.
Working it out together: Radio policy from Hoover to the radio act of 1927

A complex pattern of radio regulation emerged during the mid‐1920s, one in which a close‐knit relationship arose between regulator and regulated. Working together to get radio service to the public were the “regulators”—Herbert Hoover and the Department of Commerce—and the “regulated”— Westinghouse, General Electric (G. E.), the Radio Corporation of America (RCA), and American Telegraph and Telephone (AT&T). Together, these two groups set radio's agenda and policy through 1927. This essay shows how that synthesis became the blueprint used even today for broadcast license allocation and station licensee assignments.
[13C]octanoic acid breath test for gastric emptying of solids: accuracy, reproducibility, and comparison with scintigraphy.

Abstract BACKGROUND & AIMS: Previous work suggested that a breath test using 13C accurately measures gastric emptying of solids. Thus, breath test half emptying time (t1/2) minus 66 minutes was claimed to estimate accurately t1/2 by scintigraphy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy and reproducibility of this breath test in healthy subjects. METHODS: Fifteen volunteers (8 men and 7 women; mean age, 41 +/- 13 years) underwent simultaneous scintigraphy and [13C]octanoic acid breath test. Scans and breath samples were obtained every 15 minutes for 4 and 6 hours, respectively. The breath test was repeated three times within a 3-week period. RESULTS: Parameters from scintigraphy and breath test were not correlated significantly. Differences of lag phase and t1/2 between the two tests were highly variable (range for t1/2, -33.1 to 169.6; mean, 48.0 minutes). Increasing breath test "duration" (samples over 4, 5, or 6 hours) yielded decreasing estimates of the lag phase and t1/2. Although widely different values were observed in some subjects, repeated breath tests showed a high degree of reproducibility within individuals (mean coefficient of variation, 12%). CONCLUSIONS: [13C]Octanoic acid breath test for gastric emptying of solids requires further validation before it can substitute for scintigraphy as a diagnostic test, but it seems useful for intraindividual comparisons. (Gastroenterology 1997 Apr;112(4):1155-62)
Coming to terms with the accountability versus improvement debate in assessment

Concerns about quality and accountability in higher education have led the majority of states to mandate student outcomes assessment. While many institutions have begun to address these requirements as matters of accountability, discussion in most state capitals seems to be more about program improvement than about summative evaluation. These dichotomous perspectives frame a fundamental debate over the nature and direction of the assessment movement in the United States. Accountability and improvement are twin concerns of effective assessment, but their coexistence depends upon the resolution of suspicions and different interpretations of the mission of higher education between state and institutional authorities.
Enabling real-time H.26L video services over wireless ad hoc networks using joint admission and transmission power control

In a wireless ad hoc network, packets are sent from node-to-node in a multihop fashion until they reach the destination. In this paper we investigate the capacity of a wireless ad hoc network in supporting packet video transport. The ad hoc network consists of n homogeneous video users with each of them also serving as a relay node for other users. We investigate how the time delay aspects the video throughput in such an ad hoc network and how to provide a time-delay bounded packet video delivery service over such a network? The analytical results indicate that appropriate joint admission and power control have to be employed in order to efficiently utilize the network capacity while operating under the delay constraint as the distance between source and destination changes.© (2003) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Solving a class of continuous global optimization problems using quantum algorithms

We investigate the entwined roles that additional information and quantum algorithms play in reducing the complexity of a class of global optimization problems (GOP). We show that: (i) a modest amount of additional information is sufficient to map the continuous GOP into the (discrete) Grover problem; (ii) while this additional information is actually available in some GOPs, it cannot be taken advantage of within classical optimization algorithms; and (iii) quantum algorithms offer a natural framework for the efficient use of this information resulting in a speed-up of the solution of the GOP.
Neutron damage in beryllium

The effects of neutron irradiation on the mechanical properties and helium retention of beryllium are being studied using postirradiation tensile testing, fractography, and microstructural examinations on arc cast beryllium that was irradiated in the FFTF/MOTA to support the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) design effort. Miniature sheet tensile specimens were embrittled by irradiation at 400°C to 8 displacements per atom (dpa). Failure with zero ductility occurs with both transgranular brittle cleavage and grain boundary embrittlement. Based on microstructural examination, embrittlement is ascribed both to helium bubble formation at grain boundaries and to c-type loop formation. Loop formation of this type has rarely been reported in the literature. Companion microstructural examination specimens of identical material were irradiated at 500°C to 1 dpa. The major effect of irradiation at 500°C is the development of helium bubbles on matrix and grain boundary dislocations, but evidence of the onset of void swelling was also found.
Cox Regression with Correlation Based Regularization for Electronic Health Records

Survival Regression models play a vital role in analyzing time-to-event data in many practical applications ranging from engineering to economics to healthcare. These models are ideal for prediction in complex data problems where the response is a time-to-event variable. An event is defined as the occurrence of a specific event of interest such as a chronic health condition. Cox regression is one of the most popular survival regression model used in such applications. However, these models have the tendency to over fit the data which is not desirable for healthcare applications because it limits their generalization to other hospital scenarios. In this paper, we address these challenges for the cox regression model. We combine two unique correlation based regularizers with cox regression to handle correlated and grouped features which are commonly seen in many practical problems. The proposed optimization problems are solved efficiently using cyclic coordinate descent and Alternate Direction Method of Multipliers algorithms. We conduct experimental analysis on the performance of these algorithms over several synthetic datasets and electronic health records (EHR) data about heart failure diagnosed patients from a hospital. We demonstrate through our experiments that these regularizers effectively enhance the ability of cox regression to handle correlated features. In addition, we extensively compare our results with other regularized linear and logistic regression algorithms. We validate the goodness of the features selected by these regularized cox regression models using the biomedical literature and different feature selection algorithms.
Measuring the exposure of infants to tobacco smoke: nicotine and cotinine in urine and saliva.

Abstract The effect of parental smoking on the well-being of infants and children is an important public health concern. It is necessary, however, to validate the existence of such exposure objectively before an evaluation of the effects of parental smoking behavior on the child's health can be made. We measured the concentration of nicotine and its major metabolite, cotinine, in the saliva and urine of 32 infants with household exposure to tobacco smoke, and 19 unexposed infants. The concentrations were significantly higher in the exposed group than in the unexposed group, with the best indicator of chronic exposure being the urinary cotinine:creatinine ratio; median in the exposed group, 351 ng per milligram (225.3 nmol per millimole); median in the unexposed group, 4 ng per milligram (2.6 nmol per millimole) (P<0.0001). There was a direct relation between cotinine excretion by the infants and the self-reported smoking behavior of the mothers during the previous 24 hours (r = 0.67, P = 0.0001). Our resu...
Insights into [FeFe]-Hydrogenase Structure, Mechanism, and Maturation

Hydrogenases are metalloenzymes that are key to energy metabolism in a variety of microbial communities. Divided into three classes based on their metal content, the [Fe]-, [FeFe]-, and [NiFe]-hydrogenases are evolutionarily unrelated but share similar nonprotein ligand assemblies at their active site metal centers that are not observed elsewhere in biology. These nonprotein ligands are critical in tuning enzyme reactivity, and their synthesis and incorporation into the active site clusters require a number of specific maturation enzymes. The wealth of structural information on different classes and different states of hydrogenase enzymes, biosynthetic intermediates, and maturation enzymes has contributed significantly to understanding the biochemistry of hydrogen metabolism. This review highlights the unique structural features of hydrogenases and emphasizes the recent biochemical and structural work that has created a clearer picture of the [FeFe]-hydrogenase maturation pathway.
Renormalization Group for Directed Sandpile Models

Following the lead of earlier researchers, we construct a real space renormalization group map for a class of self-organized critical models. We then test a series of quantitative predictions implied by this map against direct simulations of various models. The theory passes four tests, but apparently fails a fifth. We also find that the map has an interesting nongeneric property, suggesting a deeper structure to the theory than previously appreciated. [S0031-9007(98)06840-9]
Implementation of an efficient run-time support system for engineering design environment

Abstract The need for both relational and matrix data types in engineering applications has been long recognized. While matrices form mostly temporary or semi-permanent data private to a program, relations are either permanent data in public domain used by different programs or final results of a program to the end user. Though several systems came up in the last few years with various degree of facilities and level of efficiency, none however, met the requirement of versatile data structure or run-time support required in a volatile, large I/O environment of engineering database. This paper describes implementation of a system and its evaluation using an existing users' interface. Benchmarking shows that the system is far superior to the existing ones and also incurs little overhead for DBMS calls.
Laparoscopic management of abdominal pelvic splenosis.

BACKGROUND: Splenosis is an unusual cause of pelvic pain. CASE: A 37-year-old nulligravida presented with a 10-year history of chronic pelvic and abdominal pain that was diagnosed as splenosis via laparoscopy. The patient was previously advised against surgical intervention. We report our experience with laparoscopic excision of the above splenosis. CONCLUSION: Splenosis should be considered in patients with a history of splenic injury and abdominal pain. Laparoscopic excision of splenic nodules with the argon beam coagulator is a well-suited method of treatment for symptomatic splenosis.
Copper Sulfate Toxicity to Channel Catfish Fry: Yolk Sac versus Swim‐Up Fry

Abstract Yolk sac and swim-up fry from five separate spawns of channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus were exposed to dissolved copper sulfate (CuSO4) in a series of static toxicity bioassays to observe age sensitivity at 24 and 48 h in waters with two different chemistries at a temperature of 23.1 ± 0.47°C (mean ± SD). The two waters were (1) well water with a total alkalinity (as CaCO3) of 217 mg/L and a total hardness of 126 mg/L and (2) a 1:1 mixture of well water and deionized (WDI) water with a total alkalinity of 112 mg/L and a total hardness of 66 mg/L. Probit median lethal concentration (LC50) values were estimated with PoloPlus using the nominal CuSO4 concentrations. The mean 24-h LC50 values for the yolk sac fry were 62.8 ± 37.1 mg of CuSO4/L in the well water and 10.2 ± 3.4 mg/L in the WDI water; the 24-h LC50 values for the swim-up fry were 13.5 ± 11.5 mg/L in well water and 4.3 ± 4.4 mg/L in WDI water. The mean 48-h LC50 values for the yolk sac fry were 14.9 ± 5.0 mg/L in well water and 3.9 ± 1...
Ratio scales of sensory and affective verbal pain descriptors

The results of two experiments show that ratio scales of sensory and affective verbal pain descriptors are valid, reliable and objective. In the first experiment, 16 subjects rated 15 sensory and 15 affective verbal pain descriptors by numerical magnitude estimation and by cross-modality matching to handgrip force. Ratio scales of sensory and affective verbal pain descriptors computed for two separate groups were highly correlated between the groups (sensory, r = 0.97; affective, r = 0.98), as well as over session (r = 0.99, 0.98). Scales based on an individual's data correlated equally with either another set of scales from the same individual (r = 0.96, 0.98) or a mean scale from a similar group (r = 0.96, 0.89). Sensory and affective verbal descriptor scales from the first experiment correlated highly (r = 0.99, 0.99) with those from the second experiment in which 40 subjects rated verbal pain descriptors by cross-modality matching to time duration and to handgrip force. The ratio responses to the verbal descriptors in both experiments demonstrated specific functional relationships found for measurable psychophysical stimuli. This result supports the validity of cross-modality matched ratio scales of verbal stimuli. The reliability of these scales is shown by the high between-session, between-group and between-experiment correlations. The objectivity is shown by the similarity of within-subject and between-subject correlations for both group and individual descriptor scales.
Chaos and overstability in the thermal convection of viscoelastic fluids

Abstract The onset of aperiodic or chaotic behaviour in viscoelastic fluids is examined in the context of the Rayleigh-Benard thermal convection setup. A truncated Fourier representation of the conservation and constitutive equations, for an Oldroyd-B fluid, leads to a four-dimensional system that constitutes a generalization of the classical Lorenz system for a Newtonian fluid. It is found that, to the order of the present truncation and below a critical Deborah number De c , the critical Rayleigh number Ra c , for the onset of steady thermal convection does not depend on fluid elasticity or retardation. For De > De c , it is shown that steady convection does not exist, with the fluid becoming overstable instead. Fluid overstability, namely when the convective cell structure is time periodic, and which is attributed to fluid elasticity, is found to set in at a Rayleigh number that depends on the Deborah number and fluid retardation, and may be much smaller than Ra c . It is also found that fluid elasticity tends to destabilize the convective cell structure, precipitating the onset of chaotic motion, at a Rayleigh number that may be well below that corresponding to Newtonian fluids.
Current Paradigms for Metastatic Spinal Disease: An Evidence-Based Review

Management of metastatic spine disease is quite complex. Advances in research have allowed surgeons and physicians to better provide chemotherapeutic agents that have proven more efficacious. Additionally, the advancement of surgical techniques and radiosurgical implementation has altered drastically the treatment paradigm for metastatic spinal disease. Nevertheless, the physician–patient relationship, including extensive discussion with the neurosurgeon, medicine team, oncologists, radiation oncologists, and psychologists, are all critical in the evaluation process and in delivering the best possible care to our patients. The future remains bright for continued improvement in the surgical and nonsurgical management of our patients with metastatic spine disease. We include an evidence-based review of decision making strategies when attempting to determine most efficacious treatment options. Surgical treatments discussed include conventional debulking versus en bloc resection, conventional RT, and radiosurgical techniques, and minimally invasive approaches toward treating metastatic spinal disease. Surgical oncology is a diverse field in medicine and has undergone a significant paradigm shift over the past few decades. This shift in both medical and surgical management of patients with primarily metastatic tumors has largely been due to the more complete understanding of tumor biology as well as due to advances in surgical approaches and instrumentation. Furthermore, radiation oncology has seen significant advances with stereotactic radiosurgery and intensity-modulated radiation therapy contributing to a decline in surgical treatment of metastatic spinal disease. We analyze the entire spectrum of treating patients with metastatic spinal disease, from methods of diagnosis to the variety of treatment options available in the published literature.
Case report: cytokine and CD4+ T-cell profiles of monozygotic twins with autism and divergent comorbidities and drug treatment.

Autism spectrum disorders are neurodevelopmental disorders that are thought to be caused by a gene-by-environment interaction and in which various immune alterations are reported. We investigate CD4+ T-cell cytokine profiles and subpopulations in 19-year-old monozygotic twins with autism and different comorbidities. CD4+ T cells from the twin with epilepsy produce more interferon-gamma, less interleukin-17, and have an increased interferon-γ/interleukin-4 ratio. CD4+ T cells from the twin with multiple sclerosis exhibit a cytokine profile similar to an age and gender-matched control and a higher percentage of T regulatory (Treg) cells. The twins’ mother’s T cells produce very high levels of both interleukin-17 and interferon-γ. Cytokine and CD4+ T-cell abnormalities in the twins could contribute to or be a result of the manifestation of their divergent comorbidities. A proinflammatory, autoimmune-polarized cytokine profile is observed in this unique family with autism.