cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The mineralization index—A new approach to the histomorphometric appraisal of osteomalacia

The histomorphometric diagnosis of osteomalacia depends on the conjunction of two or three independent criteria but for several reasons, both clinical and pathophysiologic, it would be useful to have a single index of severity. Accordingly, using an extensive library of normal values in 143 healthy women, we constructed the mineralization index (MI), defined as [osteoid thickness (O.Th) (microm) + osteoid volume/bone volume (OV/BV) (%)] x 1.15 - osteoid mineralization rate (%/day) - [bone formation rate/bone surface (BFR/BS) (microm3/microm2/year) x 0.15]. MI was normally distributed with mean 8.0, SD 3.3, and range 0-15 (arbitrary units); it was unaffected by race, menopausal status, age or bone turnover, and was slightly lower in osteoporotic patients with nontraumatic vertebral fracture than in healthy white postmenopausal women (6.83 vs. 7.95). In hypovitaminosis D osteopathy (HVO) stage I, MI was normal in 18/26 cases (70%; HVOia), demonstrating more rigorously than before that osteoid accumulation is initially due entirely to secondary hyperparathyroidism and increased bone turnover. In the remaining 30% (HVOib), MI was increased, indicating the onset of impaired mineralization while bone formation was still increased and before the appearance of osteomalacia. In secondary hyperparathyroidism due to renal bone disease, 10/20 cases (50%) had normal MI and higher BFR than in HVOia (93 vs. 32), and there was a significant inverse correlation between MI and BFR. In patients with osteomalacia according to current criteria, MI ranged from 29.2 to 166.5; an MI of 30 had high sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of osteomalacia. Including all patients with HVO, there was a significant (P 70% suggests that vitamin D deficiency impairs mineralization by multiple mechanisms. We conclude that the MI clarifies the early effects of vitamin D deficiency on bone and the relationship between different components of renal bone disease simplifies the histologic diagnosis of osteomalacia and may contribute to its management, and explicates the mechanisms of mineralization.
Blended inquiry with hands-on and virtual laboratories: the role of perceptual features during knowledge construction

This study examined the characteristics of virtual and hands-on inquiry environments for the development of blended learning in a popular domain of bio-nanotechnology: the separation of different-sized DNA fragments using gel-electrophoresis, also known as DNA-fingerprinting. Since the latest scientific developments in nano- and micro-scale tools are based on molecular movement in electric fields, gel electrophoresis is an excellent model for learning-related concepts and processes. This study employed two environments (a 2D virtual laboratory (VRL) and a hands-on laboratory (HOL)) and documented the benefit of using VRLs to ground students' knowledge construction, before more complex, hands-on investigation. A comparative analysis explored how the perceptual features of the two learning environments supported students in designing experiments, evaluating data from experimental trials and reasoning for the mechanisms by which these data came about. The findings provide evidence for the design of blended i...
Charge response in 12C and 40Ca

Abstract The charge response for 12 C and 40 Ca in the quasi-elastic region is calculated by means of non-relativistic many-body theory. Within the continuum RPA a finite-range interaction is used which gives a proper description of the low-energy spectrum and the giant resonances. 2p2h effects are included in a phenomenological way utilizing information from the empirical optical potential. The results indicate that the main corrections to the free response are given by the mean field non-locality and the 2p2h effects. Comparisons with nuclear matter indicate the importance of finite size effects. Good agreement with experiment is found in 12 C while the theory overestimates the data in 40 Ca.
Effects of actinomycin D, amethopterin, and 5-fluro-2'-deoxyuridine on procentriole formation in Chinese hamster fibroblasts in culture.

Abstract Synchronized Chinese hamster fibroblasts (Don-C) were cultured for 6 h in the presence of amethopterin, 5-fluorodeoxyuridine (FUdR), or actinomycin D and were then examined by electron microscopy of thin sections for the presence or absence of daughter procentrioles. Control cells were at mid S phase and contained obvious procentrioles in about 1 profile out of 140. Treatment with FUdR or amethopterin did not reduce this frequency significantly. However, serial section analysis did demonstrate a lack of procentrioles in some cells treated with amethopterin. Actinomycin was quite effective in preventing daughter procentriole formation.
Expression of an endogenous asialoglycoprotein receptor in a human intestinal epithelial cell line, Caco-2

We have previously shown that rat asialoglycoprotein receptor expressed in the intestine and liver differ in mRNA size, cell surface distribution, and ratio of compositional protein subunits. In this study, we examined a well characterized intestinal epithelial cell line, Caco-2, as a potential model for studying endogenous receptor in a polarized cell line. Both subunits H1 and H2 of human asialoglycoprotein receptor were detected in Caco-2 cells by Western blots using subunit-specific antisera raised against the hepatic receptor. Antigenic receptor level in fully differentiated Caco-2 cells was approx. 1/3 to 1/2 the level of hepatic HepG2 cells H1 was the dominant subunit in both cell lines. The apparent size of H1 and H2 in Caco-2 cells was not the same as that in HepG2 cells, due to differences in N-linked glycosylation. Consistent with this finding, Northern blot analysis showed that receptor mRNA in the two cell types was of identical size. In pulse-chase experiments H1 was first detected as a 'high-mannose' precursor (40 kDa) in Caco-2 cells that was converted to mature H1 (43 kDa) with a half-life of approx. 60 min. Antigenic levels of H1 and H2 in undifferentiated Caco-2 cells were low, but increased rapidly during cell differentiation, reaching a peak level at 7 days after confluence. Immunocytochemical staining and domain-selective cell surface biotinylation assays showed that the ASGP-R was predominantly localized in the basolateral domain. The receptor in Caco-2 cells was capable of mediating specific uptake and degradation of [125I]asialoorosomucoid. The ligand uptake capacity of the basolateral surface of was approx. 10-fold higher than the apical. These characteristics (H1 subunit and basolateral predominance) of the receptor in Caco-2 cells, resembles the hepatic receptor. We conclude that Caco-2 cells endogenously express in ectopic hepatic-type functional asialoglycoprotein receptor.
Organic molecules in the gas phase of dense interstellar clouds

Since a previous Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) review on this subject, the number of molecular species identified by astronomers in dense interstellar clouds or in the envelopes expelled by evolved stars has grown from about eighty to approximately one hundred. Recent detections in stellar envelopes include the radical CP, the second phosphorus-containing astronomical molecule; SiN, the first astronomical molecule with a Si-N bond; and the HCCN radical. In the dense interstellar clouds recent detections or verifications of previous possible identifications include the H3O(+) ion, which is a critical intermediary in the production of H2O and O2; the CCO radical, which is isoelectronic with HCCN; the SO(+) ion, which appears to be diagnostic of shock chemistry; two new isomers of cyanoacetylene, HCCNC and CCCNH; and the two cumulenes H2C3 and H2C4. Some recent work is also described on the mapping of interstellar clouds in multiple molecular transitions in order to separate variations in chemical abundance from gradients in physical parameters.
One-dimensional dynamic microslip friction model

Abstract A one-dimensional dynamic microslip friction model, including the damper inertia, is presented in this paper. An analytical approach is developed to obtain the steady-state solution of the resulting nonlinear partial differential equations when subjected to harmonic excitation. In the proposed approach, according to the excitation frequency, a single mode of the system is considered in the steady-state solution for simplicity; consequently, phase difference among spatially distributed points is neglected. Three types of normal load distributions, resulting in distinct stick–slip transitions along the contact interface, are studied. The resulting hysteresis curves and the associated Fourier coefficients are obtained and compared with each other. An equivalent point contact friction model is established and compared with the proposed microslip model, illustrating the effects of partial slip in the contact interface for low amplitude or high normal load applications.
A Linear Discriminant for Gaussian Time Series

A simple linear discriminant is introduced for Gaussian time series with fixed deterministic component. It is demonstrated that the discriminant is ‘efficient’ under some general conditions. The proposed procedure is tested using some seismological data.
Proinflammatory cytokines provoke oxidative damage to actin in neuronal cells mediated by Rac1 and NADPH oxidase

Abstract The proinflammatory cytokines TNFα and Il-1β orchestrate the progression of CNS inflammation, which substantially contributes to neurodegeneration in many CNS pathologies. TNFα and Il-1β stimulate actin filament reorganization in non-neuronal cells often accompanied by the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Actin filament dynamics is vital for cellular plasticity, mitochondrial function, and gene expression despite being highly susceptible to oxidative damage. We demonstrated that, in neuronal cells, TNFα and Il-1β stimulate a transient, redox-dependent reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton into lamellipodia under the regulation of Rac1 and a neuronal NADPH oxidase as the source of ROS. The persistent presence of intracellular ROS provoked oxidative damage (carbonylation) to actin coinciding with the loss of lamellipodia and arrest of cellular plasticity. Inhibition of NADPH oxidase activity or Rac1 abolished the adverse effects of cytokines. These findings suggest that oxidative damage to the neuronal actin cytoskeleton could represent a key step in CNS neurodegeneration.
Enzyme-assisted target recycling (EATR) for nucleic acid detection.

Fast, reliable and sensitive methods for nucleic acid detection are of growing practical interest with respect to molecular diagnostics of cancer, infectious and genetic diseases. Currently, PCR-based and other target amplification strategies are most extensively used in practice. At the same time, such assays have limitations that can be overcome by alternative approaches. There is a recent explosion in the design of methods that amplify the signal produced by a nucleic acid target, without changing its copy number. This review aims at systematization and critical analysis of the enzyme-assisted target recycling (EATR) signal amplification technique. The approach uses nucleases to recognize and cleave the probe–target complex. Cleavage reactions produce a detectable signal. The advantages of such techniques are potentially low sensitivity to contamination and lack of the requirement of a thermal cycler. Nucleases used for EATR include sequence-dependent restriction or nicking endonucleases or sequence independent exonuclease III, lambda exonuclease, RNase H, RNase HII, AP endonuclease, duplex-specific nuclease, DNase I, or T7 exonuclease. EATR-based assays are potentially useful for point-of-care diagnostics, single nucleotide polymorphisms genotyping and microRNA analysis. Specificity, limit of detection and the potential impact of EATR strategies on molecular diagnostics are discussed.
Lack of efficacy of antibiotic-impregnated shunt systems in preventing shunt infections in children

Shunt infection is a common and serious complication of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunting most commonly caused by skin flora contamination at surgery. Recent studies indicate that the use of antibiotic-impregnated (AI) shunt systems may reduce the risk of postoperative shunt infections. We evaluated the incidence of shunt infections associated with the use of AI shunt catheters and compared it with the incidence associated with standard non-AI catheters. All shunt procedures performed by one surgeon using AI catheters were reviewed. An equal number of consecutive shunt procedures performed by the same surgeon using non-AI catheters were reviewed from the period immediately before the introduction of the AI system. Patients with <9 months of follow-up were excluded; all shunt infections and shunt-related complications were recorded. The proportions of infected shunts in the AI and control groups were compared using a χ 2 analysis. We reviewed 160 shunt procedures (80 per group). The infection rate was 5.0% among patients with AI catheters compared with 8.8% in the control group (P = 0.534, Fischer’s exact). The average time to infection was similar between the two groups. Among the AI group, the shunt infection rate did not differ between ventricular catheter, distal catheter revisions, and revisions of ventricular and peritoneal tubing. In contrast with other reports, we found no significant reduction in the pediatric CSF shunt infection rate with the use of AI shunt systems. Any recommendation for or against the routine use of AI systems in children requires a prospective, blinded, randomized-controlled trial with adequate power.
The Qualitative Use of Cason's One-step Triple Stain on Hydra

Cason's one-step triple stain for connective tissue yields a wide range of coloration when adapted to Hydra. Previous staining methods were either time-consuming or did not adequately contrast the mesoglea, cell types, or cell inclusions. Following Bouin's or Zenker's fixative, one observes blue mesoglea apposed to red muscle fibers. Immature cnidoblasts are a light blue color; mature ones have a dark blue capsule with red coils or barb. Epithelio-muscular droplets are blue, whereas glandulomuscular droplets as well as digestive cell inclusions are orange. Nerve cells are grey. Nuclei are pink with red nucleoli, although interstitial cells and gland cells have more purplish nuclei. Mucous cells are blue after Bouin's and light lavender after Zenker's; gland cell droplets are magneta and stain well only after Zenker's.For photography on black and white film, the use of filters is demonstrated to enhance the density of desired cell types.
Autosomal imbalance syndromes: genetic interactions and the origin of congenital malformations in aneuploidy syndromes.

In some autosomal imbalance syndromes an additional imbalance interferes with the occurrence of the anomalies typical of the syndrome itself. For example, polydactyly was found in patients with “pure” del(3p) more frequently (11/23) than in patients where these deletions were associated with different partial trisomies (2/28). The opposite situation was shown in del(7q) syndrome where various defects of the holoprosencephalic group were found to be rarer in patients with “pure” deletions, than in cases with simultaneous occurrence of various partial trisomies. It suggests the importance of gene interaction in determining the phenotypic picture of autosomal imbalance syndromes. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Shock and Awe: Rapid-Fire Theory, Some Surprising Survey Results, and Triage Statistics in an Applied Freshman Research Seminar

This article seeks to contribute to the evolving literature on the scholarship of teaching and learning. We do this by describing and then reflecting on what we have learned from a year-long freshman applied research seminar, “International Affairs Knowledge and U.S. Foreign Policy Opinions.” After surveying the literature on public opinion and U.S. foreign policy and materials on survey research and design, the students devised, pretested, administered (to 1300+ undergraduates), analyzed a survey and presented their findings. To do this, we had to provide them, in an abbreviated time frame, survey design, basic statistics as well as statistical software and work with them on how to summarize and present their findings. Their paper (Arbitter et al., 2010), in which some of their findings from the survey accord with the preexisting literature and much of it go beyond that, is one way of assessing our course. But, in this article, we discuss the ways such a course can meet many of the challenges held out to...
A hemodynamic approach to resistant hypertension.

Resistant hypertension affects a minority of treated hypertensive patients, yet the resulting target organ damage causes disproportionate morbidity and increased risk of cardiovascular events. The clinical features and efforts to adjust drug treatment in a resistant hypertensive patient are described. As demonstrated, serial hemodynamic measurements using thoracic bioimpedance may provide a rationale for selection of effective combination antihypertensive therapy.
The effect of changes in Medicare reimbursement on the practice of office and hospital‐based endoscopic surgery for bladder cancer

BACKGROUND: Procedures performed in the office offer potential cost savings. Recent analyses suggest, however, that a fee-for-service system may incentivize subscale operations and, thus, contribute to excessive spending. The authors of this report sought to characterize changes in the practice of office-based and hospital-based endoscopic bladder surgery after 2005 increases in Medicare reimbursement. METHODS: All office and hospital-based endoscopic surgeries that were performed in a faculty practice from 2002 through 2007 were identified using billing codes for procedures, diagnoses, and procedure locations and then analyzed using the chi-square test and logistic regression. Costs were estimated based on published Medicare reimbursements for office and hospital-based surgeries. RESULTS: In total, 1341 endoscopic bladder surgeries were performed, including 764 in the office and 577 in the hospital. After 2005, the odds ratio (OR) for office surgery occurring among all cystoscopies and for surgery occurring in the office versus the hospital was 2.01 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.71-2.37) and 2.29 (95% CI, 1.83-2.87), respectively. Among all treated lesions that were associated with a diagnosis of bladder cancer and nonbladder cancer, the OR for a procedure occurring in the office versus the hospital was 1.36 (95% CI, 1.07-1.73) and 1.99 (95% CI, 1.52-2.60), respectively. The likelihood of repeat surgery on the same lesion increased after 2005 (OR, 2.86; 95% CI, 1.46-5.62), and the likelihood of an office surgery leading to a bladder cancer diagnosis at the next visit declined (OR, 0.29; 95% CI, 0.16-0.51). The overall estimated expenditure increased by 50%. CONCLUSIONS: After 2005, more bladder lesions were identified and treated in the office. In a single group practice, office treatment of bladder cancer did not fully explain this new practice pattern, suggesting a lowered threshold for office intervention. Cancer 2010. © 2010 American Cancer Society.
Directed distance in digraphs: centers and medians

The directed distance dD(u, v) from a vertex u to a vertex v in a strong digraph D is the length of a shortest (directed) u - v path in D. The eccentricity of a vertex v in D is the directed distance from v to a vertex furthest from v. The distance of a vertex v in D is the sum of the directed distances from v to the vertices of D. The center C(D) of D is the subdigraph induced by those vertices of minimum eccentricity, while the median M(D) of D is the subdigraph induced by those vertices of minimum distance. It is shown that for every two asymmetric digraphs D1 and D2, there exists a strong asymmetric digraph H such that C(H) ≅ D1 and M(H) ≅ D2, and where the directed distance from C(H) to M(H) and from M(H) to C(H) can be arbitrarily prescribed. Furthermore, if K is a nonempty asymmetric digraph isomorphic to an induced subdigraph of both D1 and D2, then there exists a strong asymmetric digraph F such that C(F) ≅ D1, M(F) ≅ D2 and C(F) ∩ M(F) ≅ K. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Anaphase: A Fine-Grain Thread Decomposition Scheme for Speculative Multithreading

Industry is moving towards multi-core designs as we have hit the memory and power walls. Multi-core designs are very effective to exploit thread-level parallelism (TLP) but do not provide benefits when executing serial code (applications with low TLP, serial parts of a parallel application and legacy code). In this paper we propose Anaphase, a novel approach for speculative multithreading to improve single-thread performance in a multi-core design. The proposed technique is based on a graph partitioning technique which performs a decomposition of applications into speculative threads at instruction granularity. Moreover, the proposed technique leverages communications and pre-computation slices to deal with inter-thread dependences. Results presented in this paper show that this approach improves single-thread performance by 32% on average and up to 2.15x for some selected applications of the Spec2006 suite. In addition, the proposed technique outperforms by 21% on average schemes in which thread decomposition is performed at a coarser granularity.
Stability and structure of three-way DNA junctions containing unpaired nucleotides.

Abstract Non-paired nucleotides stabilize the formation of three-way helical DNA junctions. Two or more unpaired nucleotides located in the junction region enable oligomers ten to fifteen nucleotides long to assemble, forming conformationally homogeneous junctions, as judged by native gel electrophoresis. The unpaired bases can be present on the same strand or on two different strands. Up to five extra bases on one strand have been tested and found to produce stable junctions. The formation of stable structures is favored by the presence of a divalent cation such as magnesium and by high monovalent salt concentration. The order-disorder transition of representative three-way junctions was monitored optically in the ultraviolet and analyzed to quantify thermodynamically the stabilization provided by unpaired bases in the junction region. We report the first measurements of the thermodynamics of adding an unpaired nucleotide to a nucleic acid three-way junction. We find that delta delta G degrees (37 degrees C) = +0.5 kcal/mol for increasing the number of unpaired adenosines from two to three. Three-way junctions having reporter arms 40 base-pairs long were also prepared. Each of the three reporter arms contained a unique restriction site 15 base-pairs from the junction. Asymmetric complexes produced by selectively cleaving each arm were analyzed on native gels. Cleavage of the double helical arm opposite the strand having the two extra adenosines resulted in a complex that migrated more slowly than complexes produced by cleavage at either of the other two arms. It is likely that the strand containing the unpaired adenosines is kinked at an acute angle, forming a Y-shaped, rather than a T-shaped junction.
The Treatment of Tuberculous Pericarditis

Twenty-seven patients with clinically primary tuberculous pericarditis were treated with prolonged chemotherapy consisting of intermittent doses of streptomycin and daily doses of paraminosalicylic acid or isoniazid. Twenty-one patients did well and were symptom-free six months to three years later. Five, one of whom died, developed constrictive pericarditis. Another died of widely disseminated tuberculosis.
The effect of plutonium content on the thermal conductivity of (U, Pu)O2 solid solutions

Abstract The thermal conductivities of (U, Pu)O2 solid solutions containing up to 30 wt% PuO2 were determined from 100 to 1200 °C from measurements of thermal diffusivity. The thermal conductivity data for UO2 determined from this method were found to be in good agreement with data reported for UO2 from steady-state measurements. The thermal conductivities of the samples tested could be expressed as a function of temperature by relationships of the form λ = (A+BT)−1. An increase in the PuO2 content was observed to result in a small but systematic decrease in the thermal conductivities of the solid solutions. The results of this study are consistent with a simplified theory of lattice defect thermal resistance in dielectric solids in which the uranium and plutonium atoms mutually act as phonon scattering centers. Calculations based on this theory indicate that the thermal conductivity of (U, Pu)O2 solid solutions is a minimum at approximately 70 wt% PuO2.
Experiments with random projections for machine learning

Dimensionality reduction via Random Projections has attracted considerable attention in recent years. The approach has interesting theoretical underpinnings and offers computational advantages. In this paper we report a number of experiments to evaluate Random Projections in the context of inductive supervised learning. In particular, we compare Random Projections and PCA on a number of different datasets and using different machine learning methods. While we find that the random projection approach predictively underperforms PCA, its computational advantages may make it attractive for certain applications.
Effective interactions for 208Pb + p reactions☆

Abstract RPA hole-particle wave functions for the lowest 2 + and 3 − states in 208 Pb were used to test the validity of effective nucleon-nucleon interactions for (p, p') excitations. Excellent agreement with experiment was obtained for the long-range part of the Hamada-Johnston S-state potential. Equally good agreement was found for the elastic scattering from 208 Pb and the (p, n) transition to the analog state. It was found to be important to include an imaginary part in the interaction. The transitions to the two excited states of 208 Pb were found to be almost pure isoscalar, but the transitions are dominated by the neutron excitations.
Aphidicolin-resistant Chinese hamster ovary cells possess altered DNA polymerases of the α-family

DNA polymerases alpha, delta and epsilon were partially purified and characterized from a wild type Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell line and from two aphidicolin-resistant mutant CHO cell lines (BR5 and BR5-20a). The main characteristics of the wild type and mutant DNA polymerases were compared in order to reveal differences in the properties of these enzymes responsible for the aphidicolin resistance of the mutant cell lines. Pol alpha's of the mutant cells show: (1) in vitro aphidicolin-resistance, (2) 1.5-3-fold lower specific activity than that of the wild type, (3) resistance to cytosine and adenosine arabinofuranoside 5'-triphosphate (araCTP and araATP), (4) altered resistance to carbonyldiphosphonate (COMDP) and to alkylphenyl nucleotide analogs (butylphenyl-dGTP and butylanilino-dATP), and (5) lower activity on poly(dA)/oligo(dT) template-primers. These changes in the biochemical properties of this enzyme may result from a mutation in pol alpha gene. Pol epsilon and delta of the mutant cells did not differ from the wild type enzymes with respect to aphidicolin resistance. However, the specific activities of these mutant enzymes were much higher (1.5 to 8-fold for pol epsilon and 4 to 20-fold for pol delta) in comparison to that of the wild type enzymes. Also in comparison to the wild type enzymes, the mutant pol epsilon showed changes in the template-primer preference; whereas the mutant pol delta was found to have altered sensitivity to other inhibitors. These results indicate that pol epsilon and pol delta are also altered as a secondary effect of mutation in the aphidicolin-resistant cells. It is suggested that these altered properties of the DNA pols of the alpha family are responsible for the in vivo aphidicolin resistance of the mutant cells.
Molecular-Dynamics Study of Grain-Boundary Migration in Metals

The migration of a (100) {Theta} = 43.6{degree} ({Sigma}29) twist grain boundary is observed during the course of a molecular-dynamics (MD) simulation. The migration is investigated by calculating changes in the planar structure factor S{sub p}(k), the orientation of interparticle bonds in the migrating plane, and the motion of the center of mass planes near the grain boundary. It is found that (a) migration is accompanied by sliding, and (b) each migration step consists of a series of local bond rearrangements. It appears that, as a precursor to migration, Frenkel-like defects are produced at the grain boundary. 6 refs., 5 figs.
An Improved Method for Computing Wellbore Position Uncertainty and its Application to Collision and Target Intersection Probability Analysis

As modern drilling projects continue to include increased use of extended-reach wellbores directed to smaller targets, the need for an accurate assessment of uncertainty in bottom-hole location is becoming increasingly critical. Incorrect assessment of the probability of intersecting the target can lead to an equally incorrect assessment of the viability of the project. Most published methods for computing wellbore position uncertainty are based on the analysis of systematic errors in inclination, azimuth and measured depth. The underpinning of such analyses is that these various error terms are uncorrelated constants, but this assumption may not always be justified. The technique has therefore been generalized to make use of more fundamental input error terms. and to take account of the probabilistic nature of such terms, thereby calculating an ellipsoidal probability field for each point along the well. Examples are presented which illustrate the advantages of this method, including the ability to take into account the rotation of an electronic magnetic survey instrument such as an MWD tool. When one survey tool is followed in the hole by another, some error terms may behave in a systematic fashion across the tie-on point while others combine randomly. Since the computed uncertainty in bottom-hole location depends on the degree of correlation between one set of errors and the next, a flexible means is suggested for accommodating such tie-ons. Since a probability can be assigned to the hypothesis that a point in a planned or drilled wellbore occupies a given volume of space, this method can also be used to determine the probability that a particular point in the well might intersect an adjacent wellbore or an arbitrary target volume. This makes possible improved computation of the probabilities of wellbore collision or target penetration.
Closed-Loop Optimal Guidance and Control of Quadrotor Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

This paper presents an optimal feedback control algorithm for simultaneous guidance and control of a quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The proposed algorithm implements a closed-loop feedback approach via rapid re-computation, update, and execution of a sequence of open-loop optimal control trajectories. At each update, the optimal control problem is solved using the pseudospectral (PS) optimal control theory. Besides enabling online generation of maneuver trajectories that minimize a given performance index, the proposed approach allows realistic dynamic and control constraints to be included as part of the problem formulation. This ensures that the computed system state trajectories and corresponding controls are realizable in practice. Simulation results demonstrate how the proposed control scheme enables the UAV to complete its mission in the presence of a typical exogenous disturbance, without reliance on a conventional inner-loop trajectory tracking controller.
Institutions for Interstate Water Resources Management1

This paper evaluates alternative approaches to management of interstate water resources in the United States (U.S.), including interstate compacts, interstate associations, federal-state partnerships, and federal-interstate compacts. These governance structures provide alternatives to traditional federalism or U.S. Supreme Court litigation for addressing problems that transcend political boundaries and functional responsibili- ties. Interstate compacts can provide a forum for ongoing collaboration and are popular mechanisms for allocating water rights among the states. Federal-interstate compacts, such as the Delaware River Basin Compact and federal-state partnerships, such as the National Estuary Program, are also effective and complementary approaches to managing water resources. However, all of these approaches can only make modest improvements in managing water resources given the complicated and fragmented nature of our federalist system of government.
Learning of perceptual similarity from expert readers for mammogram retrieval

Image retrieval relies critically on the similarity measure used to compare a query image to a target image in a database. In this work, we explore a similarity measure for mammogram retrieval based on supervised learning from expert readers. This approach is evaluated using data collected from an observer study with a set of clinical mammograms. Our results demonstrate that the proposed machine learning approach can be used to model the notion of similarity as judged by expert readers in their interpretation of mammogram images and that it can outperform alternative similarity measures derived from unsupervised learning.
Three-coordinated boron-11 chemical shifts in borates.

Despite the importance of 11B nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) in structural studies of borate glasses, no clear means of correlating NMR parameters with the number of nonbridging oxygens on three-coordinate boron has been demonstrated. In this work, a series of anhydrous, polycrystalline, binary borates has been examined by 11B magic-angle spinning (MAS) NMR to obtain precise measurements of their three-coordinate boron isotropic chemical shifts. The shifts generally increase with the replacement of bridging oxygens by nonbridging oxygens, ranging from 14.6 ppm in crystalline B2O3 to 22.5 ppm in magnesium orthoborate. The underlying physical basis for this trend is satisfactorily accounted for by considering second neighbor effects using bond valence sums. These data are supportive of a structural model for B2O3 glass in which 72% of the boron atoms are in rings. High-field MAS NMR experiments (B0 = 18.8 T) indicate that the boron shielding is anisotropic, with greater anisotropy measured for three-coord...
The thermal spallation drilling process

Abstract Holes can be produced in very hard rock more easily and less expensively by thermal spallation than by conventional means. This drilling process has been used for producing blast holes in taconite iron mines and for quarrying granite. It is potentially valuable for drilling holes in very hard rock for the exploitation of geothermal energy and the storage of various commodities. However, investigation and development of the thermal spallation drilling process is proceeding slowly.
Embodying Black Experience: Stillness, Critical Memory, and the Black Body

Young, Harvey. Embodying Black Experience: Stillness, Critical Memory, and the Black Body. Ann Arbor: U P of Michigan P, 2010. 259 pp. $32.50 (paperback) Harvey Young frames his history and analysi...
Beliefs About What Works in Juvenile Rehabilitation: The Influence of Attitudes on Support for “Get Tough” and Evidence-Based Interventions

Throughout the past half century, public sentiment about sentencing of offenders has vacillated between rehabilitative and punitive goals. Whether these shifting positions are influenced by actual knowledge regarding program effectiveness or merely reflect underlying attitudes is unknown. The current study used an online survey to examine college students' (N = 130) judgments about the effectiveness of different interventions for juvenile offenders. Results indicated that participants rated three popular but empirically unsupported (get tough) programs as being equally effective as four empirically validated treatments. However, personal attitudes were a strong moderator of program effectiveness ratings. For example, those endorsing rehabilitative goals were more likely to rate empirically supported interventions as effective. A punishment orientation was associated with endorsement of get tough programs. Possible follow-up studies include evaluating the connection between attitudes and program effectiveness knowledge, examining the impact of educational interventions, and conducting replications with justice professionals and community leaders.
A Look at the Pediatrician as Parent: Experiences with the Introduction of Varicella Vaccine

Many physicians voiced reservations about routine use of the varicella vaccine for healthy children after its licensing in 1995. Anecdotal evidence suggested that some pediatricians who were parents themselves were electing not to vaccinate their own children against chickenpox. Little has been written about pediatrician-parents' behaviors in caring for their own children, and how these practices may differ from the behavior that these same pediatricians apply in practice. Pediatricians' tacit attitudes toward medical interventions might be better understood from their behaviors as parents than from their clinical practices, which may be influenced by a sense of responsibility to follow guidelines of professional organizations. Varicella vaccination practices were examined to determine whether pediatricians' behaviors in parenting their own children differed from their recommendations for their patients. A mail survey was sent to 1,762 New York State pediatricians selected randomly from the membership directory of the American Academy of Pediatrics. The response rate was 43% (764/1,762); 63% of responding pediatricians were parents. Eighty-five percent of pediatricians recommended varicella vaccine routinely in practice. Of the pediatricians' own eligible children, 88% (256/291) had been vaccinated against chickenpox. We found a high overall rate of compliance with recommendations for routine use of varicella vaccine. Pediatricians who were parents were just as likely as nonparent pediatricians to recommend the vaccine routinely for their patients. Importantly, pediatrician-parents demonstrated no "double standard"; at the time of the study, 88% of pediatricians' own eligible children had been vaccinated against varicella.
Nurse care manager collaboration with community-based physicians providing diabetes care: a randomized controlled trial.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the potential value of close collaboration at the office level of a nurse care manager with community-based primary care physicians in the care of adult patients with type 2 diabetes, particularly those physicians not affiliated with an integrated care system that some managed care organizations provide. Methods Patients with type 2 diabetes were recruited from the general population of a large metropolitan area. Each received a comprehensive evaluation of his or her diabetes with results reported to patients and their physicians (basic intervention). A random one-half of patients were additionally assigned to individual counseling, problem identification, care planning, and management recommendations by a nurse care manager (individualized intervention). The patients receiving only the basic intervention served as the control group to those receiving the individualized intervention. Re-evaluation of all patients at 6 months after their entry into the study determined the effectiveness of the nurse-directed individualized intervention using A1C, blood pressure, and cholesterol as outcome measures. Results Of 220 patients recruited, 197 had type 2 diabetes, randomly assigned only the basic intervention (102 patients) or individualized intervention (95 patients). Postintervention data were obtained on 164 patients (83%). Significant improvement occurred in mean systolic blood pressure and A1C of all patients in the individualized but not the basic intervention only group. Patients with a systolic blood pressure>or=130 mm Hg at baseline showed improvement if they had more than 2 contacts with the study nurse but not if they had less than 2 contacts. Conclusions A nurse care manager collaborating at the office level with community-based primary care physicians can enhance the care provided to adult patients with type 2 diabetes. For those many physicians not affiliated with an integrated care system featured by some managed care organizations, this collaboration could underlie a team approach (nurse/patient/physician) for the ambulatory patient with diabetes that would be an essential element in a chronic disease model of care for diabetes at the community level.
The use of multiple wall probes to identify coherent flow patterns in the viscous wall region

Multiprobe techniques were used to study the coherent flow-oriented eddy pattern that exists close to a wall in a turbulent flow. Simultaneous measurements of the spanwise component sz of the fluctuating wall velocity gradient at a number of locations in the spanwise direction were used to detect different aspects of the secondary flows that are superimposed on the mean flow. Conditionally averaged measurements of the streamwise component of the wall velocity gradient and of the streamwise component of the velocity at a number of locations on a line perpendicular to the wall show how the streamwise velocity fluctuations are related to the eddy structure, as detected by the sz(z) variation.The results are consistent with the suggestion by Sirkar & Hanratty (1970a) that the flow-oriented eddies are approximately homogeneous in the flow direction and, on average, have inflows and outflows of equal magnitude coupled in the spanwise direction; i.e. they may be modelled, on average, by a sinusoidal sz(z) variation with dimensionless wavelength λ+ = 100. The results are also consistent with explanations by Fortuna and Hanratty (see Fortuna 1971; Hanratty, Chorn & Hatziavramidis 1977) and by Hatziavramidis & Hanratty (1979) of how these secondary flows are affecting momentum transport to the wall.
Impact of Flooding on the Species Richness, Density and Composition of Amazonian Litter-Nesting Ants

Litter-nesting ants are diverse and abundant in tropical forests, but the factors structuring their communities are poorly known. Here we present results of the first study to examine the impact of natural variation in flooding on a highly diverse (21 genera, 77 species) litter-nesting ant community in a primary Amazonian forest. Fifty-six 3 × 3 m plots experiencing strong variation in flooding and twenty-eight 3 × 3 m terra firme plots were exhaustively searched for litter-nesting ants to determine patterns of density, species richness and species composition. In each plot, flooding, litter depth, twig availability, canopy cover, plant density, percent soil nitrogen, carbon, and phosphorus were measured. Degree of flooding, measured as flood frequency and flood interval, had the strongest impact on ant density in flooded forest. Flooding caused a linear decrease in ant abundance, potentially due to a reduction of suitable nesting sites. However, its influence on species richness varied: low-disturbance habitat had species richness equal to terra firme forest after adjusting for differences in density. The composition of ant genera and species varied among flood categories; some groups known to contain specialist predators were particularly intolerant to flooding. Hypoponera STD10 appeared to be well-adapted to highly flooded habitat. Although flooding did not appear to increase species richness or abundance at the habitat scale, low-flooding habitat contained a mixture of species found in the significantly distinct ant communities of terra firme and highly flooded habitat.
Heritability, Fecundity, and Sexual Size Dimorphism in Four Species of Bark Beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae)

ABSTRACT Body size is a key biological trait frequently used to assess fitness. Variation in body size stems from genetic and environmental factors and can have strong affects on reproduction. Here, we quantify narrow-sense heritability of size, fecundity, and sexual size dimorphism in four bark beetle species across two genera: Ips pini (Say), Ips lecontei Swaine, Dendroctonus frontalis Zimmermann, and Dendroctonus brevicomis LeConte. For each species, we conducted rearing experiments pairing parents of large or small size classes and measuring body length of all progeny. There was significant narrow-sense heritability of body size in Ips, but not Dendroctonus. Male parent size in I. pini, I. lecontei, and D. frontalis was positively correlated with progeny production and female parent size was positively correlated with gallery length in I. pini, D. frontalis, and D. brevicomis. All species exhibited sexual size dimorphism (SSD), with males being larger than females (male-biased SSD) in Ips and females ...
Guoguo: enabling fine-grained indoor localization via smartphone

Using smartphones for accurate indoor localization opens a new frontier of mobile services, offering enormous opportunities to enhance users' experiences in indoor environments. Despite significant efforts on indoor localization in both academia and industry in the past two decades, highly accurate and practical smartphone-based indoor localization remains an open problem. To enable indoor location-based services (ILBS), there are several stringent requirements for an indoor localization system: highly accurate that can differentiate massive users' locations (foot-level); no additional hardware components or extensions on users' smartphones; scalable to massive concurrent users. Current GPS, Radio RSS (e.g. WiFi, Bluetooth, ZigBee), or Fingerprinting based solutions can only achieve meter-level or room-level accuracy. In this paper, we propose a practical and accurate solution that fills the long-lasting gap of smartphone-based indoor localization. Specifically, we design and implement an indoor localization ecosystem Guoguo. Guoguo consists of an anchor network with a coordination protocol to transmit modulated localization beacons using high-band acoustic signals, a realtime processing app in a smartphone, and a backend server for indoor contexts and location-based services. We further propose approaches to improve its coverage, accuracy, and location update rate with low-power consumption. Our prototype shows centimeter-level localization accuracy in an office and classroom environment. Such precise indoor localization is expected to have high impact in the future ILBS and our daily activities.
Expert knowledge as mnemonic cues

It is proposed that expert knowledge can operate as a cognitive cueing structure for the acquisition and retention of new information in memory. Two experiments are reported which demonstrate that expert knowledge about football and clothing can act as mnemonic cues for the recall of information newly associated with that knowledge. In Experiment 1 expert terms from the domains of football and clothing and those neutral nouns paired with them were both better recalled by experts than by non-experts. In Experiment 2 passages containing information contrary to factual knowledge about football and clothing were recalled better by experts than by non-experts, in spite of the fact that information in the passages contradicted what the experts already knew. The results of the two experiments were interpreted as showing that expert knowledge provides mental cues that have desirable mnemonic properties such as constructibility, associability, discriminability and invertibility. Also, the interpretation of expert knowledge as a cognitive cueing structure is compared to Ausubel's ideas regarding advance organizers.