cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of a novel laparoscopic simulation laboratory curriculum.

Background Simulation training may be an invaluable tool in training and assessing surgeons. Questions remain regarding its true impact on acquisition of laparoscopic skills and their transferability to the operating room. Methods Twenty general surgery residents completed 5 exercises: bean drop/rope drill, foam cutting/endoloop, checkerboard, endostitch, and suturing/intracorporeal knot. After baseline scoring, residents had 3 weeks to practice before re-testing. Statistical analysis of objective and subjective scores included the signed rank test or paired t-test, the Kruskal-Walis test, the McNemar test, and the Global Operative Assessment of Laparoscopic Skills (GOALS). P Results Five postgraduate year (PGY) 4 and 15 PGY 1–3 residents completed the curriculum. When compared with baseline, overall scores improved (P Conclusion The results of this study reinforce that simulation leads to improvement in laparoscopic skills and that our curriculum is a valid educational tool. Further studies are needed to validate whether this results in improved skills in the operating room.
Ring-opening metathesis polymerization of phosphazene-functionalized norbornenes

Ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) of phosphazene-functionalized norbornenes was demonstrated with the use of (PCy3)2Cl2RuCHPh as catalyst (where Cy = cyclohexyl). This allowed the incor...
X-ray crystal structure ofcis-H(Ph3Si)Pt[Ph2P(CH2)4PPh2] ·0.5 C6H6

The title compound, cis-hydrido(triphenylsilyl)-1,4-butanediyl-bis-(diphenylphosphine)platinum(II) (I), crystallizes in the monoclinic space groupP21/n (No. 14) witha=9.472(4),b=16.924(5),c=25.799(4) A, β=91.29(3)° andZ=4. The structure was solved using the direct methods and refined by the full-matrix least-squares procedure to yield residuals ofR=0.024 andRw=0.025 based on 4160 unique reflections. The square-planar geometry about the Pt atom is angularly distorted with P(1)−Pt−P(2) and Si−Pt−P(2) angles of 103.5(1) and 102.1(1)°, respectively. The Pt−P(1) bond is longer than the Pt−P(2) bond due to thetrans influence of the SiPh3 group. Distortion due to steric bulk of the ligands is accommodated by the opening of the tetrahedral angles at the silicon and phosphorous atoms.
Persistent Oxidative Stress Due to Absence of Uncoupling Protein 2 Associated with Impaired Pancreatic β-Cell Function

Uncoupling protein (UCP) 2 is a widely expressed mitochondrial protein whose precise function is still unclear but has been linked to mitochondria-derived reactive oxygen species production. Thus, the chronic absence of UCP2 has the potential to promote persistent reactive oxygen species accumulation and an oxidative stress response. Here, we show that Ucp2-/- mice on three highly congenic (N >10) strain backgrounds (C57BL/6J, A/J, 129/SvImJ), including two independently generated sources of Ucp2-null animals, all exhibit increased oxidative stress. Ucp2-null animals exhibit a decreased ratio of reduced glutathione to its oxidized form in blood and tissues that normally express UCP2, including pancreatic islets. Islets from Ucp2-/- mice exhibit elevated levels of numerous antioxidant enzymes, increased nitrotyrosine and F4/80 staining, but no change in insulin content. Contrary to results in Ucp2-/- mice of mixed 129/B6 strain background, glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in Ucp2-/- islets of each congenic strain was significantly decreased. These data show that the chronic absence of UCP2 causes oxidative stress, including in islets, and is accompanied by impaired glucose-stimulated insulin secretion.
Occupational differences and the division of labor in political party activities

Abstract Robert Dahl (1961) clearly identifies a division of labor within political associations that allows the organization to perform its functions in a “reliable” and “skillful” manner. According to Dahl, the division of labor is facilitated by an occupational based recruitment of party “leaders” and “subleaders”. This article examines such a division of labor in political parties activities at both the grassroots and convention levels. We find strong evidence for a division of labor in party activities at both levels. However, our findings provide only tenuous evidence for occupation based differences among those participating in these two distinct types of party activities.
Preparation of thin epitaxial YBCO films by ablation using fourth harmonics of Nd:YAG laser

Abstract We have grown high-quality YBCO epitaxial films with c-axis orientation on MgO(100) and SrTiO 3 (100) crystalline substrates by pulsed laser deposition method using the fourth harmonics of Nd:YAG laser. The deposition conditions are followings: substrate temperature T s =760°C, oxygen pressure P o =50Pa, laser frequency v=1Hz, and laser energy density σ=1J/cm 2 /pulse, which differ slightly from those of excimer laser. Those conditions originate from the feature of YAG laser which has a smaller pulse width and a higher peak-energy than that of excimer laser.
Predictors of neurosurgical career choice among residents and residency applicants.

OBJECTIVE: Medical students applying for neurosurgery residency positions almost all aspire to become academic neurosurgeons. However, most graduates of neurosurgery residency programs ultimately follow careers in private practice. We hypothesized that there might be factors in a resident's application, interviews, or performance during residency that might predict this change in career orientation. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the applications, interview evaluations, and residency performance reviews of graduates from the Neurological Surgery program at the University of California, San Francisco and examined factors that might correlate with their career choices. RESULTS: Between 1968 and 2003, 69 neurosurgical residents graduated from the residency program. Of the 54 respondents (78%), 25 (46%) held academic positions and 29 (54%) were in private practice. None of the application data correlated with career choice, and no significant differences in interview scores were observed between academic and private practitioners. Board scores, publications, presentations, and awards received during residency were not predictive of practice orientation. Favorable evaluations during the junior (P = 0.04) and chief residency (P = 0.03) years and pursuit of a subspecialty fellowship (P = 0.006) were predictive. CONCLUSION: Honest discussion between residents and faculty about the choice between academic and private practice careers may be as informative as the three identified predictors of residents' career orientation. Academic faculty members can encourage communication by discouraging the perception that a resident's education might be compromised if he or she expresses interest in private practice rather than academic neurosurgery. Open communication on this issue might enable faculty mentors to actively advise residents in their career decisions and improve the residents' educational environment.
SU‐E‐T‐496: Dosimetric Comparison between Protons and Photons in the Field Junction in Craniospinal Irradiation (CSI)

Purpose: In this study, we investigated the dosimetry in the moving gap region in proton CSI for various combinations of field junction widths and feathering step sizes. We have also compared the dosimetry in the field junction between proton and photon beams. Methods: Dose profiles for two proton ranges, 11.6cm and 16cm, both with 10cm SOBP for the 30cm snout are used. Feathering of the junction is simulated by shifting the profiles by two successive steps. Three junction widths (0, 2, 4mm) and two feathering step sizes (5, 10 mm) are investigated. Similar simulations (but also include larger gap widths due to larger penumbra) are performed for 6 and 15 MV x‐ rays. Dose profiles at the field junctions are then compared for the proton and photon fields for various gaps and feathering step sizes. Results: For protons, full dose is achieved in the field junction for 0mm gap for both 5mm and 10mm featherings. However, with even a 2mm gap, the dose falls to below 90% in the moving gap due to the steep proton penumbra. For photons, even 4mm gap still results in >90% dose in the moving gap due to the large penumbra and the ‘tail’ in the profiles. Despite the different dose characteristics, it is possible to produce similar dose profiles in the moving gap for proton and photon fields by varying the gap and the feathering sizes for photon fields. Conclusion: Full dose can be safely achieved in the junction by ‘hot‐matching’ the spine and the brain fields in proton CSI and feathering the junctions. The steep proton penumbra results in a large dose gradient even with 2mm gap between fields. It is possible to produce similar dosimetry in the junction with photon CSI. The difference is that there is no exit dose with protons.
Clinical Risk Factors Associated with Parasuicide in Prison

The study was conducted to identify risk factors associated with parasuicide in a state prison setting that might provide direction and focus for prevention. A proposed model tested the ability of current clinical and background variables to predict parasuicide during incarceration among male inmates. Psychiatric history, symptomatology, and psychological functioning variables affected parasuicide directly and indirectly through their contribution to suicidal ideation. Among inmates with histories of alcohol abuse, however, hopelessness was a less significant predictor of parasuicide, suggesting that interaction effects may warrant more attention.
Characterization of a spatial gradient of nitrogen dioxide across a United States-Mexico border city during winter.

Abstract A gradient of ambient nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) concentration is demonstrated across metropolitan El Paso, Texas (USA), a city located on the international border between the United States and Mexico. Integrated measurements of NO 2 were collected over 7 days at 20 elementary schools and 4 air quality monitoring stations located throughout the city during typical winter atmospheric conditions. Replicate passive monitors were co-located with chemiluminescence analyzers at the monitoring stations for two consecutive 7-day periods. The passive measurements correlated with the analyzer measurements ( R 2 =0.74) with precision of 2.5±2.2 ppb. Nitrogen dioxide concentrations ranged from 11.0 to 37.5 ppb (mean 20.6±7.1 ppb). In a multivariate regression model, the site elevation and distances to a main highway and to an international port of entry from Mexico explained 81% of the variance in the passive measurements. The results of this pilot study indicate that proximity to vehicle-related sources of NO 2 and site elevation are key predictors for future, more detailed assessments of vehicle-related air pollution exposure in the El Paso region.
Mixture of logistic models and an ensemble approach for protein-protein interaction extraction

Automatic extraction of protein-protein interaction (PPI) information from scientific literature is important for building PPI databases, studying biological networks and discovering new biological knowledge through automatic hypothesis generation. In this paper, we present a new method for PPI extraction based on a mixture of logistic models. The method automatically clusters interaction words (words that describe the interactions of protein pairs) into groups with similar grammatical properties. Logistic models are fitted for each cluster of interaction words. Directionality of interactions is an essential piece of information for many protein interactions and important for building directed biological networks. Most of current PPI extraction methods do not extract the directional information of interactions. This is in part due to the lack of specific corpora with directionality information annotated. We introduce a new corpus, PICAD, for evaluating PPI extraction tools that includes directional annotation. The corpus is available at http://stat.fsu.edu/~jinfeng/resources/PICAD.txt. In addition, we propose an ensemble approach using logistic regression, Bayesian Networks, and SVM for identifying PPIs. We show that using an ensemble of classifiers allows us to capture different features in the text and report an F-measure of 75.7% using our new corpus.
Evaluation of complex systems

Abstract A new process is introduced for evaluating systems. Criteria are represented as a hierarchy of functions or, at a policy level, a hierarchy of policy positions. The system to be evaluated is represented as a hierarchy of its components. Elements of the system are scored against criteria using a bidirectional scale with provision for degrees of both support and obstruction. Assessment values for lowest-level elements are calculated using a series algorithm that relates composite scores uniquely to the scoring scale. Values for categories within both hierarchies are calculated from element values below them, with results presented graphically, in color.
What's in a Face? The Social Character of the English Bulldog

The English Bulldog is introduced as a cultural product through ethnographic description. Its peculiar physiology relates to its social meanings and three categories of the dog are discerned: show dogs, celebrities, and pets. Each type of dog embodies a selective character, which is depicted and then analyzed in terms of ambiguous semantic categories. As a cultural product, the Bulldog is a living symbol of ambiguous relationships between society and nature. In the context of everyday life, it provides an occasion for understanding these relationships.
Relationship between serum cholinesterase activity and the change in body temperature and motor activity in the rat: A dose-response study of diisopropyl fluorophosphate

Risk assessment of the neurotoxicology of organophosphate (OP) pesticides calls for a thorough understanding of the relationship between tissue cholinesterase (ChE) activity and changes in behavioral and autonomic responses to OP treatment. To address this issue, motor activity, core and skin temperature, and serum ChE activity were measured 2 h after rats of the Long-Evans strain were treated with the OP, diisopropyl fluorophosphate (DFP) at a dose of 0, 0.1, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1.0, 1.25, and 1.5 mg/kg (SC). DFP doses > or = 0.25 mg/kg led to significant decreases in serum ChE activity, whereas doses of > or = 0.5 mg/kg caused reductions in motor activity and body temperature. The highest dose of DFP caused an increase in tail skin temperature, indicating an elevation in skin blood flow. A hockey stick regression analysis was used to determine threshold inhibition in ChE activity associated with depressions in motor activity and colonic temperature. The threshold serum ChE activity, relative to controls for inhibition of motor activity and reduction in body temperature was 46%. A wide range in individual motor activity and colonic temperature responses was noted when the inhibition in ChE activity exceeded threshold levels. This may be indicative of marked genetic variability to ChE inhibition. That is, rats appear to be either responsive or unresponsive when subjected to extreme inhibition in ChE activity. This pattern has been reported in other rodents and may represent a fundamental aspect of ChE toxicity.
High-performance packaging of gigabit data communication optical modules

Packaging technology is described for the DM-1062 gigabit optical module. This module is the IBM offering to comply with ANSI XT39.3 Fiber Channel Standard (FCS) for 1.0625 Gb/s optoelectronic transceiver with integrated serializer/deserializer functions. Performance data for this module is discussed as well as extensions of this technology to lower cost optical devices.
Glass crust on intratelluric phenocrysts in volcanic ash as a measure of eruptive violence

A comparison of each of the volumes of nine deposits of airborne volcanic ash from the Coatepeque Volcano in El Salvador, Central America to the amount of glass crust adhering to intratelluric phenocrysts shows an inverse relationship. As violence, volume, and eruptive abrasion increase, glass crusts decrease. The eruptive violence of a prehistoric eruption and the original volume of ash can thus be calculated from glass-to-crystal ratios observed in erosional remnants.
Salt- and sequence-dependence of the secondary structure of DNA in solution by 31P-NMR spectroscopy.

We examined three sonicated, specific-seqiemce polydeoxynucleotides in solution over a wide range of concentrations of several salts by 13P-nmr spectroscopy, and we found that the alternating copolymer poly(dAdT)·poly(dAdT) exhibits a dinucleotide repeat unit in all five salts and at all concentrations studied, as indicated by the presence of a doubled in its 31P-nmr spectra. The two components of the doublet show selective shift effects. The upfield component is assigned to dApdT in the gauche−-gauche− conformation and shifts upfield in all four monovalent salts used, relative to a single-stranded oligonucleotide control. The downfield component is assigned to dTpdA in the trans-gauche− conformation and shifts downfield with increasing CsF concentration but remains essentially constant in LiCl, NaCl, and CsCl. These changes indicate a fast noncooperative transition for poly(dAdT)·poly-(dAdT) from a presumed right-handed dinucleotide-repeat B-form to another conformation with a dinucleotide-repeat structure, via a continuum of structures that may differ in the extent of the winding of the double helix. Ethanol causes the upfield component to collapse into the other component, indicating conversion to a structure with a mononucleotide repeat unit and a trans-gauche− conformation. Up to 1M Mg2+ appears to have no significant effect on the phosphodiester conformations of poly(dAdT)·poly(dAdT). By contrast, poly-(dGdC)·poly(dGdC) gives a slow cooperative transition from what is considered to be a right-handed regular B-form to a left-handed Z-form on increasing MgCl2 and NaCl concentrations, although we observed no changes in chemical shifts below the transition points. The homopolymer poly(dA)·poly(dT) exhibits no unusual shift effects or transitions upon the addition of salts when compared to the oligonucleotide control and is considered to be a regular B-form with a gauche−-gauche− phosphodiester backbone conformation. These differences emphasize the distinct secondary structures of DNAs of different sequences and their selective responses to changes in solution conditions.
Early prediction of attachment security: A multivariate approach

This study was designed to explore the possibility that variations in attachment security exhibited by infants in the Ainsworth Strange Situation at 13 months could be predicted from the behovior of mothers ond infants in an analogous preseparation, separotion and reunion situation at 7 months, when specific attachments begin to emerge. Data obtoined on a large sample of 7-month-old infonts and their mothers were subjected to factor analyses to identify important variables and interrelationships. Bosed on these analyses, variobles were incorporated into multiple discriminont function analyses of a subsample of infants, with infant attachment classification at 13 months as the criterion. The results suggest that a) attachment security at the end of the first year can be significantly predicted from a brief observation of mother-infant interaction at seven months; b) predictability is influenced by observational context (e.g., preseporotion vs reunion); ond c) multivariate procedures ore useful in detecting relotionships and continuities among attachment indices.
Seizure outcome of intractable partial epilepsy in children

The intractable partial epilepsy outcome information is important in determining not only when epilepsy surgery evaluation should begin but also in deciding who would benefit and what is the likelihood of any benefit from surgery. Medical records of 50 children diagnosed with nontumor-related partial seizures, confirmed by video-electroencephalography (video-EEG), had at least one seizure per week and were followed for at least 2 consecutive years after video-EEGs were reviewed. There were 30 patients who continued with antiepileptic drug treatment after video-EEG. The seizure outcome analysis revealed a significant improvement of seizure control in the first year of follow-up but no difference between the first year and the following 3 years. Only 30% had excellent long-term outcome (seizure free or less than one seizure per 6 months). The presence of focal lesions on neuroimaging was the only risk factor of poor outcome. The other 20 patients underwent epilepsy surgery after video-EEG; 60% attained excellent outcome despite the fact that 90% had focal neuroimaging abnormality. Children whose partial epilepsy remained intractable after 1 year of antiepileptic drug treatment should be evaluated for candidacy of epilepsy surgery, particularly those who have focal lesions on neuroimaging.
What affects the rate of gypsy moth (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) spread: winter temperature or forest susceptibility?

The effect of winter temperature and forest susceptibility on the rate of gypsy moth Lymantria dispar (L.) range expansion in the lower peninsula of Michigan was analysed using historical data on moth counts in a grid of pheromone-baited traps collected from 1985 to 1994 by the Michigan Department of Agriculture. The rate of spread was measured by the distance between population boundaries in consecutive years. Boundaries were estimated for population thresholds of 1, 3, 10, 30, and 100 moths per trap using a polar coordinate system. 2 The average rate of spread estimated using all population thresholds was 15.8 km/yr. 3 The rate of spread was higher in the northern part of the lower peninsula than in the southern part, despite lower minimum January temperatures in the north. 4 The rate of spread was positively correlated with forest susceptibility, which was higher in the north than in the south.
Message Error in Diversity Frequency-Shift Reception

Diversity methods are used to reduce receiving errors caused by carrier fading; for a keyed signal, such errors are easily specified in terms of the binary error. The attainable reduction in error depends upon the type of diversity selection used at the receiver. Several selection methods are examined, and the binary error is calculated for each, assuming narrow-band FSK transmission, fluctuation noise interference, and a Rayleigh distribution of carrier amplitudes. The results are used to determine the equivalent carrier-to-noise power gain for each diversity method. A numerical example is given in conclusion.
Brief Assessment of Parents’ Attitudes Toward Testing Minor Children for Hereditary Breast/Ovarian Cancer Genes: Development and Validation of the Pediatric BRCA1/2 Testing Attitudes Scale (P-TAS)

Objective Predictive genetic testing for hereditary breast/ovarian cancer risk (BRCA1/2 testing) is not recommended for minor children due to its lack of immediate medical benefit and potential psychological risk. Yet, tested mothers are often interested in learning about their children’s cancer risks via pediatric BRCA1/2 testing, raising a host of bioethical concerns. However, no reliable or valid tool exists to formally gauge parents’ interest in such testing. The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate a new measure for use in genetic research and consultation, known as the Pediatric BRCA1/2 Testing Attitudes Scale (P-TAS). Methods After pretest genetic counseling and provision of a blood sample for BRCA1/2 testing, the P-TAS was administered to 187 mothers of children between 8- and 21-years-old. The measure was also given to 96 of the mothers’ nontested co-parents. Analyses of the factor structure and psychometric properties of the measure were performed in mothers and confirmed in their co-parents. Results The two factors of the P-TAS, labeled Attitudes and Beliefs (Factor 1) and Decision Making and Communication (Factor 2), accounted for 62.9% of the variance and were reliable (Cronbach’s coefficient as ¼.70 and .90, respectively); the structure and properties were largely confirmed among co-parents. Validity was indicated through its convergence with related constructs. Conclusions This new tool may be integrated into genetic counseling research to better assess parents’ attitudes and interests in pediatric BRCA1/2 testing. Such information may help guide ongoing discussions about the appropriateness of testing in adolescent or young adult children.
Error Generation in Cats-Based Agents

This research presents a methodology for generating errors from a model of nominally preferred correct operator activities, given a particular operational context, and maintaining an explicit link to the erroneous contextual information to support analyses. It uses the Crew Activity Tracking System (CATS) model as the basis for error generation. This report describes how the process works, and how it may be useful for supporting agent-based system safety analyses. The report presents results obtained by applying the error-generation process and discusses implementation issues. The research is supported by the System-Wide Accident Prevention Element of the NASA Aviation Safety Program.
A Protein Secretion Pathway Critical for Mycobacterium tuberculosis Virulence Is Conserved and Functional in Mycobacterium smegmatis

The Snm protein secretion system is a critical determinant of Mycobacterium tuberculosis virulence. However, genes encoding components of this pathway are conserved among all mycobacteria, including the nonpathogenic saprophyte Mycobacterium smegmatis. We show that the Snm system is operational in M. smegmatis and that secretion of its homologous ESAT-6 and CFP-10 substrates is regulated by growth conditions. Importantly, we show that Snm secretion in M. smegmatis requires genes that are homologous to those required for secretion in M. tuberculosis. Using a gene knockout strategy in M. smegmatis, we have also discovered four new gene products that are essential for Snm secretion, including the serine protease mycosin 1. Despite the evolutionary distance between M. smegmatis and M. tuberculosis, the M. smegmatis Snm system can secrete the M. tuberculosis ESAT-6 and CFP-10 proteins, suggesting that substrate recognition is also conserved between the two species. M. smegmatis, therefore, represents a powerful system to study the multicomponent Snm secretory machine and to understand the role of this conserved system in mycobacterial biology.
Descriptive Statistics and Graphical Displays

Statistics is a broad mathematical discipline dealing with techniques for the collection, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of numerical data. Data are information used for reasoning, discussion, or calculation; data are the foundation of modern scientific inference. Data may be obtained by a formal sampling procedure, by recording responses to experimental conditions, or by observing a process repeatedly over time. Once data are collected, statistical analysis typically begins by calculating descriptive statistics —numbers that characterize features of those specific data—and by presenting the descriptive statistics in tables or graphs. In contrast, inferential statistics —statistics for making inferences about the populations from which data are sampled—is a related, broader category of statistical analysis. Forthcoming articles in this series will cover topics in inferential statistics. In this article, we consider elementary descriptive statistics. Similar material can be found in standard statistical textbooks or online.1–4 The characteristics of interest in a research study are called variables , measurable quantities that vary among individuals (for our purposes, an individual may be a person, animal, place, or thing) or within individuals over time. By contrast, parameters are not actual measurements or attributes of individuals but are quantities that define a statistical model. Variables are classified as discrete or continuous : Discrete variables can assume only certain values (fixed and readily countable), whereas continuous variables can assume an infinite number of values. Examples of discrete variables commonly encountered in cardiovascular research include species, strain, racial/ethnic group, sex, education level, treatment group, hypertension status, and New York Heart Association class. Corresponding examples of continuous variables include age, height, weight, blood pressure, measures of cardiac structure and function, blood chemistries, and survival time. Discrete variables (also called categorical variables) are divided into 2 subtypes: nominal (unordered) and ordinal (ordered). Nominal variables take values such as yes/no, human/dog/mouse, female/male, …
Reaction Functions in a Small Open Economy: What Role for Non-traded Inflation?

I develop a structural general equilibrium model and estimate it for New Zealand using Bayesian techniques. The estimated model considers a monetary policy regime where the central bank targets overall inflation but is also concerned about output, exchange rate movements, and interest rate smoothing. Taking the posterior mean of the estimated parameters as representing the characteristics of the New Zealand economy, I compare the consequences that two alternative reaction functions have on the central bank's loss, for different specifications of its preferences. I obtain conditions under which the monetary authority should respond directly to non-tradable inflation instead of overall inflation. In particular, if preferences are relatively biased towards inflation stabilization, responding directly to overall inflation results in better macroeconomic outcomes. If instead the central bank places relatively more weight on output stabilization, responding directly to non-traded inflation is a better strategy.
Assessing the Lecture Performance of University Faculty: A Behavioral Observation Scale

(1989). Assessing the Lecture Performance of University Faculty: A Behavioral Observation Scale. Journal of Education for Business: Vol. 64, No. 4, pp. 157-160.
Prospects for solar thermal energy use in residential buildings in Lebanon

Unlike most of its neighbouring countries, Lebanon is a small country with limited natural resources. The country imports around 97% of its needs of energy in the form of fossil fuel resulting in a high energy import bill. Despite major steps done towards improving the energy sector, the country is striving to meet the energy demand of its population. In order to face this problem, the use of renewable energy and particularly the solar thermal energy represent one of the most promising alternative strategies. Indeed, Lebanon is located in a relatively sunny area with an average global horizontal radiation of 2200 kWh/m2 per year. The residential sector represents 30% of the total energy consumption and thus offers an interesting opportunity for the development of the solar thermal market. In this paper an attempt is made to investigate the impact of the use of solar thermal equipments for heating and cooling on energy savings in the residential sector in Lebanon. The energy consumption is calculated for a typical building for four climatic zones using a validated transient simulation model. The payback period is calculated for each system in the four climatic zones. The analysis of the results showed that the solar domestic hot water system has a payback period of less than seven years, while the heating and cooling systems showed higher payback periods at current market prices. Prospects for the development of this sector are discussed at the end of this paper.
A derivative-aided hyperspectral image analysis system for land-cover classification

The large number of spectral bands in hyperspectral data seriously complicates their use for classification. Selection of a useful subset of bands or derived features (spectral ratios, differences, derivatives) is always desirable, strongly affects the accuracy of the classification, and is often a practical necessity to keep the processing speed and memory requirements under control. This paper examines one possible procedure for selecting spectral derivatives to improve supervised classification of hyperspectral images. The procedure is designed to identify derivative features that are more effective at separating target classes and then add them to a base subset of features for classification. The goal is to create the smallest set of features that will result in the best classification result. A key issue in this process is the interplay of the number of features and the size of the training data sets since classification accuracy declines if the dimensionality of the feature space is too large relative to the number of training samples.
SENSORY DIFFERENCE TESTING: RANKING R‐INDICES ARE GREATER THAN RATING R‐INDICES

. R-index measures obtained by rating and by ranking were compared using a model system. Tne prediction that R-indices obtained by ranking should exceed values obtained by rating was confirmed for both ranking computations: RJB and RMAT-
Forecasting real time financial series

The author reports how he generated a set of real time neural network forecasts to win the second place in the Financial Series Competition at the International Joint Conference on Neural Networks in 1999 (IJCNN'99). The accuracy and profitability of his forecasts are evaluated, and the finance implication is discussed. He provides comprehensive evaluation on the accuracy of the forecasts relative to those from the benchmark model of random walk. Various measures of forecasting accuracy, such as MAE, RMSE, and MAPE are used to facilitate the comparison.
Beyond Literal Meanings: The Psychology of Allusion

When people understand expressions that are intended nonliterally, two kinds of meaning are simultaneously apprehended: the literal meanings of the words themselves and the speaker's intended figurative meaning. Standard models of language comprehension assume that the literal meanings of figurative expressions are rejected in favor of a nonliteral meaning. I propose an alternative approach in which literal meanings are systematically used to convey figurative meanings through the process of allusion: The use of an expression to refer to entities or situations that are prototypical exemplars of culturally shared concepts and symbols. This approach provides an account of how people use and understand figurative language in general, and metaphor and idioms in particular.
Fast-tracking after video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery lobectomy, segmentectomy, and pneumonectomy.

Background In the era of cost containment, a fast-tracking protocol was developed to reduce cost and shorten the length of stay after a lobectomy. The purpose of our study was to see whether a fast-tracking protocol provided a short length of stay without compromising morbidity and mortality or leading to readmission to the hospital. Methods The protocol was to perform lobectomies by means of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery with no routine postoperative laboratory work or chest roentgenograms. The chest tubes were discontinued once the output was less than 300 mL in a 24-hour period and there was no air leak present. If the chest tube output was low, but there was an air leak, the patient was discharged home with a Heimlich valve. Results Two hundred eighty-two consecutive video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery lobectomies were performed by a single surgeon during 18 months in 158 women (56%) and 124 men (44%), with a mean age of 71.2 years. Following this protocol, the mean length of stay was 3.26 days, and the median was 3 days. Seven of 282 patients (2.5%) were discharged with a Heimlich valve. There was 1 mortality. There were no complications in 251 patients (89%). Two patients were readmitted to the hospital. No chest tubes were reinserted. Conclusions Using a fast-tracking protocol, video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery lobectomy with anatomic dissection can be performed with minimal complication, a short postoperative length of stay, and reduced costs.
Toward a Passive Low-Cost In-Home Gait Assessment System for Older Adults

In this paper, we propose a webcam-based system for in-home gait assessment of older adults. A methodology has been developed to extract gait parameters including walking speed, step time, and step length from a 3-D voxel reconstruction, which is built from two calibrated webcam views. The gait parameters are validated with a GAITRite mat and a Vicon motion capture system in the laboratory with 13 participants and 44 tests, and again with GAITRite for 8 older adults in senior housing. Excellent agreement with intraclass correlation coefficients of 0.99 and repeatability coefficients between 0.7% and 6.6% was found for walking speed, step time, and step length given the limitation of frame rate and voxel resolution. The system was further tested with ten seniors in a scripted scenario representing everyday activities in an unstructured environment. The system results demonstrate the capability of being used as a daily gait assessment tool for fall risk assessment and other medical applications. Furthermore, we found that residents displayed different gait patterns during their clinical GAITRite tests compared to the realistic scenario, namely a mean increase of 21% in walking speed, a mean decrease of 12% in step time, and a mean increase of 6% in step length. These findings provide support for continuous gait assessment in the home for capturing habitual gait.
Angiotensin II facilitates tricyclic antidepressant-induced changes in QRS-duration in the rat.

AbstractExperimental evidence indicates that angiotensin II can modulate sodium channel and gap junction function. This raises the possibility that variations in angiotensin II could alter the effect of drugs that act on these mechanisms. In this study, the influence of changing salt status and angiotensin II activity has been investigated by evaluating the QRS prolonging effects of the sodium channel blocking drug, desmethylimipramine. In control rats with a normal salt intake, intravenous infusion of desmethylimipramine (0.8 mg/kg/min) over 60 min increased QRS duration over time to 150% of control by 60 min; mean arterial blood pressure and pulse rate were decreased. In salt-deplete rats, the response to desmethylimipramine was similar to controls for 30 min. Thereafter, QRS duration increased more rapidly than controls. In rats on a high salt diet, the same desmethylimipramine infusion produced no change in QRS duration for 30 min, despite equivalent reductions in mean arterial blood pressure. Thereaf...
Metastatic tumor of the brain: Development of an experimental model

The injection of a suspension of Walker 256 carcinoma cells into the carotid artery of rats produced a model of hematogeneously spread cerebral metastases. Most animals died from massive extracerebral tumors of the head and jaw; brain tumors were present in only one-qaurter. External carotid artery ligation prior to tumor inoculation did not increase the incidence of fatal brain tumor. When cyclophosphamide, 15 mg/kg, was injected as a single doese on the fourteenth day after tumor inoculation, most of the extracerebral tumor disappeared. Fifty percent of the animals so treated were cured of tumor, but 90% of the remainder died of large intracerebral tumors. Severe cytopathic changes resulting from cyclophosphamide were present in extracerebral or choroid plexus tumors but were mild or nonexistent in intracerbral tumors. These selective effects of cyclophosphamide suggest that water-soluble agents are less effective against tumor in the brain than against extracerebral tumors despite the fact that metastatic tumor breaks down the blood-brain barrier.
Mistaken Memories: Remembering Events That Never Happened

Our memories can be accurate, but they are not always accurate. Eyewitness testimony, for example, is notoriously unreliable. Insights into both veridical and false remembering have come from recent investigations of memory distortion. Behavioral measures have been used to demonstrate false memory phenomena in the laboratory, and neuroimaging measures have been used to provide clues about the relevant events in the brain that support remembering versus misremembering. A central category of misremembering results from confusion between memories for perceived and imagined events, which may result from overlap between particular features of the stored information comprising memories for perceived and imagined events.
“Poetry's Evolving Ecology: Toward a Post-Symbol Landscape”

This meditative essay sees the shifting of Western poetics from Modernism to Postmodernism as evolutionary, and considers formative imagination’s function in that shifting to serve as a resource for contingency. According to this kind of thinking, poetics and ecology are influenced by globalization. The present meditation explores the shedding of cultural symbols in poetry baring the more contingent language of signifiers. It suggests that the resulting ecology of signifiers brings readers closer to nature because it removes assumed values of a given culture. The result is postmodern approaches to poetry. The essay outlines the relationship between the formative imagination and contingency. It remarks on how the nature of mediation and the formative imagination pivot on contingency, allowing poetics to adjust to perpetual change. It also recognizes that the signifier and aporia have become basic tools of the poetic imagination marking time until multiculturalism has established itself and perhaps a new world literature becomes one language. The meditation uses a poem by Jorie Graham as an example of poetry bridging religious symbolism to Darwinian thought. Charles Bernstein’s poem, stripped of cultural symbolism, is an example of a poem of contingency. Together, they illustrate the evolution of poetics and its most contemporary ecology. The meditation concludes with my own poetry, highlighting its changing ecology from cultural to multicultural symbolism and then to the threshold of contingency.
Global comparisons of beta diversity among mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians across spatial scales and taxonomic ranks

Beta diversity is the change in species composition among areas in a geographic region. The proportion of species shared between two areas often decreases when the distance separating them increases, leading to an increase in beta diversity. This study compares beta diversity among four classes of terrestrial vertebrates (mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians) at both regional (biogeographic realm) and global extents, using the same sets of faunal sample units for all four groups in each comparison. Beta diversity is lower for the two endothermic taxa (birds and mammals) than for the two ectothermic taxa (reptiles and amphibians) in all six biogeographic realms examined. When the four taxa in the six biogeographic realms are combined, beta diversity at the species rank is higher than that of the genus rank by a factor of 1.24, and is higher than that of the family rank by a factor of 1.85. The ratio of beta diversity at the genus rank to that at the family rank is 1.50. Beta diversity is slightly higher for ecoregions of 5000-99,999 km 2 than for ecoregions of 100,000-5,000,000 km 2 .
Commentary on ''Psychophysiological and Cultural Correlates Undermining a Survivalist Interpretation of Near-Death Experiences''

Abstract: Keith Augustine has provided a legitimate and cogent critique of a transcendental interpretation of near-death experiences, exposing weaknesses in the research methodology, paucity of the data, and gaps in the arguments. He offers evidence from psychophysiological and cultural correlates of NDEs that he interprets as favoring a hallucinatory understanding of these phenomena. however, his analysis relies on idiosyncratic definitions of psychological concepts, reads unidirectional causality into bivariate correlations, and underestimates the empirical predictions of the separation hypothesis. Despite less than compelling evidence for the transcendental hypothesis, it accounts for NDE phenomenology better than the materialist model.
Survival of Bacillus Larvae Spores in Honeybee Faeces Exposed to Sunlight

SummaryAdult worker honeybee faeces containing Bacillus larvae spores were exposed to direct sunlight for periods up to a total of 600 hours. During this interval the number of spores capable of germination on artificial media decreased from an initial level of 1·8 × 105 to 9·5 × 103 spores per faecal spot. Infectivity of the exposed spores for susceptible honeybee larvae was not destroyed by exposure for up to 360 hours. Faeces voided by worker bees engaged in removal of spore-contaminated residues from the hive are therefore a potential source of infection in the dissemination of American foul brood disease.
Swallows Holding: Chevron's Growing Traction in Tax Litigation

The proper role of Chevron in tax has long been debated. Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 467 U.S. 837 (1984). By now, it has become generally accepted that Chevron provides the analytical framework for evaluating to specific-authority tax regulations. It is taking longer to secure acceptance that Chevron usually also applies to challenges to general-authority tax regulations. Fortunately we are nearing that point.
The Deadline for Determining Diversity: A World Without End, or Atlas Shrugged?

This article previews the issues and arguments in Grupo Dataflux v. Atlas Global, on appeal to the Supreme Court during the 2003-04 Term. The Grupo Dataflux appeal raises the question whether federal courts must adhere to the historical rule that the diversity citizenship is determined at the time of filing of the case, or whether courts may recognize a limited exception for citizenship defects cured later in the proceedings.In Grupo Dataflux the Supreme Court is asked whether the Court will uphold the longstanding rule that, in federal cases based on the court’s diversity jurisdiction, diversity of citizenship is determined at the time the case is filed and that subsequent changes to the parties’ citizenship cannot create or destroy diversity jurisdiction. Correlatively, the Court is asked whether federal courts will now recognize a new exception that permits a party’s subsequent unilateral change in a party’s citizenship, during the course of a litigation, to create diversity jurisdiction when it did not exist at the time the plaintiff filed the lawsuit in federal court.Until this appeal, the black letter rule has long been that diversity of citizenship is determined as of the time of the filing of the complaint. Therefore, post-filing events that change parties’ citizenship – or reduce the amount in controversy – cannot either confer jurisdiction on the federal courts, or divest federal courts of that jurisdiction. Much of this federal jurisprudence, reaffirming the time-of-filing rule, has been intended to set forth a bright-line principle to combat manipulative unilateral behavior to either confer or defeat federal diversity jurisdiction after a lawsuit was filed in federal court. Federal courts have long frowned on manipulative actions that attempt to create or destroy diversity jurisdiction. In addition, courts have justified the time-of-filing rule because the rule establishes a simple, fixed point from which to determine the validity of diversity jurisdiction. Arguably, without the rule courts would have to reassess whether diversity exists throughout the litigation, as events transpire to change either citizenship or the amount in controversy.The Fifth Circuit, in its Atlas Global decision, articulated an exception to the bright-line time-of-filing rule. Pursuant to this exception, a trial court may affirm valid diversity subject matter jurisdiction, even if it did not exist at the time a lawsuit was filed, if three criteria are satisfied. Thus, the core controversy in Grupo Dataflux is the extent to which the Fifth Circuit has rocked the very fundamental principles recited by rote by every law student and attorney in the United States. Will the bright-line, inflexible time-of-filing rule live to see another day? Or, will the Supreme Court uphold and validate the Fifth Circuit’s formulation of an exception to the longstanding time-of-filing rule? If so, did the Fifth Circuit do a good job in articulating an exception to the time-of-filing rule? Is the exception truly limited and narrowly drawn?