cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Neurovascular complications of cocaine use at a tertiary stroke center.

Objective An association between cocaine use and stroke has been reported, but few studies have examined cocaine-related neurovascular disease using modern stroke diagnostic techniques. We describe a large cohort of patients with cocaine-related stroke to define the pathophysiology and manifestations of cocaine-related neurovascular disease. Methods All adult admissions to a tertiary neurovascular service from July 1, 1998 to July 1, 2008 were screened for evidence of current or previous cocaine use. Patients included underwent thorough review of medical records including diagnostic procedure, laboratory, and imaging results. Results A total of 5142 records were screened and 96 patients were identified; 45 (47%) were given the diagnosis of ischemic stroke/transient ischemic attack (TIA), 26 (27%) with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), and 25 (26%) with subarachnoid hemorrhage. In all, 61 (63.5%) patients were categorized as active and 35 (36.5%) as previous cocaine users. Stroke type differed significantly between active and prior users ( P = .004), with active users more likely to have ICH compared with previous users (37.7% v 8.6%) and less likely to have ischemic stroke or TIA (36.1% v 65.7%). The most common stroke/TIA cause was large artery atherosclerosis in 20 (44%) patients. Of the 25 subarachnoid hemorrhage cases, 22 (88%) were aneurysmal. Conclusion Ischemic stroke/TIA is a common neurovascular presentation in patients with a remote history of cocaine use, often as a result of atherosclerotic disease; neither vasculitis nor vasospasm was a common cause of stroke in this cohort. ICH is more common in those currently using cocaine perhaps because of acute spikes in blood pressure. Further prospective trials are needed to confirm these results.
The Social Philosophy of Social Pathologists

In considering the problem of value bias it is relevant to ask whether social pathologists generally incline toward any particular sort of social philosophy and, if so, whether their adherence to this system could constitute a threat to their scientific objectivity. As a very modest attempt to throw some light on these questions, the present writer examined the first five issues of our official journal, Social Problems, for the presence of value postulates. Of course these five issues do not constitute a probability sample of the literature of social pathology. On the contrary, they constitute a highly selected sample; but the material is relevant to the present purpose precisely because it is selected, because it is material that has been judged significant enough to be published in the journal of the Society. A value postulate of social pathology is defined as a judgment assigning a value to some social phenomenon, stating, for instance, that it is desirable or undesirable, something that should be encouraged or something that should be discouraged. Since they are postulates, such propositions are not proved within social pathology. The social pathologist simply takes them over from social philosophy without proof. In the examination of the specified sample of literature, value postulates were identified in either of two ways. First, if a writer described a social phenomenon with value-laden adjectives, such as "unfortunate," "regrettable," "normal," or "healthy," then his description was considered to imply a favorable or unfavorable value
IT experiential learning: The Living Lab

In today's competitive job market, businesses will hire people with the relevant work experience, which creates quite a challenge for graduating students. Thus, graduating students also need experience to go with their degrees in order to be competitive in current job market. To better prepare our students, the Computer Information Technology program developed an experiential learning program called the "Living Lab". The Living Lab provides real world experience in all aspects of information technology to students by assigning various projects in a real work environment. This allows students to apply their classroom learning and develop the skills and experience needed to prepare them for today's competitive job market, which is the mission of the Living Lab. Just like the name, the Living Lab experiences remain ever evolving and complicated; thus, finding ways to effectively assess learning persists as a challenge. In this paper, we will show how the Living Lab evolved and the organization, management, and assessment tools used in order to provide students the best experience to assist in their obtaining jobs. Further discussions will show our findings and the innovative ways the lab evolved to take into account the blending of processes, business practices, and academic rigor.
Sequence and practical reasoning in accounts episodes

When problematic events arise persons often account for their actions (i.e., offer an excuse or justification) in order to repair or modify potentially negative meanings. The main research question here is, How are accounts episodes organized as a communicative practice? Accounts episodes involve minimally a three‐part sequence: problematic event—accounts—evaluation. To go beyond a sequential model, accounts may be seen as a local solution to the problematic based on persons' practical reasoning to prevent the loss of face. Naturally occurring accounts episodes collected by field notes are used in the analysis and construction of this account model.
THE SUPERINTENDENT AS INSTRUCTIONAL LEADER: FINDINGS FROM EFFECTIVE SCHOOL DISTRICTS

The study reported on in this article examines how instructional leadership is exercised by superintendents in effective school districts. We employ concepts drawn from school effectiveness studies and from organizational literature on coordination and control in an attempt to understand how superintendents organize and manage instruction and curriculum in these effective districts. Specific instructional management practices are examined within a framework of six major functions, setting goals and establishing expectations and standards, selecting staff, supervising and evaluating staff, establishing an instructional and curricular focus, ensuring consistency in technical core operations, and monitoring curriculum and instruction. Based on interviews with superintendents from 12 of the most instructionally effective school districts in California and analysis of selected district documents, we present descriptions of district‐level policies and practices that these superintendents use to coordinate and control the instructional management activities of their principals. Similarities and differences in the patterns of control and coordination found in these districts are highlighted. The implications of the findings are then examined in light of recent findings regarding coupling and linkages in schools. The results of this study suggest that superintendents in instructionally effective school districts are more active “instructional managers” than previous descriptions of superintendents would have led us to expect. In particular, coordination and control of the technical core appears more systematic in these districts. The results do not, however, provide a uniform picture of how instruction is coordinated and controlled. A wide range of both culture building activities and bureaucratic policies and practices were emphasized by the superintendents in this study as they exercised their instructional leadership roles.
A monte carlo investigation of the statistical significance of Kruskal's nonmetric scaling procedure

Recent advances in computer based psychometric techniques have yielded a collection of powerful tools for analyzing nonmetric data. These tools, although particularly well suited to the behavioral sciences, have several potential pitfalls. Among other things, there is no statistical test for evaluating the significance of the results. This paper provides estimates of the statistical significance of results yielded by Kruskal's nonmetric multidimensional scaling. The estimates, obtained from attempts to scale many randomly generated sets of data, reveal the relative frequency with which apparent structure is erroneously found in unstructured data. For a small number of points (i.e., six or seven) it is very likely that a good fit will be obtained in two or more dimensions when in fact the data are generated by a random process. The estimates presented here can be used as a bench mark against which to evaluate the significance of the results obtained from empirically based nonmetric multidimensional scaling.
Analytical solution of equations describing slow axonal transport based on the stop-and-go hypothesis

This paper presents an analytical solution for slow axonal transport in an axon. The governing equations for slow axonal transport are based on the stop-and-go hypothesis which assumes that organelles alternate between short periods of rapid movement on microtubules (MTs), short on-track pauses, and prolonged off-track pauses, when they temporarily disengage from MTs. The model includes six kinetic states for organelles: two for off-track organelles (anterograde and retrograde), two for running organelles, and two for pausing organelles. An analytical solution is obtained for a steady-state situation. To obtain the analytical solution, the governing equations are uncoupled by using a perturbation method. The solution is validated by comparing it with a high-accuracy numerical solution. Results are presented for neurofilaments (NFs), which are characterized by small diffusivity, and for tubulin oligomers, which are characterized by large diffusivity. The difference in transport modes between these two types of organelles in a short axon is discussed. A comparison between zero-order and first-order approximations makes it possible to obtain a physical insight into the effects of organelle reversals (when organelles change the type of a molecular motor they are attached to, an anterograde versus retrograde motor).
Universal Scattering Theorems for Strongly Interacting W's and Z's

The experimentally verified relationship M/sub W/ = M/sub Z/ costheta/sub W/ implies universal low-energy theorems for scattering of longitudinally polarized W and Z bosons provided that the symmetry-breaking sector contains no particles much lighter than 1 TeV.
Protease-activated receptor and endothelial-myocyte uncoupling in chronic heart failure.

We examined the hypothesis that oxidants generated nitroso derivatives, activated latent matrix metalloproteinase (MMP), and induced proteinase-activated receptor 1 (PAR-1), leading to disconnectio...
Rules, laws, and reductionism

Abstract It is argued that rule following and rule making involve capabilities that are difficult to describe solely in terms of the concepts of present day physics. Among these are the ability to establish conventions for symbol use, to understand rule governed situations on the basis of extended context and background knowledge, and to choose whether or not to follow rules. The suggestion is made that physicalism as a basis for the unity of science should give way to an expanded set of concepts better suited for describing living systems and the phenomena they give rise to.
Connecting the Cultural and the Material in Business History

By taking note of new developments in economic theory and cultural theory, business historians have the opportunity to lead a reintegration of mentality and materiality in the study of history. This task will require rethinking the field’s traditional approach to strategy, structure, organization, and culture. An emerging literature of practice theory and the shift from a linguistic to a practice based model of culture offer to business historians, and to all interested in the economic past, a way to conduct this integration. The new approach will complement but go beyond the economics of information, institutions and behavior. Though the task will require some new methods and approaches, the result will bring the study of business and economic history to the forefront of history.
High-sodium food choices by southern, urban African Americans with heart failure.

Abstract Background Sodium restriction is important in the management of heart failure (HF). Although many low-sodium educational resources are available, few are directed specifically at urban African Americans. Methods and Results A registered dietitian prospectively interviewed 50 African-American and 25 white patients in an urban public hospital (derivation cohort) in Dallas, TX, using a food-frequency instrument that listed 146 food choices. Foods >300 mg sodium/serving consumed at least weekly by 50% of an ethnic group were classified as being a high-sodium core food for that group. Classification of foods (core or not core) was validated in a second African-American cohort (n = 144). Five high-sodium food choices were classified as core food in both the derivation and validation African-American cohorts (salt in cooking, canned vegetables, cheese, processed meats, and cold cereal) and another 3 when the derivation and validation cohorts were combined (fast food, fried chicken, and corn bread). Four of these 8 foods were not classified as core foods in whites. Conclusion Eight high-sodium foods were frequently consumed by southern, urban African Americans with heart failure. Several of these foods were not commonly consumed by whites, emphasizing the need to be sensitive to ethnic differences in dietary habits when educating patients about sodium intake.
Home Health Outcome Patterns

Using OASIS data collected by all Medicare-certified home health agencies, this article first presents descriptive statistics on patient outcomes for a national agency sample in 2001, soon after Medicare prospective payment implementation. Ratios of actual to predicted outcome rates, aggregated for groups of outcomes, are considered as potential summary indicators of agency outcome performance. The aggregate ratios show promise, but information on each outcome remains critical to agencies' outcome improvement efforts. Ratios for some outcomes are interrelated, suggesting that agencies focusing outcome enhancement efforts on a few target outcomes also may improve related outcomes.
Endothelial cells expressing Bcl-2 promotes tumor metastasis by enhancing tumor angiogenesis, blood vessel leakiness and tumor invasion

Metastatic spread of tumor cells to vital organs is the major cause of mortality in cancer patients. Bcl-2, a key antiapoptotic protein, is expressed at high levels in a number of human tumors. We have recently shown that Bcl-2 is also overexpressed in tumor-associated blood vessels in head-and-neck cancer patients. Interestingly, enhanced Bcl-2 expression in tumor blood vessels is directly correlated with metastatic status of these cancer patients. In addition, endothelial cells (ECs) expressing Bcl-2 showed increased production of interleukin-8 (IL-8) resulting in significantly enhanced tumor cell proliferation and tumor cell invasion. Therefore, we hypothesized that Bcl-2 expression in tumor-associated ECs may promote tumor metastasis by enhancing tumor cell invasiveness and release in the circulation. To test our hypothesis, we coimplanted tumor cells along with ECs expressing Bcl-2 (EC-Bcl-2) in the flanks of SCID mice. Our results demonstrate that incorporation of EC-Bcl-2 in primary tumors significantly enhanced tumor cell metastasis to lungs and this EC-Bcl-2-mediated tumor metastasis was independent of primary tumor size. In addition, Bcl-2-mediated tumor metastasis directly correlated with increased tumor angiogenesis. Bcl-2 expression in ECs also promoted transendothelial cell permeability, blood vessel leakiness and tumor cell invasion. EC-Bcl-2-mediated tumor cell proliferation and tumor cell invasion were significantly mediated by IL-8. These results suggest that Bcl-2, when expressed at higher levels in tumor-associated ECs, may promote tumor metastasis by enhancing tumor angiogenesis, blood vessel leakiness and tumor cell invasiveness.
Suppressor T-cell activity in MRL/Mp-lpr/lpr mice: differential effects on primary and memory antibody responses of MRL/Mp-lpr/lpr and MRL/Mp-+/+ spleen cells to thymus dependent and thymus independent antigens in vitro.

Abstract We have previously shown that suppressor-T-cell (T s ) activity in the spleens of autoimmune MRL/Mp- lpr/lpr (MRL/l) mice is increased after 2 months of age. The T s suppress the in vitro primary IgM response to the thymus-dependent (TD) antigen sheep erythrocytes (SRBC) of B and T cells from young congenic MRL/Mp +/+ (MRL/n) mice which lack the lymphoproliferation ( lpr ) gene. The T s are nylon wool nonadherent, Thy 1.2 positive, and radiation sensitive. The studies presented here were done to further characterize the T s and to attempt to determine the mechanism of action of these cells. We found that increased T s activity was also present in the proliferating lymph nodes of old MRL/l mice but not in lymph nodes of young MRL/l or MRL/n mice. The splenic T s equally suppressed the primary IgM SRBC response of both young MRL/l and MRL/n B and T cells, indicating that MRL/l SRBC-specific B and T cells are not resistant to suppression. The IgM response of MRL/n B and T cells to the T-independent (TI) antigen trinitrophenyl conjugated to Brucella abortus (TNP-BA) was not suppressed by the T s , although the IgM response to TNP was suppressed when TNP was coupled to the TD carrier SRBC. The results of kinetics studies of T s expression showed that when the T s were added on Day 0 of culture the SRBC response was suppressed as early as Day 2 of culture; however, when the T s were added on Days 1, 2, or 3 of culture, the suppression was reduced. The T s suppressed the in vitro memory IgG response of spleen cells from MRL/n mice which had been primed with SRBC; the memory IgG responses of spleen cells from MRL/l mice were variably suppressed. Taken together, these results suggest that the T s suppress T H function in early events of antibody production and that some activated B or T cells may be resistant to the effects of the T s . Increased T s activity was not present in the spleens of aged New Zealand Black X NZ White (NZB/W) F 1 mice. Possible reasons for the presence of increased T s activity in MRL/l mice and its relation to autoimmune disease is discussed.
The Discursive Construction of the German Welfare State: Interests and Institutionality

This article consists of an initial theoretical attempt to describe “interests” as widespread social phenomena which emerge specifically from discursive interaction. I focus on the way in which the indexical signaling of discourse participation roles and public/private standings provide key conditions of possibility for the emergence of interests in interactional real time. The case at hand involves the German welfare state, a social institution which is constituted both on the local level of my fieldsite (a working-class suburb of the former East Berlin) and on the national level (through the popular media and through the circulation of laws, policy documents and the like). [Germany, welfare state, interests, indexical orders, institutionality]
Laryngotracheal reconstruction and the hidden airway lesion.

Objective Single-stage laryngotracheal reconstruction (SSLTR) is an increasingly common technique to achieve decannulation of patients with laryngotracheal stenosis. In a proportion of cases airway distress on extubation may be attributed to a dynamic second airway lesion not diagnosed before surgery. Our aim is to describe our recent experience with these frustrating patients. Methods Between July 1997 and July 1999 we prospectively followed patients who underwent SSLTR and experienced difficulty after extubation owing to an unsuspected second airway lesion. Results During this 24-month period we performed 80 SSLTRs. In six surgeries performed on five patients, a second airway lesion complicated extubation. In five patients the second lesion was not diagnosed before surgery because there was significant airway stenosis and tracheotomy. The sixth patient was transferred to our care intubated. In all cases the airway surgery for the dominant lesion was technically successful, but revealed a second dynamic lesion. There were three cases of tracheomalacia, two cases of laryngomalacia, and one case of arytenoid prolapse. All patients required intervention. Tracheotomy was required in four patients. Conclusions Failure to achieve extubation after SSLTR may be caused by a dynamic second airway lesion that was previously disguised by a more dominant airway lesion. Surgical repair of the dominant lesion will allow manifestation of the dynamic lesion due to the Bernoulli effect. The combination of a tracheotomy and a dominant airway lesion limits airflow and potentially disguises the situation.
Symmetry Breakdown in Ground State Dissociation of HD

Experimental studies of the dissociation of the electronic ground state of ${\mathrm{HD}}^{+}$ following ionization of HD by fast proton impact indicate that the ${\mathrm{H}}^{+}+\mathrm{D}\left(1s\right)$ dissociation channel is more likely than the $\mathrm{H}\left(1s\right)+{\mathrm{D}}^{+}$ dissociation channel by about $7%$. This isotopic symmetry breakdown is due to the finite nuclear mass correction to the Born-Oppenheimer approximation which makes the $1s\ensuremath{\sigma}$ state 3.7 meV lower than the $2p\ensuremath{\sigma}$ state at the dissociation limit. The measured fractions of the two dissociation channels are in agreement with coupled-channels calculations of $1s\ensuremath{\sigma}$ to $2p\ensuremath{\sigma}$ transitions.
Coverless Containers Using a Minimum of Plate Material

This paper presents the optimization of a bin or tank that does not require a cover. A worthwhile saving of plate material for a given volume can be made by giving an outward flare to the sides. Another advantage is that the increased width at the top permits greater heaping of dry materials like coal or gravel. There is also a decreased possibility of spillage.
203 NORMOTENSIVE RESPONSE TO MULTISTAGE TREADMILL EXERCISE IN POSTOP COARCTATION PATIENTS

Persistent systolic hypertension and differential gradient after successful coarctectomy have been noted during stress exercise. We evaluated 9 patients 8 to 17 years of age with a modified multistage Balke treadmill protocol. Each patient was normatensive at rest without evidence of persistent gradient, and was clinically asymptomatic 6 months to 9 years post resection or patch angioplasty. The patients were stressed to physical exhaustion at a speed of 3-3.4 mph with a grade increase of 2.5° every two minutes. The patients were observed ten minutes during recovery. Heart rate, blood pressure and 12 lead ECG were recorded at rest and every two minutes during exercise and recovery. Simultaneous blood pressure recordings of left leg and right arm were obtained at rest and at two to four minutes into recovery phase. Duration of exercise was 12-20 minutes. Maximal heart rate was 80-95% of predicted. Systolic pressure increased 35-65 mm in the right arm and when simultaneous pressures were recorded during recovery at two to four minutes, the systolic leg pressure was 10-20 mm higher. No arrhythmias or significant ST or T wave changes were noted during exercise or recovery. In summary, a group of post coarctation patients who are normatensive, fall to demonstrate a blood pressure gradient and have insignificant associated defects, had a normal response to stress exercise.
Chemotaxis of hemocytes from the snail Viviparus malleatus

Abstract In vitro chemotaxis by invertebrate hemocytes is demonstrated by the attraction of granulocytes from the operculate snail Viviparus malleatus to heat-killed Staphylococcus aureus and to N -acetyl- d -glucosamine. A soluble constituent of the hemolymph, a bacterial agglutinin, was necessary for this positive response to both of these chemotactic agents. Agglutination studies revealed the presence of two nonhomologous agglutinins in the hemolymph of V. malleatus .
DIALLEL-SAS: a SAS program for Griffing's diallel analyses

Diallel mating designs are generally used to obtain estimates of genetic effects for a fixed set of parental lines (fixed effects) or to estimate general combining ability (GCA) and specific combining ability (SCA) variance components from a set of randomly chosen parental lines (random effects) from multiple-environment experiments. Published computer programs for diallel analyses do not provide a partition of F 1 hybrids x environments interaction into GCA x environments, SCA x environments, and reciprocal x environments components for Griffing's Methods 1 and 3, and into GCA environments and SCA x environments components for Griffing's Methods 2 and 4. Existing programs for Methods 1 and 3 also do not partition reciprocal effects into maternal and nonmaternal effects. This paper reports the development of a comprehensive SAS program DIALLEL-SAS) for partitioning interactions between environments (year andlor locations) and F 1 hybrids. DIALLEL-SAS can be run on any microcomputer with SAS, as well as on mainframe computers installed with SAS via UNIX or TSO. The DIALLEL-SAS output includes (i) mean squares for environments, F 1 hybrids, F 1 hybrids x environments, GCA, SCA, reciprocal, maternal, nonmaternal, GCA x environments, SCA x environments, reciprocal x environments, maternal x environments, nonmaternal x environments, (ii) estimates of GCA and maternal effects for each parental line, and (iii) estimates of SCA, nonmaternal, and reciprocal effects for each F 1 hybrid.
Some further studies on the effect of grouping elements of a visual stimulus on the cortical evoked potential

Grouping elements of a visual stimulus is shown to reduce the amplitude of the bipolar occipital evoked potential in three experiments. The first shows similar effects of grouping elements on the horizontal and vertical dimensions, combining in a nearly additive manner. The second shows a less stable grouping effect using irregularly spaced lines as stimuli. In the third experiment, small deviations from uniformity are seen to produce a reliable attenuation of the cortical evoked potential.
Investigating Suspense as a Predictor of Enjoyment in Sports Video Games

This study investigated suspense as a predictor of sports video game enjoyment by including the variable as a key part of a working model that also included presence, fanship, disposition, skill, and outcome. Results of a path analysis indicate a complex network of relationships impacting enjoyment. Suspense strongly impacted presence, which was an important determinant of enjoyment, while skill and outcome also explained a large portion of variance in enjoyment. The study highlights the complexity of the enjoyment experience as it relates to video games, and provides direction for future work on a theoretical model of video game enjoyment.
Model studies of electric and magnetic fields of the heart

Abstract The first magnetocardiogram was published one decade ago. Subsequent development of magnetocardiography is discussed. A general expression is developed for the quasi-static magnetic field outside a nonmagnetic volume conductor containing internal electromotive forces. The multipole expansion for the magnetic field is derived and an expression is obtained for the magnetic field of a dipole current source in a sphere. The heart is modelled by 20 current dipoles in a homogeneous conducting sphere. Electric and magnetic scalar potentials at the surface of the sphere are calculated. These data, perturbed by noise, are used to solve the inverse problem, i.e. to determine the moments of the multiple dipole array which would generate the external potentials. The accuracy of the inverse solution is improved when a combination of electric and magnetic data is used rather than electric data alone.
PPS, a Large Multidomain Protein, Functions with Sex-Lethal to Regulate Alternative Splicing in Drosophila

Alternative splicing controls the expression of many genes, including the Drosophila sex determination gene Sex-lethal (Sxl). Sxl expression is controlled via a negative regulatory mechanism where inclusion of the translation-terminating male exon is blocked in females. Previous studies have shown that the mechanism leading to exon skipping is autoregulatory and requires the SXL protein to antagonize exon inclusion by interacting with core spliceosomal proteins, including the U1 snRNP protein Sans-fille (SNF). In studies begun by screening for proteins that interact with SNF, we identified PPS, a previously uncharacterized protein, as a novel component of the machinery required for Sxl male exon skipping. PPS encodes a large protein with four signature motifs, PHD, BRK, TFS2M, and SPOC, typically found in proteins involved in transcription. We demonstrate that PPS has a direct role in Sxl male exon skipping by showing first that loss of function mutations have phenotypes indicative of Sxl misregulation and second that the PPS protein forms a complex with SXL and the unspliced Sxl RNA. In addition, we mapped the recruitment of PPS, SXL, and SNF along the Sxl gene using chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP), which revealed that, like many other splicing factors, these proteins bind their RNA targets while in close proximity to the DNA. Interestingly, while SNF and SXL are specifically recruited to their predicted binding sites, PPS has a distinct pattern of accumulation along the Sxl gene, associating with a region that includes, but is not limited to, the SxlPm promoter. Together, these data indicate that PPS is different from other splicing factors involved in male-exon skipping and suggest, for the first time, a functional link between transcription and SXL–mediated alternative splicing. Loss of zygotic PPS function, however, is lethal to both sexes, indicating that its role may be of broad significance.
A review of quantification of lithic use-wear using laser profilometry: a method based on metrology and fractal analysis

Over a decade of experimental lithic use-wear analysis using laser profilometry has led to the development of a method to measure surface modification due to wear in a reliable fashion. This research demonstrates that surface roughness can be documented on experimental stone tools made from a variety of raw material types, including chert, flint, and obsidian, using the laser profilometer, but that determining root mean square roughness (Rq) and a fractal dimension (Dr) may not always be possible. However, when coupled with scale-sensitive fractal analysis, specifically relative length (RL), and the F-test (MSR), it is possible to mathematically discriminate both used and unused surfaces on flint flakes, as well as used flake surfaces worn against different contact materials. This research has also identified some potential limitations associated with measuring stone tool surfaces using the profilometer, which affect this method's ability to quantify surface roughness on some experimental stone tools.
Development of a Condition Based Maintenance Program for a CNC Machine: Part 1—Signal Acquisition, Processing, and Network Communication

Condition based maintenance (CBM) of machine tools is an important maintenance strategy to invoke for a manufacturing company to run as lean as possible. CBM does this by indicating, in advance, the failure of the machine tool components or system, thus reducing the machine downtime. In this paper, the development of such a system is sought. A background review of the need and structure of such a system has been provided as well as the design considerations for the system are discussed. Having those considerations as the target requirements for a CBM system, discussion of a demonstrative system is presented, being implemented on an OKUMA LB 3000EX CNC lathe. Leveraging the Open Architecture Control (OAC) technology built into OKUMA CNC systems, the proposed system shall enhance machine monitoring by integrating the internal and external sensors aboard the machine tool. This work lays the foundation for the framework of a proposed CBM system. Coolant temperatures and spindle vibration signals are acquired and processed using a high speed data acquisition system. Towards the end of the paper, descriptions of how to best use this data and integrate it with the machine tool CNC system have been provided.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
A Survey of Birds Odorous or Unpalatable to Humans: Possible Indications of Chemical Defense

We solicited information from field and museum ornithologists on the birds that they consider odorous and/or unpalatable in order to identify species that may use chemicals to deter predators. Ninety-two ornithologists from the Americas and Eastern Europe responded to our survey. Eighty genera and 10 families representing 17 orders, primarily Procellariiformes, Falconiformes, Psittaciformes, Cuculiformes, Piciformes, and Passeriformes, were cited as containing malodorous or uniquely odorous birds. Two orders (Opisthocomiformes and Trogoniformes), five families (Procellariidae, Cuculidae, Bucconidae, Picidae, and Furnriidae), and one subfamily (Drepanidinae) were reported to us as either containing many odorous species or consisting primarily of them. Thirty genera and three families representing 13 orders, primarily Passeriformes, were reported to us as unpalatable. The birds cited in our survey and those previously reported as odorous and/or unpalatable are tabulated. Our survey and review point to a number of taxa that may use chemicals to deter predators, although we acknowledge that compounds imparting aversive or unique odors or flavors may arise for a variety of reasons, e.g., as dietary by-products.
Is there a role for autotransplants in patients with follicular lymphoma in the rituximab era

Patients with low grad follicular lymphoma were shown to be able to achieve long-term disease-free survival when transplanted after relapse in the era before the wide spread use of rituximab. It appears that the availability of rituximab has not diminished the value of transplantation (i.e., either autologous or allogeneic) in the care of these patients. A similar overall survival and less treatment related toxicity make autologous transplantation the better choice for most patients transplanted at first treatment failure.
Neutrophil Infiltration and Systemic Vascular Inflammation in Obese Women

Obesity has become epidemic worldwide and is especially pronounced in women of reproductive age, which is important because obesity is a major risk factor for preeclampsia and chronic hypertension. We hypothesized that vascular inflammation is critical to the pathophysiology of hypertension in obese individuals because obesity and hypertensive disorders share common features related to inflammation. To study this, we collected subcutaneous fat biopsies from normal weight, overweight, and obese women and stained the tissues for CD66b, a neutrophil marker, and for activated nuclear factor-?B (NF-?B) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) as markers of inflammation. We found that the number of neutrophils per vessel and the percentage and intensity of vessel staining for CD66b, NF-?B and COX-2 were greatest in obese women and least in normal weight women, and that neutrophil infiltration and vascular inflammation significantly correlated with body mass index (BMI) and blood pressure. These data may help explain the relationship between obesity and hypertensive disorders.
Command Decisions: Langsdorff and the battle of the River Plate

David Miller has published 70 books, including four in 2001 alone. Chances are that some of his works are better written and more solidly researched than others. His retelling of the German pocket-...
Surface Tension: Boundary Negotiations around Self, Society, and Nature in a Community Debate over Wildlife

This study draws on extensions of a Meadian framework to explore the possibility of nature as a “generalized other” that is experienced through a dialogical eco-self. The author revisits Mead's work, tracing an emerging literature on the eco-self, and investigates constructions of human–nature boundaries using interviews from a community reacting to the human destruction of a cattle egret nesting colony. She introduces the concept of “surface tension” to capture the fluid, negotiated, and often contradictory quality of narratives about nature and the self. The findings highlight the eco-self as an emergent and ongoing accomplishment that is not reducible to any one formulation.
Spatially growing waves, intermittency, and convective chaos in an open-flow system

Many flows in nature are “open flows” (e.g. fluid flow in a pipe). Here we study a model open-flow system: the time-dependent generalized Ginzburg-Landau equation under conditions when it is convectively (i.e. spatially) unstable. This equation is a partial differential equation which results from a reduction of the fluid equations of motion for a number of fluid systems. In the presence of low-level external noise, this system exhibits a selective spatial amplification of noise resulting in spatially growing waves. These waves in turn result in the formation of a dynamic structure. Three distinct spatial regions are found: 1) A linear region in which spatially growing waves are formed; 2) a transition region characterized by the transition from the spatially growing wave frequencies of the linear region to the turbulent frequencies of the fully developed region; and 3) a fully developed region in which the nonlinear dynamics dominates. In the transition region, the microscopic noise plays an important role in the macroscopic dynamics of the system. In particular, the external noise initiates the transition to turbulence and is responsible for the intermittent turbulent behavior observed in the transition region. Power spectra and correlation functions are calculated and analytical expressions are derived for these quantities in the linear region. Similarities between this system and fluid systems are discussed. Also, a few analytical results for coupled-map lattices are derived.
Presence of C-type natriuretic peptide in human kidney and urine

Presence of C-type natriuretic peptide in human kidney and urine. The current study was undertaken to investigate the presence of CNP immunoreactivity in both human kidney and urine. Immunohistochemical staining with an indirect immunoperoxidase method utilizing an antibody which is 100% cross-reactive to both CNP-53 and CNP-22 was performed on five human kidney specimens (three biopsies of normal cadaveric donor kidneys and two of normal autopsy specimens). CNP immunoreactivity was positive in proximal, distal and medullary collecting duct tubular cells in a cytoplasmic and granular staining pattern. CNP immunoreactivity was also determined in the urine of five healthy volunteers utilizing a sensitive and specific double-antibody radioimmunoassay with a mean concentration of 10.8 ± 1.0 pg/ml. With the utilization of high pressure liquid chromatography, this immunoreactivity proved to be consistent with both the low molecular weight form, CNP-22, as well as the high molecular weight form, CNP-53. Urinary excretion of CNP was also measured in normal subjects (N = 5) and in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF, N=6). CHF patients excreted over three times more CNP than normals (27.2 ± 2.8 vs. 8.7 ± 0.81 pg/min, P
Performance of filter-bank-based spreading codes for cellular and microcellular channels

Recently, a new class of spreading codes has been developed based upon the time-frequency duality of multirate filter bank structures. Unlike the maximal length sequences, these new codes are not limited to being binary valued. Instead, the elements of the sequences are determined by an optimization process which emphasizes certain desirable code properties. In this paper, spreading codes based upon multirate filter banks are developed for use in a cellular or microcellular channel in which partial synchronization is maintained between the users. This situation allows the cross-correlation between the codes to be optimized over a fraction of the total range of possible phase shifts between the codes. COdes are designed for an example set of channel conditions and bit error rate results are generated. These results show that the new codes perform better than conventional Gold codes.© (1997) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
An Economic Model of Nuclear Reprocessing Using Vensim

Even under the call for solutions to climate change and alternative energy sources to meet increasing energy demands, the imminent “nuclear renaissance” is debated by those who want to know the final destination of spent nuclear fuel. One of the alternatives to direct storage of spent fuel in a geological repository includes partial to full fuel reprocessing such that fission products such as actinides can be removed, as well as the recycling of plutonium and uranium into mixed oxide fuel (MOX). With the anticipated construction of ‘new build’ nuclear power plants (NPPs), as well as the continued operation of the existing fleet, we anticipate that the inventory of spent fuel destined for storage in Yucca Mountain (or similar) will continue to grow. Thus the U.S. DOE is promoting a sensible consideration of reprocessing, burning MOX in existing and near-terms LWRs and continuing R&D on sodium-cooled fast reactors (SFRs) for their eventual commercial introduction. However, countries that have chosen to reprocess are facing high costs and lingering political opposition, while others who have chosen not to reprocess equally face opposition to licensing and operating an adequate federal repository. This research continues ongoing research by the authors on existing and planned realization of NPPs and the associated fuel cycle. That is, we have to date developed models of the construction and decommissioning of NPPs in the U.S., developed an associated model that includes construction of reprocessing facilities, and finally, accounts for the mass flow within the partially closed fuel cycle. From early on, we included the gradual introduction of MOX-burning LWRs and SFRs into the existing and anticipated LWR fleet over the next 100 years. All models were created using Vensim, a software tool that facilitates development, analysis and compartmentalization of dynamic processes with feedback models. Our model has been benchmarked against the MIT and U. Chicago reports on the future of nuclear energy. The current work presents cost estimates and uncertainties assigned to the mass flow model to evaluate the cost of NPP-based electricity generation, with and without a fuel reprocessing. Preliminary results demonstrate that the high cost of reprocessing can be offset by the larger expense of having to construct ‘multiple’ Yucca Mountain-type repositories, under current NPP growth forecasts and insistence of the once-through fuel cycle. Details and results on various, sensible scenarios will be presented.Copyright © 2009 by ASME
Decision processes as analysed by Chester I. Barnard

Presents the thoughts on decision processes of Chester I. Barnard, one of the century’s greatest management theorists. Includes his classic article, “Mind in everyday affairs”; his unpublished book, “The Significance of Decisive Behaviour in Social Action”; his correspondence with Herbert Simon, and significant comments found in his personal papers.
Visual rhetoric in electronic food journaling communications

This presentation analyzes the rhetorical features of the electronic food journal as it quantifies the biological process of eating and represents food data on-screen. I will analyze the interfaces (data entry screens, networked databases of foods) and outputs (charts, graphs, and records) in terms of visual rhetoric related to embodiment literature and public health discourse. I will outline how current journaling formats account for a disruption in mind-body-technology feedback loops and provide suggestions for reimagining the visual rhetoric of the electronic journals to better-account for embodied experiences of health and wellness. The information shared within this paper will help listeners to think through issues of posthumanism, digital subjectivity, and how to best convey health data in visual design.
Effect of plague murine toxin on the uptake of calcium and inorganic phosphate ions by heart mitochondria

Abstract Plague murine toxin can inhibit to a significant extent the uptake of Ca ++ and inorganic phosphate (P i ) by rat heart mitochondria in the presence of succinate, α-ketoglutarate, malate, or β-hydroxybutyrate as the respiratory substrate. When these mitochondrial suspensions are incubated with ATP, but without a respiratory substrate, the uptake of these ions is also inhibited by the toxin. Although the toxin does not alter rat heart mitochondrial respiration supported by the oxidation of reduced cytochrome c, it does inhibit the uptake of Ca ++ and P i supported by this segment of the electron transport chain. When toxin is inactivated by treatment with formalin, it has little or no effect on the uptake of Ca ++ or P i by rat heart mitochondria in any of the systems investigated. The uptake of these ions by heart mitochondria isolated from the toxin-resistant rabbit is either not inhibited at all by the toxin or is inhibited to a much lesser extent as compared with rat heart mitochondria. Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, at a concentration which does not inhibit Ca ++ or P i uptake but does prevent swelling, prevents to a large extent the inhibitory effect of the toxin on the accumulation of these ions by rat heart mitochondria.
Hobbes's Behemoth and the Argument for Absolutism

Hobbes's history of the English Civil War, The Behemoth, has been neglected by contemporary scholars, yet it provides the clearest statement of the problem that Hobbes's political science is designed to solve. In Behemoth, Hobbes shows that societies such as seventeenth century England inevitably degenerate into civil war because they are founded on authoritative opinion. The claim that there is a single, authoritative definition of Tightness or truth which is not an arbitrary human choice is an illusion of “intellectual vainglory,” a feeling of pride in the superiority of one's opinions which causes persecution and civil strife. By presenting Hobbes's historical and psychological analysis of this problem, I illuminate his argument for absolutism and show that Hobbes is not a precursor of totalitarianism but a founder of liberalism.
Light-driven actuators based on polymer films

We describe new light-driven actuators based on films of polymer polyvinylidene fluoride, known as PVDF. The actuators employ the photomechanic bending of the polymer film caused by low-power (10 mW and less) laser radiation. The photomechanic effect combines various physical mechanisms, such as thermal expansion, the converse piezoelectric mechanism, and the photovoltaic and pyroelectric mechanisms, while the mechanism of thermal expansion is dominant. The force applied by the actuators to external objects is measured with a torsion balance. It is proportional to the power of laser beam and could be as high as 10–4 N for a 50-µm film illuminated with a 10-mW laser beam. We demonstrate mechanical vibrations of a 1×7-mm strip actuator at a frequency of 0.3 kHz. As examples of possible applications, a photonic switch and an actuator with a closed-loop motion that could drive the inner workings of a conventional mechanical clock were demonstrated. The proposed actuators have a potential of being used as propulsion components of future light-driven micro/nano systems.