cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
QUANTUM MOLECULAR DYNAMICS OF CLUSTERS

Recent quantum molecular dynamics studies of Al and carbon clusters are described. For Al, we focused on the 13- and 55-atom clusters, which can assume perfect icosahedral and cubic structures. However, the distortions from these ideal structures are substantial. For the 55-atom cluster, several inequivalent but nearly energetically degenerate structures are found, due to the short range of the screened interatomic interactions. For solid C60, it is found that the soccerball structure is well-preserved in the solid. The intermolecular interactions are so weak that the individual C60 can rotate at relatively low temperatures. At high temperatures vibrations cause large distortions, but the cage structure is still preserved. The C60 isomer containing two pairs of adjacent five-fold rings has a binding energy only 1.6 eV smaller than that of perfect C60, but the transformation between these two structures is hindered by a 5.5 eV barrier. It thus requires high temperatures and long annealing times. High temperatures are also needed for the transformation of the lowest energy C20 isomer, a dodecahedron, to a corannulene structure, which can be thought of as a fragment of C60. The corannulene structure is a natural precursor for the formation of C60. These results are consistent with the experimental findings that high temperatures are necessary for the formation of substantial quantities of C60. A formulation and the first applications of a new, real space quantum molecular dynamics method, particularly suitable for cluster calculations, are also described.
Walden Pond as Thoreau’s Landscape of Genius

Scott Hess, “Walden Pond as Thoreau’s Landscape of Genius” (pp. 224–250) This essay explores how Henry David Thoreau’s identification with Walden Pond was influenced by the nineteenth-century discourse of the literary landscape and by William Wordsworth’s association with the English Lake District in particular. Wordsworth was a central figure for the transatlantic development of the “landscape of genius”—a new form of literary landscape in which the genius of the author, associated with a specific natural landscape, mediated the spiritual power of nature for individual readers and tourists. Wordsworth’s identification of his authorial identity with the Lake District landscape had a formative influence on both Thoreau’s self-conception and his subsequent reception and canonization, as Thoreau and Walden Pond as his landscape of genius entered the canon together. The essay concludes by exploring the ongoing significance of Thoreau’s association with Walden for both his scholarly and popular reputations, including proliferating discourses of “Thoreau Country”; cultural and political disputes over the Concord and Walden landscapes; and invocations of Thoreau as an ecological hero and inspiration for responses to climate change.
Establishing a research agenda for child and adolescent safety planning

Safety planning has been shown to reduce suicide risk and days in inpatient care among adults, but few studies have investigated how safety planning influences suicide-related outcomes among at-ris...
Alphonse Mucha and the Emergence of the “New Woman” during the Belle Époque (1871–1914)

Notions of ideal femininity in Western culture shifted during the Belle Epoque (Beautiful Era), approximately 1871 to 1914. This article serves as a comparative historical study examining the shifting representations of women in art within Western society during that era. This study focuses on the transition from the image of the “modest maiden” (popular in the mid-nineteenth century) to the image of the “new woman” (emerging within the Art Nouveau movement, 1890 to 1910). From the Art Nouveau (New Art) period, the lush art of Alphonse Mucha stands out as an example of the time’s idea of feminine beauty. Mucha’s representations serve as social commentary, indicative of the shift toward modernity. Through the employment of symbolism, archetypes, and thematic ideas, Mucha depicted women as socially empowered, participating in masculine activities and very much present in the public sphere. Mucha’s use of sensual imagery and floral motifs embody the idea of the emergence of sexually liberated women. Keywords: Mucha, Alphonse; Art Nouveau,“New Woman,” gender representation, modernity
Chapter 47 – Decision Tools for Electricity Transmission Service and Pricing

Publisher Summary This chapter considers two methods for transmission of service to the electric grid users in a market structure with both long-term bilateral agreements and short-term spot market. The first type of service is the one in which a transmission system provider (TSP) is the main decision maker solving optimization at the system-wide level. The second approach bypasses the intelligence in the center provided by the TSP and puts the decision-making burden on the end users. The information the end users need is obtained from the TSP. The TSP, in turn, faces a major challenge under both schemes to anticipate system reliability levels and in the decentralized scheme to translate this information into price signals. The second type of service allows the system users to control the flows, indirectly, on the grid by deciding how much demand to exert for system use. Both formulations fall under the category of optimal transmission resource allocation problems. The formulations require solutions to a stochastic dynamic programming problem. The process characterization and the assessment of the computational tools for solving the underlying stochastic optimization problems are emphasized in the chapter.
High-Dispersion Spectroscopy of the X-Ray Transient RXTE J0421+560 (= CI Cam) during Outburst

We obtained high dispersion spectra of CI Cam, the optical counterpart of XTE J0421+560, two weeks after the peak of its short outburst in 1998 April. The optical counterpart is a supergiant B[e] star emitting a two-component wind. The cool wind (the source of narrow emission lines of neutral and ionized metals) has a velocity of 32 km/s and a temperature near 8000 K. Dense and roughly spherical, it fills the space around the sgB[e] star, and, based on the size of an infrared-emitting dust shell around the system, extends to a radius between 13 - 50 AU. It carries away mass at a high rate, Mdot > 10^(-6) solar masses per year. The hot wind has a velocity in excess of 2500 km/s and a temperature of 1.7 +/-0.3 x 10^4 K. From UV spectra of CI Cam obtained in 2000 March with Hubble Space Telescope, we derive a differential extinction E(B-V) = 0.85 +/- 0.05. We derive a distance to CI Cam > 5 kpc. Based on this revised distance, the X-ray luminosity at the peak of the outburst was L(2-25 keV) > 3.0 x 10^38 erg/s, making CI Cam one of the most luminous X-ray transients. The ratio of quiescent to peak luminosity in the 2 - 25 keV band is < 1.7 x 10^(-6). The compact star in CI Cam is immersed in the dense circumstellar wind from the sgB[e] star and burrows through the wind producing little X-ray emission except for rare transient outbursts. This picture (a compact star traveling in a wide orbit through the dense circumstellar envelope of a sgB[e] star, occasionally producing transient X-ray outbursts) makes CI Cam unique among the known X-ray binaries. Strong circumstantial evidence suggests that the compact object is a black hole, not a neutron star. We speculate that the X-ray outburst was short because the accretion disk around the compact star is fed from a stellar wind and is smaller than disks fed by Roche-lobe overflow.
Root growth phenology, anatomy, and morphology among root orders in Vaccinium macrocarpon Ait.

Understanding the mechanisms controlling plant growth is essential in order to maintain and increase productivity in managed ecosystems. However, the lack of information on below-ground growth comp...
Long-Term Soy Protein Isolate Consumption Reduces Liver Steatosis Through Changes in Global Transcriptomics in Obese Zucker Rats

To understand how soy protein isolate (SPI) reduced liver steatosis in male obese Zucker rats, we conducted global gene expression (RNAseq) analysis on liver samples of male rats fed either the SPI or a control casein (CAS)-based diet (n=8 per group) for 16 wks. Liver transcriptomics was analyzed using an Ilumina HiSeq system with 2X100 base pair paired-end reads method. Bioinformatics was conducted using Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) software (Qiagen, CA) with P < 0.05 and 1.3 fold differential expression cutoff values. Regression analysis between RNAseq data and targeted mRNA expression analysis of 12 top differentially expressed genes (from the IPA program) using quantitative PCR (qPCR) revealed a significant regression analysis (r2=0.69, P= 0.0008). In addition, all qPCR values had qualitatively similar direction of up- or down-regulation compared to the RNAseq transcriptomic data. An assessment of diseases and functions based on differentially expressed target molecules in the dataset revealed that lipid metabolism was predicted to be enhanced whereas inflammatory response was predicted to be inhibited in SPI-fed compared to CAS-fed rats at 16 weeks. Using the upstream regulator analysis and regulator effects functions of the IPA program enables the prediction of upstream regulators (e.g. transcription regulators) that could be playing important roles in attenuating or promoting liver steatosis due to SPI or CAS diets. Examples of upstream regulators that were predicted to be activated (based on expression of down-stream target molecules) that were linked to increased conversion of lipid and transport of lipid in SPI-fed rats included hepatocyte nuclear factor 4 alpha (HNF4A) and aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR). Examples of upstream regulators that were predicated to be activated in CAS-fed rats that were linked to predicted activation of phagocytosis and neutrophil chemotaxis included colony stimulating factor 2 and tumor necrosis factor. The results provide clear indication that long-term SPI-fed rats exhibited diminished inflammatory response and increased lipid transport in liver compared to CAS-fed rats that likely would contribute to reduced liver steatosis in this obese Zucker rat model.
A Novel Approach to Asset Pricing: Pair-Wise (or Janus) Equilibrium

An effective asset pricing model should provide consistent recommendations for asset pricing, asset allocation and measuring risk-adjusted performance (or the “three facets of investing”). This paper incorporates three critical realities of investing (i.e., that investors have many stochastic goals, seek to delegate to skillful agents, and maximize risk-adjusted returns as opposed to expected utility), which in turn results in a pair-wise equilibrium, and a very different normative approach to asset pricing. The model uses observable assets for the asset pricing model (as opposed to a single factor or multiple factors), articulates an explicit return for the absolute risk free asset (as opposed to treating it as exogenous), captures the impact of substitutes and “complements” (in turn requiring inputs to be internally consistent), and provides consistent asset allocation recommendation and risk-adjusted performance measures. It also offers a new way to think about a heterogenous investor model for asset pricing.
The web conference keynote - AI grand challenges: past, present and future

Everybody has opinions on grand challenges---bold tasks that capture the imagination of researchers and system builders---for AI. One of the earliest set of challenge goals was enunciated by Turing award winner and AAAI President, Raj Reddy, in 1988. I attempt to provide an accounting of the progress that has been made in the field, over the last three decades, towards those challenge goals. While some tasks such as the world-champion chess machine were accomplished in short order, many others remain incomplete. A new set of challenges for the current decade are also proposed, spanning the Health, Wealth and Wisdom spheres. Bridging the gap from narrow AI to general-purpose AI will be required to solve some of these challenges; teaming architectures in the service of humankind will also need to be emphasized. The mantra should be: Of the people, by the people with machines; for the people!
Opioid Peptide Effects on Leukocyte Migration

The recognition that morphine bound stereospecifically to receptors in the brain to exert its effects led to a concerted search for an endogenous ligand for the opiate receptor (Terenius and Wahlstrom, 1975). In 1975, peptides which bound to the opiate receptor were isolated from porcine brain extracts and characterized (Hughes et al., 1975; Hughes et al., 1976). The first opioid peptides characterized were the pentapeptides methionine-and-leucine enkephalin (met- and leu-enkephalin). Simultaneously, a larger (31 amino acid), more active peptide containing the amino acid sequence of met-enkephalin as its first 5 N-terminal amino acids was isolated from porcine and camel pituitary and was named beta-endorphin (a contraction for “endogenous morphine”) (Teschemacher et al., 1975; Li and Chung, 1976). Beta-endorphin and alpha-endorphin (amino acids 1–16 of beta-endorphin), gamma-endorphin (amino acids 1–17 of beta-endorphin), (Ling et al., 1976), as well as other neuropeptides, may arise from a 31 Kd glycoprotein, the proopiomelanocortin molecule (reviewed by Frederickson and Geary, 1982). The discovery that beta-endorphin is released from the pituitary along with the steroidogenic hormone, adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) in response to acute stress suggests that in addition to its numerous actions in the central nervous system, beta-endorphin, like ACTH, also has peripheral hormonal effects (Guillemin et al., 1977; Bossier et al., 1977). The release of both ACTH and beta endorphin may be under the control of the hypothalamic peptide, corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) in some species (Hook et al, 1982 and Knepel et al, 1984).
Critique of disposal models

Model building, as described in chapter 4, gives comforting assurance that geologic disposal can indeed accomplish its purpose of isolating the radionuclides in HLW. But a skeptic may not be entirely convinced: he or she can ask many questions about details of the models, and until these questions are faced he or she can rightly claim that the models seem like mathematical abstractions with little relevance to the real world of rocks and underground water. In this chapter we consider some of the more embarrassing objections that a confirmed skeptic can raise to the assumptions implicit in our models.
Exploration of the effects of burn parameters on THz wound imaging

The high contrast resolution afforded by terahertz (1 THz = 1012 Hz) imaging of physiologic tissue continues to drive explorations into the utility of THz technology for burn wound detection. Although we have previously reported the use of a novel, reflective THz imaging technology to sense spatiotemporal differences in reflectivity between partial and full thickness burn wounds, no evidence exists of a one-to-one correlation between structural damage observed in histological assessments of burn severity and THz signal. For example, varying burn induction methods may all result in a common burn wound severity, however, burn features observed in parallel THz imagery may not be identical. Successful clinical translation of THz technology as a comprehensive burn guidance tool, therefore, necessitates an understanding of THz signal and its relation to wound pathophysiology. In this work, longitudinal THz imagery was acquired with a quartz (n = 2.1, 500 μm) window of cutaneous wounds induced with the same brand geometry and contact pressure but varying contact times (5, 7, and 10 seconds) in in vivo , pre-clinical rat models (n=3) over a period of 3 days. Though all burn wounds were evaluated to be deep partial thickness with histology, THz contrasts observed for each burn contact time were intrinsically unique. This is the first preliminary in vivo evidence of a many-to-one relationship between changes in THz contrast and burn severity as ascertained by histology. Future large-scale studies are required to assess whether these observed changes in THz contrast may be interpreted as physiological changes occurring over time, morphometric changes related to anatomical change, or electromagnetic changes between dielectric substrate windows and the underlying tissue.
CP Group: Balancing the Needs of a Family Business with the Needs of a Family of Businesses

As a second generation business leader, Chairman Dhanin Chearavanont took over the family agribusiness company and built it to become a major diversified conglomerate in Thailand and expanded the business in SE Asia and China. While growing the business, he and his brothers created a holding company to both maintain and separate the interests of the family with the growing business units. As a third and possibly fourth generation of Chearavanonts enter the company, how has Chairman Dhanin created a business culture that maintains the closeness of a family business with the strategic vision, innovations, and transparency of a professionally run company -- especially given the fact that many business units are public companies? This case seeks to outline the balance of a family business with the needs of a growing and competitive international conglomerate.Learning Objective: Family business dynamics in a mature conglomerate.
Industrial Panel on Data Warehousing Technologies: Experiences, Challenges, and Directions

Data warehousing is an essential element of decision support systems, which have become the largest growing segment of the database industry. Many products and services are now available, and all of the leading database vendors now have commercial offerings in these technologies. Very large (multiterabyte) data warehouses are being built and successfully deployed in the telecommunications, financial, retail and other industries, and are now routinely being used for on-line analytical processing and other decision support applications. Many organisations are deriving major operational benefits from the use of data warehousing solutions.
The Promise of ARES: A Past AREUEA President’s Perspective

The promise of ARES is that it provides a forum in its annual sessions and publications for research and teaching materials on managerial decisionmaking aspects of real estate. It offers an environment at annual meetings for the active participation of all members, and a way of networking on all sorts of issues real estate faculty may be faced with at their own colleges or universities.
Peptidases and amino acid catabolism in lactic acid bacteria

The conversion of peptides to free amino acids and their subsequent utilization is a central metabolic activity in prokaryotes. At least 16 peptidases from lactic acid bacteria (LAB) have been characterized biochemically and/or genetically. Among LAB, the peptidase systems of Lactobacillus helveticus and Lactococcus lactis have been examined in greatest detail. While there are homologous enzymes common to both systems, significant differences exist in the peptidase complement of these organisms. The characterization of single and multiple peptidase mutants indicate that these strains generally exhibit reduced specific growth rates in milk compared to the parental strains. LAB can also catabolize amino acids produced by peptide hydrolysis. While the catabolism of amino acids such as Arg, Thr, and His is well understood, few other amino acid catabolic pathways from lactic acid bacteria have been characterized in significant detail. Increasing research attention is being directed toward elucidating these pathways as well as characterizing their physiological and industrial significance.
Introduction to Multirate Systems

This chapter contains sections titled: Background Decimation Interpolation Sample Rate Conversion Polyphase Representation Sub-Band Filters MATLAB
Mechanism of inhibition of pepsin by pepstatin: Effect of inhibitor structure on dissociation constan and time-dependent inhibition

Abstract Investigations were made of the inhibition of pepsin by pepstatin and nine synthetic analogs of pepstatin. Analysis of progress curve data indicated that the inhibition produced by pepstatin (1) conforms to a mechanism in which a rapidly formed enzyme-inhibitor complex (collision complex) is transformed slowly to a more tightly bound complex (tightened complex). Dissociation constants for the collision complex k2/k1 and first-order rate constants for formation (k3) and reversal (k4) of the tightened complex are reported for pepstatin and nine pepstatin analogs. The data show that at least three structural parameters are needed to induce the lag transient characteristic of the tight-binding inhibition of pepsin by pepstatin. These are: a 3(S)-hydroxyl group in the third residue of pepstatin, an isopropyl group or its equivalent in the first residue, and some portion of the C-terminal dipeptidyl group -Ala-Sta. The data indicate that these groups interacted cooperatively to induce the timedependent increase in inhibition. Removal of any of these binding groups affected, predominatly, k4, the first-order rate constant for return of tightened complex to collision complex. The proposal that pepstatin is an analog of the transition state for pepsin catalyzed hydrolysis of amide bonds is discussed.
Memory Structures and Organization in Case-Based Reasoning

Case-based reasoning (CBR) methodology stems from research on building computational memories capable of analogical reasoning, and require for that purpose specific composition and organization. This main task in CBR has triggered very significant research work and findings, which are summarized and analyzed in this article. In particular, since memory structures and organization rely on declarative knowledge and knowledge representation paradigms, a strong link is set forth in this article between CBR and data mining for the purpose of mining for memory structures and organization. Indeed the richness of data mining methods and algorithms applied to CBR memory building, as presented in this chapter, mirrors the importance of learning memory components and organization mechanisms such as indexing. The article proceeds through an analysis of this link between data mining and CBR, then through an historical perspective referring to the theory of the dynamic memory, and finally develops the two main types of learning related to CBR memories, namely mining for memory structures and mining for memory organization.
Computer technology changes and purchasing strategies

Abstract Driven by design and manufacturing improvements as well as competition, computer chips have doubled in capacity about every year and a half for over 35 years. This exponential rate of change requires careful analysis of purchasing strategies. Regardless of “need”, some buying strategies are more valuable than others. For example, desktop PC replacement cycles of three years are preferred, but firms choose the level of technology that matches their needs. On the other hand, for laptops, it has been better to choose high-end computers, and then match the replacement cycle to the specific uses. Advances in information technology also affect the use of computers and the structure of the organization—driving firms towards decentralization.
Update on Antibiotic Prophylaxis for Genitourinary Procedures in Patients with Artificial Joint Replacement and Artificial Heart Valves

Infection of artificial joint replacements and heart valves is an uncommon but serious complication encountered anytime after the implantation of these prostheses. It is known that bacteremia can lead to infection of a prosthetic device. However, there is no strong evidence to correlate urologic procedures with the development of periprosthetic joint infection or prosthetic valve endocarditis. Therefore, antibiotic prophylaxis for the prevention of endocarditis is not recommended in patients undergoing urologic procedures. However, guidelines regarding prophylaxis to prevent infection of an artificial joint in the setting of a genitourinary procedure are more varied.
Teaching physical diagnosis of the chest.

Physical diagnosis of the chest is a dying ar t in this country. The information provided by skilled, available roentgenologic examination has insinuously replaced observation, palpation, percussion and auscultation as the basis for decisions in diagnosis, therapy and prognosis of many chest diseases. Perhaps this is truest for those of us who have been trained during the recent, exciting advances in laboratory methods. And yet, in our haste to employ a definitive procedure, we are vulnerable through neglect of this fundamental discipline-competent, painstaking, time consuming physical diagnosis. All of us have studied cases in which physical diagnosis was the only accurate or available means of determining the cause of illness. Pneumonia, atelectasis, pulmonary edema, vascular anomalies and bronchial obstruction syndromes may be found by physical examination when chest x-ray films are not helpful. House officers frequently discard a diagnosis based on their physical diagnosis because roentgenograms fail to confirm their findings. Either their methods are faulty or they lack confidence in them. It can be a revealing experience to ask a student or house officer to demonstrate his concept of a complete physical examination of the chest, explaining the physiology and significance of his findings. Many of us might fare poorly also under such scrutiny. The need then, is for sounder instruction and more diligent practice of the art. Two remedies for our fading physical diagnostic acuity are (1) performance of comfortable, careful, complete examination in all chest cases as an example to junior members of the medical echelon and (2) reorientation of our methods in teaching physical diagnosis. It is axiomatic that medical students learn most by observing their house staff and attending physicians. Despite the number of formal presentations, the third and fourth year students are more impressed by watching internes, residents and attendings. The interne also learns from his resident and from the exceptional physician who demonstrates to him findings that he has missed and the method whereby the findings are elicited. The entire echelon profits by contact with the clinician who continually demonstrates his proficiency with physical diagnosis. But the a r t suffers by lack of example and by the attitude propagated a t ward rounds and chest conferences where examination of the patient is replaced by perusal of x-ray films. We cannot preach the theory of physical diagnosis and practice diagnosis by x-ray films without profoundly affecting .our students. It might be better to replace formal lectures by more demonstrative lessons of everyday practice.
Funaria convexa Spruce (Musci: Funariaceae) New to North America

Abstract. Funaria convexa Spruce is reported new for the North American moss flora from the North Coast Ranges of Lake County, California. It is closely related to Funaria muhlenbergii Turn, and F. pulchella Philib., but differs in several gametophytic and sporophytic characters. A distribution map showing the Mediterranean climates disjunction is included.
Personal Appearance as a Reflection of Social Attitudes: Stereotype or Reality?.

Does personal appearance or dress reflect fundamental social attitudes? Are radical and left-wing college students actually long-haired and bearded "hippies," while conservative students are clean-shaven, short-haired, and conventionally clothed? Or, is this popular belief only a stereotype regarding the young, highly visible college population? To investigate this issue, 91 male and 102 female undergraduates at Boston University (M.,. = 19.5) were given Kerlinger's 26-item Social Attitudes Scale which purports to measure attitudes on a dimension of liberalism-conservatism. Responses were uichotomized into Right-wing, Moderate, and Left-wing categories. In addition, each S was independently rated on a seven-point semantic differential-type scale of personal appearance from "Hip" to "Straight" (high scores indicated straight or conventional middle-class appearance). Personal appearance was defined and analyzed separately for males and females in terms of hair and dress. For males, long hair, beards, and bell-bottom pants represented hip appearance, while short hair, shaven face, and crew or V-neck, button-down shirts represented extreme straight appearance. Similarly, the extreme hip female was defined in terms of long hair, Indian-like cosnunes and ornamentation, and bell-bottom pants, whereas the straight female was represented by medium-length straight hair, a tailored jumper slightly above knee-length, and pointed shoes. A 3 X 2 analysis of variance of Personal Appearance Scores produced significant main effects for Social Attitudes ( F = 3.84, d f = 2/187, f~ < .05) and Sex (F = 5.69, d f = 1/187, p < .01). Right-wing Ss were straighter in appearance (M = 5.15) than Moderates (M = 4.58) ; Moderates were rated as straighter than Left-wingers (M = 4.20). In addition, females were judged as straighter in appearance (M = 4.98) than their male counterparts (M = 4.31). These findings suggest that both personal appearance and social attitudes can be regarded as dimensions of a fundamental orientation to social change. Thus, individuals whose attitudes and beliefs are social-change oriented are more likely than those with conservative or traditional dispositions to accept liberal modes of non-verbal communication such as dress and appearance (Kelley, 1969). Moreover, the reIative hesitancy of the female student to accept radical or hip modes of appearance and dress may be related to the importance of neatness as attached to the uaditional female role which is largely absent from hip standards of appearance. It may also reflect the present-day "revolution" in male dress and appearance, a revolution which has introduced considerable diversicy into the wardrobe of the American male.
Robotic Minimally Invasive Surgical skill assessment based on automated video-analysis motion studies

Assessment of surgical skill, arising from the synthesis of the cognitive and sensorimotor capabilities of the surgeon, has predominantly been a subjective task. Development of quantitative metrics-of-performance with clinical relevance and other desirable characteristics (repeatability and stability) has always lagged behind. New opportunities for objective and automated assessment frameworks have arisen by virtue of technological advances in computation, video-processing, and data-acquisition, especially in the robotic Minimally Invasive Surgical (rMIS) realm. Most efforts focus on semi-quantitative (Likert scale) or inadequately validated, spatially- or temporally-aggregated quantitative metrics derived from direct physical measurements. In this work we propose an automated surgical expertise evaluation method, by adapting well-established motion studies methodologies, especially for MIS evaluation. This method relies on segmenting a primary task into sub-tasks, which can be evaluated by statistical analyses of micromotions. Motion studies were developed by 2 methods: (A) manual annotation process by experts (to serve as a benchmark); and (B) automated kinematic-analysis-of-videos; for economy, repeatability as well as dexterity. The da Vinci SKILLS simulator was used to serve as a uniform testbed. Surgeons with varied levels of expertise were recruited to perform two representative simplified tasks (Peg Board and Pick & Place). The automated kinematic analysis of video was compared with the ground truth data (obtained by manual labeling) using misclassification rate and true classification confusion matrix. Future studies aimed towards analyzing real surgical procedures are already underway.
The Depression-Arkansas scale: A validation study of a new brief depression scale in an HMO

Recent trends in mental-health care have increased the need for practical depression instruments. The Depression—Arkansas (D-ARK), a brief, economical, multipurpose instrument, has been validated for assessing major depressive disorder (MDD) and depressive-symptom severity. Psychometric properties of the D-ARK were compared with standard depression scales (Beck Depression Inventory and Geriatric Depression Scale) among 294 adult and 193 senior primary-care patients, respectively, and 163 patients enrolled in cognitive–behavioral depression classes. The severity scale displayed adequate internal reliability (coefficient α = .81–.86), high correlation with the BDI-2 (r = .78–.83) and GDS (r = .75), and similar factor structure to the BDI-2. The D-ARK was calibrated against the BDI-2 and GDS, providing familiar severity category cutpoints with the new instrument. This study yields further data supporting the reliability, validity, and practical utility of the D-ARK. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol 59: 465–481, 2003.
Group decision making over multidimensional objects of choice

Abstract Recent work in social choice theory has suggested very pessimistic results about the way in which majority rule voting procedures (a) reflect (or fail to reflect) the will of the majority and (b) are subject to manipulation. We briefly review this work but focus on more recent results that make use of the concept of the “yolk” ( McKelvey, 1986 , American Journal of Political Science, 30(2), 283–315). This recent literature (e.g., Feld, Grofman, & Miller, 1989 , Mathematical and Computer Modeling 12(4/5), 405–416) shows that, when groups are voting over a set of objects that can be characterized as points in a multidimensional space under a simple sequential procedure of single elimination, alternatives that are centrally located within the pareto set are almost certain to be chosen. Moreover, the structure of majority rule in the spatial context imposes a natural “fuzzy ordering” on alternatives. We also look at how supramajoritarian decision rules can give rise to cores in spatial voting games.
Case study of 1149.01 microprocessor implementations

Abstract This paper describes selected implementation issues of IEEE 1149.1 Std. Test Access Port and Boundary-Scan Architecture for three Motorola VLSI CMOS microprocessors. Problems and solutions that arose during implementation of standard features and additional public instructions are discussed.
Rhetoric and reflexivity in cognitive theories of language

Abstract Linguistic theories rarely examine linguistic discourse as an object of self-reflexive scrutiny. This paper examines how the issue of reflexivity is dealt with in two cognitive theories of language, Chomskyan linguistics and cognitive linguistics. It is argued that Chomskyan linguistics systematically excludes consideration of the language of linguistic inquiry. I suggest that this systematic exclusion is achieved through a set of rhetorical moves that construct linguistic discourse as a ‘transparent window.’ The paper contrasts the suppression of reflexivity in Chomskyan linguistics with its treatment in cognitive linguistics. It is argued that despite statements suggesting a reflexive stance and an interest in looking ‘at’ as well as ‘through’ linguistic discourse, cognitive linguistics continues for the most part to treat linguistic discourse as a transparent window or neutral metalanguage.
The Potential Economic Benefits of Coastal Ocean Observing Systems: The Southeast Atlantic Region

The Southeast Atlantic Coastal Ocean Observing System (SEACOOS) collects, manages and disseminates coastal oceanic and atmospheric observation information along the Atlantic coast of the southeastern United States. This article estimates the benefits of SEACOOS information in eleven benefit categories. Following a methodology used in similar studies of other U.S. coastal regions, we evaluate the impacts of conservative changes in economic activity in each benefit category. The annual economic benefit of SEACOOS information is $170 million (2003 $), an estimate that falls between annual benefits of $33 million for the Gulf of Maine region and $381 million for the Gulf of Mexico.
The sustained effects of cognitive modification and informed teachers on children's communication apprehension

In an earlier study, cognitive modification (the combination of systematic desensitization and cognitive restructuring) was found to reduce communication apprehension among elementary school children significantly, whereas informed teachers did not. The present study was designed to determine whether or not the reduction of CA was sustained after the CM treatment ended. Subjects were 103 fourth‐, fifth‐, and sixth‐grade students in a large midwestern city. A 2×3×3×3 factorial design with repeated measures on the last factor was used to analyze the data. The factors in the design were sex, grade level, treatment, and time of test. Post hoc analysis indicated that the CM treatment had lost its effect for the majority of students two months after treatment was terminated. The informed teachers had no effect on children's CA scores. Main effects for sex and grade level were not significant. Suggestions are made for future research concerned with sustaining the CM treatment effect.
Physical activity, white matter hyperintensities, and motor function: Bringing out the reserves

Fleischman et al.1 provide data that they interpret to suggest that daily physical activity may provide a reserve against the deleterious effects of white matter hyperintensities (WMH) on motor function. Numerous previous studies demonstrated that a range of motor functions, particularly walking speed, are correlated with the presence of white matter disease, as measured on brain imaging by MRI or CT in both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. Consistent with other studies, the authors show that WMH was associated with global motor function, but that the harmful effects of WMH were lost in active people (whether activity was measured using actigraphy or by report of intensity of activity, but not self-reported activity). These relationships were not altered by depressive symptoms, body mass index, vascular disease or risk factors, functional status, or their interactions with WMH burden. The data are consistent with data from the LADIS (Leukoaraiosis and Disability) Study that suggested a protective effect of physical activity on mobility.2
The Role of Fathers’ Depressive Symptoms and Lax and Over-Reactive Discipline in Children’s Externalizing and Internalizing Behaviors

This study examined the role of fathers’ depressive symptoms and lax and over-reactive discipline in children’s externalizing and internalizing behavior problems in a community sample of 36 fathers and their children. Correlational analyses provided considerable support for the expected associations between the study variables. When a regression-based approach recommended by Baron and Kenny (J Personal Soc Psychol 51:1173–1182, 1986) was applied to the data in order to determine whether fathers’ discipline mediated the association between their depressive symptoms and children’s behavior problems, results indicated that fathers’ lax discipline mediated the link between fathers’ depressive symptoms and children’s father-reported internalizing behaviors. In contrast, fathers’ depressive symptoms and lax discipline were independent predictors of children’s father- and mother-reported externalizing behaviors.
Science and engineering databases in an open-source software world

Storing and organizing scientific and engineering information is a natural application for databases. But database designs and systems have conventionally been driven by the business-application market, especially by large businesses. The authors introduce a hybrid open source/proprietary approach to creating a dynamic Web site for modest laboratory or academic use. Although they cannot claim our solution was optimal, they are convinced that this approach - attending to the back end, as well as the front - assumes a very worthwhile posture for scientific and engineering database applications.
Infants' intermodal perception of two levels of temporal structure in natural events☆

Infants' intermodal perception of two levels of temporal structure uniting the visual and acoustic stimulation from natural, complex events was investigated in four experiments. Films depicting a single object (single, large marble) and a compound object (group of smaller marbles) colliding against a surface in an erratic pattern were presented to infants between 3 and 712 months of age using an intermodal preference and search method. These stimulus events portrayed two levels of invariant temporal structure: (a) temporal synchrony united the sights and sounds of object impact, and (b) temporal microstructure, the internal temporal structure of each impact sound and motion, specified the composition of the object (single vs. compound). Experiment 1 demonstrated that by 6 months infants detected a relation between the audible and visible stimulation from these events when both levels of invariant temporal structure guided their intermodal exploration. Experiment 2 revealed that by 6 months infants detected the bimodal temporal microstructure specifying object composition. They looked predominantly to the film whose natural soundtrack was played even though the motions of objects in both films were synchronized with the soundtrack. Experiment 3 assessed infants' sensitivity to temporal synchrony relations. Two films depicting objects of the same composition were presented while the motions of only one of them was synchronized with the appropriate soundtrack. Both 412-and 6-month-olds showed evidence of detecting temporal synchrony relations under some conditions. Experiment 4 examined how temporal synchrony and temporal microstructure interact in directing intermodal exploration. The natural soundtrack to one of the objects was played out-of-synchrony with the motions of both. In contrast with the results of Experiment 2, infants at 6 months showed no evidence of detecting a relationship between the film and its appropriate soundtrack. This suggests that the temporal asynchrony disrupted their detection of the temporal microstructure specifying object composition. Results of these studies support on invariant-detection view of the development of intermodal perception.
Consumer perception of water quality, abundance, and cost: comparison of drinking water source, attitudes, and preference

Public attitudes about drinking water quality, fresh water availability, water spending, and suitable uses for recycled water were determined with a survey administered to respondents in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), North America, and Europe. Statistically significant differences in perception were identified as a function of respondent’s country of residence. Among the findings are a significantly greater proportion of residents of the GCC who view their tap water quality as poor (36.6%) compared to those in North America and Europe (23.8%), and a significantly greater percentage of the GCC group prefers to utilise bottled water for drinking (88.4% vs. 66.3%) and says that they ‘never’ drink tap water (76.1% vs. 26.2%). Differences in perception of drinking water quality and source preference are likely attributable to the prevalence of desalination as a drinking water source in the GCC, and public uncertainty regarding the potability of desalinated water.
The flow-refueling location problem for alternative-fuel vehicles

Abstract Beginning with Hodgson (Geogr.Anal.22(1990) 270), several researchers have been developing a new kind of location-allocation model for “flow capturing.” Instead of locating central facilities to serve demand at fixed points in space, their models aim to serve demand consisting of origin-destination flows along their shortest paths. This paper extends flow-capturing models to optimal location of refueling facilities for alternative-fuel (alt-fuel) vehicles, such as hydrogen fuel cells or natural gas. Existing flow-capturing models assume that if a flow passes just one facility along its path, it is covered. This assumption does not carry over to vehicle refueling because of the limited range of vehicles. For refueling, it may be necessary to stop at more than one facility in order to successfully refuel the entire path, depending on the vehicle range, the path length, and the node spacing. The Flow Refueling Location Model (FRLM) optimally locates p refueling stations on a network so as to maximize the total flow volume refueled. This paper presents a mixed-integer programming formulation for the nodes-only version of the problem, as well as an algorithm for determining all combinations of nodes that can refuel a given path. A greedy-adding approach is demonstrated to be suboptimal, and the tradeoff curve between number of facilities and flow volume refueled is shown to be nonconvex.
Currents Induced in a Human Being for Plane-Wave Exposure Conditions 0-50 MHz and for RF Sealers

The currents induced in a human being were measured for plane-wave exposure conditions 0-50 MHz. These are used to point out that very large SAR's may be set up in the wet tissues for the cross section of the ankle for standing human beings exposed to electric fields suggested in the ANSI C95.1-1982 RF safety guide. For these exposure conditions, foot currents on the order of 627 mA are projected for a human adult of height 1.75 m for the frequency band 3-30 MHz with the value increasing to 780 mA for 40 MHz. The corresponding ankle-section SAR's are 182 and 243 W/kg. Using electromagnetic scaling concepts, SAR's as high as 371 and 534 W/kg are projected for ten- and five-year old children, respectively, for f = 50.7 and 62.5 MHz, E = 61.4 V/m (1 mW/cm2) recommended by the ANSI C95.1-1982 RF safety guide. The paper also gives currents induced by two sealer models and three industrial RF sealers for a human being under grounded and insulated conditions. Though smaller than those for plane-wave irradiation conditions, these currents may be substantial for high leakage fields that are quite typical.
Telomerase activity is widespread in adult somatic tissues of Xenopus.

Chromosome ends, or telomeres, are maintained by telomerase. Work in selected vertebrates has implied that telomerase is often repressed in differentiated cells, and telomere erosion results in senescence of cultured cells. Tissues from mature Xenopus laevis frogs were examined for telomerase enzymatic activity with the TRAP (telomere repeat amplification protocol) assay. All tissues contained active telomerase, most abundantly in testis, spleen, liver, and embryos; activity was less abundant but still readily detectable with < 100 ng of protein extract from brain and muscle tissues. Activity in somatic tissues of the diploid Xenopus tropicalis suggests this condition is not limited to the polyploid members of the genus, and that extensive differentiation-linked telomerase repression does not occur in Xenopus.
Synthesis and evaluation of the anticonvulsant activity of a series of 2-amino-1-phenyl-1-propanols derived from the metabolites of the antidepressant bupropion

Abstract A series of 2-amino-1-phenyl-1-propanols that are structurally related to known metabolites of bupropion,1 (Wellbutrin®) were synthesized and evaluated as potential anticonvulsants. The ( R ∗ ,R ∗ )-2-tert- butylamino -1-(3- trifluoromethylphenyl ) propanol 20 had an ED50 of 16.5 ± 2.8 mg/kg ip in mice in the maximal electroshock screen and was chosen for further evaluation.
Multiple roles of adrenomedullin revealed by animal models.

The newly identified adrenomedullin (AM) gene codes for a potent, highly conserved vasodilator that is expressed in many tissues. Many biological functions have been ascribed to AM based on its broad expression pattern and numerous in vitro studies, and it is currently viewed as a multifunctional peptide hormone. Recent advances in gene manipulation have permitted the development of experimental animal systems to help distinguish between gene causes and effects in the context of otherwise normal physiology, and so the normal biological function of the AM gene can be studied within the intact physiological milieu of a whole animal. In this review article, we summarize the recent findings from three different types of genetic experiments involving the AM gene.