cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
New observations on the reversed fixation test.

lmology a We have previously defined the crucial reversed fixation test in the diagnosis ated horizontal deviation (DHD).W use this test to identify and measure a variety of deviations and to distinguish them from nondiss viations. Because the reversed fixation test reveals deviations that are otherwise undetectable, it has indispensable part of our routine strabismologic e The reversed fixation test was first devised by M colleagues as a clinical technique to visualize the component in patients with dissociated vertical (DVD). It was later found by Graf to provide tory diagnostic test for DHD. The reversed fixation test follows the prism nate cover test. After neutralization of the devia patient continues to fixate through the prism versed fixation test is then performed by shift cluder to again cover the prismatically neutr During the reversed fixation test, the uncovere out the prism is observed for any refixation which, if present, establishes the diagnosis of a deviation. This dissociated deviation can easi sured by asking the patient to hold the first p the examiner places consecutive prisms in fr uncovered eye until the dissociatedmovement is ne paretic or restricted muscle will not produce a posit fixation test because the deviation has already been for that position of gaze. The beauty of the reve test is that it cancels out the refixation movement t sary to reposition each eye to primary gaze, so that a movement is dissociated.
Japanese Childhood Victims of Sexual Abuse and their Social Perceptions: Comparisons with Children in Germany, Greece and the USA

Empirical Japanese studies of childhood sexual abuse are rare. The few studies that do exist are mostly case studies involving low numbers of respondents. These are usually highly subjective, mostly legal or psychiatric in orientation and cannot be generalized to the Japanese population. In Japan this topic is often avoided as unpleasant; consequently, it is not discussed in conversation and not investigated in research. However, this subject is a compelling social problem that merits the attention of social scientists. The original concept for this study was a product of Gerd F. Kirchhoff and Claudia Kirchhoff (1976) who studied hidden sexual victimization in a German and a US sample in 1974/5. About 20 years later, Gerd Kirchhoff attempted to coordinate a much expanded comparative follow-up study in eight countries: Germany, USA, South Africa, Brazil, Mexico, Hungary, Poland, and Japan. However, data were generated from only half the countries: Germany, USA, Greece and Japan. This study is part of that ...
The use of a nucleopeptide fraction from injected rabbits to study the nature of antigen fragment-RNA association.

Abstract A nucleotide peptide ( n − p ) fraction was obtained from liver tissue of ‘normal’, uninjected rabbits and rabbits injected with either 35 S-sulfanilate-azo-BSA or 3 H-aniline-azo-BSA. The n − p of each was fractionated on Sephadex G-50, and since ‘C’ represented a highly-radioactive, UV-absorbing fraction as obtained from the ‘injected’, it was studied further. In a ‘peptide map’ there were 4, UV-absorbing anodic components containing radioactivity, and it was the presence of the latter in the ‘injected’ that distinguished it from the ‘normal’. 3 H and 35 S as labels, in the injected antigen, of a neutral and a negatively-charged group respectively, were present in the same n − p components following high voltage electrophoresis. The latter is strong evidence for covalent linkage between nucleotide and antigen fragment. In addition to three anodic components, an equal number of components having slight cathodic mobility, were biologically-active, substituting at about a 1000-fold less concentration for antigen in ‘triggering’ an anamnestic response in vitro . The present findings are discussed with reference to the role of antigen in protein (antibody) synthesis.
Evaluation of 19th century masonry bridge abutments using ground-penetrating radar

Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) has been used to evaluate the condition of a group of bridge abutments that were built in the 19th century in New England. Thickness and configuration of the abutments could be determined, and small voids suggesting open joints were detected within the abutments. Use of low and high frequency transducers is recommended in bridge abutment surveys.
An electrically small Yagi antenna with enhanced bandwidth characteristics using folded cylindrical helix dipoles

An electrically small, two-element Yagi antenna is presented.Low-Q, folded cylindrical helix dipoles are used for the driver and the reflector element for enhanced bandwidth performance. The design is optimized, built and measured. The kr of the antenna is 0.95. The measured realized gain in the end-fire direction is found to be 6.19 dB with a 1-dB-drop-in-realized-gain bandwidth of 2.82%. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 53:1231–1233, 2011; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com. DOI 10.1002/mop.25997
Plastic Modified o-Ethoxybenzoic Acid Cements as Temporary Restorative Materials

Efjects of adding polymeric materials to powder components of EBA cements were studied. The most suitable additives for reducing the brittleness of EBA cements were acrylic and vinyl chloride copolymers.
Immunoelectron microscopic detection of tissue ganglioside antigens

Glycolipid antigens are emerging as important markers of differentiated cells in vitro and in vivo. The study of the expression of these antigens in whole tissues by immunoelectron microscopy, using standard techniques, does not give acceptable results. We have established conditions for the specific demonstration of antibody binding to tissue glycolipid antigens by immunoelectron microscopy. Dehydration of tissues with alcohol is to be avoided as it extracts the glycolipid antigen out of the tissue. Dehydration in acetone provides good results. Embedding of the tissue in Araldite 512 results in high non-specific binding of the primary antibody and a decreased effective titre of the primary antibody. Embedding of tissues in Lowicryl HM20 resin resulted in low non-specific binding. We also describe a method of curing the Lowicryl resin that does not require a purpose built curing chamber. Quantitative analysis of immunogold binding reveals that acetone dehydration of tissues and embedding in Lowicryl gives greatly superior results in comparison with dehydration in alcohol and embedding in Araldite.
Nonspecific esterase of acute promyelocytic leukemia (M3).

Leukemic cells of 43 patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia (M3) were investigated morphologically and cytochemically to determine the percentage of aberrant enzymes and whether or not the presence impacts on the clinical outcome. Twelve patients (27.9%) showed alpha-naphythyl acetate esterase (ANAE) activity in their leukemic cells, and two of these cases revealed remarkably low myeloperoxidase (MPO) positivity, a pattern seen in monocytic precursors. However, further cytochemical evidence for this monocytic feature, the inhibition of naphthol AS-D acetate esterase (NASDA) activity with sodium fluoride (NASDA-F), was found in only five of these nine patients. In 31 cases (72.1%), there was minimal ANAE activity. Of interest, two of these were devoid of naphthol AS-D chloroacetate esterase (CAE), which is prominently displayed in neu-trophilic granulocytes, even though these leukemic cells were 100% intensely positive for MPO activity. Between the two groups with and without ANAE activity, there were no remarkable differences in the distribution of sex and age, hematological findings, and rates of complete response. Our study has confirmed the cytochemical heterogeneity of M3 with no obvious relationship between this heterogeneity and early therapeutic outcome.
A cationic iridium complex bearing an imidazol-2-ylidene ligand as alkene hydrogenation catalyst

The new cationic iridium carbene complex [Ir(cod)(py)(SIMes)]PF6 (2) has been synthesized by reaction of [Ir(cod)(py)2]PF6 with SIMes. Complex 2 is an active hydrogenation catalyst capable of hydrogenating simple olefins at room temperature and atmospheric pressure of hydrogen.
THAUMASITE IN DETERIORATED SOIL-CEMENTS

Some samples of badly deteriorated soil cement pavement base materials which had been in contact with ground water containing about 2000 ppm SO3 were examined. It appeared that the cause of deterioration was due to formation of thaumasite or possibly of a solid solution between thaumasite and the isostructural phase, ettringite. The deterioration was caused by expansion due to formation of the fibrous phase, apparently the result of prolonged contact of this particular soil-cement with high sulfate content ground water, and possibly affected also by the high dolomite content of the soil.
Lack of response inhibition in rats prenatally exposed to alcohol

Offspring of mothers who consumed either 32, 19, 8, or 0% of their daily caloric intake in the form of ethanol during pregnancy were tested for passive avoidance. At 18 days of age, the number of trials to criterion and the within-group variability were direct functions of the amount of ethanol consumed by the mother during pregnancy. At 41–53 days of age, alcohol-treated pups still required more trials to criterion than controls and had faster speeds into the shock compartment on the first trial. When the progeny of mothers consuming either 35, 17, or 0% ethanolderived calories during pregnancy were compared for conditioned taste aversion to a lithium chloride solution, a linear dose-response function was again evident. Animals in the alcohol-treated groups showed less suppression of drinking than controls. These investigations indicated that the effects of alcohol exposure in utero were manifested in behavioral out-comes involving response inhibition that were not correlated with the more familiar physical symptoms.
Erratum to: Small RNA Regulators of T Cell-Mediated Autoimmunity

The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake. In the paper, the sentence “The microprocessor complex formed by Drosha/DGCR8 and other proteins recognizes the pri-miRNAs and processes them into” should be “The microprocessor complex formed by Drosha/DGCR8 and other proteins recognizes the pri-miRNAs and processes them into ∼70nt long pre-miRNAs. The stem-loop shaped premiRNAs are exported through exportin 5 into the cytoplasm where they are processed by an enzyme called Dicer.”
Greenhouse economics: learn before you leap

In virtually no area of the human enterprise is there more uncertainty than in matters of national defense. How well armed, trained, allied, clever, and persevering an aggressor might be is often uncertain. Moreover, the nature of an attack the direction of and with what weapons and strategy a strike might be made is normally deliberately concealed. In response to this great uncertainty, the United States has military bases around the world, nuclear submarines patrolling the remotest parts of the oceans, missiles poised to strike against any land or airborne target, and military satellites orbitin g the entire planet. Thousands of highly trained intelligence officers filter through the minutia of activities of perceived enemies and prepare elaborate contingency plans. The U.S. has carefully negotiated, verifiable international arms control treaties. Finally, it has developed the most advanced and sophisticated weapons and communications technology in the world to serve these functions. The cost of this form of military security currently consumes about a third of the United States’.federal budget. Indeed, the U.S. has spent in the last decade alone more than 1.5 trillion (1012> dollars to build up an arms apparatus against an enemy whose chance of attacking the U.S. in the last quarter century was never rated higher than about 3%. Now consider the stance of the current U.S. administration on global warming. Nearly every sector of the American economy could be adversely affected by climatic change, and nothing short of our national security and quality of life may be at stake. Most climatologists believe the chances of unprecedented climate change are at least 50%. Yet, offering as justification the uncertainty in timing and location of ‘the strike’, the Bush administration is doing virtually nothing to prepare a defense against this threat.
The relation of succinate to adrenocortical function.

EARLIER preliminary experiments have stimulated our curiosity and interest in the probable relationship between succinate and adrenocortical function during stress. It is well known that oxygen uptake is stimulated by succinate. We have seen that there is almost a typical doseresponse curve regarding oxygen uptake when liver homogenates are treated.with increasing doses of succinate (1). It is of interest, however, that the stimulating effect of succinate on oxygen uptake of liver homogenates may be greatly inhibited by cortisone. This is striking, since we have observed that cortisone itself, causes approximately a 21% increase of oxygen uptake above untreated controls (2). The question arose, therefore, as to the liklihood of cortisone acting to slow down the metabolic rate rather than stimulate it during stress.
Amplified ultrafast optical switching by cascading cascaded second-order nonlinearities in a polarization-gate geometry

Abstract We demonstrate amplified ultrafast all-optical switching of 250-fs pulses using two different types of cascaded second-order nonlinearities (CSNs) simultaneously in a simple polarization-gate geometry using a type II crystal. The first set of CSN processes has the effect of rotating the input-pulse polarization, yielding polarization gating. This signal pulse is then amplified by a second (different) set of CSN processes involving second-harmonic generation of the gate followed by a stimulated parametric down-conversion process. Using these “cascaded cascaded” second-order processes, we observe amplified switching with 320% efficiency and an on-off ratio of 6 × 10 5 in a 1-mm-thick crystal of BBO.
Syphilis, Historical and Actual: Cultural Geography of a Disease

Nineteenth-century Russian physicians identified two forms of syphilis, venereal and endemic, which they associated with the difference between city and country life. Modern medical authorities have generally rejected Victorian ideas of nonvenereal contagion, but students of preindustrial societies have found evidence that endemic syphilis does in fact occur. Because it was hard to distinguish one form from the other, however, prerevolutionary Russian doctors allowed their cultural preconceptions to guide them where evidence was weak. Their view of syphilis thus provides the historian with a remarkable guide to attitudes toward class, gender, and social change. Modern neglect of the nonvenereal variant demonstrates not merely the progress of scientific knowledge but also the cultural restrictions on our own view of the world. Syphilis, boasts the modern medical text, is a problem solved. The guilty microorganism has been identified and tagged; its presence in the human host can be determined in the laboratory and eradicated through the use of penicillin. The syphilis panic cultivated by Victorian physicians has ceded to modern fears associated with other sexually transmitted illnesses. In fact, however, medical knowledge of syphilis has not followed a straight course from ignorance to technical triumph. Certain nineteenthcentury convictions, rejected as myth by today's scientific establishment, may have stemmed not from misconceptions about the biological world, but from true perceptions of a cultural reality displaced from the center of our own consciousness by advances in clinical practice and the force of social change. In particular, the Victorian concern with nonsexual transmission, though generally discredited, has not altogether died out, but persists on the margins of modern medical discourse, in studies of societies as different from our own as the nineteenth century is
Is carotid angioplasty and stenting more cost effective than carotid endarterectomy

Abstract Objective: Carotid angioplasty and stenting (CAS) has been advocated as a minimally invasive and inexpensive alternative to carotid endarterectomy (CEA). However, a precise comparative analysis of the immediate and long-term costs associated with these two procedures has not been performed. To accomplish this, a Markov decision analysis model was created to evaluate the relative cost effectiveness of these two interventions. Methods: Procedural morbidity/mortality rate for CEA and costs (not charges) were derived from a retrospective review of consecutive patients treated at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Cornell (n = 447). Data for CAS were obtained from the literature. We incorporated into this model both the immediate procedural costs and the long-term cost of morbidities, such as stroke (major stroke in the first year = $52,019; in subsequent years = $27,336/y; minor stroke = $9419). We determined long-term survival rate in quality-adjusted life years and lifetime costs for a hypothetic cohort of 70-year-old patients undergoing either CEA or CAS. Our measure of outcome was the cost-effectiveness ratio. Results: The immediate procedural costs of CEA and CAS were $7871 and $10,133 respectively. We assumed major plus minor stroke rates for CEA and CAS of 0.9% and 5%, respectively. We assumed a 30-day mortality rate of 0% for CEA and 1.2% for CAS. In our base case analysis, CEA was cost saving (lifetime savings = $7017/patient; increase in quality-adjusted life years saved = 0.16). Sensitivity analysis revealed major stroke and death rates as the major contributors to this differential in cost effectiveness. Procedural costs were less important, and minor stroke rates were least important. CAS became cost effective only if its major stroke and mortality rates were made equivalent to those of CEA. Conclusion: CEA is cost saving compared with CAS. This is related to the higher rate of stroke with CAS and the high cost of stents and protection devices. To be economically competitive, the mortality and major stroke rates of CAS must be at least equivalent if not less than those of CEA. (J Vasc Surg 2003;37:331-9.)
Mechanism of synchronized Ca2+ oscillations in cortical neurons

Dissociated rat cortical neurons reassociate in vitro to form synaptically connected networks. Removal of Mg2+ from the extracellular medium then induces neurons in the network to undergo synchronized oscillations of cytoplasmic calcium. Previous studies have shown that these calcium oscillations involve the activation of NMDA receptors and that the rising phase of each calcium spike is coincident with a brief burst of action potentials (Robinson et al., Jpn. J. Physiol. 43 (Suppl. 1) (1993) S125-130; Robinson et al., J. Neurophysiol. 70 (1993) 1606-1616; Murphy et al., J. Neurosci. 12 (1992) 4834-4845). We have found that these calcium oscillations are dependent on an influx of extracellular calcium but are independent of mobilization of calcium from intracellular stores. The influx of extracellular Ca2+ occurs primarily through L-type voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs), since diltiazem inhibits calcium oscillations under all conditions. On the other hand, N-, P/Q-, and T-type VGCCs are not required for calcium oscillations, although inhibitors of these channels may act as partial antagonists. In addition to removal of Mg2+, oscillations can also be induced by the inhibition of voltage-gated K+ channels with 4-aminopyridine (4-AP), a treatment known to increase neurotransmitter release. In the presence of 4-AP, synchronized calcium oscillations become independent of NMDA receptor activation, although they continue to require activation of AMPA/KA receptors. A model for the mechanism of neuronal calcium oscillations and the reason for their synchrony is presented.
Decoherence in Quantum Information Systems: Kraus Operator Approach

We extend previous work [1] by showing that disentanglement of two-qubit open systems can be described in a unified way by Kraus operators. Our discussion includes many examples such as vacuum noise and thermal noise.
Acute Cerebrovascular Disease Occurring After Hospital Discharge for Labor and Delivery

Background and Purpose—The risk of stroke and other postpartum cerebrovascular disease (CVD) occurring after hospital discharge for labor and delivery is uncertain. Methods—We performed a retrospective cohort study using administrative databases to identify all pregnant women who were hospitalized for labor and delivery at nonfederal, acute care hospitals in California from 2005 to 2011 and who were discharged without an International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification diagnosis of CVD. The primary outcome was an acute CVD composite defined as any ischemic stroke, intracranial hemorrhage, cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, pituitary apoplexy, carotid/vertebral artery dissection, hypertensive encephalopathy, or other acute CVD occurring after hospital discharge and before 6 weeks after labor and delivery. Descriptive statistics were used to estimate the incidence of postdischarge CVD. Multivariate logistic regression was used to evaluate the association between selected baseli...
Expression patterns of MITF during human cutaneous embryogenesis: evidence for bulge epithelial expression and persistence of dermal melanoblasts

Background: The mechanisms whereby melanocytes populate the epidermis and developing hair follicles during embryogenesis are incompletely understood. Recent evidence implicates an intermediate mesenchymal stage in this evolutionary process in which HMB-45-positive melanocyte precursors (‘melanoblasts’) exist both in intradermal as well as intraepithelial and intrafollicular compartments. The melanocyte master transcriptional regulator, microphthalmia transcription factor (MITF), identifies mature melanocytes as well as melanocyte precursor stem cells that reside in the bulge region of the hair follicle. Methods: To better define the use of MITF expression in the evaluation of melanocyte ontogeny, human embryonic and fetal skin samples (n = 28) at 6–24 weeks gestation were studied immunohistochemically for expression of MITF and Mart-1. Adjacent step sections were evaluated to correlate staining patterns with cell localization in the intraepidermal, intrafollicular and intradermal compartments. Results: At 6–8 weeks, MITF and Mart-1-positive cells were primarily intradermal with only rare positive cells in the epidermis. By 12–13 weeks, most of these cells had migrated into the epidermis, predominantly the suprabasal layers. Between 15–17 weeks, these cells localized to the basal layer and colonized developing hair follicles. Rare intradermal MITF and Mart-1 positive cells were found as late as week 20. At 18–24 weeks, MITF and Mart-1 positive cells were identified in the outer root sheath, bulge, and follicular bulge epithelium, in addition to the epidermis. Unexpectedly, weak but diffuse nuclear MITF expression was also present in the keratinocytes of the bulge area. Conclusions: The in situ migratory fate of MITF/Mart-1-expressing cells in fetal skin involves a well-defined progression from intradermal to intraepidermal to intrafollicular localization. Occasional intradermal melanocytes may persist after the intraepithelial stages are completed, a finding of potential significance to melanocytic proliferations that may arise de novo within the dermis. Because MITF may play a role in stem cell maintenance, the presence of MITF in bulge epithelial cells suggests that it may be a novel marker for follicular stem cells of both epithelial and melanocytic lineage.
Use of group-randomized trials in pet population research

Communities invest considerable resources to address the animal welfare and public health concerns resulting from unwanted pet animals. Traditionally, research in this area has enumerated the pet-owning population, described pet population dynamics in individual communities, and estimated national euthanasia figures. Recent research has investigated the human-animal bond and explored the community implications of managed feral cat colonies. These reports have utilized traditional epidemiologic study designs to generate observational data to describe populations and measure associations. However, rigorous scientific evaluations of potential interventions at the group level have been lacking. Group-randomized trials have been used extensively in public health research to evaluate interventions that change a population's behavior, not just the behavior of selected individuals. We briefly describe the strengths and limitations of group-randomized trials as they are used to evaluate interventions that promote social and behavioral changes in the human public health field. We extend these examples to suggest the appropriate application of group-randomized trials for pet population dynamics research.
Membrane processes for the sulfur–iodine thermochemical cycle

Abstract Removal of water from aqueous hydriodic acid (HI) by pervaporation using Nafion-117 ® membranes was studied. Specifically, Nafion membranes were used to separate water from HI at concentrations from 18% to 70% and at temperatures ranging from 22 to 109 ∘ C . Initial fluxes of the more dilute acid solutions were as high as 1500 g / m 2 h with a separation factor ( α ) of 139. Furthermore, separation factors as high as 500–700 were obtained for more concentrated samples. In general, increased temperatures yielded higher fluxes with lower separation factors and higher feed concentrations gave lower fluxes with higher separation factors. Activation energies of transport ( E J ) values were calculated for lower and higher concentration HI feeds and compared to pure water pervaporation. These data suggest that the degree of protonation and mole fraction water in the feed influence transport kinetics and that boundary layer issues become more prevalent at higher HI concentrations.
The insider threat in scalable distributed systems: algorithms, metrics and gaps

However well we protect our systems, there is always a chancethey will be compromised. Constructing practical survivable distributed systems that achieve their goals even after being penetrated is a challenge. The problem manifests itself in algorithms maintaining consistency among servers, in routing protocols, and in the interface between clients (or sensors) and the system.We discuss our recent work on intrusion-tolerant algorithms that scale to wide-area networks. We demonstrate limitations in traditional correctness criteria and in common metrics that, while relevant to small systems, are less meaningful in large and complex environments. We propose new metrics that may better capture the challenge posed by such environments. We also point to gaps where no adequate solutions currently exist.
Acromegaly and serum insulin-like growth factor I.

Random levels of growth hormone (GH) are usually not helpful in diagnosing either GH deficiency or GH hypersecretion because GH is secreted in a pulsatile fashion. Insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I)
The use of recombinant human BMP-2 as a salvage procedure in the pediatric spine: a report on 3 cases

The study is a retrospective case series. The objective is to review the results after off-label recombinant human BMP-2 (rhBMP-2) use in the pediatric spine after previously failed spinal fusion. Non-union in the pediatric spine is a challenging condition associated with increased morbidity due to instability, neurological impairment or multiple revision surgeries. BMP has been used with good results in the adult spine; however, information on its use in the pediatric population is still lacking. rhBMP-2 was used at our institution at revision posterior spinal surgery in three patients. Solid spinal fusion was achieved in all three cases despite underlying bone dysplasia (Hurler’s disease), instability or bony substance loss. No adverse reactions due to rhBMP-2 use were observed. rhBMP-2 should be considered as potential option to achieve spinal fusion in children with compromised bone healing due to congenital, local or systemic conditions.
Retention of Anchor and Spaghetti Tags by Paddlefish, Catfishes, and Buffalo Fishes

Abstract Tag retention was measured for paddlefish Polyodon spathula, channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus, blue catfish Ictalurus furcatus, smallmouth buffalo Ictiobus bubalus, and bigmouth buffalo Ictiobus cyprinellus. Fish were captured in 1986 and 1987, triple-tagged with spaghetti tags (Floy FT-4 lock-on), anchor tags (Floy FD-6813), and fin or opercular marks, and released into Energy Lake, Kentucky. After testing for homogeneity, we constructed spaghetti tag retention curves for combined buffalo species and for combined catfish species. Fifty percent of spaghetti tags were lost from buffaloes after 190 d and from catfish after 250 d. Relative tag retention rates after 540 d were higher for anchor than for spaghetti tags on buffalo fish (97 versus 47%) but not different for catfish (74 versus 69%) and paddlefish (97 versus 95%). Spaghetti tags were retained for as long as 4.1 years by channel catfish and 5.2 years by paddlefish. Anchor tags were retained for as long as 3 years by paddlefish, 4.1 year...
Developing Groundnut Lines with Resistance to Seed Colonisation by Toxin-producing Strains of Aspergillus Species

Abstract Evidence for the possible development of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) cultivars with favourable agronomic characteristics and resistance to aflatoxinproducing strains of Aspergillus species is presented. In studies of F2 and F3 progenies from crosses of resistant and susceptible genotypes data on the frequency distribution and least square estimates of genetic effects showed the possibility of selecting for resistance to seed colonisation by the fungus. Yield, value and seed quality data for seven advanced lines developed by using pedigree selection from crosses showed that potential favourable groundnut cultivars may be developed.
9.1.2 Legacy Software Testing – A Current Methodology

In the simulation world, software upgrade is more common than new development. Thus it is extremly important to ensure proper operation of of the simulation model as it is enhanced. The big question is how does one keep the current model operating correctly while adding new capabilities? The Model Development Team at the Air Combat Environment Test and Evaluation Facility, Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Maryland, has developed an approach that is useful in making sure that the current simulation model keeps its current capabilities operating correctly as well as testing any new capability that is added. The purpose of this paper is to present the approach used by the Model Development Team to answer the question put forth. This paper discusses the software development and maintenance criteria used as the overarching guide for testing. The testing process used and how this process ensures that the model meets the criteria is then given. Specific test examples and expected output are provided as a model testing approach. Finally, the future of development testing for the Model Development Team is presented.
Pharmacokinetic characterization of extracorporeal therapy

The efficiency of extracorporeal therapy with immobilized enzymes (reactive devices) and hemoperfusion cartridges (nonreactive devices) is evaluated in terms of a new pharmacokinetic parameter, the bioefficacy. A detailed analysis is provided in the former case, and it is shown how the bioefficacy can be calculated from a combined pharmacokinetic and reactor analysis. The theory is presented for evaluating bioefficacy in terms of linear pharmacokinetic models that view the reactor or other extracorporeal appliance as an artificial organ. Examples are drawn from recent work on methotrexate rescue with immobilized carboxypeptidase G1 and from literature data on the use of hemoperfusion to treat drug overdose to illustrate the calculations.
THE MACROECONOMIC THOUGHT OF NICHOLAS BARBON

Nicholas Barbon (1640–1698) is little appreciated by most historians of economic thought. He is sporadically mentioned in a few writings—probably the most well-known being the favorable reference to him made by John Maynard Keynes (1883–1946) in The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money (Keynes 1936, p. 359). The fullest treatment of Barbon's economic ideas is contained in The Origin of Scientific Economics: English Economic Thought 1660–1776 by William Louis Letwin (Letwin 1963, pp. 48–75). Letwin considers a major defect of Barbon's first purely scientific inquiry into economics, A Discourse of Trade (Barbon 1690), and by implication, his other economic writings, to be “the logical incoherence of its parts” (Letwin 1963, p. 57). This criticism is not surprising in light of the pre-paradigm period in which Barbon was writing.
ONLY EMPIRICISM IS COMPATIBLE WITH BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS: A Response to the Socialism and Behaviorism Debate

The question of which political system is most compatible with applied behavior analysis is examined, a response to the “Socialism and Behaviorism” debate from two recent issues sof Behavior Analysis and Social Action. Various areas of social policy (the environment, overpopulation, industry and welfare) are examined. It is concluded that no system other than pragmatic empiricism is compatible with behavior analysis, or is likely to lead to successful solutions across all these diverse areas.
Glial Boundaries in the Developing Nervous System

Advances in the biology of glial cells, particularly the development of new molecular markers and the refinement of in vitro techniques, have now revealed many intriguing glial-neuronal interactions that occur both dur­ ing nervous system development and following injury. In recent years, many excellent reviews have focused on the well-accepted guidance role of radial glia during neuronal migration (Hatten et al 1 990; Rakic 1 988, 1 990) and numerous other aspects of neuron-glia interactions that influ­ ence cellular phenotype and differentiation, circuitry formation, and syn­ aptic activity (e.g. see Abbott 1991 ; Miller et al 1 989; Vernadakis 1 988). This review conceptualizes transient glial boundaries that surround func­ tional groups of neurons, their dendrites, and axons, during neural development. These boundaries are comprised of unique glial cells and glycoconjugates (i.e. glycoproteins, glycolipids, and glycosaminoglycans), which have been referred to as "cordones" (Steindler et al 1 989b). Boun­ daries are widespread during central nervous system (CNS) pattern for­ mation and disappear following synaptic stabilization (Steindler et al 1 989a,b, 1 990). These specialized cells may express numerous neurite growth­ inhibitory molecules (Schwab 1 990; Schwab & Schnell 1 991 ; Snow et al 1 990b; Steindler et al 1 990), as well as attractant molecules, that ultimately guide neurites to boundary regions where their neuritic arbors accumulate and fasciculate (Laywell & Steindler 1 991). Astrocyte/recognition molecule boundaries may represent intermediaries between neurons and neurites
Efficient Tax Reform in a Dynamic Model of General Equilibrium

The welfare gain of a shift from capital to a labor income tax is determined in a model of intertemporal optimization with infinite horizon and variable labor supply. The welfare impact of small tax changes is computed by an approximation method around the steady state. When the difference between the growth rate and the discount rate is small, the welfare impact of tax reform depends mainly on the parameters of the production function.
Continuous nasoenteric feeding: bioenergetic and metabolic response during recovery from semistarvation.

The bioenergetic and metabolic response to continuous nasoenteric feeding was examined under balance conditions for up to 22 d in 12 stable undernourished medical patients. Each subject received a fixed inflow of the mixed-fuel formula at rates of one to three times maintenance energy requirement. The pooled results were used to develop a composite profile of physiologic changes during recovery from semistarvation. Body weight, whole-body gas exchange, minute ventilation, thermal and chemical energy losses, and balances of energy, nitrogen, potassium, and sodium changed as a function of formula infusion rate and duration of feeding. These component measurements allowed calculation of such classic bioenergetic efficiency terms as digestible, metabolizable, and net energy as functions of infused energy (IE, kcal.kg fat free body mass-1.h-1: 0.96IE, 0.93IE, and 6.7 [1 - e-0.16IE], respectively) and the energy content of weight gain (means +/- SD; early, 4.2 +/- 3.5 kcal/g, and later, 7.4 +/- 3.6 kcal/g). Continuous nasoenteric feeding provides a unique opportunity to define previously unexplored dietary and metabolic interrelations in humans.
Sex ratios of American alligators (Crocodylidae): male or female biased?

Recent theoretical papers on temperature-dependent sex determination in reptiles are based on the assumption that crocodilian populations, particularly adults, are markedly female biased. While there is evidence that some crocodile populations may conform to this expectation, there is no compelling evidence that American alligator populations are female biased anywhere in the species' range. Previous data had indicated that some populations of juvenile and/or adult alligators were significantly male biased. However, these studies were criticized for sampling errors. Adult males typically occupy a different habitat from that of females, and males frequent areas where they are more likely to be caught. In contrast, in juveniles, both sexes occupy the same habitat. We determined the sex ratios of c. 3000 juvenile alligators collected from 11 sites over 6 years in south Louisiana. Our results indicate a significant sex bias (58% male), but variation was evident among samples. Sex ratios varied by year and site, and the interaction of these factors was significant. At one site in one year, there was a female bias (71%), but in no year was there an overall female bias across sites. From this study and earlier reports, we conclude that there is no evidence at present of female-biased sex ratios in the juvenile and/or adult alligator populations, and consequently, that certain models of temperature-dependent sex determination in reptiles require re-evaluation. Furthermore, our data suggest a pattern of differential mortality of females vs males during the first years of life, a pattern consistent with a key prediction of several differential fitness models for the adaptive significance of temperature-dependent sex determination in reptiles.
Diurnal Evolution and Annual Variability of Boundary-Layer Height and Its Correlation to Other Meteorological Variables in California's Central Valley

One year of observations from a network of five 915-MHz boundary-layer radar wind profilers equipped with radio acoustic sounding systems located in California’s Central Valley are used to investigate the annual variability of convective boundary-layer depth and its correlation to meteorological parameters and conditions. Results from the analysis show that at four of the sites, the boundary-layer height reaches its maximum in the late-spring months then surprisingly decreases during the summer months, with mean July depths almost identical to those for December. The temporal decrease in boundary-layer depth, as well as its spatial variation, is found to be consistent with the nocturnal low-level lapse rate observed at each site. Multiple forcing mechanisms that could explain the unexpected seasonal behaviour of boundary-layer depth are investigated, including solar radiation, precipitation, boundary-layer mesoscale convergence, low-level cold-air advection, local surface characteristics and irrigation patterns and synoptic-scale subsidence. Variations in solar radiation, precipitation and synoptic-scale subsidence do not explain the shallow summertime convective boundary-layer depths observed. Topographically forced cold-air advection and local land-use characteristics can help explain the shallow CBL depths at the four sites, while topographically forced low-level convergence helps maintain larger CBL depths at the fifth site near the southern end of the valley.
Managing Uncertainty in Text-to-Sketch Tracking Problems

Text-to-Sketch (T2S) is a class of problems in which geolocation is performed using natural language descriptions of a location or locations as input. This is a challenging problem due to the many sources of uncertainty inherent to the task: there is often syntactic and semantic ambiguity present in the input observations, as well as referential ambiguity when the language used to describe the scene may refer to many possible objects or locations in the world. Tracking problems, in which the Text-to-Sketch paradigm is extended to incorporate multiple locations and movements over a temporal dimension, introduce additional uncertainty. We describe a tool for managing the uncertainty in Text-to-Sketch problems called MUTTS. The MUTTS system combines traditional natural language processing (NLP) tools with algorithms used to manage uncertainty in mobile robot navigation to allow the temporal and geographical constraints in the text to incrementally reduce the overall uncertainty of a subject's location and produce high quality sketches of the subject's location and movements over time.
Use of high-resolution multispectral imagery acquired with an autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle to quantify the spread of an invasive wetlands species

Management of wetlands resources often requires assessment of changes in wetland vegetation over time. Accurate tracking of the expansion or retraction of invasive plant species is especially critical for natural resource managers who must make decisions on the deployment of effective control measures. Many available remote sensing strategies to quantify the location of invasive plant species are either too expensive to deploy on a regular basis or lack sufficient geographic or temporal resolution to be of use to resources managers. This paper presents the results of the use of a new unmanned aerial vehicle platform, called AggieAir™, and a new classification algorithm to track the spread of an invasive grass species, Phragmites australis, in a large and important wetland in northern Utah. The combination of high resolution multi-spectral images (in space and time) and the classification algorithm based on advances in statistical learning theory produce quantitative land cover descriptions that identify Phragmites locations with an accuracy of 95 percent. The combination of these two tools provides wetlands managers with new and potentially valuable methods to quantify the spread of Phragmites and to evaluate the efficacy of their attempts to control it.
The ARL Topodef Tool for Designing Mobile Ad-Hoc Network Topologies to Support Emulation

Emulating a mobile ad-hoc network (MANET) often calls for a way to specify a dynamic topology as a function of time. The development and evaluation of MANET technologies require a method to generate controllable topologies to ease experimentation with various scenarios. The U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) developed the ARL Topodef? topology-definition tool to meet this requirement. The tool enables the user to visually design and verify an ad-hoc topology by placing the participating nodes at exact locations and creating specific data communication links. This paper provides an overview of two supported emulation environments, summarizes the design process, and documents some essential features and benefits of the tool and novel methods for creating desired dynamic topologies. The current use of the tool at various government and industrial laboratories attests to its relevancy, reliability, effectiveness, and usefulness.
When 18-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography is indeterminate, the International Prognostic Index is the answer.

16 weeks after completion of therapy. Three oncologists interpreted the post-treatment scan reports, blinded to the clinical data and the interpretation of their colleagues. In 20% of cases, one or more of theoncologistsinterpretedthereportresultsasindeterminate. In 2008, Cashen and colleagues presented data from a similar study, in which 29% of post-treatment scan reports were interpreted as equivocal [6]. The question we face, as oncologists, is what to do with the reports that we interpret as indeterminate. Interestingly, Thomas and colleagues found that patients with indeterminate scans behaved as might be expected based on their pre-treatment International Prognostic Index (IPI), i.e. those patients with a low or low-intermediate IPI had a 3-year event-free survival of 93%, while that of those patients with a high or high-intermediate IPI was only 45%. This finding is consistent with a basic statistical principle: post-test probability is the product of the pre-test probability and the positive predictive value (PPV). Although the PPV in these scans was indeterminate, the pre-test probability was a dominant predictor of patient outcomes. The fact that the IPI correlated with survival even among those patients with positive or negative FDG-PET is an interesting finding, because it demonstrates the power of the IPI to predict outcomes regardless of clinical response. It is impossible to know whether access to clinical data may have had an impact on the oncologists’ interpretations of the reports. Regardless, the impact of the IPI on post-test probability of relapse is difficult to question, as is the authors’ conclusion: when in doubt, biopsy.
A Newton-imbedding procedure for solutions of semilinear boundary value problems in Sobolev spaces

This article is concerned with the application of the Newton-imbedding iteration procedure to nonlinear boundary value problems in Sobolev spaces. A simple model problem for the second-order semilinear elliptic equations is considered to illustrate the main idea. The essence of this method hinges on the a priori estimates of solutions of the associated linear problem in appropriate Sobolev spaces. It is to our surprise that H 1(Ω)-solution is not smooth enough to guarantee the convergence of the sequence generated by the procedure. Existence and uniqueness of solution to the original nonlinear problem are established constructively. An application of this approach to the Lame system with nonlinear body force and its generalization to contain a nonlinear surface traction in elasticity is also discussed. †Dedicated to Professor Guochun Wen on the occasion of his 70th birthday.