Showing papers by "University of New Mexico published in 1994"

Statistical distance and the geometry of quantum states

Abstract: By finding measurements that optimally resolve neighboring quantum states, we use statistical distinguishability to define a natural Riemannian metric on the space of quantum-mechanical density operators and to formulate uncertainty principles that are more general and more stringent than standard uncertainty principles.

Self-nonself discrimination in a computer

Abstract: The problem of protecting computer systems can be viewed generally as the problem of learning to distinguish self from other. The authors describe a method for change detection which is based on the generation of T cells in the immune system. Mathematical analysis reveals computational costs of the system, and preliminary experiments illustrate how the method might be applied to the problem of computer viruses. >

Human (Homo sapiens) facial attractiveness and sexual selection: The role of symmetry and averageness.

Abstract: We hypothesized from the parasite theory of sexual selection that men (Homo sapiens) would prefer averageness and symmetry in women's faces, that women would prefer averageness and symmetry in men's faces, and that women would prefer largeness (not averageness) of the secondary sexual traits of men's faces. We generated computer images of men's and women's faces and of composites of the faces of each sex, and then had men and women rate opposite-sex faces for 4 variables (attractive, dominant, sexy, and healthy). Symmetry, averageness, and the sizes of facial features were measured on the computerized faces. The hypotheses were supported, with the exception of the hypothesized effects of averageness of female and male faces on attractiveness ratings. This is the first study to show that facial symmetry has a positive influence on facial attractiveness ratings. Although adult facial attractiveness ratings are replicable, even cross-culturally (see reviews and discussions in Jones & Hill, 1993, and Langlois & Roggman, 1990), there has been considerable controversy around attempts to identify in research the facial features that actually cause faces to be judged attractive or unattractive. As discussed by Langlois and Roggman, studies of individual facial features (e.g., nose size) often have yielded inconsistent results between studies. Faces created by combining individual faces into composites have been shown to be more attractive than the individual faces, which is felt to be a preference for average facial features (Langlois & Roggman, 1990; Symons, 1979). Averageness effaces can be calculated metrically or constructed photogrammetrically. Gallon (1879) constructed composites of individual pictures with the photographic method of simply projecting them one over the other on a negative. According to Gallon, this method "enables us to obtain with mechanical precision a generalized picture; one that represents no man in particular, but portrays an imaginary figure possessing the average features of any given group of man" (1879, p. 341). Indeed, Treu (1914) had the impression that these composites are "singularly beautiful" (p. 441). However, as Alley and Cunningham (1991; see also Benson & Perrett, 1991) pointed out, composites are also more symmetrical and rather free of

Langerhans'-cell histiocytosis (histiocytosis X)--a clonal proliferative disease.

Abstract: Background The lesions of Langerhans'-cell histiocytosis (histiocytosis X), a proliferative histiocytic disorder of unknown cause, contain histiocytes similar in phenotype to dendritic Langerhans' cells. The disease ranges in severity from a fatal leukemia-like disorder to an isolated lytic lesion of bone. Intermediate forms of the disease are usually characterized by multiorgan involvement, diabetes insipidus, and a chronic course. Methods To determine whether Langerhans' histiocytosis is a polyclonal reactive disease or a clonal disorder, we used X-linked polymorphic DNA probes (HUMARA, PGK, M27β[DXS255], and HPRT) to assess clonality in lesional tissues and control leukocytes from 10 female patients with various forms of the disease. Lymphoid clonality was also assessed by analysis of rearrangements at immunoglobulin and T-cell-receptor gene loci. Results The HUMARA assay detected clonal cells in the lesions of 9 of the 10 patients: 3 patients had acute disseminated disease, 3 had unifocal disease, and...

Pad++: a zooming graphical interface for exploring alternate interface physics

Abstract: We describe the current status of Pad++, a zooming graphical interface that we are exploring as an alternative to traditional window and icon-based approaches to interface design. We discuss the motivation for Pad++, describe the implementation, and present prototype applications. In addition, we introduce an informational physics strategy for interface design and briefly compare it with metaphor-based design strategies.

How strategy‐making processes can make a difference

Abstract: Strategy-making is usually portrayed in dichotomous terms: rational vs. incremental, or formulation vs. implementation. It may, however, be more valid to think of organizations as entities capable of developing resources and skills in multiple strategy-making process modes. This paper first develops measures to identify firms with different levels and types of strategy-making process ‘capability’ then examines empirically their relationships to five dimensions of perceived performance, using data collected from a sample of 285 top managers. Results indicate that firms with high process capability–the simultaneous use of multiple strategy-making process modes–outperfom single-mode or less process-capable organizations.

Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome: A Clinical Description of 17 Patients with a Newly Recognized Disease

Abstract: Background In May 1993 an outbreak of severe respiratory illness occurred in the southwestern United States. A previously unknown hantavirus was identified as the cause. In Asia hantaviruses are associated with hemorrhagic fever and renal disease. They have not been known as a cause of human disease in North America. Methods We analyzed clinical, laboratory, and autopsy data on the first 17 persons with confirmed infection from this newly recognized strain of hantavirus. Results The mean age of the patients was 32.2 years (range, 13 to 64); 61 percent were women, 72 percent were Native American, 22 percent white, and 6 percent Hispanic. The most common prodromal symptoms were fever and myalgia (100 percent), cough or dyspnea (76 percent), gastrointestinal symptoms (76 percent), and headache (71 percent). The most common physical findings were tachypnea (100 percent), tachycardia (94 percent), and hypotension (50 percent). The laboratory findings included leukocytosis (median peak cell count, 26,000 per cu...

On the Wave Theory in Heat Conduction

Abstract: This work contains three major components: a thorough review on the research emphasizing engineering applications of the thermal wave theory, special features in thermal wave propagation, and the thermal wave model in relation to the microscopic two-step model. For the sake of convenience, the research works are classified according to their individual emphases. Special features in thermal wave propagation include the sharp wavefront and rate effects, the thermal shock phenomenon, the thermal resonance phenomenon, and reflections and refractions of thermal waves across a material interface. By employing the dual-phase-lag concept, we show that the energy equation may be reduced to that governing the heat transport through the metal lattice in the microscopic two-step model

Postcranial robusticity in Homo. II: Humeral bilateral asymmetry and bone plasticity

Abstract: The analysis of humeral asymmetry in Recent human skeletal samples and an extant tennis-player sample documents minimal asymmetry in bone length, little asymmetry in distal humeral articular breadth, but pronounced and variable asymmetry in mid- and distal diaphyseal cross-sectional geometric parameters. More specifically, skeletal samples of normal modern Euroamericans, prehistoric and early historic Amerindians, and prehistoric Japanese show moderate (ca. 5-14%) median asymmetry in diaphyseal cross-sectional areas and polar second moments of area, whereas the tennis-player sample, with pronounced unilateral physical activity, exhibits median asymmetries of 28-57% in the same parameters. A sample of Neandertals with nonpathological upper limbs exhibits similarly low articular asymmetry but pronounced diaphyseal asymmetries, averaging 24-57%. In addition, three Neandertals with actual or possible post-traumatic upper limb alterations have the same low articular asymmetry but extremely high diaphyseal asymmetries, averaging 112-215%. These data support those from experimental work on animals, exercise programs of humans, and human clinical contexts in establishing the high degree of diaphyseal plasticity possible for humans, past and present, under changing biomechanical loading conditions. This lends support to activity-related functional interpretations of changing human diaphyseal morphology and robusticity during the Pleistocene.

Fluctuating asymmetry and sexual selection

Abstract: Behavioral ecologists are being attracted to the study of within-individual morphological variability, manifested in random deviations from bilateral symmetry, as a means of ascertaining the stress susceptibility of developmental regulatory mechanisms. Several early successes Indicate that incorporating measures of symmetry into sexual-selection studies may help link individual sexual success to a basic component of viability — developmental stability.

Measurement of drinking behavior using the Form 90 family of instruments.

Abstract: Although drinking behavior is clearly a central dependent variable in alcoholism treatment research, the field has reached no consensus on measurement methodology for alcohol consumption. At least four methods for quantifying consumption have been commonly used in outcome studies: quantity-frequency questions, average consumption grids, timeline follow-back and self-monitoring. The Form 90 family of structured interviews was developed by collaboration among the Project MATCH investigators, combining the strengths of prior assessment methodologies. The development, structure, supporting software and training approaches for the Form 90 instruments are described.

A virus-like particle enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay detects serum antibodies in a majority of women infected with human papillomavirus type 16.

Abstract: Genital human papillomaviruses (HPV) are common sexually transmitted agents that induce a variety of proliferative genital lesions, including condylomata acuminata and benign cervical atypia. Infection by high-risk HPV types (most often HPV16 and HPV18) is by far the most significant risk factor for the development of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (increased risk of 10-fold to 40-fold), which can progress to invasive cervical carcinomas (increased risk of 200-fold to 300-fold) (1-3). Infection by low-risk types (most often HPV6 and HPV11) is common, but lesions induced by these types are rarely associated with carcinogenic progression. The identification of women who are at risk for developing cervical cancer has depended primarily on the use of the Papanicolaou (Pap) test, which detects cytologic abnormalities in cells from cervico-vaginal scrapes. In recent years, it has become evident that most of the cytologic changes represent manifestations of genital HPV infection. Although the Pap test is a very useful screening assay, it has a relatively high proportion of misdiagnosis and requires highly trained personnel to obtain and analyze the samples (4). Therefore, attempts have been made to devise assays to complement or partially replace Pap screening. Most of the ancillary assays are based on the direct detection of HPV nucleic acids in exfoliated cervico-vaginal cells and biopsy specimens. Two major shortcomings of the DNA-based assays are that they are beyond the scope of procedures currently in use in most clinical laboratories and, since the viral lesions are focal, they are subject to the same sampling errors as Pap smears (5). A serologic assay for genital HPV infection may offer advantages over currently available HPV diagnostic methods, since it would measure systemic responses to a significant viral infection and could be performed by most clinical laboratories. In addition, an antibody test might be useful for evaluating past exposure to the viruses. Attempts to develop serologic assays for high-risk HPV infections, however, have thus far been relatively unsuccessful. Responses to nonstructural viral proteins appear to be low and show substantial variability, with no single protein eliciting a detectable response in more than a minority of HPV-infected people (6,7). Assays using bacterially produced LI major or L2 minor virion structural proteins have not shown a good association between serum reactivity and other measures of HPV infection (8). The latter finding may indicate that HPV infections that are localized to the genital mucosa do not regularly elicit a significant systemic immune response to the virion proteins. Alternatively, most of the immunogenic epitopes of HPV virions recognized during natural infection may not be displayed by the bacterially derived virion proteins, which are generally isolated as denatured proteins and lack eukaryotic specific modifications. Humoral responses to native genital HPV virions have only been studied using virions of the low-risk HPV11 virions propagated in human tissues grown in immunologically impaired mice (9,10) because no efficient in vitro system exists for generating preparative amounts of native virions. However, we have reported (11) that the L1 virion proteins of bovine papillomavirus type 1 (BPV1) and HPV16 have the intrinsic capacity to self-assemble into virus-like particles when expressed in insect cells via recombinant baculoviruses. We have now used purified HPV16 L1 plus L2 virus-like particles (12) as the antigen to develop an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). We have tested whether this assay can detect IgG anti-HPV16 virion antibodies in the sera of women who test positive for genital HPV16 infection by DNA-based methods.

Quantum limits on bosonic communication rates

Abstract: The capacity C of a communication channel is the maximum rate at which information can be transmitted without error from the channel's input to its output. The authors review quantum limits on the capacity that can be achieved with linear bosonic communication channels that have input power P. The limits arise ultimately from the Einstein relation that a field quantum at frequency f has energy E=hf. A single linear bosonic channel corresponds to a single transverse mode of the bosonic field i.e., to a particular spatial dependence in the plane orthogonal to the propagation direction and to a particular spin state or polarization. For a single channel the maximum communication rate is CWB=( ln 2)2P3h bits/s. This maximum rate can be achieved by a "number-state channel," in which information is encoded in the number of quanta in the bosonic field and in which this information is recovered at the output by counting quanta. Derivations of the optimum capacity CWB are reviewed. Until quite recently all derivations assumed, explicitly or implicitly, a number-state channel. They thus left open the possibility that other techniques for encoding information on the bosonic field, together with other ways of detecting the field at the output, might lead to a greater communication rate. The authors present their own general derivation of the single-channel capacity upper bound, which applies to any physically realizable technique for encoding information on the bosonic field and to any physically realizable detection scheme at the output. They also review the capacities of coherent communication channels that encode information in coherent states and in quadrature-squeezed states. A three-dimensional bosonic channel can employ many transverse modes as parallel single channels. An upper bound on the information flux that can be transferred down parallel bosonic channels is derived.

Evaluating the Advocacy Coalition Framework

Abstract: The Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF) was developed to provide a causal theory of the policy process which would serve as one of several alternatives to the familiar stages heuristic, with its recognized limitations. This paper first summarizes the central features of the ACF, including a set of underlying assumptions and specific hypotheses. We next review the implications for the framework of six case studies by various authors dealing with Canadian education and with American transportation, telecommunications, water, environmental, and energy policy. While generally supportive of the ACF, the case studies also suggest several revisions.

Human Fluctuating Asymmetry and Sexual Behavior

Abstract: This report presents evidence that sexual selection may favor developmental stability (i e, the absence of fluctuating asymmetry) in humans Subtle, heritable asymmetries in seven nonfacial human body traits correlated negatively with number of self-reported, lifetime sex partners and correlated positively with self-reported age at first copulation in a college student sample These relationships remained statistically significant when age, marital status, body height, ethnicity, physical anomalies associated with early prenatal development, and physical attractiveness were statistically controlled The strength of the relationships did not differ significantly as a function of sex It is unlikely that the relationships are generated by false self-reporting of sexual experience

The radiation-induced crystalline-to-amorphous transition in zircon

Abstract: A comprehensive understanding of radiation effects in zircon, ZrSiO4, over a broad range of time scales (0.5 h to 570 million years) has been obtained by a study of natural zircon, Pu-doped zircon, and ion-beam irradiated zircon. Radiation damage in zircon results in the simultaneous accumulation of both point defects and amorphous regions. The amorphization process is consistent with models based on the multiple overlap of particle tracks, suggesting that amorphization occurs as a result of a critical defect concentration. The amorphization dose increases with temperature in two stages (below 300 K and above 473 K) and is nearly independent of the damage source (α-decay events or heavy-ion beams) at 300 K. Recrystallization of completely amorphous zircon occurs above 1300 K and is a two-step process that involves the initial formation of pseudo-cubic ZrO2.

Dose-Response Study of N,N-Dimethyltryptamine in Humans: II. Subjective Effects and Preliminary Results of a New Rating Scale

Abstract: Background: Validation of animal models of hallucinogenic drugs' subjective effects requires human data. Previous human studies used varied groups of subjects and assessment methods. Rating scales for hallucinogen effects emphasized psychodynamic principles or the drugs' dysphoric properties. We describe the subjective effects of graded doses of N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), an endogenous hallucinogen and drug of abuse, in a group of experienced hallucinogen users. We also present preliminary data from a new rating scale for these effects. Methods: Twelve highly motivated volunteers received two doses (0.04 and 0.4 mg/kg) of intravenous (IV) dimethyltryptamine fumarate "nonblind," before entering a doubleblind, saline placebo-controlled, randomized study using four doses of IV DMT. Subjects were carefully interviewed after resolution of drug effects, providing thorough and systematic descriptions of DMT's effects. They also were administered a new instrument, the Hallucinogen Rating Scale (HRS). The HRS was drafted from interviews obtained from an independent sample of 19 experienced DMT users, and modified during early stages of the study. Results: Psychological effects of IV DMT began almost immediately after administration, peaked at 90 to 120 seconds, and were almost completely resolved by 30 minutes. This time course paralleled DMT blood levels previously described. Hallucinogenic effects were seen after 0.2 and 0.4 mg/kg of dimethyltryptamine fumarate, and included a rapidly moving, brightly colored visual display of images. Auditory effects were less common. "Loss of control," associated with a brief, but overwhelming "rush," led to a dissociated state, where euphoria alternated or coexisted with anxiety. These effects completly replaced subjects' previously ongoing mental experience and were more vivid and compelling than dreams or waking awareness. Lower doses, 0.1 and 0.05 mg/kg, were primarily affective and somaesthetic, while 0.1 mg/kg elicited the least desirable effects. Clustering of HRS items, using either a clinical, mental status method or principal components factor analysis provided better resolution of dose effects than did the biological variables described previously. Conclusions: These clinical and preliminary quantitative data provide bases for further psychopharmacologic characterization of DMT's properties in humans. They also may be used to compare the effects of other agents affecting relevant brain receptors in volunteer and psychiatric populations.

Reintroduction of captive-born animals

Abstract: This paper explores the extent to which reintroduction of captive-born animals is being used as a conservation strategy, the extent to which zoos are participating, the success of reintroduction, and some characteristics of these reintroduction programmes as they relate to success. This paper does not provide guidelines for reintroduction; see Kleiman, Stanley Price and Beck (Chapter 14) for guidelines.

Postcranial robusticity in Homo. III: Ontogeny.

Abstract: The influence of developmental factors on long-bone crosssectional geometry and articular size in modern humans is investigated using two approaches: (1) an analysis of the effects of increased mechanical loading on long-bone structure when applied during different developmental periods, using data collected for a study of upper limb bone bilateral asymmetry in professional tennis players; and (2) an analysis of the relative timing of age changes in femoral dimensions among juveniles from the Pecos Pueblo Amerindian archaeological sample. Results of these analyses are used to interpret the femoral morphology of three pre-Recent Homo juveniles—the H. erectus KNM-WT 15000 and the archaic H. sapiens La Ferrassie 6 and Teshik-Tash 1—as well as observed differences in postcranial morphology between adult Recent and earlier Homo (Ruff et al., 1993). Our findings indicate the following: (1) There are age-related changes in long-bone diaphyseal envelope sensitivity to increased mechanical loading, with the periosteal envelope more responsive prior to mid-adolescence, and the endosteal envelope more responsive thereafter. The periosteal expansion and endosteal contraction of the diaphysis documented earlier for adult pre-Recent Homo relative to Recent humans (Ruff et al., 1993) is thus consistent with a developmental response to increased mechanical loading applied throughout life. The relatively large medullary cavity in the 11–12-year-old KNM-WT 15000 femur is also consistent with this model. However, the two archaic H. sapiens juveniles show relatively small medullary cavities, possibly indicating a modified developmental pattern in this group. (2) Articulations follow a growth pattern similar to that of long-bone length (and stature), while cross-sectional diaphyseal dimensions (cortical area, second moments of area) show a contrasting growth pattern, with slower initial growth from childhood through mid-adolescence, followed by a “catch-up” period that continues through early adulthood. This latter pattern is more similar to the growth curve for body weight, and may in fact partially reflect adaptation of the diaphysis to increased weight bearing. Because of these different growth patterns, articulations appear relatively large, and diaphyseal breadths relatively small during late childhood to mid-adolescence (i.e., about 9–13 years), when compared to adults from the same population. KNM-WT 15000 shows this same proportional difference from adult early Homo specimens, which is therefore interpreted as simply a developmental consequence of his age at death. (3) When standardized for differences in body size and shape, midshaft femoral cross-sectional areas for the three pre-Recent juveniles in our sample, which span an age range from about 4 to 12 years, all fall in the upper part of the general data scatter for modern juveniles of a similar age. This is very similar to the pattern we found earlier for adult Homo specimens (Ruff et al., 1993). Thus, increased diaphyseal robusticity relative to modern humans, and the mechanicalhehavioral factors that produced this structural difference, were apparently as characteristic of immature as of adult pre-Recent Homo. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Introduction to Community Empowerment, Participatory Education, and Health

Abstract: Nina Wallerstein is Assistant Professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico. Edward Bernstein is Associate Professor, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston City Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts. Address reprint requests to Nina Wallerstein, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 8713

Feminism and geography : the limits of geographical knowledge

Abstract: Acknowledgements. 1. Feminism and Geography: An Introduction. 2. Women and Everyday Spaces. 3. No Place for Women?. 4. The Geographical Imagination: Knowledge and Critique. 5. Looking at Landscape: The Uneasy Pleasures of Power. 6. Spatial Divisions and Other Spaces: Production, Reproduction and Beyond. 7. A Politics of Paradoxical Space. Notes to Chapters.

The Khoros software development environment for image and signal processing

Abstract: Data flow visual language systems allow users to graphically create a block diagram of their applications and interactively control input, output, and system variables. Khoros is an integrated software development environment for information processing and visualization. It is particularly attractive for image processing because of its rich collection of tools for image and digital signal processing. This paper presents a general overview of Khoros with emphasis on its image processing and DSP tools. Various examples are presented and the future direction of Khoros is discussed. >