University Of California At San Diego Research Articles

‘Extended’ vocal techniques in the institution: The Extended Vocal Techniques Ensemble at the Center for Musical Experiment at UCSD

In the decades following the Second World War, novel sound technologies and the proliferation of ethnomusicological field recordings ignited curiosity and experimentation among many musicians; these cultural phenomena also sparked a re-examination of conventional Euro-American musical sound sources. Classically trained instrumentalists and singers – particularly those associated with the ‘experimental tradition’ – cultivated intentionally idiosyncratic musical practices and widened their range of sonic possibility; this cultural zeitgeist included a heightened interest in so-called extended vocal techniques. In this article, I examine the research and creative output of the Extended Vocal Techniques Ensemble (EVTE) of the University of California at San Diego (UCSD). Drawing from published literature, interviews and archival sources to write this account of the EVTE’s multifaceted work, I contextualize the group’s activities within UCSD’s interdisciplinary emphasis as well as in the broader social–historical discourses of ‘extended vocal techniques’. Furthermore, I address the implications of their story within the broader politics of vocal aesthetics and pedagogy in Euro-American classical music contexts. By unearthing the EVTE’s interdisciplinary vision for vocal study, I hope to not only spark interest in this ensemble’s contributions, but also to revive (and build upon) their vision of a radically reimagined vocal artistry and study in academic music and beyond.

Rapid evolutionary divergence of a songbird population following recent colonization of an urban area.

Colonization of a novel environment by a few individuals can lead to rapid evolutionary change, yet there is scarce evidence of the relative contributions of neutral and selective factors in promoting divergence during the early stages of colonization. Here we explore the role of neutral and selective forces in the divergence of a unique urban population of the dark-eyed junco (Junco hyemalis), which became established on the campus of the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) in the early 1980s. Previous studies based on microsatellite loci documented significant genetic differentiation of the urban population as well as divergence in phenotypic traits relative to nearby montane populations, yet the geographical origin of the colonization and the contributing factors remained uncertain. Our genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism data set confirmed the marked genetic differentiation of the UCSD population, and we identified the coastal subspecies pinosus from central California as its sister group instead of the neighbouring mountain population. Demographic inference recovered a separation from pinosus as recent as 20-32 generations ago after a strong bottleneck, suggesting a role for drift in genetic differentiation. However, we also found significant associations between habitat variables and genome-wide variants linked to functional genes, some of which have been reported as potentially adaptive in birds inhabiting modified environments. These results suggest that the interplay between founder events and selection may result in rapid shifts in neutral and adaptive loci across the genome, and reveal the UCSD junco population as a case of contemporary evolutionary divergence in an anthropogenic environment.

MRE combined with FIB-4 (MEFIB) index in detection of candidates for pharmacological treatment of NASH-related fibrosis

ObjectivePatients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) with ≥stage 2 fibrosis are at increased risk for liver-related mortality and are candidates for pharmacological therapies for treatment of NAFLD. The aim...

Combined Diagnostic Analysis of Dynamic Combustion Characteristics in a Scramjet Engine

In this work, the dynamic combustion characteristics in a scramjet engine were investigated using three diagnostic data analysis methods: DMD (Dynamic Mode Decomposition), STFT (Short-Time Fourier Transform), and CEMA (Chemical Explosive Mode Analysis). The data for the analyses were obtained through a 2D numerical experiment using a DDES (Delayed Detached Eddy Simulation) turbulence model, the UCSD (University of California at San Diego) hydrogen/oxygen chemical reaction mechanism, and high-resolution schemes. The STFT was able to detect that oscillations above 50 kHz identified as dominant in FFT results were not the dominant frequencies in a channel-type combustor. In the analysis using DMD, it was confirmed that the critical point that induced a complete change of mixing characteristics existed between an injection pressure of 0.75 MPa and 1.0 MPa. A combined diagnostic analysis that included a CEMA was performed to investigate the dynamic combustion characteristics. The differences in the reaction steps forming the flame structure under each combustor condition were identified, and, through this, it was confirmed that the pressure distribution upstream of the combustor dominated the dynamic combustion characteristics of this scramjet engine. From these processes, it was confirmed that the combined analysis method used in this paper is an effective approach to diagnose the combustion characteristics of a supersonic combustor.

Assessing the Relationship between Performance on the University of California Performance Skills Assessment (UPSA) and Outcomes in Schizophrenia: A Systematic Review and Evidence Synthesis.

Objective To perform a systematic review of the published literature to evaluate how functional capacity, as measured by the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) Performance-based Skills Assessment (UPSA), relates to other functional measures and real-world outcomes among individuals with schizophrenia. Methods The MEDLINE® and Embase® databases were searched to identify joint evaluations with UPSA and key functional outcomes (functional scale measures; generic or disease-specific, health-related quality of life [HRQoL]; or real-world outcomes [residential status; employment status]) in patients with schizophrenia. Pearson correlations were estimated between UPSA scores, HRQoL, other functional scale measures, and real-world outcomes, for outcomes described in at least six studies. Results The synthesis included 76 studies that provided 73 unique data sets. Quantitative assessment between the Specific Level of Function (SLOF) (n=18) scores and UPSA scores demonstrated a moderate borderline-significant correlation (0.45, p=0.06). Quantitative analysis of the relationship between the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) (n=11) and the Multidimensional Scale of Independent Functioning (MSIF) (n=6) scales revealed moderate and small nonsignificant Pearson correlations of -0.34 (p=0.31) and 0.12 (p=0.83), respectively. There was a small borderline-significant correlation between UPSA score and residential status (n=36; 0.31; p=0.08), while no correlation was found between UPSA score and employment status (n=19; 0.04; p=0.88). Conclusion The SLOF was the most often used functional measure and had the strongest observed correlation with the UPSA. Although knowledge gaps remain, evidence from this review indicates that there is a quantitative relationship between functional capacity and real-world outcomes in individuals with schizophrenia.

The varied careers of Kenneth L. Bowles

It is not unusual for the careers of scientists and engineers to span a range of topics, driven by their insatiable curiosity about how things work, the fun they derive from problem solving, an aesthetic sense for “sweet solutions,” and a joy in sharing their knowledge with others. Few careers have spanned as wide a breadth, or better reflected the technological explosion in the second half of the 20th century, than that of Kenneth L. Bowles, who died in California on August 15, 2018. Bowles (“Ken” to everyone who knew him) began his career in experimental ionospheric physics and space science. In the course of pushing the bounds of early computers, he became passionate about moving computing off of large mainframes and onto small but powerful individual computers. In 1968 Ken became director of the computer center at University of California at San Diego (UCSD), and in 1974 began development of UCSD Pascal, the project for which he is best known. Ken went on to found a start-up that focused on developing the Ada computer language, and then in retirement became an accomplished wildflower photographer. Ken completed his doctorate at Cornell, in Ithaca, New York, under Henry G. Booker in 1955, using coherent backscatter radar to study the aurora borealis. He then joined the Central Radio Propagation Laboratory of the US National Bureau of Standards (NBS), in Boulder, Colorado. In the days before satellites, it was only possible to observe the bottom part of the ionosphere by using upward pointing radars called ionospheric sounders, which could trace out the density of free electrons up to the point of their highest concentration (the F-layer maximum at a height of around 400 kilometers). What did the upper ionosphere look like? How far out did it go? Cornell’s Bill Gordon (1) suggested that … [↵][1]1To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: granger.morgan{at}andrew.cmu.edu. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1

11.67: Cyclic backbone curves for steel wide‐flange columns: A numerical study

ABSTRACTExperimental and analytical studies on the cyclic behaviour of deep, slender wide‐flange steel beam‐columns funded by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is ongoing at the University of California at San Diego (UCSD). In parallel with full‐scale column tests, numerical simulations of columns under monotonic and cyclic loading conditions were conducted to generate a wide‐ranging database of results. A correlation study using results from the full‐scale tests was conducted to validate the numerical simulation procedure. The simulated columns covered a wide range of cross‐sectional (local) and member (global) slenderness ratios, axial force level, and yield stress. Regression analyses were conducted to construct moment‐rotation responses, ‘backbone curves’, for use in performance‐based evaluations of steel moment frames. The database is divided into three groups based on observed buckling modes. Computational expressions for the key parameters that define the backbone curves are presented.

A 10-year Retrospective Study of Celiac Disease (CD) and other Gluten Sensitive Patients at the University of California at San Diego (UCSD)

Purpose: To assess diagnostic testing of gluten sensitive patients seen at UCSD. Methods: We retrospectively evaluated patients seen at UCSD in the past 10 years diagnosed with CD or NCGS according to Olso criteria(1). Demographic factors, lab studies and pathology reports were reviewed. All serological testing analyzed was obtained while patients were consuming gluten. Results: Three major categories were identified; celiac disease (CD) with modified Marsh 3 histology [n=116, 73% female (F)]; non-celiac gluten sensitive (NCGS) with CD-like symptoms without histological CD while consuming gluten [n=68, 75%F]; and undiagnosed patients with gluten sensitive symptoms, without biopsies obtained prior to avoiding dietary gluten [n=32, 81%F]. Mean ages were similar in the 3 groups. Tissue transglutaminase (TTG) IgA levels were compared to modified Marsh 3 histology. Sensitivity/specificity of TTG IgA IgA>19 AU were 81%/93%, respectively. When TTG IgA was three times greater than the upper limit of normal (19 AU), sensitivity/specificity were 74%/100%. PPV and NPV were 100% and 75%, respectively. We determined how often deamidated gliadin peptide (DGP) IgA and IgG correctly predicted CD when TTG IgA levels were not elevated. When TTG IgA was <20AU in CD patients (n=12), two had DGP IgA>19, three had DGP IgG>19. Combined sensitivity of TTG IgA and DGP IgA or DGP IgG was 84% or 85%, respectively; specificity was 93% or 91%. At UCSD, a TTG IgA order set includes a reflexive measurement of endomysial antibody (EMA). We determined how often this changed management using Cohen's kappa to measure the level of agreement between the two tests. This value was 0.908 (P <0.001) indicating high agreement. We examined how often TTG IgA levels were predictive of IgA deficiency. A Spearman's rank correlation was 0.29 (P=0.009), indicating a statistically significant relationship. The average value of TTG IgA in CD patients with IgA deficiency was 1.33 AU, significantly lower than the average value of TTG IgA in those with normal IgA levels, 54.9 AU (P< 0.001). Conclusion: Gender and mean age were similar in the three different categories of gluten sensitive patients at UCSD. Specificity of TTG IgA was comparable to previous reports, while sensitivity was lower. As expected, using TTG IgA levels three times greater than the upper limit of normal decreased sensitivity but specificity was 100%. Adding DGP IgA/G testing to TTG IgA enhanced the detection of CD only slightly. We showed that reflexive EMA testing did not improve detection of CD beyond TTG IgA alone. Very low TTG IgA levels were predictive of IgA deficiency.

Why Big Data Won't Cure Us.

The biggest challenge for the use of “big data” in health care is social, not technical. Data-intensive approaches to medicine based on predictive modeling hold enormous potential for solving some of the biggest and most intractable problems of health care. The challenge now is figuring out how people, both patients and providers, will actually use data in practice. To understand how data-intensive solutions could have an impact on health care, our research team talked to frontline providers in impoverished and rural areas, technology enthusiasts in mobile health and health IT startups, clinicians and researchers in major research hospitals, Quantified Self members at data-driven meetup presentations of massive amounts of tracking data, and attendees at the growing number of conferences for health technology and innovation up and down both coasts. I found the buzz as feverishly loud around health information innovation as it was during my research on the first dot-com boom. One of our findings from this research seems at first blush so obvious that it is hard to believe it has been overlooked in the design and implementation of health-care innovation technologies. Namely, people imagine data in very different ways. Understanding this key fact about data helps us understand why so-called “big data” solutions to health care are so difficult to implement in practice. Doctors, patients, and health-care entrepreneurs all value data in very different ways. One physician simply said, “I don't need more data; I need more resources.”* Saying this in Silicon Valley or at TedMed would be tantamount to heresy. Ditto for those of us who work in research and spend our careers collecting, massaging, managing, analyzing, and interpreting data. From the doctor's perspective, though, data require (and do not save) extra interpretive, clerical, and managerial labor. This perspective on “data,” at least with regard to current clinical practice, is that data use up more resources than the benefits they provide. In other words, most doctors think data innovation means more work for them, not less, and takes away time from what they see as their key priorities in providing quality care. In another setting, we observed nurse-practitioner case managers in a Medicare demonstration project working with a simple algorithm parsing patient-entered health data. Combined with case management, these data provided a look into the daily health of chronically ill elderly patients and a pathway for the care when it was needed. The data in that project were tightly tied to medical expertise within an existing clinic where a trusted person could initiate a chain of care responses. Although widely recognized as a clinical success, Medicare pulled the plug on the project for financial reasons—expertise is expensive. These two reactions to data-intensive pilot projects highlight the dilemmas of data-analytic approaches to health care. Businesses are in the thrall of the possibilities of ever-increasing predictive analysis on expanding troves of generated data. While the business and technology sectors see data as valuable, doctors often see data as costs, risks, and liabilities. And for many in health care, data are not seen as a source of value, but of additional work. Without the work needed to make data valuable and useful in particular settings in particular contexts in health care, big data will never solve problems. To turn a technology truism on its head, data in health care will never be free. And yet, the ways in which health technology innovators have talked about the power of data neglects key aspects of the social interoperability or integration of data into health solutions. How will such data be integrated into care providers' work practices; through the complex routines of clinics and hospitals; and into existing legal, social, political, and economic frameworks? These questions are enormous. Until we solve these questions of social interoperability, the risks presented by “big data” in health will outweigh the benefits to any particular individual, regardless of whether we're talking about terabyte-scale analytics or the “small-data” of n=1 individuals. What follows is an outline of how to tackle these questions based upon what our team has seen throughout our research.

Capacity Assessment of V-Shaped RC Bridge Bents

AbstractAssessment of the flexural and shear capacity of two V-shaped RC bridge bents has been validated against experimental results from tests on 1:3-scale specimens. A numerical procedure based on iterative analyses taking into account the variation of vertical loads in the bents’ columns provides a satisfactory prediction of the bents’ overall performance. Based on its general agreement with the experimental data, the numerical model was also used to investigate the uneven distribution of axial load and shear force between the two columns of each bent. Three models were compared for the assessment of the shear capacity of the specimens. All the models identified the compression column as the most critical in terms of shear capacity, as confirmed by the experimental results. The University of California at San Diego (UCSD) model, which introduces an additional contribution due to the compression strut along the column length, appears to be less sensitive to axial load variations and to provide a reliab...

Inspiration from Nature—Biomimetic Materials Workshop at the San Diego Zoo

The Biomimetic Materials Workshop, a continuing education program during TMS 2011 Annual Meeting, was held in the world famous San Diego Zoo on Sunday, February 27. This one-day workshop organized by the Biological Materials Science Committee in collaboration with the Zoological Society of San Diego attracted a multidisciplinary group of over 30 participants. Despite the record-setting low temperature and storm the day before, San Diego sunshine welcomed participants on Sunday morning. After arriving at Rondavel Hall in the zoo and breakfast, Po-Yu Chen, the workshop organizer from The University of California at San Diego (UCSD), made brief welcoming remarks. The first speaker was Dena Emmerson, the representative of the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research. She introduced the zoo’s Biomimicry Program, which offers unparalleled facilities in this growing field with 4,000 animals and 40,000 plant species. The Biomimicry Program has organized two annual conferences, monthly seminars, and workshops with companies such as Qualcomm, Nike, and P&G in an interactive and multisensory approach. The goal is to share the resources with local, national, and global communities to boost biomimicry, transforming San Diego as the hub for sustainable, nature-inspired innovations and ultimately benefit environmental conservation. Marc A. Meyers, a professor from UCSD, gave an overview on “Biological Materials—A Materials Science Approach.” He elucidated characteristic principles used in nature, namely hierarchical structure, multi-functionality, self-assembly under environmental conditions using basic building blocks. He gave several examples of structural biological materials, such as abalone shell, crab exoskeleton, Amazon fish scale, toucan beak, and natural adhesives (gecko, tree frog, abalone foot, etc.). Joanna McKittrck, also a professor from UCSD, presented “Taking Knowledge of Biological Materials to the Next Step,” bridging natural/ biological materials and bioinspired design and synthesis. Several impactresistant materials in nature were presented—such as antler, horn, armadillo and crocodile osteoderms, turtle shell—and followed by bio-inspired materials from ancient armors to novel self-healing composites. During the break, Kim, an educator from the zoo, brought in a South American three-banded armadillo, which has a unique armor made of bony plates, called osteoderms, and can roll into a ball to protect itself from predators. The osteoderms have sandwich architecture with porous neurovascular channels in the center and are connected by non-mineralized collagen fibrils. These microstructural features make the armor lightweight and flexible. The attendees were able to closely observe and touch the interesting creature and many of them even took pictures with “Armando” the armadillo (see Figure 1). Robert O. Ritchie, a professor with UC Berkeley, delivered a talk on “Bioinspired Tough Ceramics.” He first explained the mechanistic origins of toughness in natural ceramic-based composite (i.e., bone and abalone naFigure 1. Animal demonstration of the three banded armadillo showing (a) the protective posture, (b) photo shoot and tactile tour of the armor, and (c) microstructural features of armadillo armor. a b

A comparison of the CogState Schizophrenia Battery and the Measurement and Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia (MATRICS) Battery in assessing cognitive impairment in chronic schizophrenia

This study examined the criterion and construct validity of a brief computerized cognitive test battery (CogState Schizophrenia Battery) compared to a conventional cognitive test battery recommended by the Measurement and Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia (MATRICS) consensus. The CogState and MATRICS batteries yielded comparable effect sizes in comparing patients with schizophrenia to healthy controls (Cohen's ds = −1.50 for both batteries). Moderate to large correlations were observed between CogState and MATRICS measures of processing speed, attention/vigilance, working memory, verbal and visual learning, reasoning/problem solving, and social cognition (rs = .56–.79). CogState and MATRICS composite scores also correlated strongly with scores on the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) Performance-Based Skills Assessment (UPSA; rs = .76 and .79, respectively) in patients with schizophrenia. Results of this study suggest that the CogState Schizophrenia Battery provides valid measurement of the cognitive domains nominated by the MATRICS consensus group as being important to consider in the context of pharmacological treatments for cognitive impairment in schizophrenia.

Simulation of the shaking table test of a seven‐story shear wall building

AbstractThis paper presents the simulation of the nonlinear dynamic response of a full‐scale seven‐story reinforced concrete shear wall shaking table specimen under base excitations representing four earthquake records of increasing intensity. The study was motivated by the participation in the blind prediction contest of the shaking table specimen organized by University of California at San Diego (UCSD), NEES, and Portland Cement Association (PCA). Owing to the time constraints of the contest a relatively simple two‐dimensional (2d) model was used for the shear wall specimen. In this model, the shear wall was represented by 2d beam–column elements with fiber discretization of the cross‐section that account for the interaction of the axial force with the bending moment. Upon conclusion of the contest, the available experimental measurements permitted a thorough examination of the analytical results. While the measured data confirmed the excellent accuracy of the model predictions, some limitations also became apparent. The paper addresses the benefits and limitations of the selected modeling strategy and investigates the sensitivity of this type of model to parameter selection. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Authorship: why not just toss a coin?

if you are reading this commentary, the title probably irked your professional sensibilities. That's good. During 32 years of publishing, I've experienced two authorship disputes. Both of these problems have demonstrated to me that there is a disturbing and pervasive lack of understanding of what

Challenges Ahead for the Global Seismographic Network

Twenty-five years ago, a new global digital seismic network was identified by the National Academies' Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy as one of five research areas in which significant dividends could be expected as a result of incremental federal investment. That recommendation, through coordinated planning and support by scientists, mission agencies, and international partners, spawned the development of the Global Seismographic Network (GSN). The GSN is a joint program of the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The NSF program is implemented by the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) and the University of California at San Diego (UCSD); the USGS program is implemented by the Albuquerque Seismological Laboratory. Network completion is a beginning, not an end, and there is a need for continual rejuvenation of such a network, both to improve operational capabilities and to open new avenues for scientific exploration. The GSN has now far exceeded initial plans and expectations, both in terms of its operational scope and performance and the scientific applications of the data it produces. Originally envisioned as a 100-station network to gather data mainly for research applications, the network has evolved into a real-time Earth-observing system also supporting earthquake alerts, tsunami warning, nuclear treaty verification, and other uses. Several recent publications have documented the GSN's remarkable successes. Butler et al. (2004) emphasized that the GSN had exceeded its original technical design goal of 128 globally distributed stations—last year the core network plus affiliates reached 150 stations, strategically scattered across continents and islands from the Arctic to the South Pole. One in four of these stations has evolved into a cooperative “geophysical observatory,” which may include a range of sensor types (gravimeters, GPS receivers, magnetometers, microbarographs, etc.) in addition to the broadband and very-broadband seismometers that are capable of …

Song Variation in a Recently Founded Population of the Dark‐Eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)

AbstractDuring natural colonization events, songs are expected to change as a result of both selection and drift‐like processes. We studied song variation within a small isolated population of dark‐eyed juncos, Junco hyemalis, which became established in an unusual environment on the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) campus in the early 1980’s, and compared this variation with the native range. At UCSD, the average repertoire size is 4.2 song types/male, which is similar to that in the native range. There is a low level of song‐type sharing across the population. Typically a male shares at least one song type with on average 40% of his neighbors, and song‐type sharing decreases rapidly with distance. Thus song‐type diversity is high, and in this respect appears similar to that in ancestral mountain populations. These results suggest a moderate to large number of males founded and/or subsequently immigrated into the UCSD population, but several selection mechanisms, if coupled with a high cultural mutation rate, may also favor high song‐type diversity. When combined with results from a previous study, songs are significantly shorter at UCSD than in the mountain population we studied. It appears that founder effects have not influenced the evolution of songs in this population. More generally, if song‐type diversity and other features of song result from various social and natural selection pressures, many of these pressures may have remained similar between the native and the recently established population.

Non‐mass‐dependent oxygen isotopic fractionation in smokes produced in an electrical discharge

Abstract— We report the first production of non‐mass‐dependently fractionated silicate smokes from the gas phase at room temperature from a stream of silane and/or pentacarbonyl iron in a molecular hydrogen (or helium) flow mixed with molecular oxygen (or nitrous oxide). The smokes were formed at the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) at total pressures of just under 100 Torr in an electrical discharge powered by a Tesla coil, were collected from the surfaces of the copper electrodes after each experiment and sent to the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) for oxygen isotopic analysis. Transmission electron microscopy studies of the smokes show that they grew in the gas phase rather than on the surfaces of the electrodes. We hypothesize at least two types of fractionation processes occurred during formation of the solids: a mass‐dependent process that made isotopically lighter oxides compared to our initial oxygen gas composition followed by a mass‐independent process that produced oxides enriched in 17O and 18O. The maximum Δ17O observed is + 4.7‰ for an iron oxide produced in flowing hydrogen, using O2 as the oxidant. More typical displacements are 1–2‰ above the equilibrium fractionation line. The chemical reaction mechanisms that yield these smokes are still under investigation.

“When things get small” finds the fun in nanoscience

Make no mistake, physicist Ivan Schuller has a passion for life in the lab. He is also realistic, though, and does not expect the nonscientific world to share his enthusiasm about magnetic thin films or nanodots. Not without some costumes, sound effects, and silliness, at least. Schuller, a distinguished professor of physics at the University of California at San Diego (UCSD), is co-producer of the movie “When Things Get Small,” a half-hour exercise in light science meant for the masses. Schuller believes it is a scientist’s obligation to demystify the profession for the general public, and the movie is his means of doing so. “There is a group of people that might be susceptible to science, but the way science is presented is always difficult and extremely boring and very pretentious,” Schuller said. To reach that audience, Schuller teamed with Rich Wargo, science producer at the UCSD television studio, and created the Not Too Serious Labs production company. Their first project was “When Things Get Small,” a threeyear undertaking that was released in March. “We decided that a way to approach this is to try to make something that is more entertainment than it is actually education,” Schuller said. “Maybe you’ll learn something along the way but that’s not the main thing; the main thing is to be entertained.” The movie teaches some basic science concepts such as how many atoms are contained in a human hair—using “When Things Get Small” Finds the Fun in Nanoscience

Non-contact ultrasonic inspection of rails and signal processing for automatic defect detection and classification

Recent train accidents, associated direct and indirect costs, as well as safety concerns, have reaffirmed the need for developing rail defect detection systems more effective than those used today. One of the recent developments in rail inspection is the use of ultrasonic guided waves and non-contact probe techniques to target transverse-type defects. A rail inspection prototype based on these concepts is under developmentat University of California at San Diego (UCSD). This work reports on the feature extraction and automatic pattern recognition algorithms that are being tested in the laboratory and will be added to the prototype. The results demonstrate the detection and sizing of transverse, surface-breaking cracks that extend for less than 20% of the rail head cross-sectional area.

Clement Richard Boland, Jr., MD: A Conversation with the Editor

Rick Boland (Figure ​(Figure11) was born on October 19, 1947, in Johnson City, New York, and grew up in nearby Endwell. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1969 and from the Yale University School of Medicine in 1973. His internship in internal medicine was at St. Francis Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut. After his internship, he served for 2 years as a general medical officer at the Gallup Indian Medical Center in Gallup, New Mexico. He completed his residency in internal medicine at the Public Health Service hospital in San Francisco and did a 3-year fellowship in gastroenterology at the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine. He was an assistant professor of medicine at UCSF from 1981 until 1984, when he went to Ann Arbor, Michigan, as chief of the gastroenterology section of the Veterans Administration (VA) Medical Center; he soon became a full professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan School of Medicine. After 11 years in Ann Arbor, he moved to San Diego, California, where he was chief of the division of gastroenterology at the University of California at San Diego (UCSD). He remained in that position until 2003 when Baylor University Medical Center (BUMC) attracted him as its chief of the Division of Gastroenterology in the Department of Internal Medicine.