cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Comparing Capacity Value Estimation Techniques for Photovoltaic Solar Power

In this paper, we estimate the capacity value of photovoltaic (PV) solar plants in the western U.S. Our results show that PV plants have capacity values that range between 52% and 93%, depending on location and sun-tracking capability. We further compare more robust but data- and computationally-intense reliability-based estimation techniques with simpler approximation methods. We show that if implemented properly, these techniques provide accurate approximations of reliability-based methods. Overall, methods that are based on the weighted capacity factor of the plant provide the most accurate estimate. We also examine the sensitivity of PV capacity value to the inclusion of sun-tracking systems.
Estimating environmental benefits of natural hazard mitigation with data transfer: results from a benefit-cost analysis of Federal Emergency Management Agency hazard mitigation grants.

This paper summarizes methods, data and results associated with the first major attempt to evaluate the environmental benefits of U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency natural hazards mitigation grants. The study relied heavily on the refinement of benefit transfer methods. Categories of benefits include water quality for recreational and commercial fishing, drinking water, outdoor recreation, hazardous waste, wetlands and aesthetic, health and safety benefits. Environmental and historic benefits proved to be a very minor proportion of the total benefits in dollar terms. Only a very small percentage of earthquake and wind-related hazards yielded environmental benefits, while a sizeable percentage of flood hazard grants did so. We also discuss the prospects that environmental benefits might have been much greater had data been available to analyze more environmental impacts.
A NEW APPROACH TO CAPITAL BUDGETING FOR FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

The classic approach to capital budgeting based on the standard Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) says that the hurdle rate (or cost of capital) for any new project or investment should depend only on the riskiness of that investment. Thus, the hurdle rate, and hence the expected value of the investment, should not be affected by the financial policy of the company evaluating the project. Nor should the hurdle rate be influenced by the company's risk management policy, or by the kind of assets it already has on the balance sheet. This article argues that such a “singlefactor” model may be inappropriate for banks and other financial institutions for two main reasons: ▪ it is especially costly for banks to raise new external funds on short notice; ▪ it is costly for banks to hold a buffer stock of equity capital on the balance sheet, even if this equity is accumulated over time through retained earnings. The single-factor CAPM ignores such costs and, in so doing, understates the true economic costs of “illiquid” bank investments. Illiquid investments require special treatment because they impose risks that, although “diversifiable” by shareholders, cannot be readily hedged by the bank and therefore require it to hold more equity capital. The authors accordingly propose a “two-factor” model for capital budgeting— one in which banks' investment decisions are linked to their capital structure and risk management decisions. One of the key implications of the two-factor model is that a bank should evaluate new investments according to both their correlation with the market portfolio and their correlation with the bank's existing portfolio of unhedgeable risks. The authors describe several potential applications of their model, including the evaluation of proprietary trading operations and the pricing of unhedgeable derivatives positions. They also compare their approach to the RAROC methodology that has been adopted by a number of banks.
Design and Evaluation of Confidence-Driven Error-Resilient Systems

Deeply scaled CMOS circuits are increasingly susceptible to transient faults and soft errors; emerging post-CMOS devices can be more vulnerable, sometimes exhibiting erratic errors of arbitrary duration. Applying timing and supply voltage margin is wasteful and becoming ineffective, and conventional checking and sparing techniques provide only a limited error coverage against widely varying errors. We propose a confidencedriven computing (CDC) model for an adaptive protection against nondeterministic errors. The CDC model employs finegrained temporal redundancy and confidence checking for a faster adaptation and tunable reliability. The CDC model can be extended to deeply scaled CMOS circuits that are mainly affected by transient faults and soft errors, where an early checking (EC) technique can be used to perform independent error checking for more flexibility and better performance. To evaluate the CDC model, we apply a sample-based fieldprogrammable gate array emulation along with real-time error injection. The CDC model is shown to adapt to fluctuating error rates and enhance the system reliability by effectively trading off performance. To evaluate the EC technique at a finer time scale, we create a new event-based simulation to capture path delay distribution, error model, and their interactions. The EC technique improves the system reliability by more than four orders of magnitude when errors are of short duration. Both the CDC model and the EC technique are synthesized in a 45-nm CMOS technology for cost estimates: 1) the area overhead is as low as 12% and 2) energy overhead can be limited to 19%.
Energy-efficient multihypothesis activity-detection for health-monitoring applications

Multi-hypothesis activity-detection using a wireless body area network is considered. A fusion center receives samples of biometric signals from heterogeneous sensors. Due to the different discrimination capabilities of each sensor, an optimized allocation of samples per sensor results in lower energy consumption. Optimal sample allocation is determined by minimizing the probability of misclassification given the current activity state of the user. For a particular scenario, optimal allocation can achieve the same accuracy (97%) as equal allocation across sensors with an energy savings of 26%. As the number of samples is an integer, further energy reduction is achieved by developing an approximation to the probability of misclassification which allows for a continuous-valued vector optimization. This alternate optimization yields approximately optimal allocations with significantly lower complexity, facilitating real-time implementation.
A Task-Specific Assessment of Swine Worker Exposure to Airborne Dust

A task-based analysis of personal airborne dust exposures was performed in two swine confinement facilities used to house sows and their litters. Airborne particulate levels were assessed during summer, winter, and spring. Personal aerosol measurements of workers were made with a photometer every 15 sec and corrected to compare with an integrated concentration measurement made with a co-located IOM inhalable dust sampler. Task type and time period were recorded by the workers over an 8-hr work shift. There was a significant difference in dust concentrations between seasons (p < 0.001), with winter months providing the highest levels (geometric mean = 3.76 mg/m 3 ). The application of a general linear model of log-transformed task concentrations relative to site, season, and task demonstrated significant differences (P < 0.001) among all three covariates. Tasks performed near moving animals, especially the weaning process, resulted in the greatest concentrations. These results indicate the need to evaluate...
Emergent central pattern generator behavior in gap-junction-coupled Hodgkin-Huxley style neuron model

Most models of central pattern generators (CPGs) involve two distinct nuclei mutually inhibiting one another via synapses. Here, we present a single-nucleus model of biologically realistic Hodgkin-Huxley neurons with random gap junction coupling. Despite no explicit division of neurons into two groups, we observe a spontaneous division of neurons into two distinct firing groups. In addition, we also demonstrate this phenomenon in a simplified version of the model, highlighting the importance of afterhy perpolarization currents (IAHP) to CPGs utilizing gap junction coupling. The properties of these CPGs also appear sensitive to gap junction conductance, probability of gap junction coupling between cells, topology of gap junction coupling, and, to a lesser extent, input current into our simulated nucleus.
Medicaid eligibility and the incidence of ambulatory care sensitive hospitalizations for children

In this study we investigate the effect of Medicaid on children's health, as measured by the incidence of ambulatory care sensitive (ACS) hospitalizations in the USA. The use of ACS hospitalizations is a unique contribution of our study. ACS discharges are known to be sensitive to better primary care and greater medical intervention and are objective measures of children's health. The results of this analysis were mixed. We found relatively robust evidence that the Medicaid expansions decreased the incidence of ACS hospitalizations among children age 2-6 from very low-income areas. For other groups of children, our results were less consistent. There was some evidence, although not uniform, that the Medicaid expansions improved the health of children age 2-6 from what we refer to as near-poor areas, areas with a median family income between $25,000 and 30,000. For older children, age 7-9, we found little evidence that the Medicaid expansions improved their health.
Developmental Narratives of the Experiencing Child

Abstract— A narrative view of child development presents an experiential child who explores the social, cultural, and physical world in search of meaning in collaboration with social guides and companions. Experience is seen as conditioned from 6 directions: inheritance, embodiment, ecological situatedness, social embeddedness, cultural and symbolic conditions, and past experience. The experiential view thus shifts the focus of social-cultural approaches from “external” influences on development to the complexity and individuality of interactive everyday experience that constitute the ongoing process of development. Among other consequences, a dramatic expansion of shared meaningful experience and expanded scope of consciousness emerges from experiences involving linguistic discourse during the preschool period, thereby significantly advancing the child’s social, emotional, and cognitive development.
Depolarizing stimuli increase tyrosine hydroxylase in the mouse locus coeruleus in culture

The influence of membrane depolarization on the development and regulation of brain noradrenergic neurons was studied in explant cultures of the mouse locus coeruleus (l.c.). Exposure to the depolarizing agents veratridine or elevated K+ significantly increased the catalytic activity of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), the rate-limiting enzyme in catecholamine biosynthesis. The effects of veratridine were prevented by tetrodotoxin, suggesting that transmembrane Na+ influx was necessary for the rise in TH. Morphometric analysis indicated that the rise in TH activity was not accompanied by altered TH-positive cell number or cell diameter. Rather, TH fluorescence intensity increased in each neuron, suggesting that depolarization increased TH per neuron. Immunoblot and densitometric analysis indicated that depolarization did, indeed, increase TH immunoreactive protein. Moreover, depolarization elevated enzyme activity in cultured neurons expressing the normal developmental increase in TH, as well as those in which plateau levels had already been attained. We conclude that depolarization and/or Na+ influx regulates a critical transmitter macromolecule in brain neurons, as in the periphery, by altering enzyme molecule number.
PU.1 immortalizes hematopoietic progenitors in a GM-CSF-dependent manner

Objective The Ets family transcription factor PU.1 is essential for both myeloid and lymphoid development. PU.1 was discovered because of its involvement in murine erythroleukemia. We previously described that infection with a retroviral vector encoding PU.1 immortalizes fetal liver progenitor cells in response to granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) signaling. In this study, we sought to characterize PU.1-immortalized progenitor (PIP) cells. Methods PIP cells were characterized using microscopy, reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction analysis, and flow cytometric analysis. In addition, progenitors were immortalized with a retrovirus containing a PU.1 cDNA flanked by loxP sites. The differentiation potential of immortalized progenitors was tested by Cre-mediated excision of the proviral PU.1 cDNA. Results PIP cells are blastlike in morphology and express cell surface markers indicative of myeloid development. Immortalization of progenitor cells requires both an acidic activation domain and an intact DNA-binding domain of PU.1. Gene expression analysis of PIP cells demonstrated the expression of genes of both myeloid and erythroid lineages. Proliferation of PIP cells was GM-CSF dependent and restricted. Upon Cre-mediated excision of proviral PU.1 cDNA, increased expression of myeloid and erythroid-specific genes was observed; as well as the appearance of both macrophages and erythrocytes in culture. Conclusion We demonstrate that ectopic expression of PU.1 is sufficient to immortalize a hematopoietic progenitor with myeloid and erythroid differentiation potential in response to GM-CSF. These data highlight the importance of the level of PU.1 expression at critical stages of hematopoiesis.
Chord distributions across 3D digital images of a human thoracic vertebra

Radiation dose estimates to the trabecular region of the skeleton are of primary importance due to recent advancements in nuclear medicine. Establishing methods for accurately calculating dose in these regions is difficult due to the complex microstructure of this anatomic site and the typical ranges of beta-particles in both bone and marrow tissues. At the present time, models of skeletal dosimetry used in clinical medicine rely upon measured distributions of straight-line path lengths (chord lengths) through bone and marrow regions. This work develops a new three-dimensional, digital method for acquiring these distributions within voxelized images. In addition, the study details the characteristics of measuring chord distributions within digital images and provides a methodology for avoiding undesirable pixel or voxel effects. The improved methodology has been applied to a digital image (acquired via NMRmicroscopy) of the trabecular region of a human thoracic vertebra. The resulting chord-length distributions across both bone trabeculae and bone marrow cavities were found to be in general agreement with those measured in other studies utilizing different methods. In addition, this study identified that bone and marrow space chord-length distributions are not statistically independent, a condition implicitly assumed within all current skeletal dosimetry models of electron transport. The study concludes that the use of NMRmicroscopy combined with the digital measurement techniques should be used to further expand the existing Reference Man database of trabecular chord distributions to permit the development of skeletal dosimetry models which are more age and gender specific.
Power quality disturbances analysis based on EDMRA method

An Energy Difference of Multiresolution Analysis (EDMRA) method for power quality (PQ) disturbances analysis has been proposed in this paper. At each wavelet decomposition level, the squared value of the detail information is calculated as their energy to construct the feature vector for analysis. Following the criteria proposed in this paper, different kinds of power quality disturbances can be detected, localized, and classified effectively. The choice of the decomposition levels of appropriate wavelets are of the critical importance for the EDMRA method, since they will influence quality of the reconstructed signal as well as the computational cost. It is presented in this paper that the Minimum Decomposition Level (MDL) is related to the sampling frequency by the proposed function. The comparison study among different kinds of wavelets for the EDMRA method is presented in details. The EDMRA method is scalable and has robustness characteristics in common design paradigm. It can be realized economically using wavelets with shortest length, such as Harr, Db2, Sym2 or Coif 1. Two types of noise, namely, Gaussian white noise and band limited spectrum noise are considered in this paper to show the effectiveness of the proposed method in noisy environment.
Warren T. Norman (1930–1998): An Appreciation ☆ ☆☆

A noted social psychologist, who was carrying out a type of meta-analysis of past studies on personality structure, remarked to me about the wealth of relevant information in each of the reports of studies conducted by a particular personality psychologist, in contrast to the frustrating lack of such information in the reports of his colleagues in social psychology. He attributed the difference to failures in the quantitative training of social psychologists. I did not disabuse him, but inwardly chortled over the happy selection of Warren Norman as his representative of personality psychology. Warren Norman will not be remembered for the quantity of his scientific publications. He will long be remembered for their extraordinary quality. During his 37-year career at Michigan, in addition to a number of book reviews and test reviews, he published about a baker’s dozen scientific reports, each a sparkling jewel of creativity and rigor. He helped set the research agenda for the field of personality assessment, and his contributions have been among the most widely appreciated of any of his scientific peers. In his first major publication (Norman, 1959), he demonstrated the magnificent craftsmanship that would characterize all his later ones. In but four short pages, he (a) provided a compelling rationale for the need to assess the test–retest stability and interjudge consensus of judgments of affective meaning derived from Osgood’s Semantic Differential technique; (b) devised a novel procedure for assessing such stability and clearly conveyed its rationale; (c) showed the expected value of the new procedure when responses are random; (d) used both his new metric, plus the more usual correlational metric, to demonstrate:
Treatment of toxicity from amphetamines, related derivatives, and analogues: A systematic clinical review

Abstract Background Overdose of amphetamine, related derivatives, and analogues (ARDA) continues to be a serious worldwide health problem. Patients frequently present to the hospital and require treatment for agitation, psychosis, and hyperadrenegic symptoms leading to pathologic sequelae and mortality. Objective To review the pharmacologic treatment of agitation, psychosis, and the hyperadrenergic state resulting from ARDA toxicity. Methods MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and the Cochrane Library were searched from inception to September 2014. Articles on pharmacologic treatment of ARDA-induced agitation, psychosis, and hyperadrenergic symptoms were selected. Evidence was graded using Oxford CEBM. Treatment recommendations were compared to current ACCF/AHA guidelines. Results The search resulted in 6082 articles with 81 eligible treatment involving 835 human subjects. There were 6 high-quality studies supporting the use of antipsychotics and benzodiazepines for control of agitation and psychosis. There were several case reports detailing the successful use of dexmedetomidine for this indication. There were 9 high-quality studies reporting the overall safety and efficacy of β-blockers for control of hypertension and tachycardia associated with ARDA. There were 3 high-quality studies of calcium channel blockers. There were 2 level I studies of α-blockers and a small number of case reports for nitric oxide-mediated vasodilators. Conclusions High-quality evidence for pharmacologic treatment of overdose from ARDA is limited but can help guide management of acute agitation, psychosis, tachycardia, and hypertension. The use of butyrophenone and later-generation antipsychotics, benzodiazepines, and β-blockers is recommended based on existing evidence. Future randomized prospective trials are needed to evaluate new agents and further define treatment of these patients.
Use of tobramycin in eradicating experimental bacterial endophthalmitis.

A study of intravitreal injection of tobramycin sulfate in the treatment of experimental Pseudomonas aeruginosa endophthalmitis in rabbits resulted in the following findings: (1) A dose of 750 μg per 0.1 ml was nontoxic to ocular structures. (2) 500 μg of tobramycin sulfate remained bactericidal in both aqueous and vitreous humors for at least 96 hours. (3) Eyes cleared if treated with intravitreal injection of 500 μg tobramycin sulfate seven hours after bacterial inoculation, while only 2 of 5 eyes treated ten hours after inoculation showed complete clearing. (4) Systemic and subconjunctival administration of antibiotic failed to eradicate infection in 10 eyes.
Automated kinetic analysis of pyruvate kinase

Abstract An apparatus for the automatic determination of enzyme kinetics of pyruvate kinase is described. A continuous plit of velocity versus substrate concentration is obtained using quantities of enzyme and substrates comparable to manual determinations. The automated procedure offers a number of advantages over manual methods including elimination of repetitive pipetting, simpler reaction temperature regulation, reduced analysis time, and possible on-line computer analysis. The apparatus utilizes a commercially available column uv flow monitor to measure NADH NAD changes in the coupled lactic dehydrogenase reaction at 340 nm in a continuous flow system. The optical density changes are directly related to the velocity of the enzyme-catalyzed reaction. A linear substrate gradient is generated from a density gradient maker to provide the required relationship between velocity and substrate concentration. The system is calibrated by forming a gradient from a hemoglobin solution of known concentration. The procedure has been evaluated by determination of the kinetic parameters of three of the isozymes of pyruvate kinase. Values obtained by the continuous flow method are in close agreement with those obtained by individual point determination in a recording spectrophotometer.
Conjugated linoleic acid concentrations of human milk and infant formula

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is an anticarcinogen found in ruminant products. CLA may also act as a growth promotor in the neonate. Because of the potential importance of CLA to maternal and infant health, CLA concentration was quantified in human milk and infant formula. Human milk samples (n = 14) were collected by complete breast expression, and four brands of formula were analyzed; both powder and ready-to-feed products were studied. Although CLA was detected in only 31% of the formula samples, it was detectable in all human milk. Concentration of the biologically important isoform (c9,t11) of CLA in human milk ranged from 2.23 to 5.43 mg/g fat; that of formula from undetectable to 2.04 mg/g fat. Percent total CLA present as c9,t11 ranged from 83 to 100% in human milk and 80 to 100% in formula. Overall, human milk contained significantly more (P < 0.0001) CLA than did the samples of infant formula containing measurable concentrations (3.64 ± 0.93 vs. 1.35 ± 0.81 mg/g fat, respectively).
Transition probabilities for a forest.

THE vegetation on a tract changes as a field or felled forest becomes a forest again, and a quantitative statement of the changes is needed for comparing one period of changes with another and for logical extrapolation to the equilibrium or steady state. Enumeration of the stems in four mixed hardwood forests during 40 yr has enabled us to test “transition probabilities” as a means of stating, analysing and making use of the observed changes.
325 PENTAZOCINE: EFFECTS ON PREGNANCY AND THE NEONATE

The effects of heroin addiction on pregnancy and the newborn have been profound. With the decrease in quantity and quality of heroin, women have begun to use other psychoactive agents such as pentazocine. Two groups of pregnant women enrolled in a comprehensive prenatal addiction program were studied: Group A (N=14) whose major drug of abuse was pentazocine; Group B (N=26) were maintained on methadone. Maternal and infant morbidity were compared. In Group A one mother and infant died. Differences were observed in the following parameters: No differences were seen in maternal age, gravity, abortions, obstetrical complications, or newborn Apgar scores. Neonatal abstinence symptoms occurred in all infants, and 85% of each group were treated. These data suggest that greater maternal and infant morbidity occur when pentazocine, as compared to methadone, is used during pregnancy.
Estimating the Effects of Relaxing Agricultural Land Use Restrictions: Wetland Delineation in the Swampbuster Program

Wetland protection is an issue of ongoing debate. Although it is widely agreed that wetland loss to agriculture has been declining in recent decades, the role of policy remains contentious. We analyze the effect of changes in wetland delineation rules that were proposed but rejected by Congress during the 1996 farm bill debate. Our research combines detailed, site-specific information on wetlands with a broader model of the agricultural economy. Using site-specific data, we analyze the potential agricultural profitability of a representative sample of actual wetlands. We estimate wetland acreage that would have been exempted from swampbuster and Section 404 of the Clean Water Act under the proposed delineation changes, the acreage of exempted wetland that could be profitably converted to crop production, and the associated commodity price, crop acreage, and farm income effects. We find that up to 82.7 million wetland acres would be exempted under the proposed delineation changes, of which as many as 12 million acres could be profitably converted to crop production. This conversion would have a dampening effect on commodity price and farm income. We conclude that (a accurately estimating the effect of resource policy depends critically on detailed information on resource quality and (b) commodity price and farm income effects imply that all agriculture producers—not only those who could expand cropland acreage through wetland drainage—have a stake in wetland policy.
Effects of tension and transmural stimulation on prostaglandin production by estrous rabbit oviductal isthmus.

Abstract The effect of longitudinal and circular stretch on the amounts of Prostaglandin F (PGF) and Prostaglandin E (PGE) found in the fluid bathing rabbit oviductal isthmus has been investigated. It was found that the amounts of PGE nad PGF measured in the bathing fluid of longitudinally or circularly stretched tissues were negatively correlated to the maturity of the animal. Prostaglandin E increased with time in the tissues under longitudinal and circular tension. Prostaglandin F also increased with time under longitudinal tension but remained fairly constant under circular tension. Increasing the load from 0.5 to 2.0 g had no significant effect on PGE found under longitudinal or circular tension or on PGF found under longitudinal tension. Under circular tension, PGF found increased. Transmural stimulation at 20 Hz increased PGE 8-fold over control values while PGF increased only 1 to 3-fold. It is suggested that distension of the rabbit oviductal isthmus results in increased PGF production, which could be important in ovum transport.
Antiviral Properties of ISG15

The type I interferon system plays a critical role in limiting the spread of viral infection. Viruses induce the production of interferon (IFN), which after binding to the IFN-α/β receptor (IFNAR), and triggering of the JAK/STAT signaling cascade, results in the induction of interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs). These ISGs function to inhibit viral replication and to regulate the host immune response. Among these ISGs, the ubiquitin-like molecule, ISG15, is one of the most strongly induced proteins. Similar to ubiquitin, through an IFN induced conjugation cascade, ISG15 is covalently linked to a variety of cellular proteins, suggesting regulation of different cellular processes. Studies performed over the past several years have shown that ISG15 plays a central role in the host’s antiviral response against many viruses. Mice lacking ISG15 display increased susceptibility to multiple viruses. Furthermore, several viruses have developed immune evasion strategies that directly target the ISG15 pathway. Work is now underway to determine the mechanism by which ISG15 functions as an antiviral molecule, such that therapies targeting this pathway can be developed in the future.
Polarography of zirconium and hafnium in acetonitrile

Abstract Data on the polarographic behaviour of zirconium and hafnium tetrachlorides in acetonitrile, in electrolytes of tetra alkylammonium perchlorate and halide are presented. The stepwise reduction of these metal ions to M (III), M (II), and M (O) is proposed and supported by the polarographic data.
Do neutrino rest masses affect cosmological helium production

It is shown that the possibility of nonzero neutrino rest masses m/sub ..nu../approx. =10 eV/c/sup 2/ does not alter previous predictions of the standard big-bang model for the primordial /sup 4/He abundance. Although both left- and right-handed neutrinos could then be present, reactions mediated by the standard Weinberg-Salam-Glashow model extended to include Dirac neutrinos with nonzero rest mass cannot maintain ..nu../sub R/ in thermal equilibrium.
Modeling and Teaching Techniques for Conceptual and Logical Relational Database Design

This paper proposes a series of techniques to be used in teaching database design. Common ERD notations are discussed. The authors developed an ERD notation, adapted from the Unified Modeling Language, which facilitates student learning of the database design process. The paper presents a specific step by step process for representing the ERD components as tables and for normalizing the resulting set of tables.
Translating teamwork behaviours from aviation to healthcare: development of behavioural markers for neonatal resuscitation

Improving teamwork in healthcare may help reduce and manage errors. This paper takes a step toward that goal by (1) proposing a set of teamwork behaviours, or behavioural markers, for neonatal resuscitation; (2) presenting a data form for recording observations about these markers; and (3) comparing and contrasting different sets of teamwork behaviours that have been developed for healthcare. Data from focus groups of neonatal providers, surveys, and video recordings of neonatal resuscitations were used to identify some new teamwork behaviours, to translate existing aviation team behaviours to this setting, and to develop a data collection form. This behavioural marker audit form for neonatal resuscitation lists and defines 10 markers that describe specific, observable behaviours seen during the resuscitation of newborn infants. These markers are compared with those developed by other groups. Future research should determine the relations among these behaviours and errors, and test their usefulness in measuring the impact of team training interventions.
Application of surrogate modeling to generate compact and PVT-sensitive IBIS models

A new proposal of applying surrogate-modeling in Input-output Buffer Information Specification (IBIS) is presented. It saves the IBIS data storage resource, extends the model utility to various process-voltage-temperature (PVT) simulations and eliminates the data interpolation deviations.
Participation of leaky ribosome scanning in protein dual targeting by alternative translation initiation in higher plants.

Postendosymbiotic evolution has given rise to proteins that are multiply targeted within the cell. Various mechanisms have been identified to permit the expression of proteins encoding distinct N termini from a single gene. One mechanism involves alternative translation initiation (aTI). We previously showed evidence of aTI activity within the Arabidopsis thaliana organellar DNA polymerase gene POLγ2. Translation initiates at four distinct sites within this gene, two non-AUG, to produce distinct plastid and mitochondrially targeted forms of the protein. To understand the regulation of aTI in higher plants, we used Polγ2 as a model to investigate both cis- and trans-acting features of the process. Here, we show that aTI in Polγ2 and other plant genes involves ribosome scanning dependent on sequence context at the multiple initiation sites to condition specific binding of at least one trans-acting factor essential for site recognition. Multiple active translation initiation sites appear to operate in several plant genes, often to expand protein targeting. In plants, where the mitochondrion and plastid must share a considerable portion of their proteomes and coordinate their functions, leaky ribosome scanning behavior provides adaptive advantage in the evolution of protein dual targeting and translational regulation.
The Impact of MITF on Melanoma Development – News from Bench and Bedside

In the current issue, two articles highlight the impact of melanocyte transcription factor (MITF) on melanoma development. In the first, Lister et al. reveal in vivo proof of MITF directly regulating tumor development in BRAFV600E melanomas. In the second, Sturm et al. present a clinical trial that emphasizes the importance of the recently discovered E318K MITF germline mutation in patients with multiple primary melanomas.
Parasitism in a social wasp: effect of gregarines on foraging behavior, colony productivity, and adult mortality

Behavior in eusocial insects likely reflects a long history of selection imposed by parasites and pathogens because the conditions of group living often favor the transmission of infection among nestmates. Yet, relatively few studies have quantified the effects of parasites on both the level of individual colony members and of colony success, making it difficult to assess the relative importance of different parasites to the behavioral ecology of their social insect hosts. Colonies of Polybia occidentalis, a Neotropical social wasp, are commonly infected by gregarines (Phylum Apicomplexa; Order Eugregarinida) during the wet season in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. To determine the effect of gregarine infection on individual workers in P. occidentalis, we measured foraging rates of marked wasps from colonies comprising both infected and uninfected individuals. To assess the effect of gregarines on colony success, we measured productivity and adult mortality rates in colonies with different levels of infection prevalence (proportion of adults infected). Foraging rates in marked individuals were negatively correlated with the intensity of gregarine infection. Infected colonies with high gregarine prevalence constructed nests with fewer brood cells per capita, produced less brood biomass per capita, and, surprisingly, experienced lower adult mortality rates than did uninfected or lightly infected colonies. These data strongly suggest that gregarine infection lowers foraging rates, thus reducing risk to foragers and, consequently, reducing adult mortality rates, while at the same time lowering per-capita input of materials and colony productivity. In infected colonies, queen populations were infected with a lower prevalence than were workers. Intra-colony infection prevalence decreased dramatically in the P. occidentalis population during the wet season.
Credentialing chaos for nurse practitioners

Abstract As opportunities for nurse practitioners have increased, the increased exposure has raised concerns for public safety among consumers and regulators. Compounding the problem is the lack of uniformity for credentialing nurse practitioners among the states. Many nurse practitioners do not have sufficient knowledge about the concept of credentialing and its significance to their practice. An accurate knowledge base is essential because credentialing affects the nurse practitioner's autonomy to practice, prescriptive privileging, and reimbursement for services. The concept of credentialing and implications for nursing practice are presented along with current issues such as telenursing, multistate licensure compacts, and second licensure. By increasing the knowledge of nurse practitioners, the nursing profession can work towards achieving uniformity in credentialing that will provide clarity to the profession and, ultimately, to the public. Copyright © 2001 by W.B. Saunders Company
A miniature hybrid robot propelled by legs

Describes the development of an autonomous hybrid micro-robot that uses legs for propulsion and support of the rear half of the body and uses a pair of wheels for support of the front half. McKibben artificial muscles actuate the legs and the compressed air that activates the actuators is generated by an on-board power plant comprising a pair of lithium batteries powering a gear motor driven air compressor. The control is also onboard in the form of a PIC that controls the actuators through four three-way valves that each consists of a pair of MEMS devices.
The Star-P High Performance Computing Platform

The high performance MATLAB® user now has more choices than ever. Interactive Supercomputing's Star-P embraces this new world where, as an example, a MATLAB user who never wants to leave MATLAB might sit next to a C++ programmer at the office and both surf the Internet for the latest high speed FFT written in yet another language. The MATLAB of the past now becomes one browser into a bigger computational world. HPC users need this bigger world. Other "browsers" can be imagined. The open Star-P platform gives users options never before available to programmers who have traditionally enjoyed living exclusively inside a MATLAB environment.
A Regional Model Simulation of the 1991 Severe Precipitation Event over the Yangtze-Huai River Valley. Part II: Model Bias.

Abstract This is the second part of a study investigating the 1991 severe precipitation event over the Yangtze–Huai River valley (YHRV) in China using both observations and regional model simulations. While Part I reported on the Mei-yu front and its association with large-scale circulation, this study documents the biases associated with the treatment of the lateral boundary in the regional model. Two aspects of the biases were studied: the driving field, which provides large-scale boundary forcing, and the coupling scheme, which specifies how the forcing is adopted by the model. The former bias is defined as model uncertainty because it is not related to the model itself, while the latter bias (as well as those biases attributed to other sources) is referred to as model error. These two aspects were examined by analyzing the regional model simulations of the 1991 summer severe precipitation event over YHRV using different driving fields (ECMWF–TOGA objective analysis, ECMWF reanalysis, and NCEP–NCAR rea...
Substitution Method Critical Probability Bounds for the Square Lattice Site Percolation Model

The square lattice site percolation model critical probability is shown to be at most .679492, improving the best previous mathematically rigorous upper bound. This bound is derived by extending the substitution method to apply to site percolation models.
Unraveling the pathophysiology of alcohol-induced thiamin deficiency.

it took over 4,500 years from the first written description of beriberi in the Chinese medical book Neiching in 2687 B.C. until the first description of the causative “vitamine” deficiency by Polish scientist Casimir Funk in 1911 ([1][1]), and the biochemical description of thiamin pyrophosphate
Contracting to Assure Supply: How to Share Demand Forecasts in a Supply Chain

Forecast sharing is studied in a supply chain with a manufacturer that faces stochastic demand for a single product and a supplier that is the sole source for a critical component. The following sequence of events occurs: the manufacturer provides her initial forecast to the supplier along with a contract, the supplier constructs capacity (if he accepts the contract), the manufacturer receives an updated forecast and submits a final order. Two contract compliance regimes are considered. If the supplier accepts the contract under forced compliance then he has little flexibility with respect to his capacity choice; under voluntary compliance, however, he maintains substantial flexibility. Optimal supply chain performance requires the manufacturer to share her initial forecast truthfully, but she has an incentive to inflate her forecast to induce the supplier to build more capacity. The supplier is aware of this bias, and so may not trust the manufacturer's forecast, harming supply chain performance. We study contracts that allow the supply chain to share demand forecasts credibly under either compliance regime.
Again?!! the emotional experience of social notification interruptions

This paper describes a post-hoc analysis of the relationship between the socialness of an interruptive notification and the emotional tone of the words used to describe the experience through a One-Word-Response (OWR). Out of the 89 responses analyzed, 73% of participants used emotional words to describe their notification experiences. There was a significant relationship between the emotional tone of a OWR response and the socialness of an interruptive notification experience and participants were 3.2 more likely to describe social interruptive notifications with positive words than negative words.
Effects of the isoflavonoid biochanin A on the transport of mitoxantrone in vitro and in vivo

The aim of our study was to investigate the effect of biochanin A on the accumulation and transport of mitoxantrone in breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP)-expressing normal cells and its impact on the pharmacokinetics (PK) and tissue distribution of mitoxantrone. In accumulation studies, the intracellular level of mitoxantrone was significantly increased in the presence of 2.5 or 25 µM of biochanin A in both murine and human BCRP-expressing Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells, with no effect in corresponding MDCK/Mock cells. In bi-directional transport studies, the Papp,B-A value of mitoxantrone with biochanin A co-treatment was much lower (6.66±0.84×10−7 cm/s) than that in the absence of biochanin A (21.4±4.14×10−7 cm/s), indicating inhibition of Bcrp1-mediated efflux. To evaluate whether our in vitro results might translate into an in vivo interaction, mitoxantrone PK and tissue distribution, with and without co-administration of biochanin A, was investigated. In contrast to our in vitro results, biochanin A (10 mg/kg, i.v.) had no impact on the concentration of mitoxantrone in plasma and most tissues collected (brain, heart, liver and lung). Surprisingly, the concentrations of mitoxantrone in spleen and kidney were even decreased when biochanin A was co-administered. Interestingly, it was found that the intracellular fluorescence of mitoxantrone was decreased 31.9% when co-incubated with 10 µM biochanin A in P-glycoprotein (P-gp) expressing MCF-7/ADR cells, indicating potential P-gp stimulation. The species difference of the inhibitory effect of biochanin A on BCRP, the extensive metabolism of biochanin A, as well as the stimulation effect of biochanin A on P-gp, may contribute to this in vitro–in vivo disconnect. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A MARKETING APPROACH FOR CUSTOMER RETENTION

Consumer marketing companies have lavished more resources on attracting new customers than on satisfying old customers. In today's low growth and highly competitive marketplace, however, customer retention increasingly joins customer getting as an important area of analysis and planning. Marketers can better cultivate relationships with existing customers in these ways: designing an optimal customer portfolio, formulating a special marketing mix, and modifying the marketing organization. The balancing of marketing efforts between winning new customers and holding onto old ones will prove instrumental in pursuing sales and profit growth in the 1980s.
A Pressure-Sphere Anemometer for Measuring Turbulence and Fluxes in Hurricanes

Abstract Turbulence and air-surface exchange are important factors throughout the life cycle of a tropical cyclone. Conventional turbulence instruments are not designed to function in the extreme environment encountered in such storms. A new instrument called the Extreme Turbulence (ET) probe has been developed specifically for measuring turbulence on a fixed tower in hurricane conditions. Although the probe is designed for surface deployment, it is based on the same pressure-sphere technology used for aircraft gust probes. The ET probe is designed around a 43-cm-diameter sphere with 30 pressure ports distributed over its surface. A major obstacle during development was finding a method to prevent water from fouling the pressure ports. Two approaches were investigated: a passive approach using gravity drainage and an active approach using an air pump to flush water from the ports. The probes were tested in both dry and wet conditions by mounting them on a vehicle side by side with more conventional instru...
Mexican Immigration Scenarios Based on the South African Experience of Ending Apartheid

How can we ameliorate the current immigration policies toward Mexican people immigrating to the United States? This study re-examines how the development of scenarios assisted South Africa to dismantle apartheid without engaging in a bloody civil war. Following the scenario approach, we articulate positions taken by different interest groups involved in the debate concerning immigration from Mexico. Next, we formulate a set of scenarios which are evaluated as to how well each contributes to the well-being of the populace both of Mexico and of the United States. The South African scenario model has proven to be an effective tool in times of political disagreement. It fosters a common language among competing groups, non-hierarchal communication among groups, and acknowledgement of the concerns of each group involved.
Impacted third molars: A contributing factor in mandibular fractures in contact sports

Studies have shown that the presence of impacted third molars places the mandible at increased risk for fracture. Individuals participating in high contact sports are subject to maxillofacial trauma; therefore, partici pants with impacted third molars are at increased risk for fractured mandibles. Three cases are reviewed to illustrate this problem.
Portable Versus Home Stimulators

To the Editor: Snyder-Mackler et al are to be commended on their review of rehabilitation protocols for patients with anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (“Use of Electrical Stimulation to Enhance Recovery of Quadriceps Femoris Muscle Force Production in Patients Following Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction”) in the October 1994 issue of Physical Therapy . I have several concerns, however, about the study and the authors' conclusions: 1. The brand name and number of the portable unit were not identified. 2. The authors did not state that the vastus medialis oblique muscle actually contracted with use of the portable muscle stimulator. 3. One group was trained on console stimulators at 65 degrees of flexion, whereas the group using battery-powered home stimulators was trained at approximately 90 degrees of flexion. To test both groups at 65 degrees of flexion would seem to favor the console-model electrical stimulator. [ ARTICLE][1] [1]: /lookup/volpage/74/901?iss=10