cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Acoustic vibrations in intake manifold system and the supercharging of engines

Abstract The study of the acoustic vibrations in the manifold system and its effect on the operation and output of the internal combustion engine began as early as 1904 when Koester brought out the characteristics of wave motion in intake pipes. Ever since that date investigations have shown that a substantial increase in the air flow to the engine can be obtained by the use of a suitable intake pipe. However, insofar as the writer is aware, no comprehensive data have been compiled, either for the purpose of design, or for basic understanding of the problem. The object of the present investigation is based mainly on the study of the acoustical phenomenon and the effect of the length and diameter of the inlet pipe on the compression pressure and hence on the supercharging of a multicylinder four-stroke gasoline engine over a wide range of engine speed, and also to determine an optimum length and diameter of intake pipe which would yield the maximum compression pressure.
Interpretation of airborne oceanic lidar: effects of multiple scattering

The effects of multiple scattering on the interpretation of the time dependence of elastic backscattering of laser pulses from the ocean (lidar) are investigated through solving the radiative transfer equation by Monte Carlo techniques. In particular, after removal of the geometric loss factors, it is found that the backscat-tered power is a decaying exponential function of time, over the time interval required for photons to travel four attenuation lengths through the water. The effective attenuation coefficient of this exponential decay is found to be strongly dependent on the parameters of the lidar system and on the optical properties of the water. The significant parameter is the ratio of the radius of the spot on the sea surface viewed by the lidar receiver optics to the mean free path of photons in the water. For values of this parameter near zero, the decay is determined by the beam attenuation coefficient, while for values greater than ~5-6, the decay is given by the attenuation coefficient for downwelling irradiance, often referred to as the diffuse attenuation coefficient. Between these two extremes the interpretation of the effective attenuation coefficient requires, essentially, complete knowledge of the inherent optical properties of the water: the beam attenuation coefficient and the volume scattering function.
Vibrational analysis of peptides, polypeptides, and proteins. V. Normal vibrations of β‐turns

modes are given for the latter three structures. Calculations have been done for structures with standard dihedral angles, as well as for structures whose dihedral angles differ from these by amounts found in protein structures. The force field was that refined in our previous work on polypeptides. Transition dipole coupling was included, and is crucial to predicting frequency splittings in the amide I and amide I1 modes. The results show that in the amide I region, P-turn frequencies can overlap with those of the cu-helix and @-sheet structures, and therefore caution must be exercised in the interpretation of protein bands in this region. The amide I11 modes of 0-turns are predicted at significantly higher frequencies than those of (?-helix and 0-sheet structures, and this region therefore provides the hest possibility of identifying 0-turn structures. Amide V frequencies of fl-turns may also he distinctive for such structures.
The beta exponential distribution

Abstract The exponential distribution is perhaps the most widely applied statistical distribution for problems in reliability. In this note, we introduce a generalization—referred to as the beta exponential distribution—generated from the logit of a beta random variable. We provide a comprehensive treatment of the mathematical properties of the beta exponential distribution. We derive expressions for the moment generating function, characteristic function, the first four moments, variance, skewness, kurtosis, mean deviation about the mean, mean deviation about the median, Renyi entropy, Shannon entropy, the distribution of sums and ratios, and the asymptotic distribution of the extreme order statistics. We also discuss simulation issues, estimation by the methods of moments and maximum likelihood and provide an expression for the Fisher information matrix. We hope that this generalization will attract wider applicability in reliability.
Analysis of glycylsarcosine transport by lobster intestine using gas chromatography

Gas chromatography was used to measure transepithelial transport of glycylsarcosine (Gly-Sar) by perfused lobster (Homarus americanus) intestine. Unidirectional and net fluxes of dipeptide across the tissue and luminal factors affecting their magnitude and direction were characterized by perfusing the lumen with the dipeptide and measuring its appearance in saline on the serosal side of the organ. Transmural transport of 10 mM Gly-Sar resulted in serosal accumulation of only the dipeptide; no appearance of corresponding monomeric amino acids glycine or sarcosine was observed. Carrier-mediated and diffusional transmural intestinal transport of Gly-Sar was estimated at 1–15 mM luminal concentrations and followed a curvilinear equation providing a K m = 0.44 ± 0.17 mM, a J max = 1.27 ± 0.12 nmol cm−2 min−1, and a diffusional coefficient = 0.026 ± 0.008 nmol cm−2 min−1 mM−1. Unidirectional mucosal to serosal and serosal to mucosal fluxes of 10 mM Gly-Sar provided a significant (p < 0.05) net absorptive flux toward the serosa of 3.54 ± 0.77 nmol cm−2 min−1, further supporting carrier-mediated dipeptide transport across the gut. Alkaline (pH 8.5) luminal pH more than doubled transmural Gly-Sar transport as compared to acidic (pH 5.5) luminal pH, while luminal amino acid-metal chelates (e.g., Leu-Zn-Leu), and high concentrations of amino acids alone significantly (p < 0.001) reduced intestinal Gly-Sar transfer by inhibiting carrier transport of the dipeptide. Proposed mechanisms accounting for intestinal dipeptide transport and luminal factors affecting this process are discussed.
Evaluation of clinical competence in cardiovascular disease

The American Board of Internal Medicine has called on directors of cardiology training programs to establish systems to evaluate, document and substantiate those components of overall clinical competence considered essential for certification in the subspecialty. Many of these can be assessed only by repeated direct observations. In particular, proficiency is now required in advanced cardiac life support including cardioversion, electrocardiography (including ambulatory electrocardiographic monitoring) and exercise testing, echocardiography, insertion of arterial lines and right heart catheterization (including insertion of temporary pacemakers). The goal of this expanded evaluation program is to ensure that the public and the profession can identify, through certification, physicians with demonstrated excellence in cardiovascular disease.
Ex-Stream: A MATLAB program for calculating fluid flux through sediment-water interfaces based on steady and transient temperature profiles

Temperature is a useful environmental tracer for quantifying movement and exchange of water and heat through and near sediment-water interfaces (SWI). Heat tracing involves analyzing temperature time series or profiles from temperature probes deployed in sediments. Ex-Stream is a MATLAB program that brings together two transient and two steady one-dimensional coupled heat and fluid flux analytical models. The program includes a graphical user interface, a detailed user manual, and postprocessing capabilities that enable users to extract fluid fluxes from time-series temperature observations. Program output is written to comma-separated values files, displayed within the MATLAB command window, and may be optionally plotted. The models that are integrated into Ex-Stream can be run collectively, allowing for direct comparison, or individually.
Up Against the Sprawl: Public Policy and the Making of Southern California. Edited by Jennifer Wolch, Manuel Pastor Jr., and Peter Dreier

Reviews the book "Up Against the Sprawl: Public Policy and the Making of Southern California," edited by Jennifer Wolch, Manuel Pastor and Peter Dreier.
Genetic Screening and Functional Characterization of PDGFRB Mutations Associated with Basal Ganglia Calcification of Unknown Etiology

Three causal genes for idiopathic basal ganglia calcification (IBGC) have been identified. Most recently, mutations in PDGFRB, encoding a member of the platelet-derived growth factor receptor family type β, and PDGFB, encoding PDGF-B, the specific ligand of PDGFRβ, were found implicating the PDGF-B/PDGFRβ pathway in abnormal brain calcification. In this study, we aimed to identify and study mutations in PDGFRB and PDGFB in a series of 26 patients from the Mayo Clinic Florida Brain Bank with moderate to severe basal ganglia calcification (BCG) of unknown etiology. No mutations in PDGFB were found. However, we identified one mutation in PDGFRB, p.R695C located in the tyrosine kinase domain, in one BGC patient. We further studied the function of p.R695C mutant PDGFRβ and two previously reported mutants, p.L658P and p.R987W PDGFRβ in cell culture. We show that, in response to PDGF-BB stimulation, the p.L658P mutation completely suppresses PDGFRβ autophosphorylation, whereas the p.R695C mutation results in partial loss of autophosphorylation. For the p.R987W mutation, our data suggest a different mechanism involving reduced protein levels. These genetic and functional studies provide the first insight into the pathogenic mechanisms associated with PDGFRB mutations and provide further support for a pathogenic role of PDGFRB mutations in BGC.
Quantifying bone thickness, light transmission, and contrast interrelationships in transcranial photoacoustic imaging

We previously introduced photoacoustic imaging to detect blood vessels surrounded by bone and thereby eliminate the deadly risk of carotid artery injury during endonasal, transsphenoidal surgeries. Light would be transmitted through an optical fiber attached to the surgical drill, while a transcranial probe placed on the temporal region of the skull receives photoacoustic signals. This work quantifies changes in photoacoustic image contrast as the sphenoid bone is drilled. Frontal bone from a human adult cadaver skull was cut into seven 3 cm x 3 cm chips and sanded to thicknesses ranging 1-4 mm. For 700-940 nm wavelengths, the average optical transmission through these specimens increased from 19% to 44% as bone thickness decreased, with measurements agreeing with Monte Carlo simulations within 5%. These skull specimens were individually placed in the optical pathway of a 3.5 mm diameter, cylindrical, vessel-mimicking photoacoustic target, as the laser wavelength was varied between 700-940 nm. The mean optical insertion loss and photoacoustic image contrast loss due to the bone specimens were 56-80% and 46-79%, respectively, with the majority of change observed when the bone was ≤2 mm thick. The decrease in contrast is directly proportional to insertion loss over this thickness range by factors of 0.8-1.1 when multiple wavelengths are considered. Results suggest that this proportional relationship may be used to determine the amount of bone that remains to be drilled when the thickness is 2 mm or less.
Analysis of Sea Tech absorption meter characteristics and comparisons to K d measurements

A Sea Tech single wavelength (488 nm) absorption meter (known as the `a-meter') has been deployed in the Florida Straits and in the open ocean near Kauai, Hawaii. The instrument has been evaluated to assess its performance in measuring the diffuse attenuation coefficient (Kd) so that the numerous problems associated with traditional Kd measurements can be avoided. (Traditionally, one measures downwelling irradiance, which requires daylight and suffers from the effects of clouds, ship shadowing, instrument tilting, surface wave focussing, and Raman transpectral scattering.) The main result of this evaluation is that the a-meter generally provided profiles that agreed with traditional Kd profiles to within about 0.003/m, and the instrument did not suffer from any of the problems of irradiance measurements. It did, however, require the use of knowledgeable deployment, maintenance, and calibration techniques and the use of essential supporting measurements in order to obtain this degree of accuracy. This paper describes these aspects of how to effectively use the a- meter and provides representative examples of simultaneous traditional Kd profiles.© (1994) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
On the need for a holistic approach to information quality in healthcare and medicine

In this paper, we present an overview of various current research efforts aimed at improving the analysis, measurement and monitoring of information quality at an enterprise level in the healthcare arena. The main focus is on Data Quality (DQ) and recent advances and improvements in Healthcare Information Systems (HIS) architectures. Although there are a wide range of Information Quality (IQ) tools available in the market, there is a significant and critical need within the community for a single suite of enterprise-level tools that can be used to monitor the DQ of various input sources into an Electronic Medical Record (EMR), or a Data Warehouse (DW). Hence, we propose the need for a Data Quality Mediator (DQM) engine in this paper. Recent dependence of Healthcare records on Information systems and mandates by the government to computerize health information has encouraged hospitals and physician offices to use electronic systems but the focus on DQ tools lags far behind.
Indomethacin and Ketanserin Block Ethchlorvynol-lnduced Hypoxemia in Dogs

Intravenous injection of ethchlorvynol (ECV) leads to hypoxemia and a permeability pulmonary edema. Whether the hypoxemia is directly attributable to the pulmonary edema or caused by release of mediators has not been explored. Three groups of dogs were studied: (1) ECV, (2) indomethacin—ECV, and (3) ketanserin—ECV. In group 1, 25 to 30 mg/kg of ECV caused a significant fall in PaO2 at 4 min (92 ± 12.6 to 77 ± 21 mm Hg, p < 0.05), which persisted throughout the experiment. The P(A-a)O2 gradient widened significantly at 3 min (22 ± 11 to 31 ± 16.8 mm Hg, p < 0.05) and remained abnormal for the remainder of the experiment. There was no significant fall in PaO2 in groups 2 and 3. Lung tissue water to dry weight ratio increased significantly in all groups at 60 min. Lung tissue water to dry weight ratios were normal at 10 min after ECV injection in additional groups. It was concluded that ECV causes hypoxemia, which is mediated by cyclooxygenase products and 5 hydroxytryptamine. This hypoxemia can be prevented by the administration of drugs that block these products.
The evolution of new species of viral DNA during serial passage of simian virus 40 at high multiplicity

Abstract Viral DNA isolated during serial undiluted passage of SV40 was analysed by electrophoresis of fragments produced by H. influenzae restriction endonuclease and by DNA-DNA hybridization. Compared to parental SV40 DNA, early passage DNA showed alterations at many sites in the population of DNA molecules, although certain sites were more frequently altered than others as evidenced by the reduced yield of some original DNA fragments and the appearance of new fragments. With continued passage, new dominant species of viral DNA evolved which yielded simple restriction endonuclease digest patterns. DNA molecules from all passages retained SV40 DNA sequences; however, the percentage of total DNA sequences which corresponded to SV40 sequences diminished to about 30% or less in late passage DNA. Repetitive host cell DNA sequences were detected in a high percentage of late passage DNA molecules, but accounted for 20% or less of total sequences present. Therefore the new species of viral DNA which have evolved probably contain predominantly nonrepetitive host DNA sequences.
Social connectedness and one-year trajectories among suicidal adolescents following psychiatric hospitalization

This study examined the extent to which posthospitalization change in connectedness with family, peers, and nonfamily adults predicted suicide attempts, severity of suicidal ideation, and depressive symptoms across a 12-month follow-up period among inpatient suicidal adolescents. Participants were 338 inpatient suicidal adolescents, ages 13 to 17, who were assessed at 3, 6, and 12 months posthospitalization. General liner models were fitted for depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation outcomes, and logistic regression was used for the dichotomous suicide attempt outcome. The moderating effects of gender and multiple attempt history were examined. Adolescents who reported greater improvements in peer connectedness were half as likely to attempt suicide during the 12-month period. Improved peer connectedness was also associated with less severe depressive symptoms for all adolescents and with less severe suicidal ideation for female individuals, but only at the 3-month assessment time point. Improved family connectedness was related to less severe depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation across the entire year; for suicidal ideation, this protective effect was limited to nonmultiple suicide attempters. Change in connectedness with nonfamily adults was not a significant predictor of any outcome when changes in family and peer connectedness were taken into account. These results pointing to improved posthospitalization connectedness being linked to improved outcomes following hospitalization have important treatment and prevention implications given inpatient suicidal adolescents' vulnerability to suicidal behavior.
Study of nucleon channel reactions for A = 12 and A = 16 systems with the recoil corrected continuum shell model

Abstract The continuum shell-model with full correction for target recoil and including non-central forces is applied to the A = 12 and A = 16 systems. A modification of the g -matrix interaction of Bertsch et al . is employed. A comprehensive study of particle channels has been made in the 1p–1h approximation. Calculated level diagrams and cross sections compare favorably with experiment.
Maximum Likelihood Estimation of the Joint Covariance Matrix for Sections of Tests Given to Distinct Samples with Application to Test Equating.

Consider an old testX consisting ofs sections and two new testsY andZ similar toX consisting ofp andq sections respectively. All subjects are given testX plus two variable sections from either testY orZ. Different pairings of variable sections are given to each subsample of subjects. We present a method of estimating the covariance matrix of the combined test (X 1, ...,X s ,Y 1, ...,Y p ,Z 1, ...,Z q ) and describe an application of these estimation techniques to linear, observed-score, test equating.
Phenomenology of a technicolor model with heavy scalar doublet

Abstract Rather than having a light scalar both break SU(2) × U(1) and give mass to the fermions, as in the standard model, it is possible to use technicolor to do the first while a heavy (∼ 10 TeV) scalar does the second. The impact of such a heavy scalar on FCNC in the Kaon and B-meson systems is explored here.
Intérêt du rhPDGF-bb dans la régénération osseuse chez la souris : étude dose-réponse

Le facteur de croissance recombinant derive des plaquettes (rhPDGF-bb) fait partie des bio-molecules candidates pour la regeneration osseuse dans la sphere orale et maxillo-faciale (Jung 2008). In vitro, le rhPDGF-bb permet de recruter les cellules couches mesenchymateuses et facilite leur differenciation en osteoblastes (Hollinger 2008). Les premieres utilisations chez l'homme suggerent que le rhPDGFbb pourrait etre utilise pour la regeneration de defauts osseux alveolaires (Nevins 2009). Cependant, certaines etudes pre-cliniques ont montre que de faibles doses de rhPDGF-bb favorisent l'osteogenese (Lee 2000), mais d'autres ont montre que des doses elevees de la meme molecule peuvent favoriser l'osteoclasie (Marden 1993). L'objectif de cette etude etait d'evaluer l'effet de differentes doses de rhPDGF-bb, relarguees a partir d'un biomateriau compose de collagene et d'hydroxyapatite nanocristalline (Col-HA), sur la regeneration de defauts osseux critiques de calvaria chez la souris.
Solubilization and properties of a membrane-bound enzyme from rat brain catalyzing a base-exchange reaction.

Abstract A solubilized base-exchange enzyme activity was dependent upon the addition of phospholipids, added Ca++ ion, and had optimum pH of 7.2. Phosphatidyl-ethanolamine was found to be the best stimulator of both[14C]-ethanolamine and [14C]-serine incorporation. Preliminary evidence suggests the presence of phospholipase D type activity in this solubilized preparation.
Loblolly pine and slash pine responses to acute aluminum and acid exposures.

In response to concerns about aluminum and HCl exposure associated with rocket motor testing and launches, survival and growth of full-sib families of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) and slash pine (Pinus elliottii Engelm.) were evaluated in a nursery bed experiment. Each species was exposed to a single soil application of aluminum chloride (0.33 M AlCl3, pH 2.5), hydrochloric acid (0.39 M HCl, pH 0.6) or water, with or without mycorrhizal inoculation with Pisolithus tinctorius (Coker and Couch). After 20 weeks without inoculation, survival in AlCl3 and HCl treatments averaged 52% for loblolly pine and 72% for slash pine. Inoculation improved survival of loblolly pine, receiving HCl from 49 to 73%, and of those receiving AlCl3, from 55 to 90%. Inoculation also resulted in improved survival and growth of individual families in AlCl3, but not in HCl treatments. Results illustrate the relative resistance of both pine species to the acute treatments supplied, the improvement in resistance associated with mycorrhizal inoculation and the importance of field testing, following hydroponic screening, to verify the resistance to soil-supplied stresses.
Computer processing of ultrasonic data from the cardiovascular system.

Abstract A technique for computer processing of ultrasonic data obtained from the cardiovascular system is described. Echocardiograms obtained from the wall of the ascending aorta are digitized rapidly in real-time and are tracked by pattern recognition computer programs which analyze the velocity and acceleration of wall motion. A detailed description of the hardware, software and display techniques is presented.
Self-focusing of gaussian light beams

Abstract New results about the self-focusing of gaussian beams in nonlinear index media are presented. The focusing behavior of initially convergent beams is particularly interesting for powers near the critical power.
The Potentials and Limitations of Civil Society Research: Getting Undone Science Done

The term "undone science" refers to absences of scientific research that social movement and other civil society organizations find when attempting to make epistemic claims in the political field. The existing literature has identified various pathways for addressing the knowledge needs of civil society organizations, including asking elected and appointed political leaders to shift funding priorities and directly seeking support and partnerships with scientists. Here, a third pathway is identified and explored: civil society organizations that have the resources to fund their own research. A sample of such "civil society research" from large, mainstream, U.S. environmental organizations demonstrates that although the large organizations do engage in such research, most of it is not published in peer-reviewed journals. The peer-reviewed research is found almost exclusively in large preservation and conservation organizations that have staffs of scientists. Most of the other research reports are oriented toward documenting environmental problems and providing policy and management solutions. The research is highly applied and does not represent fundamental contributions to large mainstream scientific fields. Comparisons with civil society research in the author's previous research projects on religion, health, and economic development are discussed to assess applicability of the concept for other sociological subfields.
Predicting Oil Ring Self-Lubricated Sleeve Bearing Temperature Rise and its Effect on Shaft Criticals

Several steps are involved in predicting the temperature rise within the babbitt/oil film of sleeve bearings. Initially, the viscous friction loss developed in the oil film is determined. This loss depends on the speed, length, and diameter of the journal, oil viscosity, and diametral clearance. A heat balance study then compares heat loss generation and dissipation rates. The final consideration is the ability of the oil rings to deliver the necessary oil flow rate. An approach for predicting sleeve bearing temperature rise and the adequacy of oil ring lubrication is described. It is shown that some of the design variables affecting the bearing temperature rise also influence the bearing oil film stiffness. The value of this stiffness plays a vital role in determining the shaft critical speed.
Magnetite in Freshwater Magnetotactic Bacteria

A previously undescribed magnetotactic spirillum isolated from a freshwater swamp was mass cultured in the magnetic as well as the nonmagnetic state in chemically defined culture media. Results of Mossbauer spectroscopic analysis applied to whole cells identifies magnetite as a constituent of these magnetic bacteria.
Increased biological activity due to basic isoforms in recombinant human follicle-stimulating hormone produced in a human cell line

FSH has four asparagine-linked oligosaccharides with variable sialic acid contents, so that FSH is not a single molecule, but a heterogeneous group of isoforms. These isoforms differ in their biological properties and their distribution changes in various physiological states, allowing the modulation of FSH activity. Recombinant human (h) FSH has been produced in Chinese hamster ovary cells and has an isoform profile similar to those of both pituitary FSH standard and purified urinary FSH. These FSH preparations, however, do not contain the full spectrum of FSH isoforms found in the circulation. Production of recombinant hFSH in a cell line with a different pattern of glycosylation could broaden its isoform profile and potentially alter its biological activity. Thus, we transfected human embryonal kidney cells (293) with the human alpha and FSH beta genes to produce recombinant hFSH (hFSH-293) and determined its biological activity in a rat granulosa cell bioassay. Although hFSH-293 was immunologically in...
Premature structural changes at replication origins in a yeast minichromosome maintenance (MCM) mutant.

The Cdc7p protein kinase in the budding yeastSaccharomyces cerevisiae is thought to help trigger DNA replication by modifying one or more of the factors that assemble at replication origins (ARSs). To investigate events catalyzed by Cdc7p, we compared the structure of replication origins in cells containing conditional mutations in Cdc7p and Cdc8p, a thymidylate kinase that is required for DNA synthesis. High resolution genomic footprinting indicated that the presumptive lagging strand template in ARS1 became highly sensitive to KMnO4 modification after theCDC7 execution point. These results suggested that Cdc7p triggers DNA unwinding. The transition from late G1 phase to the CDC7 execution point and from the CDC7to the CDC8 execution points was accompanied by small but ARS-dependent changes in DNA topology. These results suggested that DNA unwinding before the CDC8 execution point either is highly localized or that the torsional stress associated with initial DNA unwinding is minimized by compensatory protein-DNA structural changes. The ARS DNA structural attributes evident in cells blocked at the CDC8 execution point were also evident in α-factor-blocked, G1 phase cells containing the CDC7 bypass mutantmcm5/cdc46-bob1. This result strongly suggests that the structural changes during the transition from the CDC7 toCDC8 execution points depend on the Cdc7p protein kinase and involve alteration of the minichromosome maintenance protein complex.
Calculation of the band structure of GaSb using a nonlocal pseudopotential

Abstract Local and nonlocal pseudopotential parameters for GaSb were determined. The resulting band structure is in good agreement with most of the experimentally obtained information about this material.
On interpolating between probability distributions

Abstract Uncertainty in the simulation of physical systems is common and may be due to parameter variations or noise. When the uncertainty is random in nature, probability distributions for the quantities of interest are obtained. Sometimes, knowing only the mean and variance is sufficient; at other times, safety and reliability considerations require knowledge of the complete distribution. Computing these distributions is often a time-consuming task and needs to be repeated when some system parameters are changed. In this paper, formulas for interpolating between probability density and mass functions in spaces of arbitrary dimensionality are presented. It is found that these formulas give accurate results even when the functions one is interpolating between are not that “close”. As the mesh used in interpolation is refined, the accuracy of the interpolated quantities increases; accordingly, in addition to the more complicated and robust interpolation formulas meant for the case of a coarse mesh, simplified versions that result in good accuracy when the mesh is fine are also given. Savings in computational effort up to a factor of one hundred are common even when the more complicated interpolation formulas are used. This means that interpolation is a lucrative alternative to Monte Carlo simulation and even to the Generalized Cell Mapping (GCM) method when complete probability distributions, as opposed to only the low-order statistics, are needed. It is expected that this technique will relieve much of the burden of repeated, time-consuming simulations as certain relevant parameters are varied. In addition, the given formulas may be interpreted as general-purpose algorithms for the blending of shapes, thereby leading to applications beyond what is considered in this paper.
Contour interpolation with bounded dihedral angles

In this paper, we present the first nontrivial theoretical bound on the quality of the 3D solids generated by any contour interpolation method. Given two arbitrary parallel contour slices with n vertices in 3D, let α be the smallest angle in the constrained Delaunay triangulation of the corresponding 2D contour overlay, we present a contour interpolation method which reconstructs a 3D solid with the minimum dihedral angle of at least α/8. Our algorithm runs in O(nlogn) time where n is the size of the contour overlay.We also present a heuristic algorithm that optimizes the dihedral angles of a mesh representing a surface in 3D.
SU-E-T-433: Evaluation of the ArcCheck Device for Patient-Specific Quality Assurance in Step-And-Shoot IMRT for Single-Fraction Spinal SBRT

Purpose: Current standard for patient specific spine SBRT IMRT QA in our institution is a combination of a point dose measurement in solid water under delivery of the beams at actual treatment angles, and 2D planar verification using an ion chamber (IC) array with all beams delivered at standard gantry angle of zero. The very small active area of ArcChecks diodes (∼0.6mm2) has the potential to improve measurement accuracy in high dose gradient regions present in spinal SBRT. Given high clinical workload we seek to improve ease of workflow and decrease time necessary for patient‐specific QA, by obtaining 2D verification and point dose measurement at actual treatment angles in one single measurement. Methods: The results of 10 patient specific QA measurements, as performed with single‐point and 2D IC array were compared to results obtained with ArcCheck. ArcCheck and 2D IC array pass rates are evaluated for 3%/3mm gamma criteria, single‐point measurement based on percent deviation from QA plan dose. The constancy of the device was assessed by re‐measuring the same treatment plan over the course of three weeks, and evaluating pass rate variationResults: The gamma pass rates are generally higher for ArcCheck (average 99.3%) than for Matrixx (average 93.1%). Average absolute deviation for the single‐point IC measurement was 3.4%. Maximum variation in pass rate between any two ArcCheck measurements within the three‐week evaluation period was 0.5%. Since ArcCheck allows for the use of an insert with an ion chamber in place, simultaneous redundant point measurement is possible with no time addedConclusion: Based on our results patient‐specific QA for spine SBRT treatments will be performed using ArcCheck with pass/fail criteria 98%. High sensitivity towards geometrical shifts necessitates careful initial alignment of the device.
WiDGET: Wisconsin decoupled grid execution tiles

The recent paradigm shift to multi-core systems results in high system throughput within a specified power budget. However, future systems still require good single thread performance--no longer the predominant design priority--to mitigate sequential bottlenecks and/or to guarantee service-level agreements. Unfortunately, near saturation in voltage scaling necessitates a long-term alternative to dynamic voltage and frequency scaling. We propose an energy-proportional computing infrastructure, called WiDGET, that decouples thread context management from a sea of simple execution units (EUs). WiDGET's decoupled design provides flexibility to alter resource allocation for a particular power-performance target while turning off unallocated resources. In other words, WiDGET enables dynamic customization of different combinations of small and/or powerful cores on a single chip, consuming power in proportion to the delivered performance. Over all SPEC CPU2006 benchmarks, WiDGET provides average per-thread performance that is 26% better than a Xeon-like processor while using 8% less power. WiDGET can also scale down to a level comparable to an Atom-like processor, turning off resources to reduce average power by 58%. WiDGET achieves high power efficiency (BIPS3/W), exceeding Xeon-like and Atom-like processors by up to 2x and 21x, respectively.
Fault tolerant control scheme based on active fault diagnosis for the path tracking control of a 4WD electric vehicle

This paper investigates the path tracking problem for an electric vehicle which has four electromechanical wheel systems under normal and faulty conditions. A fault-tolerant control scheme is proposed with considering the input saturation and certain actuator faults. From initial period, a passive fault-tolerant control is applied to achieve the tracking objective. When a fault happens, if some performances degrade below an acceptable level, an active fault diagnosis algorithm is implemented to precisely localize the faulty wheel and to estimate its fault gain. During this period, the reference input adjustment technique and the designed passive fault-tolerant controller will guarantee the active fault diagnosis implementation. With the faults information, an accommodated controller is designed to recover the degraded performance caused by the faults. Finally, simulations of traction engine faults in a RobuCar™ vehicle are conducted to illustrate the proposed method.
Does ageing originate in utero

Ageing still remains a conundrum on the cellular and molecular level, while environmental factors and interactions further increase the complexity of the ageing process. On the other hand is cancer, for which 20 years ago, it was proposed by Trichopoulos that it might have intrauterine origin. We herein discuss the idea that parameters such as the influence of insulin-like growth factor (IGF) signalling, of hormones and of the number of stem cells, as well as the effect of foetal and early life nutrition on ageing may also commence in utero and we provide epidemiological and biological data to advocate for this hypothesis. Finally, we analyse the public health implication of this hypothesis based on the World Health Organization (WHO) report that the burden of diseases, including ageing, may be due to impaired foetal development.
Valuation of investment and opportunity‐to‐invest in power generation assets with spikes in electricity price

We address the problem of valuing electricity generation capacity and the opportunities to invest in power generation assets in the deregulated electric power industry. The spark spread option‐based valuation framework is extended to take into consideration the electricity price spikes. This framework provides a valuable tool for merchant power plant owners to perform hedging and risk management. With jumps in the value process of power generation capacity, we demonstrate how to determine the value of an opportunity to invest in acquiring the generation capacity and the threshold value above which a firm should invest. We illustrate the implications of price spikes on the value of electricity generating capacity and the investment timing decisions on when to invest in such capacity.
Follicular lymphomas can be induced to present alloantigen efficiently: a conceptual model to improve their tumor immunogenicity

Abstract In the tumor-bearing host, T cells invariably fail to induce a clinically significant antitumor immune response. Although model systems support the existence of tumor peptide antigens, the molecular interactions critical for antigen presentation by the tumor cell remain unresolved. Here, we demonstrate that human follicular lymphoma cells are highly inefficient at presenting alloantigen despite their strong expression of major histocompatibility complex and low-to-intermediate expression of some adhesion and B7 costimulatory molecules. Activation of follicular lymphoma cells via CD40 induces or up-regulates both adhesion and B7 costimulatory molecules essential to repair this defect. More importantly, once primed, alloreactive T cells efficiently recognize unstimulated follicular lymphoma cells. Thus, correction of defective tumor immunity requires not only expression of major histocompatibility complex but also sufficient expression of multiple adhesion and costimulatory molecules.
Determining the relative prevalence of different subpopulations in heterogeneous cancer tissue

One of the most important challenges in cancer therapy is dealing with the heterogeneity of the cancer cell population. A patient having a certain kind of cancer will not, in general, have a tumor composed of only one kind of cancerous cell, but the tumor will be composed of different kinds of cells, each responding differently to a particular targeted drug (or cocktail of drugs). This is one of the reasons why two people having the same kind of cancer, as per traditional classification, do not respond the same way to the same cocktail of chemotherapeutic drugs. Modeling this heterogeneity in the population of cancer cells in a given patient is thus a problem pertinent to cancer therapy and can lead to customization of chemotherapy treatment on a patient to patient basis. This paper develops a theoretical approach utilizing experimental measurements for determining the relative prevalence of different subpopulations in a heterogeneous tumor. ()
Nerve growth factor effects on protein synthesis after nerve damage.

Abstract Axonal damage can induce a variety of changes in the cell bodies of neurons and in neighboring cells. Such changes, termed the axon reaction, can include neuronal chromatolysis, synaptic disconnection, and altered protein synthesis. Nerve growth factor (NGF) treatment of sympathetic ganglia after nerve damage has been reported to block partially both chromatolysis and synaptic disconnection. We examined the proteins synthesized in rat superior cervical ganglia using two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Axotomy induces changes in the relative rates of synthesis of a number of the proteins. The NGF treatment after axotomy does not reverse most of these, and induces other changes. It thus appears that the absence of NFG in retrograde transport from target tissues cannot alone be the signal for the axon reaction.
The quasibinary system In2Te3-Bi2Te3

Abstract The In 2 Te 3 -Bi 2 Te 3 isopleth has been investigated by using a combination of thermal analysis, X-ray and micrographic techniques. A eutectic, melting at 571 °C, occurs at 66 ± 0.5% Bi 2 Te 3 . The solid-solubility of Bi 2 Te 3 in In 2 Te 3 is immeasurably small; Bi 2 Te 3 dissolves 20% In 2 Te 3 at the eutectic temperature and 5% at 540 °C.
Women with a history of preeclampsia have a decreased innate immune response

RESPONSE LAN TRAN, DARCY CARR, JOSEPHINE AMORY, THOMAS EASTERLING, University of Washington, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Seattle, Washington OBJECTIVE: Women with a history of preeclampsia (PE) have an increased risk of subsequent cardiovascular disease. Therefore, we sought to determine if women who have a remote history of PE have an exaggerated proinflammatory response. STUDY DESIGN: Women with prior PE (N = 4) and age-matched controls (N = 8) who delivered at R39 weeks were studied R8 months postpartum. LPS stimulation of whole blood (1 mg/mL LPS for 6 hours) was performed. Proinflammatory cytokines, TNF-a and IL-6, were measured by ELISA in duplicate. RESULTS: TNF-a and IL-6 levels were lower in women with prior PE.
Evolution of function in the "two dinucleotide binding domains" flavoproteins.

Structural and biochemical constraints force some segments of proteins to evolve more slowly than others, often allowing identification of conserved structural or sequence motifs that can be associated with substrate binding properties, chemical mechanisms, and molecular functions. We have assessed the functional and structural constraints imposed by cofactors on the evolution of new functions in a superfamily of flavoproteins characterized by two-dinucleotide binding domains, the “two dinucleotide binding domains” flavoproteins (tDBDF) superfamily. Although these enzymes catalyze many different types of oxidation/reduction reactions, each is initiated by a stereospecific hydride transfer reaction between two cofactors, a pyridine nucleotide and flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD). Sequence and structural analysis of more than 1,600 members of the superfamily reveals new members and identifies details of the evolutionary connections among them. Our analysis shows that in all of the highly divergent families within the superfamily, these cofactors adopt a conserved configuration optimal for stereospecific hydride transfer that is stabilized by specific interactions with amino acids from several motifs distributed among both dinucleotide binding domains. The conservation of cofactor configuration in the active site restricts the pyridine nucleotide to interact with FAD from the re-side, limiting the flow of electrons from the re-side to the si-side. This directionality of electron flow constrains interactions with the different partner proteins of different families to occur on the same face of the cofactor binding domains. As a result, superimposing the structures of tDBDFs aligns not only these interacting proteins, but also their constituent electron acceptors, including heme and iron-sulfur clusters. Thus, not only are specific aspects of the cofactor-directed chemical mechanism conserved across the superfamily, the constraints they impose are manifested in the mode of protein–protein interactions. Overlaid on this foundation of conserved interactions, nature has conscripted different protein partners to serve as electron acceptors, thereby generating diversification of function across the superfamily.
Grain growth in nanocrystalline Zn–22% Al

Abstract The grain growth behavior of nanocrystalline Zn–22% Al (d=41 nm) was investigated, and the experimental data were compared with those of its coarse-grained powder and bulk counterparts. The results of the comparison suggest that the observed high value of the grain growth exponent, n (n=7.0) for the nanocrystalline alloy can be attributed to the presence of second-phase dispersions and microporosity.
Modulating Notochordal Differentiation of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Using Natural Nucleus Pulposus Tissue Matrix

Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) can differentiate into notochordal cell (NC)-like cells when cultured in the presence of natural porcine nucleus pulposus (NP) tissue matrix. The method promises massive production of high-quality, functional cells to treat degenerative intervertebral discs (IVDs). Based on our previous work, we further examined the effect of cell-NP matrix contact and culture medium on the differentiation, and further assessed the functional differentiation ability of the generated NC-like. The study showed that direct contact between hiPSCs and NP matrix can promote the differentiation yield, whilst both the contact and non-contact cultures can generate functional NC-like cells. The generated NC-like cells are highly homogenous regarding the expression of notochordal marker genes. A culture medium containing a cocktail of growth factors (FGF, EGF, VEGF and IGF-1) also supported the notochordal differentiation in the presence of NP matrix. The NC-like cells showed excellent functional differentiation ability to generate NP-like tissue which was rich in aggrecan and collagen type II; and particularly, the proteoglycan to collagen content ratio was as high as 12.5–17.5 which represents a phenotype close to NP rather than hyaline cartilage. Collectively, the present study confirmed the effectiveness and flexibility of using natural NP tissue matrix to direct notochordal differentiation of hiPSCs, and the potential of using the generated NC-like cells for treating IVD degeneration.
Quantization of Fano metrics using relative entropy in modeling channels with memory

In fading channels that exhibit memory, errors tend to occur in blocks. Knowledge of the channel condition of the previous block can be used to predict the future channel condition and improve the performance of the channel decoding system. Channels with memory can be approximated by finite-state Markov models. Once the number of channel states is fixed, the channel observations used to model the channel must be quantized into one of the given states. It has been shown that accurate channel models can be obtained by employing a quantization scheme that is optimized based on an objective function specific to the problem under consideration. In this paper, we seek to accurately model the flat fading channels in a Fano decoding system. We introduce the relative entropy in quantizing channel observations such as the Fano metrics. Simulations show that the proposed quantization scheme can allow some statistics related to channel states to be separated maximally, leading to improved estimation and prediction of the fading channels with memory.
Snapshot dual-band visible hyperspectral imaging spectrometer

We describe a proof of concept for a snapshot dual-band visible hyperspectral imaging spectrometer. A commercially available digital camera was integrated into a computed tomographic imaging spectrometer to provide a means for this proof of concept. Two spatially coregistered data cubes covering the blue (400 to 500 nm) and red (600 to 700 nm) spectral regions were reconstructed and the results analyzed. We found that the system accurately reconstructs the spectral content of the scene and that the two data cubes are automatically spatially coregistered by virtue of the system design.
Is The Cost Of Living Less In Rural Areas

There seems to be a general presumption that rural areas benefit from lower costs of living than urban areas. However, there is relatively little systematic data, other than anecdotal evidence, to ...