cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Color segmentation in the HSI color space using the K-means algorithm

Segmentation of images is an important aspect of image recognition. While grayscale image segmentation has become quite a mature field, much less work has been done with regard to color image segmentation. Until recently, this was predominantly due to the lack of available computing power and color display hardware that is required to manipulate true color images (24-bit). TOday, it is not uncommon to find a standard desktop computer system with a true-color 24-bit display, at least 8 million bytes of memory, and 2 gigabytes of hard disk storage. Segmentation of color images is not as simple as segmenting each of the three RGB color components separately. The difficulty of using the RGB color space is that it doesn't closely model the psychological understanding of color. A better color model, which closely follows that of human visual perception is the hue, saturation, intensity model. This color model separates the color components in terms of chromatic and achromatic information. Strickland et al. was able to show the importance of color in the extraction of edge features form an image. His method enhances the edges that are detectable in the luminance image with information from the saturation image. Segmentation of both the saturation and intensity components is easily accomplished with any gray scale segmentation algorithm, since these spaces are linear. The modulus 2(pi) nature of the hue color component makes its segmentation difficult. For example, a hue of 0 and 2(pi) yields the same color tint. Instead of applying separate image segmentation to each of the hue, saturation, and intensity components, a better method is to segment the chromatic component separately from the intensity component because of the importance that the chromatic information plays in the segmentation of color images. This paper presents a method of using the gray scale K-means algorithm to segment 24-bit color images. Additionally, this paper will show the importance the hue component plays in the segmentation of color images.
The "Soft Peace Boys": Presurrender Planning and Japanese Land Reform

Before retiring in August 1945, Joseph Grew had risen through the ranks in the State Department to become the acting secretary of state. Yet he was and remains most readily identified by the ten years he spent as the American ambassador to Tokyo. It was on the basis of his tenure there, and with the. help of friends and colleagues drawn pri marily from that embassy, that he exercised a considerable influence on American planning for the Occupation of Japan. Keenly aware of the failure of the last European peace settlement, these Japan hands were often criticized as the advocates of a "soft" peace. As if to invite such criticism, Grew publicly urged the abandonment of any vindic tiveness in planning for the peace. It was the same kind of blind preju dice which in the last war had been directed against the Germans, he told a Chicago audience in December 1943, that prevented so many Americans from admitting "that there can be anything good in Japan or any good elements in the Japanese race." Without a postwar policy that would seek to strengthen these good elements and win their co operation, he implied, the Japanese might simply follow the German example and wait a generation before trying again. There would be
DNA preservation in Precolumbian remains from the American Southwest

Naturally desiccated precolumbian remains from the U.S. Southwest were examined for DNA preservation in a variety of tissue types. Histological examination was used to determine if condition of morphological preservation indicated a tissue choice for nucleic acid extraction. It was found that nucleic acids are regularly present in tissue from these samples and neither macroscopic nor microscopic tissue appearance is an indicator of DNA preservation. Extracted DNA from Southwest specimens was small (<500 bp) but demonstrably human. Future analyses of ancient DNA with allele specific oligonucleotide probes should provide answers to specific anthropological questions about Southwestern Amerindian population dynamics, evolution and connections to modern Pueblo peoples.
Diffuse Idiopathic Skeletal Hyperostosis and Familial Hypocalciuric Hypercalcemia: A Unique Association in a Young Female

Familial hypocalciuric hypercalcemia (FHH) is a cause of lifelong hypercalcemia resulting from inactivated mutations in the calcium sensing receptor gene. Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) is an under diagnosed condition that leads to ossification of ligaments and entheses of the spine and peripheral skeleton. We describe a 45-year-old diabetic woman with hypercalcemia secondary to FHH who developed dysphagia because of external esophageal compression from DISH. The patient had no additional identifiable risk factors for DISH except for diabetes mellitus. An association between FHH and DISH has not been previously reported. Although most cases of hypercalcemia are found to have decreased bone mineralization, inactivation of calcium sensing receptor may induce a promitogenic response to hypercalcemia resulting in increased bone density. However, a causal association between FHH and DISH remains unproven.
Theoretical studies of 18-electron M(CnHn)(C10 − nH10 − n) (M = Fe, Ru, Os; n = 3, 4, 5) sandwich complexes

Abstract Density functional theory has been used to explore the energetics and bonding of the symmetric and unsymmetric isomeric sandwich complexes (η 5 -C 5 H 5 ) 2 M, (η 4 -C 4 H 4 )M(η 6 -C 6 H 6 ), and (η 3 -C 3 H 3 )M(η 7 -C 7 H 7 ) (M = Fe, Ru, Os). For each metal atom, the symmetric “5–5” metallocene was found to be the most stable isomer, with the “4–6” and “3–7” isomers ca. 40 and 80 kcal/mol higher in energy, respectively. Bonding analysis shows that (η 4 -C 4 H 4 )Fe(η 6 -C 6 H 6 ) is best considered as a (η 4 -C 4 H 4 )Fe fragment interacting with a C 6 H 6 ligand, although the interactions become less separable as the metal is changed to Ru and Os. Similarly, the dominant bonding in (η 3 -C 3 H 3 )M(η 7 -C 7 H 7 ) is that of a M(η 7 -C 7 H 7 ) perturbed by the interaction with a C 3 H 3 ligand.
Classification of IMAGE/RPI‐stimulated plasma resonances for the accurate determination of magnetospheric electron density and magnetic field values

resonances, respectively, and also at other frequencies. While they are observed to have an inherent bandwidth of 300 Hz or less, the effective detection bandwidth for strong resonances is nearly 2 kHz. The Qn resonances are often observed with time durations exceeding the 178 ms limit of the RPI operating programs commonly used for resonance detection. The fuh resonance is also observed with a long time duration even when it is in the plasma domain where it is normally weaker, i.e., when fuh >2 fce. A strong resonance at fpe is often but not always observed. In earlier investigations, the Dn resonances had been related to natural magnetospheric plasma-wave emissions and to sounderstimulated plasma-wave emissions in Jupiter’s Io plasma torus. The present RPI observations represent the first evidence for the stimulation of these resonances by a sounder deep in the terrestrial magnetosphere. These observations suggest the possible widespread occurrence of Ne field-aligned irregularities (FAI) or the ease of sounderstimulated FAI based on one Dn generation mechanism involving eigen modes of cylindrical plasma oscillations which have been associated with FAI. The RPI observations provide additional support to earlier suggestions that the Qn and Dn resonances have components of natural origin. The capability of simultaneous reception on three mutually orthogonal dipole receiving antennas often aids in the identification of spectral features. The RPI capability to generate magnetospheric reflection traces, leading to well-defined wave cutoff frequencies at the satellite, provides independent Ne determinations and additional spectral-identification confidence. Combining these capabilities with new analysis techniques that produce three-antenna plasmagrams normalized by fce and amplitude plots based on averages over different range-bin intervals, Ne and jBj can often be accurately determined from the plasma-resonance spectra to within uncertainties of the order of 1% and 0.1%, respectively, when RPI sounds using frequency steps equal to the 300 Hz receiver bandwidth. Such accuracy in magnetospheric Ne determination, even when Ne � 1c m � 3 , is difficult to attain by other
Origin and evolution of the ureilite parent magmas: Multi-stage igneous activity on a large parent body

The minor-element/major-element trends among the ureilites were investigated using electron microprobe data on olivine and pigeonite cores in eight low-shock ureilites. The results show well-defined correlations between Fe/X (where X is one of the minor elements Mn, Cr, Ca, Al, Ti, P, or Ni) and Fe/Mg ratios. For the lithophile minor elements, these trends are linear, with positive slope, and pass through or near the origin, indicating various degrees of FeO reduction of the parent magmas. The trends shown by P and Ni are consistent with this interpretation and require, in addition, equilibrium crystallization of 20-27 mole pct metal. A model is proposed for generation and crystallization of ureilite parent magmas, which predicts that the ureilite parent body had a differentiated crust, did not have a core, and was at least 235 km in radius.
Charm antiquark and charm quark in the nucleon

We estimate the intrinsic charm contributions to the quark flavor and spin observables of the nucleon in the SU(4) quark meson fluctuation model. In this model, the charm or anticharm reside in the charmed mesons created by the nonperturbative quantum quark-meson fluctuations. The intrinsic charm content in the proton, $2\bar c/\sum(q+\bar q) \simeq 0.011\pm 0.008$, is almost one order of magnitude smaller than the intrinsic strange content. The intrinsic charm helicity is also small and negative, $\Delta c\simeq -(0.009\pm 0.006)$. The fraction of the total quark helicity carried by the charm is $|\Delta c/\Delta \Sigma|\simeq 0.021\pm 0.014$. The ratio of the charm with positive helicity to that with negative helicity is $c_\up/c_\dw=35/67$. For the intrinsic strange component, one has $s_\up/s_\dw\simeq 7/13$. A detail comparison of our predictions with data and other models or analyses is given. The intrinsic charm contribution to the Ellis-Jaffe sum rule is also discussed.
Universals of linguistic structure: A north American Indian perspective

Abstract Drawing on a continent-wide survey of North American Indian languages, a series of typological generalizations is postulated. Exceptions are discussed in terms of patterning internal to the languages and areal contacts. Implications are drawn regarding markedness, language change, and the diffusion of linguistic traits.
The nucleolus gets the silent treatment.

In this issue of Cell Stem Cell, Savic et al. (2014) and Kim et al. (2014) provide insight into how global heterochromatin condensation and LIN28 sequestration in embryonic stem cells are independent mechanisms regulating pluripotency in the oft-overlooked nucleolus.
Photoaffinity substrates for P-glycoprotein

A variety of compounds can inhibit the function of P-glycoprotein (Pgp) by binding to it and preventing the efflux of anticancer drug substrates. While the molecular architecture of the drug binding site(s) in Pgp is not known, it is clear that modulators in general appear to conform to some general physical-chemical rules. In this paper, we discuss the basic concepts of drug recognition by Pgp as currently understood. We also examine the compounds used to photoaffinity label this protein and discuss their utility in identifying drug binding sites. Finally, we show that a photoaffinity analog of daunorubicin, [3H]azidobenzoyl-daunorubicin ([3H]AB-DNR), is a good affinity labeling reagent for Pgp. A finding of interest is that vinblastine and verapamil compete more effectively than daunorubicin for [3H]AB-DNR binding to Pgp, suggesting that vinblastine and verapamil have similar structural features not shared by daunorubicin.
On the reaction of N and O atoms with carbon nanotubes

Abstract We have studied the reaction of N and O atoms with a (9,0) carbon nanotube using clusters and the ONIOM method with the B3LYP/6-31G* level of theory. For both N and O atoms in their ground state, addition to the CNT requires a surface crossing and presumably involves a barrier, while we show that addition of the excited state of N( 2 D) has no barrier, and we believe this also to be true for O( 1 D). Both N and O atoms bond in a bridged structure and have bond strengths of 25.0 and 67.9 kcal/mol (estimated), respectively, with respect to CNT plus the ground state of the N or O atom.
Fiberoptic-coupled argon laser in the control of experimentally produced gastric bleeding.

An argon laser beam, guided by conventional fiberoptic endoscopy, was delivered to mechanically produced bleeding ulcers of the canine stomach. Bleeding ceased promptly following laser-photocoagulation. Histologic examination of photocoagulated ulcers indicated that morphologic alterations induced by laser irradiation were limited to the target area and did not extend to the muscularis propria or serosa. Sites of photocoagulated ulcers examined 3 weeks post-irradiation showed no gross evidence of the lesion, but microscopically these sites showed reparative changes.
High frequency ultrasound phased array characterization of SiC mirror blanks

Silicon carbide mirror blank materials were characterized using ultrasound phased array technology to determine the feasibility of using this method for rapidly characterizing material homogeneity and locate anomalous flaws. A 10MHz 64 element linear probe was used to measure and image the top and bottom surface reflected signal peak amplitudes. C-scan images located the presence of possible sub-surface heterogeneities as well as surface scratches invisible to the eye. Bottom surface scans located variations in homogeneity within the sample bulk. High frequency ultrasound phased array was found to be well suited for detailed characterization of SiC mirror blanks.
Fluoroacetate-mediated toxicity of fluorinated ethanes.

A series of 1-(di)halo-2-fluoroethanes reported in the literature to be nontoxic or of low toxicity were found to be highly toxic by the inhalation route. Experiments were performed that showed the compounds, 1,2-difluoroethane, 1-chloro-2-fluoroethane, 1-chloro-1,2-difluoroethane, and 1-bromo-2-fluoroethane to be highly toxic to rats upon inhalation for 4 hr. All four compounds had 4-hr approximate lethal concentrations of ≤100 ppm in rats. In contrast, 1,1-difluoroethane (commonly referred to as HFC-152a) has very low acute toxicity with a 4-hr LC50 of >400,000 ppm in rats. Rats exposed to the selected toxic fluoroethanes showed clinical signs of fluoroacetate toxicity (lethargy, hunched posture, convulsions). 1,2-Difluoroethane, 1-chloro-2-fluoroethane, 1-chloro-1,2-difluoroethane, and 1-bromo-2-fluoroethane were shown to increase concentrations of citrate in serum and heart tissue, a hallmark of fluoroacetate intoxication.19F NMR analysis confirmed that fluoroacetate was present in the urine of rats exposed to each toxic compound. Fluorocitrate, a condensation product of fluoroacetate and oxaloacetate, was identified in the kidney of rats exposed to 1,2-difluoroethane. There was a concentration-related elevation of serum and heart citrate in rats exposed to 0–1000 ppm 1,2-difluoroethane. Serum citrate was increased up to 5-fold and heart citrate was increased up to 11-fold over control citrate levels. Metabolism of 1,2-difluoroethane by cytochrome P450 (most likely CYP2E1) is suspected because pretreatment of rats or mice with SKF-525A, disulfiram, or dimethyl sulfoxide prevented or delayed the toxicity observed in rats not pretreated. Experimental evidence indicates that the metabolism of the toxic fluoroethanes is initiated at the carbon–hydrogen bond, with metabolism to fluoroacetate via an aldehyde or an acyl fluoride. The results of these studies show that 1-(di)halo-2-fluoroethanes are highly toxic to rats and should be considered a hazard to humans unless demonstrated otherwise.
Quadratic differentials in problems of the product of inner radii of nonoverlapping domains

We study applications of the theory of quadratic differentials to the solution of new extremal problems of nonoverlapping domains with free poles on rays and generalize known results to a certain class of open sets.
Induced-frequency modulation in a nonzero-relaxation-time medium

Induced-frequency modulation in the presence of pump–probe walk-off in a nonzero-relaxation-time nonlinear medium is investigated. The probe shape, phase, and frequency shift that are due to both effects are calculated in the weak-probe limit.
Debtor nation: How consumer credit built postwar America

It is difficult to consider debt as having a history, because it seems like debt might be, as one popular historian of money in 1917 described it, a “semi-slavery . . . [which] existed before the dawn of history, and it exists to-day.” People, in a certain sense, have always lent money to one another: to a wayward brother, across a saloon bar, to a coworker. But even by 1917, as that popular history was written in the midst of world war, the ancient personal relationship of personal debt was changing into a modern impersonal one. My dissertation is about how what we call personal debt, that is debt incurred by individuals and not by businesses, went from being owed to other people to being owed to institutions, and what this has meant at the largest level about American capitalism.
Pre-Service English Teachers and Technology: A Consideration of Weblogs for the English Classroom

Teaching with technology is a complex issue, at best, bound by issues of access, funding, support and time for both students and teachers (Young & Bush, 2004). When English teachers effectively integrate technology into their classrooms, however, they have the opportunity to positively engage students in the learning process. Considering the specific technology of weblogs, this article will explore the need for preservice teachers to construct a working pedagogy that includes the use of technology within the content area for teaching and learning.
Estimation of sector sales and employment changes associated with solar space and water heating development

Abstract There is little available information on sector-specific sales and employment impacts of a large-scale solar space and water heating industry. This study identifies those sectors of the economy which would be most affected by increased solar utilization and estimates the magnitude of the changes. The basic methodology involves augmenting an existing Input/Output table to include sectors reflecting solar technology. Data required to augment the matrix were obtained from questionnaires returned by existing firms involved in collector manufacture or solar space and water heating system sales. The augmented I/O matrix is inverted to generate a direct and indirect requirements matrix. The elements of this matrix estimate the changes in total sector output resulting from changes in final demand of other sectors. Estimates of final demand for solar heating systems by 1985 and projections of annual energy savings associated with solar installations to that time were obtained from existing studies. Using the computed direct and indirect requirements matrix and the assumed changes in the composition of final demand, estimates of changes in sales and employment were made for 131 sectors of the U.S. economy. It was determined that the sectors most affected by solar development will be those involved in electricity generation and the mining, refining, and fabrication of metals, especially copper. The proportionate changes in industry sales and employment are not expected to be very great. Only copper rolling and drawing is changed by as much as two percent. This finding suggests that the U.S. economy can accomodate an expanded use of solar heating without undue stress.
Wrist and forearm postures of users of conventional computer keyboards.

The aim of this study was to perform a comprehensive investigation to document wrist and forearm postures of users of conventional computer keyboards. We instrumented 90 healthy, experienced cleric...
A Note on the Possibility of Generating a Dense Dusty Plasma Liquid

Recently, there has been interest in the properties of strongly coupled dusty plasmas in the liquid phase. Here, we consider theoretically a possible way to generate and detect a dense dusty plasma liquid. The idea is to use noble metal submicron dust particles and detect the dust by scattering at the surface plasmon resonance frequency of the dust. Parameters that may be relevant to possible laboratory dusty plasma experiments are discussed.
Lexicographic Semirings for Exact Automata Encoding of Sequence Models

In this paper we introduce a novel use of the lexicographic semiring and motivate its use for speech and language processing tasks. We prove that the semiring allows for exact encoding of backoff models with epsilon transitions. This allows for off-line optimization of exact models represented as large weighted finite-state transducers in contrast to implicit (on-line) failure transition representations. We present preliminary empirical results demonstrating that, even in simple intersection scenarios amenable to the use of failure transitions, the use of the more powerful lexicographic semiring is competitive in terms of time of intersection.
Genotype Imputation for African Americans using data from HapMap Phase II versus 1000 Genomes Projects

Genotype imputation provides imputation of untyped single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that are present on a reference panel such as those from the HapMap Project. It is popular for increasing statistical power and comparing results across studies using different platforms. Imputation for African American populations is challenging because their linkage disequilibrium blocks are shorter and also because no ideal reference panel is available due to admixture. In this paper, we evaluated three imputation strategies for African Americans. The intersection strategy used a combined panel consisting of SNPs polymorphic in both CEU and YRI. The union strategy used a panel consisting of SNPs polymorphic in either CEU or YRI. The merge strategy merged results from two separate imputations, one using CEU and the other using YRI. Because recent investigators are increasingly using the data from the 1000 Genomes (1KG) Project for genotype imputation, we evaluated both 1KG-based imputations and HapMap-based imputations. We used 23,707 SNPs from chromosomes 21 and 22 on Affymetrix SNP Array 6.0 genotyped for 1,075 HyperGEN African Americans. We found that 1KG-based imputations provided a substantially larger number of variants than HapMap-based imputations, about three times as many common variants and eight times as many rare and low-frequency variants. This higher yield is expected because the 1KG panel includes more SNPs. Accuracy rates using 1KG data were slightly lower than those using HapMap data before filtering, but slightly higher after filtering. The union strategy provided the highest imputation yield with next highest accuracy. The intersection strategy provided the lowest imputation yield but the highest accuracy. The merge strategy provided the lowest imputation accuracy. We observed that SNPs polymorphic only in CEU had much lower accuracy, reducing the accuracy of the union strategy. Our findings suggest that 1KG-based imputations can facilitate discovery of significant associations for SNPs across the whole MAF spectrum. Because the 1KG Project is still under way, we expect that later versions will provide better imputation performance.
Countervailing incentives in allocation mechanisms with type-dependent externalities

Abstract I study an allocation mechanism of a single item in the presence of type-dependent externalities between bidders. The type-dependency introduces countervailing incentives and the allocation sometimes requires that types in an interior subset obtain their reservation utility. Furthermore, truth-telling requires the ex-ante allocation to satisfy a non-trivial monotonicity condition. I show that this problem is technically different from the one analyzed in related single agent settings. I provide a procedure to identify the main properties of the ex-post allocation. Typically, the solution does not entail a single reserve price. More specifically, each agent faces an allocation rule contingent on whether his and his rival’s types fall below, in or above the (endogenously determined) subset of types that obtain their reservation utility.
The partitioned optical passive stars network: simulations and fundamental operations

We show how a multiprocessor computer interconnected by a partitioned optical passive stars network (POPS) can simulate hypercube and mesh-connected computers. POPS algorithms for data sum, prefix sum, rank, adjacent sum, consecutive sum, concentrate, distribute, and generalize are also developed. These fundamental operations form the building blocks of parallel algorithms for many applications.
Multiplicative secret sharing schemes from Reed-Muller type codes

Multiplicative linear secret sharing schemes are the building blocks for multiparty computation protocols. Such schemes can be defined in terms of linear codes with an additional algebraic structure. We show that Reed-Muller codes have the required additional structure and we introduce a more general class of Reed-Muller type codes suitable for linear secret sharing and multiparty computation. The codes have highly structured generator and parity check matrices that can be used for very efficient implementations over the binary field.
Statistics of wind direction and its increments

We study some elementary statistics of wind direction fluctuations in the atmosphere for a wide range of time scales (10−4 sec to 1 h), and in both vertical and horizontal planes. In the plane parallel to the ground surface, the direction time series consists of two parts: a constant drift due to large weather systems moving with the mean wind speed, and fluctuations about this drift. The statistics of the direction fluctuations show a rough similarity to Brownian motion but depend, in detail, on the wind speed. This dependence manifests itself quite clearly in the statistics of wind-direction increments over various intervals of time. These increments are intermittent during periods of low wind speeds but Gaussian-like during periods of high wind speeds.
Application of the porous-sphere hydrodynamic model to dilute polymer solutions

The porous-sphere model of Debye–Brinkman–Bueche is applied to predict the limiting frictional coefficient f0 and intrinsic viscosity [η] of polystyrene fractions in tetrahydrofuran and random protein coils in 6M guanidine hydrochloride. Following the formulation of Wiegel and Mijnlieff, the molecular permeability is modeled to increase exponentially as the square of the distance from the center of the molecule. A method is developed to obtain this permeability from the translational diffusion coefficient. The experimental values of f0 and [η] are in satisfactory agreement with the calculated values. Also, this analysis predicts values of the Mandelkern–Flory–Scheraga parameter for flexible coils which are significantly smaller than the minimum values permitted by the Kirkwood–Riseman theory. This is in accord with the experimental evidence.
Serotonin and the neurochemistry of intimacy.

t o H uman beings have a fundamental need to belong (1), and it is well-known that social isolation can be detrimental to mental and physical well-being (2– 4). Despite the well-esablished connection between close relationships and heath, we re only beginning to understand the biological factors that might ediate this relationship in humans. The burgeoning field of social euroscience and, in particular, the use of pharmacological interentions in conjunction with cognitive and/or behavioral paraigms has produced a number of intriguing neurochemical candiates, including the neuropeptide oxytocin (5) as well as some less bvious contenders like proinflammatory cytokines (6) and, finally, serotonin. With respect to the latter, research has shown that serotonin has been associated with impulsivity, aggression (specifically, reactive aggression), social isolation, dominance, quarrelsomeness, and heightened reactivity to emotional events (see Crockett [7] for review), but a new study by Bilderbeck et al. (8), published in this issue of Biological Psychiatry, suggests that serotonin might also modulate perceptions of close relationships. Bilderbeck et al. used a well-established acute tryptophan depletion procedure to look at the effects of central serotonin levels on cognitive appraisals of close personal relationships. Specifically, male and female healthy volunteers ingested an amino acid drink with tryptophan (T ) (n 22) or without tryptophan (T ) (n 19) in this between-subject, double-blind study. Approximately five hours after ingesting the amino acid drink, participants completed a novel “Couples Appraisal Task” in which they viewed photographs of heterosexual couples (a mixture of real and posed) who were either: 1) standing apart, or 2) making affiliative gestures (e.g., putting their arms around each other or holding hands). Participants then rated the couples in terms of 10 descriptors that were thought to reflect “perceived stability of romantic relationships” (e.g., “committed,” “intimate,” “trusting,” “supportive”) as well as in terms of relative dominance of the partners, their independence, and their ability to solve conflicts. Results showed a significant effect of tryptophan treatment on relationship appraisals; post hoc analyses revealed that tryptophan specifically altered intimacy and romance judgments but had no effect on the other relationship descriptors. One should be cautious when interpreting these observations, given the novelty of the task and that norms have not been established. Nevertheless, it is interesting to think about the selective effects of tryptophan on intimacy and what that might mean about potential mechanisms. Definitions of “intimate” include “associated in close personal relations,” “very private/closely personal,” “warmly cozy,” and “inmost/deep within.” In the context of close relationships, Collins and Stroufe (9) nicely illustrate the complex emotional, motivational, and behavioral aspects of intimacy:
A unified mode combination theory for stationary response of structural systems

A general theory of mode combination is developed for structural systems subjected to stationary stochastic excitation. The analysis begins with a brief review of a mode combination expression for first-order systems. Then, new fundamental properties of this result are developed. These properties are used to establish common analytical foundations and make new extensions of previously developed mode combination results for under-critically damped, classically damped, cascaded and non-linear structures. In the second part of the paper, an efficient and general mode combination method is developed for cascaded structures. It is shown how the unified mathematical framework established herein can be applied to cascaded structures composed of different types of substructures without the need to derive separate mode combination expressions.
An investigation of MML methods for fault diagnosis in mobile robots

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the utility of a diagnosis technique, which uses minimum message length (MML) for autonomous mobile robot fault diagnosis. A simulator was developed for a behavior-based robotic system and results were gathered for over 24,000 simulations varying the level of test noise and the components with simulated failures. The results showed that the MML diagnosis technique did not perform well as a turn-key solution. In two different data sets, only 0.59% and 1.19% of the test cases were correctly diagnosed and none of the cases with multiple failures were identified correctly. This paper presents the approach used to evaluate the new technique, the results, and a discussion of why MML diagnosis may not be appropriate for mobile robotics.
Ectopic Expression of Guanylyl Cyclase C in CD34+ Progenitor Cells in Peripheral Blood

PURPOSE: To examine the utility of guanylyl cyclase C (GC-C)–specific nested reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to detect circulating tumor cells in patients with colorectal cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Peripheral-blood mononuclear cells from 24 patients with Dukes’ stage D colorectal cancer were analyzed by GC-C-specific nested RT-PCR using 1 μg of total RNA. Peripheral-blood mononuclear cells from 20 healthy volunteers served as controls. Additionally, peripheral-blood CD34+ progenitor cells were assayed for the expression of both GC-C and other epithelial cell–specific markers. RESULTS: GC-C mRNA was detected in blood mononuclear cells from all 24 patients with colorectal cancer and all healthy volunteers. These unexpected positive results reflected low-level ectopic transcription of GC-C in CD34+ progenitor cells. Moreover, CD34+ progenitor cells expressed other epithelial cell–specific markers, including prostate-specific antigen, prostate-specific membrane antigen, carcinoembr...
Subcooled Flow Boiling Heat Transfer to Water and Ethylene Glycol/Water Mixtures in a Bottom-heated Tube

Subcooled flow boiling heat transfer experiments were performed with water and ethylene glycol/water mixtures at five flow velocities and four fluid inlet temperatures. Both turbulent flow and laminar flow were tested in a special test facility with its experimental test section heated from the bottom surface only. Boiling curves and subcooled flow boiling heat transfer coefficients of the tested fluids were determined from the experimental measurements. Predictive correlations of the subcooled flow boiling heat transfer coefficients were developed based on the experimental data. Comparisons are presented of wall temperatures between the experimental measurements and the correlation predictions.
Global Crisis and its Impact on Russia: Refocusing Policy on Households

The note reviews Russia's early anti-crisis fiscal policy package and considers how it can be adjusted to provide greater cushion to households.
Restoring function in exhausted CD8 T cells during chronic viral infection

Functional impairment of antigen-specific T cells is a defining characteristic of many chronic infections, but the underlying mechanisms of T-cell dysfunction are not well understood. To address this question, we analyzed genes expressed in functionally impaired virus-specific CD8 T cells present in mice chronically infected with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV), and compared these with the gene profile of functional memory CD8 T cells. Here we report that PD-1 (programmed death 1; also known as Pdcd1) was selectively upregulated by the exhausted T cells, and that in vivo administration of antibodies that blocked the interaction of this inhibitory receptor with its ligand, PD-L1 (also known as B7-H1), enhanced T-cell responses. Notably, we found that even in persistently infected mice that were lacking CD4 T-cell help, blockade of the PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitory pathway had a beneficial effect on the 9helpless9 CD8 T cells, restoring their ability to undergo proliferation, secrete cytokines, kill infected cells and decrease viral load. Blockade of the CTLA-4 (cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4) inhibitory pathway had no effect on either T-cell function or viral control. These studies identify a specific mechanism of T-cell exhaustion and define a potentially effective immunological strategy for the treatment of chronic viral infections. This abstract was published in Cancer Immunity, a Cancer Research Institute journal that ceased publication in 2013 and is now provided online in association with Cancer Immunology Research.
Event-triggered based on-line optimization for a class of nonlinear systems

We consider the problem of robust on-line optimization of a class of continuous-time nonlinear systems by using a discrete-time controller/optimizer, interconnected with the plant in a sampled-data structure. In contrast to classic approaches where the controller is updated after a fixed sufficiently long waiting time has passed, we design an event-based mechanism that triggers the control action only when the rate of change of the output of the plant is sufficiently small. By using this event-based update rule, a significant improvement in the convergence rate of the closed-loop dynamics is achieved. Since the closed-loop system combines discrete-time and continuous-time dynamics, and in order to guarantee robustness and semi-continuous dependence of solutions on parameters and initial conditions, we use the framework of hybrid set-valued dynamical systems to analyze the stability properties of the system. Numerical simulations illustrate the results.
Two dimensional Echo Imaging and Pulsed Doppler Blood Flow Detection: A comprehensive approach to cardiovascular diagnosis

The integration of two Dimensional imaging with Pulsed Doppler is much more than a simple convienence. Certainly it provides a possible mechanism for the determination of volumetric blood flow rates or the calibration of velocity. Researchers in increasing numbers are showing how to use the 2D image to determine local anatomy and Doppler transducer beam orientation with respect to the blood flow vector. Quantitation of both image and flow parameters is important as well as intrinsic to improved cardiovascular diagnosis. The real significance of combining image and blood flow data may lay within the potential of multiformat programable instrumentation and a holistic system approach to diagnosis.1 These promise to make possible significant advances in diagnostic sensitivity and accuracy in the future.
Prediction of High Dose Ion Implantation Profiles as Influenced by Radiation Induced Transport and Sputtering

Various models for predicting high fluence ion collection profiles are reviewed. Recent calculations based on the diffusion approximation are described. The solute and defect probability distributions are calculated by a MONTECARLO code, TRIM. The method takes into account the effects of sputtering, including preferential sputtering of one of the components, and lattice dilation. In addition, the effects of radiation enhanced diffusion and radiation induced segregation are also considered. The calculations include the coupling of solute and defect fluxes. The described formalism can account for observed maximum attainable concentrations and distributions in high fluence implantation conditions of practical interest.
Analysis of the Effects of Farmers’Risk Perception on Their Willingness of Land Transfer

Based on a survey of 398farmers in 8townships of a city in South Henan Province during July to August 2010,this paper employs an econometric model to analyze the farmers’willingness of land transfer from the point of their risk perception.Three kinds of risks encountered by farmers are distinguished,namely the natural risk,market risk and the capacity risk.Main results show that changes in farmers’risk perception on food prices,illness of family members,farmers’non-farm employment capacity,and farmers’access to credit ability significantly affect outflow wishes;while changes in the prices of fertilizers and pesticides,land degradation and illness of family members,farmers’non-farm employment capacity and farmers’access to credit ability risk have significant effects on inflows wishes.Reasons causing the differences in the influence direction and extent are explained.Finally,the paper concludes the study and proposes several recommendations accordingly based on the main results.
Diagnosing ASD in Very Early Childhood

A large subset of persons with autism can be diagnosed between 16 and 36 months of age. A number of systematized methods are now available to enhance the reliability and validity of these diagnoses. This chapter describes the current state of the art in differential diagnosis with these young children.
Improved biochemical preservation of heart slices during cold storage.

BACKGROUND Development of myocardial preservation solutions requires the use of whole organ models which are animal and labor intensive. These models rely on physiologic rather than biochemical endpoints, making accurate comparison of the relative efficacy of individual solution components difficult. We hypothesized that myocardial slices could be used to assess preservation of biochemical function during cold storage. MATERIALS AND METHODS Whole rat hearts were precision cut into slices with a thickness of 200 microm and preserved at 4 degrees C in one of the following solutions: Columbia University (CU), University of Wisconsin (UW), D5 0.2% normal saline with 20 meq/l KCL (QNS), normal saline (NS), or a novel cardiac preservation solution (NPS) developed using this model. Myocardial biochemical function was assessed by ATP content (etamoles ATP/mg wet weight) and capacity for protein synthesis (counts per minute (cpm)/mg protein) immediately following slicing (0 hours), and at 6, 12, 18, and 24 hours of cold storage. Six slices were assayed at each time point for each solution. The data were analyzed using analysis of variance and are presented as the mean +/- standard deviation. RESULTS ATP content was higher in the heart slices stored in the NPS compared to all other solutions at 6, 12, 18 and 24 hours of cold storage (p < 0.05). Capacity for protein synthesis was higher in the heart slices stored in the NPS compared to all other solutions at 6, 12, and 18 hours of cold storage (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS This myocardial slice model allows the rapid and efficient screening of cardiac preservation solutions and their components using quantifiable biochemical endpoints. Using this model, we have developed a novel preservation solution which improves the biochemical function of myocardial slices during cold storage.
Developing a Data Science Approach to Detecting Income Fraud for the Peer to Peer Loan Industry

Personal loans can be obtained by borrowers from very different types of lending institution. The most common are a traditional loan institutions, payday lenders, or a Peer to Peer (P2P) lending brokers. P2P lending companies do not loan the money directly. They link the borrower to a lender and provide the lender with the borrower’s income which is not usually verified. The P2P lenders collects fees based on the transaction and financially benefits from a higher number of introductions of borrowers and lenders. P2P lending is becoming more popular among borrowers because the pay highest interest rates are much lower than payday lenders and loans require less verification of income and assets than traditional loan institutions. A higher reported income with P2P lenders can result in a larger loan for the borrower and thus more profit and fees generated for the P2P lender. If the loan defaults due to an overstated or fraudulently reported income by the borrow, the P2P lender does not suffer, it is the lender that was matched to the borrower by the P2P lender that will incur the financial loss. This paper focuses on proposing a data science approach to detecting loan applicants that provide fraudulent income data to P2P lenders. The data obtained for this study contained 887,379 observations and 74 variables of loan applicants from the P2P loan company, Lending Club. The initial observations of this data showed that unverified loans make up 23% of the defaulted loans while verified and source verified loans made up about 77%. Described within this paper is how the data set for analysis was obtained and prepared for analysis, the initial findings, the proposed data science approach to fully analyzing this data, and the significance of the lending industry, both traditional and P2P, with a method of detecting fraudulent income reported on loan applications. Models generated from this analysis could be incorporated by lenders into their applications along with research in this area should improve the P2P lending industry by increasing the detection of fraudulent income reported on loan applications.
Establishing learning communities among engineering freshmen through peer-group tutoring program

Personal observations of students in engineering programs in my institution show that they are very heavily formula driven and consequently deficient in the critical thinking skills to independently evaluate and solve analytical problems. The dependency on formulae is so pervasive that it qualifies to be classified as an addiction i.e., formulae addiction labeled in this paper as “formulaholic” and defined as “the compulsive dependency on formulae to solve analytical problems to the subdual of critical thinking skills”. This formulae driven trait in these students results in poor performances in analytical-based courses. It also often leads to their lack of engagement in engineering classrooms. This problem is especially of critical concern in HBCU environments. In order to address this concern, the researchers are currently implementing a constructivism-infused peer learning approach for incoming engineering students. In this approach, the incoming freshmen are enrolled in specially designed peer-group tutorials that guide the participants to collectively solve problems by themselves. The performance of the students attending these tutorials was compared with a control group. The results showed that the students who attended the peer group tutorials performed significantly better in their class tests and analytical-thinking skills compared to the control group. Currently, the progress of these students is tracked through their engineering classes. Based on the feedback from the participating students, they found the group-learning method very effective. Further, they unofficially get together with their groups frequently to study for their exams in other classes. The preliminary data indicate that the peer-group tutorials are effective in creating learning communities within the engineering student population.
The politics of finance: cultural economy, cultural studies and the road ahead

ABSTRACTCultural economy of finance examines the cultural constitution and implications of financial markets in light of the growing financialization of economies and social life. In the effort to explain ‘how finance actually works’, it rejects both depoliticized mainstream financial economics and predetermined Marxist political economy. However, this rejection has resulted in a lack of analyses of the politics of finance. In this paper, I suggest that cultural economy of finance should nurture a form of analysis indigenous to cultural studies – provisional framework building – whereby politically urgent and contextually specific frameworks could be offered to provoke debate about the power relations within and political impacts of financial activity. I offer a description of provisional framework building based on key commitments of cultural studies, and several examples of the practice that have already taken place in research on financial markets. More of this work can create a more rigorous and groun...
Engineering Vascular Niche for Bone Tissue Regeneration

The use of autografts for bone repair is limited by donor site morbidities and geometric requirements. Tissue engineering technology has been able to recreate living bone grafts, but important challenges remain. Here, we will discuss a paradigm for engineering personalized bone grafts that comprises autologous cells, native bone scaffold, and a perfusion bioreactor culture system. As the bone regeneration outcome is dependent on the establishment of functional vasculature, we focus on emergent vascularization strategies. We propose that angiogenic events leading to vascularization can be recapitulated by harnessing the inflammatory responses. Finally, we discuss endochondral ossification as a strategy for engineering functional and well-vascularized bone that supports the engraftment of hematopoietic cells.