cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Estimating multiple-discrete choice models: An application to computerization returns

Buyers in many markets face multiple-discrete choices: they can purchase multiple-units as well as multiple-brands at the same time. This paper presents a multiple-discrete choice model for the analysis of differentiated products demand. Users maximize profits by choosing the number of units of each brand they purchase. I estimate the model using micro-level data on the demand for personal computers. I use the estimated demand structure to assess the welfare gains from computerization and technological innovation in peripherals. The estimated return on investment in personal computers is 92%. Moreover, a 10% increase in the performance-to-price ratio of microprocessors leads to a 2.2% gain in the estimated user surplus. The personal computer (PC) market is of interest to industrial organization economists because of its size, the continual technological change, and above all, because of the farreaching implications of PCs on the economy as a whole. Several distinct features make PC demand difficult to model. PCs are a differentiated durable good in constant technological evolution. Moreover, buyers make multiple-discrete choices. Firms, according to our data, spread their purchases of PCs over different brands. At the same time they buy PCs in blocks, several units of each brand that they have chosen. The aim of the paper is to present a model that captures these features and to use this model to estimate the welfare gains from computerization. Classical discrete choice models allow one choice among mutually exclusive alternatives. In contrast, the proposed framework allows users to demand multiple units and multiple brands. The model can be applied to other cases of multiple-discrete choices. e.g. the composition of airline fleets, car holdings per household, the fields of the faculty in economics departments, household cereals consumption, or any other good consumed in more than one variety during a relevant time period. Although pervasive, multiple-discrete choice problems have received little attention because of their complexity. A central issue regarding the PC market is the current controversy in the economics literature about the "computerization puzzle". This puzzle stems from the empirical finding that computerization has had no effect on firm productivity (Griliches and Siegel (1991) and Morrison and Berndt (1990)). Contrary to those results, Hendel (1994) and Lichtenberg (1995), using more disaggregate data than most previous studies, report excess returns to computerization. This indicates that data aggregation may have created the computerization puzzle. In this paper, I present a model consistent with the basic
Effects of SGLT2 inhibitor and dietary NaCl on glomerular hemodynamics assessed by micropuncture in diabetic rats

It has been theorized that Na-glucose cotransporter (SGLT2) blockade slows progression of diabetic kidney disease by reducing physical strain on the glomerulus. This is the first direct measurement...
STARS Ignite: A Program for Supporting Professors in Organizing Student Cohorts for Conferences

Academic computing departments are seeking ways to broaden participation, and many are encouraging individual faculty, staff, and students to attend diversity-oriented conferences, like the Tapia and STARS Celebrations of Diversity in Computing and Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing. Such conferences present opportunities to meet a broader community of people for professional development and networking, to be inspired by leaders in computing, and to celebrate diversity. However, while many institutions sponsor these conferences and support individual student attendance, students may not know how to leverage these opportunities effectively. We argue that leading a cohort of faculty/staff and students who attend a conference with the shared goal of broadening participation can provide lasting benefits for computing departments. This workshop will prepare faculty and staff to recruit and lead a team of students and leverage conference attendance to ignite broadening participation efforts. Through a hands-on collaborative process, the workshop provides the knowledge and tools needed to successfully lead a cohort, and helps attendees tailor the provided tools to their local strengths and needs to broaden participation in computing.
Materials and Devices for On-Chip and Off-Chip Peltier Cooling: A Review

The thermoelectric effect forms the basis of Peltier cooling that has attracted interest for solid-state refrigeration for more than a century. The dearth of materials level efficiency in converting between heat and electricity has limited widespread applications. With renewed focus on energy technologies in the past three decades, the thermoelectric effect has been intensely explored in new materials using state-of-the-art advances in materials fabrication, characterization techniques, and theory. This article aims to navigate the complex landscape of these studies to identify credible advances, pinpoint continuing problems, and lay out future prospects for both research and applications, with emphasis on electronics cooling.
Challenges in Drug Discovery for Intracellular Bacteria

Novel drugs are needed to treat a variety of persistent diseases caused by intracellular bacterial pathogens. Virulence pathways enable many functions required for the survival of these pathogens, including invasion, nutrient acquisition, and immune evasion. Inhibition of virulence pathways is an established route for drug discovery; however, many challenges remain. Here, we propose the biggest problems that must be solved to advance the field meaningfully. While it is established that we do not yet understand the nature of chemicals capable of permeating into the bacterial cell, this problem is compounded when targeting intracellular bacteria because we are limited to only those chemicals that can permeate through both human and bacterial outer envelopes. Unfortunately, many chemicals that permeate through the outer layers of mammalian cells fail to penetrate the bacterial cytoplasm. Another challenge is the lack of publicly available information on virulence factors. It is virtually impossible to know which virulence factors are clinically relevant and have broad cross-species and cross-strain distribution. In other words, we have yet to identify the best drug targets. Yes, standard genomics databases have much of the information necessary for short-term studies, but the connections with patient outcomes are yet to be established. Without comprehensive data on matters such as these, it is difficult to devise broad-spectrum, effective anti-virulence agents. Furthermore, anti-virulence drug discovery is hindered by the current state of technologies available for experimental investigation. Antimicrobial drug discovery was greatly advanced by the establishment and standardization of broth microdilution assays to measure the effectiveness of antimicrobials. However, the currently available models used for anti-virulence drug discovery are too broad, as they must address varied phenotypes, and too expensive to be generally adopted by many research groups. Therefore, we believe drug discovery against intracellular bacterial pathogens can be advanced significantly by overcoming the above hurdles.
Maintaining Innocence Before a Divine Hearer

Interpreters of the individual psalms of lament have long been intrigued and even baffled by these psalms’ apparent shifts in mood. For those seeing the psalms as therapeutic, the laments record moment-by-moment turns in emotion; a despairing individual is eventually enabled to affirm faith in God. From a rhetorical perspective, however, the shifts can be seen as parts of a connected line of argument aimed at persuading God to uphold cultural values and intervene in the life of the speaker. After outlining the major concerns of contemporary rhetorical theory, I offer readings of three innocence psalms, Psalm 22, Psalm 17, and Psalm 7, showing that their speakers start from different standpoints relative to God and aim for distinct goals. The speaker in Psalm 22 makes an elaborate case to re-establish innocence and become God’s public champion, the speaker in Psalm 17 uses claims of innocence to seek apotheosis, and the speaker in Psalm 7 accepts a dare. These readings indicate that psalms are far more than expressions of yearning or trust. Performance of public argument influences, underscores, and maintains loyalty to the cultural values of justice and faithfulness that God represents.
Arthroscopy for Knee Osteoarthritis Has Not Decreased After a Clinical Trial

Background Multiple clinical trials have shown that arthroscopy for knee osteoarthritis is not efficacious. It is unclear how these studies have affected orthopaedic practice in the USA.
Suffer the Little Vixens: Sex and Realist Terror in "Jazz Age" America

Jazz was, as a generic mode and organizational device, crucially misunderstood by some early twentieth century audiences, so much so that it became itself a genre built upon the manufacture of misunderstanding. Edith Wharton and Theodor Adorno, disparate figures in literary history, are linked here through their criticisms of jazz culture, as both strive to appraise jazz’s corrosion of the artistic form (be that form literary, musical, or otherwise). Such popular misapprehension becomes, over the course an additional hundred years, a deeply entrenched and dogmatic acceptance of form: jazz is not only best understood as form, but, in fact, may only be definitively understood as such, following Paul Whiteman’s famous statement that jazz is “not the thing said, but the manner of saying it.” Focusing, then, not on the “thing” — that is, jazz music in specific — but the “manner of saying it,” or its stylistic properties, Wharton and Adorno’s critiques of jazz culture connect to a woman who was, in the early 1920s, both a living instantiation and emblem of it: Olive Thomas. Thomas embodied the jazz aesthetic in her public character and in her personal life; she was “the first flapper,” but far from the last, becoming an ultimately replaceable figure conscripted for use in the programs of both jazz and modernity, and helping furthermore to found a tradition of such generic replacement for women like her.
FISSION-FRAGMENT ENERGY-CORRELATION MEASUREMENTS FOR THE THERMAL-NEUTRON FISSION OF $sup 239$Pu AND $sup 241$Pu

Fission-fragment mass and energy distributions and mass-versus-energy correlations have been obtained for $^{239}\mathrm{Pu}$ and $^{241}\mathrm{Pu}$ thermal-neutron-induced fission. Silicon surface-barrier detectors were used in energy-correlation measurements; absolute fragment energies were obtained by means of a recently developed mass-dependent energy calibration. Average total fragment kinetic energies before neutron emission are found to be 177.7\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}1.8 MeV for $^{239}\mathrm{Pu}$ and 179.6\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}1.8 MeV for $^{241}\mathrm{Pu}$. Detailed experimental results are given and compared with those of other experiments. Observed fine structure in the fragment mass distribution and in the average total fragment kinetic energy as a function of mass is correlated with the energetically preferred even-even nucleon configurations in the fragments. New determinations of the root-mean-square width of the total-kinetic-energy distribution as a function of fragment mass show structure which also appears to be correlated with the energetically preferred even-even fragment configurations. Fission neutron and gamma-ray data of other experiments are used with the new fragment kinetic energies presented here to examine the total energy balance for fission for the two cases studied. A comparison of the two mass distributions shows the heavy-fragment groups almost superimposed; the light-fragment groups are separated almost uniformly by 2 amu.
Nuclear electric propulsion: An integral part of NASA's nuclear propulsion project

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has initiated a technology program to establish the readiness of nuclear propulsion technology for the Space Exploration Initiative (SEI). This program was initiated in the past fiscal year with a very modest effort identified with nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP); however, nuclear electric propulsion (NEP) is also an integral part of this program and builds upon NASA’s Base Research and Technology Program in power and electric propulsion as well as the SP‐100 space nuclear power program. Although the Synthesis Group On America’s Space Exploration Initiative has identified NEP only as an option for cargo missions, recent studies conducted by NASA Lewis show that NEP offers the potential for the early manned Mars missions as well. Lower power NEP is also of current interest for outer planetary robotic missions. This paper reviews current plans for the overall nuclear propulsion project, with emphasis on NEP and those elements of NTP program which have synergism with NEP.
An approach to the unification of elementary particle interactions

The assumption that the grand unified theory (GUT) emerges as an effective theory describing bound states of N = 8 supergravity preons should determine the GUT particle spectrum and constrain their couplings. Analysis of the spectrum has led to some possibly encouraging indications. At the least, the particle content in scalars, vectors and fermions needed to reproduce SU(5) phenomenology can be found among the states of the EGMZ multiplet.
Purification and Properties of Ribonuclease III From Escherichia Coli

Abstract A nuclease with specificity for double-stranded RNA (RNase III) has been found in extracts of Escherichia coli. It remains within osmotically shocked cells attached to the ribosomes. It sediments with the ribosomes in less than 0.20 m NH4Cl, but is detached at higher concentrations. A purification is described which utilizes this property. The free enzyme, after diethylaminoethyl Sephadex and carboxymethyl Sephadex chromatography, shows an absolute specificity for polymers containing double helical polyribonucleotide regions—other polymers (single- and double-stranded DNAs, single-stranded RNAs) are not digested, nor do they inhibit the digestion of double-stranded RNAs when present in excess. RNase III shows an absolute requirement for divalent cations, including Mg++ and Mn++, and for monovalent cations, including NH4+, K+, and Na+. The optimal pH range for the reaction is from pH 7.6 to pH 9.75. RNase III is inactivated by exposure to many substances at monovalent cation concentrations below 0.2 m. The enzyme is not a factor required for protein synthesis in vitro. Its mode of action appears to be endonucleolytic.
A multi-agent systems "turing challenge"

I recently argued that Turing, were he alive now, would conjecture differently than he did in 1950, and I suggested a new "Turing challenge" question, "Is it imaginable that a computer (agent) team member could behave, over the long term and in uncertain, dynamic environments, in such a way that people on the team will not notice it is not human". [4]. In the last several decades, the field of multi-agent systems has developed a vast array of techniques for cooperation and collaboration as well as for agents to handle adversarial or strategic situations. Even so, current generation agents are unlikely to meet this new challenge except in very simple situations. The need for agents to work better with people has become greater and more widespread, as evidenced by the Human-Agent Interaction Design and Models Workshop at this conference and an upcoming conference on Human Computation and Crowdsourcing. Research in these arenas approaches human-computer collaborations from different perspectives, but shares many challenges. Meeting these challenges requires new algorithms and novel plan representations. This talk will explore the implications of this new "Turing question" and examine several challenges that arise in the design both of agents supporting people and of systems in which people assist computers in their work. These challenges include determining a division of labor that respects the complementary strengths of people and computer agents, development of methods for information sharing, defining incentive mechanisms for such settings, and designing empirical methodologies for evaluating agents in open mixed networks [3]. I will describe recent work by my group on interruption management, plan recognition, and test-beds for empirical studies of human-computer collaborations aimed at addressing these challenges, and will discuss our current work on developing intelligent agents able to work as a team supporting health care providers and patients to improve care coordination and in the communication of medical information.
Resources for comparing the speed and performance of medical autocoders

Background Concept indexing is a popular method for characterizing medical text, and is one of the most important early steps in many data mining efforts. Concept indexing differs from simple word or phrase indexing because concepts are typically represented by a nomenclature code that binds a medical concept to all equivalent representations. A concept search on the term renal cell carcinoma would be expected to find occurrences of hypernephroma, and renal carcinoma (concept equivalents). The purpose of this study is to provide freely available resources to compare speed and performance among different autocoders. These tools consist of: 1) a public domain autocoder written in Perl (a free and open source programming language that installs on any operating system); 2) a nomenclature database derived from the unencumbered subset of the publicly available Unified Medical Language System; 3) a large corpus of autocoded output derived from a publicly available medical text.
Mandating socially responsible behavior

Management theory and practice are facing unprecedented challenges. The lack of environmental sustainability, the increasing inequity and the continuous decline in societal trust pose a threat to ‘business as usual’ (Jackson & Nelson, 2004, p. 214). It is argued that legitimacy has been lost by irresponsible corporate behavior. A logical step to remedy the current problems could be to regulate and mandate responsible corporate behavior. This endeavor though seems easier said than done, as a legal approach presupposes that there are clear answers to questions of responsibility that can easily be regulated. In this chapter we will engage with the question of mandating socially responsible behavior by providing a general framing of the discussion on CSR, and outlining the benefits of socially responsible behavior for a set of companies that engage in B2C commerce. We then outline the benefits of mandated social responsibility standards, and the potential downsides. Finally we suggest alternatives and complements to mandated socially responsible behavior, via strategy and governance structure changes. Before we do so, we wish to outline the big picture challenges of the current economic structure epitomized by shareholder capitalism, which motivate the quest for more socially responsible corporate behavior. At the same time, these challenges outline the necessity of mandates for social responsibility. We then outline different approaches to CSR, as developed in practice and theory, to guide further discussion.
Semiconductor-metal nanoparticle molecules in a magnetic field: Spin-plasmon and exciton-plasmon interactions

Excitons and plasmons in hybrid semiconductor-metal nanostructures strongly interact via the Coulomb forces. Simultaneously, excitons in semiconductors experience typically strong intrinsic spin-dependent interactions that result in efficient coupling between spins of excitons and dynamic electric fields of photons. A joint action of the exciton-plasmon and spin-dependent interactions leads to a coupling between spins and plasmons. Calculated optical spectra of hybrid nanoparticle molecules reveal such spin-plasmon coupling. The spin-plasmon coupling creates spin-dependent Lamb shifts of excitons. In the presence of the exciton-plasmon interaction, the spin splitting in the exciton spectrum can decrease or even vanish under certain conditions. In a magnetic field, the spin-plasmon interaction strongly alters optical spin-dependent selection rules, leading to forbidden optical lines. Allowed and forbidden optical transitions in the presence of the exciton-plasmon and spin-plasmon interactions typically acquire Fano-type or antiresonance shapes. Plasmon-induced interactions in semiconductor-metal nanocrystal structures suggest interesting opportunities for tailoring of spin and optical spectra of excitons.
Obesity and weight gain during adulthood: a health problem for United States women.

O besity is a major health problem in the United States and is particularly problematic for women. It is estimated that 34 million Americans are obese; 30% of white women and 60% of AfricanAmerican women aged 45-65 are overweight.~ The goal of this article is to discuss the recent findings on biologic and environmental variables associated with obesity and body fat distribution, and to emphasize the importance of early intervention to prevent excess weight gain among adult women.
Gauge-Covariant Vacuum Expectations and Glueballs.

We exploit the geometric properties of the background field method to formulate a gauge-covariant computation of the glueball mass in pure Yang-Mills. To see how the plan works we carry it out from first principles in an “infinite spin” limit.
Sensitive amperometric titration of o-phenylenediamine employing catalytic electrode reaction end-point detection

Summary The catalytic prewave of the Ni-opda system has been used for a sensitive amperometric detection of the end-point of the opda titration. Au(III) was chosen as titrant from a large group of possible oxidants, because of its favourable equilibrium and kinetic properties. Three end-points are observed in the titration and the reactions involved were shown to be as follows: Download : Download full-size image Download : Download full-size image The limiting sensitivity for the determination of opda was found to be 1·10−6 M, with a standard deviation of 4.6%. The titration of opda was not feasible in the presence of the other phenylenediamines. The catalytic electrode reactions involving cyclic regeneration of the redox species, are applicable for end-point detection systems for the amperometric titrations of trace concentration of these species, provided titrants can be found that have suitable thermodynamic and kinetic properties in their reaction with the redox species.
The effects of signaled reward on sign tracking and response rate

If, while responding on a variable interval schedule, rats are given a brief cue prior to reward, their response rate is markedly lower than the rate for yoked partners who receive the cue randomly with respect to reward. This signaled-reward phenomenon has been explained in terms of sign tracking. Two experiments reported here replicated the phenomenon and examined sign tracking directly through visual inspection of the animals’ behavior. Although sign tracking did, indeed, occur more in the signaled reward condition, it did not fully account for the difference in response rates.
Greater muscle co-contraction results in increased tibiofemoral compressive forces in females who have undergone anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.

Individuals who have undergone ACL reconstruction (ACLR) have been shown to have a higher risk of developing knee osteoarthritis (OA). The elevated risk of knee OA may be associated with increased tibiofemoral compressive forces. The primary purpose of this study was to examine whether females with ACLR demonstrate greater tibiofemoral compressive forces, as well as greater muscle co-contraction and decreased knee flexion during a single-leg drop-land task when compared to healthy females. Ten females with ACLR and 10 healthy females (control group) participated. Each participant underwent two data collection sessions: (1) MRI assessment and (2) biomechanical analysis (EMG, kinematics, and kinetics) during a single-leg drop-land task. Joint kinematics, EMG, and MRI-measured muscle volumes and patella tendon orientation were used as input variables into a MRI-based EMG-driven knee model to quantify the peak tibiofemoral compressive forces during landing. Peak tibiofemoral compressive forces were significantly higher in the ACLR group when compared to the control group (97.3 ± 8.0 vs. 88.8 ± 9.8 N · kg(-1)). The ACLR group also demonstrated significantly greater muscle co-contraction as well as less knee flexion than the control group. Our findings support the premise that individuals with ACLR demonstrate increased tibiofemoral compression as well as greater muscle co-contraction and decreased knee flexion during a drop-land task. Future studies are needed to examine whether correcting abnormal neuromuscular strategies and reducing tibiofemoral compressive forces following ACLR can slow the progression of joint degeneration in this population.
A national trace collection and distribution resource

Computer systems are modeled before construction to minimize errors and performance bottlenecks. A common modeling approach is to build software models of comptuer system components, and use realistic trace data as input. This methodology is commonly referred to as trace-driven simulation. Trace-driven simulation can be very accurate if both the system model and input trace data represent the system under test. The accuracy of the model is typically under the control of the researcher, but so far little or no trace data has been available that accurately represents current or future workloads. To address this issue, we describe the Brigham Young Univ. Address Collection Hardware (BACH) and introduce our national trace distribution center and trace collection facility (http://traces.byu.edu). We also illustrate the types of traces we collect and make available to others.
Seasonal and solar-cycle variations of propagating polar wind jets

Abstract Polar cap patches are regions of enhanced ionospheric density that form in or equatorward of the dayside cusp. The ion density within a patch can be from a few percent to a factor of 100 greater than that in the surrounding ionosphere. These often circular or cigar-shaped regions vary from about 200–1000 km across in the horizontal direction. Plasma density within a patch varies with altitude in a manner that is qualitatively similar to that exhibited by the ionosphere generally. Once a patch forms, it moves in the antisunward direction across the polar cap at the prevailing convection speed. A time-dependent, three-dimensional model of the coupled ionosphere and polar wind system has been used to simulate the passage of a “representative” plasma patch across the polar region. It is found that the enhanced O + densities within the patch region lead to enhanced H + densities as well. The enhanced H + densities result in an enhanced H + flux to the magnetosphere within the horizontally convecting patch region, a situation that can be described as a propagating polar wind jet. Such propagating jets of plasma have been simulated for both solar maximum and minimum conditions, for both summer and winter, and for a range of geomagnetic activity levels. It is found that polar wind jets can remain a cohesive and prominent feature of the polar wind outflow for several hours. However, the relative importance of jets to the overall polar wind outflow depends strongly on the assumed geophysical conditions.
Magnetic states and structural transformations in Sm(Co,Cu)5 and Sm(Co,Fe,Cu)5 permanent magnets

We have studied the stability of RCo5−xCux (R = Y, Sm) compounds with respect to phase separation. First principles density functional calculations imply that (i) decomposition into two phases having different x is energetically favourable and (ii) both the stable x values and the Cu atomic site preferences depend on the magnetic state of the alloys. Guided by this result, we studied the structure and magnetic properties of different Sm(Co,Cu)5 and Sm(Co,Fe,Cu)5 alloys. Separation into two chemically dissimilar Sm(Co,Cu)5 phases is typical for the as-made Sm(Co,Cu)5 alloys. We also observed in different alloys a universal correlation between the room-temperature coercivity and the magnetic state at the temperature of annealing. The coercivity increases significantly if annealed 100–140°C below the Curie temperature; in particular, for SmCo2.25Fe0.75Cu2, the room-temperature coercivity increases from 12.3 to 37.3 kOe. The possibility of different magnetic state-dependent structure transformations is discussed. The experimental results do not support the spinodal decomposition theory, so we suggest that the coercivity increase might be caused by a change in preferred atomic site occupancies.
Perceptions of Need and the Ethicality of the Male Social Work Practice

A discussion of the ethical requirements of male social workers to actively support women in the struggle for gender equality is presented. Specifically, two questions are addressed: (1) Are males in the social work profession, who take no active position on sexism and equality, practicing unethically according to the National Association of Social Worker (NASW) Code of Ethics (1999) by supporting the patriarchal structure via inaction, while accepting the privileges it affords, including benefiting financially and professionally through the analysis and treatment of its effects? And, if so, (2) do male social work practitioners have a moral and ethical duty to actively support social change which would enhance equality between women and men for the benefit of their clients, co-workers, and selves? The cultural perception of social need is discussed as being inseparable from the perception of moral obligation and the two concepts are explored through the lenses of four paradigms: (a) structural functional...
Segmentation of 2D gel electrophoresis spots using a Markov random field

We propose a statistical model-based approach for the segmentation of fragments of DNA as a first step in the automation of the primarily manual process of comparing two or more images resulting from the Restriction Landmark Genomic Scanning (RLGS) method. These 2D gel electrophoresis images are the product of the separation of DNA into fragments that appear as spots on X-ray films. The goal is to find instances where a spot appears in one image and not in another since a missing spot can be correlated with a region of DNA that has been affected by a disease such as cancer. The entire comparison process is typically done manually, which is tedious and very error prone. We pose the problem as the labeling of each image pixel as either a spot or non-spot and use a Markov Random Field (MRF) model and simulated annealing for inference. Neighboring spot labels are then connected to form spot regions. The MRF based model was tested on actual 2D gel electrophoresis images.
Efficacy of radioprotective agents in preventing small and large bowel radiation injury

PURPOSE: A variety of adjuvant treatments and cytoprotective agents have been proposed to lessen the toxicity of radiation therapy. The following study was designed to evaluate the benefit of six agents or combinations using anastomotic bursting strength as a measure of transmural radiation injury. METHODS: The 40-Gy study consisted of the following. Seventy-two male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into eight equal groups: nonradiated control, radiated untreated control, and six radiated treated groups. The radioprotective treatments included ribose-cysteine (RibCys), WR-2721, glutamine, vitamin E, MgCl2/adenosine triphosphate, and RibCys/glutamine in combination. Radiated animals received 40 Gy to the abdomen. Two weeks after radiation, all animals underwent small bowel and colonic resection with primary anastomosis. Animals were sacrificed one week postoperatively, at which time anastomoses were evaluated and bursting strengths determined. The 70-Gy study consisted of the following. The same protocol was repeated for five groups of nine rats divided into nonradiated, radiated untreated, and three radiated treated groups receiving RibCys (8 mmol/kg), RibCys (20 mmol/kg), and WR-2721. All radiated animals received 70-Gy doses. RESULTS: In the 40-Gy group, there were 10 radiation-related deaths and 6 anastomotic leaks among 70 rats studied. None of the differences between groups were significant. Nonradiated control group small bowel and large bowel anastomotic bursting pressures were significantly elevated compared with all radiated groups. Compared with radiated controls, there were significant improvements in small bowel bursting strength in the RibCys, WR-2721, RibCys-glutamine, and vitamin E groups and significant improvement in colonic bursting strength in MgCl2/adenosine triphosphate, WR-2721, and RibCys groups. In the 70-Gy group, all nine nonradiated control rats survived. All eight untreated radiated control rats died, four of eight WR-2721 animals died (P=0.03), all RibCys (8 mmol/kg) animals died (P=0.03), and three of nine treated with RibCys (20 mmol/kg) survived (P=0.08). CONCLUSIONS: WR-2721 and RibCys gave consistent protection against large and small bowel radiation injury. The lower incidence of treatment-related toxicity and potentially equal or greater radioprotective effects may make RibCys more clinically useful than WR-2721.
The Great Bifurcation and Prospects for Solar Communism in the Twenty-First Century

Confronting the challenge of dangerous climate change will require radical changes in the global physical and political economies. There is not much time left to act to reduce global carbon emissions. Unsustainable energy sources must be replaced with a high efficiency renewable energy infrastructure sufficient to bring atmospheric carbon dioxide down to a safe level and to eliminate energy poverty that now afflicts most of humanity. Success will greatly increase the prospects for ecosocialist transition to solar communism in this century. The prerequisites and necessary conditions for this transition are discussed in this paper.
Enhancement of External Condensation Heat Transfer by Pumping of Liquid Condensate Circumferentially With Electric Conduction Phenomenon

Electrohydrodynamic (EHD) conduction pumping is associated with the heterocharge layers of finite thickness in the vicinity of the electrodes, generated by the process of dissociation of the neutral electrolytic species and recombination of the generated ions. This paper numerically investigates the effect of EHD conduction pumping of liquid condensate circumferentially on the heat transfer performance of a condensation tube. The local interface profile is determined by the balance of fluid velocity and inter-phase momentum exchange. The conduction mechanism is designated to pump the liquid film from the top portion of the tube where the gravity body force plays minimal role. The interface profile, liquid condensate flow structure, and heat transfer rate under operating of one electrode pair and two electrodes pairs are investigated. The heat transfer performance for various operating conditions is also studied in this paper.Copyright © 2007 by ASME
Two-way Bayesian hierarchical phylogenetic models: An application to the co-evolution of gp120 and gp41 during and after enfuvirtide treatment

Enfuvirtide (ENF) is a fusion inhibitor that prevents the entry of HIV virions into target cells. Studying the characteristics of viral evolution during treatment and after a treatment interruption can lend insight into the mechanisms of viral evolution and fitness. Although interruption of anti-HIV therapy often results in rapid emergence of an archived ''wild-type'' virus population, previous work from our group indicates that when only ENF is interrupted, viral gp41 continues to evolve forward and resistance mutations are lost due to back-mutation and remodeling of the envelope protein. To examine the co-evolution of gp120 and gp41 during ENF interruption we extend the Bayesian Hierarchical Phylogenetic model (HPM). Current HPMs enforce conditional independence across all outcomes while biologically all gene regions within a patient should return the same tree unless recombination confers an evolutionary selective advantage. A two-way-interaction HPM is proposed that provides middle ground between these two extremes and allows us to test for differences in evolutionary pressures across gene regions in multiple patients simultaneously. When the model is applied to a well-characterized cohort of HIV-infected patients interrupting ENF we find that across patients, the virus continued to evolve forward in both gene regions. Overall, the hypothesis of independence over dependence between the gene regions is supported. Models that allow for the examination of co-evolution over time will be increasingly important as more therapeutic classes are developed, each of which may impact other through novel and complex mechanisms.
A review of the Munchausen syndrome

Abstract The Munchausen syndrome is used to describe patients who repeatedly present factitious medical emergencies to obtain hospital admission. Case presentations of the syndrome in the medical literature during the past decade are identified and reviewed. These patients usually arrive bleeding, in pain, or with other dramatic symptoms. Once on the hospital ward they are characterized by grandiosity, chronic lies, disruptiveness, and discharge against medical advice (AMAs). Although there are many psychodynamic considerations, more likely etiological considerations include characterological problems, substance abuse, and brain dysfunction. The Munchausen diagnosis provides no certainty against existing medical problems, either self-induced, iatrogenic, or unrelated to the presenting problem. Therefore, careful medical screening is necessary. Suggestions are made for the identification of the Munchausen patient in the emergency room and for management on the ward.
Liquid Spray Characterization in Flow Fields with Centripetal Acceleration

Abstract : Performing combustion in the circumferential direction has a significant potential payoff in terms of saving engine length and subsequently weight. What is not understood is the flame dynamics for a liquid fuel when sprayed into a combustor with centripetal acceleration. This investigation used phase Doppler anemometry (PDA) to characterize a nonreacting liquid spray exiting from a nozzle into a circular cavity with centripetal acceleration. The two-component velocity and size of the droplets in the cavity are measured as a function of centripetal acceleration of the air in the cavity. It was found that the droplets are accelerated by the swirling air flow and that droplet velocity increases with distance from the nozzle. Additionally it was found that water droplets evaporated within 60mm of the nozzle under the high g-load conditions. These measurements will aide in the development of compact combustors for gas turbine engines that use a circumferential cavity with swirling flow to reduce the length of the combustor. Knowing the spray distribution and residence time for the particles will allow optimization of the temperature distribution in the cavity and should enable a minimization of the number of fuel injection sites.
Isolation, characterization and complete nucleotide sequence of a Galleria mellonella cDNA coding for the follicle cell-specific yolk protein, YP4.

Abstract An ovariole-specific yolk polypeptide cDNA from Galleria mellonella was isolated from a cDNA library constructed using vitellogenic ovariole poly (A)+ RNA, by differential screening with the ovariole and day-0 male pupal poly (A)+ RNA. The Ovll cDNA hybridized to a 1.1 kb message from the ovariole but not from male pharate adults, ovariectomized pharate adults or day-5 last instar larvae. Developmental Northern analysis showed that this message is expressed only during vitellogenic stages. In situ hybridization of digoxigenin-dUTP labeled Ovll cDNA to the day-8 pharate adult ovariole showed that only follicle cells express the Ovll gene. The 960 bp Ovll cDNA is nearly full-length, containing a single open reading frame coding for a 286 amino acid polypeptide with a hydrophobic signal sequence and two potential N-glycosylation and tyrosine sulfation sites. The fact that Ovll cDNA codes for the 37 kDa ovariole-specific yolk protein, YP4, was confirmed by the N-terminal amino acid sequence analysis of purified YP4. Genomic Southern analysis suggests that the yp 4 gene is a single copy gene and PCR analysis using the 5′ and 3′ end primers of the cDNA indicates that the yp 4 gene is intronless within the coding region.
Making the probabilistic multi-hypothesis tracker the tracker of choice

The probabilistic multi-hypothesis tracker (PMHT) is an algorithm of considerable beauty. In practice, its performance turns out to be similar to that of the probabilistic data association filter (PDAF) in many cases; and since the implementation of the PDAF is less intense numerically the PMHT has been having a hard time finding acceptance. The task, therefore, is to "make the PMHT work". The PMHT's problems are expressed as "nonadaptivity", "narcissism", and "over-hospitality to clutter". In this paper we show (in section 3) modifications to the original basic PMHT which offer some improvement. We explore, among other things, "homothetic" measurement models; "endpoint" and "start-point" PMHTs, which modify the PMHT assumptions such that the estimation goal is the track at only one point; maneuver-based PMHTs, including those with separate and joint homothetic measurement models; a modified PMHT whose measurement/target association model is more similar to that of the PDAF; and PMHTs with eccentric and/or estimated measurement models. The above are improvements on the basic PMHT based on modifications of the underlying model. We also offer several basic-PMHT implementations with improved convergence properties.
Unobservable outcomes and multiattribute preferences in the evaluation of managerial performance

. This paper employs a generalized principal-agent model to analyze accounting situations in which the outcome is not jointly observable and the principal's and agent's preferences are multiattribute in nature. This requires the consideration of accounting signals for risk-sharing (or insurance) information in addition to performance evaluation (or incentive) information. It is shown that precisely two factors determine whether a signal will be valuable in the agency relationship: Observability of the agent's effort and the principal's multivariate risk neutrality. Sufficient conditions for various accounting signals to have value are also developed. Furthermore, when multiple accounting signals are available, it is shown that under certain conditions, the insurance components of the multiple signals can be aggregated into a single aggregate insurance measure and the incentive components of the signals can be aggregated (via a different aggregation procedure) into another aggregate incentive measure. Resume. Les auteurs utilisent un modele generalise mandant-mandataire pour analyser les situations comptables dans lesquelles le resultat n'est pas observable conjointement et les preferences du mandant et du mandataire comportent, par nature, de multiples attributs. Cela exige la prise en consideration d'indicateurs comptables relatifs a l'information sur le partage des risques (ou de l'assurance) en plus de l'information relative a l'evaluation du rendement (ou aux stimulants). Les auteurs demontrent que deux facteurs permettent de determiner avec precision si un indicateur sera valable dans la relation de mandataire: le caractere observable de l'effort du mandataire et la neutralite multivariee du mandant a l'egard du risque. Des conditions suffisantes pour que les divers indicateurs comptables soient valables sont egalement etablies. En outre, lorsque des indicateurs comptables multiples sont disponibles, les auteurs demontrent que dans certaines conditions, les elements des indicateurs multiples lies a l'assurance peuvent faire l'objet d'une regroupement en une seule mesure globale d'assurance, et que les elements des indicateurs lies aux stimulants peuvent faire l'objet d'une regroupement (au moyen d'une methode differente) en une autre mesure globale des stimulants.
Appearance of a low-frequency turbulence feature during saturated ohmic confinement plasma discharges

A low-frequency turbulence feature appears in high-density ohmically heated plasma discharges in the DIII-D tokamak in which the ion temperature gradient (ITG) mode is predicted to be unstable. The feature is observed only when the density is greater than the linear ohmic confinement saturation density. Gyrokinetic stability calculations indicate that the ITG mode frequency is comparable to the measured frequency, the wavenumber measured is comparable to that predicted for the ITG mode, and the linear growth rate is significantly greater in the high-density regime.
A unification-based, integrated natural language processing system

Abstract This paper presents a natural language processing (NLP) system called LINK. LINK is unification-based, and incorporates and extends many features which have been emerging from other NLP research in recent years. In particular, the notions of autonomous syntax and compositional semantics long staples of NLP systems, have been replaced by a grammar which is much more complex, semantics-oriented, and more reliant on idiomatic constructions; and a semantics which is noncompositional. Processing, also, has been changed from the traditional syntax-driven approach, to an approach which relies much more heavily on semantics and domain knowledge, presented in a semantic net. As a result, LINK is able to efficiently process ungrammatical sentences, as well as nonliteral constructions such as methphor and metonymy. These tasks have been difficult for more traditional NLP systems.
Absolute and intensity-difference taste thresholds in the rat: evaluation of an automated multi-channel gustometer.

Abstract An operant conditioning procedure is described for assessing taste detection and discrimination in rats. Rats were trained to lick at a 10-barrel stimulus delivery tube for a 0.005-ml sample of a positive (S+) or negative (S−) stimulus and to switch to a water delivery tube after presentation of S+. The system is computer controlled and selection of stimuli can be made interactive with performance. After preliminary training, absolute and intensity-difference thresholds can be determined in 1–2 sessions. Mean absolute thresholds in 10 rats for NaCl, sodium-saccharin, and sucrose were 0.0049%, 0.0012%, and 0.035%, respectively. Intensity-difference thresholds (not reported previously in the rat) for NaCl and saccharin were 16.1% and 12.3%, respectively. With these procedures rats also rapidly acquired 2-tastant discriminations, including those involving taste mixtures.
Faux-anévrysme de l’artère radiale en unité de soins intensifs

Les faux-anevrysmes du poignet peuvent compliquer un catheterisme de l’artere radiale, la mise en place d’une fistule arterio-veineuse de dialyse ou un traumatisme arteriel direct. Les faux-anevrysmes de l’artere radiale sont rapportes avec une incidence croissante en raison de la large utilisation du monitoring invasif. Nous rapportons un cas de faux-anevrysme de l’artere radiale au poignet secondaire a un catheterisme. Ce faux-anevrysme s’est thrombose apres 6 jours de compression externe. Dans les cas selectionnes, la compression externe prolongee est une approche therapeutique utile, en particulier chez les patients porteurs de comorbidites medicales incompatibles avec une anesthesie generale ou une intervention chirurgicale.