cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Proceedings of the 30th ACM SIGPLAN Conference on Programming Language Design and Implementation

It is with great pleasure that we present the proceedings of the 2009 ACM Conference on Programming Language Design and Implementation (PLDI'09). PLDI'09 was held from Monday, June 15 through Saturday, June 21 in Dublin, Ireland. For the first time, the main conference included three full days of technical sessions to accommodate both the growing number of accepted papers and a new addition to PLDI, the FIT (Fun Ideas and Thoughts) session. PLDI'09 also saw the return of the PLDI Outing, as well as retaining popular mainstays: the tutorials, co-located workshops (PLAS'09) and conferences (ISMM'09 and LCTES'09), the ACM Student Research Competition, and the annual SIGPLAN Award luncheon. PLDI'09 received 196 submissions (the largest ever); and accepted 41 papers. Of the 196 submissions, two were withdrawn, leaving 194 for review. To avoid overwhelming the PC members with too many reviews (and thus, possibly compromising the quality of the reviews), the PC was the largest ever for PLDI: 22 members. At least three PC members read each submission; resulting in each PC member reviewing 26 or 27 papers. Between the end of the reviewing period and the PC meeting, the program chair identified papers that needed more opinions or discussion and initiated a number of online discussions (many of which were very lively!) PLDI'09 used an external review committee (ERC), a first for PLDI, with 51 members to provide one external review for each submission. As is commonly the case with PC members, the ERC members also bid on papers they wanted to review. Consequently, most paper reviews came from people that actually wanted to read the paper, which we hope was reflected in the quality of the reviews. PLDI'09 used a loose policy for double-blind submissions and reviewing, a recently adopted practice with PLDI. Specifically, authors were asked to hide their identity, but without damaging or compromising their paper. In many cases, authors provided supplementary information (e.g., technical reports) to the program chair; this information was available to the paper's reviewers on an as-needed basis. Authors could also fully reveal their identity in their rebuttal if they felt that this information would make for a stronger rebuttal. Thus, we used double-blind submissions and reviewing, but were willing to relax it as needed. The 2-day PC meeting was held on January 24-25 at the University of Colorado campus in Boulder, Colorado. All PC members attended in person. Michael Hind and Todd Mytkowicz helped with meeting logistics. Jens Palsberg chaired the meeting, when Amer had a conflict with a paper. Throughout the entire process of receiving, reviewing, and evaluating papers, we used the softconf system. We are grateful to Richard Gerber and Paolo Gai for answering numerous questions about softconf and making many enhancements to better meet our needs. We are particularly thankful to the program committee and external review committee members for their outstanding work in reviewing so many papers.
Multi-mode Resource Constrained Project Scheduling with Alternative Prerequisites: New Models and Computational Studies

We study the multi-mode resource constrained project scheduling problem (MRCPSP), which we generalize to account for the case of alternative prerequisite activities (MRCPSP-AP). The MRCPSP-AP arises in many real-world applications when two or more activities can serve as the required precursor to some subsequent activity, and it aims to determine not only the optimal schedule but also the optimal activity network. We propose a total of seven discrete-time models and compare their numerical tractability through comprehensive computational studies on literature benchmarks. We also extend the well-known critical path method to handle the existence of alternative prerequisites, allowing us to precalculate tight time windows for each activity. Our computational study reveals that a formulation implementing the generalized precedence relationships in a time-aggregated fashion dominates the rest, in terms of solution quality and runtime.
Data-driven discovery of emergent behaviors in collective dynamics.

Abstract Particle- and agent-based systems are a ubiquitous modeling tool in many disciplines. We consider the fundamental problem of inferring the governing structure, i.e. interaction kernels, in a nonparametric fashion, from observations of agent-based dynamical systems. In particular, we are interested in collective dynamical systems exhibiting emergent behaviors with complicated interaction kernels, and for kernels which are parameterized by a single unknown parameter. This work extends the estimators introduced in Lu et al. (2019), which are based on suitably regularized least squares estimators, to these larger classes of systems. We provide extensive numerical evidence that the estimators provide faithful approximations to the interaction kernels, and provide accurate predictions for trajectories started at new initial conditions, both throughout the “training” time interval in which the observations were made, and often much beyond. We demonstrate these features on prototypical systems displaying collective behaviors, ranging from opinion dynamics, flocking dynamics, self-propelling particle dynamics, synchronized oscillator dynamics, to a gravitational system. Our experiments also suggest that our estimated systems can display the same emergent behaviors as the observed systems, including those that occur at larger timescales than those in the training data. Finally, in the case of families of systems governed by a parametric family of interaction kernels, we introduce novel estimators that estimate the parametric family of kernels, splitting it into a common interaction kernel and the action of parameters. We demonstrate this in the case of gravity, by learning both the “common component” 1 ∕ r 2 and the dependency on mass, without any a priori knowledge of either one, from observations of planetary motions in our solar system.
Characterization and clinical validation of patient-specific three-dimensional printed tissue-equivalent bolus for radiotherapy of head and neck malignancies involving skin.

Abstract Purpose Megavoltage radiotherapy to irregular superficial targets is challenging due to the skin sparing effect. We developed a three-dimensional bolus (3DB) program to assess the clinical impact on dosimetric and patient outcomes. Materials and Methods Planar commercial bolus (PCB) and 3DB density, clarity, and net bolus effect were rigorously evaluated prior to clinical implementation. After IRB approval, patients with cutaneous or locally advanced malignancies deemed to require bolus for radiotherapy treatment were treated with custom 3DB. Results The mean density of 3DB and PCB was of 1.07 g/cm 3 and 1.12 g/cm3, respectively. 3DB optic clarity was superior versus PCB at any material thickness. Phantom measurements of superficial dose with 3DB and PCB showed excellent bolus effect for both materials. 3DB reduced air gaps compared with PCB - particularly in irregular areas such as the ear, nose, and orbit. A dosimetric comparison of 3DB and PCB plans showed equivalent superficial homogeneity for 3DB and PCB (3DB median HI 1.249, range 1.111–1.300 and PCB median HI 1.165, range 1.094–1.279), but better conformity with 3DB (3DB median CI 0.993, range 0.962–0.993) versus PCB (PCB median CI 0.977, range 0.601–0.991). Patient dose measurements using 3DB confirm the delivered superficial dose was within 1% of the intended prescription (95% CI 97–102%; P = 0.11). Conclusions 3DB improves radiotherapy plan conformity, reduces air gap volume in irregular superficial areas which could affect superficial dose delivery, and provides excellent dose coverage to irregular superficial targets.
Altered Brain Network Connectivity Underlies Persistent Post-Traumatic Headache following Mild Traumatic Brain Injury in Youth.

Post-traumatic headaches (PTHs) are associated with mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBI) and may predict the persistence of concussion symptoms. Altered brain networks implicated in brain injury an...
Job Match and Housing Tenure Self-Selection

Homeownership, though it brings both private and social benefits, entails substantial fixed costs. Indeed, standard personal financial advice suggests that homeownership should only be undertaken when one’s job situation is stable and job movement is not likely in the near future. Very little research has asked whether this advice is followed, so our goal is to rectify that omission. We construct a theoretical model where the decision to become a homeowner only occurs when the householder is employed at a job with productivity that matches their ability. To test our model, we employ detailed information on workers and housing decisions from Danish administrative data. We construct a measure of job mismatch and find evidence suggesting that homeowners are indeed better matched at their jobs than renters, and that an improved match leads renters to become homeowners. An examination of job durations suggests that homeownership is correlated with longer job duration both because of a direct causal effect and also due to an indirect effect through selection into homeownership.
Prolonged post-ictal atrial fibrillation following seizures

Abstract It is well known that several types of cardiac arrhythmias can occur after a seizure, with ictal sinus tachycardia being the most common. However, post-ictal atrial fibrillation (PIAF) is a rare phenomenon with significant clinical implications. We describe the case of an epilepsy patient with prolonged PIAF. Our case is that of a 62-year-old female with seizure onset at 51 years of age. She had a left hemispheric meningioma that was resected with ongoing seizures. She described frequent episodes of chest fluttering lasting for several hours post-ictally. During video-EEG monitoring (VEEG), she had a typical seizure with staring and word finding difficulty. This was associated with the occurrence of atrial fibrillation with rapid ventricular rate that lasted 18 hours. We discuss the relation between seizures and prolonged PIAF as it relates to the need for anticoagulation, use of appropriate antiseizure medications, and the possible association with SUDEP.
Generating Competitive Intelligence in Organizations

Marketing strategy begins with customer and competitive intelligence. However, in sharp contrast to customer intelligence, there is little research on how competitive intelligence (CI) is actually generated within an organization. The absence of this knowledge makes it difficult to identify ways to improve the CI generation process. Drawing on both depth interviews with full-time personnel who conduct competitive intelligence and academic literature in related fields, the authors derive a novel conceptual framework that describes three interdependent phases of the competitive intelligence generation process: (1) organizing for competitive intelligence, (2) searching for information, and (3) sense-making. Dimensions of efficacy at each phase are also identified, and they are posited to be influenced by factors pertaining to: (1) the intelligence network, (2) the business environment,(3) the information environment, and (4) analyst characteristics. This framework departs from the existing literature by identifying core components of the competitive intelligence generation process, highlighting its iterative nature, and identifying variables germane to its success. The emergent framework's implications for managing the competitive intelligence generation process are discussed and future research directions are suggested.
Escherichia coli Type 1 Pili

This chapter concentrates on what the author thinks are the essential features of Escherichia coli type 1 pili as models of host-pathogen interactions, gene regulation, supramolecular assembly, and receptor binding. The majority of E. coli strains fell into group 1, which had the structures that were to become known as type 1 pili. Type 1 pili grow from the base. That is, new pilin monomers (fimA gene products) are added to the bottom of the growing fiber rather than at the tip. There are only two additional gene products required for this polymerization process. These are the products of the fimC and fimD genes. A chaperone molecule is believed to be necessary in order to keep the pilin molecules from aggregating prematurely and to stabilize the minor pilus components during their time in the periplasm. Type 1 pili have provided paradigms for a number of central biological processes including host-pathogen interactions, gene regulation, assembly of supramolecular structures, and receptor-ligand interactions. The chapter highlights areas that still present interesting challenges to understanding of type 1 pili structures and their function.
Biogeochemical Processes Regulating Metal Behavior

The soil is nature’s purifying agent. The soil as a physical, biological, and chemical filter. The soil as a pollutant sink. These phrases signify the important role soils play in cleansing our environment of pollutants in terms of our food, surface water, and groundwater resources. The major physical, biological, and chemical processes that determine the fate and effects of environmental pollutants are discussed in this chapter.
Angel’s Share Combats Wine Fraud: 14C Dating of Wine without Opening the Bottle

The problem of fraud continues to plague the wine industry, and detecting cases where the original bottle has been refilled with an inferior vintage is especially difficult. A novel noninvasive procedure presented here relies on radiocarbon dating the so-called angel’s share: the trace amounts of ethanol and other gases that diffuse into and through the cork as bottled wine ages and matures. These are collected by applying a vacuum to the top of the bottle and cryo-trapping the extracted gas, leaving the liquid contents untouched. Vintage verification is therefore possible without exposing the liquid contents to the atmosphere, which may render a bottle costing tens of thousands of dollars worthless for later resale and consumption. The method also has a potential for stable isotope ratio as well as chemical analysis to find indications for fraud or spoilage of fine and rare wines as well as other liquids with cork stoppers.
The Real Story of Don Manuel

I HANG UP THE TELEPHONE AND THINK about the last time To?o, Ruben, Anselmo, and I got together. I can't remember the exact date, but I can recall many other things: the place, the heat, the drinks, the faces, the mood. "It was about time," babbled Anselmo, drinking his beer. "Yeah, but he seemed in no hurry to die," To?o said. We had just buried don Manuel: a coffin that barely seemed to have anything inside because the old man was just a husk. He had no relatives left?the only ones to say good-bye were the four of us who'd lived on the same street, facing his shoe shop, thirty years ago. In those days the city was simply a village, dedicated to making brown sugar; not even in our dreams could we have imagined that we would get an oil refinery, an auto plant, and gringo maquiladoras} In those days we were about ten years old, and don Manuel was already an old man. "And who'll be the next one to give us an excuse to get together?" Ruben's words made us smile until we realized that we were all looking at Anselmo. Even with all the time that had passed since we'd seen each other, somehow things get found out, and the three of us all seemed to know about Anselmo's cirrhosis. I was the one who called them to come to the funeral. I wanted to tell
Reading Beineix, on Phil Powrie Jean-Jacques Beineix

Phil Powrie _Jean-Jacques Beineix_ Manchester and New York: Manchester University Press, 2001 ISBN 719055334 240 pp.
The development of gamma-gamma-prime lamellar structures in a nickel-base superalloy during elevated temperature mechanical testing

The kinetics of the formation and subsequent development of the directional coarsening of the gamma-prime precipitate in model Ni-Al-Mo-Ta superalloy single crystals are examined during tensile creep under various stress levels at 982 and 1038 C. Special attention is given to the gamma and gamma-prime relation to creep time and strain in order to trace the changing gamma-gamma-prime morphology. Directional coarsening of gamma-prime is found to begin during primary creep and its rate is shown to increase with an increase in temperature or stress level. The length of gamma-prime thickness increased linearly with time up to a plateau reached after the onset of steady state creep. The raft thickness, equal to the gamma-prime size, remained constant at this initial value up through the onset of the tertiary creep. The interlaminar spacing indicates the stability of directionally coarsened structure.
Longest Induced Cycles in Circulant Graphs

In this paper we study the length of the longest induced cycle in the unit circulant graph $X_n = Cay({\Bbb Z}_n; {\Bbb Z}_n^*)$, where ${\Bbb Z}_n^*$ is the group of units in ${\Bbb Z}_n$. Using residues modulo the primes dividing $n$, we introduce a representation of the vertices that reduces the problem to a purely combinatorial question of comparing strings of symbols. This representation allows us to prove that the multiplicity of each prime dividing $n$, and even the value of each prime (if sufficiently large) has no effect on the length of the longest induced cycle in $X_n$. We also see that if $n$ has $r$ distinct prime divisors, $X_n$ always contains an induced cycle of length $2^r+2$, improving the $r \ln r$ lower bound of Berrezbeitia and Giudici. Moreover, we extend our results for $X_n$ to conjunctions of complete $k_i$-partite graphs, where $k_i$ need not be finite, and also to unit circulant graphs on any quotient of a Dedekind domain.
The Dream of Interpretation

For any given rule, there are infinite interpretations. Yet law and interpretation are inseparable. Interpretation is a complex process, based on murky forces, exposed to some extent in institutions, habits and conventions, which are often poorly understood even by the person charged with the act of interpreting. The article deconstructs - through a series of improvisations on logic, reason, rules, duty, desire, repetition, enchantment, symptom and sin - the dream of interpreting law. Drawing on Wittgenstein, Freud, Kant, Foucault and others from the pantheon of modernism, the article ruminates on the endless prospect of interpretation and the possibility of discord.
Involvement of Bik, a Proapoptotic Member of the Bcl-2 Family, in Surface IgM-Mediated B Cell Apoptosis

Apoptosis plays a central role in shaping the repertoire of circulating mature B lymphocytes, but the underlying molecular mechanisms regulating B cell fate are not well understood. Human B104 B lymphoma cells undergo apoptosis after surface Ig (sIg)M, but not sIgD, ligation; sIgM-mediated apoptosis of B104 cells apparently requires new gene transcription because actinomycin D can inhibit the apoptotic response. Here we report that expression of Bik, a proapoptotic member of the Bcl-2 family, is greatly increased after sIgM ligation. Bik expression was tightly controlled at both transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels. Whereas a calcineurin-dependent pathway was essential for Bik mRNA induction, both the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)- and the calcineurin-dependent pathways were required for the sustained production of Bik protein. Consistent with these findings, sIgD ligation, which leads to the similar calcium mobilization and increases in Bik mRNA, induced only a transient activation of PI3K and did not lead to sustained Bik protein expression. Furthermore, sustained Bik protein expression correlated with B cell apoptosis, as treatment with either a calcineurin inhibitor or PI3K inhibitors blocked both sIgM-mediated sustained Bik protein induction and apoptosis. In addition, sIgM ligation strongly increased the amount of Bik associated with endogenous Bcl-x, but sIgD ligation did not. Studies with caspase inhibitors also revealed that Bik and Bcl-x interacted upstream of caspases in the B cell apoptosis cascade. Thus, Bik protein induction and, subsequently, sequestering of antiapoptotic Bcl-x by Bik may play an important role in regulating B cell apoptosis.
Breaking Malus' law: Enhancing asymmetric light transmission with metasurfaces

A structure providing broadband asymmetric light transmission at 1.5 μm with a suppression ratio of 24:1 is achieved with a metasurface consisting of three cascaded layers of gold nano-wires, with a total thickness of λ/5.
Searching for balance: understanding self-adaptation on ridge functions

The progress rate of a self-adaptive evolution strategy is sub-optimal on ridge functions because the global step-size, denoted σ, becomes too small. On the parabolic ridge we conjecture that σ will stabilize when selection is unbiased towards larger or smaller step-sizes. On the sharp ridge, where the bias in selection is constant, σ will continue to decrease. We show that this is of practical interest because ridges can cause even the best solutions found by self-adaptation to be of little value on ridge problems where spatially close parameters tend to have similar values.
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Call for Papers for Volume 2.2 (2014) of the journal MATLIT, edited by Sandy Baldwin (West Virginia University) e Dibs Roy (West Virginia University).
Genetic and Molecular Pathology of Melanoma

In so far as neoplastic development and progression involve pathogenic deletions or mutations in critical genes, all cancers are fundamentally genetic. In the specific case of melanoma, the genetic basis of its etiology is reflected in the observation that approximately 10 % of cases result from the familial transmission of melanoma susceptibility loci in the germline. Whereas most melanomas are sporadic, the genetic basis is reflected in acquired or postzygotic lesions at genomic loci within melanocytes that initiate the pathway of neoplastic progression. Notably, the same genes targeted in the germline in familial melanoma, as well as in other cancer syndromes such as Li-Fraumeni syndrome, are involved rather commonly in a broad range of cancer types through the mechanism of random, postzygotic mutations in somatic cells targeted for neoplastic transformation [1, 2].
Clinical Supervision in the Substance Abuse Profession: A Review of the Literature

Clinical supervision is a significant contributor to the development of substance abuse counselors and the efficacy of the services they render. This article represents a review of the literature on clinical supervision in the substance abuse field for the purposes of organizing existing data, providing focus for future research, and better informing those who use the literature as a means for professional development. Nine studies were identified, the results of which are discussed and compared, followed by recommendations for future research.
Using the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) program to further understand the relationship between drug use and gang membership

In this paper, we examine the relationship between drug use and gang membership using data from the Arizona Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) program, which collects both self‐report and hard measures (i.e., urinalysis) of drug use. Our analyses revealed that self‐reported recent drug use (i.e., drug use in the past three days) and urinalysis outcomes were similarly associated with the gang‐membership variables. These findings suggest that self‐reported data obtained from gang members is a particularly robust method for gathering information on their recent behavior. Additionally, our results were supportive of the social facilitation model, showing that current gang members were significantly more likely to use marijuana and cocaine compared with former gang members. The implications for policy and future research are discussed.
From Beats to Tracts: A Remote Sensing Approach to the Interpolation of Crime Data

In this article, the author addresses the spatial incompatibility between different types of data that is commonly faced in crime analysis research. Socioeconomic variables have been proved valuable in explaining crime behaviors and in predicting crime activities. However, socioeconomic data and crime statistics are usually collected and aggregated at different spatial zonations of geographical space, making the integration and analysis of these data difficult. Simple areal weighting interpolation technique, although frequently employed, often leads to unsatisfactory results due to the fact that most types of crime do not distributed evenly across space. Using 2007 burglary crime in Houston, Texas, as an example, the author illustrates a remote sensing approach to interpolating crime statistics from police beat enumeration district used by Houston Police Department to census tract defined by the U.S. Bureau of the Census.
Furin initiates gelsolin familial amyloidosis in the Golgi through a defect in Ca2+ stabilization

Hereditary familial amyloidosis of Finnish type (FAF) leading to amyloid in the peripheral and central nervous systems stems from deposition of a 71 residue fragment generated from the D187N/Y variants of plasma gelsolin by two sequential endoproteolytic events. We identify the protease accomplishing the first cleavage as furin, a proprotein convertase. Endoproteolysis of plasma gelsolin occurs in the trans ‐Golgi network due to the inability of the FAF variants to bind and be stabilized by Ca 2+ . Secretion and processing of the FAF variants by furin can be uncoupled by blocking the convergence of the exocytic pathway transporting plasma gelsolin and the endocytic recycling of furin. We propose that coincidence of membrane trafficking pathways contributes to the development of proteolysis‐initiated amyloid disease.
Systems vaccinology: Probing humanity’s diverse immune systems with vaccines

Homo sapiens are genetically diverse, but dramatic demographic and socioeconomic changes during the past century have created further diversification with respect to age, nutritional status, and the incidence of associated chronic inflammatory disorders and chronic infections. These shifting demographics pose new challenges for vaccination, as emerging evidence suggests that age, the metabolic state, and chronic infections can exert major influences on the immune system. Thus, a key public health challenge is learning how to reprogram suboptimal immune systems to induce effective vaccine immunity. Recent advances have applied systems biological analysis to define molecular signatures induced early after vaccination that correlate with and predict the later adaptive immune responses in humans. Such “systems vaccinology” approaches offer an integrated picture of the molecular networks driving vaccine immunity, and are beginning to yield novel insights about the immune system. Here we discuss the promise of systems vaccinology in probing humanity’s diverse immune systems, and in delineating the impact of genes, the environment, and the microbiome on protective immunity induced by vaccination. Such insights will be critical in reengineering suboptimal immune systems in immunocompromised populations.
Effects of strongly coupled nondegenerate primary shear systems on LEDS formation during martensitic transformations in b.c.c. alloys

Martensitic transformations in b.c.c. metals and alloys can proceed by three different type degenerate primary shear systems which are strongly and weakly coupled to the principal strains. These give rise to different habit planes, orientation relationships, and twin domain structures. In addition to this predicted behaviour, a strongly coupled nondegenerate primary shear system is available which cannot maintain the mean field and consequently cannot consummate the martensitic transformation. However, because of its strong coupling to the principal strains it will nucleate spontaneously at dissociated dislocations above M s , and its long-range stress fields will tend to clamp operation of the degenerate primary shear systems. The effect is a lower transformation temperature and a wide hysteresis in the transformation behavior. The clamping is avoided and the mean field maintained by alternating lattice-variant shears which give rise to the metastable ω-phase in Ti- and Zr-based alloys. Alloying lowers the energy of the collapsed (111) b planes and makes ω energetically favourable. Dislocation mechanisms for this transformation are described and the resulting morphology of ω shown to be consistent with the reported soft mode behavior, phonon dispersion, and streaking in diffraction patterns
Women's reactions to partner's ejaculation problems.

Ejaculation problems—too rapid, too slow, or absent—may be as ancient as man himself but less researched than erectile difficulties. This article gives attention at long last to the woman partner who struggles to understand and react to recurrence of the ejaculation dysfunction. Some women may be wrongly blamed while others may berate him for his inability to overcome the symptom. Today, it is essential to gain more knowledge with added understanding of how his partner is impacted if the ejaculation problem persists. There are usually two patients when a sexual problem presents.
Growth of breath figures.

Measurements are reported of the growth of breath figures, the patterns that form when a vapor is condensed onto a cold surface. The pattern for water on glass was studied by direct observation and light scattering as a function of the contact angle $\ensuremath{\theta}$, flux $F$, degree of supersaturation $\ensuremath{\Delta}T$, and time $t$. When $\ensuremath{\theta}=0\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}$, a uniform layer forms whose thickness grows as $t$ at constant $F$ and $\ensuremath{\Delta}T$. For $\ensuremath{\theta}=90\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}$ droplets are formed; at constant $F$ and $\ensuremath{\Delta}T$ the radius of an isolated droplet grows as ${t}^{0.23}$, but as a result of coalescences the average droplet radius grows as ${t}^{0.75}$. The growth process is self-similar---coalescences simply rescale the distances and leave the basic droplet pattern unaltered.
Comparison of Outcome of Higher Versus Lower Transvalvular Gradients in Patients With Severe Aortic Stenosis and Low (<40%) Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction

Left ventricular systolic dysfunction in patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) is associated with poor outcome. This analysis was designed primarily to describe the clinical course of a large series of consecutive patients with severe AS and low ejection fraction (EF) ( 40 mm Hg, n = 100 [37%]). Patients with low gradients were younger (mean age 79.8 ± 9.1 vs 83.8 ± 7.7 years, p <0.001) and had higher incidences of coronary artery disease and renal failure. Mean aortic valve area was larger (0.73 ± 0.23 vs 0.53 ± 0.18 cm(2), p <0.001), while mean EF (26.4 ± 6.9% vs 30.5% ± 6.6%, p <0.001), cardiac output (3.7 ± 1.1 vs 4.1 ± 1.3 L/min, p = 0.04), and cardiac index (1.9 ± 0.5 vs 2.1 ± 0.6 L/min/m(2), p = 0.04) were lower in patients with lower gradients compared to those with higher gradients, respectively. Mortality was higher in patients with low gradients (53.8%) at a mean follow-up of 151 days compared to those with high gradients (41%) at a mean follow-up of 256 days (p = 0.01). In conclusion, patients with severe AS and low EF with low transvalvular gradients are at higher risk for worse outcomes compared to patients with high transvalvular gradients. Surgery or transcatheter aortic valve implantation treatment and high baseline transvalvular gradient are associated with EF improvement.
Forms of social awareness and helping

Abstract People encounter situations from different forms of awareness; that is, they can attend to different focal topics (e.g., self, other person, or other person's situation) from different perspectives (e.g., the self's viewpoint, the other person's viewpoint). Two studies assessed whether brief interactions would produce different forms of social awareness, whether the form of awareness would persist to a subsequent interaction, and whether it would influence helping in that encounter. Pedestrians on a city sidewalk were induced to become self-focused (experimenter took their picture), become other-focused (they took experimenter's picture), or empathically adopt the perspective of another person (they advised experimenter where to take a picture). In Study 1, subjects were interviewed after leaving the experimenter. First- and third-person pronoun use and self-ratings suggested that subjects had different forms of awareness. In Study 2, pedestrians participated in one of the same three interaction conditions or a control noninteraction condition and subsequently encountered a confederate in need of help. Subjects in the self-focused and empathic condition helped more than subjects in the other-focused or control condition. Results suggest that forms of awareness created in a brief interaction do persist to subsequent interactions and influence helping. Other variables may influence helping by altering forms of social awareness.
HYDRODYNAMIC LIMITS FOR THE MONOMER-DIMER SURFACE REACTION : CHEMICAL DIFFUSION, WAVE PROPAGATION, AND EQUISTABILITY

For finite adspecies mobility, the lattice-gas monomer-dimer (A+B{sub 2}) surface reaction model exhibits a discontinuous transition from a stable reactive steady state to a stable A-poisoned steady state, as the impingement rate P{sub A} for A increases above a critical value P{sup {asterisk}}. The reactive (poisoned) state is metastable for P{sub A} just above (below) P{sup {asterisk}}. Increasing the surface mobility of A enhances metastability, leading to bistability in the limit of high mobility. In the bistable region, the more stable state displaces the less stable one separated from it by a planar interface, with P{sup {asterisk}} becoming the equistability point for the two states. This hydrodynamic regime can be described by reaction-diffusion equations (RDE{close_quote}s). However, for finite reaction rates, mixed adlayers of A and B are formed, resulting in a coverage-dependent and tensorial nature to chemical diffusion (even in the absence of interactions beyond site blocking). For equal mobility of adsorbed A and B, and finite reaction rate, the prediction for P{sup {asterisk}} from such RDE{close_quote}s, incorporating the appropriate description of chemical diffusion, is shown to coincide with that from kinetic Monte Carlo simulations for the lattice-gas model in the regime of high mobility. Behavior for this special casemore » is compared with that for various other prescriptions of mobility, for both finite and infinite reaction rates. {copyright} {ital 1998} {ital The American Physical Society}« less
South West Africa: A Study in the “Sacred Trust” Thesis

The mandate system may be toothless but it is not bootless. --Parker T. Moon (Imperialism and World Politics) Students of comparative politics and international relations generally admit that one of the more outstanding political developments of the post-World War II era has been what Hans J. Morgenthau calls “the Colonial Revolution”--the granting of independence to colonial territories and dependencies in Asia and Africa. “What seemed to be almost inconceivable at the end of the Second World War,” Morgenthau comments, “has become an accomplished fact only twenty years later” (1967, p. 344). To Morgenthau this colonial revolution “is in its essence a triumph of the moral ideas of the West…carried forward under under the banner of two moral principles: national self-determination and social justice.” Organski (1968), on the other hand, sees the attainment of independence by these colonies as part of an inevitable historical movement, not necessarily owing to ideas as such: “…colonialism sows the seeds of its own destruction. No sooner is a colony conquered than its population begins to move, slowly and imperceptibly at first, then quickly and noticeably, toward political independence” (p. 234). F. H. Hinsley (1967) sees the declining strategic importance of these colonies as a partial reason for the colonial revolution. Arguing in this vein, he contends that the “withdrawal [of an imperial power] from territory since the second World War has been due…to the growing recognition that it is not vital to hold it from the strategical point of view and not feasible to hold it in the face of metropolitan opinion” (p. 359).
Components of efficiency evaluation in data envelopment analysis

This paper examines three essential components which comprise efficiency evaluation in data envelopment analysis. The three components are present in each DEA model and determine the implicit evaluation scheme associated with the model. These components provide a framework for classifying the various DEA models with respect to (i) the form of envelopment surface, (ii) the orientation, and (iii) the pricing mechanism implicit in the multiplier lower bounds. The discussion focuses on the standard DEA models, includes additional issues relating to efficiency evaluation, and is illustrated by a computational example.
Quantitative and Real-Time Detection of Secretion of Chemical Messengers from Individual Platelets†

Carbon-fiber microelectrochemical methods were utilized in this study to measure individual exocytotic events of secretion of serotonin and histamine from washed rabbit platelets. The quantal release of serotonin was quantitatively characterized with a δ-granule serotonin concentration of 0.6 M and secretion time course of 7 ms. Additionally, extracellular osmolarity influences quantal size, causing quantal size increases under hypotonic conditions, presumably due to the influx of cytosolic serotonin into the halo region of the δ-granules.
Oleic acid-induced mitogenic signaling in vascular smooth muscle cells. A role for protein kinase C.

As an initial step in testing the hypothesis that high oleic acid concentrations contribute to vascular remodeling in obese hypertensive patients by activating protein kinase C (PKC), the effects of oleic acid on primary cultures of rat aortic smooth muscle cells (RASMCs) were studied. Oleic acid, an 18-carbon cis-monounsaturated fatty acid (18:1 [cis]), from 25 to 200 mumol/L significantly increased [3H]thymidine uptake in RASMCs with an EC50 of 41.0 mumol/L and a maximal response of 196 +/- 15% of control (P < .01). Oleic acid from 25 to 200 mumol/L caused a concentration-dependent increase in the number of RASMCs in culture at 6 days, reaching a maximum of 210 +/- 13% of control at 100 mumol/L (P < .001). PKC inhibition with 4 mumol/L bisindolyImaleimide I and PKC depletion (alpha, mu, iota, and zeta) with 24-hour exposure to 200 nmol/L phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate in RASMCs eliminated the mitogenic effects of oleic acid but did not reduce responses to 10% FBS. Stimulation of intact cells with oleic acid induced a peak increase of cytosolic PKC activity, reaching 328 +/- 8% of control (P < .001), but did not enhance PKC activity in the membrane fraction (105 +/- 4%, P = NS). The oleic acid-induced increase of PKC activity in cell lysates was similar in the presence and absence of Ca2+, phosphatidylserine, and diolein (maximum response, 360 +/- 4% versus 342 +/- 9% of control, P = NS). Unlike phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate, oleic acid over 24 hours did not downregulate any of the four PKC isoforms detected in RASMCs. Oleic acid treatment activated mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase. PKC depletion in RASMCs eliminated the rise in thymidine uptake, activation of PKC, and activation of MAP kinase in response to oleic acid. In contrast to oleic acid, 50 to 200 mumol/L stearic (18:0) and elaidic (18:1 [trans]) acids, which are less effective activators of PKC than oleic acid, did not enhance thymidine uptake. These data suggest that oleic acid induces proliferation of RASMCs by activating PKC, particularly one or more of the Ca(2+)-independent isoforms, and raise the possibility that the higher oleic acid concentrations observed in obese hypertensive patients may contribute to vascular remodeling.
Analysis of halo-orthoses application in children less than three years old

Abstract Purpose To evaluate the safety and efficacy of halo immobilization in children younger than 3 years. Methods All children less than 3 years of age who were placed in a halo-orthosis at a tertiary pediatric center were reviewed to determine the indications, safety, and efficacy of this method. Adequacy of immobilization and correct technique was established considering the chronology of maturation (skull and brain development). The functional outcome was analyzed. Results Ten patients (<3 years old) were identified from a total of 150 where halo ring/vest immobilization was used. There were six boys and four girls, with an average age of 2 years (range 10 months to 2 years and 10 months). The average time of immobilization in the halo-orthosis was 75 days (range 33–168 days), and the average follow-up time was 5 years and 2 months (range 1–12 years). There were two halo-related problems and four related to the index procedure. Halo-related problems included pin-site infection in one patient, and t...
Effects of whole-body vibration exercise training on aortic wave reflection and muscle strength in postmenopausal women with prehypertension and hypertension

Increased wave reflection (augmented pressure (AP) and augmentation index (AIx)) and reduced muscle strength may increase cardiovascular risk in postmenopausal women. We evaluated the effects of whole-body vibration exercise training (WBVET) on aortic haemodynamics and leg muscle strength. Twenty-eight postmenopausal women (age, 56±3 years; brachial systolic blood pressure (SBP) 138±12 mm Hg; body mass index, 33.9±3.7 kg m−2) were randomized to 6 weeks of WBVET (n=15) or no-exercise control groups. Aortic SBP, diastolic blood pressure (DBP), pulse pressure (PP), AP, AIx, tension time index (TTI, myocardial oxygen demand) and leg press muscle strength were measured before and after 6 weeks. WBVET significantly (P<0.05) decreased aortic SBP (∼10 mm Hg), DBP (∼5 mm Hg), PP (∼5 mm Hg), AP (∼5 mm Hg), AIx (∼10%) and TTI (∼311 mm Hg s per minute), while increased muscle strength (∼9%) compared with no changes after control. Changes in AP and leg muscle strength were correlated (r=−0.58, P=0.02). Our data demonstrated that WBVET reduced pressure wave reflection magnitude and aortic blood pressure in postmenopausal women with prehypertension or hypertension. Our study suggests that WBVET may decrease cardiovascular risk in postmenopausal women by improving wave reflection and muscle strength.
Fast inference for statistical inverse problems

Computer models for the simulation of physical and environmental phenomena are often regulated by complicated dependences on unknown variables, and these unobservable inputs must be inferred from a comparison of simulator output against physical data. The standard Bayesian statistical approaches to this inference problem require fitting a complicated statistical model to the existing parameter evaluations, usually through use of a Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling scheme. When there already exists a large bank of simulated values, it may be undesirable to develop a sophisticated statistical surrogate or to sample additional output from the computer simulator. In response to this motivation, we discuss a sampling importance resampling algorithm for Bayesian inference in inverse problems that works in conjunction with kernel density estimation to resample, from the original computer output, an approximate posterior sample for the unobservable variables of interest. Given a sufficiently large bank of computer output, our resampling method is able to provide high-quality results at a much lower cost than the standard Bayesian techniques. We present two applications where unobservable inputs are to be inferred from scarce observations and abundant simulated output. One consists of a climate simulator and the other of a groundwater flow model.
Resolving inconsistencies in measurements of hydrogen cyanide in syngas

Abstract Syngas from biomass and coal gasification contains ammonia (NH 3 ) and hydrogen cyanide (HCN) that originate from fuel bound nitrogen (FBN). Despite being minor constituents of the syngas, they are of great interest. They represent NO X precursors when the syngas is burned for process heating or IGCC applications and catalyst poison if the syngas is to be converted to fuels or chemicals. Measuring NH 3 and HCN via wet chemical methods can be challenging and laborious, which may account for the relative paucity of NH 3 and HCN measurements reported in the literature. Three frequently cited studies report HCN yields that are insignificant regardless of operating conditions and biomass feedstock types. These studies have been cited by other authors as justification for not measuring HCN in studies of nitrogen evolution during gasification. Other authors have reported much higher yields of HCN, on the order of a few tens of percent. Tellingly, sample collection methods are distinctive for these two ranges of HCN measurements. The present study investigated the analytical methods underlying these results, and found the lower numbers to be the result of flawed sampling methodologies.
Embedded algorithms within an FPGA-based system to process nonlinear time series data

This paper presents some preliminary results of an ongoing project. A pattern classification algorithm is being developed and embedded into a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) and microprocessor-based data processing core in this project. The goal is to enable and optimize the functionality of onboard data processing of nonlinear, nonstationary data for smart wireless sensing in structural health monitoring. Compared with traditional microprocessor-based systems, fast growing FPGA technology offers a more powerful, efficient, and flexible hardware platform including on-site (field-programmable) reconfiguration capability of hardware. An existing nonlinear identification algorithm is used as the baseline in this study. The implementation within a hardware-based system is presented in this paper, detailing the design requirements, validation, tradeoffs, optimization, and challenges in embedding this algorithm. An off-the-shelf high-level abstraction tool along with the Matlab/Simulink environment is utilized to program the FPGA, rather than coding the hardware description language (HDL) manually. The implementation is validated by comparing the simulation results with those from Matlab. In particular, the Hilbert Transform is embedded into the FPGA hardware and applied to the baseline algorithm as the centerpiece in processing nonlinear time histories and extracting instantaneous features of nonstationary dynamic data. The selection of proper numerical methods for the hardware execution of the selected identification algorithm and consideration of the fixed-point representation are elaborated. Other challenges include the issues of the timing in the hardware execution cycle of the design, resource consumption, approximation accuracy, and user flexibility of input data types limited by the simplicity of this preliminary design. Future work includes making an FPGA and microprocessor operate together to embed a further developed algorithm that yields better computational and power efficiency.