cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Some hydrodynamic investigations of a magnetically stabilized air-fluidized bed of ferromagnetic particles

Abstract To gain fundamental understanding about the structure of a magnetically stabilized bed, an experimental facility has been designed, fabricated and tested. In particular, experimental data on spherical steel shots of three different sizes are reported as a function of increasing and decreasing fluidization velocities. Experimental data of bed pressure drop, bed voidage and mass minimum bubbling velocity reveal that bed behavior and its structure can be understood in terms of three broad categories of the applied uniform magnetic field intensity. The bed properties and its distinguishing features in the weak, moderate and strong magnetic field regions are reported. Earlier in the literature, somewhat similar classifications have been proposed on the basis of heat transfer and theological measurements.
Assessing Modernization In Honduran Landscapes Using Repeat Photography

In 1999, Honduran historian Mario Argueta wrote,”Enpocasdecadaspasamos del pacienteburro….a la communication electronica, en susdistintasmodalidadesquenosconecta con el mundo. … Las distancias se a...
A technique for calculating in vivo ligament lengths with application to the human knee joint.

Abstract This analysis is concerned with the development and application of a technique for calculating in vivo ligament length patterns for human joints as they move through a range of arbitrary orientations. The basis of this method is an anthropometric scaling procedure whereby locations of soft tissue origins and insertions in an “inaccessible” human subjecy body segment are determined by mathematically transforming their locations from a dissected cadaver specimen to their respective positions in the human subject. A detailed mathematical development of the technique is presented with the procedure being adapted to the knee joint. The conceptual validity and mathematical accuracy of the method is examined by its application to simple blocks of known geometry. The basic scaling technique and subsequent ligament length calculations are further tested by substituting dry skeletal bones in place of cadaver and human subject limbs so that results obtained by direct measurement could be compared with those theoretically predicted. The in vivo procedure is then applied to human subjects. A parametric analysis is utilized to examine the sensitivity of the technique to the input data. A discussion of possible sources of error is presented.
Managing global projects: A structured approach for better performance

The purpose of this research effort is to develop a model for improving the performance of global projects using the underlying relations among the important enablers and barriers of global project...
Context of Risk for HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infections Among Incarcerated Women in the South: Individual, Interpersonal, and Societal Factors

Incarcerated women are disproportionately affected by HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) due to risk factors before, during, and after imprisonment. This study assessed the behavioral, social, and contextual conditions that contribute to continuing sexual risk behaviors among incarcerated women to inform the adaptation of an evidenced-based behavioral intervention for this population. Individual, in-depth interviews were conducted with 25 current and 28 former women prisoners to assess HIV/STI knowledge, perceptions of risk, intimate relationships, and life circumstances. Interviews were independently coded using an iterative process and analyzed using established qualitative analytic methods. Major themes identified in the interviews involved three focal points: individual risk (substance abuse, emotional need, self-worth, perceptions of risk, and safer sex practices); interpersonal risk (partner pressure, betrayal, and violence); and risk environment (economic self-sufficiency and preparation for reentry). These findings highlight the critical components of HIV/STI prevention interventions for incarcerated women.
Bilateral electroretinographic changes induced by unilateral intra—visual cortex inoculation of herpes simplex virus type 1 in BALB/c mice

Intra—visual cortex inoculation of 102 plaque—forming units of herpes simplex virus type 1 (KOS—63) induced physiologic and morphologic retinal changes in 62.3% (33/53) of infected animals; of these, 91% were bilateral. In contrast, inoculation of the same viral titers into the frontal lobe induced retinal alterations in only 13.3% (2/15). Initially, there was a decrease of the b—wave amplitude and retinal sensitivity and necrotic changes of the ganglion cells and nuclei in the inner nuclear layer. Immunoperoxidase staining for virus—specific antigens showed positive staining of the same cell type. Over time, there was a progressive decrease in the electroretinogram until it was extinguished and the retina was replaced by gliotic tissue. Parallel viral recovery studies demonstrated detectable infectious virus in one of eight eyes on day 2 after inoculation and in three of eight eyes on day 4. Thereafter, there was an increase in the percentage of eyes with infectious virus and a concomitant increase in viral titers. Immunoperoxidase staining of brain sections obtained on days 6 through 8 demonstrated virus—specific antigens on cells in the lateral geniculate nuclei and the suprachiasmatic nuclei bilaterally.
Ultraintense lasers: relativistic nonlinear optics and applications

Abstract Traditional optics and nonlinear optics are related to laser–matter interaction with eV characteristic energy. Recent progresses in ultrahigh intensity makes it possible to drive electrons with relativistic energy opening up the field of relativistic nonlinear optics. In the last decade, lasers have undergone orders-of-magnitude jumps in peak power, with the invention of the technique of chirped pulse amplification (CPA) and the refinements of femtosecond techniques. Modern CPA lasers can produce intensities greater than 10 21 W/cm 2 , one million times greater than previously possible. These ultraintense lasers give researchers a tool to produce unprecedented pressures (terabars), magnetic fields (gigagauss), temperatures (10 10 K), and accelerations (10 25 g) with applications in fusion energy, nuclear physics (fast ignition), high-energy physics, astrophysics, and cosmology. They promote the optics field from the eV to the GeV.
Sex-Specific Response of Pardosa milvina (Araneae: Lycosidae) to Experience with a Chemotactile Predation Cue

Predators frequently leave behind chemical information (i.e., semiochemicals such as pheromones or kairomones) that can be detected by their prey and used to avoid areas where predators are likely present. Prey that have interacted indirectly with predators via chemical information thus may gain insight into their risk of being consumed that naive individuals lack. Pardosa milvina (Araneae: Lycosidae) is a chemosensitive wolf spider that shows adaptive responses to chemotactile cues deposited by the larger wolf spider Tigrosa helluo. We raised offspring from P. milvina to examine the effect of experience with a predation cue on activity, foraging, and antipredator behavior. Spiders differed in activity and foraging behavior across ontogeny and between sexes, but there was no effect of experience with a predation cue. However, a sex-specific effect of experience was found in antipredator behavior. Male spiders, but not females, used experience with a predator cue to increase their survival in the presence of a live predator. Specifically, naive males were attacked sooner than experienced males, indicating that prior exposure to predator cues can modify Pardosa antipredator behavior. Intersexual differences in how spiders respond to experience with a predation cue likely reflect the risk of predation faced by males and females in nature.
Rapid induction of protective tolerance to potential terrorist agents: a systematic review of low- and ultra-low dose research.

Abstract Objective: To systematically review the literature on the ability of low-dose (LD) and ultra-low-dose (ULD) toxin exposure to prevent and treat biological and chemical threats. Methods: Laboratory research articles on protection or treatment from LD or ULD exposure for the 13 high-risk chemical and biological warfare threats were collected and systematically evaluated for quantity and scientific quality using pre-defined methodological criteria. Results: Over 2600 articles were screened. Only five studies met the inclusion criteria examining stimulation and protective effects of LD- or ULD-exposures to the 13 pre-identified biological and chemical agents. The quality evaluation (QE) of these studies was above average with a mean QE score of 70.6% of maximum. Two articles of fair to good quality reported both protective and treatment efficacy from exposure of animals or humans to LD- and ULD-exposures to toxins of risk in biochemical warfare. Conclusion: There is little research on agents of biological and chemical warfare investigating the possible use of LD- and ULD-toxins for protection and treatment. The existing literature is generally of good quality and indicates that rapid induction of protective tolerance is a feasible but under-investigated approach to bioterrorist or biowarfare defense. In our opinion, further research into the role of induced protection with LD- and ULD-toxic agents is needed.
Low temperature electrochemical deposition of highly active elements

Abstract Electrochemical methods are attractive for thin film deposition due to their simplicity, conformal and high rate deposition, the ability to easily make multilayers of different composition, ease of scale-up to large surface areas, and applicability to wide variety of different shapes and surface geometries. However, many elements from periodic table of commercial importance are too active to be electrodeposited from aqueous solution. Recent advances are briefly reviewed for room temperature methods for electrochemical deposition, including electrodeposition from ionic liquids, electrodeposition from organic solvents, combined electrodeposition and precipitation on liquid metal cathodes, and galvanic deposition. Recent studies of electrodeposition from ionic liquids include deposition of thick (40 μm) Al coatings on high-strength steel screws in a manufacturing environment; deposition of continuous Si, Ta and Nb coatings; and numerous interesting mechanistic studies. Recent studies of electrodeposition from organic solvents include Al coatings from the AlCl 3 –dimethylsulfone electrolyte, which demonstrate that additives can be employed to suppress impurity incorporation and to improve the deposit quality, and thick (5–7 μm) and continuous Si coatings from SiCl 4 in acetonitrile. Galvanic deposition of Ti, Mo and Si coatings onto Al alloys has recently been reported, which is potentially much simpler and less expensive than electrodeposition from ionic liquids and organic solvents, but has complications associated with substrate consumption and coating adhesion.
Spin-Lattice Relaxation in Some Rare-Earth Salts. II. Angular Dependence, Hyperfine Effects, and Cross Relaxation

In this second part of a study of the spin-lattice relaxation rate ${{T}_{1}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ in the temperature range $1.2\ensuremath{\leqq}T\ensuremath{\leqq}5\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}$K of some trivalent rare-earth ions in the salts ${\mathrm{La}}_{2}$${\mathrm{Mg}}_{3}$${(\mathrm{N}{\mathrm{O}}_{3})}_{12}$\ifmmode\cdot\else\textperiodcentered\fi{}24${\mathrm{H}}_{2}$O[LaMN], La${({\mathrm{C}}_{2}{\mathrm{H}}_{5}\mathrm{S}{\mathrm{O}}_{4})}_{3}$\ifmmode\cdot\else\textperiodcentered\fi{}9${\mathrm{H}}_{2}$O[LaES], and ${\mathrm{Y}({\mathrm{C}}_{2}{\mathrm{H}}_{5}\mathrm{S}{\mathrm{O}}_{4})}_{3}$\ifmmode\cdot\else\textperiodcentered\fi{}9${\mathrm{H}}_{2}$O[YES], we examine the dependence of ${{T}_{1}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ on the angle $\ensuremath{\theta}$ between the crystal symmetry axis and the magnetic field H. Data are obtained from the transient recovery of the microwave paramagnetic resonance at $\ensuremath{\nu}\ensuremath{\approx}9$ Gc/sec for Nd: YES, Nd: LaES, Nd: LaMN, Sm: LaMN, Sm: LaES, Sm: YES, Er: LaES, and Er: YES, all for isotopes of spin $I=0$. There is a decided anisotropy of the direct process, as large as 15:1, which seems to be moderately well explained by the same simple theoretical procedure used in part I for the temperature dependence. The Raman process was found to be independent of $\ensuremath{\theta}$ and $H$, as expected theoretically; likewise for the Orbach process, except for Nd: LaMN, where a small anisotropy is observed and explained. The data for the phonon-bottlenecked cases Ce: LaMN and Pr: LaMN indicate that the spins interact only with the phonons within the paramagnetic-resonance linewidth. The direct process for the various hyperfine lines of ${\mathrm{Er}}^{167}$ in Er: YES and ${\mathrm{Nd}}^{143}$ in Nd: LaMN is measured and found to exhibit a dependence on ${M}_{I}$ and $H$ in accordance with the theory of Baker and Ford, showing the importance of "forbidden" relaxation transitions $\ensuremath{\Delta}{M}_{S}=1$, $\ensuremath{\Delta}{M}_{I}=\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}1$. In a study of relaxation in (Er, Ce): LaES we find that the Er relaxation rate is quite well explained in its dependence on both temperature and Ce concentration by resonance cross relaxation with Ce ions in the excited state at $\ensuremath{\Delta}=5.7\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}$K.
Evaluation of the addition of in-cage hiding structures and toys and timing of administration of behavioral assessments with newly relinquished shelter cats

Most cats entering shelters are euthanized. This study used behavioral assessments to determine how quickly a cat acclimated to its new environment and whether enrichment eased this transition. Twenty-five cats at 2 municipal shelters were evaluated with 2 separate standardized behavioral assessments at 3 separate times, beginning the day after entering the shelter. One behavioral assessment included an in-cage evaluation, whereas the other assessment involved a stepwise combined in- and out-of-cage evaluation. Eleven of the cats were given a cardboard box to hide in and a toy in the cage, whereas 14 cats were not given these objects. Our results suggest that cats need 72 hours to achieve optimum behavioral scores and a decrease in stress levels based on the 2 separate evaluations. The tests were correlated in their outcomes.
Harvesting Cells Under Anchorage-Independent Cell Transformation Conditions for Biochemical Analyses

Most molecular biology and biochemical analyses use cultured cells grown in anchorage-dependent monolayer conditions. The standard oncogenic transformation assay for cell lines is usually performed in soft agar rather than in monolayers because of the higher transformation efficiency of cells in soft agar. However, cells suspended in soft agar cannot be readily recovered for studying inducible biochemical and molecular events. We developed an over-agar assay that enables us to study tumor promoter-induced cell transformation and the associated biochemical or molecular events under anchorage-independent conditions.
Thermal stability studies of immunoglobulins using capillary isoelectric focusing and capillary zone electrophoretic methods

The affinity of an antibody towards its antigen is highly specific to its conformation, in order to have optimal antibody-antigen interaction. The increase of temperature might cause changes in antibody conformations. The change of structure conformations may be reflected in the isoelectric points (pI values), peak shape and absorbance of the antibody. In this study, a monoclonal antibody was heated over a period of time. Capillary isoelectric focusing (cIEF) and capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) were used to monitor the change in the antibody. The longer the heating period, the lower the pI values were under cIEF conditions. CZE also showed changes in peak shapes and decreases in absorbance of the antibody with heating.
Determination of atmospheric effects through EOSAEL

The Electro-Optical Systems Atmospheric Effects Library (EOSAEL) is a comprehensive library of computer codes dealing with atmospheric propagation effects. EOSAEL is a state-of-the-art computer library comprised of fast-running theoretical, semiempirical, and empirical computer programs (called modules) that mathematically describe various aspects of electromagnetic propagation and battlefield environments. The modules are connected through an executive routine, but often are exercised individually. The modules are more engineering oriented than first-principles. The philosophy is to include modules that give reasonably accurate results with the minimum in computer time for conditions that may be expected on the battlefield. EOSAEL models clear air transmission, transmission through natural and man-made obscurants, turbulence, multiple scattering, contrast and contrast transmission, and others. EOSAEL is available to the DoD community and eligible contractors free of charge. An overview of EOSAEL is presented, describing the background philosophy, current capability, and future direction.
Inhibitory effect of actinomycin upon the producing organism

Abstract Actively growing cells of Streptomyces antibioticus are sensitive to actinomycin; by contrast, the organism appears to be quite insensitive to the compound during antibiotic production. Inhibition of actinomycin synthesis by 3-methyl- dl -proline is accompanied by an increase in cell growth. It is suggested that the antibiotic may function as a normal repressor substance in cellular metabolism.
Childbearing motivations, pregnancy desires, and perceived partner response to a pregnancy among urban female youth: does HIV-infection status make a difference?

Despite a growing literature assessing pregnancy desires among HIV-infected women enrolled in clinical care, little attention has been paid to HIV-infected youth for whom pregnancy is a very relevant issue. In urban areas with high rates of teen pregnancy and HIV infection, further understanding of childbearing motivations and relationship dynamics influencing pregnancy desires among female youth is needed. This study compares the childbearing motivations, pregnancy desires, and perceived partner desire for a pregnancy among predominately African-American HIV-infected (n=46) and HIV-uninfected (n=355) female youth (15–24 years). An HIV-infected status was not significantly associated with childbearing motivations or the desire for a future pregnancy, p>0.10. HIV-infection was, however, associated with an increased likelihood to perceive that one's partner would have a positive response to a pregnancy (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 3.5, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.2–10.4, p=0.02) compared to uninfected peer...
Expert systems to aid in the formulation of hypotheses and design of experiments in biomedical research

The recent National Research Council call for a unified biology-biomedical sciences research data base should also be taken as a challenge to develop an expert system to aid in its full utilization as a tool. While the sheer size of the body of knowledge in the biological and medical sciences is enough to warrant investment in a unified database, it is the implicit relationships across traditional research fields which hold the promise of rich returns. Additionally, access to facts or even to related clusters of facts does not make full use of the knowledge contained in the ''biological matrix''. The ability to fully utilize that knowledge resides largely in the ''art'' portion of research and in less fuzzy, but field specific, heuristics. We describe the research process, including formulation of hypotheses, decomposition into subhypotheses, design of experiments, and use of results of those experiments. We also generally outline an expert system designed to aid in this process and discuss some specific problems encountered in its implementation.
Neonatal alcohol exposure alters suckling behavior in neonatal rat pups

Prenatal alcohol exposure has been associated with a variety of suckling deficits in both humans and animals. In this study, the effect of neonatal alcohol exposure on suckling performance was examined in 15-day-old rat pups. Neonatal alcohol exposure has been used as a model to study the effects of alcohol exposure during a period equivalent to the human third trimester with respect to brain growth. Subjects were Long-Evans rats which had been artificially reared (AR) and fed through gastrostomy tubes from postnatal day (PN) 4-PN 12. The AR groups included two groups given ethanol doses of 6 g/kg/day or 4 g/kg/day and an isocaloric maltose-dextrin control group. A suckled control group raised by their natural mothers was also included to control for artificial rearing. Fifteen-day-old pups were individually placed with an anesthetized dam for a 1-h videotaped test session. Pups in the 6 g/kg alcohol group took longer to attach to the nipple and spent less time suckling than pups from all other treatment groups. Nipple-shifting behavior was disrupted in all artificially reared groups, but it was most severely affected in the 6 g/kg group. These findings suggest that neonatal alcohol exposure interferes with suckling performance and these altered behaviors may contribute to the postnatal growth deficits that have been reported following alcohol exposure in utero.
Frequency distribution of phage release in the one-step growth experiment.

Abstract Phage release as a function of time in the one-step growth experiment is a close approximation to the integral of a normal frequency distribution. This suggests that the frequencies of bacterial lysis are normally distributed about a mean latent period. The use of the probit method to plot the data of the one-step growth experiment furnishes a sensitive method for studying nonrandom heterogeneity in a population of phage infected bacteria. Several examples of such nonrandom heterogeneity are presented and discussed.
A resource management model for mineral expoting countries: the case of Zambia

The desirable rate of depleting exhaustible resources has, for a long time. been the subject of a significant volume of economics literature. The traditional approach to this issue considers the producer as a business agent whose aim is maximizing the expected flow of his profits and discusses the subsequent results under various assumptions regarding the market structure [e.g., Sweeney [I]], extraction cost [e.g., Stiglitz [211, uncertainty [e.g., Deskmukh, et al. [3]]. etc. Although the traditional approach provides significant insights into the behavior of private producers, it has little relevance to the case in which the supplier of an exhaustible resource is the government of a country. In this latter case, the supply policy will be based on the country’s requirements of foreign exchange, and other essentials of development planning, and not necessarily on profit maximization. Of special relevance to the above discussion is the case of Zambia, whose economy is extremely dependent on the export of exhaustible minerals (mainly copper) and whose government is now making “national planning the principal means of promoting economic development.“t The Zambian economy has greatly suffered from fluctuations in the price of copper in the international market. In fact, price fluctuations have provided external shocks to the Zambian economy creating significant structural instabilities. (Figure 1 shows the historical trends of the international (London Metal Exchange) price of copper and the real per capita consumption in Zambia.) Realizing the seriousness of the above problem, the Zambian government is now seeking development policies which reduce the vulnerability of its economy by reducing the destabilizing impacts of copper price fluctuations, and lessening the dependency of the economy on copper exports.
The effect of Nb substitution on synthesis and photo-response of TiO2 thin films prepared by direct current magnetron sputtering

Abstract TiO2 has a limited photoefficiency for solar energy harvesting and conversion due to its large bandgap. Nb substitution into the TiO2 lattice was investigated to red-shift its photoresponse by introducing defect energy levels in the host bandgap. Ti1−xNbyO2 thin films (0 ≥ y ≤ 0.52) were prepared by direct current reactive magnetron sputtering. The effect of Nb concentration on crystal phase formation and subsequent change in optical and electronic properties were determined. Films had an increasing rutile proportion as Nb concentration increased, and all films prepared for y > 0.25 were pure rutile. Nb substituted as Nb(V) or a mixture of Nb(IV)/(V) while Ti remained Ti(IV). Therefore, in these materials cation vacancies formed to electronically compensate for group V doping. Nb-doped rutile films showed no red-shift in optical response while Nb-doped anatase/rutile composites were strongly red-shifted. Photocurrent measurements were made to determine if the enhanced visible light absorption generated mobile electron-hole pairs or was due to localized excitations at color centers. At low Nb concentrations (~ 2 at.%), visible light absorption generated mobile charge carriers, while at higher concentrations ( > 9 at.%), no mobile charge carriers were created. At higher Nb concentrations, the formation of mobile charge carriers was hindered by charge recombination at cation vacancies.
Design of a Long-Life Reliable Nuclear Experiment for Space Flight

An experiment, which has been developed for flight on an Orbiting Geophysical Observatory in polar orbit (OGO-F), is described. Measurements will be made of the electron flux and spectra above 30 keV, both for precipitating and locally mirroring electrons as well as atmospheric backscatter. The scientific purposes, detector and electronic systems, packaging, thermal design, internal calibration, and test philosophy are discussed. This paper emphasizes the design features and philosophy used in the development, fabrication, and testing of the experiment in order to try to ensure a long, useful lifetime in space.
Priming Mononuclear Cells to Improve Outcomes of Regenerative Therapy

In a seminal report in 1997, Asahara and colleagues[1][1] first described the existence of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) in human peripheral blood (PB) CD34+ mononuclear cell (MNC) fraction. In a subsequent report,[2][2] they described the ability of bone marrow (BM)-derived circulating EPCs
Is Effective Teaching Stable

The authors examined the ecological validity of using observation-based scores to evaluate individual teachers’ effectiveness, mirroring their use by school administrators. Using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System, the authors asked (a) how similar are teachers’ emotional support, classroom organization, and instructional support scores from each other; and (b) to what extent are these scores stable from day-to-day? Using a time-series, single-case methodology, the authors examined patterns of eight Kindergarten teachers’ performance in all lessons within a 4–5 week, thematically coherent science unit. Thus, the opportunity for identifying within-teacher stability was maximized. Teachers' instructional quality was significantly less effective than their emotional supportiveness and classroom organization. Furthermore, teachers’ effectiveness ratings varied markedly from one lesson to the next, for all three dimensions.
Top Prospects and Minor League Baseball Attendance

Minor League Baseball attracts over 40 million fans a year. One potentially important attendance draw is the ability for a fan to see a future major league baseball star. Each year Baseball America, a leading industry publication, ranks 100 top prospects that have yet to play substantially in the major leagues. Many of these top prospects continue to develop for a year or more in the minor leagues, which gives fans an opportunity to see potential future Major League Baseball (MLB) stars at their local minor league club. The authors use a data set encompassing all AA and AAA minor league baseball teams from 1992 to 2009 to estimate the impact of having a top 100 Baseball America prospect on a minor league team’s attendance. Their results suggest that only those prospects ranked in the top 5 and at the highest level (AAA) have an impact on their team’s attendance and their impact on attendance is small.
Shooting habits of youth recreational firearm users

AbstractObjective: This study surveyed youth recreational firearm users (YRFUs) regarding shooting habits, reported use of hearing protection devices (HPDs), self-assessed auditory status, and attitudes about firearm noise and hearing loss. Design: A descriptive study using a 28-item survey administered by personal interview. Study sample: Two-hundred and ten youth aged 10 to 17 years responded. Results: Seventy-eight percent of those surveyed began shooting before the age of ten. The majority reported using large caliber firearms capable of rapid fire for both hunting and target practice. Most youths in this study were not aware of, and therefore, were not utilizing HPDs specifically designed for the shooting sports. Ten percent of subjects reported constant tinnitus and 45% notice tinnitus occurred or worsened after shooting. Although the majority of YRFUs reported good or perfect hearing, a small percentage (4–5%) of youth reported having only ʽfair” hearing. Conclusion: YRFUs are putting themselves at...
Program-level adaptive memory management

Most application's performance is impacted by the amount of available memory. In a traditional application, which has a fixed working set size, increasing memory has a beneficial effect up until the application's working set is met. In the presence of garbage collection this relationship becomes more complex. While increasing the size of the program's heap reduces the frequency of collections, collecting a heap with memory paged to the backing store is very expensive. We first demonstrate the presence of an optimal heap size for a number of applications running on a machine with a specific configuration. We then introduce a scheme which adaptively finds this good heap size. In this scheme, we track the memory usage and number of page faults at a program's phase boundaries. Using this information, the system selects the soft heap size. By adapting itself dynamically, our scheme is independent of the underlying main memory size, code optimizations, and garbage collection algorithm. We present several experiments on real applications to show the effectiveness of our approach. Our results show that program-level heap control provides up to a factor of 7.8 overall speedup versus using the best possible fixed heap size controlled by the virtual machine on identical garbage collectors.
ON THE DYNAMICS OF A SHOCK-BUBBLE INTERACTION

We present a detailed numerical study of the interaction of a weak shock wave with an isolated cylindrical gas inhomogeneity. Such interactions have been studied experimentally in an attempt to elucidate the mechanims whereby shock waves propagating through random media enhance mixing. Our study concentrates on the early phases of the interaction process which are dominated by repeated refractions and reflections of acoustic fronts at the bubble interface. Specifically, we have reproduced two of the experiments performed by Haas and Sturtevant.
Epistemic closure, assumptions and topics of inquiry

According to the principle of epistemic closure, knowledge is closed under known implication. The principle is intuitive but it is problematic in some cases. Suppose you know you have hands and you know that ‘I have hands’ implies ‘I am not a brain-in-a-vat’. Does it follow that you know you are not a brain-in-a-vat? It seems not; it should not be so easy to refute skepticism. In this and similar cases, we are confronted with a puzzle: epistemic closure is an intuitive principle, but at times, it does not seem that we know by implication. In response to this puzzle, the literature has been mostly polarized between those who are willing to do away with epistemic closure and those who think we cannot live without it. But there is a third way. Here I formulate a restricted version of the principle of epistemic closure. In the standard version, the principle can range over any proposition; in the restricted version, it can only range over those propositions that are within the limits of a given epistemic inquiry and that do not constitute the underlying assumptions of the inquiry. If we adopt the restricted version, I argue, we can preserve the advantages associated with closure, while at the same time avoiding the puzzle I’ve described. My discussion also yields an insight into the nature of knowledge. I argue that knowledge is best understood as a topic-restricted notion, and that such a conception is a natural one given our limited cognitive resources.
On the Causal Ordering of Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment

In this article the authors discuss research they have conducted that examines the relationship between job satisfaction and organizational commitment. They briefly discuss the definitions of each ...
“Mirror Neurons,” Collective Objects and the Problem of Transmission: Reconsidering Stephen Turner's Critique of Practice Theory

In this paper, I critically examine Stephen Turner's (1994) critique of practice theory in light of recent neurophysiological discoveries regarding the “mirror neuron system” in the pre-frontal mo-tor cortex of humans and other primates. I argue that two of Turner's strongest objections against the sociological version of the practice-theoretical account, the problem of transmission and the problem of sameness, are substantially undermined when examined from the perspective of re-cently systematized accounts of embodied learning and intersubjective action understanding in-spired by these developments. In addition, I show that the practice-theoretical framework out-lined by Pierre Bourdieu in the Logic of Practice and other works is, in contrast to Turner's por-trayal of a confused hodgepodge of logical errors and empirical impossibilities, largely consistent with the latest neurophysiological evidence and as such fundamentally foreshadowed more recent understandings of the neurocognitive foundations of the perception, understanding and structure of the motor schemes productive of action in the world. Also in line with these newer neurosci-entific developments, the practice-theoretical focus on the body as the central matrix generative of tacit understandings and analogical operations responsible for “higher order” systems of classi-fication emerges as the key to solving some of the thorniest problems in the theory of action: eliminating to need to resort to unwarranted “collective object” explanations for the origins of shared presuppositional frameworks.
Pediatric and Teen Ovarian Tissue Removed for Cryopreservation Contains Follicles Irrespective of Age, Disease Diagnosis, Treatment History, and Specimen Processing Methods

Purpose: Fertility preservation in a pediatric and teen female population is challenging because standard technologies of egg and embryo freezing may not be possible due to premenarcheal status. Ovarian tissue cryopreservation (OTC) with the intent of future ovarian tissue transplantation or in vitro follicle growth may be the only option to preserve fertility. The purpose of this study was to add to the general understanding of primordial follicle dynamics in young patients. Methods: First, the unique infrastructure of the Oncofertility Consortium National Physicians Cooperative (OC-NPC) is described, which simultaneously drives clinical fertility preservation and basic research to explore and expand the reproductive options for those in need. Then, the OC-NPC research resource is used to perform a histological evaluation of ovarian tissue from 24 participants younger than 18 years of age. Results: Primordial follicles, which comprise the ovarian reserve, were observed in all participant tissues, irrespe...
Attack Detection in Wireless Localization

Accurately positioning nodes in wireless and sensor networks is important because the location of sensors is a critical input to many higher-level networking tasks. However, the localization infrastructure can be subjected to non-cryptographic attacks, such as signal attenuation and amplification, that cannot be addressed by traditional security services. We propose several attack detection schemes for wireless localization systems. We first formulate a theoretical foundation for the attack detection problem using statistical significance testing. Next, we define test metrics for two broad localization approaches: multilateration and signal strength. We then derived both mathematical models and analytic solutions for attack detection for any system that utilizes those approaches. We also studied additional test statistics that are specific to a diverse set of algorithms. Our trace-driven experimental results provide strong evidence of the effectiveness of our attack detection schemes with high detection rates and low false positive rates across both an 802.11 (WiFi) network as well as an 802.15.4 (ZigBee) network in two real office buildings. Surprisingly, we found that of the several methods we describe, all provide qualitatively similar detection rates which indicate that the different localization systems all contain similar attack detection capability.
Listeria monocytogenes Actin-based Motility Varies Depending on Subcellular Location: A Kinematic Probe for Cytoarchitecture

Intracellular Listeria monocytogenes actin-based motility is characterized by significant individual variability, which can be influenced by cytoarchitecture. L. monocytogenes was used as a probe to transmit information about structural variation among subcellular domains defined by mitochondrial density. By analyzing the movement of a large population of L. monocytogenes in PtK2 cells, we found that mean speed and trajectory curvature were significantly larger for bacteria moving in mitochondria-containing domains (generally perinuclear) than for bacteria moving in mitochondria-free domains (generally peripheral). Analysis of bacteria that traversed both mitochondria-containing and mitochondria-free domains revealed that these motile differences were not intrinsic to bacteria themselves. Disruption of mitochondrial respiration did not affect bacterial mean speed, speed persistence, or trajectory curvature. In contrast, microtubule depolymerization lead to decreased mean speed per bacterium and increased mean speed persistence of L. monocytogenes moving in mitochondria-free domains compared with untreated cells. L. monocytogenes were also observed to physically collide with mitochondria and push them away from the bacterial path of motion, causing bacteria to slow down before rapidly resuming their speed. Our results show that subcellular domains along with microtubule depolymerization may influence the actin cytoskeleton to affect L. monocytogenes speed, speed persistence, and trajectory curvature.
Finite difference seismic modeling of axial magma chambers

We tested the feasibility of using finite difference methods to model seismic propagation at ∼10 Hz through a two-dimensional representation of an axial magma chamber with a thin, liquid lid. Our technique produces time series of displacement or pressure at seafloor receivers to mimic a seismic refraction experiment and snapshots of P and S energy propagation. The results indicate that our implementation is stable for models with sharp velocity contrasts and complex geometries. We observe a high-energy, downward-traveling shear phase, observable only with borehole receivers, that would be useful in studying the nature and shape of magma chambers. The ability of finite difference methods to model high-order wave phenomena makes this method ideal for testing velocity models of spreading axes and for planning near-axis drilling of the East Pacific Rise in order to optimize the benefits from shear wave imaging of sub-axis structure.
How I treat idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP)

Our goal is to set forth our opinion of the best approach to managing adults with primary idiopathic (autoimmune) thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), with emphasis on the word “opinion.” The paucity of evidence-based medicine on this topic has been noted.[1][1] Both the American Society of
A spectral element shallow water model on spherical geodesic grids

SUMMARY The spectral element method for the two-dimensional shallow water equations on the sphere is presented. The equations are written in conservation form and the domains are discretized using quadrilateral elements obtained from the generalized icosahedral grid introduced previously (Giraldo FX. Lagrange‐ Galerkin methods on spherical geodesic grids: the shallow water equations. Journal of Computational Physics 2000; 160: 336‐368). The equations are written in Cartesian co-ordinates that introduce an additional momentum equation, but the pole singularities disappear. This paper represents a departure from previously published work on solving the shallow water equations on the sphere in that the equations are all written, discretized, and solved in three-dimensional Cartesian space. Because the equations are written in a three-dimensional Cartesian co-ordinate system, the algorithm simplifies into the integration of surface elements on the sphere from the fully three-dimensional equations. A mapping (Song Ch, Wolf JP. The scaled boundary finite element method—alias consistent infinitesimal finite element cell method—for diffusion. International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering 1999; 45: 1403‐1431) which simplifies these computations is described and is shown to contain the Eulerian version of the method introduced previously by Giraldo (Journal of Computational Physics 2000; 160: 336‐368) for the special case of triangular elements. The significance of this mapping is that although the equations are written in Cartesian co-ordinates, the mapping takes into account the curvature of the high-order spectral elements, thereby allowing the elements to lie entirely on the surface of the sphere. In addition, using this mapping simplifies all of the three-dimensional spectral-type finite element surface integrals because any of the typical two-dimensional planar finite element or spectral element basis functions found in any textbook (for example, Huebner et al. The Finite Element Method for Engineers. Wiley, New York, 1995; Karniadakis GE, Sherwin SJ. Spectral:hp Element Methods for CFD. Oxford University ( ˘
Relationship of treatment of fresh strawberries to the quality of frozen fruit and preserves

‘Cardinal’ strawberries were hand picked and stored 1 day at 21°C to enhance softening. Three separate preprocessing experiments were conducted to determine the effects of style of pack, 0.18% calcium (Ca) dips, 0.3% low methoxyl pectin (LMP), 40° Brix sucrose dips, heat of 70°C, vacuum at 172 mm Hg and drying to 70% moisture on quality and firmness of frozen-then-thawed and preserved strawberries. The greatest firming effect on frozen-then-thawed fruit was due to Ca and pectin. Sliced fruit was firmed more than whole fruit by the Ca and pectin treatments. Drained weight loss was reduced by pectin, Ca, sucrose, heat and vacuum in frozen-then-thawed fruit. Drained weight losses were the same or greater among treatments in preserves. The firmness and wholeness of preserves was increased by Ca, vacuum, 40° Brix sucrose, heat and to a lesser extent drying, but individual effects were not additive. The drying treatment reduced color quality.
Separation of concerns for dependable software design

For 'mixed-criticality' systems that have both critical and non-critical functions, the greatest leverage on dependability may be at the design level. By designing so that each critical requirement has a small trusted base, the cost of the analysis required for a dependability case might be dramatically reduced. An implication of this approach is that conventional object-oriented design may be a liability, because it leads to 'entanglement', and an approach based on separating services may be preferable.
Joint logic restructuring and pin reordering against NBTI-induced performance degradation

Negative Bias Temperature Instability (NBTI), a PMOS aging phenomenon causing significant loss on circuit performance and lifetime, has become a critical challenge for temporal reliability concerns in nanoscale designs. Aggressive technology scaling trends, such as thinner gate oxide without proportional downscaling of supply voltage, necessitate a design optimization flow considering NBTI effects at the early stages. In this paper, we present a novel framework using joint logic restructuring and pin reordering to mitigate NBTI-induced performance degradation. Based on detecting functional symmetries and transistor stacking effects, the proposed methodology involves only wire perturbation and introduces no gate area overhead at all. Experimental results reveal that, by using this approach, on average 56% of performance loss due to NBTI can be recovered. Moreover, our methodology reduces the number of critical transistors remaining under severe NBTI and thus, transistor resizing can be applied to further mitigate NBTI effects with low area overhead.
The good society: the Illuminated, Karl Marx and Adam Smith

Examines the history of the Illuminated, a secret society founded by Adam Weishaupt in Bavaria, on 1 May 1776, which aimed to overthrow civil and religious institutions with the claim that the ends justify the means. Looks at Karl Marx and the links with the Illuminated's doctrine and also compares the Illuminated's ideas with the teaching of Smith. Concludes that although the Illuminated may have been activated by the most altruistic of motives, their search for the good society was doomed from the start.
Effect of age on cold acclimation in rats: metabolic and behavioral responses

To determine whether senescence affects the metabolic and behavioral responses of rats to chronic cold exposure, 8- and 22-mo-old male Fischer 344 rats were studied before and after 6 wk of cold (6-10 degrees C) exposure. Measurements of body weight, food consumption, oxygen consumption, body temperature, and ambient temperature selection in a thermocline (7-37 degrees C linear gradient) were made at regular intervals throughout the acclimation period. Before acclimation, age groups differed significantly only by weight. During acclimation, older rats had increased mortality and morbidity below 10 degrees C. After acclimation at 10 degrees C, younger and older rats both selected cooler ambient temperatures (7 and 5 degrees C cooler than preacclimation, respectively), and older rats had a significantly greater decrease in body temperature in the thermocline. Both age groups increased resting metabolic rate at 25 degrees C with cold acclimation (16.5 and 10% increase for younger and older rats, respectively). This study indicates distinct differences in metabolic and behavioral responses of younger and older rats to cold acclimation. Chronic cold exposure is detrimental to thermoregulatory function in older rats, since it is not as effective in stimulating sustained increases in metabolic rate in older rats as in young adults and it leads to a preference for cooler ambient temperatures, resulting in increased heat loss and reduced body temperature.