cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Reliability of wear-out items in electric motors in space — A case study

Failure of electric motors can be severely detrimental to a spacecraft in orbit. Unlike electric motors (or actuators) used for ground operations, motors used on a spacecraft in orbit are rarely able to be repaired or replaced. For this reason, most spacecraft actuators are considered single point failures which, in many cases, will result in a loss or termination of the space mission. Depending upon whether an actuator is functioning as a rotary arm for a solar array, communication antenna, or as any other revolving device on-orbit, a seizure or failure of its rotating function due to wear out in the life of the mission would likely eliminate the ability of the spacecraft to generate power, communicate with ground stations, or co mplete its science objectives. Certain mechanical components comprise the main modes of failure of electric motors [1]. The failure rates of these components generally increase with time and are thus termed wear-out items. In this paper, the methods of reliability prediction used by GSFC and its contractors for wear-out items in electric motors are compared and analyzed. The use of a Weibull distribution with a shape parameter value of β = 1.2 is recommended for calculation of the reliability of a bearing assembly. It is shown that assuming a constant failure rate, and more specifically implementing a life expectancy as a constant failure rate within a failure distribution for wear-out items, produces an overly conservative reliability, which can lead to over-design. As a result of this investigation, both the value of empirical test data and the importance for an extended study into determining the most accurate methods of reliability prediction of wear-out items are affirmed.
Numerical validation of the land surface process component of an LSP/R model

Abstract The University of Michigan’s land surface process/radiobrightness (LSP/R) model was developed as a step toward linking a traditional SVAT model to satellite microwave observations. The LSP model simulates land–air interactions and estimates surface fluxes, temperature and moisture profiles in soil and vegetation when forced with observed weather. These estimates are used by a microwave emission model, called the R model, that predicts terrain brightness temperatures. In this paper, we evaluate accuracy of the numerical methods used in the LSP model. Such rigorous tests were not conducted during the early development of the model. We describe three test-scenarios that included comparing the numerical solution with an analytic solution, evaluating coupled energy and moisture transport for a simple case, and calculating errors in energy and mass balance in the model for a realistic case using field observations. The original version of the model was modified to make it more applicable to the field conditions for the third test-case. Results from these tests demonstrate the physical self-consistency of the model and its successful implementation for the simple scenarios, and argue for its extendibility to more realistically complex cases.
Juvenile hormone stimulation of ornithine decarboxylase activity during vitellogenesis in Drosophila melanogaster

The activity of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), the rate-limiting enzyme in polyamine biosynthesis, becomes elevated in intact female Drosophila melanogaster shortly after adult eclosion. This activity reaches a peak at 24 h following eclosion, and then drops to lower levels by 48 h. This pattern is not observed in males, consistent with the hypothesis that polyamine synthesis is involved in ovarian maturation in Drosophila. Abdomens isolated within 2 h of adult eclosion do not display elevated ODC activity or ovarian maturation. However, a 250-ng dose of the juvenile hormone analog methoprene (ZR-515) applied in acetone to these abdomens, recovers ovarian maturation and causes a 5–10 fold increase in enzyme activity over controls treated with acetone alone. The same dose of the inactive precursor methyl farnesoate caused no such increase, whereas a 500-ng dose of the newly discovered natural Drosophila JHB3 stimulated a four-fold response. The response to methoprene was dose-dependent, showing stimulatory activity at a dose as low as 10 ng. This stimulation by JHA is rapid, occurring between 1 and 3 h following hormone treatment, reminiscent of JH induction of fat body vitellogenin synthesis in Drosophila. Elevated ODC activity appeared to be localized in the adult fat body. During embryogenesis, ODC activity remained undetectable until just prior to hatching, when a large increase was detected. We postulate that JH may, either directly or indirectly, regulate polyamine biosynthesis in vivo, and that this synthesis may be required for the production of macromolecules during Drosophila vitellogenesis or embryogenesis.
The repair of double-strand breaks in the nuclear DNA of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and its genetic control.

With the use of neutral sucrose sedimentation techniques, the size of unirradiated nuclear DNA and the repair of double-strand breaks induced in it by ionizing radiation have been determined in both wild-type and homozygous rad52 diploids of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The number average molecular weight of unirradiated DNA in these experiments is 3.0×108±0.3 Daltons. Double-strand breaks are induced with a frequency of 0.58×10-10 per Daltonkrad in the range of 25 to 100 krad. Since repair at low doses is observed in wild-type but not homozygous rad52 strains, the corresponding rad52 gene product is concluded to have a role in the repair process. Cycloheximide was also observed to inhibit repair to a limited extent indicating a requirement for protein synthesis. Based on the sensitivity of various mutants and the induction frequency of double-strand breaks, it is concluded that there are 1 to 2 double-strand breaks per lethal event in diploid cells incapable of repairing these breaks.
Low‐temperature ion beam mixing of Pt and Si markers in Ge

The mixing of Pt and Si marker atoms in Ge during 750-keV Xe irradiation was measured at temperatures between 6 and 500 K. The low-temperature measurements show that the mixing parameter for Pt is nearly twice that for Si. This result is in strong contradiction to the collisional theory of ion beam mixing. A weak temperature dependence in the mixing is found for both markers.
An adaptive displacement estimation algorithm for improved reconstruction of thermal strain

Thermal strain imaging (TSI) can be used to differentiate between lipid and water-based tissues in atherosclerotic arteries. However, detecting small lipid pools in vivo requires accurate and robust displacement estimation over a wide range of displacement magnitudes. Phase-shift estimators such as Loupas' estimator and time-shift estimators such as normalized cross-correlation (NXcorr) are commonly used to track tissue displacements. However, Loupas' estimator is limited by phase-wrapping and NXcorr performs poorly when the SNR is low. In this paper, we present an adaptive displacement estimation algorithm that combines both Loupas' estimator and NXcorr. We evaluated this algorithm using computer simulations and an ex vivo human tissue sample. Using 1-D simulation studies, we showed that when the displacement magnitude induced by thermal strain was >λ/8 and the electronic system SNR was >25.5 dB, the NXcorr displacement estimate was less biased than the estimate found using Loupas’ estimator. On the other hand, when the displacement magnitude was ≤λ/4 and the electronic system SNR was ≤25.5 dB, Loupas' estimator had less variance than NXcorr. We used these findings to design an adaptive displacement estimation algorithm. Computer simulations of TSI showed that the adaptive displacement estimator was less biased than either Loupas' estimator or NXcorr. Strain reconstructed from the adaptive displacement estimates improved the strain SNR by 43.7 to 350% and the spatial accuracy by 1.2 to 23.0% (P < 0.001). An ex vivo human tissue study provided results that were comparable to computer simulations. The results of this study showed that a novel displacement estimation algorithm, which combines two different displacement estimators, yielded improved displacement estimation and resulted in improved strain reconstruction.
Stability and natural frequencies of functionally graded stringer-reinforced panels

Abstract The paper presents an analysis of stability and free vibrations of rectangular functionally graded panels reinforced by a system of parallel stringers. The exact solution of the problem is illustrated for large aspect ratio panels with simply supported long edges and arbitrary boundary conditions along the short edges (hereafter the reference to an “exact solution” implies a closed-form solution in the content of the theory of plates). The spacing between the stringers and the cross sections of individual stringers can be arbitrary. In the particular case where identical stringers are equally spaced, the solution is simplified using the smeared stiffeners technique. The optimization problem concerned with the choice of stringers and their spacing in the situations where the buckling loads or fundamental frequencies are prescribed is also considered. The closed-form solution of the optimization problem is shown in the case of blade stringers.
Finite-volume method for creep analysis of thin RF MEMS devices using the theory of plates

Creep is a critical physical mechanism responsible for the failure of radio-frequency (RF) capacitive micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) switches, especially those operating at high RF power. Accurate modeling of creep in RF MEMS metallic membranes is necessary to estimate device lifetime and to improve their reliability. Moreover, the devices are frequently very thin, with aspect ratios as high as 1:500, and conventional three-dimensional structural modeling is onerous and unnecessary. In this article we extend a cell-centered finite-volume approach, previously developed to model thin membranes using Mindlin-Reissner plate theory, to study creep in RF MEMS devices. Results show that the present methodology can accurately predict the long-term creep behavior in thin RF MEMS devices in a computationally efficient manner.
On the self-noise in QASK decision-feedback carrier tracking loops

Quadrature amplitude-shift keying (QASK) is often used for transmitting two digital data streams in bandwidth-constrained communication systems. Previous analyses of the tracking performance of a decision-feedback carrier tracking loop, which can be used to provide a carrier reference for a QASK signal set, have neglected the effects of the self-noise in the derivation of the loop resonance. The authors incorporate the effects of the self-noise will only result in a conservative assessment of the system's performance, contrary to what might be expected. All results obtained are in closed form and can easily be evaluated numerically for performance prediction purposes. >
Learning and coordination: An overview

Adaptive learning techniques can automate the large-scale coordination of multi-agent systems and enhance their robustness in dynamic environments. This paper surveys several learning approaches that have been developed to address three different aspects of coordination, namely, learning coordination behavior, team learning, and the integrated learning of trust and reputation in order to facilitate coordination in open systems including collaborative systems where artificial agents and humans interact. Although convergence in multi-agent learning is still an open research question, several applications have emerged using some of the learning techniques presented.
EFFECTS OF THE PLANKTONIC PERIOD ON MARINE POPULATION FLUCTUATIONS

How and why populations fluctuate and what drives the magnitude of fluctuations are questions that have long intrigued ecologists. Dispersal may dampen population fluctuations through the effect of spreading offspring over heterogeneous habitats. The planktonic period common in many marine organisms, therefore, could dampen population fluctuations through larval dispersal. However, emphasis on the hazards of planktonic life predicts that species that have a longer planktonic period have greater fluctuations in adult populations than species with shorter or no planktonic period. I analyzed the population variation of 570 time series from the literature for intertidal and benthic subtidal marine species and found that time series of adult populations for species with no planktonic period had greater fluctuations than time series for species with a planktonic period (both short and long planktonic period). In addition, there was no difference in fluctuation of adult and recruit time series between species with long and short planktonic periods. The planktonic period did not appear to result in increased population fluctuations, as was widely assumed. Rather, the planktonic period may be acting to decrease population fluctuations, potentially by dispersal. Corresponding Editor: J. E. Duffy.
Nourishing a stateless society during the slave trade : The rise of Balanta paddy-rice production in Guinea-Bissau

This essay examines the impact of the Atlantic slave trade on stateless societies, focusing on Balanta populations of present-day Guinea-Bissau. It demonstrates that some decentralized groups located on the ‘slaving frontiers’ of states managed not only to survive but also to thrive. In so doing, it shows how Balanta changed their settlement patterns and crop production techniques in response to threats posed by the slave raiding armies of Kaabu. From the mid-seventeenth century, Balanta produced and traded large quantities of paddy rice by organizing workers into age grades.
Pediatric Vision Screener 2: pilot study in adults

Amblyopia is a form of visual impairment caused by ocular misalignment (strabismus) or defocus in an otherwise healthy eye. If detected early, the condition can be fully treated, yet over half of all children with amblyopia under age 5 escape detection. We developed a Pediatric Vision Screener (PVS) to detect amblyopia risk factors. This instrument produces a binocularity score to indicate alignment and a focus score to indicate focus. The purpose of this study is to assess the performance of the PVS by testing adults who were fully cooperative for testing. The study group includes 40 subjects (20 controls, 20 patients) aged 22 to 79 years. 12 patients had constant strabismus (8 to 50), and eight had variable strabismus (12 to 55). All controls had binocularity scores >50%. Binocularity was 50% had a well-controlled intermittent exotropia and was not at risk for amblyopia. Focus scores were highly sensitive for good focus but not specific. The PVS shows high sensitivity and specificity for detection of strabismus in adults. Future studies will determine whether this performance can be achieved in preschool children, who are at greatest risk for vision loss.
Proton temperature anisotropy in the magnetosheath: Hybrid simulations

Scattering by enhanced fluctuations from the electromagnetic proton cyclotron instability imposes an upper bound on the proton temperature anisotropy of the form T⟂p/T∥p −1 = Sp/β∥pαp. Here β∥p is the proton β based on T∥p and the directional subscripts indicate directions perpendicular and parallel to the background magnetic field. This paper describes the analysis of the proton temperature anisotropy in two-dimensional hybrid simulations of quasi-perpendicular shocks and their associated magnetosheaths. Three simulations are considered: at low, intermediate, and high upstream Mach numbers. Considering results from well downstream of all three shocks as one data set, an upper bound on the proton temperature anisotropy fits the above equation with αp=0.5. This compares favorably to αp values from other simulations and from sheath observations.
Measurements of Emissions and Radiation for Methane Combustion within a Porous Medium Burner

Abstract In this paper, we report the results of an experimental investigation of methane-air combustion within a porous medium burner for various equivalence ratios and flow rates. Measurements of emissions and radiant output are presented. The results indicate that CO and NOx, emissions increase with flame speed. For a given equivalence ratio, however, NOx, emissions are fairly constant over the range of flame speed studied. The radiant output increases but the radiant thermal efficiency decreases with flame speed.
Stress-induced selective nano-crystallization in laser-processed amorphous Fe-Si-B alloys

It is shown that laser processing results in localized compressive stresses in amorphous Fe–Si–B, leading to homogeneous nano-crystallization at the edges of the laser track. The mechanism can be attributed to enhanced diffusivity at these edges, resulting from a reduced diffusion activation barrier, which has been calculated by coupling the results of a thermal model with microstructural characterization.
Attachment of fibronectin to poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogels promotes NIH3T3 cell adhesion, proliferation, and migration.

Hydrogels have been used in biology and medicine for many years, and they possess many properties that make them advantageous for tissue engineering applications. Their high water content and tissue-like elasticity are similar to the native extracellular matrix of many tissues. In this work, we investigated the potential of a modified poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) hydrogel as a biomaterial for tissue engineering applications. First, the ability of NIH3T3 fibroblast cells to attach to PVA hydrogels was evaluated. Because of PVA's extremely hydrophilic nature, important cell adhesion proteins do not adsorb to PVA hydrogels, and consequently, cells are unable to adhere to the hydrogel. By covalently attaching the important cell adhesion protein fibronectin onto the PVA hydrogel surface, the rate of fibroblast attachment and proliferation was dramatically improved, and promoted two-dimensional cell migration. These studies illustrate that a fibronectin-modified PVA hydrogel is a potential biomaterial for tissue engineering applications.
Self-ordered CdSe quantum dots in ZnSe and (Zn, Mn)Se Matrices Assessed by transmission electron microscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy

Single and multilayer sheets of self-assembled CdSe [quantum dots (QDs)] were grown by means of molecular beam epitaxy in both ZnSe and (Zn0.9Mn0.1)Se matrices. Both types of structure were assessed by means of transmission electron microscopy in the scanning, high-resolution, and diffraction-contrast modes. Complementary results from wider sample areas were obtained by means of photoluminescence spectroscopy. In one of the samples analyzed, a fractional monolayer of MnSe was deposited immediately before the CdSe deposition. A second structure grown under identical conditions, but without the MnSe fractional monolayer, was also analyzed. This comparison provides direct evidence for an enhanced size and shape homogeneity of 3D QDs caused by the presence of a tiny amount of MnSe at the interface. In the multilayer structure, we observed the co-existence of highly strained quasi-2D QDs and CdSe rich aggregates with compositional modulations on certain crystallographic planes in close proximity.
Viewer needs and desires in television newscasters

What qualities do viewers like and dislike in a television news‐caster? The current attacks on broadcast journalism make this question particularly important. Using Q‐Methodology, the author identifies seven “types” of newscasters, and concludes that delivery, experience, lack of bias, and knowledge all are among the important qualities desired. Mr. Cathcart conducted this research for his master's thesis under the direction of Dr. Robert Monaghan; he presently is working toward a Ph.D. in radio and television at the Ohio State University.
Some Alternatives to Paradigm Wars in Literacy Research1

The past decade has seen a large-scale debate in educational research that has been termed the "paradigm wars." Gage (1989) suggests that one set of such battles dates from March 1989 at an "International Conference on Alternative Paradigms for Inquiry." A similar debate has played itself out in literacy research specifically, although perhaps not so pervasively or publicly as in educational research in general. The roots of these "battles" can surely be traced even further back in time. It is difficult to state succinctly the substance of the issues here; space limitations alone would prevent such an endeavor. Even a cursory examination of back issues of Educational Researcher for the past 5 to 10 years will easily yield most of the major sources for information on this debate. Some have suggested this is a debate about quantitative versus qualitative research. Others have believed it is a debate between ethnographic and experimental paradigms. Still others have argued that it is about positivism and postpositivistic philosophies. Other candidate "causes" for the debate are political agendas, personalities, financial rewards, and the like. In short, there is little agreement about what the underlying issues are and what is represented by them. Readers often see in the debate a "winning" side that matches their own perspective. In literacy, we have several recent examples of this debate played out. The first is an exchange between McKenna, Robinson, and Miller ( 1990a, 1990b) and Edelsky
Strategic Ideas in the Rise of the New Anthropometric History and their Implications for Interdisciplinary Research

Although university administrators traditionally give some support to interdisciplinary research and the academic community has always participated, diligent efforts are being made to improve productive communication across disciplines. At my university, centers and institutes have mushroomed in the past couple of decades. Often transcending familiar academic boundaries, these operations bring together experts from numerous fields to engage in applied rather than basic research, and progress frequently hinges on using specialty knowledge in unfamiliar ways. The institutes weaken centripetal academic forces and promote communication of ideas that help solve complex problems naturally encompassing various specialties. Economic history has joined in the growth of interdisciplinary activity. The most recent Economic History Association meetings, for example, featured a theme of "The Interdisciplinary Conversation of Economic History," where papers blended economic history with ideas from diverse fields such as law, human biology, physical anthropology, agricultural botany, and comparative literature. If connections across fields can be quite productive, it is instructive to consider the circumstances under which they flourish. Scholars should consider examples of successful interdisciplinary research for insights into the general process. How and under what conditions should interdisciplinary research be undertaken? What procedures or practices might enhance the chances of success? This essay considers these questions using the new anthropometric history as a case study. The blend of history and economics with human biology, medicine, and physical anthropology has clarified several questions important to economic historians. Emerging some 20 years ago, the field evolved in the subsequent decade to address long-standing problems in slavery, mortality, inequality, and living standards during industrialization. Ideas ultimately determine the success or failure of a new approach, but researchers have noted that marketing or promotion and other factors are also relevant, especially in the short run. Ideas, however, are most interesting to a wide spectrum of readers and their study has the most general relevance for other areas. Therefore, the first portion of the essay discusses the evolution of ideas in the early years of the field. The objective of this section is not to review the anthropometric literature in general (this was recently done), but to expand on those aspects of the field's early development that are relevant for success in the early stages of interdisciplinary activity more generally. The second section considers implications of the rise of the new anthropometric history for conducting interdisciplinary research.
Assessment of Profiler Performance for Construction Quality Control with Simulated Profilograph Index

The simulated California profilograph index (PI) values produced by repeat measurements from 11 profiling devices on four pavement sections are examined. Repeatability and reproducibility of simulated PI by common profiling devices are discussed, and automated profilograph trace reduction procedures adopted in profilograph simulations are reviewed. The results of profilograph simulations show that the low-pass filter and minimum scallop width are important aspects of trace reduction and should be retained as standard components of simulated profilograph trace reduction. However, criteria are needed to help remove narrow, downward spikes, such as those found in profiles of jointed concrete. The results also show that existing profilers do not agree on PI values sufficiently when a zero blanking band is used.
A chemoenzymatic synthesis of optically-active dihydropyridines

Abstract A biocatalytic asymmetric synthesis of optically-active dihydropyridines has been developed. The method entails the enantiotopically-selective solvolysis of the sterically unhindered ester 13 in n -BuOH/H 2 O catalyzed by Pseudomonas lipases.
Sexual Segregation in White-Tailed Deer: Density-Dependent Changes in Use of Space, Habitat Selection, and Dietary Niche

Sexual segregation, defined as the exclusive use of different areas by males and females at specified spatial and temporal scales, is common among polygynous ruminants and in cervids in particular. Underlying mechanisms for such segregation are not understood fully, and reports have included female cervids segregating into habitats of both poorer and better quality than those used by males. Furthermore, two competing hypotheses of sexual segregation (body-size hypothesis, reproductive-strategy hypothesis) predict different responses to changes in population density; an increase in degree of sexual segregation with increasing density in the former and a decrease in segregation in the latter. We examined patterns of sexual segregation among white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) on the Welder Wildlife Refuge in south Texas at moderate (39 deer/km 2 ) and high (77 deer/km 2 ) population densities during 1974-1977. At moderate density, females with young made greater use of chaparral-mixed grass habitat with dense cover than did males, where preferred herbaceous forage was less abundant, presumably for reasons of predator avoidance. At high density, which was a result of predator control, sexual segregation among male and females decreased during all seasons (P < 0.05). Males that otherwise used more open habitats increased their use of the chaparral-mixed grass as levels of intraspecific competition increased. As spatial segregation between males and females decreased at the high population density, diets of both sexes shifted toward more graminoids and browse, and shifts were more pronounced among males. The result was decreased dietary overlap between sexes when measured by principal-component analysis. Measures of fat reserves suggested that although both females and males were in poorer condition at high density, females were affected to a greater extent than were males. This outcome suggested that females were not driving patterns of spatial segregation by being better able to compete with males for closely-cropped forages. Rather, predator avoidance by females with young related to the reproductive-strategy hypothesis best explained patterns we observed, and competition between sexes was rejected as a cause of sexual segregation.
Attenuation‐emission alignment in cardiac PET/CT based on consistency conditions

Purpose: In cardiac PET and PET/CT imaging, misaligned transmission and emission images are a common problem due to respiratory and cardiac motion. This misalignment leads to erroneous attenuation correction and can cause errors in perfusion mapping and quantification. This study develops and tests a method for automated alignment of attenuation and emission data. Methods: The CT-based attenuation map is iteratively transformed until the attenuation corrected emission data minimize an objective function based on the Radon consistency conditions. The alignment process is derived from previous work by Welch et al. [“Attenuation correction in PET using consistency information,” IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci. 45, 3134–3141 (1998)] for stand-alone PET imaging. The process was evaluated with the simulated data and measured patient data from multiple cardiac ammonia PET/CT exams. The alignment procedure was applied to simulations of five different noise levels with three different initial attenuation maps. For the measured patient data, the alignment procedure was applied to eight attenuation-emission combinations with initially acceptable alignment and eight combinations with unacceptable alignment. The initially acceptable alignment studies were forced out of alignment a known amount and quantitatively evaluated for alignment and perfusion accuracy. The initially unacceptable studies were compared to the proposed aligned images in a blinded side-by-side review. Results: The proposed automatic alignment procedure reduced errors in the simulated data and iteratively approaches global minimum solutions with the patient data. In simulations, the alignment procedure reduced the root mean square error to less than 5 mm and reduces the axial translation error to less than 1 mm. In patient studies, the procedure reduced the translation error by >50% and resolved perfusion artifacts after a known misalignment for the eight initially acceptable patient combinations. The side-by-side review of the proposed aligned attenuation-emission maps and initially misaligned attenuation-emission maps revealed that reviewers preferred the proposed aligned maps in all cases, except one inconclusive case. Conclusions: The proposed alignment procedure offers an automatic method to reduce attenuation correction artifacts in cardiac PET/CT and provides a viable supplement to subjective manual realignment tools.
Using Category Structures to Test Iterated Learning as a Method for Identifying Inductive Biases

Many of the problems studied in cognitive science are inductive problems, requiring people to evaluate hypotheses in the light of data. The key to solving these problems successfully is having the right inductive biases—assumptions about the world that make it possible to choose between hypotheses that are equally consistent with the observed data. This article explores a novel experimental method for identifying the biases that guide human inductive inferences. The idea behind this method is simple: This article uses the responses produced by a participant on one trial to generate the stimuli that either they or another participant will see on the next. A formal analysis of this “iterated learning” procedure, based on the assumption that the learners are Bayesian agents, predicts that it should reveal the inductive biases of these learners, as expressed in a prior probability distribution over hypotheses. This article presents a series of experiments using stimuli based on a well-studied set of category structures, demonstrating that iterated learning can be used to reveal the inductive biases of human learners.
Multidimensional state estimation with blocks and Viterbi decoding algorithms

A new sub-optimum estimation scheme is presented for multidimensional dynamic systems, the models of which can be any functions of states and arbitrary independent noises. This scheme depends upon the quantization of components of the state vector, blocks of state component sequences, hypothesis testing, and the Viterbi decoding algorithm. The state vector is sequentially estimated, component by component, in parallel and in blocks. The implementation of the scheme is achieved with a considerable memory reduction and is independent of time. Simulations, some of which are presented, have shown that the performance of the sub-optimum scheme is better than the performance of the extended Kalman filter for some non-linear models, whereas the performance of the scheme is almost as good as the performance of the Kalman filter for linear models with white gaussian disturbance and observation noises.
Atractocybeloides , eine kleinwüchsige Trilobitengattung aus baltoskandischen Geschieben und ihrem Anstehenden

Abstract. Aus mittel- bis oberordovizischen Geschieben werden funf Taxa der kleinwuchsigen Trilobitengattung Atractocybeloides vorgestellt, davon die beiden neuen Arten Atractocybeloides nebeni n. sp. und Atractocybeloides oepiki n. sp. Die Gattung wurde 1991 an Fragmenten aufgestellt. Sie hat sich in der Aseri-Stufe aus Cybele entwickelt. Neue Funde und das reichhaltige Material aus der Sammlung Rhebergen, in der auch fast vollstandige Panzerhemden von A. berneri enthalten sind, ermoglichten eine Rekonstruktion. Weiterhin wird die aus Norwegen beschriebene Art Atractopyge gracilis der Gattung Atractocybeloides zugeordnet. Grose Ahnlichkeiten bestehen zur ungefahr gleichaltrigen nordamerikanischen kleinwuchsigen Gattung Cybeloides. Five taxa of the small trilobite genus Atractocybeloides are presented from Middle to Late Ordovician erratic boulders, including the new species Atractocybeloides nebeni n. sp. and Atractocybeloides oepiki n. sp. The genus was errected in 1991 on the basis of fragmentary material. It evolved from Cybele during Aseri-zone times. A reconstruction is made possible due to new finds and the rich material from the Rhebergen collection, including nearly complete cuticles of A. berneri. Furthermore, Atractopyge gracilis from Norway is assigned to Atractocybeloides. Strong similarities exist to the roughly coeval, small trilobite genus Cybeloides, which is known from North America. doi: 10.1002/mmng.20020050108
Characterizing regional uncertainty in the initial soil moisture status

[1] Using two bias reduced forcing data sets we have simulated the initial soil moisture state for the North American continent (1985–1993). Differences between simulations were shown to persist over regions with the greatest soil memory, and are not strongly associated to patterns of difference in forcing fields. Therefore, processes that contribute to soil memory will also limit our ability to accurately estimate its initial state. Moreover, the regions associated with high soil memory may not be directly observable with present and near future sensors due to high vegetation water contents. Thus, research in these regions should be directed toward minimizing forcing variance and extension of observation networks and technology to increase the ability for monitoring soil moisture.
RADIATIVE HEATING IN THE TROPOSPHERE AND LOWER STRATOSPHERE1

Abstract Brooks' method for computing rates of atmospheric heating which is due to radiation by water vapor has been adapted to the digital computer, allowing investigation of the following aspects of the method: the effect of spacing of data points on heating rate profiles, the dependence of heating rates upon the flux emissivity data, and the influence of the form of the pressure correction factor upon heating rates. Two cases of practical interest have been considered. The first is the effect of radiative heating upon tropospheric temperature inversions. It is concluded, in agreement with the results of Staley, that radiative heating acts to strengthen the inversion when water vapor mixing ratios within the inversion layer are small. The second case studied the consequences of the presence of substantial quantities of water vapor in the stratosphere. Cooling rates ranging up to 2.5° C. day−1 were obtained over a winter cross section of the Northern Hemisphere having a constant relative humidity of 5 pe...
Water-soluble octa acid capsule as a reaction container: Templated photodimerization of indene in water

Abstract In the context of green chemistry, identifying strategies to carry out organic reactions in aqueous medium in the absence of organic and inorganic reagents is important. We show below that octa acid (OA), a water-soluble cavitand, is capable of solubilizing water insoluble reactant in water and yielding selective product by confining the reactants and intermediates during a light initiated reaction. By employing indene as the substrate we have observed that the OA capsule upon irradiation facilitates the formation of anti-head–tail dimer, the isomer that is generally not obtained upon direct excitation and triplet and electron transfer sensitizations in isotropic organic solvents.
Mobility-aware ad hoc routing protocols for networking mobile robot teams

Mobile multi-robot teams are useful in many critical applications such as search and rescue. Explicit communication among robots in such mobile multi-robot teams is useful for the coordination of such teams as well as exchanging data. Since many applications for mobile robots involve scenarios in which communication infrastructure may be damaged or unavailable, mobile robot teams frequently need to communicate with each other via ad hoc networking. In such scenarios, low-overhead and energy-efficient routing protocols for delivering messages among robots are a key requirement. Two important primitives for communication are essential for enabling a wide variety of mobile robot applications. First, unicast communication (between two robots) needs to be provided to enable coordination and data exchange. Second, in many applications, group communication is required for flexible control, organization, and management of the mobile robots. Multicast provides a bandwidth-efficient communication method between a source and a group of robots. In this paper, we first propose and evaluate two unicast routing protocols tailored for use in ad hoc networks formed by mobile multi-robot teams: Mobile robot distance vector (MRDV) and mobile robot source routing (MRSR). Both protocols exploit the unique mobility characteristics of mobile robot networks to perform efficient routing. Our simulation study show that both MRDV and MRSR incur lower overhead while operating in mobile robot networks when compared to traditional mobile ad hoc network routing protocols such as DSR and AODV. We then propose and evaluate an efficient multicast protocol mobile robot mesh multicast (MRMM) for deployment in mobile robot networks. MRMM exploits the fact that mobile robots know what velocity they are instructed to move at and for what distance in building a long lifetime sparse mesh for group communication that is more efficient. Our results show that MRMM provides an efficient group communication mechanism that can potentially be used in many mobile robot application scenarios.
High-Throughput, Long-Term Imaging of Salmonella Infecting Macrophages in a Micro-Environmental System

Real-time single cell analysis is necessary to understand dynamic cellular functions in time and space. Such analyses require the simultaneous measurement of multiple variables in real-time, due to heterogeneity in cellular populations. We report the application of using a micro-environmental chamber on an automatic laser scanning confocal microscope to observe murine macrophage cells in incubation conditions for more than 18 hours. The motorized stage of the microscope was programmed to scan through pre-defined monitoring locations to increase the observation throughput. The acquired images were post-processed to extract the information of each cell. In contrast to current single-cell technologies, such as fluorescence-activated cell sorter (FACS) based systems, the reported architecture records the history of the physiological responses of individual cells.Copyright © 2006 by ASME
P5-S6.06 Utilisation and cost of diagnostic methods for STD screening among insured American Youth, 2008

Background Information on the private sector utilisation and cost of sexually transmitted disease (STD) screening and diagnostic testing in the USA is limited. We present STD diagnostic method-specific utilisation and cost estimates for persons aged 15–25 years. Methods We used current procedural terminology (CPT) (or diagnostic methods) codes for seven major STDs (human papillomavirus (HPV), genital herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2), hepatitis B virus (HBV), chlamydia (CT), gonorrhoea (GC), trichomoniasis (TV) and syphilis) to identify outpatient claims for persons aged 15–25 years in the MarketScan database for 2008, excluding codes for procedures that could be used to identify claims for non-STD-related tests. Utilisation was measured as the number of claims per 100 000 enrollees (ie, claims rate). We estimated CPT code-specific claims rates for each STD and average costs stratified by gender. Finally, we estimated the overall total cost of STD testing. Results We found 24 CPT codes for HPV; 2 for HSV-2; 11 for HBV; 9 for CT; 4 for GC; 2 for TV; and 5 for syphilis. The claims rate (all diagnostic methods included) for HPV was the highest (17 239/100 000, significantly higher (p Conclusions The claims data provide an estimate of STD testing patterns among privately-insured persons. These can be compared to surveillance data and guidelines to assess testing vs disease prevalence and recommendations. The low utilisation rates we assessed for TV are likely attributable, at least in part, to our exclusion of claims that could be related to non-STD-related tests (such as wet mount). The low utilisation rates might also reflect the lack of attention to TV in STD prevention that has been reported in the literature.
Evaluation of Various Artificial Diets for In Vivo Production of the Gypsy Moth Nucleopolyhedrosis Virus

Several artificial diets previously developed for rearing the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar (L.), were compared to the modified hornworm diet and high wheat germ diets for production of the gypsy moth nucleopolyhedrosis virus (NPV). Virus yields were highest from larvae reared on the modified hornworm diet. Biological activity (=potency) of virus from larvae reared on the modified hornworm diet, high wheat germ diet, and ODell-Rollinson diet was comparable. The high wheat germ diet would be most suitable, from a cost-effectiveness standpoint, for large scale in vivo production of the virus.
Competing Risk of Death When Comparing Tibial Implant Types in Total Knee Arthroplasty

Background: In the presence of a competing risk of death, the Kaplan-Meier method is known to overestimate the probability of implant failure. To our knowledge, the magnitude of the competing risk of death in survivorship analyses in total knee arthroplasty has not been studied. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent of the competing risk of death in different age groups during a long-term follow-up of patients who had undergone primary total knee arthroplasty. Methods: The study population comprised 22,864 primary total knee arthroplasties at a large medical center in the United States. We compared the overall revision outcomes estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method and the cumulative incidence function over a mean follow-up of 7.8 years (range, 0.1 to 26.3 years). Results: The risk of death exceeded the risk of revision by a factor of 4 at twelve years following the surgical procedure. The Kaplan-Meier method overestimated the risk of revision by 3% at five years, 14% at ten years, 32% at fifteen years, and 57% at twenty years. At ten years after the surgical procedure, the risk of death exceeded the risk of revision by a factor of 15 in the all-polyethylene group and by a factor of 3.5 in the metal modular group. The Kaplan-Meier method overestimated the ten-year risk of revision by 18% in the all-polyethylene group and by 11% in the metal modular group. After accounting for the higher competing risk of death in the all-polyethylene group, the cumulative incidence of revision in the metal modular group was about 2.5 to three times higher than that in the all-polyethylene group at ten years. Conclusions: Although the Kaplan-Meier and cumulative incidence methods yielded different implant survival estimates beyond ten years (Kaplan-Meier overestimates implant failure), the size of the bias was small at earlier time points. The extent of overestimation depends on the duration of follow-up and the magnitude of the competing risk of death. Clinical Relevance: This study examines the clinical relevance of the competing risk of death in total knee arthroplasty.
Epigenetic changes mediated by polycomb repressive complex 2 and E2a are associated with drug resistance in a mouse model of lymphoma

Background The genetic origins of chemotherapy resistance are well established; however, the role of epigenetics in drug resistance is less well understood. To investigate mechanisms of drug resistance, we performed systematic genetic, epigenetic, and transcriptomic analyses of an alkylating agent-sensitive murine lymphoma cell line and a series of resistant lines derived by drug dose escalation.
Modeling a Million-Node Slim Fly Network Using Parallel Discrete-Event Simulation

As supercomputers close in on exascale performance, the increased number of processors and processing power translates to an increased demand on the underlying network interconnect. The Slim Fly network topology, a new lowdiameter and low-latency interconnection network, is gaining interest as one possible solution for next-generation supercomputing interconnect systems. In this paper, we present a high-fidelity Slim Fly it-level model leveraging the Rensselaer Optimistic Simulation System (ROSS) and Co-Design of Exascale Storage (CODES) frameworks. We validate our Slim Fly model with the Kathareios et al. Slim Fly model results provided at moderately sized network scales. We further scale the model size up to n unprecedented 1 million compute nodes; and through visualization of network simulation metrics such as link bandwidth, packet latency, and port occupancy, we get an insight into the network behavior at the million-node scale. We also show linear strong scaling of the Slim Fly model on an Intel cluster achieving a peak event rate of 36 million events per second using 128 MPI tasks to process 7 billion events. Detailed analysis of the underlying discrete-event simulation performance shows how the million-node Slim Fly model simulation executes in 198 seconds on the Intel cluster.
A Different Certification Effect of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program: Evidence From the Kauffman Firm Survey

This study examines the role of public investments in inducing small firms to develop risky, early-stage technologies. It contributes to expanding our understanding of the consequences of high-technology policies by investigating in more depth the effect of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program on the innovation effort and ability to attract external capital of small business start-ups using a new sample and estimation approach. The authors found empirical evidence that the public cofinancing of private research and development has a positive effect on the innovation propensity of small high-tech start-ups. However, contrary to theoretical expectations, they did not find any significant “certification effect” of receiving an SBIR award on attracting follow-on investment. What the authors discovered is a different certification effect: SBIR recipient firms are more likely to attract external patents. This finding confirms that enterprises need to orchestrate a portfolio of internal and exte...