cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Technology approaches to currency security

The continued development of reprographic technology and computer graphics (notably color laser copiers, scanners and color laser printers) has increased the tools available to both professional and casual counterfeiters. The result is an increase in the counterfeit risk to the U.S. dollar and other currencies. To counter these threats improved methods of currency authentication are needed both for use by the general public and by national currency authorities. The growing number of cash transfer machines has increased the importance of machine readable security features. This paper describes some technology based approaches to currency security based on special materials. It also proposes a metaphor for currency authentication which attempts to provide a framework for unifying approaches based on secure features and those based on codes.
C/S mole ratio of C-S-H gel in a mature C3S paste as determined by edxa

Abstract Spot EDXA determinations of the apparent C/S mole ratio of C-S-H gel in a mature C 3 S paste yielded an overall estimate of 1.9 ± 0.2, in reasonable conformity with published estimates by other methods. Only a small proportion of individual spots yielded apparent ratios high enough to suggest the influence of CH within the excited zone, implying that previously published EDXA determinations showing high C/S ratios of gel in portland cement pastes were also probably not influenced by this factor.
THE LUMINOSITY FUNCTION AND SIZE DISTRIBUTION OF THE H II REGIONS IN M33

We present Hα fluxes and sizes for most of the H 2 regions in M33 listed in the catalog of Courtes et al. (1987). The observed bright end of the differential luminosity function is approximately a power law with exponent a = -2.40 ± 0.15, while the number counts turn over at an Hα luminosity of approximately 1036.4 erg s-1. After accounting for the effects of incompleteness in our sample, we find that the faint end of the corrected luminosity function remains almost constant instead of turning over. The cumulative size distribution approximately follows an exponential law with scale size D0 = 32 ± 1 pc. We briefly discuss the implications of our results for our understanding of recent high-mass star formation in M3.
My Voice is My Weapon: Music, Nationalism, and the Poetics of Palestinian Resistance

David McDonald weaves geopolitical history and musical and performance analysis in his volume My Voice is My Weapon: Music, Nationalism, and the Poetics of Palestinian Resistance. The book is struc...
Momentum density in Y-123: LDA predictions

Abstract We discuss theoretical results concerning the electron-positron momentum density in the normal state YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 based on the LDA-band-theory framework. Our focus is on the c-axis projected two-dimensional(2D)-momentum distribution relevant for interpreting the 2D-angular- correlation-of-annihilation-radiation (2D-ACAR) positron experiments, paying particular attention to identifying Fermi surface signatures in the spectra, and related issues. The theoretical results from various groups using different band structure methodologies are in reasonable accord, relatively smaller differences between various first principles calculations notwithstanding, and thus a robust picture of the LDA-based predictions for the 2D-ACAR spectra has emerged. Although this article is devoted mainly to discussing theoretical results, we note that the latest high-statistics 2D-ACAR. experiments on untwinned single crystals of YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 appear to be in remarkable accord with a number of detailed theoretical predictions, including some Fermi surface features, and indicate that the conventional band theory framework is able to provide a reasonable description of the rather complex positron annihilation spectra at least in the normal state YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 .
Multiscale plasmonic nanoparticles and the inverse problem

This Perspective describes how multiscale plasmonic structures with two or more length scales (fine, medium, coarse) provide an experimental route for addressing the inverse problem. Specific near-field and far-field optical properties can be targeted and compiled into a plasmon resonance library by taking advantage of length scales spanning three orders of magnitude, from 1 to greater than 1000 nm, in a single particle. Examples of multiscale 1D, 2D, and 3D gold structures created by nanofabrication tools and templates are discussed, and unexpected optical properties compared to those from their smaller counterparts are emphasized. One application of multiscale particle dimers for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy is also described.
Harry Potter Pedagogy: What We Learn about Teaching and Learning from J. K. Rowling

(2006). Harry Potter Pedagogy: What We Learn about Teaching and Learning from J. K. Rowling. The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas: Vol. 79, No. 6, pp. 240-244.
Constitutive, translation-independent opening of the protein-conducting channel in the endoplasmic reticulum.

Secretory and membrane proteins are translocated into the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) through a translocon assembled as a tetramer of Sec61 protein-conducting channels (PCC). How the opening of the PCCs in the tetramer is regulated through the protein translocation cycle is poorly understood. In this study, the permeability of PCCs in native ER membranes to small molecules was measured using fluorescence and electrophysiological techniques. Although the PCCs were closed at 4°C, they were constitutively open at physiological temperatures in the absence of protein translation or a bound ribosome. The open PCCs occurred in clusters that are likely to correspond to the simultaneous opening of three or four PCCs in a translocon. The binding of 60S subunits to a ribosome-free membrane increased the number of open PCCs but did not increase the single-channel conductance. The translation-independent, constitutive opening of Sec61 PCCs provides new insight into the role of the translocon in the transport of small molecules across the ER membrane.
Desperate Times, Desperate Measures: The Causes of Civilian Victimization in War

Despite normative and legal injunctions against targeting civilians in war, as well as doubts regarding the effectiveness of such strategies, belligerents have frequently turned their guns on noncombatants. Two variables—desperation to win and to save lives on one's own side in protracted wars of attrition, and the intention to conquer and annex enemy territory—explain this repeated resort to civilian targeting. According to the desperation logic, costly and prolonged wars of attrition cause states to become increasingly anxious to prevail and to reduce their losses. Adopting a policy of civilian victimization permits states to continue the war while managing their losses and hopefully coercing the adversary to quit. In the appetite for conquest model, by contrast, belligerents specifically intend to seize and annex territory. Attackers in this model employ civilian victimization to eliminate enemy civilians, who can threaten the aggressor's immediate military position and present a future threat of rebellion. Multivariate analysis of interstate wars between 1816 and 2003 corroborates the importance of these factors, and a case study of the British starvation blockade of Germany in World War I supports the plausibility of the desperation mechanism.
Description and analysis of electrical relaxation data for ionically conducting glasses and melts

In recent years there has arisen considerable controversy and some confusion with regard to analysis and interpretation of electrical relaxation data for ionically conducting glasses and melts. For example, there are questions as to whether the data are better described using the electric modulus formalism with a KWW distribution of relaxation times or by using a Jonscher power law fit to the frequency dependent electrical conductivity. This topic is reviewed and discussed, with some emphasis placed on the degree to which information on the electrical relaxation mechanisms and the microscopic sources of nonexponential relaxation can be extracted from data presentation and analysis using the electric modulus formalism with a well behaved electric field relaxation function.
Evaluation of the effects of pentagastrin, gastrin and pancreatic glucagon on cell proliferation in the rat gastrointestinal tract

The effects of six injections of a range of doses (100-1000 micrograms/kg bodyweight) of pentagrastrin and single injection of a range of doses of porcine gastrin (10-40 micrograms/kg bodyweight) and pancreatic glucagon (25-100 micrograms/kg bodyweight) on cell proliferation in the intestine of fasted rats has been investigated. The end-point employed included the measurement of 14C leucine incorporation and thymidine-derived tritium content of the body of the stomach, duodenum, jejunum, ileum and colon. The carbon 14 and tritium content per microgram of tissue in triplicate samples of fifty individually dissected crypts of glands were determined. From these data and the wet weight of the washed, blotted, intestinal segments, values for crypts/micrograms tissue and crypts/segment were calculated. The results demonstrated that pentagastrin at physiological doses decreased cell proliferation slightly in stomach, while gastrin and glucagon were without effect. In the small intestine, pentagastrin and gastrin were without significant effect with the exception that they increased the weight of the duodenum. In contrast, a high physiological dose of glucagon increased DNA and protein synthesis throughout the small bowel, but particularly in the ileum. Pharmacological doses of pentagastrin and all doses of gastrin appeared to increase cell proliferation in the colon although the possibility could not be excluded that this was due to stimulation of precursor uptake. Gastrin also increased colonic weight. Glucagon had no effects in the colon. These observations are compatible with the hypothesis that (i) the primary effects of gastrin and pentagastrin on the proximal intestine are as secretogogues and effects on cell proliferation may be secondary, (ii) gastrin and pentagastrin at physiological levels do not stimulate small intestinal cell proliferation, however glucagon does, and (iii) gastrin at physiological levels and pentagastrin at pharmacological levels may stimulate cell proliferation in the colon.
Antagonism of alcohol hypnosis by blockade of prostaglandin synthesis and activity: Genotype and time course effects

Pretreatment of mice with prostaglandin synthetase inhibitors (PGSI's) antagonizes alcohol-induced behaviors. This study examined genetic and time course factors of this effect and studied the effects of a putative prostaglandin antagonist (SC-19220) on ethanol sleep time. Long Sleep (LS) and Short Sleep (SS) mice, lines bred for differential response to an hypnotic dose of ethanol, showed a four-fold difference in their dose-response curves for indomethacin antagonism of ethanol-induced hypnosis. Females of both lines required higher amounts of indomethacin relative to males. Indomethacin pretreated animals regained the righting response at a higher blood ethanol concentration than did saline pretreated animals. In addition, indomethacin pretreatment failed to alter the rate of ethanol disappearance from blood. In general, both lines showed effects with low doses of indomethacin at early time points and with high doses of indomethacin at later time points. Indomethacin did not antagonize ethanol-induced hypnosis if given after ethanol. In C3H mice, pretreatment with low doses of SC-19220, a dibenzoxazepine derivative, produced a significant decrease in ethanol sleep time, moderate doses produced no effect, and high levels increased sleep time. These results further substantiate and expand our previous reports. Possible mechanisms for the biphasic effects of indomethacin treatment are presented and discussed.
Comment on the article “Estimation of sugar beet productivity from reflection in the red and infrared spectral bands”

Abstract An allegation that has been made that we have placed excessive weight on measurements of spectral ratios for winter wheat early in the season is refuted.
Modern Science as a Social Problem

In the social sciences as elsewhere, modern science is widely assumed to be a successful and progressive enterprise. Sociologists of science tend to be science advocates, and students of social problems implicitly treat science as a “healthy” institution. Science critics are often opposed to “distorted” versions of science but not to “true” science. A few social critics, however, have argued that modem science is the product of an alienated human spirit and a factor in rather than a solution to our individual and social problems. In line with this perspective, I draw on C. Wright Mills's conception of the Science Machine and related ideas to argue that modern science is a social problem. This argument is grounded in a constructivist (but not relativist) view of science and scientific knowledge, critiques of the myth of pure science and the idea of scientific progress, and an assessment of the limits of science criticism (including feminist criticism).
Polymer miscibility in capillaries

A thermodynamic analysis predicts an increase in miscibility, relative to that in the bulk state, for a polymer mixture confined in a capillary with a diameter of the order of the size of the polymer coils. This is derived by using both the concepts of growing domains and a consideration of the thickness of polymer–polymer interfaces. The analysis is combined with a Monte Carlo lattice simulation that provides results on such confined systems. Intermixing, described in terms of the number of heterocontacts and the dimensions of the polymer chains in the capillary parallel and perpendicular to the tubular axis, is investigated. The results confirm that demixing in homogeneous mixtures is hindered, whereas intermixing is enhanced, in the capillary relative to that in the unconfined mixture. © 1992 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Does concomitant cholecystectomy at time of Roux-en-Y gastric bypass impact adverse operative outcomes?

We hypothesized that patients undergoing Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) with concomitant cholecystectomy (RYGB + C) would be at greater risk for adverse events compared to patients undergoing RYGB alone. Patients who underwent a RYGB were identified in the 2005–2009 American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program Database. Multivariate logistic regression with adjustment for confounding variables was utilized to identify risk factors for mortality at 30 days, major adverse events, and prolonged length of stay (PLOS). We identified 32,946 patients who underwent RYGB; of these, 1,731 (5.2 %) underwent RYGB + C. Overall, RYGB + C was a risk factor for predicting major adverse events following laparoscopic but not open procedures. Regardless of approach, PLOS was more common among RYGB + C patients following adjustment. Overall mortality at 30 days was low and did not vary with concomitant cholecystectomy following adjustment. The risk for major adverse events is significantly greater for RYGB + C patients following laparoscopic procedures, and the risk for PLOS is greater for RYGB + C patients following both open and laparoscopic procedures. The short-term risks identified in this study can assist in decision-making when considering concomitant cholecystectomy at the time of RYGB.
Lymphocyte Subsets and Interleukin-2 Receptors in Autistic Children.

Blood samples were obtained from 10 male autistic children ages 7–15 years and 10 age-matched, male, healthy controls. Lymphocyte subsets (helper-inducer, suppressor-cytotoxic, total T, and total B cells) were enumerated using monoclonal antibodies and flow cytometry. Bound and soluble interleukin-2 receptors were assayed in unstimulated blood samples and in cell cultures following 72-hour stimulation with phytohemagglutinin. The children with autism had a lower percentage of helper-inducer cells and a lower helpersuppressor ratio, with both measures inversely related to the severity of autistic symptoms (r=−.56 and −.68, respectively). A lower percentage of lymphocytes expressing bound interleukin-2 receptors following mitogenic stimulation was also noted, and this too was inversely related to the seventy of autistic symptoms.
The Reception of Calvin: Historical Considerations

The question of the reception of Calvin’s ideas in later Reformed theology requires, first, a clear understanding of the various forms of reception. Often historians think of this in terms of continuity or discontinuity, but there is a danger that such terms can lead to the surreptitious intrusion of anachronistic criteria into the historical task. Instead, the historian should set the question of continuity within a broader context, constructed from analysis not only of matters of doctrine, but also of philosophical framework, and the specific questions to which the texts under consideration were addressed. Then, reception itself needs to be understood as a complex matter. There is the reception of specific texts, and the reception of particular ideas and concepts. Both are susceptible to their own particular forms of historical analysis. The former, being textual and empirical, is relatively easy to assess; the latter involves careful attention to communal context, both synchronic and diachronic. Only as these various issues are addressed will scholarship truly begin to map the complex relationship between the theological work of men like Calvin and that of later generations.
Topography of defects at atomic resolution using scanning tunneling microscopy

Abstract The topography of highly-ordered pyrolytic graphite is studied with scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). Large areas of typically 5 × 5 nm2 were mapped with constant tunneling current and gap voltages from 10 to 700 mV. No clear trigonal symmetry is observed for different samples and tips. Ordered and disordered regions are found and the atomic resolution persists even in the disordered areas. Along one of the principal axes, line dislocations are visible in the topography. Small terraces formed by double-atomic steps are discerned.
A nonselective analysis of SV40 transformation of mouse 3T3 cells.

Abstract Mouse cells transformed by simian virus 40 show many alterations in their growth properties in vitro . In order to investigate the coordinate nature of these changes, we have analyzed the growth properties of 40 randomly selected colonies arising after SV40 infection of 3T3 cells. Clones of cells, established from these colonies, were characterized as to saturation density and doubling time in 10% and 1% calf serum, growth in methyl cellulose suspension, colony formation on monolayers of normal cells, and presence of viral antigens. This analysis revealed that only 5 of the clones were indistinguishable from 3T3 cells; the remaining 35 clones differed from 3T3 cells in that they grew as rapidly in 1% calf serum as standard SV40 transformed cells. Of these 35 clones, ten corresponded to standard transformants previously described. Another ten showed other growth properties intermediate between 3T3 cells and standard transformants. These intermediate clones had lower levels of viral T-antigen than standard transformants and showed considerable heterogeneity in staining from cell to cell. The remaining 15 clones were T-antigen negative and had saturation densities slightly higher than that of 3T3 cells. These changes in cellular behavior are stable on recloning.
Early Impairment of Transmural Principal Strains in the Left Ventricular Wall After Short-Term, High-Fat Feeding of Mice Predisposed to Cardiac Steatosis

Background— Myocardial lipid accumulation precedes some cardiomyopathies, but little is known of concurrent effects on ventricular mechanics. We tested the hypothesis that intramyocardial lipid accumulation during a short-term, high-fat diet (HFD) affects 2-dimensional strains in the heart. We examined the hearts of nontransgenic (NTG) mice and of transgenic mice predisposed to elevated triacylglyceride (TAG) storage linked to low-level overexpression of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor (PPAR-α). Methods and Results— Myocardial lipid and transmural principal strains E1 and E2 were determined in vivo with 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy/imaging before and after 2 weeks of an HFD in both PPAR-α and NTG littermate mice. Baseline lipid was elevated in PPAR-α compared with NTG mice. An HFD increased mobile lipid by 174% in NTG mice ( P <0.05) and by 79% in PPAR-α mice ( P <0.05). After an HFD, lipid and TAG were higher in PPAR-α versus NTG mice by 63% and 81%, respectively. However, TAG in PPAR-α mice after an HFD was similar to TAG in PPAR-α mice fed a regular diet, suggesting that the magnetic resonance spectroscopy signal from lipid is not exclusive to TAG. Only at the highest lipid contents, achieved in PPAR-α mice, were strains affected. Endocardial strain was most compromised, with a negative correlation to lipid ( P <0.05). Conclusions— A short-term HFD elevated myocardial lipid measures as determined by magnetic resonance spectroscopy, which became dissociated from TAG content in hearts predisposed to cardiac steatosis. The increased lipid was associated with concurrent, transmural reductions in E1 and E2 strains across the left ventricular wall. Strains were attenuated at the highest levels of lipid accumulation, suggesting a threshold response. Thus, 2-dimensional strains are impaired early and without left ventricular diastolic dysfunction, owing to cardiac steatosis.
Expansion of the human microphthalmic orbit

Abstract Objective To determine the effects of long-term, incremental enlargement of an orbital tissue expander on bone and eyelid growth in microphthalmia. Design A prospective, noncomparative case series. Participants Five consecutive patients with microphthalmos treated with orbital expansion were evaluated. Intervention A tissue expander was placed into the orbits of five children (age, 10 months–6 years) with unilateral microphthalmos and gradually enlarged by saline injections. main outcome measure The midorbital width of each patient was determined from axial computed tomographic scans before insertion of the device. The length of the normal and abnormal eyelid fissures was measured at surgery. The postexpansion dimensions of both the normal and microphthalmic orbits and the eyelids were remeasured when the expanders were removed. The residual deficits between the normal and the microphthalmic sides were expressed in percentages. Results Gradual inflation of the expander to a diameter of 22 mm reduced the average preoperative orbital dimension deficit of the group from 14.6% (range, 8%–25%) to 3.8% after surgery (range, 0.5%–6.3%). The average pre-expansion eyelid length deficit for the group was 17.5% (range, 12%–26%) compared to 2.3% (range, 0.0%–5.3%) after expansion. The average expansion period was 56.8 weeks (range, 20–100 weeks). Two outpatient surgical procedures were required in each patient. Conclusion Incremental inflation of a tissue expander placed within the microphthalmic orbit induced sufficient osseous and eyelid growth to ameliorate the major stigmata of this syndrome in all patients treated.
CO2 effects on apical dominance in Pisum sativum

Alaska pea plants (Pisum sativum L.) were grown at 0.10 vol% and 0.035 vol% CO2 to determine the effects of high CO2 concentration upon plant growth and apical dominance. The results showed that a 0.10 vol% CO2 atmosphere significantly increased the rate of lateral branch, flower bud, flower and fruit development over an environment with 0.035 vol% CO2. At plant maturity, however, there were no significant differences in the number of branches or fruits produced at the different CO2 levels. Thus, no evidence was obtained for the loss of apical dominance at the CO2 concentrations tested. Root dry weight was significantly greater in plants grown at 0.10 vol% CO2 than in those grown at 0.035 vol% CO2 and leaf dry weight was significantly lower. However, no significant differences were found in total plant dry weight production at plant maturity.
Electrocaloric effect in potassium dihydrogen phosphate

Measurements of the electrocaloric effect from 78 to 130 K were made on crystalline KH 2 PO 4 and are discussed in terms of the phenomenological theory of Devonshire and others. The predicted quadratic dependence of the electrocaloric effect upon applied field (and polarization) in the paraelectric phase was shown to occur; however, the constant of proportionality involved coincided with the value computed from Curie-Weiss law only at the highest temperatures. The electrocaloric effect in the ferroelectric phase was found to be approximately a linear function of the applied field provided the low-field irreversible region of hysteresis was ignored. Values of the spontaneous polarization were determined from the electro-caloric measurements and found to be in good agreement with the values obtained by extrapolating the hysteresis loops to zero field. If the Curie-Weiss term in the Devonshire free-energy expansion is retained when the crystal is in its ferroelectric phase, then evidently a single Devonshire function will not describe KH 2 PO 4 in both the ferroelectric and paraelectric phases.
The relationship between symptoms of depression and body weight in younger adults.

A bidirectional relationship between obesity and depression may exist, though previous results are conflicting. The objectives of our study were to determine whether there is a bidirectional relationship between obesity and symptoms of depression in younger adults and whether this relationship varies with sociodemographic factors. We used data from 7,980 participants in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 to examine whether baseline depressive symptoms (score ≥ 10 on a seven-item subscale of the CES-D) in 1992, predicted adjusted percent change in BMI between 1992 and 1994. We then examined whether obesity in 1992 predicted the development of symptoms of depression in 1994, after adjustment for confounders. We found that the presence of baseline depressive symptoms was not prospectively associated with increase in percent BMI, except in Hispanic women. Additionally, baseline obesity was not associated with higher risk of future symptoms of depression in the sample overall (adjusted risk ratio (RR) 1.20; 99% CI 0.91–1.60). However, in those of higher socioeconomic status, obesity was associated with almost double the risk of depressive symptoms compared to nonobese (highest income category: adjusted RR 1.97; 99% CI 1.14–3.40). We concluded that although obesity was not associated with risk of depression symptoms in the population overall, obesity was associated with an increased risk of developing depressive symptoms in those of higher socioeconomic status. Sociodemographic factors may be important modifiers of the relationship between obesity and depression.
Community Participation Following Cerebrovascular Accident: Impact of the Buffering Model of Social Support

This study examined data of older adults who had sustained a stroke and their ability to participate in the community following rehabilitation. There were 95 participants in this study to determine the interaction effect of functional limitation and social support on community participation. The findings indicate that for people who had sustained a cerebrovascular accident, community participation was more related to their ability to do for themselves, rather than the support that was available to them. The implications of these findings for future practice, programs, and research are discussed.
Potential for Retroposition by Old Alu Subfamilies

Alu elements sharing sequence characteristics of the “old” subfamilies are thought to currently be retrotranspositionally inactive. We analyzed one of these old subfamilies of Alu elements, Sx, for sequence conservation relative to the consensus and the length of the “A-tail” as parameters to define the presence of potential Alu Sx source genes in the human genome. Sequence identity to the left half or the right half of the Alu Sx consensus sequence was evaluated for 4424 complete elements obtained from the human genome draft sequence. A small subset of Alu Sx left halves were found to be more conserved than any of the Alu Sx right halves. Selection for promoter function in active elements may explain the slightly higher conservation of the left half. In order to determine whether this sequence identity was the result of recent activity, or simply sequence conservation for older elements, PCR amplification of some of the loci containing Sx elements with conserved left/right halves from different primate genomes was carried out. Several of these Sx Alus were found to have amplified at a later evolutionary period (<35 mya) than expected based on previous studies of Sx elements. Analysis of “A-tail” length, a feature correlated with current retroposition activity, varied between Alu Sx element loci in different primates, where the length increased in specific Alu elements in the human genome. The presence of few conserved Alu Sx elements and the dynamic expansion/contraction of the A-tail suggests that some of these older subfamilies may still be active at very low levels or in a few individuals.
Economic Impacts of Reunifications in Germany and in Korea

AbstractWe measure the evolution of population, investment rates, and total factor productivity (TFP) for East Germany and West Germany around their 1990 reunification to create a model that allows us to consider the economic ramifications of a hypothetical reunification between South Korea and North Korea. The scenarios that we consider suggest that worker migration from the North, a decrease in investment, and a slowdown in TFP growth could exert a substantial negative and persistent effect on South Korea's economy although the North is predicted to benefit from more rapid income growth. We also summarize the economic and policy questions that our quantified model illuminates.
Faculty Interest in Policy-Oriented Advising and Research The Case of an American State University

In contrast to the "two communities" metaphor, a survey of 800 faculty at the University of California, Davis, revealed that 42% had participated in some form of policy advising or research during the previous two years. An analysis of three models purporting to explain such behavior tentatively concludes that faculty interest in such activities was somewhat independent of perceived contributions to professional advancement but that a longitudinal, dyadic research design is really needed.
Experience Applying Fortran GPU Compilers to Numerical Weather Prediction

Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) have enabled significant improvements in computational performance compared to traditional CPUs in several application domains. Until recently, GPUs have been programmed using C/C++ based methods such as CUDA (NVIDIA) and OpenCL (NVIDIA and AMD). Using these approaches, Fortran Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) codes would have to be completely re-written to take full advantage of GPU performance gains. Emerging commercial Fortran compilers allow NWP codes to take advantage of GPU processing power with much less software development effort. The Non-hydrostatic Icosahedral Model (NIM) is a prototype dynamical core for global NWP. We use NIM to examine Fortran directive-based GPU compilers, evaluating code porting effort and computational performance.
A Rapid Drawdown Event Related to Quarry Operations in a Dolomite Aquifer

Two active quarries are mining stone from the Silurian dolomite aquifer in Waukesha County in southeastern Wisconsin. The village in which the quarries are located uses local zoning to control the depth of mining and to institute a long-term water level monitoring program and well guarantee/one with the quarry owners. Water levels dropped as much as 40 feet in at least 24 residential wells surrounding the quarries over a period of a few hours to days. The rapid decline in head was caused by a single boring drilled lo a depth of 75 feel he low the floor of one quarry. The borehole penetrated a localized fracture zone under confined artesian head. Water levels recovered to previous static levels within nine days after grouting the borehole. The rapid drawdown event demonstrates the potential impact of mining in fractured aquifers. The apparent complete recovery of the aquifer demonstrates that quick response can sometimes restore an aquifer. However, the potential for blasting into a similar zone illustrates the need for a well-thought-out aquifer monitoring program and emergency response plan. The experience of the village is a good example of managing conflicting uses of a finite resource and collecting baseline data needed to make informed decisions.
Protein Geometry Database: a flexible engine to explore backbone conformations and their relationships to covalent geometry

The backbone bond lengths, bond angles, and planarity of a protein are influenced by the backbone conformation (u,w), but no tool exists to explore these relationships, leaving this area as a reservoir of untapped information about protein structure and function. The Protein Geometry Database (PGD) enables biologists to easily and flexibly query information about the conformation alone, the backbone geometry alone, and the relationships between them. The capabilities the PGD provides are valuable for assessing the uniqueness of observed conformational or geometric features in protein structure as well as discovering novel features and principles of protein structure. The PGD server is available at http://pgd.science.oregonstate.edu/ and the data and code underlying it are freely available to use and extend.
No difference in clinical transplant outcomes for local and imported liver allografts

In the United States, liver allograft allocation is strictly regulated. Local centers have the first option to accept a donor liver; this is followed by regional allocation for those donor livers not used locally and then by national allocation for those donor livers not accepted regionally. This study reviews the outcomes of all liver allografts used over 6 years (2001-2007) and evaluates initial and long-term function stratified by the geographic source of the donor liver allograft. The records for 845 consecutive deceased donor liver transplants at a single center were reviewed. The geographic origin of the allograft was recorded along with donor and graft characteristics to determine the probable reason for graft refusal. Within our local organ procurement organization, there is 1 liver transplant center, and within the region, there are 8 active centers. Early graft failure included any graft loss within 7 days of transplant, and initial function was measured with liver enzymes 30 days post-transplant. Graft survival and patient survival were evaluated with Kaplan-Meier and Cox survival modeling. Median follow-up was 43 months. The geographic distribution of organs included local organs (562, 66%), regionally imported organs (126, 15%), and nationally imported organs (157, 19%). There were no differences between the 3 groups in initial graft function, intraoperative death, or early graft loss. Survival curves for the 3 study groups demonstrated no difference in survival up to 5 years post-transplant. In conclusion, liver allografts rejected for use by a large number of transplant centers can still be successfully used without early graft function or long-term survival being affected.
Minimum energy near-threshold network of PLA based design

In recent times, there has been a significant growth in applications for battery powered portable electronics, as well as low power sensor networks. While sub-threshold circuit design approaches can reduce the power consumption significantly, a design operating at sub-threshold voltages is not necessarily optimal in terms of energy consumption. In this paper, we describe a technique to find the energy optimum VDD value for a design, and show that for minimum energy consumption, the circuit should be operated at VDD values which are above the NMOS threshold voltage value. We study this problem in the context of designing a circuit using a network of dynamic NOR-NOR PLAs.
Stiffness of the endplate boundary layer and endplate surface topography are associated with brittleness of human whole vertebral bodies

Stress magnitude and variability as estimated from large scale finite element (FE) analyses have been associated with compressive strength of human vertebral cancellous cores but these relationships have not been explored for whole vertebral bodies. In this study, the objectives were to investigate the relationship of FE-calculated stress distribution parameters with experimentally determined strength, stiffness, and displacement based ductility measures in human whole vertebral bodies, investigate the effect of endplate loading conditions on vertebral stiffness, strength, and ductility and test the hypothesis that endplate topography affects vertebral ductility and stress distributions. Eighteen vertebral bodies (T6-L3 levels; 4 female and 5 male cadavers, aged 40-98 years) were scanned using a flat-panel CT system and followed with axial compression testing with Wood's metal as filler material to maintain flat boundaries between load plates and specimens. FE models were constructed using reconstructed CT images and filler material was added digitally. Two different FE models with different filler material modulus simulating Wood's metal and intervertebral disc (W-layer and D-layer models) were used. Element material modulus to cancellous bone was based on image gray value. Average, standard deviation, and coefficient of variation of von Mises stress in vertebral bone for W-layer and D-layer models and also the ratios of FE parameters from the two models (W/D) were calculated. Inferior and superior endplate surface topographical distribution parameters were calculated. Experimental stiffness, maximum load and work to fracture had the highest correlation with FE-calculated stiffness while experimental ductility measures had highest correlations with FE-calculated average von Mises stress and W-layer to D-layer stiffness ratio. Endplate topography of the vertebra was also associated with its structural ductility and the distribution parameter that best explained this association was kurtosis of inferior endplate topography. Our results indicate that endplate topography variations may provide insight into the mechanisms responsible for vertebral fractures.
Design of a manufacturing facility layout with a closed loop conveyor with shortcuts using queueing theory and genetic algorithms

Most current manufacturing facility layout problem solution methods aim at minimizing the total distance traveled, the material handling cost, and/or the time spent in the system (based on distance traveled at a specific speed). The methodology proposed in this paper solves the looped layout design problem for a looped layout manufacturing facility with a looped conveyor material handling system with shortcuts by using the operational performance metric, i.e. the work-in-process on the conveyor in a manufacturing facility, as the design criterion.
Bumfights and Care Ethics: A Contemporary Case Study

Drawing upon the outrageous case of a DVD series based on homeless individuals paid small sums of money to engage in degrading, violent, and dangerous acts—all for the amusement of video viewers—this chapter explores the limits of contractual ethics. Other, less outrageous cases are examined, but the ambiguous nature of morality assuming autonomous agents freely entering into commercial relationships, remains. The chapter discusses autonomy, freedom, and choice given traditional notions of agency within a game-like understanding of morality that permits that which is legal. In particular, the impact on the vulnerable of society is addressed. Because of care’s concern for context, it is offered as an important antidote for traditional business morality.
Transformation kinetics in 1-D processes with continuous nucleation: comparison of shielding and phantom effects

Abstract A derivation is presented for the fraction of material transformed as a function of time, X ( t ), for 1-D transformations which occur via continuous nucleation and growth of particles with a distribution of growth velocities. The derivation includes the effects of interparticle shielding as well as shadowed nucleation prevention (“phantoms”). The analytical results are compared with simulations and found to be in close agreement. The shielding effects are more dominant than the phantom effects, though both are important when exact information regarding the extent of transformation is desired.
Decision-making studies in patient management: twenty years later.

This article surveys the contribution of decision analysis to diagnosis and treatment in med icine, beginning with a review of Dr. Lee B. Lusted's 1971 paper, "Decision-making studies in patient ma...
Global planning at Harris Semiconductor

Harris Semiconductor needed an integrated system to manage its entire supply-chain, especially after tripling its manufacturing capacity to enter the commercial markets. The response was to implement the manufacturing planning system known as IMPReSS, Integrated Manufacturing Production Requirements Scheduling System. It is one of the reasons that Harris has been a consistent world-class 95% or better on time delivery company since 1993 with over 30,000 Finished Goods, a fact that was not lost on the Edelman Committee. IMPReSS won the prestigious management science 1995 Franz Edelman Award for its contribution. IMPReSS is a global information network of distributed databases which includes an optimization-based, semiconductor-specific planning engine that scans the entire pipeline. This paper includes the reasons for choosing a Linear Programming based planning engine from the University of California, Berkeley, known as BPS, over the traditional MRP systems; improvements made to BPS resulting in a new planning engine known as the Harris Planning System, HPS; and the lessons learned by Harris.
In-Class Manufacturing Simulation: A Hands On Approach

Many suggestions on ways to improve accounting education have been presented by professional and academic organizations. These studies are critical of current accounting education for being too focused on the transfer of information from faculty member to student (PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2003), failing to involve students as active participants in the learning process (AECC, 1990), and reinforcing student perception that accounting is boring and uninspiring (Cohen and Hanno, 1993). To address these concerns we developed an in-class simulation of a manufacturing environment that introduces students to the terminology and processes found in a typical manufacturing environment. The simulation requires students to work in teams to be the low cost manufacturer of the product, in this case paper airplanes, and to deal with real situations that are typically encountered by many manufacturers. Students are active participants in the process and are able to compare their teams’ performance against the performance of their classmates. Students indicate this exercise is interesting, informative, fun and a welcome change from the normal lecture format. Faculty members have also found the exercise a refreshing break from the normal lecture, especially since students are enthusiastic and interested participants.
Modeling Expert Effects and Common Ground Using Questions Under Discussion

We present a graph-theoretic model of discourse based on the Questions Under Discussion (QUD) framework. Questions and assertions are treated as edges connecting discourse states in a rooted graph, modeling the introduction and resolution of various QUDs as paths through this graph. The amount of common ground presupposed by interlocutors at any given point in a discourse corresponds to graphical depth. We introduce a new task-oriented dialogue corpus and show that experts, presuming a richer common ground, initiate discourse at a deeper level than novices. The QUD-graph model thus enables us to quantify the experthood of a speaker relative to a fixed domain and to characterize the ways in which rich common ground facilitates more efficient communication.
Catalytic Upgrading of Methane to Higher Hydrocarbon in a Nonoxidative Chemical Conversion

Discovery of large shale gas reserves in recent years resulted in the reduction of natural gas price. In order to convert methane in a direct and energy efficient route, nonoxidative catalytic conversion is a potentially attractive option which includes an activation of methane molecules at low temperature. The oxide of transition metals such as Mo, Fe, V, W, Cr, Zn, and Cu have been studied as catalysts for methane conversion, where usually the conversion is lower than 20% and the operating temperature needed is above 800 °C which causes coking, thus resulting in an early catalyst deactivation. In this work, a noble transition metal, ruthenium, has been chosen as the catalyst with the objective to decrease the methane activation temperature, increase the stability, and also achieve higher conversion than other transition metal catalysts. The catalyst was prepared as 1.5 or 3.0 wt % ruthenium loading on zeolite (i.e., ZSM-5) and silica supports separately to compare the effect of metal loading and metal–s...
A Note on Almost Perfect Numbers

(1974). A Note on Almost Perfect Numbers. Mathematics Magazine: Vol. 47, No. 4, pp. 230-231.
Cα hydrogen atom transfer in post-cleavage radical-cation complexes: short and steep versus long winding road.

Recently, I explored structurally straightforward pathways to Cα hydrogen atom, H•, transfer reactions in the radical cation complex following electron capture/transfer of a series of polyprotonated peptides (J. Phys. Chem. A 2013, 117, 1189–1196). Here, I extend my analysis to incorporate detailed rearrangement processes potentially occurring prior to H• transfer. This comprises intracomplex isomerization of the initial iminol-terminated (−C(OH)═NH) form of the cn′ species to the energetically more favorable, amide-terminated form (−C(O)–NH2) prior to Cα H• abstraction by the zm• species. The data indicate that the previously published H• transfer barriers are more energetically demanding than those of this multistep alternative. The rate-determining step is typically the intracomplex iminol isomerization, consistent with the substantial energetic favorability of the amide form of the cn species. The barriers to H• transfer still rise steeply as a function of the charge state. In agreement with experimen...