cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Active Force of Hearing: The Ancient Hebrew Language of Persuasion

he question of the existence of a Hebrew concept of per­ suasion arises as a subordinate pofrit in James BCinneavy's book, The Greek Rhetorical Origins of Christian Faith. Kmneavy's thesis is that the Christian notion of TTIO-TIC, faith as dis­ tinct from the Hebrew concept of faithfulness or trust, 'emunâ, owes its origin to the Greek concept of TTIO-TIC, beUef as persuasion or proof. In the process of proving this thesis, Kinneavy cites G. Berfram's Hebrew supplement to Rudolf Bultmann's essay on -rreidu} in the Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. Berfram comments that bibUcal Hebrew has no word corresponding to TTeidu), "to persuade" (Bultmann 1). From this, and from the con­ cordance to the Septuagint which indeed shows that no Hebrew verb was franslated with Greek ireido) in its active fransitive form, Kirmeavy draws the conclusion that this apparent lack is conceptual—that what is lacking is "an awareness of a reflective and analytical concept of persuasion as such" (54). In my opinion, this conclusion, whUe not in itself incorrect, is unwarranted by the evidence Kinneavy attests, which instead points to a more specifie difference between disparate concepts of persuasion, whether pragmatic and impUdt, as in the Hebrew fradition, or reflective and analytical, as in the Greek.
The Interplay of Robot Language Level with Children's Language Learning during Storytelling

Children's oral language skills in preschool can predict their success in reading, writing, and academics in later schooling. Helping children improve their language skills early on could lead to more children succeeding later. As such, we examined the potential of a sociable robotic learning/teaching companion to support children's early language development. In a microgenetic study, 17 children played a storytelling game with the robot eight times over a two-month period. We evaluated whether a robot that "leveled" its stories to match the child's current abilities would lead to greater learning and language improvements than a robot that was not matched. All children learned new words, created stories, and enjoyed playing. Children who played with a matched robot used more words, and more diverse words, in their stories than unmatched children. Understanding the interplay between the robot's and the children's language will inform future work on robot companions that support children's education through play.
Quartz crystal microbalance simulation of the directionality of Si etching in CF4 glow discharges

Two quartz crystal microbalances have been mounted in a planar rf discharge system in such a way that the potential of the microbalances with respect to the glow discharge can be varied. This apparatus allows a rapid simulation of the etching directionality that can be expected in real pattern transfer situations in that operating one microbalance at ground and one at a negative potential gives a measure of the sidewall and vertical etch rates, respectively. The voltage threshold for ion-assisted etching has been determined to be 20 V which is the approximate value of the plasma potential in this asymmetric system.
Tools for assessing kinship, population structure, phylogeography, and interspecific hybridization in Asian carps invasive to the Mississippi River, USA: isolation and characterization of novel tetranucleotide microsatellite DNA loci in silver carp Hypophthalmichthys molitrix

We document the isolation and characterization of novel tetranucleotide microsatellite DNA markers for the invasive silver carp Hypophthalmichthys molitrix and provide the results of cross-species amplification for three additional invasive carp species: bighead (H. nobilis), grass (Ctenopharyngodon idella) and black (Mylopharyngodon piceus). In the target species these markers yielded levels of allelic diversity (average 4.4 alleles/locus) and heterozygosity (average 54.7%) sufficient to: (1) provide unique multilocus genotypes; (2) delineate kinship relationships; (3) differentiate populations/species; (4) estimate effective population sizes; and (5) provide unique demographic perspectives for control or eradication. Currently these markers are being utilized to determine the degree of introgressive hybridization between H. molitrix and H. nobilis, to quantify gene flow between different sub-basins established in the central United States, and to assess the demographic status of sub-basin groups. This information will be critically important in the management/control of these invasive species.
An electron tunneling sensor

New methods have been developed to implement position sensors based on electron tunneling. The electron tunneling methods enable position to be detected with sub-Angstrom resolution using a compact mechanical structure and simple electronic control elements. A prototype accelerometer is the first sensor based on these principles; it shows reliable operation with a noise-limited sensitivity and a bandwidth of approximately 3 kHz. Based on these results, it is expected that tunnel sensors optimized for many applications will enable an entirely new class of sensors to be developed.
Technological confidence at an early age

How can experience with technology aid younger students in future higher education and careers? A team of five Villanova University students is collaborating with the eighth grade teachers at the Julia de Burgos Bilingual Elementary school in North Philadelphia to assist eighth grade students in developing interdisciplinary exit projects mandated by the city for graduation and progression to high school. The collaboration is part of an eight-year effort to assist in providing meaningful experiences with technology for a school serving an economically deprived neighborhood. It has grown out of a module on equity in access to technology in the course on ethical issues in computer science required of undergraduate majors in the discipline.
Bank Failures and Fiscal Austerity: Policy Prescriptions for a Developing Country

This work employs a dynamic general equilibrium model to evaluate the causes and implications of bank insolvencies. The model is applied to stylized data from several South Asian countries. It derives conclusions about policy instruments designed to alleviate the impact of insolvencies. Firms are subject to intertemporal solvency conditions, and the public withdraws deposits when borrowers default. If banks optimize by restricting credit to risky borrowers, these failures can be partially avoided. Numerical simulations conclude that the combination of compensating monetary policy and restrictive fiscal policy offers the best way of responding to a bank crisis caused by exogenous shocks.
Surface ozone at a coastal suburban site in 2009 and 2010: Relationships to chemical and meteorological processes

[1] Air quality and meteorological measurements were conducted at the Chemistry and Physics of the Atmospheric Boundary Layer Experiment (CAPABLE) site during the summers of 2009 and 2010 in Hampton, Virginia. Significant differences in surface ozone mixing ratios were observed between the two years and are correlated with meteorological parameters such as temperature, humidity, and cloud cover. The number of exceedance days for ozone set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency within this region has been decreasing for the past decade, especially in urban areas. There were no exceedance days with respect to ozone in 2009, and there were four exceedance days in 2010. The four highest ozone daily maxima and the two exceedance days observed during the 2010 measurement period were coincident with sea breeze phenomena. In one case, surface ozone increased at a rate of 14.6 ppb h−1 with the passage of a sea breeze front. A comprehensive multilinear regression model as well as an operational forecast was unable to resolve the high ozone observed during sea breeze events. As the number of exceedance days per year within this region continues to decrease, accurately forecasting sea breezes may become more important for the forecasting of pollution events.
A matched pairs study of depression among Hmong refugees with particular reference to predisposing factors and treatment outcome

Fifteen Hmong refugees with major depression were compared with 15 Hmong controls matched for gender, age, marital status, and rural-urban origins from the same population. Relatively few premigration factors were correlated with patient status, although social attributes with continuity from Asia to the US inveighed against depression. Numerous postmigration factors were strongly associated with patient status. Some of these latter were probably causative (e. g., sponsor characteristics), some probably resulted from stressful conditions (e. g., residence change), and some probably acted as both cause and effect (e. g., marital and health problems). As measured by self rating scales, the patients expressed considerably higher symptom levels prior to seeking treatment as compared to controls. Two years later at the time of follow up, the former patients reported fewer depressive symptoms than the controls. These findings are assessed in light of the diachronic studies of major depression and of depressive symptoms in the general population.
Information-processing skills of deaf children with cochlear implants: some new process measures of performance

Recent findings on learning, memory and cognitive processes in deaf children following cochlear implantation are reviewed. The contribution of demographic factors is discussed and the results of several studies using "process" measures of performance are presented. In the first study, results from an investigation of the "Stars" showed that the exceptionally good implant users differed from the low performers in several important ways reflecting their ability to rapidly encode sound patterns into phonological representations. In the second set of studies, several new measures of information-processing performance are reported. Speaking rate, a measure shown in other populations to correlate well with an individual's verbal rehearsal speed for items in immediate memory was found to be strongly correlated with measures of a child's immediate memory capacity as well as open-set spoken word recognition scores. Additional evidence revealed atypical reproductive memory spans for auditory as well as visual sequences. Deaf children with cochlear implants also showed less benefit from simple repetition of a familiar sequence than age-matched normal-hearing children. Variation in children's success with cochlear implants reflects differences in the operation of elementary information-processing skills used in a wide range of language-processing tasks that draw on phonological coding and verbal rehearsal processes.
Observations of Hot-Jupiter occultations combining Spitzer and Kepler photometry

We present the status of an ongoing program which aim at measuring occultations by their parent stars of transiting hot giant exoplanets discovered recently by Kepler . The observations are obtained in the near infrared with WarmSpitzer Space Telescope and at optical wavelengths by combining more than a year of Kepler photometry. The investigation consists of measuring the mid-occultation times and the relative occultation depths in each band-passes. Our measurements of occultations depths in the Kepler bandpass is turned into the determination of the optical geometric albedo Ag in this wavelength domain. The brightness temperatures of these planets are deduced from the infrared observations. We combine the optical and near infrared planetary emergent ﬂuxes to obtain broad band emergent spectra of individual planet. We ﬁnally compare these spectra to hot Jupiter atmospheric models in order broadly distinguishing these atmospheres between diﬀerent classes of models.
A Chebyshev-Legendre spectral method for the transient solutions of flow past a solid sphere

A full spectral model for the stream-function-vorticity formulation is developed for the solution of unsteady flow past a rigid sphere. To convert the governing partial differential equations to discrete form, Chebyshev and Legendre polynomials are employed to expand the vorticity and stream function in the radial and angular directions, respectively, together with a first-order, fully implicit, iterative scheme for time advancement. The solution to the system of discrete nonlinear equations is accomplished by LU decomposition in conjunction with the influence matrix to resolve the lack of vorticity boundary conditions. Owing to the global nature of the orthogonal trial functions, the present technique provides a means to achieve highly accurate results with less number of unknowns than either traditional finite difference or finite element methods. Comparisons of numerical solutions with previous results show consistent trends as reported in studies dealing with Cartesian coordinates.
Separation and identification of minerals from Northern Great Plains Province lignite

Abstract Minerals were separated from nine lignite samples on the basis of specific gravity differences by float/sink of fine particles in carbon tetrachloride. Examination of the sink fractions showed the presence of nacrite, barite, pyrite, hematite, quartz, calcite, gypsum, and fragments of a mixture of α-quartz and nacrite. No separable minerals were found in which sodium was a major constituent.
Racial Differences in the Health of Older-Adult Long-Term Cancer Survivors.

This article focuses on differences between African-American and White older adults who were long-term (five or more years postdiagnosis) survivors of cancer regarding reported health problems, symptoms of illness, functional difficulties, health worries and concerns, and overall perceptions of health. A conceptual model examined the relationship between demographic factors (e.g., race, age, cancer- and treatment-related factors) and perceptions of health (e.g., burden of disability, health concerns and worries, and self-rated global health). Regression analysis examined quantitative data from in-person interviews with 180 survivors of breast, colorectal, or prostate cancer obtained from the tumor registry of the Ireland Cancer Center at University Hospitals Health System of Cleveland. African Americans were oversampled to represent 50% of the total sample. The analysis indicated that African Americans experienced poorer functional health after cancer, even after disease and treatment factors were controlled for. However, compared with White survivors, African Americans did not report significantly more symptoms attributed to either cancer or its treatment, suggesting that their poorer health after cancer may not have been a result of either factor but to other comorbid conditions. Moreover, because the extensiveness of treatment is a significant predictor of functional disability, attention must be paid to the degree to which more extensive treatment among African Americans translates into greater disability.
A cellular model of inflammation for identifying TNF-α synthesis inhibitors

Neuroinflammation is a common facet of both acute and chronic neurodegenerative conditions, exemplified by stroke and by Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, and the presence of elevated levels of the proinflammatory cytokine, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), has been documented in each. Although initial TNF-alpha generation is associated with a protective compensatory response, its unregulated chronic elevation is generally detrimental and can drive the disease process. In such circumstances, therapeutic strategies that can both gain access to the brain and target the production of TNF-alpha are predicted to be of clinical benefit. An in vitro mouse macrophage-like cellular screen, utilizing RAW 264.7 cells, was hence developed to identify novel TNF-alpha lowering agents incorporating lipophilic physicochemical characteristics predicted to allow penetration of the blood-brain barrier. Cultured RAW 264.7 cells exposed to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced a rapid, marked and concentration-dependent cellular release of TNF-alpha into the cell culture media, which was readily detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The effects of four characterized thalidomide-based TNF-alpha lowering agents were assessed alongside 10 novel uncharacterized compounds synthesized on the same backbone. One of these new analogs possessed activity of sufficient magnitude to warrant further investigation. Activity determined in the cellular model translated to an in vivo rodent model of acute LPS-induced TNF-alpha elevation. The utility of the TNF-alpha cellular assay lies in its simplicity and robust nature, providing a tool for initial pharmacological screening to allow for the rapid identification novel TNF-alpha lowering agents.
SU-EE-A3-03: Incorporate the Imager's Performance Characteristics Into the Design of Prostate IMRT Dose Painting Protocols

Purpose: There is much interest in using biological and functional imaging to provide guidance in IMRT dose painting. Yet, it is important to incorporate the performance characteristics of these modalities. In this study an example of UltrasoundTissue Typing (UTT) was utilized to investigate the implications of the imager's performance on the design of a population based prostate dose painting protocol. Method and Materials: The performance of an imaging modality can be evaluated via the receiver operating characteristic curve, which is a plot of the imaging modality's sensitivity versus false‐positive ratio (1‐specificity). As sensitivity increases, more tumors are detected, although specificity worsens, causing more false negatives. The UTT tumor map obtained with a specific sensitivity and specificity setup is fused with the patient's CTimage to guide IMRT planning. The optimal escalation dose to the tumor positive region identified by UTT, as well as the safe dose to the identified tumor negative background was obtained by maximizing uncomplicated control, which is a combination of tumor control probability (TCP), and weighted normal tissue complication probability (NTCP). Results: A practical dose escalation protocol requires a high specificity imager setup to reduce complications. For tumors at the high‐risk stage, with sensitivity at 0.6 and specificity at 0.9, optimal dose to the positive and negative regions are 88.2Gy and 83.6Gy respectively, which resulted in a 25% NTCP reduction compared to that the whole prostate is dose escalated to the same TCP. If the imager becomes more accurate, i.e., sensitivity improves to 0.9 when specificity remains at 0.9, the optimal plan would have a further 10% NTCP decrease with a 2% TCP increase. Conclusion: Performance characteristics of an imager as described by sensitivity and specificity has important implications in prostate dose painting, and should be considered in the future design of dose painting protocols.
Reheating constraints to inflationary models

Evidence from the BICEP2 experiment for a significant gravitational-wave background has focused attention on inflaton potentials $V(\ensuremath{\phi})\ensuremath{\propto}{\ensuremath{\phi}}^{\ensuremath{\alpha}}$ with $\ensuremath{\alpha}=2$ (``chaotic'' or ``${m}^{2}{\ensuremath{\phi}}^{2}$'' inflation) or with smaller values of $\ensuremath{\alpha}$, as may arise in axion-monodromy models. Here we show that reheating considerations may provide additional constraints to these models. The reheating phase preceding the radiation era is modeled by an effective equation-of-state parameter ${w}_{\text{re}}$. The canonical reheating scenario is then described by ${w}_{\text{re}}=0$. The simplest $\ensuremath{\alpha}=2$ models are consistent with ${w}_{\text{re}}=0$ for values of ${n}_{s}$ well within the current $1\ensuremath{\sigma}$ range. Models with $\ensuremath{\alpha}=1$ or $\ensuremath{\alpha}=2/3$ require a more exotic reheating phase, with $\ensuremath{-}1/3l{w}_{\text{re}}l0$, unless ${n}_{s}$ falls above the current $1\ensuremath{\sigma}$ range. Likewise, models with $\ensuremath{\alpha}=4$ require a physically implausible ${w}_{\text{re}}g1/3$, unless ${n}_{s}$ is close to the lower limit of the $2\ensuremath{\sigma}$ range. For ${m}^{2}{\ensuremath{\phi}}^{2}$ inflation and canonical reheating as a benchmark, we derive a relation ${\mathrm{log}}_{10}({T}_{\text{re}}/{10}^{6}\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{GeV})\ensuremath{\simeq}2000({n}_{s}\ensuremath{-}0.96)$ between the reheat temperature ${T}_{\text{re}}$ and the scalar spectral index ${n}_{s}$. Thus, if ${n}_{s}$ is close to its central value, then ${T}_{\text{re}}\ensuremath{\lesssim}{10}^{6}\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{GeV}$, just above the electroweak scale. If the reheat temperature is higher, as many theorists may prefer, then the scalar spectral index should be closer to ${n}_{s}\ensuremath{\simeq}0.965$ (at the pivot scale $k=0.05\text{ }\text{ }{\text{Mpc}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$), near the upper limit of the $1\ensuremath{\sigma}$ error range. Improved precision in the measurement of ${n}_{s}$ should allow ${m}^{2}{\ensuremath{\phi}}^{2}$, axion monodromy, and ${\ensuremath{\phi}}^{4}$ models to be distinguished, even without precise measurement of $r$, and to test the ${m}^{2}{\ensuremath{\phi}}^{2}$ expectation of ${n}_{s}\ensuremath{\simeq}0.965$.
Accounting information system issues of FMS

Examines how FMS affects the accounting information system of organizations switching to FMS and the traditional accounting practices that change after organizations adopt FMS. Highlights some of the new accounting techniques such as transformation cost and activity‐based costing and also discusses the strategic impact of FMS.
Land Use and Transportation Planning for Twin Cities Using a Genetic Algorithm

A new approach to future land use and transportation planning for high-growth cities is presented. The approach employs a genetic algorithm to efficiently search through hundreds of thousands of possible future plans. A new fitness function is developed to guide the genetic algorithm toward a Pareto set of plans for the multiple competing objectives that are involved. This set may be placed before decision makers. A Pareto set scanner also is described that assists decision makers in shopping through the Pareto set to select a plan. Some of the differences between simultaneous planning and separate planning of highly coupled twin cities also are examined.
A method for chemical reduction and removal of ferric iron applied to vertebrate fossils

(1989). A method for chemical reduction and removal of ferric iron applied to vertebrate fossils. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology: Vol. 9, No. 1, pp. 119-121.
Nonphotochemical hole burning of organic dyes and rare earth ions in polymers and glasses: a probe of the amorphous state

The nonphotochemical hole burning of ionic dye molecules in poly(vinyl alcohol) and poly(acrylic acid) polymers is shown to be effi­ cient. Hole-burned spectra exhibit extensive intramolecular vibronic satellite structure which yields accurate vibrational frequencies. Data are presented which demonstrate that hole filling produced by a secondary burn at a frequency substantially removed from the primary burn frequency is highly selective. The class of ionic dyes in hydrogen-bonded polymers shows promise for detailed studies targeted at a better understanding of disorder and its associated relaxation proc­ esses in polymers.
A Quantitative Analysis of the Decrease in Width of the Mandibular Arch during Forced Movements of the Mandible

The suggestion that the medial angulation of the external pterygoid muscles will effect a contracting action upon the two halves of the jaw was made by Grunewald in 1921.1 More recently, De Brul and Sicher2 demonstrated lines of stress near the symphysis of the mandible by squeezing the condyles together with finger pressure at the insertion of the external pterygoids.* They reported a distortion (in the living) between the last mandibular molars which was up to a mm. less when the jaw was forcefully protruded than when it was at rest. In an effort to characterize quantitatively the decrease in mandibular width from the rest position to a forced protrusive and a wideopen position the following study was undertaken.
The trouble with clinical indicators: Intact lower genital tract following childbirth in NSW Hospitals, 2003–2005

Background: The federal government wants outcomes of hospital care to be made publicly available. League tables based on single clinical indicators are misleading, largely because of their inability to take case-complexity into account. Aim: To demonstrate the application of a graphical tool (the risk-adjusted funnel plot) to the comparison of clinical outcomes across hospitals; and its advantages over league tables. Methods: We looked at publicly available data on intact lower genital tract (ILGT), for all hospitals in New South Wales at which more than 200 births occurred in 2005. The ‘excess’ percentage of women at each hospital with an ILGT following a vaginal birth, was calculated after adjustment for instrumental assistance, the use of epidural analgesia/anaesthesia, the use of induction/augmentation, and the number of births per annum. Results: In 2005, ILGT ranged from 13.1 to 55.8%. A plot of ILGT against vaginal births per annum (a funnel plot) revealed huge heterogeneity among hospitals, and an inverse association with the number of births per annum. A residual funnel plot, constructed from the differences between observed and expected ILGT identified four hospitals (three public and one private) with consistently better ILGT than expected – and four public hospitals with ILGT consistently worse than expected. Some of these hospitals were not located at the extremes of the league table. Conclusion: The risk-adjusted funnel plot is a useful graphical tool which may overcome the shortcomings of league tables. We need to become more sophisticated in our use of clinical indicators for comparing hospital performances.
A simple estimator of the shape factor of the two-parameter Weibull distribution

Abstract A method is given to estimate the shape factor (K) of the Weibull distribution directly from wind observations, without iteration, plotting, or sorting of data. The estimate is of comparable accuracy as that given by the maximum-likelihood estimate but is obtained more economically in computer time. Estimation of the scale factor (C) is done by maximum likelihood.
Measurement of the ''soft'' mode and coupled modes in the paraelectric and ferroelectric phases of KH/sub 2/PO/sub 4/ at high pressure

Measurements of the pressure and temperature dependences of the soft-mode Raman spectra of potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP) in both the paraelectric (PE) and ferroelectric (FE) phases are reported. The soft-mode response is overdamped throughout the PE phase at atmospheric pressure, but can be made underdamped with pressure in this phase. Measurements at high pressure in the PE phase where the response is underdamped therefore allow a more accurate determination of the parameters for the coupled-mode system than one can obtain from measurements at atmospheric pressure. Measurement of the pressure dependence in the FE phase allows one to identify the soft mode of the system in this phase, and the results demonstrate that the proton motion remains coupled to an optic mode of the lattice for $Tl{T}_{C}$. The temperature and pressure dependences of the microscopic parameters are examined within the framework of both the pure tunneling and the coupled proton-optic-mode models for the phase transition. It is found that the pure tunneling model is inadequate for a detailed description of the spectra, whereas the modified tunneling model, or coupled-mode model, gives a more quantitative description of the results. While this model can be used for quantitative comparison between the Raman scattering and dielectric measurements in these materials, there are inadequacies of the model in describing the microscopic interactions. These features are discussed in detail.
Tactile allodynia, but not thermal hyperalgesia, of the hindlimbs is blocked by spinal transection in rats with nerve injury

Spinal nerve ligation produces signs of neuropathic pain in rats. Different neuronal pathways may underlie the abnormal sensory responses to thermal and tactile stimuli. Here, the possibility that local circuitry in the spinal cord and/or spinal-supraspinal loops might be involved in tactile allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia of the hindpaws was investigated by transecting the spinal cord of sham-operated or L5/L6 nerve ligated rats. Spinal transection completely abolished tactile allodynia in ligated rats. Thermal nocifensive responses were present after transection in ligated and sham-operated rats. Thermal hyperalgesia of the hindpaws was not evident in spinal transected, ligated rats. Tail-withdrawal responses to tactile probing were very robust after spinal transection in both groups, demonstrating loss of descending inhibition. These observations suggest that thermal hyperalgesia of the paw seen after nerve injury involves both spinal and supraspinal circuits, while tactile allodynia depends on a supraspinal loop. This difference may reflect afferent inputs associated with different fiber types.
Liquid limit as a predictor of mudrock permeability

Abstract Measurements of bedding perpendicular permeability are made on resedimented natural mudrocks that vary widely in mineralogy and clay fraction over a porosity range of 0.25–0.75 and under effective stresses up to 40 MPa. At a given porosity, permeability varies over 2–5 orders of magnitude. We show that the permeability–porosity relationship for a mudrock can be related to its liquid limit, an easily measured index property that can be determined from highly disturbed samples and reflects the clay mineralogy and clay fraction of a mudrock. We present correlations which allow the permeability of a mudrock to be estimated based on its porosity and liquid limit. The permeabilities predicted using these correlations all fall within ±5 times the measured values and most fall within ±3 times the measured values. We compare permeability measurements made on intact core samples to those predicted using the liquid limit correlations in order to demonstrate the applicability of the correlations for estimating in situ permeability. The use of clay fraction (particles
Optimal Control of a Production Process Subject to Random Deterioration

A production process exhibits a decreasing pattern in the process mean in the course of production. We address the decision problem of selecting the starting level of the process mean and the level at which the process mean should be adjusted back to the starting level. The costs to be minimized are the long-run average cost of production, adjustment and loss for defective items. In addition to the optimal solution, simple approximate solutions are developed and shown to be more cost effective than a simple linear policy often applied to this problem.
Plant regeneration from in vitro leaf tissues of Viburnum dentatum L

Shoots were regenerated from in vitro leaf tissues of two genotypes of Viburnum dentatum, a popular shrub species for landscape use. Adventitious shoots were induced when leaf tissues were cultured on woody plant medium (WPM) supplemented with either benzyladenine (BA) or thidiazuron (TDZ). Effects of cytokinin concentration, indole-3-butyric acid (IBA), and dark treatment on shoot regeneration were investigated. Dark treatment for the first 4 weeks of leaf explants cultured in the regeneration medium significantly increased the frequency of regeneration. The highest frequency of shoot regeneration (70%) for ‘Synnesvedt’ was obtained when leaf tissues were cultured in the medium with 40 μM BA or 8 μM TDZ with 4 weeks dark treatment. The highest frequency of shoot regeneration (90%) for ‘MN34’ was found in the 4 μM TDZ medium with 4 weeks dark treatment. Addition of IBA significantly enhanced shoot regeneration. Ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) treatment inhibited callus proliferation, particularly in the early stage of callus recovery; however, no significant difference in shoot regeneration among different treatments was observed, indicating that the inhibitory effect of EMS was minimal after calluses re-acquired their capacity to grow and regenerate in the regular medium. Regenerated shoots (>1.5 cm) were rooted in the half-strength MS medium containing 5-10 μM IBA or naphthalene acetic acid (NAA). Rooted plants were transferred to the potting medium and grown in the greenhouse.
A near-selection theorem

A near-selection theorem is proven for carriers defined on spaces that are the countable union of finite dimensional compacta. As an application a new proof is given of the fact that the space of homeomorphisms on a compact piecewise linear manifold is locally contractible. In addition a new criterion is given to determine if the space of homeomorphisms on a compact n-manifold is an l2-manifold.
Serum complement activation in central nervous system disease in Sjögren's syndrome.

Purpose Central nervous system disease and vasculitis are extraglandular manifestations of Sjogren's syndrome. In our experience, central ner vous system disease develops in approximately 70 percent of patients with Sjogren's syndrome and biopsy documented peripheral vasculitis. In order to further investigate the pathogenesis of central nervous system disease and its relationship to peripheral vasculitis in Sjogren's syndrome, we examined sera of patients with Sjogren's syndrome with and without focal central nervous system involvement for evidence of terminal complement pathway activation. Patients and methods Patients were classified as having active focal central nervous system involvement only when they had focal neurologic deficits on physical examination, plus at least one abnormal neurodiagnostic test result. Two thirds of these patients also had cognitive or psychiatric dysfunction. Patients were classified as having peripheral vasculitis if they had clinical and histopathologic documentation of vascular inflammation. Serum SC5b-9 was measured by a sensitive enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay. Total hemolytic complement assay, measurement of serum C3 and C4 by radial immunodiffusion, and determination of immune complexes were performed. Results Fluid-phase terminal complement complexes (SC5b-9) were detected in the sera of 25 of 30 (83 percent) patients with focal central nervous system involvement, but in only seven of 21 (33 percent) patients with Sjogren's syndrome without focal central nervous system disease (p = 0.00084 by Yates' chi-square analysis). Four of these seven patients without focal central nervous system disease, but who had serum SC5b-9, had psychiatric or cognitive dysfunction. SC5b-9 was also detected in sera from 14 of 15 (93 percent) patients with active biopsy-documented peripheral vasculitis in contrast to 18 of 36 (50 percent) patients without clinical evidence of peripheral vasculitis (p = 0.0094). Serum SC5b-9 was a more sensitive indicator of complement activation than circulating immune complex or complement assays. Conclusion These findings suggest that terminal complement activation may participate in the pathophysiology of both central nervous system and peripheral vasculitis in Sjogren's syndrome. Serum SC5b-9 appears to be a useful diagnostic indicator of vascular inflammation in Sjogren's syn drome and appears to identify those patients at risk for central nervous system complications.
Modeled microgravity and hindlimb unloading sensitize osteoclast precursors to RANKL-mediated osteoclastogenesis.

Mechanical forces are essential to maintain skeletal integrity, and microgravity exposure leads to bone loss. The underlying molecular mechanisms leading to the changes in osteoblasts and osteoclast differentiation and function remain to be fully elucidated. Because of the infrequency of spaceflights and payload constraints, establishing in vitro and in vivo systems that mimic microgravity conditions becomes necessary. We have established a simulated microgravity (modeled microgravity, MMG) system to study the changes induced in osteoclast precursors. We observed that MMG, on its own, was unable to induce osteoclastogenesis of osteoclast precursors; however, 24 h of MMG activates osteoclastogenesis-related signaling molecules ERK, p38, PLCγ2, and NFATc1. Receptor activator of NFkB ligand (RANKL) (with or without M-CSF) stimulation for 3–4 days in gravity of cells that had been exposed to MMG for 24 h enhanced the formation of very large tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP)-positive multinucleated (>30 nuclei) osteoclasts accompanied by an upregulation of the osteoclast marker genes TRAP and cathepsin K. To validate the in vitro system, we studied the hindlimb unloading (HLU) system using BALB/c mice and observed a decrease in BMD of femurs and a loss of 3D microstructure of both cortical and trabecular bone as determined by micro-CT. There was a marked stimulation of osteoclastogenesis as determined by the total number of TRAP-positive multinucleated osteoclasts formed and also an increase in RANKL-stimulated osteoclastogenesis from precursors removed from the tibias of mice after 28 days of HLU. In contrast to earlier reported findings, we did not observe any histomorphometric changes in the bone formation parameters. Thus, the foregoing observations indicate that microgravity sensitizes osteoclast precursors for increased differentiation. The in vitro model system described here is potentially a valid system for testing drugs for preventing microgravity-induced bone loss by targeting the molecular events occurring in microgravity-induced enhanced osteoclastogenesis.
Cadherin-mediated adhesion regulates posterior body formation

Background The anterior-posterior axis of the vertebrate embryo undergoes a dramatic elongation during early development. Convergence and extension of the mesoderm, occurring during gastrulation, initiates the narrowing and lengthening of the embryo. However the lengthening of the axis continues during post-gastrula stages in the tailbud region, and is thought to involve convergent extension movements as well as other cell behaviors specific to posterior regions.
DNA Immunization Using Highly Conserved Murine Cytomegalovirus Genes Encoding Homologs of Human Cytomegalovirus UL54 (DNA Polymerase) and UL105 (Helicase) Elicits Strong CD8 T-Cell Responses and Is Protective against Systemic Challenge

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) establishes a lifelong infection with the potential for reinfection or viral transmission even in the presence of strong and diverse CD8 T-lymphocyte responses. This suggests that the CMVs skew the host T-cell response in order to favor viral persistence. In this study, we hypothesized that the essential, nonstructural proteins that are highly conserved among the CMVs may represent a novel class of T-cell targets for vaccine-mediated protection due to their requirements for expression and sequence stability, but that the observed subdominance of these antigens in the CMV-infected host results from the virus limiting the T-cell responses to otherwise-protective specificities. We found that DNA immunization of mice with the murine CMV (MCMV) homologs of HCMV DNA polymerase (M54) or helicase (M105) was protective against virus replication in the spleen following systemic challenge, with the protection level elicited by the M54 DNA being comparable to that of DNA expressing the immunodominant IE1 (pp89). Intracellular gamma interferon staining of CD8 T cells from mice immunized with either the M54 or M105 DNAs showed strong primary responses that recalled rapidly after viral challenge. M54- and M105-specific CD8 T cells were detected after the primary MCMV infection, but their levels were not consistently above the background level. The conserved, essential proteins of the CMVs thus represent a novel class of CD8 T-cell targets that may contribute to a successful HCMV vaccine strategy.
Education reform, race, and politics in Bahia, Brazil

This article discusses the main findings and conclusions from my field research evaluating education reform in the state of Bahia, Brazil. Data collection was done during two exploratory research trips to Salvador, the state capital, in 2001 and in 2005. The Bahian Education Reform, initiated by the state government in 1999 and funded to a great extent by the World Bank, has achieved some very significant goals, most importantly the expansion of high school education and the broadening of access to primary education in areas where access was far from universal. My research nevertheless points to some sever shortcomings, namely with regard to the situation of Afro-Brazilians. Structural racism provides one of the strongest explanations for this shortcoming. Structural racism in Bahia lowers teachers' and principals' expectations about the potential for academic achievement of poor Afro-Brazilians; structural racism widens the gap between students and principals, contributing to a mutual alienation of this two groups and jeopardizing the creation of strategic alliances and synergies inside schools; and it alienates schools from neighborhoods, impeding meaningful community and parental involvement in school management. Finally, the low recognition that public teachers receive from society as a whole, reflected by low salaries, and a general lack of institutional incentive structures that reward outstanding performance and sanction under-average performance have transformed Bahian public education into a desperado system, where the motivations of teachers and students are systematically grinded and their hopes frustrated.
A close-form performance approximation for nonblocking ATM switches with channel grouping

We study the performance of an ATM switch which clusters a set of broadband packet channels as a transmission group. The exact analysis for the performance of systems employing this concept includes solving for the roots of equations involving transcendental functions and can only be carried out numerically. Thus, its performance has mainly been understood by the use of simulation. We derive a close-form approximation for the performance of multichannel switches under independent uniform input traffic. Our approximation differs from simulation results by at most 8 percent for channel group sizes r=2,...,32 and is exact in the case where the channel group size is unity. >
Probabilistic Subset-Conjunctive Models for Heterogeneous Consumers

Abstract The authors propose two generalizations of conjunctive and disjunctive screening rules. First, they relax the requirement that an acceptable alternative must be satisfactory on one criterion (disjunctive) or on all criteria (conjunctive). Second, they relax the assumption that consumers make deterministic judgments when evaluating alternatives. They combine the two generalizations into a probabilistic subset-conjunctive rule, which allows consumers to use any number or subset of decision criteria when screening alternatives and permits them to be uncertain about the acceptability of attribute levels. These two features allow for a screening process that is uncertain and more flexible than the deterministic conjunctive and disjunctive rules currently described in the literature. The authors describe a latent-class method for the estimation of the subset-conjunctive rules and the attribute-level consideration probabilities using either consideration or choice data. Applications using both types of ...
Postbariatric Surgery Neuropathic Pain (PBSNP): Case Report, Literature Review, and Treatment Options

Objective This study is aimed at facilitating clinician understanding of factors associated with postbariatric surgery neuropathic pain (PBSNP) and discussing the evidence base for management options. Design A case report and systematic literature review. Methods A search was conducted of PubMed, MEDLINE, Google Scholar, EMBASE, Psych Info, and Cochrane Database of Reviews for articles published between 1985 and 2013 on neuropathy, pain, and pharmacokinetics associated with postbariatric surgery. Results The epidemiology of PBSNP has not been well established, and current therapeutic options are not evidence based. Available data indicate up to 33% incidence of pain in patients with neuropathy after bariatric surgery, resulting in significant decreases in quality of life and increases in health care costs. Pathophysiologic mechanisms underlying PBSNP are unclear, and the natural course is variable, with some patients experiencing spontaneous improvement when nutritional deficiency is identified and corrected. Early identification of nutritional deficiency along with glycemic and lipid control may prevent or partially reverse postsurgical neuropathy and modulate PBSNP. Conclusions A better understanding of the peripheral and central mechanisms resulting in PBSNP is likely to promote the development of targeted and effective treatments.
Effect of electrical/chemical energy input on the Interior Ballistics of an Electrothermal Chemical Gun

Recent studies have clearly indicated that an electothermal chemical (ETC) gun provides many advantages over solid and liquid propellant guns. However, the interior ballistic process of an ETC gun has not yet been fully investigated. Specifically, the effects of the energy ratio between the electrical and chemical energy input on gun performance is not well understood. Nor is it known exactly how chemical energy is converted to propulsive energy during the ETC gun event. In view of this, a comprehensive theoretical model taking into full account electrical/chemical energy input, liquid entrainment process, distribution of dispersed droplets, and liquid propellant combustion, is developed to simulate the interior ballistics of an ETC gun. Governing equations are formulated from first principles for five different regions, including the gas phase (i.e., Taylor cavity), working fluid (i.e., liquid propellant), dispersed droplets, projectile, and plasma generation cartridge (PGC). Various energy ratios with two different PFN discharge characteristics are employed to evaluate ETC gun performance. Results indicate that the gun champer pressure, muzzle velocity, and ballistic efficiency depend strongly on the energy ratio. The electrical energy input and chemical energy release processes show unequal influence on the gun performance over different stages of ETC gun event. The predicted time history of the breech presure is compared with the measured breech pressur available in the literature. The results show that shapes of the breech pressure-time traces and values of the peak pressure predicted by the present model agree reasonably well with the experimental data.