cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The role of pharmacoeconomic evaluations in disease management.

Disease management is a systematic approach to a health condition or a healthcare intervention that organises preventative, interventional and care approaches throughout the continuum of care and which measures outcomes in terms of populations, not individuals. Disease management’s advantage over the current component system is that it stresses prevention over acute treatment of a chronic disease. Patients with better control of their chronic diseases will likely have a decrease in the use of emergency room and inpatient hospitalisation services, thereby improving clinical outcomes of patients.
Compound brushing explained

This paper proposes a conceptual model called compound brushing for modeling the brushing techniques used in dynamic data visualization. In this approach, brushing techniques are modeled as higraphs with five types of basic entities: data, selection, device, renderer, and transformation. Using this model, a flexible visual programming tool is designed not only to configure and control various common types of brushing techniques currently used in dynamic data visualization but also to investigate new brushing techniques.
Phase diagram of carbon-oxygen plasma mixtures in white dwarf stars

The liquid-solid phase-diagram of dense carbon-oxygen plasma mixtures found in white dwarf stars interiors is determined from molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Our MD simulations consist of boxes with 55296 ions with different carbon to oxygen ratios. Finite size effects are estimated comparing the new MD simulations results to previous smaller simulations. We use bond angle metric to identify whether an ion is in the solid, liquid or interface and study non-equilibrium effects by obtaining the diffusion coefficients in the different phases. Our phase diagram agrees with predictions from Medin and Cumming obtained by an independent method.
Mammalian Krüppel-Like Factors in Health and Diseases

The Kruppel-like factor (KLF) family of transcription factors regulates diverse biological processes that include proliferation, differentiation, growth, development, survival, and responses to external stress. Seventeen mammalian KLFs have been identified, and numerous studies have been published that describe their basic biology and contribution to human diseases. KLF proteins have received much attention because of their involvement in the development and homeostasis of numerous organ systems. KLFs are critical regulators of physiological systems that include the cardiovascular, digestive, respiratory, hematological, and immune systems and are involved in disorders such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and inflammatory conditions. Furthermore, KLFs play an important role in reprogramming somatic cells into induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells and maintaining the pluripotent state of embryonic stem cells. As research on KLF proteins progresses, additional KLF functions and associations with disease are likely to be discovered. Here, we review the current knowledge of KLF proteins and describe common attributes of their biochemical and physiological functions and their pathophysiological roles.
Interaction of β-cyclodextrin with the granular starch binding domain of glucoamylase

The granular starch binding domain of glucoamylase 1 (EC 3.2.1.3 1,4-alpha-D-glucan glucohydrolase) binds two molecules of beta-cyclodextrin, with a dissociation constant (Kd) for the second ligand of 1.68 microM. The catalytic domain showed no interaction with beta-cyclodextrin. Beta-cyclodextrin competitively inhibited the adsorption of the binding domain onto granular starch with an inhibition constant (Ki) of 11.0 +/- 1.9 microM. The results show that beta-cyclodextrin binds to the binding domain of glucoamylase at the same site(s) as granular starch.
Linguistic Studies in Polynesia

IN an article entitled “Comparative Philology and Polynesian Studies”, published in Nature of October 10, 1953, Prof. Alan S. C. Ross points to the need of a scientific study of the Polynesian family of languages, and suggests a plan for such studies. Our purpose in commenting on Prof. Ross's article is two-fold: (1) to show that structural linguistics, the recent development of which Prof. Ross disparages, may be of help in Polynesian studies; and (2) to express a somewhat different picture of the present status of Polynesian and Malayo–Polynesian studies.
Direct observation of the evolution of a seafloor 'black smoker' from vapor to brine

Abstract A single hydrothermal vent, ‘F’ vent, occurring on very young crust at 9°16.8′N, East Pacific Rise, was sampled in 1991 and 1994. In 1991, at the measured temperature of 388°C and seafloor pressure of 258 bar, the fluids from this vent were on the two-phase curve for seawater. These fluids were very low in chlorinity and other dissolved species, and high in gases compared to seawater and most sampled seafloor hydrothermal vent fluids. In 1994, when this vent was next sampled, it had cooled to 351°C and was venting fluids ∼ 1.5 times seawater chlorinity. This is the first reported example of a single seafloor hydrothermal vent evolving from vapor to brine. The 1991 and 1994 fluids sampled from this vent are compositionally conjugate pairs to one another. These results support the hypothesis that vapor-phase fluids vent in the early period following a volcanic eruption, and that the liquid-phase brines are stored within the oceanic crust, and vent at a later time, in this case 3 years. These results demonstrate that the venting of brines can occur in the same location, in fact from the same sulfide edifice, where the vapor-phase fluids vented previously.
Visual pigment and oil droplet characteristics of the bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus), a new world migratory bird.

Abstract The retinal photoreceptors of a New World migratory bird, the bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus) were examined using microspectrophotometry. Based on the absorbance spectra of their visual pigments and oil droplets, retinal photoreceptors include five classes of single cones, one double cone, and one rod. The single cones contain a long-wavelength pigment (λmax = 564 nm) paired with a red or clear droplet, a medium-wavelength pigment (λmax = 505 nm) with an orange or yellow droplet, and an ultraviolet pigment (λmax = 372 nm) with a transparent droplet. No violet- or blue-sensitive single cone was found. The Bobolink double cone is unique: the Accessory member possesses the violet sensitive pigment (λmax = 403 nm), in contrast to the long-wavelength sensitive pigment present in the double cones of other avian species.
Bluff-body flame stabilization: Blockage effects

Abstract Experiments have been performed to define the influence of blockage on flame stabilization by bluff bodies in ducted flow. Flameholders of a particularly simple geometry were studied over a wide range of blockage ratios. The studies were made while combustion was taking place and showed that flow speeds and flame geometry depend strongly on blockage. However, the experiments demonstrated convincingly that, at flame blowoff, the particular combination of these variables known as the characteristic mechanical time is independent of blockage as well as of other gross fluid dynamic parameters. Further experiments explored the influence of Mach number on the flows and showed quantitatively the changes in flow speeds and flame geometry to be expected at high Mach numbers. The experiments showed that the value of the mechanical time at blowoff remains unchanged at high Mach numbers despite large changes in the flow speeds and lengths that constitute this mechanical time. As a guide for the experiments, a free-streamlike theory was developed. This purely fluid dynamic theory, supplemented by a few simple experimental results, suffices to predict most of the features of bluff-body flameholding. A result of practical importance, predicted by the theory and confirmed by experiment, is that maximum blowoff speed occurs at a relatively low blockage ratio.
A data-driven approach for modeling post-fire debris-flow volumes and their uncertainty

This study demonstrates the novel application of genetic programming to evolve nonlinear post-fire debris-flow volume equations from variables associated with a data-driven conceptual model of the western United States. The search space is constrained using a multi-component objective function that simultaneously minimizes root-mean squared and unit errors for the evolution of fittest equations. An optimization technique is then used to estimate the limits of nonlinear prediction uncertainty associated with the debris-flow equations. In contrast to a published multiple linear regression three-variable equation, linking basin area with slopes greater or equal to 30 percent, burn severity characterized as area burned moderate plus high, and total storm rainfall, the data-driven approach discovers many nonlinear and several dimensionally consistent equations that are unbiased and have less prediction uncertainty. Of the nonlinear equations, the best performance (lowest prediction uncertainty) is achieved when using three variables: average basin slope, total burned area, and total storm rainfall. Further reduction in uncertainty is possible for the nonlinear equations when dimensional consistency is not a priority and by subsequently applying a gradient solver to the fittest solutions. The data-driven modeling approach can be applied to nonlinear multivariate problems in all fields of study.
Drug-resistant tuberculosis: issues in epidemiology and challenges for public health.

30 years ago, Canetti warned implicitly ‘. . . Since optimal chemotherapy of tuberculosis produced by wild strains reduces the frequency of emergence of resistance drastically, the general feeling tends to prevail that resistance has slipped into history . . .‘I The medical community has subsequently learned the hard way, from experience in the USAzA and elsewhere,5” that Canetti really meant optimal chemotherapy and not availability of optimal drugs. The British Medical Research Council’s streptomycin trial7 revealed early on what is now abundantly clear: in each wild strain of tubercle bacilli, approximately 1 out of every l-10 000 000 organisms is spontaneously resistant to at least 1 of the known drugs.* Because patients with cavitary pulmonary lesions may harbor 10 000 000-l 000 000 000 tubercle bacilli,’ any patient treated with only a single effective drug has a very high probability that the drug-resistant mutants are preferentially selected while the susceptible ones are killed off. Conversely, a patient continuously treated with 2 or more drugs, in concentrations to which the strain is susceptible, has a very high probability of escaping the fate of incurable drug-resistant tuberculosis. The role of chemotherapy is paramount in the production of all clinically important drug resistance. Three phases in the development of antituberculosis chemotherapy might be distinguished. They are characterized by increasing knowledge about principles of treatment, accompanied by neglect of that knowledge by large segments of the medical community. The first phase began with the discovery of streptomycin and the early observation of the iatrogenic creation of streptomycin resistance in clinical trials. An insight into the harm inflicted by monotherapy was gained in this period. In the second phase, it was shown that streptomycin resistance could be largely overcome with the addition of para-aminosalicylic acid and isoniazid, and
Reticuloendothelial response and liver enzyme induction in relation to endotoxicosis in mice

Abstract The influence, at a metabolic level, of inert, nonmetabolizable, RE-active, colloidal materials was investigated in relation to endotoxin poisoning in mice. Repeated injections of glucan or zymosan increased RE activity and sensitized mice to endotoxin lethality. The liver TO activity was normal after treatment with either colloid but liver pyridine nucleotide (PN+) levels were depleted. Cortisone induced liver TO, and increased liver PN+ levels, in zymosan or glucan pretreated mice, and it protected such animals against the lethal effects of endotoxin. Such observations are consistent with the view that a cause and effect relationship may exist between hormone induction of selected hepatic enzymes and survival against stress. Since zymosan and glucan share many properties in common with endotoxin the possibility was considered that the colloids are contaminated with the toxin. This was not substantiated when it was shown that purposeful contamination of zymosan with 0.01 LD50 of endotoxin yielded results distinct from those obtained with the colloidal agent alone. These and other observations suggest a metabolic relationship between RE response and the behaviour of selected inducible liver enzymes.
Prevalence of symptoms on the CERAD behavior rating scale for dementia in normal elderly subjects and Alzheimer's disease patients.

The authors sought to define “abnormal” levels for total scores on the CERAD Behavioral Rating Scale for Dementia (BRSD) and for 37 BRSD items by comparing 242 patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and 64 normal elderly control subjects (NEC). BRSD total scores for NEC ranged as high as 52 (out of a maximum 167), and although item prevalence rates were higher for AD patients, not all of these differences were significant. Many symptoms were observed in ≤10% of AD subjects. Lower Mini-Mental State Examination scores were not consistently associated with lower or higher levels of endorsement across all items. Over 6 and 12 months, endorsement rates were relatively stable for both groups. The authors conclude that assessment of behavior in long-term studies will be needed to quantify “abnormal” levels, and that item-level BRSD information could be important in clinical trials.
Disclosures of Huntington disease risk within families: Patterns of decision‐making and implications

Patterns of disclosure of Huntington disease risk and genetic test results among family members are important, but have been underexplored. We interviewed 21 individuals in-depth - eight mutation-positive for HD, four mutation-negative, and nine not tested - for 2 hr each. Within families, critical questions arose of what, when, and to whom to disclose, and what to do post-disclosure. Interviewees wrestled with dilemmas of what to tell (e.g., suspicions vs. confirmed symptoms; initiation vs. completion of testing; partial vs. indirect information), how to disclose (e.g., planning in advance vs. "blurting out" information in arguments), and whether and how to tell extended family members. Questions arose of when to tell (i.e., to avoid disclosing "too early" or "too late"). Similarities and differences emerged related to types of relationships (e.g., parents telling offspring vs. offspring telling parents vs. siblings telling each other). Individuals often disclosed because of perceived duty to foster the health of their family members, enabling these others to pursue appropriate medical evaluation, if desired. Yet tensions arose because the information could burden these members, who also have rights to remain "in denial" if they wish and not discuss the topic or pursue testing. Post-disclosure, dilemmas emerged of whether and how much to encourage family members to pursue testing. These data shed important light on critical issues that have received little, if any, attention concerning what, how, and when disclosure occurs, and have key implications for at-risk individuals, genetic counselors, and other health care workers (HCWs), and for future research. At-risk individuals would benefit from considering these issues in advance. HCWs need to realize that these decisions are multi-faceted. Future research can explore whether, when, how, and how often HCWs raise these issues with individuals.
Fluorometric method for the determination of nanogram quantities of inulin

The fluorometric determination of 15 or fewer nanograms of inulin can be made with a precision of ±5.3%. Inulin reacted with dimedone in concentrated o-phosphoric acid produces a moderately fluorescent product which can be excited by the 366 nm mercury lines and which has its fluorescence peak around 400 nm. The reaction conditions, 5 min at 100°C, are such that the presence of five times more glucose than inulin does not introduce significant error in the estimation of inulin.
Sequential Assays of 4 Amino Acids in Grains of Wheat, Rye, and of Their Hybrid.∗:

SummaryWheat, rye, and a wheat-rye hybrid have been analyzed for leucine. lysine, methionine, and phenylalanine. The assays have included total, N-terminal, N-penulti-mate, and C-terminal proportions of these amino acids. In all cases, only lysine is N-terminal. C-Terminal assays permit the conclusion that this lysine is all terminal, and not free. The proportions of total lysine and N-lysine in the hybrid are intermediate between the values in the parent strains. The comparable result for leucine is not intermediate.
What Accounts for Demographic Differences in Trajectories of Adolescent Dating Violence? An Examination of Intrapersonal and Contextual Mediators

Abstract Purpose To identify intrapersonal and contextual factors that mediate associations between demographic variables (minority status, socioeconomic status, family structure, gender, and neighborhood disadvantage) and trajectories of moderate and severe physical dating violence perpetration from ages 13–19 years. Methods Multi-wave data from 959 adolescents were analyzed using formal mediation analysis in a multilevel analytical framework. Results Gender and neighborhood disadvantage were not associated with trajectories of dating violence, and therefore mediation was not examined for those variables. At all ages, minority adolescents reported perpetrating significantly more moderate and severe physical dating violence than non-minority adolescents. Destructive communication skills, acceptance of dating abuse, gender stereotyping, and exposure to family violence significantly mediated those associations. Parental education was significantly negatively associated with moderate physical dating violence. Acceptance of dating abuse, gender stereotyping, and exposure to family violence significantly mediated that association. At all ages, adolescents from single-parent households perpetrated significantly more severe physical dating violence than adolescents from two-parent households, but no variables mediated that association. Conclusions Each of the identified mediating variables is amenable to change through interventions targeted at high-risk subgroups of adolescents identified by these demographic characteristics.
Evaluation of transition state properties by density functional theory

Abstract We have evaluated the performance of five popular DFT functionals, BH&HLYP, B3PW91, B3P86, B3LYP and BLYP, in characterizing a set of seven ‘well known’ transition states. We found BH&HLYP performs best in calculating classical barrier heights, with the other functionals systematically underpredicting the barriers. All the functionals examined perform reasonably well in predicting geometries, and the BH&HLYP, B3PW91 and B3P86 functionals have similar performance in predicting vibrational frequencies. In examining the effect of basis set size we found essentially no systematic improvement in performance with increase in basis set size from 6–31G(d) to 6–311G(3df,2p).
Learning and generalization in schizophrenia: effects of disease and antipsychotic drug treatment.

Background Schizophrenia involves alterations in hippocampal function. The implications of these alterations for memory function in the illness remain poorly understood. Furthermore, it remains unknown how memory is impacted by drug treatments for schizophrenia. The goal of this study was to delineate specific memory processes that are disrupted in schizophrenia and explore how they are affected by medication. We specifically focus on memory generalization—the ability to flexibly generalize memories in novel situations. Methods Individuals with schizophrenia ( n = 56) and healthy control subjects ( n = 20) were tested on a computerized memory generalization paradigm. Participants first engaged in trial-by-error associative learning. They were then asked to generalize what they learned by responding to novel stimulus combinations. Individuals with schizophrenia were tested on or off antipsychotic medication, using a between-subject design in order to eliminate concerns about learning-set effects. Results Individuals with schizophrenia were selectively impaired in their ability to generalize knowledge, despite having intact learning and memory accuracy. This impairment was found only in individuals tested off medication. Individuals tested on medication generalized almost as well as healthy control subjects. This between-group difference was selective to memory generalization. Conclusions These findings suggest that individuals with schizophrenia have a selective alteration in the ability to flexibly generalize past experience toward novel learning environments. This alteration is unaccompanied by global memory impairments. Additionally, the results indicate a robust generalization difference on the basis of medication status. These results suggest that hippocampal abnormalities in schizophrenia might be alleviated with antipsychotic medication, with important implications for understanding adaptive memory-guided behavior.
Film Stress Influence of Bilayer Metallization on the Structure of RF MEMS Switches

The performance of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) switches is highly dependent on the switches' constituent materials. The switch material must be able to provide both structural integrity and high electrical conductivity. Cantilever beams, doubly clamped beams, and membranes are typical MEMS structures used in microwave/millimeter wave applications. In this study, cantilever and doubly clamped beam microswitches were fabricated on GaAs substrates using evaporated bilayers of titanium and gold metallization in which the total thickness was held constant at 1.5 μm while the gold thickness varied from 0.5 μm to 1.5 μm. The lengths of the cantilevers varied from 300 to 500 μm and the doubly clamped beams varied from 600 to 800 μm. An upward deflection of the gold dominated cantilever beams indicated an increasing tensile stress gradient. Results of microwave characterization demonstrated higher switch isolation (off-resistance) for shorter beam switches at the expense of higher insertion loss (on-resistance) and actuation voltage. A discussion of the observed released microswitch structure within the context of the measured film stresses and electrical performance will be presented.
Analysis of endothelial cell locomotion : differential effects of motility and contact inhibition

Video microscopy and digital time-lapse recording were used to monitor locomotion and proliferation of bovine pulmonary artery endothelial (BPAE) cells cultured with varying concentrations of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF). Cell trajectories were reconstructed using a generalized nearest-neighbor algorithm and analyzed to determine how cell motility is affected by cell-cell collisions, cell divisions, and increasing cell density. The temporal evolution patterns of the average speed of locomotion for all cells in a culture were computed and the effects of varying bFGF concentrations were analyzed. Intermediate concentrations of bFGF (30 and 50 ng/mL) significantly increased the speed of locomotion above the levels we observed with 0 and 100 ng/mL concentrations of bFGF. Increases in cell density due to proliferation were immediately accompanied by a decrease in the average speed of locomotion of the cell population. Finally, the effect of bFGF concentration on the overall cell proliferation rates was assessed. With the addition of 30 or 50 ng/mL of bFGF to the culture media, the observed cell proliferation rates increased significantly. The proliferation rates decreased when the bFGF concentration increased to 100 ng/mL. These results show that bFGF concentrations that increase the motility of BPAE cells also increase the observed cell proliferation rates. (c) 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Tobacco Regulatory Science: Research to Inform Regulatory Action at the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) promotes the development of regulatory science to ensure that a strong evidence base informs all of its regulatory activities related to the manufacture, marketing, and distribution of tobacco products as well as public education about tobacco product constituents and effects. Toward that end, the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) provides funding for research studies with scientific aims that fall within its defined regulatory authority. However, given their traditional biomedical focus on basic and applied research, some researchers may not understand the principles of regulatory science or the types of studies CTP funds. The purpose of this paper is (1) to clarify the definition of regulatory science as a distinct scientific discipline, (2) to explore the role of tobacco regulatory science in order to help researchers understand the parameters and types of research that can be funded by CTP, and (3) to describe the types of research efforts that will inform the FDA's public health framework for tobacco product regulation.
Construction of the Lied Library

Active participation in the Lied Library construction management proved to be an interesting challenge as well as a learning experience for library personnel. Problems of architectural design flaws, change‐orders, and other issues were discussed during the project management weekly meetings in which the library was represented. In order to make the library technologically adaptable and extend the life of the building, different types of infrastructure were put into place, including an automated storage and retrieval system. Unanticipated problems caused construction delays, and the library administration had to remain flexible while preparing for the move into the building.
Power efficiency in high performance computing

After 15 years of exponential improvement in microprocessor clock rates, the physical principles allowing for Dennard scaling, which enabled performance improvements without a commensurate increase in power consumption, have all but ended. Until now, most HPC systems have not focused on power efficiency. However, as the cost of power reaches parity with capital costs, it is increasingly important to compare systems with metrics based on the sustained performance per watt. Therefore we need to establish practical methods to measure power consumption of such systems in- situ in order to support such metrics. Our study provides power measurements for various computational loads on the largest scale HPC systems ever involved in such an assessment. This study demonstrates clearly that, contrary to conventional wisdom, the power consumed while running the high performance Linpack (HPL) benchmark is very close to the power consumed by any subset of a typical compute-intensive scientific workload. Therefore, HPL, which in most cases cannot serve as a suitable workload for performance measurements, can be used for the purposes of power measurement. Furthermore, we show through measurements on a large scale system that the power consumed by smaller subsets of the system can be projected straightforwardly and accurately to estimate the power consumption of the full system. This allows a less invasive approach for determining the power consumption of large-scale systems.
Fusion of PMU and SCADA Data for dynamic state estimation of power system

In recent times dynamic state estimation has been identified as a requirement for the modern power system. The availability of Phasor Measurement Units (PMUs) has made the tracking of power system dynamic states in real time quite feasible. However, the measurement system of today's grid consists of a combination of 1) traditional slow SCADA data with low sampling rates and 2) fast PMUs having high sampling rates. Such measurements with different sampling rates pose a serious challenge in integrating them into power system dynamic state estimator. This paper addresses this problem as a special case of multi-rate multi-sensor data fusion problem and appropriately adopts a method to integrate PMU and SCADA data in the power system dynamic state estimator. The proposed method has been demonstrated using a IEEE 14 bus test case.
Adaptive capability of recurrent neural networks with fixed weights for series-parallel system identification

By a fundamental neural filtering theorem, a recurrent neural network with fixed weights is known to be capable of adapting to an uncertain environment. This letter reports some mathematical results on the performance of such adaptation for series-parallel identification of a dynamical system as compared with the performance of the best series-parallel identifier possible under the assumption that the precise value of the uncertain environmental process is given. In short, if an uncertain environmental process is observable (not necessarily constant) from the output of a dynamical system or constant (not necessarily observable), then a recurrent neural network exists as a series-parallel identifier of the dynamical system whose output approaches the output of an optimal series-parallel identifier using the environmental process as an additional input.
Evolution of capture cross-section of radiation-induced interface traps in MOSFETs as studied by a rapid charge pumping technique

Using a rapid charge pumping technique, it was found that the mean capture cross-section of interface traps in MOSFETs sharply decreased immediately after irradiation. Further changes of the capture cross-section during subsequent relaxation depended on the gate bias during both irradiation and storage. Radiation dose dependence has also been investigated. Possible mechanisms and correlations between interface-trap density and capture cross-section are discussed. >
Optimal adaptive ARQ protocols for point-to-multipoint communication

A study is made of some data-link-layer error-control protocols suitable for point-to-multipoint communication over broadcast channels where data are delivered to the destinations in the order they are sent. The authors study a series of protocols differing in the way that the sender uses the outcomes of the previous transmissions. The protocols are based on the go-back-N schemes discussed by I.S. Gopal and J.M. Jaffe (1984). The authors generalize their proposed protocols to the case where multiple copies of a message are sent (instead of just a single copy). The optimum number of copies is determined, which depends not only on the round-trip propagation delay of the channel and the error probability, but also on the number of receivers that have not yet received the message. A dynamic programming technique is used to solve this optimization problem. The throughput comparison shows that by sending the optimum number of copies of a data frame instead of just a single copy, the performance will be significantly improved. >
Assessment of the craniocaudal stability of four extracapsular stabilization techniques during two cyclic loading protocols: a cadaver study.

Objective To (1) compare the effect of cyclic loading on craniocaudal tibial translation in cranial cruciate ligament (CrCL)-deficient stifles after extracapsular stabilization, and (2) evaluate the effect of peak force during cyclic loading on the rate of development of craniocaudal laxity. Study Design Biomechanical cadaveric study. Sample Population Cadaveric pelvic limbs (n = 24 pairs) from skeletally mature dogs. Methods Twenty-four pairs of stifles were randomly assigned to 4 stabilization groups: nylon leader lateral circumfabellar-tibial suture (NLS); FiberTape lateral circumfabellar-tibial suture (FTLS); TightRope (TR); or bone anchor (BA). Contralateral limbs were cyclically loaded to produce cranial tibial translation at peak forces of either 80 or 160 N. Craniocaudal displacement of the tibia was measured with a mechanical testing machine during cyclic loading with the CrCL intact, after CrCL transection, and after extracapsular stabilization. The number of cycles each construct underwent before reaching 200% and 300% of the mean craniocaudal displacement present during cyclic loading of the CrCL-intact stifles was calculated. Number of cycles among treatment groups was compared with a Kruskal–Wallis test. P < .05 was considered significant. Results Mean ± SD translation before and after CrCL transection were 3.9 ± 0.6 and 14.6 ± 1.7 mm, respectively. TR constructs resisted significantly more cycles than NLS constructs before reaching 7.8 mm (200%) and 11.7 mm (300%) of translation when loaded to 80 N. No other differences between constructs were significant at a peak load of 80 N. All constructs reached 7.8 and 11.7 mm of translation in fewer cycles when loaded to 160 N than at 80 N. Conclusions TR constructs were most resistant to elongation during cyclic loading. Doubling the peak force during cyclic loading significantly decreased the number of cycles constructs withstood, supporting recommendations for restricting postoperative activity after extracapsular stabilization of the CrCL-deficient stifle.
DIPLOMA: Distributed Policy Enforcement Architecture for MANETs

Lack of well-defined defense perimeter in MANETs prevents the use traditional firewalls, and requires the security to be implemented in a distributed manner. We recently introduced a novel deny-by-default distributed security policy enforcement architecture for MANETs by harnessing and extending the concept of {\it network capabilities}. The {\it deny-by-default} principle allows compromised nodes to access only authorized services, limiting their ability to disrupt or even interfere with end-to-end connectivity and nodes beyond their local communication radius. The enforcement of policies is done hop-by-hop, in a distributed manner. In this paper, we present the implementation of this architecture, called DIPLOMA, on Linux. Our implementation works at the network layer, and does not require any changes to existing applications. We identify the bottlenecks of the original architecture and propose improvements, including a signature optimization, so that it works well in practice. We present the results of evaluating the architecture in a realistic MANET testbed Orbit. The results show that the architecture incurs minimal overhead in throughput, latency and jitter. We also show that the system protects network bandwidth and the end-hosts in the presence of attackers. To that end, we identify ways of creating multi-hop topologies in indoor environments so that a bad node cannot interfere with every other node. We also show that existing applications are not impacted by the new architecture, achieving good performance.
Mass Propagation of Selected Trees for Biomass by Tissue Culture

The enormous potential of trees as future sources of biomass yield has been envisaged as early as 1935 by Professor Bergius (Gleisinger 1942). Biomass resources, a source of energy, are conversions of solar energy deposited by photosynthesis in woody plants as large quantities of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. Biomass resources which exist in forests, have been relatively unexploited both in the U.S.A. and in the world. The commercial implications of this immense reproductive biomass power is limited to a large extent by the absence of application of modern integrated technological developments. One method to obtain additional energy is to increase the yield of biomass by genetic improvement and then the mass propagation of the genetically improved strains. It is now possible through tissue culture techniques to produce “test tube trees”, i.e., plants obtained from only a few cells of a tree by manipulations under laboratory conditions. Thus several thousand young plantlets can be produced from a single tree and these can be transferred to the field and grown as seedlings within a short time. It is also possible to use protoplast isolation, culture, fusion of protoplasts and genetic manipulations to obtain new “hybrid” trees in plants that normally do not cross to produce superior genotypes.
Atypical neural specialization for social percepts in autism spectrum disorder

The social motivation hypothesis posits that aberrant neural response to human faces in autism is attributable to atypical social development and consequently reduced exposure to faces. The specificity of deficits in neural specialization remains unclear, and alternative theories suggest generalized processing difficulties. The current study contrasted neural specialization for social information versus nonsocial information in 36 individuals with autism and 18 typically developing individuals matched for age, race, sex, handedness, and cognitive ability. Event-related potentials elicited by faces, inverted faces, houses, letters, and pseudoletters were recorded. Groups were compared on an electrophysiological marker of neural specialization (N170), as well as behavioral performance on standardized measures of face recognition and word reading/decoding. Consistent with prior results, individuals with autism displayed slowed face processing and decreased sensitivity to face inversion; however, they showed comparable brain responses to letters, which were associated with behavioral performance in both groups. Results suggest that individuals with autism display atypical neural specialization for social information but intact specialization for nonsocial information. Findings concord with the notion of specific dysfunction in social brain systems rather than nonspecific information-processing difficulties in autism.
Vacuum microfabrication on live fruit fly

The survival rate of Drosophila when exposed to moderate vacuum levels is studied and it is established that the organism can be subjected to 55 mTorr vacuum for periods as long as 70 minutes with a significant rate of survival (>20%). This finding opens a number of new opportunities for performing fabrication processes, similar to the ones performed on a silicon wafer, on a fruit fly as a live substrate. As a model microfabrication process, it is shown how a collection of Drosophila can be made to self-assemble into an array of microfabricated recesses on a silicon wafer and how a shadow mask can be used to thermally evaporate 100 nm of indium on flies. The procedure resulted in the production of a number of live flies with 50 mum indium micro patterns on their wings. The first demonstration of vacuum microfabrication on a live organism provides the first step towards the development of a hybrid biological/solid-state manufacturing process for complex microsystems.
Model-integrated programming

The building of complex, large-scale industrial applications necessitates the integration of models into the problem-solving process. This paper describes a model-integrated program synthesis (MIPS) environment for computer-based system applications. In MIPS, domain-specific, multiple-view models represent the software, its environment and relationships. Generic model interpreters translate the models into the input languages of static and dynamic analysis tools, and application-specific model interpreters synthesize software applications. The components of the system are built in the framework of the layered Multigraph architecture, which separates the generic and domain/application-specific components, and which defines interfaces for expandability.
An extensible knowledge-based architecture for segmenting computed tomography images

A knowledge-based system has been developed for segmenting computed tomography (CT) images. The modular architecture includes an anatomical model, image processing engine, inference engine and blackboard. The model contains a priori knowledge of size, shape, X-ray attenuation and relative position of anatomical structures. This knowledge is used to constrain low-level segmentation routines. Model-derived constraints and segmented image objects are both transformed into a common feature space and posted on the blackboard. The inference engine then matches image to model objects, based on the constraints. The transformation to feature space allows the knowledge and image data representations to be independent. Thus a high-level model can be used, with data being stored in a frame-based semantic network. Also, standard, low-level segmentation algorithms can be easily plugged-in to the system. This modularity allows for straightforward system extension and maintenance. We initially demonstrate an application to lung segmentation in thoracic CT, with subsequent extension of the knowledge-base to include tumors within the lung fields.
Packing and least-loaded based routing in multi-rate loss networks

We examine various schemes for dynamically routing virtual circuits (VCs) in a multi-class network. A VC setup request may be rejected by admission control because resources are either unavailable or being reserved for future incoming VCs. We examine least-loaded based schemes, which attempt to balance the load among available routes. In addition, we examine packing based schemes, which attempt to reduce bandwidth fragmentation possibly at the expense of load balancing. Our simulation results show that under skewed workload, our packing based scheme outperforms a traditional least-loaded based scheme in terms of revenue (or equivalently, network utilization). Under uniform workload, both schemes provide similar revenue.
The Kuhn-Inspired New Philosophy of Science

Harold I. Brown’s articulation of the “new philosophy of science”1 is particularly welcome because it systematically pulls together various strands of the post-positivist philosophy of science literature. The new philosophy of science Brown presents, drawing on the work of Kuhn, Toulmin, Hanson, Lakatos, Polanyi, and others, but effectively structured, enhanced, and defended by Brown, replaces logical empiricism’s fundamental presuppositions of Principia logic and observation-based empiricism with a new approach which emphasizes the theory-ladenness of perception, the unavoidability of paradigmatic presuppositions, conceptual change and scientific revolutions, dialectic (as opposed to algorithmic) reasoning as the model of rational thinking in science, and a sharp rejection of the discovery/justification distinction. Brown develops a new epistemology of science to compliment and underlie the new philosophy of science, including alternative conceptions of rationality, scientific knowledge, truth, objectivity, and relativism. As with Kuhn, Brown’s discussion of relativism cannot be helpfully separated from the rest of his presentation. Consequently, in what follows we shall concern ourselves with the entire Brownian conception of the new epistemology and philosophy of science.
Self-reported anxiety of adults who do and do not stutter.

This is a preliminary investigation of the differences in self-reported anxiety of people who do and do not stutter. Participants and experimental procedures were the same as those used by Gabel, Colcord, and Petrosino in 2001. 10 people who stuttered, all of whom had experience with stuttering therapy, were matched with 10 participants who did not stutter. Each participant in both groups was engaged in a session to evaluate speech in a format similar to a professional diagnostic session for stuttering. Each participant was stopped and asked to rate his anxiety during specific moments during the session. This procedure is similar to in vivo cognitive assessment used in cognitive-behavioral treatments and research. The participants' reports were taken during a baseline period, during a period in which they were thinking about their speech, and during three different speaking tasks. The anxiety reported by the group of people who stuttered was compared to the anxiety reported by the group of individuals who...
Isolation and Characterization of the Prochlorococcus Carboxysome Reveal the Presence of the Novel Shell Protein CsoS1D

Cyanobacteria, including members of the genus Prochlorococcus, contain icosahedral protein microcompartments known as carboxysomes that encapsulate multiple copies of the CO(2)-fixing enzyme ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RubisCO) in a thin protein shell that enhances the catalytic performance of the enzyme in part through the action of a shell-associated carbonic anhydrase. However, the exact mechanism by which compartmentation provides a catalytic advantage to the enzyme is not known. Complicating the study of cyanobacterial carboxysomes has been the inability to obtain homogeneous carboxysome preparations. This study describes the first successful purification and characterization of carboxysomes from the marine cyanobacterium Prochlorococcus marinus MED4. Because the isolated P. marinus MED4 carboxysomes were free from contaminating membrane proteins, their protein complement could be assessed. In addition to the expected shell proteins, the CsoS1D protein that is not encoded by the canonical cso gene clusters of α-cyanobacteria was found to be a low-abundance shell component. This finding and supporting comparative genomic evidence have important implications for carboxysome composition, structure, and function. Our study indicates that carboxysome composition is probably more complex than was previously assumed based on the gene complements of the classical cso gene clusters.
AXIN1 and AXIN2 variants in gastrointestinal cancers

Mutations in the APC (adenomatous polyposis coli) gene, which encodes a multi-functional protein with a well-defined role in the canonical Wnt pathway, underlie familial adenomatous polypsosis, a rare, inherited form of colorectal cancer (CRC) and contribute to the majority of sporadic CRCs. However, not all sporadic and familial CRCs can be explained by mutations in APC or other genes with well-established roles in CRC. The AXIN1 and AXIN2 proteins function in the canonical Wnt pathway, and AXIN1/2 alterations have been proposed as key defects in some cancers. Here, we review AXIN1 and AXIN2 sequence alterations reported in gastrointestinal cancers, with the goal of vetting the evidence that some of the variants may have key functional roles in cancer development.
The effect of the magnetizing inductance on the small-signal dynamics of the isolated Cuk converter

The magnetizing inductance of the isolated Cuk converter introduces an undesirable pair of closely spaced complex zeros and poles, or a glitch, in the control-to-output transfer function. Limited analysis and experimentation in the past have shown that sufficient increase in the magnetizing inductance or manipulation of the ratio of the capacitances of the energy transfer capacitors can reduce the glitch. In this work, the isolated Cuk converter with coupled input and output inductors has been studied and the dependence of the glitch on various circuit parameters has been determined analytically. A condition has been derived for the ratio of the capacitances of the two energy transfer capacitors which completely eliminates the glitch at a given operating point. With this condition satisfied, it is shown that the energy transfer capacitors can be easily damped by a simple RC network to eliminate the glitch from a wide range of operation about an operating point.
X‐ray Tomography Study on Green State Joining of Silicon Carbide Using Polymer Precursors

X-ray tomography has been used to investigate the density variations in SiC joints formed using polymer pastes. It has been demonstrated that X-ray tomography provides accurate bulk density measurements and volumetric density gradients. The results suggest that the magnitude of the applied pressure after green state joining and the amount of polymer (polycarbosilane, PCS) in the joining pastes influence the green density of the joints. All joints are prepared and applied in air atmosphere and at room temperature. The green densities of the joints increase from 54% to 66% of theoretical with the increase of the applied pressure from ambient to 138 MPa. Highest joint density without applied pressure is achieved using paste containing 50 vol% PCS. Furthermore, allylhydridopopolycarbosilane- (AHPCS-) containing pastes resulted in higher densities at the joint-matrix interface, indicating infiltration of polymer into the matrix.