cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Distributed Client-Server Assignment for Online Social Network Applications

We study the problem of assigning users to servers with an emphasis on the distributed algorithmic solutions. Typical online social network applications, such as Facebook and Twitter, are built on top of an infrastructure of servers that provides the services on behalf of the users. For a given communication pattern among users, the loads of the servers depend critically on how the users are assigned to the servers. A good assignment will reduce the overall load of the system while balancing the loads among the servers. Unfortunately, this optimal assignment problem is NP-hard. Therefore, we investigate three heuristic algorithms for solving the user server assignment problem: 1) the centralized simulated annealing (CSA) algorithm; 2) the distributed simulated annealing (DSA) algorithm; and 3) the distributed perturbed greedy search (DPGS). The CSA algorithm produces good solution in the fastest time, however it relies on timely accurate global system information, and is practical only for small and static systems. In contrast, the two distributed algorithms, DSA and DPGS, exploit local information at each server during their search for the optimal assignment, and thus can scale well with the number of users and servers as well as adapting to the system dynamics. Simulation results show that the performance of the distributed algorithms, specifically the DPGS algorithm, is very competitive with that of the centralized algorithm while providing the advantage of naturally adapting to time-varying communication patterns of users.
Pressure-Induced Amorphization in Silicon Caused by the Impact of Electrosprayed Nanodroplets

This Letter describes the shock-induced amorphization of single-crystal Si bombarded by nanodroplets. At impact velocities of several kilometers per second, the projectiles trigger strong compression pulses lasting tens of picoseconds. The phase transition, confirmed via transmission electron microscopy and electron backscatter diffraction, takes place when the projectile’s stagnation pressure is approximately 15 GPa. We speculate that the amorphization results either from the decompression of the � -Sn phase or during the compression of the diamond phase.
Identifying solid-aqueous-phase transitions in atmospheric aerosols. II. Acidic solutions

Abstract Atmospheric aerosols are often found to be acidic. Predicting the composition of these multi-component aerosols as a function of relative humidity is important in estimating their water content, phase state and acidity. In this work, a computational method that was previously developed and applied to neutral acidity solutions to determine deliquescence relative humidities is extended to acidic solutions. Three sets of acid aerosol compositions are analyzed: H+NH4+HSO4−SO42−NO3−, H+NH4+HSO4−SO42−Cl− and H+NH4NO3−Cl−. Solubility products are used to determine phase state and water activity at saturation. Activity coefficients are predicted using the recently developed mole-fraction-based thermodynamic model of Clegg and coworkers, along with Pitzer's-molality-based method. Partial dissociation of bisulfate ion, HSO4− = H+ + SO42−, is considered explicitly. For each set of components, water activities at deliquescence are plotted as a function of composition. Trajectories are included that show variation in the composition of the aqueous phase in a multiphase aerosol as a function of relative humidity.
Future of environmental pollution

In recent years, the concept of pollution prevention has overtaken end-of-pipe controls as the paradigm of choice for effecting environmental protection. Through cooperative mechanisms, significant progress is being made to reduce or eliminate upstream processes and practices that can lead to downstream pollution. These efforts, coupled with productive interactions with the public, are making an impact. The Science Advisory Board released a report in January that described the "next wave" of pollution prevention. Specifically, the report described approaches for anticipating environmental problems of tomorrow so that preventive actions can be taken today. The potential of air pollution problems figures prominently in the Board's vision of the future.
How We Write: Understanding Scholarly Writing through Metaphor

This is a copy of an article published in the PS: Political Science and Politics © 2012 Cambridge University Press. The final publication is available at http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=PSC
Optimizing the Design of Space Radiators

A procedure for optimizing the configuration of a heat pipe/fin radiating element in terms of heat rejected per radiating mass has been developed. The optimization was carried out analytically by expressing the heat radiated per radiating mass in terms of a function involving a dimensionless heat transfer coefficient and the dimensionless thermal gradient at the root of the fin where it joins the heat pipe. The dimensionless Stefan–Boltzmann radiation equation was solved numerically to determine the value that maximizes the function that determines the heat transfer per radiating mass. Once this value is obtained, the optimum width and thickness of the fins as well as the heat radiated per mass can be specified in terms of the operating temperature, emissivity, diameter, and mass/length of the heat pipe, and the density and thermal conductivity of the fin material. The resulting analytical expression can then be used to determine the maximum heat radiated per radiating mass over a wide range of operating conditions, to optimize the design of a specific heat pipe/fin combination, and to conduct analyses of the influence of design and materials properties on the performance of the system. The optimization procedure was carried out for the case of uniformly tapered fins as well as for flat fins.
Skepticism and Contextualism

Through metalinguistic ascent, contextualism replaces a given question with a related but different question. About words that formulate one's original question, the contextualist asks when those words are correctly applicable. Whether the contextualist's replacement question is relevant to the original question will depend, therefore, on whether those words are ambiguous. That the words are correctly applicable while meaning something different from
Biological Function and Cellular Mechanism of Bone Morphogenetic Protein-6 in the Ovary

The process of ovarian folliculogenesis is composed of proliferation and differentiation of the constitutive cells in developing follicles. Growth factors emitted by oocytes integrate and promote this process. Growth differentiation factor-9 (GDF-9), bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)-15, and BMP-6 are oocyte-derived members of the transforming growth factor-β superfamily. In contrast to the recent studies on GDF-9 and BMP-15, nothing is known about the biological function of BMP-6 in the ovary. Here we show that, unlike BMP-15 and GDF-9, BMP-6 lacks mitogenic activity on rat granulosa cells (GCs) and produces a marked decrease in follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH)-induced progesterone (P4) but not estradiol (E2) production, demonstrating not only the first identification of GCs as BMP-6 targets in the ovary but also its selective modulation of FSH action in steroidogenesis. This BMP-6 activity resembles BMP-15 but differs from GDF-9 activities. BMP-6 also exhibited similar action to BMP-15 by attenuating the steady state mRNA levels of FSH-induced steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR) and P450 side-chain cleavage enzyme (P450scc), without affecting P450 aromatase mRNA level, supporting its differential function on FSH-regulated P4 and E2 production. However, unlike BMP-15, BMP-6 inhibited forskolin- but not 8-bromo-cAMP-induced P4production and StAR and P450scc mRNA expression. BMP-6 also decreased FSH- and forskolin-stimulated cAMP production, suggesting that the underlying mechanism by which BMP-6 inhibits FSH action most likely involves the down-regulation of adenylate cyclase activity. This is clearly distinct from the mechanism of BMP-15 action, which causes the suppression of basal FSH receptor (FSH-R) expression, without affecting adenylate cyclase activity. As assumed, BMP-6 did not alter basal FSH-R mRNA levels, whereas it inhibited FSH- and forskolin- but not 8-bromo-cAMP-induced FSH-R mRNA accumulation. These studies provide the first insight into the biological function of BMP-6 in the ovary and demonstrate its unique mechanism of regulating FSH action.
Rab GTPases: specifying and deciphering organelle identity and function

Ten years ago, 20 Rab proteins had been identified as organelle-specific GTPases, and two were known to be essential for vesicle targeting in yeast. Today, more than 60 mammalian Rab proteins have been identified. While Rabs were always viewed as key regulatory factors, no one could have anticipated their diversity of functions and multitude of effectors. Rabs organize distinct protein scaffolds within a single organelle and act in a combinatorial manner with their effectors to regulate all stages of membrane traffic.
Cyclic modulation of enzymes of pyrimidine nucleotide biosynthesis precedes sialoglycoconjugate changes during 2-acetylaminofluorene-induced hepatocarcinogenesis in the rat.

Abstract Three enzymatic activities associated with pyrimidine nucleotide biosynthesis were monitored at weekly or bi-weekly intervals during 2-acetylaminofluorene- (0.025% in a Farber Basal Carcinogenic diet) induced hepatocarcinogenesis in the rat. Dihydroorotate dehydrogenase, the fourth of six enzymes in de novo pyrimidine biosynthesis, decline in activity while UDP kinase and CTP synthetase showed sequential increases in activity. The alterations in activity appeared to be cyclic, followed by a full or partial return to control values. Three full cycles were monitored. The first cycle preceded nodule formation. The second cycle accompanied nodule formation and preceded sialoglycoconjugate changes reported previously. The third cycle accompanied the early glycoconjugate changes. The cyclic pattern was reproducible in three separate experiments. In each cycle, the order of events was as follows: decrease in dihydroorotate dehydrogenase, sequential increases in UDP kinase, CTP synthetase and CMPsialic acid synthase, and finally increases in the enzyme lactosylceramide: CMPsialic acid sialyltransferase, lipid-soluble sialic acid and total sialic acid. In livers of animals fed 1.87% of the hepatotoxin, 4-acetamidophenol, no biochemical alterations resembling those induced by 2-acetylaminofluorene were obtained, despite acute centrilobular necrosis of the livers. The findings point to a biochemical cascade beginning with administration of carcinogen and continuing through the development of hyperplastic nodules and of frank carcinomas resulting not from hepatotoxicity but as events associated with the hepatocarcinogenic progression.
Matching Individual Career Plans and Organizational Career Management

This study questions traditional assumptions linking organizational career assistance programs with increased employee satisfaction with and commitment to organizations. A model of individual caree...
Gauge Dependence of the Wave-Function Renormalization Constant in Quantum Electrodynamics

The existence of an exact and simple relation is pointed out between the electron Green's function renormalization constants in the general class of mani~festly'' covariant gauges. (W.D.M.)
Watch What You Say: Job Applicants’ Justice Perceptions From Initial Organizational Correspondence

Although it is a common practice for organizations to communicate with job seekers following application submission, little is known about how applicants react to this correspondence. Drawing from recruitment and organizational justice theories, we explore the possibility that specific correspondence content influences job seekers’ fairness perceptions. Data collected from 119 actual job applicants indicated that providing relevant information about the recruitment process (information adequacy) positively related to informational and interpersonal justice perceptions. However, delivering this information in an interpersonally sensitive manner (information sensitivity) had a stronger impact on interpersonal justice perceptions. Finally, post hoc analyses suggested that incorporating specific content delivered in initial job applicant correspondence could allow recruiting organizations to develop practical, cost-effective strategies for enhancing job seekers’ fairness perceptions following their application submission. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Distribution of Piperidine in the Brain and its Possible Significance in Behaviour

RECENT work on the use of piperidine for treating psychiatric disorders1 has prompted an extensive programme here to investigate the mechanism of action of this simple chemical. The basis for using piperidine as a psychotherapeutic agent originally developed from the discovery that the agent antagonized the central actions of N-methyl 3-piperidyl-glycolate and other piperidinoglycolates possessing psychotomimetic properties2. These findings were particularly significant because piperidine has been found in human urine3 and mammalian brains4. Piperidine might be an endogenous agent serving some normal function in the regulation of behaviour; that is, perhaps the amine is an endogenous psychotropic agent.
Two Lincoln assassinations by D.W. Griffith

The following article is an attempt to apply the structuralist concept to practical film criticism. The comparative analysis of the two sequences from Griffith's two films is executed with the rigor and minuteness ordinarily attributed to semioticians and “pure” structuralists. As a professional film teacher, I strive for both the systematic analysis of the film text and its aesthetic evaluation, which other theorists frequently ignore because they find it arbitrary.
Using Capillary Electrophoresis To Follow the Acetylation of the Amino Groups of Insulin and To Estimate Their Basicities

Capillary electrophoresis (CE) is an analytical method that is useful for investigating processes that modify the charge of proteins. This paper explores the ability of CE to rationalize charges and electrophoretic mobilities of a simple protein--insulin and its acylated derivatives--as a function of pH. Insulin is a peptide hormone (MW = 5700) that has two alpha-amino groups (G alpha and F alpha) and one epsilon-amino group (K epsilon). Treatment of insulin with acetic anhydride affords seven derivatives that differ in the sites of acetylation of the three amino groups. Analysis of the pH dependence of the electrophoretic mobilities of these derivatives gives pKa values for the two N-terminal ammonium groups: pKa (G alpha) = 8.4; pKa (F alpha) = 7.1. Values of the total charge of insulin estimated from electrophoretic mobility differ from those estimated from values of pKa for its ionizable groups by less than 0.5 unit for both bovine and human insulins over the range of pH from 5.5 to 9.5. Analysis of the concentration dependence of the electrophoretic mobility of insulin yields a lower limit for the association constant for dimerization of insulin of KD > or = 6 x 10(3) M-1 (25 mM tris and 192 mM Gly, pH 8.4). Studies of electrophoretic mobility as a function of pH and extent of acetylation of amino groups rationalize the charge of insulin in detail. The sensitivity of CE to charge permits the quantitative study of electrostatic properties of proteins in solution. Insulin is a useful small-protein model with which to investigate phenomena in electrophoresis.
High Resolution Trilayer Electron Beam Resist System Employing P[Mma/Maa] And Reliable Reactive Ion Etch Processes

ABSTRACT A high resolution trilayer resist system based on the copolymer e-beam resist P[MMA/MAA], an SiC>2 interlayer, and a polyimide base layer will be described. High resolution reactive ion etch processes have been developed that minimize base layer undercut and provide for cleanly patterned windows for 150 nm thick aluminum lift-off. Residue formation on the base layer sidewalls after reactive ion etching has been found to depend on the substrate film composition. Linewidth variations as a function of exposure dose, development time, and reactive ion etch conditions will be discussed. The extent to which trilayer stencils can be used for high resolution reversal processes has been found to be limited by the polyimide thickness required for planarization and proximity effect reduction, aluminum film thickness required, and the minimum line space desired. 1. INTRODUCTION Trilayer resist systems have beenbeen employed for the last decade for the advantages theseapproaches lend to photolithography 1~5/ electron beam lithography6, and X-ray lithography1. The trilayer structure moves the imaging layer away from the substrate by placing this layer on top of a thin interlayer and thick base layer. Base layers of PMMA and photoresists have been the most popular choices, but both have low glass transition temperatures. A low glass transition temperature may be a problem if excessive radiative substrate heating occurs during film deposition. Polyimides typically have high glass transition temperatures (approximately 320°C) and are not affected by most deposition processes. Unfortunately, polyimides do not planarize as well as PMMA or photoresist7. Polyimide was chosen as a base layer in this work for its high temperature stability. The interlayer of the trilayer system must be readily etched by dry processes and easy to deposit. The interlayer's primary purpose is to eliminate the interactions between the image layer and the polyimide base layer and to provide a sharp discontinuity or lip for reliable lift-off**. Many materials have been used; these include Cr9, Ge6, Si10, and SiO23. Silicon dioxide was chosen as an interlayer for its high temperature stability and ease of deposition and etching.One of the major drawbacks to employing electron beam lithography in VLSI is the technique's low throughput. The low throughput stems from many factors; apart from the serial nature of the exposure, one primary contributor is the low sensitivity of the resists available. Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) has typically been the choice for high resolution patterning. However, its sensitivity at 100 uC/cm2 is far too low. Copolymers of methylmethacrylate and methacrylic acid P[MMA/MAA] with sensitivities approaching 20 jiC/cm2 have been used in various bilayer and trilayer schemes11. The copolymer P[MMA/MAA] was chosen for this application as an imaging layer to increase the electron beam system throughput.
A comparison of the microstructures of As-cast and laser surface melted Ti-8Al-4Y

A Ti-8 at. pct Al-4 at. pct Y alloy has been cast in small quantities and subjected to laser surface melting treatments in an effort to produce a uniform distribution of fine-scale dispersoids by internal oxidation. The microstructures of both as-cast and laser-modified material have been characterized using transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and convergent beam electron diffraction, and the identity and distribution of second phase dispersoids established. An ability to refine significantly the dendritic structure of the as-cast alloy by laser surface treatment is demonstrated. The matrix phase of the modified alloy is martensitic α′, in contrast to the α phase of the as-cast material. The interdendritic phase observed in both as-cast and laser-modified material and the fine-scale dispersed particles (50 to 70 nm) in the as-cast alloy are shown to be rich in Y, with a structure consistent with that of the oxide Y2O3. Dispersoids within the laser modified zone are typically 8 to 20 nm in diameter and show a tendency to form preferentially at interlath boundaries of the martensite. The origins of these structures and their potential effects on the mechanical properties of the alloy are discussed briefly.
Experimental Testing of Periodic Roughness Elements on a Small Scale Wind Turbine Blade

When studied in large wind turbines, roughness on wind turbine blades has been shown to decrease wind turbine performance by up to 50%. However, during wind turbine testing in the Baylor University Subsonic Wind Tunnel, roughness effects that were an artifact of the blade manufacturing process led to a significant power increase over smooth blades at the design wind speed of 10 mph. These results have led to an investigation of the effects of roughness on wind turbine performance under a flow condition with local Reynolds numbers ranging from 14,200 to 58,800. It was found that under these flow conditions the roughness can improve measured power output by up to 126% when compared with a smooth blade. This paper examines the conditions where roughness can positively affect the operation of a wind turbine by testing a 500 mm diameter, horizontal axis, three blade, fixed pitch wind turbine system in a wind tunnel. The experiments have been carried out on a single direct-drive wind turbine model and a single blade design using the NREL designed S818 airfoil. The design point for the blades tested is 10 miles per hour, with a tip speed ratio of 7. Roughness can be an effective treatment when used at or near the stall speed of the wind turbine blade for lower Reynolds number conditions. The roughness elements tested were both perpendicular to and along the flow lines. These blades were then compared to a blade configuration without roughness elements.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
Understanding Ignition Delay Effects With Pure Component Fuels in a Single-Cylinder Diesel Engine

In order to better understand how future candidate diesel fuels may affect combustion characteristics in diesel engines, 21 pure component hydrocarbon fuels were tested in a single-cylinder diesel engine. These pure component fuels included normal alkanes (C6–C16), normal primary alkenes (C6–C18), isoalkanes, cycloalkanes/-enes, and aromatic species. In addition, seven fuel blends were tested, including commercial diesel fuel, U.S. Navy JP-5 aviation fuel, and five Fischer–Tropsch synthetic fuels. Ignition delay was used as a primary combustion metric for each fuel, and the ignition delay period was analyzed from the perspective of the physical delay period followed by the chemical delay period. While fuel properties could not strictly be varied independently of each other, several ignition delay correlations with respect to physical properties were suggested. In general, longer ignition delays were observed for component fuels with lower liquid fuel density, kinematic viscosity, and liquid-air surface tension. Longer ignition delay was also observed for component fuels with higher fuel volatility, as measured by boiling point and vapor pressure. Experimental data show two regimes of operation: For a carbon chain length of 12 or greater, there is little variation in ignition delay for the tested fuels. For shorter chain lengths, a fuel molecular structure is very important. Carbon chain length was used as a scaling variable with an empirical factor to collapse the ignition delay onto a single trend line. Companion detailed kinetic modeling was pursued on the lightest fuel species set (C6) since this fuel set possessed the greatest ignition delay differences. The kinetic model gives a chemical ignition delay time, which, together with the measured experimental ignition delay, suggests that the physical and chemical delay period have comparable importance. However, the calculated chemical delay periods capture the general variation in the overall ignition delay and could be used to predict the ignition delay of possible future synthetic diesel fuels.
Group Selection for Adaptation to Multiple-Hen Cages: Humoral Immune Response

Abstract A selected line of White Leghorns, which has shown improved survivability and reduced feather loss in large multiple-hen cages, was evaluated for humoral immune response to SRBC under both stressed and unstressed conditions. Three lines of chickens (selected, control, and commercial) were housed in either single- (1 hen) or multiple-hen cages (12 hens, social competition) and subjected to a cold ambient temperature (0 C) at 33 wk of age and to two heating episodes (38 C) at 44 wk of age. Each hen was challenged intravenously with 1 mL of a 7% saline suspension of SRBC at the time that cold exposure was initiated. Hens subjected to high ambient temperatures had been exposed previously to a cold temperature, but were not challenged with SRBC until 16 to 18 h following the end of the second heating episode. Exposure to cold caused immunosuppression in single-caged hens, but not in hens in colony cages. Single- vs colony-caged hens of the control environment challenged with SRBC at 33 wk of age had similar primary hemagglutinin responses to SRBC. Hens subjected to heat experienced immunosuppression at 9 and 12 d following challenge to SRBC when compared to the controls. Hens of multiple-bird cages challenged with antigen at 44 wk of age had a significantly lower hemagglutinin response to SRBC than those reared in single-bird cages. The three lines of genetic stock had similar primary hemagglutinin responses to SRBC; the interactions of genetic stock with cage size or environmental temperature were not significant. It was concluded that genetically selecting hens for survival in multiple-hen cages did not affect their humoral immune response to SRBC.
A methodology for formulating, formalizing, validating, and evaluating a real-time process control advisor

This research presents guidelines to design control processes where improving quality is achieved by improving the manufacturing consistency through the use of intelligent process control. Conventional control processes cannot include the theoretical knowledge, experimental knowledge, and expert knowledge available concerning the product. A hybrid intelligent process control (IPC) combining a continuous simulation (CS) and an artificial neural network (ANN) can make this knowledge available to the operator for process control. This paper presents a methodology for combining the CS and ANN to achieve real-time process control. A human–machine interface (HMI) is included in the process to aid operators in communication with the CS/ANN hybrid IPC. The result of the new process is a real-time process control advisor (RTPCa). A case example for the methodology of formulating, formalizing, validating, and evaluating the RTPCa is given. The case studied concerns galvanizing continuous sheet steel at a steel plant. The CS is written in SIMAN, and the ANN in C. The research validates and evaluates the RTPCa using plant data, simulation output, and face validation by plant personnel. The authors conclude that the benefits of the RTPCa over other forms of IPC include better process communication to the operator, robustness to moderate changes in system parameters, the flexibility to retrain the ANN if conditions change dramatically, and the computation speed necessary for real-time process control. This methodology has further applications to other continuous processes where quality is determined by manufacturing consistency of the product, such as in the pulp paper and film processing industries.
Carbon Nanofiber Polymer Composites: Evaluation of Life Cycle Energy Use

Holistic evaluation of emerging nanotechnologies using systems analysis is pivotal for guiding their safe and sustainable development. While toxicity studies of engineered nanomaterials are essential, understanding of the potential large scale impacts of nanotechnology is also critical for developing sustainable nanoproducts. This work evaluates the life cycle energetic impact associated with the production and use of carbon nanofiber (CNF) reinforced polymer nanocomposites (PNC). Specifically, both simple CNF and carbon nanofiber-glass fiber (CNF-GF) hybrid PNCs are evaluated and compared with steel for equal stiffness design. Life cycle inventory is developed based on published literature and best available engineering information. A cradle-to-gate comparison suggests that for equal stiffness design, CNF reinforced PNCs are 1.6−12 times more energy intensive than steel. It is anticipated that the product use phase may strongly influence whether any net savings in life cycle energy consumption can be rea...
CD14 mediates Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) endocytosis and spleen tyrosine kinase (Syk) and interferon regulatory transcription factor 3 (IRF3) activation in epithelial cells and impairs neutrophil infiltration and Pseudomonas aeruginosa killing in vivo.

In the current study, we examined the role of CD14 in regulating LPS activation of corneal epithelial cells and Pseudomonas aeruginosa corneal infection. Our findings demonstrate that LPS induces Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) internalization in corneal epithelial cells and that blocking with anti-CD14 selectively inhibits TLR4 endocytosis, spleen tyrosine kinase (Syk) and IRF3 phosphorylation, and production of CCL5/RANTES and IFN-β, but not IL-8. Using a murine model of P. aeruginosa corneal infection, we show that although infected CD14−/− corneas produce less CCL5, they exhibit significantly increased CXC chemokine production, neutrophil recruitment to the corneal stroma, and bacterial clearance than C57BL/6 mice. We conclude that CD14 has a critical role in mediating TLR4 signaling through IRF3 in resident corneal epithelial cells and macrophages and thereby modulates TLR4 cell surface activation of the MyD88/NF-κB/AP-1 pathway and production of CXC chemokines and neutrophil infiltration to infected tissues.
Three dimensional laminar flow in distorting, axisymmetric, axially varying vessels.

Three dimensional laminar, viscid flow is developed for Newtonian fluids which provides absolute values for axial, radial and tangential velocity fields everywhere if the dimensions of the vessel are known and two simultaneous axial velocities e.g. on and off the central axis in the same plane, and the central axis axial velocity gradient are measured. In addition, normal and shear stresses are determinable. The equation set satisfies geometric and other known flow limiting conditions such as no slip at surfaces etc. and are amenable for inclusion in general, dynamic flow expressions. Alternatively they may be used alone for certain problems involving gradients and secondary flows. A range of illustrations are shown for a distorting vessel with elliptic cross-section and small axial taper (analogous to the pulmonary trunk during ejection).
An exact duality theory for semidefinite programming and its complexity implications

In this paper, we present a new and more complete duality for Semidefinite Programming (SDP), with the following features: \begin{itemize} \item This dual is an explicit semidefinite program, whose number of variables and the coefficient bitlengths are polynomial in those of the primal. \item If the Primal is feasible, then it is bounded if and only if the dual is feasible. \item The duality gap, \ie the difference between the primal and the dual objective function values, is zero whenever the primal is feasible and bounded. Also, in this case, the dual attains its optimum \item It yields a precise Farkas Lemma for semidefinite feasibility systems, \ie characterization of the {\it infeasibility} of a semidefinite inequality in terms of the {\it feasibility} of another polynomial size semidefinite inequality. \end{itemize} Note that the standard duality for Linear Programming satisfies all of the above features, but no such duality theory was previously known for SDP, without Slater-like conditions being assumed. Then we apply the dual to derive certain complexity results for Semidefinite Programming Problems. The decision problem of Semidefinite Feasibility (SDFP), \ie that of determining if a given semidefinite inequality system is feasible, is the central problem of interest. The complexity of SDFP is unknown, but we show the following: 1) In the Turing machine model, SDFP is not NP-Complete unless NP=Co-NP; 2) In the real number model of Blum, Shub and Smale\cite{bss}, SDFP is in NP$\cap$Co-NP. We then give polynomial reductions from the following problems to SDFP: 1) Checking whether an SDP is bounded; 2) Checking whether a feasible and bounded SDP attains the optimum; 3) Checking the optimality of a feasible solution.
Thermal-mechanical stress analysis of inhomogeneous antisymmetric cross-ply laminates

Abstract This study develops a numerical Fourier series solution for the classical thin laminated plate equations as applied to inhomogeneous antisymmetric cross-ply laminates. Results are presented for laminates subjected to a combined thermal-mechanical load, Inhomogeneous constitutive terms are due to temperature-dependent material properties. Out-of-plane boundary conditions are simply supported and clamped; in-plane boundary conditions are stress free. The solution is exact in the sense that it satisfies both the governing equations and the boundary conditions.
Nuisance level of a voice call

In our everyday life, we communicate with many people such as family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues. We communicate with them using different communication media such as email, telephone calls, and face-to-face interactions. While email is not real-time and face-to-face communications require geographic proximity, voice and video communications are preferred over other modes of communication. However, real-time voice/video calls may create nuisance to the receiver. In this article, we describe a mathematical model for computing nuisance level of incoming voice/video calls. We computed the closeness and nuisance level using the calling patterns between the caller and the callee. To validate the nuisance model, we collected cell phone call records of real-life people at our university and computed the nuisance value for all voice calls. We validated the nuisance levels using the feedback from those real-life people. Such a nuisance model is useful for predicting unwanted voice and video sessions in an IP communication network.
Exploring the medic's human side

alter Benjamin, literary critic and philosopher, once wrote about storytelling, calling it a nearly lost art. Although countless stories reach us each morning from every part of the globe, they are slick and one-dimensional. News stories come pre-packaged, telling us what and how to think. Real stories are openended: “The extraordinary, or wondrous event is described with the greatest precision, while the psychological meanings are not forced upon the reader”. Part of the magic of stories is that they provide no accompanying explanations. In the dozen stories that make up The Good Doctor, Susan Onthank Mates resurrects the storyteller’s spirit in Benjamin’s senses. Amply nourished by memory and mystery, these stories are as much about what they leave unsaid as what they say. Like the characters themselves, we must search out meaning, must make sense of a difficult world where explanation is lacking. Mates’ fiction is peopled with men and women who come from afar. They are mostly displaced, and many of these tightly woven, sad tales begin with a hidden premise of exile. Dora, for example, of Cape Verdean provenance, now earns a living at the Clip ’N Curl; Shadee, a Persian cut off from her family, is the childless wife of a chemist; Helen van Horne takes on a medical directorship in the Bronx after spending years in Africa; Theng is a Cambodian refugee who ekes out a living as a translator. The shimmering, remote past of these people haunts their actions, creating an atmosphere of essential homelessness as they struggle in alien surroundings. The struggles described here illuminate not so much individual circumstances as the human condition itself. There is a mythic quality to these stories. Characters face death, loneliness, loss of career, family disintegration, infertility, and artistic isolation. These crises loom large, almost crushingly large; it is to Mates’ immense credit that her characters come alive to face them as they do, thanks to her observant eye and her delicate and resilient style. Always in these stories there hovers over the characters a larger, oppressive force in the form of history or callousness or just natural dissolution. As a result, the characters’ lot is, if not exactly tragic, at least one of suffering. In one story, the protagonist is a young, pregnant doctor involved in the care of a dying man. Instead of becoming
Role of insulin-like growth factor-1 in the regulation of skeletal growth

The importance of the insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I axis in the regulation of bone size and bone mineral density, two important determinants of bone strength, has been well established from clinical studies involving patients with growth hormone deficiency and IGF-I gene disruption. Data from transgenic animal studies involving disruption and overexpression of components of the IGF-I axis also provide support for a key role for IGF-I in bone metabolism. IGF-I actions in bone are subject to regulation by systemic hormones, local growth factors, as well as mechanical stress. In this review we describe findings from various genetic mouse models that pertain to the role of endocrine and local sources of IGF-I in the regulation of skeletal growth.
Histologic Outcomes of Excised Moderate and Severe Dysplastic Nevi

Background Dysplastic nevi (DN) have been a matter of controversy since their initial description in 1978 because of differences in the clinical and histological terminology, and large studies on histological outcomes of excising moderate to severely DN have not previously been described. Objective To determine the clinical characteristics of DN and histologic outcomes of excised moderate and severe DN. Methods Retrospective chart review of patients with DN or Clark's nevi at the Dermatology Department at Rutgers–Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in Somerset, New Jersey, from January 2009 to June 2012. Three hundred ninety-three lesions from 380 patients were included in this study. Main outcome measure Histologic results of excised moderate and severe DN. Results Thirty-four percent of DN were excised because of the presence of moderate or severe atypia, personal history of melanoma, or both. None of the excised lesions showed evidence of melanoma; 81.6% of excisions showed scar or granulation tissue. Only 14% of excised lesions were found to have residual lesions, and 4.4% showed recurrent nevi. Conclusion In 134 excisions of moderate to severe DN, no melanoma was identified. Most of the excisions showed scar or granulation tissue. The rate of residual lesions after shave biopsy of moderate or severe DN was lower than after punch biopsy.
Global asymptotic stability in distributed parameter systems: comparison function approach

Abstract A comparison function approach for the investigation of stability in chemically reacting distributed parameter systems is presented. Using this approach, sufficient conditions that guarantee global asymptotic stability of the steady state are derived for the case of a chemical reaction occurring in a catalyst particle or in a tubular reactor with axial dispersion. Analytical bounds on the growth rate of a perturbation from the steady state are obtained as a natural consequence of this approach. The method of comparison functions is shown to handle the case of vanishing as well as that of non-vanishing initial residual enthalpy.
Tenderness and Physical Characteristics of Broiler Breast Fillets Harvested at Various Times from Post-Mortem Electrically Stimulated Carcasses

Abstract In three experiments, tenderness and various physical characteristics were determined for broiler breast fillets harvested after picking (hot boning), after chilling (chill boning), or after a 48-h aging period (aged boning) from high (240, 530, 820 V) or low (45 V) voltage electrically stimulated carcasses. Electrical stimulation was applied within 2 to 3 min post-mortem. Low voltage post-mortem electrical stimulation, regardless of tested duration, significantly decreased toughness of hot-boned breast meat. High voltage electrical stimulation, regardless of voltage or duration, had no significant effect on the tenderness or moisture content of hot-boned or aged-boned fillets. Stimulation significantly increased absorbance values and decreased pH at time of hot boning and chill boning but had no effect on these characteristics in aged-boned fillets. High voltage stimulation (820 V) significantly decreased shear values and increased sarcomere lengths of chill-boned breast fillets producing an acceptable level of tenderness. The data from the three experiments indicated that low voltage (45 V) electrical stimulation improved tenderness of hot-boned fillets; however, high voltage electrical stimulation (820 V) was required to produce a tenderizing response in chill-boned fillets. Tenderness response was more highly related to myofibrillar disruption and increased sarcomere length than to pH or ATP disappearance (absorbance ratio) and was of sufficient magnitude to alleviate toughness associated with chill-bone fillet products.
US university response to H1N1: A study of access to online preparedness and response information

Background The recent outbreaks of severe acute respiratory syndrome, H5N1 (avian influenza), and, most recently, the novel H1N1 influenza pandemic of 2009 have raised awareness of the danger of new and emerging infections. Preparedness and response plans for such outbreaks are crucial, and given the centrality of the Internet as a source of information on university and college campuses, such plans should be made available at pandemic-dedicated university Web sites. The information on these sites must be comprehensive, accessible, and tailored to the specific circumstances of individual schools. Methods An Internet-based search was conducted in September 2009 to evaluate university Web sites for influenza-specific information in a sample of 51 universities. Web sites were assessed by applying a set of key words and a list of 10 indicators used as measures of accessibility and comprehensiveness. Results Of the 51 universities evaluated, only 9 (17.6%) either had no influenza Web site or had a university influenza preparedness plan with no dedicated Web site. Only 6 (14.3%) of the schools with influenza specific Web sites had information for parents, with 23 (54.8%) providing information specifically for faculty and staff, and 24 (57.1%) providing information specifically to students. Conclusion We found no guidelines for maximizing the access to and effectiveness of online pandemic communications at institutions of higher learning. Until such time as appropriate guidelines are developed, university authorities must carefully assess their needs, taking into account local, national, and international public health circumstances and resources; ease of access; comprehensiveness; and appropriately tailored strategies in their online communications.
Asparaginase and glutaminase activities in culture media containing dialyzed fetal calf serum.

Degradation of asparagine in media containing dialyzed fetal calf serum has been shown to be the result of asparaginase, which is active even at 4°C. The asparaginase activity of undialyzed fetal calf serum is only one-tenth of that found in the dialyzed serum. Glutaminase activity was also demonstrated in the medium containing dialyzed fetal calf serum. Minor changes in some other amino acids were also observed.
Effects of nitric oxide synthase inhibitors on the discriminative stimulus effects of cocaine in rats.

Rationale: Nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitors may modulate the discriminative stimulus effects of cocaine because they alter dopamine (DA) release. Objectives: The effects of the NOS inhibitors NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) and 7-nitroindazole (7-NI) were examined in experiments designed to better understand the mechanisms that may underlie the interactions between NOS inhibitors and cocaine. Methods: Rats were trained to discriminate 10 mg/kg cocaine from saline, and then substitution and pretreatment tests with L-NAME and 7-NI were conducted. To determine if the combined effects of NOS inhibitors and cocaine might be related to DA mechanisms and/or to N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor mechanisms, substitution tests with other indirect DA agonists and NMDA antagonists were carried out in the presence and absence of L-NAME. In addition, the roles of the D1 and D2 families of DA receptors in mediating the cocaine-altering effects of L-NAME and 7-NI were examined in antagonism tests using SCH 23390 and haloperidol, respectively. Results: The results demonstrated that neither NOS inhibitor alone substituted for the 10 mg/kg cocaine training dose, but when given as a pretreatment, 100 mg/kg L-NAME as well as 10 mg/kg 7-NI enhanced the discriminative stimulus and rate-decreasing effects of cocaine. L-NAME pretreatment also enhanced the potency of (+)-amphetamine and GBR 12909, but not MK-801, phencyclidine, or NPC 17742, for producing discriminative stimulus and rate-decreasing effects in substitution tests. Further testing showed that the cocaine-enhancing effects of L-NAME and 7-NI were attenuated by doses of haloperidol and SCH 23390 that minimally altered the effects of cocaine alone. Conclusions: These findings suggest that L-NAME and 7-NI may increase the potency of cocaine and other indirect DA agonists through a central mechanism whereby DA neurotransmission is directly enhanced by NOS inhibition.
Fluorescence-dip spectroscopy as a method for measuring the quantum efficiency of fluorescence

Abstract Fluorescence-dip spectroscopy has been used to study excited-state transitions of silver, copper, iridium, and lead atoms in an inductively-coupled plasma environment. Quantum efficiencies of fluorescence and steady-state saturation dip parameters have been measured and are reported for each of the transitions studied. A steady-state model that has been used to interpret the results is shown to be a useful tool for predicting the behavior of the fluorescence dip, even for atom systems possessing a high density of states which are prone to rapid collisional deactivation.
Border Justice? Sentencing Federal Narcotics Offenders in Southwest Border Districts: A Focus on Citizenship Status:

The war on drugs has largely been waged in the southwestern border region of the United States. Five federal border districts (California South, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas West, and Texas South) alone are responsible for roughly one quarter of federal narcotics prosecutions annually. Narcotics cases make up roughly 30% of the federal criminal caseload each year, and the number of Hispanic and noncitizen defendants prosecuted in U.S. federal courts has risen steadily over the past two decades. In 1991, noncitizens comprised about 23% of persons prosecuted in federal courts; by 2009, nearly 45% of those prosecuted were noncitizens.This study examined judicial sentencing practices for federal narcotics offenders in these five southwestern border districts to explore the effect of citizenship status on sentence length. We also partition our analysis by district to enable assessment of variation in sentencing practices across these federal border districts.