cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Theory of Optimal Institutional Trading

I develop a theory of optimal trading by an institutional trader who receives a parent order (i.e., an overall trading request) from a fund manager to buy a specific quantity of a particular stock over a specified time horizon. The trader selects child orders to be submitted each period over the allotted time horizon to a limit order book market. Child orders can be either market orders or limit orders. Limit order prices can be selected from any price on a penny price grid. An unexecuted limit order can be cancelled at any time. The trader’s objective is to minimize the disutility of the fund manager. In the base version of the theory, all child orders are of unit size. I derive an analytic solution for the optimal trading strategy and show that it involves “dynamic aggressiveness.” This means that if the current period limit order executes (doesn’t execute), then the next limit order optimally has a weakly less (weakly more) aggressive price. Next, I extend the theory to: (1) permit child orders of any size, (2) allow the fund manager to have private information about future stock prices, (3) allow the fund manager to be risk averse, and (4) allow four alternative metrics for computing execution cost. I calibrate the model to real-world data and optimize it numerically. I find that if the fund manager has a large disutility parameter for underfills, then the optimal strategy involves a sequence of limit orders early on and switches to a sequence market orders later on to guarantee purchasing the parent order. Conversely, if the fund manager has a zero disutility parameter for underfills, then the optimal strategy involves a sequence of limit orders with low price aggressiveness, such that each individual trade will earn the spread. If a fund manager is relatively informed and/or highly risk averse, then the optimal strategy is relatively front-loaded in time and switches to market orders relatively early so as to trade before price moves in the predicted direction and/or to reduce risk. Conversely, if the fund manager is uninformed and has low risk aversion, then the optimal strategy is spread out over time and switches to market orders later. I find that the optimal trading strategy frequently involves dynamic aggressiveness and frequently beats two benchmark trading strategies from the existing literature. Finally, I discuss empirical predictions of the theory and how they can be tested.
An ultra-low power 0.1 /spl mu/m CMOS

Ultra-low power operation of 0.1 /spl mu/m CMOS is demonstrated at power supply voltages well below 1 V. Design trade-offs among gate delay, active power, and standby power are carried out in a power supply-threshold voltage design space. Experimental results show a ring oscillator delay of 106 ps at a power supply voltage of 0.5 V, and a minimum power-delay product of 0.03 fJ/stage (switching factor=0.01) at 0.4 V. A 20X reduction in power/circuit is achieved at the same performance level as 0.25 /spl mu/m CMOS. >
Whole mount immunofluorescence analysis of placentas from normotensive versus preeclamptic pregnancies.

Abstract Introduction Defects in placental angiogenesis and spiral artery remodeling have been proposed to play essential roles in the development of preeclampsia. However, the specific molecular mechanism(s) responsible for aberrant placental angiogenesis in preeclampsia are incompletely understood. The vascular endothelial growth factor receptors (VEGFR1, R2, R3) and STAT3 have critical functions in normal blood vessel development, but their potential roles in preeclampsia are currently unclear. In this study, we utilized a novel whole mount immunofluorescence (WMIF) method to compare expression of VEGFR1, R2, R3 and activated, phosphorylated STAT3 (pSTAT3) in placentas of preeclamptic (PE) versus normotensive (NT) pregnancies. Methods Placental biopsies collected from NT and PE pregnant women were fixed and stained with fluorochrome-conjugated antibodies to identify specific cell populations as follows: CD31 for blood vessel endothelial cells, cytokeratin-7 for trophoblast cells, and CD45 for immune cells. Expression of the VEGFRs and pSTAT3 were subsequently characterized by WMIF in conjunction with confocal microscopy. Results A total of 18 PE and 18 NT placentas were evaluated. No significant differences in the cell type-specific expression patterns or expression levels of VEGFR1, VEGFR2 or VEGFR3 were detected between NT and PE placentas. In contrast, statistically significant increases in pSTAT3 staining were detected in endothelial cells of PE placentas versus NT controls. Discussion Our study demonstrates that increased pSTAT3 expression in placental endothelial cells is associated with PE. We speculate that elevated pSTAT3 expression in the blood vessels of PE placentas may be due to aberrant angiogenesis, increased pro-inflammatory cytokine expression, and/or placental stress.
Testing the Theory of Electronic Propinquity: Organizational Teleconferencing:

The present article reports an experiment conducted in order to test the recently formulated “Theory of Electronic Propinquity.” In the original study, the author proposed a structural-functional approach to mediated communication in which perceived propinquity was considered to be the essential system trait for the continuation of the human communication system in organizations. Psychological propinquity was considered to affect the degree to which members of an organization experience communication satisfaction. A 3 times 2 experiment was conducted where the treatments were three business conference situations (face-to-face, video. and audio only) with two different levels of complexity of information in a problem-solving task. The results of the equation for perceived propinquity indicated that only perceived feedback was a significant contributor. The results of the equation for communication satisfaction indicated that perceived feedback, perceived level of communication rules, and psychological prop...
Investing in a Third Colonization, Religious Fundamentalism, and Adolescence

In her keynote address to the Kristeva Circle 2014, Julia Kristeva argued that European Humanism dating from the French Revolution paradoxically paved the way for “those who use God for political ends” by promoting a completely and solely secular path to the political. As an unintended result of this movement this path has led, in the late 20 th and early 21 st centuries, to the development of a new form of nihilism that masks itself as revolutionary but in fact is the opposite, in Kristeva’s view. Kristeva analyzed the culture of religious fundamentalism as “adolescent” in the sense that the adolescent, in contrast to the child, is a believer rather than a questioner. Although the psychoanalytic consideration of religious fundamentalism added a new dimension to attempts to explain the increase of this phenomenon in the late 20 th and 21 st centuries, Kristeva’s subsequent linkage of fundamentalism to the revolts in French suburbs in 2005 and beyond fell short of an insightful critique by neglecting the historical context of France’s colonial history.
Ventajas y desventajas del bilingüismo

Las personas bilingues tienen que coordinar dos sistemas linguisticos. Esto implica algunas ganancias, pero tambien un costo. Las ganancias del bilinguismo incluyen: un incremento de la flexibilidad mental; una superioridad en el desarrollo de aquellas funciones cognitivas relacionadas con la atencion y la inhibicion; el uso de una cantidad mayor de estrategias cognoscitivas en la solucion de problemas; un aumento de la llamada conciencia metalinguistica; y una habilidad mayor de comunicacion. Entre los costos del bilinguismo se menciona: cierto retraso aparente en la adquisicion del lenguaje; una interferencia entre ambos sistemas fonologicos, lexicos y gramaticales; y un posible decremento en el vocabulario en las dos lenguas. Se concluye que existe una gran variabilidad de experiencias linguisticas en las personas bilingues y un gran numero de variables afecta su ejecucion en diferentes tareas intelectuales.
Brown University Library Fund Accounting System

The computer-based acquisitions procedures which have been developed at the Library provide more efficient and more effective control over fund accounting and the maintenance of an outstanding order file. The system illustrates an economical, yet highly flexible, approach to automated acquisitions procedures in a university library.
Effect of Tropical Waves on the Tropical Tropopause Transition Layer Upwelling

Abstract An initial-value problem is employed with a GCM to investigate the role of the convectively driven Rossby and Kelvin waves for tropopause transition layer (TTL) upwelling in the tropics. The convective heating is mimicked with a prescribed heating field, and the Lagrangian upwelling is identified by examining the evolution of passive tracer fields whose initial distribution is identical to the initial heating field. This study shows that an overturning circulation, induced by the tropical Rossby waves, is capable of generating the TTL upwelling. Even when the heating is placed in the eastern Pacific, the TTL upwelling occurs only over the western tropical Pacific, indicating that the background flow plays a crucial role. The results from a Rossby wave source analysis suggest that a key feature of the background flow is the strong absolute vorticity gradient associated with the Asian subtropical jet. In addition, static stability is relatively weak over the western Pacific, suggesting that this ma...
Teasing apart a multiple component approach to adolescent alcohol prevention: what worked in Project Northland?

This paper presents the results of a post hoc component analysis designed to tease apart the effects of different intervention strategies used in Project Northland, a group-randomized, community-wide, multi-level intervention trial originally conducted in the 1990's to prevent and reduce alcohol use among a cohort of mainly White students in rural Minnesota. This study focuses on Phase I, when students were in 6th–8th grade. The intervention during this phase included five components: classroom curricula, peer leadership, youth-driven/led extra-curricular activities, parent involvement programs, and community activism. Student exposure to/participation in these components was followed over time using reliable process measures. These measures were used as time-varying covariates in growth curve analyses to estimate the effects of the intervention components over time. Multi-item scales from annually-administered student surveys were used to measure relevant outcome variables, like alcohol use. The impact of the components appears to have been differential. The strongest effects were documented for the planners of extra-curricular activities and parent program components. The classroom curricula proved moderately effective, but no effects were associated with differential levels of community activism. The interactions tested here did not provide support for synergistic effects between selected intervention components. Care must be taken when selecting and combining intervention strategies meant to reduce adolescent alcohol use.
Comparative Hemostasis: Animal Models and New Hemostasis Tests

This article provides an overview of animal model systems to include their strengths and limitations in the study of hemostasis. Specific examples of spontaneous and engineered animal models are described in the context of cell-based hemostasis. The article concludes with a review of the comparative aspects of 3 laboratory assays of cell-based hemostasis: thromboelastography, thrombin generation, and flow cytometric assessment of platelet activation.
A cautionary note on deviation scores for the WISC-III and WAIS-III.

This article highlights some dangers inherent in interpreting individual examinee strengths and weaknesses in WAIS-III and WISC-III profiles. In both manuals, there are tables providing point estimates for determining if a significant difference exists when comparing one subtest to the average of several subtests. However, these point estimates may lead to interpretation errors. A confidence interval approach that provides a solution to the interpretation problem is described and illustrated. These intervals show that differences between a single subtest score and the average subtest score that just reach statistical significance carry the potential of having no clinical significance.
Lapped orthogonal transform for motion-compensated video compression

Two common techniques for compressing digital video are motion-compensated interframe coding and transform coding. In this paper, we combine the Lapped Orthogonal Transform (LOT) with motion compensated (MC) temporal prediction. The statistical structure of the MC frame differences is distinct from than that of still images. Therefore, we introduce a new lapped transform (the straddle LOT (SLOT)) which considers the structure of the MC frame differences. The combination of the conventional LOT with the SLOT, when applied to the entire image, forms the motion-compensated LOT (MCLOT). We demonstrate, both theoretically and on actual images, that the MCLOT outperforms the conventional LOT when applied to MC frame differences.© (1991) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Lithium in the barium stars

Analysis of high resolution (lambda/Delta-lambda - 150,000) spectra of classical barium giants reveals that an unidentiifed line is a major contribtor to the stellar absorption feature at 6707.8 A attributed previously to a blend of CN lines and the Li I resonance doublet. The strength of the unidentified line is well correlated with the strength of a Ce II line. In contrast to published reports of positive identifications of absorption due to the Li I doublet, an acceptable fit of a synthetic spectrum to the observed spectrum of a barium giant is obtainable without a significant contribution from the Li I doublet. Upper limits to the Li abundance of classical barium giants are now consistent with those expected of CH subgiants evolve into barium giants.
Shifting seas: the impacts of Pleistocene sea‐level fluctuations on the evolution of tropical marine taxa

Aim Pleistocene glacial cycles reduced global sea level by up to 130 m below present levels. These changes had profound impacts on coastal marine life, including a reduction of habitable area, changes in ocean currents, and shifts in water column thermal dynamics. We provide a comprehensive review of the impact of glacial sea-level changes during the Pleistocene on tropical coastal marine life and a set of maps showing how coastlines worldwide changed during periods of low sea levels. Location We focused on coastal marine taxa within tropical latitudes, with deeper coverage of the world’s major coral reef biogeographical provinces. Methods We examined recent and historical literature that alluded to the effects of Pleistocene sea-level fluctuations in a variety of common marine clades. Data for shelf habitat area and map construction were obtained from the NOAA ETOPO1 database, with final manipulations carried out in Adobe Illustrator CS6.
Left- and right-handed helical tubule intermediates from a pure chiral phospholipid

Differential phase contrast microscopy under conditions of very slow cooling reveals the dominant self-assembly mechanism of a chiral diacetylenic phospholipid into multilamellar tubules to be the rapid growth of helical ribbons from spherical multilamellar vesicles. Surprisingly, in the first seconds of tubule formation, a pure enantiomer of 1,2-bis(10,12-tricosadiynoyl)-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine [DC(8,9)PC] yields roughly equal numbers of left- and right-handed helices, inconsistent with the heretofore observed relationship between tubule helix handedness on phospholipid chirality. A much slower process follows by which tubules become multilamellar with a prominent helical ridge upon the exterior. Interestingly, these exterior helical ridges are of only a single handedness.
Snow-layer density changes

A 25-foot square area of snow pack near Crater Lake, Oregon, was studied systematically during the 1940–1941 season. By successive excavation and refilling of portions of the study site, and by means of identifying ribbons, the metamorphosis of each layer of the snow pack was observed at regular intervals during the accumulation and melting seasons. Observations and conclusions are given regarding changes in density, mass or water equivalent, water storage, water transmission characteristics, and melting rates of the snow. Many of the results confirm existing knowledge and belief on a quantitative basis. Other results, which may be new to many readers, add to or modify well-established opinions. An example is the lack of relationship between the density of snow layers and the weight of the overlying snow.
Secondment in the United Nations Secretariat: An Alternative View

With the increased concern in the post-1960 period over the problem of achieving an equitable geographical distribution in the United Nations Secretariat, renewed attention has been focused on the role of short-term appointments in the recruitment of Secretariat personnel. What in the previous fifteen years of the Organization's history had been viewed largely as a technical facet of personnel policy suddenly became an issue of political contention in both the Fifth (Administrative and Budgetary) Committee and in the General Assembly itself. This article will first briefly detail the various positions in the debate over the role of short-term appointments. Its main focus, however, will be on the institutional dynamics to which secondment relates and on an attempt to gain insight into its operation through the experience of the European Communities with this type of appointment.
Learning Dynamics in Monetary Policy: The Robustness of an Aggressive Price Stabilizing Policy

This paper investigates the effect of an aggressive price stabilizing monetary policy on the ability of agents to reach a rational expectations equilibrium (REE) for inflation and output. We provide a more robust policy implication than the one suggested by Bullard and Mitra (2002a,b). Using an adaptive learning framework, we develop a model that combines a real wage contracting rigidity with an interest rate rule, and an optimized IS curve. The equilibrium indicates that only an aggressive monetary policy enables agents to determine and learn the REE. We also show that inflation persistence is negatively related to the degree of aggressiveness.
“Now We're All Snug!”: The Regionalism of Little House on the Prairie

Little House on the Prairie participates in a nationalist project by reframing the pioneer local as coveted and critical to the construction of US empire. Writing in the tradition of Great Plains regional literature, Laura Ingalls Wilder and Rose Wilder Lane ground this novel's deep nostalgia in an aesthetics of homemaking, encouraging young readers to mourn for a vanished past through their carefully crafted lexicon of desire and intimacy. The building of the little house itself is a production of snugness made possible by the theft of Osage lands. Ultimately, Prairie creates a close, comforting local space in which getting and having become the inevitable results of appropriative longing.
A national market basket survey for lamb

Lamb retail cases in six cities across the United States were surveyed. Information gathered included fat thickness measurements, price, boneless versus bone-in cuts, and other pertinent data to determine the composition of retail lamb cuts. Randomly selected retail cuts (n = 274) were transported to Texas A&M University for dissection and chemical (fat) analysis. Additional cuts (n = 158) were subjected to sensory and shear force measurements. The overall average fat thickness for all retail cuts was 0.35 cm. Average percentage separable lean was 55.64%, separable fat was 16.51%, and bone and connective tissue was 27.67%. Of the separable fat, 42.83% was external fat and 53.00% was seam fat. The average percentage chemical fat (lean tissue only) was 6.05%. Less than 1% of all retail lamb found in the survey was imported (New Zealand) lamb. All retail cuts received high ratings with respect to sensory attributes.
Seeing our way to drug design

Interactive molecular graphics plays an important role in every stage of the drug design process. The technology of molecular graphics has advanced considerably over the past 30 years, both in terms of hardware features for advanced rendering and computation, and in terms of software environments for rapid, flexible and extensible program development. This paper discusses the role of interactive computer graphics in rational drug design, from structure determination, computation and analysis, through prediction and design, to communication and presentation. The emphasis is on the new trends in the technology, and how they can be utilized to facilitate and improve the various stages of the process.
Volume analysis of disk spanning logical volumes

As storage requirements increase, it is becoming more common for computers to use disk spanning techniques to make multiple disks look like one large disk, called a logical volume. This impacts an investigator because she must be able to recreate the logical volume so that the computer can be analyzed. In this paper, we look at the basic concepts of disk spanning and we look at three Windows and Linux implementations.
Recursive linear orders with recursive successivities

Abstract A successivity in a linear order is a pair of elements with no other elements between them. A recursive linear order with recursive successivities U is recursively categorical if every recursive linear order with recursive successivities isomorphic to U is in fact recursively isomorphic to U . We characterize those recursive linear orders with recursive successivities that are recursively categorical as precisely those with order type k1+g1+k2+g2+…+gn-1+kn where each kn is a finite order type, non-empty for iϵ{2,…,n-1} and each gi is an order type from among {ω,ω*,ω+ω*}∪{k·η:k
Magnetokinetic Effects in Reactions of Br2- and CH3• Radicals with Ni(Me2pyo[14]trieneN4)2+: Ligand Interchange-Imposed Restrictions on the Reactants Reencounter Probability

Magnetic field effects in reactions of CH3• and Br2- radicals with Ni(Me2pyo[14]trieneN4)2+ were investigated under magnetic inductions, B, between 0 and 7 T by flash photolysis. The dependences of the normalized rate constants, k(B)/k(0), on B do not conform to the model where the spin motion, Zeeman, and hyperfine and spin−orbit interactions are combined with free reencounters of radical-ion pairs. The experimental observations were better described when the dynamic-probability function was an exponential. The reasons for the observed magnetokinetic behavior in reactions of Ni(Me2pyo[14]trieneN4)2+, i.e., restrictions imposed by the dynamics of ligand interchange, are discussed.
Injection from the K500 Superconducting Cyclotron into the 88" Cyclotron at Texas A&M

The construction of a superconducting cyclotron of the MSU design (K=500, Kf=160) is under way at Texas A&M. It will be used both alone and as an injector for the existing 88" (K147) cyclotron. A beam optics study has been carried out for injection of K500 cyclotron heavy-ion beams into the K147 cyclotron. This study traces a variety of beams from extraction at the K500 cyclotron until focused and dispersion matched into the proper orbit of the K147 cyclotron. The line is configured to decouple the parameters of each cyclotron by first bringing the momentum dispersion to zero and then producing a double waist which serves as the apparent source for the second cyclotron. Beam line optics for standalone operation of the K500 cyclotron, which provides for use of the present experimental facilities, have also been studied. Construction of the K500 cyclotron is proceeding approximately on schedule with operation expected in 1985.
Shape Optimization of Cam Profiles Using a B-Spline Representation

Optimisation de la forme d'une came en utilisant une spline B pour representer l'acceleration
Negative numbers eliminate, but do not reverse, the attentional SNARC effect.

Three experiments are reported examining whether the presentation of irrelevant negative numbers at central fixation interacts with attentional orienting beyond fixation. It has been previously shown that number per- ception influences spatial attention, with the presentation of spatially nonpredictive numbers resulting in the allocation of attention to the left when the number is low (e.g., 1 or 2) and to the right when the number is high (e.g., 8 or 9). In the present experiment, it is examined whether this atten- tional spatial numerical association of response codes (SNARC) effect is influenced by the presentation of neg- ative numbers, which should have spatial properties that are in direct opposition to their positive counterparts (e.g., - 1o r-2 would be considered high numbers relative to -8 or -9, which would be considered low numbers). Though the presentation of negative numbers does not lead to a reversal of the attentional SNARC effect, it does lead to an elimination of the effect, providing insight into how the attentional SNARC effect develops.
Possible Deviations from Simple Quark-Parton Models in High-Energy Antineutrino Differential Distributions

We have analyzed differential distributions for a sample of high-energy $\ensuremath{\nu}$ and $\overline{\ensuremath{\nu}}$ interactions. The antineutrino data require more antiquark component than expected from low-energy results. Also, some hints of energy-dependent effects have been observed in these distributions.
New minimax algorithm

The purpose of this paper is to suggest a new, efficient algorithm for the minmax problem $$\mathop {min}\limits_x \mathop {max}\limits_i f_i (x), x \in \Re ^n , i = 1, \ldots ,m,$$ wheref i ,i=1,...,m, are real-valued functions defined on ? n . The problem is transformed into an equivalent inequality-constrained minimization problem, mint, s.t.f i (x)?t≤0, for alli, i=1,...,m. The algorithm has these features: an active-set strategy with three types of constraints; the use of slack variables to handle inequality constraints; and a trust-region strategy taking advantage of the structure of the problem. Following Tapia, this problem is solved by an active set strategy which uses three types of constraints (called here nonactive, semiactive, and active). Active constraints are treated as equality constraints, while semiactive constraints are treated as inequality constraints and are assigned slack variables. This strategy helps to prevent zigzagging. Numerical results are provided.
Binding energies of excitons in type-II GaAs-AlAs quantum-well structures in the presence of a magnetic field

We report a calculation of the binding energies of both the heavy-hole and the light-hole excitons in type-II GaAs-AlAs quantum wells as a function of the size of the AlAs layer (or the GaAs layer) in the presence of a magnetic field applied parallel to the direction of growth. We follow a variational approach and assume that the electrons and holes are confined in infinite potential barriers. For a given set of values of GaAs- and AlAs-layer thicknesses, the binding energies of excitons are found to increase with increasing magnetic field.
Puerto Rican understandings of child disability: methods for the cultural validation of standardized measures of child health

Validating the cultural context of health is important for obtaining accurate and useful information from standardized measures of child health adapted for cross-cultural applications. This paper describes the application of ethnographic triangulation for cultural validation of a measure of childhood disability, the Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI) for use with children living in Puerto Rico. The key concepts include macro-level forces such as geography, demography, and economics, specific activities children performed and their key social interactions, beliefs, attitudes, emotions, and patterns of behavior surrounding independence in children and childhood disability, as well as the definition of childhood disability. Methods utilize principal components analysis to establish the validity of cultural concepts and multiple regression analysis to identify intracultural variation. Findings suggest culturally specific modifications to the PEDI, provide contextual information for informed interpretation of test scores, and point to the need to re-standardize normative values for use with Puerto Rican children. Without this type of information, Puerto Rican children may appear more disabled than expected for their level of impairment or not to be making improvements in functional status. The methods also allow for cultural boundaries to be quantitatively established, rather than presupposed.
Economic efficiency and ecological considerations in resource development policies: a case study

Abstract This case study of the formation of a forest policy for Bangladesh incorporates many of the issues faced by developing countries in their search for natural resource policies that strike a balance between urgent needs for immediate material benefits and the long-term necessity of utilizing and conserving natural resources in an ecologically-sound manner. The forest resources of Bangladesh are under extreme pressure from illicit timber cutting and encroachment by agriculture through clearfelling and burning, and overgrazing. The study seeks to develop a forest policy that balances economic efficiency and forest management practices based on ecological principles. Ricardian-type supply schedules are developed by ranking alternative site-quality/biological treatment combinations according to unit cost of production and comparing them with an econometrically derived long-term demand schedule. The optimal level of resource development is determined by equating marginal cost of production (in end-value terms) with the projected long-term forest products price level. This is equivalent to maximizing the sum of consumer and producer surpluses, commonly referred to as net economic benefits. The study predicts a three-fold increase relative to present levels in Bangladesh timber output. This can be achieved using 15% less of the present timberland base thereby releasing some one million acres of less productive hill forest areas. This surplus land can then be allocated to non-timber uses to meet conservation goals. The proposed policy stresses participation by local communities and the growing of diverse species on private woodlots. This is expected to increase the forest resource base of the country thus reducing the economic cost of timber production and improving environmental quality at the same time.
Immersive Virtual Reality for Visualization of Abdominal CT.

Immersive virtual environments use a stereoscopic head-mounted display and data glove to create high fidelity virtual experiences in which users can interact with three-dimensional models and perceive relationships at their true scale. This stands in stark contrast to traditional PACS-based infrastructure in which images are viewed as stacks of two dimensional slices, or, at best, disembodied renderings. Although there has substantial innovation in immersive virtual environments for entertainment and consumer media, these technologies have not been widely applied in clinical applications. Here, we consider potential applications of immersive virtual environments for ventral hernia patients with abdominal computed tomography imaging data. Nearly a half million ventral hernias occur in the United States each year, and hernia repair is the most commonly performed general surgery operation worldwide. A significant problem in these conditions is communicating the urgency, degree of severity, and impact of a hernia (and potential repair) on patient quality of life. Hernias are defined by ruptures in the abdominal wall (i.e., the absence of healthy tissues) rather than a growth (e.g., cancer); therefore, understanding a hernia necessitates understanding the entire abdomen. Our environment allows surgeons and patients to view body scans at scale and interact with these virtual models using a data glove. This visualization and interaction allows users to perceive the relationship between physical structures and medical imaging data. The system provides close integration of PACS-based CT data with immersive virtual environments and creates opportunities to study and optimize interfaces for patient communication, operative planning, and medical education.
The polarization properties of Fe II 614.9 nm

The anomalous Zeeman splitting of the Fe II line at 614.9 nm results in four unusual properties of the polarization signature of this line in the presence of magnetic fields: the absence of linear polarization, no magnetooptical effect, the independence of intensity at line center from the inclination of the field, and a depolarizing self-absorption. The origin of these properties is illustrated in terms of the transfer of line radiation in an idealized solar atmosphere.
The effects of solid state paging devices in a large time-sharing system

This paper reports the results of some measurements taken on the effects two new solid state paging devices, the STC 4305 and the Intel 3805, have on paging performance in the Michigan Terminal System at the University of Michigan. The measurements were taken with a software monitor using various configurations of the two solid state devices and the fixed head disk, which they replace. Measurements were taken both during regular production and using an artificial load created to exercise the paging subsystem. The results confirmed the expectation that the solid state paging devices provide shorter page-in waiting times than the fixed-head disk, and also pointed up some of the effects which their differing architectures have on the system.
Striving for Integration: A Portfolio Content Analysis.

Abstract Portfolios are viewed as a promising strategy for integration in many teacher education programs. Since 1991. all undergraduate teacher education students at Wichita State University (WSU) have developed portfolios. A study designed to better understand WSU's portfolio plan was undertaken to investigate whether the portfolios reflected a programmatic emphasis on integration. A team examined written descriptions of the 586 self-selected entries submitted in 127 senior portfolios. The data revealed a “sameness” in self-selected entries. A comparison by demographic variables indicated significant differences in who submitted units, lesson plans, and assessment activities. Questions were raised concerning the consistency between the integration strategies modeled in methods courses, a need to reexamine the faculty's commitment to integration, the challenges associated with accomplishing multiple purposes, and the need for balancing the desired outcomes for all stakeholders.
Sample size/power calculation for stratified case–cohort design

The case-cohort (CC) study design usually has been used for risk factor assessment in epidemiologic studies or disease prevention trials for rare diseases. The sample size/power calculation for a stratified CC (SCC) design has not been addressed before. This article derives such result based on a stratified test statistic. Simulation studies show that the proposed test for the SCC design utilizing small sub-cohort sampling fractions is valid and efficient for situations where the disease rate is low. Furthermore, optimization of sampling in the SCC design is discussed and compared with proportional and balanced sampling techniques. An epidemiological study is provided to illustrate the sample size calculation under the SCC design.
The purification of human chorionic gonadotropin on DEAE-Sephadex.

Abstract A simple procedure for the purification of commercial human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) by chromatography on DEAE-Sephadex is described. The method is reproducible and suitable for application on a preparative scale. The HCG thus purified had a specific immunological activity of 11,000 I.U./mg and was homogeneous by immunoelectrophoresis. The overall recovery of immunological activity was 19%. A simple, specific quantitative assay for HCG employing the technique of immunodiffusion is described. The precision, accuracy, and advantages of the method are discussed.
Acquiring Diglossia: Mutual Influences of Formal and Colloquial Arabic on Children's Grammaticality Judgments.

There are differences and similarities between Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and spoken varieties of Arabic, in all language domains. To obtain preliminary insights into interactions between the acquisition of spoken and standard varieties of a language in a diglossic situation, we employed forced-choice grammaticality judgments to investigate morphosyntactic knowledge of MSA and the local variant of Palestinian Colloquial Arabic (PCA), in 60 Arabic-speaking children aged 6 ; 4 to 12 ; 4, from a school in Nazareth. We used morphosyntactic structures which either differed or were similar between PCA and standard Arabic. Children generally performed better on items presented in PCA than in standard Arabic, with the exception of constructions involving negation. Children performed better on items when the two constructions were similar in both language varieties. We discuss the results with respect to the multiple factors that affect acquisition in a diglossic situation, and relate our findings to the possibility of interference effects of diglossia on learning.
A mathematical model of placental oxygen transfer

Abstract : A mathematical model of placental oxygen transfer is used to argue that the experimentally observed control of fetal oxygen concentration in fetal lambs can be explained by the nature of oxyhemoglobin dissociation functions and the differences between these functions in fetal and maternal blood. It is not essential to the explanation to posit any mechanisms responding to a pO2 sensor or any changes in fetal, maternal, or placental vascular structures. Equally unnecessary are assumed alterations in the physical or chemical structure of placental membranes. (Aurthor)
Managerial implications of the modular consortium model in a Brazilian automotive plant

Recently, automotive manufacturers have sought to outsource part of their traditional territory in an attempt to gain competitive advantages by decreasing production costs and increasing the speed of the development of new products. In order to do this, the modular consortium model has been introduced as a new and revolutionary approach to outsourcing assembly in automotive manufacturing. In November 1996, VW and seven module suppliers inaugurated a new truck and bus plant in Resende, a greenfield site in Brazil, using a pioneering pure modular consortium. As a radical case of outsourcing in the supply chain, the factory has aroused great interest and become a “laboratory” for the entire automotive industry. This article provides a brief description of the factory and discusses some managerial challenges and new business opportunities which have been introduced on both sides of the partnership with the establishment of the new plant.
Aboriginal Physician Use in Canada: Location, Orientation and Identity

The main objectives of this paper are to compare Aboriginal and Canadian health status and physician use and to identify the factors associated with the use of physician services. Data are drawn from the 1991 Aboriginal Peoples Survey (APS) and the 1991 General Social Survey (GSS), which are weighted random samples of the Aboriginal and total Canadian populations, respectively. The results demonstrate that Aboriginals were much less likely to use physician services, even though Aboriginals rank their health similarly to the total Canadian population. Location becomes an important aspect of both physician use and health status, with Aboriginals residing on-reserve generally having lower levels of self-assessed health and less likely to have seen a physician. While Aboriginals with the poorest health status were more likely to have seen a physician, other factors including education were found to be barriers to use of health care. Aboriginal identity and cultural orientation provided mixed results. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Use of collaboration technology in a large simulation suite

The Simulation for Predictive Battlespace Awareness (SiPBA) will enhance Decision Support within the Air Force. Through the use of existing simulations and collaboration enabling tools such as workflows, resource agents and process sharing, the Air Force can augment multi-level simulation with repeatable processes and configuration control. SiPBA uses a forms-based approach that allows the simulation details to be removed from the individual posing the operational questions. Subsequently, the level of detail of the simulation required and the combination of simulations required to answer the question also becomes abstract. This paper will review the process of exploiting a forms-based approach within the framework of collaboration tools to support multi-level simulation.
Reedy categories and the \varTheta -construction

We use the notion of multi-Reedy category to prove that, if $$\mathcal C $$ is a Reedy category, then $$\varTheta \mathcal C $$ is also a Reedy category. This result gives a new proof that the categories $$\varTheta _n$$ are Reedy categories. We then define elegant Reedy categories, for which we prove that the Reedy and injective model structures coincide.
Magnetic material in the head of the common Pacific dolphin

Magnetic material carrying natural remanent magnetization is present in the head of the common Pacific dolphin (Delphinus delphis). A sample of this material, isolated from the dura mater, has a mo...
The return to the veil: Individual autonomy vs. social esteem

Social status is a multidimensional concept in which individual autonomy and societal esteem may exert contrary pulls. We apply this distinction between autonomy and esteem to studies of Egyptian women who have taken up the veil. Wearing the veil is seen as a coping strategy women use to gain or maintain societal esteemand a small measure of autonomy in a patriarchal society in which opportunities for autonomy are increasingly limited. As conservative movements gain strength in a range of social settings, this theoretical distinction and case analysis assume broader sociological significance.
Raman studies of the GeO2 glass preparation history

A series of high purity GeO 2 glasses with T φ 's from 1960 to 1450 °C were prepared and the Raman spectra measured. In the normalized spectras the 977 and 862 cm −1 LO and TO pair as well as the 558 cm −1 shoulder were seen to decrease with increasing T φ . The decreases observed are a consequence of the increase of depolymerization of the equilibrated Liquid with increasing T φ . As the melt liquid is quenched through T g , remnants of the liquid structure are preserved to room temperature resulting in a decrease in the degree of polymerization of the glass structure.
THE EFFECT OF PREGNANCY AND POSTPARTUM RECOVERY ON THE VISCOELASTIC BEHAVIOR OF THE RAT CERVIX

The objective of this study was to elucidate the normal functional adaptations of the cervix in pregnancy. Utilizing a Long-Evans rodent model, the cervix was divided into distal and proximal portions for virgin, mid-pregnant, and four weeks postpartum animals. The quasi-linear viscoelastic theory describes the elastic and viscous behavior of the cervix. A hydroxyproline assay was used to measure collagen content. The nonlinearity of the elastic response significantly increased throughout the entire cervix during pregnancy when compared to virgin samples (p < 0.05) and was similar to virgin samples postpartum. All viscous behavior, except for the short-term relaxation of the proximal cervix, significantly differed for pregnant specimens (p < 0.05) and remained similar to pregnant samples postpartum. Collagen content was found to increase by mid-pregnancy only in the proximal cervix when compared to virgin. Distal and proximal portions, however, were found to differ in collagen content at all time points (p < 0.05). This study finds that the cervix becomes elastically stiffer with increasing strain and exhibits increased viscous behavior during pregnancy, with incomplete recovery postpartum. These alterations allow for quick dissipation of loads, and are likely related to altered matrix organization and porosity reported by others.
Monte Carlo simulation of polymer adsorption

We developed and employed the incremental gauge cell method to calculate the chemical potential (and thus free energies) of long, flexible homopolymer chains of Lennard-Jones beads with harmonic bonds. The free energy of these chains was calculated with respect to three external conditions: in the zero-density bulk limit, confined in a spherical pore with hard walls, and confined in a spherical pore with attractive pores, the latter case being an analog of adsorption. Using the incremental gauge cell method, we calculated the incremental chemical potential of free polymer chains before and after the globual-random coil transitions. We also found that chains confined in attractive pores exhibit behaviors typical of low temperature physisorption isotherms, such as layering followed by capillary condensation.
Passive near-field localization of multiple non-Gaussian sources in 3-D using cumulants

Abstract In this paper an eigendecomposition technique based on cumulant matrices is proposed to passively localize narrowband non-Gaussian sources in the spherical coordinates, viz., azimuth, elevation and range, using signals recorded by a centro-symmetric 2-D cross array. The high-resolution algorithm exploits the multiple degrees of freedom available from cumulants to transform the near-field data into pseudo-data collected by a virtual rectangular array observing virtual far-field sources. The source locations are estimated directly from eigenvalues of certain cumulant matrices, thereby eliminating the multi-dimensional search inherent in the traditional methods like 3-D MUSIC. The centro-symmetric structure lost by a uniform linear array in the presence of near-field sources, is restored in the virtual rectangular array thus allowing efficient real-valued processing via Unitary ESPRIT.
The roles of library liaisons in a problem-based learning (PBL) medical school curriculum: a case study from University of New Mexico.

The relationships between problem-based learning (PBL) curricula and libraries have generated a substantial number of journal articles, but few have addressed the importance of the interaction between health science libraries and PBL curricula. This article attempts to contribute to this dimension through a description of the roles of library liaisons.* First we describe the evolution of the liaison roles beginning 2 years prior to the implementation of a PBL curriculum. We then describe the core responsibilities of liaisons at the University of New Mexico (UNM) with mention of other innovative roles developed by some liaisons.