cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Two-sample sequential test of normal distributions when one of the sample sizes is fixed

Abstract Sequential two-sample tests when the sample size for one of the two populations is fixed is discussed. Two tests, one for comparing the means and the other for comparing variances of two normal distributions, are presented together with the test boundaries. The numerical approach of determining the risk probabilities by integrating the conditional error probabilities with respect to the distributions of estimators is employed. The proposed tests appear to yield an appreciable advantage over the usual fixed sample size test in terms of the average total number of observations.
The shrinking lungs syndrome in systemic lupus erythematosus

A comprehensive review of the literature on shrinking lungs syndrome (SLS) in systemic lupus erythematosus involved a MEDLINE search (1965–1997) of case reports and clinical series of patients with the diagnosis of SLS. A total of 49 well-documented cases of SLS were reviewed. Shrinking lungs syndrome is characterized by unexplained dyspnea, a restrictive pattern on pulmonary function test results, and an elevated hemidiaphragm. The cause of SLS remains controversial, with several authors attributing the disorder to diaphragmatic weakness and others suggesting that chest wall restriction accounts for the clinical syndrome. No definitive therapy exists. Corticosteroids have been reported to lessen symptoms and improve pulmonary function in some patients with SLS, but other methods of treatment have occasionally been found to be helpful. Clinical presentation, method of diagnosis, pathogenesis, and treatment modalities are summarized in this review. An uncommon complication of systemic lupus erythematosus, SLS causes significant morbidity and, occasionally, mortality.
THEORETICAL STUDY OF THE COHERENT LIGHT BACKSCATTERING BY RANDOM MEDIA

A theoretical study of coherent backscattering of light by semi-infinite disordered media is presented. Particular attention is devoted to the case when the light wavelength is larger than the characteristic dimensions of non-uniformities. The study is the further development of the general approach proposed in our previous article15 [J. Opt. Soc. Am.A17, 2029 (2001)]. In the present article in addition to the more rigorous derivation of the expression for the mean backscattering signal the expressions for the fluctuation characteristics (correlation functions) are provided. These expressions can be used for the characterization of multiscattering media by the analysis of the results of backscattering experiments.
What We Publish in CiSE

Here, the Editor-in-Chief discusses what we publish in CiSE, and the best way to present work for publication in the magazine.
Precise selection techniques for multi-touch screens

The size of human fingers and the lack of sensing precision can make precise touch screen interactions difficult. We present a set of five techniques, called Dual Finger Selections, which leverage the recent development of multi-touch sensitive displays to help users select very small targets. These techniques facilitate pixel-accurate targeting by adjusting the control-display ratio with a secondary finger while the primary finger controls the movement of the cursor. We also contribute a "clicking" technique, called SimPress, which reduces motion errors during clicking and allows us to simulate a hover state on devices unable to sense proximity. We implemented our techniques on a multi-touch tabletop prototype that offers computer vision-based tracking. In our formal user study, we tested the performance of our three most promising techniques (Stretch, X-Menu, and Slider) against our baseline (Offset), on four target sizes and three input noise levels. All three chosen techniques outperformed the control technique in terms of error rate reduction and were preferred by our participants, with Stretch being the overall performance and preference winner.
Preliminary findings on the relation between the personality trait of stress reaction and the central neural control of human vocalization.

AbstractThe objectives of this study were to examine whether the personality trait of stress reaction (SR), as assessed with the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire-Brief Form (MPQ-BF), (1) influences prefrontal and limbic area activity during overt sentence reading and if (2) SR and associated individual differences in prefrontal and limbic activations correlate with sensorimotor cortical activity during overt sentence reading. Ten vocally healthy adults (22–57 years) participated in a functional MRI study using an event-related sparse sampling design to acquire brain activation data during sentence production tasks (covert, whispered, overt). The outcome measure was the blood oxygenation level-dependent signal change in prefrontal, limbic, and primary somatosensory (S1) and motor cortices (M1). Significant positive correlations were found between SR scores and S1, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (both r =.73, p <.05), and periaqueductal gray (r =.88, p <.01) activity. M1 activity was positively co...
The effect of intrinsic oceanic upper-mantle heterogeneity on regionalization of long-period Rayleigh-wave phase velocities

Summary. Rayleigh-wave phase velocities at very long periods (185–290 s) are investigated and regionalized, taking into account the lateral heterogeneities within ocean plates revealed by earlier studies at shorter periods. The two-station method is applied to a few ‘pure-age’ oceanic paths, and is shown to be compatible with the average Earth model C2 (Anderson & Hart 1976) below depths of 180 km. Under this assumed oceanic model, regionalized for age above 180 km, continental velocities are then derived from a set of experimental great-circle values, both new or taken from previously published studies. The results basically agree with earlier studies (Dziewonski 1970; Kanamori 1970), although they exhibit less scatter than Kanamori's model. Results are successfully checked against a set of values derived by the two-station method from a pure continental path. Although the shield velocities are substantially different from the mean oceanic ones, they still fall within the range of variation of oceanic velocities with the age of the plate. This makes velocities derived theoretically from Jordan's (1975a, b) models of deep continent—ocean lateral heterogeneities, inconsistent with the present set of experimental data. Finally, we show that Dziewonski's (1971) model S2 reconciles all experimental seismic data relative to shields, without being significantly different from oceanic models below 240 km.
The Predictive Validity of the Early Warning System Tool.

The Early Warning System is a tool developed by the National High School Center to collect data on indicators including attendance, grade point average, course failures, and credits earned. These i...
Remembrance of Pains Past

ionist view, or is it better understood as being data-driven (bottom-up) processing, the proceduralist view, or is it a blend? 1° And, do the many sensory and emotional dimensions of pain and suffering involve different memory mechanisms and require a variety of conceptual models? Acknowledgment Supported in part by NS-20248-04 from the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke.
The impact of poor sampling of polymorphism on cladistic analysis

Despite its ubiquity in the natural world, polymorphism is commonly disregarded or poorly sampled in phylogenetic analyses due to deliberate sampling strategy, inadequate sampling effort and limited specimen availability. Poor sampling of intraspecific variation engenders differential sampling of morphs within polymorphic species, which could generate conflicting tree topologies by altering the character-based affinity among taxa. To assess the potential magnitude of this impact, Polymorphic Entry Replacement Data Analysis (PERDA) was developed as a new script for the TNT phylogenetic program. This script simulates poor sampling of polymorphic taxa on a matrix of discrete characters by iteratively replacing each polymorphic state (e.g. [01]) with a randomly selected single state included in the original polymorphic coding (e.g. 0 or 1). The trees recovered from these subsampled data sets provide a distribution of tree distances, which indicates the level of incongruent trees resulting from different combinations of single states. Performing PERDA on empirical data sets shows alarming frequencies and magnitudes of conflicting tree topologies, demonstrating that poor sampling within polymorphic taxa could yield highly incompatible trees in many data sets. This troubling outcome undermines phylogenetic inferences based on data with poor intraspecific sampling, which is typical for palaeontological studies. With trees obtained from subsampled data sets, PERDA also generates a metaconsensus tree revealing interspecific relationships that become ambiguous due to documented levels of intraspecific variation. These collapsed clades point to taxa for which evidence should be sought to justify their taxonomic classification.
A concise multiple scattering method for via array analysis in a circular plate pair

Parallel plate modes are excited by the magnetic frill currents in the via holes (anti-pads). These modes are expressed as cylindrical waves. Multiple scattering of these modes among vias as well as from the edge boundaries of the plate pair are rigorously considered with the addition theorem of the cylindrical waves. An admittance matrix is derived for the via ports at the top/bottom surfaces of the via holes. Good agreement has been found between numerical simulations and the algorithm presented.
A prospective, randomized trial of an emergency department observation unit for acute onset atrial fibrillation.

Study objective An emergency department (ED) observation unit protocol for the management of acute onset atrial fibrillation is compared with routine hospital admission and management. Methods Adult patients presenting to the ED with atrial fibrillation of less than 48 hours' duration without hemodynamic instability or other comorbid conditions requiring hospitalization were enrolled. Participants were randomized to either ED observation unit care or routine inpatient care. The ED observation unit protocol included pulse rate control, cardiac monitoring, reassessment, and electrical cardioversion if atrial fibrillation persisted. Patients who reverted to sinus rhythm were discharged with a cardiology follow-up within 3 days, whereas those still in atrial fibrillation were admitted. All cases were followed up for 6 months and adverse events recorded. Results Of the 153 patients, 75 were randomized to the ED observation unit and 78 to routine inhospital care. Eighty-five percent of ED observation unit patients converted to sinus rhythm versus 73% in the routine care group (difference 12%; 95% confidence interval [CI] −1% to 25%]; P =.06). The median length of stay was 10.1 versus 25.2 hours (difference 15.1 hours; 95% CI 11.2 to 19.6; P P =.93). There was no significant difference between the groups in the frequency of hospitalization or the number of tests, and the number of adverse events during follow-up was similar in the 2 groups. Conclusion An ED observation unit protocol that includes electrical cardioversion is a feasible alternative to routine hospital admission for acute onset of atrial fibrillation and results in a shorter initial length of stay.
Lessons from the Dead: The Experiences of Undergraduates Working with Cadavers:

Dissection of a human cadaver is a time-honored tradition for teaching anatomy in medical education. However, in recent years, for a variety of reasons, including costs and ethical concerns, some medical programs have ceased cadaver dissection in exchange for virtual dissection of cadavers in cyberspace. Past research suggests that students find work on a cadaver to be distressing, but also rewarding. This study analyzed journal entries from 21 undergraduate students working with a cadaver in a gross anatomy course. An empirical, phenomenological analysis of the data identified 19 common themes among the participant's journal entries. In addition, the analysis disclosed how participants usually felt a need to justify the act of dissection. Finally, the analysis identified how students differed in the varied ways they coped with the ambiguous status of the cadaver, which was sometimes viewed as a deceased person while at other times experienced as a fascinating machine. Based on the findings, the researche...
Parallel mining of closed sequential patterns

Discovery of sequential patterns is an essential data mining task with broad applications. Among several variations of sequential patterns, closed sequential pattern is the most useful one since it retains all the information of the complete pattern set but is often much more compact than it. Unfortunately, there is no parallel closed sequential pattern mining method proposed yet. In this paper we develop an algorithm, called Par-CSP (Parallel Closed Sequential Pattern mining), to conduct parallel mining of closed sequential patterns on a distributed memory system. Par-CSP partitions the work among the processors by exploiting the divide-and-conquer property so that the overhead of interprocessor communication is minimized. Par-CSP applies dynamic scheduling to avoid processor idling. Moreover, it employs a technique, called selective sampling to address the load imbalance problem. We implement Par-CSP using MPI on a 64-node Linux cluster. Our experimental results show that Par-CSP attains good parallelization efficiencies on various input datasets.
Investigating the role of the extracellular environment in modulating hepatic stellate cell biology with arrayed combinatorial microenvironments

Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) are a major cell type of the liver that are involved in liver homeostasis. Upon liver damage, HSCs exit their normally quiescent state and become activated, leading to an increase of their proliferation, production of abnormal extracellular matrix proteins (ECMPs) and inflammatory mediators, and eventually liver fibrosis and cirrhosis. Current in vitro approaches to identify components that influence HSC biology typically investigate one factor at a time and generally ignore the complex crosstalk among the myriad of components that comprise the microenvironments of quiescent or activated HSCs. Here we describe a high throughput screening (HTS) approach to identify factors that affect HSC biology. Specifically, we integrated the use of ECMPs and signaling molecules into a combinatorial cellular microarray technology platform, thereby creating comprehensive “microenvironments”. Using this technology, we performed real-time simultaneous screening of the effects of hundreds of unique microenvironments composed of ECMPs and signaling molecules on HSC proliferation and activation. From these screens, we identified combinations of microenvironment components that differentially modulate the HSC phenotype. Furthermore, analysis of HSC responses revealed that the influences of Wnt signaling molecules on HSC fate are dependent on the ECMP composition in which they are presented. Collectively, our results demonstrate the utility of high-content, array-based screens to provide a better understanding of HSC biology. Our results indicate that array-based screens may provide an efficient means for identifying candidate signaling pathways to be targeted for anti-fibrotic therapies.
Profiling of 95 MicroRNAs in Pancreatic Cancer Cell Lines and Surgical Specimens by Real-Time PCR Analysis

Background MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in cancer pathogenesis, apoptosis, and cell growth, thereby functioning as tumor suppressors or oncogenes. However, expression alterations and roles of these miRNAs in pancreatic cancer are largely unknown. We hypothesized that pancreatic cancer may have a unique miRNA profile, which may play a critical role in pancreatic cancer development, progression, diagnosis, and prognosis. Methods Differential expression of 95 miRNAs was analyzed by real time RT-PCR using the QuantiMir System. All 95 miRNAs chosen for the array are based on their potential functions related to cancer biology, cell development, and apoptosis. The expression of miRNAs for pancreatic cancer tissue samples or cancer cell lines was normalized to U6 RNA and compared with those in relatively normal pancreatic tissues or normal human pancreatic ductal epithelial (HPDE) cells. Human pancreatic tissue with chronic pancreatitis also was included for analysis.
Political violence, psychosocial trauma, and the context of mental health services use among immigrant Latinos in the United States.

Objectives. We present the prevalence of exposure to political violence (PV) among Latino immigrants in the US, and perceived need for and correlates of mental health services use among this population. Methods. We use the National Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS), a nationally representative epidemiological survey of US Latinos, including a probability sample of 1630 immigrant Latinos. Our conceptual framework assumes a strong role of social and cultural factors in understanding the risk for psychopathology and mental health service use. Results. Eleven percent of all immigrant Latinos reported PV exposure and 76% described additional lifetime traumas. Among those with a history of PV, an increased likelihood of using mental health services was associated with female gender, English language proficiency, experiencing personal assaults, higher perceived discrimination, and having an anxiety or substance disorder. Latino men and specific subgroups of Latinos were less likely to access mental health ...
A Tightly Regulated Surface Protein of Borrelia burgdorferi Is Not Essential to the Mouse-Tick Infectious Cycle

Borrelia burgdorferi synthesizes a variety of differentially regulated outer surface lipoproteins in the tick vector and in vertebrate hosts. Among these is OspD, a protein that is highly induced in vitro by conditions that mimic the tick environment. Using genetically engineered strains in which ospD is deleted, we demonstrate that this protein is not required for B. burgdorferi survival and infectivity in either the mouse or the tick. However, examination of both transcript levels and protein expression indicates that OspD expression is limited to a discrete window of time during B. burgdorferi replication within the tick. This time frame corresponds to tick detachment from the host following feeding, and expression of OspD continues during tick digestion of the blood meal but is low or undetectable after the tick has molted. The high level of OspD production correlates to the highest cell densities that B. burgdorferi is known to reach in vivo. Although OspD is nonessential to the infectious cycle of B. burgdorferi, the tight regulation of expression suggests a beneficial contribution of OspD to the spirochete during bacterial replication within the tick midgut.
INVESTIGATION OF FERTILIZING CAPACITY OF CRYOPRESERVED SPERMATOZOA FROM PATIENTS WITH CANCER

AbstractPurpose: There are few published reports concerning fertilization and pregnancy outcomes achieved with cryopreserved spermatozoa from cancer patients. Controversy exists regarding the value of sperm banking for these patients before therapy, whether the spermatozoa are viable after long-term storage and whether they can fertilize the ovum. We assess fertilization and pregnancy outcomes achieved with cryopreserved spermatozoa from cancer patients using assisted reproductive techniques.Materials and Methods: We studied 10 cancer patients who transferred cryopreserved semen specimens from our sperm bank to outside in vitro fertilization programs for assisted reproductive technique. Of these patients 5 had Hodgkin's disease, 2 testicular cancer, 1 leukemia and 2 prostate cancer. The length of specimen storage ranged from 14 to 135 months (median 49, interquartile range 24 and 82).Results: The median pre-freeze motility was 44% (interquartile range 36 and 55%) and the median total sperm count was 31.1 ...
Integrity constraints in temporal relational databases

We address the key issues of integrity constraints in temporal data within the relational framework. These issues include representation of temporal data, temporal grouping identifiers, primary keys of temporal relations and other forms of temporal integrity constraints. We extend the traditional integrity constraints to the temporal domain. In tackling subtle issues of temporality in managing time-varying data, we conceptualize that a temporal integrity constraint has a data and a temporal (time) component. The time component of a temporal integrity constraint limits the attribute values to the lifespan of an object (tuple) and it is peculiar to temporal data only. We also generalize single state integrity constraints to multistate temporal integrity constraints and apply them to existential and referential integrity.
The Effect of α-Tocopherol Supplementation on LDL Oxidation: A Dose-Response Study

Abstract Because much data have accrued to support the concept that oxidatively modified LDL (Ox-LDL) can promote atherogenesis, the role of antioxidants in decreasing LDL oxidation has assumed great importance. High-dose α-tocopherol supplementation in humans decreases the susceptibility of LDL to oxidation. Hence, the aim of the present study was to ascertain the minimum dose of α-tocopherol that would decrease the susceptibility of LDL to oxidation. The effect of α-tocopherol in doses of 60, 200, 400, 800, and 1200 IU/d on copper-catalyzed LDL oxidation was tested in a randomized placebo-controlled study over 8 weeks. There were eight subjects in each group. Oxidation of LDL was monitored by measuring the formation of conjugated dienes and lipid peroxides by the thiobarbituric acid–reacting substances (TBARS) assay over an 8-hour time course at baseline and after 8 weeks of supplementation. Neither placebo nor any of the doses of α-tocopherol resulted in any side effects or exerted an adverse effect on the plasma lipoprotein profile. However, there was a dose-dependent increase in plasma and lipid-standardized α-tocopherol levels with increasing doses of α-tocopherol supplementation. LDL α-tocopherol appeared to follow a similar trend. When the time-course curves of LDL oxidation and the kinetics of LDL oxidation were examined, there was no significant effect at 8 weeks compared with baseline in the groups that received placebo or α-tocopherol 60 or 200 IU/d. However, in the groups that received at least 400 IU/d α-tocopherol, there was a decreased susceptibility of LDL to oxidation, as shown by the mean levels in the time-course curves, prolongation in the lag phase, and a decrease in the oxidation rate. Furthermore, both plasma and LDL α-tocopherol correlated significantly with the lag phase of oxidation and inversely with the oxidation rate. The results of the present study show that the minimum dose of α-tocopherol needed to significantly decrease the susceptibility of LDL to oxidation is 400 IU/d.
Isotope effect analyses provide evidence for an altered transition state for RNA 2′-O-transphosphorylation catalyzed by Zn2+

Solvent D2O and 18O kinetic isotope effects on RNA 2′-O-transphosphorylation catalyzed by Zn2+ demonstrate an altered transition state relative to specific base catalysis. A recent model from DFT calculations involving inner sphere coordination to the non-bridging and leaving group oxygens is consistent with the data.
Evolution of fault tolerance

Ken Birman's talk focused on controversies surrounding fault-tolerance and consistency. Looking at the 1990's, he pointed to debate around the so-called CATOCS question (CATOCS refers to causally and totally ordered communication primitives) and drew a parallel to the more modern debate about consistency at cloud scale (often referred to as the CAP conjecture). Ken argued that the underlying tension is actually one that opposes basic principles of the field against the seemingly unavoidable complexity of mechanisms strong enough to solve consensus, particularly the family of protocols with Paxos-like structures. Over time, this was resolved: He concluded that today, we finally know how to build very fast and scalable solutions (those who attended SOSP 2015 itself saw ten or more of the paper on such topics). On the other hand, Ken sees a new generation of challenges on the horizon: cloud-scale applications that will need a novel mix of scalable consistency and real-time guarantees, will need to leverage new new hardware options (RDMA, NVRAM and other "middle memory" options), and may need to be restructured to reflect a control-plane/data-plane split. These trends invite a new look at what has become a core topic for the SOSP community.
Selected Rules of Basic Courtroom Decorum

Lawyers have developed their own code of behavior for the courtroom. Before a lawyer tries his first case he must familiarize himself with these "rules" of courtroom decorum. This article details a few of the basic courtroom rules that should be observed in any forum.
The Thermal Death Point of Brucella abortus in Milk.

abortus are pathogenic for man and that these may occur in milk and other dairy products,' more information concerning the thermal death point of the organism is desirable. There is only meager information in the literature concerning its resistance to heat, the prevailing opinion being that Brucella abortus is very sensitive to heat and easily destroyed at a comparatively low temperature. This opinion probably is based on the fact that it does not grow readily and abundantly on the ordinary culture mediums under normal atmospheric conditions. MacFadyean and Stockman 2 observed that Brucella abortus was destroyed in two hours when exposed to a temperature of 55 C. Zwick and Wedeman 3 state that it is killed in from ten to fifteen minutes at 60 C., and in five to ten minutes at 65 C. At a recent meeting of the American Public Health Association, Park 4 reported results upon data he obtained by mixing several strains of Brucella abortus isolated from cattle and swine with cultures of Brucella melitensis. He observed that
Modeling spatially-varying ecological relationships using geographically weighted generalized linear model: A simulation study based on longline seabird bycatch

Abstract Geographically weighted regression (GWR) is a relatively new technique to explore spatially-varying relationships between biological and environmental processes. It allows parameters to vary over space and assumes data to follow a normal distribution. We extend GWR to a geographically weighted generalized linear model (GW-GLM) by incorporating statistical distributions other than the normal distribution (i.e., the binomial distribution). We demonstrate the application of GW-GLM with an empirical example, U.S. Atlantic pelagic longline seabird bycatch. Due to the high percentage of zero observations in the seabird bycatch data, we analyzed the positive catch rates (number of seabirds caught per 1000 hooks) and the probability of catching a seabird separately. Parameter estimates exhibited considerable spatial variation, especially for target catch rate when analyzing the positive catch data, and for intercept, water depth and water temperature when estimating the probability of catching seabirds. We compared model performance of GW-GLM with a global generalized linear model, a mixed effect model with a random areal effect, and a spatial expansion model that is an early technique to model spatially-varying ecological relationships by modeling each of the parameters as a function of location. The GW-GLM performed best. Simulations with hypothetical datasets having different percentages of zeros showed that, regardless of the zero percentage in the data, GW-GLM performed best on average. Applying a range of bandwidth indicated that the GW-GLM was more robust to an overestimated bandwidth than an underestimated bandwidth.
Analysis of the Delayed Diagnosis in New Smear Positive Tuberculosis Patients of two counties with different income in Guangxi

Objective To understand the diagnosis delay in new smear positive tuberculosis patients in two counties with different per capita disposable income situations,in order to provide a reference basis in tuberculosis control in Guangxi.Methods The purposive sampling was used to choose Xiangzhou county with the higher per capita disposable income and the Jingxi county with the lower per capita disposable income.Besides,data from the tuberculosis information management system was collected to analyze the differences of patient delay,diagnosis delay,and treatment delay in this two counties.Results Most of patients were male farmers in this two counties.The midian days of patient delay,diagnosis delay,and treatment delay in Jingxi county were 36 days,3 days and 1 day respectively;while those were 32 days,3 days and 0 day in Xiangzhou county respectively.There were not statistically significant differences in patient delay and diagnosis delay( x2= 0.20 and 3.07 respectively,all P 0.05).More than 70% patients visiting their doctors delayed for more than two weeks and diagnosed delay was a week.There were statistically significant differences in treatment delay( x2= 69.41,P 0.001).The incidence of treatment delay with different age groups,sources of patients in Xiangzhou county were higher than those in Jingxi county respectivly.Conclusions The condition of diagnosis delay was common in the two counties,but it was more serious in patients with lower per capita disposable incomes.
'Your Friend in the Rain Forest': An Essay on the Rhetoric of Biopiracy

Dozens of commentators have suggested that long term occupant communities (especially in underdeveloped countries) should be granted sui generis rights over plant genentic resources and their knowledge about plant genetic resources. These rights would protect existing germplasm and information maintained by indigenous peoples. Advocates of new rights demonize international pharmaceutical and agribusiness firms that exploit plant genetic resources and argue that new intellectual property rights are the solution to a serious problem. The essay urges advocates for long term occupant communities to abandon the rhetoric of principle and set sail with the bio-pirates. Both indigenous groups and multinational pharmaceutical and agribusines firms have a common enemy: loggers. The twin objectives of preserving biodiversity and indigenous cultures is best served by adopting a commercial or economic rhetoric. As a practical and theoretical matter, an intellectual property solution is unlikely to win widespread support.
Static and dynamic properties of supercooled water in small nanotubes

The static and dynamic properties of water in small silicon-carbide and carbon nanotubes have been studied over the temperature range 100 K-298 K, using extensive molecular dynamics simulations. The computed properties include the radial distribution function, the cage correlation function, the space-time autocorrelation function, the velocity autocorrelation function, and the self-diffusivity. They all indicate that, under the conditions that we study, water does not freeze in small nanotubes; the Stokes-Einstein relation breaks down, and the self-diffusivity exhibits a transition around 230 K, very close to 228 K, the temperature at which a fragile-to-strong dynamic crossover is supposed to happen. The cage correlation function C(t) decays according to a stretched-exponential function, C(t) ∼ exp[ - (t/τ)(β)], where τ is a relaxation time and β is a topological exponent.
Cleaning Data with Real-World Updating Using MSSA

Data cleaning in the real world has to cope with new data arriving (or failing to arrive) as time passes, and which may be bad data. We illustrate MSSA data cleaning with a real-time historical simulation on some problematic data. The example also serves to determine some MSSA algorithm parameters. This paper expands previous work on MSSA applied to data cleaning (filling data holes, removing spikes, simulation) described in previous papers.
Monotone Convergence Theorem for the Riemann Integral

AbstractThe monotone convergence theorem holds for the Riemann integral, provided (of course) it is assumed that the limit function is Riemann integrable. It might be thought, though, that this wou...
POLLUTION LOAD OF COTTAGE CHEESE WHEY AND WASH WATERS

Composition, waste characteristics, and potential pollution load of cottage cheese whey and wash waters were determined after draining and washing by the following methods: (a) partial draining of whey until the settled curd appeared, (b) complete draining of whey, (c) complete draining of whey with filtration, (d) partial draining with filtration, (e) partial draining with the remainder of whey cooled, recirculated through the curd, and completely drained, and (f) same as e with filtration. Whey and three wash waters were analyzed for temperature; pH; acidity; settleable, total, and suspended solids; BOD5; COD; protein; nitrates; phosphates; and lactose. Temperature, pH, and acidity were controlled within the ranges expected. Settleable solids in whey and wash waters were negligible after filtering. Total and suspended solids, BOD5; COD, protein, nitrates, phosphates. and lactose were reduced by about 50% when using the complete draining methods. A comparison was made using Method a as a control. A 20 to...
Public Policy Toward General Aviation

(1972). Public Policy Toward General Aviation. Journal of Economic Issues: Vol. 6, No. 2-3, pp. 169-172.
Compliantly underactuated hands based on multiport networks

In this paper, we outline a design framework that can be used to evaluate and select elastic transmissions between a robotic hand's actuators and its fingers. This framework is based on compliant mechanisms modeled as multiport networks. By analyzing the principal eigenvectors of the stiffness matrix of the multiport, it is possible to approximate the response of the fingers to given actuator inputs. The outlined design process is general, and may be used to design hands with any number of actuators or fingers. An anthropomorphic robotic hand with an elastic transmission mechanism based on a coil spring is presented that superimposes the actions of each actuator across its fingers. The analytically computed multiport stiffness matrix of the transmission mechanism matched the experimentally determined one to within 17%. Because the hand has two actuators that are compliantly coupled, it not only conforms to and grasps objects but can also deliberately vary the finger contact forces during grasping.
Fast diffusion of cs+, a large alkali ion, in silver chloride

The diffusion of Cs+ tracer in AgCl has been measured in the temperature range 327–447°C. The unexpectedly small activation energy of 0.83 eV and tracer diffusivities larger than those of substitutional Ag+ have been interpreted in terms of local strain in the lattice, caused by the large radius of cesium, with a concomitant strong binding of a cation vacancy.
Signal-To-Noise Ratio Dependence On Frame Time, Time Delay And Integration (TDI), And Pulse Shaping

The dependence of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) on three important focal plane design functions--frame time, time delay and integration (TDI), and pulse shaping--is examined. A general focal plane model is developed that permits the SNR, to be parameterized separately in terms of the three functions. The focal plane model treats both staring, mosaic sensors and scanning, line sensors as special cases of the model parameters, and accounts for the presence of multispectral detectors arranged in either a side-by-side or a sandwiched configuration. Both noise in the detectors (including photon noise) and CCD noise that arises in transferring the signal off the focal plane are considered, but it is assumed that the detectors are not limited by l/f noise. General parametric expressions for the SNR in terms of frame time, the number of samples per blur spot (pulse shaping), and the number of TDI steps are derived, and specific results for both a mosaic focal plane and a scanning line focal plane are presented. It is found that, regardless of the focal plane design, the SNR increases at least as the square root of the frame time and decreases at least as the square root of the number of samples per blur spot. The behavior of the SNR in terms of the number of TDI steps is more complicated and depends on the specific focal plane configuration. It can be stated generally, however, that the presence of CCD noise ultimately causes the SNR to peak and then decrease with increasing TDI. The peak SNR occurs at large TDI steps for scanning line sensors and at small TDI steps for mosaic sensors.
Point Estimation from a Decision-Theoretic Viewpoint

True story: I was out for lunch with two friends recently. I didn’t care what restaurant we went to, but my friends John and Marsha had strong preferences, one for Indian food and the other for Chinese. When it became clear that neither one was going to yield to the other in a reasonable amount of time, I proposed to settle the argument by picking a random digit between 1 and 9 (using the random number generator on the fancy-dan cell phone I always carry on my belt) and having each of them try to guess its value. Whoever was closest to my number would get to choose the restaurant. John made the gentlemanly but ill-advised gesture of letting Marsha guess first. Marsha immediately guessed “5“ and guaranteed herself an advantage, since no matter what John guessed, there were at least five out of nine numbers that she would be closer to than John. When John unexpectedly won the game, he made the gentlemanly but ill-advised gesture of choosing Marsha’s restaurant. It was John’s misfortune to end the day with a nontrivial case of food poisoning. Fortunately, Marsha and I managed to dodge that bullet.
Ease of walking associates with greater free-living physical activity and reduced depressive symptomology in breast cancer survivors: pilot randomized trial

We hypothesized exercise training-induced improvements in ease of walking would associate with favorable changes in objectively measured physical activity (PA) and self-reported depressive symptoms following a PA behavior-change intervention in non-metastatic breast cancer survivors (BCS). Twenty-seven BCS received random assignment to an intervention (INT) or control group (CON). INT included counseling/group discussions coupled with supervised exercise tapered to unsupervised exercise. PA, depressive symptoms, and ease of walking were evaluated pre-/post-intervention using 10-day accelerometry, HADS depression subscale, and indirect calorimetry during a standardized treadmill test, respectively. PA composite score was calculated by converting weekly minutes of moderate-to-vigorous PA and average steps/day to z-scores then dividing the sum by 2. Cardiac efficiency was determined by dividing steady-state oxygen uptake by heart rate to evaluate the volume of oxygen consumed per heartbeat. ANCOVA revealed a significant time by group interaction showing the INT group exhibited greater positive changes in the PA composite compared to the CON (INT, + 0.14 ± 0.66 au vs. CON, − 0.48 ± 0.49 au; p = 0.019; η p 2 = 0.21). Changes occurring from baseline to follow-up, among all participants, revealed improved ease of walking (less oxygen uptake) associated with increased PA composite (r = − 0.52; p = 0.010) and lower depressive symptomology (r = 0.50; p = 0.012) adjusted for age, race, and months since cancer diagnosis. Increased cardiac efficiency during the standardized treadmill test also associated with less daily sedentary time (r = − 0.52; p = 0.021). These data support the assertion that reducing the physiological difficulty of walking may contribute to greater engagement in free-living PA, less sedentary time, and decreased psychosocial distress among BCS.
Revolutions in Mathematics. Edited by Donald Gillies

(1994). Revolutions in Mathematics. Edited by Donald Gillies. The American Mathematical Monthly: Vol. 101, No. 3, pp. 283-287.
Ethics consultation in a culturally diverse society.

United States is becoming increasingly culturally diverse. In the 1990s all ethnic minorities had growth rates three to ten times that of Euroamericans, and soon Euroamericans will be a numerical minority in some states such as California and Texas.1 As a result, health care providers can expect to encounter cultural differences in the course of everyday patient care. Considerable research documents wide ranging culturally based patient values, views, and behaviors related to health and health care.2 These studies clearly demonstrate that not all patients share the values and perspectives of their health care providers or the health care systems they encounter.3 If health care providers ignore relevant cultural differences with their patients, then interpersonal conflict, patient dissatisfaction, misdiagnosis, poor adherence to medical advice, sub-optimal outcomes,4 and even disparities in health care may result.5 However, patient-centered studies document that a culturally competent approach can lead to new insights and strategies for bridging identified cultural differences,6 improved outcomes for patients,7 and new job satisfaction for health care providers.8 Clinical ethicists perform ethics consultations in this culturally diverse environment. Just as physicians, nurses, and other direct caregivers must address cultural diversity in their patient-care duties, so must clinical ethicists in their consultations. This article aims to help ethics consultants appreciate the complexity and importance of cultural diversity in clinical medicine today, reviews the relevant anthropologie concepts and moral theories, illustrates their use in the case of a Mexican-American Jehovah's Witness who was in a motor vehicle accident,
Introduction: Long-Term Management of Patients After Myocardial Infarction

The initial chapters of this monograph present the background epidemiologic data that can help guide recommendations for the long-term management of patients after myocardial infarction; the authors address the changing patterns of atherosclerotic coronary heart disease, specifically targeting the prehospital, hospital and posthospital aspects of coronary mortality. The varied methodologies used to assess functional status after myocardial infarction are reviewed in the following section; this functional assessment forms the basis for choosing among the medical and surgical therapeutic options delineated in the subsequent section. Medical interventions, in addition to pharmacotherapy, include coronary risk reduction, exercise training, and psychological counselling and guidance. Contemporary indications are reviewed for both coronary angioplasty and coronary surgery. A final section explores potential future concepts for management, expansions of our therapeutic armamentarium that are likely to be available within the next decade.
Challenges of managing the global IS/IT workforce

The trend toward globalization of business has increased the need for global information systems that enable and support global operations. In order to develop and support global information systems, organizations must employ a global IS/IT workforce. This chapter details the unique nature of this global IS/IT workforce, identifies and discusses specific challenges to the management of these employees, and describes strategies for addressing these challenges. Relevant prior research on this topic in the management and MIS disciplines, labor statistics, as well as prior and ongoing research by the authors, are used to support this discussion.
Pharmacokinetics and biodistribution of polymeric micelles containing miRNA and small-molecule drug in orthotopic pancreatic tumor-bearing mice.

Rationale: Successful treatment of pancreatic cancer remains a challenge due to desmoplasia and prevalence of KRAS mutation. While hedgehog (Hh) ligand levels are upregulated in pancreatic cancer cells and contribute to desmoplasia, there is significant downregulation of tumor suppressor let-7b, which targets mutant KRAS, C-MYC and several other genes involved in pancreatic cancer progression, invasion, and metastasis. We recently explored combination therapy of GDC-0449 (Hh inhibitor) and let-7b mimic using poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(2-methyl-2-carboxyl-propylene carbonate-graft-dodecanol-graft-tetraethylenepentamine) (PEG-b-PCC-g-DC-g-TEPA) micelles in pancreatic tumor mouse model. Here, our objective was to determine the biodistribution (BD), pharmacokinetics (PK), therapeutic efficacy and toxicity of this micellar formulation. Methods: We determined the PK of micelles encapsulating Cy5.5-let-7b and GDC-0449 following intravenous injection in orthotopic pancreatic tumor-bearing NSG mice at doses of 2 mg/kg and 10 mg/kg, respectively. Mice were scanned for fluorescence by IVIS to determine the biodistribution of Cy5.5-let-7b at the whole-body level, and its concentration in plasma and major organs was determined by measuring fluorescence using a fluorimeter and by real-time RT-PCR. GDC-0449 concentration was determined by LC/MS/MS. Therapeutic efficacy and toxicity of the micellar formulation of let-7b and GDC-0449 was also determined after two weeks of treatment. Results: The use of a micellar formulation markedly prolonged the elimination half-life (t1/2, e) of Cy5.5-let-7b in plasma from 0.49 ± 0.19 h to 2.65 ± 0.46 h and increased the area-under-the-curve (AUC 0-∞ ) by 7-fold, while t1/2,e and AUC 0-∞ of GDC-0449 were increased by 1.78-fold and 3.2-fold, respectively. The micelles significantly decreased the clearance of both encapsulated let-7b mimic and GDC-0449 compared to the emulsion formulation. Compared to the emulsion counterpart, the micellar formulation elevated the delivery of Cy5.5-let-7b and GDC-0449 to the orthotopic pancreatic tumor tissue by 7.8- and 4.2-fold, respectively. Furthermore, there was a significant reduction in tumor volume and negligible systemic toxicity as evident by hematological parameters and histological evaluation. Conclusion: PEG-b-PCC-g-DC-g-TEPA micelles carrying GDC-0449 and let-7b mimic have great potential to improve drug delivery for pancreatic cancer treatment.
Role of the Environment in Falls Prevention

Environmental change offers an attractive approach to falls prevention, particularly as part of multidimensional intervention strategies. This article reviews and summarizes prior research that has examined environmental factors in falls experienced by older people in community and long-term care settings. Limitations of this research as a basis for falls prevention activities also are discussed. Studies that focused on environmental hazards as well as those that examined the interaction of environmental conditions and environmental use activities from a situational perspective are included. The first group of studies suggests an approach to falls prevention centered on hazard removal; the second group suggests an approach centered on the provision of more supportive environments that reduce excessive environmental demands. Environmental change and falls prevention in long-term care and community settings, including common barriers to change among older individuals living in the community, are discussed.