cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Evaluation and the Computational Complexity of Datalog Queries of Boolean Constraint Databases

In the database framework of Kanellakis et al. it was argued that constraint query languages should meet the closed-form requirement, that is, queries should take as input constraint databases and give as output constraint databases that use the same type of constraints. This paper shows that the closed-form requirement can be met for Datalog queries with Boolean equality constraints with double exponential time-complete data complexity, for Datalog queries with precedence and monotone inequality constraints in triple exponential-time data complexity. A closed-form evaluation is also shown for (Stratified) Datalog queries with equality and inequality constraints in atomless Boolean algebras in triple exponential-time data complexity.
Reaper‐induced apoptosis in a vertebrate system

The reaper protein of Drosophila melanogaster has been shown to be a central regulator of apoptosis in that organism. However, it has not been shown to function in any vertebrate nor have the cellular components required for its action been defined. In this report we show that reaper can induce rapid apoptosis in vitro using an apoptotic reconstitution system derived from Xenopus eggs. Moreover, we show that a subcellular fraction enriched in mitochondria is required for this process and that reaper, acting in conjunction with cytosolic factors, can trigger mitochondrial cytochrome c release. Bcl-2 antagonizes these effects, but high levels of reaper can overcome the Bcl-2 block. These results demonstrate that reaper can function in a vertebrate context, suggesting that reaper-responsive factors are conserved elements of the apoptotic program.
Chronic binge alcohol consumption does not diminish effectiveness of continuous antiretroviral suppression of viral load in simian immunodeficiency virus-infected macaques.

Background Alcohol use disorders (AUD) are a frequent comorbidity in a large percentage of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). PLWHA with comorbid AUDs are consistently found to perform poorly at most levels of the HIV treatment cascade, resulting in a higher likelihood of virologic non-suppression. This has been partly attributed to lower rates of persistence with and adherence to antiretroviral therapies (ART). Focus groups of in-care PLWHA identify the need to suspend ART on drinking days because of the potential for toxicity and/or lack of therapeutic effectiveness. The aim of this study was to examine whether chronic binge alcohol (CBA) consumption decreases the effectiveness of uninterrupted ART, specifically that of nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTI) tenofovir and emtricitabine in suppressing viral replication, or results in drug toxicity in simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infected rhesus macaques.
Combining prototypes: A selective modification model.

Abstract We propose a model that accounts for how people construct prototypes for composite concepts out of prototypes for simple concepts. The first component of the model is a prototype representation for simple, noun concepts, such as fruit, which specifies: (1) the relevant attributes of the concepts, (2) the possible values of each attribute, (3) the salience of each value, and (4) the diagnosticity of each attribute. The second component of the model specifies procedures for modifying simple prototypes so that they represent new, composite concepts. The procedure for adjectival modification, as when red modifies fruit, consists of selecting the relevant attribute(s) in the noun concept (color), boosting the diagnosticity of that attribute, and increasing the salience of the value named by the adjective (red). The procedure for adverbial modification, as in very red fruit, consists of multiplication-by-o-scalar of the salience of the relevant value (red). The outcome of these procedures is a new prototype representation. The third component of the model is Tversky's (1977) contrast rule for determining the similarity between a representation for a prototype and one for an instance. The model is shown to be consistent with previous findings about prototypes in general, as well as with specific findings about typicality judgments for adjective-noun conjunctions. Four new experiments provide further detailed support for the model.
Scanned Probe Imaging of Nanoscale Conducting Channels in Pt/alkanoic acid monolayer/Ti Devices

The mechanisms responsible for switching in metal/molecule/metal systems are subjects of intense research. We report here a scanned probe technique that maps the conductance of a planar molecular junction (Pt/stearic acid monolayer/Ti) under mechanical perturbation by using an atomic force microscope (AFM) to apply a localized force to a molecular junction while measuring the junction conductance. Such mechano-conductance maps reveal that transport through the molecular device is dominated by nanoscale conducting channels, which emerged or disappeared when the junction is switched into higher or lower conductance states. A quantitative model that combines quantum tunneling with the growth of nano-asperities effectively describes the experimental conductance data across a wide range of device conductance.
Comparative radius of curvature measurement by non-contact Newton's rings

A non-contact interferometric method is presented in which interference takes place at the real images of an object and reference surfaces with a magnification of unity. A theoretical approach has been used to explain and prove the method. Six spherical, convex and concave, mirrors with radii ranging from 964 mm to 2221 mm have been measured. The values of the measurements are compared with those obtained by contact Newton's rings.
Theory — The search for a robust mechanism. The Wetherill Prize lecture

Abstract The last matter that accretes onto a deleptonized neutron star releases the most specific energy per gram. We therefore believe that a robust mechanism for the explosion of a supernova must then depend upon the last accreted matter. After a time of a second or more the accretion of this matter onto a condensed or deleptonized neutron star, due to the large incremental gravitational binding energy, gives rise to a high temperature atmosphere. Because of this high temperature, ~ 10 MeV, neutrinos of high energy, ~ 50 MeV, efficiently deposit their energy in expanding high entropy bubbles. The bubble expansion rate runs away due to both the heating rate and the bubble size. When these bubbles expand fast enough, faster than the local sound speed or free fall speed of the heavier shocked matter above, the heavier matter will be blown away before reaching the neutron star surface, thus terminating the explosion. The explosion therefore terminates the explosion process itself, the definition of a robust mechanism.
Dose correction for the Michaelis–Menten approximation of the target-mediated drug disposition model

The Michaelis–Menten (M–M) approximation of the target-mediated drug disposition (TMDD) pharmacokinetic (PK) model was derived based on the rapid binding (RB) or quasi steady-state (QSS) assumptions that implied that the target and drug binding and dissociation were in equilibrium. However, the initial dose for an IV bolus injection for the M–M model did not account for a fraction bound to the target. We postulated a correction to an initial condition that was consistent with the assumptions underlying the M–M approximation. We determined that the difference between the injected dose and one that should be used for the initial condition is equal to the amount of drug bound to the target upon reaching the equilibrium. We also observed that the corrected initial condition made the internalization rate constant an identifiable parameter that was not for the original M–M model. Finally, we performed a simulation exercise to check if the correction will impact the model performance and the bias of the M–M parameter estimates. We used literature data to simulate plasma drug concentrations described by the RB/QSS TMDD model. The simulated data were refitted by both models. All the parameters estimated from the original M–M model were substantially biased. On the other hand, the corrected M–M is able to accurately estimate these parameters except for equilibrium constant Km. Weighted sum of square residual and Akaike information criterion suggested a better performance of the corrected M–M model compared with the original M–M model. Further studies are necessary to determine the importance of this correction for the M–M model applications to analysis of TMDD driven PK data.
Stochastic Inversion of InSAR Data to Assess the Probability of Pressure Penetration into the Lower Caprock at In Salah

Abstract We carried out stochastic inversions of InSAR data to assess the probability that pressure perturbations resulting from CO 2 injection into well KB-502 at In Salah penetrated into the lower caprock seal above the reservoir. We employed inversions of synthetic data to evaluate the factors that affect the vertical resolution of overpressure distributions, and to assess the impact of various sources of uncertainty in prior constraints on inverse solutions. These include alternative pressure-driven deformation modes within reservoir and caprock, the geometry of a sub-vertical fracture zone in the caprock identified in previous studies, and imperfect estimates of the rock mechanical properties. Inversions of field data indicate that there is a high probability that a pressure perturbation during the first phase of injection extended upwards along the fracture zone ∼150 m above the reservoir, and less than 50% probability that it reached the Hot Shale unit at 1500 m depth. Within the uncertainty bounds considered, we conclude that it is very unlikely that the pressure perturbation approached within 150 m of the top of the lower caprock at the Hercynian Unconformity. The results are consistent with previous deterministic inversion and forward modeling studies.
Multiple Party Identifiers and the Measurement of Party Identification

We examine the extent of multiple partisan identification in contemporary American politics and the degree to which this phenomenon may account for the "intransitivity" problem noted by Petrocik (1974). Results indicate, first, that enough multiple identifiers exist to make the concept potentially useful. Furthermore, multiple identifications do provide a partial explanation for the intransitivities in the relationship between political participation and the traditional party identification measure, as removal of multiple identifiers results in a lessening or disappearance of these intransitivities. Our findings lend support to the view that the traditional partisanship measure is influenced by the presence of multiple responses to national, state, and local party systems, and is therefore not a simple unidimensional entity.
Osmotic Stress, ACTH and the White Blood Cell Picture in Newts, Notophthalmus viridescens*

Adult newts,Notophthalmus viridescens, were given single injections of 0.04 I.U. of bovine ACTH or were immersed in 2% NaCl for 2 hours. In both the corticotrophin-treated and the osmotically-stressed newts, increases in neutrophils and decreases in lymphocytes were obvious and significant. Neither condition was observed in the controls (Tables 1 and 2). The changes seen in the peripheral blood of the experimentalNotophthalmns were very much like those reported earlier for animals of the same species which had received injections of the adrenal steroid, hydrocortisone. Using these lines of evidence, it is argued that neutrophilia and lymphopenia in amphibians could result from a stress → anterior pituitary → steroidogenic tissue-system of reactions which has been proved to effect similar changes in the blood of stressed mammals.
International Homelessness: Policy, Socio‐Cultural, and Individual Perspectives

This article draws on other papers in the special issue and additional literature to offer a multi-level framework for understanding the causes of homelessness in the developed world and efforts to reduce or end it. Social policies that reduce inequality and provide income and other supports to those at the bottom of the income distribution are associated with lower levels of homelessness across nations. The allocation of subsidies, patterns of social exclusion, and individual levels of economic, social, and human capital interact to influence who becomes homeless. Interventions to reduce homelessness at one level (e.g., social policy) can counteract vulnerabilities at a different level (e.g., individual risk factors).
Coordinated regulatory variation associated with gestational hyperglycaemia regulates expression of the novel hexokinase HKDC1

Maternal glucose levels during pregnancy impact the developing fetus, affecting metabolic health both early and later on in life. Both genetic and environmental factors influence maternal metabolism, but little is known about the genetic mechanisms that alter glucose metabolism during pregnancy. Here, we report that haplotypes previously associated with gestational hyperglycaemia in the third trimester disrupt regulatory element activity and reduce expression of the nearby HKDC1 gene. We further find that experimentally reducing or increasing HKDC1 expression reduces or increases hexokinase activity, respectively, in multiple cellular models; in addition, purified HKDC1 protein has hexokinase activity in vitro. Together, these results suggest a novel mechanism of gestational glucose regulation in which the effects of genetic variants in multiple regulatory elements alter glucose homeostasis by coordinately reducing expression of the novel hexokinase HKDC1.
Rotational analysis of the red electronic emission spectrum of molybdenum nitride (MoN)

Abstract A system of emission bands in the red region of the optical spectrum has been identified as due to the species MoN. The system was generated by the microwave (2450 MHz) excitation of a flowing mixture of MoCl5 and molecular nitrogen in a stream of helium but is also observed in a DC arc in air between molybdenum electrodes. One of the Q-form branches has previously been assumed to be an atomic line of Mo I. The system has been assigned as the 0, 0 band of a 4Π(a) → X4Σ−(a) transition, with a large zero-field splitting of the ground 4Σ− term (∼86 cm−1). A preliminary search has been made to detect the presence of MoN in M-type stars.
Servant of God and protector of the faithful: St. Nicholas as saint and redeemer in late medieval Burgos

During the late medieval period, non-noble merchants were an ever-growing part of Iberian society with both the money and the status to commission works of art. Yet, in studies of fifteenth-century Iberian art, this important group of patrons has been largely overlooked. This article examines the high altarpiece of the Church of San Nicolas de Bari in Burgos, which was completed in 1505. Specifically, the article focuses on the eight narrative scenes of the life of Saint Nicholas as depicted at the center of the altarpiece and considers the manner in which these scenes reflect the personal devotion of the altarpiece's merchant patron, Gonzalo Lopez de Polanco. This article compares Polanco's version of the St. Nicholas narrative to the saint's legend as it is represented in contemporary works of art as well as in fifteenth-century devotional and liturgical texts. These comparisons, combined with analysis of Gonzalo Lopez de Polanco's testament, demonstrate the important role that the patron's life and dev...
Polymer-induced synthesis of stable gold and silver nanoparticles and subsequent ligand exchange in water.

A simple, inexpensive, single-step synthesis of gold and silver nanoparticles using poly(allylamine) (PAAm) as a reducing and stabilizing agent is reported. The synthetic process was carried out in aqueous solution, making the method versatile and environmentally friendly. The synthesized polymer-stabilized nanoparticles are stable in water without particle aggregation at room temperature for at least a month. We demonstrate successful ligand exchange on the polymer-stabilized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) with a variety of ω-functionalized acid-, alcohol-, amine-, and biotin-terminated alkylthiols. The methodologies, including ligand exchange, also are applicable for the generation of finely dispersed silver nanoparticles. The synthesized gold and silver nanoparticles are characterized by UV−visible absorption spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The different ligand-stabilized AuNPs are also analyzed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy.
A state-of-the-art conference on implementing evidence in health care. Reasons and recommendations.

In the late summer of 2004, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) convened an invitational symposium, one in a series of state-of-the-art (SOTA) conferences. VHA's SOTAs are high-level “think tank” sessions with a defined agenda focusing on a specific health care topic. The theme of this SOTA conference was “Implementing the Evidence: Transforming Practices, Systems, and Organizations.” About 100 individuals from across North America, not just from within VHA, gathered for 2 days in the Nation's capital. These were the perceived thought leaders in the implementation sciences, enriched by a few influential “movers” within the largest single health care system in the United States (the VHA). To maximize the yield of the 2 days of SOTA conference brainstorming, VHA commissioned papers to be circulated in draft form before the SOTA, with the intent of priming the pump for discussions organized into specific work groups. This issue of the Journal presents these commissioned papers, revised after the conference, selected and refined through peer review, and augmented by additional manuscripts from SOTA participants and their collaborators who responded to a thematic solicitation.
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in America, 1981 to 1997: Epidemiologic and Therapeutic Considerations

In the last 16 years, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) has evolved from a mysterious syndrome apparently afflicting only gay men, into a viral illness affecting every segment of society. Until the advent of combination antiretroviral therapy, HIV appeared to be universally fatal. New therapies and technologies have been developed offering normal or near-normal life spans for some people living with HIV. Coincident with the development of life-prolonging therapies has been the realization that competent HIV care requires the integration of medical care, social services, and psychological support services to promote therapeutic adherence and maximize quality of life.
Heterogeneously integrated InGaAs and Si membrane four color focal plane arrays

We report here the design and fabrication of transfer-printed four-color multi-junction 4×4 Si/InGaAs membrane photodetector focal plane arrays. Based on the penetration depth dependent absorption of different wavelengths, filter-free color detection can be obtained via four-junction photocurrent measurement and imaging fusion processes.
Electron Spin Relaxation Near a Micron-Size Ferromagnet

Magnetic resonance force microscopy was used to study the behavior of small ensembles of unpaired electron spins in silica near a micrometer-size ferromagnetic tip. Using a cantilever-driven spin manipulation protocol and a magnetic field gradient greater than ${10}^{5}\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}\mathrm{T}/\mathrm{m}$, signals from as few as 100 net spins within a 20 nm thick resonant slice could be studied. A sixfold increase in the spin-lattice relaxation rate was found within 800 nm of the ferromagnet, while no effect due to silica surface proximity was detected. The results are interpreted in terms of Larmor-frequency magnetic field fluctuations emanating from the ferromagnet.
Preliminary reliability and validity of a battery for assessing functional skills in children with Sturge-Weber syndrome

The purpose of this study was to evaluate inter-rater reliability and validity of a proposed functional outcome battery for clinical trials in children with Sturge-Weber syndrome (SWS). Ten children were evaluated twice on the same day using a series of functional outcome measures selected for sensitivity to the range of age and function of children with SWS: Modified Rankin Scale, Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Index, Modified House Functional Classification, and a modified version of the Erhardt Developmental Prehension Assessment. Inter-rater reliability was calculated, and criterion validity was explored through correlations with the Sturge-Weber Syndrome-Neurological Rating Score (SWS-NRS). Inter-rater reliability was high across all measures. Correlations were identified between the SWS-NRS and the study measures. The proposed battery of functional outcome measures captures child’s functioning at the levels of impairment, activity and participation and is robust to evaluation by different raters and across sessions on the same day. This battery is expected to be sensitive to treatment-related changes in qualitative patterns of hand use, functional skills, and/or change in independence in daily living.
Relationships of speaker-message perception to perceptual field-independence.

The purpose, was to study whether speaker-message perception and attitude change occuring under varying conditions of speaker and message quality are related to perceptual field independence defined by performance on the Embedded Figures Test (EFT). High, moderate and low EFT scored beard a good speaker deliver a poor message and a matched group heard a poor speaker deliver a good message. Dependent variables were a criticism inventory, opinion ballot and attitude scale. Results indicated that perceptual orientation was significantly related to relative focus on speaker or message, but as a function of speaker and message quality. The hypothesis on attitude change in relation to perceptual orientation was not supported. The study emphasizes the need for research on listening as a perceptual process.
Vacuum energy for a massive Dirac neutrino propagating in a neutron medium

We calculate the energy acquired by the vacuum due to both a massless and massive Dirac neutrino propagating in an external neutron field, utilizing the quantum field theoretic approach of Schwinger. This method computes the vacuum energy to all orders in the coupling, using the interaction Hamiltonian for a neutrino in the presence of an external background of neutrons. To verify our results, we develop heuristic arguments to compute the energy of the neutrino condensate arising from a neutron-induced chiral potential well. The results for the massive case are new, and are discussed in some detail. (c) 2000 The American Physical Society.
Mucosal vaccination with a codon-optimized hemagglutinin gene expressed by attenuated Salmonella elicits a protective immune response in chickens against highly pathogenic avian influenza

The purpose of this study was to evaluate clinical protection from challenge conferred by two attenuated Salmonella enteria serovar typhimurium vaccine strains expressing the hemagglutinin (HA1) gene from a highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 (A/whooper swan/Mongolia/3/2005), under control of the anaerobically inducible nir15 promoter. Two-week-old White Leghorn chickens were immunized by oral gavage with one milliliter doses of >109 Salmonella colony-forming units once weekly for 4 weeks prior to challenge. Expression of recombinant protein was confirmed via Western blot. Serum and mucosal gavage samples were collected prior to, and following immunization and antibodies against avian influenza HA were confirmed by Western blot and hemagglutination-inhibition (HI) assay. Chickens were challenged with homologous (A/whooper swan/Mongolia/3/2005), or heterologous (A/Chicken/Queretaro/14588-19/95) HPAI virus strains. Chickens immunized with attenuated Salmonella strains containing plasmid expression vector (pTETnir15HA) demonstrated a statistically significant increase in survival compared to control groups. Results provide evidence of effectiveness of attenuated Salmonella strains for delivery of recombinant avian influenza HA antigens and induction of mucosal and systemic immune responses protective against lethal challenge with HPAI.
Understanding Alzheimer Disease: From Diagnosis to Rehabilitation

People with Alzheimer disease can benefit from rehabilitation therapies aimed at maintaining their functional abilities. To foster understanding of this disease, this article describes its genetic basis, illustrates its clinical course in patients with onset early and late in adulthood, and discusses some of the personal, legal, pharmacologic, and ethical issues and implications surrounding genetic testing for Alzheimer disease. Rehabilitation principles for treating people with Alzheimer disease include: participation of clients and their caregivers in the process, basing rehabilitation on disease stage, accentuating abilities versus disabilities, and targeting behavior problems as well as physical and cognitive dysfunction.
Supporting sliding window queries for continuous data streams

Although traditional databases and data warehouses have been exploited widely to manage persistent data, a large number of applications from sensor network need functional supports for transient data in the continuous data stream. One of the crucial functions is to summarize the data items within a sliding window. A sliding window contains a fixed width span of data elements. The data items are implicitly deleted from the sliding window, when it moves out of the window scope. Several one-dimensional histograms have been proposed to store the succinct time information in a sliding window. Such histograms, however, only handle the data items with attribute values in unary domains. In this paper, we explore the problem of extending the value to a multi-valued domain. A two-dimensional histogram, the hybrid histogram, is proposed to support sliding window queries on a practical multi-valued domain. The basic building block of the hybrid histogram is the exponential histogram. The hybrid histogram is maintained to capture the changes of data distribution. To further compress the exponential histograms, we propose a condensed exponential histogram without losing the error bound. Results of an extensive experimental study are included to evaluate the benefits of the proposed technique.
New site of action of some narcotics, carbamate and alcohol on the respiratory enzyme system.

Using both the conventional Warburg and the spectrophotometric method, the sites of action of ethylcarbamate (EC) and some other narcotics on malic dehydrogenase and the linked electron transport system in rat heart and brain homogenates and liver mitochondria, were studied. The results obtained were as follows:1. The addition of EC (over 0.1M) caused inhibition of oxygen uptake in malate oxidation by a heart muscle homogenate in the presence of cytochrome c (CYT. C) or methylene blue. On addition of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) the inhibition in the presence of the latter decreased significantly.2. Addition of EC caused inhibition of the reduction of CYT. C, 2, 6-dichlorophenol- indophenol and ferricyanide in malate oxidation in the presence of cyanide. On further addition of NAD the degree of these inhibitions decreased.3. In the presence of cyanide, the reduction of CYT. C by NADH was inhibited by 51% with EC (0.3M), while in the absence of cyanide, the reduction was apparently enhanced owing to the inhibitory action of EC on the reoxidation of reduced CYT. C by oxygen.4. In the presence of EC, the reduction rate of NAD in malate dehydrogenation increased, and oxidation of NADH by oxaloacetate was not inhibited.5. Of the systems tested the inhibition of NADH oxidase activity (the oxidation of added NADH by oxygen) by EC was the largest (FIG. 4).6. The oxidation of para-phenylenediamine (PPD) with added CYT. C in the heart, liver and brain preparations was inhibited by EC (0.3M) and chloretone (CL, 0.01M) by 40 to 50%, though in the liver and brain the inhibition was 10% or less than in the heart preparation, while amytal (0.005M) and veronal (0.04M) caused little or no inhibition. On the other hand, in the absence of added CYT. C all inhibitions decreased by about 40%.7. The oxidation of ascorbic acid (VC) with added CYT. C was inhibited similarly by the narcotics, but the inhibitions were significantly lower than those of PPD oxidation.8. The oxidations of added reduced CYT. C in the heart and liver preparations, like those of VC, were inhibited by EC.From these results, the mechanism of action of EC on malic dehydrogenase and the linked electron transport system was discussed in relation to CYT. C, leading to the following conclusions:Narcotics, ethylcarbamate and chloretone, inhibit not only the cytochrome c reduction system, but also the cytochrome c oxidation system (cytochrome oxidase) of the electron transport system linked to malic dehydrogenase.
Strategic Reliability and Preventive Maintenance

Strategic reliability is defined as the product of availability, and the reliability over a fixed period of time x Preventive maintenance is performed after Tp hours of continuing operation without failure. We have to choose Tp so as to optimize, in case i, the availability, and in case ii, the strategic reliability. The exact solution for i was given by Morse and is briefly summarized. The exact solution for ii is derived. An approximate solution for ii is derived, and it is shown that the “optimum curve” commonly drawn for i may be used to solve ii approximately.
The Palomar Proper Motion Survey

The present state of the Palomar Proper Motion Survey is described. Before the CDC automated-computerized plate scanner became operational in 1972, 153 plate pairs had been blinked, whereas since then 443 pairs have been machine processed. Of the remaining 350 fields, some 40 are probably beyond the capability of the present system due to excessive star density.
The use of brain electrical potentials (BEP) to study localization of human brain function.

Various techniques such as neuropsychological diagnosis of individuals with focal lesions, stimulation of neurosurgery patients, and regional cerebral blood flow have been used to elucidate the major anatomical and functional divisions of the human cerebral cortex. Because of insufficient spatial sampling and other limitations, only minor support for these divisions comes from brain electrical potential (BEP) experimentation. The use of EEG to localize different neuropathologies and to screen and track the evolution of seizure disorders is fairly reliable and still widely practiced. Its use, however, in localizing higher cognitive functions is much more complicated and has not stood the test of scientific scrutiny because of methodological problems. More specifically, the failure to control for the stimulus, response and performance related properties of tasks in experiments has rendered ambiguous the results of most EEG studies of higher cognitive functions. Those studies which actually controlled for th...
Hume on Necessary Causal Connections

According to David Hume our idea of a necessary connection between what we call cause and effect is produced when repeated observation of the conjunction of two events determines the mind to consider one upon the appearance of the other. No matter how we interpret Hume's theory of causation this explanation of the genesis of the idea of necessity is fraught with difficulty. I hope to show, looking at the three major interpretations of Hume's causal theory, that his account is contradictory, plainly wrong, or (at best) inherently impossible to verify.
Error bounds for Gauss-Kronrod quadrature formulae of analytic functions

We consider the Gauss-Kronrod quadrature formula for the Legendre weight function. On certain spaces of analytic functions its error term is a continuous linear functional. We derive easy to compute estimates for the norm of the error functional, which lead to bounds for the error functional itself. The efficiency of these bounds is illustrated with some numerical examples.
Pulmonary mass in tachypneic, febrile adult.

(CHEST 2003; 124:372–375) A 58-year-old African-American woman with hypertension, gastroesophageal reflux, and a remote history of recurrent deep venous thrombosis presented with cough, subjective fevers, dyspnea, and vague left upper abdominal pain for several days. She was a nonsmoker, and the family history was unremarkable. Her medications were warfarin sodium (Coumadin; Dupont; Wilmington, DE), omeprazole (Prilosec; AstraZeneca; Whitehouse Station, NJ), and hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ; Zenicagoldline; Miami, FL). On examination, she was tachypneic, tachycardic, and febrile. She was not in acute distress. Inspiratory crackles were heard over the left lower lung zone. Otherwise, her physical examination was unremarkable. A CBC count revealed a normal WBC count with a left shift. The results of serum chemistry and liver function tests were within normal limits. The results of arterial blood gas analysis revealed moderate hypoxemia (Pao2, 58 mm Hg). The chest radiographs (Fig 1, 2) showed a 4-cm round mass in the left lower lobe. A chest radiograph that had been performed 2 weeks prior to hospital admission for an unrelated complaint had revealed no airspace disease.
Sample size for detecting differentially expressed genes in microarray experiments.

Microarray experiments are often performed with a small number of biological replicates, resulting in low statistical power for detecting differentially expressed genes and concomitant high false positive rates. While increasing sample size can increase statistical power and decrease error rates, with too many samples, valuable resources are not used efficiently. The issue of how many replicates are required in a typical experimental system needs to be addressed. Of particular interest is the difference in required sample sizes for similar experiments in inbred vs. outbred populations (e.g. mouse and rat vs. human). We hypothesize that if all other factors (assay protocol, microarray platform, data pre-processing) were equal, fewer individuals would be needed for the same statistical power using inbred animals as opposed to unrelated human subjects, as genetic effects on gene expression will be removed in the inbred populations. We apply the same normalization algorithm and estimate the variance of gene expression for a variety of cDNA data sets (humans, inbred mice and rats) comparing two conditions. Using one sample, paired sample or two independent sample t-tests, we calculate the sample sizes required to detect a 1.5-, 2-, and 4-fold changes in expression level as a function of false positive rate, power and percentage of genes that have a standard deviation below a given percentile. Factors that affect power and sample size calculations include variability of the population, the desired detectable differences, the power to detect the differences, and an acceptable error rate. In addition, experimental design, technical variability and data pre-processing play a role in the power of the statistical tests in microarrays. We show that the number of samples required for detecting a 2-fold change with 90% probability and a p-value of 0.01 in humans is much larger than the number of samples commonly used in present day studies, and that far fewer individuals are needed for the same statistical power when using inbred animals rather than unrelated human subjects.
THE PROTECTIVE IMMUNE RESPONSE TO MYCOBACTERIUM TUBERCULOSIS

Recent advances have characterized the protective immune response against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. These include identification of the phenotype of some protective cells, the antigens to which these cells respond and the cytokines produced in response to infection which modulate disease. Progress has also been made in inducing this response by vaccination.
A quantitative analysis of unqualified Dublin Core Metadata Element Set usage within data providers registered with the Open Archives Initiative

This research describes an empirical study of how the unqualified Dublin Core Metadata Element Set (DC or DCMES) is used by 100 Data Providers (DPs) registered with the Open Archives Initiative (OAI). The research was conducted to determine whether or not the DCMES is used to its full capabilities. Eighty-two of 100 DPs have metadata records available for analysis. DCMES usage varies by type of DP. The average number of Dublin Core elements per record is eight, with an average of 91, 785 Dublin Core elements in each DP. Five of the 15 elements of the DCMES are used 71% of the time. The results show the unqualified DCMES is not used to its fullest extent within DPs registered with the OAI.
Wielding new media in Web 2.0: exploring the history of engagement with the collaborative construction of media products

This article explores what is new about Web 2.0, the contemporary cutting-edge platform for web development, differentiating between what is celebrated in the discourse of Web 2.0 and what is genuinely novel about this phenomenon, which is users' propensity to construct content in the form of information and media products for the web environment. It argues that, from the perspective of theoretical treatments of the 'active audience', audiences or media users have created media content on a long-term and consistent historical basis for purposes related to radical and community movements.The article further considers expressive and aesthetic dimensions of Web 2.0 content construction through a discussion of three historical case studies of 'participatory public art' which, it is suggested, constitute a useful analogy for understanding similarly oriented Web 2.0 content construction. Finally, it proposes topics and questions that should figure prominently in research agendas addressing Web 2.0 phenomena in ...
Ethical responses of large organizations to the challenge of substainable development

Professional engineering societies and corporations respond in a variety of ways to the challenges of sustainable development. This paper dissects several prominent organizations and the ethical aspects of their responses, which range from ignoring sustainability concerns, to green washing, to measurement of triple bottom line performance, to altering the strategic objectives of the organization
A client-server approach to virtually synchronous group multicast: specifications and algorithms

This paper presents a formal design for a novel group multicast service that provides virtually synchronous semantics in asynchronous fault-prone environments. The design employs a client-server architecture in which group membership is maintained not by every process but only by dedicated membership servers, while virtually synchronous group multicast is implemented by service end-points running at the clients. Specifically, the paper defines service semantics for the client-server interface, that is, for the group membership service. The paper then specifies virtually synchronous semantics for the new group multicast service, as a collection of commonly used safety and liveness properties. Finally, the paper presents new algorithms that use the defined group membership service to implement the specified properties. The algorithm that provides the complete virtually synchronous semantics executes in a single message round in parallel with the membership service's agreement on views, and is therefore more efficient than previously suggested algorithms providing such semantics.
A modular correctness proof of IEEE 802.11i and TLS

The IEEE 802.11i wireless networking protocol provides mutual authentication between a network access point and user devices prior to user connectivity. The protocol consists of several parts, including an 802.1X authentication phase using TLS over EAP, the 4-Way Handshake to establish a fresh session key, and an optional Group Key Handshake for group communications. Motivated by previous vulnerabilities in related wireless protocols and changes in 802.11i to provide better security, we carry out a formal proof of correctness using a Protocol Composition Logic previously used for other protocols. The proof is modular, comprising a separate proof for each protocol section and providing insight into the networking environment in which each section can be reliably used. Further, the proof holds for a variety of failure recovery strategies and other implementation and configuration options. Since SSL/TLS is widely used apart from 802.11i, the security proof for SSL/TLS has independent interest.
Factory size, economies of scale, and the great merger wave of 1898–1902

Analysis of census data reveals that the size of the average factory in the United States grew more rapidly during the 1870s and 1880s than during any subsequent decade through the 1920s. While the average factory doubled in size between 1869 and 1889, it increased by only about a quarter between 1899 and 1929. These results support the view that the reaping of economies of scale was not an important motive for the great merger wave.
Abstract 227: Lipophagy’s About Face as Early Macrophage Foam Cells Transition to Late Stages

Efflux of cellular sterol from macrophage foam cells plays an important role in limiting atherosclerotic lesion progression. Recently, lysosomes were shown to participate in efflux of cytoplasmic lipid droplet (LD) sterol through lipophagy. Lipophagy is a form of autophagy that mobilizes cholesteryl ester (CE) and triglyceride (TG) from LDs to lysosomes for degradation. In early atherosclerosis, lipophagy helps clear cytoplasmic sterol. However, in advanced atherosclerosis, macrophage lysosomes are impaired by excess sterol. We hypothesized that lipophagic delivery of LD CE to impaired lysosomes adds to lysosomal sterol burden exacerbating lysosome dysfunction and cellular sterol accumulation rather than promoting sterol clearance. To test this, we induced lysosome CE loading in THP-1 macrophages with aggregated LDL (aggLDL). This elevated lysosomal pH and led to accumulation of autophagic flux markers (LC3 and p62, >2 fold) and the LD coat protein adipophilin (6 fold) in lysosomes without altering lysosomal and upstream autophagic markers. This suggests lipophagy remained active despite the lysosome dysfunction and contributed to lysosomal sterol buildup. Triglyceride rich particles (TRP) have been shown to restore lysosome function and promote clearance of excess sterol from lysosomes and cells. If lipophagy is quantitatively important in late stage foam cells, TRP should reduce the aggLDL-induced lysosomal accrual of lipophagic markers. VLDL treatment of aggLDL-loaded cells restored lysosomal pH and cleared cellular sterol, in addition to, decreasing LC3-II and p62 in whole cells and isolated lysosomes (>2 fold) and reducing the fluorescent colocalization of LC3 with lysosomes by 37.9%. VLDL also increased autophagic LD targeting (26.3% LC3 colocalization) and delivery to lysosomes (24.6% LAMP-1 colocalization) for degradation. In conclusion, TRP restores lysosome function including the hydrolysis and clearance of LD CE through lipophagy in aggLDL-loaded macrophages. These data indicate that lipophagy is a potential target for therapy in late-stage foam cells but only as an adjunct to interventions that restore lysosome function.
Cutting Edge: NFAT Transcription Factors Promote the Generation of Follicular Helper T Cells in Response to Acute Viral Infection

Follicular CD4(+) Th (Tfh) cells provide B cell help in germinal center reactions that support class switching, somatic hypermutation, and the generation of high-affinity Abs. In this article, we show that deficiency in NFAT1 and NFAT2 in CD4(+) T cells leads to impaired germinal center reactions upon viral infection because of reduced Tfh cell differentiation and defective expression of proteins involved in T/B interactions and B cell help, including ICOS, PD-1, and SLAM family receptors. Genome-wide chromatin immunoprecipitation data suggest that NFAT proteins likely directly participate in regulation of genes important for Tfh cell differentiation and function. NFAT proteins are important TCR and Ca(2+)-dependent regulators of T cell biology, and in this article we demonstrate a major positive role of NFAT family members in Tfh differentiation.
Sync-Rank: Robust Ranking, Constrained Ranking and Rank Aggregation via Eigenvector and SDP Synchronization

We consider the classical problem of establishing a statistical ranking of a set of $n$ items given a set of inconsistent and incomplete pairwise comparisons between such items. Instantiations of this problem occur in numerous applications in data analysis (e.g., ranking teams in sports data), computer vision, and machine learning. We formulate the above problem of ranking with incomplete noisy information as an instance of the group synchronization problem over the group SO(2) of planar rotations, whose usefulness has been demonstrated in numerous applications in recent years in computer vision and graphics, sensor network localization and structural biology. Its least squares solution can be approximated by either a spectral or a semidefinite programming (SDP) relaxation, followed by a rounding procedure. We perform extensive numerical simulations on both synthetic and real-world data sets, which show that our proposed method compares favorably to other ranking methods from the recent literature. Existing theoretical guarantees on the group synchronization problem imply lower bounds on the largest amount of noise permissible in the data while still achieving an approximate recovery of the ground truth ranking. We propose a similar synchronization-based algorithm for the rank-aggregation problem, which integrates in a globally consistent ranking many pairwise rank-offsets or partial rankings, given by different rating systems on the same set of items, an approach which yields significantly more accurate results than other aggregation methods, including Rank-Centrality , a recent state-of-the-art algorithm. Furthermore, we discuss the problem of semi-supervised ranking when there is available information on the ground truth rank of a subset of players, and propose an algorithm based on SDP which is able to recover the ranking of the remaining players, subject to such hard constraints. Finally, synchronization-based ranking, combined with a spectral technique for the densest subgraph problem, makes it possible to extract partial rankings that other methods are not able to find, in other words, to identify the rank of a small subset of players whose pairwise rank comparisons are less noisy than the rest of the data. We discuss a number of related open questions which we defer for future investigation.
Consumer Convenience and Retail Area Structure

This article presents five behavioral propositions to a model of retail area structure. A method is illustrated for using Census data to evaluate changes in the pattern of commercial dominance with...
A Re-Evaluation of Myxotrichum Spinosum and M. Cancellatum

Myxotrichum cancellatum Phillips and Myxotrichum spinosum Massee & Salmon represent the same fungus which is redescribed in a new, monotypic genus as Toxotrichum cancellatum. Among the other genera...
Drug-related emergencies in athletes.

Recreational drug usage in athletes parallels that of society in general. In addition, athletes use other drugs that may enhance performance. Many of both varieties have serious complications and side effects. This article summarizes the most common drugs used by athletes, the potential dangers, as well as information regarding recognition of complications and treatment.