cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Distinctly different msp2 pseudogene repertoires in Anaplasma marginale strains that are capable of superinfection.

Abstract Lifelong persistent infection of cattle is a hallmark of the tick transmitted pathogen Anaplasma marginale. Antigenic variation of Major Surface Protein 2 (MSP2) plays an important role in evasion of the host immune response to allow persistence. Antigenic variation of MSP2 is achieved by gene conversion of pseudogenes into the single operon linked expression site and the diversity of variants is defined by the pseudogene repertoire. Once an animal is persistently infected with one strain of A. marginale, infection with a second strain (superinfection) is rare. However, we recently detected animals superinfected with different strains of A. marginale and hypothesized that the msp2 pseudogene repertoire would be distinct in these superinfecting strains, consistent with encoding different sets of surface variants. Five strains of A. marginale were selected in order to identify and compare msp2 pseudogene content; these included strains with similar and different msp1α genotypes, and genotypes that were representative of the strains that were found in the superinfected animals. Southern blot analysis of strains associated with superinfection revealed distinctly different msp2 banding patterns, in contrast to a pattern suggesting identical pseudogene content among related strains not associated with superinfection. Indeed, targeted sequence analysis of msp2 pseudogenes showed identical pseudogene repertoires in genotypically closely related strains and varying amounts of dissimilarity in the pseudogene repertoire in strains with distinctly different msp1α genotypes, but totally different msp2 pseudogene repertoires between the strains that were found in superinfected animals. This finding supports the hypothesis that the occurrence of superinfection reflects the differences in the msp2 repertoire and corresponding diversity of variants.
Structural Damage Prediction in a High-Velocity Urban Dam-Break Flood: Field-Scale Assessment of Predictive Skill

AbstractDam safety and flood risk management programs are dependent on damage predictions that are difficult to validate and subject to considerable uncertainty. The 1963 Baldwin Hills dam-break flood caused high-velocity flows exceeding 5 m/s and structural failure of 41 wood-framed residences built in the mid-1940s, 16 of which were completely washed out. The flood is revisited here to examine the predictive skill and variability of established structural damage models when coupled with a hydraulic flood model that predicts parcel-scale depths and velocities. Two-way coupling is introduced so that predictions of structural failure affect localized flood predictions, which in turn affects damage predictions, in contrast to one-way coupling where structural failure has no impact on flood predictions. Two damage states defined by structural failure (Level 2) and washout (Level 3) are considered, along with 10 different structural damage models. One damage model considers flood depth alone, while the remain...
NICU redesign from open ward to private room: a longitudinal study of parent and staff perceptions

Assess the attitudes and perceptions of parents and healthcare providers regarding the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) environment while transitioning from an open ward (OW) to private-room (PR) NICU. Parents and staff were surveyed 6 months before and 1 and 8 months after moving from OW to PR in a Level III NICU in 2009. Questions were scored on a 0 to 10 scale in areas of teamwork, communication, development, facility, safety and privacy. In OW, parents and medical staff were satisfied with the teamwork. After 1 month in the PR, advanced practitioners reported higher scores whereas nurses reported declines in teamwork and safety but gains in other areas. Advanced practitioners’ scores did not vary between surveys in the PR. Nurses were initially satisfied with the PR, but by 8 months, the scores declined. Parental satisfaction scores were consistently higher than medical staff in both settings. Parental satisfaction is likely due to focus on their infant rather than facilities. In the PR, lower nursing scores are likely due to decreased interaction with peers. Research is needed to ensure that improvements gained from a PR NICU are meaningfully consistent.
Dust appearance rates during neutral beam injection and after oxygen bake in the DIII-D tokamak

Abstract A simple model to quantify source and sink terms of dust observed in tokamaks using fast visible imaging is presented. During neutral beam injection (NBI), dust appearance rates increase in front of the neutral beam port by up to a factor of 5. The images show dust streaming from the port box as previously settled dust becomes mobilized during beam injection. Following an oxygen bake and vent, the dust observation rate is a factor of 2 lower than that after a vessel entry vent with no oxygen bake. Detected dust levels decay on a shot-to-shot basis in a roughly exponential fashion, with a decay time of approximately 20 s of plasma exposure. Appearance rates of dust mass are estimated using assumed lognormal and power law functional forms for the dust size distribution. The two dust size distributions differ significantly on the amount the dust material carried by the largest particles, highlighting the need for further dust studies in order to make accurate forecasts to ITER.
Physico-chemical analysis of a failed cable

Studies have been conducted of a section of crosslinked polyethylene insulation from an 80-kV cable that had failed under field aging. The cable had been deliberately treated to excessive conductor temperatures for a long period of time. Both steady and cyclic conditioning had been imposed. The cable sections showed multiple melting peaks in differential scanning calorimetry studies, dependent on location relative to the conductor, which are interpreted in terms of the the known laboratory aging behavior. The section nearest the conductor showed evidence of degradation, increased void content, and the presence of water trees, together with the most complicated melting curves. All the evidence demonstrates that significant chemical and physical degradation occurs within the insulation close to the conductor during combined thermal and electrical aging under moderate conditions. >
Synthesis and Characterization of Star Polymers with Varying Arm Number, Length, and Composition from Organic and Hybrid Inorganic/Organic Multifunctional Initiators

Multifunctional initiators, derived from cyclotriphosphazenes, cyclosiloxanes, and organic polyols, were used in the synthesis of styrenic and (meth)acrylic star polymers by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). Conditions were identified in each system which provided linear first-order kinetics for polymers with narrow, monomodal molecular weight distributions. Molecular weight measurements relative to linear polystyrene standards showed that the star polymers had lower molecular weights than theoretically predicted. Triple detection SEC measured on poly(n-butyl acrylate) samples demonstrated that the absolute molecular weight matched the theoretical valuethe smaller relative chain length was due to lower hydrodynamic volumes of the star-branched polymers relative to linear analogues. Kinetic arguments were used to demonstrate that each alkyl halide moiety bound to the initiators was participating in ATRP. Well-defined poly(methyl acrylate) stars of molecular weights Mn > 500 000 and low polydispe...
Public review for secure distributed dataMining and its application largescale network measurements

This paper considers a problem that plagues both Internet research and operation: obtaining global statistical meas-ures that span the domains of multiple ISPs. ISPs generally consider many important performance measures of their networks to be competition sensitive. How then to gauge the size of the Internet, or measure the amount of traffic it is carrying, detect the presence of Internet-wide anomalies or other phenomena, or perform many other similar measurements?This paper makes a good case for the need to collect a variety of global statistics of Internet size and performance. It then points out that the problem may in principle be solvable: research in cyptography has developed methods for multiparty computations in which no single party actually reveals its own contribution to the other parties involved. Reviewers liked the problem definition and the general approach. It is clear that the work in this paper is still in the early stages, but this is to be expected. The most pointed reviewer comments concerned the cryptographic methods employed in the paper. The problem considered is a special case of secure multiparty computation, which has been considered in cryptography for over 20 years, starting with work by Yao in 1982 and Goldreich, Micali and Widgerson in 1987. The method proposed in this paper is one of many that could be employed; alternatives can be found by consulting the cryptography literature. On the positive side, the paper considers the kind of implementation details that are not usually considered in the cryptography literatureIn summary, this paper should stimulate more research into the problem of collecting certain kinds of Internet-wide measurements. Researchers have commonly assumed these kinds of measurements to be essentially impossible to obtain for practical reasons. Maybe not!
A Comparison of Thermal Observations of Mount St. Helens Before and During the First Week of the Initial 1980 Eruption

Before and during the first week of the March-April 1980 eruptions of Mount St. Helens, Washington, infrared thermal surveys were conducted to monitor the thermal activity of the volcano. The purpose was to determine if an increase in thermal activity had taken place since an earlier airborne survey in 1966. Nine months before the eruption there was no evidence of an increase in thermal activity. The survey during the first week of the 1980 eruptions indicated that little or no change in thermal activity had taken place up to 4 April. Temperatures of ejected ash and steam were low and never exceeded 15 degrees C directly above the vent.
Infrared detector based on modulation-doped quantum-dot structures

We investigate a detector model, where quantum dots are surrounded by potential barriers created by modulation doping. Strong separation of the localized ground states and continuum conducting states drastically increases the photoelectron capture time. At room temperatures the photoelectron capture is conditioned by electron diffusion in the potential relief. Monte-Carlo modeling with diffusion-limited capture in the modulation-doped quantum-dot structures is used to calculate carrier lifetime and photoconductive gain as functions of the electric field. We evaluate the photodetector characteristics and show that photoconductive gain is substantially improved due to longer lifetimes of photoelectrons. Optimized quantum-dot structures have a strong potential for development IR room-temperature detectors. (© 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Gilles de la Tourette's disease and minimal brain dysfunction: Amphetamine isomers reveal catecholamine correlates in an affected patient

Graduated doses of d- and l-isomers of amphetamine were administered on several occasions in double blind fashion to a patient with symptoms of both Gilles de la Tourettes disease and minimal brain dysfunction. d-Amphetamine markedly increased the frequency of ticking while l-amphetamine did not alter the tics. By contrast both isomers decreased the patient's hyperactivity to a similar extent. Based on the known differential influence of amphetamine isomers upon brain norepinephrine and dopamine, these findings suggest that aggravation of the tics is mediated by brain norepinephrine, while brain dopamine plays a major role in the alleviation of the symptoms of minimal brain dysfunction.
Thermal Image Processing For Detection Of Cracks In Railroad Wheels

Cracks in railroad wheels cause changes in the pattern of electric current flow. These changes cause localized heating. This paper proposes an automatic inspection system based on infrared detection of increased temperatures in these locatons.
CD4+ human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) envelope-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes derived from the peripheral blood cells of an HIV-1-infected individual.

Virus-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) are frequently of the CD8+ surface phenotype, although CTL of the CD4+ surface phenotype have also been described. Published reports of CTL derived from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of individuals infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) have described primarily cells of the CD8+ surface phenotype. However, CD4+ HIV-1 envelope-specific CTL have been reported after in vitro stimulation with HIV-1 envelope protein of peripheral blood cells obtained from HIV-1-seronegative donors, in peripheral blood cells after vaccination of HIV-1-seronegative persons with HIV-1 envelope proteins, and in cerebrospinal fluid cells of HIV-1-infected individuals. Recently, CD4+ HIV-1 gag-specific CTL were also reported. We now report a patient from whom we derived HIV-1 envelope-specific CTL cell lines of the CD4+ surface phenotype. Our cell culture technique did not employ exogenous viral antigenic stimulation, and may therefore yield cells that more ...
A study of the interaction of electroconvulsive shock with chlorpromazine and reserpine in rats.

A study was conducted to determine the interactive effects of electroconvulsive shock with chlorpromazine and reserpine in rats. Five dose levels for each of the drugs were examined and compared with appropriate control conditions. These effects were studied with the subjects in an atmosphere of 95 per cent O2 + 5 per cent CO2 as well as under normal atmospheric conditions.
Fiber-optic-based surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensors for the detection of toxic nerve agents

Analytical instruments capable of detecting nerve agents in battlefield conditions where speed, accuracy and ease of operation are a must in today's military. Fast detection and decontamination of nerve agents in very low concentrations is the primary focus of our research. The method presented here focuses on optimizing polymer stabilized sensing elements on the surface of SPR fiber-optic probes. A number of polymers & polymer supported metal complexes capable of reversibly binding to the species of interest & which have robust operation in hostile environments are incorporated with the fiber optic sensing elements. An optical technique, such as Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR), better suited to rapid data collection without sample pretreatment is employed. The approach using polymer-based optical fibers with off-the-shelf SPR system components has been tested for the detection of Pinacolyl methylphosphonate (PMP), a simulant for nerve agent Soman. Surface initiated polymeric sensors have higher sensitivity toward detecting PMP than bulk-polymerized sensors.
Mindfulness training for smoking cessation: results from a randomized controlled trial.

Abstract Background Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the world, and long-term abstinence rates remain modest. Mindfulness training (MT) has begun to show benefits in a number of psychiatric disorders, including depression, anxiety and more recently, in addictions. However, MT has not been evaluated for smoking cessation through randomized clinical trials. Methods 88 treatment-seeking, nicotine-dependent adults who were smoking an average of 20 cigarettes/day were randomly assigned to receive MT or the American Lung Association's freedom from smoking (FFS) treatment. Both treatments were delivered twice weekly over 4 weeks (eight sessions total) in a group format. The primary outcomes were expired-air carbon monoxide-confirmed 7-day point prevalence abstinence and number of cigarettes/day at the end of the 4-week treatment and at a follow-up interview at week 17. Results 88% of individuals received MT and 84% of individuals received FFS completed treatment. Compared to those randomized to the FFS intervention, individuals who received MT showed a greater rate of reduction in cigarette use during treatment and maintained these gains during follow-up ( F = 11.11, p = .001). They also exhibited a trend toward greater point prevalence abstinence rate at the end of treatment (36% vs. 15%, p = .063), which was significant at the 17-week follow-up (31% vs. 6%, p = .012). Conclusions This initial trial of mindfulness training may confer benefits greater than those associated with current standard treatments for smoking cessation.
The news about the newsworkers: press coverage of the 1965 American newspaper guild strike against the New York Times

Since the 1960s the North American newspaper industry has mobilized two key forces against journalists' collective endeavors toward better pay and job security: heightened corporate power and workplace technology. This paper considers a decisive third force: the creation and control of public discourse concerning newspaper strikes. It provides a close textual analysis of print news coverage of the American Newspaper Guild's strike against The New York Times and New York newspapers' lockout of 17,000 news industry employees from September 16 to October 10, 1965. The study situates the concept of media framing vis-a-vis a historically grounded understanding of class struggle and journalism's activity in fostering an imaginary consensus with the public through consistent and shared depictions of the conflict. Representation of this strike bears resemblance to coverage of strikes in other industries, suggesting that over the past several decades the newspaper industry has not only facilitated the general dete...
EUS in patients with benign and malignant lymphadenopathy

Background: The EUS appearance of lymph nodes in patients undergoing evaluation for malignancy was studied. Methods: In 378 patients EUS characteristics were assessed: size of tumor, largest lymph node size, number of lymph nodes, distance of lymph nodes from the tumor, and on a 5-point visual analogue scale (1 = least malignant to 5 = most malignant), roundness, homogeneity, and echogenicity. A morphology score (sum of roundness, homogeneity, and echogenicity) was calculated. Findings were compared with fine needle aspiration or surgical histopathology in 238 patients. Results: When using multivariate analysis, only lymph node size (1.4 ± 0.1 cm vs. 1.7 ± 0.1 cm, p = 0.001), distance from tumor (3.1 ± 0.4 cm vs. 1.6 ± 0.4 cm, p = 0.013), and morphology score (9.9 ± 0.3 vs. 11.9 ± 0.3, p = 0.001) for benign versus malignant lymph nodes (mean ± SEM) were significant. Lymph node size was significant for esophageal cancer (p = 0.006) and other mediastinal lymph nodes (p = 0.007) but not for pancreaticobiliary malignancies (p = 0.1) or celiac lymph nodes (p = 0.4). Distance from the tumor was significant for pancreaticobiliary (p = 0.01) but not esophageal cancers (p = 0.7). Morphology was significant for all sites. The presence of at least one lymph node of 1 cm or greater within 1 cm of the tumor and with a morphology score of 14 or greater had a positive predictive value of 81% (prevalence = 13%). A morphology score of 6 or less had a negative predictive value of 92% (prevalence = 12%). Conclusions: Patients with malignant adenopathy have lymph nodes that are larger, closer to the primary tumor, rounder, darker, and more homogeneous than those of patients without malignant adenopathy. (Gastrointest Endosc 2001;53:593-8.)
The object flow model for data-based simulation

This paper introduces the notion of data-based simulation to describe simulations where the basic entities and timing for the simulation are provided by explicitly captured data, e.g., in a database. This is in contrast to traditional simulation where entities are usually generated when needed, according to the appropriate distributions. This paper also introduces the Object Flow Model, where a single model can serve as the basis for the application software, for dam-based simulation, and for traditional simulation. The Object Flow Model uses an object-oriented database to describe entities and methods for manipulating entities and provides a visual formalism called the Object Flow Diagram (based on network-based process-oriented discrete event simulation languages), to describe the dynamic processing of an application. A data-based simulator for the Object Flow Model has been implemented for an apparel manufacturing shop floor based on data captured from a real-time payroll system to provide detailed, near-term advice for the shop floor manager.
Effect of butorphanol on thermal nociceptive threshold in healthy pony foals

Summary Reasons for performing study Pain management is an important component of foal nursing care, and no objective data currently exist regarding the analgesic efficacy of opioids in foals. Objectives To evaluate the somatic antinociceptive effects of 2 commonly used doses of intravenous (i.v.) butorphanol in healthy foals. Our hypothesis was that thermal nociceptive threshold would increase following i.v. butorphanol in a dose-dependent manner in both neonatal and older pony foals. Methods Seven healthy neonatal pony foals (age 1–2 weeks), and 11 healthy older pony foals (age 4–8 weeks). Five foals were used during both age periods. Treatments, which included saline (0.5 ml), butorphanol (0.05 mg/kg bwt) and butorphanol (0.1 mg/kg bwt), were administered i.v. in a randomised crossover design with at least 2 days between treatments. Response variables included thermal nociceptive threshold, skin temperature and behaviour score. Data within each age period were analysed using a 2-way repeated measures ANOVA, followed by a Holm–Sidak multiple comparison procedure if warranted. Results There was a significant (P<0.05) increase in thermal threshold, relative to Time 0, following butorphanol (0.1 mg/kg bwt) administration in both age groups. No significant time or treatment effects were apparent for skin temperature. Significant time, but not treatment, effects were evident for behaviour score in both age groups. Conclusions Butorphanol (0.1 mg/kg bwt, but not 0.05 mg/kg bwt) significantly increased thermal nociceptive threshold in neonatal and older foals without apparent adverse behavioural effects. Potential relevance Butorphanol shows analgesic potential in foals for management of somatic painful conditions.
Coexistent Multiple Myeloma or Increased Bone Marrow Plasma Cells Define Equally High-Risk Populations in Patients With Immunoglobulin Light Chain Amyloidosis

Purpose There is consensus that patients with light chain (AL) amyloidosis with hypercalcemia, renal failure, anemia, and lytic bone lesions attributable to clonal expansion of plasma cells (CRAB criteria) also have multiple myeloma (MM). The aim of this study was to examine the spectrum of immunoglobulin AL amyloidosis with and without MM, with a goal of defining the optimal bone marrow plasma cell (BMPC) number to qualify as AL amyloidosis with MM. Patients and Methods We identified 1,255 patients with AL amyloidosis seen within 90 days of diagnosis between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2010. We defined a population of patients with coexisting MM on the basis of the existence of CRAB criteria (AL-CRAB). Receiver operating characteristic analysis determined the optimal BMPC cut point to predict for 1-year mortality in patients with AL amyloidosis without CRAB to produce two additional groups: AL only (≤ 10% BMPCs) and AL plasma cell MM (AL-PCMM; > 10% BMPCs). Results Among the 1,255 patients, 100 (8%...
Angiography Before Carotid Endarterectomy—No

Having spentmy professional life depending on angiography prior to performing an operation, why would I now challenge this practice? There are several reasons. For years, surgeons and radiologists described findings relating to arteriographic studies such as the degree of stenosis, the presence or absence of ulceration, the length of the lesion, the status of the siphon, and the uncommon but disturbing presence of an intracerebral aneurysm. Which of these factors are important in determining who should undergo an operation? The only finding predicting outcome without an operation is the degree of stenosis.1-3If that is so, then the other findings from angiography are irrelevant unless they provide the surgeon with information guaranteeing a better and safer outcome from an operation. There is no evidence that any of the other factors noted by angiography will lead the surgeon to perform a safer operation with a better result.4 Duplex
DEPENDENCE OF FAST AXOPLASMIC TRANSPORT IN NERVE ON OXIDATIVE METABOLISM

—A crest of labelled activity moving down the sciatic nerve at 401 ± 35 mm/day after injection of the L7 dorsal root ganglion of the cat with L-[3H]leucine characterizes fast axoplasmic transport of materials and has been studied with regard to its dependence on oxidative metabolism. Transport of labelled materials in vitro occurred if the nerve was supplied with O2 or 95 % O2+ 5 % CO2. Transport was not dependent upon continuity of the fibres with the ganglionic soma. Asphyxiation (N2) rapidly blocked fast transport in vitro. Likewise NaCN or dinitrophenol in an O2 atmosphere both effectively block fast transport within 15 min. Tetrodotoxin and procaine, agents which block excitation of the membrane, had no effect on fast transport. The inference is that oxidative metabolism supplies the energy required by the molecular mechanism underlying fast axoplasmic transport.
HYPERTENSION IN PREGNANCY: Current Concepts of Preeclampsia

▪ Abstract Hypertensive disorders (gestational hypertension, preeclampsia, chronic hypertension, superimposed preeclampsia) are the most common medical complications of pregnancy and constitute a major cause of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. Prediction of those women destined to develop preeclampsia remains elusive. The benefits of calcium supplementation for prevention of preeclampsia are encouraging; however, the definitive study is not yet complete. Aspirin therapy for low-risk women has not been helpful; results of therapy for high-risk women are pending. More experience is being gained with antihypertensive therapy and expectant management in severe preeclampsia. Conservative management of severe preeclampsia, when performed in a tertiary care center, may benefit a select group of women and their fetuses.
A flood episode in northern Italy: multi-model and single-model mesoscale meteorological ensembles for hydrological predictions

Abstract. Numerical weather prediction models can be coupled with hydrological models to generate streamflow forecasts. Several ensemble approaches have been recently developed in order to take into account the different sources of errors and provide probabilistic forecasts feeding a flood forecasting system. Within this framework, the present study aims at comparing two high-resolution limited-area meteorological ensembles, covering short and medium range, obtained via different methodologies, but implemented with similar number of members, horizontal resolution (about 7 km), and driving global ensemble prediction system. The former is a multi-model ensemble, based on three mesoscale models (BOLAM, COSMO, and WRF), while the latter, following a single-model approach, is the operational ensemble forecasting system developed within the COSMO consortium, COSMO-LEPS (limited-area ensemble prediction system). The meteorological models are coupled with a distributed rainfall-runoff model (TOPKAPI) to simulate the discharge of the Reno River (northern Italy), for a recent severe weather episode affecting northern Apennines. The evaluation of the ensemble systems is performed both from a meteorological perspective over northern Italy and in terms of discharge prediction over the Reno River basin during two periods of heavy precipitation between 29 November and 2 December 2008. For each period, ensemble performance has been compared at two different forecast ranges. It is found that, for the intercomparison undertaken in this specific study, both mesoscale model ensembles outperform the global ensemble for application at basin scale. Horizontal resolution is found to play a relevant role in modulating the precipitation distribution. Moreover, the multi-model ensemble provides a better indication concerning the occurrence, intensity and timing of the two observed discharge peaks, with respect to COSMO-LEPS. This seems to be ascribable to the different behaviour of the involved meteorological models. Finally, a different behaviour comes out at different forecast ranges. For short ranges, the impact of boundary conditions is weaker and the spread can be mainly attributed to the different characteristics of the models. At longer forecast ranges, the similar behaviour of the multi-model members forced by the same large-scale conditions indicates that the systems are governed mainly by the boundary conditions, although the different limited area models' characteristics may still have a non-negligible impact.
An Aerothermal Analysis and TPS Sizing of the Mars 2001 Lander Vehicle

An aerothermal and TPS sizing analysis is performed on the Mars 2001 Lander vehicle. Three-dimensional computational fluid dynamic analysis is performed at six points on the Mars entry trajectory. The computed heating rate, pressure, and velocity data is used to compute the required thermal protection system thickness as well as the surface recession of the forebody heatshield due to dust erosion. A detailed convergence and grid sensitivity study is performed.
AN ABSTRACT GLIDING HUMP PROPERTY

In this paper we introduce an abstract gliding hump property for sequence spaces which includes the signed weak and strong gliding hump properties as special cases. Further examples of sequence spaces satisfying the abstract gliding hump property are given, We then derive results concerning uniform convergence in β-duals, Hahn-Schur theorems and Orlicz-Pettis theorems for multiplier convergent series whose multiplier space satisfies the abstract gliding hump property.
Developing a Cost Overrun Predictive Model for Complex Systems Development Projects

While system complexity is on the rise across many product lines, the resources required to successfully design and implement complex systems remain constrained. Because financiers of complex systems development efforts actively monitor project implementation cost, project performance models are needed to help project managers predict their cost compliance and avoid cost overruns. This article describes recent research conducted by the authors to develop a cost overrun predictive model using five known drivers of complex systems development cost. The study identifies schedule and reliability, as the key determinants of whether or not a large complex systems development project will experience cost overrun.
An Approach to Regression Test Selection of Adaptive EFSM Tests

A formal approach to automatically building a regression test suite whose tests are guaranteed to exercise a given set of system changes is proposed. Given a test and a change, the approach analyzes the test description to provably predict whether or not the test will exercise the change. Adaptive tests whose descriptions involve multiple control paths and support values over commonly used data types are considered. We introduce fully-observable adaptive tests whose descriptions contain all the relevant information about their executions. A structural invariant generated from a test description identifies fully-observable tests and is used to develop a procedure to automatically select tests exercising changes.
WISC-R Scatter Indexes of Children Referred for Reading Diagnosis

A large sample of children referred to a clinic for suspected reading disabilities (N = 434) was administered the WISC-R. Their verbal-performance IQ discrepancy and indexes of subtest scatter were significantly larger than the values for the normal standardization sample, but these mean differences were not large enough to be meaningful in a practical sense. These results agree with several other investigations of the scatter indexes of exceptional samples.
Limited proteolysis of MP26 in lens fiber plasma membranes of the U18666A-induced cataract in rats.

Most of the animals treated with U18666A every other day beginning at one-day of age developed permanent nuclear cataracts by 3–4 weeks of age. Lens fiber plasma membranes were isolated from cortical and nuclear areas of untreated controls, treated but clear, and treated cataractous lenses, and analyzed by SDS-PAGE. MP26 was the major intrinsic polypeptide in the plasma membranes of both cortical and nuclear fibers of control lenses. MP26 was largely replaced by MP23–24 in the plasma membranes of nuclear fibers of treated but clear lenses, and in the membranes of both cortical and nuclear fibers of cataractous lenses.
Discussion of “Expansion and increase in permeability of carbonate rocks on heating”

Maxwell and Verrall's interesting study raises a thought. If limestones expand on heating and thereby receive a permanent set, as this paper demonstrates, do we not have here a means of determining the maximum temperature to which a particular limestone was ever subjected and indirectly thereby its maximum depth of burial or other geothermal events in its history?
On the movement of vertex fixed points in the simple GA

The Vose dynamical system model of the simple genetic algorithm models the behavior of this algorithm for large population sizes and is the basis of the exact Markov chain model. Populations consisting of multiple copies of one individual correspond to vertices of the simplex. For zero mutation, these are fixed points of the dynamical system and absorbing states of the Markov chain. For proportional selection, the asymptotic stability of vertex fixed points is understood from previous work. We derive the eigenvalues of the differential at vertex fixed points of the dynamical system model for tournament selection. We show that as mutation increases from zero, hyperbolic asymptotically stable fixed points move into the simplex, and hyperbolic asymptotically unstable fixed points move outside of the simplex. We calculate the derivative of local path of the fixed point with respect to the mutation rate for proportional selection. Simulation analysis shows how fixed points bifurcate with larger changes in the mutation rate and changes in the crossover rate.
Knowing Your Reader: Text-External Influences on Textual Features in Résumé Construction

In the field of teaching English as a Second Language (ESL), great importance has often been placed on using language in authentic ways. As a result of the inability of many second language (L2) students to construct and adapt language for various academic and professional needs (St. John, 1996), genre analysis has gained attention as a framework for teaching ESL students to write texts they way they are constructed in authentic situations. However, the lack of empiricallyderived discipline-specific genre exemplars to practically utilize in the L2 writing classroom has prompted the need for (a) further analysis of various texts found outside of the classroom setting and (b) an investigation into how language is manipulated to meet the purposes of those texts. Following Bhatia’s (2008) and Cheng’s (2008) notions that students need to have practical genre exemplars to aid them in understanding how text-external influences (e.g., the purpose for writing and the reader’s expectations) affect linguistic choices, the focus of this paper is to demonstrate how one type of professional text, the resume, is constructed using a genre-based framework. The analysis follows a genre perspective of analyzing texts both linguistically, based on the English for Specific Purposes school of genre, and contextually, from the New Rhetoric school. In constructing this specific text, the writer's understanding of text-external influences, namely expectations the hiring company has for the desired applicant, was essential for the development of organizational patterns and lexical construction of their resumes. This study highlights the importance of having not only an understanding of the linguistic knowledge needed to construct various texts, but also of the text-external influences on those linguistic choices.
Impaired NO-dependent inhibition of store- and receptor-operated calcium entry in pulmonary vascular smooth muscle after chronic hypoxia.

We have recently demonstrated that chronic hypoxia (CH) attenuates nitric oxide (NO)-mediated decreases in pulmonary vascular smooth muscle (VSM) intracellular free calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) ...
Mean-strain 8-node hexahedron with optimized energy-sampling stabilization

A method for stabilizing the mean-strain hexahedron was described by Krysl (in IJNME 2014). The technique relied on a sampling of the stabilization energy using the mean-strain quadrature and the full Gaussian integration rule, which was shown to guarantee consistency and stability. The stabilization energy was assumed to be generated by a modified constitutive matrix based on the spectral decomposition. The stabilization required user-selected values of the stabilization parameters. In the present work we eliminate the arbitrariness of the stabilization parameters. We formulate the technique more precisely as an assumed-strain method, and we express the stabilization energy in terms of input parameters of the real material. Finally, we fix the value of the stabilization parameters in a quasi-optimal manner by linking the stabilization to the bending behavior of the hexahedral element. For simplicity the developments are limited to linear elasticity, but with an arbitrarily anisotropic elasticity matrix. The accuracy and convergence characteristics of the present formulations compare favorably with the capabilities of mean-strain and other high-performance hexahedral elements as implemented in Abaqus and with a number of successful hexahedral and shell elements and we demonstrate that the present element performs very well when used with large aspect ratios for thin structures such as plates or shells.
Endocrine Surgery Nursing

Dramatically, within several decades, there has been a shift toward increasing complexity within the health care environment. Patient care delivery systems that are appropriately integrated and patient-centered must not only seek to restore the patient to his optimal level of health but achieve this within the most comprehensive, efficient model that will demonstrate positive clinical and financial outcomes, along with excellent patient satisfaction. The factors contributing to this requisite for a more complex adaptive health system are reflective of the ongoing societal advancements of recent time. The demand for improved coordination of healthcare delivery is driven by multiple variables that encompass the intricacies of medical specialization along with an increase in outpatient care, an aging population and expanding ethnic and cultural diversity, the surge in technology and biomedical advances, and educated and informed patients with specific expectations.
Reduced-fat dried distillers grains with solubles reduces the risk for milk fat depression and supports milk production and ruminal fermentation in dairy cows.

Twenty Holstein cows, 12 primiparous and 8 multiparous, with (mean ± SD) 91 ± 19 d in milk and 595 ± 81 kg were used in replicated 4 × 4 Latin squares to compare the effects of feeding conventional dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) and reduced-fat DDGS (RFDDGS) in combination with rumen-inert fat (RIF) on milk production and rumen fermentation; one square contained rumen cannulated animals for rumen measurements. In each 21-d period, cows were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 dietary treatments (values on a dry matter basis): (1) control (CON) that contained 0% DDGS; (2) DG contained 30% DDGS; (3) RFDG contained 30% RFDDGS in substitution of DDGS; and (4) RFDG+RIF was similar to RFDG with the addition of 1.9% RIF. Unlike most practical diets in the dairy field, our diets had 18.0% crude protein. Dry matter intake was similar across treatments with any form of DDGS averaging 26.0 ± 0.6 kg/d, whereas the CON diet resulted in less dry matter intake, 21.6 ± 0.6 kg/d. Milk yield tended to be 1.7 kg/d greater for diets with either type of DDGS. Concentration of milk protein was greatest for the DG and RFDG diets, intermediate for the RFDG+RIF diet, and least for the CON diet, namely 3.22, 3.21, 3.12, and 3.07 ± 0.05%. Reduced milk fat percentage and yield were observed when cows consumed the DG diet, 3.27 ± 0.10% and 1.11 ± 0.04 kg/d, respectively, whereas these responses were similar among CON, RFDG, and RFDG+RIF, which averaged 3.68 ± 0.10% and 1.22 ± 0.04 kg/d. The presence of trans-10,cis-12 conjugated linoleic acid was only detected in milk from cows consuming the DG diet; similarly, concentration and yield of trans-10 18:1 were greater for cows consuming this diet. Rumen ammonia was similar across treatments averaging 27.0 ± 2.1mg/dL. The CON and RFDG+RIF diets had similar mean pH, 6.1 ± 0.11, whereas DG and RFDG resulted in lower pH averaging 5.79 ± 0.11. No effect on total concentration of volatile fatty acids was observed; the overall mean was 121 ± 4.11 mM; molar proportion of acetate was affected by treatment resulting in 67.3, 63.2, 61.4, and 60.9 ± 0.93 mol/100 mol for CON, RFDG+RIF, RFDG, and DG, respectively. Results from DNA sequencing showed that rumen bacterial community structure was relatively stable with minor changes at the family and genus levels; these changes may be associated with low starch diets, and hence reduced amylolytic bacteria populations. Feeding high proportions of RFDDGS resulted in greater dry matter intake with low risk for milk fat depression while supporting ruminal fermentation.
Physical Intentionality, Extrinsicness, and the Direction of Causation

The Physical Intentionality Thesis claims that dispositions share the marks of psychological intentionality; therefore, intentionality is not exclusively a mental phenomenon. Beyond the standard five marks, Alexander Bird introduces two additional marks of intentionality that he argues dispositions do not satisfy: first, thoughts are extrinsic; second, the direction of causation is that objects cause thoughts, not vice versa. In response, this paper identifies two relevant conceptions of extrinsicness, arguing that dispositions show deep parallels to thoughts on both conceptions. Then, it shows that Bird’s discussion of direction of causation overlooks complexities of dispositionality and intentionality that problematize apparent differences between thoughts and dispositions. The paper ends with a discussion of why we find these parallels between thoughts and dispositions.
A new gymnocarpous heterobasidiomycete with gasteromycetous basidia.

The hitherto unknown fungus here described grows as a parasite on the hymenium of a minute, inoperculate discomycete superficially resembling the genus Mollisia. The host ascocarp, scarcely exceeding half a millimeter in diameter, is barely discernible; the parasite, occurring on only occasional apothecia, is nearly imperceptible to the naked eye, can be detected under the hand-lens only because of its whitish color, and even under the highest magnification of the dissecting binocular appears as no more than a white nap, somewhat convex in profile, covering the gray hymenium of the host. The first collections were the accidental result of bringing the ascomycete into the laboratory, and the few subsequent collections were possible only through persistent search for the host. The fungus must be sought as an alien fuzz on a small discomycete (Hyaloscypha atomaria), and is accordingly named Xenolachne (from OSEos, a stranger, and Aadxvl, down or fuzz). The fructification consists of a layer of ovoid or ellipsoid basidia supported on a scanty subiculum of clamp-bearing mycelium, the whole resembling, except for the absence of gelatinous texture, an extremely minute Sebacina. The young basidia (FIG. 1, A-E) are like those of most species of Sebacina except that they develop only one longitudinal septum; and even in this they resemble those of at least one species (unpublished) of Sebacina, or those of Tremella simplex Jackson & Martin (Martin 1940: 687) or of some gatherings of Phlogiotis Helvelloides (Martin 1936: 628), or some of the basidia of Hyaloria Pilacre (Moller 1895: 139). Each of the two segments puts out from its apex a tubular or bluntconic epibasidium (FIG. 1, F, G) in no essential different from that of any of the Tremellaceae which possess epibasidia, and the
FABHELP: A Rule-Based Consultation Program for FAB Classification of Acute Myeloid Leukemia and Myelodysplastic Syndromes

A rule-based expert system called FABHELP has been developed that applies the recently proposed French-American-British (FAB) criteria for diagnosing acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes. The program diagnoses Ml-M7 and myelodysplastic syndromes given the percentages of the cell types. It was developed in Arity Prolog Version 5.1 and runs on IBM PCs. FABHELP asks the user for the percentage of cell types and requests specific information concerning the quality of the specimen and ancillary tests such as nonspecific esterase staining. The diagnosis is printed on the screen along with the rule used to make the diagnosis. A module displaying specific rule(s) given the diagnosis is also included along with modules for calculating prognostic scores for myelodysplastic syndromes by two different methods. Rapid look-up of leukocyte antigens (CD numbers) is also available. FABHELP has proven useful for teaching residents and as a quick, concise reference for FAB classification.
Effectevaluation of diabetes mellitus control in hospital and community health centre in Chengdu

Objective To evaluate the control effect of diabetes mellitus( DM) in hospital and community health centre(CHS). Methods Patients with DM were selected from 1 second class hospital and 1 CHS in Chengdu,1-year followed-up investigation was implemented for the knowledge,behaviour,fasting blood-glucose( FBG) and glycosylated hemoglobin HbA1c. Results At the 1-year followed-up,the DM prevention and cure knowledge and behaviour score had significantly increased in two groups. In hospital group,the mean of BFG had significantly decrease,from 9. 09mmol / L at baseline to 6. 39mmol / L at last survey,the control rate of BFG had significantly increased,from 27% to 67%. In CHS group,there were from 7. 45mmol / L to7. 04mmol / L,and from 49. 52% to 59. 04%,but the differences weren't significant. In hospital group,the mean of HbA1c had significantly decreased,from 7. 63% to 6. 88%,the control rate had significantly increased,from 61. 61% to 100%. In CHS group,there were from 6. 39% to 6. 50%,and from 49. 52% to 59. 04%,but the differences weren't significant. At baseline,the control rates of BFG and HbA1c in hospital group were significantly lower than that in CHS group. At the last survey the differences weren't significant between two groups. Conclusion The good control could be got whether the patients with DM in hospital or in CHS.
Existence of solutions to a discrete fourth order periodic boundary value problem

This paper is concerned with periodic boundary value problems for a fourth order nonlinear difference equation. Via variational methods and critical point theory, sufficient conditions are given fo...