cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Methodologic considerations in studies on female sterilization--a review for clinicians.

Abstract Despite the large number of female sterilization (FS) studies and their relatively straightforward nature (compared to oral contraceptive studies for instance), results are often conflicting and a number of unanswered questions remain. Methodologic shortcomings can explain at least a portion of this confusion. This paper provides guidelines so that clinicians may better conduct and evaluate studies of FS techniques. Some important study topics for the future are reviewed, and the authors briefly describe the three main study designs for FS studies—clinical trial, cohort and case-control.
Pathway Curvature and Border Visibility as Predictors of Preference and Danger in Forest Settings

The authors investigated pathway curvature and pathway border visibility as predictors of preference and perceived danger in forest settings. Participants rated 56 forest settings containing pathways for one of four variables—mystery, visual access, pathway length, and pathway width—or for one of four additional predictors. Pathway curvature was unrelated to preference, danger, or mystery. Border visibility and visual access were positively related to preference, negatively related to danger, and positively related to each other. Preference and danger were negatively related. Danger was more strongly related to the predictors than was preference. Mystery had a modest negative relation with preference and substantial relations with danger (positive) and visual access (negative). Factor analysis of the predictor inter-correlations revealed a visibility construct. Visibility scores were positively related to preference and negatively related to danger. For within-forest settings, danger seems to be more sali...
La fenomenología en América

La democracia, comparada con otros modos de vida, es la sola manera de vivir que cree de todo corazon en el proceso de la experiencia como fin y como medio; como aquello que es capaz de generar la ciencia, que es la sola autoridad fiable para la direccion de la experiencia ulterior y que libera las emociones, necesidades y deseos de forma que adquieran existencia las cosas que no han existido en el pasado. Porque todo modo de vida que falla en su democracia limita los contactos, los intercambios, las comunicaciones, las interacciones por las que la experiencia se estabiliza mientras se agranda y enriquece. 1.."\ tarea de esta liberacion y enriquecimiento tiene que ser llevada adelante dia tras dia. Puesto que no puede tener fin hasta que la experiencia misma llegue a un fin, la tarea de la democracia es para siempre la de la creacion de una experiencia mas libre y mas humana en la cual todos participemos y a la cual todos contribuyamos (John Dewey: Creative Democracy, Tlle Task Before Us, 1939].
Collision or collaboration? School-based health services meet managed care.

Describes interactions of for-profit managed-care organizations (MCOs) with not-for-profit school mental health programs that are affiliated with school-based health centers (SB-HCs). Discussion focuses on the developments and challenges that emerged between SBHCs and MCOs. While relations between MCOs and more traditional forms of mental health services (e.g., community mental health centers) are becoming established, such relations with SBHCs remain far from established. The example of the pathway Connecticut has taken in the continuing dialogue between SBHCs and MCOs is described in detail. Attention is given to the advocacy groups for child and adolescent mental health that were instrumental in convincing legislatures to enact safeguards to maintain SBHCs as providers of health and mental health care in the era of managed care. Challenges and recommendations are outlined to insure that the mental health needs of underserved, disadvantaged children are met through the provision of school-based mental health services.
Protective effect of chronic versus acute cardiac denervation on contractile force during coronary occlusion.

The effects of acute coronary artery (CA) occlusion on myocardial contractile force were studied in mongrel dogs with (1) chronically denervated hearts (n = 10), (2) acutely denervated hearts (n = 5), and (3) normally innervated hearts (n = 6). Contractile force was measured in ischemic and nonischemic areas using Walton-Brodie strain gauge arches sutured to the epicardium. Coronary occlusion was accomplished by ligating several small branches of the left anterior descending and the circumflex arteries supplying the apical region on the left ventricle. Following occlusion, contractile force in the ischemic area decreased by 66.8% in the control group, by 73.6% in the acutely denervated group, but only by 21.6% ( P
A field survey of dislodgeable Zolone residues in twelve commercially treated vineyards.

Again in a field study situation, it is difficult to distinguish the climatic factors which affect residue weathering. However, the strong similarities between the residue dynamics reported here and those observed in 1972 suggest that the pattern of Zolone® decay in central California in the summer months is relatively invariant.
Health hazards of "don't ask, don't tell".

While U.S. courts consider a lawsuit alleging that the military's “don't ask, don't tell” policy violates the rights of gay and lesbian service members, the policy continues to jeopardize the health of those service members, the military, and the country at large.
The auroral intensity ratio of OI(6300 Å) and OI(5577 Å)

Oxygen red-green line emission intensity in quiet auroral arc, using rocket-borne photometers
On Differential Geometry and Homogeneous Spaces II

We retain the notation of the preceding paper.1 We will say that g is effective relative to t if t contains no ideal of g.
Mechanical and Rotordynamic Design, Fabrication and Testing of a High-Speed Miniature Cryocooler Motor

An attempt has been made in this work to design, fabricate and performance evaluate a 2 kW permanent magnet synchronous motor operating at 200,000 rpm and at the temperature of both room temperature and 77 K. Structural, thermal and rotordynamic aspects were considered and models were developed on an iterative basis. Prototypes were fabricated and models were validated through experimental results. The PMSM motor/generator prototype was fabricated. At this stage, experimental results were obtained for the test set-up operating at 200,000 rpm and air at room temperature. Models developed were validated comparing to experimental results.Copyright © 2007 by ASME
Rapid loss of intraportally transplanted islets: an overview of pathophysiology and preventive strategies.

The Edmonton protocol for clinical islet trans-plantation (Tx) can successfully restore endoge-nous insulin production and glycemic stability intype 1 diabetic patients. However, insulin inde-pendence is usually not sustained despite isletinfusions from two or more donors [1]. Thecurrent supply of islets from deceased humandonors will almost certainly never be able to meetthe demand. Xenotransplantation, using the pigas the source of islets, could potentially resolvethis problem.One of the problems limiting the success ofintraportal islet Tx is early and rapid loss of asigniﬁcant portion of the graft. Its occurrencesuggests a role for non-immunological as well asinnate immunological factors [2]. Coagulation,platelet aggregation, complement activation, andneutrophilic granulocyte and monocyte inﬁltrationhave been reported to be involved in a reactiontermed the instant blood-mediated inﬂammatoryvan der Windt DJ, Bottino R, Casu A, Campanile N, Cooper DKC.Rapid loss of intraportally transplanted islets: an overview ofpathophysiology and preventive strategies.Xenotransplantation 2007; 14: 288–297. Blackwell Munksgaard, 2007Abstract: Islets isolated from multiple pancreas donors are oftennecessary to achieve euglycemia in type 1 diabetic patients treated byislet allotransplantation. This increases the burden on the limited poolof donor organs. After infusion into the portal vein, a substantialpercentage of islets are lost in the immediate post-transplant periodthrough an inﬂammatory response termed the instant blood-mediatedinﬂammatory reaction (IBMIR). IBMIR is equally, if not more of aproblem after islet xenotransplantation, e.g., using pig islets in non-human primates. Coagulation, platelet aggregation, complementactivation, and neutrophil and monocyte inﬁltration play roles inthis reaction. IBMIR is potentially triggered by islet surface mole-cules, such as tissue factor and collagen residues that are normally notin direct contact with the blood. Also, stress during the islet isolationprocess results in the expression and production of several inﬂamma-tory mediators by the islets themselves. The potential mechanismsinvolved in this rapid graft loss and treatment options to reduce thisloss are reviewed. Preventive strategies for IBMIR can includesystemic treatment of the recipient, pre-conditioning of the isolatedislets, or, in the case of xenotransplantation, genetic modiﬁcation ofthe organ-source pig. Pre-conditioning of islets in culture by exposureto anti-inﬂammatory agents or by genetic modiﬁcation harbors fewerrisks of systemic complications in the recipient. The future of clinicalislet transplantation will, at least in part, depend on the success ofeﬀorts made to reduce rapid graft loss, and thus allow islettransplantation to become a more eﬃcient therapy by the use ofsingle donors.
Disturbances of thermoregulation induced by capsaicin

Abstract 1. 1|In rats the irreversible disturbance of thermoregulation induced by capsaicin is characterized as follows: (a) temperature selection and regulation of body temperature are severely impaired at warm T a but not below 30°C: (b) the heat-loss response of tail vasodilatation sets in at an elevated threshold of skin and body temperatures and its effectiveness is inhibited by peculiar fluctuations. Temperature threshold for grooming is shifted even further. 2. 2|Intra-arterial capsaicin injection excited and desensitized one spurious warm unit but had no effect on two cold units of the rabbit ear. 3. 3|The differential influence of capsaicin on thermoregulatory responses provides evidence for the multiple thermostat theory.
Acoustical Properties of Electrospun Fibers for Aircraft Interior Noise Reduction

Electrospun micro and nanofibers produced via electrospinning method were used for the sound absorption purposes. Polymers were initially dissolved in dimethyleformamide (DMF) or ethanol with a ratio of 80:20 and electrospun at 20 kV, 20 cm separation distance and 3 ml/hrs pump speed. The two/microphone transfer function method of the B&K impedance tube was used to determine the acoustical properties of the manufactured nanofibers at various frequencies. The test results showed that the absorption coefficients of nanofibers (~500 nm) drastically increased. The reason behind this phenomenon may be attributed to the higher surface area of nanofibers and their interactions with more sound waves/air molecules. This result may open up new possibilities for the sound absorption problems in many fields, such as aircrafts, other transportation vehicles and infrastructures.
Optimized Crossover for the Independent Set Problem

We propose a knowledge-based crossover mechanism for genetic algorithms that exploits the structure of the solution rather than its coding. More generally, we suggest broad guidelines for constructing the knowledge-based crossover mechanisms. This technique uses an optimized crossover mechanism, in which the one of the two children is constructed in such a way as to have the best objective function value from the feasible set of children, while the other is constructed so as to maintain the diversity of the search space. We implement our approach on a classical combinatorial problem, called the independent set problem. The resulting genetic algorithm dominates all other genetic algorithms for the problem and yields one of the best heuristics for the independent set problem in terms of robustness and time performance. The primary purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the power of knowledge based mechanisms in genetic algorithms.
A Tauberian theorem for a generalized power series method

Abstract The power series summability method is one of the most important and general methods in Summability Theory. In this work we will extend the power series method by considering the Burmann series method (i.e. f s ( z n ) = 1 f ( z n ) ∑ k = 0 ∞ s k b k [ h ( z n ) ] k , where f ( z n ) = ∑ k = 0 ∞ b k [ h ( z n ) ] k and | h ( z n ) | 1 ). Using the generalization we obtain a Tauberian theorem which contains, as special cases, some standard theorems for Abel, Borel, and Sonnenschein methods. We use the Abel and Borel matrix methods to illustrate this theorem.
Providing Secrecy With Structured Codes: Two-User Gaussian Channels

Recent results have shown that structured codes can be used to construct good channel codes, source codes, and physical layer network codes for Gaussian channels. For Gaussian channels with secrecy constraints, however, efforts to date rely on Gaussian random codes. In this paper, we advocate that structure in random code generation is useful for providing secrecy as well. In particular, a Gaussian wiretap channel in the presence of a cooperative jammer is studied. Previously, the achievable secrecy rate for this channel was derived using Gaussian signaling, which saturated at high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), owing to the fact that the cooperative jammer simultaneously helps by interfering with the eavesdropper, and hurts by interfering with the intended receiver. In this paper, a new achievable rate is derived through imposing a lattice structure on the signals transmitted by both the source and the cooperative jammer, which are aligned at the eavesdropper but remain separable at the intended receiver. We prove that the achieved secrecy rate does not saturate at high SNR for all values of channel gains except when the channel is degraded.
Steroid structure and nuclear translocation of glucocorticoid receptors in intact atT-20 mouse pituitary tumor cells

Abstract Both natural and synthetic glucocorticoids suppress corticotropin biosynthesis by AtT-20 mouse pituitary tumor cells, but their individual potencies in doing so are not clearly related to cytosol receptor affinity alone. This discrepancy may be partially explained by observations from this laboratory showing that glucocorticoid agonists vary in the efficiency with which they cause nuclear translocation of the glucocorticoid-receptor complex in the intact cell. The studies described in this paper are the result of our attempts to determine under in vivo conditions whether the varying abilities of several glucocorticoid agonists to cause nuclear translocation could be correlated with their ability to activate the receptor. Accordingly, the extent of nuclear binding and the proportion of occupied receptor which was activated was determined after incubation of intact AtT-20 cells with four labeled glucocorticoids. The percentage of bound receptor in the nuclear compartment for each steroid was 38 ± 2.6, 33 ± 2.3, 25 ± 2.2, and 22 ± 1.9 for triamcinolone acetonide, dexamethasone, prednisolone and corticosterone, respectively. Determination of the total amount of activated receptor within the cell (nuclear receptor + activated cytosol receptor) revealed that there was a linear correlation between the extent of nuclear binding caused by each steroid and the proportion of activated receptor. We conclude that activation occurs in vivo, is related to steroid structure, and determines the extent of nuclear translocation.
Mass flux, crystal composition and solid solubility studies of the Hg1−xMnxTe―HgI2 vapor transport system

Abstract The mass flux and the composition of the grown crystals as a function of the source and deposition temperatures and of the amount of transport agent in the Hg1−xMnxTeHgI2 system have been studied. It was found that mercury manganese telluride crystals containing at least 18 mol.% MnTe can be grown by this method. A previously developed theoretical model for the chemical vapor transport of the non-congruently vaporizing mercury cadmium telluride has been extended to and experimentally confirmed for the present, more complex system.
Separating forces in blade coating of viscous and viscoelastic liquids

Abstract Coating of viscous and viscoelastic liquids is examined both theoretically and experimentally. A single simple geometry, a blade over a rotating roll, is considered. A perturbation solution to the Navier-Stokes equations yields a lubrication theory with first order corrections for curvature and inertia. A numerical solutions by the Finite Element Method (FEM) is compared to the analytical solutions. For Newtonian fluids, agreement between these mathematical models, and data on blade loading, is quite good. The effect of a non-Newtonian viscosity is explored by adopting a purely viscous power law model. The zeroth-order (lubrication) equations are solved by the method of Steidler and Horowitz, and predictions for coating thickness and blade loading agree quite well with those obtained from a FEM solution of the full equations of motion for a power law fluid. Data on blade loading, obtained using a strongly elastic polymer solution, are compared to these mathematical models, and discrepancies are noted.
Health-promoting behaviors among adults with type 2 diabetes: findings from the Health and Retirement Study.

Background. Type 2 diabetes has an enormous impact on the health care system and individuals. Dietary habits, exercise, weight management, and smoking status are critical to management and prevention of complications. This study describes the prevalence of these behaviors and their change over time in a national sample of adults with type 2 diabetes. The relationships between behavior change and sociodemographic and health status measures are explored. Methods. Data are from the first and third longitudinal waves of the Health and Retirement Study. Surveys were conducted face-to-face or via telephone in 1992 and 1996. Results. The sample consisted of 733 persons with type 2 diabetes, ages 50–62. The most common behaviors were being on a special diet (79.6%), and not smoking (76.6%). Sixty-six percent were engaged in some physical activity, and 58.4% were trying to lose weight. Reports of being on a special diet, trying to lose weight, and exercising all diminished over time. Conclusions. The prevalence of these behaviors is disappointing. Worse, they declined over the 4-year period. A better understanding of factors contributing to a person's decision to begin or discontinue health-promoting behaviors is needed to plan effective supportive or preemptive interventions.
Estrogen regulation of μ-opioid receptor mRNA in the forebrain of female rats

Previous studies have suggested that opioids play a role in the regulation of reproductive behaviors in the female rat. The present study examined whether estrogen treatment alters mu-opioid receptor mRNA levels in different areas of the forebrain of ovariectomized (OVX) female rats using the in situ hybridization technique. We observed an increase in mu-opioid receptor mRNA levels in the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus (VMH) and arcuate nucleus (ARN) after 48 h of 10 microg of 17-beta-estradiol-3-benzoate treatment when compared to OVX females. No effects of estrogen were observed on mu-opioid receptor mRNA levels in the posterior medial nucleus of the amygdala (MeAmyg), hippocampus, caudate-putamen (CPu) or the medial habenula. Our result suggests that the estrogenic regulation of mu-opioid receptor in the CNS may in part be mediated by de novo synthesis and/or stability of the mu-opioid receptor message.
Wearable diet monitoring through breathing signal analysis

This paper presents the design, system structure and performance for a wireless and wearable diet monitoring system. Food and drink intake can be detected by the way of detecting a person's swallow events. The system works based on the key observation that a person's otherwise continuous breathing process is interrupted by a short apnea when she or he swallows as a part of solid or liquid intake process. We detect the swallows through the difference between normal breathing cycle and breathing cycle with swallows using a wearable chest-belt. Three popular machine learning algorithms have been applied on extracted time and frequency domain features. It is shown that high detection performance can be achieved with only few features.
A new blood-flow pharmacokinetic model for ethanol

A multicompartmental mathematical model, taking into account observed vascular concentration gradients and blood flow rate limitations, has been proposed. Based on blood flows and blood and tissue volumes reported in the literature and in personal communications, an appropriate model was elaborated for ethanol in the dog. The relatively high values of r2and a correlation coefficient determined for the simultaneous computer fitting of mean observed blood ethanol concentration, time data from two administered doses, support the proposed model. While the surgery is prohibitive for human experimentation, correlations may be extended to man. The elaboration of a more complete multicompartmental model for ethanol should prove beneficial in revealing the relationships among the doses of alcohol, the circulating blood ethanol concentrations, and physiological and psychomotor test parameters.
Comment: Response to “Bertrand Russell’s Approach to Moral Education in Early Childhood”

Professors Ferree and Vaughn have given us a very clear and accurate account of Russell’s approach to moral education in early childhood. I agree with them, and with Russell, that genuine moral education involves the intentional fostering of desirable habits; that parents and teachers should attempt to educate character and promote the virtues in the young; and that such education is not, and should not strive to be, morally neutral.
The history of early polar ice cores

Abstract The scientific knowledge of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, and the subsequently derived Earth history, has been greatly increased during the past 50 years. Much of the new information was obtained from various studies made on a relatively small number of deep (300–400 m) and several very deep (some over 3000 m) ice cores, recovered from the inland regions of both ice sheets, by different national and international research teams. The beginning, development, and progress of deep polar ice core drillings and core studies is reviewed from the incipient pit study made by Ernst Sorge in 1930, through the trying efforts of three separate international core drilling projects mounted around 1950. The paper continues with a broad overview of the early role and achievements made by two related US Army Corps of Engineers research laboratories: the Snow, Ice and Permafrost Research Establishment (SIPRE), and the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL), from the early-1950's to the late-1980's. International partnerships of CRREL with the University of Copenhagen, Denmark (1966), and the University of Bern, Switzerland (1962), established the foundation of polar ice core science.
Book Banning in Contemporary Egypt

Article consacre a l'interdiction de certains livres en Egypte. La censure se montre de plus en plus severe en Egypte. L'universite al-Azhar joue un grand role dans ce phenomene, le droit lui etant reconnu par l'Etat d'interdire les publications qui lui semblent contrevenir a la religion. L'A. traite des differentes conceptions de la liberte qui sont en jeu dans le debat sur la censure : certains Egyptiens arguent du fait que le concept occidental de la liberte est etranger a l'Islam. Rappelant le precedent que constitue l'affaire des Versets sataniques de Salman Rushdie, et presentant deux ouvrages qui ont subi les foudres de la censure, l'A. fait part des craintes qu'il eprouve face a la montee en puissance de la tendance obscurantiste de l'islamisme.
Process Comparison of Hours of Service Recording for Commercial Vehicle Operations: Electronic versus Paper

AbstractTechnology provides the capability to automate the collection of commercial vehicle drivers’ hours of service (HOS), and this can potentially lead to fewer errors. This study compares the use of paper-based and automated (or electronically recorded) hours of service for three motor carriers using process analysis. Potential errors are categorized by operations within an information-based process, and results demonstrate that a reduction of errors can be achieved with an electronic system. The analysis shows that some of the errors that occur with paper-based systems (e.g., verification of accurate records) still exist with electronic recordings, and there are some additional minor errors. However, data collection, entry, and storage are improved, as the system requires fewer steps and less manual requirements within the process. The study provides a systematic and structured comparison of the two methods, highlighting the error types that occur in both. Policymakers can consider this comparison wh...
A new platysomid from the Upper Carboniferous of Kansas (USA) and remarks on the systematics of deep-bodied lower actinopterygians

Scales and presumptive tooth plates from deep-bodied platysomid actinopterygians have previously been reported from the Lower Permian of Kansas (USA), but until now, an articulated specimen from this state has not been recovered. The first articulated deep-bodied platysomid fish from the Upper Carboniferous of Kansas is described herein. This specimen is compared to other known species from the genus Platysomus, with special attention paid to the North American taxa. The cranial osteology of this new specimen is closest to Platysomus schultzei from the Upper Carboniferous of New Mexico. The newly described platysomid species highlights the need for a revision of the fish included within the genus Platysomus.
Temporal and spatial variability of cation and silica export in an alpine watershed, Emerald Lake, California

A reaction set of possible mineral weathering reactions is proposed to explain observed cation and silica export for the Emerald Lake watershed, a small Sierra Nevada, California catchment. The reaction set was calculated through a stoichiometric mole-balance method, using a multiyear record of stream flow and snowpack chemical analyses and site-specific mineral compositions. Reaction-set calculations were intended to explore how the processes controlling stream cation and silica export depend on differing bedrock mineralogy across the catchment as snowmelt and runoff patterns change over the year. Different regions within the watershed can be differentiated by lake inflow subdrainages, each exhibiting different stream-flow chemistry and calculated weathering stoichiometry, indicating that different silica and cation generation processes are dominant in wet steep portions of the catchment. Short-term differences in stream concentrations were assumed to reflect ion exchange equilibria and rapid biological processes, whereas long-term persistent stream concentration differences in different areas of the catchment were assumed to reflect spatial variability in mineral weathering stoichiometry. Mineralogical analyses of rock samples from the watershed provided site-specific chemical compositions of major mineral species for reaction calculations. Reaction sets were evaluated by linear regression of calculated versus observed differences between snowmelt and stream-flow chemistry and by a combined measure. Initially, single weathering reactions were balanced and evaluated to determine the reactions that best explained observed stream chemical export. Next, reactions were combined, using mineral compositions from different rock types to estimate the dependence of ion fluxes on lithology. The seasonal variability of major solute calculated fluxes is low, approximately one order of magnitude, relative to the observed three orders of magnitude variability in basin discharge. Reaction sets using basin-averaged lithology and Aplite lithologies gave superior explanations of stream chemical composition. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Solar system: a shock for voyager 2.

The Voyager 2 spacecraft has now followed Voyager 1 into the region beyond the end of the supersonic solar wind, where the influence of interstellar space is growing — so opening a new age of exploration.
High-Pressure Processing of Orange Juice: Combination Treatments and a Shelf Life Study

Several process alternatives for the stabilization of fresh orange juice at pressures between 500 MPa and 800 MPa and temperatures between 25 and 50 C were evaluated. Processing at 800 MPa and 25 C for 1 min and use of thermally pasteurized pulp yielded the lowest level of residual pectinmethylesterase activity (3.9%) and good cloud stability at 4 and 37 C over a period of more than 2 mo. Ascorbic acid loss was less than 20% after storage for 3 mo at 4 C or 2 mo at 15 C. Color values were stable during storage at 4, 15, and 26 C.
Effective Hamiltonian for potassium dynamics in the β-pyrochlore superconductor KOs2O6

Based on ab initio energies and forces we construct an effective Hamiltonian for anharmonic dynamics of potassium cations in the /?-pyrochlore compound KOs 2 O 6 . We solve numerically the single-site problem which is characterized by an extremely flat potential well allowing for large excursions of K-ions, and illustrate graphically the K-ion wavefunctions in the four off-center (symmetry-breaking) sites. These large displacements from the ideal lattice site result in sizable K-K near-neighbor interactions through a screened Coulomb interaction. The matrix elements of the interaction in the basis of single-site eigenstates are calculated and discussed.
The scientific dimensions of social knowledge and their distant echoes in 20th-century American philosophy of science

Abstract The widespread impression that recent philosophy of science has pioneered exploration of the “social dimensions of scientific knowledge” is shown to be in error, partly due to a lack of appreciation of historical precedent, and partly due to a misunderstanding of how the social sciences and philosophy have been intertwined over the last century. This paper argues that the referents of “democracy” are an important key in the American context, and that orthodoxies in the philosophy of science tend to be molded by the actual regimes of science organization within which they are embedded. These theses are illustrated by consideration of three representative philosophers of science: John Dewey, Hans Reichenbach, and Philip Kitcher.
Real time hybrid simulation: from dynamic system, motion control to experimental error

SUMMARY Real-time hybrid simulation (RTHS) has increasingly been recognized as a powerful methodology to evaluate structural components and systems under realistic operating conditions. It is a cost effective approach compared with large scale shake table testing. Furthermore, it can maximally preserve rate dependency and nonlinear characteristics of physically tested (non)structural components. Although conceptually very attractive, challenges do exist that require comprehensive validation before RTHS should be employed to assess complicated physical phenomena. One of the most important issues that governs the stability and accuracy of an RTHS is the ability to achieve synchronization of boundary conditions between the computational and physical substructures. The objective of this study is to propose and validate an H∞ loop shaping design for actuator motion control in RTHS. Controller performance is evaluated in the laboratory using a worst-case substructure proportioning scheme. A modular, one-bay, one-story steel moment resisting frame specimen is tested experimentally. Its deformation is kept within the linear range for ready comparison with the reference closed-form solution. Both system analysis and experimental results show that the proposed H∞ strategy can significantly improve both the stability limit and test accuracy compared with several existing strategies. Another key feature of the proposed strategy is its robust performance in terms of unmodeled dynamics and uncertainties, which inevitably exist in any physical system. This feature is essential to enhance test quality for specimens with nonlinear dynamic behavior, thus ensuring the validity of the proposed approach for more complex RTHS implementations. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Multicast Using Static Trees

IP multicast has been known to have deployment difficulties. Among many contributing factors, the model per se is probably one of the most critical. Overlay multicast does not solve all the problems either. We therefore proposed a new multicast architecture named MUST, inspired by previous efforts. In essence, the architecture uses an overlay network to interconnect statically configured IP multicast trees to create the data paths for improvised multicast groups. While being incrementally deployed, it can evolve towards higher efficiency. In this paper, we described the model in detail, theoretically estimated its cost, and compared the cost with that of overlay multicast.
Natural Selection, Larval Dispersal, and the Geography of Phenotype in the Sea

Populations evolve generalist, specialist, and plastic strategies in response to environmental heterogeneity. Describing such within-species variation in phenotype and how it arises is central to understanding a variety of ecological and evolutionary topics. The literature on phenotypic differences among populations is highly biased; for every one article published on a marine species, at least 10 articles are published on a terrestrial species and eight focus on terrestrial plants. Here, I outline what we know from the marine literature about geographic variation in phenotype in the sea, with a principal focus on local adaptation. The theory of environmental "grain" predicts that the most likely evolutionary response (e.g., local adaptation, phenotypic plasticity, generalism, and balanced polymorphism) depends on the spatial scale of environmental variation relative to the distance that an organism disperses. Consistent with these predictions, phenotypic plasticity is stronger among invertebrates with geographically broad dispersal versus restricted dispersal (i.e., planktonic-dispersers versus direct-developers). However, contrary to predictions, the relative frequency, and spatial scale of local adaptation is not consistently greater among direct-developers relative to planktonic disperers. This indicates that the likelihood of local adaptation depends on other organismal or environmental traits. Two of the most vexing issues that remain include (1) predicting the extent to which barriers to dispersal are a cause versus consequence of phenotypic differentiation and (2) delineating the relative importance of evolutionary forces that favor or impede local adaptation. Understanding the mechanistic basis of the geography of phenotypic differences, or phenogeography, has gained recent momentum because of a need to predict impacts of global climatic change, anthropogenic disturbances, and dispersal of organisms to non-native habitats.
Routine Daily Chest Radiography in Patients with Pulmonary Artery Catheters

• BACKGROUND Pulmonary artery catheters are widely used invasive monitoring devices in critically ill patients. Clinicians disagree about whether daily chest radiographs are needed or clinical parameters alone are sufficient to verify catheter placement. • OBJECTIVES To determine whether daily chest radiographs are needed to assess migration of pulmonary artery catheters. • METHODS One hundred consecutive patients with pulmonary artery catheters were prospectively evaluated. Clinical criteria for optimal position of the pulmonary artery catheters and findings on chest radiographs were compared. Optimal clinical criteria were (1) amount of air required to measure pulmonary capillary wedge pressure: 1.25 to 1.5 mL and (2) pulmonary artery catheter migrated 1 cm or less from initial position. • RESULTS Three hundred ninety comparisons of clinical criteria and radiographic findings were done. Chest radiographs indicated the catheter required repositioning in 15 (4%) of 390 instances but in only 4 (1%) of 310 instances in which bedside clinical findings indicated adequate catheter position. In 69 (18%) of the 390 cases, the clinical criteria for adequate catheter position were not met, but radiographs showed the catheter in an appropriate position. The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of abnormal clinical criteria were 73%, 82%, 81%, 14%, and 99%, respectively. • CONCLUSIONS Chest radiographs indicated that about 4% of catheters required repositioning. Catheter malposition can be reliably excluded (negative predictive value, 99%) by close observation of specific clinical criteria, so routine daily chest radiographs do not seem justified. (American Journal of Critical Care. 2002;11:261-265)
Symplectic Numerical Integration of Hamiltonian Systems

In this paper I review several techniques to construct Symplectic Integration Algorithms. I also discuss algorithms for systems with other invariants such as Lie-Poisson structures reversible systems volume preserving flows. Numerical results are presented.
Educational Innovations in Portable Technologies

This chapter discusses trends and developments in portable computing and probe, and wireless networking technologies that can be used to support student scientific inquiry. Much of what is described here is technology developed and adapted to support the Science Learning in Context (SLiC) project, developed by the Concord Consortium.
An immunochemical approach to detect oxidized protein tyrosine phosphatases using a selective C-nucleophile tag

Protein tyrosine phosphatases are crucial regulators of signal transduction and function as antagonists towards protein tyrosine kinases to control reversible tyrosine phosphorylation, thereby regulating fundamental physiological processes. Growing evidence has supported the notion that reversible oxidative inactivation of the catalytic cysteine residue in protein tyrosine phosphatases serves as an oxidative post-translational modification that regulates its activity to influence downstream signaling by promoting phosphorylation and induction of the signaling cascade. The oxidation of cysteine to the sulfenic acid is often transient and difficult to detect, thus making it problematic in understanding the role that this oxidative post-translational modification plays in redox-biology and pathogenesis. Several methods to detect cysteine oxidation in biological systems have been developed, though targeted approaches to directly detect oxidized phosphatases are still lacking. Herein we describe the development of a novel immunochemical approach to directly profile oxidized phosphatases. This immunochemical approach consists of an antibody designed to recognize the conserved sequence of the PTP active site (VHCDMDSAG) harboring the catalytic cysteine modified with dimedone (CDMD), a nucleophile that chemoselectively reacts with cysteine sulfenic acids to form a stable thioether adduct. Additionally, we provide biochemical and mass spectrometry workflows to be used in conjugation with this newly developed immunochemical approach to assist in the identification and quantification of basal and oxidized phosphatases.
Evidence that Environmental Heterogeneity Maintains a Detoxifying Enzyme Polymorphism in Drosophila melanogaster

Environmental heterogeneity is thought to be an important process maintaining genetic variation in populations [1-4]: if alternative alleles are favored in different environments, a stable polymorphism can be maintained [1, 5, 6]. This situation has been hypothesized to occur in genes encoding multi-substrate enzymes [7], in which changes that increase activity with one substrate typically decrease activity with others [8-10], but examples of polymorphisms maintained by this mechanism are rare. Here, we present evidence that a polymorphism in an enzyme gene in Drosophila melanogaster is maintained by such a trade-off. The mitochondrially localized aldehyde dehydrogenase in D. melanogaster has two important functions: detoxifying acetaldehyde derived from dietary ethanol [11] and detoxifying larger aldehydes produced as byproducts of oxidative phosphorylation [12]. A derived variant of the enzyme, Leu479Phe, is present in moderate frequencies in most temperate populations but is rare in more ethanol-averse tropical populations. Using purified recombinant protein, we show that the Leu-Phe substitution increases turnover rate of acetaldehyde but decreases turnover rate of larger aldehydes. Furthermore, using transgenic fly lines, we show that the substitution increases lifetime fitness on medium supplemented with an ecologically relevant ethanol concentration but decreases fitness on medium lacking ethanol. The strong, opposing selection pressures, coupled with documented highly variable ethanol concentrations in breeding sites of temperate populations, implicate an essential role for environmental heterogeneity in maintaining the polymorphism.
Fear, Greed and Efficient Market- Evidence from News Sentiment Analytics

I analyze the relationship between natural gas prices and the news sentiment data obtained from the Thomson Reuters News Analytics system. I conduct studies on two different horizons: the daily basis study and the intraday basis study. For the daily study, our results show that any correlation we observed between the daily news sentiments and the daily returns of natural gas can be largely attributed to the news relevant to historical natural gas price movements, or “price-related news”. This discovery also emphasizes the failure of price-related news sentiment in predicting future natural gas returns, which in turn supports the weak form of the Efficient Market Hypothesis. For the intraday study, I label news items with high positive and negative sentiment scores as extreme positive news and extreme negative news. I then conduct event study to analyze the price-related extreme new items’ impact on natural gas prices. I found natural gas has two different types of price movement in reaction to price-related extreme negative news. I also show that these two types of abnormal return can serve as a signal for the investors’ sentiment. I made a connection between these investors’ sentiment signals and the S&P 500 index to show that these signals can be used to predict long term S&P 500 returns. The capability of these signals to predict the future S&P 500 index and the fact that the signals are derived solely from past price reactions and past price-related news items suggests that the current natural gas prices and equity market prices do not fully reflect all the information related to historical prices.
A Self-Learning Model for Cylinder Wakes Using Neural Networks

Coupled map lattice models (CML) that combine a series of low-dimensional circle maps with a diffusion model have predicted qualitative features of the wake behind vibrating flexible cables. However, there are always unmodelled dynamics if a quantitative comparison is made with wake patterns obtained from laboratory or simulated wake flows. To overcome this limitation, self-learning features can be incorporated into the simple CML model to capture the unmodelled dynamics. The self-learning CML uses radial basis function neural networks as online approximators of the unmodelled dynamics. The neural network weights are adaptively varied using a combination of a multivariable least squares algorithm and a projection algorithm. The adaptive estimation scheme, derived from a new convective diffusive CML, seeks to precisely estimate the neural network weights at each timestep by mimimizing the error between the simulated and measured wake patterns. Studies of this approach are conducted using wake patterns from spectral element based NEKTAR simulations of freely vibrating cable wakes at Re = 100. It is shown that the neural network based self-learning CML precisely estimates the simulated wake patterns within several shedding cycles. The self-learning CML is also shown to be computationally efficient.© 2002 ASME
On Defining Onset of Experimental Phases in Verbal Conditioning

S~mmnaary.-It is su~gested that instead of E arbitrarily predefining the onset of the various experimental phases in verbal conditioning, as has customarily been the case, these should rather be defined in terms of the events which effectively delineate the transition from one phase to the next. Thus the reinforced period should start following the first reinforcement, and the extinction period following the first non-reinforcement. The operant period should start following the initial correct response. The number of trials on which the analysis is based remains constant for all Ss. The procedure suggested is seen as providing a more valid index of conditioning than is obtained when the experimental phases are arbitrarily predefined. It has been customary in verbal operant condirioning (VOC) to predefine arbitrarily the onset and duration of the different experimental phases. Typically, the operant period consists of a predetermined number of unreinforced trials, following which the reinforced or conditioning period is said to begin, whether or not the response on the first "reinforced" trial is in fact correct and reinforced. This procedure is not entirely satisfactory, for it is apparent that in terms of the dynamics of the situation facing S, there is no change between the "reinforced" period and the preceding operant period until the occurrence of the first reinforcement. This point has received little attention, yet it seems inappropriate to speak OF condirioning until the transition from no reinforcement to reinforcement has occurred. It would rhus be desirable to develop a resting procedure which will take this factor into consideracon. A correction has been suggested by Matarazzo, Saslow and Pareis (1960, p. 197) whereby the conditioning percentage score is based essentially on the number of trials subsequent to initial reinforcement, but this procedure may be misleading if the first reinforced .-esponse occurs late in the conditioning period, and it also involves different bases of calculation for Ss, which may make the results difficult to interpret.
Preliminary Development of a High-Speed 3-D Laser Induced Fluorescence Technique

A 3-D density measurement technique is being developed based on the laser induced fluorescence (LIF) of acetone vapor seeded into the flow field. High speed 3-D imaging of the acetone fluorescence can be achieved using a MHz rate pulse burst laser system, a galvanometric scanning mirror and a high-speed camera, which allow for acquisition of 3-D data in tens of microseconds. This system has been demonstrated for flow visualization and is currently being adapted for 3-D LIF of acetone. One requirement for this technique is significant enhancement of the energy output of the pulse burst laser and fourth harmonic conversion to 266 nm. The modification of the pulse burst laser system through the addition of two more amplifier stages and a fourth harmonic generator is described. Preliminary results show the capability to produce individual pulses 15 nsec in duration with energy in excess of 100 mJ/pulse at 1064 nm. The measurements were taken at reduced power setting with an overall system gain of 2 x 10 8 ; higher pulse energies are anticipated in the future. Second harmonic output (532 nm) was achieved using a Type II KTP crystal with conversion efficiency near 50%. Fourth harmonic output (266 nm) was achieved by frequency doubling the 532 nm light with either a Type I KDP (10% efficiency) or Type I BBO (<1 % efficiency) crystal. Significantly higher conversion efficiencies are expected in the future with better alignment and conditioning of the laser beam prior to entering the crystal, particularly in the case of BBO, which has a small angular bandwidth, but relatively large non-linear coefficient.