cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Absorption characteristics of a Stoneley wave in multilayered media and the logging method for estimating permeability

Abstract The aim of the study is to increase the reliability of estimation of the acoustic parameters of a layered permeable formation using new software, based on two-velocity continuum equations for 2D numerical simulation of acoustic waves propagating in a borehole. The key method is the method of finite differences as applied to solving equations of the continuum filtration theory. The dissipative characteristics of Stoneley waves have been identified for the case of their propagation in a layered formation. These aspects should be taken into account when using Stoneley waves to estimate the permeability of geologic media.
Characteristics and Transport of a Proton Beam Generated in a Linear Induction Accelerator

A seven Ohm Blumlein has been used to generate a proton beam in an induction linac using a single magnetically insulated accelerating gap. The proton beam generated has an energy of up to 1.3 MeV at 4.0 kA and a pulse duration of 50 nsec. In this paper we report measurements of the beam characteristics and beam transport. Lack of complete neutralization was apparent and a modified system which relies on collective focusing of the ion beam by an electron cloud in an axial magnetic field has been developed. First results obtained using the collective focusing show evidence of improved transport over, at least, short distances. Further measurements are needed to confirm the adequacy of the present system for transport over the scale lengths needed for a multi-gap accelerator.
Racial differences in speeding patterns: Exploring the differential offending hypothesis

Abstract Purpose Disproportionate minority contact during traffic stops has been a consistent source of commentary and study in recent years. While various theoretical perspectives have been employed to explain these empirical findings, the differential offending hypotheses has been largely ignored as a viable alternative explanation. Building on existing empirical evidence regarding criminal offending patterns and driving patterns, we examined the veracity of this explanation using data from an observational study of urban driving behavior. Methods Data were collected using an observational methodology in an urban environment. These data were then used to estimate various regression models and test the differential offending hypothesis. Results Analytic models indicated that Black drivers speed more frequently and engage in more severe speeding compared to White drivers, net of controls. Conclusions The findings suggest that citizen risk for specific police behavior is partially attributable to differential behavior prior to the encounter. These results mirror the findings of previous research in other geographic locations using different methodologies; thus, contributing to the conclusion that understanding officer decision-making and behavior requires consideration of other factors beyond a citizen's race.
Methods to Determine Partition Coefficient of Organic Compounds in Water/Polystyrene Systems

Three experimental techniques were employed to determine the partition coefficient (K) of toluene, d-limonene, and ethyl acetate between water and polystyrene. These techniques were gas chromatography, (GC) gel permeation chromatography (a novel approach), and a dynamic thermal stripping-thermal desorption procedure. Comparative results of K values, range of applicability and the limitations of each technique were determined. GC was very suitable for systems showing high K values, while gel permeation chromatography was excellent for direct measurement of sorbed compounds. Statistical analysis of results and kinetics of the sorption process were included. Values of K were 800 for toluene, 5100 for d-limonene and 1.9 for ethyl acetate.
Tandem isotachophoresis-zone electrophoresis via base-mediated destacking for increased detection sensitivity in microfluidic systems.

Electrophoresis in microfluidic devices is becoming a useful analytical platform for a variety of biological assays. In this report, we present a method that allows for an increased sensitivity of detection of fluorescent molecules in microfluidic electrophoresis devices. This capability is provided by the implementation of a particular buffer system that is designed to initially function in an isotachophoretic (ITP) mode and, then after a controlled amount of electric current has been applied to the system, to transition to a zone electrophoretic mode. In the initial ITP mode, analytes dissolved in a large volume of injected sample are concentrated into a single narrow zone. After application of a sufficient and adjustable amount of electric current, the system switches into a zone electrophoretic mode, where the concentrated analytes are separated according to their electrophoretic mobilities. Application of this tandem ITP-zone electrophoretic strategy to the concentration, separation, and detection of...
RelA life and death decisions.

Abstract RelA is generally regarded as an activator of prosurvival gene transcription. However, in this issue of Molecular Cell , Campbell et al. (2004) demonstrate that anticancer drugs turn RelA into an accomplice of apoptosis by instructing it to dominantly repress survival gene transcription.
High-Resolution Low-Light-Level Video Systems For Diagnostic Radiology

A high-resolution low-light-level (LLL) video system for use in diagnostic radiology is described. Experimental data are presented that clearly reveal the need for a single-stage LLL intensifier.© (1976) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Primary bacterial peritonitis in otherwise healthy children: imaging findings

We report the imaging findings of two recent cases of primary bacterial peritonitis in otherwise healthy children with a clinical presentation mimicking acute appendicitis. Primary bacterial peritonitis is rare in the absence of underlying systemic disease. Although it has been described in the pediatric literature, the imaging findings have not been described in the radiological literature to the best of our knowledge. With imaging playing an increasing role in the evaluation of appendicitis in children, it is important for the radiologist to be familiar with this inflammatory process.
Effects of ursodiol or ibuprofen on contraction of gallbladder and bile among obese patients during weight loss

Rapid loss of weight in obese patients is associated with increased saturation of bile with cholesterol, increased nucleation and growth of cholesterol crystals, and gallstones. The aims of this study were to determine the effects of rapid weight loss on contraction of the gallbladder and to evaluate the effects of ursodiol and ibuprofen on saturation, nucleation and growth, and contraction. Forty-seven obese patients entering a very low calorie dietary program were randomized to receive ursodiol, 1200 mg/day, ibuprofen, 1600 mg/day, or placebo for 12 weeks. Contraction of the gallbladder to a liquid meal was evaluated by ultrasonography, and duodenal bile was collected initially and after six and 12 weeks. Diet caused reduced contraction of the gallbladder, increased cholesterol saturation, and increased nucleation and growth of crystals. Ursodiol reduced saturation and prevented increases in nucleation and growth and contraction. Ibuprofen prevented the increase in saturation and the reduction in contraction with a trend opposing the increase in nucleation and growth. In conclusion, during dieting, contractility of the gallbladder to meals is reduced. The effectiveness of ursodiol in preventing gallstones may be explained partially by effects on contraction. Ibuprofen deserves further study because of its effects on saturation, nucleation and growth, and contraction.
Results of computed tomography in “neurologically normal” children after initial onset of seizures

Abstract A combined retrospective and prospective study assessed the results of computed tomographic (CT) scans in infants and children without neurologic deficit who presented with initial onset of seizures. Of 101 pediatric patients, 81 had afebrile seizures and 20 had complicated febrile seizures (i.e., focal, multiple, or prolonged). Seven children (7%), 6 with afebrile and 1 with a febrile seizure, had CT abnormalities. Four patients (4%) required further diagnostic workup including angiography and/or surgery. Children with afebrile focal seizures were more likely to have an abnormality than those with afebrile generalized seizures without focal components (13% and 4.9%, respectively). This study demonstrated a lower percentage of overall CT abnormalities, yet a similar percentage of "therapeutically important" abnormalities, in neurologically normal children with new onset of seizures when compared to previous reports of children with chronic seizures. Although an abnormal CT was more likely to be associated with an abnormal electroencephalogram, a normal result did not eliminate the possibility of an abnormal CT.
COST OF GLANDULAR TRICHOMES, A "RESISTANCE" CHARACTER IN DATURA WRIGHTII REGEL (SOLANACEAE)

Models regarding the evolution of plant resistance to herbivory often assume that the primary mechanism maintaining resistance polymorphisms is the balance between benefits of increased resistance to herbivores and costs associated with the production of a resistance character. However, rarely has it been demonstrated that genetically based resistance traits are costly. Here, we document costs associated with the production of glandular trichomes, a resistance character in Datura wrightii that is predominantly under the control of a single gene of large effect. In the absence of herbivores, plants with glandular trichomes (sticky) produced 45% fewer viable seeds than plants with nonglandular trichomes (velvety). Although both plant types flowered with similar frequency, sticky plants matured fewer capsules and fewer of their seeds germinated. The fitness difference between the types in herbivore-free conditions was not mitigated by the addition of water, a potentially limiting resource for sticky plants. Under herbivore pressure, there was no significant fitness difference between the types, although the fitness of velvety plants was still higher than that of sticky plants. This occurred even though velvety plants sustained more herbivore damage than sticky plants and were more likely to be attacked by most herbivore species present. The fitness difference between the plant types was especially reduced when herbivore-attacked plants were watered, which indicates that sticky plants may have higher tolerance for damage than velvety plants when supplied with a potentially limiting resource. Yet, the maintenance of a fitness deficit (albeit small and nonsignificant) for sticky plants when attacked by herbivores indicates no net benefit associated with the production of glandular trichomes in this first year of our study. These results add to our current understanding that herbivore resistance characters can be costly and raise the question of how this genetic polymorphism is maintained in wild populations.
Online Personal Branding: Processes, Challenges, and Implications

Abstract This research examines how people manage online personal brands in a Web 2.0 context. Using a novel mixed-method approach and consenting participants, the authors generated digital brand audits of 12 people and asked undergraduate students and a human resources professional to judge their profiles (made anonymous), both qualitatively and quantitatively. After comparing these evaluations with participants' own judgments of their online profiles, the authors conducted long interviews to understand how people manage online profiles and feel about others' judgment of the content they post. According to these results, people engage in personal branding, though their efforts are often misdirected or insufficient. They consider personal online branding challenging, especially, during life changes or when managing multiple audiences.
Political Susta inability in Space Exploration: A Game Theoretic Approach

The swiftly changing nature of the policy environment introduces significan t uncertainty into the design of those technical systems that rely on public resources. Politics, the process through which stakeholders possessing different values and interests interact, necessarily impacts technical design as requirements change to suit different needs. Simple game - theoretic models may be used to provide insights into resource allocation dynamics between NASA and the U.S. Congress. This paper utilizes game theory, with a particular emphasis on Brams' Theory of Moves , to model the process by which stakeholders within NASA and the U.S. Congress may cooperate or compete to arrive at an affordable and politically sustainable funding level on a yearly basis. In doing so, this paper advances a game -theoretic definiti on of political sustainabili ty.
Peirce's place in American life

Abstract This article takes the idea of “place” both literally and figuratively in describing Peirce's life as he grew up in Cambridge, Massachusetts, studied at Harvard University, taught briefly at Johns Hopkins, and then worked for the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, for which he traveled to Europe and across much of North America. He spent long periods of time in New Yorl City as writer, reviewer, and consultant, while living at Arisbie, the country home to which he retired in 1887 near Milford, Pennsylvania. Summary accounts are provided of Peirce's varied interests and his numerous scientific and philosophical projects, as well as brief descriptions of the Peirce family, his two wives, and many friends. A number of the most important personalities and scientific figures with whom he came in contact are also mentioned.
Suppression of copper thin film loss during graphene synthesis

Thin metal films can be used to catalyze the growth of nanomaterials in place of the bulk metal, while greatly reducing the amount of material used. A big drawback of copper thin films (0.5–1.5 μm thick) is that, under high temperature/vacuum synthesis, the mass loss of films severely reduces the process time due to discontinuities in the metal film, thereby limiting the time scale for controlling metal grain and film growth. In this work, we have developed a facile method, namely “covered growth” to extend the time copper thin films can be exposed to high temperature/vacuum environment for graphene synthesis. The key to preventing severe mass loss of copper film during the high temperature chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process is to have a cover piece on top of the growth substrate. This new “covered growth” method enables the high-temperature annealing of the copper film upward of 4 h with minimal mass loss, while increasing copper film grain and graphene domain size. Graphene was then successfully gr...
Urinary C-peptide: a simple measure of integrated insulin production with emphasis on the effects of body size, diet, and corticosteroids.

C-Peptide is secreted from the β-cell in equimolar quantities with insulin. Since a fraction of C-peptide is excreted in the urine, measurement of C-peptide in timed urine collections is a simple indirect measure of integrated insulin production. Normal subjects were studied to determine the effects of diet and oral prednisone on urinary C-peptide excretion. In subjects on a defined diet, there is a positive correlation of urinary Cpeptide with body weight. When insulin production is increased after oral prednisone, there is also a positive correlation with body mass index and percent ideal body weight. Prednisone increases plasma glucose, immunoreactive insulin, and serum and urinary C-peptide levels beginning 8–12 h after oral administration. This effect of prednisone is most marked in the postprandial state. Diets high in carbohydrate and protein result in significantly more insulin production, as measured by urinary Cpeptide, than isocaloric diets with low protein or carbohydrate composition.
Mitigation of loss within a molecular Stark decelerator

The transverse motion inside a Stark decelerator plays a large role in the total efficiency of deceleration. We differentiate between two separate regimes of molecule loss during the slowing process. The first mechanism involves distributed loss due to coupling of transverse and longitudinal motion, while the second is a result of the rapid decrease of the molecular velocity within the final few stages. In this work, we describe these effects and present means for overcoming them. Solutions based on modified switching time sequences with the existing decelerator geometry lead to a large gain of stable molecules in the intermediate velocity regime, but fail to address the loss at very low final velocities. We propose a new decelerator design, the quadrupole-guiding decelerator, which eliminates distributed loss due to transverse/longitudinal couplings throughout the slowing process and also exhibits gain over normal deceleration to the lowest velocities.
Dentifrice Use Among Preschool Children

Ingestion of fluoridated dentifrice by young children may be a major contributing factor to dental fluorosis, prevalent in the United States. Brushing habits of a small group of preschoolers were monitored to document parental involvement and amounts of dentifrice used.
Evaluation of a new approach for speech enhancement algorithms in hearing aids

Several studies on hearing impaired people who use hearing aid reveal that speech enhancement algorithms implemented in hearing aids improve listening comfort. However, these algorithms do not improve speech intelligibility too much and in many cases they decrease the speech intelligibility, both in hearing-impaired and in normally hearing people. In fact, current approaches for development of the speech enhancement algorithms (e.g. minimum mean square error (MMSE)) are not optimal for intelligibility improvement. Some recent studies investigated the effect of different distortions on the enhanced speech and realized that by controlling the amplification distortion, the intelligibility improves dramatically. In this paper, we examined, subjectively and objectively, the effects of amplification distortion on the speech enhanced by two algorithms in three background noises at different SNR levels.
A hand surgeon’s guide to common onychodystrophies

The human fingernail contributes to the precise dexterity of the fingers, enhances sensibility, allows manipulation of fine objects, and shields the fingertip from traumatic injury. Nail abnormalities are a common incidental finding in the course of a hand surgeon’s daily practice. These abnormalities may be clues to systemic, dermatologic, traumatic, and infectious processes that would benefit from further evaluation and treatment. The purpose of this review is to discuss common nail dystrophies and their related diagnoses.
Pleistocene Periglacial Eolian Deposits in Southwestern Alaska: Sedimentary Facies and Depositional Processes

ABSTRACT Pleistocene periglacial eolian sediments are widespread in the Nushagak, Holitna, and Upper Kuskokwim lowlands of southwestern Alaska. These sediments comprise mainly sand-sheet deposits and sand-loess intergrades, with subordinate sand-dune deposits and loess. Sand-sheet deposits range from 1) sharply defined, parallel, low-angle laminae formed by migrating wind ripples to 2) irregular subhorizontal strata which reflect migration of poorly segregated wind ripples, accumulation on a sparsely vegetated surface, adhesion on a quasi-planar bed, and/or niveo-eolian deposition. Sand-loess intergrades represent alternating bed-load and suspension deposition related mainly to the stochastic and seasonal variability of former wind systems. The dominance of sand-sheet deposits over deposits of well-formed dunes in the Pleistocene eolian record of southwestern Alaska reflects the limited availability of loose, dry sand in this former periglacial environment. Immobilization of sand after deposition as low-relief sheets resulted from a seasonally variable combination of ice cementation, sparse vegetation, high water tables, and snow cover.
Blockage of pyrogen induced fever by intrahypothalamic injections of salicylate in the rat

Abstract Changes in body temperature following intraperitoneal injections of Pseudomonas polysaccharide (Piromen) were measured in rats. Fever consistently occurred with higher doses (45–90 μg/kg). Indwelling cannulae were implanted in either the anterior or posterior hypothalamus. Microinjection of 5 μg of salicylate into the anterior hypothalamus blocked pyrogen-induced fever; whereas salicylate injected into the posterior hypothalamus did not. In the control, salicylate did not affect the body temperature of afebrile rats. These results support a central nervous system mechanism of the antipyretic action of salicylate, probably involving the anterior hypothalamic neurohumours.
Evaluation of high-resolution MRI for preoperative screening for cochlear implantation

The success of a cochlear implant is dependent on a functioning auditory nerve. An accurate noninvasive method for screening cochlear implant patients to help determine viability of the auditory nerve would allow physicians to better predict the success of the operation. In this study we measured the size of the auditory nerve relative to the size of the juxtaposed facial nerve and correlated these measurements with audiologic test results. The study involved 15 patients, and three normal volunteers. Noninvasive high-resolution bilateral MRI images were acquired from both 1.5T and 3T scanners. The images were reformatted to obtain an anatomically referenced oblique plane perpendicular to the auditory nerve. The cross- sectional areas of the auditory and facial nerves were determined in this plane. Assessment of the data is encouraging. The ratios of auditory to facial nerve size in the control subjects are close to the expected value of 1.0. Patient data ratios range from 0.73 to 1.3, with numbers significantly less than 1.0 suggesting auditory nerve atrophy. The acoustic nerve area correlated to audiologic test findings, particularly (R2equals0.68) to the count of words understood from a list of 100 words. These preliminary analyses suggest that a threshold of size may be determined to differentiate functional from nonfunctional auditory nerves.© (2002) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Magnetic silicon carbide nanotubes by 3d transition metal atom functionalization

Abstract Interaction of 3d transition metal atoms with ( 3 , 3 ) , ( 5 , 5 ) , ( 7 , 7 ) , and ( 9 , 9 ) SiC nanotubes has been studied using hybrid density functional PBE0 and an all electron basis set 6 - 31 G ⁎ ⁎ . The interaction energy between transition metal and silicon carbide nanotubes depends both on the number of d-electrons and on the curvature of the nanotubes, with this energy, in general, increasing with increase in curvature. Except for the nanotubes functionalized by Ni and Zn, all 3d transition metal-functionalized nanotubes indicate magnetic ground states. The silicon carbide nanotubes doped with transition metals have significantly lower band gaps, in general, than those of bare nanotubes.
Submolecular cooperativity produces multi-state protein unfolding and refolding.

Hydrogen exchange experiments show that cytochrome c and other proteins under native conditions reversibly unfold in a multi-step manner. The step from one intermediate to the next is determined by the intrinsically cooperative nature of secondary structural elements, which is retained in the native protein. Folding uses the same pathway in the reverse direction, moving from the unfolded to the native state through relatively discrete intermediate forms by the sequential addition of native-like secondary structural units.
Gm1-gangliosidosis type I: In utero detection and fetal manifestations

The prevention of fatal inherited diseases is facilitated by the availability of reliable methodologies for effective fetal monitoring in high-risk families. In a family whose first child died of Gm 1 -gangliosidosis (type I), two subsequent pregnancies have been monitored. The first monitored pregnancy resulted in a phenotypically normal infant, and the second was aborted at 21 weeks' gestation on the basis of cultured amniotic fluid cell studies. The prenatal diagnosis was confirmed in the saline-aborted fetus utilizing pathologic, chemical, and biochemical criteria. This study describes the first antenatal detection of Gm 1 -gangliosidosis (type I) and establishes the adequacy of saline-aborted fetal materials for corroborative studies. The identification of membranous cytoplasmic bodies in fetal spinal cord neurons indicates that pathologic alterations are manifest by 20 weeks' gestation and implies that if therapeutic methodologies can be developed, such treatment might need to be initiated in the antenatal period.
Acute systemic administration of interleukin-10 suppresses the beneficial effects of moderate hypothermia following traumatic brain injury in rats.

Traumatic injury to the central nervous system initiates inflammatory processes such as the synthesis of proinflammatory mediators that contribute to secondary tissue damage. Hence, administration of anti-inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin-10 (IL-10) may be neuroprotective. Moderate hypothermia (30–32 °C) also decreases the pro-inflammatory response to traumatic brain injury (TBI). Thus, we hypothesized that the combination of IL-10 and hypothermia would provide synergistic neuroprotective effects after TBI. To test this hypothesis, fifty isoflurane-anesthetized rats underwent a controlled cortical impact (2.7 mm tissue deformation at 4 m/s) or sham injury and then were randomly assigned to one of five conditions (TBI/VEH Normothermia (37 °C), TBI/VEH Hypothermia (32 °C for 3 h), TBI/IL-10 Normothermia, TBI/IL-10 Hypothermia, and Sham/VEH Normothermia). Human IL-10 (5 μg) or VEH was administered (i.p.) 30 min after surgery. Function was assessed by established motor and cognitive tests on post-operative days 1–5 and 14–18, respectively. Cortical lesion volume and hippocampal CA1/CA3 cell survival were quantified at 4 weeks. Brain sections from 15 additional rats were immunohistochemically assessed (MoAB RP-3) to determine neutrophil accumulation at 5 h after TBI. The administration of IL-10 after TBI produced an ∼75% reduction in the number of RP-3-positive cells in both the normothermic and hypothermic groups vs. the normothermic vehicle-treated group (P<0.05), but did not improve functional outcome. In contrast, hypothermia alone enhanced both motor and cognitive function and increased CA3 neuronal survival after TBI. Contrary to our hypothesis, systemic administration of IL-10 combined with hypothermia did not provide synergistic neuroprotective effects after TBI. Rather, IL-10 administration suppressed the beneficial effects produced by hypothermia alone after TBI. The mechanism(s) for the negative effects of IL-10 combined with hypothermia after TBI remain to be determined.
Bicistronic and Two-Gene Retroviral Vectors for UsingMDR1 as a Selectable Marker and a Therapeutic Gene

Abstract We describe a series of two-gene and bicistronic retroviral vectors that use the humanMDR1 gene as a selectable marker for the overexpression of a second heterologous gene in transduced cells. The vectors use Harvey murine sarcoma virus sequences for viral expression and packaging functions and include sites for cloning foreign genes of interest under the control of either an internal promoter (two-gene vectors) or an internal ribosome entry site (bicistronic vectors). To characterize these vectors, we usedneoas a reporter gene for foreign gene expression and as an independently selectable marker for comparison withMDR1. Each of the vector constructions supported high-titer retrovirus production and transduction of mouse and human cell lines. UsingMDR1–neovirus supernatants in parallel titering assays, we found that titers based on colchicine resistance were 10- to 20-fold lower than titers based on G418 resistance, suggesting thatMDR1 is a more stringent selectable marker thanneoin NIH 3T3 and KB-3-1 cell lines. Whereasneogene expression with the two-gene vectors was subject to host-specific limitations on internal promoter activity, the bicistronic vectors were highly active in three cell lines tested. In K562 cells, using the bicistronic vector, selection with colchicine led to at least 20-fold higher expression of theMDR1 gene product than did selection with G418, suggesting that the stringentMDR1 selection system is very efficient for obtaining overexpression of foreign genes. Retroviral vectors carryingMDR1 as a selectable marker plus a second, heterologous gene of interest could have widespread utility forin vitroandin vivoapplications of gene transfer technology, including gene therapy.
Modeling sensitivity of 3D, 9-C wide azimuth data to changes in fluid content and crack density in cracked reservoirs

The volume density of cracks and the fluids contained in them are salient aspects of characterization of cracked reservoirs. Thus, it is of practical importance to investigate whether variations in these reservoir properties are detectable in seismic observations. Eighth-order staggered-grid, 3D finite-difference simulations generate nine-component amplitude variations with offset and azimuth (AVOAZ) for reflections from the top of a vertically cracked zone embedded in an isotropic host. The T-matrix method is used to calculate elastic stiffness tensors. Responses for various crack densities and fluid contents show sensitivity to the spatial orientation of, and variation in, anisotropy. In isotropic media, when source and receiver components have the same orientation (such as XX and YY), reflection amplitude contours align approximately perpendicular to the particle motion. Mixed components (such as XY and YX) have amplitude patterns thatare symmetrical pairs of the same, or opposite, polarity on either s...
Open standards in electronic governance: promises and pitfalls

In this paper, we describe an E-policy tutorial focusing on open standards. The tutorial considers several issues related to open standards including the development process for an open standard, benefits of open standards, government policies on open standards, and interoperability among different implementations of an open standard.
Quality-of-Service-Aware Scheduling in Heterogeneous Data centers with Paragon

Large-scale datacenters host tens of thousands of diverse applications each day. However, performance is degraded by interference between colocated workloads and the difficulty of matching applications to one of the many hardware platforms available, violating the quality of service (QoS) guarantees that many cloud workloads require. Thus, the authors present Paragon, an online and scalable datacenter scheduler that is aware of heterogeneity and interference. Paragon is derived from robust analytical methods. Instead of profiling each application in detail, it leverages information the system already has about applications it has previously seen. It uses collaborative filtering techniques to quickly and accurately classify an unknown, incoming workload with respect to heterogeneity and interference by identifying similarities to previously scheduled applications. The classification allows Paragon to greedily schedule applications in a manner that minimizes interference and maximizes server utilization. Paragon scales to tens of thousands of servers with marginal scheduling overheads. The authors evaluated Paragon with many workload scenarios, on both small and large-scale systems, including 1,000 servers on Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2). For a 2,500-workload scenario, Paragon preserves performance constraints for 91 percent of applications, while significantly improving utilization. In comparison, a baseline least-loaded scheduler only provides similar guarantees for 3 percent of workloads. The differences are more striking during high load when resource efficiency is more critical.
Runaway reaction due to gas-dynamic choking in solid explosive containing a single crack

Abstract This work predicts the critical conditions required for the onset of reaction runaway in a narrow high-explosive slot intended to simulate a crack. A model is developed where slot pressurization is attributed to gas-dynamic choking at the slot exit. The combination of the choking and a pressure-dependent reaction rate is shown to be capable of predicting runaway reaction for a range of slot dimensions and pressures, even when the explosive regression is considered. This model agrees with experimental pressure measurements of reaction runaway in slots and provides a mechanism for the erratic burning observed with some explosives under high pressure.
Compensatory social responses of older pigtailed monkeys to maternal separation

Thirteen 3- to 5-year-old pigtailed monkeys were subjected to five 2-hr maternal separations while remaining in their normal social group. Significant changes in avctivity profiles were noted during separation and reunion phases. This suggests the continued social dependence of older offspring upon the matriarch. The shift in social activities reflected attempts by the juvenile and adolescent subjects to compensate for maternal absence by intensification of other affiliative social behavior and avoidannce of potentially socially disruptive situation. The subjects oriented more towards kin in the absence of the matriarch, but actual time with kin decreased. Upon the return of the matriarch, they intensified some responses depressed during her absence and returned to preseparation social relationships. Play and aggressive responses declined whereas social approaches increased during maternal absences. Submissive responses declined upon the return of the matriarch, and play increased. The subjects also showed a marked, temporary increase of direct interaction, largely sniffing and grooming, with the matriarch upon her return.
The Communicative Intention Inventory: A system for observing and coding children's early intentional communication

The Communicative Intention Inventory, an observational system for describing children's early gestural, vocal, and verbal communicative behaviors, is presented in this paper. The Inventory is comprised of eight intentional categories which are included because of their content and construct validity, their likelihood of occurrence in a clinical setting, and their high observerscorer reliability. The rank order of frequency of occurrence of the eight intentional categories is compared across 16 subjects resulting in a reliability coefficient of .66. The value of using the Inventory as a criterion-referenced measure of communicative intentions is explored.
Conversion between DCT coefficients of blocks and their sub-blocks

In this paper, we present a fast algorithm for bi-directional conversion between discrete cosine transform (DCT) coefficients of a signal block and its sub-blocks. Specifically, we show that a DCT of a block of size N x N can be efficiently obtained from the N/2 x N/2 DCT coefficients of its sub-blocks, and vice versa. The algorithms are obtained by formulating each unidirectional conversion as a relatively simple combination of N/2 x N/2 DCT calculations. For typical DCT block sizes our algorithms result in a 20% savings in multiplications over the fastest existing methods. Simulation results also suggest high accuracy using the proposed conversion scheme.
Electron Density Modeling of a Streamer Using LASCO Data of 2004 January and February

We present a three-dimensional reconstruction of the electron density of a streamer using a newly developed forward modeling technique. The streamer was observed by SOHO LASCO continuously at the end of 2004 January, but for this study we consider two dates, about 7 days apart. On the first day the streamer was seen "edge-on," in which the coronal neutral line was perpendicular to the solar limb and the overlying streamer was quite narrow. The second occurred 7 days later, when the streamer had rotated over the solar pole, and the streamer was now seen "face-on." At this time the neutral line was parallel to the polar limb. Using electron density inversion techniques, we have determined the density profiles characterizing the length and thickness of the streamer. Those density profiles were used to refine a three-dimensional model of the streamer belt, approximated by a Gaussian slab. We find good agreement of the radial profile with previous streamer models, but we find that the electron density can vary by 1 order of magnitude within the streamer structure.
DEEP Insights through the DEP Domain

In this issue, Yu et al. (2010) provide a crystal structure for the bipartite interface between the μ2 subunit of the adaptor protein AP-2 complex and Dishevelled, a key component for Wnt signaling.
Transumbilical single‐port laparoscopic partial nephrectomy

OBJECTIVE To present the initial experience with laparoscopic partial nephrectomy (LPN) performed through a transumbilical single port. PATIENTS AND METHODS Between November 2007 and April 2008, five selected patients underwent single-port LPN (SPLPN) for renal tumours. All procedures were performed through a single intraumbilical multichannel laparoscopic port. A 2-mm grasper was inserted through a 2-mm Veres needle-port in the anterior axillary line to aid in tissue retraction and sutured renal reconstruction. The technique of standard multiport LPN was replicated, with the renal hilum clamped. RESULTS SPLPN was successfully completed in four patients, while an additional 5-mm port was required in one patient. The median (range) tumour size was 3 (1–5.9) cm. The median (range) operating time was 270 (240–345) min and the estimated blood loss was 150 (100–600) mL. The median (range) warm ischaemia time was 20 (11–29) min. The median (range) length of the umbilical incision was 2.5 (2.5–4) cm. The median (range) hospital stay was 3(3–22) days. There were no intraoperative complications. All surgical margins were negative for tumour. There were no postoperative complications in four patients. One patient had postoperative bleeding and pulmonary embolism. CONCLUSIONS SPLPN is technically feasible, albeit more challenging than conventional LPN. Proper case selection is essential. Advances in single-port specific instrumentation are needed before these procedures can become a part of mainstream urological laparoscopy.
The effect of teaching hospital status versus volume on in-hospital outcomes in adrenalectomy patients

METHODS: A retrospective study of adrenalectomy patients was performed using 5 years of National Inpatient Sample file (19992003). We included patients with ICD-9 procedure codes for partial, unilateral and bilateral adrenalectomy. Outcome variables included in-hospital mortality, length of stay (LOS), and transfusion requirement. Major independent variables were teaching status of the hospital and caseload. Other independent variables included age, gender, and disease severity as measured by Charlson index.
Marketing Scholarship, Intellectual Leadership, and the Zeitgeist

Wilkie and Moore (2003) render a valuable service to scholars and practitioners by tracing the pattern and influences on "thought development" in the field of marketing over the past century. However, in my view, the narrative does not give the reader sufficient insight into the personal forces that shaped the careers of the scholars who created the base of knowledge that Wilkie and Moore extensively cite. In this brief note, I describe some of the forces in Era III that have shaped my own career and, I am confident, the careers of many others who have contributed to the understanding of marketing's social role. I also briefly introduce a distinction between two kinds of leadership and take issue with a key premise of the framework that Wilkie and Moore (2003) use in their overview. I conclude with an alternative view of the broad topic and recommendations for future investigations.
Gradient microbore liquid chromatography with dual-wavelength absorbance detection: tunable analyzers for remote chemical monitoring

On-column sampling, preconcentration and gradient separation using microbore liquid chromatography ((mu) LC) will be described. Both thermal gradient (TG) and transient mobile phase gradient (TMPG) elution methods have been developed and evaluated. A previously developed dual- wavelength absorbance detector is incorporated in the analyzer, thus providing real-time correction for adverse refractive index (RI) effects that normally hinder remote single fiber optic absorbance measurements. An absorbance detection limit of 3 X 10-4 AU is routinely achieved and chromatographic baseline conditions remain stable even during very steep gradients, in which the solvent RI changes rapidly with time. Sampling and preconcentrating analytes by a factor of 1000 is illustrated and is shown to be ideally suited for trace analysis of water samples. The result is a tunable analyzer that provides rapid characterization of samples typically not amenable to selective analyzer monitoring due to their high degree of complexity or due to low concentrations of analytes of interest. TG-(mu) LC, is quite simple, requiring a single pump; while TMPG-(mu) LC, incorporating a single pump and two injection valves, offers more selectivity than TG-(mu) LC. Both gradient techniques offer preconcentration and rapid, optimized separation conditions, giving an improvement over isocratic separations that employ a single mobile phase.© (1991) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
The Relation Between Self-Beliefs and Academic Achievement: A Meta-Analytic Review.

There has been extensive debate among scholars and practitioners concerning whether self-beliefs influence academic achievement. To address this question, findings of longitudinal studies investigating the relation between self-beliefs and achievement were synthesized using meta-analysis. Estimated effects are consistent with a small, favorable influence of positive self-beliefs on academic achievement, with an average standardized path or regression coefficient of .08 for self-beliefs as a predictor of later achievement, controlling for initial levels of achievement. Stronger effects of self-beliefs are evident when assessing self-beliefs specific to the academic domain and when measures of self-beliefs and achievement are matched by domain (e.g., same subject area). Under these conditions, the relation of self-beliefs to later achievement meets or exceeds Cohen's (1988) definition of a small effect size.
Optimum fish passage and guidance designs are based in the hydrogeomorphology of natural rivers

Understanding hydrodynamic cues used by outmigrating juvenile salmon (emigrants) to guide fine-scale swim path selection is critical to successful fish guidance and passage at man-made structures. We show how these cues can be inferred from channel features and complex flow fields of natural rivers through which emigrants pass. We then describe a new cue, ‘total hydraulic strain’, integrating properties of flow acceleration and turbulence through the spatial gradients in velocity to create a single flow field distortion metric amenable to the analysis of fish movement at the scale of large man-made structures. We explain how total hydraulic strain, together with the magnitude of velocity, provide sufficient information for any fish to distinguish between the two categories of channel features with their mechanosensory system. We demonstrate that total hydraulic strain, velocity magnitude and hydrostatic pressure can be integrated into rule-sets (the Strain–Velocity–Pressure (SVP) Hypothesis) to explain emigrant swim path selection near dams. To confirm the reasonableness of the SVP Hypothesis, we describe how its separate elements can be detected by different components of the fish mechanosensory system. We evaluate the SVP Hypothesis by (1) using it to explain the traces made by acoustically tagged emigrants overlaid on coincident total hydraulic strain and velocity magnitude fields, (2) using it to explain different passage efficiencies of competing bypass designs and (3) testing it via stepwise discriminant analysis to infer the relationship between hydrodynamic pattern and emigrant orientation. We conclude the SVP Hypothesis is a reasonable and useful approximation of the strategy used by emigrants to select their swim path through complex flow fields sufficient to serve as the basis of guidance and bypass system design. Published in 2008 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A family of simple two-pass dual formulations for the finite element solution of contact problems

Simple, stable, unbiased algorithms for two-pass, two-body contact have until now eluded researchers in computational mechanics. This work examines the subject, starting from an interpolation scheme proposed in an earlier work. This method, though stable and unbiased, results in an exceedingly complex algorithm in three-dimensions. Motivated by the need for simplicity, a new formulation of the contact problem is introduced, which results in a family of simple, stable, geometrically unbiased elements. The starting point of these elements is any algorithm which is stable for the Signorini problem. A number of example problems are presented to compare the performance of the elements.
Noise measure for optimum broadband design

The definition of noise measure (NM) has been used as a figure of merit, and a circuit has been designed for optimum performance. The circuit possesses maximum gain and minimum noise figure over the design frequency band. Furthermore, to keep the response flat in the frequency range of interest, input and output matching networks have been designed using Smith chart. The noise measure obtained for our device is 0.45
Drosophila APC2 is a cytoskeletally-associated protein that regulates wingless signaling in the embryonic epidermis.

The tumor suppressor adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) negatively regulates Wingless (Wg)/Wnt signal transduction by helping target the Wnt effector β-catenin or its Drosophila homologue Armadillo (Arm) for destruction. In cultured mammalian cells, APC localizes to the cell cortex near the ends of microtubules. Drosophila APC (dAPC) negatively regulates Arm signaling, but only in a limited set of tissues. We describe a second fly APC, dAPC2, which binds Arm and is expressed in a broad spectrum of tissues. dAPC29s subcellular localization revealed colocalization with actin in many but not all cellular contexts, and also suggested a possible interaction with astral microtubules. For example, dAPC2 has a striking asymmetric distribution in neuroblasts, and dAPC2 colocalizes with assembling actin filaments at the base of developing larval denticles. We identified a dAPC2 mutation, revealing that dAPC2 is a negative regulator of Wg signaling in the embryonic epidermis. This allele acts genetically downstream of wg , and upstream of arm , dTCF , and, surprisingly, dishevelled . We discuss the implications of our results for Wg signaling, and suggest a role for dAPC2 as a mediator of Wg effects on the cytoskeleton. We also speculate on more general roles that APCs may play in cytoskeletal dynamics.