cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Impact of the French Revolution on the Lower Rhine Textile Districts–Some Comments on Economic Development and Social Change

O4.) n the eve of the French Revolution, western Europe could look back upon seventy years of almost uninterrupted industrial progress. Conditioned by the shift in its centre of gravity towards the Americas, world commerce experienced an expansion that was part cause and part effect of this dynamic. The scale of old industries was enlarged and new products were easily introduced. Most important of all, the environment, as dominated by a rising merchant class bent on profits, was propitious for the absorption of novel techniques of production.2 The Lower Rhineland textile districts had become an integral part of the emerging Atlantic economy. By virtue of their position within the international division of labour, they shared fully the benefits of this secular buoyancy.3 Capital and industrial skills flowed freely, to and from this region, across the Rhine. Where at the end of the seventeenth century had been hamlets and isolated peasant holdings, there stood, a hundred years later, densely populated towns that were hives of industrial endeavour.4 The social consequences of this prolonged boom were equally significant. In the new localities the drive towards industrial expansion had subjected the old social order to unrelenting pressures. Paternalism in the sphere of industrial relations was no longer compatible with the competitive and unstable nature of world trade. Traditional craft relations were eroded and at times swept away, as journeymen were increasingly turned into wage-earners, working, at home or in an enlarged workshop, for a merchant manufacturer. For the most part, even the master-craftsman remained but independent in name. In his new position as sub-contractor or supervisor, he was already caught in the web of capitalist relations, subservient to a Verleger who coordinated the process of manufacture, applied the finishing touches of production in his own plant and eventually effected the product's final sale. In turn, the manufacturer's stores and workshops constituted, as much as the long rows of workers' homes, the outward symbols of this new world.
Some Features of Chiral Symmetry Breaking

Some rather paradoxical features of chiral symmetry breaking are shown to be directly related to the fact that the vacuum is supposed to be degenerate in the limit of exact symmetry. The importance of picking the correct one of the many symmetry-limit vacua is stressed. A peculiar phenomena of spontaneous $\mathrm{CP}$ violation appearing alongside $\mathrm{SU}(3)\ensuremath{\bigotimes}\mathrm{SU}(3)$ breaking is observed. (In the model investigated here, the effect is much too large to be at all related to that seen in weak interactions.) For the $(3,\overline{3})\ensuremath{\bigoplus}(\overline{3},3)$ model of symmetry breaking, it is shown that the rate for $K_{S}^{}{}_{}{}^{0}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}2\ensuremath{\pi}$ should be suppressed by a factor of ${[SU(3)\ensuremath{\bigotimes}\mathrm{SU}(3) \mathrm{breaking}]}^{4}$. This may or may not be a difficulty. A number of other topics in chiral symmetry breaking are discussed briefly.
Calculation of H2+ eigenparameters in arbitrary dimensions

Abstract An interdimensional degeneracy linking the orbital angular momentum projection |m| and spatial dimension D yields D-dimensional eigenstates for H2+ by simple correspondence with suitably scaled D = 3 excited states. The wave-equation for fixed nuclei is separable in D-dimensional spheroidal coordinates, giving generalized two-center differential equations with parametric dependence on the internuclear distance R. A computer program is presented which is capable of calculating the two eigenparameters, the energy ED(R), and the separation constant AD(R) related to the total orbital angular momentum and the Runge-Lenz vector, to high accuracy over a large range in R for dimensions up to D = 100, or equivalently, for projections up to |m| = 50 for D = 3. The program can be implemented on personal computers to give accuracies up to 16 digits. The execution times required are modest. Normalization constants, wavefunctions and expectation values can be calculated as well, but at a cost of much larger execution times for even moderate accuracy.
Unsteady stagnation point heat transfer in non‐newtonian fluids

The transient thermal response of a power law type non-Newtonian, laminar boundary layer at a two-dimensional stagnation point is investigated. Consideration is given to the case of a step change in surface temperature. The transient heat flux and details of the temperature field are obtained and have been presented graphically. The range of Prandtl numbers investigated is from 5 to 1000 while the viscosity index was allowed to vary from 0.1 to 5.0. On a etudie, a un point dc stagnation dans une couche-limite lamiiuiire bidinicnsionnellle, la reponse thermique transitoire d'un fluide non newtonien, obeissant a la loi de puissance. On a examine le cas d'un changenient par echelon de la temperature superficielle. On a obtenu des donnees sur le flux transitoire de chaleur et sur les details du champ de temperature; on les a representees sous forme graphique. La gamnie des noinbres de Prandtl etudiee est comprise entre 5 et 1000 et l'on a fait varier l'indice de viscosite entre 0.1 et 5.0.
Tracheal agenesis with anomalies found in both VACTERL and TACRD associations

Tracheal agenesis (TA) was diagnosed by endoscopy after esophageal intubation in a 34-week newborn. Diagnosis, work-up, and management approach are discussed. Similar to previous reports, this case of tracheal agenesis presented with multiple associated defects found at autopsy. Tracheal agenesis had previously been reported as a part of the VATER (vertebral defects, anal atresia, tracheoesophageal fistula and/or esophageal atresia, radial dysplasia, renal defects) and VACTERL (VATER plus cardiovascular and limb defects) associations/syndromes. More recently, cases of TA have been reported with associated anomalies described as TACRD (tracheal agenesis/atresia, complex congenital cardiac abnormalities, radial ray defects, and duodenal atresia) association/syndrome. We present a case of TA with anomalies found in both VACTERL and TACRD associations, which support the speculation that both are different manifestations of a spectrum of mesodermal dysplasia.
The effects of chronic administration of some cholinergic and adrenergic drugs on the activity of choline acetyltransferase in the optic lobes of the chick brain.

Abstract Chicks receiving methadrine, reserpine and 6-hydroxydopamine for 2 or 3 days showed significant increases in optic lobe choline acetyltransferase. Atropine and neostig-mine did not produce this change. The methadrine-induced change occurred within 6 hr. Methadrine did not activate this enzyme in vitro however. This latter finding and the failure of acetoxycycloheximide to decrease measurable enzyme in 6 hr, suggests that the ampheta-mine-induced increase may be due to an increase in synthesis of choline acetyltransferase rather than either a steric activation or a decrease in degradation of the enzyme.
Bounds and Error Estimates inStructural Eigenvalue Problems

ABSTRACT The fundamental eigenvalue P1 of a linear eigenvalue problem represents the smallest positive value of P for which the quadratic functional U(u) — PW(u) is not positive definite. If the norm of all admissible functions u is chosen to be W, as is usually the case, then the customary variational formulation leads to upper bounds if approximate modes u are selected. It is shown in the current study that the choice of an appropriate norm D may reduce an otherwise intractable problem to a simpler one whose eigenvalue X becomes a function of an assumed value of P in such a way that P1 is bounded between P and λ. Moreover, since λ(P) = P1, the gap between the bounds can be brought within arbitrarily small limits. For the purpose of demonstration the method is applied to the buckling and the vibration problem of a stepwise prismatic column, with an obvious iteration procedure leading to extremely rapid convergence. Other potential areas of application are also discussed.
Nutritional Evaluation of Blood Meal and Feather Meal for Turkeys

Three samples each of commercial blood meal (BL) and feather meal (FEA) were obtained in Minnesota. True amino acid availability (TAAA) and TMEn contents were determined using Large White male turkeys at 8 wk of age. Average TMEn were 3,458 and 2,976 kcal/kg (DM basis) for BL and FEA, respectively. The TAAA of BL ranged from 86 to 91% for each of 15 amino acids except for isoleucine (74%) and cystine (79%). The TAAA of FEA ranged from 59 to 83%. The three feather meals averaged 72, 72, and 76% in amino acid availability. Two ring-dried blood meals averaged 86 and 82% and one spray dried blood meal averaged 91% in amino acid availability. A positive linear relationship was found between TMEII and TAAA of blood and feather meal samples, suggesting the possibility of approximating the estimation of one from the other in certain ingredients of high protein content.
Test generation for subtractive specification errors

We propose Specification-Based Test Generation (SBTG) which automatically generates functional tests directly from specification, rather than the HDL description of the design. The main benefit of generating tests from the specification is the ability to detect Specification-based Translation Errors (SBTEs) that occur due to a misunderstanding of the specification. Our results show that our test generation approach is more effective at detecting these errors than approaches that generate tests from the HDL code to maximize code coverage metrics.
Out of the wild: On generating default policies in social ecosystems

Combining and incorporating rich semantics of user social data, which is currently fragmented and managed by proprietary applications, has the potential to more accurately represent a user's social ecosystems. However, social ecosystems raise even more serious privacy concerns than today's social networks. This paper proposes to model privacy as contextual integrity by using semantic web tools and focuses on defining default privacy policies, as they have the highest impact.
Fibrinogen and fibrin polymerization: appraisal of the binding events that accompany fibrin generation and fibrin clot assembly

Fibrinogen is a complex multifunctional protein comprised of three major domains (two outer D and one central E) which contains constitutive binding sites (e.g. Da, Db, gammaXL, D:D, gamma', thrombin substrate, platelet receptor) as well as binding sites that become exposed or expressed as a result of fibrinogen proteolysis by thrombin and/or that are exposed as a consequence of the polymerization process itself (tPA binding sites). Fibrin-dependent tPA-mediated activation of plasminogen is associated with exposure of polymerization-dependent epitopes (Aalpha148-160, gamma312-324) that are expressed in assembled fibrin and in crosslinked (polymerized) fibrinogen but not in unpolymerized fibrinogen or fibrin. Fibrin polymerization is initiated by thrombin cleavage of fibrinopeptide A from fibrinogen Aalpha chains, exposing two E domain E(A) sites. Cleavage of fibrinopeptide B from fibrinogen Bbeta chains exposes other E domain polymerization sites, termed E(B), that also interact with platelets, fibroblasts and endothelial cells. Fibrin generation is followed by an assembly process of intermolecular end-to-middle D to E associations to form linear and branched double-stranded fibrin fibrils, lateral fibril-fibril associations to form fibers and a branched fiber network. Binding sites in fibrinogen play their roles in fibrin assembly by self-association (gammaXL to gammaXL and D:D to D:D) or by complementary association with exposed sites in fibrin (Da to E(A) and Db to E[B]). Other binding sites in fibrinogen include thrombin substrate recognition sites in each E domain and a non-substrate high affinity thrombin binding site in the carboxy-terminal region of each gamma' chain, which also binds plasma factor XIII. Fibrin possesses low affinity thrombin binding sites in each E domain and retains the gamma' chain nonsubstrate thrombin-binding site.
Multipath Selection in Multi-radio Mesh Networks

Research has shown that multi-radio multi-channel mesh networks provide significant capacity gains over single-radio mesh networks [10, 20, 21]. Traditional single path routing can lead to poor utilization of the available channels in these networks. Opportunistic multipath routing can better exploit the available channel diversity in a multi-radio network. The goal of this paper is to select multiple paths that, when used concurrently, provide high end-to-end throughput. To this end, wepresent a metricfor multipath selection in multi-radio networks. We evaluate the metric through simulations in Qualnet and show that intelligent multipath routing significantly outperforms single path routing in multi-radio mesh networks.
A biomonitoring approach to aquaculture effluent characterization in channel catfish fingerling production

Abstract The channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) industry has come under increased scrutiny because of potential environmental impact from their discharge. Physicochemical analyses have been used to characterize these effluents and their potential environmental impacts. In this study, the relationship between physicochemical characterization and bioassessment was examined for effluents from 12 commercial channel catfish fingerling ponds, sampled September 1999 through August 2001. On each sampling date, effluent samples were collected by opening the drain valve for 1 h. Biomonitoring and physicochemical analyses were conducted on the sample collected immediately after opening the drain (“initial sample”) and the final sample collected after 1 h (“final sample”). Greater incidence of toxicity responses measured as % of total tests was observed in standard test organism exposures in initial samples than in final samples of monitored hourly discharges. In acute 48-h static non-renewal tests, Pimephales promelas experienced 20.5% significant (P
Criteria for the electrocardiographic diagnosis of atrial flutter improve diagnostic accuracy.

Abstract Purpose We previously developed and validated diagnostic criteria for the differentiation of atrial flutter from atrial fibrillation. In this study we examine if the criteria (F waves in the frontal plane and a partially or completely regular ventricular response) can improve the diagnostic accuracy of internists. Methods Two groups of 10 internists (1 group given the criteria and 1 not) read a set of electrocardiograms (ECGs) selected from the hospital database with cardiologist-confirmed diagnoses of atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, or "atrial fibrillation-flutter" (100 each). The final diagnoses of all ECGs were provided by a consensus of electrophysiologists. The criteria also were used to establish the criteria-based diagnoses. Results Of the 298 ECGs analyzed, the electrophysiologist diagnosis was atrial fibrillation in 71% and atrial flutter in 29%. The concordance of the internists' diagnoses with the electrophysiologist consensus diagnoses was 66±12% for those not given the criteria and 81±4% ( P P Conclusions The simple criteria of F waves in the frontal plane and a partially or completely regular ventricular response can be used to improve the differentiation of atrial flutter from atrial fibrillation based on the ECG.
Identification of a Specialized Adenylyl Cyclase That May Mediate Odorant Detection

The mammalian olfactory system may transduce odorant information via a G protein-mediated adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP) cascade. A newly discovered adenylyl cyclase, termed type III, has been cloned, and its expression was localized to olfactory neurons. The type III protein resides in the sensory neuronal cilia, which project into the nasal lumen and are accessible to airborne odorants. The enzymatic activity of the type III adenylyl cyclase appears to differ from nonsensory cyclases. The large difference seen between basal and stimulated activity for the type III enzyme could allow considerable modulation of the intracellular cAMP concentration. This property may represent one mechanism of achieving sensitivity in odorant perception.
Behavior modification with chronic mental patients

Abstract The chronic mental patient is a product of the learning expriences he has in institutionalized settings. He has been rewarded repeatedly for being compliant, passive, and uninterested in changing his behavior. To rehabilitate the chronic patient, contingencies of reinforcement will have to be reversed from apathy and docility to improving one's appearance, working at a job, and social interaction. Table 1. behavioral procedures for rehabilitating chronic mental patients 1. 1. Precisely define the behavioral goals for each patient (therapeutic goals). 2. 2. Measure the frequency of the desired behavior as it is exhibited by the patient (therapeutic progress). 3. 3. Attach clear positive and negative consequences to adaptive and maladaptive behavior, respectively (contingencies of reinforcement, therapeutic community's ‘culture’). 4. 4. Use instructions and prompts to elicit the desired behaviors. 5. 5. Reinforce patients for making small, discrete steps in the desired directions (shaping behavior). 6. 6. Structure the hospital setting to approximate the real world outside (stimulus generalization). 7. 7. Provide opportunities for patients to learn and practice vocational and housekeeping skills which have marketable value in the community or instrumental role value within the family. 8. 8. Prepare patients and significant others to live in mutually supportive ways in the community (pre-release training, aftercare). Teach significant others to use behavioral principles to maintain gains. 9. 9. Coordinate community resources to reinforce and back-up the patient's coping efforts in adjusting to the community. Table 1 summarizes the procedures for modifying chronicity in long-term mental patients. In addition to attaching clear consequences to the patient's behavior and monitoring the behavior specifically it is necessary to structure the hospital setting in such a way as to make it more like the real world outside. If the patient is to learn behaviors which will enable him to adjust to the community, he must have the opportunity to practice these behaviors in an environment which approximates that of the community. Thus the hospital setting must be radically restructured. Attention must also be paid to the problems inherent in the patients' life after discharge. Mutually supporting groups of patients and help givers in the community must be solidified to enable the patients' learning and adjustment to proceed in the community as it did in the hospital. The responsibility of the mental health professional does not end at the time of discharge but must extend into the community and the support of community resources. An integration of behavioral technology and community psychiatry offers much promise in the rehabilitation of chronic mental patients.
From concepts to practices: Student case study work in organizational communication

This article suggests a way in which students in an organizational communication class can use their own case studies as a means of relating coursework to the realities of managerial decision‐making and organizational life.
Virtual colonoscopy and colorectal cancer screening

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the leading cause of cancer related death in the United States. Virtual colonoscopy is a new method for imaging the colon and has produced promising early results for polyp and cancer detection. The challenge remains to reproduce these favorable results in clinical practice and to evaluate the use of virtual colonoscopy in a purely screening population. Virtual colonoscopy may dramatically improve population participation in screening programs and play a major role in minimizing the impact of CRC.
An empirical study of FORTRAN programs

Abstract : A sample of programs, written in FORTRAN by a wide variety of people for a wide variety of applications, was chosen 'at random' in an attempt to discover quantitatively 'what programmers really do.' Statistical results of this survey are presented here, together with some of their apparent implications for future work in compiler design. The principal conclusion which may be drawn is the importance of a program 'profile,' namely a table of frequency counts which record how often each statement is performed in a typical run; there are strong indications that profile-keeping should become a standard practice in all computer systems, for casual users as well as system programmers. The paper is the report of a three month study undertaken by the author and about a dozen students and representatives of the software industry during the summer 1970. It is hoped that a reader who studies the report will obtain a fairly clear conception of how FORTRAN is being used, and what compilers can do about it.
Stability analysis and time-step limits for a Monte Carlo Compton-scattering method

A Monte Carlo method for simulating Compton scattering in high energy density applications has been presented that models the photon-electron collision kinematics exactly [E. Canfield, W.M. Howard, E.P. Liang, Inverse Comptonization by one-dimensional relativistic electrons, Astrophys. J. 323 (1987) 565]. However, implementing this technique typically requires an explicit evaluation of the material temperature, which can lead to unstable and oscillatory solutions. In this paper, we perform a stability analysis of this Monte Carlo method and develop two time-step limits that avoid undesirable behavior. The first time-step limit prevents instabilities, while the second, more restrictive time-step limit avoids both instabilities and nonphysical oscillations. With a set of numerical examples, we demonstrate the efficacy of these time-step limits.
Hormonal state influences aspects of female mate choice in the Tungara Frog (Physalaemus pustulosus).

Females alter their mate choices as they transition through different reproductive stages; however, the proximal mechanisms for such behavioral fluctuation are unclear. In many taxa, as females transition through different reproductive stages, there is an associated change in hormone levels; therefore, we examined whether fluctuation in hormone levels serves as a proximal mechanism for within-individual variation in mate choice in female tungara frogs (Physalaemus pustulosus). We manipulated hormone levels of females by administering 0, 10, 100, 500 or 1000 IU of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), which is a ligand for luteinizing hormone (LH) receptors and will therefore cause increased gonadal hormone production. Phonotaxis assays were conducted to measure three aspects of mate choice behavior before and after HCG administration; receptivity (response to a conspecific mate signal), permissiveness (response to a signal that is less attractive than conspecific signals) and discrimination (ability to discern signal differences). The probability of response to a conspecific and an artificial hybrid signal significantly increased at the highest HCG doses. The difference in mean response time between pre- and post-HCG tests was significantly different for both the receptivity and permissiveness tests among the five doses. Increased permissiveness, however, was not due to decreased discrimination because females could discriminate between calls even at the highest HCG doses. These hormonal manipulations caused the same behavioral pattern we reported in females as they transitioned through different reproductive stages (Lynch, K.S., Rand, A.S., Ryan, M.J., Wilczynski, W., 2005. Plasticity in female mate choice associated with changing reproductive states. Anim. Behav. 69, 689–699), suggesting that changes in hormone levels can influence the female's mate choice behavior.
(C4H14N2)2[Mo8O26]·2H2O: a new molybdate salt

Crystals of the title compound, 2-(dimethyl­ammonio)­ethanaminium hexa­cosa­oxaocta­molybdate(VI) dihydrate, containing extended chains constructed from centrosymmetric octa­molybdate anions, were grown under mild hydro­thermal conditions in the presence of N,N-dimethyl­ethylenediamine. An extensive hydrogen-bonding network helps stabilize the crystal structure.
A Compact Kapton-Based Inkjet-Printed Multiband Antenna for Flexible Wireless Devices

A low-cost inkjet-printed multiband antenna envisioned for integration into flexible and conformal mobile devices is presented. The antenna structure contains a novel triangular iterative design with coplanar waveguide (CPW) feed, printed on a Kapton polyimide-based flexible substrate with dimensions of $ 70\times 70\times 0.11~\hbox{mm}^{\bf 3}$ . The antenna covers four wide frequency bands with measured impedance bandwidths of 54.4%, 14%, 23.5% and 17.2%, centered at 1.2, 2.0, 2.6 and 3.4 GHz, respectively, thus, enabling it to cover GSM 900, GPS, UMTS, WLAN, ISM, Bluetooth, LTE 2300/2500 and WiMAX standards. The antenna has omnidirectional radiation pattern with a maximum gain of 2.1 dBi. To characterize the flexibility of the antenna, the fabricated prototype is tested in convex and concave bent configurations for radii of 78 mm and 59 mm. The overall performance remains unaffected, except a minor shift of 20 MHz and 60 MHz in S11, for concave bending at both radii. The compact, lightweight and conformal design as well as multiband performance in bent configurations, proves the suitability of the antenna for future electronic devices.
Buying a Lottery Ticket to Help the Poor Altruism, Civic Duty, and Self-interest in the Decision to Vote

A core problem of rational-actor models for politics is the seeming irrationality of voting, namely, that it is irrational for voters to vote and to be informed about politics. A simple cost-benefit analysis indicates that the probability of one's vote being decisive is so small that the costs of voting exceed the benefits. Some authors propose that civic duty or expressive voting explain why individuals vote. However, these explanations are not completely satisfactory. Five facts characterize American voting behavior: (1) the costs of voting, e.g. registration, etc. affect the probability of voting; (2) turnout varies substantially according to the type of election. In the United States, turnout for presidential elections is about 50%; for off-year elections it is about 35%; and for state and local elections it is about 25%; (3) more educated voters have a higher probability of voting; (4) individuals have a tendency to abstain from voting for races appearing lower on the ballot (the roll-off phenomenon)...
Approximate dynamic programming in transportation and logistics: a unified framework

Deterministic optimization has enjoyed a rich place in transportation and logistics, where it represents a mature field with established modeling and algorithmic strategies. By contrast, sequential stochastic optimization models (dynamic programs) have been plagued by the lack of a common modeling framework, and by algorithmic strategies that just do not seem to scale to real-world problems in transportation. This paper is designed as a tutorial of the modeling and algorithmic framework of approximate dynamic programming; however, our perspective on approximate dynamic programming is relatively new, and the approach is new to the transportation research community. We present a simple yet precise modeling framework that makes it possible to integrate most algorithmic strategies into four fundamental classes of policies, the design of which represents approximate solutions to these dynamic programs. The paper then uses problems in transportation and logistics to indicate settings in which each of the four classes of policies represents a natural solution strategy, highlighting the fact that the design of effective policies for these complex problems will remain an exciting area of research for many years. Along the way, we provide a link between dynamic programming, stochastic programming and stochastic search.
Adipose tissue endocannabinoid system gene expression: depot differences and effects of diet and exercise

Background: Alterations of endocannabinoid system in adipose tissue play an important role in lipid regulation and metabolic dysfunction associated with obesity. The purpose of this study was to determine whether gene expression levels of cannabinoid type 1 receptor (CB1) and fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) are different in subcutaneous abdominal and gluteal adipose tissue, and whether hypocaloric diet and aerobic exercise influence subcutaneous adipose tissue CB1 and FAAH gene expression in obese women. Methods: Thirty overweight or obese, middle-aged women (BMI = 34.3 ± 0.8 kg/m 2 , age = 59 ± 1 years) underwent one of three 20-week weight loss interventions: caloric restriction only (CR, N = 9), caloric restriction plus moderate-intensity aerobic exercise (CRM, 45-50% HRR, N = 13), or caloric restriction plus vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise (CRV, 70-75% HRR, N = 8). Subcutaneous abdominal and gluteal adipose tissue samples were collected before and after the interventions to measure CB1 and FAAH gene expression. Results: At baseline, FAAH gene expression was higher in abdominal, compared to gluteal adipose tissue (2.08 ± 0.11 vs. 1.78 ± 0.10, expressed as target gene/b-actin mRNA ratio × 10 -3 , P < 0.05). Compared to pre-intervention, CR did not change abdominal, but decreased gluteal CB1 (Δ = -0.82 ± 0.25, P < 0.05) and FAAH (Δ = -0.49 ± 0.14, P < 0.05) gene expression. CRM or CRV alone did not change adipose tissue CB1 and FAAH gene expression. However, combined CRM and CRV (CRM+CRV) decreased abdominal adipose tissue FAAH gene expression (Δ = -0.37 ± 0.18, P < 0.05). The changes in gluteal CB1 and abdominal FAAH gene expression levels in the CR alone and the CRM+CRV group were different (P < 0.05) or tended to be different (P = 0.10).
Rationing and the Clinton Health Plan

President Clinton, already facing formidable obstacles in reforming the health care system, denies that it will involve any rationing. This is politically understandable, but wrong. Infinite needs are rapidly overtaking finite resources. Most health providers recognize that the genius of modern medicine has outpaced our ability to pay. But the public still has unlimited expectations and a blind faith that everything can be provided to everyone by simply eliminating "waste, fraud, and abuse." Rationing is inherent in any health care system. As government undertakes to define what is "medically necessary or appropriate," it will unavoidably undertake a series of rationing decisions. Health care is being transformed from a private good to a public good. Government, when it reforms the health care system, must inevitably ask: How do we buy the most health for the public?
A reservation and collision-free media access protocol for optical star local area networks

A new multiple access protocol is developed for optical local area networks based on a passive star topology. The protocol uses wavelength division multiplexing (WDM), and is highly bandwidth-efficient. Each station in the network is guaranteed a minimum bandwidth and a maximum access delay to the network, allowing the protocol to be used for both datagram and connection-oriented traffic. No central control is required, and the amount of processing required by each station is small. Time is divided in fixed-sized slots. Before transmitting its data, a station must compete with others for the right to use a slot in a preassigned wavelength, using a collision-free procedure. The protocol is suitable for networks where the number of users is larger than the number of available channels. The scheme can operate with at least a single tunable transmitter/receiver pair in each station. The paper includes plots where results obtained from simulations and from the application of models are compared.
Power grid transient simulation in linear time based on transmission-line-modeling alternating-direction-implicit method

The soaring clocking frequency and integration density demand robust and stable power delivery to support tens of millions of transistors switching. To ensure the design quality of power delivery, extensive transient power grid simulations need to be performed during the design process. However, the traditional circuit simulation engines are not scaled well for the complexity of power delivery. As a result, it often takes a long runtime and huge memory requirement to simulate a medium-sized power grid circuit. In this paper, the authors develop and present a new efficient transient simulation algorithm for power distribution. The proposed. algorithm, transmission-line-modeling alternating-direction-implicit (TLM-ADI), first models the power delivery structure as transmission line mesh structure, then solves the transient modified nodal analysis matrices by the alternating-direction-implicit method. The proposed algorithm, with linear runtime and memory requirement, is also unconditionally stable which ensures that the time-step is not limited by any stability requirement. Extensive experimental, results show that the proposed algorithm is not only orders of magnitude faster than SPICE but also extremely memory saving and accurate.
Reggae: Automated Test Generation for Programs Using Complex Regular Expressions

Test coverage such as branch coverage is commonly measured to assess the sufficiency of test inputs. To reduce tedious manual efforts in generating high-covering test inputs, various automated techniques have been proposed. Some recent effective techniques include Dynamic Symbolic Execution (DSE) based on path exploration. However, these existing DSE techniques cannot generate high-covering test inputs for programs using complex regular expressions due to large exploration space; these complex regular expressions are commonly used for input validation and information extraction. To address this issue, we propose an approach, named Reggae, to reduce the exploration space of DSE in test generation. In our evaluation, we apply Reggae on various input-validation programs that use complex regular expressions. Empirical results show that Reggae helps a test-generation tool generate test inputs to achieve 79% branch coverage of validators, improved from 29% achieved without the help of Reggae.
Degrons at the C Terminus of the Pathogenic but Not the Nonpathogenic Hantavirus G1 Tail Direct Proteasomal Degradation

Pathogenic hantaviruses cause two human diseases: hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) and hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS). The hantavirus G1 protein contains a long, 142-amino-acid cytoplasmic tail, which in NY-1 virus (NY-1V) is ubiquitinated and proteasomally degraded (E. Geimonen, I. Fernandez, I. N. Gavrilovskaya, and E. R. Mackow, J. Virol. 77: 10760-10768, 2003). Here we report that the G1 cytoplasmic tails of pathogenic Andes (HPS) and Hantaan (HFRS) viruses are also degraded by the proteasome and that, in contrast, the G1 tail of nonpathogenic Prospect Hill virus (PHV) is stable and not proteasomally degraded. We determined that the signals which direct NY-1V G1 tail degradation are present in a hydrophobic region within the C-terminal 30 residues of the protein. In contrast to that of PHV, the NY-1V hydrophobic domain directs the proteasomal degradation of green fluorescent protein and constitutes an autonomous degradation signal, or “degron,” within the NY-1V G1 tail. Replacing 4 noncontiguous residues of the NY-1V G1 tail with residues present in the stable PHV G1 tail resulted in a NY-1V G1 tail that was not degraded by the proteasome. In contrast, changing a different but overlapping set of 4 PHV residues to corresponding NY-1V residues directed proteasomal degradation of the PHV G1 tail. The G1 tails of pathogenic, but not nonpathogenic, hantaviruses contain intervening hydrophilic residues within the C-terminal hydrophobic domain, and amino acid substitutions that alter the stability or degradation of NY-1V or PHV G1 tails result from removing or adding intervening hydrophilic residues. Our results identify residues that selectively direct the proteasomal degradation of pathogenic hantavirus G1 tails. Although a role for the proteasomal degradation of the G1 tail in HPS or HFRS is unclear, these findings link G1 tail degradation to viral pathogenesis and suggest that degrons within hantavirus G1 tails are potential virulence determinants.
Disturbance facilitates the coexistence of antagonistic ecosystem engineers in California estuaries

Ecological theory predicts that interactions between antagonistic ecosystem engineers can lead to local competitive exclusion, but disturbance can facilitate broader coexistence. However, few empirical studies have tested the potential for disturbance to mediate competition between engineers. We examined the capacity for disturbance and habitat modification to explain the disjunct distributions of two benthic ecosystem engineers, eelgrass Zostera marina and the burrowing ghost shrimp Neotrypaea californiensis, in two California estuaries. Sediment sampling in eelgrass and ghost shrimp patches revealed that ghost shrimp change benthic biogeochemistry over small scales (centimeters) but not patch scales (meters to tens of meters), suggesting a limited capacity for sediment modification to explain species distributions. To determine the relative competitive abilities of engineers, we conducted reciprocal transplantations of ghost shrimp and eelgrass. Local ghost shrimp densities declined rapidly following the addition of eelgrass, and transplanted eelgrass expanded laterally into the surrounding ghost shrimp-dominated areas. When transplanted into eelgrass patches, ghost shrimp failed to persist. Ghost shrimp were also displaced from plots with structural mimics of eelgrass rhizomes and roots, suggesting that autogenic habitat modification by eelgrass is an important mechanism determining ghost shrimp distributions. However, ghost shrimp were able to rapidly colonize experimental disturbances to eelgrass patch edges, which are common in shallow estuaries. We conclude that coexistence in this system is maintained by spatiotemporally asynchronous disturbances and a competition-colonization trade-off: eelgrass is a competitively superior ecosystem engineer, but benthic disturbances permit the coexistence of ghost shrimp at the landscape scale by modulating the availability of space.
A test for a regime shift

This note describes a formal statistical approach to testing for a regime shift based on population time series for a system of interacting species or groups. Under this approach, a regime shift is said to occur if the system switches abruptly from varying around one locally stable steady state to varying around another. This allows the problem to be formulated as testing for a changepoint in a vector autoregressive process. The test is illustrated using data from the North Sea covering the period 1963–97.
Role of orientation in kinetics of nucleation and growth of crystals in polymers

A theoretical framework is provided for generalizing the inferences drawn from the results of earlier experimental studies of kinetics of crystallization in oriented poly(ethylene terephthalate). The framework is obtained by combining extensions of classical nucleation theories in polymers3,4 and a theory of crystal growth with anisotropic incorporation of segments into growing crystals.15 It is shown that, while a very strong dependence of rate of primary nucleation on orientation does exist, there is a only a much weaker dependence of rate of crystal growth on the orientation of the crystallizing polymer. The theoretical formulation provided here would allow qualitative estimates for comparison with experiments.
Single-cell systems biology by super-resolution imaging and combinatorial labeling

Fluorescence microscopy is a powerful quantitative tool for exploring regulatory networks in single cells. However, the number of molecular species that can be measured simultaneously is limited by the spectral overlap between fluorophores. Here we demonstrate a simple but general strategy to drastically increase the capacity for multiplex detection of molecules in single cells by using optical super-resolution microscopy (SRM) and combinatorial labeling. As a proof of principle, we labeled mRNAs with unique combinations of fluorophores using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), and resolved the sequences and combinations of fluorophores with SRM. We measured mRNA levels of 32 genes simultaneously in single Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells. These experiments demonstrate that combinatorial labeling and super-resolution imaging of single cells is a natural approach to bring systems biology into single cells.
Molecular Cloning, Expression, and Characterization of Novel Hemolytic Lectins from the Mushroom Laetiporus sulphureus, Which Show Homology to Bacterial Toxins

We describe herein the cDNA cloning, expression, and characterization of a hemolytic lectin and its related species from the parasitic mushroom Laetiporus sulphureus. The lectin designated LSL (L. sulphureus lectin), is a tetramer composed of subunits of approximately 35 kDa associated by non-covalent bonds. From a cDNA library, three similar full-length cDNAs, termed LSLa, LSLb, and LSLc, were generated, each of which had an open reading frame of 945 bp encoding 315 amino acid residues. These proteins share 80-90% sequence identity and showed structural similarity to bacterial toxins: mosquitocidal toxin (MTX2) from Bacillus sphaericus and alpha toxin from Clostridium septicum. Native and recombinant forms of LSL showed hemagglutination and hemolytic activity and both activities were inhibited by N-acetyllactosamine, whereas a C-terminal deletion mutant of LSLa (LSLa-D1) retained hemagglutination, but not hemolytic activity, indicating the N-terminal domain is a carbohydrate recognition domain and the C-terminal domain functions as an oligomerization domain. The LSL-mediated hemolysis was protected osmotically by polyethylene glycol 4000 and maltohexaose. Inhibition studies showed that lacto-N-neotetraose (Galbeta1-4GlcNAcbeta1-3Galbeta1-4Glc) was the best inhibitor for LSL. These results indicate that LSL is a novel pore-forming lectin homologous to bacterial toxins.
Elementary mathematics teachers’ judgment accuracy and calibration accuracy: Do they predict students’ mathematics achievement outcomes?

Abstract In this study we investigated whether elementary mathematics teachers’ knowledge of their students, as reflected in both the accuracy and confidence with which they are able to estimate their students’ task-specific performance on sets of mathematics problems, predicted students’ overall mathematics achievement. Thirty-nine teachers made predictions about the performance of a random sample of target students (n = 150) in their classrooms on sets of “easy” and “difficult” multiplication and division problems. Teachers also provided confidence ratings for those judgments. From these data, indicators of teachers’ judgment accuracy, judgment confidence and calibration accuracy (a measure of metacognitive monitoring) were then related to all of their students’ (n = 834) performance on year-end standardized mathematics achievement tests. Multilevel analyses indicate that teachers’ calibration accuracy, but not their task-specific judgment accuracy, significantly predicted students’ mathematics achievement. Implications for future research on teacher knowledge as well as professional development programs are discussed.
Survival and outcomes of patients with unoperated single ventricle

Objective Patients with unoperated single ventricle (SV) rarely survive into adulthood with good functional status and may develop Eisenmenger9s syndrome (ES). We report outcomes of a 30-year cohort of such patients. Methods Adult patients with unoperated SV were identified by searching the Mayo Clinic medical record from 1984 to 2014. Clinical data were collected and compared between patients with pulmonary stenosis (PS) and ES. Results 24 patients were identified (median peak-age 56 (31–77) years (11 ES, 13 PS); 22 had left ventricular morphology. 50-year transplant-free survival was 65% (95% CI 43 to 81). Median age at death was 55 years (31–77 years); 15 deaths (62%) occurred before oral pulmonary vasodilators were commercially available. Two-thirds of the cohort demonstrated preserved New York Heart Association functional class and median EF was 60% (49% to 62%). The majority of patients to survive into the fifth decade exhibited anatomy of double-inlet LV (DILV) with PS. Conclusion Selected patients with unoperated SV with PS and ES can survive with good functional class up to the eighth decade with good medical management. DILV/PS appears to be the ideal phenotype for advanced survival. Our outcomes may be considered when such patients with SV having ‘balanced’ physiology are evaluated for Fontan palliation. However, additional prospective study will be necessary to verify this assertion.
Development of a fuel sensor technology for a Variable-blend Natural Gas Vehicle

Abstract Natural gas vehicles (NGVs) with the ability to accept a broader range of fuel specifications can play a significant role in increasing Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) utilization in the transportation sector. The Wobbe Index is a critical factor in evaluating the interchangeability between different high methane fuels. This study details the development and testing of a compact, reliable Wobbe Index sensor for use in NGVs. The concept uses a combination of a thermal conductivity and an infrared sensor together with temperature and pressure measurement. The signals from these sensors are indexed in an algorithm that estimates the Wobbe Index in real time. The sensor was confirmed to operate over a temperature range of −20 °C to 70 °C under pressures of up to ∼3600 psi. A multivariate algorithm was developed to estimate the fuel Wobbe Index from the measured temperature, pressure and thermal conductivity data. The accuracy was improved to ±1% using the CH 4 concentration data from the IR sensor additionally. Compared to the existing methods, this sensor provides a cost-effective, ruggedized solution that can be used to develop a “Variable-blend Natural Gas Vehicle”(VNGV), allowing refueling from a broad range of natural gas sources. This technology has the potential to significantly increase RNG usage for transportation purposes.