cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Ovarian steroids reduce apoptosis induced by trophic insufficiency in nerve growth factor-differentiated pc12 cells and axotomized rat facial motoneurons

Abstract Previous studies have demonstrated that ovarian steroids exert neuroprotective effects in a variety of in vitro and in vivo systems. The mechanisms underlying these effects remain poorly understood. In the present study, the neuroprotective effects of estradiol (E2) and progesterone (P) were examined in two models of apoptosis induced by growth factor insufficiency: partially nerve growth factor (NGF)-differentiated PC12 cells, after serum and NGF withdrawal; and axotomized immature rat facial motor motoneurons. E2 and P both increased the survival of trophically withdrawn NGF-differentiated PC12 cells, at physiologically relevant concentrations. However, neither steroid had a significant effect on the survival of PC12 cells that had not been NGF treated. Exposure to NGF had no effect on the expression of estrogen receptor (ER)β, but markedly increased the levels of ERα and altered the expression of the progesterone receptor (PR) from predominantly PR-B in NGF naive cells, to predominantly PR-A after NGF. The survival promoting effects of E2 and P were blocked by the specific steroid receptor antagonists Faslodex (ICI 182780) and onapristone (ZK98299), respectively. Inhibitors of RNA (actinomycin D) or protein (cycloheximide) synthesis also abrogated the protective effects of both steroids. In immature rats, E2 and P both significantly increased the numbers of surviving facial motor neurons at 21 days after axotomy. These data demonstrate significant protective effects of E2 and P in two well-characterized models of apoptosis induced by trophic withdrawal and suggest that, at least in PC12 cells, the effects of the steroids are mediated via interaction with nuclear steroid receptor systems. The lack of steroid responsiveness in NGF-naive PC12 cells despite the presence of abundant ERβ and PR-B are consistent with the view that ERα and PR-A may be particularly important as mediators of the neuroprotective effects of their corresponding hormonal ligands.
Identity status research: implications for career counseling

The purpose of this paper is to describe an empirical approach to the study of adolescence and to apply research findings to vocational counseling. The study of identity status has enriched and supported Erikson's theory of psychosocial development. Case histories of hypothetical clients in the four identity statuses are presented and different approaches for counseling with such clients are suggested.
The paradox of pelagic food webs in the northern Bering Sea—III. Patterns of primary production

Abstract The advective supply of nutrients to the Bering-Chukchi continental shelf via a north-flowing “river” of oceanic water originating along the continental slope in the Bering Sea maintains a large portion of these shelf waters in eutrophic bloom summer-long. Known as the Anadyr Stream, this nutrient injection sustains conditions of high phytoplankton productivity and biomass in a region of the western Arctic that would otherwise be unproductive, as are adjacent shelf areas unaffected by the current. A production plume dominated by large chain-forming diatoms extends from the Gulf of Anadyr in the south to the southern Chukchi Sea in the north, has daily carbon uptake rates as high as 16 g C m −2 day −1 , and has an estimated annual production of about 470 g C m −2 year −1 . Maximum production occurs in three pools of especially prolific growth (Gulf of Anadyr, Chirikov Basin and southern Chukchi Sea) where rates could be as great as 720–840 g C m −2 year −1 . Outside of the plume, nutrients remain low following the spring bloom and a typical successional flora is dominated by flagellates and small diatoms throughout summer. Post-bloom productivity in this region is generally about 0.5 g C m −2 day −1 , and annual production is approximately 80 g C m −2 year −1 . The contrasting primary production regimes lead to major differences in food webs and in the energy transferred to higher trophic levels within the western Arctic.
Two‐dimensional scattering of SH waves due to a discontinuity in bedrock

The direct boundary integral equation technique is applied to determine the impact on surface amplification caused by an inhomogeneity in a bedrock half-space. The particular soil-rock configuration studied is one in which a soil layer rests on a rock half-space which includes a rock inclusion. The particular rock inclusion considered for this study is a semi-infinite rock layer with its upper boundary bordering the soil layer. Materials are considered viscoelastic except for the section of the rock half-space below the level of the rock inclusion which is considered elastic. A parametric study is performed to determine controlling factors for surface displacement due to a vertically incident shear wave. The study includes varying the stiffness and the thickness of the inclusion for a range of frequencies. Solutions from a one-dimensional analysis are compared with the results of a two-dimensional analysis in order to establish limits inside of which a two-dimensional analysis is required.
Optically addressed spatial light modulator with a high photosensitivity and intensity adaptation range.

An optically addressed spatial light modulator based on a single-crystal silicon Schottky diode array photoreceptor and nematic liquid crystals with a high photosensitivity (better than 1μW/cm2) and input light intensity adaptation range (greater than 3 orders of magnitude) is demonstrated. This photosensitivity and intensity adaptation range is concurrent with a spatial resolution of 25 line pairs/mm, contrast ratios greater than 200:1, and response times less than 10 ms in a wide photosensing wavelength range of 400–1100 nm.
Tics and Dyskinesias Associated With Stimulant Treatment in Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Objective: To determine the incidence of tics or dyskinesias (T/D) and examine associated clinical factors in children treated with stimulant medications for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Design: Cross-sectional analysis of a clinic cohort with chart review. Setting: Hospital-based clinical service within a division of developmental and behavioral pediatrics. Patients: One hundred twenty-two children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder treated with stimulant medication. All children currently or recently treated were included. Interventions: None. Measurements and Results: Determinations were made of medication used, medication dosage, presence or absence of T/D, time of T/D onset, and history and family history of T/D. Incidence of T/D was 9.0% of children or 8.2% of medication trials. One child (0.8%) had development of Tourette's syndrome. Age, medication, dosage, history of tics, or family history of tics was not related to onset of T/D. Conclusion: Approximately 9% of children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder treated with stimulant medication had development of T/D, predominantly transient in nature, with less than 1% having development of chronic tics or Tourette's syndrome. Personal or family tic history, medication selection, or dosage was not related to onset of T/D. (Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1994;148:859-861)
A two‐stage sample size recalculation procedure for placebo‐ and active‐controlled non‐inferiority trials

Many non-inferiority trials of a test treatment versus an active control may also, if ethical, incorporate a placebo arm. Inclusion of a placebo arm enables a direct assessment of assay sensitivity. It also allows construction of a non-inferiority test that avoids the problematic specification of an absolute non-inferiority margin, and instead evaluates whether the test treatment preserves a pre-specified proportion of the effect of the active control over placebo. We describe a two-stage procedure for sample size recalculation in such a setting that maintains the desired power more closely than a fixed sample approach when the magnitude of the effect of the active control differs from that anticipated. We derive an allocation rule for randomization under which the procedure preserves the type I error rate, and show that this coincides with that previously presented for optimal allocation of the sample size among the three treatment arms.
Cedar architecture and its software

The Cedar system is clustered shared-memory multiprocessor system. The architecture and the main system features of the Cedar system were designed to meet the following goals: (1) to be a general-purpose high-performance machine for parallel processing; (2) to be scalable both architecturally and physically to a very large system; and (3) to be easy to program with a good environment for user support. To achieve these design goals, software on the Cedar system plays a very important role. The authors describe the relations between the software and the underlying hardware, including the architecture, on the Cedar system. >
The Production of Double Yolked Eggs in the Fowl

Abstract HEN eggs containing more than one yolk frequently have been described in the hope that this rather common abnormal functioning of the reproductive organs might throw some light on the normal mechanism of egg formation. Most of these publications are almost entirely descriptive, but Curtis (1914 and 1915) has pointed out some of the possible physiological causes of the formation of eggs with double or triple yolks. According to Curtis, double yolked eggs may result when: (1) an ovum which is ovulated at the regular time remains in the body cavity and is picked up by the oviduct on the next day, at about the same time as the ovum released on that day; and (2) two ova are released from the ovary at about the same time and one overtakes the other in the oviduct before the formation of the shell membranes. As evidence of simultaneous ovulation of two . . .
SILICATE MELT INCLUSIONS IN PORPHYRY COPPER DEPOSITS: IDENTIFICATION AND HOMOGENIZATION BEHAVIOR

Silicate melt inclusions are ubiquitous in phenocrysts in porphyry copper deposits. Compared to melt inclusions in other igneous environments, those in porphyry copper deposits are more difficult to recognize and analyze, for a variety of reasons. The inclusions are usually partially to completely crystallized or altered by hydrothermal fluids, resulting in a dark, granular appearance. In this study, a protocol for identifying and homogenizing crystallized melt-inclusions from porphyry copper deposits is described. The protocol has been used to obtain preliminary data from melt inclusions in the Red Mountain, Arizona, and the Tyrone, New Mexico, porphyry copper deposits. Many melt inclusions in syn- and post-mineralization samples show evidence of alteration by magmatic-hydrothermal fluids that produced alteration and mineralization in the plutons, and many inclusions trapped crystals or fluid (or both) along with the melt. Elevated concentrations of metal in pre-mineralization (H2O-undersaturated) melt inclusions, and lower concentrations of metal in later syn- and post-mineralization (H2O-saturated) melt inclusions are consistent with models that invoke quantitative transfer of copper and other metals from the melt into the magmatic aqueous phase when the melt reaches H2O saturation. Results from Red Mountain and Tyrone are compared to melt inclusions from the White Island, New Zealand, active volcano.
Biochemical Studies of RT6 Alloantigens in BB/Wor and Normal Rats: Evidence for Intact Unexpressed RT6a Structural Gene in Diabetes-Prone BB Rats

Lymphocytes bearing the T-lymphocyte differentiation antigen RT6 play an important immunoregulatory role in the development of autoimmune diabetes in BB rats. Immunofluorescence studies suggest that diabetes-prone (DP)- but not diabetes-resistant (DR)-BB rat lymphocytes fail to express RT6 antigen during ontogeny. Two alloantigenic forms of the molecule exist, i.e., RT6.1 and RT6.2; both are linked to cell membranes by a phosphatidylinositol (PI) linkage. In these studies, PI-phospholipase C (PLC) treatment of lymphocytes from BB and normal rats followed by immunoabsorption and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis of released proteins with anti-RT6 allotype-specific monoclonal antibodies was performed. RT6.1 in several nondiabetic rat strains was found to consist of a family of nonglycosylated and variably glycosylated molecules: an N-Glycanase-resistant 24,000- to 26,000-Mr peptide and four N-Glycanase-sensitive peptides of 29,000, 31,000, 33,000, and 34,000 Mr. In contrast, RT6.2 was found to be a 24,000- to 26,000-Mr nonglycosylated polypeptide. The electrophoretic pattern of RT6.1 was observed to be the same when the antigen was extracted from W3/25+ (CD4+) versus W3/25- T lymphocytes or from resting versus mitogen-activated cells. A pattern of bands characteristic of the RT6.1 antigen found in normal rat strains was detected after PLC treatment or detergent solubilization of lymphocytes obtained from DR rats. In contrast, no evidence of either RT6 species was found after PLC or detergent treatment of comparable numbers of T lymphocytes from DP-BB rats. Interestingly, T lymphocytes from Wistar-Furth (RT6.2+) x DP (RT6-) F1 crosses were observed to coexpress both RT6.2 and RT6.1 molecules, with the electrophoretic pattern of RT6.1 being similar to that obtained in DR and other rat strains. This study provides biochemical evidence that DP rats may have an intact RT6a structural gene.
An Extreme-Value Model of Concept Testing

We model concept testing in new product development as a search for the most profitable solution to a design problem. When allocating resources, developers must balance the cost of testing multiple designs against the potential profits that may result. We propose extreme-value theory as a mathematical abstraction of the concept-testing process. We investigate the trade-off between the benefits and costs of parallel concept testing and derive closed-form solutions for the case of profits that follow extreme-value distributions. We analyze the roles of the scale and tail-shape parameters of the profit distribution as well as the cost of testing in determining the optimal number of tests and total budget for the concept phase of NPD. Using an example, we illustrate how to estimate and interpret the scale and tail-shape parameters. We find that the impact of declining concept-testing costs on expected profits, the number of concepts tested, and total spending depend on the scale/cost ratio and tail-shape parameter of the profit distribution.
Complementary and Alternative Medicines for the Treatment of Diabetes

There is a growing interest among diabetic patients in the role of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in controlling blood sugar and prevention of complications. It is being used among di...
Real-time GPS receiver implemented using Altera FPGA Board

Global Positioning System (GPS) is a space-based global navigation satellite system [1]. It provides time and location information to users anywhere on Earth [1]. Nowadays, GPS is very useful not only for military applications but also for civil applications. GPS receivers are placed in any embedded system to continuously calculate current time and location information. Hence, real-time synchronous systems can be designed. This paper presents the design challenges and implementation issues of real-time GPS receiver based on GPS Receiver Board and Altera DE2 FPGA Board. The functionalities of real time system is to receive the data packets from GPS Receiver board continuously and to display the time and location information using Altera DE2 Board in real time mode. The designed system also accepts set-up of desired time, so that synchronous actions can be made. These actions will be only done once the GPS time matches the set-up time. Finally, the field trial demonstrates the successful operation of the real-time GPS receiver system.
Automated quantitative 3D analysis of aorta size, morphology, and mural calcification distributions.

Purpose: The purpose of this work is to develop a fully automated pipeline to compute aorta morphology and calcification measures in large cohorts of CT scans that can be used to investigate the potential of these measures as imaging biomarkers of cardiovascular disease. Methods: The first step of the automated pipeline is aorta segmentation. The algorithm the authors propose first detects an initial aorta boundary by exploiting cross-sectional circularity of aorta in axial slices and aortic arch in reformatted oblique slices. This boundary is then refined by a 3D level-set segmentation that evolves the boundary to the location of nearby edges. The authors then detect the aortic calcifications with thresholding and filter out the false positive regions due to nearby high intensity structures based on their anatomical location. The authors extract the centerline and oblique cross sections of the segmented aortas and compute the aorta morphology and calcification measures of the first 2500 subjects from COPDGene study. These measures include volume and number of calcified plaques and measures of vessel morphology such as average cross-sectional area, tortuosity, and arch width. Results: The authors computed the agreement between the algorithm and expert segmentations on 45 CT scans and obtained a closest point mean error of 0.62 ± 0.09 mm and a Dice coefficient of 0.92 ± 0.01. The calcification detection algorithm resulted in an improved true positive detection rate of 0.96 compared to previous work. The measurements of aorta size agreed with the measurements reported in previous work. The initial results showed associations of aorta morphology with calcification and with aging. These results may indicate aorta stiffening and unwrapping with calcification and aging. Conclusions: The authors have developed an objective tool to assess aorta morphology and aortic calcium plaques on CT scans that may be used to provide information about the presence of cardiovascular disease and its clinical impact in smokers.
Middle Childhood Feelings Toward Mothers: Predictions From Maternal Directiveness at the Age of Two and Respect for Autonomy Currently

The goals of this study were to examine (1) stability of maternal directiveness during interactions with their children from toddlerhood to late middle childhood, (2) direct and mediated relations between mothers’ directiveness when children were two years old, mothers’ respect for autonomy and children’s positivity and negativity toward their mothers when children were in late middle childhood, and (3) differences in these paths by ethnoracial group. Participants included 876 European-American, 789 African-American, and 411 Mexican-American mothers and their children from the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project. Maternal respect for autonomy at Time 2 partially mediated an association between Time 1 directiveness and observed child positivity toward mothers at Time 2.There was also a direct inverse link between Time 1 maternal directiveness and children’s observed positivity toward mothers at Time 2. Relations were similar across ethnoracial groups and for boys and girls. The discussion focuses on heterotypic stability in directive parenting and its implications for children’s feelings toward their mothers.
Planting geometries and the efficient use of water and nutrients

In nature and in the most primitive agricultural systems, seed distribution is broadcast across the landscape. Such a distribution results in nearly uniform spacial interaction of the developing phytomass. With the development of agrarian civilization has come an implement-dependent systemization of crop- planting patterns. This has brought about the planting of crops in uniform rows—from the drilling of small grains at inter-row spacings of 0.1 to 0.2 m and plant intra-row spacings of i to 5 cm, to the staking of horticultural and vine crops at 2- to 3—m inter-row spacings and typically 0.3- to l-m intra-row spacings. The implement dependence of agricultural cropping strategies has resulted in row cropping. The staple crops regarded as most suited to this approach are commonly called row crops, and this review will concentrate largely on how row crops interact with plant geometry, water, and nutrients to in?uence sustained productive capacity.
The Theory of Speciation VIA the Founder Principle

The founder principle has been used to explain many instances of rapid speciation. Advances from theoretical population genetics are incorporated into MAYR's original founder-effect genetic-revolution model to yield a newer model called the genetic transilience. The basic theoretical edifice lies upon the fact that founder event can sometimes lead to an accumulation of inbreeding and an induction of gametic disequilibrium. This, in turn, causes alleles to be selected more for their homozygous fitness effects and for their effects on a more stable genetic background. Selection occurring in multi-locus systems controlling integrated developmental, physiological, behavioral, etc, traits is particularly sensitive to these founder effects. If sufficient genetic variability exists in the founder population, such multilocus genetic systems can respond to drift and the altered selective forces by undergoing a rapid shift to a new adaptive peak known as the genetic transilience. A genetic transilience is, therefore, most likely to occur when the founder event causes a rapid accumulation of inbreeding without a severe reduction in genetic variability. The implications of this model are then examined for three aspects of the founder-effect genetic-transilience model: the attributes of the ancestral population, the nature of the sampling process used to generate the founders and the attributes of the founder population. The model is used to explain several features of the evolution of the Hawaiian Drosophila, and experimental designs are outlined to test the major predictions of the theory. Hence, this theory of speciation can be tested in the laboratory, using systems and techniques that already exist--a rare attribute of most models of speciation.
DCT implementation with distributed arithmetic

This paper presents an efficient method for implementing the Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) with distributed arithmetic. While conventional approaches use the original DCT algorithm or the even-odd frequency decomposition of the DCT algorithm, the proposed architecture uses the recursive DCT algorithm and requires less area than the conventional approaches, regardless of the memory reduction techniques employed in the ROM Accumulators (RACs). An efficient architecture for implementing the scaled DCT with distributed arithmetic is also proposed. The new architecture requires even less area while keeping the same structural regularity for an easy VLSI implementation. A comparison of synthesized DCT processors shows that the proposed method reduces the hardware area of regular and scaled DCT processors by 17 percent and 23 percent, respectively, relative to a conventional design. With the row-column decomposition method, the proposed architectures can be easily extended to compute the two-dimensional DCT required in many image compression applications such as HDTV.
Rites and Responsibility for Resuscitation in Heart Failure Tread Gently on the Thin Places

In Celtic mythology, there are pieces of ground considered to be “thin places” where the measured world comes closest to the infinite. Such places may have been set apart for burial grounds and other ritual sites. The Celtic phrase describing them derives from the Latin limen , a threshold or frontier where 2 countries meet (the root of “subliminal”).1 As physicians, we bear the privilege of escorting patients and families over the thin places. Krumholz and his colleagues2 have ventured to this border to provide valuable information as we ponder our responsibilities there. Once considered to be heroic, resuscitation has become routine. Communities are trained in CPR, defibrillators are on hand at many sporting events, and paramedics provide full advanced cardiac life support services in the home. The majority of patients admitted to hospitals seek survival, regardless of the severity of chronic illness. In 1 study, 90% of hospitalized patients expressed preference for resuscitation if their admission level of function could subsequently be restored.3 Of patients older than 55 years who had been discharged after an intensive care unit stay, 74% were certain that they would undergo another intensive care unit stay to prolong survival for as little as 1 month of additional life.4 In the current study, only 23% of patients stated that they did not wish resuscitation, and 40% of such patients subsequently changed their minds in favor of resuscitation. As patients live longer with chronic illness, death offers a welcome end to suffering for some, who should be allowed to take that journey unhindered. The majority of patients and their families appear to be anxious primarily to avoid prolonging a vegetative existence or dependency on mechanical ventilation.4 5 6 Fear of constant severe pain is also a common concern. The frequency of …
Landscape heterogeneity following large fires: insights from Yellowstone National Park, USA

We characterised the remarkable heterogeneity following the large, severe fires of 1988 in Yellowstone National Park (YNP), in the northern Rocky Mountains, Wyoming, USA, by focussing on spatial variation in post-fire structure, composition and ecosystem function at broad, meso, and fine scales. Ecological heterogeneity at multiple scales may enhance resilience to large, severe disturbances by providing structural, biological and functional redundancy. Post-fire heterogeneity in stand age, coarse wood abundance, microbial and understorey communities reflected interactions between existing pre-fire patterns and fire severity at different scales, suggesting that environmental context plays an important role in successional responses to large fires. In response to these post-fire patterns, heterogeneity in carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) storage, N mineralisation, decomposition, and productivity was also evident at multiple scales and may confer resiliency to large fires. For example, at broad scales, C storage in YNP appears resistant to changes in age-class structure associated with large stand-replacing fires. In summary, the YNP landscape is recovering rapidly from the 1988 fires through natural mechanisms, owing to the abundance and spatial heterogeneity of post-fire residuals, but other systems with fewer biotic legacies may be less resilient to such large, severe fires.
Contaminant infiltration into a pressurized tube with a fabric end cap with turbulent external flow

A short pressurized tube with a fabric end cap is placed concentrically within a longer, larger tube with a contaminated, turbulent flow. The effects of external velocity and internal pressure on the infiltration of contaminant into the pressurized tube are studied. The SIMPLER finite-difference method, together with the two equation model of turbulence, is used to model the flow.
Modeling tracer counter-permeation through anisotropic zeolite membranes: from mean field theory to single-file diffusion

Diffusion in anisotropic host‐guest systems exhibiting a Langmuir-type adsorption isotherm is investigated using a tracer counterpermeation (TCP) simulation technique. In the TCP simulations, tagged and untagged molecules counter-diffuse through zeolite membranes of finite thickness. Fick’s law is used to measure the diffusivities at high equilibrium occupancy, as a function of the membrane thickness, L, and anisotropy, . For values of 1, sorbate motion in the plane of the membrane is very rapid and washes out any correlations in the transmembrane direction, so that diffusion is well modeled by mean field theory. As is reduced, correlations between the motion of nearby molecules decrease the counter-diffusivity, but diffusion remains ‘‘normal’’ in the sense that the diffusivity is independent of thickness for sufficiently thick membranes. For membranes with a0, a single-file mode of diffusion occurs for all membrane thicknesses, and the counter-diffusivity becomes inversely proportional to thickness for thick membranes. Membranes with1 exhibit a single-file diffusion mode for thin membranes that changes over to a normal diffusion mode as the thickness is increased. We have also determined that the rate of transmembrane permeation is controlled by the ratio of the diffusion time to the sorption time, which is given by kdL/D where D is the counter-diffusivity and kd is the desorption coefficient. When permeation is diffusion limited, an assumption of local thermodynamic equilibrium is appropriate at the edges, and the permeability coefficient is independent of membrane thickness. On the other hand, when permeation is sorption limited, the edge concentrations are not determined by the isotherm, and the permeability coefficient depends on thickness so that the permeance is itself independent of membrane thickness. # 1999 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.
Ten Ethics-Based Questions for U.S. Companies Seeking to do Business in Cuba

On December 17, 2014, President Barack Obama began the process of thawing the ice-cold relationship with Cuba by allowing additional travel to the island and relaxing some of the rules on doing business there. Full diplomatic relations were restored in July 2015, and a bank in Florida announced shortly thereafter that it would conduct business with Cuban banks. Nonetheless, as of the time of this writing, the 56-year embargo is still in force largely because of Cuba’s human rights record and the nearly seven billion dollars worth of claims for confiscated property. Even so, US companies are rushing to the island to be the first to stake their claims when they are able to conduct business legally. After all, before the Communist revolution and the confiscation of property US persons and businesses owned or controlled 80% of the island’s resources. When the embargo is lifted, US companies will compete with the EU and Canadian companies that have been there for decades, but what ethical challenges will US companies face? Cuba is one of five remaining Communist countries in the world, and US companies already do business in three of the others — the People’s Republic of China. Laos, and the Socialist Republic of South Viet Nam. What makes Cuba different? How can and will companies reconcile a values-based code of ethics with the realities of the Cuban marketplace?
For Every Answer There are Two Questions

Duality is a concept that dominates modem optimization theory. The most familiar one is that associated with linear programming. Here we look at a different one. Most students are introduced to optimization in a first course in calculus. We propose to show that the idea and use of duality can be introduced in such a course. In a general way, duality asserts the existence of two solutions of extrema problems that are intimately related. Ideally, the two problems should use the same data; one problem should have a solution if and only if the other one does; and the solution of one should give information about the solution of the other. Consider by way of example two problems that are in every calculus text. I. Find the rectangle of maximum area when the perimeter is fixed. II. Find the rectangle of minimum perimeter when the area is fixed. An alert calculus student will observe that the extremal rectangle in both problems is a square. Is this an accident? One way to begin is to observe that "Every time you solve an optimization problem you have proved an inequality." This is hardly a deep statement, but it is a useful principle. For example, if one has solved Problem I and discovered that the answer is a square then one can formulate a useful inequality. For let A be the area of any rectangle of perimeter P. Then A <A1 where A1 is the area of the square of perimeter P. But A1 = (P/4)2 so that
Studies in the physicomathematical theory of organic form

In continuation of previous studies the theory is developed on the assumption that the form of any organism is determined by requirements to perform definite biological functions. A previously outlined theory of the form of plants is developed further, showing how the conditions of mechanical strength together with the specifications of the total mass and metabolism, may quantitatively determine not only the general form of the plant, but even the number, size, shape and shades of the leaves. Next the form of animals, as required by mechanical conditions and by the different types of possible locomotions is discussed. A mathematical theory of locomotion of snakes in relation to their shape is outlined. Next is discussed the form and locomotion of quadrupeds. A number of theoretical relations, which describe the shape of an animal, are derived and compared to available observations. After that the theory of flight of birds and insects is discussed, and again some form relations comparable with observations, are discussed. Finally a set of equations is outlined, which determines not only the external shape, but also the internal structure of animals. Different relations pertaining to some inner organs are derived and compared with available observations. The paper ends with a brief discussion on the shape of unicellular organisms.
Photoreactions in Polyalkylsilynes Induced by ArF-Laser Irradiation

Photoreactions in polyalkylsilyne thin films induced by ArFlaser (193 nm) irradiation have been examined. Photoexcitation of the σ-conjugated Si-network at 193 nm (6.42 eV) results in Si-Si bond scission and alkyl-group desorption when irradiated in a vacuum. In addition to these processes, efficient (up to 7% quantum efficiency) insertion of oxygen into the Si backbone occurs when the irradiation is performed in air, resulting in the formation of a siloxane. Both infrared and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopies indicate a higher oxygen coordination about the Si atoms in the oxidized product than observed for linear polysilanes. This higher oxygen coordination indicates a siloxane network. The polysilynes have been demonstrated as deep UV photoresists and may have additional applications as precursors for thin film or binary optical components.
Plasma Control of Combustion Instability in a Lean Direct Injection Gas Turbine Combustor

Combustion instabilitiy, despite being researched extensively for the past five decades, remains an important issue for modern propulsion and energy systems. The impact of instabilities ranges from increased loading on system components to catastrophic system failure. To date, most strategies for controlling combustion instability have involved either changing subsystem geometry or using an actuator to modify a system parameter, such as the fuel flow rate. In this paper the groundwork is laid for the use of plasmas as an active control mechanism of combustion instabilities. The discharge characteristics of two circuits are examined to determine their compatibility with the instabilities seen in an existing leandirect injection (LDI) combustion chamber. The influence of pressure on the power and energy of a circuit is also examined. Finally, future work to improve the circuits is discussed as well as plans to begin full-scale testing in the LDI combustion chamber. I. Introduction OMBUSTION dynamics and control (CDC) is a multidisciplinary field that has been studied intensely for the past 60 years 1 . The groundwork for modern CDC was laid in the 1950s and 60s when stability problems were observed in jet propulsion systems developed for rockets and aircraft. Combustion instability remains a major issue for energy and propulsion system development, from gas turbines to rocket motors to supersonic ramjet/scramjet propulsion. Combustion instability arises from the interaction of acoustic waves with the unsteady heat release by the combustion. The acoustic waves and transient heat release couple in such a way as to cause one or more of the acoustic modes of the combustion chamber to grow, resulting in high-amplitude pressure oscillations 2,3,4 . These pressure oscillations and the enhanced heat transfer can damage the structural integrity of the system and degrade performance, and may actually cause structural damage 4 . In the worst cases, combustion instability can lead to
Proof Without Words: Sums of Integers as Sums of Cubes

(1998). Proof Without Words: Sums of Integers as Sums of Cubes. Mathematics Magazine: Vol. 71, No. 1, pp. 65-65.
Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor in Central Nervous System Autoimmunity

Abstract Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune demyelinating disease that affects the central nervous system. Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model of MS, has been highly instrumental in elucidating MS immunopathogenesis and testing potential therapies. Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF, also known as Csf2) is a cytokine with an essential role in EAE development. GM-CSF can be produced by various cell types, but the relevant cellular source of GM-CSF in EAE are autoreactive myelin-specific CD4+ T cells. The role of GM-CSF in MS is not known, but the view is that it likely plays an important role, as it does in EAE, has led to ongoing clinical trials testing the safety and therapeutic efficacy of GM-CSF blockade with antibody as MS therapy. We provide an overview of our knowledge of GM-CSF in central nervous system autoimmunity, which has been evolving since the discovery of its essential role in EAE in 2001.
An A-theory without tense operators

A-theorists think there is a fundamental difference between the present and other times. This concern shows up in what kinds of properties they take to be instantiated, what objects they think exist and how they formalize their views. Nearly every contemporary A-theorist assumes that her metaphysics requires a tense logic – a logic with operators like (‘it was the case that ...’) and (‘it will be the case that ...’). In this paper, I show that there is at least one viable A-theory that does not require a logic with tense operators. And I will argue that three common indispensability arguments for tense operators are unsound.
Ethnography for Marketing and Consumer Research

This is intended to assist researchers in employing ethnographic methods in marketing and consumer research. It is our response to the demands of practitioners, students, and academics who want to know more about ethnographic research, but who may not have had a formal training or exposure. Ethnographic research is an instantiation of what is sometimes referred to as interpretive research. Ethnography is increasingly used to explore marketing and consumer issues, designing products, services and systems that improve peopleâ€™s daily lives. We offer a step-by-step approach to conducting ethnography in business and consumer settings with some examples. We also provide a framework and some general principles.
Promptly assessing probability of barge–bridge collision damage of piers through probabilistic-based classification of machine learning

This paper presents a novel probabilistic classification framework for promptly assessing the probability of barge–bridge collision damage of piers based on Bayesian inference with Transitional Markov Chain Monte Carlo simulations. The main idea is to divide the potential damage region into multiple discrete sub-regions and train a probabilistic classifier for each sub-region using data from a set of computationally simulated events or real events or combination of both. The novelty of the presented framework includes: (1) intensive computation of dynamic responses of a structure at different damage scenarios is conducted prior to collision events to generate data for training the probabilistic classifiers; (2) the optimal threshold for reliably triggering damage alarm is determined historically based on all previously known events in the training dataset; (3) uncertainties of the classification model and extracted dynamic features are considered based on the Bayesian model selection and the rate of correction classification and quantified into the probabilities of damage occurrence in different sub-regions. Furthermore, the presented framework can be implemented recursively with different levels of hierarchical divisions of sub-regions to more precisely locate damage in a structure. The applicability of the presented framework is demonstrated through the numerical simulation of identifying barge–bridge collision damage locations in one pier of a prototype bridge. Finally, limitations and future research directions are also discussed.
The stable transition to strategic defences: An example of the empty set

Abstract The Bush administration is committed to achieving the rapid development and early deployment of some kind of space-based missile defence, with Brilliant Pebbles the favoured candidate. This article examines the conditions necessary to maintain stability during the extended period of transition from offence to defence dominance, and concludes that an agreement incorporating these conditions is most unlikely to be achieved. If the superpowers could agree to such a transition, with its prerequisite of virtually total strategic disarmament, they would agree to nuclear disarmament itself.
PHYSICIAN PERSPECTIVES ON CLINICAL DECISION SUPPORT FOR FAMILIAL HYPERCHOLESTEROLEMIA

Background: Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is highly prevalent but <10% of patients have been diagnosed in the US, highlighting the need to increase awareness and control of FH. We conducted a survey of physicians at an academic medical center to assess familiarity with FH and gather input for a
Decision making for batch manufacturing sites under uncertainty

Abstract Due to seasonal differences in production demands, effluent streams from batch manufacturing sites may exhibit considerable variations in number, amount as well as composition. Pharmaceutical and fine chemical production distinguishes itself also in recycling practices since stringent purity requirement often prohibit direct recycle of raw materials into the next batch. Further complications stem from ever changing production campaigns, where each may last only for a few months. In such a dynamic environment, selection of recovery and treatment options as well as assessments of benefits and costs constitutes a formidable task. A deterministic superstructure generation and optimization approach for automatic waste management was presented earlier by- Linninger and Chakraborty [1999]. Designing plant-wide waste management policies assuming perfect information may not be satisfactory given the variability of the production campaigns. Therefore this presentation addresses the problem of finding optimal waste management policies for entire manufacturing sites in the presence of uncertainty. It will offer a mathematical programming framework for implementing three contrasting strategies. Small case studies exemplify the impact of different perspectives on the structural design decisions in the overall plant design.
Echocardiography image enhancement using adaptive fractional order derivatives

Medical ultrasound images are low contrast in nature. Information regarding tissues and other important structure is required by a physician to assess patient's health. Therefore image enhancement is a critical pre-processing task. In this paper a methodology based on emerging topic of fractional calculus is proposed. Proposed method is simple yet effective. In the proposed algorithm, input image is first divided into smooth, texture and edge regions using gradient magnitude of each pixel. Then appropriate order of fractional differential mask is selected to enhance each pixel. Proposed method is compared with state-of-the-art histogram equalization method and fixed-order fractional differential methods. Results are verified quantitatively and qualitatively. For quantitative analysis average gradient and entropy are used. Simulation results verify the effectiveness of proposed method.
Better Late than Never: How the U.S. Government Can and Should Use Bayh-Dole March-In Rights to Respond to the Medicines Access Crisis

The Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 allowed private patenting of inventions discovered with federally-funded research. Congress balanced that significant benefit to private entities by empowering the government to “march in” and grant a license to another manufacturer when the license holder has not made the invention available to the public on reasonable terms. Bayh-Dole also allows march-in when necessary to alleviate health or safety needs. Remarkably, federal agencies have not once exercised these rights since Bayh-Dole’s passage, even in the face of significant problems with access to medicines discovered with federal funding. This article argues that the current medicines pricing and access crisis, highlighted by the inaccessibility of an effective prostate cancer drug discovered by government funding, calls for the U.S. agencies to finally fulfill the terms of the Act.
Correlates of picky eating and food neophobia in young children: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Context Picky eating behavior is prevalent among toddlers and may negatively impact their growth and development. This article summarizes the correlates of picky eating and food neophobia in young children, which were identified using a socio-ecological framework. A literature search was conducted in 4 electronic databases. Inclusion criteria were English-language peer-reviewed publications that investigated correlate(s) of picky eating or food neophobia in children aged ≤30 months. Correlates were categorized into 4 levels: cell, child, clan (family), and community/country. Thirty-two studies, which examined 89 correlates, were identified from the keyword searches of the databases and manual searches of the reference lists of included articles. The most examined correlates were characteristics related to the child (sex, weight, and dietary intake) and parent (feeding beliefs and practices). A meta-analysis estimated the prevalence of picky eating to be 22%. Each additional month of a child's age was associated with a 0.06 U increase in the Children's Eating Behavior Questionnaire food fussiness score. This review highlights the importance of investigating child-parent dyads and bidirectional feeding interactions and draws attention to the lack of picky eating research at the level of the cell and the community/country.