cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Entity-Based Cross-Document Core f erencing Using the Vector Space Model

Cross-document coreference occurs when the same person, place, event, or concept is discussed in more than one text source. Computer recognition of this phenomenon is important because it helps break "the document boundary" by allowing a user to examine information about a particular entity from multiple text sources at the same time. In this paper we describe a cross-document coreference resolution algorithm which uses the Vector Space Model to resolve ambiguities between people having the same name. In addition, we also describe a scoring algorithm for evaluating the cross-document coreference chains produced by our system and we compare our algorithm to the scoring algorithm used in the MUC-6 (within document) coreference task.
Optoelectronic memory applications for VCSEL-based smart pixels

I discuss applications of optoelectronic VLSI devices for spatially parallel high-performance photonic interconnects, network interfaces and parallel cellular computing. I present detailed applications to error-correction and input/output formatting in optical page-oriented memory systems and present some particular implementations using VCSEL, LED, and modulator-based smart pixel technologies. I review some performance characteristics and requirements for various optoelectronic memory architectures and the mapping of their processing and interconnection requirements onto optoelectronic smart pixels. I also consider system integration and packaging with diffractive optical elements (DOEs), micro-optics, and lenslets.
Glass‐resin joint strength and their effect on failure mechanisms in reinforced plastics

The various methods which have been used to measure the joint strength of a glass-polymer interface have been reviewed and the results compared. Conclusions have been made regarding the strength of polyester and epoxy joints and the role of the coupling agent in enhancing this strength. Bond strength methods discussed include the flat plate test as well as the single filament techniques. The stresses which exist at the interface in an actual comosite are calculated. The relation of the glass-polymer joint strength to the final strength to the final strength of a glass reinforced plastic composite is dissussed. The interaction of the interface with an advancing crack is also considered.
Severity of Spatial Neglect During Acute Inpatient Rehabilitation Predicts Community Mobility After Stroke

Objective To examine whether stroke survivors with more severe spatial neglect during their acute inpatient rehabilitation had poorer mobility after returning to their communities. Design A prospective observational study. Setting Acute inpatient rehabilitation and follow-up in the community. Participants Thirty-one consecutive stroke survivors with right-brain damage (women, n = 15 [48.4%]), with the mean (standard deviation) age of 60 ± 11.5 years, were included in the study if they demonstrated spatial neglect within 2 months after stroke. Methods Spatial neglect was assessed with the Behavioral Inattention Test (BIT) (range, 0-146 [a lower score indicates more severity]) and the Catherine Bergego Scale (range, 0-30 [a higher score indicates more severity]). A score of the Behavioral Inattention Test 0 defined the presence of spatial neglect. Main Outcome Measurements The outcome measure is community mobility, defined by the extent and frequency of traveling within the home and in the community, and is assessed with the University of Alabama at Birmingham Study of Aging Life-Space Assessment (range, 0-120 [a lower score indicates less mobile]). This measure was assessed after participants returned home ≥6 months after stroke. The covariates were age, gender, functional independence at baseline; follow-up interval; and depressed mood, which may affect the relationship between spatial neglect and community mobility. Results A lower Behavioral Inattention Test score was a significant predictor of a lower Life-Space Assessment score after controlling for all the covariates (β = 0.009 [95% confidence interval, 0.008-0.017]); P = .020). The proportion of participants unable to travel independently beyond their homes was 0%, 27.3%, and 72.7% for those with mild, moderate, and severe acute neglect, respectively (Catherine Bergego Scale range, 1-10, 11-20, and 21-30, respectively). Conclusions Our result indicates that acute spatial neglect has a negative impact on regaining of functional mobility in the community. Specific screening and treatment of spatial neglect during acute stroke care may be necessary to improve long-term mobility recovery.
Genetic Algorithm for Scheduling of Laboratory Personnel

Background: Staffing core laboratories with appropriate skilled workers requires a process to schedule these individuals so that all workstations are appropriately filled and all the skills of each worker are exercised periodically to maintain competence. Methods: We applied a genetic algorithm to scheduling laboratory personnel. Our program, developed in Visual Basic 4.0, maximizes the value of a fitness function that measures how well a given scheduling of individuals and their skills matches a set of work tasks for a given work shift. The user provides in an Excel spreadsheet the work tasks, individuals available to work on any given date, and skills each individual possesses. The user also specifies the work shift to be scheduled, the range of dates to be scheduled, the number of days that an individual stays on a given workstation before rotating, and various parameters for the genetic algorithm if they differ from the default values. Results: For >22 months, the program matched individuals to those tasks for which they were qualified and maintained personnel skills by rotating job duties. The schedules generated by the program allowed supervisory personnel to anticipate dates far in advance of when worker availability would be limited, so staffing could be adjusted. In addition, the program helped to identify skills for which too few individuals had been trained. This program has been well accepted by the staff in the clinical laboratories of a 670-bed university medical center, saving 37 h of labor per month, or approximately $11 000 per year, in time that supervisory personnel have spent developing work schedules. Conclusions: The genetic algorithm approach appears to be useful for scheduling in highly technical work environments that employ multiskilled workers.
Implicit and Explicit Stigma of Mental Illness in Diagnosed and Healthy Samples

Abstract The stigma of mental illness remains a serious social problem and critical impediment to treatment seeking among diagnosed individuals. Study 1 evaluated explicit attitudes and stereotypes about persons with mental illness relative to persons with physical illness, and also implicit attitudes that lie outside conscious control (using the Implicit Association Test) in a college sample (N = 119). Study 2 extended the evaluation of explicit and implicit biases to a sample diagnosed with mental illness (N = 35) and a healthy control sample from the general population (N = 36). Results demonstrated implicit negative attitudes and beliefs about the helplessness and blameworthiness of mentally ill persons. Interestingly, relatively negative explicit attitudes and biases about the helplessness (though not blameworthiness) of mentally ill persons were also evident. In addition, being a member of the stigmatized group did not result in lower implicit or explicit biases, suggesting that no protective in–gro...
Rule Induction Methods For Credit Scoring

Credit scoring is the term used by the credit industry to describe methods used for classifying applicants for credit into risk classes according to their likely repayment behavior (e.g. “default” and “non-default”). The credit industry has been using such methods as logistic regression, discriminant analysis, and various machine learning techniques to more precisely identify creditworthy applicants who are granted credit, and non-creditworthy applicants who are denied credit. Accurate classification is of benefit both to the creditor (in terms of increased profit or reduced loss) and to the loan applicant (avoiding overcommitment). This paper examines historical data from consumer loans issued by a financial institution to individuals that the financial institution deemed to be qualified customers. The data set consists of the financial attributes of each customer and includes a mixture of loans that the customers paid off or defaulted upon. The paper uses rule induction methods (decision trees) to predict whether a particular applicant paid off or defaulted upon his/her loan. The main advantage of decision trees is their ability to generate if-then classification rules which are intuitive and easy to understand. Rules could be explained to business managers who would need to approve their implementation as well as loan applicants as the reason for denying a loan. The paper compares the correct classification accuracy rates of several decision tree algorithms with other data mining methods proposed in earlier works.
The Changing Figure Ideal in Fashion Illustration

The purpose of this study was to examine the changing fashion figure ideal as represented in fashion illustration during the twentieth century. The ideal body forms and other appearance traits asso...
A model for a very good scale and a bad scale

Given a supercompact cardinal κ and a regular cardinal λ κ , we describe a type of forcing such that in the generic extension the cofinality of κ is λ , there is a very good scale at κ , a bad scale at κ , and SCH at κ fails. When creating our model we have great freedom in assigning the value of 2 κ , and so we can make SCH hold or fail arbitrarily badly.
Growth inhibition of Candida by human oral epithelial cells.

Oropharyngeal candidiasis (OPC) caused by Candida albicans is a significant problem in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)‐infected persons. Recognizing the paucity of information on innate and/or adaptive mucosal host defenses against C. albicans, we recently reported that human and nonhuman primate and mouse vaginal epithelial cells inhibit the growth of C. albicans in vitro. In the present study, oral epithelial cells collected from saliva of healthy volunteers and a purified oral epithelial cell line were found to inhibit blastoconidia and/or hyphal growth of several Candida species. Cell contact was a strict requirement for the epithelial cell anti-Candida activity; neither saliva nor culture supernatants alone inhibited Candida growth, and addition of saliva to the coculture did not modulate the epithelial cell activity. Finally, epithelial cell anti-Candida activity was significantly lower in HIV-infected persons with OPC. Together, these results suggest that oral epithelial cells may play a role in innate resistance against OPC. Oropharyngeal candidiasis (OPC) is an opportunistic mucosal infection predominantly caused by the commensal fungal organism, Candida albicans. As a commensal organism, C. albicans asymptomatically colonizes the oral cavity of normal healthy individuals at rates of 65% [1]. As a result of early exposure to C. albicans, most healthy individuals have detectableCandidaspecific immunity (delayed skin test reactivity, peripheral blood lymphocyte responses to Candida antigens, and Candida-specific antibodies in serum and mucosal secretions) [2]. Of these adaptive immune responses, cell-mediatedimmunity (CMI) is considered to be dominant in protection against mucosal Candida infection, as evidenced by the high incidence of OPC in individuals with reduced CMI (e.g., those with chronic mucocutaneous candidiasis, those who have undergone chemotherapy or allogeneic transplantation, and those withAIDS) [3, 4]. This presumably relates to reduced numbers of Th1-type CD4 T cells, which are associated with protection against infection, and/or a shift to Th2-type responses, associated with
Short Forms of the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale: Fourth Edition:

Short forms of the Stanford-Binet were evaluated with a sample of 150 low-achieving students. The pattern of short-form validity coefficients was similar for students with different Entry Levels, for males and females, and Whites and Blacks. A four-sub-test short form (Vocabulary-Quantitative-Pattern Analyses-Memory for Sentences) and the six-subtest short form recommended by the Stanford-Binet's authors (the four-subtest short form plus Bead Memory and Compehension) obtained the highest (and similar) validity coefficients. The four-subtest short form was recommended over the six because it requires less time to adminster. The two-subtest short forms were not recommended.
"Simple" diagnostics for characterization of low-pressure chemically active plasmas

In the current paper, the "simple" diagnostics for characterization of nonequilib- rium chemically active plasmas are discussed. As to experimental methods, "simple" nonin- vasive spectroscopic methods of ionizing and recombining plasma characterization have been emphasized. The word "simple" in the title is presented in quotes, which means that the methods are assumed to be simple only conditionally. In order to be sure that the measure- ments indeed provide correct information on the plasma parameters, a detailed understand- ing of kinetics of each particular plasma source is required. Moreover, the validity of spec- troscopic methods should be checked by independent diagnostic techniques.
Precessation Treatment with Nicotine Skin Patch Facilitates Smoking Cessation

Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) is a well-established treatment to aid smoking cessation, and current products recommend using NRT only after quitting smoking. However, theoretical arguments and previous data support the hypothesis that precessation use of NRT might be useful in reducing dependence on inhaled nicotine and serve as a helpful prelude to smoking cessation. The present study explored the use of NRT for 2 weeks before a target quit-smoking date, during which subjects continued to smoke ad libitum. Three experimental conditions varied the nicotine delivery of the cigarettes smoked during these 2 weeks so that we could examine the effects of concurrent nicotine administration on compensatory smoking of low tar and nicotine cigarettes. Subjects smoked (a) their usual brands of cigarettes, (b) conventional low tar and nicotine cigarettes, or (c) denicotinized cigarettes. After the quit date, subjects received pharmacotherapy consisting of various doses of NRT (0, 21, or 42 mg/24-hr) in combination with the nicotinic antagonist mecamylamine (10 mg/day). Results showed that precessation nicotine patch treatment was associated with a significantly higher rate of continuous smoking abstinence at 4 weeks, regardless of cigarette condition. Ad libitum smoking before the target quit date was modulated by nicotine patch treatment, and compensatory increases in smoking low tar and nicotine cigarettes were prevented by concurrent use of nicotine patches. These results suggest that use of NRT before a target quit-smoking date deserves further evaluation as a possible smoking cessation treatment. Moreover, while nicotine patches were well tolerated when subjects smoked nicotine-containing cigarettes, the use of nicotine skin patches with reduced-nicotine cigarettes potentially offers the advantage of increased efficacy without introducing concern about toxic effects of excessive nicotine intake.
Unslotted CDMA with fixed packet lengths

The performance analysis of unslotted spread-spectrum packet radio network is very difficult because the received signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) fluctuates during the packet transmission. Past analyses are either based on complete enumeration or restricted to performance bounds. Here, a technique based on ballot theory is developed to analyze the performance of unslotted ALOHA spread-spectrum packet radio networks. This technique is also used to analyze the channel load sensing access protocol. An L-channel model is assumed. >
An algorithm for the generation of nuclear spin species and nuclear spin statistical weights

A set of algorithms for the computer generation of nuclear spin species and nuclear spin statistical weights potentially useful in molecular spectroscopy is developed. These algorithms generate the nuclear spin species from group structures known as generalized character cycle indices (GCCIs). Thus the required input for these algorithms is just the set of all GCCIs for the symmetry group of the molecule which can be computed easily from the character table. The algorithms are executed and illustrated with examples.
Fast Amperometric Immunoassay Utilizing Highly Dispersed Electrode Material

Abstract An immunoassay technique based on a high surface area carbon immunoelectrode is described. Dispersed ULTI carbon serves as a carrier for immobilized antibodies and also as an electrode material. ‘Sandwich’ scheme of immunoassay of rabbit IgG (as a model analyte) has been used. Iodine formed as a result of the enzymatic oxidation of iodide by peroxidase-label has been detected amperometrically. Using dispersed carbon material as a solid support for immobilization of immunoagents and as an electrode material improves the efficiency of immuno-interaction and the sensitivity of electrochemical assay due to the high area-to-volume ratio of solid to liquid phases. The method based on ‘sandwich’ immunoassay is conducted at 21°C. The time of each stage of incubation (with analyte and with peroxidase-antibody conjugate) is 10 min. Electrochemical detection of peroxidase-labeled immuno-complex does not exceed several minutes. The technique allows fast determination of rabbit IgG with a low detection limit,...
The Effect of Three-Dimensional Stimuli versus Two-Dimensional Stimuli on Visual Form Discrimination

The experiment was designed to examine the effects of distinctive feature training using two-dimensional letter-like forms as compared with distinctive feature training using three-dimensional letter-like forms. Subjects were 40 kindergarten children who were randomly assigned to either the two-dimensional training group or the three-dimensional training group. The transfer task involved visual discrimination among two-dimensional letter-like forms. It was hypothesized that those in the three-dimensional group would make fewer confusion errors than those in the two-dimensional group on the transfer task. Results of the experiment confirmed the hypothesis, suggesting that the learning of distinctive features is enhanced through the use of three-dimensional training materials.
We Are Not Beggars

We Are Not Beggars. 1997. 30 minutes, color. video by Wen-jie Qin. For more information, contact Documentary Educational Resources, 101 Morse St., Watertown, MA 02172.
Effects of walnut consumption on cognitive performance in young adults

Walnuts contain a number of potentially neuroprotective compounds like vitamin E, folate, melatonin, several antioxidative polyphenols and significant amounts of n-3 α-linolenic fatty acid. The present study sought to determine the effect of walnuts on verbal and non-verbal reasoning, memory and mood. A total of sixty-four college students were randomly assigned to two treatment sequences in a crossover fashion: walnuts–placebo or placebo–walnuts. Baseline data were collected for non-verbal reasoning, verbal reasoning, memory and mood states. Data were collected again after 8 weeks of intervention. After 6 weeks of washout, the intervention groups followed the diets in reverse order. Data were collected once more at the end of the 8-week intervention period. No significant increases were detected for mood, non-verbal reasoning or memory on the walnut-supplemented diet. However, inferential verbal reasoning increased significantly by 11·2 %, indicating a medium effect size (P = 0·009; d = 0·567). In young, healthy, normal adults, walnuts do not appear to improve memory, mood or non-verbal reasoning abilities. However, walnuts may have the ability to increase inferential reasoning.
The listening group

Although radio is a mass medium, there rarely is any interaction among listeners while each listens in the privacy of his or her home. The only major exceptions to this rule are the “listening groups”; that have developed from a variety of bases and for a variety of reasons. Although we often think of the listening group as a necessary evil in those nations with a shortage of radio receiving sets, the fact is that it often has been used as a tool for adult education in many highly developed nations, including Great Britain and the United States. The following article is based on Dr. Ohliger's dissertation, which is a full treatment of the listening group. John Ohliger is assistant professor of adult education at Ohio State University, and editor of Mass Media/Adult Education, the newsletter of the Mass Media in Adult Education section of the Adult Education Association.
Relationship between electrojet current strength and ELF signal intensity in modulated heating experiments

[1] The High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) facility is used to generate waves in the extremely low frequency (ELF) range via modulated HF heating of the ionosphere. This HF heating modulates the electron temperature in the D region ionosphere and leads to modulated conductivity and a time-varying current which then radiates at the modulation frequency. We investigate the relationship between the intensity of the HAARP-generated ELF signal and the strength of the east-west component of the auroral electrojet as measured by a ground-based magnetometer. We find that under all magnetic conditions, HAARP can generate ELF radiation detectable 37 km away with 73% of tones having an amplitude exceeding 0.15 pT. While strong ELF amplitudes (>1.5 pT) were most common during an enhanced electrojet, a weak electrojet can also support equally high ELF amplitudes. The relative change in ELF amplitude per unit change in electrojet current strength is inversely proportional to the absolute current strength. We interpret the dynamic relationship between ELF amplitude and electrojet current strength in terms of the time-variable ionospheric parameters and HF heating efficiency.
Norepinephrine-deficient mice exhibit normal sleep-wake states but have shorter sleep latency after mild stress and low doses of amphetamine.

Study objectives Mice lacking the ability to make norepinephrine (NE) were used to investigate how NE may be involved in regulating sleep and sleep latency under normal conditions and as a response to mild stress or varying doses of amphetamine. Design Sleep latency was measured in NE-deficient and control mice after behavioral interventions and after 3 low doses of amphetamine. Sleep-wake states were measured using electroencephalography and electromyography for the first 6 hours after lights-on under baseline conditions and after an injection of saline. The first 6 hours after lights-off were also measured under baseline conditions. Setting N/A. Patients or participants Mice lacking the dopamine beta-hydroxylase gene (Dbh -/-), which is required for NE synthesis, and their littermate controls were used. Interventions N/A. Measurements and results As measured behaviorally and with electroencephalography, sleep latency was significantly shorter in the NE-deficient mice after cage changing, saline injection, and 3 different doses of amphetamine. There were no differences between the 2 groups in any sleep parameters under baseline conditions or after saline injection during the day or night. Conclusions The NE-deficient mice showed a significantly shorter latency to sleep under many different conditions, measured both behaviorally and with electroencephalography. These data suggest that NE is wake promoting during the period of time between a mildly stressful event or a low dose of amphetamine and sleep onset. The NE-deficient mice did not show deficits in wake or increases in rapid eye movement sleep, as predicted from current models of the involvement of NE in the regulation of these 2 states.
Reviewing Wireless Mergers Providing Clarity on How to Evaluate Competition, Efficiency, and the “Public Interest”

The Federal Communications Commission can improve the transparency of its decision process by establishing a set of guidelines for its review of mergers. Its current process is opaque, and parties cannot discern the weights that it places on “public interest” goals in some areas and how those balance against harms in other areas. The antitrust agencies’ Merger Guidelines provide an example of how the Commission could signal more clearly its analytical process and push for more efficient remedies and lessen political pressure to undertake inefficient trade-offs such as requiring build out to areas unaffected by changes in competition due to a merger.
Reflections on Exercise Science

This article shares a brief history of exercise science, and a reflection on its purpose, value and future relevance as a career and discipline.
INCREASED ENDOTHELIUM-DEPENDENT RENAL VASODILATION IN CIRRHOTIC RATS

We have evaluated the renal blood flow (RBF) response of cirrhotic rats to endothelium-dependent [acetylcholine (ACh)] and -independent [sodium nitroprusside (NP)] vasodilators. In anesthetized rats, ACh dose dependently increased RBF, but the response of the cirrhotic rats (n = 6) was significantly higher than that of the controls (n = 6). NP also increased RBF in a dose-dependent manner, but there were no differences between both groups. NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME; 10 mg/kg i.v.) significantly reduced the responses to ACh in both groups, but those of the cirrhotic rats were still higher than those of the controls. In experiments performed in isolated perfused kidneys, preconstricted with phenylephrine, dose-response curves for ACh and NP were obtained in the presence of indomethacin. Both ACh and NP decreased renal perfusion pressure dose dependently, but only the response of the cirrhotic rats (n = 5) to ACh was significantly higher than that of the controls (n = 5). L-NAME (100 microM) significantly reduced the responses to ACh and increased those of NP and abolished the differences between groups, except at the high dose of ACh. These results demonstrate an elevated endothelium-dependent vasodilator response in the cirrhotic kidney, which is eliminated by combined prostaglandin and nitric oxide (NO) synthesis inhibition and suggest that increased intrarenal activity of NO may be contributing to the renal alterations of liver cirrhosis.
Linking Product Features to Perceptions: Self-Stated versus Statistically Revealed Importance Weights:

The author compares self-stated and statistical techniques for linking product features to perceptions. An empirical application shows an analysis of variance model to be superior with respect to p...
Adsorption on Rough Surfaces

A new model for adsorption on rough surfaces is derived. The model predicts behavior regarding surface smoothing that agrees well with experimental observations. Computer simulations show the model capable of matching a wide variety of isotherm patterns with reasonable physical constants. These simulations also show that a significant error results in applying the standard BET equation to adsorption data obtained on rough surfaces.
Identity of Prolactin with Water Drive Factor in Triturus viridescens

SummaryProlactin induces the water drive in normal, thyroidectomized or gonadectomized land phases of Triturus viridescens within 10 days, irrespective of their size or sex. It induces repeated molting in efts with normal thyroids but not in efts deprived of their thyroids. It causes also the rapid assumption of the adult coloration and finally the appearance of adult structural characteristics.
Pathologic features of antibody-mediated rejection in renal allografts: an expanding spectrum.

Purpose of reviewThis review discusses recent findings that are changing and expanding the spectrum of pathologic changes associated with antibodies directed against renal allografts.Recent findingsThis review focuses on four lesions: subclinical antibody-mediated rejection (AMR), C4d-negative AMR,
Photochemical Reaction Containers as Energy and Electron-Transfer Agents

Two deep cavity cavitands, octa acid and resorcinol-capped octa acid, have been established to be good triplet energy donors in the excited state and electron donors in the ground state to excited acceptors. This property endows them the capacity to be “active” reaction containers. The above recognition provides opportunities to investigate the excited state chemistry of host-encapsulated guests without the use of secondary triplet energy and electron donors.
Exercise Training in Heart Failure: When?

The cardinal symptoms limiting exercise in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) are fatigue and/or dyspnea. Conventionally, it has been taught that both are the direct result of reduced cardiac output. Fatigue was thought to arise from the impaired cardiac pumping capacity delivering inadequate amounts of oxygen to the exercising muscle so that there is a buildup of products of anaerobic metabolism within the muscle. Dyspnea was thought to arise from the effects of impaired cardiac function increasing left atrial pressures and thereby pulmonary venous pressures and producing pulmonary congestion. This explanation formed the basis of the subdivision of heart failure into forward and backward heart failure symptoms. Several recent lines of evidence, however, have questioned these assumptions. Persistent vasoconstrictor drive, endothelial dysfunction, and a wide array of structural and functional abnormalities of skeletal muscle have all been described as being better able to explain fatigue in CHF [1]. Dyspnea appears to be related to enhanced ventilatory effort rather than pulmonary congestion in most well-treated nonedematous patients [2]. This may in particular be related to augmented re_ex control systems such as the arterial chemore_exes and the muscle ergore_exes (metabore_exes) [3,4]. Furthermore, even the differentiation between fatigue and dyspnea may be arti~cial in many patients, since as either symptom can occur with subtle alterations in the exercise testing procedure, and in many patients a sensation of exhaustion may have elements of both [5]. The cause of the perceptions of fatigue and dyspnea may arise from similar sensory afferents from the abnormal muscle of chronic heart failure patients. For all these reasons, attention has turned to the role of peripheral manifestations of chronic heart failure and in particular to whether exercise training programs could reverse some of these abnormalities and thereby improve the symptoms and exercise tolerance of the patient with CHF. This special issue reviews some of the evidence for a role for exercise training, concentrating on particular aspects of the use of training as a therapeutic option in the clinical setting. This article will concentrate on the timing of exercise in the management of patients with left ventricular dysfunction and chronic heart failure throughout their clinical course. Bene~cial Effects of Exercise Training in Cardiac Patients
Learning concept graphs from online educational data

This paper addresses an open challenge in educational data mining, i.e., the problem of automatically mapping online courses from different providers (universities, MOOCs, etc.) onto a universal space of concepts, and predicting latent prerequisite dependencies (directed links) among both concepts and courses. We propose a novel approach for inference within and across course-level and concept-level directed graphs. In the training phase, our system projects partially observed course-level prerequisite links onto directed concept-level links; in the testing phase, the induced concept-level links are used to infer the unknown course-level prerequisite links. Whereas courses may be specific to one institution, concepts are shared across different providers. The bi-directional mappings enable our system to perform interlingua-style transfer learning, e.g. treating the concept graph as the interlingua and transferring the prerequisite relations across universities via the interlingua. Experiments on our newly collected datasets of courses from MIT, Caltech, Princeton and CMU show promising results.
Thermodynamic exergy analysis for small modular reactor in nuclear hybrid energy system

Small modular reactors (SMRs) provide a unique opportunity for future nuclear development with reduced financial risks, allowing the United States to meet growing energy demands through safe, reliable, clean air electricity generation while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the reliance on unstable fossil fuel prices. A nuclear power plant is comprised of several complex subsystems which utilize materials from other subsystems and their surroundings. The economic utility of resources, or thermoeconomics, is extremely difficult to analyze, particularly when trying to optimize resources and costs among individual subsystems and determine prices for products. Economics and thermodynamics cannot provide this information individually. Thermoeconomics, however, provides a method of coupling the quality of energy available based on exergy and the value of this available energy – “exergetic costs”. For an SMR exergy analysis, both the physical and economic environments must be considered. The physical environment incorporates the energy, raw materials, and reference environment, where the reference environment refers to natural resources available without limit and without cost, such as air input to a boiler. The economic environment includes market influences and prices in addition to installation, operation, and maintenance costs required for production to occur. The exergetic cost or the required exergy for production may be determined by analyzing the physical environment alone. However, to optimize the system economics, this environment must be coupled with the economic environment. A balance exists between enhancing systems to improve efficiency and optimizing costs. Prior research into SMR thermodynamics has not detailed methods on improving exergetic costs for an SMR coupled with storage technologies and renewable energy such as wind or solar in a hybrid energy system. This process requires balancing technological efficiencies and economics to demonstrate financially competitive systems. This paper aims to explore the use of exergy analysis methods to estimate and optimize SMR resources and costs for individual subsystems, based on thermodynamic principles – resource utilization and efficiency. The paper will present background information on exergy theory; identify the core subsystems in an SMR plant coupled with storage systems in support of renewable energy and hydrogen production; perform a thermodynamic exergy analysis; determine the cost allocation among these subsystems; and calculate unit exergetic costs, unit exergoeconomic costs, and first and second law efficiencies. Exergetic and exergoeconomic costs ultimately determine how individual subsystems contribute to overall profitability and how efficiencies and consumption may be optimized to improve profitability, making SMRs more competitive with other generation technologies.
Optimizing two-photon multiple fluorophore imaging of the human trabecular meshwork

Purpose Advances in two-photon (2P) deep tissue imaging provide powerful options for simultaneously viewing multiple fluorophores within tissues. We determined imaging parameters for optimally visualizing three fluorophores in the human trabecular meshwork (TM) to simultaneously detect broad-spectrum autofluorescence and multiple fluorophores through a limited number of emission filters.
Immunological potency and stability of native and synthetic secretins.

Immunological activities of pure native secretin from the Gastrointestinal Hormone Research Laboratory (GIH secretin) and semipure native Boots secretin were compared using a sensitive and specific radioimmunoassay. It was found that weight for weight, GIH secretin was 5000 times more immunoreactive than Boots secretin. The immunological equivalent of 1 clinical unit (GIH) was found to be 4 Crick-Harper-Raper units. In addition, the stability of pure native (GIH) and synthetic secretin (Squibb) solutions were investigated by immuno- and bioassay. It was found that GIH secretin maintained full immuno- and bioactivity for 1 month and had lost only approximately 25% of its initial immunoactivity after 9 months of storage at pH 7.5 and -15°C. In contrast, Squibb secretin lost approximately 50% of its immuno- and bioactivity during 1 month of storage in solution. It is concluded that both pure native and pure synthetic secretins are unstable in solution over longer periods of time. However, GIH secretin maintains full immunoactivity, as well as bioactivity, for at least 1 month. The superior stability of GIH secretin is probably due to the presence of cysteine-HCl in the GIH ampules.
Transaortic repair of double-outlet right ventricle with situs inversus, 1-loop, 1-malposition (I,L,L), subaortic ventricular septal defect, and associated anomalies

Successful total correction of a rare form of double-outlet right ventricle (I.L.L.) is reported wherein transaortic construction of the ventricular baffle was used. Surgical approach to the defect was unsatisfactory through a right ventriculotomy. Excellent exposure was achieved through the aortic valve. Correction of partial anomalous venous return from the left lung, pulmonary debanding, and repair of the pulmonary artery were also done. Double superior venae cavae made special venous cannulation necessary. Cardiac catheterization at one year documented successful repair. This case illustrates the usefulness of the transaortic approach to a ventricular septal defect when repair through a ventriculotomy is difficult or impossible.
Long-term clinical and hemodynamic studies after ventricular aneurysmectomy and aorta-coronary bypass.

Late clinical and hemodynamic evaluations in 18 patients with ventricular aneurysmectomy and aorta-coronary bypass are presented. Ten patients had significant obstructive lesions in two major vessels (55 per cent), and 6 had extensive three vessel disease (33 per cent). In 13 patients, 21 aorta-coronary saphenous bypass grafts were performed in addition to aneurysmectomy. The operative mortality rate was 11 per cent. One patient died suddenly 5 months after the operation (one year mortality rate 17 per cent). The 15 surviving patients have been followed up for 12 to 41 months (average 24 months). Clinical results were considered excellent in 2 patients who have been asymptomatic (Class I, N.Y.H.A.). Nine others were considered to have good clinical results (Class II). Five patients have continued to have congestive heart failure and angina on minimal effort (Class III or IV). Six of the 11 patients considered to have excellent or good results underwent postoperative hemodynamic studies 6 to 34 months after the operation. A significant increase in cardiac index was documented in all 6 patients. Paradoxic movement was not detected in any of the postoperative ventriculograms. Five of the seven venous grafts inserted were patent. Elevated left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP), low cardiac index, and a persistent dyskinetic area in the left ventricle were found in 2 patients considered to have poor clinical results. Clinical and hemodynamic evaluations have shown a significant improvement in most patients surviving ventricular aneurysmectomy. However, postoperative systemic embolism, myocardial infarction, progression of coronary artery disease, transient cerebral ischemic attacks, graft occlusion, arrhythmias, and mitral regurgitation in previously prolapsed mitral valve leaflets account for progressive disability and limited activity after a successful operation.
Abwärmenutzung Von Hochbauten (Heat Recovery From Buildings)—Entwicklung Von Kennziffern für europäische Länder

Das Battelle-Institut e.V., Frankfurt, war von der Europaischen Kommission und dem Forschungsministerium der Bundesrepublik Deutschland aufgefordert worden, die Nutzung der Abwarme sowohl in Wohngebauden als auch Schulen, Krankenhausern, Burogebauden etc.
Forest Conservation in Southeastern Brazil, 1900 to 1955

The year 1900 marks, approximately, the beginning of conservationist concern in southeastern Brazil. That region, now the country's most densely populated, urbanized and industrialized, was once entirely covered by forest, more than half of which remained in 1900. From then onward public debate and conservationist campaigning disputed, but could not halt, the razing of primary forest. The mid-1950s witnessed two climactic defeats for environmentalism: the usurpation and destruction of two of the largest surviving areas of publicly-owned forest reserves. In this essay the issues of this discordant and tragic history will be described.' The Atlantic Coastal Forest, as this biome has been denominated, although related to the forests of the Amazon, contained many endemic species, so that its clearing has involved a large number of extinctions. This forest, the result of a rainy, tropical to sub-tropical climate exhibiting mild seasonal changes of temperature and rainfall, once extended in a narrow band along the entire north-south coast, from Rio Grande do Norte to Rio Grande do Sul. In the southeastern region climatic and topographic conditions permitted the forest to spread 300 to 400 km inland. The forest was attractive to European settlers because of the extreme, though temporary richness of the litter and humus that remained when it was cleared. They adopted the indigenous practice of burning forest to plant crops, but they transformed it by using the iron hoe. This tool made it possible to continue cultivation until the humus was depleted and the forest was unable to reestablish itself. As long as more forest remained to be burned, this did not much inconvenience the settlers, and in any case cattle raising provided alternate employment for exhausted lands. Fire was constantly set to renew pasture so that the forest retreated even faster than was necessary to accommodate agriculture. Much of the highland is mountainous and hillsides were, for certain crops like coffee, preferred. Erosion therefore abbreviated the period between the clearing of climax forest and its abandonment to cattle.2 By 1900 much of the incalculable riches of the original forest had been reduced to ashes in order to grow export crops: sugar, mostly along the coast, and coffee in the highlands. The latter was especially demanding of forest because it was believed that only land newly cleared of primary forest was suitable and because coffee planting and tending were inefficiently done. The burgeoning market for coffee stimulated land speculation, leading to clearing and planting far in excess of world demand, much 55
Topic Cube: Topic Modeling for OLAP on Multidimensional Text Databases.

As the amount of textual information grows explosively in various kinds of business systems, it becomes more and more desirable to analyze both structured data records and unstructured text data simultaneously. While online analytical processing (OLAP) techniques have been proven very useful for analyzing and mining structured data, they face challenges in handling text data. On the other hand, probabilistic topic models are among the most effective approaches to latent topic analysis and mining on text data. In this paper, we propose a new data model called topic cube to combine OLAP with probabilistic topic modeling and enable OLAP on the dimension of text data in a multidimensional text database. Topic cube extends the traditional data cube to cope with a topic hierarchy and store probabilistic content measures of text documents learned through a probabilistic topic model. To materialize topic cubes efficiently, we propose a heuristic method to speed up the iterative EM algorithm for estimating topic models by leveraging the models learned on component data cells to choose a good starting point for iteration. Experiment results show that this heuristic method is much faster than the baseline method of computing each topic cube from scratch. We also discuss potential uses of topic cube and show sample experimental results.
Towards GPU-Accelerated Web-GIS for Query-Driven Visual Exploration

Web-GIS has played an important role in supporting accesses, visualization and analysis of geospatial data over the Web for the past two decades. However, most of existing WebGIS software stacks are not able to exploit increasingly available parallel computing power and provide the desired high performance to support more complex applications on large-scale geospatial data. Built on top our past works on developing high-performance spatial query processing techniques on Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), we propose a novel yet practical framework on developing a GPU-accelerated Web-GIS environment to support Query-Driven Visual Explorations (QDVE) on Big Spatial Data. An application case on visually exploring global biodiversity data is presented to demonstrate the feasibility and the efficiency of the proposed framework and related techniques on both the frontend and backend of the prototype system.
Surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (SELDI-TOF MS) for determining prognosis in advanced stage hormone relapsing prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer frequently progresses despite early diagnosis and appropriate treatment with radical prostatectomy and/or radiotherapy. The clinical utility of SELDI-TOF MS to identify serum biomarker patterns associated with prostate cancer progression was examined by analysis of the serum proteome of advanced prostate cancer patients receiving standard androgen deprivation therapy. Serum from advanced-stage patients receiving androgen deprivation therapy was profiled by SELDI-TOF MS. Group 1 patients (n =1 5) had stable prostate specific antigen (PSA) responses to treatment; Group 2 (n =1 6) had rising PSA levels. Spectra were subjected to peak identification following total ion current (TIC) normalization. Peak intensities with m/z between 2,000 and 20,000 were tested for group differences via Kruskal-Wallis tests, and assessed individually for PSA-independent associations with overall survival via covariate-adjusted Cox regressions. TIC normalization yielded 53 useable spectra; 119 peaks with m/z between 2,000 and 20,000 were identified. Seven peaks showed statistically significant ( p< 0.05) differences between PSA groups, and several other peaks showed significant associations with overall survival independent of PSA status. In summary, SELDI-TOF MS captured a specific biomarker profile associated with biochemical relapse and provided additional prognostic information regarding long-term survival, independent of clinical PSA status.
Propofol's Effects on the Fetal Brain for Non-Obstetric Surgery.

While the use of Propofol has been increasing in usage for general surgical procedures since its release to market, there has been little work done on its potential link to neurotoxicity in humans. Only recently, following the release of a warning label from the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) regarding a potential link to “neurotoxicity” in the neonate, did the surgical and anesthesiology communities become more aware of its potential for harm. Given the widespread use of this drug in clinical practice, the warning label naturally raised controversy regarding intrapartum Propofol usage. While intended to generate further studies, the lack of a viable anesthetic alternative raises issues regarding its current usage for surgical procedures in pregnant women. To answer the question whether current evidence is supportive of Propofol usage at its current levels in pregnant women, this review summarizes available evidence of fetal Propofol exposure in animal studies.