cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Postmerger Integration at Northrop Grumman Information Technology

This case presents the "best practices" of a highly successful post-merger integrator that grew from $400 million in 1997, to $1.5 billion in 2000, to $4 billion in 2002.The case focus is on the $4.0 billion IT sector of Northrop Grumman, a company confronting immense change in the rapidly consolidating defense business. This integration is unique in that the product is a complete melding of various companies, systems, leaderships, and cultures of 11 legacy organizations. Not only is the result an organization with a new identity, but also one with new strategic capabilities unavailable to any of the stand-alone legacy companies. A teaching note is available to registered faculty, along with video clips that include footage of weapons systems (e.g., B-2 bomber) and information about the company's PMI process. Excerpt UVA-BP-0472 Rev. Feb. 1, 2011 POST-MERGER INTEGRATION AT NORTHROP GRUMMAN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY It was March 2003, and Herb Anderson was watching the latest CNN report on the Iraqi warfront. He observed the potent effectiveness of a remarkable new confluence of existing weapons technologies connected by state-of-the-art computing. Northrop Grumman's C4ISR system connected pilots, ground teams, and sensors in the real-time Computer Command, Control and Communication of Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance of battlefield operations. Each of these independent elements had already been the best in the world a few years ago, but they were much more so when integrated into the C4ISR system, as it was called. Advances in IT enabled the interconnection of several different systems, improving the performance of each individual system and reducing what the military referred to as “the fog of war.” At the same time that Northrop Grumman Information Technology (NGIT) made integration possible on the battlefield, it also worked to integrate a series of acquisitions at its sector offices in Herndon, Virginia. Anderson, president of NGIT, sought to acquire other companies that would enable it to extend the strengths of its own corporate systems to the future needs of the defense and private sectors. Northrop used an iterative process to develop a merger integration methodology that helped the company avoid the fog. Over the years, the company's approach to integration earned it several accolades. . . .
"Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Central Nervous System Metastases From the Laboratory to the Clinic".

ABSTRACT Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) accounts for 15% to 20% of breast cancers and has an incidence as high as 50% of brain metastases once patients develop advanced disease. The lack of targeted and effective therapies, characteristic of this subtype of breast cancer, is especially evident once central nervous system (CNS) metastases occur. Compared with other subtypes of breast cancer, TNBC patients have the shorter interval from diagnosis to development of brain metastases and the shorter overall survival once they occur, a median of 4 to 6 months. Preclinical studies of TNBC and CNS microenvironment are actively ongoing, clarifying mechanisms and orienting more effective approaches to therapy. While the first drugs have been specifically approved for use in metastatic TNBC, data on their CNS effect are still awaited.
Robotic Completion Radical Cholecystectomy with Fluorescence Guidance

The application of minimally invasive surgery (MIS) techniques in the treatment of hepatobiliary malignancies offers advantages of shorter length of stay, quicker functional recovery, and decreased need for postoperative opioids. However, MIS completion radical cholecystectomy for incidentally diagnosed gallbladder cancer can be challenging due to a reoperative field and lack of tactile feedback. This video demonstrates the utility of the robotic platform and highlights the ways in which it assists surgeons in overcoming these limitations. These include (1) versatile wristed instruments and excellent visualization that facilitate a thorough regional lymphadenectomy; and (2) built-in fluorescence imaging technology that can be used with intravenous indocyanine green (ICG) to confirm porta hepatis anatomy in a reoperative field. ICG pharmacokinetics enable fluorescence angiography 15–20 s after ICG injection and fluorescence cholangiography 15–20 min after ICG injection as the dye accumulates in the biliary system. Systematic and intentional application of these techniques allows for the safe performance of robotic completion radical cholecystectomy following sound oncologic principles, with excellent perioperative outcomes.
Magnetic-Gradient-Free Two-Axis Control of a Valley Spin Qubit in Si x Ge 1 − x

Silicon-based spin qubits are of significant interest in quantum information processing, due to their small size and potential for scalability. Implementations have been hindered, though, by the presence of electronic valley degeneracy (which causes spin decoherence) and by silicon's weak spin-orbit coupling (which necessitates complicated micromagnet fabrication to create a magnetic field gradient). The authors measure the valley spectrum of a double-quantum-dot device, and establish two-axis control of a singlet-triplet qubit using the artificial magnetic field gradient generated by the valley subspace. This carries important ramifications for scaling up silicon-based spin qubits.
Molecular aspects of fructose metabolism and metabolic disease

Excessive sugar consumption is increasingly considered as a contributor to the emerging epidemics of obesity and the associated cardiometabolic disease. Sugar is added to the diet in the form of sucrose or high-fructose corn syrup, both of which comprise nearly equal amounts of glucose and fructose. The unique aspects of fructose metabolism and properties of fructose-derived metabolites allow for fructose to serve as a physiological signal of normal dietary sugar consumption. However, when fructose is consumed in excess, these unique properties may contribute to the pathogenesis of cardiometabolic disease. Here, we review the biochemistry, genetics, and physiology of fructose metabolism and consider mechanisms by which excessive fructose consumption may contribute to metabolic disease. Lastly, we consider new therapeutic options for the treatment of metabolic disease based upon this knowledge.
Symmetry Engineering of Graphene Plasmonic Crystals

The dispersion relation of plasmons in graphene with a periodic lattice of apertures takes a band structure. Light incident on this plasmonic crystal excites only particular plasmonic modes in select bands. The selection rule is not only frequency/wavevector matching but also symmetry matching, where the symmetry of plasmonic modes originates from the point group symmetry of the lattice. We demonstrate versatile manipulation of light-plasmon coupling behaviors by engineering the symmetry of the graphene plasmonic crystal.
Swine wastewater treatment by the static granular bed reactor

Swine wastewater was successfully treated by the SGBR. Two types of swine wastewater samples were used, and the performance of the SGBR was excellent. COD removal efficiency of sample 1 was 84.7~94.5%, while that of sample 2 was 58.4~76.6%. The SGBR acted not only as a bioreactor but also as a filter system. The performance of suspended solids removal was excellent irrespective of the OLR. Additionally, the COD removal efficiency in the effluent after backwashing was not a function of the recovery time but that of the OLR. The SGBR model was developed with concepts of advection, diffusion/dispersion, and decay of microorganisms. The simulated COD correlated well with the experimental COD except at low concentrations. The SGBR behaved as a pseudo-plug flow reactor within the top 20% of reactor height so that most of the COD and VFA were completely removed. In addition, a large amount of granules in the lower part of the SGBR was used to polish organic matter and solids.
A. The Core Language, L

In this section we present an elementary formal language L, called the core language, whose associated semantics is rich enough to illustrate the major innovations we propose. Syntactically the language L is intended to represent the basic predicate-argument structure of (first order) English. The English categories represented in L are: Common Noun Phrase (man, student, etc.), Full Noun Phrase (John, every man, etc., a category which includes Proper Noun Phrase as a subcategory), Determiner (every, some, etc.), One Place Predicate (sleep, walk, etc.), Two Place Predicate (hug, kiss, etc.), and Sentence (sometimes referred to a Formula or as Zero Place Predicate). Essentially all categories of L are boolean in that complex members can be recursively formed from simpler ones by taking combination with and, or, and not all derived expressions are directly interpreted as a function of the interpretation of their immediate constituents.
Case Study in Cox Regression

Consider the randomized trial of estrogen for treatment of prostate cancer 87 described in Chapter 8 Let us now develop a model for time until death (of any cause). There are 354 deaths among the 502 patients. To be able to efficiently estimate treatment benefit, to test for differential treatment effect, or to estimate prognosis or absolute treatment benefit for individual patients, we need a multivariable survival model. In this case study we do not make use of data reductions obtained in Chapter 8 but show simpler (partial) approaches to data reduction. We do use the transcan results for imputation.
Reclaiming fair use, by Patricia Aufderheide and Peter Jaszi

Review of Patricia Aufderheide and Peter Jaszi, Reclaiming Fair Use: How to Put Balance Back in Copyright. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2011, paperback, $17.00 (199p), ISBN 978-0-226-03228-3.
From the Big Bang to the Nobel Prize and on to James Webb Space Telescope

The Big Bang 13.7 billion years ago started the expansion of our piece of the universe, and portions of it stopped expanding and made stars, galaxies, planets, and people. I summarize the history of the universe, and explain how humans have learned about its size, its expansion, and its constituents. The COBE (Cosmic Background Explorer) mission measured the remnant heat radiation from the Big Bang, showed that its color (spectrum) matches the predictions perfectly, and discovered hot and cold spots in the radiation that reveal the primordial density variations that enabled us to exist. My current project, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), is the planned successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, and will extend its scientific discoveries to ever greater distances and ever closer to the Big Bang itself. Its infrared capabilities enable it to see inside dust clouds to study the formation of stars and planets, and it may reveal the atmospheric properties of planets around other stars. Planned for launch in 2013, it is an international project led by NASA along with the European and Canadian Space Agencies.
Mitochondrial Cation-Hydrogen Ion Exchange SODIUM SELECTIVE TRANSPORT BY MITOCHONDRIA AND SUBMITOCHONDRIAL PARTICLES

Abstract The neutral exchange between Na+ or K+ ions and protons across the mitochondrial membrane was studied by means of passive swelling in isotonic acetate salts. The selectivity for Na+ over K+ was approximately 50:1. The rate of Na+-dependent swelling mediated by the natural exchange system was sensitive to pH and inhibited 70 % or more by 20 mm Mg2+. Physiological Mg2+ levels, however, inhibited only about 15 %. According to direct flux measurements with submitochondrial particles, the endogenous cation-H+ exchange possessed an apparent Na+:K+ selectivity ranging from 6 to 10:1 depending upon the experimental conditions. These ratios were found to be underestimates of the actual selectivity due to translocation of endogenous Na+ ions. Values corrected accordingly were comparable to those obtained for intact mitochondria. Natural mitochondrial cation-H+ exchange was compared to exchange mediated by the "ionophore," nigericin. Kinetic studies with mitochondria and submitochondrial particles yielded a Na+:K+ selectivity ratio of 1.0 for nigericin. Cation discrimination was the major difference between endogenous and nigericin-dependent exchange. Differences between properties of ionophores in model systems and their kinetic behavior in biological membranes are discussed in the context of isolation-reconstitution studies.
Insulin action impaired by deficiency of the G-protein subunit G iα2

INTEGRATION of information between tyrosine kinase1 and G-protein-mediated pathways2 is necessary, but remains poorly understood. Here we use cells from transgenic mice harbouring inducible expression of RNA antisense to the gene encoding Giα2 (refs 3, 4) to show that Giα2 is critical for insulin action. Giα2 deficiency in adipose tissue and liver produces hyperinsulin-aemia, impaired glucose tolerance and resistance to insulin in vivo. Insulin resistance affects glucose-transporter activity and recruitment, counterregulation of lipolysis, and activation of glycogen synthase, all of which are cardinal responses to insulin5. Giα2 deficiency increases protein-tyrosine phosphatase activity and attenuates insulin-stimulated tyrosine phosphorylation of IRS (insulin-receptor substrate 1) in vivo. Giα2 deficiency creates a model for the insulin resistance characteristic of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM)6, implicating Giα2 as a positive regulator of insulin action.
E Ink in 2008

In the fall of 2008, E Ink had positioned itself as a leader in electronic ink technology thanks to the launch of several eBook devices such as Amazon's Kindle. Yet E Ink still faced the question of how to turn its technology into a profitable business amid competing technologies and financial challenges.
Can Eliminating School Fees in Poor Districts Boost Enrollment? Evidence from South Africa

AbstractThe charging of school user fees is a much-debated policy issue in developing countries. In this paper, I evaluate the impact of a South African fee elimination program that was targeted at the poorest two quintiles of schools based on a community poverty score. Fixed effects estimates find that the program increased enrollment by almost 2 percentage points in treated secondary schools, an increase concentrated in earlier secondary grades. There is substantial heterogeneity in the estimated secondary school effect: it is driven entirely by an increase of around 3.5 percentage points in the poorer of the two treated quintiles. Regression discontinuity estimates confirm that the relatively wealthy schools near the treatment cutoff did not experience any effects on enrollment. Overall, the abolition of fees seems to have been reasonably effective in increasing secondary school enrollment in particularly poor communities. This is despite the fact that the eliminated fees were relatively low, comprisin...
Myocardial Protection in Heart Surgery

One of the unmet clinical needs in heart surgery is the prevention of myocardial stunning and necrosis that occurs as a result of ischemia-reperfusion. Myocardial stunning, a frequent consequence after heart surgery, is characterized by a requirement for postoperative inotropic support despite a technically satisfactory heart operation. In high-risk patients with marginal cardiac reserve, stunning is a major cause of prolonged critical care and may be associated with as much as a 5-fold increase in mortality. In contrast, the frequency of myocardial necrosis (myocardial infarction [MI]) after cardiac surgery is less appreciated and its consequences are much more subtle. The consequences may not be apparent for months to years. While we now have a much better understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying myocardial stunning and MI, we still have no effective way to prevent these complications, nor a consistently effective means to engage the well-studied endogenous mechanisms of cardioprotection. The failure to develop clinically effective interventions is multifactorial and can be attributed to reliance on findings obtained from subcellular and cellular studies, to drawing conclusions from preclinical large animal studies that have been conducted in a disease-free state, and to accepting less than robust surrogate markers of injury in phase II clinical trials. These factors also explain the disappointing failure to identify effective adjuvant therapy in the setting of percutaneous coronary revascularization for acute MI (AMI) and reperfusion injury. These issues have contributed to the disappointing outcomes of large and costly phase III trials, resulting in a lack of enthusiasm on the part of the pharmaceutical industry to engage in further drug development for this indication. The purpose of this review is to (1) define the scope of the clinical problem; (2) summarize the outcomes of selected phases II and III clinical trials; and (3) identify the gap that needs to be closed in order to address the unmet clinical need.
High-Temperature Electrospinning of Polyethylene Microfibers from Solution

The process of electrospinning uses a high-voltage source to produce an electrostatically driven jet of polymer solution that thins and elongates as it is driven toward an electrically grounded target. The fiber diameters which result from this process are on the order of nanometers to micrometers and can have large surface area to weight ratios. These high surface area fibers offer significant advantages for applications including nanocomposites, filtration media, barrier, and biomedical applications. Consequently, there are many areas of active scientific research currently focused on electrospun polymeric fibers. Because of the major commercial role played by polyolefins, there is significant interest in electrospinning these particular polymers. Polyolefins are not particularly amenable to electrospinning due to solubility and conductivity issues. Linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) microfibers were electrospun from solutions of p-xylene. Polyethylene readily crystallizes from solution, which requ...
A new size-independent score for pairwise protein structure alignment and its application to structure classification and nucleic-acid binding prediction

A structure alignment program aligns two structures by optimizing a scoring function that measures structural similarity. It is highly desirable that such scoring function is independent of the sizes of proteins in comparison so that the significance of alignment across different sizes of the protein regions aligned is comparable. Here, we developed a new score called SP-score that fixes the cutoff distance at 4 A and removed the size dependence using a normalization prefactor. We further built a program called SPalign that optimizes SP-score for structure alignment. SPalign was applied to recognize proteins within the same structure fold and having the same function of DNA or RNA binding. For fold discrimination, SPalign improves sensitivity over TMalign for the chain-level comparison by 12% and over DALI for the domain-level comparison by 13% at the same specificity of 99.6%. The difference between TMalign and SPalign at the chain level is due to the inability of TMalign to detect single domain similarity between multidomain proteins. For recognizing nucleic acid binding proteins, SPalign consistently improves over TMalign by 12% and DALI by 31% in average value of Mathews correlation coefficients for four datasets. SPalign with default setting is 14% faster than TMalign. SPalign is expected to be useful for function prediction and comparing structures with or without domains defined. The source code for SPalign and the server are available at http://sparks.informatics.iupui.edu.
Investigating Learning Methods for Binary Data

Michie et al. show in [1] that decision trees perform better than twenty other classification algorithms in classifying binary data. In this paper we further investigate this hypothesis by comparing the decision trees with a fuzzy set-based classifier and the naive Bayes on real and artificial datasets.
Making exceptions on exception handling

The exception-handling mechanism has been widely adopted to deal with exception conditions that may arise during program executions. To produce high-quality programs, developers are expected to handle these exception conditions and take necessary recovery or resource-releasing actions. Failing to handle these exception conditions can lead to not only performance degradation, but also critical issues. Developers can write formal specifications to capture expected exception-handling behavior, and then apply tools to automatically analyze program code for detecting specification violations. However, in practice, developers rarely write formal specifications. To address this issue, mining techniques have been used to mine common exception-handling behavior out of program code. In this paper, we discuss challenges and achievements in precisely specifying and mining formal exception-handling specifications, as tackled by our previous work. Our key insight is that expected exception-handling behavior may be "conditional" or may need to accommodate "exceptional" cases.
Towards a Theory of Informal and Incidental Learning in Organizations.

In this article we develop a theoretical framework for understanding informal and incidental learning that is, while not empirically tested, at least in part empirically derived. Informal and incidental learning can be characterized by the following: (1) based on learning from experience; (2) embedded in the organizational context; (3) oriented to a focus on action; (4) governed by non‐routine conditions; (5) concerned with tacit dimensions that must be made explicit; (6) delimited by the nature of the task, the way in which problems are framed, and the work capacity of the individual undertaking the task; and (7) enhanced by proactivity, critical reflectivity and creativity. We first identify why our theory is important for recent trends toward continuous learning for continuous improvement. We illustrate our theory, discuss other uses of the concepts of informal and incidental learning, expand on our definition in terms of the above seven characteristics, and further discuss implications in light of cur...
Neural nonlinear principal component analyzer for lossy compressed digital mammography

In this paper we describe a new nonlinear principal component analyzer and apply it in connection with a new compression scheme to lossy compression of digitized mammograms. We use a 'neural-gas' network for codebook design and several linear and nonlinear principal component method as a preprocessing technique. First, we analyze mathematically the nonlinear, single-layer neural network and show that the equilibrium points of this system are global asymptotically stale. Both a regular Hebbian rule and an anti-Hebbian rule are used for the adaptation of the connection weights between the constituent units. The, we investigate the performance of the compression scheme depending on the blocksize, codebook and number of chosen principal components. The nonlinear principal component method shows the best compression reslut in combination with the 'neural-gas' network.© (2000) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
The heat capacity of gold from 300 to 1200 °K: Experimental data and analysis of contributions

Using adiabatic calorimetry the heat capacity of high purity gold has been measured from 300 to 1200 °K with an estimated accuracy of ± 1%. The experimental heat capacity at constant pressure was converted to that at constant volume using experimental data of molar volume, volume expansivity, and isothermal compressibility reported in the literature. A theoretical, or base, heat capacity at constant volume was obtained by using the Debye heat capacity, to which was added an electronic heat capacity and a contribution from the formation of equilibrium lattice defects. However, the correction for the formation of lattice defects was negligible at 1200 °K. The difference between the heat capacity obtained from the experimental data and the base heat capacity was positive, being about 2% of the heat capacity at 1200 °K. This exceess heat capacity is attributed to anharmonic lattice vibrations, but within the uncertainties in the experimental data and in the parameters used to calculate the base heat capacity, it could vanish or be slightly negative. Die spezifische Warme von Gold hohen Reinheitsgrades wurde im Bereich von 300 bis 1200 °K mit einer geschatzten Genauigkeit von ± 1% in einem adiabatischen Kalorimeter gemessen. Aus der experimentell bei konstantem Durck gemessenen spezifischen Warme wurde unter Benutzung der in der Fachliteratur angegebenen Werte fur Molvolumen, Ausdehnungskoeffizienten und Kompressibilitat die spezifische Warme bei konstantem Volumen ermittelt. Ein theoretischer Wert fur die spezifische Warme bei konstantem Volumen wurde mit dem Debyeschen Ansatz und einer zusatzlichen spezifischen Warme der Elektronen und der Leerstellen bestimmt. Bei 1200 °K war der Beitrag der Leerstellen jedoch vernachlassigbar. Der Unterschied zwischen der gemessenen und der berechneten spezifischen Warme ergab sich als positiv and betrug etwa 2% der spezifischen Warme bei 1200 °K. Dieser Uberschus wird auf die Anharmonizitat der Gitterschwingungen zuruckgefuhrt; er konnte jedoch verschwinden oder schwach negative werden innerhalb der Unsicherheiten, die den Meswerten und den zur Berechnung der theoretischen spezifischen Warme benutzten Grosen anhaften.
Somatic evoked potential evaluation of cerebral status in Reye syndrome

Median nerve somatic evoked potentials (SEPs) were serially recorded in 12 Reye syndrome patients from shortly after admission to discharge. Recovery was clinically satisfactory in nine, unsatisfactory in two, and one died. All SEP components were absent or markedly depressed in initial recordings. Early progressive recovery of primary cortical components was associated with patient survival; lack of it was associated with death. Progressive recovery of SEP components later than 100 msec was associated with satisfactory clinical recovery; failure of recovery of these components was associated with residual neuropsychological deficit. Evaluation of late component recovery required comparison with age-dependent SEP configurations in normal children which differ from adults. We conclude that serial SEP recording is of significant value and superior to the EEG in early prognosis for survival, prognosis for clinically satisfactory or unsatisfactory recovery, and general evaluation of neurologic status in Reye syndrome.
Robust Coding Over Noisy Overcomplete Channels

We address the problem of robust coding in which the signal information should be preserved in spite of intrinsic noise in the representation. We present a theoretical analysis for 1- and 2-D cases and characterize the optimal linear encoder and decoder in the mean-squared error sense. Our analysis allows for an arbitrary number of coding units, thus including both under- and over-complete representations, and provides insights into optimal coding strategies. In particular, we show how the form of the code adapts to the number of coding units and to different data and noise conditions in order to achieve robustness. We also present numerical solutions of robust coding for high-dimensional image data, demonstrating that these codes are substantially more robust than other linear image coding methods such as PCA, ICA, and wavelets
Minimally invasive endovascular techniques to treat acute renal hemorrhage.

Purpose: We evaluated the effectiveness of endovascular therapy for severe renal hemorrhage.Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed cases compiled from the trauma database, billing records and interventional radiology logs at our institution from 1990 to 2007. Technical success was defined as the cessation of bleeding after angiographic embolization. Clinical success was defined as the absence of recurrent hematuria without the need for additional embolization.Results: A total of 26 patients underwent angiography and endovascular treatment for renal hemorrhage. Mean patient age was 42 years (median 37, range 7 to 70). There were 20 males and 6 females. Mean clinical followup was 11.7 months. The mechanisms of injury were iatrogenic in 6 cases (renal biopsy in 5 and post-percutaneous nephrostomy placement in 1), trauma in 16 (blunt in 10 and penetrating in 6) and spontaneous rupture of a renal mass in 4. At presentation 16 patients (62%) were hemodynamically stable, while 10 (38%) were in shock....
New cross-linking quinoline- and quinolone-based luminescent lanthanide probes for sensitive labeling

New luminescent lanthanide chelates containing thiol-, amine-, and click-reactive groups in antenna-fluorophore moieties were synthesized. The chelates include diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) coupled to two types of chromophores: 7-amino-4-trifluoromethyl-2(1H) quinolinone, and 7-amino-4-trifluoromethyl-2-alkoxyquinoline. The synthesized compounds were characterized using NMR, light absorption, steady-state and time-resolved fluorescent spectroscopy. Some of the compounds displayed high brightness with Tb3+, Eu3+, and Dy3+. Obtained reactive lanthanide chelates can be easily attached to biological molecules. The probes demonstrated high performance in molecular beaconbased DNA hybridization assays (sub-pico molar detection limit), in bacterial proteome labeling, and in live cell imaging.
Tevatron discovery potential for fourth generation neutrinos: Dirac, Majorana, and everything in between

We analyze the power of the Tevatron data set to exclude or discover fourth generation neutrinos. In a general framework, one can have mixed left- and right-handed neutrinos, with Dirac and Majorana neutrinos as extreme cases. We demonstrate that a single Tevatron experiment can make powerful statements across the entire mixing space, extending LEP's mass limits of 60-80 GeV up to 150-175 GeV, depending on the mixing.
Phase content and particle morphology of Bi–Mo–V–O powders produced by aerosol pyrolysis

Abstract Aerosol pyrolysis was utilized to synthesize spherical submicron Bi–Mo–V–O powders over a wide range of reactor temperatures (500–1000 °C) and elemental compositions. Evaporative loss of Mo from particles was significant at temperatures of 800 °C or higher; however, this could be compensated by adjustment of the solution composition. The crystalline phase content for powders produced at 800 °C over a wide range of compositions was largely consistent with previously reported binary oxide and ternary solid solution phases. Powder colors ranged from bright yellow to reddish or greenish yellow, and were characterized by the Munsell color parameters. Particle morphology ranged from spherical to faceted and partially hollow particles, and could be largely explained by proximity to the composition-dependent solidus or liquidus temperature. Particle morphology and phase content can also be influenced by the addition of ethanol to the precursor solution.
Detecting and preventing the architectural roots of bugs

Numerous techniques have been proposed to locate buggy files in a code base, but the problem of fixing one bug unexpectedly affecting other files is persistent and prevailing. Our recent study revealed that buggy files are usually architecturally connected by architecture issues such as unstable interfaces and modularity violations. We aim to detect and prevent these architecture issues that are the root causes of defects. Our contributions include (1) a new architecture model, Design Rule Space (DRSpace), that can express structural relations, quality, and evolutionary information simultaneously; (2) a method of automatically extracting defect-prone architecture roots by combining static architecture analysis with software revision history data mining. The preliminary application of our approach to dozens of open source and industry projects has demonstrated its significant potential to inform developers about how software defects should be discovered, examined, and handled.
ADAPTIVE MULTIMODAL BIOMETRIC FUSION ALGORITHM USING PARTICLE SWARM

This paper introduces a new algorithm called “ A daptive M ultimodal B iometric F usion Algorithm”(AMBF), which is a combination of Bayesian decision fusion and particle swarm optimization. A Bayesian framework is implemented to fuse decisions received from multiple biometric sensors. The system’s accuracy improves for a subset of decision fusion rules. The optimal rule is a function of the error cost and a priori probability of an intruder. This Bayesian framework formalizes the design of a system that can adaptively increase or reduce the security level. Particle swarm optimization searches the decision and sensor operating points (i.e. thresholds) space to achieve the desired security level. The optimization function aims to minimize the error in a Bayesian decision fusion. The particle swarm optimization algorithm results in the fusion rule and the operating points of sensors at which the system can work. This algorithm is important to systems designed with varying security needs and user access requirements. The adaptive algorithm is found to achieve desired security level and switch between different rules and sensor operating points for varying needs.
Blood collection methods affect cellular protein integrity: implications for clinical trial biomarkers and ZAP-70 in CLL.

To the editor: The costs of conducting a clinical trial from phase 1 through phase 3 completion are staggering at greater than $100 million,[1][1] and the cost per patient in a trial has ballooned from ∼$25 000 in 2000 to ∼$100 000 in 2012.[2][2] These high costs underscore the necessity
Accounting and the interpretive act

The structuration theory of Anthony Giddens has been employed by Macintosh & Scapens (Accounting, Organizations and Society, 1990, pp. 455–477) to argue that management accounting systems are the interpretive schemes, facilities and norms used by managements to make plans, take actions and control others in organizations. A study of managers reading management accounting reports challenges that image, and shows managers to be more potent and inventive creators of meaning than Macintosh and Scapens would suggest. As readers of management accounting reports, managers draw from a wide range of interpretive schemes, facilities and norms in making their interpretations. Management accounting systems may mediate this interpretive process, but they can do so in surprising and unexpected ways.
Glucose metabolism of Euglena gracilis var. bacillaris; growth and enzymatic studes.

SYNOPSIS. A number of small molecules including CO2, certain Krebs cycle acids and certain amino acids stimulated growth and glucose utilization of a colorless strain of Euglena gracilis in a phthalate-buffered mineral salts medium. Their major effect was to shorten markedly the lag period; some compounds also gave small increases in maximum growth rate and total cell yield. The stimulatory substances were effective in small (sparking) amounts. It is suggested that all the stimulatory substances acted similarly, by keeping the internal concentration of oxaloacetate at a sufficiently high level to allow effective operation of the terminal respiratory cycle. Glucose utilization was initiated within a pH range of 3.0 to 5.0. This range could be extended by the addition of glycine to the growth medium. Cells cultured at pH 4.5 could be adapted to growth at pH 7.0 in a phosphate-buffered mineral salts medium containing a small amount of citrate. Neither adaptation nor growth occurred at pH 7.0 in the absence of citrate. Since no evidence of citrate utilization was obtained and since EDTA replaced citrate, it is concluded that citrate was acting as a chelator. The major enzymes of the Embden-Meyerhof-Parnas and pentose phosphate pathways were demonstrated in cell-free extracts. The data presented indicate that glucose metabolism in Euglena is similar to that found in a wide variety of other cells. Indirect evidence was also obtained for the operation of a uridine linked pathway in hexose metabolism. With the exception of hexokinase, for which results were inconsistent, all the enzymes demonstrated were routinely found in the supernatant fraction of the cell-free extracts. The pH optima of a number of the enzymes were found to be between pH 7.5 and 8.6, although the cells from which the enzymes were obtained were grown in acid medium.
Equilibrium vapour pressure of mercury from dental amalgam under loading conditions.

Abstract Earlier studies have failed to establish a consensus on the amount of mercury vapour released from dental amalgam restorations. The purpose of this study was to accurately and quantitatively measure the equilibrium mercury vapour pressure from dental amalgam. The vapour pressure was measured using a quartz crystal microbalance as a function of the load from 0–5.4 MPa. Auger spectra were collected of the as-formed and argon ion sputter cleaned dental amalgam surface. For the as-formed surface the mercury vapour density is zero with no load and increases to 0.6 μg m-3 at 5.4 MPa. Following cleaning the mercury, vapour density increased to a maximum value of 15 μg m-3. The Auger spectra of the as-formed surfaces were dominated by features associated with carbon and oxygen. These spectral results in concert with the mercury vapour density measurements indicate that the oxide film on the as-formed surfaces inhibited the release of mercury vapour. The results of this experiment provide an upper limit for the amount of mercury vapour released by dental amalgams. Under conditions simulating the oral cavity this value would be reduced by oxides that form on the surface of dental amalgam restorations.
An analytic solution for the state trajectories of a feedback control system

In connection with the normal process of control system design, the determination of the state trajectories for the controlled system is frequently required. The procedure involved in the determination is straightforward. However, extensive computations may be needed, if either time-varying control gains are used, or if small integration step sizes are required by the presence of high-frequency system dynamics. The present investigation is concerned with an approach for overcoming the computational difficulties, taking into account a change of variables for the close-loop system dynamics equation. This procedure makes it possible to obtain a closed-form expression for the state trajectories.
Humour in exile: The subversive effects of laughter in Sam Selvon’s The Lonely Londoners and Gisèle Pineau’s L’Exil selon Julia

This study challenges the common misconception of laughter as simply light-hearted entertainment by exploring its strategic use and subversive effects in two Caribbean novels: Sam Selvon’s The Lonely Londoners and Gisele Pineau’s L’Exil selon Julia. Selvon’s and Pineau’s humorous depictions of the migration to the metropolitan centres of London and Paris after World War II of two elderly female figures, Tanty Bessy and Man Ya, both bring to light and lighten the serious subject matter of Britain’s and France’s practices of exclusion toward their former colonized subjects. In examining Selvon’s and Pineau’s use of humour in light of Henri Bergson’s theory on the social significance of laughter as a corrective to man’s vices and impertinences toward society, this article argues that Tanty Bessy and Man Ya generate laughter at their own expense for the purposes of “correcting” the negative cultural perceptions of the Caribbean migrant population in 1950s and 1960s Europe. This reading of humour uncovers the ...
Striatal binding of the PET ligand 11C-raclopride is altered by drugs that modify synaptic dopamine levels.

Bilatera decreases in striatal 11C-raclopride binding were observed in adult female baboons with high resolution PET following administration of drugs that act centrally on dopaminergic neurons. At baseline and following administration of d-amphetamine (a dopamine-releasing drug), GBR-12909 (a potent dopamine reuptake inhibitor), or tetrabenazine (a biogenic amine depleting drug) PET scans of 11C-raclopride binding were obtained in a CTI 931 positron tomograph. In all studies, the ratio of the distribution volumes for the striatum to the cerebellum for 11C-raclopride binding decreased significantly by an average of 16.2% for d-amphetamine, 22.1% for GBR-12909, and 28.3% for tetrabenazine while there were no significant changes observed in the cerebellum or in the rate of systemic metabolism of the radiotracer. These decreases exceed the test/retest variability of striatal 11C-raclopride binding measured in the same animals under identical experimental conditions (Dewey et al., 1992b). Together these studies demonstrate that PET measurements of striatal 11C-raclopride binding can be used to indirectly and non-invasively monitor changes in synaptic dopamine concentrations that result from a variety of neurophysiologic mechanisms. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Extraction platform evaluations: A comparison of Automate Express™, EZ1® Advanced XL, and Maxwell® 16 Bench-top DNA extraction systems

Abstract The DNA extraction performance of three low-throughput extraction systems was evaluated. The instruments and respective chemistries all use a similar extraction methodology that involves binding DNA to a coated magnetic resin in the presence of chaotropic salt, washing of the resin to remove undesirable compounds, and elution of DNA from the particles in a low-salt solution. The AutoMate Express™ (Life Technologies Corporation, Carlsbad, CA), EZ1® Advanced XL (Qiagen Inc., Valencia, CA), and Maxwell® 16 (Promega Corporation, Madison, WI) were compared using a variety of samples including: blood on swabs, blood on denim, blood on cotton, blood mixed with inhibitors (a mixture of indigo, hematin, humic acid, and urban dust) on cotton, blood on FTA® paper, saliva residue on cigarette butt paper, epithelial cells on cotton swabs, neat semen on cotton, hair roots, bones, and teeth. Each instrument had a recommended pre-processing protocol for each sample type, and these protocols were followed strictly to reduce user bias. All extractions were performed in triplicate for each sample type. The three instruments were compared on the basis of quantity of DNA recovered (as determined by real-time PCR), relative level of inhibitors present in the extract (shown as shifts in the C T value for the internal PCR control in the real-time PCR assay), STR peak heights, use of consumables not included in the extraction kits, ease of use, and application flexibility. All three systems performed well; however extraction efficiency varied by sample type and with the preprocessing protocol applied to the various samples.
17β-Estradiol inhibits excitatory amino acid-induced activity of neurons of the nucleus tractus solitarius

Abstract The effects of 17β-estradiol (17βE2) on spontaneous and excitatory amino acid (EAA) induced nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) neuronal activity were investigated by electrophysiological and immunohistochemical experiments in ovariectomized female Sprague–Dawley rats. Out of 62 NTS neurons tested, 42 were inhibited (68%) following iontophoretic application of 17βE2 in a current-dependent manner. The averaged firing rate decreased from 3.06±0.40 to 0.78±0.17 Hz. The inhibitory responses were rapid in onset (within 1 min) and variable in duration (2–4 min). The inhibitory effects of 17βE2 were blocked by simultaneously applied 17βE2 antagonist ICI182,780, but not by GABA antagonist, bicuculline and phaclofen. l -Glutamate, AMPA or NMDA enhanced the activity of 71, 73 or 69% of NTS cells tested, respectively. The excitatory effects of EAA were significantly inhibited in the presence of 17βE2. Fluorescent immunohistochemistry revealed that all subnuclei of the NTS contained high levels of estrogen receptors (ERs) immunoreactivity. These results suggest that 17βE2 inhibits spontaneous and EAA-induced NTS neuronal activity through 17βE2 activation of ERs.
Evidence of a Third Star Orbiting the Eclipsing Binary δ Librae

Radial velocity observations obtained at the Kitt Peak National Observatory in 1981, 1983, 1984, and 1991 confirm the suggestion made by McLaughlin six decades ago that the bright Algol-type binary δ Librae has a long-period companion. An analysis of this eclipsing system's barycentric velocity for these four epochs and four earlier ones where published observations were available yield these spectroscopic elements for its center of mass: P = 2.762±0.001 yr, K = 5.46±0.15 km s–1, e = 0.28±0.05, ω = 198°±7°, and T = 1983.24±0.04. From these results, it can be inferred that the third star's mass and spectral type are 0.95 0.04 M⊙ and G9 and that the entire δ Lib system is even more similar to the archetypal eclipsing binary β Persei (Algol) than was previously recognized. The spectroscopic orbital elements for the B9.5 V primary star in the eclipsing system are also updated.
Dry coating method for surface modification of particulates

Surface modified particulates have many potential industrial applications, ranging from new technologies such as rechargeable batteries and flat panel displays to a wide variety of unit operation processes such as dispersion, transport and handling, and separation of particulate systems. Owing to environmental constraints, there has recently been a strong interest in the development of dry methods (chemical and/or water free) for particulate coatings. This paper reports on the feasibility of a novel dry method based on a magnetically assisted impaction process for synthesis of surface modified particulates. In this process magnetic particles in the coating system accelerate and collide with the core and secondary particles to form composite particles. Experiments have been conducted on a variety of particle systems such as SiO 2 -SiC, CoO-Ni(OH) 2 , Al 2 O 3 -PMMA, and TiO 2 -Al 2 O 3 . The composite particles were subjected to high frequency ultrasound so that weakly adhering particles could be removed from the surface. The experiments showed that adherent uniformly distributed coatings could be formed in a wide variety of systems. Magnetically assisted impaction coatings were found to be more adherent and possess a higher surface coverage than coatings produced by standard blending methods. Preliminary experiments have also been conducted to investigate the effects of variations in materials parameters such as hardness of core and secondary particles.
Adipocyte-specific transcription factor ARF6 is a heterodimeric complex of two nuclear hormone receptors, PPAR7 and RXRa

Previously, we identified a novel transcription factor, ARF6, as a key regulator of the tissue-specific adipocyte P2 (aP2) enhancer. In order to identify the proteins which comprise the adipocyte ARF6 complex, we have purified this DNA binding activity from a cultured adipocyte cell line. We have developed a system for growth and differentiation of HIB-1B brown adipocytes in suspension culture that facilitates the production of large quantities of adipocyte nuclear extract. ARF6 was purified from HIB-1B nuclear extract by a combination of conventional and sequence-specific DNA affinity chromotography. Chemical sequencing and mass spectral analysis of tryptic peptides derived from the purified polypeptides identifies the ARF6 complex as a heterodimer of the retinoid X receptor alpha (RXR alpha) and the murine peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma (PPAR gamma). Of the known PPAR gamma isoforms, PPAR gamma is the predominant form expressed in adipose tissue. These results suggest that PPAR gamma 2 serves a unique function among PPAR family members as an important regulator of adipocyte-specific gene expression.
Hematologic complications of diabetes mellitus

Diabetes mellitus is associated with abnormalities in the function, morphology, and metabolism of blood cells, and the coagulation system. Many abnormalities are the result of hyperglycemia and protein glycosylation; others are caused by oxidative damage or ketoacidosis. Although they are not usually primary manifestations of diabetes, hematologic complications can contribute to the development of anemia, infection, and hypercoagulability in diabetic dogs and cats. Most hematologic changes are reversible with effective metabolic control.