cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
E-226 Flow diversion in anterior communicating artery aneurysms

Introduction Anterior communicating artery (ACOM) aneurysms are the most common location encountered in clinical practice, but can be often be challenging to treat. Flow diversion has emerged as an alternative modality for treatment in patients with ACOM aneurysms, although published reports are presently limited. Materials and Methods We retrospectively evaluated all patients treated at our center from May 2017-February 2020 who underwent flow diversion for an ACOM aneurysm. We defined ACOM aneurysms as any aneurysm involving the ACOM itself, or at the junction of the anterior cerebral artery with the ACOM (A1/A2); both ruptured and unruptured aneurysms were included. We collected baseline clinical and demographic data and angiographic data from both pre- and post-treatment imaging when available; the primary measure was complete occlusion of the aneurysm on follow-up angiogram, defined as no residual filling of either neck or dome of the aneurysm. Parent vessel stenosis and peri-procedural complications were collected as secondary outcomes. Patients underwent flow diversion with a Pipeline stent under general anesthesia; the procedure was performed under transfemoral access with a 8Fr 45 cm sheath using the Cook shuttle (Cook Medical) as the guide catheter, with the Phenom Plus (ev3) as the intermediate and the Phenom 027 microcatheter (ev3) for distal access. The Navien (Medtronic) intermediate catheter was used in lieu of the Phenom Plus in a minority of cases. A single flow diverting stent was placed in the dominant ACA spanning from the A2 segment extending into the A1 segment in a majority of cases; one case utilized two stents for an H-pipe technique. Results 19 patients underwent a total of 20 flow diversion procedures for ACOM aneurysm within the study period; median age was 57 and 12 (63%) were male. 12 patients presented with subarachnoid hemorrhage, 3 presented with headache and 4 were found incidentally on workup for an unrelated condition. The median aneurysm size was 4.5 mm, with a range from 2–15 mm. Most patients had significant anterior cerebral artery asymmetry (17; 89%); a minority of patients exhibited co-dominance. There was one peri-operative access site complication requiring surgical intervention; no cases of intraoperative thrombosis, intracerebral hemorrhage, or stroke were observed. 13 patients underwent follow-up angiogram, of which 8 patients exhibited complete elimination of the aneurysm and 12/13 with protection of the dome. One patient underwent re-treatment with a second flow-diversion procedure. Conclusion In our experience, flow diversion of ACOM aneurysms is safe and effective, either as a primary treatment modality in an unruptured aneurysm or as a complement to initial coil protection of a ruptured aneurysm. It is best suited for aneurysms asymmetrically located at or near the A1-A2 junction. Further followup and additional studies are needed to confirm these results. Disclosures K. Dakay: None. G. Kaur: None. F. Al-Mufti: None. C. Gandhi: None. J. Santarelli: None.
Inferring Intentions from Consequences: How Moral Judgments Shape Citizen Perceptions of Wartime Conduct

How people interpret the intentions of others is fundamental to politics. This article examines intention understanding in the domain of how citizens evaluate wartime conduct. Drawing on recent work in moral psychology, it argues that people are more likely to attribute intentionality to wartime actions that produce morally bad consequences than otherwise identical actions that produce morally good consequences. We test this theory with two vignette-based survey experiments. Our results show that this hypothesis holds in a variety of contexts relating to civilian casualties and the destruction of heritage sites during war. By unlocking the moral psychology of intention understanding, this article contributes to the field of political psychology in general, and more specifically to theoretical debates in International Relations (IR) about public opinion on just war doctrine.
XOR-CIM: compute-in-memory SRAM architecture with embedded XOR encryption

Compute-in-memory (CIM) is a promising approach that exploits the analog computation inside the memory array to speed up the vector-matrix multiplication (VMM) for deep neural network (DNN) inference. SRAM has been demonstrated as a mature candidate for CIM architecture due to its availability in advanced technology node. However, as the weights of the DNN model are stationary in the memory cells, it causes potential threats and vulnerabilities for inference engine such as model leaking. This work aims at developing a lightweight yet effective countermeasure to protect the DNN model in CIM architecture. We modify the 6-transistor SRAM bit cell with dual wordlines to implement XOR cipher without sacrificing the parallel computation's efficiency. The evaluations at 28 nm show that XOR-CIM could provide enhanced security and achieve 1.4× energy efficiency improvement and no throughput loss, with only 2.5% area overhead compared to the normal-CIM design without encryption.
Distributed Spectral Filtering for Ultrafast Fiber Lasers

We propose a scalable method of distributed spectral filtering for multi-stage, chirped-pulse amplification fiber lasers, to compensate for gain narrowing in each stage. A proof-of-principle experiment shows bandwidth preservation after 75dB total gain.
Outcomes and Resource Use Associated With Acute Respiratory Failure in Safety Net Hospitals Across the United States.

Background Despite the frequency and cost of hospitalizations for acute respiratory failure (ARF), the literature regarding the impact of hospital safety net burden on outcomes of these hospitalizations is sparse. Research Question How does safety net burden impact outcomes of ARF hospitalizations such as mortality, tracheostomy, and resource use? Study Design and Methods This was a retrospective cohort study using the National Inpatient Sample 2007-2017. All patients hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of ARF were tabulated using the International Classification of Diseases 9th and 10th Revision codes, and safety net burden was calculated using previously published methodology. High- and low-burden hospitals were generated from proportions of Medicaid and uninsured patients. Trends were analyzed using a nonparametric rank-based test, whereas multivariate logistic and linear regression models were used to establish associations of safety net burden with key clinical outcomes. Results Of an estimated 8,941,334 hospitalizations with a primary diagnosis of ARF, 33.9% were categorized as occurring at low-burden hospitals (LBHs) and 31.6% were categorized as occurring at high-burden hospitals (HBHs). In-hospital mortality significantly decreased at HBHs (22.8%-12.6%; nonparametric trend [nptrend] Interpretation After accounting for differences between patient cohorts, high safety net burden was associated independently with inferior clinical outcomes and increased costs after ARF hospitalizations. These findings emphasize the need for health care reform to ameliorate disparities within these safety net centers, which treat our most vulnerable populations.
A Social Network Approach on Chinese Construction Projects in Africa

This paper examines the social networks of Chinese managers, employees, and entrepreneurs involved in construction projects in urban Ghana in light of current understanding of impacts of Chinese aid and investments in Africa and mobility enabled by transnational links between China and Africa. Current research on Chinese engagements in Africa has moved beyond the simple conceptual framework in which China is a monolithic impacter and Africa is a passive receiver with aggregate data analysis. This paper combines a social network approach and ethnographic approach to examine how construction projects are managed and the relationship among various Chinese and Ghanaian stakeholders. It draws on ethnographic research on two Chinese construction projects in Ghana and demonstrates that particular patterns of affiliation among Chinese and Ghanaian enablers are key to success of Chinese investments and positive impacts for Ghanaian stakeholders.
Sex-reversal and Histopathological Assessment of Potential Endocrine-Disrupting Effects of Graphene Oxide on Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes) Larvae

Abstract Sex-ratio is considered as an end point during endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) evaluation. Many fish species including Japanese medaka have XX/XY sex determination mechanism, however, sex reversal (SR) can be induced by external and genetic factors. SR imposed an imbalance in natural sex ratio of a population living in any ecosystem. Considering SR as an end point, we aimed to investigate the potential EDC effects of graphene oxide (GO), a nanocarbon, using Japanese medaka as a model. One-day post-hatch (dph) medaka fries were exposed to GO (2.5, 5.0, 10.0 and 20 mg/L) for 96 h without food, followed by 6 weeks depuration in a GO-free environment with feeding. Phenotypic sex was determined by gonad histology; genotypic sex by genotyping Y-chromosome-specific male sex determining gene, dmy. Our data indicated testes in both XY and XX genotypes, while ovaries were only in XX females. Histopathology of XY and XX testis showed isogenic spermatocysts with active spermatogenesis. Distribution of spermatocytes (SPTs), not the spermatogonium (SPGs), showed enhancement in XY than XX testis. Female phenotypes had single ovary, either in stage 0 or 1. Ovo-testis/testis-ova were absent in XX or XY gonads. GO (2.5–20 mg/L) had inconsistent concentration-dependent effect in both SPGs and SPTs; however, no effect on ovarian follicles. Despite genotypic differences (XY/XX), in the histopathology/histochemistry of liver and kidneys GO effects was found to be minimum. Taken together, present study showed spontaneous induction of SR in some XX genotypes; however, exposure of fasting fries to GO had no apparent EDC effects.
Modeling and analysis of distributed schedulers in data center cluster networks

One of the goals of cloud service providers is to satisfy service-level agreements without significant over-provisioning in data center clusters. Efforts to meet these requirements have been mainly based on resource over-provisioning rather than identifying performance bottlenecks. While increasing parallelism tends to reduce the average and tail latency, the joint impact of concurrent job scheduling and parallel task processing is a challenging problem to analytically model, particularly when compared to the models developed without the notion of concurrency. This article presents an analytical model for distributed schedulers in data center cluster networks. The model can be used to investigate how latency can affect a data center network design and how many resources should be allocated to meet service-level agreements. To get better insight, we build upon ideas from queuing networks, which provide a framework to measure expected latency versus resource provisioning. The model is based on tandem queuing networks and fork–join systems to compute expected latency in closed forms at various stages of data center cluster networks. Theoretical analysis and simulations have been conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed model and to strike a balance between expected latency and resource utilization. Results obtained from various simulation scenarios on different data center traffic traces confirm the soundness of the model.
Transcriptional Regulation of IL-1ß and IL-6 by TNF-α in Asbestosis is Mediated by NF-IL6-like Motifs

Asbestosis is an inflammatory and fibrotic interstitial lung disease characterized by a lower respiratory tract alveolitis and bronchiolitis with increased macrophages, lymphocytes, and neutrophils. The alveolar macrophages have a morphological appearance of activation and spontaneously secrete exaggerated quantities of growth factors, matrix proteins, and cytokines. We performed bronchoalveolar lavage of nine asbestos insulators (category ≥ 1/0 parenchymal opacities) and five normal controls finding increased release into 18 hr supernatants of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α asbestos-exposed 953 ± 192 pg/ml vs normals 290 ± 38 pg/ml, p < 0.005) and interleukin-1s (IL-1s asbestosexposed 760 ± 120 pg/ml vs normals 138 ± 24 pg/ml, p < 0.001). Since TNF-α is also a potent mediator of fibrosis in animal models of silicosis, we evaluated its ability to stimulate other cytokines. TNF-α maximally stimulated a -130/+15 IL-1s genomic fragment and a -158/-49 IL-6 fragment using the CAT assay. We found two NF-IL6 motifs in these fragments that mediated transcription in an independent manner. Interestingly, the IL-6 gene had a NF-κB motif downstream of the NF-IL6 sites that appeared to be even more potent. We also identified NF-IL6 sites near the transcription start site of IL-8 and in the promoter region of TNF-α. The NF-IL6 motifs belong to a family of nuclear binding proteins characterized by a leucine zipper and may play a role in inflammation by stimulating cytokine production contributing to an acute phase response localized to the lower respiratory tract.
Timed Boolean Functions

In timing research, the entire temporal behaviors of circuits are studied; thus, a representation technique capturing temporal properties should be devised. In this chapter, we propose Timed Boolean Functions (TBF’s) as a representation formalism for timing analysis and study its properties in formulating circuits with both logical and timing functionalities. Finally, we derive decision diagrams for TBF’s.
In Memoriam Robert C Stuart

Robert C Stuart passed away in Bellingham, Washington after a long illness. He is survived by his wife, a son, daughter, grandson, and brother.Robert C Stuart was born in British Columbia, where he attended the University of British Columbia, before completing his dissertation in economics at the University of Wisconsin in 1969. Robert served as a faculty member at Rutgers University from 1968 until his retirement in 2005. Bob taught for many years at Princeton, filling its gap in Soviet/Russian economics. He served as chair of economics at Rutgers from 1976 to 1979 and from 1986 to 1989. Robert edited Comparative Economic Studies from 1997 to 2002. Many of today’s scholars of comparative economics got their first publications under Bob’s editorship.
Extramedullary hematopoietic tumor mimicking a thoracic nerve root schwannoma.

Extramedullary hematopoiesis secondary to chronic anemia is well reported throughout the literature. A rare presentation of this condition is in the central nervous tissue reported most frequently as an epidural mass causing spinal cord compression. The authors report the case of a 51-year-old man with β-thalassemia and chronic anemia who was found to have a 4-cm paravertebral mass suggestive of a schwannoma. The patient underwent transthoracic resection of the mass. Histological examination confirmed an extramedullary hematopoietic tumor. In this article the authors propose a method to distinguish extramedullary hematopoietic tumors from schwannomas. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first reported case in the neurosurgical literature of this phenomenon.
Local District Implementation of State Mandated Teacher Evaluation Policies and Procedures: The North Carolina Case.

Although the state’s voice in the evaluation of North Carolina’s teachers has been strong during recent years, inconsistent levels of resources and support have led to mixed results within and across districts. There have also been mixed messages regarding state support for locally developed alternative teacher evaluation systems. When the Excellent Schools Act of 1997 called for sweeping changes in the evaluation of teachers, it appeared to confer preferred status upon the NC Teacher Performance Appraisal System (TPAS) as a valid teacher evaluation instrument and to require locally developed alternatives to be at least as valid as the NC TPAS. A study of teacher evaluation practice in 27 North Carolina school districts 14 years after the initial implementation of the NC TPAS revealed more inconsistencies in teacher evaluation practice and somewhat lower support for the NC TPAS among teachers and administrators than desirable. The results illustrated that local implementation of state mandates is a complex and political process.
The Pain Relief Promotion Act: will it spell death to "death with dignity" or is it unconstitutional?

This Note explores Congress’ attempts to restrict Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act by enacting two the Lethal Drug Abuse and Prevention Act of 1998 (”LDAP Act”) and the Pain Relief Promotion Act of 1999 (”PRPA”). It explores constitutional decisions concerning physician-assisted suicide and those which tend to show that the Supreme Court demonstrated federalist leanings during this time. The Note concludes that this Congressional legislation is a premature attempt to restrict experimentation concerning physician-assisted suicide and that the Supreme Court should strive to thwart attempts to cut off such experimentation. THE PAIN RELIEF PROMOTION ACT: WILL IT SPELL DEATH TO "DEATH WITH DIGNITY" OR IS IT UNCONSTITUTIONAL?
Calculation of Molecular Structure and Energy by Force-Field Methods

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the calculation approaches to determine molecular structure and energy by force-field methods. These include the ab initio method, the force-field method, mechanical model, and energy minimization schemes. Methods for determining the internal energy of an organic molecule traditionally depend on heats of combustion. Because calculations of the force-field variety have become so accurate and efficient, many studies using such calculations to attack problems in molecular structure have been and are currently being carried out. These studies give, as a minimum, the bond lengths, bond angles, and torsional angles of the molecules examined, in addition to information concerning energy. The force-field method offers a rapid, convenient and reliable method for the determination of molecular structures and energies. While there are limitations to the method, as there are with each of the experimental methods, the usefulness of this technique is generally appreciated.
A Full-Scale Test Chamber for Material Emission Studies and Indoor Air Quality Modeling

This paper describes the major design features and construction details of a full-scale chamber test system for material emission studies and indoor air quality (IAQ) modeling. The full-scale chamber test system consists of a stainless steel room and an HVAC system with stainless steel components to provide controlled temperature, humidity, airflow rate, and air flow pattern to the chamber with minimal contamination from the HVAC system itself. It also consists of a data acquisition system for monitoring and recording the test conditions, and a gas chromatography system for sampling and analyzing the volatile organic compounds emitted from tested materials/products. Four different types of air distribution were designed for the chamber to enable the simulation of realistic air flow patterns that typically exist in commercial and residential buildings. The full-scale chamber test system is useful for: (1) measuring the emission characteristics of large material samples, equipment, whole pieces of furniture and processes of applying emission materials; (2) validating the correlations between the emission rates and environmental conditions which are developed using small test chambers; (3) investigating the sink/source effect under realistic and controllable ventilation conditions; (4) developing standard procedures and methods for material emission tests using large chambers; (5) providing reliablemore » data for validating models of room air contaminant transport; and (6) evaluating various ventilation and air cleaning strategies or devices for maintaining an acceptable indoor air quality.« less
Hyporetinolemia, illness symptoms, and acute phase protein response in pregnant women with and without night blindness.

We examined the association among elevations in acute phase proteins reported illness and hyporetinolemia in 234 pregnant Nepali women with (cases) and without (controls) night blindness. Serum a/1-acid glycoprotein (AGP) and C-reactive protein (CRP) were inversely associated with serum retinol concentrations. Elevations in the concentration of CRP in both cases and controls and of AGP in cases were associated with significant reductions (˜ 0.2--0.3 µmol/L) in serum retinol. The risk of a low serum retinol concentration (< 0.7 µmol/L) with elevated AGP (= 1 g/L) and CRP (³ 5 mg/L) concentrations was significantly higher in cases (odds ratios = 8.6 and 4.3 respectively) than in controls (odd ratios = 1.9 and 2.4 respectively). A 7-d morbidity history indicated that cases were significantly more likely than controls to report symptoms of infections of the urinary reproductive and gastrointestinal tracts. Only a few of these symptoms (diarrhea nausea and vomiting) were significantly associated with low serum retinol concentrations. Illness in the previous week and elevated CRP or AGP concentrations were synergistically associated with lower serum retinol. For example the reduction in serum retinol in women with diarrhea and elevated AGP was 0.54 µmol/L compared with a reduction of 0.03 µmol/L in those with diarrhea only. AGP and CRP may provide useful information about the effect of reported illness on hyporetinolemia in pregnancy. Infection-related hyporetinolemia may predispose women to night blindness during pregnancy in Nepal. (authors)
Danticat's The Dew Breaker, Haiti, and Symbolic Migration

In her article "Danticat's The Dew Breaker, Haiti, and Symbolic Migration" Jennifer E. Henton analyzes Edwidge Danticat's novel with Lacanian thought. It is assumed frequently that literatures of the non-West "arrive" when they move from political and didactic traditions to the "aesthetic" and experimental models that delve into the terrain of the psyche. In The Dew Breaker, the Haitian family's move to the U.S., executed self consciously, indicates loss in a different sense than lack. In the case of Denticat's novel, loss or lack represent not a source of anxiety that evokes matters read in a psychoanalytical framework; instead, Henton argues, in The Dew Breaker loss requires a reading in order to mediate the landscape of the loss. Danticat's text maps out the arrival of the Haitian family in the U.S. where Haiti figures as a symbolic, as well as real landscape and Henton explicates with tenets of psychoanalysis Danticat's narrative. Jennifer E. Henton, "Danticat's The Dew Breaker, Haiti, and Symbolic Migration" page 2 of 10 CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture 12.2 (2010): Thematic issue New Modernities and the "Third World." Ed. V. DeSousa, J.E. Henton, and G. Ramanathan
An introduction to cocyclic generalised Hadamard matrices

Many codes and sequences designed for robust or secure communications are built from Hadamard matrices or from related difference sets or symmetric block designs. If an alphabet larger than {0,1} is required, the natural extension is to generalised Hadamard matrices, with entries in a group. The code and sequence construction techniques for Hadamard matrices are applicable to the general case. A cocyclic generalised Hadamard matrix with entries in an abelian group is equivalent to a semiregular central relative difference set and to a divisible design with a regular group of automorphisms, class regular with respect to the forbidden central subgroup. In this introduction we outline the necessary background on cocycles and their properties, give some familiar examples of this unfamiliar concept and demonstrate the equivalence of the above-mentioned objects. We present recent results on the theory of cocyclic generalised Hadamard matrices and their applications in one area: error-correcting codes.
Estimation of Size of Distal Ureteral Stones: Noncontrast CT Scan Versus Actual Size

Objectives To determine the accuracy of stone size determination by computed tomography (CT) for distal ureteral calculi. Methods A total of 76 patients who presented with distal ureteral stone were evaluated with CT. Of the 76 patients, 41 successfully passed the stone spontaneously and intact. The largest stone size dimension measured on CT by an experienced endourologist was compared with the actual measured size of the spontaneously expulsed stone as measured by digital calipers. Results The mean actual size of the stone was 4.51 mm (range 1-9.2, SD ± 1.91). The mean largest dimension measured on CT was 5.51 mm (range 2-11.2, SD ± 2.09). The correlation coefficient ( r ) when comparing the actual size with the CT scan measurement was −0.022. When the largest stone dimension was obtained on the craniocaudal CT images, the correlation coefficient was 0.097. When the largest stone dimension was obtained on the axial CT image, the correlation coefficient was −0.107. Conclusions CT scan imaging is a poor predictor of the largest stone dimension for distal ureteral calculi. Caution should be used in counseling patients on the rate of spontaneous stone passage when determined using CT measurements of stone size.
Preliminary observations of streamflow generation during storms in a forested Piedmont watershed using temperature as a tracer

Abstract Variations in streamwater temperature at the outlet of a 41-ha forested watershed at Panola Mountain in the Georgia Piedmont indicate that the initial rapid hydrologic response is caused by a combination of groundwater discharge and channel interception of rainwater. A storm in May 1986 caused a rapid increase in discharge that was accompanied by a decrease in streamwater temperature and a rise in the water table level adjacent to the stream. The higher water table provided the hydraulic gradient necessary to increase the discharge of colder groundwater to the stream. Storms that occurred under very dry antecedent conditions in July 1986 and June 1987 caused a rapid hydrologic response but no change in water table level, indicating the response was caused by channel interception of rainwater. This conclusion was supported by increases in streamwater temperature in the June storm and by chemical changes in the July storm. When rainfall is sufficient, flow in the ephemeral part of the stream in the catchment headwaters generates a second and larger discharge peak that reflects the chemistry and temperature of runoff from a 3-ha granite outcrop in the headwaters; sulfate concentration and temperature increase and alkalinity decreases relative to prestorm conditions. The initial response, however, results from channel interception and groundwater discharge. Rapid rises in the water table level during some storms suggest that macropore flow may play a major role in the hydrologic response of the watershed to rainstorms.
Why workers queue for local government jobs: the US evidence

Following the technique of bivariate probit with partial observability, I find the evidence that one reason US workers queue for local government jobs is to obtain union status. The average desire probability for local government union jobs is found to be twice as large as the desire probability for local-non-union employment. Estimated from the same sample, the length of the local-union queue, which is almost twice the size of the queue for local-non-union jobs, suggests the importance of the desire for union status in the worker's decision to enter the local government job queue
Extended-wear Hydrocurve and Sauflon contact lenses.

Summary Fifty-six of 70 eyes selected for extended-wear lenses were successfully fitted with moderately hydrophilic (Hydrocurve II and Hydrocurve II-55) and highly hydrophilic (Sauflon) contact lenses. Thirty-two of 34 myopic eyes and 24 of 36 aphakic eyes were successfully fitted. The myopic eyes were followed up for two to 20 months and the aphakic eyes for two to 17 months. Ninety-one percent of all eyes achieved visual acuity better than or equal to 6.9 (20/30). Approximately 2.8 lenses per eye per year were required for success. The major complication was corneal edema (anoxic overwear); some of these cases responded to the fitting of looser, more hydrophilic lenses, frequent use of artificial tears, and increased blinking. There was no difference in the incidence of lens deposits between the moderately and highly hydrophilic lenses, and in only six eyes did lens deposits necessitate a lens change. There were no corneal ulcers in this study.
Latency for saccadic eye movement.

Under carefully controlled conditions, in blocks of trials in which the stimulus displacement on any given trial is randomly selected from a group of two, four, or eight possible displacements, latency for lateral saccadic eye movement does not change. Moreover, a subject trained on such a disjunctive latency task, and then presented with blocks of trials in which there is only one possible stimulus displacement, of probability 1.00, 0.75, 0.50, or 0.25, displays the same latency to that displacement as when it was embedded in one of the disjunctive sets. These results conflict with reports that knowledge of stimulus location determines saccade latency. When the saccade on each trial is under the control of the stimulus on that trial, the size of the set of possible stimulus displacements does not affect latency to a particular displacement. These results also suggest that previous estimates of saccade latency using single stimulus displacements were underestimates, because subjects were not trained to follow stimulus displacement in a disjunctive task. Care is required if saccade latencies are to be entirely attributed to control by stimulus factors.
Covariance matrix for radar imaging of targets buried beneath two-dimensional rough surfaces

In this work, radar images of dielectric targets buried beneath 2-D rough ground surfaces are simulated. These images are based on the amplitude and phase of all polarization of incident and scattered waves. Both bistatic and backscatter intensity-based images are considered in this work to compare the image quality in each case. All simulations are obtained using the integral equation based technique; the Steepest Descent Fast Multiple method (SDFMM). The numerical results show that images based on the Covariance matrix are very unique when the surrounding illuminated areas have almost the same rough surface profile. However, these images deteriorate as the surface profile greatly changes in the surrounding ground areas.
Synthesis of classes of ternary metal oxide nanostructures

Nanoscale structures, such as nanoparticles, nanorods, nanowires, nanocubes, and nanotubes, have attracted extensive synthetic attention as a result of their novel size-dependent properties. Ideally, the net result of nanoscale synthesis is the production of structures that achieve monodispersity, stability, and crystallinity with a predictable morphology. Many of the synthetic methods used to attain these goals have been based on principles derived from semiconductor technology, solid state chemistry, and molecular inorganic cluster chemistry. We describe a number of advances that have been made in the reproducible synthesis of various ternary oxide nanomaterials, including alkaline earth metal titanates, alkali metal titanates, bismuth ferrites, ABO4-type oxides, as well as miscellaneous classes of ternary metal oxides.
Negative transfer problem in neural networks

Harlow, 1949, observed that when human subjects were trained to perform simple discrimination tasks over a sequence of successive training sessions (trials), their performance improved as a function of the successive sessions. Harlow called this phenomena `learning-to- learn.' The subjects acquired knowledge and improved their ability to learn in future training sessions. It seems that previous training sessions contribute positively to the current one. Abunawass & Maki, 1989, observed that when a neural network (using the back-propagation model) is trained over successive sessions, the performance and learning ability of the network degrade as a function of the training sessions. In some cases this leads to a complete paralysis of the network. Abunawass & Maki called this phenomena the `negative transfer' problem, since previous training sessions contribute negatively to the current one. The effect of the negative transfer problem is in clear contradiction to that reported by Harlow on human subjects. Since the ability to model human cognition and learning is one of the most important goals (and claims) of neural networks, the negative transfer problem represents a clear limitation to this ability. This paper describes a new neural network sequential learning model known as Adaptive Memory Consolidation. In this model the network uses its past learning experience to enhance its future learning ability. Adaptive Memory Consolidation has led to the elimination and reversal of the effect of the negative transfer problem. Thus producing a `positive transfer' effect similar to Harlow's learning-to-learn phenomena.© (1992) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Mean residence time in peripheral tissue

The published methods for determining the mean residence time for drugs in peripheral tissue are reviewed in terms of assumptions involved, advantages and disadvantages. A method for determining mean transit time in peripheral tissue is proposed; this may be a more useful indicator of the tissue retention properties for drug compounds.
Statistical investigation of hourly OMNI solar wind data

[1] Hourly OMNI solar wind data are sorted into categories reflecting membership of each data point to either slow or fast solar wind streams, or to either coronal mass ejection or corotating interaction region environments. The categorization is inspired by Yermolaev et al. (2009) and modified from there. Durations and coverage fractions of each category are investigated, together with their dependence on the solar activity cycle. The results are in line with physical expectations for the solar wind at 1 AU. A further analysis, treating hourly solar wind fluctuations as a constrained random walk process, is carried out independently for each solar wind category and discussed. The resulting step size distributions are found to be largely symmetric across zero, resembling a random walk deviation from a long-term average. This constrained random walk can in principle be used to fill gaps in the OMNI data and perform other OMNI data extrapolations.
Abstract only: Exact linear algebra

Most of the methods of linear algebra, even the iterative ones, are exact in principle but are applied approximately. Over the past half century numerical analysis has made great strides in the understanding of approximation in matrix computation. But also, roughly over the past three decades, a solid algorithmic basis for exact sparse and dense matrix computation has emerged. We argue that the computer algebra community has the interests, techniques, motivations, and applications to develop high performance computational capabilities for exact linear algebra It is a tale of two equivalence relations, similarity and matrix equivalence. These were characterized in the 19th century via the Jordan canonical form and Smith normal form respectively. Associated with these are the computational concerns of numerical linear algebra, eigenvalues and linear system solving respectively. But applications of exact linear algebra tend to need some or all of the invariants themselves associated with these equivalences. From rank to characteristic polynomial, computation of these invariants resists pure numerical solution and provides an important role for computer algebra.We discuss the state of the art and current issues in algorithms and software system design for exact linear algebra over the integers, the rational numbers, and over finite fields. We show some of the applications in which large scale exact linear algebra has been used.
Purification and electron microscopy of tomato spotted-wilt virus.

Abstract Tomato spotted-wilt virus is reversibly aggregated by 0.1 M potassium phosphate. It was partly purified by grinding diseased plants with 0.1 M , pH 7 potassium phosphate buffer, centrifuging the extract at low speed and resuspending the pellet in 0.01 M Na 2 SO 3 , in which the virus was dispersed. Ordinarily this virus solution was given one cycle of differential centrifugation and density-gradient centrifugation. It was important to use source plants at a stage of the disease in which they contained a peak concentration of virus. Examinations of the virus by electron microscopy indicated that the size of the particle is about 85 mμ across. The considerable variation in particle shape noted in certain preparations may be related to the instability of the virus. The infective particles sedimented at the same rate in density-gradient centrifugation as did the particles observed in the electron microscope. The virus sedimented in density-gradient columns at a rate expected for a particle with a sedimentation constant three times that of tobacco mosaic virus and a density of 1.21 g/cc.
Weathering and internal friction in glass

Abstract Glass weathers by reaction of its alkali ions with water in air. An internal friction peak in glass at higher temperatures than the alkali ion peak is closely related to weathering, since its appears in glasses that weather and is absent in those that do not. It is proposed that this peak results from the stress-induced motion of hydrogen ions that are introduced by reaction of sodium ions in the glass with atmospheric water and diffusion of the hydrogen ions so formed into the glass. Various experimental results are consistent with this mechanism; a previously proposed mechanism for this peak involving motion of nonbridging oxygen ions is unlikely.
Macrophyte Abundance in Waquoit Bay: Effects of Land-Derived Nitrogen Loads on Seasonal and Multi-Year Biomass Patterns

Anthropogenic inputs of nutrients to coastal waters have rapidly restructured coastal ecosystems. To examine the response of macrophyte communities to land-derived nitrogen loading, we measured macrophyte biomass monthly for 6 years in three estuaries subject to different nitrogen loads owing to different land uses on the watersheds. The set of estuaries sampled had nitrogen loads over the broad range of 12 to 601 kg N ha−1 year−1. Macrophyte biomass increased as nitrogen loads increased, but the response of individual taxa varied. Specifically, biomass of Cladophora vagabunda and Gracilaria tikvahiae increased significantly as nitrogen loads increased. The biomass of other macroalgal taxa tended to decrease with increasing load, and the relative proportion of these taxa to total macrophyte biomass also decreased. The seagrass, Zostera marina, disappeared from the higher loaded estuaries but remained abundant in the estuary with the lowest load. Seasonal changes in macroalgal standing stock were also affected by nitrogen load, with larger fluctuations in biomass across the year and higher minimum biomass of macroalgae in the higher loaded estuaries. There were no significant changes in macrophyte biomass over the 6 years of this study, but there was a slight trend of increasing macroalgal biomass in the latter years. Macroalgal biomass was not related to irradiance or temperature, but Z. marina biomass was highest during the summer months when light and temperatures peak. Irradiance might, however, be a secondary limiting factor controlling macroalgal biomass in the higher loaded estuaries by restricting the depth of the macroalgal canopy. The relationship between the bloom-forming macroalgal species, C. vagabunda and G. tikvahiae, and nitrogen loads suggested a strong connection between development on watersheds and macroalgal blooms and loss of seagrasses. The influence of watershed land uses largely overwhelmed seasonal and inter-annual differences in standing stock of macrophytes in these temperate estuaries.
Lung cancer in the era of targeted therapy: a cytologist's perspective.

Context.—The diagnosis and treatment of non–small cell lung cancer have changed dramatically in the past few years. The discovery of activating mutations in the tyrosine kinase domain of the epidermal growth factor receptor and the use of drugs that successfully target those mutations are among the key advances that have led to a shift in the practice of oncology and pathology, with perhaps the greatest effect on the field of cytology. Objectives.—To present the perspective of a practicing thoracic pathologist and cytopathologist on the developments that have changed practice and to place those changes in a broader context. Data Sources.—Literature review, studies undertaken or participated in by the author, and personal experience. Conclusions.—Cytologists are in an ideal position to influence appropriate testing and treatment in the era of targeted therapy. Lung pathology has led the way in the era of targeted therapy, in no small part due to cytology.
Assigning projects to optimize the utilization of employees' time and expertise

Abstract The objective of the work described in this paper is to optimally assign projects or tasks to people in order to best utilize their expertise and minimize outside R&D contract, dollars spent in any given period of time. This capability is important to several globally leveraged groups within Dow AgroSciences that perform standardized activities to fulfill product development requirements. Both math programming and heuristic-based approaches are used to solve this problem. The heuristic allows for quick generation of solutions, while the math program is more rigorous but very time-consuming. This paper discusses the effort required to collect the data, formulate the math program, develop the heuristic and interpret the results.
Heuristics for dependency conjectures in proteomic signaling pathways

A key issue in the study of protein signaling networks is understanding the relationships among proteins in the network. Understanding these relationships in the context of a network is one of the major challenges for modern biology [2, 6]. In the laboratory a time series of protein modification measurements is taken in order that relationships among the activations can be conjectured. Laubenbacher and Stigler [5] have developed an algorithm to make conjectures concerning gene expression. Their algorithm analyses the relations as variables in polynomials, using techniques based in computational algebra. This paper focuses on heuristics for applying their method to conjecture dependencies between proteins in signal transduction networks.
Activation and cell-surface localization of certain β-glucosidases of the ruminal flora.

Summary Kinetic and inhibition studies of the cellulases in crude extracts of ruminal ingesta indicated the participation of sulfhydryl groups and polyvalent metal ions in enzymic hydrolysis of cellulose. As a result, the assay substrate has been modified by inclusion of ferric chloride. A minimum estimate was obtained of the proportion of the cellulolytic activity in ruminal ingesta which is intimately associated with bacterial cell surfaces. A series of fractionations employing washing of the bacterial cells by centrifugation, rupture in a French pressure cell, and lysis using desoxycholate yielded an estimate of 5%. Reasons for suspecting that surface-bound cellulases may occur in considerably larger proportions were discussed.
Appealing Texts The Persuasive Writing of High School Students

This study analyzed the persuasive essays of high school juniors and seniors to determine the specific rhetorical and linguistic features that contributed to raters' holistic judgments about the ov...
Photon Number Distributions From a Diode Laser

We use balanced homodyne detection to extract photon number distributions of diode laser light as the laser crosses threshold. We compare the results to the semiclassical singlemode laser model, and characterize the excess noise.
Processing–formulation–performance relationships of polypropylene/short flax fiber composites

This work is a comprehensive study of the effect of extrusion process parameters and formulation on the properties of polypropylene (PP)/short flax fiber composites. The parameters that were varied during the twin-screw extrusion process were screw configuration, revolutions per minute (rpm), extrusion temperature, and flow rate. The effect of the feeding zone location of cellulosic fiber was also considered. This study investigates the effect of the formulation, cellulosic fiber content, the presence of a coupling agent, and of a reactive additive on composite performance. The composites were characterized in terms of morphology and microstructure, fiber length, rheological, thermal, and mechanical properties. Sensibility to humidity and recyclability were also considered. When compared with as-received PP, the tensile strength of injection-molded parts increased with cellulosic content by up to 40 vol %, and the tensile modulus increased 3.5 times when a combination of coupling and reactive agents was used. Exposed to controlled humidity of 50% during 1 year, these composites exhibited a very low level of humidity uptake around 0.85 wt %. The processability of these materials using a cast film line and the mechanical properties of extruded sheets are also presented. Furthermore, these materials demonstrate a good recyclability using injection molding by keeping the integrality of their mechanical properties after five reprocessing cycles. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015, 132, 41528.
Interaural stimulation: Effects on the Q value of tuning curves and post-stimulus time histograms of cat auditory cortex neurons

The results of this study of single neuron activity in area AI of the auditory cortex in the awake cat indicate a “sharpening” of the tuning curve or an inincrease in the Q value of tuning curves when interaural delays in acoustical stimulation are introduced at the contralateral ear. The shape of poststimulus time (PST) histograms is affected similarly by contralateral delay or attenuation in the acoustical signal. An optimum interaural attenuation or an optimum interaural delay sometimes leads to increased neuronal activity. The shape of the PST histogram sometimes differs markedly between binaural and monaural stimulation. The shape of the PST histogram sometimes differs markedly with interaural delays. With a single sound source, changing the direction of the source around the head gave varying histogram profiles.
A re-evaluation of a green-flowered asarum (Aristolochiaceae) from southern Oregon

A green-flowered wild ginger from southern Oregon, previously namedAsarum caudatum Lindl. var.viridiflorum Peck, is recognized as an independent species,A. wagneri Lu & Mesler, illustrated and discussed.
Identification of Degradation Product of Deguelin and Its Stability Using Liquid Chromatography and Electrospray/Mass Spectrometry

Abstract The degradation product and its stability of deguelin, a naturally occurring rotenoid and potential cancer chemopreventive agent, was evaluated in several vehicles using liquid chromatography‐electrospray mass spectrometry. Deguelin was prepared as a 2 mg/mL solution in acetonitrile, corn oil, yohimbine oil, Tween‐80, Cremophor‐EL, liposomes, and phospholipid micelles, and chemical stability was monitored for 28 days using HPLC‐UV and HPLC‐MS systems coupled to C18 reverse phase columns. Deguelin was stable in acetonitrile, corn oil, and yohimbine oil for 28 days when stored at 4°C. However, it rapidly decomposed in liposomes, Cremophor‐EL, Tween 80, and phospholipid micelles, with daily decay rates of 0.39%, 0.86%, 1.93%, and 2.82%, respectively. The degradation product was determined by physical and spectral data to be tephrosin after isolation by semi‐preparative HPLC. Tephrosin was produced by deguelin auto‐oxidation, and this was likely accelerated by endogenous peroxides found in Cremophor‐...