cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The analytical design and evaluation of electromagnets

This paper describes a method for the accurate computation of the operating characteristics of elecromagnets, such as used in relays and other electromechanical devices. The dynamic solution involves the use of techniques applicable to digital computers. The evaluation of the computer solutions offers a means of obtaining the optimum magnet design for a given device. The method eliminates the need for building successive models for testing and evaluation.
Reference Prior Bayesian Analysis for Normal Mean Products

Abstract Two reference priors for the product of means of n normal distributions with common known variance are developed. One of them induces an improper posterior distribution and therefore is not of much interest. The other is a generalized form of the n = 2 case derived by Berger and Bernardo. The latter is compared with the uniform prior (the Jeffreys prior) in posterior inference and the optimal frequentist coverage criterion. The reference prior is shown to be better than the uniform prior in the sense of correct frequentist coverage probability of the posterior quantile, by numerical computation. The computation was performed by Gibbs sampling for n = 3 and n = 10. Furthermore, it is shown that the reference prior is among the asymptotic optimal frequentist coverage probability priors under a transformation of the parameter space such that the parameter of interest and the nuisance parameters are orthogonal. In an example, the Bayesian credible interval for the product of normal means using the re...
A Clinical Trial for the Treatment of Antiphospholipid Antibody-Associated Recurrent Pregnancy Loss With Lower Dose Heparin and Aspirin

This study was conducted to determine if lower dose heparin (LD Heparin) combined with aspirin is as efficacious as higher dose heparin (HD Heparin) for the treatment of the antiphospholipid antibody syndrome in women seeking pregnancy. The method of the study was a prospective, single center trial including 50 patients who were consecutively assigned to treatment. Each patient had at least three consecutive, spontaneous pregnancy losses, positive antiphospholipid antibodies on two occasions, and a complete evaluation. Data were compared using Fisher's exact test. Viable infants were delivered from 20/25 (80%) women treated with higher dose heparin vs. 19/25 (76%) of women treated with lower dose heparin. There were no significant differences between groups with respect to gestational age at the time of delivery (37.2 ± 3.4 versus 37.7 ± 1.6 weeks), maternal complications, or fetal complications. A lower dose of heparin plus aspirin was as effective as higher dose heparin for the treatment of antiphospholipid antibody-associated recurrent pregnancy loss.
Genetic evidence that polysumoylation bypasses the need for a SUMO-targeted Ub ligase.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells lacking the Slx5–Slx8 SUMO-targeted Ub ligase display increased levels of sumoylated and polysumoylated proteins, and they are inviable in the absence of the Sgs1 DNA helicase. One explanation for this inviability is that one or more sumoylated proteins accumulate to toxic levels in sgs1Δ slx5Δ cells. To address this possibility, we isolated a second-site suppressor of sgs1Δ slx5Δ synthetic lethality and identified it as an allele of the ULP2 SUMO isopeptidase. The suppressor, ulp2–D623H, behaved like the ulp2Δ allele in its sensitivity to heat, DNA replication stress, and DNA damage. Surprisingly, deletion of ULP2, which is known to promote the accumulation of poly-SUMO chains, suppressed sgs1Δ slx5Δ synthetic lethality and the slx5Δ sporulation defect. Further, ulp2Δ's growth sensitivities were found to be suppressed in ulp2Δ slx5Δ double mutants. This mutual suppression indicates that SLX5–SLX8 and ULP2 interact antagonistically. However, the suppressed strain sgs1Δ slx5Δ ulp2–D623H displayed even higher levels of sumoylated proteins than the corresponding double mutants. Thus, sgs1Δ slx5Δ synthetic lethality cannot be due simply to high levels of bulk sumoylated proteins. We speculate that the loss of ULP2 suppresses the toxicity of the sumoylated proteins that accumulate in slx5Δ–slx8Δ cells by permitting the extension of poly-SUMO chains on specific target proteins. This additional modification might attenuate the activity of the target proteins or channel them into alternative pathways for proteolytic degradation. In support of this latter possibility we find that the WSS1 isopeptidase is required for suppression by ulp2Δ.
The regulation of social recognition, social communication and aggression: vasopressin in the social behavior neural network

Neuropeptides in the arginine vasotocin/arginine vasopressin (AVT/AVP) family play a major role in the regulation of social behavior by their actions in the brain. In mammals, AVP is found within a circuit of recriprocally connected limbic structures that form the social behavior neural network. This review examines the role played by AVP within this network in controlling social processes that are critical for the formation and maintenance of social relationships: social recognition, social communication and aggression. Studies in a number of mammalian species indicate that AVP and AVP V1a receptors are ideally suited to regulate the expression of social processes because of their plasticity in response to factors that influence social behavior. The pattern of AVP innervation and V1a receptors across the social behavior neural network may determine the potential range and intensity of social responses that individuals display in different social situations. Although fundamental information on how social behavior is wired in the brain is still lacking, it is clear that different social behaviors can be influenced by the actions of AVP in the same region of the network and that AVP can act within multiple regions of this network to regulate the expression of individual social behaviors. The existing data suggest that AVP can influence social behavior by modulating the interpretation of sensory information, by influencing decision making and by triggering complex motor outputs. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Oxytocin, Vasopressin, and Social Behavior.
α-tocopherol preserves endothelial cell migration in the presence of cell-oxidized low-density lipoprotein by inhibiting changes in cell membrane fluidity

Abstract Objective Endothelial cell (EC) migration is essential for healing areas of arterial injury and angioplasty sites. Iron or copper-oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL Cu ) inhibits EC migration in vitro, but the effect of physiologically relevant monocyte/macrophage-oxidized LDL (oxLDL cell ) is unknown. We postulated that oxLDL cell would inhibit EC migration and that this inhibition would be reversed by antioxidants. Methods The effect of oxLDL Cu and oxLDL cell on EC migration was studied by using a razor scrape assay, and migration was assessed after 24 hours. In addition, ECs were incubated with various antioxidants, including butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), probucol, or α-tocopherol, for 1 hour prior to initiation of the scrape assay and application of oxLDL. Results Both oxLDL Cu and oxLDL cell inhibited migration. The antioxidants did not alter the antimigratory activity of oxLDL Cu , but α-tocopherol preserved EC migration in the presence of oxLDL cell . The lack of effect of BHT or probucol suggested that the effect of α-tocopherol resided not in its antioxidant activity but in its membrane-stabilizing properties. To test this theory, the effect of oxLDL and α-tocopherol on relative cell membrane fluidity was assessed by fluorescence recovery after photobleaching. Both oxLDL Cu and oxLDL cell increased relative membrane fluidity. Preincubation with α-tocopherol inhibited the increase in membrane fluidity of ECs incubated in oxLDL cell but not in oxLDL Cu . Conclusions These studies show that α-tocopherol preserves EC migration in oxLDL cell and hastens restoration of the endothelial monolayer after injury by inhibiting changes in membrane integrity caused by oxLDL. Clinical relevance: Recent studies find that vitamin E is not efficacious in the secondary prevention of cardiovascular events, perhaps because vitamin E does not efficiently block oxidation pathways known to be operative in atherosclerotic arteries. "Non-antioxidant" properties of vitamin E, however, could be important in the primary prevention of atherosclerosis and its complications. Our in vitro studies show that α-tocopherol can preserve endothelial migration in the presence of cell-oxidized LDL. This effect might improve the healing of endothelial injuries at sites of arterial repair or angioplasties, especially in lipid-laden arterial walls.
PACSY database, a relational database management system for Protein structure and nuclear Magnetic Resonance chemical shift analysis

We developed a new relational database management system called PACSY (Protein structure And Chemical Shift NMR spectroscopY) by integrating information from the Protein Data Bank (PDB), the Biological Magnetic Resonance Data Bank (BMRB), and the Structural Classification of Proteins (SCOP) database. PACSY offers valuable information for structural investigations such as three-dimensional coordinates and chemical shifts of atoms along with derived information such as torsion angles, solvent accessible surface areas, and hydrophobicity scales. PACSY consists of six relational table types linked to one another for coherence by key identification numbers. The database can be installed on an RDBMS server such as MySQL and PostgreSQL for advanced search functions by supporting database queries. PACSY enables users to search for combinations of information from different database sources in support of their research. PACSY along with two associated software packages, PACSY Maker for database creation and PACSY Analyzer for database analysis, are available from http://pacsy.nmrfam.wisc.edu.
Optoacoustic imaging via the interferometric measurement of surface displacement

A modified Mach Zehnder interferometer system has been developed to measure surface motion with 4 ns temporal resolution and 0.2 nm displacement sensitivity. We discuss its use to measure the optical properties of homogeneous turbid media and image heterogeneous volumes to depths of 1 cm with ~200 micrometer resolution.
Selection, identification, and genetic analysis of random mutants in the cloned primase/helicase gene of bacteriophage T7.

T7 gene 4 specifies two overlapping proteins 4A, a 566-amino acid primase/helicase, and 4B, a 503-amino acid helicase whose initiation codon is the 64th codon of the 4A protein. The 4A′ gene, which has a leucine codon replacing the 4B initiation codon, specifies a single 566-amino acid protein that can provide the primase and helicase functions required for normal T7 growth. We selected N-methyl-N′-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine mutants in the cloned 4A′ gene that no longer support the growth of a phage that completely lacks gene 4. Genetic mapping of the 76 mutations found them to be distributed throughout the protein, including both the N-terminal and C-terminal halves of the molecule thought to represent primase and helicase domains, respectively. Complementation tests with partially and completely defective phage showed that all but five of the mutants lacked helicase function but retained primase function. The other five, which lacked both functions, all made short proteins, including one missing only 60 amino acids. No mutations lacked only primase function, and none mapped within the first 105 amino acids, which includes the 63-amino acid region unique to 4A that contains elements required to recognize primase sites. Forty-six mutations were sequenced and included 27 missense mutations affecting 25 amino acids. Many mutations in the N-terminal half of the protein affected its solubility in cell extracts. Mutations in the C-terminal half clustered in or near five helicase consensus sequences. Biochemical analysis of nine of the mutant proteins is described in the accompanying paper (Washington, M. T., Rosenberg, A. H., Griffin, K., Studier, F. W., and Patel, S. S. (1996) J. Biol. Chem. 271, 26825-26834).
Quantifying Motion Across a Solid Lumbar Interbody Fusion Using a Finite Element Model

Clinical assessment of pseudarthrosis or solid fusion is based on the residual motion across the “fused” segment (Kowalski et al, 2001). Dynamic flexion/extension (F/E) radiographs are commonly used to determine residual motion. Despite widespread use, it is unclear what the appropriate “cut-off” criteria to declare a fusion solid should be, with recommendations ranging from 0 to 5°. These values have not been derived by scientific methods. The present study was initiated to predict the angular sagittal motion across simulated lumbar interbody fusions (IF) using a Finite Element Model (FEM) of the ligamentous lumbar spinal segment. Anterior and posterior lumbar interbody fusions were simulated at the L3–L4 level as per the clinical procedure. Varying degrees of fusion were taken into account and the fusion mass was the simulated as a cancellous core with a cortical shell. The results indicated that 0.5° to 5.14° of angular motion can occur depending on fusion location and degree of completeness. While continuous bone might be noted at surgical exploration, this amount of motion may enable persistent loading of remaining structures, such as the annulus or spinal ligaments. In our view, this may prompt a redefinition of clinically “solid fusion”.Copyright © 2003 by ASME
Metabolic and blood characteristics of the hydrothermal vent tube-worm Riftia pachyptila

Specimens of the hydrothermal vent pogonophoran Riftia pachyptila Jones were collected by submersible at a depth of 2 600 m at the 21°N hydrothermal vent site on the East Pacific Rise (20°50′N, 109°06′W) in April and May of 1982. The worms were maintained in pressurized aquaria for up to 45 d for metabolic studies. Consumption of O2 was regulated down to low PO2 (oxygen partial pressure) values; O2 consumption rates were 0.63 and 1.12 μ mol g-1 wet wt h-1 at 2.5° and 8°C, respectively; such rates were comparable to those previously measured for other pogonophorans. Intact specimens of R. pachyptila (including bacterial symbionts) did not consume significant amounts of CH4 from the environment. The respiratory quotients, in the absence of added sulfide, indicated that metabolism was mainly heterotrophic. High rates of uptake of dissolved amino acids were recorded for one specimen. The total [CO2] in the vascular blood and the Hb-containing coelomic fluid were high. Under anaerobic conditions, there were equilibrium distributions of pH, total [CO2] and sulfide concentrations between the vascular blood and the coelomic fluid, apparently because these metabolites were readily exchanged between the two compartments. The vascular blood bound neither CH4 nor H2. However, sulfide was reversibly bound by both the vascular blood and coelomic fluid; because this binding depended strongly on pH (with a maximum at about 7.5), HS- was probably the molecular species bound. Under anaerobic, but not aerobic conditions, the trophosome bound substantial amount of sulfide; thus, the high concentrations of sulfide in the trophosome may have resulted mainly from sulfide bound to sulfide oxidases under anaerobic conditions. The coelomic fluid had a relatively low buffering capacity (2.2 mmol CO2ΔpH-1).
Biophysical and yield information for precision farming from near-real-time and historical Landsat TM images

The main goal of this study was to quantify within and between field variability in mapping agricultural crop types, their biophysical characteristics, and yield for precision-farming applications using near-real-time and historical (archival) Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) images. Data for six crops (wheat, barley, chickpea, lentil, vetch and cumin) were gathered from a representative benchmark study area in the semi-arid environment of the world. Spectro-biophysical and yield models were established for each crop using a near-real-time TM image of 6 April 1998 acquired to coincide with an extensive ground data collection campaign. The models developed using this near-real-time acquisition were then used to extrapolate and quantify characteristics in the historical Landsat TM images of 5 April 1986 and 4 May 1988 acquired for the same area with limited ground data, thus adding scientific and commercial value to archival TM images. A farm-by-farm (or pixel-by-pixel) within and between field variability in a...
Science, Policy, and Practice: Three Cultures in Search of a Shared Mission

Research on child development, the design of social policies, and the delivery of human services for children and families reflect three related yet separate cultures. The capacity to navigate across their borders, to understand their different rules of evidence, to speak their distinctive languages, and to achieve credibility in all three worlds while maintaining a sense of intellectual integrity in each, requires respect for their differences and a commitment to their shared mission. The transmission of knowledge from the academy to the domains of social policy and practice is a formidable task. This challenge could be facilitated by a simple taxonomy that differentiates established knowledge from both reasonable hypotheses and unwarranted or irresponsible assertions that are made in the name of science. An investment in effective "cross-cultural" translation offers a potent strategy for enhancing both the generation of new research and the application of cutting-edge knowledge to make a difference in the lives of children and their families.
Using dimensionality to achieve a sharp tunneling FET (TFET) turn-on

In order to achieve significantly reduced power consumption, the transistor operating voltage needs to be reduced. To do this, a tunneling based transistor needs to rely on the density of states turn-on as shown in Fig 1 [1]. Current can only flow when the conduction and valence bands overlap. If the band edges are ideal, one might expect an infinitely sharp turn on when the band edges overlap. Surprisingly, in a typical 3d bulk TFET, the nature of the turn on is actually quadratic in the gate voltage. Nevertheless, it is possible improve this if dimensionality is reduced. Consequently, we explored the nature of the band overlap for the various dimensionalities shown in Fig 2. We find that a 2d-2d pn junction, as shown in Fig. 2(i) brings us significantly closer to an ideal step function. Confining each side of the pn junction will also significantly increase the on state conductivity at low voltages.
Electron Transport Activity in Embryonic Hearts Requires the Formation of Supercomplexes

The heart is the first functional organ in a vertebrate embryo. Mitochondria appear to be important to heart development and closing the permeability transition pore (PTP) between embryonic day (E) 9.5 and E11.5 drives the maturation of mitochondrial structure and regulates myocyte differentiation. These data also suggested that closure of the PTP is associated with changes of individual complexes (Cx) of the electron transport chain (ETC), and the objective here was to further define these changes.We assessed the activity of the Cx- 1, Cx-2 and Cx-3 of the ETC of C57BL/6N (wildtype (WT)) and cyclophilin D knockout (CypD KO) mice during embryonic development from E9.5 to E13.5 with a Clark-type oxygen electrode and enzymatic assays. Our results show that at E9.5 mitochondrial oxygen consumption appears uncoupled and there is no difference between state 2, 3 and 4 respiration. In contrast, oxygen consumption in E9.5 CypD KO embryos shows distinct state 2, 3 and 4 respiration, which can be mimicked in E9.5 WT hearts by incubation with 200 nM CsA. By E11.5 mitochondrial oxygen consumption in WT hearts is not significantly different when compared to E11.5 CypD KO mice or E13.5 hearts.In addition, supercomplexes were not detectable in WT hearts of E9.5 and E11.5 embryos by native electrophoresis or immunocapturing. This may explain why NADH-cytochrome c reductase activity is not detectable in WT embryos at E9.5 but in E11.5 or E13.5 WT mice. Furthermore, Cx-1 is in its de-active form at E9.5 and becomes activated around E11.5.Our data suggests that at E11.5 the PTP is closed and Cx-1, Cx- 2 and Cx-3 of the ETC are present, but are not yet arranged in supercomplexes and a coordinated electron transfer is still developing.
Interhourly variability of Temperature

In the present paper rapid variations of temperature from one hour to the next at Mount Washington Observatory are examined [see 1 and 2 of “References”, of which this paper is the continuation, at end of paper]. Two thresholds have been considered: Warmings (increasing temperature) and coolings (decreasing temperature) ≧ 3°F and 4°F. (The amount of variation was taken from the hourly values in the tables of monthly temperature. This method is not exact, The difference should have been read from the thermograms. This procedure is, however, too wearisome for the present purpose. The errors of the simplified method do not influence the results adversely.)
Pressure swing adsorption: Development of an equilibrium theory for gas separations☆

Abstract Two versions of the pressure swing adsorption process are analysed as a means for purification of the light component of a binary feed of arbitrary composition. Local equilibrium with linear, uncoupled isotherms is assumed. The results of the analysis show that a critical pressure ratio must be exceeded before complete purification is possible and that this pressure ratio increases as the light-component content of the feed decreases. When clean up of the light component is complete, pressurization with product leads to higher light-component recoveries than pressurization with feed. This difference becomes large for small separation factors, small fractions of the light component in the feed, and large pressure ratios.
Regio- and stereoselective synthesis of E-1,3-enynes via coupling of nucleophiles with 1-[(alkynyl) dicobalt hexacarbonyl]allyl cations

Abstract Reactions of the title complexes with the nucleophiles anisole, allyl silanes, isopropenyl acetate, and ethanol have been examined. The carbon nucleophiles react regio- and stereoselectively to give E -1,3-enyne derivatives.
Meet the bridgebloggers

As the blogosphere has expanded outside its original US context, it has changed from an extended community in which everyone shares a roughly similar set of suppositions and languages to a set of separate blogospheres characterized by different cultures and languages. Bridgebloggers—bloggers who seek to mediate between these cultures and languages—play an increasingly crucial role in connecting these disparate spheres of conversation and argument together. In this paper, I discuss the difficulties of quantifying the extent to which the blogosphere is characterized by different language communities and national communities. I employ qualitative evidence to examine blogospheres emerging in Asia, Southern Africa, the Arab-speaking world and elsewhere, and to assess the importance of bridgebloggers in drawing connections between them.
Nitric oxide synthase-containing neurons in the myenteric plexus of the rat gastrointestinal tract: distribution and regional density.

Nitrergic (NO) neurons play crucial inhibitory roles in the control of gut motility. Variations in the density of these neurons within the gastrointestinal tract (GI) may provide useful functional information, but, most surveys available have employed limited and/or highly localized samples. It remains unclear to what extent (a) NO neurons are concentrated disproportionately in particular GI regions, or (b) variations in NO cell number merely reflect changes in overall myenteric neuron density. This experiment surveyed the distributions of neuronal nitric oxide synthase-positive (NOS+) and other myenteric neurons in the GI tract, using immunohistochemical and Cuprolinic blue counterstaining techniques. Adjustable sampling grids superimposed on wholemounts were used to investigate the topographic patterns in the stomach (90 sampling sites; 45 per side) and proximal duodenum (63 loci). We present four major findings: First, variations were detected in the number of NOS+ neurons in specific regions of the stomach (e.g., corpus > antrum approximately equal to forestomach) and along both longitudinal (oral > anal) and circumferential (mesenteric > antimesenteric) axes in the duodenum. Second, the variations in NOS+ neuronal counts within each organ covaried with the total number of myenteric neurons at different locations (stomach, r=0.77; duodenum, r=0.59), suggesting that local myenteric plexus density is a factor determining NOS+ cell concentrations. Third, in contrast to such a principle of covariation within each organ, NOS+ neurons constituted a consistently smaller proportion of gastric (20%) than of duodenal (28%) myenteric plexus neurons, suggesting that a second principle controls the characteristic percentages of the myenteric plexus that express NOS in different organs. Fourth, the regional samples were used to extrapolate the overall number of NOS+ and total myenteric cells in the rat stomach (43,000; 217,000) and first 3.5 cm of the small intestine (29,000; 103,000). These results, taken together, also suggest that the surveying protocol used is capable of detecting subtle differences in cellular distributions, thus providing a practical strategy for investigating patterns of chemical phenotypes within the GI tract.
Lumped-parameter model for a micropump based on the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) principle

This paper reports a lumped-parameter mathematical model for a magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) micropump being developed by the authors. The micropump can be used to deliver electrically conductive fluids. The major advantage of a MHD based micropump is that it does not contain any moving parts. It may have potential applications in medicine delivery, biological and biomedical studies. To develop a design guideline for the MHD micropump, it is desired that the dynamic behavior of the flow in a microsystem driven with MHD body force. A bond graph model has been developed for the MHD micropump. A commercial software, 20 SIM, was used as the simulation tools. The simulation results for two different sizes of micropumps with a 1 percent salt-water solution used as a pumping fluid are presented in the paper.
A Quarter of a Century of Progress to Prevent Vitamin A Deficiency Through Supplementation

A quarter of century has passed since FRI published its first comprehensive review on vitamin A deficiency (VAD) and its prevention. At the time, the major impetus to prevent VAD was to reduce xerophthalmia in preschool children. Today, we have a broader understanding of the public health implications of VAD, with disorders including xerophthalmia, mortality, severe infection, and anemia in preschool children and pregnant women. While deficiency affects most developing countries, nearly half of all deficient children and women live in Southern Asia. Prevention has made substantial strides. High potency vitamin A supplementation (with 200,000 IU) remains a prophylactic mainstay, delivered through fixed facilities, enhanced outreach activities, and national child health day campaigns twice annually. Surprisingly, the costs of semi-annual delivery of vitamin A have changed little over the years, with new cost estimates remaining comparable to earlier figures of US ∼$0.50 per child per year. Emerging is the p...
Responses of northern and western corn rootworms to semiochemical attractants in corn fields.

Small plots (18 × 18 m) were treated with grids of cotton wicks that contained semiochemicals for adultDiabrotica barberi Smith and Lawrence, the northern corn rootworm (NCR). In plots treated with eugenol (350 g/hectare), NCR were attracted to point sources of the compound, but there were no significant changes in numbers of either NCR orD. virgifera virgifera LeConte, the western corn rootworm (WCR), found on plants in the plots. In plots treated with 12.5 mg/hectare of 8R-methyl-2R-decyl propanoate (2R,8R-MDP, the apparent female-produced sex pheromone of NCR and WCR), males of both species were attracted to point sources, but beetles did not congregate within treated plots. With racemic 2,8-MDP at 1.0 g/hectare, male WCR were attracted into plots, but NCR of both sexes were strongly repelled. In a separate study, capture of beetles at pheromone-baited traps declined when the surrounding area contained wicks that emitted racemic 2,8-MDP. In treated plots, male WCR were relatively inefficient at finding pheromone sources. With NCR, emigration from plots could account totally for the observed 3- to 10-fold reduction in catch at 0.01–1.0 g/hectare.
Some Remarks on Scheffe's Two-way Mixed Model

A discussion of the two-way mixed model was given in this magazine by R. R. Hocking (1973). Hocking distinguishes between Scheffe's (1956) mixed model and a special case of it. In this note we make some further remarks on the two-way mixed model which we feel illuminate some aspects of the situation. For Scheffe's model we exhibit the minimal sufficient statistics in the balanced case and use them to consider two test statistics for the hypothesis of no main effects-namely Hotelling's T2 and F = MSA/ MSAB. We will obtain expressions for F and T2 which facilitate their comparison. In fact it becomes clear that T2 is appropriate for use in Hocking's Model I while F is appropriate for Model II.
Architecture-independent modeling of intra-node data movement

A primary concern of future high performance systems is the way data movement is managed; the sheer scale of data to be processed directly affects the achievable performance these systems can attain. However, the increasingly complex but inherently symbiotic relationships between upcoming scientific applications and high-performance architectures necessitate increasingly informative and flexible tools to ensure performance goals are met.In this work we develop a memory-hierarchy model that quantifies a given application's cache behavior. What makes this work unique is that we instrument code at compile time, gather architecture-independent data at run time using a generic memory-hierarchy model, and delay selecting a particular cache hierarchy (levels, sizes, and associativities) to a post-processing step, where cache performance can be derived rapidly without having to re-run a slow cache simulator. We show that this approach is capable of predicting cache misses to within 13% of what is predicted by a traditional, high-fidelity, but slow cache simulator.
Oxide formation and reduction over Pt, Pd, and Ir; A driving mechanism for oscillations in the co oxidation reaction☆

A sensitive gravimetric technique has been used to study the kinetics of oxide formation and reduction by CO of Pd and Ir powders between ~ 100 and ~ 600°C. The oxidation and CO reduction data for Pt, reported previously, and for Pd and Ir, reported herein, were analyzed within the context of a surface oxide rate equation which we previously employed to describe the oscillations in the rate of CO2 production via the CO oxidation reaction over Pt, Pd and Ir catalysts. The CO reduction rates derived from this analysis are comparable to those used to describe the oscillations theoretically, whereas the oxide formation rates extracted from this analysis are about an order of magnitude too small. However, after taking into account the enhancement of the oxidation rate by surface irregularities and surface segregated silicon impurities that are produced by repeated oxidation-reduction cycles, these results appear to be consistent with the postulated oxidation/reduction mechanism for the oscillations.
Heat transfer to horizontal tubes in a fluidized bed: The role of superficial gas and local particle velocities

Abstract The simultaneous measurement of local heat transfer coefficients and local particle velocities presents a unique opportunity to examine the mechanisms of heat transfer to immersed surfaces in fluidized beds. This was carried out for several locations of a simulated tube bank as well as a single immersed cylinder. The experiments were conducted in a 184 mm (7.25 in.) I.D. air fluidized bed with soda-lime glass beads of diameters ranging from 425 to 600 μm and superficial velocities of 35.6, 54.9, 77.2, and 100.4 cm/s. The tube bank consisted of an inline horizontal rod bundle of 15.88 mm (0.625 in.) diameter, with a pitch/diameter ratio of 4. The results showed that there is a lack of consistent correlation between particle dynamics and surface-to-bed heat transfer, either local or average. This finding casts doubt on the validity of heat transfer models that are based solely on particle convection. Comparison of the overall average heat transfer coefficients with Decker and Glicksman's heat transfer model and other published correlations showed poor agreement at low fluidization velocities but reasonably good agreement at high velocities.
Interference alignment — Recent results and future directions

Interference alignment (IA) is a cooperative transmission strategy that can mitigate the effects of interference in distributed wireless networks. As its name suggests, the idea of alignment is to structure interference such that multiple interfering signals overlap at the receiver. The alignment property enables efficient interference cancellation. This article provides a brief review of the concept of interference alignment, with a focus on linear precoding-based IA strategies for the multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) interference channel, and surveys some of the authors' recent results on the subject, with a special focus on making IA more practical. The key concepts discussed range from algorithmic improvements to early IA solutions, to managing the overhead associated with user cooperation. The article highlights some active areas, and future directions, in IA research.
Measurement of laminar flame speeds of ethylene-air and propane-air mixtures by the double kernel method☆

Abstract A new method of measuring flame speeds of a combustible mixture of gas is described. Flame speeds thus obtained for a range of ethylene-air and propane-air mixtures were compared with those obtained by the flame kernel technique. The results suggest that the actual flame temperatures may be lower than the calculated adiabatic values by as much as 15 per cent for both gas mixtures.
A cytochemical study of the L. E. bodies of systemic lupus erythematosus. II. Proteins.

Microspectrophotometric comparison of lymphocyte nuclei and free L.E. bodies which are derived from them show a more than twofold average increase in the latter of protein basic groups revealed by naphthol yellow S binding, and tyrosine residues demonstrated by the Millon reaction. The alkaline fast green method for histones and the Sakaguchi reaction for arginine residues suggest that there is a marked loss and ultimate disappearance of histones in the course of formation of the L.E. body from a nucleus. It is postulated that the L.E. transformation entails influx of protein normally foreign to the nucleus, displacement of histone from combination of DNA, and association of the DNA with the new protein which is then responsible for masking the anionic groups of DNA.
Host Movement and the Genetic Structure of Populations of Parasitic Nematodes

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence data were used to compare the population genetic structures of five species of parasitic nematodes from three different hosts: Ostertagia ostertagi and Haemonchus placei from cattle, H. contortus and Teladorsagia circumcincta from sheep, and Mazamastrongylus odocoilei from white-tailed deer. The parasites of sheep and cattle showed a pattern consistent with high gene flow among populations. The parasite of deer showed a pattern of substantial population subdivision and isolation by distance. It appears that host movement is an important determinant of population genetic structure in these nematodes. High gene flow in the parasites of livestock also indicates great opportunity for the spread of rare alleles that confer resistance to anthelmintic drugs. All species, including the parasite of deer, had unusually high within-population diversities (averages of 0.019-0.027 substitutions per site between pairs of individuals from the same population). Large effective population sizes (Ne), perhaps in combination with rapid mtDNA evolution, appear to be the most likely explanation for these high within-population diversities.
Decision Support for Allocating Scarce Drugs

The 1998 settlement of a lawsuit by the state of California required 19 pharmaceutical firms to provide $150 million worth of drugs free of charge to more than 150 California clinics and hospitals over a three-year period. We developed a decision-support system that utilizes a multiobjective optimization model and a heuristic solution taking into account the efficiency, effectiveness, and equity of the drug-allocation process. As of November 2002, 90 percent of the total budget has been distributed to the various clinics with the help of this decision-support system.
State Part C Agency Practices and the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA)

Each year nearly 900,000 cases of child abuse and neglect are substantiated in the United States, with the highest rates of maltreatment occurring among infants and toddlers. Children exposed to maltreatment are at increased risk of developmental delay. The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act specifies that children under age 3 with substantiated cases of abuse or neglect must have access to early intervention under Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. This research examines state practices developed by Part C agencies in response to new regulations. Part C agency representatives provided input on referrals, screening, evaluation, services, and tracking methods through a semistructured survey. Results indicate a need for standardized referral processes, increased agency understanding of consent procedures for children in foster care, coordination of routine screenings between child welfare and Part C, cross-agency training, and the development of tracking databases. Specific rec...
Leveraging the Mixed-Text Segmentation Problem to Design Secure Handwritten CAPTCHAs

In this paper we present a novel CAPTCHA that is based on the current hard AI problem of mixed-text (handwriting and printed-text) segmentation. The proposed CAPTCHA overlays generated handwritten word images on a generated printed-text background. We first propose a modification that allows for character level perturbations on an existing synthetic handwriting generation technique. These perturbations are parameterized allowing for varying levels of handwritten word complexity. We then use the output from the modified synthetic handwriting generator as the foreground for the mixed-text CAPTCHA. Experiments show that the proposed approach is effective at successfully distinguishing between humans and machines. Human recognition accuracy averages at 0.77 while machine accuracy is below 0.0001.
Candidate Evaluations and Turnout

In this article, we consider the relationship between voter turnout and voter evaluations of the candidates. Using thermometer data and the 1976 voter validation study, we investigate the magnitude of indifference, alienation, and satisfaction effects. Overall, we find candidate-based abstention in 1976 to be minimal, suggesting that nonvoting in American presidential elections must be understood in terms of factors unrelated to parties' choices of nominees.
Automated 3D reconstruction of tree-like structures from two orthogonal views

The common use of orthogonal X-ray images for the diagnosis of vascular abnormalities provides a natural motivation for three dimensional reconstruction from two perpendicular views. Reconstruction from two projections is a problem with a non-unique solution. Ambiguity in the 3D reconstruction has previously been resolved by manually matching feature points between the two views. In this study, a priori knowledge of the object's tree-like structure was incorporated into a rule-base in order to help automate the reconstruction process. The procedure for reconstruction of a tree-like structure from two orthogonal images contains three stages: extraction of the skeletal knowledge in each image, determination of the correspondence of tree segments between views by application of a heuristic rule-base, and algorithmic 3D reconstruction from the corresponding segment pairs. >
Androgen-Deprivation Therapy for Nonmetastatic Prostate Cancer Is Associated With an Increased Risk of Peripheral Arterial Disease and Venous Thromboembolism

Abstract Background Previous studies demonstrate that androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) with gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists and orchiectomy for prostate cancer (PCa) is associated with cardiovascular disease. However, few studies have examined its effect on the peripheral vascular system. Objective To study the risk of peripheral artery disease (PAD) and venous thromboembolism associated with ADT for PCa. Design, settings, and participants This was a population-based observational study of 182 757 US men ≥66 yr of age who were diagnosed with nonmetastatic PCa from 1992 to 2007, with a median follow-up of 5.1 yr, of whom 47.8% received GnRH agonists and 2.2% orchiectomy. Measurements We used Cox proportional hazards models with time-varying treatment variables to adjust for demographic and tumor characteristics in assessing whether treatment with GnRH agonists or orchiectomy were associated with PAD and/or venous thromboembolism. Results and limitations GnRH agonist use was associated with an increased risk of incident PAD (adjusted hazard ratio [HR]: 1.16; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.12–1.21) and incident venous thromboembolism (adjusted HR: 1.10; 95% CI, 1.04–1.15). In addition, orchiectomy was associated with an increased risk of peripheral arterial disease (adjusted HR: 1.13; 95% CI, 1.02–1.26) and venous thromboembolism (adjusted HR: 1.27; 95% CI, 1.11–1.45). Limitations include the observational study design and the inability to assess the use of oral antiandrogens. Conclusions ADT for nonmetastatic PCa is associated with an increased risk of PAD and venous thromboembolism. Additional research is needed to better understand the potential risks and benefits of ADT, so that this treatment can be targeted to patients for whom the benefits are clearest.
Is There Tachyphylaxis to Intravitreal Anti-Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Pharmacotherapy in Age-Related Macular Degeneration?

Purpose To determine whether repetitive injections of intravitreal bevacizumab and/or triamcinolone acetate in patients with exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD) results in a decrease in biological response. Design Retrospective comparative case series. Participants Forty-three eyes of 43 patients with exudative AMD. Methods Pre- and postinjection optical coherence tomography (OCT) sections of 43 patients with AMD were analyzed to determine the change in the biologic response after each subsequent injection of intravitreal bevacizumab (2.5 mg/100 μL), preservative-free triamcinolone acetonide (pfTA) (4.0 mg/100 μL), or a combination of bevacizumab (1.25 mg/50 μL) and pfTA (2.0 mg/50 μL). The retinal thickness of each OCT sector was determined and expressed as volume. Standardized volumetric change index (SVCI) was determined to identify a statistically significant change. Pre- and postinjection (6 weeks) SVCI differences were plotted as a function of time to determine the biological response after each intravitreal treatment. Main Outcome Measures Change in SVCI after intravitreal injections and the number of injections required to decrease the biological response by 50% (INJ 50 ). Results There was no difference in the age, gender, and preinjection thickness of the retina in each of the 3 groups. The SVCI after intravitreal bevacizumab injections decreased, indicating a possible tachyphylactic response to bevacizumab. This decrease in biological response was partially alleviated with the addition of pfTA. Combination of pfTA and bevacizumab increased the INJ 50 from 2.9 with bevacizumab alone to 5.1 injections. A biphasic biologic response was observed with pfTA characterized by a rapid increase in efficacy with the second injection, peaking at the third injection and gradually decreasing afterward. Conclusions Repeated intravitreal injections of bevacizumab in exudative AMD seemed to be associated with decreased bioefficacy. However, combined pharmacotherapy with triamcinolone acetate lessened this effect. Thus, multitargeted pharmacotherapy in exudative AMD may have a therapeutic benefit. Financial Disclosure(s) Proprietary or commercial disclosure may be found after the references.
Sound symbolism in infancy: Evidence for sound–shape cross-modal correspondences in 4-month-olds

Abstract Perceptual experiences in one modality are often dependent on activity from other sensory modalities. These cross-modal correspondences are also evident in language. Adults and toddlers spontaneously and consistently map particular words (e.g., ‘kiki’) to particular shapes (e.g., angular shapes). However, the origins of these systematic mappings are unknown. Because adults and toddlers have had significant experience with the language mappings that exist in their environment, it is unclear whether the pairings are the result of language exposure or the product of an initial proclivity. We examined whether 4-month-old infants make the same sound–shape mappings as adults and toddlers. Four month-olds consistently distinguished between congruent and incongruent sound–shape mappings in a looking time task (Experiment 1). Furthermore, mapping was based on the combination of consonants and vowels in the words given that neither consonants (Experiment 2) nor vowels (Experiment 3) alone sufficed for mapping. Finally, we confirmed that adults also made systematic sound–shape mappings (Experiment 4); however, for adults, vowels or consonants alone sufficed. These results suggest that some sound–shape mappings precede language learning, and may in fact aid in language learning by establishing a basis for matching labels to referents and narrowing the hypothesis space for young infants.
Spacetime encodings. II. Pictures of integrability

I visually explore the features of geodesic orbits in arbitrary stationary axisymmetric vacuum (SAV) spacetimes that are constructed from a complex Ernst potential. Some of the geometric features of integrable and chaotic orbits are highlighted. The geodesic problem for these SAV spacetimes is rewritten as a 2 degree of freedom problem and the connection between current ideas in dynamical systems and the study of two manifolds sought. The relationship between the Hamilton-Jacobi equations, canonical transformations, constants of motion, and Killing tensors are commented on. Wherever possible I illustrate the concepts by means of examples from general relativity. This investigation is designed to build the readers' intuition about how integrability arises, and to summarize some of the known facts about 2 degree of freedom systems. Evidence is given, in the form of an orbit-crossing structure, that geodesics in SAV spacetimes might admit a fourth constant of motion that is quartic in momentum (by contrast with Kerr spacetime, where Carter's fourth constant is quadratic).