cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Analysis of collision induced far infrared spectrum of ethylene

The theory for collision induced rotational absorption between nonpolar molecules is extended to near-symmetric top molecules using Wigner rotational matrices to represent the field and polarizability in the induced dipole moment. The resulting theory is applied to the collision induced spectrum of ethylene-ethylene. This spectrum is shown to be dominated by absorption due to the off-diagonal quadrupole moment in spherical coordinates, Q¯ 2 2. Fitting the calculated to observed absorption coefficient at 140 cm-1 leads to an accurate value of the quadrupole moment difference, Q¯ xx - Q¯ yy = -4·33 × 10-26 esu·cm2 in molecule fixed cartesian coordinates.
E-region nitric oxide concentrations inferred from the 26 February 1979 eclipse expedition

Abstract Nitric oxide (NO) concentrations have been determined from the analysis of positive ion composition data obtained by AFGL for eclipse and post-eclipse conditions near Red Lake, Canada. Values of about 3 × 10 8 cm −3 for 105–110 km and about 3 × 107 cm −3 for 90 km have been established. A residual ion-pair production rate of about 50 cm −3 s −1 is estimated for eclipse totality at 110 km. A factor of two uncertainty is thought to be appropriate for all deduced values. The calculated NO concentrations appear to be within the range of typical variations for this season (late winter) and latitude (51°N).
Native form of endothelin receptor in human placental membranes

Abstract Little is known about the native form of endothelin receptor. To clarify its functional and structural properties, we solubilized the receptor from human placenta in an active form using mild detergents CHAPS and digitonin and showed that it is able to bind 125I-endothelin-1 in a specific manner, with a pH optimum between 6 and 8 in contrast to a reported pH optimum of 4. The molecular weight of the receptor was estimated as 340,000 by gel filtration of the solubilized membrane in the presence of 0.2% ( w v ) digitonin. When the solubilized membranes were labeled with 125I-endothelin-1 prior to gel filtration, the radioactive ligand also migrated in the position corresponding to a 340 kDa protein. These results indicated that the native form of endothelin receptor in human placenta is a 340 kDa protein.
Unique advantages of using low temperature scanning electron microscopy to observe bacteria

Electron microscopy (EM) has greatly helped to elucidate our understanding of bacterial structure and function. However, several recent studies have cautioned investigators about artifacts that result from the use of conventional EM preparation procedures. To avoid these problems, the use of low temperature scanning electron microscopy (LTSEM) was evaluated for examining frozen, fully hydrated specimens. Spinach leaves (Spinacia oleracea L. cv. New Jersey), which were naturally infected or inoculated with bacteria, were used as the experimental material. 1 cm segments of the infected leaves were plunge frozen in liquid nitrogen, transferred to a cryochamber for sputter coating and then moved onto a cryostage in an SEM. After observation, some of the frozen, hydrated leaf segments were transferred onto agar medium to determine whether preparation for LTSEM was nondestructive to the bacteria. The other tissue segments were chemically fixed by freeze-substitution. The results indicated that after cryopreparation and observation in the LTSEM: (i) viable bacteria, which were recovered from the leaf sample, could be cultured on agar medium for subsequent study, and (ii) the frozen samples could be freeze substituted and embedded so that transmission electron microscopic (TEM) observations could be carried out on the same specimen. In conclusion, frozen, hydrated leaf tissue infected with bacteria can be observed using LTSEM and then can be either processed for TEM observation to obtain further structural details or recovered to culture the pathogenic bacteria for supplementary studies.
Class Leaders in Agricultural College Herds

Probably every agricultural college in the United States has a herd of dairy cattle. It would not seem to be possible to successfully carry on the dairy work at the institution without some dairy animals. Since there are four principal breeds of dairy cattle that have any general distribution throughout the country, the ideal condition would be to have each represented at the several institutions. A herd of dairy cattle at the state agricultural college serves a number of purposes: (1) Furnishes animals for instructional work in dairy cattle iudging; (2) Furnishes animals for experimental work; (3) Furnishes milk for use in instructional work; (4) Furnishes milk for experimental work; (5) Serves as an ideal toward which the breeders of the state may strive. Very likely many college herds do not, to the fullest extent, serve all the functions mentioned. Especially is the last mentioned difficult to perform. Many, if not most, of the colleges have been greatly hampered from lack of funds for the purchase of foundation females or the proper kind of sires to successfully carry on breeding operations. At various times during the last few years, it ha~ been the privilege of the senior author to visit many of the agricultural colleges and the records then prevailing and those presented here show a remarkable improvement in the productive ability of their dairy cows. It is considered doubtful if the breeders of dairy cattle generally, appreciate how good the college herds are at present and it was also thought likely that those connected with the various institutions would like to know how their herds compared with those of other places. With this in mind a questionnaire was sent out to thirty-five institutions asking for the leading official record cow in each of the age classes for the four breeds, Holstein, Jersey, Guernsey
Polyimide/metal composite films via in situ decomposition of inorganic additives - Soluble polyimide versus polyimide precursor

Polyimide-metal oxide (Co3O4 or CuO) composite films have been prepared via in situ thermal decomposition of cobalt (II) chloride or bis (trifluoroacetylacetonato) copper (II). A soluble polyimide (XU-218) and its corresponding prepolymer (polyamideacid) were individually employed as the reaction matrix. The resulting composites exhibited a greater metal oxide concentration at the air interface with polyamideacid as the reaction matrix. The water of imidization that is released during the concurrent polyamide acid cure and additive decomposition is believed to promote metal migration and oxide formation. In contrast, XU-218 doped with either HAuCl4 · 3H2O or AgNO3 yields surface gold or silver when themolyzed (300 °C).
Methane in marine sediments

Abstract Interstitial methane profiles from six sediment cores taken on the slope and abyssal plain of the Gulf of Mexico can be explained by simple kinetic modeling. Methane is apparently produced at a constant rate and microbially consumed in the sulfate-reducing zone. Rates of production and consumption are estimated from best-fit solutions to a steady-state diagenetic equation. Production and consumption balance to form uniform concentrations of 5 to 10μ11−1 in the first few meters of slope and abyssal sediments. Effects of upward diffusion from large accumulations of methane in sulfate-free zones deeper than about 10 m are not detectable.
330: Prevalence of maternal cell contamination in amniotic fluid samples

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the incidence of maternal cell contamination (MCC) in the first few milliliters of amniotic fluid withdrawn during amniocentesis.Methods: A prospec...
Radon loss across the water‐air interface (Gulf of Thailand) estimated experimentally from 222Rn‐224Ra

[1] We used 222Rn and 224Ra measured in the Upper Gulf of Thailand to estimate 222Rn atmospheric evasion across the water-air interface. The Chao Phraya estuary represents a steady-state source of these tracers and we looked at their horizontal distribution on a transect leading away from the estuary into the Gulf. The isotopes 222Rn and 224Ra have very similar half-lives and are affected in the same manner by mixing processes but only radon will emanate to the atmosphere. We thus are able to estimate the radon air-water exchange rate from the difference in the slopes of the 222Rn and 224Ra horizontal distributions. Estimated gas exchange velocities (k) based on our results were 1.1 cm hr−1 in the dry season (January 2004) and 2.1 cm hr−1 during the wet season (July 2004). These rates agreed reasonably well with some theoretical models developed for lakes, estuaries and coastal systems.
Restriction of hepatic competence by Fgf signaling

Hepatic competence, or the ability to respond to hepatic-inducing signals, is regulated by a number of transcription factors broadly expressed in the endoderm. However, extrinsic signals might also regulate hepatic competence, as suggested by tissue explant studies. Here, we present genetic evidence that Fgf signaling regulates hepatic competence in zebrafish. We first show that the endoderm posterior to the liver-forming region retains hepatic competence: using transgenic lines that overexpress hepatic inducing signals following heat-shock, we found that at late somitogenesis stages Wnt8a, but not Bmp2b, overexpression could induce liver gene expression in pancreatic and intestinal bulb cells. These manipulations resulted in the appearance of ectopic hepatocytes in the intestinal bulb. Second, by overexpressing Wnt8a at various stages, we found that as embryos develop, the extent of the endodermal region retaining hepatic competence is gradually reduced. Most significantly, we found, using gain- and loss-of-function approaches, that Fgf10a signaling regulates this gradual reduction of the hepatic-competent domain. These data provide in vivo evidence that endodermal cells outside the liver-forming region retain hepatic competence and show that an extrinsic signal, Fgf10a, negatively regulates hepatic competence.
The sex difference in type II cell surfactant synthesis originates in the fibroblast in vitro.

Lung from 19 days' gestation male and female rat fetuses was grown in mixed monolayer culture. Cultures from female lungs synthesized twice as much H-saturated phosphatidylcholine (3H-SPC) from 3H-choline as cultures from male lungs. Preincubation with Cortisol caused a doubling in 3H-SPC synthesis by cultures from both sexes. Study of sex-specific fibroblast cultures revealed significantly higher 11-oxidoreductase activity and basal and cortisone- or cortisol-stimulated fibroblast-pneumonocyte factor activity in female cultures. In contrast to the findings in the fibroblast cultures, sex-specific type II cell cultures showed no difference in basal 3H-SPC synthesis or in response to cortisol-stimulated fibroblast-conditioned medium. Furthermore, the type II alveolar cells had no 11-oxidoreductase activity. These data indicate that there are sex differences in both Cortisol metabolism and fibroblast-pneumonocyte factor production by the fetal lung fibroblast. These differences would lead to a sex differenc...
Reverse surface segregation in Cu-Pd bimetallic catalysts at low concentrations of Cu

Abstract This work presents atomic-level simulations that study the surface segregation profiles in Cu–Pd catalysts at various concentrations of Cu. It is found that Cu normally enriches on the surface of 201-atom Cu–Pd cluster but depletes from the surface at very low Cu concentrations. This phenomenon was observed in experiments previously and can be reproduced by the molecular dynamics/Monte Carlo-corrected effective medium theory if the latest modifications, to fit the alloy heats of mixing, are included in the interaction potential. This study also reveals different surface segregation behaviours for clusters having different shapes. It appears that most of the thermally accessible shapes of the cluster exhibit reverse surface segregation. However, these shapes are metastable. The lowest-energy configuration tested, having the cubo-octahedral shape, does not show reverse surface segregation; instead, it shows normal surface segregation with Cu enrichment on the surface at all concentrations. Thus, th...
Discovery of MLL1 binding units, their localization to CpG Islands, and their potential function in mitotic chromatin

Mixed Lineage Leukemia 1 (MLL1) is a mammalian ortholog of the Drosophila Trithorax. In Drosophila, Trithorax complexes transmit the memory of active genes to daughter cells through interactions with Trithorax Response Elements (TREs). However, despite their functional importance, nothing is known about sequence features that may act as TREs in mammalian genomic DNA. By analyzing results of reported DNA binding assays, we identified several CpG rich motifs as potential MLL1 binding units (defined as morphemes). We find that these morphemes are dispersed within a relatively large collection of human promoter sequences and appear densely packed near transcription start sites of protein-coding genes. Genome wide analyses localized frequent morpheme occurrences to CpG islands. In the human HOX loci, the morphemes are spread across CpG islands and in some cases tail into the surrounding shores and shelves of the islands. By analyzing results of chromatin immunoprecipitation assays, we found a connection between morpheme occurrences, CpG islands, and chromatin segments reported to be associated with MLL1. Furthermore, we found a correspondence of reported MLL1-driven “bookmarked” regions in chromatin to frequent occurrences of MLL1 morphemes in CpG islands. Our results implicate the MLL1 morphemes in sequence-features that define the mammalian TREs and provide a novel function for CpG islands. Apparently, our findings offer the first evidence for existence of potential TREs in mammalian genomic DNA and the first evidence for a connection between CpG islands and gene-bookmarking by MLL1 to transmit the memory of highly active genes during mitosis. Our results further suggest a role for overlapping morphemes in producing closely packed and multiple MLL1 binding events in genomic DNA so that MLL1 molecules could interact and reside simultaneously on extended potential transcriptional maintenance elements in human chromosomes to transmit the memory of highly active genes during mitosis.
Early experience with stapled hemorrhoidectomy in the United States.

INTRODUCTION: We report the early results of patients treated with stapled hemorrhoidectomy, which has recently been introduced into the United States. METHODS: Sixty-eight patients with symptomatic hemorrhoids were treated at two institutions with the Proximate® HCS Hemorrhoidal Circular Stapler supplied by Ethicon Endo-Surgery. Patients were prospectively evaluated for functional recovery and postoperative pain on a 1 to 10 scale. RESULTS: There were 45 (66 percent) males and 23 (34 percent) females with a mean age of 56 years and median duration of symptoms of 5 years. The mean operative time was 22.2 minutes. The operation was performed with spinal (50 percent), local (40 percent), or general (10 percent) anesthesia and as an outpatient (56 percent) or overnight admission (44 percent). Ninety-three percent of patients remained asymptomatic with a mean follow-up of 34 weeks, whereas the remaining 7 percent required either surgical excision or rubber band ligation for persistent symptoms. There was no mortality, new incontinence, fecal impaction, or persistent pain. The total morbidity was 19 percent, with urinary retention as the most common complication (12 percent). The mean pain score decreased from 3.6 on postoperative Day 1 to 1.4 at postoperative Day 7. Ninety-nine percent of patients made a complete functional recovery by postoperative Day 7. CONCLUSIONS: Stapled hemorrhoidectomy is safe, effective, and can be performed as an outpatient procedure with local or regional anesthesia. There seems to be minimal postoperative pain and early recovery, although a benefit over traditional hemorrhoidectomy needs to be proven in a randomized trial.
Environmental Issues in the United States-Mexico Borderlands

Environmental issues, while often important in the history of United States-Mexico relations, have become, in recent years, a major factor in the relations between the two countries. One reason is that until very recently environmental issues simply were not perceived to be major problems in either country. Certainly since 1970 they have become important political issues on the public agenda of both countries. Major interest groups and governmental agencies are actively concerned with the environment and public policy to improve it. A second reason is that with the exception of the Colorado River salinity issue and the Chamizal dispute as well as some localized phenomena, environmental problems have become major ones only in the last few years in the borderlands region. In turn, a major reason for both public concern and for threats to the environment is the rapid rate of population increase in the borderlands. The border population has literally exploded in the last two decades and that means it carries far more political weight in both political systems and that the burgeoning cities along the border have become the centers of increasing environmental degradation. A review of these environmental issues in the borderlands will start with a general framework for the analysis of U.S.-Mexico relations, then a brief discussion of the major issues and, finally, recent developments which appear to indicate that there is an emerging binational political framework which could lead to a better environment for borderlands residents.
Early childhood survivorship related to the subsequent interpregnancy interval and outcome of the subsequent pregnancy.

Childhood mortality is significantly higher among children whose birth is followed by another pregnancy in less than 12 months compared to children whose birth is followed by another pregnancy in greater than 12 months. This observation is true both when the second pregnancy of the interval results in a live or a non-live birth. Among children followed by intervals less than 12 months there are no significant differences between those followed by another another live birth or a non-live birth. These results suggest that the shorter intervals are associated with a lower survivorship of the older child; however the period of competition from the second closely spaced pregnancy does not appear to have a significant effect on the survivorship of the older child. (authors)
An algorithm for intelligent sorting of CT-related dose parameters.

Imaging centers nationwide are seeking innovative means to record and monitor computed tomography (CT)-related radiation dose in light of multiple instances of patient overexposure to medical radiation. As a solution, we have developed RADIANCE, an automated pipeline for extraction, archival, and reporting of CT-related dose parameters. Estimation of whole-body effective dose from CT dose length product (DLP)—an indirect estimate of radiation dose—requires anatomy-specific conversion factors that cannot be applied to total DLP, but instead necessitate individual anatomy-based DLPs. A challenge exists because the total DLP reported on a dose sheet often includes multiple separate examinations (e.g., chest CT followed by abdominopelvic CT). Furthermore, the individual reported series DLPs may not be clearly or consistently labeled. For example, “arterial” could refer to the arterial phase of the triple liver CT or the arterial phase of a CT angiogram. To address this problem, we have designed an intelligent algorithm to parse dose sheets for multi-series CT examinations and correctly separate the total DLP into its anatomic components. The algorithm uses information from the departmental PACS to determine how many distinct CT examinations were concurrently performed. Then, it matches the number of distinct accession numbers to the series that were acquired and anatomically matches individual series DLPs to their appropriate CT examinations. This algorithm allows for more accurate dose analytics, but there remain instances where automatic sorting is not feasible. To ultimately improve radiology patient care, we must standardize series names and exam names to unequivocally sort exams by anatomy and correctly estimate whole-body effective dose.
Operative Intervention for Recurrent Stenosis after Carotid Stent Angioplasty: A Report

Carotid artery angioplasty and stenting is gaining popularity, yet the natural history and optimal treatment for recurrent stenoses within stents are not known. Recurrent stenosis rates are not well characterized, with rates between 0 and 33% reported within the first year. Treatment of these lesions with repeat angioplasty may not be feasible or desirable, leading to operative interventions. We present two cases of asymptomatic high-grade in-stent restenosis treated successfully with carotid artery bypass using PTFE.
Neutrino scattering physics and experiments at super beams and neutrino factories

A careful study of neutrino scattering physics is an essential part of the program to answer many open questions being addressed by several different physics communities. A deeper understanding of nuclear effects induced by neutrinos and considerably more accurate measurements of neutrino exclusive cross sections is crucial for minimizing systematics of neutrino oscillation experiments. In addition, the knowledge gained by neutrino scattering experiments is important to the Nuclear Physics and Astro-Particle physics communities as well. A review of where we expect to be in the study of neutrino scattering physics at the start of a Super Neutrino Beam Facility as well as the types of beams and detectors needed at such a facility are discussed.
Effect of a Novel Video Game on Stroke Knowledge of 9- to 10-Year-Old, Low-Income Children

Background and Purpose—Improving actionable stroke knowledge of a witness or bystander, which in some cases are children, may improve response to an acute stroke event. Methods—We used a quasiexperimental pre-test post-test design to evaluate actionable stroke knowledge of 210 children aged 9 to 10 years in response to a single, 15-minute exposure to a stroke education video game conducted in the school computer laboratory. After immediate post-test, we provided remote password-protected online video game access and encouraged children to play at their leisure from home. An unannounced delayed post-test occurred 7 weeks later. Results—Two hundred ten children completed pretest, 205 completed immediate post-test, whereas 198 completed delayed post-test. One hundred fifty-six (74%) children had Internet access at home, and 41 (26%), mostly girls, played the video game remotely. There was significant improvement in stroke symptom composite scores, calling 911, and all individual stroke knowledge items, inclu...
Weerda diverticuloscope: novel use to remove embedded esophageal foreign bodies

Embedded sharp foreign bodies of the cervical esophagus represent a clinical challenge. Initial attempts at removal are usually undertaken by nonsurgical endoscopists who are often successful with blunt objects. Unsuccessful attempts with sharp objects, however, can result in distal migration, mucosal damage, and frank perforation. Thoracic surgeons are often called on for cervical esophagotomy after endoscopic attempts have failed. This report describes the novel use of a Weerda diverticuloscope for removal of a dental appliance with metallic hooks embedded in the cervical esophagus.
Arachidonic Acid Metabolism in the Marine FishStenotomus chrysops(Scup) and the Effects of Cytochrome P450 1A Inducers

Abstract Cytochrome P450-mediated arachidonic acid (AA) metabolism was investigated in the marine fish scup, Stenotomus chrysops. Liver microsomes incubated with AA and NADPH produced epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs) and their hydration products (dihydroxyeicosatrienoic acids, DHETs), midchain conjugated dienols (midchain HETEs), and C 16 - through C 20 -alcohols of AA (ω-terminal HETEs), all identified by HPLC and GC/MS. Gravid females had 4-fold lower AA metabolism rates than males but identical metabolite profiles. The 5,6-EET (inferred from stable metabolites) was most abundant (47% of total EETs) followed by 14,15-, 11,12-, and 8,9-EET (27, 13, and 13%, respectively). The 12-HETE represented 25% of total HETEs followed in abundance by 16-, 15-, 11-, 19-, 20-, 8-, and 9-HETE. Antibodies against scup CYP1A and a scup CYP2B-like protein inhibited liver microsomal AA metabolism by 30 and 46%, respectively. GC/MS analysis revealed EETs and DHETs as endogenous constituents in scup liver; the predominant EETs were 8,9- and 14,15-EET, followed by a lesser amount of 11,12-EET. Chiral analysis showed a preference for the S,R-enantiomers of endogenous 8,9-, 11,12-, and 14,15-EET (optical purities 80, 64, and 64%, respectively). Treatment of scup with the CYP1A inducer benzo( a )pyrene (BP) increased liver microsomal formation of EETs and HETEs by 2.7-fold in spring and 1.7-fold in summer. BP treatment did not affect microsomal EET regioselectivity, but shifted hydroxylation in favor of 19-HETE and induced 17-HETE formation. 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo- p -dioxin (TCDD) treatment in summer did not induce liver microsomal AA metabolism rates, yet BP and TCDD both increased endogenous EET content of liver (5- and 3-fold, respectively), with a shift to 14,15-EET. BP treatment increased the selectivity for the S,R-enantiomers of endogenous 8,9-, 11,12-, and 14,15-EET (optical purities 91, 84, and 83%, respectively). Kidney, gill, and heart microsomes all metabolized AA, at rates 10- to 30-fold less than liver microsomes. Similar amounts of endogenous 8,9- and 14,15-EET and less 11,12-EET were detected in heart and kidney, and there was a strong enantioselectivity for 8(R),9(S)-EET in heart (optical purity 78%) but not in kidney. BP treatment did not alter the total EET content in these organs but did shift the regiochemical profile in heart to favor 14,15-EET. Thus, scup liver and extrahepatic organs metabolize AA via multiple cytochrome P450 (CYP) forms to eicosanoids in vitro and in vivo. BP or TCDD induced endogenous AA metabolism in liver, altering EET regioselectivity and, with BP, stereoselectivity. While AhR agonists alter metabolism of AA in early diverging vertebrates expressing both CYP1A and AhR, the magnitude of effects may depend upon the type of inducer.
Seasonal body composition, water turnover, and field metabolic rates in porcupines (Erethizon dorsatum) in Alaska

Abstract Winter extremes of temperature and food shortage limit the distribution of arctic animals. North American porcupines (Erethizon dorsatum) are one of the most widely distributed mammals in North America and range from deserts to arctic tundra. In Alaska porcupines remain active at low winter temperatures (i.e., −39°C) while consuming woody plants that are low in nitrogen (N) and high in both fiber and plant secondary metabolites. Porcupines conserved lean body mass in winter by using fat stores. Fat mass declined from 50% ± 3% to 27% ± 7% of body mass over winter. Animals with small fat stores might be more reliant on food intake during winter, because proportional fat loss was correlated positively with total fat mass at the start of winter. Fat losses were minimized by lowering rates of energy expenditure. Field metabolic rate was 440 ± 18 kJ kg−0.77 day−1. Water turnovers were slow at 26.62 ml kg−0.75 day−1 in wild porcupines. Body temperatures were not reduced to save energy; core temperatures...
Search User Interfaces

This book focuses on the human users of search engines and the tool they use to interact with them: the search user interface. The truly worldwide reach of the Web has brought with it a new realization among computer scientists and laypeople of the enormous importance of usability and user interface design. In the last ten years, much has become understood about what works in search interfaces from a usability perspective, and what does not. Researchers and practitioners have developed a wide range of innovative interface ideas, but only the most broadly acceptable make their way into major web search engines. This book summarizes these developments, presenting the state of the art of search interface design, both in academic research and in deployment in commercial systems. Many books describe the algorithms behind search engines and information retrieval systems, but the unique focus of this book is specifically on the user interface. It will be welcomed by industry professionals who design systems that use search interfaces as well as graduate students and academic researchers who investigate information systems.
Giant of the Grand Siècle: The French Army, 1610–1715

Preface Acknowledgements Part I. Context and Parameters: 1. Contexts of military change in the Grand Siecle 2. Army growth Part II. Administration and Supply: 3. The military administration 4. Food and fodder 5. Providing other essentials 6. The tax of violence and contributions Part III. Command: 7. The costs of regimental command 8. The culture of command 9. The high command Part IV. The Rank and File: 10. Army composition 11. Recruitment 12. Discipline and desertion 13. Elements of morale and motivation: dependence and loyalty Part V. The Practice of War: 14. Weaponry and tactics 15. Learning and practising the art of field warfare 16. Positional warfare Epilogue: insights on state formation Bibliography Index.
Avoiding the Local Trap Scale and Food Systems in Planning Research

A strong current of food-systems research holds that local food systems are preferable to systems at larger scales. Many assume that eating local food is more ecologically sustainable and socially ...
Memory-based Stochastic Optimization

In this paper we introduce new algorithms for optimizing noisy plants in which each experiment is very expensive. The algorithms build a global non-linear model of the expected output at the same time as using Bayesian linear regression analysis of locally weighted polynomial models. The local model answers queries about confidence, noise, gradient and Hessians, and use them to make automated decisions similar to those made by a practitioner of Response Surface Methodology. The global and local models are combined naturally as a locally weighted regression. We examine the question of whether the global model can really help optimization, and we extend it to the case of time-varying functions. We compare the new algorithms with a highly tuned higher-order stochastic optimization algorithm on randomly-generated functions and a simulated manufacturing task. We note significant improvements in total regret, time to converge, and final solution quality.
Designing and implementing an effective pediatric weight management program

In order to successfully address the problem of childhood obesity, effective weight management programs must be established by a variety of clinicians to treat the increasing numbers of overweight and obese children and adolescents. An effective program will: 1) identify children and adolescents with health risks related to excess fat, 2) help families make permanent healthy lifestyle changes, and 3) provide ongoing care to optimize long-term health. Building a pediatric weight management program which achieves these goals requires attention to several aspects, including location, personnel, equipment, institutional support, marketing, referral base, focus of the overall approach, and billing & reimbursement. Maintaining the program after it is established can be enhanced by concentrating on team communication, continuing education, continuous quality improvement, and improving adherence.
A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Children's Drawings of Same-and Mixed-Sex Peer Interaction

Children's art was studied as a function of (1) gender of child, (2) picture condition (drawings of same-sex versus mixed-sex dyads), and (3) child-rearing setting (U.S. town [N = 89] versus Israeli town [N = 132] versus Israeli kibbutz [N = 88]). Pictures were scored for theme or focus of activity (mastery versus social interaction) and for the nature of the interaction (cooperation, competition, aggression, power/ dominance). Boys drew more themes of aggression, competition, and dominance than did girls. U.S. boys portrayed more aggression than did Israeli town boys, and kibbutz children portrayed less competition and dominance than did Israeli town children. Of greatest interest, however, are cultural differences in the way mixed-sex dyads were portrayed relative to same-sex dyads. Whereas Israeli boys drew different themes in pictures of two boys than in pictures of a boy and a girl, they nonetheless depicted egalitarian relationships equally often in both pictures. In contrast, U.S. boys drew the sam...
Is the use of preoperative breast MRI predictive of mastectomy

Several recent studies have described increasing rates of unilateral and bilateral mastectomy among women with newly diagnosed breast cancer. The use of breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has also risen rapidly, leading to speculation that the high false-positive rate and need for multiple biopsies associated with MRI may contribute to more mastectomies. The objective of this study was to determine whether newly diagnosed patients who underwent preoperative MRI were more likely to undergo mastectomy compared with those who did not have a preoperative MRI. A retrospective review was performed of all newly diagnosed patients with breast cancer at our academic breast center from 2004 to 2009. The proportion of newly diagnosed patients with breast cancer having MRI prior to surgery increased from 6% in 2004 to 73% in 2009. Of 628 patients who underwent diagnostic MRI, 369 (59%) had abnormal results, 257 (41%) had one or more biopsies, and 73 had additional sites of cancer diagnosed. Patients with a malignant biopsy, or those with an abnormal MRI who did not undergo biopsy, had an increased mastectomy rate (P<0.01). However, patients with a normal MRI or a benign biopsy actually had a decreased mastectomy rate (P<0.05). Although there was a trend toward more bilateral mastectomies, the overall mastectomy rate did not change over this time period. Although there is a strong relationship between the result of an MRI and the choice of surgery, the overall effect is not always to increase the mastectomy rate. Some patients who were initially considering mastectomy chose lumpectomy after an MRI.
Selection of domains for coarse and fine levels of description in mixed-potential simulations

An example of a mixed-potential molecular dynamics simulation is presented for amorphous silica. Pair potentials are used in the roles of embedding and embedded regions to allow us to study on-the-fly selection of a region for the more accurate description by embedded potentials. Brittle fracture with fast crack growth is the example that we choose to elucidate the characteristics of an amorphous system that lead to reliable prediction of the location of the initial fracture in the unbiased system. We conclude that a properly chosen wavelet analysis will permit such on-the-fly identification of those regions in a multi-scale simulation whose properties need to be described at the highest available accuracy.
Ion Chromatography Detection of Fluoride in Calcium Carbonate

Fluoride in aquatic systems is increasing due to anthropogenic pollution, but little is known about how this fluoride affects organisms that live in and around aquatic habitats. Fluoride can bioaccumulate in structures comprised of calcium carbonate, such as shells and skeletons of both freshwater and saltwater species as diverse as snails, corals, and coccolithophorid algae. In this article, ion chromatography (IC) techniques are developed to detect and quantify fluoride in a matrix of calcium carbonate. Solid samples are dissolved in hydrochloric acid, pretreated to remove the majority of the chloride ions, and then analyzed using IC. With these methods, the 3σ limit of detection is 0.2 mg of fluoride/kg of calcium carbonate.
DESIGN OF SPIN WAVE FUNCTIONS-BASED LOGIC CIRCUITS

Over the past few years, several novel nanoscale computing concepts have been proposed as potential post-complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) computing fabrics. In these, key focus is on inventing a faster and lower power alternative to conventional metal oxide semiconductor field effect transators. Instead, we propose a fundamental shift in mindset towards more functional building blocks, replacing simple switches with more sophisticated information encoding and computing based on alternate state variables to achieve a significantly more efficient and compact logic. Specifically, we propose wave computation enabled by magnetic spin wave interactions called as spin wave functions (SPWFs). In SPWFs, computation is based on wave interference and information can be encoded in a wave's phase, amplitude and frequency. In this paper, we provide an update on key fabric concepts and design aspects. Our analysis shows that circuit design choices can have a significant impact on overall fabric/device capabilities required and vice versa. Thereby, we adapt an integrated fabric-circuit exploration methodology. Control schemes for wave streaming and synchronization are also discussed with several SPWF circuit topologies. Our estimations show that significant area and power benefits can be expected for SPWF-based designs versus CMOS. In particular, for a 1-bit adder up to 40X area benefit and up to 304X power consumption reduction may be possible with SPWF-based implementation versus 45 nm CMOS.
User selection in multiuser MIMO systems with secrecy considerations

This paper investigates simple user selection strategies in a multiuser downlink system with a single transmitter, multiple legitimate receivers, and a single eavesdropper, where all nodes are equipped with multiple antennas. No information regarding the eavesdropper is presumed at the transmitter, and we examine the MIMO downlink channel with either single or multiple data streams per receiver. The transmitter uses linear beamforming techniques based on generalized zero-forcing with a corresponding minimum SINR or rate requirement per receiver. In both cases the information signal is transmitted with just enough power to guarantee the desired Quality-of-Service (QoS) at the desired receivers, while the remainder of the power is used to broadcast artificial noise that selectively degrades the passive eavesdropper's signal. Numerical simulations displaying the power consumption and the number of selected users provided by each selection scheme demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed schedulers in ensuring physical-layer security.
Optical frequency conversion using a linearized LiNbO/sub 3/ modulator

High dynamic range optical frequency conversion is demonstrated using a third-order linearized modulator. A record dynamic range of 122.5 dB/spl middot/Hz/sup 4/5/ was achieved at an input frequency of 400 MHz.
Selective management of blunt hepatic injuries including nonoperative management is a safe and effective strategy

Background The justification and preference for operative versus nonoperative management of hepatic injuries caused by blunt trauma remains ambiguous. This review assesses the outcome of operative and nonoperative management of liver injury after blunt trauma. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the demographics, severity of injury, severity of liver injury, associated concomitant injuries, management scheme, and outcome of patients with documented hepatic injury from 1993 to 2003. Results The overall mortality rate was 9.4%, with 3.7% caused by the liver injury itself. Fifty-nine percent (330 of 561) of liver injuries were of low severity (grades I and II), with an overall mortality rate of 6.6% caused by concomitant injuries and liver-related mortality of 0%. Forty-one percent (231 of 561) of liver injuries were high-severity injuries (grades III, IV, and V). Mortality for nonoperative management of high-severity liver injuries was 2.2%. If operative intervention was required because of hemodynamic instability or concomitant injuries then the mortality rate was significantly higher at 30%. Forty-two of the 378 (11%) liver injuries treated nonoperatively required an adjunctive procedure for successful management. Conclusions Selective management of liver injuries presented a low liver-related mortality rate. Low-grade injuries can be managed nonoperatively with excellent results. High-grade injuries can be managed nonoperatively, if operative intervention is not required for hemodynamic instability or associated injuries, with a low mortality. In these patients, adjunctive procedures will be required selectively for successful nonoperative management of high-grade liver injuries. High-grade injuries requiring operative management because of hemodynamic instability or concomitant injuries continue to have significantly higher mortality.
Extracting parallelism in Fortran by translation to a single assignment intermediate form

The paper presents MUSTANG, a system for translating Fortran to single assignment form in an effort to automatically extract parallelism. Specifically, a sequential Fortran source program is translated into IF1, a machine-independent dataflow graph description language that is the intermediate form for the SISAL language. During this translation, Parafrase 2 is used to detect opportunities for parallelization which are then explicitly introduced into the IF1 program. The resulting IF1 program is then processed by the Optimizing SISAL Compiler which produces parallel executables on multiple target platforms. The execution results of several Livermore Loops are presented and compared against Fortran and SISAL implementations on two different platforms. The results show that the translation is an efficient method for exploiting parallelism from the sequential Fortran source code. >
Joint Effect of Multiple Correlated Cameras in Wireless Multimedia Sensor Networks

Wireless multimedia sensor networks (WMSNs) are interconnected devices that allow retrieving video and audio streams, still images, and scalar data from the environment. In a densely deployed WMSN, there exists correlation among the visual information observed by cameras with overlapped field of views. In this paper, the correlation characteristics of visual information are used to address two issues: 1) how to measure the amount of visual information provided by multiple cameras in the network, and 2) how to select a group of cameras to report their information to the sink under distortion constraints. An entropy-based analytical framework is developed to measure the amount of visual information provided by multiple correlated cameras first. Based on this framework, a correlation-based camera selection scheme is introduced. Simulation results show that, given a distortion bound at the sink, the correlation-based selection scheme requires fewer cameras to report to the sink than the random selection scheme.
Synthesis, structure, and chemistry of selenium-containing four-membered rings*

Recent chemistry of four-membered ring selenium compounds is reviewed fol- lowed by a summary of work in our laboratories in this area. 2-Thia-6-selenaspiro(3.3)hep- tane has been synthesized for the first time. X-ray structures for the latter compound as well as for 2,6-dithiaspiro(3.3)heptane and 2,6-diselenaspiro(3.3)heptane have been determined. These compounds are useful as "rigid-rod" ligands for coordination to transition-metal com- plexes.
Influenza Vaccination in Asthmatic Children on Maintenance Theophylline Therapy

Reports of toxic serum theophylline concentrations in adults following influenza vaccination prompted this study. Peak and trough serum theophylline concentrations were measured in eight severely asthmatic children before and after vaccination against influenza. All eight chil dren had been treated with chronic theophylline therapy for at least one year prior to joining the study. No significant alteration of theophylline levels were seen up to 52 hours after vac cination. No clinical evidence of drug toxicity developed.
Momentum-space entanglement in Heisenberg spin-half ladders

We study momentum-space entanglement in quantum spin-half ladders consisting of two coupled critical $XXZ$ spin-half chains, using field theoretical methods developed by Lundgren et al. [Phys. Rev. B 88, 245137 (2013)] and exact diagonalization. When the system is gapped, we analytically find that the momentum-space entanglement Hamiltonian is described by a chiral conformal field theory with a central charge of 2. This is in contrast to entanglement Hamiltonians of various real-space partitions of gapped-spin ladders that have a central charge of 1. When the system is gapless, the entanglement Hamiltonian consists of one gapless mode that is linear in subsystem momentum and one mode with a flat dispersion relation. In the gapless region, we extend the work of Lundgren et al. to include the effect of a certain irrelevant term on the entanglement spectrum. In both the gapless and gapped phases, the momentum-space entanglement entropy obeys a volume law. In the gapless region, we find a subleading constant term in the entanglement entropy which contains information about the underlying field theory of the system. The analytical predictions for the entanglement spectrum are consistent with results from exact diagonalization.
Are Exporters Mother Nature's Best Friends?

This paper documents a relationship between international trade and environmental performance at the establishment level. Using a panel of establishment-level data over the years 1990-2006, I estimate the relationship between export orientation, import competition and plant level characteristics. I find a robust relationship between international trade and plant level pollution emissions. Exporters emit 5.3% less than non-exporters after controlling for output and their emissions are significantly less toxic relative to non-exporters. Import competition is associated with the exit of the smallest, most pollution intensive plants. There is no evidence that this result is caused by polluting firms relocating to country’s with low levels of environmental regulation and importing back into the U.S. This result provides an additional channel through which trade liberalization may impact pollution levels, which has implications for the previous trade-and-environment literature. Additionally, I explore the channels through which productivity, international trade and environmental performance may be related. I am able to rule out liability, but not establishment size and management quality. Even after controlling for these channels there remains an unexplained relationship between international trade and emissions. Finally, I develop a theoretical framework that is consistent with the empirical findings above. The empirical results are quite robust and suggest a strong relationship between international trade, environmental performance and plant-level productivity, but the direction of causality remains something of a mystery. JEL Classication: F1, Q5
Level 16 analogue of Ramanujan's theories of elliptic functions to alternative bases

Abstract The analogous theory for level 16 of Ramanujan's theories of elliptic functions to alternative bases is developed by studying the level 16 modular function h ( q ) = q ∏ j = 1 ∞ ( 1 − q 16 j ) 2 ( 1 − q 2 j ) ( 1 − q j ) 2 ( 1 − q 8 j ) .
Process Analysis from the Program’s Perspective

Our focus in Chapter 4 was on the persons served and the services provided by your program. In Chapter 5, the focus is on how those services are provided, and how services are affected by the program’s organizational structure and a number of internal and external factors. Again, you will need to either generate or evaluate considerable data in your role as a producer or consumer. But the data in this chapter tend to be more qualitative and descriptive than they were in Chapter 4. Their primary uses in a process analysis are descriptive and explanatory: descriptive in that you need to describe the program and the environment within which it operates, and explanatory in that you can use the data to evaluate whether the intervention or services were implemented as designed and are generalizable to other situations.