cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Automatic delineation of cardiac substructures using a region-based fully convolutional network.

Purpose Radiation dose to specific cardiac substructures, such as the atria and ventricles, has been linked to post-treatment toxicity and has shown to be more predictive of these toxicities than dose to the whole heart. A deep learning-based algorithm for automatic generation of these contours is proposed to aid in either retrospective or prospective dosimetric studies to better understand the relationship between radiation dose and toxicities. Methods The proposed method uses a mask-scoring regional convolutional neural network (R-CNN) which consists of five major subnetworks: backbone, regional proposal network (RPN), regional convolutional neural network (RCNN) head, mask head, and mask-scoring head. Multi-scale feature maps are learned from CT via the backbone network. The RPN utilizes these feature maps to detect the location and region-of-interest (ROI) of all substructures, and the final three subnetworks work in series to extract structural information from these ROIs. The network is trained using 55 patient CT datasets, with 22 patients having contrast scans. Three-fold cross validation (CV) is used for evaluation on 45 datasets, and a separate cohort of 10 patients are used for holdout evaluation. The proposed method is compared to a 3D UNet. Results The proposed method produces contours that are qualitatively similar to the ground truth contours. Quantitatively, the proposed method achieved average Dice score coefficients (DSC) for the whole heart, chambers, great vessels, coronary arteries, the valves of the heart of 0.96, 0.94, 0.93, 0.66, and 0.77 respectively, outperforming the 3D UNet, which achieved DSCs of 0.92, 0.87, 0.88, 0.48, 0.59 for the corresponding substructure groups. Mean surface distances (MSD) between substructures segmented by the proposed method and the ground truth were less than 2 mm except for the left anterior descending coronary artery and the mitral and tricuspid valves, and less than 5 mm for all substructures. When dividing results into non-contrast and contrast datasets, the model performed statistically significantly better in terms of DSC, MSD, centroid mean distance (CMD), and volume difference for the chambers and whole heart with contrast. Notably, the presence of contrast did not statistically significantly affect coronary artery segmentation DSC or MSD. After network training, all substructures and the whole heart can be segmented on new datasets in less than five seconds. Conclusions A deep-learning network was trained for automatic delineation of cardiac substructures based on CT alone. The proposed method can be used as a tool to investigate the relationship between cardiac substructure dose and treatment toxicities.
A Comprehensive Survey on Fingerprint Liveness Detection Algorithms by Database and Scanner Model

This comprehensive survey highlights the state-of-the-art solutions to fingerprint liveness detection across a variety of datasets and scanner models. This chapter includes most algorithms published between 2014 and 2019, which are ranked according to the Average Classification Error (ACE, the average of the statistical Type I and II errors), Error Rate (ER, the ratio of misclassified fingerprints to total fingerprints), or Accuracy Rate (AR, the ratio of correctly classified fingerprints to total fingerprints), for each scanner model in each dataset. Most algorithms surveyed in this chapter were tested on the various LivDet datasets, but other popular datasets such as ATVS and FVC2000 are included in this survey as well. This chapter reviews the LivDet competition series and its progress over time, the various published algorithm performances on all available LivDet datasets (2009–2017), the performance of traditional machine learning algorithms and their variants, and the performance on miscellaneous datasets. This chapter aims to facilitate the research and development of novel liveness classification algorithms through a clear comparison of algorithm performance.
Short-Term Effect of Manual Therapy & Taping on Subacute Ankle Sprains with Potential Syndesmotic Sprain: A Case Series

Case SeriesSyndesmotic ankle sprains can occur in up to 17% of ankle trauma and can lead to long-term disability. This study describes the management of seven patients with subacute, high-grade ank...
The Gestural Origin of Language

1. Grasping Language: Sign and the Evolution of Language 2. Language in the Wild: Paleontological and Primatological Evidence for Gestural Origins 3. Gesture, Sign, and Speech 4. Gesture, Sign, and Grammar: The Ritualization of Language 5. Conceptual Spaces and Embodied Actions 6. The Gesture-Language Interface 7. Invention of Visual Languages
Geochemistry of the Amazon Estuary

The Amazon River supplies more freshwater to the ocean than any other river in the world. This enormous volume of freshwater forces the estuarine mixing out of the river channel and onto the continental shelf. On the continental shelf, the estuar- ine mixing occurs in a very dynamic environment unlike that of a typical estuary. The tides, the wind, and the boundary current that sweeps the continental shelf have a pro- nounced influence on the chemical and biological processes occurring within the estuary. The dynamic environment, along with the enormous supply of water, solutes and par- ticles makes the Amazon estuary unique. This chapter describes the unique features of the Amazon estuary and how these features influence the processes occurring within the estuary. Examined are the supply and cycling of major and minor elements, and the use of naturally occurring radionuclides to trace processes including water movement, scaveng- ing, sediment-water interaction, and sediment accumulation rates. The biogeochemical cycling of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus, and the significances of the Amazon estuary in the global mass balance of these elements are examined.
Correlations Beyond the Cosmological Horizon

It normally is taken for granted in arguments in cosmology that phenomena which occur in spacetime regions which ”lie outside of each other’s horizon” must be uncorrelated, since no causal communication can occur between the regions. However, it is a fundamental feature of quantum field theory that correlations between observable quantities occur over all spacetime regions, including regions lying outside each other’s horizon. It is possible that such correlations play an important role in processes occurring in the early universe.
A Preliminary Field Study of Game Programming on Mobile Devices.

TouchDevelop is a new programming environment that allows users to create applications on mobile devices. Applications created with TouchDevelop have continued to grow in popularity since TouchDevelop was first released to public in 2011. This paper presents a field study of 31,699 applications, focusing on different characteristics between 539 game scripts and all other non-game applications, as well as what make some game applications more popular than others to users. The study provides a list of findings on characteristics of game scripts and also implications for improving end-user programming of game applications.
Thermohydrologic behavior at an underground nuclear waste repository

[1] We present a multiscale model that simulates coupled thermal and hydrological behavior driven by radioactive decay heat from a potential nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. We use this model to evaluate repository performance for different designs with respect to major thermal design goals (e.g., keeping waste packages dry). A locally boiling or globally boiling design uses rock dry out to create dry (low relative humidity (RH)) conditions around waste packages for a long period of time. A subboiling design eliminates boiling in the host rock (possibly reducing uncertainty) but is less effective at maintaining dry conditions. The addition of backfill increases the duration of RH reduction significantly without added boiling in the host rock but at the cost of higher waste package temperatures. The interaction between engineering design variables and natural system factors that affect thermohydrologic behavior is highly nonlinear. As a consequence, designs that differ by seemingly small details can result in markedly different thermohydrologic behavior and consequently repository performance, whereas with regards to other details, large differences may have little or no effect.
A Purely Definitional Universal Domain

Existing theorem prover tools do not adequately support reasoning about general recursive datatypes. Better support for such datatypes would facilitate reasoning about a wide variety of real-world programs, including those written in continuation-passing style, that are beyond the scope of current tools. This paper introduces a new formalization of a universal domain that is suitable for modeling general recursive datatypes. The construction is purely definitional, introducing no new axioms. Defining recursive types in terms of this universal domain will allow a theorem prover to derive strong reasoning principles, with soundness ensured by construction.
A Salmonella typhimurium cobalamin-deficient mutant blocked in 1-amino-2-propanol synthesis.

Abstract Salmonella typhimurium synthesizes cobalamin (vitamin B12) when grown under anaerobic conditions. All but one of the biosynthetic genes (cob) are located in a single operon which includes genes required for the production of cobinamide and dimethylbenzimidazole, as well as the genes needed to form cobalamin from these precursors. We isolated strains carrying mutations (cobD) which are unlinked to any of the previously described B12 biosynthetic genes. Mutations in cobD are recessive and map at minute 14 of the linkage map, far from the major cluster of B12 genes at minute 41. The cobD mutants appear to be defective in the synthesis of 1-amino-2-propanol, because they can synthesize B12 when this compound is provided exogenously. Labeling studies in other organisms have shown that aminopropanol, derived from threonine, is the precursor of the chain linking dimethylbenzimidazole to the corrinoid ring of B12. Previously, a three-step pathway has been proposed for the synthesis of aminopropanol from threonine, including two enzymatic steps and a spontaneous nonenzymatic decarboxylation. We assayed the two enzymatic steps of the hypothetical pathway; cobD mutants are not defective in either. Furthermore, mutants blocked in one step of the proposed pathway continue to make B12. We conclude that the aminopropanol for B12 synthesis is not made by this pathway. Expression of a lac operon fused to the cobD promoter is unaffected by vitamin B12 or oxygen, both of which are known to repress the main cob operon, suggesting that the cobD gene is not regulated.
Designing Design Processes in Product Lifecycle Management: Research Issues and Strategies

Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) promises to further a holistic consideration of product design, emphasizing integration, interoperability, and sustainability throughout a product’s lifecycle. Thus far, efforts have focused on addressing lifecycle concerns from a product-centric perspective by exploiting the reusability and scalability of existing products through product platform and product family design. Not much attention has been paid to leveraging the design process and its design in addressing lifecycle considerations, however. In striving for sustainability, it is the design process that should be considered to constitute an engineering enterprise’s primary resource commitment. In this paper, an overview of the challenges inherent in designing design processes is provided. These challenges are subsequently illustrated with regard to several design scenarios of varying complexity, using an example involving the design of Linear Cellular Alloys. A distinction is made between product related requirements/goals and design process related requirements/goals. Requirements, research issues, and strategies for addressing the diverse needs of modeling design processes from a decision-centric perspective are established. Finally, key elements for enabling the integrated design of products and their underlying design processes in a systematic fashion are provided, motivating the extension of PLM to include the lifecycle considerations of design processes, thereby moving towards Design Process Lifecycle Management (DPLM).
The occurrence of 2-methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-β-carboline and variation in alkaloids in Phalaris arundinacea☆

Abstract 2-Methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-β-carboline was isolated from reed canarygrass ( Phalaris arundinacea L.) and the occurrence of 2-methyl-6-methoxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-β-carboline confirmed. Clones of reed canarygrass that contained N,N -dimethyltryptamine or 2-methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-β-carboline did not contain their respective methoxy or hydroxy derivatives. Five of the 12 clones tested contained either or both of 5-methoxy- N,N -dimethyltryptamine and 2-methyl-6-methoxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-β-carboline. The data suggest that clones that contain gramine are not likely to contain N,N -dimethyltryptamine and/or β-carbolines. Thus, an inverse biosynthetic relationship between gramine and the tryptamine and β-carboline alkaloids seems to exist. However, further work is needed to firmly establish any such relationship between these alkaloids.
The relationship between an aggregate's pore size distribution and its freeze thaw durability in concrete

Abstract The relationship between the freeze/thaw durability of coarse aggregates and their pore structure was investigated. The pore size distribution of 14 aggregates was determined by mercury intrusion and compared to the durability factor derived from standard laboratory freeze/thaw tests. The results show that both the total pore volume and the median pore diameter influence the durability. Specifically, a lesser volume and a larger median diameter are associated with more durable aggregates and vice versa. An equation was developed that allows a prediction of the freeze/thaw durability from a measurement of the pore size distribution. The predictive equation was applied to aggregates removed from several Indiana highways and gave results that correlated well with the observed field performance of the concrete.
Thermoregulation, metabolism, and water economy in the golden mouse (Ochrotomys nuttalli).

Abstract 1. Thermoregulation, metabolism, and water relationships in the golden mouse (Ochrotomys nuttalli) were studied using two groups of animals (“field”-in captivity less than a month; “laboratory”-in captivity over a year). 2. Mean Tb of field and laboratory groups combined was 36·38°C and was independent of Ta between 5 and 35°C. Extreme lethargy reduced heat stress at high Ta. 3. The thermal neutral zone, BMR, and conductance of field subjects were 29·5–36°C, 1·39 cm3/g-hr, and 0·23 cm3/g-hr/°C, respectively. 4. Values of various parameters of water economy in field individuals (unless otherwise noted) were: normal water consumption, 0·233 ml/g-day; weight loss after 2 days water deprivation, 22%; mean pulmocutaneous water loss between 5 and 33°C, 2·7 mg/g-hr; minimum H2O/O2 ratio, 1·47 (laboratory group); mean urine production, 0·061 ml/g-day on ad libitum water to 0·024 ml/g-day after 2 days water deprivation; mean urine concentration of normally hydrated mice, 1386 mOsm/kg, increasing to 2686 mOsm/kg after 2 days without water; maximum urine/serum ratio, 9·5; mean normal and maximum fecal water content, 56 and 48%, respectively. 5. Compared with mice of the related genus Peromyscus, Ochrotomys has comparable thermoregulatory ability, low BMR, high conductance, and water relationships generally resembling species and subspecies from mesic habitats. 6. The low BMR and the tendency to become lethargic at high Ta may be adaptive in reducing heat stress in exposed nests during high summer daytime temperatures. The relatively high conductance, tendency to maintain normal Tb at low Ta, and lack of specialized water conservation mechanisms may play a significant role in limiting the golden mouse to relatively moist forest environments in southern United States.
TU‐D‐304A‐07: Reconstruction From Experimentally Acquired Transmission CT Sinograms with the Polyenergetic Alternating Minimization Algorithm Using An Equivalent X‐Ray Spectrum Estimated From Transmission Measurements

Purpose: Polyenergetic Alternating Minimization (AM) is a statistical image reconstruction (SIR) algorithm that uses a precomputed estimated x‐ray spectrum to directly model beam hardening effects in the course of iteratively reconstructingCTimages. We hypothesize that SIR reconstructions, based upon a rigorous physical model of the CT signal formation process, are of better quality than filtered‐backprojection images using conventional preprocessing beam‐hardening corrections. This presentation focuses on the accuracy and magnitude of artifacts in polyenergetic Alternating Minimization (AM) images of homogeneous phantoms. Method and Materials: The x‐ray spectrum of a Brilliance CT scanner was estimated from transmission measurements through varying thicknesses of aluminum and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) filters. An exhaustive search was used to find the semi‐empirical Birch‐Marshall x‐ray spectrum that most closely reproduced the transmission measurements. The polyenergetic AM algorithm was used to reconstructimages of 4 homogeneous PMMA disks of varying diameters using the estimated spectrum and measured scatter corrections. A simple test of the algorithm is performed: reconstructing PMMA disks using a PMMA basis in the AM algorithm should reconstruct an image intensity of 1.0 for all disk diameters. Mean intensity and noise are evaluated for disk center and periphery. Results: Our estimated spectrum fits the PMMA transmission measurements to within 1.5%. The AM algorithm reconstructs uniform images of the PMMA disks with mean intensity within 0.8% of the expected relative PMMA density for all disk sizes and locations. Relative standard deviations of the reconstructed intensities about the mean vary between 1.9% and 0.6% (center and periphery) for the 30 cm disk and 0.15% and 0.14% for the 5 cm disk. Conclusion: The polyenergetic AM algorithm can reconstruct accurate images from experimentally acquired CT data. However, great care must be taken in the processing of the raw CT data and the x‐ray spectrum estimation.
WHAT DOES A SLOMAN WANT

As often happens, I want very much to agree with Aaron Sloman. I share his opinion that there is not much productive research to be done on constructing conscious machines at this stage in cognitive science. I also believe (and who doesn't?) that we are mostly confused about the concept of consciousness; and that the word covers a multitude of di®erent capacities whose di®erences will in the future be much more clearly understood, but only after a lot of preliminary work. If the paper had stopped after Sec. 1, the paragraph above would have been my happy summary of a position that amounts to \Hear, hear!" Unfortunately, the paper goes on, and repeatedly de es its earlier crisp deprecations. Philosophers who stray from their °ocks often seem so relieved to be free of the necessity of weighing every word carefully, splitting hairs that are already submicroscopic, and nding arguments with numbered premises for every pronouncement, that they veer to the opposite extreme and say pretty much anything that pops into their head. Thus it can be quite di±cult to grasp what a Dennett, a Rorty, or, alas, a Sloman really means. One can nd in their writings quotes for and against many stances we would dearly love to know whether they want us to take or shun. Section 2 proposes that once we have accounted for all the \competencies" supposedly involving some aspect of consciousness, then we will understand all there is to understand: \... [W]e shall have solved the only problems of consciousness worth solving." This would have been another good place for the paper to stop. But the same thought is repeated at least three more times. Once we have abandoned the label \consciousness", and \explain[ed]" or \specif[ied]" \every other fact about human mentality" (Sec. 2), or \human minds" (Sec. 9), then
Translating social work research for social justice: focusing translational research on equity rather than the market

Management of the dissemination of effective interventions in social work is often uncertain, and even when attention is paid to diffusing effective, innovative interventions, the focus is often disproportionately on a marketplace orientation of increasing the market share of branded, manualized interventions and social service treatment products. Public health frameworks of dissemination can improve knowledge translation in social interventions by focusing dissemination efforts on achieving equity and increasing the availability of effective interventions to all those who can benefit from them rather than simply focusing on commercial processes. This article identifies three equity-focused translation frameworks that can aid the dissemination of effective social interventions at the macro-, meso-, and micro-levels. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.
Chronically Transfused Pediatric Sickle Cell Patients are Protected from Cardiac Iron Overload

Iron overload is a major toxicity of chronic transfusions. Myocardial iron overload is associated with cardiac dysfunction. Cardiac and liver magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed on 14 chronically transfused sickle cell disease (SCD) and non-sickle cell disease (non-SCD) patients seen at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital from 1 January 2000 to 10 March 2010. Retrospective review was conducted to assess cardiac T2*, liver T2*, ventricular dimensions and function, echocardiogram, length of transfusion, hemoglobin, and ferritin measurements. Ten patients had SCD and 4 had non-SCD, including α-thalassemia, β-thalassemia, and Diamond-Blackfan anemia. Cardiac T2* was normal in all SCD patients (mean 39 ± 12 ms), but abnormal in 3 of 4 non-SCD patients (mean 11.8 ± 2.4 ms). Liver T2* was similar between SCD (mean 6.2 ± 1.6 ms) and non-SCD patients (mean 5.9 ± 1.9 ms), and did not correlate with serum ferritin. Comparing SCD and non-SCD patients with similar transfusion duration, SCD patients had normal cardiac T2* and non-SCD patients had abnormal cardiac T2*. No patients had cardiomyopathy, but ventricular dilatation was common among SCD patients. Chronically transfused pediatric SCD patients are relatively spared of myocardial iron overload, which is unlikely to be due to lower total body iron burden in SCD patients than non-SCD patients.
Electron-spin pairs in iron tetraphenylporphyrin chloride at low and ultralow temperatures

This organometallic compound has a unique crystal structure which allows the formation of isolated, superexchange-coupled spin pairs at low temperatures. Approximately 50% of the Fe 3+ spins form these pairs. This pairing is observed in the magnetic susceptibility, heat capacity, and electron spin resonance spectra reported here. Analytic expressions for interpreting these data in terms of the superexchange parameters are derived. Our more recent spin resonance data support a different set of superexchange parameters than those reported by us earlier.
Evidence for an Upper Limit to Mitotic Spindle Length

Size specification of macromolecular assemblies in the cytoplasm is poorly understood [1]. In principle, assemblies could scale with cell size or use intrinsic mechanisms. For the mitotic spindle, scaling with cell size is expected, because the function of this assembly is to physically move sister chromatids into the center of nascent daughter cells. Eggs of Xenopus laevis are among the largest cells known that cleave completely during cell division. Cell length in this organism changes by two orders of magnitude (∼1200 μm to ∼12 μm) while it develops from a fertilized egg into a tadpole [2]. We wondered whether, and how, mitotic spindle length and morphology adapt to function at these different length scales. Here, we show that spindle length increases with cell length in small cells, but in very large cells spindle length approaches an upper limit of ∼60 μm. Further evidence for an upper limit to spindle length comes from an embryonic extract system that recapitulates mitotic spindle assembly in a test tube. We conclude that early mitotic spindle length in Xenopus laevis is uncoupled from cell length, reaching an upper bound determined by mechanisms that are intrinsic to the spindle.
Trace gas analysis in exhaled human breath for disease diagnosis

This paper reviews about the molecules that have been found in human breath whose biochemical pathways are known or whose biochemical pathways can be postulated and have been shown to be useful clinically.
“Our load of mutations” revisited

"The original source of my interest in genetics had been my long harbored idea of the control of evolution of man by man himself."' Thus declared H. J. Muller in an autobiographical sketch prepared, at Nikolai Vavilov's request, in 1936-1937. According to these notes, Muller's eugenic interests ofiginated with a visit, at the age of about eight, to the American Museum of Natural History. Through the example of the succession of fossil horses' feet, Muller's father convinced him of the theory of natural selection. "And from that time," he wrote, "the idea never left the back of my head that if this could happen in nature, men should eventually be able to control the process, even in themselves, so as greatly to improve upon their own natures." 2 It would be naive to take Muller's account at face value. But whether or not his eugenic enthusiasms actually dated from childhood, or prompted his interest in genetics, they were certainly evident by his student days and informed much of his scientific work.3 Eugenics, as Elof Carlson has noted, was "the leitmotif of Muller's life."4 His first paper, written at the age of nineteen, developed a eugenic argument 5and so did his last, written at the age of seventy-six.6 Muller's final project, in collab-
Chinese hamster ovary cells cultured in low concentrations of fetal bovine serum: cloning efficiency, growth in suspension, and selection of drug-resistant mutant phenotypes

Reducing serum concentrations in media provides a potential cost advantage. To determine whether such media could be used for applied mutagenesis assays, we measured cloning efficiency and growth parameters in suspension of Chinese hamster ovary cells cultured in reduced serum with or without additives (1 microgram/ml insulin, 3 X 10(-7) M linoleic acid, 1 X 10(-8) M H2SeO3) or bovine serum albumin (BSA, 1% wt/vol). With the additives and less than or equal to 0.5% fetal bovine serum (FBS), Ham's F12 medium (without hypoxanthine and thymidine) was more optimal than alpha Eagle's minimum essential medium (MEM) (without ribosides and deoxyribosides) for low density cloning and high density suspension growth. Acceptable cloning efficiencies were obtained with 2% FBS plus BSA without additives in either medium; the addition of BSA resulted in improved colony size and more compact colony morphology. In alpha MEM, satisfactory growth rates and maximum saturation densities in suspension culture were obtained only with 5% FBS; in Ham's F12, 1% FBS + deoxycytidine + BSA yielded satisfactory suspension growth. Spontaneous mutant frequencies were compared for each medium containing 10% dialyzed FBS (DFBS), 1% FBS plus BSA, or 2% FBS plus BSA. The spontaneous frequency of azaadenine-resistant phenotypes (mutant at the aprt locus) in 1% FBS plus BSA was significantly lower than the frequency observed in 2% FBS plus BSA or 10% DFBS. Frequencies of spontaneous mutants resistant to thioguanine (hgprt locus) or fluorodeoxyuridine (tk locus) were similar with 10% DFBS, 1% FBS plus BSA, or 2% FBS plus BSA. Compared to alpha MEM with 10% DFBS, frequencies of drug-resistant mutants induced by ethyl methanesulfonate or mitomycin C (MMC) were not significantly lower in alpha MEM with 2% FBS plus BSA; observed mutant frequencies induced by dimethylnitrosamine or benzo(a)pyrene seemed to be decreased at lower survival levels.
Near infrared scattering by sunlit terrestrial clouds.

Absolute intensity (radiance) spectra of solar radiation scattered by clouds were obtained in the 1.15-μ to 3.6-μ region as a function of cloud type, cloud altitude, and scattering angle. The angular dependence of cloud scattering was determined at a number of wavelengths between 1.15 μ and 3.6 μ From 2.6 μ to 2.9 μ, where water and ice are strongly absorbing and single scattering dominates, scattering efficiency increases nearly tenfold as the scattering angle decreases from 150° to 45°, in agreement with theory. At shorter and longer wavelengths, scattering efficiency increases by about a factor of three over the same range of scattering angles. Characteristic minima are observed in spectra of ice clouds at 1.5 μ, 2.0 μ, and 2.8 μ, which are related to absorptions in the bulk material at the same wavelengths. The 1.5-μ and 2.0-μ minima are absent in spectra of liquid-water clouds, even though the absorption characteristics of bulk water and ice are very similar. The differences in scattering behavior are explained on the basis of particle size.
An efficient caching support for critical sections in large-scale shared-memory multiprocessors

Directory-based and software-assisted schemes are the two main approaches to solving the cache coherence problem in large scale shared-memory multiprocessors. Until now, the emphasis in software-assisted schemes has been on ascertaining consistency within parallel constructs such as DoAll or DoAcross loops. In this paper, we propose a timestamped-based approach which also allows caching within critical sections. This scheme combines the best features of software-assisted and directory-based cache coherence protocols. It is based on a compile time analysis of interactions among critical sections and execution time local detection of cache incoherence by comparing the times when a variable was last written and last updated in the cache. A quantitative evaluation based on synthetic traces shows that this scheme results in hit ratios almost as high as in directory-based solutions while significantly reducing the network traffic.
Effects of nonylphenol on hepatic testosterone metabolism and the expression of acute phase proteins in winter flounder (Pleuronectes americanus): Comparison to the effects of Saint John's Wort

Abstract 4-Nonylphenol (4-NP), a major by-product of alkylphenol ethoxylates, is used in several industries and as a consequence is quite common in rivers, estuaries and other aquatic environments that receive sewage discharges or are near offshore oil platforms. 4-NP is an environmental estrogen that also binds human and rodent Pregnane X-receptor (PXR), the orphan nuclear receptor that controls the expression of several detoxication genes in mammals, including several CYP3A and CYP2B family members. These P450s preferentially hydroxylate testosterone in the 6β- and 16β-positions, respectively. In this study, the effects of 4-NP on testosterone metabolism and hepatic CYP3A induction were compared to the effects of St. John's Wort (SJW), a well established mammalian PXR agonist, in winter flounder. Male winter flounder (Pleuronectes americanus) were injected with 100 mg/kg/day 4-NP or 500 mg/kg/day SJW or both (S and N) every 24 h. Forty-eight hours after the initial injections, flounder were euthanized. Western blots and testosterone 6β-hydroxylation indicated that CYP3A was increased 50% by 4-NP, but was not affected by SJW. Testosterone 16β-hydroxylase activity was also significantly increased in flounder treated with 4-NP (2.8×), but not with SJW. This is not consistent with our hypothesis that both SJW and 4-NP would induce CYP3A. Subtractive hybridization was performed between control and 4-NP treated hepatic mRNA samples to isolate differentially expressed genes. Subtractive hybridization indicated that several acute phase proteins were altered by 4-NP. Quantitative real-time PCR (Q-PCR) confirmed 4-NP altered the expression of complement components C8b, cathepsin L, C-type lectin domain, FK506 binding protein 2 precursor (FKBP2) and an EST (expressed sequence tag). SJW and 4-NP treated flounder demonstrated similar induction profiles for the EST, cathepsin L and FKBP2, suggesting that SJW was at a sufficient dose to alter gene expression but not induce P450s. In conclusion, testosterone hydroxylase activity and Western blots indicate that SJW did not activate detoxication pathways in a similar manner to 4-NP.
Assimilation and Affirmative Action in French Education Systems.

(2008). Assimilation and Affirmative Action in French Education Systems. European Education: Vol. 40, No. 3, pp. 49-64.
The effect of sarcoptic mange on growth performance, leukocytes and lymphocyte proliferative responses in pigs☆

The effects of a single artificial infestation with sarcoptic mite (Sarcoptes scabiei var. suis DeGeer) on weight gain and lymphocyte blastogenic responses were studied in untreated and fenvalerate-treated pigs. Average daily feed intake, average daily gain and feed efficiency were monitored for 5 weeks in 32 infested and 16 uninfested pigs. Total and differential leukocyte counts were determined and lymphocyte proliferative responses, using a mitogen-stimulated lymphocyte blastogenesis assay, were evaluated in 24 pigs. Sarcoptic mite infestation or treatment for sarcoptic mange did not affect total or differential leukocyte counts (P greater than 0.10). Differences were not observed in weight gain or lymphocyte blastogenic responses between infested and uninfested pigs.
Effects of Interface Condition and Horizontal Wheel Loads on the Life of Flexible Pavement Structures

The effects of interface condition and horizontal wheel loads on the life of flexible and semirigid pavements were determined. The methodology consisted of implementing a previously derived interface constitutive model into the ABAQUS finite element program to compute the stresses and strains in typical flexible and semirigid road structures. The Shell transfer functions for fatigue cracking and terminal serviceability were used to estimate the life of the two pavements. The study revealed that the horizontal loads acting at the pavement surface lead to dramatically increased tensile strains at the top and bottom of the wearing course and at the top of the binder course. This may justify the initiation of cracking at the surface of the pavement and not at the bottom of the asphalt layer, as generally assumed. For semirigid pavements, the condition of the wearing-binder course interface affects the strains in the wearing course, whereas the condition of the binder-base interface affects the horizontal stra...
White-collar work values and attitudes: A cross-cultural comparison of the U.S. and the Philippines

This paper examines the work values of white-collar workers in the United States and the Philippines. It compares the extrinsic and intrinsic motivating factors and describes the core work motivators. Despite divergence in culture, economic environment, and level of industrialization, the results indicate that intrinsic factors are similarly effective for both groups while the effectiveness of extrinsic factors are more culturally determined.
Statistical properties of quantum systems: The linear oscillator

Statistical fluctuations in linear quantum-mechanical systems are shown to result from a projection of the total quantum system onto a restricted subspace. The resulting equations of motion are of the generalized Langevin form, with fluctuating and dissipative terms. These terms are related by a quantum-mechanical fluctuation-dissipation relation that ensures thermal equilibration. We analyze the dynamical behavior of the subsystem and elucidate the meaning and interrelation of several ubiquitous concepts in the following context: weak-coupling limit, Markovian limit, rotating-wave approximation (RWA), and low-temperature behavior. The three most salient consequences of our analysis are as follows: (1) The time scale for the correlation of fluctuations and the dissipation can be quite distinct, (2) the traditional implementation of the RWA only gives valid results in the strict weak-coupling limit, and (3) a reformulation of the RWA valid at arbitrary coupling strengths, and hence at arbitrarily low temperatures, is possible.
Managing all those bytes: the Human Genome Project

The three databases of primary importance to the Human Genome Project each store a different kind of information - DNA sequences (GenBank), chromosome mapping information (Genome Data Base), and protein sequence and structure (Protein Information Resource). Currently, these databases are independently administered and are separate physical entities, each with its own system for data collection, storage, and presentation. However, the community would be better served by the convenience of one-stop shopping, provided by a seamless integration of these primary databases into a single virtual database. This integration will necessitate adoption of a standard protocol such as SQL (Structured Query Language) for the interrogation and retrieval of related information simultaneously from several distributed databases. At present, data is accessed from databases across networks with simple document-based protocols such as GOPHER and WAIS (Wide Area Information Server). Although such protocols allow easy access to a wide variety of information (and undoubtedly will be used extensively), they do not provide the connectivity needed for a virtual database.
Transmission Line Model for Describing Power Performance of Electrochemical Capacitors

A simple equivalent circuit model for electrochemical (EC) capacitors can be established based on electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The circuit consists of an ohmic resistor and a finite-length Warburg element in series. The EC capacitor's performance including the transient/pulse response and energy density as a function of power density (Ragone plot) can be stimulated by the equivalent circuit model with three useful parameters including an ohmic resistance, total ionic resistance, and total capacitance of the electrodes.
Considerations for Beef Tenderness Evaluations

SUMMARY: Data collected from 690 beef rib steaks were utilized to evaluate the methodology of beef tenderness measurements. The information obtained in this study was critically compared to existing research and evaluated in relation to sample handling procedures. Frozen storage of steaks, especially if they are unprotected from dehydration or are stored for long periods of time, has important implications if such data are to be compared to steaks which were evaluated in the unfrozen state. Cooking frozen steaks with or without thawing apparently has little effect on tenderness or cooking loss. Anatomical location of the sample should be carefully controlled to prevent spurious differences from affecting tenderness measurements. Evidence indicates that a tenderness gradient exists over the cross-section of the I. dorsi and suggests that core samples should be taken from as many and as varied positions as is feasible for existing research conditions. The use of marbling score as an indicator of the tenderness of beef rib steaks resulted in the explanation of 28 percent of the variation in average shear force requirements. The shear force value of the diaphragm muscle was only moderately related (r = 0.40) to that of the I. dorsi. Cooking loss percentages were significantly increased as a result of freezing at–34°C and storage of steaks unwrapped at −23°C when compared to unfrozen steaks and by selecting I. dorsi samples from more anterior locations in the wholesale rib.
Evacuation simulation models: challenges in modeling high rise building evacuation with cellular automata approaches

Building evacuation simulation provides designers with an efficient way of testing the safety of a building before construction. A significant number of models have been developed in a variety of disciplines (computer graphics, robotics, evacuation dynamics, etc.). This paper presents a review of crowd simulation models and selected commercial software tools for high rise building evacuation simulation. The commercial tools selected (STEPS and EXODUS) are grid-based simulations, which allow for efficient implementation but introduce artifacts in the final results. This paper focuses on describing the main challenges and limitation of these tools, in addition to explaining the importance of incorporating human psychological and physiological factors into the models. The paper concludes with an overview of fundamentals that should be applied to simulate human movement closer to real movements of people, where interaction between bodies emerges and flow rates, densities, and speeds become the result of those interactions instead of some predefined value.
Re‐visioning the rainmaker

While formulating a production concept for The Rainmaker, director Suzanne Burgoyne and dramaturg Shirley Huston‐Findley uncovered a fairy tale structure embedded in the text; we then investigated feminist analyses of how traditional fairy tale heroines provide negative role models for women. Instead of deconstructing The Rainmaker, however, we re‐visioned the play as a parable about the “miracle” of self‐acceptance which allows for connection with others. Rather than presenting the play as one‐sided empowerment of a Cinderella female (Lizzie) by a Prince Charming male (Starbuck), we used our folkloric lens to identify elements in the text of mutual male/female “disenchantment” and empowerment. In this case study of The Rainmaker, we reflect upon our production choices in light of further research and offer additional suggestions for subversive staging.
Spatial and behavioral interactions between a native and introduced salamander species

Behavioral interactions with native species may influence the invasiveness of introduced species. The salamanders Plethodon glutinosus and P. jordani in the eastern United States share many life history traits and demonstrate complex interspecific interactions that range geographically from competitive exclusion to sympatry. P. jordani was introduced to Mountain Lake Biological Station, Virginia, USA, between the years 1935 and 1945. We tested whether competition for space may influence the invasion of P. jordani into native P. glutinosus habitat by utilizing data from natural distributions, a field experiment, and controlled laboratory experiments. No environmental variables differed where P. glutinosus and P. jordani were collected in the field at the site of P. jordani introduction. In the field experiment, P. glutinosus was more fully exposed during foraging bouts in cages shared with heterospecifics as opposed to ones shared with conspecific salamanders. Condition (mass relative to body length) of salamanders at the end of the 3 months did not differ between conspecific and heterospecific treatments. In the laboratory, P. glutinosus most often attained the single burrow in the arena, but residency status had no effect. Species cohabited the burrow 50% of the time. Pair-wise encounters in the laboratory indicated that both species spend less than 20% of the time in aggressive behaviors as juveniles. Adults showed no behavior interpreted by us as aggression during pair-wise encounters.
Crystallization in starch: The role of ions in the lyotropic series

The crystallization (retrogradation) of starch from solution has been investigated as a function of electrolyte composition and concentration. The anion effects follow a lyotropic series which causes retrogradation in the approximate descending order: CNS-, (PO4≡, CO3=), I-, NO3−, Br-, Cl-, C2H3O2-, F-, SO4=. Cations also tend to follow the lyotropic series of Ba++, Sr++, Ca++, K+, Na+, Li+. Increasing concentrations of most salts (except for NaF and MgSO4) result in decreased precipitation of starch. The descending order of ions in the lyotropic series is best explained in terms of the decreasing polarity and decreasing relative intensity of electric charge, due either to increasing ion symmetry or to increasing area of charge distribution as a result of resonance among several configurations. It is suggested that the polar, higher charge intensity in ions at the upper end of the series brings about charging of the starch molecule, which leads to solubilization because of (1) the repulsion of the similarly charged molecules and (2) the aggregation of a water mantle about each molecule.
The packing of double helices.

Abstract A description is presented of the ways in which smooth double helices may be close-packed to form crystals and it is suggested that this packing may be significant for some of the sheet structures formed by alpha-proteins.
The effect of oxygen on denitrification during steady-state growth of Paracoccus halodenitrificans

Steady-state cultures of Paracoccus halodenitrificans were grown anaerobically prior to establishing steady states at different concentrations of oxygen. In the absence of oxygen, nitrate-limited cultures produced dinitrogen, and as the oxygen supply increased, these cultures produced nitrous oxide, then nitrite. These changes reflected two phenomena: the inactivation of nitrous oxide reductase by oxygen and the diversion of electrons from nitrite to oxygen.
Differences in phosphorylation of phosphoglucomutase 1 in beef steaks from the longissimus dorsi with high or low star probe values.

Abstract The objective of this study was to use proteomics to identify alterations of proteins that are related to tenderness. The longissimus dorsi (LD) were removed from ten beef carcasses at 24 h postmortem, and the two with the highest (HSP; average kg of force = 6.57) and lowest star probe values (LSP; average kg of force = 3.75) at 14 days postmortem were identified. Two-dimensional PAGE was used to compare the sarcoplasmic fraction of the LD from HSP and LSP steaks. A series of spots identified as phosphoglucomutase 1 (PGM1) were identified. Only the most alkaline isoform was identified as being unphosphorylated. The least phosphorylated isoform (isoform 5) had a greater density of the total protein ( P ) and phosphorylated protein ( P ) in the samples from HSP steaks compared to the samples from LSP steaks. This study illustrates the importance of identifying posttranslational modifications of proteins in the search for biomarkers.
Criteria for establishing accurate vapour pressure curves

Abstract We use standard thermodynamic relationships to demonstrate the accuracy of new vapour pressure measurements by using them in the calculation of liquid-phase heat capacities and comparing the results with recently published experimental values. The results for new alternative refrigerants R134a and R123 are used as examples.