cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Metformin in breast cancer - an evolving mystery

Metformin, a diabetes drug with well-established side effect and safety profiles, has been widely studied for its anti-tumor activities in a number of cancers, including breast cancer. But its mechanism of action in the clinical arena remains elusive. In a window of opportunity trial of metformin in non-diabetic breast cancer patients, Dowling and colleagues examined both the direct actions of the drug on cancer cells (as mediated by AMP kinase), as well as its indirect actions (as mediated by circulating insulin). The data suggest that short-term administration of metformin in this setting has anti-tumor effects significantly involving the indirect, insulin-dependent pathway. The role of the direct pathway remains to be determined. This study represents an important step forward in establishing one of several possible mechanisms for metformin, information that will be useful in determining candidate biomarkers to evaluate in large clinical trials of metformin, such as the ongoing NCIC CTG MA.32 trial of adjuvant metformin. The potential significance of these data for metformin in the treatment of breast cancer is discussed here.
Impact of lightweight and conventional jackhammers on the operator

Jackhammer manufacturers have recently developed lightweight (45-60 lbs) jackhammers intended to reduce the required lifting and pushing forces during operation. However, the vibration characteristics of the lightweight jackhammers and their effect on muscle activity are currently unknown. The objective of this study was to compare the measured vibration and muscle activity between: (i) conventional (90 lb) and light weight (60 lb) jackhammers, (ii) different pavement type/thickness combinations, and (iii) pneumatic and hydraulic jackhammers. Five jackhammers were tested on 4 and 6 inch thick asphalt and concrete pavements by four experienced operators. Analysis of the results revealed that both weight classes averaged 9.7 m/s(2) at the 20 Hz weighted 1/3 octave band frequency, and the TLV of daily exposure for either weight class of jackhammer was less than 1.5 hours/per day. There was an approximately 33% difference in vibration measured on the hand of the operators due to pavement thickness, 30% due pavement type, and no difference due to power source. Conventional jackhammers overall produced higher muscle activity than lightweight jackhammers. Although selection of the correct jackhammer for the job involves many factors including pavement type and thickness, the results of this research can be used to assist in selecting the appropriate jackhammer.
Intrinsic Optical Bistability

The phenomenon of optical bistability (OB) is the nonlinear response of a material to incident light, resulting in bistability and reversible hysteresis of the output as a function of the input intensity. The first theoretical prediction of OB was by Szoke et al. [1] for a saturable absorber placed in a cavity to provide feedback and is called “absorptive” OB. Later, McCall [2] showed by numerical integration of the Maxwel1-Bloch equations with boundary conditions for a Fabry-Perot cavity, that under suitable conditions such a system can exhibit differential gain and transistor action. These predictions led to the experiments of Gibbs, McCall and Venkatesan [3] in which they used Na vapor in a Fabry-Perot cavity. Although the main predictions of McCall were realized in the experiment, detailed analysis of the data indicated that the observed OB was dispersive in character rather than absorptive, and this was subsequently explained in terms of a simple phenomenological model.
A note on a Lyapunov argument for stochastic gradient methods in the presence of noise

The authors employ energy-based arguments to establish a robustness and a convergence result for a gradient-descent adaptive law in the presence of both noisy measurements and uncertainty in the initial guess.
Dying is no accident. Adolescents, violence, and intentional injury

Violence and its consequences of injury and death are a major issue confronting the public health community. An understanding of the characteristics and contributing factors of violence provide insights for both preventive and treatment strategies. Interventions at the societal, public health, and clinical levels are possible and evidence is being accumulated that suggests these interventions are an important component to addressing this complex and serious problem.
Mixed-State Quasiparticle Transport in High- T c Cuprates

Theory of quasiparticle transport in the mixed state of a $d$-wave superconductor is developed under the assumption of disordered vortex array. A novel universal regime is identified at fields above ${H}^{*}{\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}=\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}c}^{*}{H}_{c2}(T/{T}_{c}{)}^{2}$, characterized by a field-independent longitudinal thermal conductivity ${\ensuremath{\kappa}}_{\mathrm{xx}}^{e}$. It is argued that this behavior is responsible for the high-field plateau in ${\ensuremath{\kappa}}_{\mathrm{xx}}^{e}$ experimentally observed in high- ${T}_{c}$ cuprates.
Undergraduate work experience: an alternative approach using micro businesses

Examines the use of micro‐businesses for undergraduate placements on business and management courses. Such businesses are often not considered for placements by HEIs because graduates have tended to obtain employment in larger organisations. However, the graduate labour market is changing and micro‐businesses can be used as a vehicle for linking theory and practice and developing transferable skills. The research involved an in‐depth study of two cases where the author operated as a participant observer. Key factors contributing to the efficacy of the work experience were found to include the preparation of students for their placements; mentoring of both students and placement providers by a suitably qualified academic tutor; and support following the placement to help all the parties involved to reflect and learn from their experience. In particular there is a need for the development of effective learning networks consisting of students, micro‐business owner‐managers and placement tutors.
Ozone toxicity symptoms among flight attendants

Because of persistent complaints of ozone-toxicity type symptoms among crew members of commercial airlines, we undertook a survey to determine the extent of the problem and the associated flight factors. Self-reported questionnaires and flight diaries were completed by 1,330 flight attendants, (FAs) working for three different airlines. Ozone-toxicity type symptoms were reported three or four times more frequently by FAs with airlines flying at high altitudes than by those with low-flying airlines. When examined by characteristics of flights, the ozone-toxicity type symptoms were significantly associated with flight altitude, duration and type of aircraft, but not with years worked, sex, medical history, or home residence. Other symptoms indicative of fatigue or stress were mainly associated with flight duration. While these indirect data cannot implicate ozone specifically, they offer evidence that ozone-related health problems do exist among a large proportion of FAs.
The natural endocast of Taung (Australopithecus africanus): insights from the unpublished papers of Raymond Arthur Dart.

Dart's 1925 announcement of Australopithecus africanus (Dart: Nature 115 [1925] 195–199) was highly controversial, partly because of an interpretation of the Taung natural endocast that rested on an erroneous identification of the lambdoid suture as the lunate sulcus. Unpublished materials from the University of Witwatersrand Archives (Dart, unpublished material) reveal that Dart reacted to the controversy by: 1) describing and illustrating the entire sulcal pattern on the Taung endocast, in contrast to just two sulcal identifications in 1925, 2) identifying a hypothetical part of the lambdoid suture and revising his description of the lunate sulcus, and 3) bolstering his argument that Taung's brain was advanced by detailing expansions in three significant cortical association areas. Four unpublished illustrations of Dart's identifications for sulci and sutures on the Taung endocast are compared here with those published by Keith (Keith: New discoveries relating to the antiquity of man (1931)), Schepers (Schepers: The endocranial casts of the South African ape-men. In: Broom R, Schepers GWH, editors. The South African fossil ape-men; the Australopithecinae [1946] p 155–272), and Falk (Falk: Am J Phys Anthropol 53 [1980] 525–539), and the thorny issue of the location of the lunate sulcus is revisited in light of new information. Archival materials reveal that Dart believed that Taung's brain was reorganized globally rather than in a mosaic manner, and that the shapes of certain cortical association areas showed that Australopithecus was closer to Pithecanthropus than to the living apes. Although a few of Dart's hitherto-unpublished sulcal identifications, including his revision for the lunate sulcus, were questionable, his claim that the Taung endocast reproduced a shape that was advanced toward a human condition in its prefrontal cortex and caudally protruded occipital lobe was correct. Yrbk Phys Anthropol 52:49–65, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Design, Debug, Deploy: The Creation of Configurable Computing Applications

Configurable Computing Machines (CCMs) are computing machines based on reconfigurable circuit technology such as field programmable gate-arrays. Early researchers recognized CCMs as a new, flexible, and powerful class of computer. The earliest CCMs featured rudimentary but significant integrated design, debug, and deployment (runtime) environments. This paper reviews those environments and the contributions they made and considers the progress made over the past 20 years in providing support for the "3 D's" of configurable computing application development: design, debug, and deployment. It then introduces an integrated CAD framework for the creation of CCM CAD tools and describes a series of experiments in creating such a CAD tool suite -- the JHDL system. The paper reviews lessons learned from that work and concludes by discussing the role integrated design, debug, and runtime environments will play in future CCM-based systems.
Clocked quantum-dot cellular automata shift register

Abstract The quantum-dot cellular automata (QCA) computational paradigm provides a means to achieve ultimately low limits of power dissipation by replacing binary coding in currents and voltages with single-electron switching within arrays of quantum dots (“cells”). Clocked control over the cells allows the realization of power gain, memory and pipelining in QCA circuits. We present an experimental demonstration of a clocked QCA two-stage shift register (SR) and use it to mimic the operation of a multi-stage SR. Error-bit rates for binary switching operations in a metal tunnel junction device are experimentally investigated, and discussed for future molecular QCAs.
Semantically controlled content-based retrieval of video sequences

In this paper, we present a technique for automatic classification of movies based on their content. This technique analyses shot duration and motion energy of movie trailers to characterize them as Action/Character movies. This approach is then combined with a features-based technique for content-based retrieval of video. Experiments indicate a high retrieval accuracy (greater than 96%) together with semantic-control (Action vs. Character) with this combined approach.
Sunburn and p53 in the onset of skin cancer

Squamous cell carcinoma of the skin (SCC) can progress by stages: sun-damaged epidermis, with individual disordered keratinocytes; actinic keratosis (AK), spontaneously regressing keratinized patches having aberrant cell differentiation and proliferation; carcinoma in situ; SCC and metastasis. To understand how sunlight acts as a carcinogen, we determined the stage at which sunlight mutates the p53 tumour-suppressor gene and identified a function for p53 in skin. The p53 mutations induced by ultraviolet radiation and found in > 90% of human SCCs were present in AKs. Inactivating p53 in mouse skin reduced the appearance of sunburn cells, apoptotic keratinocytes generated by overexposure to ultraviolet. Skin thus appears to possess a p53-dependent 'guardian-of-the-tissue' response to DNA damage which aborts precancerous cells. If this response is reduced in a single cell by a prior p53 mutation, sunburn can select for clonal expansion of the p53-mutated cell into the AK. Sunlight can act twice: as tumour initiator and tumour promoter.
An ABF Perspective on James Heckman and His Scholarship

The occasion of the awarding of the Nobel prize provides a nice opportunity to consider the 10 years that James Heckman has served as a senior research fellow at the American Bar Foundation. Despite his travels, Heckman has participated actively in the life of the ABF. Not only has he been quite active in our research committee, which oversees new projects, but he has also prepared exhaustively and participated fully in our annual meetings and decisions regarding the recruitment of new research fellows and doctoral fellows. My purpose here, however, is not to focus on his activities at the ABF but rather to contribute some comments on his place in the ABF scheme of things-what it means to have this Nobel prize-winning economist working as a senior research fellow at an institution affiliated with the legal profession. The mission of the ABF is deceptively simple to state. It is to produce the highest-quality research possible dealing with law, legal institutions, and legal processes. It should therefore be obvious that Heckman fits the mission quite well. The Nobel prize only confirms what was already well understood. He is a an academic superstar. The institutional context of the ABF, however, is more complicated. On the one hand, the ABF is a creature of the organized bar, the American Bar Association, and it is funded largely by the American Bar Endowment, which relies to a great extent on the sale of insurance to ABA members. Our position in the ABA family, indeed, means that members of the organized bar often want to know what the use of the ABF research is to practicing lawyers or at least to the legal profession. Part of my role as director is to promote research within the ABF that
THM1 negatively modulates mouse sonic hedgehog signal transduction and affects retrograde intraflagellar transport in cilia

Characterization of previously described intraflagellar transport (IFT) mouse mutants has led to the proposition that normal primary cilia are required for mammalian cells to respond to the sonic hedgehog (SHH) signal. Here we describe an N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea–induced mutant mouse, alien (aln), which has abnormal primary cilia and shows overactivation of the SHH pathway. The aln locus encodes a novel protein, THM1 (tetratricopeptide repeat–containing hedgehog modulator-1), which localizes to cilia. aln-mutant cilia have bulb-like structures at their tips in which IFT proteins (such as IFT88) are sequestered, characteristic of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Caenorhabditis elegans retrograde IFT mutants. RNA-interference knockdown of Ttc21b (which we call Thm1 and which encodes THM1) in mouse inner medullary collecting duct cells expressing an IFT88–enhanced yellow fluorescent protein fusion recapitulated the aln-mutant cilial phenotype, and live imaging of these cells revealed impaired retrograde IFT. In contrast to previously described IFT mutants, Smoothened and full-length glioblastoma (GLI) proteins localize to aln-mutant cilia. We hypothesize that the aln retrograde IFT defect causes sequestration of IFT proteins in aln-mutant cilia and leads to the overactivated SHH signaling phenotype. Specifically, the aln mutation uncouples the roles of anterograde and retrograde transport in SHH signaling, suggesting that anterograde IFT is required for GLI activation and that retrograde IFT modulates this event.
Near-horn Prolog and beyond

Near-Horn Prolog is an extension of Prolog designed to handle disjunction and classical negation. The emphasis here is on minimal change from standard Prolog in regard to notation, derivation form, and speed of inner-loop computation. The procedure is optimized for the input program that is near-Horn; i.e., a program where almost all clauses are definite clauses. This paper goes beyond the near-Horn focus to report on the completeness of one version of nH-Prolog, along with soundness of the procedure. Completeness is important here not only for the usual reasons of guaranteed success on small problems and insight into the behavior of the procedure but also because we anticipate the introduction of negation-as-failure which requires conviction that a proof will be found if a proof exists.
Heat of Hydration for Cement: Statistical Modeling

The heat of hydration of hydraulic cements depends on a complex set of phase dissolution and precipitation reactions following the addition of water. Heat of hydration is currently measured in one of two ways: acid dissolution of the raw cement and a hydrated cement after 7 days or isothermal calorimetry. In principle, the heat of hydration should be predictable from knowledge of the cement composition and perhaps some measure of the cement fineness or total surface area. The improved mineralogical estimates provided by quantitative X-ray powder diffraction, together with improved statistical data exploration techniques that examine nonlinear combinations of candidate model constituents, were used to explore alternative predictive models for the 7-day heat of hydration. An exploratory tool, called "all possible alternating conditional expectations," was created by combining all possible subsets regression with alternating conditional expectation to judiciously select variables within an explanatory variab...
Uptake inhibitors increase extracellular serotonin concentration measured by brain microdialysis

The physiological role of the serotonin transporter on serotonin neuronal membranes apparently is to inactivate serotonin that has been released into the synaptic cleft. Drugs that inhibit the uptake of serotonin increase the amount of serotonin in the synaptic cleft and enhance serotonergic neurotransmission. As an adaptive response to the increased amount of serotonin in the synaptic cleft, serotonin neurons decrease their firing and release of serotonin to limit the magnitude of the increase in extracellular serotonin concentration. The increase in extracellular serotonin in rat brain caused by inhibitors of the serotonin uptake carrier has been characterized by brain microdialysis coupled to liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. These drugs cause rapid accumulation of extracellular serotonin in several brain regions, although the increase in frontal cortex may be smaller than in other nerve terminal regions or in the cell body-containing raphe region.
Donath-Landsteiner antibody-associated hemolytic anemia after Haemophilus influenzae infection in a child

From the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Rita & Taft Schreiber Division of Transfusion Medicine, Los Angeles, California. Address reprint requests to: Alyssa Ziman, MD, UCLA Medical Center, 10833 Le Conte Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90095; e-mail: aziman@mednet.ucla.edu. Received for publication December 8, 2003; revision received January 29, 2004, and accepted January 30, 2004. TRANSFUSION 2004;44:1127-1128. T R A N S F U S I O N M E D I C I N E I L L U S T R A T E D
Intracardiac Repair for Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Connection of Right Lung to Inferior Vena Cava

Abstract A technique has been devised that has proved satisfactory for the repair of total anomalous pulmonary venous connection of the right lung to the inferior vena cava. It consists of creating an intraatrial conduit to conduct blood from the orifice of the anomalous vein in the inferior vena cava across a defect in the atrial septum to the left atrium. Six patients have undergone repair of total anomalous pulmonary venous connection in this manner, with 5 patients having good results both immediately after operation and late postoperatively. One patient died in the early postoperative period, presumably from severe pulmonary vascular disease.
Quality of death: a dimensional analysis of palliative care in the nursing home.

Palliative care in nursing homes is increasingly discussed, investigated, and implemented, yet the term lacks conceptual clarity and definition. Furthermore, the components, process, and outcomes o...
Review of erythroplasia of Queyrat and its treatment

EQ (erythroplasia of Queyrat) manifests itself by single or multiple asymptomatic papules or plaques on the glans penis, or periurethrally, predominantly in uncircumcised men, age range from twenty to eighty years of age. The bright red lesions may be ulcerated. The disease progresses slowly, and the interval between onset and diagnosis may be years. The cause is unknown. Diagnosis is confirmed only by histologic examination. A therapeutic regimen of 5 per cent 5-fluorouracil cream applied to lesion(s) twice daily for four to five weeks has produced a high cure rate and maintained penile integrity and function.
Urban forest of Dayton, Ohio: A preliminary assessment

Preliminary measurement of the characteristics of Dayton's vegetation configuration is provided in a context of the city's neighborhoods and land uses. Results show that 58% of the city's land is not covered with artificial surfaces, and that 37% (almost 2500 ha) of the non-surfaced land is covered with tree crowns. The city has nearly 2 km2 of exposed soil. Only single and two-family residential land use has more area with tree cover than grass cover, but this land use category also has the greatest available space for increasing tree cover. Wide variations in land cover characteristics exist throughout the city and across its land uses. Results indicate a great potential for increasing tree-related benefits through broadened urban forestry management.
Isotropic half-millimeter angiography of coronary artery bypass grafts with 16-slice computed tomography.

Abstract Background Computed tomography (CT) with four detector rows and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are still of limited value for the assessment of coronary artery bypass grafts (CABG). We investigated the abilities of 16-slice CT in these patients. Methods A retrospective analysis of all noninvasive coronary angiographies with multislice computed tomography (MSCT; Aquilion, Toshiba) on patients with CABG referred to our institution between October 2002 and April 2003 was conducted. MSCT angiography was performed using a standard protocol (0.5-seconds rotation time, 16×0.5 mm detector collimation, 120 kV, 250 to 300 mA, and 0.25 pitch). None of the patients received β-blockers to reduce the heart rate. Seventy-five CABGs (20 arterial grafts and 55 venous grafts) in 27 patients were evaluated for patency and adequate diagnostic quality by two radiologists in consensus. Results All arterial and venous grafts were depicted with adequate diagnostic quality and were eligible for evaluation. Fifteen occlusions and five significant stenoses (at least 50%) could be identified. All of the proximal and 99% of the distal anastomoses were eligible. One distal anastomosis of an arterial graft was not assessable due to surgical clip artifacts. The length of the acquisition window was 174 ± 46 ms (range 71 to 234 ms). The majority of the patients (70%) had a heart rate above 65 beats/min. However, due to the improved temporal and spatial resolution none of the examinations had an insufficient image quality. Conclusions MSCT angiography with 16 detector rows and an isotropic high resolution reliably depicts CABG with adequate diagnostic quality.
Impact of Interrupting Simulated Hydraulic Excavator Training with Simulated Loader Training

A skilled operator of construction equipment needs to become proficient in the use and control of various classes or types of machines. It is thus important to establish effective training methods across these machine types and to determine the extent to which skills operating one machine transfer to another. An issue of concern is whether learning to operate a single piece of equipment is best if all practice is on that equipment, or whether intermixed training on a related piece of equipment can be of value (or possibly a hindrance). In the present study, naive participants practiced performing a controls familiarization task on a simulated hydraulic excavator in an initial session. In a second session, one-third of the participants were trained on a simulated loader, another third continued practicing on the simulated excavator, and the final third engaged in an unrelated reading task. For a final session, all participants again performed the controls familiarization task on the excavator. Execution ti...
Binocular summation and suppression: visually evoked cortical responses to dichoptically presented patterns of different spatial frequencies.

Abstract The effects of continuous dichoptic presentation of different sized grid patterns to the two eyes on monocular and binocular averaged visually evoked cortical responses (VERs) were investigated. Patterns (diffuse light and grids subtending between line distances of 15′, 30′ and 60′) were continuously presented to both eyes by means of a haploscope and VERs were elicited by a momentary increase in the brightness (10 μsec flash superimposed on the continuous luminance level) of the grid viewed by the left or right eye (monocular VERs) or both eyes (binocular VERs). Greater amplitude VERs were obtained when grids with elements subtending 15′ and 30′ were flashed for both monocular and binocular flash conditions. The effects of pattern presented to one eye depended on the pattern presented to the other eye. Binocular VER amplitude and binocular summation was greatest when identical sized pattern elements were presented to the two eyes and least when different sized pattern elements were presented to the two eyes (particularly when VERs were measured over the midline electrode position). When diffuse light was presented to one eye and patterned light to the other, binocular VERs reflected near complete suppression of the input from the eye viewing diffuse light, the amplitude and wave-form of the binocular VER being approximately the same as that of the monocular VER to the patterned light. Monocular VERs were influenced both by variations in pattern size presented to the eye receiving the increment in brightness (the evoking flash) and by the pattern size presented to the other eye which was not flashed. Monocular VER amplitude to the flashed eye progressively decreased as the elements presented to other non-flashed eye were varied in size from diffuse. 15′, 30′ to 60′ subtense, particularly when the flashed eye viewed diffuse light. There was a tendency for the effects of eye flashed (left vs right), interocular suppression, and binocular summation to be greater in VERs recorded over the right than the left cerebral hemispheres.
Retrieval time performance in puzzle-based storage systems

Purpose – Puzzle-based storage is a novel approach enabling very dense storage. Previous analytical studies have focussed on retrieval time when one or more usable escort locations (empty slots) are located near the system input/output location, and on simulation results for more complex situations. The purpose of this paper is to extend analytical results to determine retrieval time performance when multiple escorts are randomly located within the system. Design/methodology/approach – Closed-form expressions for retrieval time are developed and proven for cases in which the number of free, randomly placed escorts is equal to one or two. Heuristics with associated worst case bounds are proposed for larger numbers of free escorts. Findings – Puzzle-based storage systems are practical and viable ways to achieve storage density, but retrieval time is heavily dependent upon suitable use of escort locations. Analytical and heuristic methods developed within the paper provide worst-case retrieval time performan...
COMPLETE NUMERICAL SOLUTION OF BOHR'S COLLECTIVE HAMILTONIAN.

Abstract The general form of Bohr's collective Hamiltonian for quadrupole deformations is reviewed. It contains seven largely arbitrary functions of β and γ, the potential energy and six inertial functions. A thorough discussion is given of the symmetries of these seven functions and of the corresponding properties of the solutions of the Schrodinger equation. A purely numerical method involving a finite mesh is developed for solving this Schrodinger equation. The output of the calculation consists in the low-lying levels, the corresponding wave functions and the relevant E2 and M1 static and transition moments; the latter depend on the intrinsic quadrupole moments and intrinsic gyromagnetic ratios as functions of β and γ. The numerical method is tested on a number of examples and is found to be sufficiently accurate for application to spherical, transition and many deformed nuclei.
Are freezing and dehydration similar stress vectors? A comparison of modes of interaction of stabilizing solutes with biomolecules

Abstract Evidence is reviewed that freezing and dehydration are fundamentally different stress vectors: (a) Proteins, membranes, phospholipids, and living cells and organisms all contain about 0.25 g nonfreezable H2O/g dry weight. By definition, this H2O is not removed by freezing. (b) Dehydration, by contrast with freezing, can remove the nonfreezable H2O. Removing this H2O results in profound changes in the physical properties of biomolecules, particularly phospholipids and proteins, (c) The mechanisms of preservation of proteins during freezing and drying are completely different. The specificity for solute requirements for stabilization of proteins during freezing is low; any solute that is preferentially excluded from the hydration shell of a protein is also a cryoprotectant. (d) By contrast, stabilization of proteins during drying requires direct interaction between the stabilizing molecule and the protein, probably involving hydrogen bonding between the stabilizer and polar residues in the protein. The specificity is very high in this case; only carbohydrates are effective, and of those that have been tested trehalose is the most effective, (e) Less is understood about the mechanism of stabilization of phospholipid bilayers during freezing, but it is clear that while many solutes will preserve liposomes during freezing, only a few (of which trehalose is the most effective) will preserve them during drying. Stabilization of bilayers during drying requires direct interaction between the sugar and polar head groups of the phospholipids.
Cooperation vs. multiplexing: multicast scheduling algorithms for ofdma relay networks

With the next generation cellular networks making a transition towards smaller cells, two-hop OFDMA relay networks have become a dominant, mandatory component in the 4G standards (WiMAX 802.16j, 3GPP LTE-Adv). While unicast flows have received reasonable attention in two-hop OFDMA relay networks, not much light has been shed on the design of efficient scheduling algorithms for multicast flows, thereby forming the focus of this work. We show that while relay cooperation is critical for improving multicast performance, it must be carefully balanced with the ability to multiplex multicast sessions and hence maximize aggregate multicast flow. To this end, we highlight strategies that carefully group relays for cooperation to achieve this balance. We then solve the multicast scheduling problem under two OFDMA sub-channelization models. We establish the NP-hardness of the scheduling problem even for the simpler model and provide efficient algorithms with approximation guarantees under both models. Evaluation of the proposed solutions reveals the efficiency of the scheduling algorithms as well as the significant benefits obtained from the multicasting strategy.
Spectral Attenuation and Irradiance in the Laurentian Great Lakes

Abstract Optical data collected between 1973 and 1979 are utilized to study spectral attenuation and irradiance in the midlake waters of four Laurentian Great Lakes. Particular attention is given to the photosynthetic available radiation (PAR), its incident spectral distribution, its spectral attenuation, and its qualitative change with depth. Curves are shown illustrating these spectral properties as well as the relationships between PAR and the photosynthetic usable radiation (PUR) for each of the lakes. These curves, along with the included mathematical relationships, enable quantitative estimates to be obtained of incident PAR, subsurface PAR, and subsurface PUR, and qualitative information to be obtained on subsurface irradiance levels for the Laurentian Great Lakes.
Optimized lane assignment on an automated highway

Highway automation entails the application of control, sensing and communication technologies to road vehicles, with the objective of improving highway performance. It has been envisioned that automation could increase highway capacity by a factor of three. To attain this capacity, it will be important to minimize the amount of lane-changing and optimally assign vehicles to lanes. This paper develops and applies a linear programming based lane assignment model. The highway system is modeled as a multi-commodity network, where the commodities represent trip destinations (i.e. exit ramps on highways). An unusual feature of the model is that capacities are defined by bundle constraints, which are functions of the flow entering, leaving, continuing and passing through lanes in each highway segment. The objective is to maximize total flow, subject to a fixed origin/destination pattern, expressed on a proportional basis. The model is tested for highways with up to 80 segments, 20 destinations and 5 lanes, and parametric analyses are provided with respect to the time-space requirement for lane-changes, number of lanes, number of segments and origin/destination pattern.
Thermal convection in a rotating shear flow

The dynamics of thermal convection in a rotating shear flow was studied using a three-dimensional time-dependent numerical model of the flow. The model assumes a sheared zonal wind in the form of an atmospheric jet stream and considers convective motions imbedded in this flow. It was found that rotation plays a vital role in the dynamics. Without rotation, the convective motions extract energy and momentum from the mean zonal flow. With rotation, the convective motions feed the energy and momentum into the mean flow. The results show how the small-scale convection might influence the large-scale dynamics of rotating stars and planets.
Evolutionarily stable antipredator behavior among isolated foragers: On the consequences of successful escape

Animals invest in antipredator behavior to escape from (or avoid) predators. An animal that successfully evades a predator puts others at risk by passing the predator along to them. A simple model shows how this predator “pass-along” effect acts to link the antipredator behavior of apparently isolated, non-interacting foragers both within populations and between trophic levels. Essentially, successful escape magnifies antipredator behavior beyond that expected when predation risk is equated with predator-induced mortality ( μ ). While μ may represent the probability of being killed by predators, the risk of being attacked is more important in determining antipredator behavior, and successful escape means that many more animals will be attacked than are actually killed.
Hormones and reproduction in the female lizard Sceloporus cyanogenys.

Abstract The reproductive cycle and the effects of various endocrine manipulations thereon are described for the female iguanid lizard Scelporus cyanogenys . Although castration reduced oviduct weight in nonpregnant animals, the operation had no effect upon pregnancy. Estradiol injections significantly increased oviduct weight in castrate nonpregnant animals. Injection of PMS early in the ovarian growth cycle markedly accelerated gonadal development, oviduct and liver growth. However, PMS injections did not induce a second ovarian cycle when administered after parturition. While injections of progesterone alone did not alter reproductive parameters, injection of the steroid at the same time as PMS cutailed all the stimulatory effects of PMS. Injections of either progesterone or prolactin alone were effective in inhibiting ovulation and oviduct growth when administered to animals which had well developed ovaries (mid-vitellogenic). Further, progesterone was more effective than prolactin in ovulation inhibition. Intrahypothalamic implants of progesterone had no effect on ovulation or ovarian growth, but intrahypothalamic implants of estrogen inhibited ovulation and to a certain extent oviduct growth; however, estrogen implants did not influence ovarian growth. All animals treated with estrogen had elevated liver weights and serum protein levels.
β-Sheet folding mechanisms from perturbation energetics

Amide backbone and sidechain mutagenesis data can be used in combination with kinetic and thermodynamic measurements to understand the energetic contributions of backbone hydrogen bonding and the hydrophobic effect to the acquisition of beta-sheet structure. For example, it has been revealed that loop 1 of the WW domain forms in the transition state, consistent with the emerging theme that reverse turn formation is rate limiting in beta-sheet folding. A distinct subset of WW domain residues principally influences thermodynamic stability by forming hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions that stabilize the native state. Energetic data and sequence mining reveal that only a small subset of the molecular information contained in sequences or observed in high-resolution structures is required to generate folded functional beta-sheets, consistent with evolutionary robustness.
Science literature—how faulty a mirror of science?

I feel compelled to present this lecture by some of the strongest of intellectual needs, namely to establish the relationship of my own work and interests to those of other disciplines. Some terrors lie in the revealing of the character of that work, however, particularly the fact that it combines extremes of nitpicking and speculativeness. Special terrors lie in the realization that formidable intellectual disciplines are on a collision path with that work.
Improving Health Care Management Through the Use of Dynamic Simulation Modeling and Health Information Systems

To better understand the performance of hospital operations in response to IT-enabled improvement, this paper reports the results of a system dynamics model designed to improve core medical processes. Utilizing system dynamics modeling and emerging Health Information Systems HIS data, the authors demonstrate how current behavior within the hospital leads to a 'stove-pipe' effect, in which each functional group employs policies that are rational at the group level, but that lead to inefficiencies at the hospital level. The authors recommend management improvements in both materials and staff utilization to address the stove-pipe effect, estimate the resultant cost-saving, and report the results of an experiment conducted in the hospital to validate the approach. Results indicate that the major gains in health information systems use will accompany new information gathering capabilities, as these capabilities result in collections of data that can be used to greatly improve patient safety, hospital operations, and medical decision support.
An efficient implementation of multiple return values in Scheme

This paper describes an implementation of the new Scheme multiple values interface. The implementation handles multiple values efficiently, with no run-time overhead for normal calls and returns. Error checks are performed where necessary to insure that the expected number of values is returned in all situations. The implementation fits cleanly with our direct-style compiler and stack-based representation of control, but is equally well suited to continuation-passing style compilers and to heap-based run-time architectures.
Conduction mechanism of polyaniline: Effect of moisture

Abstract It has recently been shown that the emeraldine base polymer form of polyaniline undergoes a transition from an insulating to a metallic state upon protonation with HCl. The conductivity of the protonated polymer is sensitive to the moisture content of the polymer, varying by as much as a factor of five upon pumping the samples. We report here the temperature-dependent microwave-frequency (1010 Hz) conductivity and dielectric constant as a function of environmental history. The results are consistent with the effect of moisture on the barriers between small metallic polymer grains. Texture of granular metal particles and localization within metallic islands are decisive in the frequency- and temperature-dependence of the conductivity and dielectric constant.
Immunological and histochemical identity of esterases and other antigens in elapid venoms.

Abstract Antibodies were prepared by hyperimmunizing rabbits with Naja naja, Bungarus fasciatus, Agkistrodon piscivorus and Apis mellifera (honeybee) venoms. By using immuno-electrophoresis, Ouchterlony technique and histochemical reactions, the identity of certain antigenic components and esterases in several elapid venoms has been demonstrated. There are a number of precipitin lines of identity for venom components in Naja species, while venoms of Bungarus , Dendroaspis , Micrurus , Bitis and Agkistrodon species gave mostly lines of non-identity or no precipitin lines with Naja naja antiserum. Further, it has been shown that several of the esterases present in Naja species are immunologically identical, while esterases from Dendroaspis, Micrurus, Bitis, Agkistrodon species and bee venom are not immunologically identical to those in the Naja species venoms.
Cholinergic regulation of hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor mRNA expression: evidence from lesion and chronic cholinergic drug treatment studies.

Abstract Quantitative in situ hybridization and northern blot analysis techniques were used to determine the effects of removal of the cholinergic input on levels and topographical distribution of brain-derived neurotrophic factor mRNA in the hippocampus of adult rats. First, the effects of partial and full fimbrial transections, which result in partial and near-total cholinergic deafferentation respectively, were compared. Twenty-one days after partial unilateral fimbrial transections, there were significant decreases in brain-derived neurotrophic factor mRNA expression throughout the hippocampal formation. Decreased expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor mRNA was evident in all areas of localization within the hippocampal formation. The decreases amounted to 22–36% reductions compared with unlesioned control animals. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor mRNA levels were decreased to a greater extent (50–69%) following full unilateral fimbrial transections. Quantitative northern blot analysis indicated that hippocampal BDNF mRNA was decreased by 29 and 68%, three weeks after partial or full unilateral fimbrial transections, respectively. The extent of the reductions in brain-derived neurotrophic factor mRNA levels correlated with reductions in acetylcholinesterase staining density and cholinergic terminal density determined by quantitative autoradiographic analysis of [ 3 H]vesamicol binding sites. Second, we found that chronic treatment with atropine (20 mg/kg per day for 14 days) decreased (by 54%) brain-derived neurotrophic factor mRNA levels in all areas of localization within the hippocampus. In contrast, chronic treatment with nicotine (1.18 mg/kg per day for 14 days), a treatment known to desensitize nicotinic receptors, did not affect brain-derived neurotrophic factor mRNA expression in the hippocampal formation. The findings provide evidence for cholinergic muscarinic regulation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor mRNA expression in the adult rat hippocampal formation and they suggest the existence of a tonic stimulation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor synthesis by the cholinergic afferents.
Behavior of the NORTA method for correlated random vector generation as the dimension increases

The NORTA method is a fast general-purpose method for generating samples of a random vector with given marginal distributions and given correlation matrix. It is known that there exist marginal distributions and correlation matrices that the NORTA method cannot match, even though a random vector with the prescribed qualities exists. We investigate this problem as the dimension of the random vector increases. Simulation results show that the problem rapidly becomes acute, in the sense that NORTA fails to work with an increasingly large proportion of correlation matrices. Simulation results also show that if one is willing to settle for a correlation matrix that is "close" to the desired one, then NORTA performs well with increasing dimension. As part of our analysis, we develop a method for sampling correlation matrices uniformly (in a certain precise sense) from the set of all such matrices. This procedure can be used more generally for sampling uniformly from the space of all symmetric positive definite matrices with diagonal elements fixed at positive values.
Interactive visualizations for teaching quantum mechanics and semiconductor physics

Work in Progress: The theory of Quantum Mechanics (QM) provides a foundation for many fields of science and engineering; however, its abstract nature and technical difficulty make QM a challenging subject for students to approach and grasp. This is partly because complex mathematical concepts involved in QM are difficult to visualize for students and the existing visualization are minimal and limited. We propose that many of these concepts can be communicated and experienced through interactive visualizations and games, drawing on the strengths and affordances of digital media. A game environment can make QM concepts more accessible and understandable by immersing students in nano-sized worlds governed by unique QM rules. Furthermore, replayability of games allows students to experience the probabilistic nature of QM concepts. In this paper, we present a game and a series of interactive visualizations that we are developing to provide students with an experiential environment to learn quantum mechanics. We will discuss how these visualizations and games can enable students to experiment with QM concepts, compare QM with classical physics, and get accustomed to the often counterintuitive laws of QM.
Substance abuse and schizophrenia : Pharmacological approaches

ABSTRACT This brief report reviews the common co-occurrence of substance use disorder in patients with schizophrenia, and its negative consequences. We suggest that a neurobiological basis for the co-occurring disorder may be important, and may relate to a dysfunctional brain reward circuit in these patients. The atypical antipsychotic medication clozapine appears to have an unusual ability to limit substance abuse in patients with schizophrenia, and other atypical antipsychotics may share at least some of this effect of clozapine. We have proposed that clozapine's ability to limit substance abuse in patients with schizophrenia may be due to its broad spectrum of pharmacological effects that serve to ameliorate the dysfunctional brain reward circuit. We have also proposed that neuroimaging techniques may be used to identify brain reward circuit dysfunction, and to track the effects of pharmacological agents that may limit substance abuse in these patients. Finally, we note the existence of a number of new...