cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Across-Site Threshold Variation in Cochlear Implants: Relation to Speech Recognition

Functional implications of across-site variation in detection thresholds in subjects with cochlear implants were evaluated by comparing thresholds to speech recognition performance. Detection thresholds for bipolar (BP) and monopolar (MP) stimulation of all available stimulation sites were assessed in 21 subjects with Nucleus® CI24M and CI24R(CS) implants. We found significant negative correlations between speech recognition and within-subject across-site threshold variance for both BP and MP stimulation, but no significant correlation of speech recognition with mean threshold levels. These results suggest that across-site variance of detection thresholds could provide a useful early indication of the prognosis for speech recognition and might serve as an indicator for specific therapeutic approaches in individual subjects.
Brief constant light accelerates serotonergic re-entrainment to large shifts of the daily light/dark cycle.

Abstract Brief (∼2 day) constant light exposure (LLb) in hamsters dramatically enhances circadian phase-resetting induced by the 5-HT receptor agonist, (±)-2-dipropyl-amino-8-hydroxyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydronapthalene (8-OH-DPAT) and other nonphotic stimuli. The present study was undertaken to determine if LLb can also amplify phase-resetting responses to endogenous 5-HT and accelerate re-entrainment to large-magnitude advance and delay shifts of the light/dark (LD) cycle. First, central serotonergic activity was increased by i.p. injection of l -tryptophan±the 5-HT reuptake inhibitor fluoxetine. Hamsters under LD or exposed to LLb received vehicle or drugs during the early morning, and phase-shifts of the locomotor activity rhythm were measured after release to constant darkness. Neither drug phase-shifted animals not exposed to LLb (P>0.5 vs. vehicle); however in animals receiving LLb, l -tryptophan with and without fluoxetine produced large phase-advance shifts (means=2.5±0.4 h and 2.6±0.2 h, respectively; both P l -tryptophan+fluoxetine on serotonergic re-entrainment to 10 h phase-advance and phase-delay shifts of the LD cycle were assessed. In groups not exposed to LLb, vehicle controls re-entrained slowly to the advance and delay shifts (means=16±1 and 24±4 days, respectively), but those treated with 8-OH-DPAT re-entrained faster (means=11±2 and 9±2 days, respectively; both P l -tryptophan+fluoxetine also exhibited accelerated re-entrainment to a 10 h advance shift (mean=5±2 days; P
The chaotic synchronization of a controlled pendulum with a periodically forced, damped Duffing oscillator

Abstract In this paper, the chaotic synchronization of the Duffing oscillator and controlled pendulum is investigated. From the analytical conditions developed in [1] , the partial and full synchronizations of the controlled pendulum with chaotic motions in the Duffing oscillator are discussed. Compared with the periodic synchronization, in the chaotic synchronization, switching points for appearance and vanishing of the partial synchronization are chaotic. The control parameter map for the synchronization is developed from the analytical conditions, and the partial and full synchronizations are illustrated to show the analytical conditions. This synchronization is different from the controlled Duffing oscillator synchronizing with chaotic motion in the periodically excited pendulum. For a better understanding of synchronization characteristics between two different dynamical systems, effects with other parameters will be discussed later.
Effects of radiochemotherapy and splenectomy on cellular immunity in long‐term survivors of hodgkin's disease and non‐hodgkin's lymphoma

Thirty-six patients treated for Hodgkin's disease (HD) or non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) who had been in complete remission and off all therapy for greater than two years were examined for evidence of immunosuppression. All patients were found to have marked depression of their lymphocyte blastogenic response to phytohemagglutinin (PHA) and of their skin test responses. No abnormalities of serum protein or immunoglobulins were found. T cells were significantly lower than normal in patients who had had Hodgkin's disease, but not in those who had had NHL. B cells, on the other hand, were significantly elevated in both groups. Splenectomy elevated the total lymphocyte count, while those who had not had a splenectomy had lower than normal lymphocyte counts. B cells were elevated while T cells tended to be lower in both splenectomy and nonsplenectomy groups, though only in the nonsplenectomized patients did this reach statistical significance. PHA response tended to be higher in patients with less advanced disease and less extensive treatment than in those with more advanced disease and more extensive treatment, although there was no statistically significant difference. Skin test response though, was shown to correlate well with both stage of disease at diagnosis and extent of treatment.
Noble magnetic barriers in the ASDEX UG tokamak

The second-order perturbation method of creating invariant tori inside chaos in Hamiltonian systems (Ali, H.; Punjabi, A. Plasma Phys. Contr. F. 2007, 49, 1565–1582) is applied to the axially symmetric divertor experiment upgrade (ASDEX UG) tokamak to build noble irrational magnetic barriers inside chaos created by resonant magnetic perturbations (m, n)=(3, 2)+(4, 3), with m and n the poloidal and toroidal mode numbers of the Fourier expansion of the magnetic perturbation. The radial dependence of the Fourier modes is ignored. The modes are considered to be locked and have the same amplitude δ. A symplectic mathematical mapping in magnetic coordinates is used to integrate magnetic field line trajectories in the ASDEX UG. Tori with noble irrational rotational transform are the last ones to be destroyed by perturbation in Hamiltonian systems. For this reason, noble irrational magnetic barriers are built inside chaos, and the strongest noble irrational barrier is identified. Three candidate locations for the...
Protein bodies in corn endosperm are enclosed by and enmeshed in F-actin

When corn endosperm is gently homogenized in a microfilament-stabilizing buffer and filtrates centrifuged at very low g forces, abundant protein bodies are present in the pellet. When stained with both rhodamine-phalloidin and fluorescein-S1-myosin and viewed under epifluorescence, individual protein bodies appear to be enclosed in F-actin and groups of protein bodies appear to be enmeshed within a network of fine actin filaments. The yield of actinenclosed protein bodies is not affected by the addition of non-ionic detergents to the grinding medium, but it is severely decreased with the addition of cytoskeleton-disrupting agents including Tris-HCl, KCl, KI, and ammonium sulphate, and the interconnecting fine filaments are totally abolished. Heparin, which interacts with membrane-cytoskeleton complexes, causes apparent coagulation of the protein bodies. The evidence from fluorescent microscopy suggesting that F-actin surrounds and enmeshes the protein bodies is supported by electron microscopy, gel electrophoresis, and Western blot analysis.
Linear multiuser detection for uplink long-code CDMA systems

In the uplink of a long-code CDMA system, the base station knows the spreading codes of all serviced users. Given propagation delays, code-decorrelation can be performed to separate users' inputs in each symbol interval even in a multipath environment. To detect information symbols, we first apply the subspace technique to estimate multipath parameters for the user of interest based on the correlation matrix of whitened data. Then we construct different linear receivers. The statistics of the estimated channel vectors are analyzed and verified by our numerical examples. Performance of the receivers is also studied in simulations.
PARALLEL IMPLEMENTATION OF A NAVIER–STOKES SOLVER: TURBULENT EKMAN LAYER DIRECT SIMULATION

A massively parallel direct numerical solution procedure for the turbulent Ekman layer is presented. The simulations study the dynamics of turbulence in this flow by solving the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations with Coriolis and buoyancy terms. The governing equations are integrated via a semi-implicit time advancement algorithm which is massively parallelized using the Portable, Extensible Toolkit for Scientific Computation (PETSc) libraries. Accuracy of the numerical scheme was validated by comparisons of simulation results with the hydrodynamic linear stability theory for Poiseuille flow. Two cases are presented to demonstrate the capabilities of the code: (a) a neutrally stable case of Reynolds number, Re = 400 and (b) an unstably stratified case at Re = 1,000 requiring very high resolution in all coordinate directions. Results indicate that the scalability is not limited by the overall size of the problem, but rather by the number of mesh points per processor. Strong scaling is demonstrated for both cases with as few as 10,000 unknowns per processor.
CYTOTOXICITY MEDIATED BY SOLUBLE ANTIGEN AND LYMPHOCYTES IN DELAYED HYPERSENSITIVITY : III. ANALYSIS OF MECHANISM

The cytopathic effect of lymph node cells from tuberculin-sensitized rats on rat embryo fibroblasts in the presence of PPD was not enhanced by admixture of normal (nonsensitized) lymph node cells. Preincubation studies showed that this in vitro response is initiated by the reaction of lymphocytes with specific antigen, beginning within 30 min, rather than uptake of antigen by the fibroblasts. The supernatant fluids from suspensions of sensitized cells incubated with PPD for 17 hr or more possessed cytotoxic activity. The target fibroblasts showed a marked increase in acid phosphatase content within 48 hr after the addition of sensitized lymph node cells and antigen.
Hierarchical Variance Decomposition of System Reliability Estimates With Duplicated Components

A hierarchical decomposition procedure is proposed to determine the variance of the reliability estimate for complex systems with duplicated components. For these systems, multiple copies of the same component type are used within the system, but only a single reliability estimate is available for each distinct component type. The variance of the reliability estimate is magnified at the system-level due to the covariance of component reliability estimates. Estimating the covariance becomes a formidable task if the system structure is complicated. A hierarchical model is proposed to decompose the system reliability estimate into component levels through intermediate layers. The decomposition procedure causes reliability estimates of duplicated components to remain s-independent when computing the associated variance on the adjacent upper layer. The first order Taylor series expansion is used to propagate the variance from the component level to the system level via intermediate layers. The hierarchical decomposition is preferable for designing robust, reliable systems by reducing or minimizing the system reliability variance at the component level.
Effect of pressure and temperature on chromophore reorientation in a new syndioregic main‐chain hydrazone nonlinear optical polymer

Second harmonic generation (SHG) was used to measure the temperature dependence of the reorientation activation volume (ΔV*) of a syndioregic main-chain hydrazone (SMCH) nonlinear optical polymer. The decay of the SHG signal from poled films of SMCH was recorded at hydrostatic pressures up to 2924 atm and at temperatures between 25 °C below the glass-transition temperature (Tg) to 20 °C above it. ΔV* for pressures less than 500–1000 atm and T > Tg decreased as the temperature was increased. For pressures greater than 1000 atm, ΔV* was essentially constant for all temperatures. In addition, the size of ΔV* indicated that the chromophore in this main chain was internally flexible. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 39: 895–900, 2001
The Analysis of Overlapping Spectral Absorption Bands by Derivative Spectrophotometry

In the measurement of absorption spectra, it is difficult to detect low intensity bands overlapped by bands of higher intensity. Their detection is greatly facilitated by measuring the first derivative of the transmission curve with respect to wavelength. A machine is under development in this laboratory to plot this derivative. A graphical study is here made of the behavior of the derivative curves for overlapping absorption bands of differing heights, widths and separation intervals and the derivatives are compared with the corresponding extinction and percent transmission curves. The curves here presented are intended as illustrations of the possibilities inherent in derivative spectrophotometry and for the identification of extinction or transmission curve types from measured derivatives.
An Inquiry-Based Cross-Curriculum Approach

In this chapter, we reflect on the past, consider the present and develop conversations of the future. Previous chapters emphasised that activities and experiences defined by traditional school “subjects” can be drawn upon to promote life-long learning and decision making in a sustainable way: “Instruction begins when you, the teacher, learn from the learner; put yourself in their place so that you may understand … what they learn and the ways in which they understand it” (Soren Kierkegaard [1813–1855], cited in Breen, 2005, p. 4).
EFFECTS OF NUTRIENT PATCHES AND ROOT SYSTEMS ON THE CLONAL PLASTICITY OF A RHIZOMATOUS GRASS

Clonal plant foraging has been examined primarily on individual clones exposed to resource-poor and resource-rich environments. We designed an experiment to examine the clonal foraging behavior of the rhizomatous grass Elymus lanceolatus ssp. lanceolatus under the influence of neighboring plant root systems in a heterogeneous nutrient environment. Individual Elymus clones were planted in large bins together with one of three neighboring grass species, Agropyron desertorum, Pseudoroegneria spicata, or Bromus tectorum, which differ in rooting density and growth activity. The position of Elymus clones was manipulated so rhizomes encountered a short-duration nutrient patch and subsequently root systems of the neighboring plants. Unexpectedly, the morphological plasticity of the perennial grass Elymus lanceolatus ssp. lanceolatus was influenced by the presence of the neighboring species much more than by the local nutrient enrichments, although nutrient patches did amplify some of the foraging responses. Elymus rhizomes branched readily and initiated large daughter plants as they encountered the low-density root systems of Pseudoroegneria. When Elymus encountered the fine, dense root systems of the annual Bromus, clonal expansion was initially reduced. Yet, after the short growing season of Bromus, Elymus resumed clonal expansion and produced several daughter plants. Elymus clones were most constrained by the fine, dense root systems of Agropyron desertorum. In this case, a few, long rhizomes avoided the densely rooted soil environment by growing aboveground as stolons crossing over the Agropyron tussocks. Elymus clonal biomass was largest in neighborhoods of Pseudoroegneria, intermediate in neighborhoods with Bromus, and smallest in neighborhoods with Agropyron. The latter were approximately half the size of those in the Pseudoroegneria environments. Elymus growth could not be explained by simple resource competition alone; other mechanisms must have been involved in the apparent differences in interference patterns of neighboring plants with Elymus.
SYMBOLIC EXPRESSION ANALYSIS FOR COMPILED COMMUNICATION

Compiled communication can benefit the parallel application design and performance in several ways such as analyzing the communication pattern to optimize a configurable network for performance improvement or to visualize the communication requirements to study and improve the application design. In this article we present symbolic expression analysis techniques in a MPI parallel compiler. Symbolic expression analysis allows the identification and representation of the communication pattern and also assists in the determination of communication phases in MPI parallel applications at compile-time. We demonstrate that using compiler analysis based on symbolic expression analysis to determine the communication pattern can provide an accurate visualization of the communication requirements. Using information from the compiler to program a circuit switching interconnect in multiprocessor systems has the potential to achieve more efficient communication with lower cost compared to packet/wormhole switching. For example, we demonstrate that our compiler approach provides an average of 2.6 times improvement in message delay over a threshold-based runtime system for our benchmarks with a maximum improvement of 9.7 times.
Difference and Social Structure: Iris Young's Legacy of a Critical Social Theory of Gender

Iris Young was a wide-ranging political and social theorist whose works transformed the study of democratic theory, theories of justice, multiculturalism, nationalism, and group rights, among others—all of this in addition to her enormous contribution to feminist theory. Young left not only specific substantive legacies but also her method as a critical social theorist: She sought to undertake projects that helped make sense of the claims and analyses made by progressive social movements, including feminist movements, by providing a philosophical grounding for those claims and analyses. She trained her critical eye on political and social institutions, aiming to expose relations of domination and other injustices.
Ruptured splenic artery aneurysms are exceedingly rare in pregnant women

Objective Pregnancy is cited as the most important risk factor for splenic artery aneurysm (SAA) rupture, but the true rupture rate of SAAs during pregnancy is unknown. Our objective was to evaluate the prevalence of SAAs, based on diagnostic and procedural codes, in an urban population treated in a county hospital with the highest number of births in the United States. We hypothesized that SAA rupture in pregnant women is very low and that SAAs are more likely to be diagnosed in older patients. Methods Patients diagnosed with a SAA during a recent 5-year period were identified using International Classification of Diseases-Ninth Edition, Clinical Modification, and Current Procedural Terminology (American Medical Association, Chicago, Ill) codes. Demographics, imaging, and risk factors for rupture were reviewed. Results We identified 35 patients with SAA. Patients were a median age of 63 years (interquartile range [IQR], 54-74 years), and 28 (80%) were women who were a median age of 62 years (IQR, 54-74 years). The SAAs in the 35 patients were a median size of 1.3 cm (IQR, 1-1.9 cm), and eight (23%) were >2 cm. Despite the very large number of deliveries recorded during the study period (67,616 births), no women who were pregnant or aged Conclusions Ruptured SAAs are exceedingly rare in young women, and no ruptured SAA were identified during pregnancy in this study. SAA are frequently diagnosed as an incidental finding in middle-aged adults and tend to remain stable over time in this population.
Relative Importance of Rotavirus-Specific Effector and Memory B Cells in Protection against Challenge

Adult BALB/c mice were orally inoculated with murine (strain EDIM), simian (strain RRV), or bovine (strain WC3) rotavirus. Six or 16 weeks after inoculation, mice were challenged with EDIM. At the time of challenge and in the days immediately following challenge, production of rotavirus-specific immunoglobulin A (IgA), IgG, and IgM by small intestinal lamina propria lymphocytes (LPL) was determined by fragment culture, and quantities of virus-specific antibodies at the intestinal mucosal surface were determined by intestinal lavage. Mice immunized with EDIM were completely protected against EDIM challenge both 6 and 16 weeks after immunization. Protection was associated with production of high levels of IgA by LPL and detection of virus-specific IgA at the intestinal mucosal surface. In addition, animals immunized and later challenged with EDIM did not develop a boost in antibody responses, suggesting that they were also not reinfected. We also found that in mice immunized with nonmurine rotaviruses, (i) quantities of virus-specific IgA generated following challenge were greater 16 weeks than 6 weeks after immunization, (ii) immunization enhanced the magnitude but did not hasten the onset of production of high quantities of virus-specific IgA by LPL after challenge, and (iii) immunization induced partial protection against challenge; however, protection was not associated with either production of virus-specific antibodies by LPL or detection of virus-specific antibodies at the intestinal mucosal surface.
Huntingtin-Interacting Protein 1 Phosphorylation by Receptor Tyrosine Kinases

Huntingtin-interacting protein 1 (HIP1) binds inositol lipids, clathrin, actin, and receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs). HIP1 is elevated in many tumors, and its expression is prognostic in prostate cancer. HIP1 overexpression increases levels of the RTK epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and transforms fibroblasts. Here we report that HIP1 is tyrosine phosphorylated in the presence of EGFR and platelet-derived growth factor β receptor (PDGFβR) as well as the oncogenic derivatives EGFRvIII, HIP1/PDGFβR (H/P), and TEL/PDGFβR (T/P). We identified a four-tyrosine "HIP1 phosphorylation motif" (HPM) in the N-terminal region of HIP1 that is required for phosphorylation mediated by both EGFR and PDGFβR but not by the oncoproteins H/P and T/P. We also identified a tyrosine residue (Y152) within the HPM motif of HIP1 that inhibits HIP1 tyrosine phosphorylation. The HPM tyrosines are conserved in HIP1's only known mammalian relative, HIP1-related protein (HIP1r), and are also required for HIP1r phosphorylation. Tyrosine-to-phenylalanine point mutations in the HPM of HIP1 result in proapoptotic activity, indicating that an intact HPM may be necessary for HIP1's role in cellular survival. These data suggest that phosphorylation of HIP1 by RTKs in an N-terminal region contributes to the promotion of cellular survival.
Household dynamics and socioeconomic conditions in the context of incident adolescent orphaning in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

We compared demographics, socioeconomic status, and food insecurity between households with and without recent orphans in a region of high HIV/AIDS mortality in South Africa. We recruited a cohort of 197 recent orphans and 528 non-orphans ages 9-15 and their households using stratified cluster sampling. Households were classified into three groups: orphan-only (N=50); non-orphan-only (N=377); and mixed (N=210). Between September 2004 and May 2007, households were interviewed three times regarding demographics, income and assets, and food insecurity. Baseline bivariate associations were assessed using chi-square- and t-tests. Longitudinal bivariate associations and multivariate models were tested using generalized estimating equations. At baseline, mixed households generally exhibited greater characteristics of vulnerability than orphan and non-orphan households. They were larger, had older, less educated household heads, and reported a much smaller annual per capita income. Orphan households were more likely to report a death in the previous year, and less likely to have an adult employed. These differences persisted over the study. Even non-orphan households exhibited characteristics of vulnerability, with 14% reporting a death one year before baseline, 45% of whom were prime-age adults. At baseline, a much smaller proportion of orphan households reported receiving the child support grant than the other household types, but notably, there were no differences among households in receipt of the grant by Round 3. Household food insecurity was highly prevalent: more than one in five orphan-only and mixed households reported being food insecure in the previous month. These findings suggest that the effects of HIV/AIDS only exacerbate existing high levels of poverty in the district, as virtually all households are vulnerable regardless of orphan status. Community-level programs must help families address a spectrum of needs, including food security, caregiving, and financial support, as well as better target social welfare grants and make them more accessible to vulnerable households.
Longitudinal Assessment of Aerobic Fitness in Middle School African-American Girls

This study presents 3 years of data from a longitudinal study designed to follow changes in VO2max and treadmill (TM) exercise performance in African-American girls throughout middle school. Subjects (N = 19) were tested 6 months apart during grades 6-8. VO9 and heart rates (HR) were measured continuously while each subject performed an incremental TM test to volitional exhaustion. Absolute VO2max (ml • min1) increased with time, while relative (ml • kg 1 * min1) values declined significantly from 6th to 8th grade. Treadmill time to exhaustion improved after the first test, but showed a significant decline by the end of 8th grade. Correlations between fall 6th-grade and spring 8th-grade aerobic fitness measures ranged from .35 to .57, indicating moderate tracking of these variables throughout middle school. Aerobic fitness values are low (compared to Caucasians) in African-American adolescent girls and show significant declines throughout middle school. Future studies should investigate anatomical, physio...
Conspicuous deepwater submarine mounds in the northeastern Orphan Basin and on the Orphan Knoll, offshore Newfoundland

Over 20 000 km of modern 2D data were recently collected (2000–2003) in the Orphan Basin, offshore Newfoundland, by Geophysical Survey Incorporated (GSI) and donated to the Memorial University for research. In spite of being specifically acquired for hydrocarbon exploration with a conventional air-gun array, the data have excellent resolution in the shallow part where reef-like mounds are visible at the water bottom, in 1800–2300 m below sea level. Two seismic lines are used in this paper to illustrate the location, configuration and seismic character of the identified geomounds (Figures 1 and 3 for locations; figures 2, 4–8 for display). Figure 1. Orphan Knoll submarine mound field. (Bathymetry map is based on 2004 ODP reports; tectonic framework from Enachescu et al., 2004). The mound field extension is shown by yellow circle; active petroleum exploration area is the black dotted rectangle. The two seismic lines discussed in the paper are in Figures 2 and 6. CGFZ=Charlie Gibbs Fracture Zone and CBFZ=Cumberland Belt Fault Zone bound the Orphan Basin to the north and south, respectively. DSDP Site 111 (1973) and 2003 ODP Sites 1276 and 1277 also are shown. Figure 2. Line OR0-102 showing presence of submarine mound, named here Einarsson, on the southwestern flank of Orphan Knoll in more than 2200 m of water. Orphan Knoll is covered by Tertiary, Cretaceous, Jurassic and probably Triassic sediments above an extended continental basement. Location of line is given in Figure 1. Box is illustrated in Figure 4. The vertical scale for all displayed seismic sections is in milliseconds; water seismic velocity used to compute depth to water bottom is 1450 m/s. Figure 3. Orphan Knoll bathymetry, DSDP Site 111, location of submarine mounds (red circles) and portion of seismic lines OR0-102 and OR0-107 used to illustrate this paper. Locations of the following figures …
From Economic Crisis to Reform: IMF Programs in Latin America and Eastern Europe

Grigore Pop-Eleches Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2009, pp. 344, £48.95/US$70 and £19.95/US$27.95, ISBN 978 0 691 13503 8 and ISBN 978 0 691 13952 4 This book significantly improves our un...
Disruption of retinoblastoma protein family function by human papillomavirus type 16 E7 oncoprotein inhibits lens development in part through E2F-1.

Complexes between the retinoblastoma protein (pRb) and the transcription factor E2F-1 are thought to be important for regulating cell proliferation. We have shown previously that the E7 oncoprotein from human papillomavirus type 16, dependent upon its binding to pRb proteins, induces proliferation, disrupts differentiation, and induces apoptosis when expressed in the differentiating, or fiber, cells of the ocular lenses in transgenic mice. Mice that carry a null mutation in E2F-1 do not exhibit any defects in proliferation and differentiation in the lens. By examining the lens phenotype in mice that express E7 on an E2F-1 null background, we now show genetic evidence that E7’s ability to alter the fate of fiber cells is partially dependent on E2F-1. On the other hand, E2F-1 status does not affect E7-induced proliferation in the undifferentiated lens epithelium. These data provide genetic evidence that E2F-1, while dispensible for normal fiber cell differentiation, is one mediator of E7’s activity in vivo and that the requirement for E2F-1 is context dependent. These data suggest that an important role for pRb-E2F-1 complex during fiber cell differentiation is to negatively regulate cell cycle progression, thereby allowing completion of the differentiation program to occur.
Intelligent query and browsing information retrieval (IQBIR) agent

Reported in this paper is an intelligent agent that aids users to conduct efficient Internet Web information retrieval through query formulation, information collection, information clustering, and analysis. The underlying mechanism is a probabilistic sample-at-the-boundary learning algorithm for clustering the search results and learning and matching the user concept. Kohonen's (1990, 1992) "windowed" learning vector quantization algorithm is shown to be related to this sample-at-the-boundary learning algorithm. A prototype system has been developed and evaluation has been conducted.
Graphite: A distributed parallel simulator for multicores

This paper introduces the Graphite open-source distributed parallel multicore simulator infrastructure. Graphite is designed from the ground up for exploration of future multi-core processors containing dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of cores. It provides high performance for fast design space exploration and software development. Several techniques are used to achieve this including: direct execution, seamless multicore and multi-machine distribution, and lax synchronization. Graphite is capable of accelerating simulations by distributing them across multiple commodity Linux machines. When using multiple machines, it provides the illusion of a single process with a single, shared address space, allowing it to run off-the-shelf pthread applications with no source code modification. Our results demonstrate that Graphite can simulate target architectures containing over 1000 cores on ten 8-core servers. Performance scales well as more machines are added with near linear speedup in many cases. Simulation slowdown is as low as 41× versus native execution.
Predicting the Likelihood of Cost Overruns: An Empirical Examination of Major Department of Defense Acquisition Programs

This article provides a method for predicting the cost of a major acquisition program five years after program development approval. The authors’ work extends the effort begun by Asher and Maggelet by adjusting for changes in median cost growth factors for each acquisition domain. Procurement average unit costs at program approval and five years afterwards were compared for 101 major United States Department of Defense acquisition programs. Individual program cost growth ratios were gathered into 28 sub-groups, based on the product and year of approval. The authors employed a least squares regression to obtain the equation’s coefficients. In 26 of the 28 groups of data, a comparison of predicted costs to actual costs resulted in very low p-values, leading to the conclusion that the revised formulation is a valid predictor of program cost at the five-year point in product development.
Caribbean Basin Financing: New Developments

Besides the "traditional" avenues of financing provided by world and U-S. money center banks providing service to their customers, three "new" sources of financing are developing for the Caribbean Basin.
PSMA activation of antifolate prodrugs for treatment of prostate cancer

5732 Efficacy of chemotherapy in the treatment of prostate cancer is limited and is associated with systemic toxicity. The present study was aimed at developing a targeted prodrug therapy that would exploit the enzymatic properties of the prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA), a glutamate carboxypeptidase that is over-expressed in prostate cancer cells and the vascular endothelium of many cancers, to activate a non-toxic prodrug folate antagonist, specifically at the tumor site thereby diminishing systemic toxicity. Preliminary studies using methasquin, a potent dihydrofolate reductase inhibitor, and pemetrexed (PTX), a multitargeted antifolate that is a potent thymidylate synthase inhibitor, and as well an inhibitor of dihydrofolate reductase and glycine amido nucleotide formyl transferase, confirmed that these compounds are potent cytotoxic agents against human prostate cancer cell lines. Prodrugs of methasquin and pemetrexed with one to five additional amino acids both in the alpha or gamma carboxyl linkage were synthesized and tested as substrates for PSMA. Using cytotoxicity and clonogenic assays we identified two candidate pemetrexed prodrug compounds that were more selective against LNCaP and the CWR22 cell lines, expressing PSMA, than PC-3 and DU145 cell lines not expressing PSMA. An inhibitor of PSMA, quisqualic acid, reversed the sensitivity of PSMA (+) cells to these prodrugs further confirming the PSMA-dependent cytotoxic effect on LNCaP and the CWR22 cells. The prodrugs were shown to be stable in human and mouse plasma for >18 hours. Currently LNCaP cells stably expressing siRNAs that effectively knock-down PSMA are being generated. Transient knock-down of PSMA has previously been achieved using the same siRNA oligo sequences. The identified prodrugs will be further evaluated in mouse xenogfraft models, and if promising, in patients with prostate cancer.
McCord and Post-Gift Events

Focusing on the admissibility of post-gift events, the article reviews and critiques the recent Fifth Circuit opinion in McCord.
Effects of Six Single Species of Coccidia on Egg Production and Culling Rate of Susceptible Layers

Abstract IT IS generally accepted that coccidiosis in susceptible layers causes marked reduction in egg yield. However, there have been few controlled trials demonstrating either the duration of reduced production or the period required for full recovery. Limited observations on effects of different species of coccidia on egg production have been made. Temporary cessation in egg production in hens inoculated with E. acervulina, E. maxima and E. tenella has been reported by Johnson (1932) who also noted a slight decrease in egg production in birds inoculated with E. mitis and E. praecox. Johnson was also the first to report (1933) that fowls unexposed to immunizing coccidia during the rearing period might be affected with disastrous death losses in the laying house. Edgar (1958a) reported that hens kept coccidiosis-free and subsequently inoculated with 1,000,000 oocysts of E. tenella at 6, 12 and 18 months suffered weight loss, cessation of egg production and…
Multi-Resolution Augmented Artificial Neural Networks for Modeling of Particle-Laden Compressible Flows

The utilization of an artificial neural network to learn and predict transient drag coefficients of a cylinder at varying Mach numbers as well as multi -resolution analysis is a promising concept for greatly reducing large and fine scale fluid modeling. Training data gathered from a compressible Eulerian-Lagrangian algorithm for interface tracking fluid modeling code was decomposed by multi -resolution analysis and fed into an artificial neural network where it was normalized and learned. T he network then created prediction curves for the particles at varying Mach numbers or volume fraction not supplied during the learning process. Plots of these predictions by the multi -resolution augmented neural network were created and compared to numerical data. Prediction curves were obtained for simpler experiments of a post -shocked, a stationary, and a moving particle with small error. More complicated arrays with multiple particles also displayed minimal error, and the main characteristics of the drag curves were accurate. The multi-resolution augmented artificial neural network was able to accomplish this with a very large reduction in the computational power necessary.
EFFECT OF TESTOSTERONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY ON INCIDENCE OF DEEP VEIN THROMBOSIS AND PULMONARY EMBOLISM

Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) prescriptions have increased 400% in the last decade. Concern over the risk of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) with TRT has led the FDA to issue an alert. The association of TRT with DVT/PE is not clearly understood. The aim of this
Estimates of the Numbers of Heliothis Larvae Per Acre in Cotton and Their Relation to the Fruiting Cycle and Yield of the Host

Populations of Heliothis larvae composed of the bollworm, H . zea (Boddie), and the tobacco budworm, H . virescens (F.), were studied in small field plots undergoing treatment with various insecticides. The occurrence of larval populations broadly paralleled that of the flowering cycle of the host. Greatest numbers of the insects were present during the period when the plants had the greatest numbers of flowers. As the cotton approached maturity and bolls began to open and terminals and squares to abort, the larval population declined drastically. There appeared to be little relationship between the numbers of eggs deposited in the cotton fields and the subsequent numbers of larvae that survived. It was estimated from the results of this study that an average of 2000 to 2500 larvae (or approximately 1.5 to 2.0 per 10 ft of row) per acre are required to cause significant yield losses to cotton.
Nursing after Tonsillectomy and Adenotonsillectomy of children in early

To summary and analyze the common complication after tonsillectomy and adenotonsillectomy in early,such as asphyxia,bleeding,infection,vomiting.Carefully nursing、observation and treatment in time would decrease and prevent the complication,meanwhile promote recovery in early.
A dose-response study of melengestrol acetate on feedlot performance and carcass characteristics of beef steers

The dose response of melengestrol acetate (MGA) on ADG (kg/d) and gain efficiency (gain/DMI, g/kg) was estimated in beef steers fed a finishing diet under commercial feedlot conditions. Melengestrol acetate is not approved for use in steers as a feed additive. The study design was five blocks of four pens (each pen was assigned a dose of MGA) with 166 to 200 steers per pen. Melengestrol acetate was fed to steers at 0 (n = 899, five pens), 0.1 (n = 900, five pens), 0.2 (n = 899, five pens), and 0.4 (n = 900, five pens) mg of MGA/steer daily. Pens within a block were slaughtered on the same day. Blocks 1 through 5 were fed MGA for 123, 122, 116, 124, and 138 d, respectively. The experimental unit was a pen of steers, and blocking was based on source of steers. The ADG was 1.81, 1.85, 1.80, and 1.83 kg/d for steers fed 0, 0.1, 0.2, and 0.4 mg MGA per day, respectively. For ADG, the dose was significant, but neither linear nor quadratic effects were significant. Compared with steers of the control group, ADG was greater for steers fed 0.1 mg MGA (P 0.60) effects were observed. There was no evidence for either positive or negative effects of MGA on DMI, hot carcass weight, dressing percent, quality grade, yield grade, back fat thickness, marbling score, longissimus muscle area, and incidence of dark cutter carcasses in response to feeding MGA to steers at doses of 0.1, 0.2, and 0.4 mg daily. The incidence of buller behavior (0.43 to 1.11%) was low and did not permit an accurate test of the clinical observations that feeding MGA to steers decreases the occurrence of buller steers. Melengestrol acetate fed to finishing beef steers produced small improvements in growth performance (ADG, 2.2%) at the 0.1 mg MGA dose, but none of the doses examined produced improvement in carcass quality or yield grade measurements.
Characterization of Anti-competitor Activities Produced by Oral Bacteria

Most bacteria in nature exist in multispecies communities known as biofilms. In the natural habitat where resources (nutrient, space, etc.) are usually limited, individual species must compete or collaborate with other neighboring species in order to perpetuate in the multispecies community. The human oral cavity is colonized by >700 microbial species known as the indigenous microflora. This indigenous flora normally maintains an ecological balance through antagonistic as well as mutualistic interspecies interactions. However, environmental perturbation may disrupt this balance, leading to overgrowth of pathogenic species, which could in turn initiate diseases such as dental caries (tooth decay) and periodontitis (gum disease). Understanding the mechanisms of diversity maintenance may help development of novel approaches to manage these "polymicrobial diseases." In this chapter, we will focus on a well-characterized form of biochemical warfare: bacteriocins produced by Streptococcus mutans, a primary dental caries pathogen, and H(2)O(2) produced by Streptococcus sanguinis, an oral commensal. We will describe detailed methodologies on the competition assay, isolation, purification, and characterization of bacteriocins.
Plummer-Vinson syndrome presenting as squamous cell carcinoma of esophagus

Plummer-Vinson syndrome (PVS) also known as Paterson-Brown-Kelly syndrome is a rare syndrome which comprises iron deficiency anemia, dysphagia, and esophageal webs. The pathogenesis of PVS is not clear. Iron deficiency anemia is essential for diagnosis of PVS. If left untreated, there is an increased risk of developing pharyngeal or esophageal cancer in about 10% of patients. There are no strict guidelines for endoscopic surveillance in patients with PVS. Iron replacement can improve dysphagia and potentially lead to regression of esophageal webs. In this case report, we present a patient who had long-standing dysphagia for years which progressed to squamous cell cancer of esophagus by the time she sought medical treatment.
The roles of oxygen non-stoichiometry on the electrochemical properties of oxide-based cathode materials

Abstract Cathode materials with both high energy density and high power capability are in great demand to improve the performance of lithium ion batteries and expand the driving range of electric vehicles. Of particular interest are transition metal oxide-based cathodes. However, electrochemical performance of these cathode materials is very sensitive to the synthetic conditions and, particularly, the oxygen non-stoichiometry that is induced during high temperature synthesis and post treatment. This review highlights the critical roles of oxygen non-stoichiometry in high-energy-density cathode materials including high voltage spinel LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4, Ni-rich layered LiNixMnyCozO2 (NMC, x > 0.5), and the Li-rich, Mn-rich layered cathode, with the aim to provide a fundamental understanding on the effects of the oxygen non-stoichiometry governing the crystalline structure, electrochemical performance, and thermal stability of different cathode materials. This review also offers perspectives and directions on how to best utilize oxygen non-stoichiometry in the future development of high-energy-density cathode materials for lithium ion batteries.
Modular HPC I/O characterization with Darshan

Contemporary high-performance computing (HPC) applications encompass a broad range of distinct I/O strategies and are often executed on a number of different compute platforms in their lifetime. These large-scale HPC platforms employ increasingly complex I/O subsystems to provide a suitable level of I/O performance to applications. Tuning I/O workloads for such a system is nontrivial, and the results generally are not portable to other HPC systems. I/O profiling tools can help to address this challenge, but most existing tools only instrument specific components within the I/O subsystem that provide a limited perspective on I/O performance. The increasing diversity of scientific applications and computing platforms calls for greater flexibility and scope in I/O characterization.In this work, we consider how the I/O profiling tool Darshan can be improved to allow for more flexible, comprehensive instrumentation of current and future HPC I/O workloads. We evaluate the performance and scalability of our design to ensure that it is lightweight enough for full-time deployment on production HPC systems. We also present two case studies illustrating how a more comprehensive instrumentation of application I/O workloads can enable insights into I/O behavior that were not previously possible. Our results indicate that Darshan's modular instrumentation methods can provide valuable feedback to both users and system administrators, while imposing negligible overheads on user applications.
A validation study of graded prognostic assessment index for lung cancer patients with brain metastases.

2070 Background: The Graded Prognostic Assessment (GPA) is a commonly used index based on 5 prior randomized trials performed by the RTOG (Protocols 7916, 8528, 8905, 9104, and 9508). The purpose o...
A unique degree program for pre-pharmacy education: An undergraduate degree in pharmaceutical sciences.

Abstract Background and purpose Within the coming decade, the demand for well-trained pharmacists is expected to only increase, especially with the aging of the United States (US) population. Educational activity and setting To help fill this growing demand, the University of California, Irvine (UCI) aims to offer a unique pre-pharmacy degree program and has developed a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences to help achieve this goal. In this commentary, we share our experience with our curriculum and highlight its features in an effort to encourage other institutions to enhance the learning experience of their pre-pharmacy students. Findings The efforts of the UCI Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences has resulted in UCI being consistently ranked as one of the top feeder institutions by the Pharmacy College Application Service (PharmCAS) in recent years. Discussion and summary The UCI Pharmaceutical Sciences Bachelor of Science offers a unique pre-pharmacy educational experience in an effort to better prepare undergraduates for the rigors of the doctorate of pharmacy curriculum.
Large Marine Ecosystems as Global Units for Recuitment Experiments

Over the last million years, fish species presently of significant economic importance (including species of cod, haddock, hake, herring, mackerel, and others) have evolved feeding, spawning and recruitment patterns that are difficult to understand unless observed throughout the ranges of the populations under investigation. Over the past decade a research strategy has been developed based on the recognition that a large number of marine fish species have adapted to extensive marine systems of unique bathymetry, circulation, productivity, and trophic interrelationships.
Properties of Nova Population Models

Classical novae (CNe) are believed to occur in cataclysmic variables (CVs) as a result of a thermonuclear runaway (TNR) in hydrogen-rich layers on-top of the white dwarf (WD) which have accumulated prior to the explosion through mass transfer from the low-mass main-sequence secondary (see e.g. Livio 1994 for a review). The study of collective properties of CNe and the differences to collective properties of CVs in general could provide important clues on physical parameters determining the ignition and appearance of a nova event.