cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Multirobot Mixing via Braid Groups

This paper presents a framework for multirobot motion planning that characterizes pairwise interactions between agents, e.g., crossing paths while en route to a destination. Mixing is identified as the number of pairwise crossings exhibited by the robot motion. Mixing patterns specified through elements of the braid group provide sufficient level of abstraction to describe interactions without concern for the geometry of the motion. Controllers are constructed explicitly reasoning about the spatial collocation of robots to execute mixing patterns, achieving rich motion in a shared space, e.g., to exchange inter-robot information. We do not focus on achieving a particular pattern, but rather on the problem of being able to execute a whole class of them (e.g., all patterns with at most $M$ pairwise interactions). The result is a hybrid system driven by symbolic inputs that are mapped onto paths, realizing desired mixing levels. Controllers derived from optimal control provide theoretical bounds on the achievable amount of mixing, satisfaction of spatio-temporal constraints, and collision-free trajectories. Designs are carried to implementation on real robot platforms.
Cardiovascular Medicine Amid Evolving Health Policy: Time to Train a Generation of Policy Leaders

International efforts to emphasize training in health policy research and implementation are underway with the aim of tackling cardiovascular disease [(1)][1]. Cardiovascular training programs in the United States should do the same, as fellows-in-training (FITs) are currently immersed in a rapidly
Physical Simulators and Replicators in Endovascular Neurosurgery Training

The increased adoption of endovascular neurosurgery procedures to treat cerebrovascular pathologies has led to the commercialization of a wide array of medical devices which, in turn, necessitates a more sophisticated training environment for physicians and fellows than the traditional “see one, do one, teach one” concept. Improvements in simulation technology and a changing healthcare culture are facilitating a wider assimilation of benchtop simulation models in lieu of cadaver or animal models in physician training as well as treatment planning. Medical device manufacturers as well as regulators are also increasingly utilizing such simulators for device development and assessment of efficacy. Low-fidelity physical simulacra in the form of simplistic vascular replicas with or without coarse pumping systems have been available for basic neuroendovascular simulations for several years. Additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, has ushered in the use of anatomically accurate vascular replicas derived from patient imaging. Other considerations that improve the fidelity of simulating the neuroendovascular compartment include flows and pressures, catheter friction, blood-analog fluid, X-ray attenuation, etc. This chapter briefly describes these components of high-fidelity physical simulators, called replicators, for endovascular neurosurgery training.
Automated analysis of tethered DNA nanostructures using constraint solving

Implementing DNA computing circuits using components tethered to a surface offers several advantages over using components that freely diffuse in bulk solution. However, automated computational modeling of tethered circuits is far more challenging than for solution-phase circuits, because molecular geometry must be taken into account when deciding whether two tethered species may interact. Here, we tackle this issue by translating a tethered molecular circuit into a constraint problem that encodes the possible physical configurations of the components, using a simple biophysical model. We use a satisfaction modulo theories solver to determine whether the constraint problem associated with a given structure is satisfiable, which corresponds to whether that structure is physically realizable given the constraints imposed by the tether geometry. We apply this technique to example structures from the literature, and discuss how this approach could be integrated with a reaction enumerator to enable fully automated analysis of tethered molecular computing systems. This paper is a significantly revised and extended version of a conference publication: Lakin and Phillips (in Brijder and Qian (eds) Proceedings of the 23rd International Conference on DNA Computing and Molecular Programming. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 10467, pp 1–16, 2017).
On Some Aspects of Early Greek Astronomy

Some eight years ago a “Symposium on Cuneiform Studies and the History of Civilization” was held at a meeting of this Society. As one of the speakers on that occasion I presented a paper on “The Survival of Babylonian Methods in the Exact Sciences of Antiquity and Middle Ages”1 in which I tried to distinguish as far as possible between those areas of ancient astronomy in which Babylonian influence was decisive and those which represent an independent development. In the present paper some sections of this earlier study will be amplified. Its main purpose, however, is methodological. The progress of modern astronomy since Brahe and Kepler is inextricably connected with the ever-increasing accuracy and range of observational techniques and it therefore has seemed plausible to assume that a similar trend existed also in the first phase of astronomical development in the Greek world, that is, in the period from the beginnings in the fifth century b.c. to the crowning achievement, Ptolemy’s “Almagest” in the second century a.d.
Design and preliminary implementation of onsite electrochemical wastewater treatment and recycling toilets for the developing world

Self-contained toilet wastewater treatment system prototypes based on electrochemical oxidation of feces and urine using bi-layered semiconductor anodes ([Bi_2O_3]_z[TiO_2]_(1 z)/Ir_xTa_yO_2/Ti) have been designed, constructed, and implemented in regions where access to proper and sufficient sanitation is limited. Prototypes were designed to fit in shipping containers in order to provide toilets and onsite wastewater treatment with clean water recycling. Units were designed to handle the waste of 25 users per day (or 130 L of toilet wastewater). The first prototype was tested on the Caltech campus (Pasadena, California) followed by improved second-generation prototypes that were subsequently installed in India (Ahmedabad, Gujarat and Kottayam, Kerala) and China (Yixing, Jiangsu) for open use in various public settings. The various prototypes were able to provide for the disinfection of pathogens (<10 MPN Total coliforms and <1 MPN Fecal coliform indicator organisms per 100 mL), reduction of chemical oxygen demand (<100 mg O_2 L^(-1)), ammonia (< 10 mg N L^(-1)), and color at an average energy consumption of less than 180 Wh per user per day. The treated wastewater was recycled for use as toilet flushing water.
Advances in small-molecule therapy for managing angina pectoris in the elderly

Introduction: As our population ages, the prevalence of angina is growing, leading to increased morbidity and decreased quality of life. The management of angina in the elderly is challenging due to drug intolerance and/or drug resistance as well as frailty. Over the past decades, many new therapeutic small molecules have been investigated for the management of angina. Although none of these studies have specifically focused on the therapies for the elderly, they offer promising new avenues for the treatment of angina in the elderly. Areas covered: Herein, the authors provide a review of the recently published literature on the use of small-molecule therapies for angina management in the elderly and provide a brief overview of these therapies. Expert opinion: A variety of therapeutic classes of existing and newer small molecules are emerging for the management of angina in the elderly. An individualized approach to the management of angina in this growing population is critical for good outcomes. Many small molecules are in their initial stages of clinical use, and further research should be conducted on their utility, especially in the elderly.
Still, The Small Voice: Narrative, Personal Revelation, and The Mormon Folk Tradition

Still, the Small Voice: Narrative, Personal Revelation, and the Mormon Folk Tradition delivers a detailed and precise folkloristic study of personal revelation narratives in Mormon folk culture. Th...
Size Efficient Messaging System (SEMS) Using Probabilistic Data Structures

A Short Message Service (SMS) is a tool for personal communication systems using ubiquitous telephone networks. SMS also has been used for sharing information between intelligent devices, but the transferable payload size of a single SMS message is limited and can constrain its application. For example, when sharing context information between devices, a message size of more than 140 bytes needs be divided by the sender and reassembled by the receiver to fit into SMS messages. Although efforts have been made to reduce the context size using compression algorithms, their effectiveness is unreliable and their size reduction is, in many cases, not enough. We present SEMS (Size Efficient Messaging System) to reduce the footprint of context information to overcome this limitation. Using a probabilistic data structure, SEMS can significantly increase context representation size. SEMS also uses SMS to deliver the encoded message with far less overhead. Despite a slight potential decrease in data quality, our system and findings are shown to facilitate the sharing of context information in a highly size-efficient manner.
Proximal Row Carpectomy Versus 4-Corner Fusion: Incidence, Conversion to Fusion, and Cost.

Purpose The primary objective of this study was to compare incidence, demographic trends, and rates of subsequent fusion between proximal row carpectomy (PRC) and 4-corner fusion (4CF) among patients in the United States. Methods A total of 3,636 patients who underwent PRC and 5,047 who underwent 4CF were identified from the years 2005 through 2014 among enrollees in the PearlDiver database. Regional distribution, demographic characteristics, annual incidence, comorbidities, and subsequent wrist fusion were compared between the 2 groups. Of the patients identified, 3,512 from each group were age- and sex-matched and subsequently compared for rates of converted fusion, 30- and 90-day readmission rates, and average direct cost. Results Patients undergoing 4CF and PRC did not have statistically significant differences in comorbidities. The incidence of the procedures among all subscribers increased for both PRC (1.8 per 10,000 to 2.6 per 10,000) and 4CF (1.2 per 10,000 to 2.0 per 10,000) from 2005 to 2014. Comparing the matched cohorts, patients who underwent 4CF had a higher rate of subsequent fusion than those who underwent PRC (2.67% vs 1.79%). Readmission rates were not significantly different at 30 or 90 days. Average direct cost was significantly greater for 4CF than for PRC. Conclusions Both PRC and 4CF have been utilized at increasing rates in the past decade. Wrist fusion rates and average costs are higher in the 4CF group without a significant difference in readmission rates. Type of study/level of evidence Therapeutic III.
Open Repair of Ruptured Mycotic Aneurysm of the Common Iliac Artery

Suspected mycotic aneurysm of left common iliac artery following endovascular repair presented with rupture and underwent rifampicin-soaked aorto-bifemoral Dacron graft reconstruction. Patient presented 6 months later leaking mycotic aneurysm of left femoral graft anastomosis, treated by left axillofemoral graft and aneurysm ligation.
Nowcasting Mexico’s quarterly GDP using factor models and bridge equations

espanolSe evaluan cinco modelos de Nowcasting: un modelo de factores dinamicos (MFD), dos ecuaciones puente (BE) y dos basados en componentes principales (PCA). Los resultados indican que el promedio de los pronosticos de las BE es estadisticamente mejor que el del resto de los modelos considerados, de acuerdo con la prueba de precision de pronosticos de Diebold-Mariano. Utilizando informacion en tiempo real, se encuentra que el promedio de las BE es mas preciso que la mediana de los pronosticos de los analistas encuestados por Bloomberg, que la mediana de los especialistas que responden la encuesta de expectativas del Banco de Mexico y que la estimacion oportuna del PIB publicada por el INEGI EnglishI evaluate ﬁve nowcasting models that I used to forecast Mexico’s quarterly GDP in the short run: a dynamic factor model (DFM), two bridge equation (BE) models and two models based on principal components analysis (PCA). The results indicate that the average of the two BE forecastsis statistically better than the rest of the models under consideration, according to the Diebold-Mariano accuracy test. Using realtime information, I show that the average of the BE models is also more accurate than the median of the forecasts provided by the analysts surveyed by Bloomberg, the median of the experts who answer Banco de Mexico’s Survey of Professional Forecasters and the rapid GDP estimate released by INEGI.
Rapid and surprising dieback of Utah juniper in the southwestern USA due to acute drought stress

Abstract For nearly two decades, the American Southwest has been in the grips of a long-term ‘megadrought’, punctuated by a number of short and severe ‘global change type droughts’ (i.e., negative precipitation anomalies co-occurring with high temperature). These events have caused widespread mortality of the drought-sensitive pinon pine (Pinus edulis) while co-dominant Juniperus spp. have historically been much more drought tolerant and thus have rarely died. However, a severe drought occurred in 2018 that rapidly ( 60% canopy dieback) at hot, dry, low elevation sites, and was associated with drought-induced hydraulic damage. There was no evidence that biotic agents could be the primary drivers of this dieback, implicating the acute effects of drought as the main causal agent. The speed and scale of this drought-induced juniper dieback seems to be historically unprecedented in the region and foreshadows an uncertain future for pinon-juniper woodlands as the region continues to get warmer and drier.
mSphere of Influence: Learning from Nature-Antibody Profiles Important for Protection of Young Infants.

ABSTRACT Esther Ndungo works in the field of maternal-infant immunity against enteric pathogens. In this mSphere of Influence article, she reflects on how the paper “Fc glycan-mediated regulation of placental antibody transfer” by Jennewein et al. (M. F. Jennewein, I. Goldfarb, S. Dolatshahi, C. Cosgrove, et al., Cell 178:202–215.e14, 2019, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2019.05.044) impressed upon her the value of thinking “outside the box” and looking to nature to guide her research.
Modularization Business Case: Process Flowchart and Major Considerations

Modularization is a well-known method of enhancing project value by exporting a portion of site work to one or more local or distant fabrication or assembly shops/yards. Still, the industry is in need of additional guidance on how to more effectively exploit modularization. To help achieve wider and more effective use of modularization, the researchers and the Construction Industry Institute’s (CII) Research Team 283 develops here a new modularization business case process for developing the modularization drivers (and for determining the degree to which modularization will be implemented). The result is an optimal decision-making process as these drivers are compared with the owner’s objectives and evaluation criteria for cost, schedule, risk and other project objectives. This paper presents this new modularization business case process and lays out the major considerations that pertain to per-project phases. The findings provide guidelines along with a flowchart that should impose rigor on the decision process, helping owners and avoiding poor outcomes.
Defining the optimal disease duration of early diffuse systemic sclerosis for clinical trial design

Objectives Clinical trials in early diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis (SSc) using the modified Rodnan skin score (mRSS) as the primary outcome measure have most often been negative. We wanted to assess how the definition of disease onset (first SSc manifestation vs first non-Raynaud manifestation), and varying lengths of disease duration at trial entry as an inclusion criteria functioned. Our objective was to optimize trial inclusion criteria. Methods We used the prospective, observational University of Pittsburgh Scleroderma Cohort to identify early diffuse SSc patients first evaluated between 1980 and 2015. All had Results There was no appreciable difference between using first SSc manifestation compared with first non-Raynaud manifestation as the definition of disease onset. Compared with other disease durations, 70% of patients fitting into trajectories with worsening cutaneous disease over six months of follow-up. Longer disease durations demonstrated the majority of patients with trajectories showing an improvement in mRSS (regression to the mean) over six months. Conclusions Regardless of whether the first SSc or first non-Raynaud manifestation is used to define disease onset, duration of
Dilatable Pulmonary Artery Banding Palliation in Congenital Heart Disease

Background:Surgical pulmonary artery banding (PAB) has been limited in practice because of later requirement for surgical removal or adjustment. The aim of this study is to describe our experience ...
Fragile Bits in Off-angle Iris Recognition

As an emerging biometric research, standoff iris recognition systems focus on recognition of non-cooperative subjects in much less constrained environments where their captured images are likely to be non-ideal including being off-angle. Iris biometrics convert unwrapped iris textures into binary iris codes to compare them with other saved codes by measuring their Hamming Distances. The similarity calculation assumes an equal contribution of each individual pixel in iris codes. However, previous studies showed that some pixels (aka. fragile bits) are more error prone than others even in frontal iris images. In addition, off-angle iris images are affected by several challenging factors including corneal refraction and limbus occlusion. These challenges in off-angle images also increase the fragility of bits in iris codes. This paper first presents the pixel inconsistency in iris codes of off-angle images using elliptical segmentation and normalization. The pixel fragility is a result of iris codes warping due to the refraction of light in cornea and occlusion of iris texture at limbus. As another contribution, we propose to identify these fragile pixels in iris codes using edge detection and eliminating them in Hamming distance calculation by masking these fragile bits. Based on the results, the proposed method improves the recognition performance in off-angle iris images where the average genuine Hamming distance score reduced from 0.3082 to 0.1244 and the equal error rate is lowered 19%.
Health systems resilience and preparedness: critical displacements and disruption.

### Summary COVID-19 has highlighted the importance of resilient health systems. The concept of resilience has been evolving, with attributes such as feedback loops, learning capacity, adaptable management, flexibility and openness to systemic change take on greater importance from the earlier emphasis upon more fixed attributes such as numbers of laboratories, surveillance systems, etc1–3 However, a recent review notes the missing role of power relations and actors in such studies.4 That this is so prevalent suggests a systematic oversight. Here, we identify three ‘displacements’ in many approaches to resilience and how this can radically change the approach. In the face of perpetual and multiple threats, the emphasis is on the resourcefulness and ingenuities of individuals and communities that refuse to surrender to all forms of endangerment. This emphasis on resourcefulness and ingenuity is part of the wider assemblage of ‘disaster management’ that focuses on the importance of being prepared and resilient against shocks such as climate change and, now, pandemics.5 Earlier these shocks were understood to be an act of nature or divinity, whereas they are now …
Risk of Opioid-Related Adverse Events After Primary and Revision Total Knee Arthroplasty

Postoperative analgesia after primary total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and revision knee arthroplasty (RKA) can be reliant on the use of opioids and may lead to opioid-related adverse events (ORAEs). This study evaluated the risk of ORAEs following TKA and RKA using the 5% Medicare claims (2010-2013) database. There were 41,702 TKA and 3817 RKA patients who met the inclusion criteria. At 90 days, respiratory complications were the most common complication (TKA: 6.12%; RKA: 8.01%), followed by postoperative nausea and vomiting (TKA: 2.86%; RKA: 3.95%), and urinary retention complications (TKA: 2.79%; RKA: 3.20%). For TKA, risk factors for respiratory complications included older age, lower socioeconomic status, more comorbidities, obesity, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, white race, and patients in the Midwest and West (vs. South) (p 002). The average Medicare payment for treating complications within 90 days of a TKA was $6206 and $6222 following RKA. Awareness risks for ORAEs in select patients can assist in developing a multimodal postoperative pain control and patient education protocols. (Journal of Surgical Orthopaedic Advances 27(2):148-154, 2018).
Airbrushed PVDF–TrFE Fibrous Sensors for E-Textiles

The low-temperature processing, inherent flexibility, and biocompatibility of piezoelectric polymers such as poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)-based materials enable the creation of soft wearable se...
Instrument Life for Robot-assisted Laparoscopic Radical Prostatectomy and Partial Nephrectomy: Are Ten Lives for Most Instruments Justified?

Objective To investigate the rate of premature instrument exchange during robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RALRP) and robot-assisted partial nephrectomy (RAPN). The majority of robotic instruments have a predetermined lifespan of 10 uses; however, it is unknown if instruments are routinely exchanged before 10 uses in clinical practice. Methods We retrospectively reviewed instrument use in consecutive RALRP and RAPN cases performed by high-volume robotic surgeons at 1 tertiary care center between January 2011 and October 2014. The number of instruments used per case was evaluated and instances of additional instrument utilization were noted. Exchange number was compared between the first and second half of cases performed. Operative times were compared between cases with and without exchange. Student's t-test and Pearson's χ2-test were used to determine statistical significance. Results Three surgeons performed 1579 RALRP procedures and 2 surgeons performed 313 RAPN procedures. During RALRP, monopolar curved scissors required exchange in 12.4% cases. Other instruments were exchanged in less than 2% of cases. Exchange rates were similar to those for RAPN. Only exchange of Prograsp forceps decreased with increasing surgeon experience (P = .02) and instrument exchange did not lengthen operative times (P >.05 for all instruments). Conclusion During RALRP and RAPN, monopolar curved scissors required exchange in approximately 10% of cases whereas other instruments were rarely exchanged. Robotic instrument lifetime may not uniformly be 10 uses. The preset lifetime of robotic instruments and/or pricing should be reevaluated.
Russia’s Intractable Economic Problems and the Next Steps in Legal Reform: Bankruptcy and the Depoliticization of Business

In August 1998, the Russian government defaulted on its debt, ordered private borrowers to default on foreign loans, and abandoned its support of the ruble - thereby provoking a collapse of the country’s banking system. The monetary crisis revealed the fundamental weakness of the Russian economy. The source of Russia’s economic woes is its unique legacy of socialism. Soviet socialism was an incredibly inefficient system. It is unfortunate that the system survived so long because the Soviet Union’s legacy is an economy that suffers from massive distortions that greatly inhibit efforts to move to a market economy. Economic distortions in Russia, as with economic distortions anywhere, occur because the distortions are rewarded outside of or irrespective of competitive market forces. Law reform in Russia proceeds on many fronts. This paper takes the position that the most important reforms for Russia are those that eliminate the reward system that encourages highly inefficient economic activity. These reforms are implementation of an effective bankruptcy law and the de-politicization of business. The two go hand-in-hand. The politicization of business renders Russia’s bankruptcy laws ineffective by making non-viable business entities appear to be solvent. Only when the Russian government - and the Russian people - have removed this reward system can conditions affirmatively conducive economic to growth be fostered and a business environment competitively attractive to foreign investment established. This position is by now uncontroversial, but the paper examines such reform in the context of the obstacles to its achievement.
A Catalyst for Charting a Path to Research Validity in the Field of Gifted Education

(2012). A Catalyst for Charting a Path to Research Validity in the Field of Gifted Education. Gifted and Talented International: Vol. 27, No. 1, pp. 67-70.
Is Combined Atrial Volumetrics by Two-Dimensional Echocardiography a Suitable Measure for Quantitative Assessment of the Hemodynamic Significance of Patent Ductus Arteriosus in Neonates and Infants?

Background: Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is a common cardiac problem in neonates and infants, but determination of its hemodynamic significance can be challenging. We hypothesized that combined left (LA) and right atrial (RA) volumes physiologically best reflect hemodynamically significant patent ductus arteriosus (HSPDA), and utilized two-dimensional echocardiography (2DE) derived atrial volumes to test this hypothesis. Methods: 2DE examinations with good-quality images in 138 neonates <3 months corrected gestational age with PDA, and 50 normal neonates without PDA were selected. Measurements of LA, RA, and combined atrial volumes were performed, in addition to transductal diameters, left atrial to aortic dimension (LA:Ao), and left ventricular end-diastolic to aortic dimension ratios. An experienced cardiologist, blinded to 2DE images of atria and ventricles and to the above measurements, independently assessed HSPDA based only on images and Doppler data of the ductus itself, thus identifying each PDA as of low hemodynamic significance or HSPDA. Results: Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves showed indexed LA volumes and LA/RA volume ratios to have moderate power to discriminate HSPDA from low hemodynamic burden PDA. Classic LA:Ao ratio, combined atrial volumes, and RA volumes yielded ROC areas that appeared less promising as discriminators for HSPDA. Conclusion: Atrial volume measurements in neonates and infants have a linear association with body surface area and show acceptable inter- and intraobserver agreement. Indexed LA volume and LA/RA volume ratio are potentially useful markers for HSPDA. RA dilation due to left to right shunting through the patent foramen ovale as quantified by RA volume measurements does not appear to be an important marker for HSPDA. (Echocardiography 2010;27;696-701)
Spatial correlates of firing patterns of single cells in the subiculum of the freely moving rat

Hippocampal lesions cause spatial learning deficits, and single hippocampal cells show location-specific firing patterns, known as place fields. This suggests the hippocampus plays a critical role in navigation by providing an ongoing indication of the animal's momentary spatial location. One question that has received little attention is how this locational signal is used by downstream brain regions to orchestrate actual navigational behavior. As a first step, we have examined the spatial firing correlates of cells in the dorsal subiculum as rats navigate in an open-field, pellet-searching task. The subiculum is one of the few major output zones for the hippocampus, and it, in turn, projects to numerous other brain areas, each thought to be involved in various learning and memory functions. Most subicular cells showed a robust locational signal. The patterns observed were different from those in the hippocampus, however, in that cells tended to fire throughout much of the environment, but showed graded, location-related rate modulation, such that there were some localized regions of high firing and other regions with relatively low firing. There were slight quantitative differences between the proximal (adjacent to the hippocampus) and distal (farther from the hippocampus) subicular regions, with distal cells showing slightly higher average firing rates, spatial signaling, and firing field size. This was of interest since these two regions have different efferent connections. Examination of spike trains allowed classification of cells into bursting, nonbursting, and theta (putative interneuron) categories, and this is similar to subicular cell types identified in vitro. Interestingly, the bursting and nonbursting types did not differ detectably in spatial firing properties, suggesting that differences in intrinsic membrane properties do not necessitate differences in coding of environmental inputs. The results suggest that the subiculum transmits a robust, highly distributed spatial signal to each of its projection areas, and that this signal is transmitted in both a bursting and nonbursting mode.
Valence subbands in Ga/sub 1-x/In/sub x/As/Ga/sub 1-y/Al/sub y/As quantum wells under in-plane biaxial and uniaxial strain

Summary form only given. Anisotropic, in-plane strain is a useful tool for the study of quantum wells and for the development of opto-electronic devices. Recent advances in micromachining techniques have made it possible to create permanent, anisotropic, in-plane strain in lattice-mismatched quantum wells. Such systems show potential for device applications. Lattice-mismatched Ga/sub 1-x/In/sub x/As/Ga/sub 1-y/Al/sub y/As quantum wells were characterized because of their potential for optical applications in the near infrared. We have analyzed the valence subband structure in these quantum wells, grown along the [001] direction, focusing on the HH1, LH1,and HH2 subbands. The bandstructure calculation technique uses a local pseudopotential approach combined with Lowdin perturbation theory with the k/spl middot/p operator. Three strain cases were compared: 1) Biaxial in-plane strain with the strain shared proportionally between the well and barrier; 2) Biaxial strain under the pseudomorphic assumption, with the barrier lattice matched to the substrate and all strain in the well; 3) Uniaxial in-plane strain under the same pseudomorphic assumption.
Efficient intrusion detection using automaton inlining

Host-based intrusion detection systems attempt to identify attacks by discovering program behaviors that deviate from expected patterns. While the idea of performing behavior validation on-the-fly and terminating errant tasks as soon as a violation is detected is appealing, existing systems exhibit serious shortcomings in terms of accuracy and/or efficiency. To gain acceptance, a number of technical advances are needed. In this paper we focus on automated, conservative, intrusion detection techniques, i.e. techniques which do not require human intervention and do not suffer from false positives. We present a static analysis algorithm for constructing a flow- and context-sensitive model of a program that allows for efficient online validation. Context-sensitivity is essential to reduce the number of impossible control-flow paths accepted by the intrusion detection system because such paths provide opportunities for attackers to evade detection. An important consideration for on-the-fly intrusion detection is to reduce the performance overhead caused by monitoring. Compared to the existing approaches, our inlined automaton model (IAM) presents a good tradeoff between accuracy and performance. On a 32K line program, the monitoring overhead is negligible. While the space requirements of a naive IAM implementation can be quite high, compaction techniques can be employed to substantially reduce that footprint.
Contemporary Tie and Dye Textiles of Indonesia

Contemporary Tie and Dye Textiles of Indonesia. Kim Jane Saunders. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997.107 pp.
Drought and Pluvial Dipole Events within the Great Plains of the United States

The purpose of this study was to quantify dipole events (a drought year followed by a pluvial year) for various spatial scales including the nine Oklahoma climate divisions and the author-defined regions of the U.S. Southern Great Plains (SGP), High Plains (HP), and Northern Great Plains (NGP). Analyses revealed that, on average, over twice as many standard deviation (STDEV) dipoles existed in the latter half of the dataset (1955‐2013) relative to thefirst half (1896‐1954), suggesting that dramatic increases in precipitation from one year to the next within the Oklahoma climate divisions are increasing with time. For the larger regions within the Great Plains of the United States, the percent chance of a significant pluvial year following a significant drought year was approximately 25% of the time for the SGP and NGP and approximately 16% of the time for the HP. The STDEV dipole analyses further revealed that the frequency of dipoles was consistent between the first and second half of the dataset for the NGP and HP but was increasing with time in the SGP. The temporal periods of anomalous precipitation during relative pluvial years within the STDEV dipole events were unique for eachregion whereby October occurred most frequently (70%) within the SGP, September occurred most frequently (60%) within the HP, and May occurred most frequently (62%) within the NGP.
Multi-layer surface segmentation using energy minimization

A multilayer, depth planes approach to image segmentation is proposed, where pixels may have arisen from a single smooth surface in the scene are represented in a common layer. Two types of output are produced at each pixel, i.e., a layer number and a vector of depth values, one value for each layer. The layer assignment performs image partitioning based on surface properties. The depth value assignment for each layer either represents the input data with the noise removed or interpolates between data values to fill-in nonvisible parts of the scene. The disjoint surfaces due to occlusion or transparency are also grouped together if they form a smooth surface. >
Toward bridging the annotation-retrieval gap in image search by a generative modeling approach

While automatic image annotation remains an actively pursued research topic, enhancement of image search through its use has not been extensively explored. We propose an annotation-driven image retrieval approach and argue that under a number of different scenarios, this is very effective for semantically meaningful image search. In particular, our system is demonstrated to effectively handle cases of partially tagged and completely untagged image databases, multiple keyword queries, and example based queries with or without tags, all in near-realtime. Because our approach utilizes extra knowledge from a training dataset, it outperforms state-of-the-art visual similarity based retrieval techniques. For this purpose, a novel structure-composition model constructed from Beta distributions is developed to capture the spatial relationship among segmented regions of images. This model combined with the Gaussian mixture model produces scalable categorization of generic images. The categorization results are found to surpass previously reported results in speed and accuracy. Our novel annotation framework utilizes the categorization results to select tags based on term frequency, term saliency, and a WordNet-based measure of congruity, to boost salient tags while penalizing potentially unrelated ones. A bag of words distance measure based on WordNet is used to compute semantic similarity. The effectiveness of our approach is shown through extensive experiments.
THE CONTRIBUTION OF FOOD AID TO NUTRITION

I interpreted the topic to mean the contribution of food aid to improved nutritional status. There is an extensive literature on this topic but the reported findings are often contradictory. I shall, therefore, attempt only to summarize some of the important highlights and viewpoints and indicate where they point to some tentative conclusions. Food aid can contribute to improved nutritional status only if it reaches those who are undernourished or malnourished, i.e., whose nutritional status is below "satisfactory" levels however defined. The malnourished are, almost without exception, the poor whether they be the unemployed, refugees, landless, the indebted, or the women and children in low income households. Characteristi-
Assessing the Driving Forces for Collapse of Archetypal Intrinsically Disordered Polypeptides

Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) are a class of proteins that do not adopt well defined structures in aqueous solutions. IDP sequences have low hydrophobicity and recent work has shown that polar tracts, which are archetypal IDPs, adopt collapsed conformations in aqueous solutions. Furthermore, polyglycine peptides, which are mimics of polypeptide backbones, also behave like chains in a poor solvent in water. Here, we ask why this should be true.We modulated the strengths of dispersive and electrostatic chain-chain and chain-solvent interactions in a series of molecular simulations. In neat water and 8 M urea hydrophobic chains collapse to minimize the solute-solvent interface. Addition of dispersion interactions causes an accumulation of solvent around globules, with preferential solvation and enrichment of urea around the globule in 8 M urea. Accumulated solvent penetrates into the globule with increasing electrostatic interaction strength. While solvent penetration in neat water causes the formation of internally wet globules, there is a departure from globules in 8 M urea. We calculated the potential of mean force between short polyglycine chains in neat water and 8 M urea, and observed that the association between chains in water is always more favorable than in 8 M urea. Furthermore, chain electrostatic interactions in 8 M urea diminished preference for chain-chain association almost entirely. We conclude that the preference for collapsed states is encoded by driving forces which originate in the canonical hydrophobic effect. This preference is maintained in neat water because specific interactions between chain units are stronger in neat water than the effective interactions between chain units and solvent.
The relationships among anxiety, anger, and blood pressure in children

Relationships between anger and anxiety have been examined in adults but less frequently in children. This investigation explored relationships among trait anxiety, trait anger, anger expression patterns, and blood pressure in children. The participants were 264 third- through sixth-grade children from five elementary schools who completed Jacob's Pediatric Anger and Anxiety Scale and Jacob's Pediatric Anger Expression Scale and had their blood pressure measured. Data were analyzed using descriptive and correlational statistics and hierarchical regression. Results have implications for the way in which anxiety and anger are perceived in children and the importance of teaching children to deal with emotions.
The metabolism of 7H-dibenzo[c,g]carbazole, an N-heterocyclic aromatic, in the isolated perfused lung.

The metabolism of a carcinogenic N-heterocyclic aromatic, 7H-dibenzo[c,g]carbazole, was investigated in an isolated perfused rabbit lung preparation and in rat liver microsomes. A major metabolite produced in both preparations is the 7-hydroxydibenzo[c,g]carbazole. A substantial percentage of this metabolite is found in the tracheabronchi, which would be consistent with the high incidence of respiratory tract tumors due to dibenzo[c,g]carbazole.
Absorption edge of CdS thin films

Abstract The optical absorption of CdS thin films was measured on a number of sanples deposited under controlled conditions. The broad and nearly exponential absorption edge is attributed to the presence of potential barriers at the microcrystal boundaries. A good agreement is obtained between the experimental results and the predictions of a model based on the Franz-Keldysh effect.
Study of the future land use of a contaminated site: Preferences versus potential use

Worldwide, agencies with high levels of contamination are faced with decisions about remediation and restoration. These decisions should be informed by future land use and long-term stewardship goals. In the United States, the Department of Energy has lands in some 34 states that require cleanup. They are involved in massive remediation and restoration efforts on lands from the Cold War legacy and wish to reduce their overall footprint. Understanding future land use preferences is essential for determining the nature and degree of remediation and restoration. The objective of this study was to examine future land use preferences for the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory as a function of ethnicity for attendees at the Los Alamos Gun Show in New Mexico (1999), and to determine whether their own activity influences future land use preferences. The highest preferred future land uses for Los Alamos National Laboratory were hiking, camping, National Environmental Research Park, and birdwatching, followed by hunting and fishing. Increased nuclear waste storage and building homes and factories were rated the lowest. Further, hiking and camping were rated higher than at two other DOE sites. There were few ethnic differences, although American Indians rated camping, hiking, building houses, and returning the land to American Indians higher than did others, and Hispanics rated using it for a preserve as a higher preferred land use than all others. The differences, however, were not great. Relative ratings for using the land for hunting and fishing were directly related to individual frequency of hunting and fishing for both whites and Hispanics, indicating that people perceive the importance of land use by how they want to use it. Ratings for hiking and camping were not related to the number of days people hiked and camped, suggesting these are general preferences overall. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Comparative analysis of extractable lipids in hot spring microbial mats and their component photosynthetic bacteria

Abstract The extractable hydrocarbons, wax esters, alcohols and fatty acids of hot spring microbial mats and bacteria were compared to investigate whether the distribution of important biomarker lpids parallels the distribution of photosynthetic microorganisms of different types. Two cyanobacterial mats, two anoxygenic photosynapetic bacterial mats, and their component photosynthetic bacteria (Chloroflexus aurantics, Chromatium tepiduum and Chlorobium sp.) wwere investigated. In general, mat lipids reflect the inputs of the principal mat-building phototropic microorganisms therein. Cyanobacterial mats contain mainly hydrocarbons, principally n -heptadecane and mid-chain branched alkanes; the latter are absent in photosynthetic bacterial mats and bacteria. Hydrocarbons are not abundant in photosynthetic bacteria and mats, with the exception that C. aurantiacus is distinguished by C 29 -C 32 mono-, di- and triunsaturated alkenes. Wax esters are principal components of C. aurantiacus and Chlorobium sp, and mats containing these organisms. Predominating free alcohols reflect the distribution of chlorophyll a or bacteriochlorophylls in the phototrophi microorganisms of the mats. Traces of sterols in both cyanobacterial and the anoxic photosynthetic bacterial umts are probably of allochthonous origin. Free fatty acids are minor components and are similar in all mats.
THE MARINE EPIZOIC DIATOM FALCULA HYALINA FROM CHOCTAWHATCHEE BAY, THE NORTHEASTERN GULF OF MEXICO: FRUSTULE MORPHOLOGY AND ECOLOGY

Cingulum and valve morphology of the marine epizoic diatom Falcula hyalina Takano, collected from Choctawhatchee Bay, northeastern Gulf of Mexico, were studied with scanning electron microscopy. The cingulum is composed of four incomplete ligulate bands. The apical pore fields are interpreted as ocellulimbi. Its taxonomie relationships and ecology are discussed. This is the first record of F. hyalina from the Gulf of Mexico.
Consolidated Bioprocessing of Lignocellulosic Feedstocks for Ethanol Fuel Production

Ethanol fuel can be produced renewably from numerous plant and waste materials, but harnessing the energy of lignocellulosic feedstocks has been particularly challenging in the development of this alternative fuel as a substitute for petroleum-based fuels. Consolidated bioprocessing has the potential to make the conversion of biomass to fuel an economical process by combining enzyme production, polysaccharide hydrolysis, and sugar fermentation into a single unit operation. This consolidation of steps takes advantage of the synergistic nature of enzyme systems but requires the use of one or a few organisms capable of producing highly efficient cellulolytic enzymes and fermenting most of the resulting sugars to ethanol with minimal byproduct formation while tolerating high levels of ethanol. In this review, conventional ethanol production, consolidated bioprocessing, and simultaneous saccharification and fermentation are described and compared. Several wild-type and genetically engineered microorganisms, including strains of Clostridium thermocellum, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Klebsiella oxytoca, Escherichia coli, Flammulina velutipes, and Zymomonas mobilis, among others, are highlighted for their potential in consolidated bioprocessing. This review examines the favorable and undesirable qualities of these microorganisms and their enzyme systems, process engineering considerations for particular organisms, characteristics of cellulosomes, enzyme engineering strategies, progress in commercial development, and the impact of these topics on current and future research.
The electron transfer chain of aerobically grown Rhodopseudomonas viridis

Abstract Chemotrophically grown Rhodopseudomonas viridis contains little bacteriochlorophyll b and no detectable reaction center. Membranes isolated from chemotrophically grown Rps. viridis appear to contain cytochrome d and cytochrome o terminal oxidases. The membranes also appear to contain a cytochrome bc 1 complex, since cytochrome c 1 ( M r = 31 000, detected by immunoblotting) and b -cytochromes are present. Chemotrophically grown Rps. viridis contains neither the membrane-bound, reaction center-associated cytochrome c-552 c-558 peptide nor any soluble cytochrome c 2 . A previously undetected soluble b -type cytochrome, apparently absent in phototrophically grown Rps. viridis , was found in chemotrophically grown cells. Preliminary measurements indicate that cytochrome b -560 is probably a dimer of about 20 kDa subunits and has an oxidation-reduction midpoint potential of −20 mV.