cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Coping Uncertainty in Coexistence via Exploitation of Interference Threshold Violation

In underlay coexistence, secondary users (SUs) attempt to keep their interference to the primary users (PUs) under a threshold. Due to the absence of cooperation from the PUs, there exists much uncertainty at the SUs in terms of channel state information (CSI). An effective approach to cope such uncertainty is to introduce occasional interference threshold violation by the SUs, as long as such occasional violation can be tolerated by the PUs. This paper exploits this idea through a chance constrained programming (CCP) formulation, where the knowledge of uncertain CSI is limited to only the first and second order statistics rather than its complete distribution information. Our main contribution is the introduction of a novel and powerful technique, called Exact Conic Reformulation (ECR), to reformulate the intractable chance constraints. ECR guarantees an equivalent reformulation for linear chance constraints into deterministic conic constraints and does not suffer from the limitations associated with the state-of-the-art approach -- Bernstein Approximation. Simulation results confirm that ECR offers significant performance improvement over Bernstein Approximation in uncorrelated channels and a competitive solution in correlated channels (where Bernstein Approximation is no longer applicable).
Introduction and Purpose of the Issue

The ProblemThis issue of Advances in Developing Human Resources addresses the establishment of a research agenda for theories and constructs selected from established theories from other fields of ...
A cost-sensitive convolution neural network learning for control chart pattern recognition

Abstract Abnormal control chart patterns are naturally infrequent in an industrial setting. However, such patterns may indicate manufacturing faults that, if not treated in a timely manner, can lead to significant internal and external failure costs, ultimately threatening the product reputation. Therefore, the detection of abnormalities, which is sought in the well-known control chart pattern recognition (CCPR) problem, is of utmost importance. Standard machine learning algorithms have been extensively applied to this problem. However, they often produce biased classifiers unless the inherent data imbalancedness, which originates from the scarcity of abnormal patterns, are carefully addressed. In this paper, we develop a cost-sensitive classification scheme within a deep convolutional neural network (CSCNN) for the imbalanced CCPR problem. We further investigate the performance of our algorithm on both simulated and real-world datasets to determine separable and non-separable common fault patterns in a manufacturing setting. As the contribution of this work, we particularly demonstrate that the cost weighting strategy is both robust and efficient for moderately- and severely-imbalanced cases. We further show that our method can either be fine-tuned to specific faults or trained to detect multiple faults while remaining efficient for large datasets. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first deep CSCNN designed for imbalanced CCPR problems, which presents great promise for other manufacturing applications in the presence of imbalanced datasets.
Effect of Acute Ethanol on Membrane Transport of Folate

Chronic ethanol ingestion is a primary cause of vitamin deficiency, particularly folic acid deficiency (5). Although poor diet plays a role in the etiology of folic acid deficiency, ethanol ingestion produces effects on folate metabolism in such tissues as the bone marrow (19). Serum folate levels can be markedly depleted by acute ethanol ingestion by humans (3) as well as by rats (10). Ethanol ingestion could alter normal folate homeostasis at numerous sites. Dietary folates are mostly pteroylpolyglutamates and must be hydrolyzed by pteroylpolyglutamate hydrolase (21), prior to jejunal absorption by a carrier–mediated process (15). Folate is then distributed to various tissues as 5-methyl-tetrahydrofolate (5-CH3-H4PteGlu), the primary form in the plasma (5). Intracellular folates are primarily in the form of polyglutamates, either for storage (8) or for increased catalytic efficiency (2). The liver contains the largest stores of folates in the body, and may release its stores by biliary secretion to support folate levels in other tissues (18). Folates are freely filtered from the plasma at the glomerulus and can be reabsorbed or secreted (4) by the renal tubules for eventual excretion in the urine.
Kardiovaskuläre Erkrankungen und Hormonsubstitution in der Menopause

Grundlagen Heute wird uberwiegend die Ansicht vertreten, das die naturliche kardiovaskulare Mordibitat und Mortalitat von Frauen durch Substitution mit Ostrogen, vor allem durch deren direkte Gefaswandeffekte, gesenkt werden konnten.
Instrumented balance assessment in mild traumatic brain injury: Normative values and descriptive data for acute, sub-acute and chronic populations:

Often the Balance Error Scoring System (BESS) is used to assess balance during a clinical evaluation of a patient presenting with mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI). Although recent research has sh...
Body Composition Changes Following Dialysis Initiation and Cardiovascular and Mortality Outcomes in CRIC (Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort): A Bioimpedance Analysis Substudy.

Rationale & Objective Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) provides a noninvasive assessment of body composition. BIA measures of nutritional (phase angle) and hydration (vector length) status are associated with survival among individuals with chronic kidney disease (CKD), including those receiving maintenance dialysis. However, little is known regarding changes in these parameters with CKD following the high-risk transition to maintenance dialysis. Study Design Observational study. Settings & Participants 427 adults enrolled in the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort (CRIC) Study, with BIA measurements performed within 1 year before and after initiation of maintenance dialysis. Exposures We calculated the changes in vector length and phase angle for patients with CKD transitioning to maintenance dialysis. Outcomes We examined the association of changes in vector length and phase angle during the transition to maintenance dialysis with risk for all-cause mortality or nonfatal myocardial infarction, stroke, or heart failure, adjusting for demographics, comorbid conditions, and nutritional parameters. Results Mean age was 58 ± 12 years and mean estimated glomerular filtration rate using the CKD Epidemiology Collaboration equation before dialysis initiation was 17.0 ± 8.7 mL/min/1.73 m2. After covariate adjustment, mean changes in vector length and phase angle were 18 (95% CI, 7 to 30) Ω/m and −0.6 (95% CI, −1.3 to 0.1), respectively. Changes in both BIA parameters were not associated with risk for heart failure, stroke, myocardial infarction, or all-cause mortality: HR, 1.02 (95% CI, 0.91-1.14) per 1-SD increment in change for vector length and HR, 1.11 (95% CI, 0.88-1.41) per 1-SD increment in change for phase angle. Limitations Observational study, relatively small sample size. Conclusions In a multicenter cohort of patients with CKD who progressed to kidney failure, the transition to maintenance dialysis was associated with changes in body composition reflecting poorer cellular integrity and improved volume control. However, these longitudinal changes were not associated with adverse clinical events after dialysis initiation.
Grounding the Lame Duck: The President, the Final Three Months, and Emergency Powers

In moments of crisis, is there constitutional guidance or authoritative norms that courts or other decisionmaking bodies may harness to prevent a lame duck from making lasting, destructive decisions? And if so, should these parties intercede? For presidents at the end of their terms, standard checks and balances—congressional overrides or impeachment—could be useless. And there are no authoritative court holdings for decisionmakers to follow. This Paper identifies the limits on an outgoing president’s emergency powers. It is a needed investigation in divided political times, when the likelihood of bitterly contested, last-minute executive action is high. Looking to four relevant provisions in the original Constitution (the Take Care Clause, Oath Clause, Term Clauses, and Impeachment Clauses), the Twentieth, Twenty-Second, and Twenty-Fifth Amendments, limited court dicta on these issues, and finally, the norms and history in governmental transitions, this Paper leaves the reader with a reassuring guide to what a president may do and to where other branches must intercede.
“False positive” emotions, responsibility, and moral character

People often feel guilt for accidents-negative events that they did not intend or have any control over. Why might this be the case? Are there reputational benefits to doing so? Across six studies, we find support for the hypothesis that observers expect "false positive" emotions from agents during a moral encounter - emotions that are not normatively appropriate for the situation but still trigger in response to that situation. For example, if a person accidentally spills coffee on someone, most normative accounts of blame would hold that the person is not blameworthy, as the spill was accidental. Self-blame (and the guilt that accompanies it) would thus be an inappropriate response. However, in Studies 1-2 we find that observers rate an agent who feels guilt, compared to an agent who feels no guilt, as a better person, as less blameworthy for the accident, and as less likely to commit moral offenses. These attributions of moral character extend to other moral emotions like gratitude, but not to nonmoral emotions like fear, and are not driven by perceived differences in overall emotionality (Study 3). In Study 4, we demonstrate that agents who feel extremely high levels of inappropriate (false positive) guilt (e.g., agents who experience guilt but are not at all causally linked to the accident) are not perceived as having a better moral character, suggesting that merely feeling guilty is not sufficient to receive a boost in judgments of character. In Study 5, using a trust game design, we find that observers are more willing to trust others who experience false positive guilt compared to those who do not. In Study 6, we find that false positive experiences of guilt may actually be a reliable predictor of underlying moral character: self-reported predicted guilt in response to accidents negatively correlates with higher scores on a psychopathy scale.
How witnessing rudeness can disrupt psycho-motor performance of dental students.

Rude and disrespectful behaviors are ubiquitous and pervasive in the workplace. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of witnessed rudeness on dental student psychomotor performance. Using an experimental, between-subjects design, 71 2nd (Sophomore) year dental students witnessed either an experimental (rude) or control (neutral) condition in which a confederate lab manager interacted in a rude or neutral manner with a prospective lab assistant candidate. Students then performed a mock prosthodontics psychomotor examination as part of the fixed prosthodontics preclinical course. Results indicated that those students who arrived at the experimental session cognitively depleted (+1 SD above the mean) and were exposed to the rude condition were significantly more likely to make critical errors when performing a posterior bridge preparation, compared to those students in the control group. There were no significant differences between the rude and control conditions for participants who were not cognitively depleted (-1 SD below the mean). Overall, the findings indicate that for those dental students suffering from cognitive depletion, merely witnessing rudeness can have adverse impacts on psychomotor performance and potentially, eventual patient care.
Fuzzy-trace theory and false memory: Meta-analysis of conjoint recognition.

The conjoint-recognition model (CRM) implements fuzzy-trace theory's opponent process conception of false memory. Within the family of measurement models that separate the memory effects of recollection and familiarity, CRM is the only one that accomplishes this for false as well as true memory. We assembled a corpus of 537 sets of conjoint-recognition data, with estimates of CRM's parameters plus goodness-of-fit statistics being available for all the data sets. This corpus was used to conduct a meta-analysis of CRM's underlying process assumptions by pitting two theoretical interpretations of the model against each other: (a) the original interpretation, which assumes that its retrieval parameters tap a single recollection process (verbatim retrieval) and a single familiarity process (gist retrieval), and (b) the dual-recollection interpretation, which assumes that its parameters also tap a second recollection process (context retrieval). The two interpretations generate a series of differential predictions that fall into three groups-namely, predictions about invariant relations among parameters, about the structure of CRM's parameter space, and about the location of individual parameters within the space. When these predictions were evaluated with the corpus, the results converged on the dual-recollection interpretation. The results also resolved a long-standing uncertainty about whether the familiarity process for true memory is semantically or perceptually driven. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
What Literature Teaches Us about Emotion

Introduction: studying literature, studying emotion 1. Fictions and feelings: on the place of literature in the study of emotion 2. What emotions are 3. Romantic love: Sappho, Li Ch'ing-Chao, and Romeo and Juliet 4. Grief: Kobayashi Issa and Hamlet 5. Mirth: from Chinese jokes to A Comedy of Errors 6. Guilt, shame, jealousy: The Strong Breed, Macbeth, Kagekiyo, and Othello 7. From attachment to ethical feeling: Rabindranath Tagore and Measure for Measure 8. Compassion and pity: The Tempest and Une Tempete Afterword: studying literature shaping emotion: Madame Bovary and the sublime.
Microwave-accelerated bioassay technique for rapid and quantitative detection of biological and environmental samples

Quantitative detection of molecules of interest from biological and environmental samples in a rapid manner, particularly with a relevant concentration range, is imperative to the timely assessment of human diseases and environmental issues. In this work, we employed the microwave-accelerated bioassay (MAB) technique, which is based on the combined use of circular bioassay platforms and microwave heating, for rapid and quantitative detection of Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein (GFAP) and Shiga like toxin (STX 1). The proof-of-principle use of the MAB technique with the circular bioassay platforms for the rapid detection of GFAP in buffer based on colorimetric and fluorescence readouts was demonstrated with a 900W kitchen microwave. We also employed the MAB technique with a new microwave system (called the iCrystal system) for the detection of GFAP from mice with brain injuries and STX 1 from a city water stream. Control bioassays included the commercially available gold standard bioassay kits run at room temperature. Our results show that the lower limit of detection (LLOD) of the colorimetric and fluorescence based bioassays for GFAP was decreased by ~1000 times using the MAB technique and our circular bioassay platforms as compared to the commercially available bioassay kits. The overall bioassay time for GFAP and STX 1 was reduced from 4h using commercially available bioassay kits to 10min using the MAB technique.
Shallow Interdistance Selection and Interdistance Enumeration

Shallow interdistance selection refers to the problem of selecting the k th smallest interdistance, k≤n, from among the \(\left( {\begin{array}{*{20}c}n \\2 \\\end{array} } \right)\) interdistances determined by a set of n points in \(\Re ^d\). Shallow interdistance selection has a concrete application — it is a crucial component in the design of a linear-sized data structure that dynamically maintains the minimum interdistance in sublinear time per operation (Smid [9]). In addition, the study of shallow interdistance selection may provide insight into developing more efficient algorithms for the problem of selecting Euclidean interdistances (Agarwal et al. [1]). We give a shallow interdistance selection algorithm which takes optimal O(n log n) time and works in any L p metric. To do this, we prove two interesting related results. The first is a combinatorial result relating the rank of x to the rank of 2x. The second is an algorithm which enumerates all pairs of points within interdistance x in time proportional to the rank of x (plus O(n log n)). A corollary to our work is an algorithm which, given a set of n points and an integer k, outputs all interdistances having rank at most k in O(n log n+k) time.
Voluntary Disclosures Regarding Open Market Repurchase Programs

This paper examines firms’ voluntary disclosures regarding open market repurchase (OMR) programs, i.e., announcements that firms have suspended, resumed, or completed repurchases. Such disclosures are not uncommon but have not been investigated before. Abnormal returns around announcements are, on average, positive when starting or continuing repurchases and negative when stopping repurchases, either by suspending uncompleted programs or by not immediately following completed programs with new programs. Our findings suggest there is less managerial flexibility in repurchases than previously thought. Managers’ decisions to provide status updates relate to materiality, auditor quality, product market competition, and repurchase frequency. Also, when we examine a positive shock to mandatory disclosure, we find that mandatory disclosure substitutes for voluntary disclosure and the effects of auditor quality, strategic considerations and industry peers on voluntary disclosure choice are attenuated.
Conservation of ovarian tissue in the treatment of carcinoma of the cervix with radical surgery.

Abstract 1. 1. It appears that ovaries function well when left in situ after extensive pelvic surgery. 2. 2. It is obvious that the majority of patients with preserved ovarian tissues are better physically and are more contented than a similar group of castrates. 3. 3. It is becoming increasingly evident that ovarian function is of basic and vital importance not only to young women but to older women as well. 4. 4. If the survival rate of our study group can be shown to be as good as or better than the survival rate of those who have been castrated, one absolute and unshakable indication for surgery over irradiation will have been established. 5. 5. It is hoped that this preliminary report will point the way to more intelligent individualization of the therapy for cancer of the cervix in young women with early lesions.
Demonstration of electron filtering to increase the Seebeck coefficient in In 0.53 Ga 0.47 As ∕ In 0.53 Ga 0.28 Al 0.19 As superlattices

In this paper, we explore electron filtering as a technique to increase the Seebeck coefficient and the thermoelectric power factor of heterostructured materials over that of the bulk. We present a theoretical model in which the Seebeck coefficient and the power factor can be increased in an ${\mathrm{In}}_{0.53}{\mathrm{Ga}}_{0.47}\mathrm{As}$-based composite material. Experimental measurements of the cross-plane Seebeck coefficient are presented and confirm the importance of the electron filtering technique to decouple the electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient to increase the thermoelectric power factor.
Poverty Patterns For Black Men and Women

term "feminization of poverty" became prevalent in 1978-1979 following the publication of an article with that title by Diana Pearce (Pearce, 1978). In her article, Pearce pointed to the rapid increase in the number of children and women living below the official federal poverty level. Many women's groups thought that the feminization of poverty had created the conditions for building a truly multiracial women's movement. The implication was that gender was somehow becoming a more important factor in determining poverty status, that men were no longer poor. Like drug abuse and teenage pregnancy, women's poverty attracted attention when it spread out of the inner city into the white suburbs. Yet the origins of the feminization of poverty were profoundly different for black women than for white women. The
Increased Intensity of Physiotherapy After Stroke

To the Editor: The article by Lincoln et al1 in the March issue of Stroke raises some questions regarding their method of data analysis. The authors evaluated the effects of variations in the intensity of physical therapy on arm function after stroke. The patients were randomized into 1 of 3 treatment groups: routine physical therapy (RPT) or 10 hours of additional physical therapy with either a qualified senior research therapist (QPT) or an assistant physical therapist (APT). There was no significant benefit reported from the additional therapy. The authors acknowledge that almost 50% of the treatment group did not complete the additional treatment. The patients who did not complete treatment pose some interesting questions that warrant further explanation by the authors. The authors report on page 576 that “20% of QPT and 14% of APT patients” were excluded from the final analysis because they were unable to tolerate the additional therapy. Could the authors provide information on how many patients in the RPT group were unable to tolerate routine therapy? If the percentages are similar, one must consider the possibility that a certain percentage of patients simply cannot tolerate any level of therapy provided in an acute inpatient rehabilitation setting. Although it may not be feasible to give more therapy, it …
Risk Management at Wellfleet Bank: Abridged

Inspired by one of the few banks that successfully weathered the 2007-2009 credit crisis, the case illustrates risk management in the world of corporate lending. Chief executive Alastair Dowes has to decide if the risk governance process is adequate to uncover mega-risks, based on reflections on the risk assessment and sanctioning of a $1 bn credit proposals. Students will be invited to assess and review the risks in the proposal, and to arrive at a decision (whether Wellfleet should accept it or not). At the same time, students will learn that gray-area risk decisions and, in particular, risk-adjusted performance measurement can rarely be automated. Risk governance requires executives to strike a balance between risk modeling and qualitative business judgment - a holistic (rather than silo-based) view of risks.
Moisture in a grass canopy from SSM/I radiobrightness

Soil-Vegetation-Atmosphere Transfer (SVAT) schemes are used to estimate land-atmosphere moisture, energy, and momentum fluxes and provide boundary forcing to atmospheric models (AMs). Model studies of continental climate have shown that predictions of AMs are highly dependent upon soil moisture and latent energy flux between the land and the atmosphere. There are several popular SVAT schemes. Among these are the Biosphere-Atmosphere Transfer Scheme (BATS) and the Simple Biosphere model (SiB). These models have been validated to some extent through field experiments, but the validations have not extended over many terrains or through several seasons. The Michigan Cold Region Radiobrightness (MCRR) model is a first generation SVAT model that links land-atmosphere hydrologic processes in northern prairie grasses to satellite radiobrightness for the purposes of validation and correction of the SVAT state. The model has two modules, a thermal module that tracks isotherms in the soil as forced by the energy balance at the land-atmosphere interface, and a radiobrightness module that employs a halfspace soil model to predict radiobrightness at the SSM/I frequencies of 19.35, 37.0, and 85.5 GHz. The MCRR model was tested with data from our first Radiobrightness Energy Balance Experiment, REBEX-l near Sioux Falls, South Dakota, during October, 1992, through April, 1993. One cause for the poor performance of the radiobrightness module was moisture and temperature dependent absorption, emission, and scattering within the grass canopy. A refractive model for grass is to make predictions. It is then compared to REBEX-1 data for a 21 day, snow-free period in October, 1992. >
Field screening test for lysergic acid diethylamide

A rapid and sensitive field screening test for lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), which requires little manipulation and equipment, is described. The method is only a presumptive test, and the sample must be taken back to the laboratory for confirmatory tests. (The method is also applicable as a screening test for other psychotomimetic drugs such as dimethyltryptamine, diethyltryptamine, bufotenin, serotonin, and psilocybin.)
Use of dicyclohexylethylamine in the microscale preparation of phenacyl derivatives of carboxylic acids

Abstract A simple method of preparing phenacyl derivatives is described. It is based on the use of the sterically hindered base dicyclohexylethylamine as the proton acceptor. The advantages of the method are short reaction time, mild conditions, high yields, avoidance of ester hydrolysis, and ease of micromanipulation.
Internal cardioversion of atrial fibrillation in sheep.

BACKGROUNDThe cardioversion efficacy of multiple defibrillation waveforms and electrode systems was compared in a sheep model of atrial fibrillation.METHODS AND RESULTSSustained atrial fibrillation could be induced with rapid atrial pacing in 23 (55%) of the animals. This study was performed in four parts. Six sheep with sustained atrial fibrillation were used for data analysis for each part, except in part 4 where five sheep without sustained atrial fibrillation were used. In part 1, four lead systems and four single capacitor truncated exponential defibrillation waveforms (two monophasic and two biphasic) were tested. In part 2, two transvenous lead systems were compared; one was a right-to-left system with one electrode located in the right side of the heart and the other electrode located in the left side of the heart, and the other was a totally right-sided system with both electrodes located in the right side of the heart. Eight (four monophasic and four biphasic) waveforms were tested with each lea...
Effect of three alcohol doses on breathing during sleep in 30-49 year old nonobese snorers and nonsnorers

To test the effect of alcohol ingestion and snoring on deep-disordered breathing (SDB), the sleep and respiration of 31 nonobese healthy males ages 30-49 (15 snorers, 16 nonsnorers) were studied overnight after alcohol ingestion. Subjects received placebo, 0.32, 0.65, and 0.81 g alcohol/kg body weight prior to their evening bedtime, with each dose given on one of four nonconsecutive nights in a repeated-measures counterbalanced design. On each night, respiration was assessed by recording respiratory effort from inter-costal surface electromyography (EMG), ventilation from oral and MMI thermistors, and arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2) from an ear oximeter (BIOX III). Snorers had significantly: (a) more total SDB, (b) more obstructive deep apnea (OSA), and (c) lower minimum SaO2 than nonsnorers after the placebo and each alcohol dose. Snorers had more hypoxic events than nonsnorers after each alcohol dose but not after placebo. Increasing alcohol dose caused a statistically significant (p= 0.0004) decrease in minimum SaO2 in snorers only, but this decrease was small and probably not clinically important. Alcohol did not cause significant increases in SDB and hypoxic events, and did not have different effects on SDB and hypoxic events for snorers versus nonsnorers. Because this experiment included only nonobese 30–49-year-old males, these results do not imply that alcohol has no significant effects on obese subjects or those older than 50.
Deuterium Isotopic Tracer Studies of Thiophene Desulfurization Pathways Using Propane or Dihydrogen as Co-reactants

Isotopically labeled reactants (D2 and C3D8) were used in order to probe H2S formation pathways during thiophene desulfurization on Co/H-ZSM5 at 773 K using H2 or propane as co-reactants. With D2/C4H4S or C3D8/C4H4S reactants, both D and H were present in the hydrogen sulfide formed, suggesting that desulfurization can occur via both direct thiophene decomposition with intramolecular hydrogen transfer and deuterium addition from D2 or C3D8. Thiophene, however, becomes readily deuterated via rapid exchange with D-containing intermediates formed from D2 or C3D8, suggesting that thiophene protonation-deprotonation steps are fast. These isotopic equilibration processes prevent a definitive assessment of the contributions of these two pathways to hydrogen sulfide formation. The D-content in hydrogen sulfide and in hydrocarbons are higher with C3D8/C4H4S than with D2/C4H4S reactants, indicating that propane is more effective than dihydrogen as a source of hydrogen for desulfurization reaction. C3H8/C4H4S and C3D8/C4H4S reactants gave similar reactions rates for hydrocarbon formation, suggesting that C–H bond activation steps do not limit hydrocarbon formation rates. A normal kinetic isotope effect was observed for thiophene desulfurization, indicating that the abstraction of fragments from propane-derived intermediates for reactions with thiophene is more difficult for deuterated intermediates. A comparison of thiophene desulfurization rates with C3H8/D2/C4H4S, C3H8/C4H4S, and D2/C4H4S mixtures confirmed that propane is a more effective source of hydrogen than H2. The deuterium content in all products formed from C3H8/D2/C4H4S mixtures was lower than in products formed from C3H8/D2 reactants. These findings suggest that thiophene inhibits the hydrogen adsorption–desorption steps responsible for the incorporation of D-atoms into adsorbed intermediates from D2 and for the desorption of dihydrogen during propane reactions.
Semiclassical calculation of energy levels for non-separable systems

Abstract A series expansion for a second isolating integral is calculated for a nonseparable system of two coupled oscillators. This integral, together with the hamiltonian, is used to calculate semi classical energy levels. The agreement with the exact quantum levels is sufficient to verity the validity of the method.
CKD–Mineral and Bone Disorder Management in Kidney Transplant Recipients

Kidney transplantation, the most effective treatment for the metabolic abnormalities of chronic kidney disease (CKD), only partially corrects CKD–mineral and bone disorders. Posttransplantation bone disease, one of the major complications of kidney transplantation, is characterized by accelerated loss of bone mineral density and increased risk of fractures and osteonecrosis. The pathogenesis of posttransplantation bone disease is multifactorial and includes the persistent manifestations of pretransplantation CKD–mineral and bone disorder, peritransplantation changes in the fibroblast growth factor 23–parathyroid hormone–vitamin D axis, metabolic perturbations such as persistent hypophosphatemia and hypercalcemia, and the effects of immunosuppressive therapies. Posttransplantation fractures occur more commonly at peripheral than central sites. Although there is significant loss of bone density after transplantation, the evidence linking posttransplantation bone loss and subsequent fracture risk is circumstantial. Presently, there are no prospective clinical trials that define the optimal therapy for posttransplantation bone disease. Combined pharmacologic therapy that targets multiple components of the disordered pathways has been used. Although bisphosphonate or calcitriol therapy can preserve bone mineral density after transplantation, there is no evidence that these agents decrease fracture risk. Moreover, bisphosphonates pose potential risks for adynamic bone disease.
Optimal dental scheduling

Abstract Preventive medicine is one of the most important problems in modern medicine. It is reasonable for an individual to make scheduled visits to his doctor for medical checkups. This paper presents a stochastic model in which he makes scheduled visits to his dentist. Optimal scheduling policies minimizing the expected cost per unit time are discussed under several conditions, and various policies are presented.
Predictive-control system application

PREDICTIVE control is used in this report to describe a form of automatic control in which the manipulated variable operating the controlled system is actuated by an estimate of the error which will exist at some future time. Repeated estimations of the future error are obtained by predicting ahead, on a fast-time base, both the reference and the controlled variable as well as some of their lower-order derivatives. Data smoothing and prediction of the reference may be required, and use of a model of the controlled system is needed. By virtue of being able to use fast switching at high energy levels and continually predicting a new value of future error, it is possible to obtain some of the desirable features of the bang-bang ?optimum? control as well as the dynamic programming concepts.
Latitudinal decrease in acorn size in bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa) is due to environmental constraints, not avian dispersal

The size of acorns produced by several species of eastern North American oaks decreases with latitude. We in- vestigated three hypotheses for this pattern in the bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa Michx.) using samples collected over 2 years throughout the species' range. We found strong support for the hypothesis that abiotic factors, including both tem- perature and rainfall, constrain acorn size. There was also a smaller but important difference in acorn size related to whether sites were glaciated or not, providing support for the hypothesis that some factor associated with the history of glaciation affects acorn mass. In contrast, although blue jays (Cyanocitta cristata L.) prefer smaller acorns and are an im- portant dispersal agent, the latitudinal patterns of acorn size and variability were not consistent with predictions of the hy- pothesis that they are the product of blue jay dispersal during bur oak's postglacial Holocene expansion. Assuming that there is a lower limit to the size that acorns can be and still be successful, the strong role of environmental constraints on acorn size may be important in explaining the apparently contradictory interspecific pattern that North American oaks suc- cessfully colonizing areas further north during the Holocene are those that produce relatively larger acorns.
Diffusion approximation of the stochastic process of microtubule assembly

Microtubules are protein polymers that guide intracellular motility. Stochastic switching of a microtubule between states of elongation, shortening, and pause is described in detail by the dynamic instability (DI) model. Recently we have described the dynamics of microtubules phenomenologically as generalized diffusion of their ends. Genesis of the diffusion dynamics and accuracy of diffusion model are studied in this work. It is shown that wandering of the end of a microtubule undergoing DI asymptotically approaches the Wiener diffusion process. Accuracy of the diffusion approximation is evaluated by comparing its predictions with results of simulation of DI. Stationary distributions of microtubule length and lifetime that are predicted by both models differ qualitatively between two cell types considered. However, predictions of the diffusion model are in each case practically identical to predictions of the DI model being also consistent with experimental data. The peculiar stochastic process of microtubule assembly thus converges at cell scale to a kind of widespread-in-nature diffusion process. This result is considered an example of qualitative change in dynamical properties in transition from the molecular to cellular level of biological organization. Additionally, it suggests employment of diffusion process theory in studying functions of microtubules in the cell.
On the use and misuse of the instantaneous speed of adjustment assumption

Abstract A commonly used simplifying assumption in dynamics is that one of the variables moves infinitely fast to its equilibrium value, given the current values of the slower variables. If a theorist believes that one of his variables is fast relative to the others, how safe is he in setting the system up as if the relatively fast variable were infinitely fast? How do the dynamics of the simplified system compare with those of the true system? In this paper, the notion of adjustment speed is analysed and a new definition is offered. It is found that the simplified system behaves like the true system only in highly unlikely cases.
Pedagogy and the Case Method: A Comparative Analysis

Case based teaching is the most common decision-making training tool in a Business Policy course. Case-based teaching was investigated with 76 regional business schools and 81 faculty members teaching Business Policy at the undegraduate level. Apart from collecting data on the personal characteristics of faculty teaching policy, two sets of pedagogical case method models - one based on standard textbooks and the other on Hayes' construct - were tested. One hundred and ten student papers were examined by a group of experts using Bloom's taxonomy, and those based on Hayes' conceptualization scored higher. The juxtaposition of the models as presented in this study, presents some interesting theoretical and empirical implications for future researchers. Resume La methode des cas est l'outil d'apprentissagc de la prise de decision le plus repandu dans les corns de direction generale. On a enquete sur l'utilisation de la methode des cas dans 76 ecoles de gestion a travers le pays et aupres de 81 universitaires qui enseignent la direction generate an niveau du premier cycle. En plus de cueillir des donnees demographiques sur les professeur(e)s de ce cours, on a teste deux ensembles de modeles pedagogiques de la methode des cas; un ensemble utilise les manuels scolaires standards. l'autre, le construit de Hayes. Utilisant la taxonomie de Bloom, un groitpe d'experts a examine les analyses de cent dix etudiants; les analyses utilisant le modele de Hayes ont ete mieux cotees. La comparaison des modeles dans cette elude souleve des implications theoriques et empiriquesfascinantes pour de futures recherches.
Fighting Fire With Water: Partisan Procedural Strategies and the Senate Appropriations Committee

While White (1989) thoroughly examined the House Appropriations Committee after the congressional reforms of the 1960s and 1970s, we begin to offer an updated picture of the counterpart committee in the Senate. We find that there has been considerable change in the behavior of appropriators in the postreform era. Specifically, partisanship within the Senate has increased substantially, but even more interesting is the rise of partisanship within the Appropriations Committee itself. Table motions have become an increasingly partisan device used by the majority party to inhibit minority amending challenges. Indeed, table motions have clearly become the preferred strategy to defend appropriations legislation from attacks on the floor. In spite of the partisan conflict within the Appropriations Committee, we continue to find that committee members retain considerable institutional advantages in relation to nonmembers in affecting funding decisions on the Senate floor.
PREDICTION AND ASSOCIATION FOR N-WAY CLASSIFICATION TABLES

A general model for prediction and association is described for the situation in which both criterion and predictor(s) are discrete variables. The model is based on the concept ofproportion of error reduction. The related measure of association is the Goodman and Kruskal LThe approach can be employed for the general case involving any number of predictors and the related measures of multiple and partial association are described. Although the exact sampling distribution of L is unknown, the asymptotic standard error has been derived and can be employed for appropriate tests of significance. The prediction model is based on the use of configural patterns. A general comparison of this procedure to alternative procedures for contingency tables is discussed in terms of the purpose of the analysis
Organics/water separation by pervaporation with a zeolite membrane

Abstract Organic/water mixtures are separated at ambient temperature and pressure by pervaporation through a silicalite zeolite membrane supported on the inner surface of a porous stainless-steel cylindrical tube. Methanol, ethanol and acetone were preferentially separated from aqueous solutions. For methanol/water separations, a relatively constant separation factor between 11 and 14 was obtained over a wide range of methanol feed concentrations. Total mass fluxes of 1 to 2.7 kg/(m2 h) were obtained. Water and methanol permeances were independent of methanol feed concentration, except at low concentrations. Pervaporation has a higher separation factor than expected for vapor-liquid equilibrium separation. The highest separation factor obtained for acetone/water was 255 at an acetone feed concentration of 0.8 wt% with an acetone flux of 0.20 kg/(m2 h). The highest acetone flux of 0.95 kg/(m2 h) was obtained at an acetone concentration of 43 wt%, when the separation factor was 37. Separation factors decreased with increasing acetone concentration. The production indices for the silicalite membrane were much higher then other membranes at similar feed concentrations. The silicalite membrane was unable to selectively remove acetic acid from aqueous solutions at low acid concentrations.
Effects of short chain alkanols on the inducible nitric oxide synthase in a glial cell line.

Ethanol inhibits inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression in C6 glioma cells by an unknown mechanism. Because relatively high concentrations are needed for inhibition in drug-naive cells (IC50∼150 mM), suppression due to cytotoxicity is one possible mechanism that has not been ruled out. Therefore, the present study examined the effects of ethanol and other alkanols on C6 glioma cell viability and iNOS activity to better understand the mechanism for inhibition. iNOS expression was induced in cell culture with lipopolysaccharide and phorbol ester treatment. Nitrite accumulation in culture medium, the in vitro conversion of [3H]-L-arginine to [3H]-L-citrulline, and immunoblotting were used to quantify iNOS induction and activity. Trypan blue exclusion, extracellular release of lactate dehydrogenase, and quantity of total cell protein were used as measures of viability. Short chain alkanols, methanol through 1-heptanol, concentration-dependently inhibited nitrite accumulation. Longer chain alkanols, 1-octanol and 1-decanol, did not except at cytotoxic concentrations. Experiments indicated short chain alkanol inhibition was not due to direct actions on iNOS catalytic activity, but that it transpires during iNOS induction. Immunoblots showed reduced iNOS protein levels. Correlation analysis ruled out iNOS inhibition as being due to decreased cell number, total cell protein, or cell viability. In contrast, there was significant correlation with physical measures of lipophilicity. In conclusion, inhibition of iNOS expression by ethanol and other short chain alkanols is not due to cytotoxicity. Instead, the strong correlation with lipophilicity suggests the inhibition derives from an interaction with unknown hydrophobic cellular sites. British Journal of Pharmacology (1999) 126, 1253–1261; doi:10.1038/sj.bjp.0702417
One-pot, two-step, practical catalytic synthesis of 2,5-diformylfuran from fructose.

A practical, one-pot, two-step catalytic method is described for the synthesis of 2,5-diformylfuran (DFF) from fructose via dehydration to 5-(hydroxymethyl)furfural (HMF), followed by in situ catalytic air-oxidation.
On the non-existence of a class of configurations which are nearly generalized n-gons

Abstract It is known [10] that if P is a v × v(n, s, s)-configuration with n ⩾ 3 and s ⩾ 2, then v ⩾ v0 ≡ 1 + s + s2 + … + sn−1, with strict inequality holding unless n = 3, 4, or 6. In this paper conditions on n and s are found which imply v ≠ v0 + 1. Indeed, we conjecture that equality can hold only when n = 3 and s = 2 or s = 3.
Response of the Gulf Stream transport to characteristic high and low phases of the North Atlantic Oscillation

Abstract We investigate an ambiguity in the current understanding of the Gulf Stream (GS) transport in response to the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). While some investigations (discussed herein) suggest enhanced transport during low NAO phases, other studies suggest enhanced transport in high NAO phases. NAO-induced variability in the western North Atlantic is studied by using a 1/6°-resolution basin-scale Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) model. Results indicate that the western boundary current limb of the GS, upstream of Cape Hatteras, exhibit enhanced transport during low-NAO phases. However, further downstream of Cape Hatteras, after the GS separates from the coast, diminished GS transport is seen during low-NAO phases. The converse is true for high NAO phases for both segments of the GS system. Model results show the Deep Western Boundary Current (DWBC), the northern recirculation gyre and the southern recirculation gyre intensify (weaken) during the high (low) NAO periods.
MHC class II antigen expression and T-cell infiltration in the demyelinating CNS and PNS of the twitcher mouse

The expression of the major histocompatibility complex class II antigens (Ia) was investigated in the central and peripheral nervous systems of the twitcher mouse, an authentic murine model of globoid cell leukodystrophy (Krabbe disease) in humans. In this mutant, demyelination is noted as early as postnatal day 10 in the peripheral nerve and day 20 in the spinal cord. Emergence of Ia antigen expressing cells (Ia+ cells) was largely coincident with the initiation of demyelination, suggesting the importance of local factors for the induction of Ia antigens. Ia+ cells gradually increased in number with the progression of demyelination, but reached a plateau between postnatal days 30 and 40, then rapidly decreased despite continuous demyelination in both central and peripheral nervous systems. The only exception was in the spinal cord where Ia+ cells were numerous even at postnatal day 50. The cells expressing L3T4 antigen (L3T4+ cells), which is a mouse CD4 antigen, and the interleukin-2 receptor antigen expressing cells (IL-2R+ cells), also appeared in the regions where Ia+ cells were observed. L3T4+ cells were still abundant after P45, when Ia+ and IL-2R+ cells decreased. Combined autoradiographic and immunocytochemical studies demonstrated mitotic activity in a few Ia+ cells. However, low labeling indices of Ia+ cells in both cerebrum and sciatic nerve suggest that the increase of Ia+ cells was largely due to either induction of Ia antigens on local cells or new recruitment of Ia+ cells from the circulation. Expression of Ia antigens associated with an emergence of L3T4+ or IL-2R+ cells in the demyelinating lesions may indicate involvement of immunological responses in the pathogenesis of this metabolic demyelinating disorder. Alternatively, these apparent immunological phenomena may be tentative and non-specific local reactions to degenerating tissue components such as myelin. The mechanism(s) regulating the expression of Ia antigens in this genetic metabolic demyelinating disease is yet to be determined.
Costly Information Acquisition: Experimental Analysis of a Boundedly Rational Model

The directed cognition model assumes that agents use partially myopic option-value calculations to select their next cognitive operation. The current paper tests this model by studying information acquisition in two experiments. In the first experiment, information acquisition has an explicit financial cost. In the second experiment, information acquisition is costly because time is scarce. The directed cognition model successfully predicts aggregate information acquisition patterns in these experiments. When the directed cognition model and the fully rational model make demonstrably different predictions, the directed cognition model better matches the laboratory evidence. (JEL D83)