cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Interval stabbing on the Automata Processor

Abstract The Automata Processor (AP) was designed for string-pattern matching. In this paper, we showcase its use to execute integer and floating-point comparisons and apply the same to accelerate interval stabbing queries. An interval stabbing query determines which of the intervals in a set overlap a query point. Such queries are often used in computational geometry, pattern matching, database management systems, and geographic information systems. The check for each interval is programmed as a single automaton and multiple automata are executed in parallel to provide significant performance gains. While handling 32-bit integers or single-precision floating-point numbers, up to 2.75 trillion comparisons can be executed per second, whereas 0.79 trillion comparisons per second can be completed for 64-bit integers or double-precision floating-point numbers. Additionally, our solution leaves the intervals in the set unordered allowing addition or deletion of an interval in constant time. This is not possible for contemporary solutions wherein the intervals are ordered, making update of intervals complex. Our automata designs are modular allowing them to become constituent parts of larger automata, where the numerical comparisons are part of the overall pattern matching operation. We have validated the designs on the hardware, and the routines to generate the necessary automata and execute them on the AP will be made available as software libraries shortly.
Haití y la alianza para la civilización

La redente tragedia que padece Haiti, llama a reflexion y replanteamiento de alianzas para el desarrollo de la civilizacion global, ya que existe la necesidad de crear una infraestructura global en la cual fructifique unitariamente la raza humana.
Pyrrole β-amides: Synthesis and characterization of a dipyrrinone carboxylic acid and an N-Confused fluorescent dipyrrinone

Abstract Pyrrole β-amides are useful building blocks for the preparation of novel molecular architectures that can be used in supramolecular chemistry and sensor development. Under basic conditions, pyrrole β-amides with an α-aldehyde produce different condensation products when reacted with pyrrolinones depending on the amide substitution. Secondary amides form the expected dipyrrinones, but unexpectedly undergo a subsequent trans-amidation with the pyrrolinone nitrogen to produce an unsymmetrical imide (an N-confused fluorescent dipyrrinone). Under the same conditions, tertiary amides produce the expected dipyrrinone carboxylic acids, which have been shown to have strong self-association properties as determined by vapor pressure osmometry measurements, NMR studies, and X-ray crystal structure determination. Furthermore, an N-confused fluorescent dipyrrinone was produced from the same trans-amidation reaction during attempts to decarboxylate a dipyrrinone amide with a 9-carboxylic moiety.
Building a Pathway to Engineering: The Influence of Family and Teachers Among Mexican-Origin Undergraduate Engineering Students:

This study draws on sociocultural perspectives of identity to understand the ways in which Mexican-origin undergraduate students are recruited into the “figured world” of engineering. The analysis ...
Fighting the Fog: A Criticism of Postmodernism:

This article counters the supportive treatment of postmodernism by Fenwick English in this issue. Key concepts of postmodern-poststructural thought are presented and criticized. They are the reject...
Improvement in quality of life in patients with heart failure who undergo transplantation

BACKGROUND Very few studies have examined quality of life longitudinally in heart failure patients from before or after heart transplantation. The purpose of this study was to compare quality of life of patients with heart failure at the time of listing for a heart transplant with that 1 year after the operation. Major dimensions of quality of life measured in this study were health, physical and emotional functioning, and psychosocial functioning. METHODS A convenience sample of 148 patients (80% male and mean age 52 years) was recruited from a midwestern and southern medical center. Data were collected from chart review and six patient-completed instruments: the Heart Transplant Symptom Checklist, Sickness Impact Profile, Heart Transplant Stressor Scale, Jalowiec Coping Scale, Quality of Life Index, and Rating Question Form. Informed consent was obtained, and patients who agreed to participate in the study completed the booklet of self-administered instruments. Statistical analyses included frequencies, measures of central tendency, paired t-tests, and Wilcoxon signed-ranks tests. RESULTS Total symptom distress decreased significantly overall from before to after heart transplantation (before = 0.19 versus after = 0.15, p < 0.0001). Patients rated themselves as having significantly poorer health while listed as a heart transplant candidate than at 1 year after surgery (before = 4.5 versus after = 7.5, p < 0.0001). Although the overall level of functional disability was fairly low before and 1 year after transplantation, patients still reported significant improvement after surgery (before = 0.21 versus 1 year after = 0.13, p < 0.0001). No significant differences were found in total stress, which was low to moderate (before = .026 versus 1 year after = 0.26, p = not significant), coping use (before = 0.48 versus 1 year after = 0.48, p = not significant), or coping effectiveness (before = 0.40) versus 1 year after = 0.42, p = not significant), from before to 1 year after heart transplantation. However, changes in types of symptoms, functional disability, stressors, and coping were noted over time. Overall satisfaction with life, which was fairly high at both time periods, increased significantly from the time of listing for a transplant to 1 year after surgery (before = 0.72 versus 1 year after = 0.82, p <0.0001), and overall quality of life improved significantly from before to after heart transplantation (before = 5.5 versus after = 7.8, p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS End-stage heart failure patients had improved quality of life from before to 1 year after heart transplant due to less total symptom distress, better health perception, better overall functional status, more overall satisfaction with life, and improved overall quality of life. However, post-transplant patients still experienced some symptom distress, functional disability, and stress, but were coping well.
Elderly and QOL

This chapter will describe research related to the psychology of QOL of the elderly. The chapter begins by providing the reader a basic understanding of how QOL of the elderly is conceptualized and measured. Then, we will move to mining the QOL literature regarding factors that impact elderly subjective well-being.
The Protection of People with Autism in the Framework of the Council of Europe and the European Union

The Council of Europe and the European Union (EU) have not developed ad hoc legal rules or hard law instruments specifically aimed at protecting the rights of people with autism. At European regional level, the special situation and needs of individuals with autism find recognition and protection within the wider legal framework concerning the rights of persons with disabilities as well as within the scope of application of the general principle of equality and non-discrimination. This paper focuses on hard law instruments and provisions adopted by the Council of Europe and the EU concerning the rights of people with disabilities and soft law instruments dealing specifically with the rights of people with autism. Relevant case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Union, the European Court of Human Rights and the European Committee of Social Rights are also highlighted.
A High Resolution Multimode Digital Imaging System for Fluorescence Studies of Mitosis

Multimode digital fluorescence microscopy, in combination with other optical modes of image formation1, is a powerful method for investigating many questions about the mechanisms of mitotic spindle assembly, chromosome movement and cell cycle control of chromosome segregation and cytokinesis. The dynamics of specific molecules in the spindle can be recorded using fluorescent analog cytochemistry where the molecules of interest are labeled with a fluorophore and introduced into the cell2,8. For example, spindle organization in living cells and in vitro systems can be quantitatively determined by adding X-rhodamine labeled tubulin subunits to the cellular tubulin pool to selectively label microtubule polymers. The assembly dynamics of spindle components can be measured in real time using photoactivatable fluorophores2,3,6. More recently, spindle proteins conjugated to green fluorescent protein (GFP) are being developed and expressed in vivo 9,10. In in vitro systems, chromosomes can be selectively labeled with fluorescent DNA-binding dyes like DAPI2,4,5,7,8. Other fluorescent probes can be used to track the dynamics of membranes and other organelles or molecular complexes within the spindle11. Fluorescence techniques are often used in combination with interference contrast. In transparent specimens, the movements of chromosomes and centrosomes can be recorded from transmitted light with phase contrast or differential interference contrast (DIC) optics12. Polarization methods reveal spindle fiber microtubule dynamics and provide a quantitative measure of microtubule assembly and orientation13.
The Problem of the Jane Austen Musical

This essay examines the proliferation of recent stage adaptations of Austen’s fiction. Focusing on three recent musical productions – premieres of Sense and Sensibility, Northanger Abbey, and Pride...
Community Detection from Low-Rank Excitations of a Graph Filter

This paper considers the problem of inferring the topology of a graph from noisy outputs of an unknown graph filter excited by low-rank signals. Limited by this low-rank structure, we focus on solving the community detection problem, whose aim is to partition the node set of the unknown graph into subsets with high edge densities. We propose to detect the communities by applying spectral clustering on the low-rank output covariance matrix. To analyze the performance, we show that the low-rank covariance yields a sketch of the eigenvectors of the unknown graph. Importantly, we provide theoretical bounds on the error introduced by this sketching procedure based on spectral features of the graph filter involved. Finally, our theoretical findings are validated via numerical experiments.
Anti-mitochondrial therapy in bile duct cancer.

e15661Background: Biliary duct carcinoma is a rare but highly fatal malignancy. The five-year survival rate for advanced bile duct cancer is 2%, per SEER data. As such, new treatment options are de...
High temperature thermoelectric properties of laser sintered thin films of phosphorous-doped silicon-germanium nanoparticles

Silicon-germanium (SiGe) is an important thermoelectric material for high-temperature applications. In this study, we show that the Seebeck coefficient of the laser sintered thin films of phosphorous (P)-doped Si80Ge20 nanoparticles increases from -144.9 μV/K at room temperature to -390.1 μV/K at 873 K. The electrical conductivity increases from 16.1 S/cm at room temperature to 62.1 S/cm at 873 K and demonstrates an opposite trend when compared to bulk nanostructured materials. The thermal conductivity from room temperature to 573 K is essentially constant within the measurement error of our system at ∼1.35 W/m⋅K. Therefore, if the thermal conductivity follows a similar temperature dependent trend as reported in past scientific literature, the figure of merit of the thin film Si80Ge20 is estimated to be 0.60 at 873 K which is comparable to a value of ∼1 for bulk nanostructured materials. This result indicates that thin film P-doped SiGe can provide comparable performance with bulk nanostructured SiGe materials by using nanoparticle laser sintering as an easier, quicker, and more cost-effective processing method.Silicon-germanium (SiGe) is an important thermoelectric material for high-temperature applications. In this study, we show that the Seebeck coefficient of the laser sintered thin films of phosphorous (P)-doped Si80Ge20 nanoparticles increases from -144.9 μV/K at room temperature to -390.1 μV/K at 873 K. The electrical conductivity increases from 16.1 S/cm at room temperature to 62.1 S/cm at 873 K and demonstrates an opposite trend when compared to bulk nanostructured materials. The thermal conductivity from room temperature to 573 K is essentially constant within the measurement error of our system at ∼1.35 W/m⋅K. Therefore, if the thermal conductivity follows a similar temperature dependent trend as reported in past scientific literature, the figure of merit of the thin film Si80Ge20 is estimated to be 0.60 at 873 K which is comparable to a value of ∼1 for bulk nanostructured materials. This result indicates that thin film P-doped SiGe can provide comparable performance with bulk nanostructured SiGe mate...
Racial differences in myocardial deformation in obese children: Significance of inflammatory state

Abstract Background and aims The association between racial differences in myocardial deformation and cardiometabolic risk factors is unknown in obese children. Our objective was to: 1) investigate for racial differences in myocardial deformation between white and black obese children and 2) identify biomarkers associated with these observed racial differences. We hypothesized that decreased myocardial deformation observed in black obese children could be accounted for by the differences in the markers of metabolic syndrome between the groups. Methods and results Obese children were recruited prospectively. All clinical and laboratory tests for the metabolic syndrome were conducted during a single assessment using a standardized protocol. Speckle-tracking echocardiography was performed to obtain longitudinal and circumferential measures of deformation. 310 patients were included in the analysis; 158 (51%) white and 152 (49%) black. The median age was 11.3 years (IQR 5.9). Blacks demonstrated worse longitudinal strain (−14.7 ± 2.7% vs. −15.4 ± 2.9%, p = 0.04). There was no difference in circumferential strain between the groups. Multivariable linear regression showed a significant relationship between longitudinal strain and hsCRP (β = 0.16, p = 0.03) and HOMA-IR (β = 0.15, p = 0.04); there was no independent association between longitudinal strain and race. Conclusion Black subjects demonstrated worse longitudinal strain than whites. Only hsCRP and HOMA-IR levels, not race, had an independent association with longitudinal strain, suggesting that the observed racial differences in longitudinal strain may be secondary to differences in inflammation and insulin resistance between the groups.
Activity patterns and temporal predator avoidance of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) during the fawning season

In the presence of a predator, prey may alter their temporal activity patterns to reduce the risk of an encounter that may induce injury or death. Prey perception of predation risk and antipredator responses may increase in the presence of dependent offspring. We conducted a camera trap study during summer 2015 in North Carolina and Tennessee, USA to evaluate temporal avoidance of a predator (coyote Canis latrans) by white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). We analyzed activity patterns of bucks, does, and nursery groups (i.e., groups that included fawns) relative to those of coyotes to determine the coefficient of overlap (Δ) using a kernel density estimator. We found that bucks and does had similar Δ with coyotes [Δ1 = 0.729 (0.629–0.890) and Δ1 = 0.686 (0.558–0.816, respectively] and exhibited crepuscular activity patterns comparable to those of coyotes. However, nursery groups displayed a dramatically different activity pattern: unimodal activity was concentrated in the middle of the day with little overlap with coyote activity [Δ1 = 0.362 (0.176–0.491)]. Because adult deer are rarely prey for coyotes, whereas fawns are common prey during summer, the shift in activity patterns of nursery groups demonstrates a behavioral shift likely aimed at avoiding coyote predation on fawns.
Direct-to-Consumer Virtual Urgent Care: A Descriptive Study and Outline for Common Practice Management Decisions

Background: Direct-to-consumer (DTC) virtual urgent care (VUC) visits are increasingly popular across both for-profit and nonprofit healthcare systems; however, few peer-reviewed studies have described the ecology of a VUC program. Design/Setting: In this retrospective cohort study, patients (N = 2,216) received care through a VUC platform offered by a regional health system over an approximately 2-year period. Results: Seventy-one percent of patients were identified as females. The age of the patients ranged from 18 to 85 years (median 39 years, interquartile range [IQR] 32–49 years). Eighty-four percent (n = 1,906) of patients had a registered primary care provider (PCP), while 177 (8%) chose to self-pay for the VUC service. Seventy-six percent of visits occurred between Monday and Friday, and 71% (n = 1,573) visits occurred between 8 am and 6 pm. The median provider response time was 24 minutes. Visits were conducted by videoconference 84% of the time; providers and patients spent a median of 7.4 minutes (IQR 4.3, 9.9 min) together in the video room. Seventy-seven percent of visits generated a prescription, of which 70% were on antibiotics. Conclusions: Most virtual visits were initiated by existing health system patients with a primary care physician, and the majority of patients sought care during usual business hours. Most visits led to a prescription, most commonly an antibiotic. These data can help inform operational leaders who are considering how best to structure, staff, and develop key performance indicators for their own VUC programs. Additionally, these data challenge the notion that acute, episodic DTC encounters occur after-hours and are utilized by uninsured patients who lack a relationship with a primary care physician.
Blood Cupping in Management of Knee Osteoarthritis: A Novel Cost Effective & Safe Therapy

Objective: To introduce a safe alternative treatment and investigate it at pathophysiological level for knee osteoarthritis and its impact on quality of life and well-being. Study Design: Randomized Controlled Trial. Settings: Department of Surgery, THQ Hospital Gojra. Duration: from January 2017 to January 2018. Methodology: 108 patients including males and females age between 45-60 years were selected. Two groups A & B included 54 patients each (27 males, 27 females) were formed. Group “A” received blood cupping therapy and group “B” (control group) was given NSAIDs. Only 8 weeks follow-up was conducted to determine treatment effects utilizing both subjective and objective assessment. Results: There was statistically remarkable difference between level of pain, well-being and range of motion for patients with knee osteoarthritis pre and post cupping. The viability of cupping therapy has been investigated and results demonstrated advancement because of cupping. It is emphatically suggested that further studies must be led with huge sample size and of longer duration. Conclusion: Blood cupping is beneficial and curative and never harmful and there is a dire need for using blood cupping in treating human diseases that are not responding well to current treatment modalities.
Psychogenic nonepileptic seizures.

OBJECTIVE All patients who exhibit seizure-like behavior cannot be evaluated by video-electroencephalography if their routine EEGs are negative, as this would be impractical and cost-prohibitive. The present article reviews a decision-making process that can be used for determining if further neurological evaluation is needed, the differential diagnoses and potential comorbidities involved when making this determination, and an approach to conveying the psychogenic nonepileptic seizure diagnosis to the patient that may help reduce symptom frequency. DESIGN Literature review. CONCLUSION Psychogenic seizures are not caused by abnormal brain electrical activity. The symptoms of psychogenic seizures usually reflect a psychological conflict or a psychiatric disorder. However, psychogenic seizures are not "purposely" produced by the patient, and the patient is not aware that the seizures are non-epileptic, so the patient may become very anxious over having these symptoms. The presentation of the differential diagnosis should be done early in the course of treatment for better patient acceptance, and treatment options should be presented early in the evaluation period.
Mexican obsidian on Maui: Hawaiian connection, harmonic convergence, or hokum?

Abstract In 2014, the television show America Unearthed (A & E Networks) featured an episode discussing evidence for pre-Columbian contact between Polynesia and continental North and South America. Included in this “evidence” was a large spearpoint, allegedly found on the island of Maui. The show’s host argues that the spearpoint is made on obsidian from central Mexico, and therefore represents evidence for direct contact between Polynesian and Maya peoples prior to the sixteenth century CE. A detailed analysis of the spearpoint, including geochemical sourcing, reveals that it is indeed made of so-called Pachuca obsidian from central Mexico; however, the size, shape, and lithic technology of the piece are consistent with easily obtainable modern creations. Two alternative hypotheses that account for all available evidence are offered to explain how this spearpoint may have traveled from Mexico City to Maui. In the absence of any other evidence supporting a pre- Columbian origin for this piece, it cannot be considered evidence of a Polynesian connection with continental North America.
The Size and Composition of U.S. Manufacturing Offshoring in China

This briefing is part of a continuing series on U.S. manufacturing offshoring and examines what is known about the size and composition of U.S. offshoring activity to China. An accompanying paper described incentives U.S. firms have had to offshore production to China, the world’s largest manufacturing economy. These incentives have included cost advantages, scalability options, policy mechanisms, and strategic interests (e.g., securing access to inputs and proximity to fastest‐growing consumer base). This briefing builds upon those findings, by showing that U.S.‐based multinationals have been heavily involved in China’s manufacturing revolution. The latest data suggest that U.S. affiliates employed more than 1.7 million workers in China in 2014, nearly half of which were in China’s manufacturing sector (e.g., semiconductor firms). It also shows that U.S. firms have invested heavily in their Chinese affiliates’ operations, and that as of 2014, U.S. parents’ affiliates in China sold more to the local market than U.S. affiliates in Japan, Mexico, and India, combined.
A Woman in Her Late 40s with Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis and Recurrent Pleural Effusions

Case Presentation A woman in her late 40s with a history of recurrent deep vein thromboses and hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) presented to the ED with progressive exertional dyspnea and productive cough. She recently had started oral corticosteroids after HP was confirmed via transbronchial lung cryobiopsy from both the right upper and lower lobes, which showed poorly formed granulomas with mild interstitial and perivascular lymphocytic infiltrates. A causative antigen for her HP was never clearly identified.
Surgical outcomes of dual-plate fixation for periprosthetic femur fractures around a stable hip arthroplasty stem.

The incidence of periprosthetic femur fractures is increasing. Multiple treatment methods exist to treat fractures surrounding stable hip arthroplasty implants including locking plate fixation, cable fixation, allograft augmentation, and revision arthroplasty. No consensus regarding optimal treatment has been reached, and significant complications remain. Recently, biomechanical studies have demonstrated the benefits of orthogonal dual-plate fixation, but little clinical data exist. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the clinical and radiographic outcomes of dual-plated periprosthetic femur fractures around stable hip stems. Patients with periprosthetic femur fractures following hip arthroplasty with a stable femoral stem treated with dual-plate fixation were identified through chart review at a single institution. Fracture classification, fixation characteristics, radiographic outcomes, clinical outcomes and complications including re-operation were recorded. Over a 12-year period, 31 patients (mean age 77 years at surgery, range 48–94) underwent dual plating by three traumatologists for implant-stable periprosthetic femur fractures surrounding a hip arthroplasty stem. There were 27 Vancouver B1-type and 9 inter-prosthetic fractures. Average follow-up was 2 years. Of the 26 patients with minimum 6-month follow-up, 24 (92%) united after index surgery (mean time to union 6.0 months, range 1.5–14.0). Mean time to full weight-bearing post-operatively was 2.6 months (range 1.5–4.0 months). Two patients required secondary surgery to address nonunion. Dual-plating achieved high union rates with an acceptable complication profile for the treatment of periprosthetic femur fractures surrounding a stable hip arthroplasty stem. Our preferred fixation construct involves a lateral plate spanning the entire femur secured with non-locking bicortical screws supplemented with an anteriorly based reconstruction plate. Additional prospective research is required to confirm the results of this study.
A Better Learning Community: Mixed-Methods Reveal Medical Student Preferences with Implications for Learning Community Design and Implementation.

Background:Medical school learning communities benefit students. The College of Medicine (COM) at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) provides medical students with academic, pro...
Review of Adaptation in Young Adult Novels: Critically Engaging Past and Present

In lieu of an abstract: While a fair amount of scholarship exists on adaptation in children’s literature, discussion of adaptations in young adult literature has thus far been limited mostly to ideas of pedagogy, in considerations of how adaptations might be utilized in high-school classrooms to encourage interest in the canonical texts. The essays in Adaptation in Young Adult Novels: Critically Engaging Past and Present do consider this use, acknowledging that YA adaptations are often employed as an introduction to the source texts, but they go beyond pedagogical evaluation to analyze how adaptation works in a specifically adolescent context. Editors Dana E. Lawrence and Amy L. Montz identify the effect of adaptation as a means of “engaging with our predecessors and the rights—and wrongs—of their literatures” (2). Through critically engaging the past and the present as they commingle in young adult adaptations, Lawrence and Montz argue, these texts “empower young readers, making them more culturally, historically, and socially aware through the lens of literary diversity” (2).
Drugs and Stimulus Control

The term “stimulus control” derives from operant conditioning experiments in which stimuli are said to “control” responding if changes in the stimuli are associated with changes in the accuracy or rate of responding. The “degree” or “level” of stimulus control in these experiments is defined by the extent of the covariation between stimulus changes and response changes. The most commonly used measure of stimulus control is response accuracy.
Forman at forty: New perspectives on “Weimar culture and quantum mechanics”

This volume, timed to appear during the fortieth anniversary of the publication of the so-called ‘‘first Forman thesis,’’ is based on contributions delivered at a workshop held in 2007. The book is divided into three sections. The first contains reprints of five of Paul Forman’s papers, including ‘‘Weimar Culture, Causality, and Quantum Theory, 1918–1927: Adaptation by German Physicists and Mathematicians to a Hostile Intellectual Environment’’ (1971). Part Two includes contemporary papers engaging with topics related to the Forman thesis, focusing in particular on the physical sciences from the late nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century. Part Three engages with the thesis at a methodological level. The papers examine the life and human sciences, popular science, and philosophy. As a whole, the book is large and varied, spanning well over 500 pages and containing 15 new and almost uniformly high-quality papers. It is not, however, an easy thing with which to work. It contains neither an index nor a bibliography. (A selected bibliography of Forman’s works is to be found on pp. 21–23.) For a volume of such heft and diversity, the editors’
Current controlled vocabularies are insufficient to uniquely map molecular entities to mass spectrometry signal

The comparison of analyte mass spectrometry precursor (MS1) signal is central to many proteomic (and other -omic) workflows. Standard vocabularies for mass spectrometry exist and provide good coverage for most experimental applications yet are insufficient for concise and unambiguous description of data concepts spanning the range of signal provenance from a molecular perspective (e.g. from charged peptides down to fine isotopes). Without a standard unambiguous nomenclature, literature searches, algorithm reproducibility and algorithm evaluation for MS-omics data processing are nearly impossible. We show how terms from current official ontologies are too vague or ambiguous to explicitly map molecular entities to MS signals and we illustrate the inconsistency and ambiguity of current colloquially used terms. We also propose a set of terms for MS1 signal that uniquely, succinctly and intuitively describe data concepts spanning the range of signal provenance from full molecule downs to fine isotopes. We suggest that additional community discussion of these terms should precede any further standardization efforts. We propose a novel nomenclature that spans the range of the required granularity to describe MS data processing from the perspective of the molecular provenance of the MS signal. The proposed nomenclature provides a chain of succinct and unique terms spanning the signal created by a charged molecule down through each of its constituent subsignals. We suggest that additional community discussion of these terms should precede any further standardization efforts.
Lean Production and the Discourse of Dissent. Radicalizing the Shop Floor at Mitsubishi Motors

In the spring of 1989, Chrysler and Mitsubishi Motors entered into a joint venture to build cars in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois. A dozen years after “lean production” and “employee teams” were introduced, this paper revisits the initial expectations of workers. Through an employee survey it assesses how employee attitudes, shop-floor behavior, and language have coalesced to create an oppositional discourse of dissent. At Mitsubishi there appears to be a fundamental contradiction between the discourse of production as spoken and the experiences of the workers working within that discourse. The workers have created their own way of talking about work life at Mitsubishi.
Hierarchical-Matrix Preconditioners for Parabolic Optimal Control Problems

Hierarchical ($\mathcal{H}$)-matrices approximate full or sparse matrices using a hierarchical data sparse format. The corresponding $\mathcal{H}$-matrix arithmetic reduces the time complexity of the approximate $\mathcal{H}$-matrix operators to almost optimal while maintains certain accuracy. In this paper, we represent a scheme to solve the saddle point system arising from the control of parabolic partial differential equations by using $\mathcal{H}$-matrix LU-factors as preconditioners in iterative methods. The experiment shows that the $\mathcal{H}$-matrix preconditioners are effective and speed up the convergence of iterative methods.
Studies on the Mechanism of Fatty Acid Synthesis XX. PREPARATION AND GENERAL PROPERTIES OF β-HYDROXYBUTYRYL ACYL CARRIER PROTEIN DEHYDRASE

Abstract An enzyme, β-hydroxybutyryl acyl carrier protein (ACP) dehydrase, which catalyzes the reversible dehydration of short chain β-hydroxyacyl-ACP to the corresponding α, β-unsaturated acyl-ACP derivatives has been isolated from extracts of Escherichia coli. Dehydrase preparations of specific activity of 5000 mµmoles per min per mg of protein were homogeneous as assessed by ultracentrifugal analysis and by polyacrylamide disc gel electrophoresis. The enzyme has an estimated molecular weight of 26,000. It is relatively heat-stable and is active over a broad pH range with maximal activity between pH 7.5 and 8.5. The dehydrase has a functional —SH group and can be readily inhibited by —SH-binding reagents such as N-ethylmaleimide and iodoacetamide. The dehydrase reaction is readily reversible and the equilibrium constant for the dehydration of β-hydroxybutyryl-ACP is estimated to be 19 m. The β-hydroxybutyryl-ACP dehydrase is active on ACP thioesters but inactive on the coenzyme A derivatives. The enzyme is specific for short chain length β-hydroxyacyl-ACP derivatives (C4 to C8). The estimated maximal rates of hydration of crotonyl-ACP, 2-hexenoyl-ACP, and 2-octenoyl-ACP are 4100, 2300, and 200 mµmoles per min per mg, respectively. The enzyme is inactive on 2-decenoyl-ACP. This limited chain length specificity of the β-hydroxybutyryl-ACP dehydrase is responsible for the accumulation of β-hydroxydecanoyl-ACP in a reconstituted fatty acid-synthesizing system comprised of highly purified preparations of malonyl-CoA-ACP transacylase, acyl-malonyl-ACP condensing enzyme, β-ketoacyl-ACP reductase, β-hydroxybutyryl-ACP dehydrase, and enoyl-ACP reductase. The β-hydroxy-decanoyl-ACP thus synthesized is readily converted to either saturated or unsaturated fatty acids by the action of protein fractions which contain at least two long chain βhydroxyacyl-ACP dehydrases.
Homeward Bound: American Veterans Return from War

The study of veterans in history has elicited a number of provocative debates. One such discourse explores the extent to which the state has helped veterans readjust to postwar life or has hindered...
Michael Fernandes at Nicholas Piramal (TN)

Michael Fernandes, the Director of Custom Manufacturing Operations at the pharmaceutical company Nicholas Piramal India Limited (NPIL), schedules a meeting with three of his reports, whose interpersonal conflicts with one another are causing his business development function to falter. He struggles to know how to handle these conflicts and bring the three into a productive working collaboration. Fernandes is in charge of incorporating NPIL's new acquisitions in Canada and the United Kingdom to market NPIL globally. His three direct reports are each involved in different aspects of NPIL-- the Canadian operations, the British operations, and the global business development, and the case explores the team dynamics among them. Unless Fernandes can resolve the conflicts, the integration of the acquisitions is in jeopardy.Subjects Covered:Behavior, Organizational behavior, International business, International markets, Teams, Consensus, Group behavior, Group decision making, Group dynamics, Groups, Groupthink, Interpersonal behavior, Interpersonal conflicts, Interpersonal skills, Generic drugs, Pharmaceuticals, Competencies, Management techniques, Managerial skills.
Virtual flow‐net for accountability and forensics of computer and network systems

Information/secret leaking cannot always be recorded in digital log files. In other words, in log files, not all information/events are recorded, and it is thus impossible to trace the paths of secret leaking on the basis of log files alone. In this paper, to resolve the difficulty of the lack of information, we utilize user–relationship graphs, or social networks, to compensate for the required information. We also utilize a probabilistic analysis to build virtual links to follow information flows. User–relationship graphs are constructed from several flow-net data structures over a longer period so that we can avoid missing embedded threats such as hostile codes. We call this approach virtual flow-net. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Leucine Excess and Niacin Status in Rats

Young rats were fed a niacin-deficient diet with and without 15 g/kg supplementary L-leucine. Both groups grew slowly for 5 wk and showed no difference in the severity of their condition. Nor did their 14CO2 production differ after intraperitoneal dosing with [methylene-14C]tryptophan. In a 2 X 3 X 3 multifactorial trial with a niacin-free basal diet, the effects of 15 g/kg supplementary leucine were compared with isonitrogenous glycine supplements. Half of the diets were also marginally deficient in pyridoxine and resulted in slower growth, but no interactive effect with leucine. The leucine supplement depressed excretion of N1-methylnicotinamide only in the groups receiving supplementary tryptophan. It was also associated with a depression in the level of nicotinamide nucleotides in the rats' livers that was not eliminated by addition of either 25 mg/kg nicotinic acid or 1 g/kg L-tryptophan. The existence of pellagra in Hyderabad, India, has been hypothesized to result from excessive leucine in the diet rather than from a deficiency of niacin/tryptophan. Neither our results with rats nor those of others appear to provide support for this hypothesis.
E-beam treatment of trichloroethylene-air mixtures: Products and rates

Abstract Electron beam (E-beam) treatment of 3000 ppmv trichloroethylene (TCE) vapor in dry and wet air led to rapid, nearly quantitative, conversion of TCE to dichloroacetyl chloride, plus small amounts of phosgene. Higher E-beam doses, up to 110 kGy, led to oxidation of the initial products to CO, CO 2 , HCl and Cl 2 . The results parallel results found for photo- and Cl-atom initiated oxidation of TCE vapor, and are accounted for by an efficient Cl-atom chain oxidation. Lack of effect of 28,000 ppmv water vapor (90% RH) on rates or products reflects a very high efficiency for the Cl-atom chain oxidation and the very slow reaction of vapor phase water with acyl halides. Irradiation experiments conducted with TCE dissolved in aerated and deaerated water at 10 and 300 ppm showed marked differences in radiolytic products from those found in the vapor phase. A preliminary cost estimate indicates that E-beam treatment of TCE vapor is very competitive with conventional activated carbon treatment and catalytic oxidation.
Evolved to Win (Sipper, M.; 2011) [Book Review]

This book contains 12 chapters, of which 8 are descriptions of how the author used genetic programming to solve different games. In order, the games Prof. Sipper describes are lose checkers, chess end games, search algorithms for regular chess, backgammon, simulated Robocode,simulated racing cars, the puzzle Rush Hour, and the puzzle FreeCell. Each chapter, and one additional detailed chapter for lose checkers, gives a comprehensive description on how the author solved the game using genetic programming. The reader can get a good understanding of the work and approach used to solve the game before delving deeper into the original conference and journal papers published by the author for more rigorous descriptions and empirical results.
Homeostatic Architectures for Robust Spatial Computing

For open-ended computational growth, we argue that: (1) Instead of hardwiring and hiding the spatial relationships of computing components, computer architecture should expose and soften them, and (2) Instead of minimizing reliability as just a hardware problem, robustness should climb the computational stack toward the end users. We suggest that eventually all truly large-scale computers will be robust spatial computers -- even if intended neither for overtly spatialized tasks, nor harsh environment deployments. This paper is an introduction for the spatial computing community to the Movable Feast Machine (MFM), a computing model in the spirit of an object-oriented asynchronous cellular automata, with which we are exploring robust, indefinitely scalable computations. We briefly motivate the approach and present the model, then illustrate some robustness mechanisms such as redundancy, sloppiness, and homeostasis, showing how a basic task like sorting can be reconceived for robustness within a homeostatic architecture.
Non-linear flexural waves in thin layers

Non-linear flexural waves in thin plates or layers have been analyzed in this paper. The equation of motion of the plate is derived assuming that the motion is antisymmetric about the mid-plane of the plate and that the plate is thin. The plate is considered to be elastic. The Von Karman non-linear strains and Landau elastic constants have been used to model geometric and material non-linearities, respectively. An asymptotic analysis of wave motion is presented using the method of multiple scales. Evolution equations are derived for small amplitude traveling flexural elastic waves. Numerical results show waveform distortion, amplitude amplification, and harmonic generation.
Bidirectional propagation of cold atoms in a “stadium”-shaped magnetic guide

We demonstrate the bidirectional propagation of more than ${10}^{7}\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{atoms}$ ${(}^{87}\mathrm{Rb})$ around a ``stadium''-shaped magnetic ring that encloses an area of $10.9\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}{\mathrm{cm}}^{2}$, with a flux density exceeding ${10}^{11}\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\text{atom}\phantom{\rule{0.2em}{0ex}}{\text{s}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}\phantom{\rule{0.2em}{0ex}}{\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}2}$. Atoms are loaded into the guide from a two-dimensional (and higher) magneto-optical trap at one side of the ``stadium.'' An optical standing wave pulse is applied to increase the propagation velocity of atoms along the waveguide. The atom sample fills the entire ring in $200\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{ms}$ when counterpropagating atom sections of the original atom cloud recombine at their initial positions after a full revolution.
The impact of SEC investigations and accounting and auditing enforcement releases on firms’ cost of equity capital

I study the impact of an SEC investigation (as captured by accounting and auditing enforcement releases) on a firm’s cost of equity capital. AAERs are often used in accounting literature as a proxy for fraudulent financial reporting. Fraudulent financial reporting should lead to an increase in cost of equity capital as a firm’s future cash flows become less certain. Overall, this study provides evidence of changes in cost of equity capital for firms targeted by an SEC AAER on the date the investigation is first made public.
Separation of landfill leachate with polymeric ultrafiltration membranes

Abstract The use of ultrafiltration for treatment of landfill leachate was evaluated. A high-strength industrial landfill leachate that has undergone some pretreatment contains residual suspended solids. These solids have molecular diameters greater than 190 A and diameters between 32 and 55 A, and foul ultrafiltration membranes. The fouling layer is 99 percent inorganic and does not block the passage of organic carbon across the membrane. It acts simply to create a pressure drop that results in lower flux. This fouling layer can be minimized by increasing shear at the membrane surface (increased stirring rate) and/or lowering the strength of the leachate. Membranes cast from an aromatic polymer exhibit the highest flux when used with leachate.
Metabolic considerations in the approach to diabetic hypertensive patients

The effects of antihypertensive drugs on glucose metabolism are an important consideration in the selection of pharmacologic therapy for diabetic patients. Diuretics can elevate blood glucose levels, aggravate glucose intolerance, and predispose diabetic patients to hyperosmolar non-ketotic coma. Beta-blocking drugs often exacerbate and prolong insulin-induced hypoglycemia in diabetics. Beta-blockers may also cause hyperglycemia. Central agonists, alpha-blockers, and vasodilators apparently have neutral effects on carbohydrate metabolism in normal subjects or in hypertensive diabetics. Calcium channel blockers may disturb carbohydrate metabolism in diabetic patients. Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors have little effect on glucose metabolism. Because diabetic patients are prone to fluid, electrolyte, hormone, and lipid disturbances, it is important to consider the effects of antihypertensive drugs on these aspects of metabolism when selecting pharmacologic therapy. The effects of various antihypertensive drugs on sodium, calcium, magnesium, and acid/base balance are reviewed. The effects of these drugs on serum uric acid and potassium, as well as on hormone and lipid levels, are also considered.
The power of faces: A review of John T. Lanzetta's research on facial expression and emotion

Provides a comprehensive review of John T. Lanzetta's research program on facial expression and emotion. After reviewing the study that initiated this research program (Lanzetta & Kleck, 1970), the program is described as developing along four distinct lines of research: (1) the role of facial expression in the modulation and self-regulation of emotion, (2) the evocative power of the face as an emotional stimulus, (3) the role of facial expression in empathy and counterempathy, and (4) the role of facial displays in human politics. Beyond reviewing the major studies and key findings to emerge from each of these lines, the progression of thought underlying the development of this research program as a whole and the interrelations among the individual research lines are also emphasized.
Changing settlement patterns in the German Democratic Republic: 1945-1976.

Abstract The settlement pattern in the German Democratic Republic has undergone dramatic changes since 1945, largely as a consequence of the socialist government's aim of concentrating population into fewer but larger central places. The impact of this policy has been greatest in rural areas, most especially in the northern part of the country. This paper examines the character of the changes experienced by both urban and rural areas in northern G.D.R. since 1945.