cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
High-resolution x-ray masks for high aspect ratio microelectromechanical systems applications

The advanced requirements of bio-MEMS and MOEMS, i.e., low sidewall surface roughness, submicron critical dimension, and high aspect ratio, necessitate the use of an intermediate mask and a soft x-ray lithography process to fabricate working x-ray masks that are suitable for deep x-ray lithography. Intermediate masks consist of 2 to 2.5-µm gold patterns on membranes/substrates that are highly transparent to x-ray radiation, whereas working masks possess greater than 5 µm of gold patterns. In this work, 1-µm silicon nitride membranes are produced by a low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) process on both the front and backside of 100 prime grade wafers and anisotropic wet etch through silicon nitride etch masks. E-beam lithography is used to pattern 0.8- to 3-µm-thick resist layers with submicron resolution. In the case of the 3-µm resist layers, the features are electroplated with approximately 2 µm of gold to form an intermediate mask. The 0.8-µm-thick layers are electroplated with gold up to a thickness of 0.6 µm and form initial masks, which are in turn used in a soft x-ray lithographical process to make intermediate masks. The process of building a high-resolution intermediate x-ray mask, directly by e-beam patterning a 3 µm layer of e-beam resist, followed by gold electroplating, is found to be viable but requires the use of a high energy (>100 keV) e-beam writer. The stability of the resist pattern during soft x-ray lithography (SXRL) by use of an initial mask is found to be problematic. Double-side lithography and gold electroplating, can effectively reduce the aspect ratio of the mask pattern, eliminates the problems associated with the use of an initial mask to fabricate intermediate x-ray masks.
The involvement of innervation in the regulation of fetal adrenal steroidogenesis

Over the last decade, great interest has been generated in evaluation of the extent of neural control of the adrenal cortex and in adrenal cortical/medullary paracrine interactions. The purpose of this review is to summarize current knowledge of fetal adrenal cortical innervation and to present an overview of those studies of fetal adrenal function indicating that adrenal innervation plays a functional role in the control of glucocorticoid secretion under basal conditions and in response to a variety of homeostatic challenges. It will be helpful in understanding both the innervation of the adrenal cortex and the role of adrenal innervation in steroidogenesis during fetal development to briefly review experimental studies that have shed light on adrenal steroidogenesis during postnatal life. This is helpful for two reasons: 1) the vast majority of studies of adrenal innervation and its effect on steroidogenesis have utilized postnatal animals and 2) since the fetus is preparing for postnatal life, evaluating the level of function achieved postnatally provides crucial insights into the developmental stages of adrenal innervation and its role in steroidogenesis in preparing the fetus for an independent postnatal existence.
Multi-criteria decision making approach in multiple periods for a disassembly-to-order system under product's deterioration and stochastic yields

In this paper, we concentrate on the disassembly-to-order (DTO) system, where end-of-life (EOL) products are taken back from last users to be disassembled to fulfill the demands for components and materials. The objective is to determine the number of EOL products that would be needed to maximize the profit and minimize the costs of the system. The conditions of EOL products are not always certain, which makes the problem difficult. We use a heuristic approach which transforms the stochastic disassembly yields into their deterministic equivalents and use a multi-criteria decision-making technique to solve the problem. In addition, we take the products' ages (and thus their deterioration) into account to determine their yield rates (e.g., older products tend to have lower yield rates for usable components) and generate the DTO plans for multiple periods. A numerical example is considered to illustrate the implementation of the approach.
Expressions for item fill rates in periodic inventory systems

We examine the problem of estimating the item fill rate in a periodic inventory system. We show that the traditional expressions for line item fill rate, found in many operations management textbooks, perform well for high fill rates (above 90%), but they consistently underestimate the true fill rate. The problem of underestimation becomes significant as the fill rate falls below 90% and is greatly amplified in cases with very low fill rates (below 50%). We review other more accurate expressions for fill rate, discussing their relative merits. We then develop an exact fill rate expression that is robust for both high and low fill rates. We compare the new expression to others found in the literature via an extensive set of simulation experiments using data that reflect actual inventory systems found at Hewlett-Packard. We also examine the robustness of the expressions to violations in the underlying assumptions. Finally, we develop an alternative fill rate expression that is robust for cases of high demand variability where product returns are allowed. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Turning Maize Cobs into a Valuable Feedstock

With rising energy demand and limited resources, the need for alternative energy production is increasing. Maize cobs have an advantageous composition for the production of biofuels such as cellulosic ethanol but are currently left unused on the fields after harvest. Furthermore, cobs contain a low concentration of nitrogen (<1%). Therefore, cob harvest will not deplete soil fertility. Consequently, maize cobs are a cheap and promising source for sustainable energy production. Yet with primary focus on grain yield, no or little effort has been spent to increase cob biomass yield in addition to grain yield. Both cob and grain yield are complex inherited traits affected by the environment. Breeding of dual-purpose maize varieties with simultaneously increased cob and grain yield requires a deeper understanding of factors influencing both cob and grain development. In this article, the available knowledge on the genetics of cob formation and current and future applications of maize cob utilization are discussed to evaluate the prospects for development of dual-purpose maize varieties.
Multiscale image coder

We consider an image coder that uses a multiscale decomposition. An image is first whitened, and then decomposed into subimages using a wavelet decomposition. A bit allocation algorithm is employed that assigns various rates to the subimages according to the power spectral density of the original image. Based on the bit assignments, scalar quantizers are used for encoding the coefficients. To improve the performance of this coder, we consider a bit allocation procedure that takes the response of the human visual system into account. Finally, we introduce a spatial partition on top of the multiscale decomposition, resulting in a substantial improvement to the image quality.
An extended vision for dynamic high-resolution intravital immune imaging

The past few years have seen the application of confocal and especially two-photon microscopy to the dynamic high-resolution imaging of lymphocytes and antigen presenting cells within organs such as lymph nodes and thymus. After summarizing some of the published results obtained to date using these methods, we describe our view of how this technology will develop and be applied in the near future. This includes its extension to a wide variety of non-lymphoid tissues, to the tracking of functional responses in addition to migratory behavior, to the analysis of molecular events previously studied only in vitro, to dissection of the interplay between hematopoietic and stromal elements, to visualization of a wider array of cell types including neutrophils, macrophages, NK cells, NKT cells and others, and to the interaction of the host with infectious agents. Reaching these goals will depend on a combination of new tools for genetic manipulations, novel fluorescent reporters, enhanced instrumentation, and better surgical techniques for the extended imaging of live animals. The end result will be a new level of understanding of how orchestrated cell movement and interaction contribute to the physiological and pathological activities of the immune system.
High Dimensional Low Rank Plus Sparse Matrix Decomposition

This paper is concerned with the problem of low-rank plus sparse matrix decomposition for big data. Conventional algorithms for matrix decomposition use the entire data to extract the low-rank and sparse components, and are based on optimization problems with complexity that scales with the dimension of the data, which limits their scalability. Furthermore, existing randomized approaches mostly rely on uniform random sampling, which is quite inefficient for many real world data matrices that exhibit additional structures (e.g., clustering). In this paper, a scalable subspace-pursuit approach that transforms the decomposition problem to a subspace learning problem is proposed. The decomposition is carried out by using a small data sketch formed from sampled columns/rows. Even when the data are sampled uniformly at random, it is shown that the sufficient number of sampled columns/rows is roughly $\mathcal {O}(r \mu)$ , where $\mu$ is the coherency parameter and $r$ is the rank of the low-rank component. In addition, adaptive sampling algorithms are proposed to address the problem of columns/rows sampling from structured data. We provide an analysis of the proposed method with adaptive sampling and show that adaptive sampling makes the required number of sampled columns/rows invariant to the distribution of the data. The proposed approach is amenable to online implementation and an online scheme is proposed.
Why Vietnam? Postrevisionist Answers and a Neorealist Suggestion

Review in this Article Andrew J. Rotter. The Path to Vietnam: Origins of the American Commitment to Southeast Asia. Ithaca Lloyd C. Gardner. Approaching Vietnam: From World War II through Dienbienphu, 1941–1954. New York
Popham Beach, Maine: An example of engineering activity that saved beach property without harming the beach

article i nfo Beach and property erosion on coasts is a widespread and chronic problem. Historical approaches to this issue, including seawalls and sand replenishment, are often inappropriate or too expensive. In Maine, seawalls were banned in 1983 and replenishment is too costly to employ. Replacement of storm-damaged buildings is alsonotallowed,andaprecedentcase onPophamBeach,Mainerequiredthattheownerremoveanunpermitted building from a site where an earlier structure was damaged. When the most popular park in Maine, Popham Beach State Park, experiencedinlet associatederosionthatthreatenedparkinfrastructure (abathhouse), tempo-
Les langues autochtones en péril au Canada

La question de la disparition des langues, en particulier de celle des langues autochtones, a mobilise de nombreux chercheurs dans les domaines de l’anthropologie, de la sociolinguistique et de l’amenagement linguistique. Le present article propose une approche multidimensionnelle de la « disparition » des langues dans une perspective a la fois historique, politique et economique. A partir de donnees provenant de divers contextes linguistiques autochtones au Canada, il avance : (1) que la langue doit etre consideree comme une pratique plutot que comme un « objet » distinct que l’on pourrait isoler dans le temps et dans l’espace, ou comme une « espece vivante » susceptible de « mourir » ; (2) que les ressources linguistiques s’inscrivent dans des configurations politiques et economiques et, de ce fait, ne peuvent etre dissociees des contextes historiques et sociaux dans lesquels vivent les locuteurs ; (3) que la menace de declin qui pese sur certaines langues doit etre envisagee en termes de continuite linguistique et culturelle plutot que sous l’angle d’une « perte » ou d’une « disparition » ; et, enfin, (4) que la promotion des langues autochtones souleve un paradoxe fondamental, a savoir que les locuteurs qui se rallient autour d’une variete dialectale homogene et « standardisee » dans le but d’elargir l’espace institutionnel reserve a leur langue risquent d’exclure et de marginaliser ceux d’entre eux qui font usage d’une autre variete dialectale. Cet article souligne ainsi la complexite des enjeux sociaux et anthropologiques sous-jacents a la « modernisation » et a la reconnaissance des langues en peril dans les spheres institutionnelles.
Strain-induced damage reduces echo intensity changes in tendon during loading

Tendon functionality is related to its mechanical properties. Tendon damage leads to a reduction in mechanical strength and altered biomechanical behavior, and therefore leads to compromised ability to carry out normal functions such as joint movement and stabilization. Damage can also accumulate in the tissue and lead to failure. A noninvasive method with which to measure such damage potentially could quantify structural compromise from tendon injury and track improvement over time. In this study, tendon mechanics are measured before and after damage is induced by “overstretch” (strain exceeding the elastic limit of the tissue) using a traditional mechanical test system while ultrasonic echo intensity (average gray scale brightness in a B-mode image) is recorded using clinical ultrasound. The diffuse damage caused by overstretch lowered the stress at a given strain in the tissue and decreased viscoelastic response. Overstretch also lowered echo intensity changes during stress relaxation and cyclic testing. As the input strain during overstretch increased, stress levels and echo intensity changes decreased. Also, viscoelastic parameters and time-dependent echo intensity changes were reduced.
Congestive heart failure in the pediatric patient with congenital heart disease

Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a general term referring to the constellation of signs and symptoms that result from decreased cardiac output. Such signs and symptoms may relate directly to a lack of systemic blood flow, pulmonary venous congestion and/or pulmonary arterial overcirculation. CHF may occur in childhood secondary to a variety of congenital structural cardiac lesions, congenital or acquired abnormalities of heart rhythm or impairment in myocardial function. This review will focus on CHF as it pertains to failure of the systemic ventricle in the setting of congenital cardiac defects.
In Vivo Analysis of Adrenergic Receptor Activity of Dobutamine

Studies were performed in anesthetized dogs to evaluate the cardiac and systemic effects of intravenously administered dobutamine and to determine its direct effects on the renal and femoral vascular beds. The results demonstrated that dobutamine possessed an inotropic efficacy similar to that of isoproterenol and norepinephrine; its chronotropic effect was similar to or greater than that of norepinephrine. In contrast to norepinephrine, dobutamine increased cardiac output and reduced total peripheral resistance with minimal effects on mean aortic pressure. Studies on the denervated hind limb demonstrated that dobutamine stimulated both alpha and beta receptors. The dose of dobutamine which produced a 50% increase in femoral blood flow was 180 times the required dose of isoproterenol and the dose which produced a 50% increase in contractile force was 43 times the required dose of isoproterenol. Studies on the renal vasculature demonstrated that dobutamine caused no dopamine-like renal vasodilator activity...
Global Bidirectional Transcription of the Epstein-Barr Virus Genome During Reactivation

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) reactivation involves the ordered induction of approximately 90 viral genes that participate in the generation of infectious virions. Using strand-specific RNA-seq to assess the EBV transcriptome during reactivation, we found extensive bidirectional transcription extending across nearly the entire genome. In contrast, only 4% of the EBV genome is currently bidirectionally annotated. Most of the newly identified transcribed regions show little evidence of coding potential, supporting noncoding roles for most of these RNAs. Based on previous cellular long noncoding RNA size calculations, we estimate that there are likely hundreds more EBV genes expressed during reactivation than was previously known. Limited 5' and 3' rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) experiments and findings of novel splicing events by RNA-seq suggest that the complexity of the viral genome during reactivation may be even greater. Further analysis of antisense transcripts at some of the EBV latency gene loci showed that they are "late" genes, they are nuclear, and they tend to localize in areas of the nucleus where others find newly synthesized viral genomes. This raises the possibility that these transcripts perform functions such as new genome processing, stabilization, organization, etc. The finding of a significantly more complex EBV transcriptome during reactivation changes our view of the viral production process from one that is facilitated and regulated almost entirely by previously identified viral proteins to a process that also involves the contribution of a wide array of virus encoded noncoding RNAs. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a herpesvirus that infects the majority of the world's population, in rare cases causing serious disease such as lymphoma and gastric carcinoma. Using strand-specific RNA-seq, we have studied viral gene expression during EBV reactivation and have discovered hundreds more viral transcripts than were previously known. The finding of alternative splicing and the prevalence of overlapping transcripts indicate additional complexity. Most newly identified transcribed regions do not encode proteins but instead likely function as noncoding RNA molecules which could participate in regulating gene expression, gene splicing or even activities such as viral genome processing. These findings broaden the scope of what we need to consider to understand the viral manufacturing process. As more detailed studies are undertaken they will likely change the way we view this process as a whole.
PLACENTAL CALCIUM PUMP: CLINICAL-BASED EVIDENCE

Placenta can be considered as a pump of calcium necessary for the normal development of the fetus. We believe that the location of this pump is in the placental basement membrane. The calcification of this membrane has been described only in cases of in utero fetal death. In this study we describe for the first time a case of placental calcification in a living fetus. The fetus of a normal 21-year-old pregnant woman showed heart abnormalities but the genetic analysis showed a normal male karyotype. The histology of the placenta demonstrated multiple intravillous linear and granular calcific incrustations The hemtoxylin/eosin stain of the sections revealed basement membrane calcific incrustations and intravillous calcium deposits. We postulate that the fetal circulation in the villi was impaired and the calcium that reached the villi from the mother was deposited at this level.
BRAF mutation testing in clinical practice

Activating mutation of KRAS plays a significant role in the pathogenesis of common human malignancies and molecular testing of KRAS mutation has emerged as an essential biomarker in the current practice of clinical oncology. The presence of KRAS mutation is generally associated with clinical aggressiveness of the cancer and reduced survival of the patient. Therapeutically, KRAS mutation testing has maximum utility in stratifying metastatic colorectal carcinoma and lung cancer patients for treatment with targeted therapy. Diagnostically, KRAS mutation testing is useful in the workup of pancreaticobiliary and thyroid cancers, particularly using cytological specimens. In the era of precision medicine, the role of KRAS mutation testing is poised to expand, likely in a setting of combinatorial therapeutic strategy and requiring additional mutation testing of its upstream and/or downstream effectors.
Absolute and relative rewards for individuals in team production

This paper examines the use of prizes as an incentive device in team production environments. We reward team members in two different ways. First, heterogeneously endowed individuals are given a monetary prize for high absolute levels of contributions. Secondly, a prize is given for high levels of contributions relative to endowment—token endowments represent abilities to contribute to the team. We find that both prize treatments significantly increase group contributions, but rewarding individuals based on absolute contributions also widens the dispersion between the high-contributor and the remainder of the group. Contributions are highest when the prize is for high relative contributions, and the dispersion in contributions is lower than with a prize for absolute contributions. Furthermore, these prizes could be self-funded since giving prizes creates more system-wide wealth than what the prize costs. These results have implications for work team environments in which prizes given for individual effort towards the group goal could raise overall effort levels. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A Soluble Transforming Growth Factor β Type III Receptor Suppresses Tumorigenicity and Metastasis of Human Breast Cancer MDA-MB-231 Cells

Transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) can promote late stage tumor progression in a number of model systems. In the present study, we have examined whether expression of a truncated soluble extracellular domain of TGF-beta type III receptor (sRIII) in human breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells can antagonize the tumor-promoting activity of TGF-beta by sequestering active TGF-beta isoforms that are produced by the cancer cells. The secretion of sRIII reduced the amount of active TGF-beta1 and TGF-beta2 in the conditioned medium. This led to a significant reduction of the growth-inhibitory activity of the medium conditioned by sRIII-expressing cells on the growth of mink lung epithelial CCL64 cells in comparison with the medium conditioned by the control cells. The tumor incidence and growth rate of all of the three sRIII-expressing clones studied were significantly lower than those of the control cells in athymic nude mice. Four of five control cell-inoculated mice showed spontaneous metastasis in the lung, whereas none of the sRIII-expressing cell-inoculated mice had any lung metastasis. Thus, our results suggest that the sRIII may be used to antagonize the tumor-promoting activity of TGF-beta.
An Adaptable Image Retrieval System With Relevance Feedback Using Kernel Machines and Selective Sampling

This paper presents an adaptable content-based image retrieval (CBIR) system developed using regularization theory, kernel-based machines, and Fisher information measure. The system consists of a retrieval subsystem that carries out similarity matching using image-dependant information, multiple mapping subsystems that adaptively modify the similarity measures, and a relevance feedback mechanism that incorporates user information. The adaptation process drives the retrieval error to zero in order to exactly meet either an existing multiclass classification model or the user high-level concepts using reference-model or relevance feedback learning, respectively. To facilitate the selection of the most informative query images during relevance feedback learning a new method based upon the Fisher information is introduced. Model-reference and relevance feedback learning mechanisms are thoroughly tested on a domain-specific image database that encompasses a wide range of underwater objects captured using an electro-optical sensor. Benchmarking results with two other relevance feedback learning methods are also provided.
AMMONIUM STIMULATION OF DARK CARBON FIXATION AS AN INDICATOR OF NITROGEN DEFICIENCY IN PHYTOPLANKTON: POTENTIAL ERRORS CAUSED BY AMMONIUM‐OXIDIZING BACTERIA1

Stimulation of dark fixation of carbon by NH4+ is often used as an indicator of phytoplankton N deficiency. This assay is based on the influence of available NH4+ on anaplerotic CO2 fixation by algae. However, carbon fixation by chemoautotrophic NH4+-oxidizing bacteria may also be stimulated by NH4+ enrichment, a process that can mask the algal response in natural communities. NH4+ addition enhanced dark carbon fixation up to 300%, relative to unamended controls, in organisms collected on a 0.7-μm retention filter in oligotrophic Flathead Lake, Montana, but the effect was not detectable in the presence of nitrapyrin, an inhibitor of NH4+-oxidizing bacteria. Dark carbon fixation was enhanced with addition of NH4+ in organisms retained on 2-μm filters (which should allow passage of most bacteria). NH4+ stimulated dark carbon fixation in N-deficient axenic cultures of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii Dang but not in N-replete cultures in both the presence and absence of nitrapyrin. Application of nitrapyrin or size fractionation treatments, to separate the processes of dark carbon fixation by nitrifiers and phytoplankton, may improve the efficacy of assays using NH4+ stimulation of dark carbon fixation to specifically indicate N deficiency in natural algal communities.
Coordinating Power Control and Performance Management for Virtualized Server Clusters

Today's data centers face two critical challenges. First, various customers need to be assured by meeting their required service-level agreements such as response time and throughput. Second, server power consumption must be controlled in order to avoid failures caused by power capacity overload or system overheating due to increasing high server density. However, existing work controls power and application-level performance separately, and thus, cannot simultaneously provide explicit guarantees on both. In addition, as power and performance control strategies may come from different hardware/software vendors and coexist at different layers, it is more feasible to coordinate various strategies to achieve the desired control objectives than relying on a single centralized control strategy. This paper proposes Co-Con, a novel cluster-level control architecture that coordinates individual power and performance control loops for virtualized server clusters. To emulate the current practice in data centers, the power control loop changes hardware power states with no regard to the application-level performance. The performance control loop is then designed for each virtual machine to achieve the desired performance even when the system model varies significantly due to the impact of power control. Co-Con configures the two control loops rigorously, based on feedback control theory, for theoretically guaranteed control accuracy and system stability. Empirical results on a physical testbed demonstrate that Co-Con can simultaneously provide effective control on both application-level performance and underlying power consumption.
THE IMPLICATIONS OF CHOOSING “NO RACE” ON THE SALIENCE OF HISPANIC IDENTITY: How Racial and Ethnic Backgrounds Intersect among Hispanic Adolescents

Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), a nationally representative sample of youth from 7th to 12th grades, we examined how racial and ethnic identificat...
Frequency Tuning of Wide Temperature Range CMOS LC VCOs

This paper analyzes various aspects of the performance of LC VCOs over temperature with emphasis on the temperature dependence of KVCO. A novel frequency-tuning scheme is proposed which allows wide temperature range operation while keeping the average KVCO low.
Benford's Law: Analyzing a Decade of Financial Data

ABSTRACT: This study uses a decade of financial accounting data to examine if and how they depart from Benford's Law. Using a large sample of U.S. public companies, we conduct an analysis of the first-two digits of data items generally used in research to measure total accruals and discretionary accruals and where fraud, restatements, and enforcement actions are revealed. We break down a decade of data into six subperiods; pre-SOX Period (2001), SOX 1 Period (2002–2003), SOX 2 Period (2004–2006), SOX 3 Period (2007), Crisis 1 Period (2008), and Crisis 2 Period (2009–2010). We find different indicators of manipulation during the periods studied, as well as differences between small and big companies and companies audited by Big 4 and non-Big 4 firms.
Human-robot coordination using scripts

This paper describes an extension of scripts, which have been used to control sequences of robot behavior, to facilitate human-robot coordination. The script mechanism permits the human to both conduct expected, complementary activities with the robot and to intervene opportunistically taking direct control. Scripts address the six major issues associated with human-robot coordination. They allow the human to visualize the robot's mental model of the situation and build a better overall understanding of the situation and what level of autonomy or intervention is needed. It also maintains synchronization of the world and robot models so that control can be seamlessly transferred between human and robot while eliminating "coordination surprise". The extended script mechanism and its implementation in Java on an Inuktun micro-VGTV robot for the technical search task in urban search and rescue is described.
Postharvest Treatment of Fresh Fruit from California with Methyl Bromide for Control of Light Brown Apple Moth (Lepidoptera:Tortricidae)

ABSTRACT Methyl bromide (MB) chamber fumigations were evaluated for postharvest control of light brown apple moth, Epiphyas postvittana (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), in fresh fruit destined for export from California. To simulate external feeding, larvae were contained in gas-permeable cages and distributed throughout loads of peaches, plums, nectarines (all Prunus spp.), apples (Malus spp.), raspberries (Rubus spp.), or grapes (Vitis spp.). Varying the applied MB dose and the differential sorption of MB by the loads resulted in a range of exposures, expressed as concentration x; time cross products (CTs) that were verified by gas-chromatographic quantification of MB in chamber headspace over the course of each fumigation. CTs ≥60 and ≥72 mg liter-1 h at 10.0 ± 0.5 and 15.6 ± 0.5°C ( ± s, average ±SD), respectively, yielded complete mortality of ≈ 6,200 larvae at each temperature. These confirmatory fumigations corroborate E. postvittana mortality data for the first time in relation to measured MB ...
A two-level-games analysis of AFTA agreements: what caused ASEAN states to move towards economic integration?

The goal of this article is to investigate the conditions under which ASEAN states are more likely to pursue regional economic integration, namely, a series of ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) agreements/ protocols. Adopting Putnam’s two-level-games model, this article examines the influences of domestic politics, political elites’ preferences, economic performance, and external impacts. Through the construction of a set of hypotheses, this article investigates five AFTA agreements/ protocols and the conditions of ASEAN states during the 1992–2003 period. The findings indicate that political leaders’ preferences have played a pivotal role in the development of the AFTA. Economic performance and domestic support in individual states has also affected the AFTA. The close link between AFTA agreements and external impacts reveals that the AFTA’s inherent nature is defensive.
Interactive effects of individual and neighborhood race and ethnicity on rates of high-grade cervical lesions

Abstract We estimated the main and interactive effects of individual race/ethnicity (black, Hispanic, white) and area race, ethnicity, and poverty (proportions of the female population black, Hispanic, and living below the federal poverty level at the census tract level, respectively) on rates of high-grade cervical lesions among young women. Using data from a statewide surveillance system during 2008–2011, we found a marginally significant interaction ( P
Local adaptation of Daphnia pulicaria to toxic cyanobacteria

We quantified within-species variation in the tolerance of the large, lake-dwelling daphnid, Daphnia pulicaria, to toxic cyanobacteria in the diet. Juvenile growth rates on diets consisting of 100% Ankistrodesmus falcatus (a nutritious green alga) or 100% Microcystis aeruginosa(toxic) were compared for D. pulicaria clones isolated from lakes expected to have low and high levels of bloom-forming cyanobacteria during summer. Growth rates of clones isolated from high-nutrient lakes (range of total phosphorus, 31‐235 m gL 21 ) were higher, and showed less relative inhibition, on the cyanobacterial diet compared to clones isolated from low-nutrient lakes (range of total phosphorus, 9‐13 m gL 21 ). Our results suggest that D. pulicaria populations exposed to high cyanobacterial levels over long periods of time can adapt to being more tolerant of toxic cyanobacteria in the diet.
International organization: a state of the art on an art of the state

International organization as a field of study is where the action is. The analytical shifts leading up to the current preoccupation with international regimes have been both progressive and cumulative. And the field is pursuing its object of study in innovative ways that are bringing it closer to the theoretical core of more general international relations work. As we point out, however, the study of regimes as practiced today suffers from the fact that its epistemological approaches contradict its basic ontological posture. Accordingly, more interpretive strains, commensurate with the intersubjective basis of international regimes, should be included in the prevailing epistemological approaches. In addition, as a result of its enthusiasm for the concept of regimes, the field has tended to neglect the study of formal international organizations. Interpretive epistemologies can also help to link up the study of regimes with the study of formal international organizations by drawing attention to the roles these organizations play in creating transparency in the behavior and expectations of actors, serving as focal points for the international legitimation struggle, and providing a venue for the conduct of global epistemic politics.
A minimalist biosensor: Quantitation of cyclic di-GMP using the conformational change of a riboswitch aptamer

Cyclic di-GMP (c-di-GMP) is a second messenger that is important in regulating bacterial physiology and behavior, including motility and virulence. Many questions remain about the role and regulation of this signaling molecule, but current methods of detection are limited by either modest sensitivity or requirements for extensive sample purification. We have taken advantage of a natural, high affinity receptor of c-di-GMP, the Vc2 riboswitch aptamer, to develop a sensitive and rapid electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) for c-di-GMP quantitation that required minimal engineering of the RNA.
THE COST OF LANDING AN AIRPLANE

In view of comparatively higher landing frequencies expected in operation of short range jets, analysis of costs by a measure other than flying hours are a necessity. Turbojet and turboprop systems are compared in terms of logical exposure to usage, and cost per landing are found to be most meaningful for several systems, which are further analyzed. Because of the landing gear system costs were found to be greatest in magnitude of the airframe systems, these are reviewed in some detail. While good progress in brake cost reduction has been achieved further developments in wheel design toward reduced cost are in order, and considerable emphasis is needed on tires.
A Method to Assess the Impacts of Climate Change on the Reliability of Stormwater Infrastructure Components

In recent years, there has been a growing interest to understand how climate change will affect the management of urban drainage systems. The performance asses…
A Novel Approach to the Design and Development of an Interactive Learning App for Automotive IVI Systems

Since its launch Ford SYNC™ with MyFord Touch™ in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) system has migrated to many vehicle programs and had multiple software updates, which presented Ford dealers with the ever-increasing challenge of training new owners effectively and efficiently. This paper presents the design, architecture and implementation of “MyFord Touch Guide”, a novel, cross-platform mobile app that delivers a unique MyFord Touch learning and familiarization experience for dealers and consumers alike. This app incorporates the production MyFord Touch graphical user interface for an interactive learning experience. Additionally, it integrates a host of video tutorials featuring a computer-animated character, which offers an insightful, personalized and self-guided tour experience of the essential features and functions of the system. MyFord Touch Guide is a cross-platform app and based on a “hybrid” app architecture that uses both native mobile and web technologies. Feedback gathered from multiple nation-wide surveys indicates that the proposed approach provides a highly effective and scalable solution towards developing a diverse range of cross-platform, interactive, mobile learning apps.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
ENERGY COSTS OF GROWTH IN NEONATE REPTILES

Do young reptiles avoid paying the metabolic costs of rapid growth? Growing mam- mals and birds must spend extra energy, beyond the metabolic costs they have when not growing, to pay the cost of synthesizing new tissues. This synthesis cost is in addition to the other costs that growing animals pay to forage for, consume, digest and allocate the extra food they need to produce new body substance. Thus, it is reasonable to hypothesize that free-living neonate and juvenile terrestrial vertebrates in general will have basal (standard) and field metabolic rates and feeding rates that are higher than expected for (non-growing) adults of the same body mass. Suckling mammals and neonate precocial birds do have relatively high basal metabolic rates. Among reptiles however, currently available data on standard metabolic rates (SMR) of neonates indicates no sig- nificant increment over adult SMR. In the field, metabolic increments due to the additional growth- associated costs should be relatively large and hence readily detectable in neonate reptiles. To date, the field metabolic rates (FMR's) of neonates and juveniles have been measured in ten species of reptiles: three phrynosomatid lizards, three lacertid lizards, two iguanid lizards, one agamid lizard, and one chelonian. The neonate lizards all had metabolic rates that were similar to those measured simultaneously in free-living adults, after correction for body mass differences (using mass0-80). The chelonian (Gopherus agassizii) juveniles also showed no obvious increment in energy expenditure over adults. More careful measurements of SMR in neonate reptiles should be done to determine if reptiles are free of the large energetic "tax" on growth that is paid by neonate mammals and precocial birds. Studies of neonate altricial birds, which are ectothermic for some time after hatching and have low SMR's, also may be instructive in this regard. Field studies of neonate reptile time- activity budgets are needed to determine how they achieve such low field metabolic rates while simultaneously growing rapidly. Do neonates have lower body temperatures on average during their activity period? Do neonates spend less time active each day than adults? Do neonates use micro- habitat resources in ways that reduce intraspecific competition with adults, but allow for rapid growth anyway? Are the thermal dependencies of digestion, metabolism and growth different in neonates, thereby allowing them to function well and grow rapidly at lower daily integrated body temperatures?
Unexpected Genetic Consequences of Colonization and Inbreeding: Allozyme Tracking in Culicidae (Diptera)

Degree of genetic variability in field populations can vary greatly depending on geographic origin or species history. This variation is reflected in the genetic profile of colonies established from the field. In the colonization process, heterozygosity is often reduced, although loss in heterogeneity can be masked by development of balanced polymorphisms. Strict, brother-sister inbreeding regimes applied to Aedes mosquitoes produced results not predicted by inbreeding theory and Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Much higher levels of genetic polymorphism were retained, and diminished numbers of homozygotes in segregating alleles were common. Lethal genes have been recognized by linkage mapping with several enzyme loci. Their presence points to the possibility of balanced lethals as one mechanism for maintenance of heterozygosity in inbred lines.
A Welcomed Intrusion A Response to Card and Giuliano’s Evaluation of a Gifted Program

Card and Giuliano conducted a regression discontinuity study in a large Florida school district to investigate the magnitude of academic benefits of the district’s gifted program. They found that f...
Ionic disproportionation of charge transfer salt driven by surface epitaxy

Epitaxial growth of organic charge-transfer salts composed of molecular cations and anions will potentially allow the synthesis of thin films of molecular conductors with strong electron correlations and electron–phonon interactions, highly distinct properties compared to thin organic semiconductors and traditional self-assembled monolayers. Here, we report on ionic decomposition of the charge transfer salt β″-(BEDT-TTF)2SF5CH2CF2SO3 into two surface-supported phases on Ag(111), each of which has a cation/anion ratio different from the 2:1 stoichiometry of the bulk. The films were grown by thermal evaporation of the bulk crystal. Subsequent reassembly of the constituent bis(ethylenedithio)tetrathiafulvalene molecules (BEDT-TTF) and the SF5CH2CF2SO3 anions into long-range ordered structures on the Ag(111) surface produced well-ordered molecular islands with either 1:1 or 3:1 stoichiometric ratios of BEDT-TTF:SF5CH2CF2SO3. Tunneling spectroscopy revealed that both surface structures could be considered insu...
200 NON-INVASIVE DETECTION OF CYANIDE TOXICITY AND TREATMENT USING DIFFUSE OPTICAL SPECTROSCOPY

Introduction Currently, there are no reliable non-invasive methods of monitoring the severity of in vivo cyanide (CN) toxicity and the resulting physiological changes. A non-invasive technique to monitor CN toxicity would allow for the rapid detection and triage of those exposed to CN. We developed a Broadband Diffuse Optical Spectroscopy (DOS) prototype system that combines multi-frequency domain photon migration (FDPM) with time-independent near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy to accurately measure bulk tissue absorption and scattering spectra between 600 and 1000 nm. This study shows the feasibility of using DOS to optically monitor CN toxicity and treatment with sodium nitrite (NaNO 2 ) by simultaneously quantifying oxy, deoxy, and Met Hemoglobin, and the redox state changes of cytochrome-c oxidase. Material and Methods New Zealand White (NZW) rabbits were used in this study. The DOS prototype probe was placed on the shaved right inner thigh muscle of the hind leg. Sodium cyanide solution of 6mg in 60cc saline was infused through a femoral venous line for 40 minutes. DOS measurements, arterial and venous blood gases, blood pressure, heart rate, and oxygen saturation were monitored at 10 minute intervals. After completion of CN induction, 6mg/cc NaNO 2 was introduced intravenously at a rate of 1.4cc per minute in order to reverse CN toxicity. Results After induction of CN, blood gas measurements showed a rise in venous pO 2 values steadily increased from 46.4 to 52.2. During reversal with NaNO 2 , venous pO 2 values decreased to 22.1. DOS measurements showed the corresponding changes in redox states of cytochrome-c oxidase during CN injection and NaNO 2 treatment. DOS successfully monitored the concentration of Met-hemoglobin induced from sodium NaNO 2 infusion. (figure) Conclusion DOS enables non-invasive detection of CN toxicity and treatment with NaNO 2 . DOS technology has the potential for quantitative non-invasive monitoring for a range of clinical conditions where specific solute concentration measurements may be important.
Genetic Susceptibility and Biomarkers in Toxic Injury Litigation

The tort system generally treats plaintiffs as indistinguishable black boxes, entitled to compensation when a defendant's wrongful act or defective product causes some manifest disease or injury. This current paradigm is likely to change dramatically with recent advances in genetic and related technologies. These new technologies will permit differentiation of individuals with respect to susceptibility and predispositions, and to peer inside the individual plaintiff to identify cellular and molecular markers that identify both the status and etiology of pre-symptomatic disease processes. This Article surveys potential, and in some cases existing, uses of such biomarkers in toxic injury litigation, and assesses the doctrinal, procedural, policy and normative issues presented by these biomarker applications.
Brain methanethiol and ammonia concentrations in experimental hepatic coma and coma induced by injections of various combinations of these substances.

Abstract In normal rats in a coma induced by NH 4 + alone or by methanethiol alone, the brain and blood levels of ammonia or methanethiol are much higher than those observed in rats in experimental hepatic coma. When various smaller dosage combinations of NH 4 + , methanethiol, and octanoic acid were injected simultaneously, coma occurred at lower brain and blood concentrations of ammonia and methanethiol. Brain ammonia and methanethiol concentrations in normal rats receiving 0.75 mmol NH 4 + plus 0.15 mmol octanoic acid plus 18 μmol methanethiol were comparable with those observed in 24 rats in hepatic coma after fulminant hepatic failure caused by acute massive ischemic liver necrosis. The normal rats became comatose. In these rats and in the rats in hepatic coma, the ammonia level in the brain was increased threefold and the methanethiol level in the brain was increased fivefold. Because these levels of ammonia and methanethiol were sufficient to induce coma in normal rats, they should also have been sufficient to induce coma in rats with damaged livers. Therefore, the accumulation of ammonia and methanethiol in the central nervous system after the acute massive ischemic necrosis may have been sufficient to account for the coma that ensued, without the involvement of other factors.
Chapter 35 – Undifferentiated Carcinoma of the Lung and Bronchus

Undifferentiated carcinoma of the lung and bronchus are comprised of cells of pulmonary origin. They are viewed as tumor cells that have become more nonspecific as a result of uncontrolled growth, or as the cells of a malignancy deriving from the least-specialized cells of the lung, stem cells. These malignancies are also less common in Utah than elsewhere. They occur with roughly equal frequency in African-Americans and whites, but are much more common among men than among women. Incidence is more common among men of lower social class and women of middle class. The number of cases coded to this malignancy has probably decreased because pathologists have developed more sophisticated methods, and have increasingly classified lung malignancies that show undifferentiated features to other histologic types, especially adenocarcinoma. Otherwise, no systematic pattern of geographical occurrence is apparent, and therefore no local source of causation can be proposed.