cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Update on juvenile myasthenia gravis.

Purpose of review Juvenile myasthenia gravis is a relatively rare autoimmune neuromuscular disorder. The pathophysiology of juvenile myasthenia gravis is similar to that of adult myasthenia gravis, though there remain important differences regarding presentation and therapeutic options. We review the pathophysiology, clinical presentation, and treatment options for juvenile myasthenia gravis. Recent findings Randomized clinical studies of myasthenia gravis have been carried out primarily in adult populations. As juvenile myasthenia gravis is rare, it has been difficult to collect prospective randomized controlled data to evaluate treatment outcomes and efficacy. A recent retrospective series suggests that, as in adult myasthenia gravis, thymectomy is a viable therapeutic option for selected cases of generalized juvenile myasthenia gravis. This is corroborated by the clinical experience of the authors in a referral center with a cohort of patients affected by juvenile myasthenia gravis over a number of years. Summary Recent studies illustrate that some, but not all, adult research on myasthenia gravis is applicable to children and adolescents with juvenile myasthenia gravis. Adult research can inform pediatric studies, but should not be regarded as a substitute for dedicated research in those populations.
Natural Language Interface for Multi-Agent Contracting System (MACS)

Facing serious imbalances in the skills and experience of our highly talented and specialized civilian workforce, the Naval Postgraduate School has initiated the External Acquisition Research Program (EARP) to promote advances in basic and applied research as related to US defense acquisition. One of the projects funded under EARP over a 2 year period is the Multi-Agent Contracting System (MACS) project (Liebowitz et al., 2000. Journal of Knowledge-Based Systems13: 241–250). MACS was designed to provide advice in the pre-award phase of a defense contract. The original version of MACS allowed users to query the system using a list of predetermined keywords from pull-down menus. An exact string of keywords had to be used to obtain an answer from MACS, forcing the users to memorize a list of keywords. This inﬂexible user interface could have caused problems for those users who did not know the right keywords and, in turn, reduced the usability of MACS. The objective of this study is to extend the capability of MACS by allowing users to interface with the system using natural language. The natural language user interface will provide the users with more ﬂexibility in formulating queries on the pre-award contracts, increasing the user friendliness of its interface. The paper presents the methods used to develop a natural language user interface for MACS. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Role of the Na+ pump in smooth muscle contractile regulation

Abstract The last 20 years have seen substantial biochemical and pharmacological characterization of Na + /K + -ATPase in various mammalian tissues, but its study in vascular smooth muscle has lagged behind. In this review, Julius Allen and Stephen Navran describe recent developments in the study of the Na + pump in this issue and highlight important differences in its activity and control. It has been shown that despite the existence of fewer pump sites in smooth muscle when compared to cardiac muscle, the 86 Rb uptake rate of the tissue types are comparable, suggesting different modes of pump regulation. The fewer pump sites also provide rationale for lower observable Na + /K + -ATPase activity. Data clearly suggest that the Na + pump in vascular smooth muscle can also be activated in two ways: (1) directly by the occupation of the cationic activation binding sites and (2) indirectly by modulation of the pump by agonists (‘energized pump') so that pump sensitivity to cationic activation is altered. Such an hypothesis is supported by differences in K + -induced relaxation of canine renal and femoral arteries, and norepinephrine and forskolin stimulation of 86 Rb uptake by the renal artery and not the femoral. These data suggest that the Na + pump plays an important role in regulation of smooth muscle contractility, and may well play an important role in determination of smooth muscle contractile heterogeneity.
PRIMARY LUNG TUMORS IN MICE FOLLOWING THE CUTANEOUS APPLICATION OF COAL TAR

The external application of tar to a number of separated areas on the surface of mice, in such fashion that no single area is irritated sufficiently long to cause lesions of the skin, has resulted in a very high incidence of lung tumors. This incidence ranged from 60.0 per cent in one experiment to 78.3 per cent in another. Control mice from the same stock but from 3 to 6 months older, and for that reason the more liable to spontaneous lung tumors, failed to show a single instance of such growths. Even in a stock in which spontaneous lung tumors had been frequent, the incidence for corresponding age periods has never been above 5.5 per cent while the average has been between 1 and 2 per cent over a period of years. The tumors in the tar-painted animals occur as small white nodules, either single or multiple. They are typical epithelial neoplasms, identical histologically with those described by previous authors as occurring spontaneously in mice. Some possible factors in the causation of the tumors are briefly discussed.
Enaminones 10. Molecular modeling aspects of the 5-methylcyclohexenone derivatives

This article expands upon our original submission to the Eddington, N. D.; Cox, D. S.; Khurana, M.; Salama, N. N.; Stables, J. P.; Harrison, S. J.; Negussie, A.; Taylor, R. S.; Tran, U. Q.; Moore, J. A.; Barrow, J. C.; Scott, K. R. Eur. J. Med. Chem.2003, 38, 49 on a series of twenty (20) compounds, all 5-methyl-3-[(substituted)-phenylamino]-cyclohex-2-enone derivatives. This article provides the reasons why the compounds are active/inactive. By use of computational methods, the reasons for activity/inactivity are explained.
Dynamic Modeling of SOFC Cogeneration Systems for Light Commercial Applications

One potentially attractive application of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) is for combined heat and power (CHP) in light commercial buildings. An SOFC-based CHP system can be employed to efficiently serve building thermal and electric loads, thereby lowering utility bills and offering many distributed generation benefits. It is often desirable to operate SOFCs in a predominately base load manner from a hardware viewpoint. However, systems in practice will experience some load dynamics during their lifetime and furthermore, optimal economic dispatch of CHP systems frequently recommends a load-following strategy. Thus, the present work is motivated by the need to understand the dynamic response capabilities of SOFC-CHP systems. Part-load performance and dynamic load-following capabilities of a 24 kW planar SOFC system for light commercial applications was investigated through computational modeling. The SOFC and balance-of-plant component models were implemented in gPROMS modeling software. The modeling strategy of each system component and associated transients are discussed. A dynamic SOFC channel-level model, which has been verified against experimental cell data, was integrated with additional balance-of-plant (BOP) component models consisting of a fuel reformer, tail gas combustor, turbomachinery, heat exchangers, and bypass valves. The performance of the system at part-load operation displays increases in electrical efficiency and decreases in CHP efficiency, as well as a more uniform PEN temperature profile. Modeling comparisons between the responses of systems consisting of either dynamic or steady-state BOP component models are reported. A fully dynamic system-level model displays anodic fuel depletion effects and waste heat recovery transients not captured by the steady-state models. The dynamics influence the ability of an SOFC system to load follow indicating when thermal and electric storage may be necessary.Copyright © 2014 by ASME
Conformational changes induced by a single amino acid substitution in the trans-membrane domain of Vpu: implications for HIV-1 susceptibility to channel blocking drugs

The channel-forming trans-membrane domain of Vpu (Vpu TM) from HIV-1 is known to enhance virion release from the infected cells and is a potential target for ion-channel blockers. The substitution of alanine at position 18 by a histidine (A18H) has been shown to render HIV-1 infections susceptible to rimantadine, a channel blocker of M2 protein from the influenza virus. In order to describe the influence of the mutation on the structure and rimantadine susceptibility of Vpu, we determined the structure of A18H Vpu TM, and compared it to those of wild-type Vpu TM and M2 TM. Both isotropic and orientationally dependent NMR frequencies of the backbone amide resonance of His18 were perturbed by rimantadine, and those of Ile15 and Trp22 were also affected, suggesting that His18 is the key residue for rimantadine binding and that residues located on the same face of the TM helix are also involved. A18H Vpu TM has an ideal, straight α-helix spanning residues 6–27 with an average tilt angle of 41° in C14 phospholipid bicelles, indicating that the tilt angle is increased by 11° compared to that of wild-type Vpu TM. The longer helix formed by the A18H mutation has a larger tilt angle to compensate for the hydrophobic mismatch with the length of the phospholipids in the bilayer. These results demonstrate that the local change of the primary structure plays an important role in secondary and tertiary structures of Vpu TM in lipid bilayers and affects its ability to interact with channel blockers.
Induction of apoptosis in the CNS during development by the combination of hyperoxia and inhibition of glutathione synthesis

Apoptosis in the central nervous system (in contrast to necrosis) is an endogenous cell suicide mechanism triggered in response to biological factors and genotoxic stimuli often resulting from oxidative stress. Excessive neural apoptosis may result in longterm brain dysfunction. A significant proportion of prematurely born infants are exposed to high oxygen and nutritional regimens deficient in antioxidant precursors. Such infants frequently display cognitive deficits when studied in later childhood. Studies in cell culture have characterized a close relationship between oxidative stress, glutathione availability and cell death. Here, we assessed this relationship in rat brain, as a model approximation of the situation that occurs in human infants. Two day old rats were exposed to an atmosphere of 95% oxygen and treated with buthionine sulfoximine (BSO), a glutathione synthesis inhibitor. Control groups consisted of rat-pups kept in air, air plus BSO, or oxygen alone. At the end of 5 days of treatment, brains were harvested, dissected and nerve growth factor protein (NGF), glutathione, and extent of apoptosis were measured. Hyperoxia induced a decrease in NGF protein while BSO induced a decrease in glutathione concentrations. Animals treated with both hyperoxia and BSO had a dramatic increase in the extent of brain apoptosis detected. We conclude from these studies that the brains of animals exposed to both oxidative stress and limited antioxidant protection are liable to pro-apoptotic changes. Increased cell death via apoptosis reflecting changes in neurotrophin and glutathione homeostasis may represent the mechanism responsible for the induction of the longterm cognitive deficits observed in some preterm infants.
Multiple steady states, viscosity, and high conversion in continuous free‐radical polymerization

Using existing literature data on the rate of a bulk polymerization of styrene in a batch reaction carried to high conversion, it is mathematically demonstrated that there is a clear possibility of the existence of multiple steady states induced by viscosity effects in isothermal continuous stirred tank reactors. In solutions of high viscosity, the rate of free-radical polymerization increases with conversion, reaching a peak at very high viscosity, then falling off rapidly. Given this sort of behavior, it is demonstrated mathematically that steady-state mass balance solutions are possible at three levels of conversion. The lower and higher steady states are stable while the middle steady-state condition is shown to be necessarily unstable. This multiplicity of steady states with its particular problems of stability is analogous to the much studied phenomena of temperature stability. It is closely related to the problems of concentration stability characteristic of autocatalytic and heterogeneous catalytic reactions. This multiple steady-state problem is qualitatively discussed in relation to reactor stability, control, and optimization.
Gluinonium: The hydrogen atom of supersymmetry

Abstract The ‘gluino’ (g) the Majorana spin- 1 2 supersymmetric partner of the gluon, behaves like a new quark flavor which is a color octet. In analogy with quarkonium, there should exist a spectrom of gg bound states which we will call gluinonia. The large color change leads to enhanced production rates (in both singlet and octet gluinonia states) in gluon-gluon scattering processes. We compute the rate for observing gluinonium in quarkonium decay and in high energy hadronic collisions. The signal-to-noise ratio is small, but may be observable. The non-observation of a pseudoscalar gluinonium state is radiative ψ decay probably rules out gluino masses less than 1 GeV/c2.
Optimization of Complex Electrode System for Use in Electrical Measurements

In an attempt to optimize the dimensions of the electrode system for subsequent use in electrical measurements, such as electroluminescence, capacitance and conduction current, field values at key points in an axisymmetric electrode system are simulated as a function of clearances between low voltage and guard electrodes. Since the electrode system is axisymmetric, a two dimensional BEM solver, has been used for the field simulation. The configurations simulated, results, analyses and configurations for an optimal design are presented.
Pascal in the Bathtub: Parodying the Pensées

(1997). Pascal in the Bathtub: Parodying the Pensees. Symposium: A Quarterly Journal in Modern Literatures: Vol. 51, No. 1, pp. 20-29.
The interaction of human T-lymphocytes and Entamoeba histolytica: killing of virulent amoebae by lectin-dependent lymphocytes.

Summary Clinical and experimental studies indicate that following invasive disease due to Entamoeba histolytica, development of human cell-mediated immune mechanisms may provide protective immunity. Activated, human monocyte-derived macrophages in vitro can kill virulent axaenic amoebic trophozoites. This study describes the interaction of lectin-stimulated T-lymphocytes and E. histolytica trophozoites (virulent strain HM1-IMSS). Amoebae progressively killed unstimulated nonimmune T-lymphocytes over 18 h incubation with no effect on amoebic viability. T-lymphocytes, stimulated with phytohaemagglutinin (PHA), were progressively cytotoxic for virulent HMI amoebae over 18 h incubation, but were also reduced in viability themselves. Lymphocyte cytotoxicity for amoebae was absent if PHA was removed before or added only during the assay. PHA-stimulated T-lymphocytes killed amoebae at cell ratios of lymphocytes to amoebae as low as 50:1 and cytotoxicity was antibody-independent. PHA-stimulated T-lymphocytes, depleted of T8-bearing cells by complement-mediated lysis, were unable to kill amoebae. Adherence of PHA-stimulated T-lymphocytes to amoebae was greater than with unstimulated T-lymphocytes. Inhibition of the amoebic adherence lectin with N-acetyl-D-galactosamine decreased lymphocyte-amoebic adherence and resulted in increased lymphocyte amoebicidal activity and lymphocyte survival. Suspension of amoebae with or without adherent PHA-stimulated T-lymphocytes in a 10% dextran solution indicated that cytotoxicity was contact dependent. In summary, PHA-stimulated T-lymphocytes of the T8-phenotype can kill virulent axaenic E. histolytica trophozoites through a contact-dependent, antibody-independent mechanism.
Preferences for foods with varying levels of salt and fat differ as a function of dietary restraint and exercise but not menstrual cycle

Women commonly report increased cravings for foods high in sugar, fat, and/or salt premenstrually relative to other times during the menstrual cycle. To determine if elevated cravings for foods high in salt and/or fat were related to alterations in food preferences across the menstrual cycle, preference and sensory ratings for air-popped popcorn with varying levels of salt (0.0, 1.5, and 4.0 g) and butter (3.3, 10, and 30 g) added to 30 g of popcorn were assessed in 34 normal-weight, college-aged women for 4 consecutive weeks. Additionally, using the Profile of Mood Scale (POMS), mood states were determined across the menstrual cycle. Dietary restraint, disinhibition, and hunger were assessed using the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ). Neither preference ratings nor ratings of the saltiness or fatness of the popcorn samples varied as a function of the menstrual cycle. Moreover, no differences in mood states were observed across the menstrual cycle. However, preference ratings for the popcorn samples were significantly greater for restrained than unrestrained eaters. Restrained eaters also rated the samples as significantly more salty, and had significantly higher scores on the tension-anxiety and depression-dejection subscale of the POMS than unrestrained eaters. Additionally, preference ratings of women who reported exercising more than 3 h a week were significantly greater than those of women who reported exercising less than 3 h a week. It is hypothesized that the variations in preference ratings observed as a function of dietary restraint and exercise are the result of differences in cognitive beliefs about food, rather than differences in physiological factors.
CHRONIC DISEASE FROM EARLY MALNUTRITION

Chronic diseases as a consequence of early malnutrition have been reported for over a century. First reports concerned chiefly undernutrition. As overnutrition has become more common, attention has been directed to its equally devastating effects.
Reaction of CO with cytochrome c oxidase. Titration of the reaction site with chemical oxidant and reductant

Abstract The number of reducing equivalents required to form the reduced cytochrome a 3 -CO compound has been determined for suspensions of submitochondrial particles and for isolated cytochrome c oxidase. Anaerobic preparations were titrated reductively with NADH and oxidatively with O 2 in the presence of high concentrations of CO (0.4 to 0.8 mM) while monitoring reduction of cytochrome a and the formation of the reduced cytochrome a 3 -CO compound by their characteristic absorbance changes. Analysis of the titration data show that 2.0±0.3 and 2.1±0.2 reducing equivalents per mol of cytochrome oxidase (per cytochrome a ) are required for formation of the reduced cytochrome a 3 -CO compound in submitochondrial particles and isolated cytochrome c oxidase, respectively. In each case, the formation of the CO compound is proportional to the number of equivalents accepted by the preparation, indicating that the two equivalents are equal and the effective n value for the reaction is 2.0. Potentiometric titrations of cytochrome c oxidase using the cobalt orthophenanthrolene complex ( E m, 7.0 = 0.37 V) as mediator give the same half-reduction potential values for cytochrome a and a 3 as those obtained using the ferro-ferricyanide couple. The formation of the reduced cytochrome a 3 -CO compound at pH 7.0, in the presence of 0.6 mM CO and with CO-orthophenanthrolene as mediator occurs with a half-reduction potential of 0.45 V and requires two electrons. These data confirm and extend the observation of Lindsay et al. (Arch. Biochim. Biophys. (1975) 169, 492–505) that both the “invisible” copper and cytochrome a 3 must be reduced in order for CO to bind with high affinity.
Production of Single Mesotrons by Non-Ionizing Radiation at Altitudes of 10,600 ft. and 14,200 ft.

The production of single mesotrons in various materials was studied by means of an apparatus consisting of 46 Geiger-Mueller counters arranged in 10 different three-, four-, and fivefold coincidence sets. The producing layers consisted of different thicknesses of paraffin, iron, and lead. The results indicate that photons are the most probable agent for the production of the single mesotrons. The cross section for the mesotron production has been calculated for the various producing materials.
Managing wireless sensor networks with supply chain strategy

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are appealing in obtaining fine-granular observations about the physical world. Due to the fact that WSNs are composed of a large number of low-cost but energy-constrained sensor nodes, along with the notorious timer-varying and error-prone natures of wireless links, scalable, robust, and energy-efficient data disseminating techniques are requisite for the emerging WSN applications such as environment monitoring and surveillance. In this paper we examine this emerging field from a view of supply chain management and propose a hybrid data dissemination framework for WSNs. In particular, we conceptually partition a whole sensor field into several functional regions based on the supply chain management methodology, and apply different routing schemes to different regions in order to provide better performance in terms of reliability and energy usage. For this purpose, we also propose a novel zone flooding scheme, essentially a combination of geometric routing and flooding techniques. Our hybrid data dissemination framework features low overhead, high reliability, good scalability and flexibility, and preferable energy efficiency. Detailed simulation studies are carried out to validate the effectiveness and efficiency of our scheme.
Structural Health Monitoring With Piezoelectric Wafer Active Sensors Exposed to Irradiation Effects

The increasing number, size, and complexity of nuclear facilities deployed worldwide are increasing the need to maintain readiness and develop innovative sensing materials to monitor important to safety structures (ITS) such as pressure vessels and piping (PVP) in a nuclear reactor. Technologies for the diagnosis and prognosis of PVP systems can improve verification of the health of the structure that can eventually reduce the likelihood of inadvertently failure. Recently investigated piezoelectric wafer active sensors (PWAS) open the possibilities to develop and deploy such system. Piezoelectric wafer active sensors are widely used in structural health monitoring (SHM) to determine the presence of cracks, delaminations, disbonds, and corrosion. Durability and survivability of PWAS under environmental exposures has been tested before. However the irradiation effects, pertinent to nuclear facilities for PWAS, have not been studied yet. This paper presents a study on PWAS that exposed to high energy gamma radiation. PWAS were irradiated using a Co-60 gamma source in an irradiator with different exposure times. The dose rate and total absorbed dose were calculated using Monte Carlo simulations (MCNPX). The PWAS material properties, electrical contact change were characterized through a series of tests. The electro-mechanical impedance spectrum (EMIS) of PWAS was measured before and after irradiation. This study not only provides the fundamental understanding of the PWAS irradiation survivability but also tests the potential of PWAS as irradiation sensors for nuclear applications.Copyright © 2012 by ASME
Stochastic regularization of the observability problem for the heat equation

An attempt is made to develop a stochastic approach to the study of inverse problems for linear and diffusion-type nonlinear parabolic evolution equations. It is suggested that these equations be approximated by a certain system of stochastic ordinary differential equations and that the inverse problems for this system be studied. The possibility of such an approximation is based on the hydrodynamic scaling limit. >
Operation of the LAMPF 750-keV Injector

The high-intensity proton injector system of LAMPF has been in operation since June 1970. The injector system consists of a 750-keV Cockcroft-Walton (C-W) high-voltage generator, a duoplasmatron ion source, a Pierce geometry accelerating column, and a 45-ft long beam-transport system. After a preliminary period of initial testing, this injector was used to supply proton beams for beam tests on the first tank of the drift-tube linac of LAMPF. At the conclusion of these tests, more detailed studies of the operation of the various parts of the injector were resumed. The operational experience during the linac beam tests and the results obtained in the subsequent tests are presented. The system has met the design goals and in general has performed well. The emphasis of this paper, however, will be on the problems that have arisen and the work now in progress to improve the system.
A Continuum Damage Model for Viscoelastic Materials

Abstract : This paper presents a continuum damage model for viscoelastic materials. Viscoelastic response in the presence of distributed micro-flaws occurs in solid propellants and is likely to be encountered in thermoplastic composites. In contrast to rock and metals, polymeric materials absorb various kinds of solvents, which may damage the polymeric composites in a variety of ways. In the case of water absorption by epoxy-based composites, such damage was noted by several investigators. Damage is expressed by two symmetric, second- rank tensors which are related to the total areas of active and passive micro- cracks within a representative volume element of the multi-fractured material. Viscoelasticity is introduced through scalar-valued internal state variables that represent the internal degrees of freedom associated with the motions of long-chain polymeric molecules. The constitutive relations are established from basic considerations of continuum mechanics and irreversible thermodynamics, with detailed expressions derived for the case of initially isotropic materials. It is shown that damage causes softening of the material moduli as well as changes in material symmetry. The special cases of uni-axial damage under uni-axial stress and the interaction of damage with moisture diffusion are also considered.
The Salutogenic Wellness Promotion Scale for Older Adults

Background: From 1990 to 2050, the population aged 60 years and older will rise from 9% to 21%. Healthy aging initiatives are vital to promote individual, community, and global well-being during this transformation. Accurate health measurement tools are needed to successfully guide strategies and plot progress. The validated multi-dimensional Salutogenic Wellness Promotion Scale (SWPS) measures health and has demonstrated that increased engagement in measured health-promoting behaviors relates to improved health, higher life satisfaction, and fewer problems. Methods: To extend existing work to the growing older adult population, an older adult version of the SWPS(-OA), a perceived health assessment, satisfaction with life survey (SWLS), and a depression scale (Center for Epidemiological Studies–Depression, CES-D) were pilot tested with 6 groups (N = 218) of older adults. Results: Data produced a Cronbach's alpha of 0.933, significant positive correlations between the SWPS-OA and health (r = 0.955, n = 218...
An Amazing Journey

This article describes my early life and the chance events leading to my becoming a microbiologist and then my embarking on a career developing the plasmid biology and genetics of lactococci used in milk fermentations.
Vitrectomy for Diabetic Macular Edema

Pars plana vitrectomy represents an important treatment tool in eyes with diabetic macular edema (DME). Vitrectomy primarily promotes resolution of DME by relieving tangential and vitreomacular traction, but has additional benefits of removing depot of VEGF and pro-inflammatory cytokines, and improving macular oxygen delivery and perfusion. Therefore, vitrectomy has most significant benefit in tractional DME, and potential efficacy in non-tractional DME. The advent of modern vitrectomy with advanced visualization techniques has made macular surgery significantly more safe and improved treatment outcomes. The purpose of the article is to review major studies on the surgical treatment of DME and offer perspectives on strategies to maximize anatomic and functional outcomes of diabetic vitrectomy.
Mitochondrial DNA-Depleted A549 Cells are Resistant to Bleomycin.

Alveolar epithelial cells are considered to be the primary target of bleomycin-induced lung injury, leading to interstitial fibrosis. The molecular mechanisms by which bleomycin causes this damage ...
Sliding Mode Based Joint Congestion Control and Scheduling in Multi-Hop Ad Hoc Networks with Multi-Class Services

In this paper, we consider the joint problem of congestion control and scheduling with multi-class Quality of Service (QoS) requirements. Generally, the joint problem is formulated as a Network Utility Maximization (NUM) problem and can be decomposed into a congestion control problem and a scheduling problem. Usually, the congestion control problem can be solved in a distributed manner by tracking per-destination-queue for every flow, which requires that every node should maintain many queues, each corresponding to one destination. With QoS constraints imposed on the congestion control problem, it is hard to obtain an explicit distributed solution. To address this, we propose 1) using per-next-hop-queue instead of per-destination-queue, which considerably reduces queuing overhead, 2) a Sliding Mode (SM) approach to designing a distributed controller for the congestion control problem while satisfying multi-class QoS requirements in the multi-path and multi-hop scenario. We also prove the optimality and convergence of the SM based solution to the NUM problem.
Information-theoretic analysis of finite register effects in neural networks

Information theory is used to analyze the effects of finite resolution and nonlinearities in multi-layered networks. The authors formulate the effect on the information content of the output of a neural processing element caused by storing continuous quantities in binary registers. The analysis reveals that the effect of quantization on information in a neural processing element is a function of the information content of the input, as well as the node nonlinearity and the length of the binary register containing the output. By casting traditional types of neural processing in statistical form, two classes of information processing in neural networks are identified. Each has widely different resolution requirements. Information theory is thus shown to provide a means of formalizing this taxonomy of neural network processing and is a method for linking the highly abstract processing performed by a neural network and the constraints of its implementation. >
Redundant multi-track (d, k) codes

The use of multitrack run-length-limited (d, k) modulation codes to increase storage densities in magnetic and optical recording systems is considered. The codes are a generalization of the usual run-length-limited (d, k) codes and provide for increased storage density by relaxing the k-constraint and encoding multiple tracks in parallel. Previously, n-track (d, k) codes used all n tracks to satisfy the k constraint causing synchronization to be completely intolerant of faulty tracks. Multitrack (d, k) codes that allow for r faulty tracks by mandating that all subsets of n-r tracks satisfy the k-constraint are presented. >
Characterization of Single- and Multi-walled Carbon Nanotubes at Microwave Frequencies

The present paper reports the first step towards detecting and characterizing both the single-and multi walled carbon nanotubes using microwave frequencies. The dielectric properties for these nanostructured carbon materials are measured using the rectangular waveguide technique and are determined in the frequency regime ranging 8-40 GHz. The data is represented in terms of dielectric constants and both real and imaginary parts of permittivity and permeability. These results represents a milestone in such measurements for carbon nanotube structures serving as a model such that it covers a wide frequency range using an efficient, non-invasive and highly accurate technique that is ideal for high frequency characterization for a variety of nanoscale materials.
A meta-analysis of randomized control trials comparing minimally invasive direct coronary bypass grafting versus percutaneous coronary intervention for stenosis of the proximal left anterior descending artery

Percutaneous intervention (PCI) and minimally invasive direct coronary bypass grafting (MIDCAB) are both well-accepted treatment options for isolated high-grade stenosis of proximal left anterior descending coronary artery. Small studies comparing the two modalities have yielded conflicting results. We performed a meta-analysis of randomized control trials to compare percutaneous intervention with minimally invasive coronary bypass grafting for isolated proximal left anterior descending artery stenosis. Five randomized trials with a total of 711 patients and average follow-up of 2.3 years were included in the analysis; 380 patients received stents and 331 underwent surgery. Only one trial used drug eluting stents. There were a small number of events overall in each trial. Difference between mortality was 12 events versus 15 between the PCI versus MIDCAB group. Similarly, the difference in myocardial infarction was 14 versus 10, and target vessel revascularization was 56 versus 19. The relative risk for stenting versus MIDCAB was 0.96 [(95% CI: 0.47, 1.99), p=0.92, I(2)=17.5%], for mortality and myocardial infarction, 0.77 [(95% CI: 0.30, 2.01), p=0.60, I(2)=10.4%] for mortality and 1.81 [(95% CI: 0.80, 4.06), p=0.15, I(2)=65.9%] for the composite end point of mortality, myocardial infarction and target vessel revascularization. Excluding the trial with drug eluting stents the relative risk for the composite outcome of mortality, myocardial infarction and target vessel revascularization was significantly higher for PCI [RR=2.27 (95% CI: 1.32, 3.90), p=0.003, I(2)=18.9%]. Overall mortality and myocardial infarction rates are similar for bare metal stents versus MIDCAB, but surgery was associated with significantly lower rates of repeat revascularization. The number of randomized patients and events were small. The effect of drug eluting stents might close the gap of repeat revascularization compared to MIDCAB for this disease.
Ferroelectric and Dielectric Properties of Strontium Bismuth Niobate Vanadates

Strontium bismuth niobate vanadates, SrBi2 (VxNb1-x)2O9 (with 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.1), were prepared by reaction sintering of powder mixtures of constituent oxides. With partial substitution of niobium by vanadium cations (up to 10 at.%), the single-phase layered perovskite structure was preserved, and the sintering temperature of the system was significantly lowered (∼200 °C). The incorporation of vanadium into the layered perovskite structure resulted in a shift of the Curie point to higher temperatures from 435 to 457 °C, with 10 at.% vanadium doping, and an increase in dielectric constant from ∼700 to ∼1100, with 10 at.% vanadium doping, at their respective Curie points. The remanent polarization increased from ∼2.4 to ∼8 µC/cm2, while the coercive field decreased from ∼63 to ∼45 kV/cm with 10 at.% V5+ doping.
Aesthetic, Function, and Fashion Consumer Values: Relationships to Other Values and Demographics

Aesthetic, function, and fashion consumer values are investigated in relationship to other values and demographic variables. Findings suggest that fashion oriented consumers tend to value quantity over quality, buy from "want" rather than "need, " value disposability over recycling, or not return garments to a store and complain when dissatisfied. Consumers that value functionality are also more likely to value cost over convenience, need over want, and recycling over disposability. Consumers that value aesthetics were also found to value want over need, and disposability over recycling. With the exception of household income, differences based on demographic variables were notfound. It was concluded that results from the study could assist apparel marketers in product planning.
Ontology-driven Web services composition platform

Discovering and composing individual Web services into more complex yet new and more useful Web processes is an important challenge. In this paper, we present three techniques for (semi) automatically composing Web services into Web processes by using their ontological descriptions and relationships to other services. In Interface-Matching Automatic composition technique, the possible compositions are obtained by checking semantic similarities between interfaces of individual services. Then these compositions are ranked considering their Quality of Services (QoS) and an optimum composition is selected. In Human-Assisted composition the user selects a service from a ranked list at certain stages. We also address automatic compositions in a Peer-to-Peer network.
Tillage effect on reproductive output by foxtail cohorts in corn and soybean

Abstract Reliable estimates of weed fecundity require determination under ranges of management practices such as differing crops and tillage systems. We measured components of reproductive output per plant (numbers of primary tillers, panicles, and seeds; and sizes of panicles) in three emergence cohorts of green foxtail and yellow foxtail growing among corn and soybean in moldboard plow (MP), chisel plow (CP), ridge till (RT), spring disk (SD), and no till (NT). Differences in emergence between crops and foxtail Cohorts 1, 2, and 3 were 5, 0, and −7 d, respectively. In MP, Cohort 1 of green foxtail produced 2.3 primary tillers and 5.6 panicles per plant, and Cohort 1 of yellow foxtail produced 4.6 primary tillers and 9.0 panicles per plant. Panicle size was variable for both species across tillage systems, crops, and cohorts both years. Green foxtail plants produced the most seeds per plant (3,811) in NT corn, and cohorts did not vary greatly, whereas fecundity was highly variable across tillage systems ...
Dynamical Analysis of Seasonal and Interannual Variability in the Equatorial Pacific

Abstract Time series measurements from the Tropical Atmosphere Ocean array during the 1980s and 1990s are used to analyze the dynamics of the long-term mean, the seasonal cycle, and interannual variability in the upper 250 m of the equatorial Pacific. The analysis is based on a diagnosis of the zonal momentum equation using surface winds, ocean temperatures, and currents between 165°E and 110°W along the equator. In the mean, the balance is mainly between zonal wind stress and depth-integrated zonal pressure gradient, in good agreement with linear Sverdrup theory. For the seasonal cycle, the balance is mainly between wind stress, pressure gradient, and local acceleration, with differences between the stress and pressure gradient leading to accelerations and decelerations of the South Equatorial Current and Equatorial Undercurrent. On interannual timescales, local acceleration is much smaller than either zonal wind stress or zonal pressure gradient, indicating that to zeroth order, variations in the equato...
A New Species of Prosorhynchoides (Trematoda: Bucephalidae) from White Bass, Morone chrysops (Moronidae), in the Big Thicket National Preserve, Texas, U.S.A

ABSTRACT: Prosorhynchoides fabulus n. sp. (Trematoda: Bucephalidae) is described from the intestine of white bass Morone chrysops (Moronidae) collected from the Neches River in the Big Thicket National Preserve in Texas, U.S.A. The new species is characterized by a relatively large cirrus sac extending anteriorly to the level of the ovary and cecum, a mouth nearly exactly midbody, obliquely arranged testes, a serpentine excretory bladder limited to the hindbody, and small size (<500 μm). The extent of the cirrus sac distinguishes P. fabulus n. sp. from most other species in the genus in North America. The new species displays similarities to Prosorhynchoides carvajali, Prosorhynchoides labiatus, and Prosorhynchoides megacirrus in the extent of the cirrus sac but differs from these species in combinations of the location of the vitellaria, position of the pharynx and mouth, extent of the excretory bladder, arrangement and position of the gonads, and body size.
Preload does not influence nonmechanical O2 consumption in isolated rabbit heart

Myocardial energy consumption for nonmechanical activity (excitation-contraction coupling) has been shown to be length dependent in isolated muscle studies but no more than minimally affected by pr...
Plateaued Versus Nonplateaued Managers: Career Patterns, Attitudes, and Path Potential

This study compared both effectively and ineffectively plateaued managers with nonplateaued managers by investigating (1) career movement histories, (2) career attitudes central to a plateaued care...
Tobacco toxins deposited on surfaces (third hand smoke) impair wound healing.

Third hand smoke (THS) is the accumulation of second hand smoke (SHS) toxins on surfaces in homes, cars, clothing and hair of smokers. It is known that 88M US nonsmokers ≥3 years old living in homes of smokers are exposed to THS toxicants and show blood cotinine levels of ≥0.05 ng/ml, indicating that the toxins are circulating in their circulatory systems. The goal of the present study is to investigate the mechanisms by which THS causes impaired wound healing. We show that mice living under conditions that mimic THS exposure in humans display delayed wound closure, impaired collagen deposition, altered inflammatory response, decreased angiogenesis, microvessels with fibrin cuffs and a highly proteolytic wound environment. Moreover, THS-exposed mouse wounds have high levels of oxidative stress and significantly lower levels of antioxidant activity leading to molecular damage, including protein nitration, lipid peroxidation and DNA damage that contribute to tissue dysfunction. Furthermore, we show that elastase is elevated, suggesting that elastin is degraded and the plasticity of the wound tissue is decreased. Taken together, our results lead us to conclude that THS toxicants delay and impair wound healing by disrupting the sequential processes that lead to normal healing. In addition, the lack of elastin results in loss of wound plasticity, which may be responsible for reopening of wounds.
Analysis on the results of sampling survey for HIV infection among rural population in 14 counties of Liangshan prefecture

Objective The aim of this study was to understand the situation of HIV prevalence and the influencing factors among residents of rural areas in 14 counties of Liangshan prefecture, in order to provide evidence for developing control and prevention strategy at local level. Methods Sampling survey on HIV infection was conducted among the permanent rural residents in counties including Dechang, Huili, Huidong, Ningnan, Puge, Jingyang, Leibo, Meigu, Ganluo, Yuexi, Xide, Mianning, Yanyuan, and Muli.With informed consent, the face-to-face interviews were carried out to collect information on demographics and behaviors. Blood samples were collected for HIV antibody testing. Results Among a total of 46756 interviewed residents, the average age was31.37±15.10, male to female ratio was 0.95, 46.11% of interviewees belonged to Yi nationality, and 49.28% belonged to Han nationality. Those with illegal drugs use accounted for 0.44% of total, 31.04% of illegal drug used were intravenous drug use, and31.04% were both simple oral drug intake and intravenous drug use. 0.94% of the interviewees had multi sexual partners in the last year, and the rate of using condoms in the last sex with partner was only 23.79%. 6.54% of interviewees worked outside the counties in the last year. The HIV positive rate was 0.79%. The HIV positive rate among the male was 1.28%, and the percentage of group from 15 to 29 was 1.53%, the percentage of divorced or widowed was 1.29%, the percentage of people with Yi nationality was1.58%. The results of multivariate logistic regression showed that the risk factors for high HIV infection were male(OR=3.023),below 50 years old(OR=5.090), farmer(OR=4.802), Yi nationality(OR=11.797), illiteracy(OR=1.559), and illegal drug usage(OR=15.9457). Conclusion HIV infection among rural residents in 14 counties of Liangshan prefecture was high, especially among residents with Yi nationality, young and middle-aged, male, and those with high risk behavior of illegal drug use. It is urgent to implement special intervention services on different behavior characteristics among the rural residents.
Symbolic Quick Error Detection for Pre-Silicon and Post-Silicon Validation: Frequently Asked Questions

Reducing the error detection latency is critical for improving the design visibility while searching for design errors. This article uses a FAQ format to discuss the key points of the symbolic QED method that can be applied during both pre-silicon and post-silicon validation.
THE FORMATION OF INTEREST

Bit by bit, like a flood, temporal lords are bringing everything under their control. As a wolf bit by bit devours a lamb, they devour bit by bit the jurisdiction of the church. William Durant, Tractatus Maior 2.70
Simulator calibration for accelerator-rich architecture studies

Cycle-accurate simulators are widely used in architecture research. A certain degree of performance inaccuracy is expected in such simulators. Such mismatches are tolerable in micro-architectural studies that emphasize relative performance. However, when modeling accelerator-rich heterogeneous systems, an inaccurate baseline CPU model can lead to severe over/underestimation of the speedup and/or energy savings. In this paper, we present a systematic approach and methodology for calibration of cycle-accurate simulators targeting such studies. We further compare the potential impact that an unrepresentative baseline CPU model can have on heterogeneous system design and describe how it could cause to misleading design evaluations. We demonstrate our approach on calibration of MARSSx86, a widely-used, cycle-accurate x86 system simulator. Using our methodology, we calibrate MARSSx86 to closely match the performance of state-of-the-art Intel machines targeting high-performance computing (HPC) benchmarks. Our calibrated MARSSx86 shows on average less than 10% error across a wide range of HPC and general-purpose benchmarks. Using this calibrated baseline simulator, we further quantify the impact of such calibration on an accelerator-rich architecture case study. Our results show that an accelerator estimated to obtain a speedup of 10.3x using unrefined simulators can in reality only achieve a 5.3x speedup when an accurate CPU model is employed.