cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Understanding the Software and Hardware Stacks of a General-Purpose Cognitive Drone

Fully autonomous drones have a plethora of applications in the real world, from agriculture and communication to public services. With increasing attention, a new market segment has opened up for highly efficient drones. However, the deployment of efficient drones requires an in-depth analysis of several components spanning from hardware sensors to software stack. Specifically, to achieve high reliability, safety, and performance, the top concerns in the professional drone industry are characterizing underlying architecture and flight stack. In this paper, we characterize a widely-used open source flight stack, ArduCopter, to understand the performance requirements as a research community. Additionally, we study how area-specific applications affect flight stack. Our characterizations and benchmarks indicate that the drone flying range can be dramatically increased by optimizing the underlying flight controller software.
A Systematic Literature Review: Discipline-Specific and General Instructional Practices Fostering the Mathematical Creativity of Students

The purpose of this systematic review is to reveal the research findings that suggest instructional practices to foster the creativity of students in mathematics. Although several studies have investigated the effects of various instructional practices influencing the mathematical creativity of students, little is known about how the findings of this collective body of research contribute to the understanding of what instructional practices should be integrated into a mathematic classroom to further foster the mathematical creativity of students. In this systematic review, the knowledge of instructional practices that foster the mathematical creativity of students were categorized under two main factors including: 1) discipline-specific instructional practices and 2) general instructional practices. The discipline-specific instructional practices were problem-solving, problem-posing, open-ended questions, multiple solution tasks, tasks with more than one correct answer, modeling/model-eliciting activities, technology integration, extendable tasks, and emphasizing abstractness of mathematics. The general instructional practices were providing students with ample time to think creatively about real-world related mathematical problems in a judgment free and collaborative classroom environment so that they take risks to share their mathematical ideas and use informal words. Integrating all of these instructional practices into mathematics classrooms can provide opportunities for students to discover their potential creative abilities in mathematics.
The metabolism-modulating activity of IL-17 signaling in health and disease

IL-17 was discovered nearly 30 yr ago, but it has only been recently appreciated that a key function of this cytokine is to orchestrate cellular and organismal metabolism. Indeed, metabolic regulation is integrated into both the physiological and the pathogenic aspects of IL-17 responses. Thus, understanding the interplay between IL-17 and downstream metabolic processes could ultimately inform therapeutic opportunities for diseases involving IL-17, including some not traditionally linked to this cytokine pathway. Here, we discuss the emerging pathophysiological roles of IL-17 related to cellular and organismal metabolism, including metabolic regulation of IL-17 signal transduction.
Synthesis and anticancer evaluation of sulfur containing 9-anilinoacridines.

BACKGROUND DNA topoisomerases are a class of enzymes that play a critical role in fundamental biological processes of replication, transcription, recombination, repair and chromatin remodeling. Amsacrine (m-AMSA), the best-known compound of 9-anilinoacridines series was one of the first DNA-intercalating agents to be considered as a Topoisomerase II inhibitor. OBJECTIVE A series of sulfur containing 9-anilinoacridines related to amsacrine were synthesized and evaluated for their anticancer activity. METHODS Cell viability was assessed by the MTT assay. The topoisomerase II inhibitory assay was performed using the Human topoisomerase II Assay kit and flow cytometry was used to evaluate the effects on cell cycle of K562 cells. Molecular docking was performed using Schrodinger Maestro program. RESULTS Compound 36 was found to be the most cytotoxic of the sulfide series against SW620, K562, and MCF-7. The limited SAR suggested the importance of the methansulfonamidoacetamide side chain functionality, the lipophilicity and relative metabolic stability of 36 in contributing to the cytotoxicity. Topoisomerase II α inhibitory activity appeared to be involved in the cytotoxicity of 36 through inhibition of decatenation of kinetoplast DNA (kDNA) in a concentration dependent manner. Cell cycle analysis further showed the Topo II inhibition through accumulation of K562 cells in G2/M phase of cell cycle. Docking of 36 into the Topo II α-DNA complex suggested that it may be an allosteric inhibitor of Topo II α. CONCLUSION Compound 36 exhibits anticancer activity by inhibiting topoisomerase II and it could further be evaluated in in vivo models.
Increased preparation for drought among livestock producers reliant on rain-fed forage

Increased preparation for drought among livestock producers reliant on rain-fed forage should reduce the economic losses and environmental degradation when the eventual drought occurs. We surveyed livestock ranchers in southeastern Arizona, USA, to determine their level of increased preparation for drought following 10 very dry years, as well as their level of threat from drought, importance of coping strategies, ranching experience, herd size, and satisfaction with drought management information. We used the protection motivation theory (PMT) model to structure our analysis because it provides a cognitive process approach to understand what motivates people to increase preparation for looming problems and how the likelihood of that behavior is a function of threat and coping strategy assessments. Thirty-seven percent of ranchers reported a high increase in preparedness, and another 31 % reported some increased preparation. Increased preparation was positively associated with three coping practices: reserve pastures, rotate grazing, and drought planning. However, increased preparation was negatively associated with drought threat severity, suggesting that the more prepared ranchers have implemented coping strategies that buffer them from the looming threat of drought. We found no relationship between increased preparation and levels of ranching experience, herd size, or satisfaction with drought information. Structure and content of education and assistance programs for improving rancher preparation for drought should benefit from the PMT-based analysis because it identifies drivers leading to increased preparedness and how those drivers differ among members of the ranching community.
Outpatient Appointment Scheduling Under Patient Heterogeneity and Patient No-Shows

We study outpatient appointment block scheduling policies for single providers under conditions of patient heterogeneity in service times and patient no-shows. The objective is to find daily appointment schedules that minimize a weighted sum of patients' waiting time, the physician's idle time, and the physician's overtime. Compared to extant outpatient scheduling approaches, we contribute by suggesting new sequential block scheduling procedures grounded in actual outpatient clinic practices and in the successful Toyota Production System load smoothing approach, leading to effective appointment schedules when scheduling two heterogeneous patient types. Our block scheduling policy first assigns a sequence of different patient types given patient demand and service time information. The block scheduling policy then allocates repetitive blocks in a planning horizon. We first analyze the case with heterogeneous patient types and zero probability of no-shows. We propose an optimal scheduling approach for two patient types under a class of schedules where the physician's idle time is zero, before demonstrating that the multiple patient type problem is NP-Hard. We then extend our scheduling approach to incorporate patient no-shows. We find the approach works better than other methods when short service time patients have any no-show probability level and when long service time patients have moderate or lower no-show probability. Next, we adapt the approach to incorporate an overbooking strategy, to directly address and remediate patient no-shows. Using numerical experiments, we show that the overbooked block scheduling approach provides effective practical solutions. Finally, our block scheduling approach is adapted for scenarios where outpatient clinics use an open-access scheduling environment, where patients are allowed to make same-day appointments. Due to patient demand uncertainty in the open-access case, we again employ numerical experiments to compare our block scheduling policies against extant scheduling policies, finding our scheduling policies surpass the others. The paper contributes to scheduling literature by developing an innovative outpatient block scheduling approach that can be adapted for overbooking and open-access scheduling scenarios.
Hierarchical motion controllers for real-time autonomous virtual humans

Continuous and synchronized whole-body motions are essential for achieving believable autonomous virtual humans in interactive applications.We present a new motion control architecture based on generic controllers that can be hierarchically interconnected and reused in real-time. The hierarchical organization implies that leaf controllers are motion generators while the other nodes are connectors, performing operations such as interpolation, blending, and precise scheduling of children controllers.We also describe how the system can correctly handle the synchronization of gestures with speech in order to achieve believable conversational characters. For that purpose, different types of controllers implement a generic model of the different phases of a gesture.
The Performance of Parallel Disk Write Methods for Linux Multiprocessor Nodes

We experimentally evaluate several methods for implementing parallel computations that interleave a significant number of contiguous or strided writes to a local disk on Linux-based multiprocessor nodes. Using synthetic benchmark programs written with MPI and Pthreads, we have acquired detailed performance data for different application characteristics of programs running on dual processor nodes. In general, our results show that programs that perform a significant amount of I/O relative to pure computation benefit greatly from the use of threads, while programs that perform relatively little I/O obtain excellent results using only MPI. For a pure MPI approach, we have found that it is usually best to use two writing processes with mmap(). For Pthreads it is usually best to use two writing processes, write() for contiguous data, and writev() for strided data. Codes that use mmap() tend to benefit from periodic syncs of the data of the data to the disk, while codes that use write() or writev() tend to have better performance with few syncs. A straightforward use of ROMIO usually does not perform as well as these direct approaches for writing to the local disk.
Criminal justice and ethical ideology: an exploration of a loyalty-truthfulness dilemma

Abstract The notion of loyalty is well established in the criminological literature pertaining to ethics, ethical decision making, and ethical and ideological orientations. The present research addresses the topic of ethics and loyalty in an attempt to address three research questions germane to these areas within criminal justice and criminology. Using two samples equivalent in characteristics other than academic major, this research examines: (1) what impact gender, college major, and the ethical perspective of the observer and the nature of the actor’s action have upon the observer’s attitude toward the action (specific act of deception/truth); (2) what impact gender, college major, and the ethical perspective of the observer and the nature of the actor’s action have upon the observer’s perception of the social attractiveness of the deceiver; and (3) what impact gender, college major, the ethical perspective of the observer, and the nature of the actor’s action have upon the observer’s perception of the task attractiveness of the deceiver. Using a vignette design in this exploratory research, attempts are made to shed light on the impact of gender, major (criminal justice v. others), and ethical orientation on perceptions of an actor confronted with an ethical dilemma of loyalty versus disloyalty involving deception.
A Query Translation Scheme for Rapid Implementation of Wrappers

Wrappers provide access to heterogeneous information sources by converting application queries into source specific queries or commands. In this paper we present a wrapper implementation toolkit that facilitates rapid development of wrappers. We focus on the query translation component of the toolkit, called the converter. The converter takes as input a Query Description and Translation Language (QDTL) description of the queries that can be processed by the underlying source. Based on this the converter decides if an application query is (a) directly supported, i.e., it can be translated to a query of the underlying system following instructions in the QDTL description; (b) logically supported, i.e., logically equivalent to a directly supported query; (c) indirectly supported, i.e., it can be computed by applying a filter, automatically generated by the converter, to the result of a directly supported query.
Medium Without Rumen Fluid for Nonselective Enumeration and Isolation of Rumen Bacteria

Colony counts which approximated those in a habitat-simulating, rumen fluid-agar medium (RFM) were obtained in medium 10, a medium identical to the RFM except for the replacement of rumen fluid with 1.5 x 10(-6)m hemin, 0.2% Trypticase, 0.05% yeast extract, and a 6.6 x 10(-2)m volatile fatty acid mixture qualitatively and quantitatively similar to that in rumen fluid. Single deletion of Trypticase, yeast extract, or the volatile fatty acid mixture from medium 10 significantly reduced colony counts. Colony counts were also reduced when medium 10 was modified to contain higher concentrations of Trypticase or volatile fatty acids. Significant differences were found between colony counts obtained from diluted rumen contents of animals fed a cracked corn-urea diet, and the colony counts obtained from animals fed either a cracked corn-soyean oil meal or an alfalfa hay-grain diet. Qualitative differences were found between the predominant bacterial strains isolated from rumen contents of animals fed cracked corn diets and strains isolated from animals fed alfalfa hay-grain. Regardless of differences in the predominant flora associated with diet, medium 10 and the RFM supported growth of similar bacterial populations. The results show that medium 10 is suitable for enumeration and isolation of many predominant rumen bacteria.
The Evolution of a Localized Disturbance in a Laminar Boundary Layer

Navier-Stokes calculations simulate the evolution of a localized disturbance in a flat plate boundary layer. It is found that, in accordance with previous results, the evolving disturbance consists of two parts; an advective portion which reflects the structure of the initial disturbance and which travels at approximately the local mean velocity, and a dispersive wave portion which grows or decays according to Tollmien-Schlichting instability theory. The advective portion grows much more rapidly than the wave portion and gives rise to two distinct nonlinear effects. The first is the appearance of a low-speed streak, bounded in the vertical and spanwise directions by intense shear layers. The second nonlinear effect is the onset of a secondary instability on the vertical shear layer giving rise to oscillations in the vertical and spanwise components of velocity.
Auditory stream segregation based on oscillatory correlation

Auditory segmentation is critical for complex auditory pattern processing. We present a generic neural network framework for auditory pattern segmentation. The network is a laterally coupled two-dimensional neural oscillators with a global inhibitor. One dimension represents time and another one represents frequency. We show that this architecture can, in real-time, group auditory features into a segment by phase synchrony and segregate different segments by desynchronization. The network demonstrates the phenomenon that auditory stream segregation critically depends on the rate of presentation. The neuroplausibility and possible extensions of the model are discussed. >
¿Son la moralidad y la identidad personal productos de la autoconstitución? Dos objeciones a Self-Constitution de Korsgaard

In Self-Constitution. Agency, Identity, and Integrity (2009), Christine Korsgaard argues that the categorical imperative rules human action because it is the sole principle that allows us to reach the complete psychic unity that, Korsgaard thinks, is an essential prerequisite for effective action. Reaching this unity —which consists in making cohere diverging impulses for action— is for human agents a constant activity called “self-constitution.” According to Korsgaard, this activity is the source of normativity, of human practical identities and even of personal identity. After explaining the main ideas of the book, I present two objections. First, I criticize the linkage of the categorical imperative to successful self-constitution, for not every failure of the latter counts as a moral failure. Second, I argue that the thesis that personal identity is a product of self-constitution is problematic and that it betrays a confusion between practical identity and personal identity.
Investment Risk Allocation and the Venture Capital Exit Market

The factors that drive the financing available to start-ups is a key issue for entrepreneurs, venture capitalists (VCs), and other investors in new ventures, especially in light of the difficult exit market the industry has faced over the last decade. We examine how the dollars gained and lost in recent exits and failures of venture-backed companies affect VCs’ risk allocations (proportion of early- versus late-stage investment) and returns over 1986-2008. Consistent with perceptions of lower profit-to-loss potential for risky investments, we find that VCs have significantly decreased the proportion of early stage investment over time. Conditional on exit, lower risk allocations at the time of investment initiation reduce the future returns from these exits, with its impact seemingly large enough to offset the positive effects of industry downsizing since 2001. In sum, we show empirically that risk allocation is an important channel by which VCs respond to market signals.
Case report illustrating transplant decision making based on assessing clinical relevance of apparent donor specific antibodies, allele specific antibodies, and shared epitope patterns

Patient 36 yo WM, IgA nephropathy. LABScreen SA beads (SAB): anti-B∗44:02 (MFI = 3685), B∗44:03 (496). Quarterly testing: anti-B∗44:02 (3685-5482), B∗44:03 (121–1065). Other Class I antibodies had lower MFI; expected epitope pattern absent. No significant Class II antibodies. Donor expresses B∗44:02. At transplant: anti-B∗44:02 (5411), B∗44:03 (1065). Positive virtual-XM predicted; flow-XM negative. CDC-XM: negative. Subsequent assays: Lambda Antigen Trays: no anti-B44 detected. C1q and iBeads: negative for anti-B∗44:02 (1 and 0, respectively) and B∗44:03 (1 and 0, respectively). Flow- and CDC-XM with 3 surrogates expressing B∗44:02: all negative. The results suggest that anti-B∗44:02 does not activate complement, and would not be expected to result in humoral rejection. iBeads detect anti-HLA antibodies binding to HLA in the “native-conformation”, as would be expected to be expressed on cell surfaces. The lack of detection with iBeads further supports that the anti-B∗44:02 found by routine SAB was directed against denatured/partially-denatured antigen. Further, the expected epitope pattern was absent. Thus, this putative allele-specific antibody (ASA) anti-B∗44:02 antibody would be predicted to have no clinical relevance, similarly so for anti-B∗44:03. The patient is currently greater than 2 years post-transplantation with stable renal function, and no signs of AMR. Post-transplant SAB continue to detect anti-B∗44:02 and B∗44:03; however continue to be essentially absent by C1q or iBeads assays. This case emphasizes that potential DSA/ASA should be carefully scrutinized for the ability to activate complement and expected shared patterns of epitopes, as discriminators of potential clinical relevance. Additional testing beyond routine SAB will likely be required to assess these issues. Conclusions (1) The “stringent” use of the “virtual XM” may exclude XM-compatible donors due to “apparent” DSA. (2) Additional testing should be considered to determine whether DSA can activate complement. (3) The “extended” non-DSA anti-HLA pattern should be evaluated for the expected shared epitope patterns. (4) Further testing should be considered for discriminating antibodies to denatured vs native-conformation. (5) The Flow-XM remains the “gold standard” for making the final decision to transplant. T. Harville: Scientific/Medical Advisor; Company/Organization; Baxter Healthcare, CSL Behring. 7. Other (Identify); Company/Organization; Medical Board of Arkansas Regional Organ Recovery Agency.
Speech coding using time code modulation

A continuation of previous research which proposed a uniform amplitude coder as an alternative to traditional time-domain coders is presented. The time code modulation (TCM) encoder transmits the quantized intervals, corresponding to the time at which the input signal passed through uniform spaced amplitude levels (of a predetermined step size). The decoder reconstructs the signal by using liner interpolation in the amplitude domain. The sampling frequency and the step size are shown to be the two dominant factors that affect TCM performance; the higher the sampling frequency and the smaller the step size, the higher the SNR that can be achieved by TCM; at the same time, however, the transmission rate will increase. TCM was simulated at different sampling frequencies and step sizes with various sources. >
Stabilization of linear time varying systems over uncertain channels

SUMMARY In this paper, we study the problem of control of discrete-time linear time varying systems over uncertain channels. The uncertainty in the channels is modeled as a stochastic random variable. We use exponential mean square stability of the closed-loop system as a stability criterion. We show that fundamental limitations arise for the mean square exponential stabilization for the closed-loop system expressed in terms of statistics of channel uncertainty and the positive Lyapunov exponent of the open-loop uncontrolled system. Our results generalize the existing results known in the case of linear time invariant systems, where Lyapunov exponents are shown to emerge as the generalization of eigenvalues from linear time invariant systems to linear time varying systems. Simulation results are presented to verify the main results of this paper. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Enhancing Mutual Benefits from Firm-Level Research Efforts

The food system is usually thought of as having a series of participants that includes consumers, retailers, wholesalers, processors, assemblers, farmers or ranchers, input manufacturers, and input suppliers. Although there are others, the university is one important participant omitted from that list. The omission is made by both food industry executives and university scholars. Excluding the university component from the food system diminishes the opportunities of interaction between agribusiness and the campus. Potential for reciprocal advantage through increased interaction would suggest considering the university as an integral part of the food system, although currently the industrial and scholastic activities have fairly large nonoverlapping parts (figure 1). This paper discusses the potential for enlarging the UB intersection in figure 1 by enhancing the mutual benefits from firm-level studies such as those being conducted under existing research approval policies. Barriers blocking potential interaction and suggestions for suppressing them are analyzed with specific illustrations from a case example. Alternative activities for capturing benefits similar to those from firm-level research are also explored briefly.
Successful Treatment of Anorexia Nervosa through Isolation

A severe case of anorexia nervosa was treated with behavioral techniques using a seclusion procedure following meals. The treatment succeeded in restoring the weight of the patient from 32 kg to a normal value of above 50 kg. A concomitant condition of excessive drinking disappeared inexplicably following treatment.
Conservative management of hepatic duct injury after blunt trauma: A case report

Nonoperative management of solid organ injury in children with blunt abdominal trauma represents the standard of care. In rare cases, a major duct injury with persistent bile leakage may result from blunt trauma to the liver. This injury is of concern in patients treated nonoperatively because it generally must be treated with major abdominal surgery. The authors describe a case of hepatic duct injury from blunt trauma in which healing occurred without surgical repair or resection.
Abstinence-Only Education and Teen Pregnancy Rates: Why We Need Comprehensive Sex Education in the U.S

The United States ranks first among developed nations in rates of both teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. In an effort to reduce these rates, the U.S. government has funded abstinence-only sex education programs for more than a decade. However, a public controversy remains over whether this investment has been successful and whether these programs should be continued. Using the most recent national data (2005) from all U.S. states with information on sex education laws or policies (N = 48), we show that increasing emphasis on abstinence education is positively correlated with teenage pregnancy and birth rates. This trend remains significant after accounting for socioeconomic status, teen educational attainment, ethnic composition of the teen population, and availability of Medicaid waivers for family planning services in each state. These data show clearly that abstinence-only education as a state policy is ineffective in preventing teenage pregnancy and may actually be contributing to the high teenage pregnancy rates in the U.S. In alignment with the new evidence-based Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative and the Precaution Adoption Process Model advocated by the National Institutes of Health, we propose the integration of comprehensive sex and STD education into the biology curriculum in middle and high school science classes and a parallel social studies curriculum that addresses risk-aversion behaviors and planning for the future.
Current JJ Checklist (107)

Special thanks to Kazuhiro Doki, who has kept us well sup plied with issues of Joycean Japan, and to Teresa Caneda, Michael Cunningham, K. P. S. Jochum, Emily Sharpe, Andreas Weigel, and Wolfgang Wicht. Please send contributions to your bibliographer at W329 Pattee, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, or via e-mail to uxb5@psu.edu. The Checklists are cumulated online in The James Joyce Checklist http://research.hrc.utexas.edu/ jamesjoycechecklist /.
Magnetism-based sensors

This paper begins with an overview of nanostructured magnetoelastic materials, namely the amorphous ferromagnetic alloys, detailing how the material structure gives rise to unique magnetic and physical properties suitable for sensor applications, such as a high magnetostriction coefficient, high magnetoelastic coupling, as well as low coercive force and anisotropy field. With the correlation between the material structure and the magnetic and physical properties established, we then show how these unique properties are utilized for measuring multiple physical parameters such as stress/strain, liquid density and viscosity, fluid flow velocity, coating elasticity, ambient temperature, and chemical analyte concentrations including glucose, pH, carbon dioxide, and ammonia.
Density Distributions in TATB Prepared by Various Methods

The density distribution of two legacy types of 1,3,5-triamino-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene (TATB) particles were compared with TATB synthesized by new routes and recrystallized in several different solvents using a density gradient technique. Legacy wet (WA) and dry aminated (DA) TATB crystalline aggregates gave average densities of 1.9157 and 1.9163 g cm−3, respectively. Since the theoretical maximum density (TMD) for a perfect crystal is 1.937 g cm−3, legacy TATB crystals averaged 99% of TMD or about 1% voids. TATB synthesized from phloroglucinol (P) had comparable particle size to legacy TATBs, but significantly lower density, 1.8340 g cm−3. TATB synthesized from 3,5 dibromoanisole (BA) was very difficult to measure because it contained extremely fine particles, but had an average density of 1.8043 g cm−3 over a very broad range. Density distributions of TATB recrystallized from dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), sulfolane, and an 80/20 mixture of DMSO with the ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methyl-imidazolium acetate (EMImOAc), with some exceptions, gave average densities comparable or better than the legacy TATBs.
Elevated False Recognition in Patients with Frontal Lobe Damage Is Neither a General Nor a Unitary Phenomenon

This study examined verbal recognition memory in amnesic patients with frontal lesions (AF), nonamnesic patients with frontal lesions (NAF), and amnesic patients with medial temporal lesions (MT). To examine susceptibility to false alarms, the number of studied words drawn from various categories was varied. The AF and MT groups demonstrated reduced hits and increased false alarms. False alarms were especially elevated when item-specific recollection was strongest in control participants. The NAF group performed indistinguishably from control participants, but several patients showed excessive false alarms in the context of normal hit rates. These patients exhibited impaired monitoring and verification processes. The findings demonstrate that elevated false recognition is not characteristic of all frontal patients and may result from more than 1 underlying mechanism.
A Linux Kernel Implementation of Broadcast Interflow Network Coding

The explosion of net-centric applications in the DoD tactical edge has increased pressure on DoD communications systems to maximize bandwidth efficiency amidst a shrinking allocation of RF spectrum. Coupled with the need for reliable transmissions at the tactical edge, non-standard techniques are increasingly being assessed for their suitability in military networks. One such method is applying Network Coding to provide bandwidth efficiency and increased reliability by sending linear combinations of packet data across multiple paths. While there have been many userspace network coding implementations available in the open source community and in academia, there are no known Linux kernel broadcast network coding implementations. Because the majority of network functionality is in the kernel, a network coding kernel implementation would greatly speed up packet processing, reduce needless userspace copying, and allow researchers to study its effects in real-world environments. In this paper, we present a Linux kernel implementation of inter-flow network coding using XOR for broadcast traffic over broadcast links. In addition to the design and layout, we provide a basic functional evaluation to demonstrate its effectiveness in reducing bandwidth requirements.
Using technology and library resources in financial accounting courses

Abstract Accounting practitioners and academics have raised concerns about the need to develop accounting students' critical thinking and communication skills, as well as their computer literacy. This paper presents two intermediate accounting projects that address these concerns. The first project is structured to familiarize students with accounting resources available electronically. The second project requires students to use an electronic database to research and analyze the effect of asset impairment on the financial statements of companies within a specific SIC code. This project can readily be adapted to any financial accounting topic, not just asset impairment. Both projects have writing components and involve the use of groups and technology; the second project also involves critical analysis of the financial statement impact of asset impairments. The results of student surveys requesting feedback on the effectiveness of the projects are also presented.
Comparison of anatomic, physiological, and subjective measures of the nasal airway.

BACKGROUND Studies comparing different categories of nasal measures have reported inconsistent results. We sought to compare validated measures of the nasal airway: anatomic (acoustic rhinometry), physiological (nasal peak inspiratory flow), and subjective experience (Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation Scale and a visual analog scale [VAS]). METHODS This prospective cross-sectional study of 290 nonrhinologic patients included upright and supine rhinometry (minimum cross sectional area [MCA] and volume) and flow (mean and maximum) measurements, as well as subjective measures. Associations between measures were evaluated with Spearman correlations and multivariate linear regression, adjusting for age, sex, race, body mass index, and smoking history. RESULTS Correlations between objective (rhinometry and flow) and subjective categories of nasal measures ranged from -0.16 to 0.03 (mean correlation, -0.07 +/- 0.05), with 0 significant correlations of 16 tested. Correlations between anatomic (rhinometry) and physiological (flow) categories ranged from 0.04 to 0.15 (mean correlation, 0.10 +/- 0.03), with 0 significant correlations of 16 tested. In contrast, within each category (rhinometry, flow, and subjective), all correlations were significant (13 correlations, all p 0.05); only upright and supine MCAs were significantly associated with the VAS (both, p < 0.05). CONCLUSION Validated anatomic, physiological, and subjective nasal measures may assess different aspects of the nasal airway and provide complementary information. Future studies should be directed at developing a composite measure including components from all three categories of nasal measurement.
Right ventricular diastolic pressure in coronary artery disease

Right ventricular hemodynamics were evaluated in 179 patients with coronary artery disease to determine the effects of chronic ischemia on right ventricular diastolic pressure. Abnormal right ventricular filling pressures occurred only in patients with an abnormal right ventricular systolic pressure or an abnormal left ventricular end-diastolic pressure. Of the 63 patients whose right ventricle was stressed by an increased systolic load secondary to passive pulmonary hypertension, 44 (72 percent) had an abnormal right ventricular end-diastolic pressure. In this group obstruction of vessels serving the right ventricular free wall or septum, or both, was almost universal (43 of 44, 98 percent) and a significantly increased incidence of inferior infarction (P < 0.05) was noted. Such obstruction was significantly less frequent in patients with normal filling pressures (10 of 17, 59 percent; P < 0.001). Compared with patients with coronary artery disease, patients with passive pulmonary hypertension due to aortic stenosis or mitral stenosis had significantly greater degrees of pulmonary hypertension (P < 0.05) yet slightly lesser elevations of right ventricular end-diastolic pressure. These data suggest that in patients with ischemic heart disease the right ventricle exhibits diastolic dysfunction at lower levels of afterload stress than it would with normal coronary blood flow.
Analyzing and Presenting pH Data

Abstract Both the practical effects and theoritical basis of error in pH data analysis and presentation were examined. Since the "pH" transformation has been applied for convenience and not for statistical reason, added care must be exercised in analyzing these data. Calculating a mean of observed pH's introduced a significant and predictable bias as compared to −log (mean [H + ]), henceforth designated mH. Rumen pH data from Holstein steers fed a high concentrate diet twice daily showed that a relative error of from .35 to 2.22%, with an average of 1.25%, resulted when the former method was used. Wide ranges in observed pH or low pH greatly increased the possible relative error. Statistical analyses of pH data should use the untransformed variable, i.e., hydrogen ion concentration. Mean hydrogen ion concentration, the variable in which researchers are interested, still can be transformed for convenience and reported as mH together with the asymmetric confidence intervals that result from transformation.
Applications of New Bayesian Techniques to Agricultural Economics: Discussion

The three excellent papers by Chalfant, Dorfman, and LeSage represent three substantively different applications of Bayesian statistical techniques that illustrate both the power and, perhaps, the frustrations involved when performing statistical inference within the Bayesian paradigm. I will provide some of my own views on the contents of each of these papers and then conclude with some comments relating to econometric research conducted at Washington State University that I feel (perhaps optimistically) is representative of the type of statistical developments that can facilitate more widespread adoption of Bayesian regression techniques in ageconometric research. Chalfant's paper is an interesting mix of inferential philosophy and illustrative Bayesian applications within the linear model context. He begins his paper with the question "Why aren't all agricultural economists Bayesians?" He then argues that agricultural economists are not inherently averse to the use of either subjective probability or prior information. I wholeheartedly agree with his view, as would any other agricultural economist who has had his work reviewed by peers having their own prior beliefs of right, wrong, and "truth." In fact, economists must use prior information, or else data analysis is literally impossible. It is only within the context of theories, traditions, precedents, and rules of thumb of a professional paradigm that a basis exists for data interpretation and analysis. As Chalfant later suggests, the real issue is not whether prior information will be used in quantitative research, but in what form it will be used. A traditional method of incorporating prior information, which is rapidly and rightfully losing acceptance, is the "try and try again" modelling strategy, whereby a model is respecified in a myriad of forms until the researcher feels satisfied that the results are sufficiently cons st nt with prior expectations and provide a reason ble (subjective) probability of professional sanction. At the time of journal submission, the review process may enter a "don't ask and I wo 't tell" stage concerning at least some of the more delicate decisions made in con-
Observation and theory of new line in far-infrared absorption in antiferromagnetic FeF2

A many‐ion spin‐orbit interaction in magnetic materials is pointed out which explains the existence of a previously anomalous infrared absorption line at a frequency of 154 cm−1 in antiferromagnetic FeF2. The interaction also provides a possible explanation for the existence of a magnon sideband recently observed in the antiferromagnet MnF2. The experiments on FeF2 are described and compared with the theory.
Thermotropic copolyesters of a series of aromatic diols with phenylterephthalic acid and 4,4′‐oxybisbenzoic acid

Wholly aromatic, liquid crystalline, main chain copolyesters derived from various linearly substituted aromatic diols with mixtures of 2-phenylterephthalic acid and a nonlinear aromatic dicarboxylic acid, 4,4′-oxybisbenzoic acid, were prepared by acidolysis condensation polymerization reactions and characterized for their liquid crystalline properties. The formation of a liquid crystalline phase at elevated temperatures was not prevented by the introduction of up to 50 mol % of the nonlinear diacid in the copolymers, and all of those copolyesters exhibited nematic liquid crystalline phases. Furthermore, the inclusion of a nonlinear monomer was not as effective as was the presence of a phenyl substituent in decreasing the melting transition of these copolymers. All of the copolymers had high glass transition temperatures and high thermal stabilities. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Southern High-Latitude Ensemble Data Assimilation in the Antarctic Mesoscale Prediction System

Ensemble data assimilation systems incorporate observations into numerical models via solution of the Kalman filter update equations, and estimates of forecast error covariances derived from ensembles of model integrations. In this paper, a particular algorithm, the ensemble square root filter (EnSRF), is tested in a limited-area, polar numerical weather prediction (NWP) model: the Antarctic Mesoscale Prediction System (AMPS). For application in the real-time AMPS, the number of model integrations that can be run to provide forecast error covariances is limited, resulting in an ensemble sampling error that degrades the analysis fit to observations. In this work, multivariate, climatologically plausible forecast error covariances are specified via averaged forecast difference statistics. Ensemble representations of the “true” forecast errors, created using randomized control variables of the fifth-generation Pennsylvania State University–National Center for Atmospheric Research (PSU–NCAR) Mesoscale Model (MM5) three-dimensional variational (3DVAR) data assimilation system, are then used to assess the dependence of sampling error on ensemble size, data density, and localization of covariances using simulated observation networks. Results highlight the detrimental impact of ensemble sampling error on the analysis increment structure of correlated, but unobserved fields—an issue not addressed by the spatial covariance localization techniques used to date. A 12-hourly cycling EnSRF/AMPS assimilation/forecast system is tested for a two-week period in December 2002 using real, conventional (surface, rawinsonde, satellite retrieval) observations. The dependence of forecast scores on methods used to maintain ensemble spread and the inclusion of perturbations to lateral boundary conditions are studied.
Influence of foreign object damage (FOD) on the fatigue life of simulated Ti-6Al-4V airfoils

Abstract The fatigue behavior of Ti-6Al-4 V samples that have undergone foreign object damage (FOD) was investigated. A unique test specimen configuration that replicates the leading edge of a typical fan blade was ballistically shot with 1.0 mm diameter glass spheres to simulate actual FOD. Samples were shot at various incident angles to investigate the influence of impact angle on fatigue strength. Two stress ratios were examined: R=0.1 and 0.5. Attempts were made to correlate the measured damage (macro-/microscopic) to the debit in fatigue strength. The FOD impact sites of fatigue samples were examined prior to testing via a scanning electron microscope (SEM); post-test examinations of the fatigue initiation sites were also performed on selected test samples. Subsurface or internal damage resulting from the FOD was also investigated from precision micro-sectioning of selected samples. Off-angle impacts were found to be more detrimental than head-on (0°) impacts. Fatigue strength losses, some as high as 50%, showed little or no correlation with leading edge thickness or depth of notch.
Toxic effects of d-limonene in the earthworm Eisenia fetida (Savigny)

Abstract d-Limonene, a monocyclic monoterpenoid with known insecticidal properties, was assayed (using a standard method of cutaneous exposure) for general lethality effects as well as neurotoxic effects on escape reflex pathways in earthworms, Eisenia fetida (Savigny). Neurotoxicity was assessed by noninvasive electrophysiological techniques involving (a) quantification of the impacts of chronic and acute sublethal exposures on impulse conduction in the worms' medial (MGF) and lateral (LGF) giant nerve fiber pathways, (b) determination of whether such effects were generalized or localized within various body regions, and (c) determination of the reversibility of neurotoxic effects. The LD50 value for d-limonene alone was 6.0 ppm, and the LT50 value for exposure to 12.6 ppm was 4.9 hr. Effects on lethality were not synergized significantly by either piperonyl butoxide or sesame oil. Generally, chronic and acute intoxication involved a rapid and predictable cascade of behavioral and morphological symptoms, including increased mucus secretion, writhing, clitellar swelling, and elongation of the body. In addition, chronic d-limonene exposures induced significant weight loss, but there was no effect on MGF and LGF conduction velocities, even though abnormal rebounding of MGF impulses and spontaneous LGF spiking were often evident. Acute exposures, however, induced significant decreases in conduction velocity in both the MGF and LGF, but the effects were regionally specific; for example, LGF velocities were significantly reduced in the posterior half of the body but not in the anterior half. The magnitude of conduction velocity decreases was directly related to both concentration and duration of exposure. Other neurotoxic manifestations of acute exposures included occasional blocking of LGF impulse propagation and reduced amplitude in the muscle potential which normally accompanies each MGF spike. Decreases in conduction velocities after acute exposures were reversed once d-limonene exposure ceased. The time course of this reversibility was related to both exposure concentration and duration.
Improved method for the analysis of imazapyr in soil

A method for the analysis of imazapyr [2-(4-isopropyl-4-methyl-5-oxo-2-imidazolin-2-yl)nicotinic acid] residues in tropical and temperate soils was developed. Imazapyr residues, extracted from soil with ammonium hydrogen carbonate and cleaned-up by centrifuging, anion-exchange solid-phase extraction (SPE), pH adjustment, and C 18 SPE, were determined by HPLC. Recoveries from soils from Hawaii (Halii sandy clay loam), Texas (Houston Black clay), and Maryland (Codorus loam), USA, fortified with imazapyr (0-5 μg g -1 soil) and equilibrated for 12-18 h, were 99(±3)%, 104(±4)% and 89(±2)%, respectively. Recoveries were independent of fortification level, but dependent upon soil type. Methods previously described in the literature produced imazapyr recoveries of less than 60% with Halii soil. This improved method has a limit of detection of 5 ng g -1 (equivalent to or better than other methods) and affords higher recovery of imazapyr residues from tropical soil.
The deposition of selenium coatings on beryllium foils

Abstract A technique for preparing selenium films on 50.8μm thick beryllium foils is described. The selenium was deposited in vacuum from a resistance heated evaporation source. A water-cooled enclosure was used to minimize contamination of the vacuum system and to reduce the exposure of personnel to toxic and noxious materials. Profilometry measurements of the coatings indicated selenium thicknesses of 5.5, 12.9, 37.5, 49.8 and 74.5 μm. The control of deposition rate and of coating thickness was facilitated using a commercially available closed-loop programmable deposition controller. The X-ray transmission of the coated substrates was measured using a tritiated zirconium source. The transmissivities of the film/substrate combination are presented for the range of energies from 4 to 20 keV.