cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Ultralarge multimers of von Willebrand factor form spontaneous high-strength bonds with the platelet glycoprotein Ib-IX complex: studies using optical tweezers.

Ultralarge von Willebrand factor (ULVWF) multimers have been implicated in the pathogenesis of the catastrophic microangiopathic disorder, thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura. Spontaneous ULVWF binding to platelets has been ascribed to increased avidity due to the greatly increased number of binding sites for platelets (the A1 domain) per molecule. To address the mechanism of enhanced ULVWF binding to platelets, we used optical tweezers to study the unbinding forces from the glycoprotein Ib-IX (GP Ib-IX) complex of plasma VWF, ULVWF, and isolated A1 domain. The unbinding force was defined as the minimum force required to pull ligand-coated beads away from their attachment with GP Ib-IX–expressing cells. Beads coated with plasma VWF did not bind to the cells spontaneously, requiring the modulators ristocetin or botrocetin. The force required to break the ristocetin- and botrocetin-induced plasma VWF–GP Ib-IX bonds occurred in integer multiples of 6.5 pN and 8.8 pN, respectively, depending on the number of bonds formed. In contrast, beads coated with either ULVWF or A1 domain bound the cells in the absence of modulators, with bond strengths in integer multiples of approximately 11.4 pN for both. Thus, in the absence of shear stress, ULVWF multimers form spontaneous high-strength bonds with GP Ib-IX, while plasma VWF requires exogenous modulators. The strength of individual bonds formed with GP Ib-IX was similar for both ULVWF and the isolated A1 domain and greater than those of plasma VWF induced by either modulator. Therefore, we suggest that the conformational state of ULVWF multimers is more critical than their size for interaction with platelets.
Gene structure and properties of TIGR, an olfactomedin-related glycoprotein cloned from glucocorticoid-induced trabecular meshwork cells

Expression of the trabecular meshwork inducible glucocorticoid response (TIGR) gene progressively increases from barely detectable levels to greater than 2% of total cellular mRNA over 10 days exposure of trabecular meshwork (TM) cells to dexamethasone. Cycloheximide blocked most of the TIGR mRNA induction, suggesting a requirement for ongoing protein synthesis. The genomic structure of TIGR (∼20 kilobases) consists of 3 exons, and a 5-kilobase promoter region that contains 13 predicted hormone response elements, including several glucocorticoid regulatory elements, and other potentially important regulatory motifs. TIGR cDNA encodes an olfactomedin-related glycoprotein of 504 amino acids with motifs forN- and O-linked glycosylation, glycosaminoglycan initiation, hyaluronic acid binding, and leucine zippers. Recombinant TIGR (rTIGR) showed oligomerization and specific binding to TM cells. Anti-rTIGR antibody detected multiple translational/post-translational forms of TIGR produced by the cells (including secreted 66 kDa/55 kDa glycoproteins/proteins in the media and 55 kDa cellular proteins), whereas Northern blot showed a single mRNA species. The findings suggest potential mechanisms by which TIGR could obstruct the aqueous humor fluid flow and participate in the pathogenesis of glaucoma.
T. O. AVOSEH ON THE HISTORY OF EPE AND ITS ENVIRONS

second and most successful book, A Short History of Epe. His generosity was unusual, with his time to researchers, and with publications that he distributed freely and allowed others to use without seeking his permission. His unstated motto would be that knowledge should be acquired and distributed at no charge. His books on Epe and Badagri are his best known works, although he wrote several other obscure pamphlets which I have previously drawn attention to.3 As this is a continuation of my study on Avoseh, this essay does not intend to repeat previously published information on the author.4 The primary aim of the present paper is to present the text on Epe, and so to make it more accessible to a larger audience. A few additional points, made possible by the examination of the text under consideration, form the bulk of this
A method for measuring regional cerebral blood flow in freely moving, unstressed rats.

Abstract Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was measured in awake, freely moving, unstressed rats using the diffusible indicator, [14C]iodoantipyrine (IAP). Rats were prepared with catheters in the abdominal aorta and the right jugular vein and allowed to recover for 5–7 days in a special chamber. The catheters were accessible from the outside of the chamber and permitted cerebral blood flow to be measured without disturbing the rat. The length of the arterial catheter created a time delay and a dispersion of the tracer in blood as it was sampled over time. A correction was made for the catheter length using a numeric solution of the convolution integral. Blood flow in regions composed predominantly of grey matter ranged from 68 to 240 ml/100 g/min with the highest flow in the inferior colliculus. Flows in cortical regions ranged from 103 to 200 ml/100 g/min. Flow in the neural lobe of the pituitary was 454 ml/100 g/min. These studies demonstrate that the errors in measuring arterial tracer concentration when blood is sampled from a long catheter can be corrected. The correction permits rCBF to be measured in freely moving rats.
Maximum temperatures for radiation from plasma waves

We derive upper limits to the radiation temperaturesT t(k) for emission near the fundamental and second harmonic of the electron plasma frequency in terms of the effective temperature for plasma wavesT l(k′). We findT t(k)≲(c/(3)1/2 V e)3 T l(k′) for emission near the fundamental which differs from the result of Melrose (1970b) by the factor in parentheses. This factor can exceed 4×104 in some plasmas. The conditions under which this limit could be reached are delinated. For emission near the second harmonicT t(k)≤T l(k′) since the absorption coefficient in this case can only be positive.
Production of Penicillin Acylase from Bacillus megaterium in Complex and Defined Media

Abstracts of the XV Chilean Congress of Microbiology, Valdivia, Chile, 9- 12 October, 1992, p. 67. Balasingham, K., Warburton, D., Dunhill, P. & Lilly, M., The islolation and kinetics of penicillin amidase from Escherichia coli. Biochim. Biophys. Acta, 276 (1972) 250-6. Shewale. J.. Kumar. K. & Ambekar. G., Evaluation of determination of ?i-amino peni&& acid by p- dimethvlamino benzaldehvde. Biotechnol. Technol.. 1 (1987)‘ti9-72. - Niedermayer, A., Determination of phenylacetic acid in penicillin fermentation media by means of gas chromatography. Anal. Chem., 36 (1964) 938-9. Bradford, M., A rapid and sensitive method for quanti- tation of .mi&ogr& quantities of protein utilizing the orincide of protein-dve binding. Anal. C&m., 72 (1976)248-54. - Miller. G.. Use of dinitrosalicvlic reagent for determina- tion of reducing sugars. Anal.-Chern.,>l(l959) 426-9. Son. H.. Mheen, T. & Han, M., Studies on microbial pe&illih amidaie (IV): the production of penicillin amidase from a partially constitutive mutant of
Immune remodeling: lessons from repertoire alterations during chronological aging and in immune-mediated disease

Immunological studies of aging and of patients with chronic immune-mediated diseases document overlap of immune phenotypes. Here, the term "immune remodeling" refers to these phenotypes that are indicative of biological processes of deterioration and repair. This concept is explored through lessons from studies about the changes in the T-cell repertoire and the functional diversity of otherwise oligoclonal, senescent T cells. Immune remodeling suggests a gradual process that occurs throughout life. However, similar but more drastic remodeling occurs disproportionately among young patients with chronic disease. In this article, I propose that immune remodeling is a beneficial adaptation of aging to promote healthy survival beyond reproductive performance, but acute remodeling poses risk of premature exhaustion of the immune repertoire and, thus, is detrimental in young individuals.
Sensitivity of Ice Storms in the Southeastern United States to Atlantic SST—Insights from a Case Study of the December 2002 Storm

Abstract Meteorological observations and model simulations are used to show that the catastrophic ice storm of 4–5 December 2002 in the southeastern United States resulted from the combination of a classic winter storm and a warm sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly in the western Atlantic Ocean. At the time of the storm, observations show that the Atlantic SST near the southeastern U.S. coast was 1.0°–1.5°C warmer than its multiyear mean. The impact of this anomalous SST on the ice accumulation of the ice storm was evaluated with the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System. The model shows that a warmer ocean leads to the conversion of more snow into freezing rain while not significantly affecting the inland surface temperature. Conversely, a cooler ocean produces mostly snowfall and less freezing rain. A similar trend is obtained by statistically comparing observations of ice storms in the last decade with weekly mean Atlantic SSTs. The SST during an ice storm is significantly and positively correlated wi...
D-Thyroxine Treatment in Glycogen Storage Disease Type VIa

Phosphorylase b kinase (PK) deficiency is considered as a relatively benign glycogen storage disease (GSD VIa). Garibaldi et al. (Helv. Paediat. Acta 33, 435 (1978) reported that the treatment with dextro-thyroxine (DT4) resulted in normalization of liver size, triglyceride concentration and transaminase activities in serum of four boys with GSD VIa. We treated three patients with GSD VIa over periods of 39, 19 and 18 months respectively with 60-330 μg DT4 per kg b.w. per day. In two patients liver height (sonographically measured in the right medioclavicular line) decreased by seven and five cm respectively. Glycogen concentration in erythrocytes also diminished accordingly in these patients. Clinical response in one of these two patients was remarkable showing a decrease in transaminase activities, triglyceride levels in serum as well as an increase in growth during the treatment. However, there was no significant activation of PK in erythrocytes by DT4 in all three patients. This individual difference in responses to DT4 treatment in GSD VIa may be due to heterogeneity of this disease. It is necessary to study further the possible heterogeneity of this disease in order to apply efficiently and correctly DT4 in the treatment of GSD VIa.
Dendrochronology of the Pennsylvania Main Line Canal Lock Number Four, Pittsburgh:

Well-preserved timbers and planks were excavated from Lift Lock No. 4 of the Pennsylvania Main Line Canal, built in Pittsburgh ca. 1829. The discovery of these extensive buried remains afforded an opportunity to explore the applicability of dendrochronological and dendroclimatological research to eastern United States mesic sites of the historic time period. Eighteen samples of white pine (Pinus sp.) planks were analyzed using a tree-ring dating program to develop a floating (undated) chronology for the site. Eleven of the sampled planks were found to match at significant values to form a 152 year-long floating chronology. The floating chronology was then cross-dated with a white pine master chronology from Cook Forest, Pennsylvania. The dendrochronological work shows that trees used in building the canal lock began to grow by AD 1658, while the outermost extent rings date to AD 1809. The established dendrochronological sequence is interpreted with respect to lock construction, and the implications of the...
Nondestructive evaluation (NDE) of composite-to-metal bond interface of a wind turbine blade using an acousto-ultrasonic technique

An acousto-ultrasonic inspection technique was developed to evaluate the structural integrity of the epoxy bond interface between a metal insert and the fiber glass epoxy composite of a wind turbine blade. Data was generated manually as well as with a PC based data acquisition and display system. C-scan imaging using a portable ultrasonic scanning system provided an area mapping of the delamination or disbond due to fatigue testing and normal field operation conditions of the turbine blade. Comparison of the inspection data with a destructive visual examination of the bond interface to determine the extent of the disbond showed good agreement between the acousto-ultrasonic inspection data and the visual data.
X-ray micrography and imaging of Escherichia coli cell shape using laser plasma pulsed point x-ray sources

High-resolution x-ray microscopy is a relatively new technique and is performed mostly at a few large synchrotron x-ray sources that use exposure times of seconds. We utilized a bench-top source of single-shot laser (ns) plasma to generate x-rays similar to synchrotron facilities. A 5 microlitres suspension of Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 in 0.9% phosphate buffered saline was placed on polymethylmethyacrylate coated photoresist, covered with a thin (100 nm) SiN window and positioned in a vacuum chamber close to the x-ray source. The emission spectrum was tuned for optimal absorption by carbon-rich material. Atomic force microscope scans provided a surface and topographical image of differential x-ray absorption corresponding to specimen properties. By using this technique we observed a distinct layer around whole cells, possibly representing the Gram-negative envelope, darker stained areas inside the cell corresponding to chromosomal DNA as seen by thin section electron microscopy, and dent(s) midway through one cell, and 1/3- and 2/3-lengths in another cell, possibly representing one or more division septa. This quick and high resolution with depth-of-field microscopy technique is unmatched to image live hydrated ultrastructure, and has much potential for application in the study of fragile biological specimens.
84. RNA Silencing: Role of Interferon System Components in Non_Specific Effects Induced by Chemically Synthesized Small Interfering RNAs, Enzymatically Synthesized Small Interfering RNAs and Short Hairpin RNAs

In mammalian cells, long double-stranded RNAs (dsRNAs) activate interferon (IFN) signaling as well as interferon inducible RNA-dependent enzymes that affect translational activity including the protein kinase (PKR) and 2',5'-oligoadenylate synthetases (2',5'-OAS). DsRNA also is the mediator of RNA interference (RNAi), a widely used gene silencing strategy with utility both as a basic research tool and potential therapeutic. RNAi mediated by short dsRNA molecules (|[sim]|20-bp) was originally thought to circumvent the IFN response to achieve specific target silencing without triggering potentially problematic non-specific effects. However, reports suggest that some small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) and short hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) produced from transfected plasmids can induce cytokine signaling and cause other non-specific effects. We therefore undertook a further combined genetic and biochemical examination of the involvement of IFN system components in RNAi to directly address the potential involvement of IFN-regulated gene products in non-specific responses to siRNAs. We examined the contribution of IFN signaling, PKR and RNase L to both on-target and non-specific gene silencing as well as induction of cytokines induced by three RNAi strategies. We show, through the use of cell lines genetically deficient in signaling and action components of the IFN system, that chemically synthesized siRNAs, T7 RNA polymerase-synthesized siRNAs, and shRNAs differentially activate IFN signaling and non-specific gene silencing. ShRNAs with up to 50 nucleotides complementary to a target gene mediated specific silencing and did not trigger nonspecific gene silencing. While the plasmids that delivered the shRNA constructs induced IFN-|[beta]| in a wild type cell line sensitive to CpG DNA, there was no differential induction of IFN-|[beta]| caused by the shRNAs in this cell type or other cell types not sensitive to CpG DNA. By contrast, both 20-bp and 50-bp T7 synthesized siRNAs caused significant non-specific gene silencing and induced higher levels of IFN-|[beta]| in wild type cells than chemically synthesized siRNAs. The IFN-|[beta]| induction capacity of the T7 synthesized siRNAs varied between preparations and could be reduced by gel purification of the siRNA. Chemically synthesized siRNAs caused non-specific gene silencing only at extremely high concentration and did not induce significant IFN-|[beta]| production in any cell type tested. Non-specific siRNA-mediated silencing was independent of PKR and RNase L, and only partially dependent upon IFN receptormediated signaling. We also found a relationship between the nonspecific gene silencing and the induction of apoptosis by the different RNAi mediators in different cell lines.
A defect-correction method for the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations

A defect-correction method for the incompressible Navier-Stokes equation with a high Reynolds number is considered. In the defect step, the artificial viscosity parameter @s is added to the Reynolds number as a stability factor, and the residual is taken care of in the correction step. H^1 and L^2 error estimations are derived for the one-step defect-correction method, and the results of some numerical experiments are presented. These results show that, for the driven cavity, two defect-correction steps antidiffuse the artificial viscosity approximation nearly optimally. This combination gives on a very coarse mesh, results indistinguishable from a benchmark, very fine mesh calculation.
eStatement Studies: A Reliable Database for Financial Benchmarks

Risk Management Association (RMA) is a nonprofit organization based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1914, the organization identifies its purpose as advancing “the use of sound risk princ...
A systematic review of measures used to assess chronic musculoskeletal pain in clinical and randomized controlled clinical trials.

Abstract There are many types of pain assessments available to researchers conducting clinical trials, ranging from simple, single-item Visual Analog Scale (VAS) questions through extensive, multidimensional inventories. The primary question addressed in this survey of top-tier medical journals was: Which pain assessments are most commonly used in trials? Articles addressing chronic musculoskeletal pain in clinical trials were identified in 7 major medical journals for the year 2003. A total of 50 studies (1476 total original research articles reviewed) met selection criteria, and from these we identified 28 types of pain assessments. Selected studies were classified according to the dimensions of pain assessed, the type of scale and descriptors/anchors used, and the reporting period specified. The most frequently used assessments were the single-item VAS and the Numeric Rating Scale; multidimensional inventories were used infrequently. There was considerable variability in the instructions patients received about the period to consider when evaluating their pain, and many studies provided only cursory information about their assessments in the methods. Overall, it appears that clinical trials use simple measures of pain and that there is no widely accepted standard for clinical pain assessment that would facilitate comparison of outcomes across trials. Perspective This review highlights the heterogeneity of pain outcome measures used and the abundance of single-item measures in clinical trials. Although there are many pain outcome measures available to clinical researchers, more consistency in the field should be encouraged so that results between studies can be compared.
Retroreflector for Photonic Doppler Velocimetry

In order to meet the goals of the Department of Defense (DoD) for smaller and more accurate weapons, numerous projects are currently investigating the miniaturization of weapons and munition fuze components. One of these efforts is to characterize the performance of small detonators. The velocity of the flyer, the key component needed to initiate a detonation sequence, can be measured using a photonic Doppler velocimeter (PDV). The purpose of this research was to develop a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) device that would act as an optimal retroreflective surface for the PDV. Two MEMS solutions were explored: one using the PolyMUMPs TM fabrication process and one in-house fabrication design using silicon on insulator (SOI) wafers. The in-house design consisted of an array of corner reflectors created using an SOI wafer. Each corner reflector consisted of three separate mirror plates which were self-assembled by photoresist pad hinges. When heated to a critical temperature (typically 140-160 °C), the photoresist pads melted and the resulting surface tension caused each mirror to rotate into place. The resulting array of corner reflectors was then coated with a thin layer of gold to increase reflectivity. Despite the successful assembly of a PolyMUMPs TM corner reflector, assembling an array of these reflectors was found to be unfeasible. Although the SOI corner reflector design was completed, these devices were not fabricated in time for testing during this research. However, the bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) and optical cross section (OCS) of commercially available retroreflective tapes were measured. These results can be used as a baseline comparison for future testing of a fabricated SOI corner reflector array.
Comparative Studies on the Estimation of Genetic Variances by Several Variance Components Estimation Method

Using a quantitative genetic model, this paper compares four different methods for estimating genetic variance components. Given various genetic parameters, data were generated and estimates computed. The number of negative estimates, the sample mean, the sample variance, and the sample mean squared error were computed for each method. It is shown that, if the genetic values are not very small, the traditional MATHER-JINKS method is at least as good as any other method. The ML method might be preferable only if the genetic values are very small and the number of loci large.
Transient dipole radiation in an absorbing uniaxial crystal

Abstract The electromagnetic radiation arising from a longitudinally and a transversely oriented magnetic dipole in a dissipative uniaxially anisotropic medium is determined by writing separate equations for the electromagnetic field intensities, and utilizing a spectral representation in the space-time Fourier domain. It is established that explicit, time- dependent, analytical solutions are possible in the case where the permitivity, permeability and conductivity tensors are simultaneously diagonalizable by means of a collineatory transformation, and the permittivity and conductivity tensors are directly proportional to each other.
Psychiatric Hospital Service Utilization of Children and Adolescents in State Custody

ABSTRACT Objective To examine factors related to psychiatric hospitalization decision and length of stay of wards of the Illinois Department of Child and Family Services. Method A prospective design was implemented using the Childhood Severity of Psychiatric Illness (CSPI), a reliable, quantitative measure of psychiatric severity and its mediating factors. The CSPI was completed by hospital screeners upon conclusion of their crisis interviews. In addition to completing the CSPI, workers reported on demographic information. Results CSPI variables could effectively predict decision to admit versus deflect. The overall accuracy of this statistically significant prediction model was 77.9%. which was replicated on a new sample. Factors associated with decision to hospitalize are clinical in nature; ratings of suicidality, dangerousness, and impulsivity contributed the most to the model. Predicting length of stay was only moderately successful. Despite achieving significance, the model accounted for just 15.1% of length of stay variance using a multiple regression. Factors associated with length of stay were largely non-clinical in nature: living arrangement stability, region of the hospitalization, and age. Conclusions These results can be used to assess how decisions regarding level and duration of care are currently being made as a point of departure for quality improvement efforts.
The Impact of Cultural Norms on Women

Women student engineers' and professors' classroom experiences, especially their everyday interactions with men student engineers and professors, can be negative. This ethnographic study of the discourse used by professors and students during a sophomore design class demonstrates that some women's difficulties are the result of cultural features of engineering that are only rarely open to redefinition by women. In spite of many engineering educators' sincere commitments to improving women's experiences in engineering education, these cultural features diminish the successes of reform-minded engineering education. I detail how discourse in whole-class and teamwork settings indicated the cultural norms of engineering talk and how this discourse reinforced traditional practices that were only rarely open to revision. Also, I comment on the use of ordeals in this classroom. My findings suggest that engineering education must change before inclusion of women is realized. In particular, I suggest the changes needed are complex and include 1) more communication about the ways that cultural norms impact women and other marginalized groups, 2) forums where participants can speak openly without fear of retaliation, and 3) attention to changing those policies and practices that send narrow messages about who engineers are and what engineering might be.
A study of the modification of the friction and wear behavior of polyphenylene sulfide by particulate Ag2S and PbTe fillers

Abstract The tribological behavior of polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) reinforced with particulate inorganic fillers was studied. The composites were molded with Ag2S and PbTe fillers in varying proportions. Sliding tests were performed in a pin-on-disk configuration at a speed of 1.0 m/s, nominal pressure of 0.65 MPa, and counterface roughness of 0.1 μm Ra. The counterface was a hardened tool steel disk. Microscopic analysis of the transfer films formed on the counterface during sliding was performed. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to analyze the compositions in the transfer film in the vicinity of the counterface. The As2S filler decreased the wear rate of PPS significantly while PbTe increased it considerably. The microscopic examination of the counterface surface showed that a thin, uniform and strongly adhering polymer transfer film was formed when Ag2S was used as the filler but there was little transfer film formed in the case of PbTe filler. XPS analysis revealed that chemical reaction occurred during sliding between the filler and the counterface Fe in the case of Ag2S while there was no such chemical reaction when PbTe was used as the filler. The chemical reaction in the case of Ag2S filler contributed to enhanced adhesion between the transfer film and the counterface and thus led to reduced wear.
Adsorption of Colloidal Silica on Alumina and of Colloidal Alumina on Silica

The mutual adsorption of colloidal silica on alumina and of colloidal alumina on silica and silicate materials occurs in aqueous suspension at about pH 4. It is shown that the adsorption of colloidal particles on the surface of opposite charge is limited to essentially a monoparticle layer. An adsorbed layer of fibrils of colloidal alumina on the surfaces of silica, asbestos, graphite, and finely divided clay is shown in electron micrographs. The effect of the adsorbed colloid on dispersibility of the substrate materials is discussed.
Progressive union bound of space-time block codes and its saddlepoint approximation

A new criterion for performance evaluation of space-time block codes, based on the progressive union bound (PUB) is proposed. The PUB is not analytically tractable, in general, but can be well approximated by a saddlepoint approximation. The improvements provided by this new approach are illustrated by comparison with other bounds. New code sets, offering improved performance at low SNR, can also be found via the new bounds.
An Anatomy of Urban Terror: Lessons from Jerusalem and Elsewhere

This paper examines the increased prevalence of urban terror and its spatial implications. Urban terror concerns territory, space and logistics, and is characterised by low-intensity, ambiguously b...
Free parallel data mining

Data mining is computationally expensive. Since the benefits of data mining results are unpredictable, organizations may not be willing to buy new hardware for that purpose. We will present a system that enables data mining applications to run in parallel on networks of workstations in a fault-tolerant manner. We will describe our parallelization of a combinatorial pattern discovery algorithm and a classification tree algorithm. We will demonstrate the effectiveness of our system with two real applications: discovering active motifs in protein sequences and predicting foreign exchange rate movement.
Toward usable access control for end-users: a case study of facebook privacy settings

Many protection mechanisms in computer security are designed to enforce a configurable policy. The security policy captures high-level goals and intentions, and is managed by a policy author tasked with translating these goals into an implementable policy. In our work, we focus on access control policies where errors in the specified policy can result in the mechanism incorrectly denying a request to access a resource, or incorrectly allowing access to a resource that they should not have access to. Due to the need for correct policies, it is critical that organizations and individuals have usable tools to manage security policies. Policy management encompasses several subtasks including specifying the initial security policy, modifying an existing policy, and comprehending the effective policy. The policy author must understand the configurable options well enough to accurately translate the desired policy into the implemented policy. Specifying correct security policies is known to be a difficult task, and prior work has contributed policy authoring tools that are more usable than the prior art and other work has also shown the importance of the policy author being able to quickly understand the effective policy. Specifying a correct policy is difficult enough for technical users, and now, increasingly, end-users are being asked to make access control decisions in regard to who can access their personal data. We focus on the need for an access control mechanism that is usable for end-users. We investigated end-users who are already managing an access control policy, namely social network site (SNS) users. We first looked at how they manage the access control policy that defines who can access their shared content. We accomplish this by empirically evaluating how Facebook users utilize the available privacy controls to implement an access control policy for their shared content and found that many users have policies are inconsistent with their sharing intentions. Upon discovering that many participants claim they will not take corrective action in response to inconsistencies in their existing settings, we collected quantitative and qualitative data to measure whether SNS users are concerned with the accessibility of their shared content. After confirming that users do in fact care about who accesses their content, we hypothesize that we can increase the correctness of users' SNS privacy settings by introducing contextual information and specific guidance based on the their preferences. We found that the combination of viewership feedback, a sequence of direct questions to audit the user's sharing preferences, and specific guidance motivates some users to modify their privacy settings to more closely approximate their desired settings. Our results demonstrate the weaknesses of ACL-based access control mechanisms, and also provide support that it is possible to improve the usability of such mechanisms. We conclude by outlining the implications of our results for the design of a usable access control mechanism for end-users.
Integrating online information with software products

The author describes some of her experiences in developing online information that is integrated with a software product. She discusses (1) the definition of the product's user interface by the information developer's, (2) the development of windowed and field-sensitive help for a mainframe product, and (3) the prototyping of online help with the product's user interface. She concludes that her experiences indicate how development of online information can be more fully integrated with the development of the entire software product and result in a more usable product. >
Visual Speech Recognition with Stochastic Networks

This paper presents ongoing work on a speaker independent visual speech recognition system. The work presented here builds on previous research efforts in this area and explores the potential use of simple hidden Markov models for limited vocabulary, speaker independent visual speech recognition. The task at hand is recognition of the first four English digits, a task with possible applications in car-phone dialing. The images were modeled as mixtures of independent Gaussian distributions, and the temporal dependencies were captured with standard left-to-right hidden Markov models. The results indicate that simple hidden Markov models may be used to successfully recognize relatively unprocessed image sequences. The system achieved performance levels equivalent to untrained humans when asked to recognize the first four English digits.
Determination and Consideration of Flight Potential in a Laboratory Population of True Armyworm (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Flight potential, a poorly understood phenomenon in the migratory true armyworm, Pseudaletia unipuncta (Haworth), was investigated in a laboratory population using tethered-flight techniques. True armyworm exhibited strong flight potential relative to other known migratory noctuids whose flight potentials were previously determined by similar techniques. Flight potential was generally low for 1-d-old moths and increased with age to day 5 of adult life. Flight speed and distance flown decreased for female moths from day 5 to day 10 as their reproductive system developed. The greatest average flight speed, total flight duration, and distance flown was exhibited by 5-d-old females and 10-d-old males, suggesting that flight potential may differ by sex. Ten-day-old moths had the longest flight duration. Factor analysis showed that total flight distance, total flight duration, and average flight speed are strongly correlated to the factor variable, but the correlation for longest flight duration was weaker. The significance of these findings to migratory flight and reproductive behavior of P. unipuncta is discussed in the light of published findings.
Topology-based smoothing of 2D scalar fields with C1-continuity

Data sets coming from simulations or sampling of real-world phenomena often contain noise that hinders their processing and analysis. Automatic filtering and denoising can be challenging: when the nature of the noise is unknown, it is difficult to distinguish between noise and actual data features; in addition, the filtering process itself may introduce "artificial" features into the data set that were not originally present. In this paper, we propose a smoothing method for 2D scalar fields that gives the user explicit control over the data features. We define features as critical points of the given scalar function, and the topological structure they induce (i.e., the Morse-Smale complex). Feature significance is rated according to topological persistence. Our method allows filtering out spurious features that arise due to noise by means of topological simplification, providing the user with a simple interface that defines the significance threshold, coupled with immediate visual feedback of the remaining data features. In contrast to previous work, our smoothing method guarantees a C1-continuous output scalar field with the exact specified features and topological structures.
The Evolution of Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) protocols for nonsmall cell lung cancer

Over the past 2 decades, the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) has played a significant role in clarifying the role of radiation therapy (RT) in the treatment of nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC). RTOG lung cancer research has evolved over this time period through a systematic succession of investigations. For unresectable NSCLC, the dependence of local tumor control and survival on total dose of standard fractionation RT, as well as pretreatment performance characteristics, was demonstrated in initial RTOG trials. Subsequently, further radiation dose intensification was tested using altered fractionation RT to total doses up to 32% higher than standard RT to 60 Gy, given as either hyperfractionation or accelerated fractionation, while attempting to retain acceptable normal tissue toxicity. These higher doses required rethinking of established RT techniques and limitations, as well as careful surveillance of acute and late toxicity. A survival advantage was shown for hyperfractionation to 69.6 Gy, in favorable performance patients, compared to 60 Gy. Further testing of high dose standard RT will use three-dimensional, conformal techniques to minimize toxicity. RTOG further extended the theme of treatment intensification for unresectable NSCLC by evaluating combined chemotherapy (CT) and RT. Improved local control and survival was shown for induction CT followed by standard RT to 60 Gy, compared to standard RT (60 Gy) and altered fractionation RT (69.6 Gy). The intent of current studies is to optimize dose and scheduling of combined CT and standard RT, as well as combined CT and altered fractionation RT. Noncytotoxic RT adjuvants, such as hypoxic cell sensitizers, nonspecific immune stimulants, and biologic response modifiers have also been studied. Resectable NSCLC has also been an RTOG focus, with studies of preoperative and postoperative RT, CT, and CT/RT, including the prognostic value of serum and tissue factors. RTOG studies have yielded incremental improvements in treatment outcome for NSCLC, better understanding of the disease dynamics, and a strong foundation for future investigations.
J. Peter Brosius, Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing, and Charles Zerner, eds. Communities and Conservation: Histories and Politics of Community-Based Natural Resource Management. Lanham, Md.: Alta Mira Press, 2005 (512 pages)

Since the 1990s, a transnational network of activists and organizations has played a critical role in new perspectives on rural development and land rights. The individuals and groups that constitute this network are linked by the issues of environmental conservation, social justice, and indigenous peoples' advocacy. This network forms a loose-knit set of overlapping alliances, which have pushed for substantial changes in how international agencies and state governments conceptualize and operationalize plans for development, especially in the developing world. This network challenges many long-held notions, including those of cultural citizenship, individual and group rights, and the state's role in social and environmental projects. Before the 1990s, dominant assumptions about the inevitability of state-led modernity meant that scholars and organizations generally accepted the role of the state as a force of assimilation and social betterment. Now, however, with a concomitant rise in indigenous identity politics and new urban-rural linkages for social justice, many academics and activists have pointed to the negative effects of state policy. In turn, a rising number of actors now champion moves for state decentralization, and the creation and expansion of community-based management. During this time of rapid change, scholars and activists have played critical roles in shaping new international configurations and have contributed to the rise of community-based rights.
The choice of internal coordinates in complex chemical systems

This article presents several considerations for the appropriate choice of internal coordinates in various complex chemical systems. The appropriate and black box recognition of internal coordinates is of fundamental importance for the extension of internal coordinate algorithms to all fields where previously Cartesian coordinates were the preferred means of geometry manipulations. Such fields range from local and global geometry optimizations to molecular dynamics as applied to a wide variety of chemical systems. We present a robust algorithm that is capable to quickly determine the appropriate choice of internal coordinates in a wide range of atomic arrangements. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem, 2010
Moral Knowledge: Real and Grounded in Place

Recent work in ethics and epistemology argues that physical surroundings have normative force. The ideas of ‘grounding knowledge’ and ‘real ethics’ provide an important way to understand sense of place. This paper uses this work to argue that there is a moral structure to material culture, and that the existence of this moral structure makes it necessary for us to pay attention to the epistemic import of the physical environments we create and live in. Since environments are thick with moral norms, it is incumbent upon us to figure out what kinds of environments are most conducive to our shared visions of the good life.
Evaluating response to metrifonate

Metrifonate, administered orally to patients with probable Alzheimer's disease in a once-daily dose, readily enters the brain and inhibits brain acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity in a dose-dependent fashion. Metrifonate is a prodrug, converted non-enzymatically to 2,2-dichlorovinyl dimethyl phosphate, a long-acting inhibitor of AChE that produces stable enzyme inhibition over time. In combination, these pharmacologic characteristics lead to a reduced side effect profile in comparison with several other cholinesterase inhibitors. Both preliminary and confirmatory pivotal studies have shown that significant cognitive improvement is achieved with this medication in comparison with placebo in patients with probable Alzheimer's disease. Moreover, these studies also have demonstrated that metrifonate benefits the global function--a measure comprising domains of cognition, function, activities of daily living, and behavior--of patients with Alzheimer's disease. The medication is generally well tolerated, and no significant laboratory abnormalities occur. Therefore, metrifonate is a useful treatment for the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease.
PROSPECT - A Precision Reactor Oscillation and Spectrum Experiment

PROSPECT, the Precision Reactor Oscillation and Spectrum Experiment, is a multi-phased short baseline reactor antineutrino experiment that aims to precisely measure the \(^{235}\)U antineutrino spectrum and probe for oscillation effects involving a possible \(\varDelta \)m\(^2 \sim \mathrm {eV}^2\) scale sterile neutrino. The PROSPECT antineutrino detector, a \(14\times 11\) optically segmented Li-6 loaded liquid scintillator detector will be deployed at the baseline of 7–12 m from the High Flux Isotope Reactor at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. PROSPECT will measure the spectrum of \(^{235}\)U to aid in resolving the unexplained inconsistency between predictive spectral models and recent experimental measurements from low-enrichment Uranium cores, while the oscillation measurement will probe the best fit region suggested by global fitting studies within 1-year data taking. In this paper, we will cover the design of detector, the discovery potential of the experiment and the status of realizing PROSPECT.
Response variation across a strong rainfall gradient in two naturalized annual grass species

Non-native annual grasses in California are a functional group based on taxonomic similarity, but they may be dissimilar in terms of evolutionary potential and capacity for plastic response. The ecological character of each species is conditioned by their evolutionary history, the genetic circumstances of their introduction, and their subsequent interactions with the selective pressures in their new ranges. Early population ecology studies revealed regional monomorphism and population genetic uniformity as well as strong patterns of local adaptation. Recent studies have both challenged and verified those conclusions, and have also contributed useful new information regarding the genetic makeup of these non-native grasses. We used two very abundant and widespread species to test the prediction that non-native annual grasses would show similar adaptive responses under the same environmental conditions. Using six populations of two naturalized annual grass species collected from identical locations across a strong south-to-north rainfall gradient, we manipulated soil quality and soil moisture to test response in growth, reproduction, and phenology. Avena barbata populations showed strong response conditioned by resource availability and with a correlated shift in flowering phenology. In contrast, Hordeum murinum populations showed very uniform responses to changes in resource availability independent of their position on the rainfall gradient and with no correlated phenological shifts. Several genetic and historical factors may contribute to idiosyncratic responses and general adaptive patterns in these and other non-native species, and a better understanding of these factors will help us understand their current distributions.
Commercial potential of seaweeds from St Lawrence Island, Alaska

This study assessed the possibility of using drift and subtidal seaweeds from St Lawrence Island, Alaska (lat. 63°N) for sale by the native population after simple processing. Over 125 km of coastline were surveyed for distribution of both drift and subtidal seaweeds. Drift seaweed wet weight densities ranged from 0.2 to over 9 kg m−2, with an average of over 4 t km−1 in the areas sampled. Attached, benthic seaweed densities ranged from 0.15 to 0.32 kg m−2. Thirty and 35% of the biomass was composed of Agarum cribrosum and species of Laminaria, respectively, both as drift and as benthic seaweed. Data from tagged Laminaria indicated that growth rates were relatively slow for most of the year. The drift seaweed resource on the coasts south and west of the city of Gambell appeared to have good potential for a small-scale commercial harvest.
Testing of Immunity-Based Failure Detection and Identification Scheme with the NASA Generic Transport Model

In this paper, the development and testing through simulation of an integrated scheme for aircraft sub-system failure detection and identification (FDI) based on the artificial immune system (AIS) paradigm is presented. The simulation environment includes the NASA Generic Transport Model interfaced with FlightGear. A hierarchical multi-self strategy was used to develop an FDI scheme capable of handling malfunctions of actuators and aerodynamic surface damage. The performance of the FDI scheme has been evaluated in terms of false alarms and successful detection and identification over a wide flight envelope and for a large variety of abnormal conditions. For all cases investigated the performance was very good, confirming the potential of the AIS paradigm to offer a comprehensive solution to the aircraft sub-system FDI problem.