cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Thymidine enhancement of 1-β-d-arabinofuranosylcytosine activity for mouse EL4 tumors

Abstract The effect of thymidine (dThd) on the cytotoxicity of 1-β- d -arabinofuranosylcytosine (ara-C) for EL4 thymomas in syngeneic C57BL/6 mice was determined. In vitro, dThd had a dual effect on cell response to ara-C. The ara-C LC50 changed from 2 × 10−7 M for growing cells to 10−8 M for dThd-arrested cells, and the number of cells sensitive to 1 h of ≧ 3 × 10 −6 M ara-C changed from 80 to 96%. Also, cells arrested and held in dThd were as sensitive to ara-C as cells allowed to re-initiate growth. In vivo, dThd and ara-C were given sequentially. Mice given 2 × 106 cells i.p. were treated 2 days later with 5 i.p. injections of 0.86% NaCl or 24 mg dThd, at 4 h intervals. Three h after the last dThd injection, a single i.p. injection of ara-C (20–5000 μg) was given. dThd-ara-C-treated mice survived significantly longer (p
Streets, parks and houses: Case study of a pedestrian neighbourhood

This case study describes the results of an urban design process involving faculty and students from the College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture at the University of Minnesota, an urban neighbourhood community group (Phalen Small-area Task Force) and the City of St. Paul Department of Planning and Economic Development. This multi-layered process examined: (1) the remains of the neighbourhood's ecological structure; (2) the existing infrastructure (including storm water, sewers, streets, etc.); (3) transit improvements and needs; (4) land use and zoning; (5) issues of crime; and (6) housing needs (especially problems in existing 212 storey apartments). The analysis led to three major physical design proposals which integrate new streets, parks and houses to create a safe, convenient and pedestrian-oriented neighbourhood through: (1) removing a deteriorating shopping mall and re-building a pre-existing wetland. The park created through this intervention reconnects the neighbourhood ,14to its ecological structure and creates a neighbourhood amenity, attracting new investment interests; (2) building a neighbourhood transit node with limited bus way to downtown and commercial niche, which attracts new development and balances the needs of people, transit and cars; and (3) inserting distinct neighbourhood streets which act as armatures to focus the rehabilitation of existing apartments and the development of diverse new housing types.
Some Considerations Governing Noise Measurements on Crystal Mixers

The general principles of analysis and measurement of noise in radio receivers are discussed starting with basic definitions and following with a derivation of the fundamental equations for noise and noise figures of single and cascaded networks. A treatment of the noise generated in a crystal rectifier, when used as the first detector in a superheterodyne receiver, is given in which the "noise temperature" of the crystal is defined and the contribution by virtue of this noise temperature to the over-all noise figure of the receiver is indicated. The problem of designing a noise-measuring set is treated in sufficient detail to show how the noise temperature of a crystal rectifier can be measured independently of its other properties.
Universal solutions for the streamwise variation of the temperature of a moving sheet in the presence of a moving fluid

Abstract A method has been developed for determining the streamwise variation of the temperature of a moving sheet in the presence of a co-flowing fluid. The solution does not depend on any material property of the sheet, its velocity, or its thickness. The solution is also independent of the properties of the fluid aside from the Prandtl number. Furthermore, the actual velocities of the sheet and the fluid need not be specified, but only their ratio is required. In the development of the method, a large knowledge base was first created by solving the differential equations for mass, momentum, and energy. The tabulated knowledge base served as input to a purely algebraic procedure whose end result is the streamwise variation of the sheet temperature. The procedure is iterative but requires no more than a least-squares curve-fitting capability. The iterative procedure is robust in that the converged result is independent of the initial iterant. It is also self correcting in the presence of an inadvertent error. Another method for determining the streamwise temperature variation, the relative-velocity model, was also investigated, and its accuracy assessed.
Volatile carboxylic acid profiling in physiological fluids: direct injection into a gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer.

Abstract We present a procedure for the profiling of the volatile carboxylic acids and neutral compounds in blood or urine using the direct injection of the acidified sample into a gas Chromatograph interfaced with a mass spectrometer by a jet separator. The non-volatile components remain at the head of the SP-1000 column while the volatile components move through the column. Up to sixty physiological samples can be analyzed before any degradation in mass spectrometer operating parameters is observed.
Satellite-based distance learning using digital video and the Internet

The Boston University College of Engineering Distance Learning Initiative (DLI) integrates computers, digital video, and the Internet to deliver graduate degree courses in engineering to students in companies distant from the Boston University campus. A key objective of the DLI is to support learning wherever it is most convenient, whether by groups in a classroom, at the workplace desk, or at home. The article describes the motivation, technology, and experiences in integrating a satellite-based digital video distance learning system coupled with Web technology.
Screen: bodily interaction with text in immersive VR

Bodily interaction with text creates new reading experiences by involving the body of the reader. This has been explored in video installation art, but without immersive 3D. Using a virtual reality environment (the Brown University Cave) we are able to make the bodily experience more direct. In our initial piece, Screen, the reader produces three different textual experiences from the same body of text, two of which differ significantly based on how her body is employed to "play" the piece.
Collaboration Urged for Climate Science and Finance Communities

Increased coordination and collaboration is needed between the climate science community and the financial services industry, according to speakers at a 3–4 June workshop held in Washington, D. C., by the American Meteorological Society (AMS). The AMS workshop brought together business and financial leaders and climate scientists. The financial industry needs climate data for a variety of predictions, but there has been little collaboration between the industry and the climate science community, speakers said.
A CLASSICAL THEORY OF THE INFORMAL SECTOR

A major focus of the debate on the informal sector is whether this sector constitutes a 'seedbed of capitalist growth' or simply a reserve army of unemployed. This paper develops a classical model where informal processes may or may not turn formal in the long run. It is further shown that if the state taxes capitalists in order to maintain informal sector incomes, the surplus is likely to fall as formal sector output grows. Thus, the authors conclude that while the informal sector does not necessarily lead to capitalist development, it may serve as a social buffer in its absence. Copyright 1994 by Blackwell Publishers Ltd and The Victoria University of Manchester
A Large U3 Deletion Causes Increased In Vivo Expression From a Nonintegrating Lentiviral Vector

The feasibility of using nonintegrating lentiviral vectors has been demonstrated by recent studies showing their ability to maintain transgene expression both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) vectors packaged with a mutated integrase were able to correct retinal disease in a mouse model. Interestingly, these results differ from earlier studies in which first-generation nonintegrating lentiviral vectors yielded insignificant levels of transduction. However, to date, a rigorous characterization of transgene expression from the currently used self-inactivating (SIN) nonintegrating lentiviral vectors has not been published. In this study, we characterize transgene expression from SIN nonintegrating lentiviral vectors. Overall, we found that nonintegrating vectors express transgenes at a significantly lower level than their integrating counterparts. Expression from nonintegrating vectors was improved upon introducing a longer deletion in the vector's U3 region. A unique shuttle-vector assay indicated that the relative abundance of the different episomal forms was not altered by the longer U3 deletion. Interestingly, the longer U3 deletion did not enhance expression in the corpus callosum of the rat brain, suggesting that the extent of silencing of episomal transcription is influenced by tissue-specific factors. Finally, and for the first time, episomal expression in the mouse liver was potent and sustained.
Red Cell Survival in Patients with Mitral Valvular Disease and Mitral Valve Prostheses

Red cell survival times were measured in patients with mitral valvular disease, mitral ball-valve prostheses, and multiple valve prostheses. Red cell survival was shortened in patients with mitral valvular disease but not in patients who had insertion of a normally functioning mitral prosthesis or after mitral commissurotomy. Mean red cell survival was also reduced in patients who had normal mitral prostheses associated with aortic valvular disease and in patients with a leak around the mitral prosthesis. Mean red cell survival was the same in patients with multiple prostheses and in patients with a single aortic prosthesis. If a leak developed around the mitral prosthesis in patients with multiple prostheses, hemolytic anemia could develop. Renal excretion of iron and iron deficiency were demonstrated in two patients with traumatic hemolytic anemia. The urinary iron loss apparently exceeds the capacity for intestinal absorption, and parenteral iron would seem to be indicated for replacement.
The effects of cortisone on intradermally induced vaccinia infection in rabbits.

infectious disease processes have been reviewed by Thomas (1), Kass and Finland (2), and others (3-5). These studies (1-5) have, in general, shown cortisone to enhance the disease processes. This disease-enhancing activity of cortisone has been shown to exist for a wide variety of experimental virus infections (6-13). Rose et al (14), investigating the action of cortisone on experimental vaccinia infection of rabbits, found a diminished local inflammatory reaction to the intracutaneous injection of live virus, as well as increased quantities of virus in the blood, brain, liver, spleen, kidneys, and adrenals of the cortisonetreated rabbits. A similar effect of corti-
Watershed Landscape Indicators of Estuarine Benthic Condition

Do land use and cover characteristics of watersheds associated with small estuaries exhibit a strong enough signal to make landscape metrics useful for identifying degraded bottom communities? We tested this idea with 58 pairs of small estuaries (<260 km2) and watersheds in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic coastal plain (Delaware Bay to Chesapeake Bay). We considered 34 landscape metrics as potential explanatory variables and seven estuarine parameters as response variables. We developed three logistic regression models: one to calculate the probability of degraded benthic environmental quality (BEQ), as defined by chemical parameters, and two for the probability of degraded estuarine bottom communities, one using a benthic index (BI) and a second using the total number of bottom-dwelling species (TNBS, consisting of benthic macroinvertebrates and fishes). We evaluated the discriminatory power of the models with ROC (receiver operating characteristic) curves of sensitivity and specificity. All three models showed excellent discrimination of high and low values. A model using the sum of all human land uses and percent wetlands correctly classified BEQ in 86% of the cases; low benthic index and low total number of bottom species were each associated with degraded BEQ (p<0.01). The BI model used percent riparian urban, riparian wetlands, and agriculture on steep slopes (76% correct classification) and correctly predicted high-low benthic index of an independent data set 79% of the time (p<0.05). The TNBS model used percent wetlands, riparian wetlands, and riparian agriculture (74% correct classification). Watersheds with higher percentages of urban and agricultural land uses were associated with lower benthic environmental quality, benthic index, and biodiversity, whereas those with higher percentages of wetlands were associated with higher numbers. As human development of watersheds increases, statistical prediction rules developed from landscape metrics could be a cost-effective method to identify potentially threatened estuaries.
Spectral resolution and coverage impact on advanced sounder information content

Advanced satellite sensors are tasked with improving global measurements of the Earth s atmosphere, clouds, and surface to enable enhancements in weather prediction, climate monitoring capability, and environmental change detection. Achieving such measurement improvements requires instrument system advancements. This presentation focuses on the impact of spectral resolution and coverage changes on remote sensing system information content, with a specific emphasis on thermodynamic state and trace species variables obtainable from advanced atmospheric sounders such as the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) and Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) systems on the MetOp and NPP/NPOESS series of satellites. Key words: remote sensing, advanced sounders, information content, IASI, CrIS
Remote monitoring of neuraxial function in anesthetized dogs in compression chambers

This paper describes the development of an electrophysiological model using spinal and cortical evoked potentials (SEP, CEP), for the diagnosis and monitoring of spinal cord decompression sickness (DCS) in anesthetized dogs. A comparison of alpha-chloralose with sodium pentobarbital showed that the latter caused a reduction in CEP amplitude. Continuous observation of EPs over 5 h showed a small reduction and an increasing variance of amplitude with time. The effectiveness of the method in the diagnosis of DCS and in studies of the adequacy of treatment is illustrated with several examples.
HAMPP: A Handheld Assistant for Military and Police Patrols for HA/DR Missions☆

Abstract Military and police patrols are an important component of Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief missions. These patrols need to access timely, relevant information about events and conditions along their patrol route, both historical, and ongoing. In the current practice, this information is gathered manually prior to the commencement of the patrol through the use of historical databases, current event repositories, and by conducting a review of records that may be relevant to the area to be patrolled. Being manual, this process is fraught with several problems including high-cost, slow-speed and low-reliability. We are developing HAMPP (Handheld Assistant for Military and Police Patrols) to enhance the effectiveness and security of the patrol units and reduce the cost and time required for patrol planning. HAMPP is designed to assist with gathering detailed information about relevant events along the patrol route and alert the patrol unit when they are in the vicinity of these areas during the patrol. In addition, it performs several other activities which relate to the security of the patrol unit. The goal of this paper is to present our system architecture for a device-independent mobile software system that enables planning of the patrol route and linking of related information to that route, and as the patrol starts, tracking the unit's current location and providing real-time information and alerts about areas of interest along the route of a patrol. Any deviations from the planned route are flagged and alerts sent to the command post.
Scientific inquiry, digital literacy, and mobile computing in informal learning environments

Understanding the connections between scientific inquiry and digital literacy in informal learning environments is essential to furthering students' critical thinking and technology skills. The Habitat Tracker project combines a standards-based curriculum focused on the nature of science with an integrated system of online and mobile computing technologies designed to help students learn about and participate in scientific inquiry in formal classroom settings and informal learning environments such as science museums or wildlife centers. This research documents the digital literacy skills elementary students used while participating in the Habitat Tracker project, exploring the connections between the scientific inquiry practices they developed and the digital literacy skills they employed as they engaged with the Habitat Tracker curriculum. The results of this research have implications for researchers and practitioners interested in fostering both the scientific inquiry practices and digital literacy sk...
Large dielectric constants and massive carriers in La2CuO4.

We report measurements of the conductivity and dielectric constant as a function of frequency and temperature on samples of ${\mathrm{La}}_{2}$${\mathrm{CuO}}_{4}$ from dc to 100 GHz. An analysis of the frequency dependence of the complex conductivity indicates that the high-frequency dielectric constant is large (\ensuremath{\simeq}50) and weakly temperature dependent. The dc charge carriers are massive (1100${\mathrm{m}}_{\mathrm{e}}$), weakly damped, and partially pinned.
Higher-order hybrid Monte Carlo algorithms

We present a simple recursive iteration of the leapfrog discretization of Newton's equations which leads to a removal of the finite-step-size error to any desired order. This is done in a manner that preserves phase-space areas and reversibility, as required for use in the hybrid Monte Carlo method for simulating fermionic fields. The resulting asymptotic volume dependence is exp((ln/ital V/)/sup 1/2/). We test the scheme on the (2+1)-dimensional Hubbard model.
Romanticism displaced and placeless

Displacement, deriving mainly from the circumstances of the first modern world war, is an abiding notion in European Romanticism. It can take the form of a fragmentation of psychic identity through loss of nationality, as we find in Ugo Foscolo, or of the exile’s split between nationalist identities, as exemplified by Germaine de Stael’s Corinne. But in the literature of Great Britain one also finds a powerful resonance from concrete historical circumstances: the huge numbers of Britons involved in military deployment overseas, whose effect is a leitmotif in Wordsworth’s early writing, are offset in complicated ways by the highly visible presence of displaced French emigres in England, tellingly represented by Charlotte Smith. On the other hand, this endemic sense of being uprooted allows for a kind of double irony, as writers in their reaction to the turmoil of displacement attempt to find a way of transcending nationalist strictures. For women, without political standing, this can mean liberation into t...
Modulation of the inflammatory response in the rat TMJ with increasing doses of complete Freund's adjuvant

Abstract Objectives Acute inflammation stresses the physiological system, which must respond in order to reestablish homeostasis. The purpose of this study was to determine whether bilateral temporomandibular joint (TMJ) injections of different doses of Complete Freund's Adjuvant (CFA) produced dose-dependent changes in biologic markers of acute inflammation. The ability to establish an animal model with varying degrees of joint inflammation would allow evaluation of agents or conditions that could modulate the severity of the disease. Design The TMJs of three groups of male Sprague–Dawley rats were injected with CFA containing varying doses of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MT). A group of non-injected and a group of saline injected rats were used as controls. Food intake, body weights, swelling and chromodacryorrhea were recorded daily. Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and corticosterone levels were assayed and condylar cartilage thickness was measured 48h after injections. Results Twenty-four hours post-injection, bilateral TMJ swelling and chromodacryorrhea were significantly ( P 0.05) increased following 10μg of MT and further increased with elevated MT dose. In the CFA groups food intake was attenuated ( P 0.01) 24 and 48h post-injection and negatively correlated with dose at 24h. Body weight was also negatively correlated with dose. TMJ retrodiscal tissues IL-1β was increased ( P 0.05) in a dose-dependent manner. CFA increased corticosterone ( P 0.05), but this elevation was not dose dependent. Condylar cartilage thickness was decreased in a dose-dependent manner. Conclusions These data suggest that an intermediate dose of CFA can be used to effect submaximal levels of TMJ inflammation that will allow experimental modulation in future studies.
Use of mobile phones by non-literate and semi-literate people: A systematic literature review

This paper reports on a systematic literature review conducted to discover the state of research concerning the use of mobile phones by non-/semi-literate users. This is an important and growing area of research because mobile phone users in the developing world represent 73% of global subscriptions, and, of the 796 million people around the world who cannot read or write, 98% live in the developing countries. Mobile phones offer low-literate people critical access to information and services. By understanding how these people currently use mobile phones, we can develop better ways to meet their needs. To learn what research has been done in this area, we conducted a systematic literature review to identify good-quality, evidence-based studies that included design recommendations. This paper will describe the detailed selection process and characterize the corpus articles along a number of dimensions: type of use, locale of the study, domain, research methodology, and design recommendations. Then the paper will present a thematic analysis of the usages identified in those papers and discuss the related design recommendations.
The developmental toxicity of orally administered theophylline in rats and mice.

Abstract Theophylline (THEO), a widely prescribed anti-asthmatic, was evaluated for developmental toxicity. It was administered continuously on Gestational Days 6 through 15 to pregnant Sprague-Dawley (CD) rats in the feed (0, 0.15, 0.30, or 0.40%) and to pregnant Swiss (CD-1) mice in the drinking water (0, 0.075, 0.15, or 0.20%). Estimated intake of THEO for rats was 0, 124, 218, or 259 mg/kg/day, while for mice it was 0, 282, 372, or 396 mg/kg/day. In rats, maternal weight gain parameters (weight gain during gestation and treatment, as well as corrected weight gain) decreased at 0.40%. While food consumption was lower only in the 0.40% treatment group, water consumption was higher in all treated groups. There was a dose-related decreasing trend in gravid uterine weight. The number of live fetuses per litter decreased at 0.40% and the average male and female fetal weight per litter decreased at 0.30 and 0.40%. There was no increase in malformations. In mice, maternal corrected body weight and weight gain during gestation decreased at 0.15 and 0.20%, and weight gain during treatment and gravid uterine weight decreased at 0.20%. Water consumption was reduced by as much as 30–45% of controls at 0.15 and 0.20%, respectively, while food consumption did not change with THEO treatment. There was an increase in percentage resorptions per litter and a decrease in the average male and female fetal weight per litter at 0.15 and 0.20%. An increasing trend was noted for percentage malformed fetuses per litter, and percentage litters with externally malformed fetuses were slightly increased in the mid- and high-dose groups. However, these increases were not statistically significant. In summary, there were developmental effects seen in rats at a dose (0.30%) that did not produce overt maternal toxicity, but the adverse developmental effects in mice were observed at doses that caused reduced maternal water consumption and body weight gain. It is possible that water deprivation contributed to the effects seen in mice after THEO treatment. For maternal toxicity, no observable adverse effect levels (NOAELs) were 218 mg/kg for rats and 282 mg/kg for mice. NOAELs for developmental toxicity were 124 mg/kg for rats and 282 mg/kg for mice. These NOAELs are approximately 10- to 30-fold greater than doses required to maintain humans on serum THEO concentrations that are clinically useful.
Long-term central venous catheters: Issues for care

Long-term central venous catheters allow the safe administration of chemotherapy, blood and blood products, total parenteral nutrition, fluids, and other medications. Despite their benefits, the risk of certain complications (e.g., fibrin sleeve and mural thrombus formation, infection, catheter occlusion, extravasation, and catheter malposition) exist for every person who has a catheter. Thus, preventative measures, recognition of early signs and symptoms of complications, and adequate care of utmost importance.
“Flow Valve” Microfluidic Devices for Simple, Detectorless, and Label-Free Analyte Quantitation

Simplified analysis systems that offer the performance of benchtop instruments but the convenience of portability are highly desirable. We have developed novel, miniature devices that feature visual inspection readout of a target’s concentration from a ∼1 μL volume of solution introduced into a microfluidic channel. Microchannels are constructed within an elastomeric material, and channel surfaces are coated with receptors to the target. When a solution is flowed into the channel, the target cross-links multiple receptors on the surface, resulting in constriction of the first few millimeters of the channel and stopping of flow. Quantitation is performed by measuring the distance traveled by the target solution in the channel before flow stops. A key advantage of our approach is that quantitation is accomplished by simple visual inspection of the channel, without the need for complex detection instrumentation. We have tested these devices using the model system of biotin as a receptor and streptavidin as t...
"Behind the poetic fiction": Freud, Schnitzler and feminine subjectivity.

In 1922 Sigmund Freud wrote to fellow Viennese author and dramatist Arthur Schnitzler: "I believe I have avoided you out of a sort of fear of my double." Through a series of reflections on this imagined doubling and its reception, this paper demonstrates that the ambivalent desire for his literary other attested by Freud's confession goes to the heart of both theoretical and historical questions regarding the nature of psychoanalysis. Bringing Schnitzler's resistance to Freud into conversation with attempts by psychoanalytically oriented literary scholars to affirm the "Doppengangertum" of the two men, it argues that not only psychoanalytic theories and modernist literature but also the tendency to identify the two must be treated as historical phenomena. Furthermore, the paper contends, Schnitzler's work stands in a more critical relationship to its Viennese milieu than Freud's: his examination of the vicissitudes of feminine desire in "Fraulein Else" underlines the importance of what lies outside the oedipal narrative through which the case study of "Dora" comes to be centered on the uncanny nexus of identification with and anxious flight from the other.
On the duality between points and lines

Duality between points and lines is examined, and the error distributions corresponding to various forms of duality are simulated. Several different least squares procedures for fitting of a line to several points are dualized to the fitting of a point to several lines and then dualized again to give the coordinate of a point of intersection of several lines.
Slant antieigenvalues and slant antieigenvectors of operators

We will introduce a general notion of slant antieigenvalue and corresponding slant antieigenvector. Then we establish how that theory may be compared to, and in some sense reduced to, the standard antieigenvalue theory. Generally speaking, our point of view is to accommodate such generalized antieigenvalue theories within the basic concepts and techniques of the original antieigenvalue theory.
High-resolution crystal structures of two crystal forms of human cyclophilin D in complex with PEG 400 molecules.

Cyclophilin D (CypD) is a key mitochondrial target for amyloid-β-induced mitochondrial and synaptic dysfunction and is considered a potential drug target for Alzheimer’s disease. The high-resolution crystal structures of primitive orthorhombic (CypD-o) and primitive tetragonal (CypD-t) forms have been determined to 1.45 and 0.85 A resolution, respectively, and are nearly identical structurally. Although an isomorphous structure of CypD-t has previously been reported, the structure reported here was determined at atomic resolution, while CypD-o represents a new crystal form for this protein. In addition, each crystal form contains a PEG 400 molecule bound to the same region along with a second PEG 400 site in CypD-t which occupies the cyclosporine A inhibitor binding site of CypD. Highly precise structural information for CypD should be extremely useful for discerning the detailed interaction of small molecules, particularly drugs and/or inhibitors, bound to CypD. The 0.85 A resolution structure of CypD-t is the highest to date for any CypD structure.
Jobs in the 1980's and beyond

Abstract Research by the Bureau of Labor Statistics does not support the view that present trends in the workplace will have negative effects on future productivity, wages, and job creation. The shift towards a service-producing economy will not necessarily result in generally lower productivity levels, slower rates of growth, and lower wage levels, as commonly believed. Further demographic changes may bode well for productivity; the future work force will have a higher proportion in the most stable and productive years. Although there will continue to be serious problems of high unemployment for some groups and job loss due to new technologies, gloomy predictions of a huge labor surplus and a trend towards low-paying jobs are unwarranted.
Head and neck epithelioid sarcoma in a child: Diagnostic dilemma and anterolateral thigh free flap reconstruction

The diagnostic dilemma is discussed of a child who presented with a granulomatous process of the external ear that was originally considered granuloma annulare and was later diagnosed as epithelioid sarcoma. We present the surgical treatment and the first report of reconstruction of a lateral skull base and cheek defect with an anterolateral thigh (ALT) free flap in a pediatric patient.
Public Participation City Rights Versus Citizen Rights

The combination of government process, ownerships rights, and violation of land use turns public participation into city rights versus citizens rights. When citizens experience the exploitive manner of incompatible development and irreversible expansion, contrary to the dictates of historic preservation law according to the Home Rule Act of the District of Columbia, they rightfully expect a recourse and fair review process from its regulatory agencies, legislative branch, and executive branch of city government. Citizens coalesce, divide into task groups, and create a record of evidence supporting their opposition and a record of city procedures. When this monitoring and scrutiny uncovers suspicions of political patronage and underhandedness, an applicant to build digs in its heels. The opposition stiffens, and the court seems the likely arbiter to enforce appropriate standards of conduct among the city’s regulatory agencies. Enforcement then sets a citywide precedent for lawful accountable land use for a...
A NOTE ON ESSENTIAL EXTENSIONS OF SEMI-SIMPLE MODULES

In a series of recent papers, Beidar, Jain and Srivastava studied the question as to when a ring R with the property that essential extensions of semi-simple right R-modules are direct sums of quasi-injectives is right Noetherian. Beidar and Jain proved that it is, when R is commutative or right q.f.d. In this note we extend their results proving the following: A ring R with this property is right Noetherian iff for some n ∈ ℕ, R/socn(RR) has ascending chain condition on essential non-two-sided right ideals (in particular, when R/socn(RR) is right q.f.d. or commutative). Also shown is the following: A ring is a right Noetherian right V-ring iff modules with essential socle are quasi-continuous/quasi-injective.
Sol-gel synthesis of textured lanthanum titanate thin films

Control over crystallographic orientation in thin films is important, particularly with highly anisotropic structures. Because of its ferroelectric nature, the layered perovskite La 2 Ti 2 O 7 has interesting piezoelectric and electrooptic properties that may be exploited when films are highly textured. Sol-gel films with an orientation factor of greater than 95% were fabricated without relying on epitaxial (lattice-matching) growth from the substrate. Film orientation and crystallization were confirmed by x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and optical measurements. The particle sizes in all precursor solutions were measured by dynamic light scattering experiments. Experimental results indicate that film orientation is a function of precursor solution concentration, size of the molecular clusters in the solution, and film thickness.
Reassessing Discretionary Fiscal Policy

In 1992, President Bush proposed legislation intended to speed up the recovery from the 1990-91 recession. Congress rejected this proposal for countercyclical fiscal policy stimulus. In early 1993 President Clinton proposed his own stimulus package, but Congress rejected this proposal too. Many reasons were given for deciding against these two discretionary fiscal policy proposals, but perhaps the most common one was the large federal budget deficit in the early 1990s. With the rapid disappearance of budget deficits in recent years, this reason to vote against a discretionary fiscal stimulus is unlikely to be mentioned in the next economic cycle. Discretionary countercyclical fiscal policy again appears to be a politically feasible option. But should America use it after so many years of disuse? Much has happened in macroeconomics since the 1960s and 1970s when discretionary countercyclical fiscal policy was last considered a serious option in the United States. First, monetary policy-making has changed substantially. Over the last two decades, the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decisions have become more explicit, more systematic, and more reactive to changes in both inflation and output. The Fed has placed a greater emphasis on keeping inflation low. The experience with this new policy has been very favorable—inflation has been low since the early 1980s and the real economy has been more stable; the 1980s and 1990s saw two lengthy expansions separated by a relatively short and mild recession. In terms of the tradeoff between output variability and inflation
Predicting Search Performance for Multiple Targets

Performance in a visual search task is usually measured by the cumulative probability of locating a target, F(t), in a given time (t). Two extreme F(t) against (t) relationships have been postulated, one assuming that search is random, and the other assuming that search is systematic. However, these relationships have only been available for the situation in which each search field contains a single occurrence of a single type of target. This paper extends both search models (random and systematic) first to the case of multiple occurrences of a single fault type within a search field and second to the case of multiple fault types. For systematic search, these two cases can be combined to predict the effects of multiple occurrences of multiple fault types. The general F(t) relationships are given in each case and illustrated with a worked example.
Leptin and the homeostatic system regulating body weight

The discovery of leptin has led to the elucidation of a robust physiologic system that maintains fat stores at a relatively constant level. Leptin is a peptide hormone secreted by adipose tissue in proportion to its mass. This hormone circulates in blood and acts on the hypothalamus to regulate food intake and energy expenditure. When fat mass falls, plasma leptin levels fall stimulating appetite and suppressing energy expenditure until fat mass is restored. When fat mass increases, leptin levels increase, suppressing appetite until weight is lost. By such a mechanism total energy stores are stably maintained within a relatively narrow range. Recessive mutations in the leptin gene are associated with massive obesity in mice and some humans. Treatment with recombinant leptin markedly reduces food intake and body weight. The low leptin levels in patients with leptin mutations are also associated with multiple abnormalities including infertility, diabetes and immune abnormalities all of which are corrected by leptin treatment. These findings have established important links between energy stores and many other physiologic systems and led to the use of leptin as a treatment for an increasing number of other human conditions including a subset of obesity, some forms of diabetes including lipodystrophy and hypothalamic amennorhea, the cessation of menstruation seen in extremely thin women. Identification of a physiologic system that controls energy balance establishes a biologic basis for obesity and further establishes links between leptin and numerous other physiologic responses. Recent studies have explored the relationship between leptin and the reward value of food. In addition, new methods for identifying neurons activated by leptin and other stimuli have been developed.
Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation Associated with Rotavirus Gastroenteritis: Report of Two Cases

During one winter season, two children with rotavirus gastroenteritis who developed fulminant disseminated intravascular coagulation were seen at our hospital. Disseminated intravascular coagulation probably resulted from hypovolemic shock and acidosis, although extraintestinal spread of the virus cannot be excluded.
Utility-Based Optimal Service Selection for Business Processes in Service Oriented Architectures

Service Oriented Architectures enable markets of functionally equivalent service providers delivering services at different Quality of Service (QoS) and cost levels. Under these circumstances, there is a need for mechanisms to optimally select service providers at run-time to support a business process execution so that a utility function for the business process is maximized subject to QoS and cost constraints. This is an NP-hard problem. This paper investigates this problem when the utility function is expressed in terms of multiple QoS metrics. An efficient optimal algorithm is presented, which eliminates the need to exhaustively search the state space. This algorithm can be used for small to medium size problems. A very efficient heuristic solution is also presented and scientifically evaluated against the optimal solution on a large set of randomly generated business processes.
Clinical potential of elacytarabine in patients with acute myeloid leukemia.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) has been treated for over four decades with standard induction chemotherapy including seven days of cytosine arabinoside (cytarabine, ara-C) infusion. Cytarabine, while effective in killing leukemic cells, is subject to development of several resistance mechanisms rendering the drug ineffective in many patients. Elacytarabine, a lipophilic 5’-elaidic acid ester or nucleoside analogue of cytosine arabinoside, was created with the intent of overcoming resistance mechanisms including reduced expression of the human equilibrative nucleoside transporter 1 (hENT1) required for cytarabine entry into cells, as well as increased activity of cytidine deaminase (CDA) which breaks down the active metabolite of cytarabine, ara-CTP. Elacytarabine enters cells independently of transporters, has a longer half life compared with cytarabine and is not subject to deactivation by CDA. Preclinical data were encouraging although subsequent clinical studies have failed to show superiority of elacytarabine compared with standard of care as monotherapy in patients with AML. Clinical trials utilizing elacytarabine in combination with anthracyclines are ongoing. Use of hENT1 expression as a predictive marker for cytarabine or elacytarabine response has been studied with no conclusive validation to date. Despite promising early results, the jury is still out in regards to this novel agent as an effective alternative to standard cytarabine therapy in acute leukemias, especially in combination with additional agents such as anthracyclines.
Handling design and implementation optimizations in equivalence checking for behavioral synthesis

Behavioral synthesis involves generating hardware design via compilation of its Electronic System Level (ESL) description to an RTL implementation. Equivalence checking is critical to ensure that the synthesized RTL conforms to its ESL specification. Such equivalence checking must effectively handle design and implementation optimizations. We identify two key optimizations that complicate equivalence checking for behavioral synthesis: (1) operation gating, and (2) global variables. We develop a sequential equivalence checking (SEC) framework to compare ESL designs with RTL in the presence of these optimizations. Our approach can handle designs with more than 32K LoC RTL synthesized from practical ESL designs. Furthermore, our evaluation found a bug in a commercial tool, underlining both the importance of SEC and the effectiveness of our approach.
Adaptive Configuration of Pervasive Computing System with QoS Consideration

User mobility in pervasive computing makes it fundamentally different from traditional desktop computing. Accordingly, the system configurations, such as resource allocation and routing, are extremely dynamic since available resources and users' needs may change when users are moving around different locations. There have been extensive works on the resource allocation for the users' needs. However, previous works did not consider complex situations, such as conflicting relations between different applications. This paper models a pervasive computing system from three parts: available network resources, available applications, and conflicting relations of the applications. To configure the system according to the dynamical changes, our work focuses on how to find the best set of applications, under the network resource and QoS routing constraints, to achieve the maximum system benefit for the users. We first propose an optimal solution using Integer Linear Programming (ILP) scheme. Then a simple and effective heuristic is presented for better scalability. Extensive simulation results demonstrate that our ILP and heuristic achieve very good performance.
Diffusion tensor imaging of brain development

Understanding early human brain development is of great clinical importance, as many neurological and neurobehavioral disorders have their origin in early structural and functional cerebral organization and maturation. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), a recent magnetic resonance (MR) modality which assesses water diffusion in biological tissues at a microstructural level, has revealed a powerful technique to explore the structural basis of normal brain development. In fact, the tissue organization can be probed non-invasively, and the age-related changes of diffusion parameters (mean diffusivity, anisotropy) reveal crucial maturational processes, such as white matter myelination. Nevertheless, the developing human brain presents several challenges for DTI applications compared with the adult brain. DTI may further be used to detect brain injury well before conventional MRI, as water diffusion changes are an early indicator of cellular injury. This is particularly critical in infants in the context of administration of neuroprotective therapies. Changes in diffusion characteristics further provide early evidence of both focal and diffuse white matter injury in association with periventricular leukomalacia in the preterm infant. Finally, with the development of 3D fiber tractography, the maturation of white matter connectivity can be followed throughout infant development into adulthood with the potential to study correlations between abnormalities on DTI and ultimate neurologic/cognitive outcome.
Profiling electric fields in GaN/InGaN/GaN single quantum wells by electron holography

We use electron holography to profile the local internal potential due to spontaneous polarization and piezoelectric effects in strained quantum well structures of wurtzitic group III nitrides. Profiles of the electrostatic potential across a GaN/InxGa1−xN/GaN quantum well structure show the existence of internal electric fields of about -2.2 ± 0.6 MV/cm, and a potential drop across the quantum well of 0.6 ± 0.16 V. The electric fields indicate an average indium composition of 15% in the quantum well, for a thickness of 2.7 nm. This indium composition compares well with measurements by energy-disperse spectroscopy of 18 ± 2 %. Screening effect is not observed under these experimental conditions.
Unmet Expectations: Why Is There Such A Difference Between Student Expectations And Classroom Performance?

Past studies indicate that students are frequently poor judges of their likely academic performance in the classroom. The difficulty a student faces in accurately predicting performance on a classroom exam may be due to unrealistic optimism or may be due to an inability to self-evaluate academic performance, but the resulting disconnect between expectations and reality can be very discouraging to students and may lead to early attrition. This paper studies undergraduate business students and investigates differences between scores they predicted earning on final exams and scores actually earned. Results indicate that the average student will overestimate an exam score by over five points. Results also indicate that freshmen students, and students with low cumulative grade point averages are likely to overestimate exam scores by the equivalent of a letter grade. Understanding this phenomenon may help educators deal with discouraged students and provide opportunities for faculty to create a learning environment that reduces attrition and ultimately increases student success and graduation rates.
Object Search: Supporting Structured Queries in Web Search Engines

As the web evolves, increasing quantities of structured information is embedded in web pages in disparate formats. For example, a digital camera's description may include its price and megapixels whereas a professor's description may include her name, university, and research interests. Both types of pages may include additional ambiguous information. General search engines (GSEs) do not support queries over these types of data because they ignore the web document semantics. Conversely, describing requisite semantics through structured queries into databases populated by information extraction (IE) techniques are expensive and not easily adaptable to new domains. This paper describes a methodology for rapidly developing search engines capable of answering structured queries over unstructured corpora by utilizing machine learning to avoid explicit IE. We empirically show that with minimum additional human effort, our system outperforms a GSE with respect to structured queries with clear object semantics.