cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
c-Jun-NH2 terminal kinase (JNK)-mediates AP-1 activation by thioredoxin: phosphorylation of cJun, JunB, and Fra-1

Thioredoxin (Trx) is a small ubiquitous protein, which has been shown to be involved in redox-dependent cellular functions. In this article, we demonstrate that the increased level of Trx induces AP-1 DNA binding in a redox-dependent manner by activating JNK subgroup of MAPKs. The majority of AP-1 DNA binding complex was found to be composed of cJun, JunB, and Fra-1. Increased expression of Trx resulted in phosphorylation of cJun, Jun B, and Fra-1. Further, increased expression of Trx induced the phosphorylation of MKK4 and MKK7 which are upstream kinases of the JNK signaling cascade. In co-transfection studies, AP-1-dependent luciferase reporter vector and pcDNA3-Trx increased luciferase activity demonstrating that increased expression of Trx increases AP-1 transactivation. In addition, dominant-negative JNK kinase (dnJNK/MKK4) or dominant-negative JNK (dnJNK) inhibited Trx-mediated AP-1 transactivation, as well as AP-1 DNA binding. Furthermore, transfection of kinase-dead MEKK1, an initiating kinase of the JNK pathway inhibited Trx-mediated AP-1 transactivation and DNA binding, suggesting that MEKK1 may mediate Trx-induced AP-1 activation. In contrast, wild-type MEKK1 overexpression did not inhibit Trx-mediated AP-1 activation. Taken together, our data demonstrate that increased expression of Trx induces MKK4/MKK7-dependent JNK activation, resulting in enhanced DNA binding, and transactivation of AP-1 transcription factor.
Use of small group contingencies and special activity times to manage behavior in a first-grade classroom

Abstract Management procedures were succesfully employed to decrease the frequency with which first-grade children left small instructional centers. To decrease the out-of-center behavior, access to a 30-minute special activity time was made available to different groups as a function of everyone's remaining within his group instructional center. One occurrence of out-center behavior resulted in a cost of ten minutes of special activity time for the children in that center. The frequency of out-of-center behaviors quickly decreased from Baseline I to the Modification I condition, increased when the modification condition was removed, and decreased again in Modification II. Observations made on the percent of the children's appropriate social and academic behaviors showed increases during the modification conditions. Also, the time the teacher spent in responding to inappropriate behavior decreased and the time spent in instruction increased during the modification conditions.
Effect of fertilization antigen (FA-1) DNA vaccine on fertility of female mice.

Vaccination of female mice with recombinant fertilization antigen (FA-1) causes a long-term reversible contraceptive effect. Also, a DNA vaccine based upon a dodecamer sequence YLP12 present in sperm causes a reduction in fertility. In the present study, the effects of FA-1 DNA vaccine alone, and FA-1 and YLP12 DNA vaccines together were examined. FA-1 495-bp DNA was cloned into pVAX1 vector to prepare the DNA vaccine. Four groups of female mice were immunized intradermally by using a gene gun with FA-1 DNA, FA-1 DNA + YLP12 DNA, FA-1 DNA + YLP12 DNA mixed with exogenous synthetic CpG oliogodeoxynucleotide (ODN), or vector DNA alone, respectively. Vaccination with all three formulations caused a significant reduction in fertility, with FA-1 DNA + YLP12 DNA mixed with exogenous synthetic CpG ODN showing the highest reduction. Vaccination with all three formulations raised antibody response in both the sera as well as locally in the vaginal tract, with ODN mixed group demonstrating the highest titers. There was no antibody response in the mice injected with the vector alone. In sera, the highest titers were obtained for the IgG class for all vaccine formulations followed by the IgA class. In vaginal washing, the highest titers were obtained by the IgA class followed by the IgG class. Within the IgG class, the titers for the IgG2a subclass were significantly greater than the IgG1 subclass. The immunocontraceptive effects were long-lasting over 1 year of the observation period and increased with time. These novel findings indicate that the intradermal immunization with a sperm-specific FA-1 DNA vaccine causes a long-term circulating and local immune response resulting in immunocontraceptive effects in female mice. The anti-fertility effects were enhanced when FA-1 DNA vaccine was combined with YLP12 DNA vaccine and injected with ODN. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 73: 1473–1479, 2006. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
THE EFFECT OF INSTITUTIONAL INTEREST ON THE INFORMATION CONTENT OF DIVIDEND‐CHANGE ANNOUNCEMENTS

We test the hypothesis that the information content of dividend-change announcements, as reflected in stock prices, is directly related to the degree of pre-announcement information asymmetry in the stock. The dividend-change announcements include initiations, large increases, large decreases, and omissions. Information asymmetry is proxied by the proportion of stock held by institutions. Consistent with the hypothesis, we document a significantly positive relation between the absolute values of the announcement-period excess returns and the degree of pre-announcement information asymmetry in the stock. This finding appears to hold for all types of dividend changes except dividend omissions.
Electrical switching and phase transformation in silver selenide nanowires.

We report for the first time the electrical transport in solid-state electrolyte nanowires. Single nanowire transport and in situ transmission electron microscopy studies show that Ag2Se nanowires can be high conducting orthorhombic β-Ag2Se or low conducting cubic α-Ag2Se. It is also the first time that α-Ag2Se is found to be stable at room temperature. A threshold switching phenomenon exists in the low conducting α-Ag2Se with an on−off ratio up to 7 order magnitude. These results provide useful new information for exploring solid-state electrolyte nanowires as resistive switching memory devices.
Diabetes Does Not Influence Selected Clinical Outcomes in Critically Ill Burn Patients

Objective—Evaluate glucose control and clinical outcomes in diabetic burn ICU patients. Methods—We reviewed 462 civilian patients admitted to our burn ICU over four years. Exclusion criteria were age<18, admission because of skin infection, incomplete records, and military patients. Subjects were labeled as diabetic if they had a diagnosis of diabetes documented in their medical records. Otherwise they were labeled as non-diabetic. Diabetics (n=57) were compared to non-diabetics (n=405). Admission glucose levels were obtained from chemistries. Point-of-care devices provided the remaining glucose values. While in the burn ICU hyperglycemia for all patients was treated using intensive insulin therapy with a target blood glucose goal of 80–110mg/dL. Mann-Whitney U, Chi-square, and multivariate regressions were used for statistical analysis (p≤0.05). Results—Diabetics were older (60±15 vs 44±17years) with higher admission glucose (196±81 vs 133±52mg/dL), mean glucose (147±37 vs 122±24mg/dL), glucose variability (30±11 vs 22±11%), and fewer ICU-free days (18±12 vs 20±11). After multivariate regression analyses age, ISS, TBSA, admission glucose, and mean glucose significantly affected the number of ventilatorfree days, ICU-free days, and hospital-free days. Glucose variability was associated with hospitalfree days only. Age, ISS, and TBSA significantly influenced mortality whereas a pre-existing diagnosis of diabetes was not associated with any clinical outcomes.
Theoretical Modeling for Electroactive Polymer-Ceramic Hybrid Actuation Systems

An electroactive polymer-ceramic hybrid actuation system (HYBAS) was recently developed. The HYBAS demonstrates significantly-enhanced electromechanical performance by utilizing advantages of cooperative contributions of the electromechanical responses of an electrostrictive copolymer and an electroactive single crystal. The hybrid actuation system provides not only a new type of device but also a concept to utilize different electroactive materials in a cooperative and efficient method for optimized electromechanical performance. In order to develop an effective procedure to optimize the performance of a hybrid actuation system (HYBAS), a theoretical model has been developed, based on the elastic and electromechanical properties of the materials utilized in the system and on the configuration of the device. The model also evaluates performance optimization as a function of geometric parameters, including the length of the HYBAS and the thickness ratios of the constituent components. The comparison between the model and the experimental results shows a good agreement and validates the model as an effective method for the further development of high performance actuating devices or systems for various applications.Copyright © 2004 by ASME
Syntax-directed editing of general data structures

Program editors help users create syntactically correct programs. Though such editors normally edit parse trees, applying similar techniques to other tree structures that need editing helps both users and implementors. This paper describes an editor that accepts a grammar describing a hierarchical data structure and allows the user to enter and edit arbitrary trees having this structure. It displays the pros and cons of this approach using instances of this editor that edit formatted documents, simple line drawings, and stick figures for trees.
A Hedonic Analysis of Herbicides: Do User Safety and Water Quality Matter?

Farmers may value water quality and user safety characteristics of herbicides as they select among products to obtain weed control. Expenditures per application in the U.S. corn and soybean herbicide markets are explained by several safety characteristics in addition to market and weed control characteristics. The explicit inclusion of safety characteristics in the farm decision model indicates that not all safety aspects of pesticide use are external to farmers. Leaching potential and user toxicity are statistically significant, but their elasticities are small relative to broadleaf and grass weed control efficacy.
Scheduled reduced smoking: Effects on smoking abstinence and potential mechanisms of action

Abstract Although most smokers in our society report that they would like to quit, smoking prevalence rates have remained relatively unchanged during most of the 1990s. This is in contrast to a nearly 50% reduction in prevalence observed over the past 3 decades. Presently, an estimated 25.5% of adults (48 million people) continue to smoke, although most smokers would like to quit. Recent research on the treatment of nicotine dependence has focused primarily on events that occur after the initial cessation period (i.e., the prevention of relapse with behavioral counseling and/or the management of withdrawal symptoms with nicotine replacement therapy). Although these methods are effective, there is evidence that cessation rates may also be enhanced by manipulating smoking behavior prior to quitting. One promising approach is scheduled reduced smoking. Early work with this approach has yielded superior abstinence rates compared to gradual reduction and abrupt “cold turkey” quitting techniques. In this article, we present an overview of research on scheduled reduced smoking and discuss the effects of the treatment on smoking urges, negative affect, and selfefficacy.
A photometric study of Saturn's Ring

The Saturn F Ring's radially integrated brightness has been measured over a wide range of phase angles from Voyager images; in order to model the resultant phase curve, the ring population has been divided into a dust regime and one of larger bodies, and while single scattering properties of small particles are modeled by semiempirical nonspherical/randomly oriented particles, those of large bodies are based on the photometric behavior of satellites. It is suggested that the dust in the envelope arises from micrometeoroid impacts into the large core particles, and then migrates inward.
Investigating the Attributes in Serious Games that Contribute to Learning

Though serious games have been the topic of much discussion within the scientific community, the theoretical underpinnings of this technology remains largely nascent. Although much of the knowledge base of the simulation and digital learning community applies to serious games, the play-based nature of these tools necessitates additional examination. Games have defining component attributes, and variation of these attributes may affect learning resulting from game play. Thus, understanding of the attributes involved in games and how they map to various learning outcomes will improve the community's ability to effectively design and employ these tools. This article describes research designed to address this need through experimental manipulations of the privately developed InnerCell game. This effort is conducted in the context of game attributes and learning outcomes, and recommendations for attribute-outcome pairs are offered based on preliminary findings of this research.
Sorption kinetics of organic contaminants by sandy aquifer and its kerogen isolate

Long-term sorption behaviors of phenanthrene (Phen) on the Borden sand from 1 min to 365 days and of Phen and 1,2-dichlorobenzene (DCB) on the isolated kerogen from 1 to 120 days were characterized by examining the time dependence of solute phase distribution relationships (PDRs) and compared with the prior reported sorption of tetrachlorobenzene (TeCB) and tetrachloroethene (PCE) on the pulverized and/or acid-treated bulk sand and size fractions. The sorption kinetics for Phen on the bulk sand and its kerogen isolate can well be described by the fractional power kinetics equation (qe = ktb). The similar rate parameter b for qe(t) vs t at 5−7 levels of initial concentrations of Phen on the two sorbents, respectively, ranging from 0.077 to 0.099 and from 0.072 to 0.086, indicates the similar sorption kinetics rate. The modified-Freundlich parameters of TeCB on the pulverized or acid-treated 0.3-mm size fraction match those of Phen on the isolated kerogen, suggesting the same natural organic matter (NOM) pr...
Providing diagnostic network feedback to end users on smartphones

Despite the continued technology advances for smartphones, there are still few tools available to end users for understanding the causes of the network problems when encountered. The users often have to rely on the signal bars, which unfortunately is a poor indicator of real network issues that may arise even when the signal is good. In this paper, we present a network troubleshooting system for Android platform, which can automatically collect network measurements and perform on-device diagnosis of likely causes of the network problems. The diagnosis model is based on a decision tree that was constructed with domain knowledge and the model's thresholds were learned statistically from empirical performance analysis. Experimental results show that the proposed approach is effective in troubleshooting network problems on smartphones. By continuously using this app, end users can make informed decisions to upgrade service plans, change mobile devices, or switch service providers.
Determination of the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance genes in canine Clostridium perfringens isolates

Clostridium perfringens is a well documented cause of a mild self-limiting diarrhea and a potentially fatal acute hemorrhagic diarrheal syndrome in the dog. A recent study documented that 21% of canine C. perfringens isolates had MIC's indicative of resistance to tetracycline, an antimicrobial commonly recommended for treatment of C. perfringens-associated diarrhea. The objective of the present study was to further evaluate the antimicrobial susceptibility profiles of these isolates by determining the prevalence of specific resistance genes, their expression, and ability for transference between bacteria. One hundred and twenty-four canine C. perfringens isolates from 124 dogs were evaluated. Minimum inhibitory concentrations of tetracycline, erythromycin, tylosin, and metronidazole were determined using the CLSI Reference Agar Dilution Method. All isolates were screened for three tetracycline resistance genes: tetA(P), tetB(P) and tetM, and two macrolide resistance genes: ermB and ermQ, via PCR using primer sequences previously described. Ninety-six percent (119/124) of the isolates were positive for the tetA(P) gene, and 41% (51/124) were positive for both the tetA(P) and tetB(P) genes. No isolates were positive for the tetB(P) gene alone. Highly susceptible isolates (MIC< or = 4 microg/ml) were significantly more likely to lack the tetB(P) gene. One isolate (0.8%) was positive for the ermB gene, and one isolate was positive for the ermQ gene. The tetM gene was not found in any of the isolates tested. Two out of 15 tested isolates (13%) demonstrated transfer of tetracycline resistance via bacterial conjugation. Tetracycline should be avoided for the treatment of C. perfringens-associated diarrhea in dogs because of the relatively high prevalence of in vitro resistance, and the potential for conjugative transfer of antimicrobial resistance.
Study of nuclear interactions produced by 275 MeV deuterons in nuclear emulsions

Nuclear interactions produced in nuclear emulsions by douterons of mean energy 275 MeV have been studied. The mean free path for douterons of this energy is found to be (16.6 ±1.8) cm.
Anaphylaxis to anakinra in a pediatric patient with systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis successfully treated with canakinumab: a case-based review

We present the case of a 2-year-old boy with a history of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) with ileostomy diagnosed with systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (sJIA) at 10 months of age controlled on anti-interleukin-1 (anti-IL-1) therapy (anakinra). At 17 months of age, ileostomy reversal and bowel re-anastomosis was scheduled with anakinra discontinued 3 days prior to the surgery and steroids initiated in its place. Ten days postoperatively, anakinra was re-started for signs of sJIA flare. Three months later, he developed persistent peripheral eosinophilia and subsequent anaphylactic reaction 6 months postoperatively. The patient safely tolerated an alternative anti-IL-1 agent (canakinumab). Anaphylaxis to anakinra has not been previously reported in the pediatric literature. This case highlights an important issue in a pediatric patient with sJIA: safety of an alternate anti-IL-1 agent, following development of allergy to one initial agent.
A THEORETICAL PATTERN FOR NEUTRINO AND STERILE-NEUTRINO OSCILLATIONS

A theoretical pattern for the MSW oscillation that takes νeL into a sterile particle is discussed. The required small neutrino mass is induced by a seesaw formula, in which the heavy neutrino mass term is of the order of the grand unification scale. Realizations of our scheme are illustrated by a simple SU(2)L × U(1)Y model.
At the crossroads: critical race theory and critical geographies of race

Critical geographers of race and critical race theory share common theoretical, conceptual, and political goals, yet we have not engaged with each other in a substantive fashion. I discuss critical...
Comparative Study of Edge Detection Algorithms

Summary Important geological features like faults and channels often manifest themselves as edges in seismic data. Several classes of edge detection algorithms have been developed to extract the edges of seismic data. Two of the most basic and straightforward classes are that of the gradient edge detectors and Gaussian edge detectors. In this paper we evaluate the sensitivity of classic derivative, Canny and Torreao and Amaral edge detection algorithms used in image processing in their ability to extract the full spectrum of geological features in the presence of random noise and acquisition footprint. Geological features of interest may include linear but arbitrary oriented faults and fractures, sinuous channels, and highly irregular but organized karasting and dewatering features. Through application to real data we conclude that Torreao and Amaral, Canny, and derivative algorithms exhibit better performance respectively. We show that these algorithms perform better in detecting faults and channels when noise is suppressed.
Lipopolysaccharide exposure is linked to activation of the acute phase response and growth failure in pediatric Crohn's disease and murine colitis†

Background Systemic exposure to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) has been linked to clinical disease activity in adults with IBD. We hypothesized that markers of LPS exposure and the acute phase response (APR) would be increased in pediatric IBD patients with growth failure, and that LPS signaling would be required for induction of the APR in murine colitis.
Stoichiometry of a Recombinant GABAA Receptor

GABA is the main inhibitory neurotransmitter in the mammalian brain. The postsynaptic GABAA receptor/pore complex is presumed to be a pentamer typically composed of a combination of alpha, beta, and gamma subunits, although the stoichiometry remains controversial. We probed the stoichiometry of the GABAA receptor by site-directed mutagenesis of a conserved leucine (to serine) in the putative second membrane-spanning domain of the rat alpha 1(alpha L263S), beta 2(alpha L259S), and gamma 2(alpha L274S) subunit isoforms. Coexpression of wild-type and mutant subunits of each class (e.g., alpha and alpha L263S), along with their wild-type counter-parts (e.g., beta and gamma), in Xenopus laevis oocytes resulted in mixed populations of receptors with distinct GABA sensitivities. This is consistent with the interpretation that the leucine mutation increased the GABA sensitivity in proportion to the number of incorporated mutant subunits. The apparent number of incorporated subunits for each class (alpha, beta, and gamma) could then be determined from the number of components comprising the compound GABA dose-response relationships. Using this approach, we conclude that the recombinant alpha 1 beta 2 gamma 2 GABAA receptor is a pentamer composed of two alpha subunits, two beta subunits, and one gamma subunit.
Population and society in twentieth-century Southeast Asia.

The historical demographic analysis in this article is a revision of a paper presented at the Conference of the Northwest Regional Consortium for Southeast Asian Studies in 1988 at the University of Oregon. The author takes the view that fertility has remained high in the Southeast Asian region due to the dynamics of colonialism and the reinforcement of traditional society. Industrialization urbanization and advancing education was not favored by colonial policy. The shift to planting cash crops was labor-intensive work which reinforced large families. The fertility decline after the 1960s is attributed to population pressure and the lower limits of land and production per family. Incentives for smaller families are identified as the expansion of mass education increased consumer aspirations and opportunities for modern sector employment. The impact of population growth is viewed as multidimensional and indicative of the conflicts between resources obligations and aspirations. The historical record in Southeast Asia reveals a population shortage and the risk of losing the minimum supply of labor necessary for a subsistence economy. Traditional local authorities were in need of men for waging war and producing an economic surplus. Colonial administrators imported cheap labor. As mortality declined and population increased the societal response was migration usually to frontier areas. New zones of wet rice production were created in lower Burma central Siam and Cochin China due to increased demand. Other survival strategies are identified as infinite land subdivision and multiple job holding in the off-season. Densely populated areas appeared to have lower fertility. Over the past 20 years the strategy appears to have been lower fertility coupled with acceptance of family planning higher female educational attainment and higher age at marriage. Southeast Asian patterns are considered indicative of the impact of wars crises and economic change on demographic processes and of the demographic impact of changes in population size density and structure on social political and economic outcomes.
Dopaminergic and GABAergic Regulation of Alcohol-Motivated Behaviors: Novel Neuroanatomical Substrates

An understanding of the neuroanatomical substrates, neurocircuitry, and interaction of the neuronal systems which regulate alcohol drinking is key in the identification of novel targets for drugs to treat alcoholism in humans. In the present review novel substrates and circuitry within the dopaminergic and GABAergic systems which regulate alcohol motivated-behaviors are discussed. Keywords: alcohol reinforcement; GABA; dopamine; benzodiazepine; alcohol pharmacotherapy; brain mechanisms
Expressiveness of verifiable hierarchical clock systems

The modelling and analysis of multi-component discrete event systems is a challenging research area. Over 30 years, modelling and simulation research of discrete event system specification (DEVS) has been developed with (1) dense-time, (2) the I/O concept, and (3) hierarchical model construction. Nevertheless, DEVS model verification research began relatively recently considering the whole DEVS research history. In the meantime, over 15 years, the automata theory has been developed to cover the dense-time behaviour verification of discrete event systems. Especially, timed automata (TA) has performed the key role in the field. This paper builds on the research results that have been achieved from both theories of DEVS and TA. Thus contributions of this paper can be seen from each side. From the viewpoint of the DEVS theory, a finite and nondeterministic DEVS has been found as a verifiable class. From the viewpoint of the TA theory, a TA which is modular and hierarchical as well as verifiable, is proposed. ...
Estimates of Net Atmospheric Moisture Flux Convergence over the Amazon Basin: A Comparison of Reanalysis Products

Abstract Estimates of the net convergence of atmospheric moisture flux over the Amazon Basin, [C], derived using data products from three global reanalyses, the NCEP–NCAR reanalysis (NCEP-1), the NCEP/Department of Energy reanalysis (NCEP-2), and the 40-yr ECMWF Re-Analysis (ERA-40), are compared. Two types of uncertainty in these [C] estimates are distinguished and quantified: “model-associated uncertainty,” which necessarily arises from imperfections in the numerical weather models or data assimilation algorithms, and “postprocessing uncertainty” introduced by operations performed on the original reanalysis data products to compute [C], particularly the finite-difference approximation of divergence. Model-associated uncertainty is found to overwhelm the postprocessing error. A closer look at the time series of this field extending over the period 1980–2001, and their comparison to basin-averaged precipitation and runoff data, reveals the signatures of two potential sources of model-associated errors. 1)...
Frequent inactivation of RAMP2, EFEMP1 and Dutt1 in lung cancer by promoter hypermethylation.

Purpose: The goal of this study is to identify novel genes frequently silenced by promoter hypermethylation in lung cancer. Experimental Designs: Bioinformatic analysis was done to identify candidate genes significantly down-regulated in lung cancer. The effects of DNA methyltransferase inhibitor 5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine on the expression of the candidate genes were determined. Methylated CpG sites in the promoters of the candidate genes were identified using bisulfite DNA sequencing. Methylation-specific PCR was developed and used to analyze DNA methylation in cell lines and clinical specimen. Pathologic and functional analyses were done to study the role of one candidate gene, receptor activity-modifying protein 2 (RAMP2) , in suppressing lung cancer cell growth. Results: Among 54 candidate genes down-regulated in lung cancer, 31 were found to contain CpG islands in their promoters. Six of these 31 genes could be reactivated by 5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine in at least four of six lung cancer cell lines analyzed. Promoter hypermethylation of RAMP2, epidermal growth factor–containing fibulin-like extracellular matrix protein 1 , and deleted in U Twenty Twenty cells was detected in 36% to 77% of 22 lung cancer cell lines and in 38% to 50% of 32 primary lung tumors, whereas hypermethylathion of these genes was rarely found in the matched normal samples. The methylation frequencies of these genes in lung cancer were similar to those of commonly used methylation markers, such as RAS association domain family protein 1A, p16 , and methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase . Immunohistochemistry showed that RAMP2 was down-regulated in a majority of lung tumors, and RAMP2 down-regulation was correlated with high tumor grade. Ectopic expression of RAMP2 inhibited lung cancer cell growth and caused apoptotic cell death. Knockdown of RAMP2 by RNA interference stimulated cell proliferation. Conclusions: Studying the newly identified genes may provide new insight into lung tumorigenesis. These genes might be useful as molecular markers of lung cancer.
High precision phase measurement using adaptive sampling

The conventional phase measurement techniques introduce error in the phase when the input signals are distorted by harmonics. A novel technique, known as adaptive sampling, for high-precision phase measurement is introduced. A digital signal-processing approach is used in this technique. The maximum sampling rate required for this technique is h+2 samples/cycle of the input signals, i.e. (h+2)f sampless, where h, is the highest harmonic present in the signals and f is the fundamental frequency of the signals. This sampling rate is way below the Nyquist sampling rate (more than 2hf samples/s) when h is a large number. In the adaptive sampling technique the sampling rate is started from three samples/cycle and then is gradually increased until the phase is correctly measured. This phase measurement technique has been verified using synthesized signals. >
Homology modeling by the ICM method

Five models have been built by the ICM method for the Comparative Modeling section of the Meeting on the Critical Assessment of Techniques for Protein Structure Prediction. The targets have homologous proteins with known three-dimensional structure with sequence identity ranging from 25 to 77%. After alignment of the target sequence with the related three-dimensional structure, the modeling procedure consists of two subproblems: side-chain prediction and loop prediction. The ICM method approaches these problems with the following steps: (1) a starting model is created based on the homologous structure with the conserved portion fixed and the nonconserved portion having standard covalent geometry and free torsion angles; (2) the Biased Probability Monte Carlo (BPMC) procedure is applied to search the subspaces of either all the nonconservative side-chain torsion angles or torsion angles in a loop backbone and surrounding side chains. A special algorithm was designed to generate low-energy loop deformations. The BPMC procedure globally optimizes the energy function consisting of ECEPP/3 and solvation energy terms. Comparison of the predictions with the NMR or crystallographic solutions reveals a high proportion of correctly predicted side chains. The loops were not correctly predicted because imprinted distortions of the backbone increased the energy of the near-native conformation and thus made the solution unrecognizable. Interestingly, the energy terms were found to be reliable and the sampling of conformational space sufficient. The implications of this finding for the strategies of future comparative modeling are discussed.
Coherent Optical Single Carrier Transmission Using Overlap Frequency Domain Equalization for Long-Haul Optical Systems

In this paper, we present coherent optical single carrier transmission (COSC) using overlap frequency domain equalization (OFDE) for the chromatic dispersion (CD) compensation. Residual inter-symbol interference is suppressed by time domain equalization with small tap size. In single polarization transmission, 25-Gb/s COSC transmission with OFDE is demonstrated over 800 km to 4320 km of single-mode fiber (SMF) without optical dispersion compensation. The measured results show that the proposed configuration improves the transmission performance by setting adequate overlapped size of FFT windows and that it is suitable for long-haul optical communication systems.
Complexation trends and binding constants between dextrin oligomers and small molecules as measured through affinity capillary electrophoresis.

Quantitative aspects of a previously reported pre-equilibration affinity/capillary electrophoretic methodology (Hong, M., et al., Anal. Chem. 1998, 70, 3590-3597) were studied using fluorescently labeled oligosaccharides and analgesic drugs. Frontal analysis capillary electrophoresis (FA-CE) was investigated for these interaction systems. In order to fulfill certain FA requirements, the analysis conditions of the sugar-drug combinations had to be adjusted individually. Only after the establishment of these conditions, acceptable binding data (association constants) could be obtained. The constants are in the range of weak hydrogen bonding and are comparable to the constants that were independently obtained through 1 H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy.
Backlash for Breaking Racial and Ethnic Breaking Stereotypes: Adolescent School Victimization Across Contexts

This research examines if and how social and cultural stereotypes insulate or aggravate the risk for adolescent victimization and partially explain racial and ethnic disparities with being a victim of violence at school. Analyses that draw on the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002 and use multilevel analytical techniques suggest important results. Most notably, increased educational achievement, academic involvement, and having White American friendships are potential victimization risk factors for Black/African American and Latino American adolescents at urban and/or suburban schools. In addition to discussing the findings, this study underscores the importance of investigating the complexities associated with race and ethnicity when addressing adolescent victimization.
RAPID EVOLUTIONARY ESCAPE BY LARGE POPULATIONS FROM LOCAL FITNESS PEAKS IS LIKELY IN NATURE

Fitness interactions between loci in the genome, or epistasis, can result in mutations that are individually deleterious but jointly beneficial. Such epistasis gives rise to multiple peaks on the genotypic fitness landscape. The problem of evolutionary escape from such local peaks has been a central problem of evolutionary genetics for at least 75 years. Much attention has focused on models of small populations, in which the sequential fixation of valley genotypes carrying individually deleterious mutations operates most quickly owing to genetic drift. However, valley genotypes can also be subject to mutation while transiently segregating, giving rise to copies of the high fitness escape genotype carrying the jointly beneficial mutations. In the absence of genetic recombination, these mutations may then fix simultaneously. The time for this process declines sharply with increasing population size, and it eventually comes to dominate evolutionary behavior. Here we develop an analytic expression for Ncrit, the critical population size that defines the boundary between these regimes, which shows that both are likely to operate in nature. Frequent recom- bination may disrupt high-fitness escape genotypes produced in populations larger thanNcrit before they reach fixation, defining a third regime whose rate again slows with increasing population size. We develop a novel expression for this critical recombination rate, which shows that in large populations the simultaneous fixation of mutations that are beneficial only jointly is unlikely to be disrupted by genetic recombination if their map distance is on the order of the size of single genes. Thus, counterintuitively, mass selection alone offers a biologically realistic resolution to the problem of evolutionary escape from local fitness peaks in natural populations.
On chains of relatively saturated submodels of a model without the order property

Let M be a given model with similarity type L = L ( M ), and let L ′ be any fragment of L ∣ L ( M ∣ + , ω of cardinality ∣ L ( M )∣. We call N ≺ M L ′- relatively saturated iff for every B ⊆ N of cardinality less than ∥ N ∥ every L ′-type over B which is realized in M is realized in N . We discuss the existence of such submodels. The following are corollaries of the existence theorems. (1) If M is of cardinality at least ℶ ω 1 , and fails to have the ω order property, then there exists N ≺ M which is relatively saturated in M of cardinality ℶ ω 1 . (2) Assume GCH. Let ψ ∈ L ω 1, ω , and let L ′ ⊆ L ω 1, ω be a countable fragment containing ψ . If ∃ χ > ℵ 0 such that I ( χ, ψ ) χ , then for every M ⊨ ψ and every cardinal λ M ∥ of uncountable cofinality, M has an L ′-relatively saturated submodel of cardinality λ .
Markov Model Assessment of Subjects' Clinical Skill Using the E-Pelvis Physical Simulator

Inherent difficulties evaluating clinical competence of physicians has led to the widespread use of subjective skill assessment techniques. Inspired by an analogy between spoken language and surgical procedure, a generalized methodology using Markov models (MMs), independent of the modality under study, was developed. The methodology applied to an endoscopic experiment in "Generalized approach for modeling minimally invasive surgery as a stochastic process using a discrete Markov model" by J. Rosen et al. (IEEE Trans. Biomed. Eng., Vol. 53, No. 3, pp. 399-413, Mar. 2006) is modified and applied to data collected with the E-Pelvis physical simulator. The simulator incorporates five contact pressure sensors located in key anatomical landmarks. Two 32-state fully connected MMs are used, one for each skill level. Each state corresponds to a unique five-dimensional signature of contact pressures. Statistical distances measured between models representing subjects with different skill levels are sensitive enough to provide an objective measure of medical skill level. The method was tested with 41 expert subjects and 41 novice subjects in addition to the 30 subjects used for training the MM. Of the 82 subjects, 76 (92%) were classified correctly. Unique state transitions as well as pressure magnitudes for corresponding states were found to be skill dependent. The "white box" nature of the model provides insight into the examination process performed.
Towards a Model of Perceived Quality of Blind Audio Source Separation

Existing perceptual models of audio quality, such as PEAQ, perform poorly when applied to blind audio source separation (BASS). We propose to create a perceptual model designed specifically for BASS algorithms. To create this model, we have designed a study to capture subjective human assessments of signal distortions resulting from BASS. In this study, humans rate the similarity between pairs of sounds. The first sound in each pair is a reference sound. The second sound is a distorted version of the reference, extracted from a multi-source mixture by a current BASS approach. We then correlate human similarity assessments with machine-measurable parameters. This paper describes preliminary results from a pilot study of three participants. Results indicate a strong correlation between human similarity assessments and the relative fraction of frames for which at last one frequency band in the distorted signal contains a significant noise component (RDF).
Correlating a Motivation-Activation Measure With Media Preference

This study investigates the relationship between individual differences in motivational system responsiveness and preferences for media genres and programming types. The Motivation Activation Measure (MAM) indexed the trait appetitive and aversive motivation system activation of 206 college-aged participants who subsequently responded to self-report scales designed to measure likelihood to use specific genres of television programming, radio formats, and video games. Predictions were made for the correlation between genre preferences and MAM scores based on a dual-activation model of motivational systems. Results suggest that initial media-selection behaviors may be predicted by conceptualizing genres according to their appeal from motivationally based attributes.
Curved space or curved vacuum

Abstract While the simple picture of a spatially flat, matter plus cosmological constant universe fits current observation of the accelerated expansion, strong consideration has also been given to models with dynamical vacuum energy. We examine the tradeoff of “curving” the vacuum but retaining spatial flatness, vs. curving space but retaining the cosmological constant. These different breakdowns in the simple picture could readily be distinguished by combined high accuracy supernovae and cosmic microwave background distance measurements. If we allow the uneasy situation of both breakdowns, the curvature can still be measured to 1%, but at the price of degrading estimation of the equation of state time variation by 60% or more, unless additional information (such as weak lensing data or a tight matter density prior) is included.
Evaluation of Axle-Based and Length-Based Vehicle Classification Stations

This study evaluated the performance of three permanent vehicle classification stations on freeways against concurrent video-based ground truth. All stations had dual loop detectors and a piezoelectric sensor in each lane, which together provided axle-based and length-based classification. Evaluation was done at individual, per vehicle resolution for each vehicle that passed during the study periods (more than 18,000 vehicles in uncongested conditions). Although the stations exhibited good performance overall (97% correct), the performance for trucks was poor; for example, only 60% of the single-unit trucks (SUTs) were correctly classified. All observed errors were diagnosed. Some errors could be fixed quickly, and others could not. Data from one site were used to revise the classifier to solve almost all fixable errors, and then performance at another location was tested. A chronic error found in the research was intrinsic to the vehicle fleet and may be impossible to correct with existing sensors: the s...
Narcissistic Grandiosity and Narcissistic Vulnerability in Psychotherapy

This article briefly summarizes the empirical and clinical literature underlying a contemporary clinical model of pathological narcissism. Unlike the DSM Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD), this clinical model identifies and differentiates between two phenotypic themes of dysfunction—narcissistic grandiosity and narcissistic vulnerability—that can be expressed both overtly and covertly in patients’ ways of thinking, feeling, behaving, and participating in treatment. Clinical recognition that narcissistic patients can and often do present for psychotherapy in vulnerable states of depression, anxiety, shame, and even suicidality increases the likelihood of accurate diagnosis and effective treatment planning. This article provides case examples derived from psychotherapies with narcissistic patients to demonstrate how narcissistic grandiosity and narcissistic vulnerability concurrently present in patients who seek treatment.
Psychological Attachment Relationships with Job Characteristics, Attitudes, and Preferences for Newcomer Development

The present study extends the research on organizational commitment by examining (a) the dimensionality of O'Reilly and Chatman's (1986) psychological attachment instrument, (b) the relationships b...
Estimating the Effective Coverage of Programs to Control Vitamin A Deficiency and Its Consequences Among Women and Young Children in Cameroon.

Background:To compare the cost-effectiveness of nutrition programs, the anticipated nutritional benefits of each intervention must be expressed using a common metric.Objective:We present the methodology for estimating the benefits of vitamin A (VA)-related interventions among women and children in Cameroon.Methods:We estimated “reach” (proportion of the population that receives a program), “coverage” (proportion that is deficient and receives a program), and “effective coverage” (proportion that “converts” from inadequate to adequate VA intake following an intervention) using dietary data collected during a national survey in 3 macro-regions of Cameroon (North, South, and Yaounde/Douala). Effective coverage of programs such as (bio)fortification and micronutrient powders was estimated by adding the dietary VA contributed by the intervention to baseline VA intakes, including the contribution of increased maternal VA intake to infant VA intake through increases in breast milk VA. For interventions that prov...
Cognitive Models of Decision Making Processes for Human-Robot Interaction

A fundamental aspect of human-robot interaction is the ability to generate expectations for the decisions of one’s teammate(s) in order to coordinate plans of actions. Cognitive models provide a promising approach by allowing both a robot to model a human teammate’s decision process as well as by modeling the process through which a human develops expectations regarding its robot partner’s actions. We describe a general cognitive model developed using the ACT-R cognitive architecture that can apply to any situation that could be formalized using decision trees expressed in the form of instructions for the model to execute. The model is composed of three general components: instructions on how to perform the task, situational knowledge, and past decision instances. The model is trained using decision instances from a human expert, and its performance is compared to that of the expert.
On the propagation of rays in discrete ordinates

Discrete ordinates calculations are presumed to translate particles from cell to cell in the directions specified in the angular set. This should result in uncollided particles from a small source propagating through the spatial mesh in narrow beams in these directions. Accurate high-order angular quadratures presume accurately attenuated propagation in the intended directions. This work examines the ability of various spatial quadratures to propagate rays correctly. Some widely used methods are shown to fail at this fundamental task. Diamond-difference approximations introduce undamped lateral oscillations, resulting in severely unphysical flux representations. Nonlinear fixups can prevent negativity but do not correct the underlying failure to properly propagate rays. First-moment conserving schemes tend to be successful but can be degraded in performance by simplifying approximations that are often used. Characteristic schemes are shown to have significant advantages. New characteristic methods are developed here that are exact (in a certain sense) in propagating rays and that uncouple the calculation of adjacent spatial cells in the mesh sweep. This enables DO loops to be converted to DO INDEPENDENT loops, with obvious implications for vector and/or parallel implementations.