cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Tribochemical Lubricious Oxides on Silicon Nitride

The concept of lubrication by a tribochemically generated oxide layer on the surface of silicon nitride is further investigated. Previous work has shown that low friction coefficients (μ≈0.1) are obtained in a range of sliding velocities and loads when otherwise unlubricated silicon nitride slides in humid air at temperatures between 150 and 650oC. In order to verify the hypothesis that this behavior results from a competition between the growth of an oxide layer (with growth kinetics accelerated by friction) and its removal by wear, we have performed model experiments at room temperature, wherethe oxide layer is grown statically (i.e. without friction) and the friction coefficient and its evolution in time are subsequently measured. In order to avoid high friction by plowing, ultraflat surfaces were first prepared by sliding in water. The experiments showed that the oxide layer growing in humid air on silicon nitride produces a friction coefficient as low as μ≈0.05 that survives about 30 Newton meter of sliding, which corresponds to several hundred passes of the counterface. When sliding in water, the surface acquires a high friction coefficient (μ≈0.7) very rapidly. The difference in the lubricating properties of tribochemical surface layers on aluminum oxide and silicon nitride can be understood on the basis of the differing surface chemistries of these materials. We offer a tentative lubrication mechanism based on low adhesion between the oxide surface and the silicon nitride counterface and the structure of oxides grown inhumid ambients.
A Restatement of the S‐Curve Hypothesis

It is the contention of this paper that Kuznets' inverted U-curve is really an S-curve when one incorporates either times-series or cross-sectional data which allows one to capture both the agriculture-to-manufacturing (ATM) and manufacturing-to-services (MTS) structural transitions during the economic development process. With the use of United States times-series data, this study demonstrates that Kuznets' inverted U-curve is a recurring quadratic reproduced by the inevitable shift in sectoral emphasis occasioned by the ATM and MTS structural transitions. Such changes for high-level per capita GNP countries is best explained graphically by an S-curve. Copyright 1999 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Exchange Rate-Based Stabilization in War-Ravaged Economies: The Case of Lebanon

This article examines exchange rate-based stabilization in an economy that has been badly destroyed by war or other calamities. The article does this in the context of post-civil war Lebanon. Both Iraq and Afghanistan are prime candidates for such a policy. This article first demonstrates the validity of the theory and empirical regularities (initial boom followed by an economic contraction) in the case of Lebanon and argues for the suitability of such programs for war-ravaged economies. It then empirically highlights the role played by the credibility of policy makers in the success or failure of the program and the resulting dynamics of economic variables. The article concludes that the success depends on a political environment that engenders credible policy.
Association of cigarette smoking and media literacy about smoking among adolescents.

Purpose To determine whether media literacy concerning tobacco use is independently associated with two clinically relevant outcome measures in adolescents: current smoking and susceptibility to smoking.
Opinions of Those in Cattle, Swine, and Sheep Slaughtering and Rendering Sectors Regarding Aspects of the National Animal Identification System1

Abstract Opinions of those in the cattle, swine, and sheep slaughtering and rendering sectors were characterized regarding aspects of the National Animal Identification System. Across plants of all size categories, operators of 51, 46, 65, and 22% of cattle, swine, and sheep slaughtering and rendering plants, respectively, said they would now, voluntarily, submit animal termination records (ATR). By size category, however, too few operators of large cattle and swine slaughtering and rendering plants are willing to do so. There are preconditions that might make slaughtering and rendering plant operators more willing to voluntarily submit ATR; 79 to 88% would do so if radio frequency identification devices (cattle and sheep) and slap-tattoo or premises identification numbers (swine) were made mandatory. Only 22, 29, 29, and 14% of cattle, swine, and sheep slaughtering and rendering plant operators, respectively, would voluntarily pay a private database provider a fee to protect ATR data from the Freedom of Information Act, and 53, 25, 31, and 57%, respectively, of plant operators would—if ATR submission were made mandatory—send their ATR data through a private database provider if the fees were paid by the government. Support for mandatory animal identification (which would include submission of ATR) across small-, medium-, and large-sized plant categories was 47 to 80, 25 to 43, 25 to 100, and 100% for cattle, swine, and sheep slaughtering and rendering plant operators, respectively, if industry had to pay for it, but increased to 65 to 90, 64 to 75, 50 to 100, and 100% if the government would pay for it.
A new population-based simulated annealing algorithm

In this paper, we propose sequential Monte Carlo simulated annealing (SMC-SA), a population-based simulated annealing algorithm, for continuous global optimization. SMC-SA incorporates the sequential Monte Carlo method to track the converging sequence of Boltzmann distributions in simulated annealing, such that the empirical distribution will converge weakly to the uniform distribution on the set of global optima. Numerical results show that SMC-SA is a great improvement of the standard simulated annealing on all test problems and outperforms the popular cross-entropy method on badly-scaled objective functions.
Large-signal microwave performance of GaN-based NDR diode oscillators

The GaN material parameters relevant to the negative diAerential resistance (NDR) devices are discussed, and their physical models based on the theoretical predictions and experimental device characteristics are introduced. Gunn diode design criteria were applied to design the GaN NDR diodes. A higher electrical strength of the GaN allowed operation with higher doping (10 17 cm ˇ3 ) and at a higher bias (90 V for a 3 lm thick diode). The transient hydrodynamic simulations were used to carry out the harmonic power analysis of the GaN NDR diode oscillators in order to evaluate their large-signal microwave characteristics. The GaAs Gunn diode oscillators were also simulated for a comparison and verification purposes. The dependence of the oscillation frequency and output power on the GaN NDR diode design and operating conditions are reported. It was found that, due to the higher electron velocities and reduced time constants, GaN NDR diodes oAered twice the frequency capability of the GaAs Gunn diodes (87 GHz vs. 40 GHz), while their output power density was 2 10 5 W/cm 2 compared with10 3 W/cm 2 for the GaAs devices. The reported improvements in the microwave performance are supported by the high value of the GaN Pf 2 Z figure of merit, which is 50‐100 times higher than the GaAs, indicating a strong potential of the GaN for the microwave signal generation. ” 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
ArchFLoc: Locating and explaining architectural features in running web applications

Feature location is a critical step in the software maintenance process where a developer identifies the software artifacts that need to be changed in order to fulfill a new feature request. Much progress has been made in understanding the feature location process and in creating new tools to help a developer in performing this task. However, there is still lack of support for locating architectural features, ones that require a developer to touch on more than one architectural component. We demonstrate a tool called ArchFLoc that can be used to discover and highlight architectural level features that are otherwise hidden in a software system. ArchFLoc is integrated into user interfaces, so the developer can express a feature query by directly interacting with user interface elements at runtime. Based on the user query, ArchFLoc discovers relevant code artifacts and dependencies, and assembles documentation to explain their roles in the overall architectural design.
A monocular vision-based occupant classification approach for smart airbag deployment

Occupant classification is essential to a smart airbag system that can either turn off or deploy in a less harmful way according to the type of the occupants in the front seat. This paper presents a monocular vision-based occupant classification approach to classify the occupants into five categories including empty seats, adults in normal position, adults out of position, front-facing child/infant seats, and rear-facing infant seats. The proposed approach consists of image representation and pattern classification. The image representation step computes Haar wavelets and edge features from the monochrome video frames. A support vector machine (SVM) classifier next determines the occupant category based on the representative features. We have tested our approach on a large variety of indoor and outdoor images acquired under various illumination conditions for occupants with different appearances, sizes and shapes. With a strict occupant exclusive training/testing split, our approach has achieved an average correct classification rate of 97.18% among the five occupant categories.
Assimilation and contrast effects in voter projections of party locations: Evidence from Norway, France, and the USA

In the standard Downsian model, voters are assumed to choose parties based onthe extent of ideological proximity between the voter's own position and that ofthe party. Yet it is also well known that there are rationalization and projectioneffects such that voters tend to misestimate the policy platforms of candidates orparties to which they are sympathetic by overstating the correspondence betweenthose positions and the voter's own preferences (see, e.g., Markus & Converse1979; Granberg & Brent 1980; Granberg & Holmberg 1988; Merrill & Grofman1999). Here we follow insights in the psychological literature on persuasion (Sherif& Hovland 1961; Parducci & Marshall 1962) by distinguishing between assimilationand contrast effects. Assimilation refers to shortening the perceived ideologicaldistance between oneself and parties whom one favors; contrast refers to exaggeratingthe distance to parties for whom one does not intend to vote. Using survey data on voterself-placements and party placements on ideological scales for the seven major Norwegianparties, five major French parties, and two major American parties we show that bothassimilation and contrast effects are present in each country to a considerable degree.We also investigate the possible effects of randomness in party placement and scaleinterpretation – effects that can easily be confounded with assimilation but not so easilywith contrast.
New procedures for in situ measurement of the magnetic properties of materials: applications of the magnescope

The authors describe the magnescope, an instrument which is capable of making in situ magnetic measurements and evaluating the condition of materials through their magnetic properties. Measurements can be made easily and rapidly through the use of expert system software containing precise algorithms for the various magnetic procedures. The various inspection procedures contained in the software make the instrument very flexible, and since they are in software, new procedures can be easily added, allowing evaluation of the instrument to meet new needs. The organization of this instrument is discussed, together with some of the procedures incorporated into the software allowing a wide range of magnetic parameters to be calculated from a few simple measurements. Specific magnetic parameters that are affected by applied stress, residual stress, fatigue damage, creep damage, temper embrittlement, and grain boundary segregation have been determined. >
Increased left ventricular dysfunction in elderly patients despite successful thrombolysis: the GUSTO-I angiographic experience.

Objective. This study sought to determine whether the recovery of regional and global left ventricular function is reduced in elderly patients despite successful thrombolytic therapy for acute myocardial infarction. Comparisons were made between elderly (≥75 years old, n = 47) and adult ( Background. The morbidity and mortality of acute myocardial infarction is increased in elderly patients, presumably because of multiple adverse coexistent baseline variables. However, functional recovery after thrombolysis has not been characterized in the elderly. Methods. Ejection fraction, end-systolic volume index, infarct and noninfarct zone contractile function (SD/chord) and infarct extent (number of chords) were determined. Results. At 90 min, elderly patients with an open infarct-related artery had decreased infarct zone contractile function (−2.8 ± 0.2 vs. −2.3 ± 0.1 SD/chord in adults, p ≤ 0.05) and a greater extent of injury (26.0 ± 2.6 vs. 20.7 ± 0.8 chords in adults, p ≤ 0.05). At 5- to 7-day follow-up ventriculography, ejection fraction was reduced, and end-systolic volume index was significantly increased in elderly patients compared with adults. The severity of regional wall motion dysfunction in the infarct zone was also greater in the elderly than in adults at 5- to 7-day follow-up (−2.6 ± 0.2 vs. −1.9 ± 0.1 SD/chord, respectively, p ≤ 0.005). Non-infarct zone contractile function at 90-min ventriculography was similar in both groups. Despite a patent infarct-related artery at 90-min, the 30-day mortality rate in the elderly remained elevated (17.8%) compared with that of adults (4%) (p ≤ 0.0001). Elderly patients were predominantly female and had a higher prevalence of hypertension, multivessel coronary disease, previous infarction, anterior infarctions and later time to treatment (between 3 and 6 h) than adults. However, age ≥75 years remained an independent determinant by multivariable regression analysis of 1-week postinfarction end-systolic volume index, regional left ventricular dysfunction (p = 0.02 and p ≤ 0.008, respectively) and 30-day mortality (p ≤ 0.0001). Conclusions. Elderly patients had increased damage in the infarct zone and had persistently increased mortality despite sustained infarct-related artery patency after successful thrombolysis. Although the causes are probably multifactorial, a more rapid progression of ischemic injury or a blunted postreperfusion recovery appears to contribute to the poorer outcomes in elderly patients.
Evolutionary analyses of non-family genes in plants

There are a large number of non-family (NF) genes that do not cluster into families with three or more members per genome. While gene families have been extensively studied, a systematic analysis of NF genes has not been reported. We performed comparative studies on NF genes in 14 plant species. Based on the clustering of protein sequences, we identified ~94,000 NF genes across these species that were divided into five evolutionary groups: Viridiplantae-wide, angiosperm-specific, monocot-specific, dicot-specific, and those that were species-specific. Our analysis revealed that the NF genes resulted largely from less frequent gene duplications and/or a higher rate of gene loss after segmental duplication relative to genes in both low-copy-number families (LF; 3 10 copies per genome) and high-copy-number families (HF; >10 copies). Furthermore, we identified functions enriched in the NF gene set as compared with the HF genes. We found that NF genes were involved in essential biological processes shared by all plant lineages (e.g., photosynthesis and translation), as well as gene regulation and stress responses associated with phylogenetic diversification. In particular, our analysis of an Arabidopsis protein-protein interaction network revealed that hub proteins with the top 10% most connections were over-represented in the NF set relative tomore » the HF set. This research highlights the roles that NF genes may play in evolutionary and functional genomics research.« less
Allele-specific tumor spectrum in pten knockin mice.

Germline mutations in the tumor suppressor gene PTEN (phosphatase and tensin homology deleted on chromosome 10) cause Cowden and Bannayan–Riley–Ruvalcaba (BRR) syndromes, two dominantly inherited disorders characterized by mental retardation, multiple hamartomas, and variable cancer risk. Here, we modeled three sentinel mutant alleles of PTEN identified in patients with Cowden syndrome and show that the nonsense Pten∆4–5 and missense PtenC124R and PtenG129E alleles lacking lipid phosphatase activity cause similar developmental abnormalities but distinct tumor spectra with varying severity and age of onset. Allele-specific differences may be accounted for by loss of function for Pten∆4–5, hypomorphic function for PtenC124R, and gain of function for PtenG129E. These data demonstrate that the variable tumor phenotypes observed in patients with Cowden and BRR syndromes can be attributed to specific mutations in PTEN that alter protein function through distinct mechanisms.
Single-walled carbon nanotube-templated crystallization of H2SO4: direct evidence for protonation.

Liquid anhydrous sulfuric acid forms molecular “shells” wrapped around single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). Temperature-dependent X-ray scattering from aligned acid-swollen fibers shows that crystallization of the bulklike acid surrounding the structured shells is templated by the aligned SWNTs, while the structured shells remain partly ordered, at least for temperatures from 100 to 500 K. The (2 0 0) or (2 0 2) planes of the templated H2SO4 crystallites are parallel to the nanotube axes. This provides solid evidence for the direct protonation of SWNT since the molecules are terminated by hydrogen bonds.
Untangling the signalling wires

Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades process myriads of stimuli, generating receptor-specific cellular outcomes. New work exploits emergent mathematics of network inference to reveal distinct feedback designs of the RAF/MEK/ERK cascade induced by two different growth factors. It shows that response specificity can arise from differential signal-induced wiring of overlapping protein networks.
Molecular basis for optical clearing of collagenous tissues

Molecular interactions of optical clearing agents were investigated using a combination of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and optical spectroscopy. For a series of sugar alcohols with low to high optical clearing potential, Raman spectroscopy and integrating sphere measurements were used to quantitatively characterize tissue water loss and reduction in light scattering following agent exposures. The rate of tissue water loss was found to correlate with agent optical clearing potential, but equivalent tissue optical clearing was measured in native and fixed tissue in vitro, given long-enough exposure times to the polyol series. MD simulations showed that the rate of tissue optical clearing correlated with the preferential formation of hydrogen bond bridges between agent and collagen. Hydrogen bond bridge formation disrupts the collagen hydration layer and facilitates replacement by a chemical agent to homogenize tissue refractive index. However, the reduction in tissue light scattering did not correlate with the agent index of refraction. Our results suggest that a necessary property of optical clearing agents is hyperosmolarity to tissue, but that the most effective agents with the highest rates of optical clearing are a subset with the highest collagen solubilities.
Justice and fairness: a critical element in U.S. health system reform

The case for U.S. health system reform aimed at achieving wider insurance coverage in the population and disciplining the growth of costs is fundamentally a moral case, grounded in two principles: (1) a principle of social justice, the Just Sharing of the costs of illness, and (2) a related principle of fairness, the Prevention of Free-Riding. These principles generate an argument for universal access to basic care when applied to two existing facts: the phenomenon of "market failure" in health insurance and, in the U.S., the existing legal guarantee of access to emergency care. The principles are widely shared in U.S. moral culture by conservatives and liberals alike. Similarly, across the political spectrum, the fact of market failure is not contested (though it is sometimes ignored), and the guarantee of access to emergency care is rarely challenged. The conclusion generated by the principles is not only that insurance for a basic minimum of care should be mandatory but that the scope of that care should be lean, efficient, and constrained in its cost.
On Paternalism and Health Care

The model called to mind by the word ‘paternalism’ is the way a father acts towards his children. Of course, we should not think in terms of a malicious or self-centered father, but rather of a benevolent and loving father who does only what he sincerely believes is in the best interests of his children. Generalizing from this model, we can say that a person is acting paternalistically whenever she or he does something for or to another person without that person’s consent and on the basis of the justification that “this is for your own good.”
Are Public Choice Scholars Different

I his classic text, Dennis Mueller (1989, 1) defines public choice analysis as “the economic study of nonmarket decision making, or simply the application of economics to political science. . . . The basic behavioral postulate of public choice, as for economics, is that man is an egoistic, rational, utility maximizer.” By its very nature, this interdisciplinary field of study was, at its start in the late 1950s and early 1960s, outside the mainstream of both economics and politics. Many economists were, at the time, wary of applying economic models where there were not formal markets and price mechanisms to govern relationships, while political scientists were skeptical of rationality assumptions and formal modeling techniques inherent in economic study. Today, however, economists seem quite comfortable with applying economic models to almost any worldly phenomena, and many introductory economics textbooks include a chapter specifically on public choice issues. Public choice inroads into the mainstream of political science have been slower. Critics of the public choice paradigm are vocal, attacking its assumptions, its conclusions, and its impact, but are unable to fully account for its influence. Orchard and Stretton (1997), for example, argue that public choice analysis has been ideologically driven and dominated by the libertarian perspective. They contend that its “assumption of exclusively rational, egoistic, materially acquisitive behaviour is now acknowledged to be unhelpful and to generate inaccurate predictions and false or inadequate explanations of political performance” (423) and that “research has also discredited the main branches of public choice micro-theory” (424). Yet, “despite these troubles, the movement flourishes” (424), perhaps because of the “deregulating, privatizing, tax-hating temper of the times” (425). Cohn (1999) notes that critics refer to rational choice as a “cult.” At this juncture, it appears fruitful to consider the overall status of public choice analysis in the social sciences. In this note, we seek to discover if public choice scholars truly differ in their methodological beliefs and conclusions from other economists and political scientists. Have their assumptions and conclusions been rejected or accepted? As a first grasp at tackling this issue, we circulated a survey containing 33 statements regarding various public choice model assumptions or predictions regarding the interplay of politics and economics. The survey was sent to 200 randomly selected members of the American Economic Association (AEA) and 207 randomly selected members of the American Political Science Association (APSA), as well as to almost everyone on the Public Choice Society (PCS) mailing list, which includes 201 economists and 125 political scientists.
Season-Long vs Intensive-Early Stocking at Two Nitrogen Rates with Stocker Cattle Grazing Bermudagrass Pasture1

Abstract Ths objsctive of this project was to compare the effects of intensive-early stocking ( IES ; 84-d grazing period) vs season-long stocking ( SLS ; 164-d grazing period) and N fertilization rate on the performance of grazing stocker cattle on pasture and in the feedlot. On April 17 (d 0), 82 Angus-sired calves (BW = 225 ± 5.5 kg) were assigned randomly to one of 12 dallisgrass (Paspalum dilatatum Poir)/bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon [L.] Pers.) pastures (0.81 ha each). Three treatments were randomly applied to the pastures: 1) SLS with 169 kg/ha N fertilizer over the 168-d grazing period (4.9 steers/ha), 2) IES with 85 kg/ha N fertilizer over the 84-d grazing period (9.9 steers/ha), and 3) IES with 169 kg/ ha of N fertilizer (IES + N) over the 84-d grazing period (9.9 steers/ha). After each grazing phase was completed, cattle were finished in a western Oklahoma feedlot. Data were analyzed by ANOVA, and contrasts were used to compare SLS vs. the average of IES and IES + N, and IES vs IES + N. By d 84 (July 10), SLS cattle were 36 kg heavier (P
THE BIOLOGY AND HEALTH OF ANDEAN MIGRANTS A CASE STUDY IN SOUTH COASTAL PERU

Migration always entails a change in social environment and adjustment to unfamiliar institutions and surroundings. Andean migration frequently also entails a major change in physical environment when high-altitude natives move to low altitude and experience an abrupt. and extreme change in environmental features such as oxygen pressure, temperature, and humidity, which vary with altitude. Both historical and contemporary sources indicate that natives of one altitude encounter significant physiological difficulties in adapting to vastly different elevations and this knowledge has concerned Andean administrators and governors since Incan times (Buskirk, 1976; Frisancho et al., 1973; Monge, 1948; Monge, 1963; Noble et al., 1974). At the present time, there is massive migration from high to low altitude in the Andes and the consequences for the migrants are not known. Indeed, as reported in the MAB 6 meeting in La Paz (UNESCO, 1975), this problem is viewed as a critical one in the Central Andes. Theories of biological adaptation and of social change predict deleterious sequelae of migration, at least temporarily, since migrants are in the process of adapting to a number of changed environmental features. For example, migrants may experience change in population density, population size, occupation, be newly introduced into cash economies and to western medical systems and experience changes in the physical environment. A further prediction is that the more changes a migrant undergoes, the greater the difficulty he has in adjusting. Therefore, migrants between altitudinal belts who experience all of these changes are expected to have greater difficulty in adapting than migrants within belts who do not experience the altitudinal change. However, a confounding
Using Power of Ants for Optimization

*† In engineering application we frequently encounter functions with multiple local and global minima. The solution of such ill-poised functions is extremely difficult with the classical optimization techniques. In this paper we explore the use of well-known social insect “ants” to solve such optimization and design problems. Two types of ants, one that uses pheromone trail (type 1) and the other that uses visual clues (type 2) for feedback, were employed. Type 1 ants were used to solve the traveling salesman problem while the “type 2” ants were used to solve the conventional function minimization problem. The application of ants to solve design problems is also discussed.
Looking down: The influence of contempt and compassion on emergent leadership categorizations.

By integrating the literatures on implicit leadership and the social functions of discrete emotions, we develop and test a theoretical model of emotion expression and leadership categorizations. Specifically, we examine the influence of 2 socio-comparative emotions-compassion and contempt-on assessments of leadership made both in 1st impression contexts and over time. To demonstrate both internal and external validity, Studies 1a and 1b provide laboratory and field evidence to show that expressing the discrete emotions of contempt and compassion positively relates to perceptions that an individual is a leader. Study 2 tests the mechanism explaining these associations. Specifically, we show that in a leadership emergence context, contempt and compassion both positively relate to perceptions that the expresser is a leader because each provides cues matching the implicit theory that leaders have higher intelligence. Our findings add to a growing body of literature focused on identifying the processes through which leaders emerge in groups, showing that emotions are an important input to this process. We discuss the implications of our findings and how they might guide future research efforts.
259 EFFECTS OF BIPHASIC PACING IN LARGE ANIMAL SPECIES.

Hemodynamics of paced beats containing some anodal component differ from those induced by the conventional cathodal waveform in rabbits, canines, and ferrets. We investigated this phenomenon in the pig (Sus domesticus). Upstroke (dP/dt+) and relaxation (dP/dt2) of left ventricular pressure curve were measured in two 50 kg subjects paced slightly above intrinsic rate with cathodal (C) and anodal followed by cathodal biphasic (B) pacing pulses. The first animal had preexistent atrial fibrillation and developed ventricular fibrillation due to a reversion attempt with unsynchronized cardioversion. After eventual resuscitation and defibrillation, sinus rhythm resumed, although with pressure measurements significantly depressed compared to the second subject. Measurements in each animal were made over 15 min period following mode changes. Only small differences in raw data between pacing modes were observed. However, after normalization of data to express percent change from start (initial) values in each mode, we obtained graphs showing dP/dt+ and dP/dt2 readings constant or slightly increasing for B pacing. C pacing showed 7 and 8% depressions of dP/dt2 eventually returning toward initial readings over the 15 min follow-up periods. Data are most consistent with altered relaxation properties, but the issue of increased contractility is unclear since concomitant volume measurements were not done. Time dependence of hemodynamic changes in upstroke and relaxation suggests that feedback loops in the heart may be responding to initial perturbations induced by the pacing modes. Pressure-volume loops need to be performed in order to clarify the mechanism.
James Thorp and Pedology in China

American pedologist James Thorp( 1896 ~ 1984),as the Chief Soil Technologist at the Soil Division of the National Geological Survey of China,classified and mapped Chinese soil scientifically based on a systematic survey undertaken in the early 1930s. Thorp's achievement was not only to develop cooperative research at the Soil Division,but also interactions with the Department of Agricultural Economics at Nanking University and with Chinese geographers. Apart from his achievements in Chinese pedology,Thorp also contributed to the training of pedologists and the internationalization of pedological research in China.
Analysis of the Influence of Car Body Structure on the Pretreatment & Electrophoresis Process

The influences of car body structure on the pretreatment and electrophoresis process were analyzed.By optimization of the car body structure,the electrophoretic effect was enhanced,and anticorrosion ability was increased.
Scalable DFA Compilation for High-Performance Regular-Expression Matching

Regular-expression accelerators often rely on sophisticated compilers to fully exploit the available hardware capabilities for achieving wire-speed scan rates of multiple tens of gigabits per second. This paper presents a method for the efficient compilation of pattern-matching functions specified by deterministic finite automata (DFAs) into executable structures targeted at accelerators based on B-FSM programmable state machines. The compilation scheme presented is able to effectively exploit an adaptive compression mechanism to obtain one of the most compact state-transition-table structures in the industry, in combination with fast compilation times. The heuristic-based approach scales to very large DFAs having tens of millions of transitions, while achieving an approximately linear growth of the storage needs as a function of the DFA size.
What a piece of work is man: the Body Worlds exhibit at the Milwaukee Public Museum.

Already viewed by more than 20 million people worldwide, the Body Worlds exhibit is currently on display at the Milwaukee Public Museum until June 1, 2008. The creator of the exhibit, Gunther von Hagens, MD, has patented a technique, which he calls “plastination,” for impregnating cadavers and anatomical specimens with plastic or silicone rubber. Plastination not only preserves the prosected bodies, but enables the posing of the bodies in unusual ways. The Body Worlds exhibit is beautiful and fascinating. In the first room, most of the exhibits are fairly conventional: human bodies displayed standing, dissected to display muscles, ligaments, and the nervous system. The nervous system dissections are beautifully detailed, evoking envy in those of us who remember struggling to delineate the brachial plexus as first-year medical students. In the main hall of the exhibit, the bodies are displayed in poses that are both spectacular and, to some, disturbing. The exhibit claims an educational mission, and some of the posed bodies clearly demonstrate that goal. For example, a body posed as a leaping martial artist also displays a dozen kinds of orthopedic hardware and prosthetic joints. The hand of “The Smoker” retains the familiar nicotine-stained finger while casually holding a cigarette, humanizing the black-stained lungs that otherwise might be less meaningful emotionally. Accompanying cross-sections that contrast emphysematous lungs with normal lungs are dramatic, though not well explained to a lay audience. “Obesity Revealed” is a cross-section of a body with a 5-inch layer of subcutaneous fat. Whether its ugliness will motivate anyone to control their weight is an open question. The dissection and mounting of “The Longitudinally-Expanded Body” emphasize the concentric circles of corporeal organization from muscle to bone to internal organs, providing some insight into the functionality of this design. In “The Runner,” centrifugal force is emphasized by the arrangement What a piece of work is man: The Body Worlds exhibit at the Milwaukee Public Museum
From Distributed Cognition to Collective Intelligence: Supporting Cognitive Search to Facilitate Online Massive Collaboration

This chapter focuses on the nature of cognitive computations involved in collaborative tasks and its implication to design of information systems that facilitate massive online collaboration. When a group of people are collaborating either implicitly or explicitly, cognitive processes are distributed among individuals across these task components. The success of the individuals in accomplishing the task depends on whether the emergent outcomes of these distributed cognitive processes allow them to collectively achieve their goals, which also reflect the efficiency and effectiveness of how the distributed cognitive processes lead to collective intelligence. The goal of this chapter is to focus on the nature of cognitive computations in individuals and in groups. In particular, the chapter will focus on the central role of cognitive search in individual and group cognition and discuss how cognitive search may play a central role in collective intelligence by binding individual cognitive processes effectively. The chapter will then provide examples of information systems that support collective intelligence and argue from a theoretical standpoint the design principles that make these systems more efficient and capable of facilitating massive online collaboration.
The secret life of ground squirrels: accelerometry reveals sex-dependent plasticity in above-ground activity

The sexes differ in how and when they allocate energy towards reproduction, but how this influences phenotypic plasticity in daily activity patterns is unclear. Here, we use collar-mounted light loggers and triaxial accelerometers to examine factors that affect time spent above ground and overall dynamic body acceleration (ODBA), an index of activity-specific energy expenditure, across the active season of free-living, semi-fossorial arctic ground squirrels ( Urocitellus parryii ). We found high day-to-day variability in time spent above ground and ODBA with most of the variance explained by environmental conditions known to affect thermal exchange. In both years, females spent more time below ground compared with males during parturition and early lactation; however, this difference was fourfold larger in the second year, possibly, because females were in better body condition. Daily ODBA positively correlated with time spent above ground in both sexes, but females were more active per unit time above ground. Consequently, daily ODBA did not differ between the sexes when females were early in lactation, even though females were above ground three to six fewer hours each day. Further, on top of having the additional burden of milk production, ODBA data indicate females also had fragmented rest patterns and were more active during late lactation. Our results indicate that sex differences in reproductive requirements can have a substantial influence on activity patterns, but the size of this effect may be dependent on capital resources accrued during gestation.
Carrying the private in public: language and performance in Susan Jahoda’s Flight Patterns

ABSTRACTBlurring the lines between public and private language by displaying a series of hand-written letters and envelopes sent through the mail, Susan Jahoda’s Flight Patterns questions if the demarcation between public and private language is ever really possible. As a matter of central importance to studies of performance and rhetoric, ultimately, Jahoda suggests that performances of the self are constructed by language that is unavoidably, and simultaneously, public and private. The act of addressing is a rhetorical performance, or a performance of rhetoric, for the ways in which language both demarcates and blurs the boundaries of self and other.
Lewy Body Spectrum Disorders: from Dementia with Lewy Bodies to Parkinson’s Disease Dementia

Lewy body disorders are common neurodegenerative dementias and their complex features often makes it difficult to provide an accurate diagnosis. They share neuropathological and clinical features with each other as well as with Alzheimer’s disease. There have been some recent advances in biomarkers and neuroimaging, but as of yet, nothing has been conclusive when trying to identify each dementing process. Treatment options have been limited and based on small studies; however, new options are on the horizon. In this article, we will discuss recent advances in the study of Lewy body disorders and how to apply them to clinical practice.
Insights from long‐term field studies of mammalian carnivores

Most carnivorans (members of the mammalian order Carnivora) are elusive and long lived, so long-term studies are required to understand their basic biology and, ultimately, to conserve them. Here, we review examples of the wealth of information about the social systems, ecophysiology, and ecology of gregarious, terrestrial, carnivorous carnivorans (hereafter, carnivores) generated by long-term field studies of free-living, individually recognizable carnivores. Our synthesis yields key insights about the evolutionary forces favoring cooperation and ecological forces shaping social dynamics. The genetic assignment of parentage permits elucidation of the extent of reproductive skew in natural populations spanning multiple generations. Tracking of individuals across their life spans reveals underlying physiological, behavioral, and ecological mechanisms mediating reproductive suppression and dispersal. Long-term studies permit a comprehensive understanding of the ways in which intrinsic and extrinsic factors, including conflict with humans, regulate carnivore populations. Long-term studies also provide crucial baseline information required for the conservation of carnivores in the face of burgeoning human populations and global climate change. Notably, many conservation problems unfold on timescales only addressable with long-term data. Although we have yet to exploit the full wealth of information from long-term field studies, these valuable repositories have already yielded myriad insights about mammalian carnivores that would be unobtainable from studies conducted over shorter timescales.
The Sequel to Chance Encounters

Movie-industry analyst David Fitzhugh must estimate the value of the sequel rights associated with Chance Encounters, a soon-to-be-produced movie. The producers intend to use the cash from the sale of the sequel rights to help fund production of the original movie. With the purchase of the sequel rights, the client fully intends to produce a sequel--should the original movie prove successful. Excerpt UVA-QA-0831 Feb. 13, 2015 The Sequel to Chance Encounters In April 2003, David Fitzhugh, a respected movie-industry analyst, was hired to evaluate an unusual business idea—the purchasing of the sequel rights associated with a soon-to-be-produced movie. About six months earlier, Warmer Brothers Studios had approached Fitzhugh's client (a very successful independent-movie producer) with a proposal to sell him the exclusive rights to produce a sequel to Chance Encounters, Warmer Brothers' newest movie. A string of poorly performing movies had left Warmer Brothers badly in need of cash to help defray the estimated $ 25 million cost of making Chance Encounters, and they had come up with the idea of selling the sequel rights. In preparation for the upcoming negotiation, Fitzhugh's client asked him to perform a thorough “data-driven” valuation of the exclusive rights to produce a sequel. The Basics of the Movie Business Movies went through three stages to reach the public: production, distribution, and exhibition. Production was the actual making of the movie. The total cost for this stage was called negative cost: the cost to produce the master negative of the movie. Typically, the largest components of negative cost were salaries of the actors and director, set design and construction, and transportation. On average, production of a movie took about a year, at a negative cost of around $ 30 million. . . .
Determination of a Mathematical Model for a Lime-Kiln

Abstract For a rotary lime kiln used in the recausticizing process of a (kraft) paper mill, R mathematical model is presented. The form of the mathematical description is obtained on the basis of the mass and energy balances. The unknown coefficients in the mathematical model are determined by applying the stochastic approximation method. The identification scheme yields the optimal values of the parameters such that the best fit to the available discrete measurements is attained.
Semiconductor quantum dots: Progress in processing

Publisher Summary This chapter has summarized major progress in selected areas of quantum dot preparation and processing. Many techniques have been developed to enhance uniformity, control morphology, and determine the spatial distribution of quantum dots in bulk materials, as well as thick and thin films. Techniques include sol-gel and solid-state precipitation in glass or crystalline matrices, molecular beam epitaxy, chemical vapor deposition techniques, and lithographic mechanisms. Advances in these processing methods, and others, have been discussed. Many new processes for making quantum dots through self assembly, organization in polymer sphere templates, and aerosol-based techniques continue to receive attention. It is clear that exciting advances in the synthesis and optical/electronic properties of semiconducting quantum dots will remain a fascinating multidisciplinary challenge for materials scientists, physicists, and chemists for many years. The size distribution and morphology of quantum dots in their matrices are associated with the energy of the optical absorption edge, control and efficiency of electric field modulated optical absorption, and higher-order absorption phenomena.
Motivating Language Coordination

This chapter describes why all motivating language factors must be used in a coordinated fashion for maximum outcomes. Each facet plays a unique role in leader-to-follower communication that cannot be replaced by the other facets. In addition, a deficit in one facet will create problems in a worker’s situation that will blunt the effectiveness of the other facets—a lack of one facet’s use may create problems that have to be addressed by the use of other facets. Since a leader’s time is limited, this will mean that time using a facet to deal with problems arising from another facet’s deficit cannot be used to employ any one facet to its full potential.
Association of Single Nucleotide Polymorphism -2548 G/A (rs12112075) of leptin gene with endometrial cancer and uterine leiomyomas.

Abstract Aim The aim of this study was to analyse the frequencies of genotypes and alleles of Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) -2548 G/A (rs12112075) of leptin gene ( LEP ) and an attempt to evaluate the effect this DNA marker has on endometrial cancer (EC) and uterine leiomyomas (UL). Material and methods The study comprised 120 patients treated for endometrial cancer and 90 patients treated for uterine leiomyomas. 90 disease-free individuals were used as controls. In total, 300 patients were investigated in this research. Results In this paper we have demonstrated that genotype AG of SNP -2548 G/A of LEP may reduce the risk of developing endometrial cancer, whereas allele A itself may be a risk factor of this malignancy. No association was found between the studied polymorphism and uterine leiomyomas. Conclusions -2548 G/A SNP of LEP may play a significant role in the development of EC, however, uterine leiomyomas are not associated with this DNA marker.
Retrograde Transport and ATG-4.2-Mediated Maturation Cooperate to Remove Autophagosomes from the Synapse

Autophagy is spatially compartmentalized in neurons, with autophagosome biogenesis occurring in the axon and degradation in the cell body. The mechanisms that coordinate autophagosome formation, trafficking and degradation across the polarized structure of the neuron are not well understood. Here we use genetic screens and in vivo imaging in single neurons of C. elegans to demonstrate that specific steps of autophagy are differentially required in distinct subcellular compartments of the neuron. We demonstrate that completion of autophagosome biogenesis and closure at the synapse are necessary for dynein-mediated retrograde transport. We uncover a role for UNC-16/JIP3/Sunday Driver in facilitating autophagosome retrograde transport. Through forward genetic screens we then determine that autophagosome maturation and degradation in the cell body depend on removal of LGG-1/Atg8/GABARAP from autophagosomes by the protease ATG-4.2. Our studies reveal that regulation of distinct ATG4 proteases contributes to the coordination of autophagy across subcellular regions of the neuron.