cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Towards understanding dominant processes in complex dynamical systems: case of precipitation extremes

Complex dynamical systems like precipitation extremes under climate variability or change are typically governed by multiple processes at multiple scales. The processes themselves may be manifested at multiple scales and would need to be captured through key indicator variables, which in turn may be better projected by physical models than the variables of interest. We posit that hybrid approaches based on physically-motivated approaches and data-driven methods, which in turn are conditioned on both observations and simulations from large-scale physics-based models, may offer novel and quantifiable insights. The data-driven approaches may need to extend and adapt methods developed and tested in statistics, data mining and machine learning to the concept of dominant processes. In this paper, we performed some exploratory data analysis to characterize the effect of dominant processes on precipitation extremes, annually and seasonally, and from global and century scale to regional and decadal scale, and found some interesting insights that pointed towards need of improved understanding. We identified the gaps in understanding the regional drivers where data-driven methods can make useful improvements and eventually lead to a predictive model for precipitation extremes. Although we do not propose any specific method for solving the problem, we realize that any successful data mining solution should include all or a subset of tools like dimensionality reduction, grouped variable selection, non-linear regression and graphical models. The concepts of dominant processes proposed here would likely generalize broadly to climate extremes while the solution frameworks themselves may generalize beyond climate.
The attraction to sexual aggression scale: Part one 1

A scale designed to measure attraction to sexual aggression is described, based on earlier work assessing self‐reported likelihood of committing rape. This scale's associations with measures of theoretically relevant attitudes, perceptions, and behavioral inclinations are examined in comparison with briefer measures, and with a number of other scales measuring attraction to various types of sexual interactions. These include conventional sex (e.g., heterosexual intercourse), homosexuality, bondage, unconventional sex (e.g., group sex), and deviant sex (e.g., pedophilia). Data supporting the longer and shorter versions of the attraction to sexual aggression scale are presented, showing internal consistency, test‐retest reliability, and discriminant and construct validity. As well, a number of issues raised by critiques of research in this area are addressed empirically.
Contrasting physical adsorption behavior between fluorocarbons and fluorocarbon derivatives on zinc oxide

Adsorption isotherms for a number of fluorocarbons and fluorocarbon derivatives were determined on zinc oxide adsorbents. The isotherms for the fluorocarbons at less than monolayer coverage differed markedly from those for fluorocarbon derivatives. After completion of the monolayer, fluorocarbons showed Type II behavior. Fluorocarbon derivatives gave only Type II isotherms both above and below monolayer coverage. The irregular shape of the fluorocarbon isotherms below monolayer coverage can be attributed to two-dimensional phase transitions.
Thrombolytic Therapy for Pulmonary Embolism

the benefits of anticoagulation with the risk of bleeding. Determining the value of a therapy, incorporating both therapeutic and adverse effects, requires understanding net clinical benefit, the weighing of net benefit (or harm) for a specific therapy. 2 Currently, anticoagulation is standard therapy for patients with PE because the risk of fatal bleeding is low compared with the benefit of reduced mortality and recurrent PE. In contrast, more than 40 years after the first trial of thrombolysis was published, the role of thrombolytic therapy in PE remains unclear, because no single clinical trial has provided a definitive answer about its benefit. Furthermore, because of the increased risk of major bleeding, there is uncertainty about which patients may benefit from thrombolysis. Currently, the classification of patients into risk groups guides clinical decisions about whether to use thrombolysis. Patients presenting with right ventricular failure and hemodynamic compromise are classified as having a “massive” PE in North America 3 and a high-risk PE in Europe. 4 High-risk PE represents a minority of all patients presenting with PE but is associated with an in-hospital mortality of 15% or more, with death occurring commonly within the first 24 hours. 5 For these
Movement of labeled macromolecules to the goldfish optic tectum following intraocular injection of 125I-labelled tetanus toxin.

This study demonstrates that radioiodinated tetanus toxin, whose retrograde axonal transport has been established, is taken up by the retinal ganglion cell and transported in the anterograde direction. The time course of arrival of labeled macromolecules in the optic tectum following intraocular injection of 125I-labeled toxin is contrasted with the axonal transport of [3H]proline-labeled protein and [3H]fucose-labeled glycoproteins in this system. The rapid axonal transport of tritium-labeled proteins is complete within 24 hr, whereas the movement of 125I-labeled macromolecules into the optic tectum contralateral to the injected eye is detected after 12 hr and continues for several days. The small amount of toxin-related radioactivity in the optic nerve 5 days after injection indicates that, similar to glycoprotein transport, little, if any, toxin moves at the rate of slowly transported proline-labeled protein. The appearance of 125I-labeled macromolecules in the optic tectum is blocked by exposure of the toxin to antitetanus antibody prior to injection into the eye. The anterograde axonal transport of radioiodinated bovine serum albumin is not detected in this system. The data suggest that following intraocular injection, labeled tetanus toxin is either transported at a variety of rapid and intermediate rates following a brief uptake interval or moves along the optic nerve at a minimum rate of 14 mm/day after its slow and continuous uptake into the retinal ganglion cell.
Intraneural perineurioma : A systematic review with illustrative cases

Abstract Context.—Intraneural perineurioma may be confused with other “onion bulb” Schwann cell entities (localized hypertrophic neuropathy, reactive/demyelinating processes, or inherited polyneuropathies of Charcot-Marie-Tooth/Dejerine Sottas) due to similar clinical, radiologic, and histologic features. Perineurial and Schwann cells can only be differentiated by ultrastructure and immunohistochemsitry. Objective.—To identify and summarize the clinicopathologic features of true cases of intraneural perineurioma from the English language literature. Data Sources.—A systematic review was performed on definitive intraneural perineuriomas identified through Medline. Baylor College of Medicine–affiliated hospitals' anatomic pathology databases yielded 2 illustrative intraneural perineurioma cases. Study Selection.—Intraneural perineurioma inclusion criteria consisted of characteristic histology and confirmation of perineurial cell lineage by either immunohistochemistry (epithelial membrane antigen positive, S...
Equalization of very high speed wire data channels

Continuous-time adaptive signal processing has proved extremely effective in combating problems faced in wide bandwidth applications. This paper deals with the development of a continuous-time equalization scheme that would facilitate higher data transfer rates (in the range of 500 Mb/s to 4 Gb/s) in computer data channels while keeping the bit error rates low, i.e. in the region of 10/sup -20/ to 10/sup -30/. The functioning of these equalization schemes and their effectiveness in improving the performance of two specific channels, viz. the T3E channel with a data rate of 500 Mb/s per wire and the GigaRing channel with a data rate of 150 Mb/s per wire, is analyzed. Both theoretical analyses and computer simulations reveal tremendous performance enhancement.
Broad Bills or Particularistic Policy? Historical Patterns in American State Legislatures

When do lawmakers craft broad policies, and when do they focus on narrow legislation tailored to a local interest? We investigate this question by exploring historical variation in the types of bills produced by American state legislatures. Drawing on a new database of 165,000 bills— covering sessions over 120 years in thirteen different states—we demonstrate the surprising prominence of particularistic bills affecting a specific legislator’s district. We then develop and test a theory linking the goals of legislators to their propensity to introduce district bills rather than broad legislation. We find that, consistent with our predictions, politicians are more likely to craft policies targeted to a particular local interest when a legislature is dominated by one party or when it pays its members relatively high salaries. These findings provide empirical support for Key’s (1949) thesis that one-party politics descends into factionalism and undermines the making of broad public policy. W hen lawmakers consider their legislative agendas, they face a choice between introducing broad bills addressing major public policy needs and pushing for particularistic policies to meet the electoral demands of their districts or coreconstituencies.Thisdecisionoftensetstheirpolicy goals against their political ambitions, forcing them to trade off among the competing priorities that Fenno (1973, 1978) and Mayhew (1974) outline. In making this decision, legislators must consider the structure of their house, the incentives provided by that structure, and their own place in the chamber’s power struggles. How they resolve the tension between common policy considerations and personal electoral needs is at the root of legislative action. The aggregation of individual decisions about the mix of legislation that each will pursue has important consequences for the balance of public and particularistic goods that the political system as a whole will produce, analyzed theoretically
Recent advances in InP PICs

Within the past couple of years InP-based Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs) have become the subject of aggressive development for commercial applications primarily for the telecommunications industry. Chips with hundreds of photonic components carry live traffic in the field, but questions remain about cost/volume/performance tradeoffs, as well as the need for common integration platforms and/or foundry services. Research efforts have been influenced by these issues.
Spatial and temporal residential density patterns from 1940 to 2000 in and around the Northern Forest of the Northeastern United States

Over the past 60 years, housing growth has outpaced population growth in the United States. Conservationists are concerned about the far-reaching environmental impacts of housing development, particularly in rural areas. We use clustering analysis to examine the pattern and distribution of housing development since 1940 in and around the Northern Forest, a heavily forested region with high amenity and recreation use in the Northeastern United States. We find that both proximity to urban areas and an abundance of natural amenities are associated with housing growth at the neighborhood level in this region. In the 1970s, counterurbanization led to higher rates of growth across rural areas. The Northern Forest now has extensive interface between forest vegetation and residential development, which has the potential to profoundly alter the ecological and social benefits of these forests.
An analytical model for the lateral channel electric field in LDD structures

An analytical model for the lateral channel electric field in lightly doped drain (LDD) MOSFETs is developed from a pseudo-two-dimensional analysis. The model gives a prediction of the channel field when the lightly doped region is both fully depleted and partially depleted. The normal field mobility degradation and variation of the saturation field E/sub sat/ with gate voltage have been taken into account in the model. The boundary conditions for determining the pinch-off point L/sub sat/ proposed in the model along with the normal field mobility degradation consideration make possible the prediction of the variation of the pinch-off with the gate bias and the maximum value of the electric field E/sub max/. The differences between this model, existing models, and two-dimensional numerical simulations are discussed. >
Pushing Drug-Eluting Stents Into Uncharted Territory: Simpler Than You Think—More Complex Than You Imagine

Failures are the preparation for…victories. Ralph Waldo Emerson1 Mechanical failure is a characteristic of a material or device and not necessarily an indication of inadequacy. All devices will fail under some specific stress. It is only failure at the lowest levels of stress that may represent inadequacy. Stress on a material, for example, rises with strain until a critical load is exceeded, at which point the material fatigues and loses mechanical integrity. Failure analysis, the science by which these conditions are rigorously defined, is an important component of device design, development, and use. Once the transition point to failure is identified, material use can be restricted to the zone of safety or modified so as to have this zone expanded. Just as the characterization of a material is incomplete unless pushed to the limits of load bearing, characterization of an implantable device is incomplete unless preclinical and clinical environments test the limits of device functionality. It was in this light in 1999 that we noted the impossibility of defining the functional limits of novel bare metal stents in head-to-head trials, which, by necessity, could only include lesions into which the predicate device (the Palmaz-Schatz stent, Cordis, Warren, NJ) could be placed.2 Glimpses of superiority of 1 bare metal stent over another were only possible via registry data, “real world” reports, or small studies comparing advanced stent designs3 where more diverse patients and lesions could be considered and more granular determination of lesion- or patient-specific predictors of failure determined. Article p 2293 Twelve years after their introduction into the United States, stents have become as complex as the patients into whom they are placed. Over the past 5 years, the number of percutaneous interventions has grown by 40%. This expansion derives from an increased breadth of cases, as …
Regulating hydraulic fracturing in shale gas plays: The case of Texas

The ability to economically produce natural gas from unconventional shale gas reservoirs has been made possible recently through the application of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. This new technique has radically changed the energy future of the United States. The U.S. has shifted from a waning producer of natural gas to a growing producer. The Energy Information Administration forecasts that by 2035 nearly half of U.S. natural gas will come from shale gas. Texas is a major player in these developments. Of the eight states and coastal areas that account for the bulk of U.S. gas, Texas has the largest proved reserves. Texas' Barnett Shale already produces six percent of the continental U.S.' gas and exploration of Texas' other shale gas regions is just beginning. Shale gas production is highly controversial, in part because of environmental concerns. Some U.S. states have put hydraulic fracturing moratoriums in place because of fear of drinking water contamination. The federal government has gotten involved and some states, like Texas, have accused it of overreaching. The contention over shale gas drilling in the U.S. may be a bellwether for other parts of the world that are now moving forward with their own shale gas production.
Contrast echocardiography: new agents.

Abstract In this report, we review the history, rationale, current status and future directions of contrast agents in echocardiography. First, we discuss the historic development of contrast agents through a review of important physical principles of microbubbles in ultrasonography. Second, we identify attributes of an ideal contrast agent and review those that are currently available or in the “pipeline” for clinical use. Third, we review indications for contrast echocardiography, including endocardial border detection, perfusion quantification and reperfusion assessment, and validate these observations by comparisons with other imaging modalities. Then, we briefly review different methodologies of performing a contrast study, including interrupted, real-time and a hybrid modality. Finally, we identify novel future applications of the newest contrast agents. These newer concepts in contrast echocardiography should form a foundation for nearly limitless application of echocardiography in improved anatomical assessment, perfusion imaging and even special applications, such as detection of vascular inflammation and site-specific drug delivery. (E-mail: nanda@uab.edu )
Pipelining machine learning algorithms for knowledge discovery

A rule-generating algorithm, Incremental Reduced Error Pruning (IREP), has been proposed by Furnkranz and Widmer. 1 A modified IREP algorithm (RIPPERk) may be applied to raw data representing a classification problem. Introduced by Cohen, 1995, 2 RIPPERk generates a set of hypotheses in the form of if-then rules. The resulting solution maybe coarse or complete, covering all outlyers in the classification data set. Yet another version of IREP has been introduced,3 which generates an EMYCIN rule set with certainty factors. The resulting system can then be translated into an expert network, where the certainty factors determine the synaptic weights and the EMYCIN rule set determines an acyclic computational network architecture with linear synapses. 6 6 It has been demonstrated that Expert Network Back-propagation (ENBP) will further refine the network through supervised learning.3 The research examines the effect of inserting nodes that are capable of learning. The described network enhancement is appropriate when the benefit of a large set of RIPPERk modeling exemplars is not available.
Impact of implementing alerts about medication black-box warnings in electronic health records.

Background The Food and Drug Administration issues black-box warnings (BBWs) regarding medications with serious risks, yet physician adherence to the warnings is low. Methods We evaluated the impact of delivering BBW-based alerts about drug–drug, drug–disease, and drug–laboratory interactions for prescription medications in outpatients in an electronic health record with clinical decision support. We compared the frequency of non-adherence to all BBWs about drug–drug, drug–disease, and drug–laboratory interactions for 30 drugs/drug classes, and by individual drugs/drug groups with BBWs between the pre- and post-intervention periods. We used multivariate analysis to identify independent risk factors for non-adherence to BBWs. Results There was a slightly higher frequency of non-adherence to BBWs after the intervention (4.8% vs. 5.1%, p = 0.045). In multivariate analyses, after adjustment for patient and provider characteristics and site of care, medications prescribed during the pre-intervention period were less likely to violate BBWs compared to those prescribed during the post-intervention period (OR 0.67, 95% CI, 0.47–0.96). However, black-box warning violations did decrease after the intervention for BBWs about drug–drug interactions (6.1% vs. 1.8%, p < 0.0001) and drug–pregnancy interactions (5.1% vs. 3.6%, p = 0.01). Conclusions Ambulatory care computerized order entry with prescribing alerts about BBWs did not improve clinicians' overall adherence to BBWs, though it did improve adherence for specific clinically important subcategories. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A review of the borderline diagnosis for children.

The concept of the “borderline child” has gained increasing attention in the past JO years. New diagnostic criteria are being proposed, and research is attempting to identify the salient features of the syndrome. This article examines the childhood borderline concept, reviews some new diagnostic systems, identifies the major diagnostic controversies, lists considerations for differential diagnosis, and discusses implications for practice. The intent is to present the state of the art of the diagnosis and to discuss some potential problems with its use. Unique aspects of the childhood syndrome in contrast to the adult disorder are highlighted. Overlap with other disorders, questions about the continuity of symptoms, lack of attention to developmental variables, and countertransference issues are a few of the problems identified.
Systematics of the Californian euctenizine spider genus Apomastus (Araneae:Mygalomorphae:Cyrtaucheniidae): the relationship between molecular and morphological taxonomy

The genus Apomastus Bond & Opell is a relatively small group of mygalomorph spiders with a limited geographic distribution. Restricted to the Los Angeles Basin, San Juan Mountains, and San Joaquin Hills, Apomastus occupies a fragile habitat rapidly succumbing to urban encroachment. Although originally described as monotypic, the genus was hypothesised to contain at least one additional species. However, females of the two reputed species are morphologically indistinguishable and the authors were unable confidently to assign specific status to populations for which they lacked male specimens. Using an approach that combines geographic, morphological and molecular data, all known populations are assigned to one of two hypothesised species. Mitochondrial DNA cytochrome c oxidase I sequences are used to infer population phylogeny, providing the evolutionary framework necessary to resolve population and species identity issues. Conflicts between the parsimony and Bayesian analyses raise questions about species delineation, species paraphyly, and the application of molecular taxonomy to these taxa. Issues relevant to the conservation of Apomastus species are discussed in light of the substantive intraspecific species divergence observed in the mtDNA data. The type species, Apomastus schlingeri Bond & Opell, is redescribed and a second species, Apomastus kristenae, sp. nov., is described.
Ultra-fast-framing schlieren system for studies of the time evolution of jets in supersonic crossflows

A new ultra-fast camera system is used to study the time evolution of jets in supersonic crossflows via schlieren imaging. The commercial high-speed camera includes eight independent intensified charged couple devices (ICCDs) and is capable of acquiring images at rates up to 100 MHz. A long-duration (up to 200 µs) xenon flashlamp is used as the continuous light source. The exposure times of the ICCDs and the interframing times were designed to achieve schlieren images with high spatial and temporal resolution. Example data are presented for a hydrogen jet injected into a high total enthalpy supersonic crossflow, generated using a short-duration impulse facility (expansion tube). The large-eddy convection characteristics of the jet, its penetration and the unsteady nature of the shock wave around it are analyzed. Temporal correlations, such as the movement of organized (coherent) structures and fluctuations in the bow-shock, are readily perceived by assembling the eight consecutive images as a movie (http://navier.stanford.edu/hanson/propulsion/scramjet/movies/t1179.html).
Electron Microscopic Radioautography of HeLa Cells Infected with Adenovirus

Harford, Carl G. (Washington University, St. Louis, Mo.), and Alice Hamlin. Electron microscopic radioautography of HeLa cells infected with adenovirus. J. Bacteriol. 89: 1540–1547. 1965.—Because intracellular particles of adenovirus are not seen by light microscopy, radioautography with tritiated thymidine was carried out with an electron microscope. Reacted grains were present over many nuclei containing viral aggregates, but only 16% of these grains were over the aggregates. Control observations with tritium-labeled bacteria indicated that this low incidence of labeling of viral aggregates could not be attributed to errors of the method. We think that deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) labeled with tritiated thymidine in these experiments was mainly the excess viral DNA that is known to accumulate in adenovirus-infected cells. We did not exclude the possibility that some cellular DNA was labeled. Images
Microstructure Analysis Tools for Quantification of Key Structural Properties of Fuel Cell Materials

The objective of this work is to develop advanced microstructure analysis tools for direct quantification of the key structural properties of complex fuel cell materials. Computationally efficient algorithms have been developed to extract the key structural parameters from measured microstructure datasets of these materials. In addition to determination of the traditional structural measures (e.g., porosity, surface area, phase connectivity), two novel microstructure analysis techniques are introduced for the quantification of pore size and tortuosity distributions. For initial demonstration purposes, the methods developed are applied to a digitally reconstructed sample of the micro-porous layer (MPL) of a polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC). The results produced from these analyses are compared to previously reported experimental and model-derived values where applicable.
Microfabricated liquid core waveguides for microanalysis systems

Reports on the microfabrication of liquid core waveguides (LCW) using Teflon/sup /spl reg// AF for integration in microfabricated micro total analysis systems. Teflon/sup /spl reg// AF has an index of refraction less than that of water. Straight micro channels (/spl les/500 /spl mu/m width, /spl les/100 /spl mu/m depth) etched into a Pyrex wafer were coated with Teflon AF and sealed with a Teflon AF coated Pyrex capping wafer. This formed a low index of refraction channel in which a higher index, aqueous solution was flowed. Light generated in the lumen propagated by total internal reflection (TIR) to the end of the channel where the light was detected using either a photomultiplier or a miniature spectrometer. An optical microscope was used to transversely illuminate the channel at various distances from the end to measure the waveguide properties.
High Sensitivity of CD4+CD25+ Regulatory T Cells to Extracellular Metabolites Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide and ATP: A Role for P2X7 Receptors

Although regulatory lymphocytes play an important role in the immune system, the regulation of their functions is poorly understood and remains to be elucidated. In this study we demonstrate that micromolar concentrations of the common cell metabolite NAD induce death in murine forkhead/winged helix transcription factor gene-expressing CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells with high efficiency and within minutes. Similar, but less dramatic, effects are demonstrable with ATP and its nonhydrolysable derivative, benzoylbenzoyl-ATP. Other T cell subsets are more resistant, with CD8 cells being the least sensitive and CD4 cells expressing intermediate sensitivity. The higher sensitivity of CD4+CD25+ cells is demonstrable in vivo. Injection of NAD or benzoylbenzoyl-ATP causes preferential induction of a cell death signal in CD4+CD25+ cells. Transmission of the death signal requires functional P2X7 receptors, pointing to a role for these receptors in regulation and homeostasis of CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells. Consistent with this, P2X7R gene-deleted mice possess increased levels of forkhead/winged helix transcription factor gene-expressing CD4+CD25+ cells.
Numerical simulations of hydrothermal circulation resulting from basalt intrusions in a buried spreading center

Abstract A two-dimensional, one by two-kilometer section through the seafloor was simulated with a numerical model to investigate coupled fluid and heat flow resulting from basalt intrusions in a buried spreading center. Boundary and initial conditions and physical properties of both sediments and basalt were constrained by field surveys and drilling in the Guaymas Basin, central Gulf of California. Parametric variations in these studies included sediment and basalt permeability, anisotropy in sediment permeability, and the size of heat sources. Faults were introduced through new intrusions both before and after cooling. Background heat input caused fluid convection at velocities ≤ 3 cm a−1 through shallow sediments. Eighty to ninety percent of the heat introduced at the base of the simulations exited through the upper, horizontal surface, even when the vertical boundaries were made permeable to fluid flow. The simulated injection of a 25–50 m thick basalt intrusion at a depth of 250 m resulted in about 10 yr of pore-fluid expulsion through the sea-floor in all cases, leaving the sediments above the intrusions strongly underpressured. A longer period of fluid recharge followed, sometimes accompanied by reductions in total seafloor heat output of 10% in comparison to pre-intrusion values. Additional discharge-recharge events were dispersed chaotically through the duration of the cooling period. These cycles in heat and fluid flow resulted from the response of the simulated system to a thermodynamic shock, the sudden emplacement of a large heat source, and not from mechanical displacement of sediments and pore fluids, which was not simulated. Water/rock mass ratios calculated from numerical simulations are in good agreement with geochemical estimates from materials recovered from the Guaymas Basin, assuming a bulk basalt permeability value of at least 10−17 m2/(10−2 mD). The addition of faults through intrusions and sediments in these simulations did not facilitate continuous, rapid venting. Increased heat input at the base of the faults resulted in temporarily greater fluid discharge, but the flow could not be sustained because the modeled system could not recharge cold fluid quickly enough to remove sufficient heat through the vents.
Reconfigurable processing: the solution to low-power programmable DSP

One of the most compelling issues in the design of wireless communication components is to keep power dissipation between bounds. While low-power solutions are readily achieved in an application-specific approach, doing so in a programmable environment is a substantially harder problem. This paper presents an approach to low-power programmable DSP that is based on the dynamic reconfiguration of hardware modules. This technique has shown to yield at least an order of magnitude of power reduction compared to traditional instruction-based engines for problems in the area of wireless communication.
An experimental framework for the evaluation of cooperative diversity

Cooperative diversity is the result of relaying among nodes to achieve space diversity in multipath environments that offer limited time and frequency diversity. Although there is now substantial literature covering specification and analysis of cooperative communication strategies based upon models of wireless environments, there is much less work addressing experiments with real-world radio hardware and propagation channels. This work describes the construction of a three node, experimental testbed based upon a network of software-defined radios for development and verification of cooperative protocols. Several decode-and-forward relay protocols have been implemented and evaluated in terms of their diversity gains as measured from experimental curves of bit-error rate versus average signal-to-noise ratio. In contrast to the few other implementation efforts reported, the experimental setup maintains the relative node geometry while moving the network to induce fading, and the experimental results exhibit diversity benefits.
SULT1A1 catalyzes 2-methoxyestradiol sulfonation in MCF-7 breast cancer cells

In a previous study of nine human breast-derived cell lines, rates of metabolism of 17beta-estradiol (E(2)) were greatly enhanced when cultures were exposed to the aromatic hydrocarbon receptor agonist, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin. Elevated rates of E(2) hydroxylation at the C-2, -4, -6alpha and -15alpha positions were observed concomitant with the induction of cytochromes P450 1A1 and 1B1. In each cell line, 2- and 4-hydroxyestradiol (2- and 4-OHE(2)) were converted to 2- and 4-methoxyestradiol (2- and 4-MeOE(2)) by the action of catechol O:-methyltransferase. In this study, conjugation of these estrogen metabolites was investigated. A comparison of the levels of metabolites determined with and without prior treatment of the media with a crude beta-glucuronidase/sulfatase preparation showed that most of the 2-MeOE(2) present was in conjugated form, whereas 4-MeOE(2), 6alpha-OHE(2) and 15alpha-OHE(2) were minimally conjugated. Inhibitor studies suggested that it was the sulfatase activity of the preparation that hydrolyzed the 2-MeOE(2) conjugates in MCF-7 cell media; the presence of 2-MeOE(2)-3-sulfate in MCF-7 culture media was confirmed by electrospray ion-trap mass spectrometry. To identify the enzyme catalyzing this conjugation, the expression of mRNAs encoding five sulfotransferases (SULT1A1, SULT1A2, SULT1A3, SULT1E1 and SULT2A1) was evaluated in the nine cell lines by use of the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Only expression of SULT1A1 mRNA correlated with the observed conjugation of nanomolar levels of 2-MeOE(2) in these cell lines. Cloning and sequencing of SULT1A1 cDNA from MCF-7 cells revealed that mRNAs encoding two previously identified allelic variants, SULT1A1*1 ((213)Arg) and SULT1A1*2 ((213)His), were expressed in these cells. Heterologous cDNA-directed expression of either variant in MDA-MB-231 cells, which do not normally express SULT1A1, conferred 2-MeOE(2) sulfonation activity. The SULT1A1 allelic variants were also expressed in SF:9 insect cells, from which post-microsomal supernatants were used to determine K:(m) values of 0.90 +/- 0.12 and 0.81 +/- 0.06 microM for SULT1A1*1 and SULT1A1*2, respectively, with 2-MeOE(2) as substrate. These results show that SULT1A1 is an efficient and selective catalyst of 2-MeOE(2) sulfonation and, as such, may be important in modulating the anticarcinogenic effects of 2-MeOE(2) that have been described recently.
Folate status of rheumatoid arthritis patients receiving long-term, low-dose methotrexate therapy

The folate status of 29 healthy control subjects, 16 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients taking methotrexate (MTX), and 20 RA patients who were not being treated with MTX was estimated by an assay of the folate-dependent enzymatic synthesis of serine from formate and glycine, which is termed the C1 index. Analysis of variance demonstrated that the specific activity of the enzyme system in lymphocytes was significantly lower in the MTX-treated group, with an activity approximately one-half that of the control and the non-MTX-treated groups. Since the C1 index is one of the first biochemical parameters found to be different between MTX-treated and non-MTX-treated groups, alterations in folate-mediated amino acid metabolism may be involved in the mechanism of response to MTX therapy. Use of the C1 index may assist in the development of protocols which preserve the efficacy of MTX therapy while minimizing toxicity.
Hybrid Multicell Converter: Topology and Modulation

Multilevel converters have become an interesting alternative for medium- and high-voltage drives over the last decade. Among the existing alternatives, multicell structures offer advantages due to their modularity and scalability. This paper presents experimental results of a recently introduced multilevel topology. The converter is based on the mixture of the two most popular multicell topologies, namely, flying capacitor and cascaded multicell inverter. The new cell provides a high number of output levels, a low number of components, high modularity, and low losses. The results presented in this paper confirm that this new medium-voltage inverter topology is able to reach high-quality output voltages, allowing further advances in modulation techniques and other issues.
LOGISMOS: A Family of Graph-Based Optimal Image Segmentation Methods

Abstract This chapter presents the LOGISMOS (Layered Optimal Graph Image Segmentation of Multiple Objects and Surfaces) framework for segmentation of multiple mutually interacting surfaces and objects from medical images. This graph-based approach supports a wide range of highly flexible cost functions and a variety of soft and hard constraints for controlling the segmentation behavior with respect to surface smoothness and minimum/maximum surface separation requirements. The LOGISMOS framework provides the globally optimal solution of the specified cost function under the given set of constraints in low-order polynomial computation time. In practice, this translates to a fast, accurate, and highly robust method that is applicable to a wide variety of segmentation tasks. We provide an overview of this framework and—out of many already proven uses—illustrate its power and flexibility on three medical image segmentation tasks in the knee, retina, and the brain.
AMERICAS, CENTRAL | The Olmec and Their Contemporaries

The Olmec and their contemporaries were the first to crystallize the Mesoamerican cultural framework of rulership, gift economics, trade, gaming, religiosity, and literacy. Urban centers, multi-tiered settlement systems, monumental constructions, craft production, and elaborate exchange systems mark significant social changes that occurred during the period 1500–400 BC. Olmec ritual focused on a sacred landscape of mountains, water sources, and the sun, all believed to be essential to human life. Caves, mountains, and springs were ceremonial pilgrimage destinations. At the same time a huge output of labor brought substantial stone resources such as obsidian, greenstone, and volcanic rock from distant regions to Olmec ceremonial centers of Gulf Coast Mexico to be shaped into monuments, offerings, and gifts that underwrote the power of rulership. Olmec elites participated in the development of writing in connection with their elaboration of kingly power. Writing included recording the Mesoamerican calendar, which centered on divination and prophecy. Olmec settlement concentrated around the enormously productive river systems of the Gulf Coast. Olmec subsistence focused increasingly on maize with the addition of beans, manioc, corozo palm nuts, chile, and sunflower. Domesticated dog and later white-tailed deer, as well as aquatic resources such as fish and turtles, were the primary sources of meat. The Olmec social developments of the Mesoamerican Formative period paralleled those of contemporaneous cultures in central Mexico, across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, and down the Pacific watershed as far south as El Salvador. Scholars have debated the extent to which the Olmec were the prime movers in Formative period developments or were equal participants in a larger pattern of social change. The widespread distribution of artifacts in Olmec style attests to shared belief and value systems throughout Mesoamerica in the Formative period. Later Mesoamerican rulers, from the Maya to the Aztec, modeled themselves after Olmec elites, copying their architectural plans and adopting their writing systems.
Olfactory display

The last twenty years have seen enormous leaps forward in computers' abilities to generate sound and video. What happens when computers can produce scents on demand? In this talk, I present three approaches to this question. I first look at human olfactory processing: what is our olfactory bandwidth, and what are the limitations of our sense of smell? I then explore the use of scent to accompany other media, from historical examples like Sense-o-Rama and Aromarama, to more recent work including firefighter training systems, augmented gaming, and food and beverage applications. Finally, I look at the possibilities of olfactory output as an ambient display medium. I conclude with an overview of current computer-controlled olfactory output devices: off the shelf solutions for incorporating scent into user interface applications.
On Projection of Costs and Incremental Cost-Effectiveness Ratios: A Data Example

Cost and cost-effectiveness analysis has been more and more important to both policy makers and clinicians in assessing health care delivery. The incremental costeffectiveness ratio (ICER) is widely used inpractice to evaluate the relative health benefit of one treatment over another. Due to the short time span ofclinical trials, the cost estimated from observed data are often right censored. The ICERs obtained from observed data are thus limited to a short time window. But for some intervention it is life time costs and benefits that health decision makers need to calculate the true cost effectiveness. Thus it is necessary to project the ICERs to a longer time horizon based on available data. In order to project ICER, we need to first project both the cost and health effectsince ICER is a ratio betweenthe two. Two difficulties encountered in projecting costs using monthly cost data are the death cost, which has to be counted backward, and the last month cost which is always incomplete. Using data from a four-year multicenter clinical trial study, we describe a method of projecting the future medical costs, using a mixed effect model from observed data. Combined with a method of projecting the survival distribution for different hypothetical scenarios, we are able to project future ICERs.
Free radicals in γ-irradiated PETN

An EPR investigation ofγ-irradiated PETN (Pentaerythritol Tetranitrate) was conducted. Low temperature irradiation accumulates at least two different radicals. The more stable radical is the NO2 radical presumably produced by photon cleavage of the NO2 groups and/or by radical reactions in excited states resulting in detached NO2. The spectrum of the more reactive radical is obtained by computer substraction. Decay kinetics are proposed for the NO2 and the unknown highly reactive radical.
The Rhoptry Pseudokinase ROP54 Modulates Toxoplasma gondii Virulence and Host GBP2 Loading.

ABSTRACT Toxoplasma gondii uses unique secretory organelles called rhoptries to inject an array of effector proteins into the host cytoplasm that hijack host cell functions. We have discovered a novel rhoptry pseudokinase effector, ROP54, which is injected into the host cell upon invasion and traffics to the cytoplasmic face of the parasitophorous vacuole membrane (PVM). Disruption of ROP54 in a type II strain of T. gondii does not affect growth in vitro but results in a 100-fold decrease in virulence in vivo , suggesting that ROP54 modulates some aspect of the host immune response. We show that parasites lacking ROP54 are more susceptible to macrophage-dependent clearance, further suggesting that ROP54 is involved in evasion of innate immunity. To determine how ROP54 modulates parasite virulence, we examined the loading of two known innate immune effectors, immunity-related GTPase b6 (IRGb6) and guanylate binding protein 2 (GBP2), in wild-type and ∆ rop54 II mutant parasites. While no difference in IRGb6 loading was seen, we observed a substantial increase in GBP2 loading on the parasitophorous vacuole (PV) of ROP54 -disrupted parasites. These results demonstrate that ROP54 is a novel rhoptry effector protein that promotes Toxoplasma infections by modulating GBP2 loading onto parasite-containing vacuoles. IMPORTANCE The interactions between intracellular microbes and their host cells can lead to the discovery of novel drug targets. During Toxoplasma infections, host cells express an array of immunity-related GTPases (IRGs) and guanylate binding proteins (GBPs) that load onto the parasite-containing vacuole to clear the parasite. To counter this mechanism, the parasite secretes effector proteins that traffic to the vacuole to disarm the immunity-related loading proteins and evade the immune response. While the interplay between host IRGs and Toxoplasma effector proteins is well understood, little is known about how Toxoplasma neutralizes the GBP response. We describe here a T. gondii pseudokinase effector, ROP54, that localizes to the vacuole upon invasion and is critical for parasite virulence. Toxoplasma vacuoles lacking ROP54 display an increased loading of the host immune factor GBP2, but not IRGb6, indicating that ROP54 plays a distinct role in immune evasion.
Bringing "Worldmindedness" to Students of Leadership

Our world is increasingly networked and interdependent. It is a world where international interactions are more frequent and intense, thus increasing the need for us to understand the ramifications of our actions throughout the world system. Action in one part of the world system or organizational system or community system will impact other parts of the system (Allen & Cherrey, 2000; Avery, 2004; LipmanBlumen, 1996). Gayle Avery (2004) from Australia, in his new book, Understanding Leadership argues that the context for leadership today is one in which the world is becoming “more differentiated and yet more similar globally, and more intricately connected both internally and externally. We exist in a globalizing world of multicultural and multinational workforces” (p. 6).
The Importance of Abductive Reasoning in Mathematical Problem Solving

Charles Sanders Peirce (1839—1914) made a distinction between formal and informal reasoning, and argued that the formal reasoning processes of induction and deduction were not sufficient to explain those instances when individuals entertain new ideas to explain surprising facts. Peirce asserted the existence of another kind of reasoning, abduction, through which the individual generates a novel hypothesis to account for or explain surprising facts under consideration.
The service-education linkage: Implications for family practice residency programs and community and migrant health centers

INTRODUCTION Access to quality primary health care for our country's underserved populations is a challenge for both the government and physicians. The Division of Medicine, through funding priorities and other initiatives, is encouraging family practice educators to train residents and students for work in community and migrant health centers (C/MHCs) in underserved areas. The objective of this research was to study linkages between family practice residency programs and C/MHCs and determine the reasons for affiliation, disadvantages and advantages, predictors of successful linkages, and common errors in the linkage agreement. METHODS We conducted in-depth telephone interviews with the directors of 13 of the 19 family practice residency programs identified as having linkages with C/MHCs. RESULTS All interviewees at residency programs indicated that their programs had a mission to serve underserved patients. The most commonly cited constraining factor cited by both residency programs and C/MHCs was financial support for residents, on-site faculty, and support staff. Many programs reported that residents training at the C/MHC were able to gain a community health perspective and practice community-oriented primary care. Finally, financing the relationship involved many different approaches, ranging from the residency paying all of the salaries, to a sharing of salaries by the residency, state, and/or hospital, to C/MHC paying the salaries either through its own funds or through grant support. DISCUSSION These data provide an assessment of the current issues that family practice residencies must address to implement service-education linkages. They provide an empirical basis to outline the steps involved in forming a linkage between a residency and a C/MHC.
A Comparison Via Replication Analysis of Predictive Models of Real Estate Selling Prices, Multiple Correlation Weights Versus Simple Correlation Weights

The paper illustrates a procedure for developing a predictive model using simple correlation weights between the criterion variable and the set of predictor variables. Next, this predictive model is compared with a standard multiple regression model via replication analysis.