cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A comparison of optimal control and stochastic programming from a formulation and computation perspective

Abstract Operating in a changing and uncertain environment, firms must make strategic and operational decisions while trying to satisfy many conflicting goals. For example, in order to maximize expected profit and minimize risk, they must periodically decide when and by how much to expand capacity and even more often how much to produce, all in the face of unknown future demands, available technology, and so on. We refer to this class of problem as multi-objective decision processes under uncertainty. We investigate two major methodologies from different research streams that formulate and solve this class of problem: optimal control and stochastic programming. We introduce an example problem of coordinated capacity planning and production-inventory control to illustrate the issues on formulations and solutions of these two methodological approaches. We show that two methodologies are equivalent in that the decision prescribed by the optimal policy found by optimal control is the same as the corresponding optimal decision found by stochastic programming. Both solution approaches suffer from the “curse of dimensionality” but in different ways: the former approach has an immense state space while the latter a large sample space. They possess distinctive advantages and disadvantages for specific problems, which determine that one approach may be preferably used. We discuss and compare two methods on the example problem in terms of their model formulations, computation efficiency, and handling of multiple objectives. We propose an approximation architecture that combines different approaches to solve large-scale problems. We finally present the numerical results obtained from the example problem to demonstrate that one should tailor solution strategies to specific problems.
TASK-1 (KCNK3) and TASK-3 (KCNK9) tandem pore potassium channel antagonists stimulate breathing in isoflurane-anesthetized rats.

TASK-1 and TASK-3 tandem pore potassium channel subunits provide a constitutive acidic pH- and hypoxia-inhibited potassium conductance. TASK channels are expressed in a number of tissues in involved in regulation of breathing, and the TASK-1/TASK-3 heterodimer provides the predominant hypoxia-sensitive potassium conductance in carotid body Type I glomus chemosensing cells. The carotid bodies have an important role in regulation of breathing. Doxapram is a potent TASK-1 and TASK-3 potassium channel antagonist and a carotid body and breathing stimulant. PK-THPP and A1899 are potent and selective TASK-1 and TASK-3 antagonists. We hypothesized PK-THPP and A1899 are, like doxapram, breathing stimulants. Methods We studied rat TASK-3 (rTASK-3) potassium channel function by Ussing chamber using Fisher rat thyroid (FRT) monolayers. To quantify breathing effects, we studied male Sprague Dawley rats spontaneously breathing 1.5% isoflurane in room air by non-invasive plethysmography and by arterial blood gas analysis.
Changing trends with mandibular fractures: A review of 1,067 cases

To evaluate current trends in facial trauma, records from 1,067 patients sustaining 1,515 mandibular fractures from 1979 to 1989 were reviewed. The greatest number of fractures occurred between the ages of 20 to 29 years. Sex distribution was approximately three males to one female. Altercations were found to have caused about half of the fractures, and motor vehicle accidents accounted for nearly one-third. Angle fractures were most common, constituting 26.7% of the total. The most common site of mandibular fracture resulting from altercation was the angle (39.1%); condylar, symphysis, and alveolar fractures less commonly resulted from altercations than from motorcycle and automobile accidents.
Leadership Perceptions and Voting Behavior in a One-Party Legislative Body

Studies of leadership often have suggested that the influence attributed to an individual by other members of a political institution may have an effect on the decisions and votes of the members. In studying legislative decision making, for example, considerable attention has been devoted to recognized leaders, who may or may not hold major legislative offices.' Yet, assertions regarding the influence of recognized leaders on legislative decisions seldom have been examined by relating leadership perceptions to legislative behavior. Relatively little research on legislative leadership has employed both survey data and roll-call votes. Despite the difficulty of comparing the two measures, some evidence has indicated that "influence attribution indices are related to factual indices derived from official legislative records."2 A study of influential legislators nominated in a survey of the Indiana Senate found that a measure of general influence was significantly related to an index combining the number of sponsored bills passed and the number of formal leadership positions achieved. General
Synthesis, microstructure, and electrical properties of the delafossite compound CuGaO2

Abstract The electrical properties and microstructural characteristics of solid-state synthesized CuGaO2 ceramics were investigated. Undoped CuGaO2 ceramics exhibited p-type conductivity with a Seebeck coefficient of 780 μV/K and a room temperature conductivity of 0.0033 S/cm. Examination of the microstructure of CuGaO2 ceramics revealed the existence of thin laminar twins oriented along the {0 0 0 1} basal plane with thickness varying from several to several tens of nanometers. Doping with Ni2+ and Mg2+ did not result in a significant increase in conductivity and doping with Sn4+ resulted in a remarkable decrease in conductivity. With evidence from diffraction data on Sn-doped ceramics, it is proposed that the Sn4+ was ionically compensated with Cu vacancies.
Development of sensorially-guided reaching in infant monkeys.

Abstract A stump-tailed macaque deprived of sight of its hands and body during the first few weeks after birth appears to be deficient in accuracy of visually guided reach but also tends to watch its hands incessantly, thereby making testing difficult. To assess the deficit, we have developed a technique for open loop testing (no sight of reaching limb). Two groups of monkeys were tested: the Experimental (E) group deprived of sight of limbs, and the Control (C) group reared under identical constraints but with sight of limbs. The results clearly show the E animals are deficient not only in visually directing the responses of the forelimbs and hands but also in the tactile control of these responses. Further analysis shows that these deficiencies produce different strategies of reach. While the C animal reaches accurately in the direction of the target with hand properly poised to grasp, the E animal gropes with its arm and fumbles in its use of the hand. The C animal very quickly generalizes the accurate reach to targets at other than the initially trained direction whereas the E animal takes protracted training to do so. The C animal performs well on the untrained arm whereas the E animal must be trained on this arm. We conclude that the ability to guide the hand visually with the normally achieved accuracy requires mapping of the coordinates of motor response onto the space of vision for which prior exposure seems essential.
A morphological study of differentiated hepatocytes in vitro

A problem traditionally encountered with primary hepatocyte cultures is their rapid dedifferentiation, which is reflected not only in decreased liver-specific functions, but also in dedifferentiated morphology: the cells flatten, depolarize, and lose many of the surface characteristics of normal hepatocytes in vivo. However, culture conditions that maintain primary rat hepatocytes in a healthy and highly differentiated state were recently developed: the hepatocytes are cultured in Chee's Medium supplemented with dexamethasone and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) on collagen-coated Permanox dishes. In addition to retaining labile hepatocyte-specific functions (e.g., P450 activity and albumin synthesis), these hepatocytes also have a differentiated morphology. They have numerous microvilli and are cuboidal and cluster into cords reminiscent of hepatic trabeculae. Their subcellular organelles have normal morphology, and specialized junctions and bile canaliculi form within the membranes of adjacent cells. Actin fibers cluster at these canalicular surfaces. These hepatocytes also synthesize blood clotting factors, which aggregate into fibrin meshworks between cells. Taken together, these morphological data suggest that these hepatocytes are polarized and generally have an appearance very similar to parenchymal cells in the liver, and that the same culture conditions that promote retention of liver-specific functions are also critical to the maintenance of physiological morphology. In contrast to other hepatocyte cultures, this differentiated morphology, including the polarized nature of the cells, is established without the use of serum or flexible or complex extracellular matrices and shows a close link between cellular architecture and tissue-specific function.
Streptomycin in silicotuberculosis.

SUMMARY The very hopelessness of the treatment of extensive fibro-cavitary silicotuberculosis brings with it hope for the eradication of this disease. Since it is impossible to treat successfully this combination of diseases in its late stages, it must be detected earlier when treatment may be of value. This calls for periodic examinations of silicotics, alertness for early evidence of tuberculosis, and treatment at this stage. Better yet, since both silicosis and tuberculosis are preventable diseases, and since much progress has already been made in their prevention, it seems only a matter of time until silicotuberculosis will cease to exist and its treatment will be merely of academic interest.
Late-developing cerebral arteropathy after pyogenic meningitis

Background Although vasculopathy is a recognized complication during acute meningitis, to our knowledge, no previous reports have been published of this phenomenon developing months after successful treatment. Objective To report a unique case of a late-developing vasculopathy after pyogenic meningitis in an adult. Report of a Case A 51-year-old woman was seen with severe headache 2 months after treatment of Haemophilus influenzae type C meningitis. Initial arteriography showed no abnormality; a second arteriogram showed progressive multifocal intracranial stenosis affecting mainly the internal carotid arteries. Findings from pathologic examination disclosed diffuse collagenosis consistent with chronic vascular injury from meningitis. The arterial lesions stabilized, and the patient remained asymptomatic. Conclusion Progressive intracranial arterial stenosis can evolve months after meningitis and should be added to the list of recognized vascular complications.
808-2 Sudden Heart Rate Speeding and Slowing Facilitates the Inducibility of Ventricular Tachycardia in Dogs

Clinically, torsades de pointes (TdP) often occurs when the heart rate suddenly slows (eg. atrial fibrillation to sinus rhythm). We investigated whether the dose of cesium chloride (CsCI) required to induce early afterdepolarizations (EADs), the putative mechanism of TdP. and ventricular tachycardia (VT) was different in dogs with a paced left ventricular cycle length (PCL) of 1,000 msec for a 1 week versus dogs with a PCL of 1,000 msec for 1 week and 500 msec for 1 hour prior to a PCL of 1,000 msec. All dogs had atrioventricular (AV) block induced by radiofrequency ablation and were studied closed chest. While recording surface ECG leads I.II.III and LV endocardlal monophasic action potential (MAP), CsCI was injected Incrementally (0.25, 0.5, 0.625, 0.75, 1.0 mM/kg) until sustained VT was induced. In group 1 (n = 6), CsCI was injected during PCL = 1,000 msec. In group 2 (n = 7), CsCI was injected during PCL = 1,000 msec after PCL = 500 msec for 1 hour. In group 1, VT was induced at 0.75 mM/kg in 3 dogs and at 1.0 mM/kg in 3 dogs. VT was induced at 0.75 mM/kg in all 7 dogs in group 2(p l 0.05). The area of EAD as a percentage of LV MAP area (%EAD) in group 2 dogs exceeded that of group 1 at 0.5, 0.625, 0.75 mM/kg CsCI (mM/kg) 0.25 0.5 0.625 0.75 Group 1 (%EAD) 108 ± 2.4 115 ± 39 119 ± 5.4 129 ± 5.1 Group 2 (%EAD) 108 ± 3.6 118 ± 2.1 127 ± 3.9 135 ± 5.4 p ns l0.05 l0.01 l0.05 We conclude that only 1 hour of rapid pacing after 1week of bradycardia is sufficient to produce a change in myocardial responsiveness to the K+ channel blocker, CsCI, and increases the susceptibility of VT induction, possibly via an increase in EAD amplitude
Geometric stiffness effects on data recovery of an idealized mast/blanket model

Abstract The photovoltaic arrays for the international space station consist of a pre-tensioned blanket of solar collectors and a deployable mast. NASA uses the MSC/NASTRAN finite element program for modeling the dynamic response of the structure due to various loading conditions, such as plume impingement during shuttle docking. This finite element program uses the updated stiffness matrix (elastic plus geometric, or initial stress stiffness matrix) in determining the natural frequencies and mode shapes, as well as the dynamic response, of a pre-loaded structure. However, during the data recovery phase, when the moment and shear at the supports, and internal stresses are determined, geometric stiffness effects are neglected, and only the elastic stiffness is used in the calculation. The purpose of this study was to determine whether using the actual displacements, calculated based upon both elastic and geometric stiffness effects, would produce acceptable results in predicting shear and moment if the geometric stiffness effects were later omitted during data recovery. In this study, the PV array was idealized as a cantilever beam with an attached pre-tensioned cable. Static and dynamic analysis were performed, both using and neglecting the geometric stiffness matrix during data recovery. When considering the idealized mast/blanket model, neglecting the geometric stiffness contribution during data recovery led to a 32.2% difference in the vertical (shear) load at the fixed support, and an 8.8% difference in shear at the free end of the beam (compared to the inclusion of geometric stiffness effects in the analysis). The static analysis provided similar results and supported the “reasonableness” of the dynamic analysis. Due to the large discrepancies in the predicted stresses which can ocur when geometric stiffness contributions are neglected during data recovery, it should be imperative that when a structure contains pre-loaded elements, the geometric stiffness effects must be fully considered both in the determination of the natural frequencies and mode shapes, as well as in the subsequent calculation of nodal reactions and stresses.
Protein side-chain resonance assignment and NOE assignment using RDC-defined backbones without TOCSY data

One bottleneck in NMR structure determination lies in the laborious and time-consuming process of side-chain resonance and NOE assignments. Compared to the well-studied backbone resonance assignment problem, automated side-chain resonance and NOE assignments are relatively less explored. Most NOE assignment algorithms require nearly complete side-chain resonance assignments from a series of through-bond experiments such as HCCH-TOCSY or HCCCONH. Unfortunately, these TOCSY experiments perform poorly on large proteins. To overcome this deficiency, we present a novel algorithm, called Nasca (NOE Assignment and Side-Chain Assignment), to automate both side-chain resonance and NOE assignments and to perform high-resolution protein structure determination in the absence of any explicit through-bond experiment to facilitate side-chain resonance assignment, such as HCCH-TOCSY. After casting the assignment problem into a Markov Random Field (MRF), Nasca extends and applies combinatorial protein design algorithms to compute optimal assignments that best interpret the NMR data. The MRF captures the contact map information of the protein derived from NOESY spectra, exploits the backbone structural information determined by RDCs, and considers all possible side-chain rotamers. The complexity of the combinatorial search is reduced by using a dead-end elimination (DEE) algorithm, which prunes side-chain resonance assignments that are provably not part of the optimal solution. Then an A* search algorithm is employed to find a set of optimal side-chain resonance assignments that best fit the NMR data. These side-chain resonance assignments are then used to resolve the NOE assignment ambiguity and compute high-resolution protein structures. Tests on five proteins show that Nasca assigns resonances for more than 90% of side-chain protons, and achieves about 80% correct assignments. The final structures computed using the NOE distance restraints assigned by Nasca have backbone RMSD 0.8–1.5 A from the reference structures determined by traditional NMR approaches.
Mechanical behavior of zirconium and hafnium in tension and compression

The mechanical behavior and substructural evolution of highly textured hafnium (Hf) has been examined in tension and compression and compared to the mechanical response of zirconium (Zr). The quasi-static work-hardening rate as a function of strain for both metals exhibits a compression-tension asymmetry. Both Zr and Hf exhibit a downward work-hardening response in tension, while each displays a parabolic and then concave upward work-hardening behavior in compression. Additionally, Hf displays higher flow stresses than Zr both in tension and compression. The stress-strain and strain-hardening curves for Zr and Hf have been characterized in terms of their propensity for deformation twinning and evolution of substructure with strain. Differences in the work-hardening rates and flow stresses as a function of the sense of the applied load and material are discussed in terms of slip-twin interactions during deformation.
Transpiration rates of stored perishable commodities: a mathematical model and experiments on tomatoes

Resume On decrit un modele mathematique permettant de prevoir les pertes d'eau dues a la transpiration lors de l'entreposage frigorifique des fruits et des legumes. Ce modele est valable pour des produits de forme a peu pres spherique, avec une peau uniforme et tres impermeable. Ce modele est ainsi applicable a une grande diversite de fruits, mais l'experimentation a ete limitee aux tomates.
Model predicts global warming

Global greenhouse warming will be clearly identifiable by the 1990s, according to eight scientists who have been studying climate changes using computer models. Researchers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Goddard Institute for Space Studies, New York, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, say that by the 2010s, most of the globe will be experiencing “substantial” warming. The level of warming will depend on amounts of trace gases, or greenhouse gases, in the atmosphere. Predictions for the next 70 years are based on computer simulations of Earth's climate. In three runs of the model, James Hansen and his colleagues looked at the effects of changing amounts of atmospheric gases with time.
The effect of salting out and micellization on interfacial tension

Abstract We consider a system consisting of oil and water phases with nonionic surfactant distributed between them and present a model for the effect of salt on the interfacial tension. The model accounts for the salting out of surfactant from water to oil and also for the occurrence of micelles in the aqueous phase. In addition, it is shown that salting out affects micellization in interesting ways, e.g. micelles may form as the salt concentration increases even though none are present initially and then disappear at higher concentrations. The effect of chain length and head group size (and hence of HLB) on the interfacial tension is examined for surfactants of the polyoxyethylene type. The calculated interfacial tension decreases continuously and may become negative under certain condition, indicating that the oil-water interface becomes unstable and a microemulsion forms.
Processing of the Precursors for the Light-Harvesting Chlorophyll-Binding Proteins of Photosystem II and Photosystem I during Import and in an Organelle-Free Assay

We have investigated whether the precursors for the light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b binding proteins (LHCP) of photosystems II and I (PSII and PSI) are cleavable substrates in an organelle-free reaction, and have compared the products with those obtained during in vitro import into chloroplasts. Representatives from the tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) LHCP family were analyzed. The precursor for LHCP type I of PSII (pLHCPII-1), encoded by the tomato gene Cab3C, was cleaved at only one site in the organelle-free assay, but two sites were recognized during import, analogous to our earlier results with a wheat precursor for LHCPII-1. The relative abundance of the two peptides produced was investigated during import of pLHCPII-1 into chloroplasts isolated from plants greened for 2 or 24 hours. In contrast to pLHCPII-1, the precursors for LHCP type II and III of PSI were cleaved in both assays, giving rise to a single peptide. The precursor for LHCP type I of PSI, encoded by gene Cab6A, yielded two peptides of 23.5 and 21.5 kilodaltons during import, whereas in the organelle-free assay only the 23.5 kilodalton peptide was found. N-terminal sequence analysis of this radiolabeled peptide has tentatively identified the site cleaved in the organelle-free assay between met40 and ser41 of the precursor.
Determination of a particle's radius by two-dimensional agarose gel electrophoresis.

Abstract Electrophoresis in an agarose gel dilute enough to be almost nonretarding, followed by electrophoresis in an orthogonal direction into a more concentrated agarose gel, has been developed as a procedure to determine the radius of spherical particles. Unlike procedures of unidirectional electrophoresis in a single gel, the above procedure can be used to compare the radii of particles that differ in solid-support-free electrophoretic mobility. Accuracy of 0.3 nm has been achieved with particles 30 nm in radius. It was found that the apparent radius of the spherical capsid of bacteriophage P22 decreased by 3% during elevated temperature-induced ejection of DNA from the capsid. Though originally designed for use with multimolecular paricles, the procedure described here should also be useful with monomolecular particles.
New insights on emergence from the perspective of weak values and dynamical non-locality

In this article, we will examine new fundamental aspects of emergence and information using novel approaches to quantum mechanics which originated from the group around Aharonov. The two-state vector formalism provides a complete description of pre- and post-selected quantum systems and has uncovered a host of new quantum phenomena which were previously hidden. The most important feature is that any weak coupling to a pre- and post-selected system is effectively a coupling to a weak value which is given by a simple expression depending on the two-state vector. In particular, weak values, are the outcomes of so called weak measurements which have recently become a very powerful tool for ultra-sensitive measurements. Using weak values, we will show how to separate a particle from its properties, not unlike the Cheshire cat story: Well! I've often seen a cat without a grin, thought Alice; but a grin without a cat! It's the most curious thing I ever saw in all my life! Next, we address the question whether the physics on different scales emerges from quantum mechanics or whether the laws of physics at those scales are fundamental. We show that the classical limit of quantum mechanics is a far more complicated issue; it is in fact dramatically more involved and it requires a complete revision of all our intuitions. The revised intuitions can then serve as a guide to finding novel quantum effects. Next we show that novel experimental aspects of contextuality can be demonstrated with weak measurements and these suggest new restrictions on hidden variable approaches. Next we emphasize that the most important implication of the Aharonov-Bohm effect is the existence of non-local interactions which do not violate causality. Finally, we review some generalizations of quantum mechanics and their implications for emergence and information. First, we review an alternative approach to quantum evolution in which each moment of time is viewed as a new universe and time evolution is given by correlations between different moments. Next, we present a new solution to the measurement problem involving future boundary conditions placed on the universe as a whole. Finally, we introduce another fundamental approach to quantum evolution which allows for tremendous richness in the types of allowable Hamiltonians.
Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Related to the Indoor Use of Propane-Fueled Forklifts in Colorado Workplaces

Abstract The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) measured area carbon monoxide concentrations at three separate workplaces where workers had experienced acute carbon monoxide poisoning related to the indoor use of propane-fueled fork-lifts. Follow-up investigations were conducted at two of these workplaces where full-shift carbon monoxide exposure and end-exhaled carbon monoxide concentrations were measured to estimate carboxyhemoglobin concentrations. Draeger dataloggers equipped with carbon monoxide sensors were used to measure full-shift personal exposure and area airborne carbon monoxide concentrations. The dataloggers were also used to measure preshift and postshift end-exhaled carbon monoxide concentrations, which were then used to calculate carboxyhemoglobin concentrations. At the first workplace, a beverage distributing warehouse using two propane-fueled Nissan forklifts, carbon monoxide exposures ranged from 25 to 68 ppm (mean = 44 ppm) as work shift time-weighted average...
Contact area and pressure in suture bridge rotator cuff repair using knotless lateral anchors

Purpose To evaluate whether the use of knotless lateral anchors in a suture bridge construct produces better contact area and pressure parameters than a suture bridge construct with standard lateral anchors that require knots or a double-row repair. The hypothesis was that knotless lateral anchors would produce better contact area and pressure parameters than the other two constructs.
On-line measurement of texture, thickness and plastic strain ratio using laser-ultrasound resonance spectroscopy.

Abstract Laser-ultrasound resonance spectroscopy, a non-contact ultrasonic technique, was used to determine reliably and rapidly the crystallographic texture, the average plastic strain ratio, and the thickness of sheet metal on the production line. As with laser-ultrasonics, a short laser pulse is used to generate a wide-band pulse of ultrasound and a laser interferometer is used for its detection. In this paper, a large number of echoes are collected and analyzed together using Fourier techniques to measure the natural resonance frequencies in the thickness of the sheet. One longitudinal and two shear resonance frequencies were measured together with their harmonics. From these frequencies, two crystallographic orientation distribution coefficients, W400 and W420, are obtained, as well as a highly accurate measurement of the sheet thickness that is corrected for changes in ultrasonic velocity caused by texture variations. Using these coefficients, the average and in-plane twofold and fourfold variations of the plastic strain ratio, respectively r, Δ2r, and Δ4r, can be evaluated. These parameters are indications of the formability of metals sheets, which is of industrial interest. Measurements on 1 mm thick, low carbon steel sheets have shown the following measurement accuracies: r to within ±0.08, Δ2r, and Δ4r to within ±0.1, and thickness to better than ±1 μm. On-line tests at LTV Steel Company showed that the sensitivity of the apparatus is sufficient to detect systematic variations in texture along the length of similar production coils and that the on-line repeatability for r was of order ±0.02.
Individual differences in emotion processing

Recent functional brain imaging studies of the neurobiology of emotion have investigated how individual differences among subjects modulate neural responses during emotion processing. Differences in personality, dispositional affect, biological sex, and genotype can all substantially modulate the neural bases of emotion processing in prefrontal, limbic, and other brain regions, across a variety of domains including emotional reactions, emotional memory, and emotion perception. Analysis of individual differences provides a new window into the neurobiology of emotion processing that complements traditional approaches.
A novel controlled local drug delivery system for inner ear disease

Purpose: Our goal is to develop a novel drug delivery system that can potentially improve clinical outcomes compared to current methods of dosing drugs such as dexamethasone or gentamicin. This system focuses on a single local application to the inner ear via the round window membrane. Hypothesis: A chitosan-glycerophosphate (CGP)-hydrogel based drug delivery system can be engineered to provide local and sustained drug release to the inner ear. Study Design: In vitro: drug release and (CGP)-hydrogel matrix degradation were characterized using dexamethasone as a model drug. In vivo: dexamethasone laden CGP-hydrogel was placed in the round window niche of mice. Perilymph samples were obtained from the oval window and analyzed for dexamethasone. The impact of CGP-hydrogel on auditory function was evaluated. Results: In vitro: A CGP-hydrogel was designed to release 92% of the dexamethasone load over 4 consecutive days with concurrent degradation of the hydrogel matrix. In vivo: After surgical placement of CGP-hydrogel to the round window niche, we detected elevated levels of dexamethasone in perilymph for 5 days. Auditory function testing revealed a temporary hearing loss in the immediate postoperative period, which resolved by the 10th postoperative day. Conclusions: We report the development of CGP-hydrogel, a biodegradable matrix that achieves local, sustained delivery of dexamethasone to the inner ear. There were no significant complications resulting from the surgical procedure or the administration of CGP-hydrogel to our murine model.
Affect Intensity and Self- versus other-Referent Information Processing:

High and low affectively intense subjects were compared on endorsement ratings and incidental recall of positive, negative, and neutral trait adjectives rated for self-descriptiveness or other-descriptiveness. The effects of affect intensity were limited to endorsement patterns of positively valenced sell-referenced words; no significant findings were obtained for recall data. These findings suggest that intensity of affect does not appear to be a confounding factor in studies of mood and self-schematic information processing.
Ultrasonic parameters in the born model of the lithium halides

Abstract The d C d P of the elastic constants of LiCl, LiBr and LiI have been measured at 295 K and are presented together with previous results for LiF. They are strikingly smooth when plotted against nearest neighbor distance, d 0 , except for the longitudinal [110] stiffness of LiI. When combined with known temperature coefficients of the elastic constants, the d C d P lead to values of ξ = ( d ln B T d T ) v which are uniformly negative and smooth in the sequence FClBrI, but larger for these crystals of high Debye θ 295 than in the Na, K and Rb halides. The resulting Born model exponential parameters, d 0 ϱ , are precisely linear with d 0 in contrast with d 0 ϱ values where compression ξ were used in the necessary correction for vibrational effects. Values of d B T d P are all about 0·7 higher than predicted by the Born model for these materials with relatively low d 0 ϱ , but the trend with d 0 conforms to the prediction. In this respect, and in ξ, the Li halides are somewhat different than the Na. K and Rb halides but otherwise fit in well.
Comparison of high-efficiency GaAs IMPATT designs

Calculations of maximum generated r.f. powers are presented for GaAs single-drift Read, double-drift Read and hybrid Read structures at 10 GHz. The single-drift Read diode gives the highest output power in c.w. applications, and the double-drift design is superior in pulsed operation.
Angiogenesis and the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor in endometrium and placenta.

PROBLEM: The demand for increased angiogenesis and microvascular permeability during cyclical changes in the endometrium and during placentation raises the possibility that aberrations in these events could lead to suboptimal reproductive performance. However, relatively little is presently known regarding the regulation of vascular growth and permeability in these tissues. METHOD OF STUDY: This review of current literature focuses on the expression, regulation, and potential physiological effects of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) within endometrial and placental tissue. RESULTS: Spatial and temporal expression of VEGF as well as its restricted specificity, essential role in vasculogenesis/angiogenesis, and ability to induce vascular permeability makes VEGF an attractive regulator of vascular growth and permeability in the endometrium and placenta. CONCLUSION: A better understanding of the production, regulation, and physiological responses of the vasculature to angiogenic growth factors may lead to new therapeutic strategies for reproductive disturbances secondary to vascular insufficiencies within the female reproductive tract.
Optical emission diagnostics in cascade arc plasma polymerization and surface modification processes

Optical Emission Spectroscopy (DES) was used to identify reactive species and their excitation states in low-temperature cascade arc plasmas of N 2 , CF 4 , C 2 F 4 , CH 4 , and CH 3 OH. In a cascade arc plasma, the plasma gas (argon or helium) was excited in the cascade arc generator and injected into a reactor in vacuum. A reactive gas was injected into the cascade arc torch (CAT) that was expanding in the reactor. What kind of species of reactive gas, for example, nitrogen, are created in the reactor is dependent on the electronic energy levels of the plasma gas in the cascade arc plasma jet. OES revealed that no ion of nitrogen was found when argon was used as the plasma gas of which metastable species had energy less than the ionization energy of nitrogen. When helium was used, ions of nitrogen were found. While OES is a powerful tool to identify the products of the cascade arc generation ( activation process),it is less useful to identify the reactive species that are responsible for surface modification of polymers and also for plasma polymerization. The plasma surface modification and plasma polymerization are deactivation processes that cannot be identified by photoemission, which is also a deactivation process.
Usercentric Operational Decision Making in Distributed Information Retrieval

Information specialists in enterprises regularly use distributed information retrieval (DIR) systems that query a large number of information retrieval (IR) systems, merge the retrieved results, and display them to users. There can be considerable heterogeneity in the quality of results returned by different IR servers. Further, because different servers handle collections of different sizes and have different processing and bandwidth capacities, there can be considerable heterogeneity in their response times. The broker in the DIR system has to decide which servers to query, how long to wait for responses, and which retrieved results to display based on the benefits and costs imposed on users. The benefit of querying more servers and waiting longer is the ability to retrieve more documents. The costs may be in the form of access fees charged by IR servers or user's cost associated with waiting for the servers to respond. We formulate the broker's decision problem as a stochastic mixed-integer program and present analytical solutions for the problem. Using data gathered from FedStats---a system that queries IR engines of several U.S. federal agencies---we demonstrate that the technique can significantly increase the utility from DIR systems. Finally, simulations suggest that the technique can be applied to solve the broker's decision problem under more complex decision environments.
Software-friendly HW/SW Co-Simulation: An Industrial Case Study

This paper proposes a novel HW/SW co-simulation approach that minimizes the impact on software designers. We propose a SystemC-based system that enables the software team to test their software with their own tools and environment using an accurate simulated ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) model. The solution presented here enables a smooth and early ASIC and SW integration, which reduces the project development time and improves the ASIC design quality (i. e., SW engineers can help in the ASIC verification and ASIC engineers can help in the SW development). In this solution, the real and full software (i. e., multi-threaded application) runs in its native environment with minimal changes and interfaces with a simulated ASIC model using sockets. We have tested this approach on a pilot-project, which has demonstrated the feasibility of this co-development methodology.
Writing on many pieces of dirty paper at once: the binary case

We study the problem of sending a common message to several users on a channel with side information. Specifically, each user experiences an additive interference which is known only to the sender. The sender has to simultaneously adapt its transmitted signal to all the interferences. We derive upper and lower bounds for the special case of binary channels and derive some optimality conditions.
Thymine DNA Glycosylase Can Rapidly Excise 5-Formylcytosine and 5-Carboxylcytosine POTENTIAL IMPLICATIONS FOR ACTIVE DEMETHYLATION OF CpG SITES

Thymine DNA glycosylase (TDG) excises T from G·T mispairs and is thought to initiate base excision repair (BER) of deaminated 5-methylcytosine (mC). Recent studies show that TDG, including its glycosylase activity, is essential for active DNA demethylation and embryonic development. These and other findings suggest that active demethylation could involve mC deamination by a deaminase, giving a G·T mispair followed by TDG-initiated BER. An alternative proposal is that demethylation could involve iterative oxidation of mC to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (hmC) and then to 5-formylcytosine (fC) and 5-carboxylcytosine (caC), mediated by a Tet (ten eleven translocation) enzyme, with conversion of caC to C by a putative decarboxylase. Our previous studies suggest that TDG could excise fC and caC from DNA, which could provide another potential demethylation mechanism. We show here that TDG rapidly removes fC, with higher activity than for G·T mispairs, and has substantial caC excision activity, yet it cannot remove hmC. TDG excision of fC and caC, oxidation products of mC, is consistent with its strong specificity for excising bases from a CpG context. Our findings reveal a remarkable new aspect of specificity for TDG, inform its catalytic mechanism, and suggest that TDG could protect against fC-induced mutagenesis. The results also suggest a new potential mechanism for active DNA demethylation, involving TDG excision of Tet-produced fC (or caC) and subsequent BER. Such a mechanism obviates the need for a decarboxylase and is consistent with findings that TDG glycosylase activity is essential for active demethylation and embryonic development, as are mechanisms involving TDG excision of deaminated mC or hmC.
A Computer Modeling Approach to Understanding the Inferior Olive and Its Relationships to the Cerebellar Cortex in Rats

This paper presents the results of a simulation of the spatial relationship between the inferior olivary nucleus and folium crus IIA of the lateral hemisphere of the rat cerebellum. The principal objective of this modeling effort was to resolve an apparent conflict between a proposed zonal organization of olivary projections to cerebellar cortex suggested by anatomical tract-tracing experiments (Brodal & Kawamura 1980; Campbell & Armstrong 1983) and a more patchy organization apparent with physiological mapping (Robertson 1987). The results suggest that several unique features of the olivocerebellar circuit may contribute to the appearance of zonal organization using anatomical techniques, but that the detailed patterns of patchy tactile projections seen with physiological techniques are a more accurate representation of the afferent organization of this region of cortex.
An evaluation of visualization techniques to illustrate statistical deformation models

As collections of 2D/3D images continue to grow, interest in effective ways to visualize and explore the statistical morphological properties of a group of images has surged. Recently, deformation models have emerged as simple methods to capture the variability and statistical properties of a collection of images. Such models have proven to be effective in tasks such as image classification, generation, registration, segmentation, and analysis of modes of variation. A crucial element missing from most statistical models has been an effective way to summarize and visualize the statistical morphological properties of a group of images. This paper evaluates different visualization techniques that can be extended and used to illustrate the information captured by such statistical models. First, four illustration techniques are described as methods to summarize the statistical morphological properties as captured by deformation models. Second, results of a user study conducted to compare the effectiveness of each visualization technique are presented. After comparing the performance of 40 subjects, we found that statistical annotation techniques present significant benefits when analyzing the structural properties of a group of images.
Inactivation of bb0184, Which Encodes Carbon Storage Regulator A, Represses the Infectivity of Borrelia burgdorferi

The genome of Borrelia burgdorferi, the Lyme disease spirochete, encodes a homolog (the bb0184 gene product) of the carbon storage regulator A protein (CsrA(Bb)); recent studies reported that CsrA(Bb) is involved in the regulation of several infectivity factors of B. burgdorferi. However, the mechanism involved remains unknown. In this report, a csrA(Bb) mutant was constructed and complemented in an infectious B31A3 strain. Subsequent animal studies showed that the mutant failed to establish an infection in mice, highlighting that CsrA(Bb) is required for the infectivity of B. burgdorferi. Western blot analyses revealed that the virulence-associated factors OspC, DbpB, and DbpA were attenuated in the csrA(Bb) mutant. The Rrp2-RpoN-RpoS pathway (σ(54)-σ(S) sigma factor cascade) is a central regulon that governs the expression of ospC, dbpB, and dbpA. Further analyses found that the level of RpoS was significantly decreased in the mutant, while the level of Rrp2 remained unchanged. A recent study reported that the overexpression of BB0589, a phosphate acetyl-transferase (Pta) that converts acetyl-phosphate to acetyl-coenzyme A (CoA), led to the inhibition of RpoS and OspC expression, suggesting that acetyl-phosphate is an activator of Rrp2. Along with this report, we found that CsrA(Bb) binds to the leader sequence of the bb0589 transcript and that the intracellular level of acetyl-CoA in the csrA(Bb) mutant was significantly increased compared to that of the wild type, suggesting that more acetyl-phosphate was being converted to acetyl-CoA in the mutant. Collectively, these results suggest that CsrA(Bb) may influence the infectivity of B. burgdorferi via regulation of acetate metabolism and subsequent activation of the Rrp2-RpoN-RpoS pathway.
The emergent grammar of bilinguals: the Spanish verb hacer 'do' with a bare English infinitive

This study examines the bilingual compound verb hacer ‘to do’+VERBEng, consisting of the Spanish verb hacer ‘do’ and a bare English infinitive (e.g. hacer smoke ‘to smoke’). In studies of Spanish/English bilingual speech, hacer+VERBEng has received attention due to its linguistically hybrid nature. Examining 116 tokens of hacer+VERBEng from 12 speakers of the New Mexico Spanish-English Bilingual Corpus, we test the claim that this construction has developed out of a higher cognitive load or lexical gap experienced by bilingual speakers, create a discourse profile of the construction, and propose an overview of the bilingual behaviors that contribute to the emergence of this bilingual compound verb. The construction is not found in conjunction with significantly higher rates of disfluencies, which weakens the previously made assertions that it is produced to compensate for a lexical gap. We find that hacer+VERBEng is a productive bilingual construction in which hacer serves as a tense, aspect and mood marker and the English infinitive provides the lexical content. Linguistic behavioral profiles reveal that combining languages within a single prosodic unit is correlated with higher rates of hacer+VERBEng.
RET Proto-Oncogene in the Development of Human Cancer

The RET proto-oncogene, located on chromosome subband 10q11.2, encodes a receptor tyrosine kinase expressed in tissues and tumors derived from neural crest. Germline (present in every cell of the body) mutations in RET cause multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (MEN 2), an inherited cancer syndrome characterized by medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC), pheochromocytoma (PC), and hyperparathyroidism (HPT). This knowledge has allowed molecular diagnosis and presymptomatic DNA-based testing to become possible. RET testing is considered the standard of care in MEN 2 families because clinical decisions are made based on the results of such gene testing. There appears to be a correlation between specific RET mutation type and organ-specific tumor development. Such knowledge might be useful in tailoring targeted surveillance in the near future. Somatic (in the tumor only) RET mutations have been found in a proportion of sporadic MTCs and PCs. Whether the presence of somatic RET mutation is associated with a poor prognosis is currently being investigated as another tool for molecular medicine.
Effect of temperature on the potentiodynamic response of Co/Co(II) 1 M NaOH electrode

Abstract The potentiodynamic response of polycrystalline cobalt electrode in 1 M NaOH solution has been investigated at different temperatures in the potential range related to electroformation of CoO and Co(OH)2. The results show that the E/I displays are gradually modified as temperature is increased. This behaviour can be reasonably interpreted through the reaction model recently proposed which assumes a sandwich-type structure for the interface. Ageing effects that were distinguished through the potentiodynamic E/I records are also reported.
Audit Firm Rotation, Auditor Specialization, and Audit Quality in the Municipal Audit Context

ABSTRACT: The topic of audit firm rotation has been debated internationally for several decades. To inform the debate, we study the effects of audit firm rotation policies on audit quality in a government audit market. Using audit firm rotation data and audit quality measures from the Florida government audit market, a setting where procurement policies vary, we find that rotation policies are indirectly associated with higher audit quality. In particular, mediation analysis suggests that the consequences of policies that encourage Florida municipalities to consider rotation impact audit quality by encouraging the use of auditors that specialize in governmental audits, rather than auditor independence, which is frequently argued to support mandatory rotation.