cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
International evidence on crude oil price dynamics: Applications of ARIMA-GARCH models

Abstract We examine the usefulness of several ARIMA-GARCH models for modeling and forecasting the conditional mean and volatility of weekly crude oil spot prices in eleven international markets over the 1/2/1997–10/3/2009 period. In particular, we investigate the out-of-sample forecasting performance of four volatility models — GARCH, EGARCH and APARCH and FIGARCH over January 2009 to October 2009. Forecasting results are somewhat mixed, but in most cases, the APARCH model outperforms the others. Also, conditional standard deviation captures the volatility in oil returns better than the traditional conditional variance. Finally, shocks to conditional volatility dissipate at an exponential rate, which is consistent with the covariance-stationary GARCH models than the slow hyperbolic rate implied by the FIGARCH alternative.
Photoactivated DNA cleavage by compounds structurally related to the bithiazole moiety of bleomycin

Abstract The syntheses of several novel halogenated bithiazoles structurally related to the bithiazole moiety of bleomycin A 5 are described. Also described is the ability of these compounds to mediate photoactivated DNA cleavage. Chlorinated bithiazole analogues were shown to be much more active than an analogous brominated derivative. DNA strand scission activity was strictly light dependent and was accompanied by dechlorination of the bithiazole nucleus, apparently in a stoichiometric fashion. Inhibition of DNA cleavage in the presence of DMSO, as well as photoaddition to 1-octene by both brominated and chlorinated bithiazole derivatives, suggest strongly that the initial step in photoactivated DNA cleavage involves homolysis of the thiazole carbon-halogen bond. The chlorinated bithiazoles were found to mediate sequence selective cleavage of a 32 P-end labeled DNA, although the selectivity observed was not the same as that of bleomycin itself. The implications of this observation are discussed.
Constitutive model fingerprints in medium-amplitude oscillatory shear

Rheologists have expectations for signatures of linear viscoelastic properties, such as shapes of G′(ω) and G″(ω). Medium amplitude (or asymptotically-nonlinear) oscillatory shear (MAOS) provides additional nonlinear rheological information with low dimensional, well-defined material functions [Ewoldt and Bharadwaj, Rheol. Acta 52, 201–209 (2013)]. Here, we develop expectations of signatures (or fingerprints) for the four asymptotically-nonlinear material functions associated with MAOS, [e1](ω), [e3](ω), [v1](ω), [v3](ω). Although the linear fingerprints may be identical for different models, the asymptotically-nonlinear fingerprints may be different in magnitude, frequency-scaling, curve shapes, and sign changes. To perform the analysis, we collect/translate a library of available analytical strain-controlled MAOS fingerprints for seven different constitutive models. Using this library, we identify general trends and highlight key differences of asymptotic-nonlinear viscoelasticity. Asymptotic nonlineari...
Sindbis virus mutant ts20 of complementation group E contains a lesion in glycoprotein E2.

A technique has been devised to readily obtain the entire structural protein region of Sindbis virus cloned into a plasmid vector. This method uses the fact that the nearest site for restriction enzyme HindIII to the 3’ terminal poly(A) occurs at nucleotides 6266-6271 in the genomic RNA. Inserts extending from the poly(A) tract to this HindIII site are 5438 nucleotides long (excluding the poly A tract) and contain the entire 4106-nucleotide structural protein region. Using an oligo(dT)-tailed vector as a primer for first strand cDNA synthesis such clones could be obtained in high yield. We were interested in a precise determination of the mutation responsible for the temperature-sensitive phenotype of ts20, a mutant belonging to complementation group E which has a defect in the function of glycoprotein E2 at the nonpermissive temperature. Using this technique we have cloned and sequenced the structural protein region of t-320 and of several revertants and concluded that the mutation was a change from histidine to leucine at amino acid 291 of E2. Reversion to temperature insensitivity occurred by same site reversion to the parental nucleotide, restoring the original histdine as amino acid 291. Thus, complementation group E of Sindbis virus results from changes in glycoprotein E2 and together with previous results from our laboratory (Arias et al, 1983; Hahn et al, 1985) demonstrates that the three RNA^+ complementation groups of Sindbis virus, C, D, and E, result from changes in the three structural proteins of the virus, capsid, glycoprotein El, and glycoprotein E2, respectively.
Debugging cellular reprogramming

Last year it was reported that a cocktail of four transcription factors — encoded by Oct4, Sox2, Myc and Klf4 — can partly reprogramme mouse somatic cells to an embryonic state, a process that reawakens silenced segments of the genome and restores pluripotency to the somatic cell nucleus. Three groups have now modified this method to generate fully reprogrammed cells that closely resemble embryonic stem cells.
Operant and alternative buttonpressing by college students on DRL and RR schedules of points reinforcement

Male and female college students were given differential reinforcement of low rate (DRL) 5-sec and random-ratio (RR) 6 schedules of points reinforcement. Operant buttonpressing increased over six 4-min blocks of training under the RR schedule, but not under the DRL schedule. IRT/N distributions shifted toward shorter values under the RR schedule and toward longer values under the DRL schedule. Beyond these changes in operant behavior, subjects’ responding on four identical, but inoperative, buttons was differentially affected by the operant reinforcement schedules. Alternative buttonpressing decreased over training blocks under the RR schedule, but not under the DRL schedule. Furthermore, under the RR schedule, responding was greater on alterative buttons that were adjacent to the operant button; however, under the DRL schedule, responding was greater on nonadjacent buttons.
Feasible path optimization with sequential modular simulators

Abstract Optimization of large process simulations has typically been inefficient because many time-consuming flowsheet evaluations are usually required. Here we present three optimization methods based on the efficient successive quadratic programming (SQP) algorithm of nonlinear programming. Quadratic/Linear Approximation Programming (Q/LAP) and the Reduced and Complete Feasible Variant (RFV and CFV) algorithms perform efficiently and interface easily with most current sequential modular simulators. Two simple flash problem studies illustrate the mechanics of these algorithms and demonstrate their rapid performance. These results also help in formulating heuristics for the specification of algorithmic tuning parameters.
Cerebral cavernous malformations as a disease of vascular permeability: from bench to bedside with caution

Tremendous insight into the molecular and genetic pathogenesis of cerebral cavernous malformations (CCMs) has been gained over the past 2 decades. This includes the identification of 3 distinct genes involved in familial CCMs. Still, a number of unanswered questions regarding the process from gene mutation to vascular malformation remain. It is becoming more evident that the disruption of interendothelial junctions and ensuing vascular hyperpermeability play a principal role. The purpose of this review is to summarize the current understanding of CCM genes, associated proteins, and functional pathways. Promising molecular and genetic therapies targeted at identified molecular aberrations are discussed as well.
COSMIC TECHNICOLOR NUGGETS

We study the structure of technicolor theories at finite baryon number. In particular, we investigate whether “technicolor matter”, containing comparable numbers of all technifermions, may be absolutely stable, as opposed to individual technibaryons. This proposal is the technicolor analogue of Witten's conjecture regarding the stability of strange (three-flavor quark) matter. We model technicolor using a rescaled version of the MIT bag. For gauge group SU(N)TC, the stability and cosmic durability of techni-matter is enhanced with increasing N and for large flavor symmetry. For N ≳ 5–8, technimatter nuggets formed at the technicolor confinement transition can survive to the present epoch, and they are likely to contain virtually all of the technibaryon number of the Universe. We discuss various astrophysical and experimental constraints on the abundance of technicolor nuggets in the galactic halo.
Arterial steal syndrome.

RTERIAL STEAL SYNDROME is a serious complication that can occur after upper extremity arteriovenous (AV) fistula creation for long-term hemodialysis (HD) access. Patients report hand and digit pain that results from hypoperfusion and ischemia distal to the AV fistula. These patients may present for evaluation from hand surgeons because onset of symptoms can occur many months after AV fistula creation. The pathophysiologic mechanism of steal is high flow through the AV fistula resulting in retrograde flow distal to the AV fistula. Retrograde flow occurs distal to 80% to 90% of fistulas; however, only 4% of cases develop ischemic symptoms that require intervention. 1 Other pathology that may contribute to steal becoming symptomatic include arterial stenosis, either proximal or distal to the fistula, as well as distal arteriopathy. Risk factors for development of arterial steal syndrome are having an upper-arm fistula, diabetes mellitus, or peripheral artery disease, smoking, female gender, age greater than 60, multiple operations on the same limb, and use of polytetrafluoroethylene graft. Typical presenting symptoms of arterial steal syndrome are hand pain, stiffness, coolness, and paresthesias. Symptoms can be present continuously or only during HD, because HD decreases fistula outflow and collateral flow, exacerbating the ischemia. Signs of arterial steal syndrome are pallor, diminished or absent radial pulse, and sensory or motor neuropathy. In advanced cases, ulceration or gangrene of the digits may occur. In patients receiving chronic HD, onset of symptoms typically occurs 6 to 10 months from the time of fistula creation. 2 The delay in symptom onset is due to gradually increasing steal phenomenon as flow increases through the maturing fistula. Diabetic patients with end-stage renal disease who are receiving HD are at increased risk for many hand conditions. Other sources of hand pain in these patients may include compression neuropathies, peripheral diabetic neuropathy, tendinopathy, dialysis-related arthropathy, and osteoarthritis. A history, physical examination, and plain radiographs will enable the provider to establish the diagnosis for the above conditions. Because retrograde flow can be measured distal to most fistulas, flow measurements are not diagnostic for arterial steal syndrome and the diagnosis is based on clinical findings. Signs and symptoms of ischemia such as painful digits with cold, pale fingers should be sought. The radial pulse is usually absent or attenuated and occlusion of the
Adaptation and Psychometric Evaluation of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support for Arab American Adolescents

The multidimensional scale of perceived social support (MSPSS) was revised for Arab American adolescents (MSPSS-AA). Items measuring social support from significant others were omitted and items measuring support from school personnel were added based on advice from cultural experts. The sample consisted of 635 Arab American young adolescents in metropolitan Detroit. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) supported the proposed three-factor solution (family, friends, and school personnel). Internal consistency coefficients for the three subscales of family (α = 0.63), friends (α = 0.75), school personnel (α = 0.72) were good. As predicted, perceived support from family, friends, and school personnel were inversely related to self reports of daily hassles and internalizing behavior and positively related to assistance seeking coping, which provides evidence for construct validity. Support for discriminant validity was also demonstrated with significantly larger correlations between the MSPSS-AA Family subscale and daily hassles specific to parents and the MSPSS-AA Friend subscale and daily hassles specific to peers. These finding suggest that the MSPSS-AA is reliable and valid for use with Arab-American adolescents.
Must we choose? European unemployment, American inequality, and the impact of education and labor market institutions

Abstract In the last 15 years, two equilibria have arisen in the advanced world. On the one hand, wage dispersion has widened in those countries where unemployment has remained low (with cyclical variations). On the other hand, wherever income inequality has remained unchanged, unemployment has shot upwards. To account for these distinct patterns, we develop a political–economic model showing that, controlling for the skills of the population, the effects of technological and trade shocks (that have affected OECD nations) that are contingent on the institutional rules in place. Economies with generous unemployment allowances adjust through subsidized unemployment. By contrast, low levels of social protection lead to less unemployment but wider wage dispersion. The level of qualifications of the labor force determines the extent of the adjustment for a given institutional arrangement. We derive, in turn, the institutional structure of each country from the political conditions in place at the time of the shock. The empirical part successfully tests the model for the sample of European regions and US states.
Efficient sequential atpg based on partitioned finite-state-machine traversal

We present a new automatic test pattern generation algorithm for sequential circuits by traversing the partitioned state spaces. The new features include: (1) nondisjoint state groups are obtained such that two different state groups may have common flip-flops, (2) partial state transition graphs (STGs) are constructed at run time for each state group, (3) spectral information for state variables are extracted and the spectral information of the state variables helps to identify the behavior of the flip-flops in the frequency domain. This information will help us to intelligently partition the state space. We focus only on the STGs for the flip-flops that are grouped together instead of building the STG for the entire circuit, and the ATPG tries to traverse all states and transitions within each partial STG. By exercising states visited and arcs traversed, the vectors generated often lead to the detection of hard faults. Since we limit a maximum size any state group can be, construction of partitioned STGs is feasible even for very large sequential circuits. Only logic simulation is needed in our ATPG; as a result, the execution time is greatly reduced while achieving high fault coverages compared with other test generators. For some large sequential circuits, highest fault coverages have been achieved.
Role of the histidine kinase, EnvZ, in the production of outer membrane proteins in the symbiotic-pathogenic bacterium Xenorhabdus nematophilus

We show that inactivation of envZ, the gene encoding the histidine kinase sensor protein, EnvZ, of Xenorhabdus nematophilus, affected the production of several outer membrane proteins (Opns). X. nematophilus produced five major Opns during exponential growth. Insertional inactivation of envZ led to a decrease in the production of OpnP, the OmpF-like pore-forming protein which constitutes approximately 50% of the total outer membrane protein in X. nematophilus. OpnA production was also reduced, while the remaining Opns were produced normally. During the transition to stationary phase, three new outer membrane proteins, OpnB, OpnS, and OpnX, were induced in the wild-type strain. The envZ-minus strain, ANT1, did not produce OpnB and OpnX, while OpnS was induced at markedly reduced levels. These results suggest that EnvZ was required for the high-level production of OpnP during exponential growth and may be involved in the production of OpnB, OpnS, and OpnX during stationary-phase growth. We also show that ANT1 was more pathogenic than the wild-type strain when as few as five cells were injected into the hemolymph of the larval stage of the tobacco hornworm (Manduca sexta). The larvae died before significant numbers of bacteria were detectable in the hemolymph. These results are discussed in relation to the role of EnvZ in the life cycle of X. nematophilus.
School Choice for African-American Children Who Live in Poverty A Commitment to Equity or more of the Same?

The Bush administration currently supports the concept of school choice as a means to counter the negative effects of public school systems that have not maintained standards of excellence. Futhermore, this administration, along with some policy advocates and practitioners, contends that parental choice plans will improve the quality of education for low-income minority students who are at risk for school failure. This article argues against this policy proposal from historical and sociocultural perspectives.
Planning time-optimal robotic manipulator motions and work places for point-to-point tasks

A method is presented which combines simple time-optimal motions in an optimal manner to yield the minimum-time motions for an important class of complex manipulator tasks composed of point-to-point moves such as assembly, electronic component insertion, and spot welding. This method can also be used to design manipulator actions and work places so that tasks can be completed in minimum time. The method has been implemented in a computer-aided design software system. Several examples are presented. Experimental results show the method's validity and utility. >
Effects of Pharyngeal Muscle Activation on Airway Size and Configuration

Fiberoptic imaging was performed in six decerebrate, tracheotomized cats to determine the effect of pharyngeal muscle activation on the pharyngeal airway. The fiberoptic scope was advanced through the rostral trachea into the pharynx. Computer-based planimetry was used to measure airway area and maximum anteroposterior and lateral diameters in the rostral oropharynx, velopharynx, and caudal oropharynx. Cuff electrodes stimulated the bilateral distal cut ends of the following nerves: medial hypoglossus (MHG), lateral hypoglossus (LHG), glossopharyngeus, and pharyngeal branch of vagus (PBV). The velopharyngeal area increased with stimulation of the MHG, MHG plus LHG, and glossopharyngeus. The velopharyngeal area decreased with PBV stimulation. Similar effects occurred in the caudal oropharynx. The percent increase in velopharyngeal area with combined MHG and LHG stimulation was greater than the sum of the increases stimulating either branch alone. In the rostral oropharynx, airway area increased with individual and combined stimulation of the MHG and LHG. Changes in airway area at the different levels were concentric with the HG stimulations, but glossopharyngeal stimulation resulted in a greater increase in lateral than anteroposterior wall movement. The results indicate that the mechanical effects of pharyngeal muscle contraction depend on the airway level and the specific muscles that are activated.
Effect of Method of Feeding and Feed Formulation on Performance and Profitability of Laying Hens: An Econometric Approach

SUMMARY Egg-producing hens are generally fed based upon their daily feed intake for a predetermined fixed TSAA level. The diet formulation for such hens is based either on lysine or protein, the two commonly employed methods in commercial layer operations. Market variables such as feed and egg price are not directly considered in diet choice selections. In the current research we evaluated two formulation methods, lysine vs. protein, and two feeding methods, constant vs. variable, with an objective of determining the optimal feeding and formulation method under varying market prices for eggs and feeds. Hens fed under the constant method of feeding had significantly higher feedconsumption,eggproduction,eggweight,andbodyweightthanhensfeddietswithformulations basedonlysineorproteinunderthevariablemethodoffeeding.Nodifferenceinthetwoformulation methods occurred when hens were fed by the variable methods of feeding. Method of formulation (lysine vs. protein) and TSAA levels required for maximum profits can vary from at least 562 to 859 mg per hen/d depending upon energy and protein cost.
The mechanism of oscillopsia and its suppression

We studied the mechanisms of oscillopsia suppression in subjects with infantile nystagmus syndrome, fusion maldevelopment nystagmus syndrome, and acquired nystagmus (AN). Hypothetical possibilities for perceptual stability were the following: (1) epochs of clear and stable vision during foveation periods of nystagmus waveforms; (2) cancellation by efference copy of motor output; (3) a combination of the effects of both foveation-period stability and efference-copy cancellation; or (4) elevated motion-detection threshold and vision suppression. Observations, studies, and models of oscillopsia suppression allowed comparison of these possibilities. Data from individual subjects supported some of the putative hypotheses. However, only one hypothesis remained viable that could explain how all subjects maintained perceptual stability despite their different nystagmus types, waveforms, and variability. Robust suppression of oscillopsia was only possible using efference-copy feedback of the motor output containing these specific nystagmus signals to cancel that motion from the retinal error signals. In cases of AN, where oscillopsia could not be suppressed, the deficit was postulated to interfere with or lie outside of this efference-copy feedback loop.
Comparison of statistical tests for disease association with rare variants

In anticipation of the availability of next-generation sequencing data, there is increasing interest in investigating association between complex traits and rare variants (RVs). In contrast to association studies for common variants (CVs), due to the low frequencies of RVs, common wisdom suggests that existing statistical tests for CVs might not work, motivating the recent development of several new tests for analyzing RVs, most of which are based on the idea of pooling/collapsing RVs. However, there is a lack of evaluations of, and thus guidance on the use of, existing tests. Here we provide a comprehensive comparison of various statistical tests using simulated data. We consider both independent and correlated rare mutations, and representative tests for both CVs and RVs. As expected, if there are no or few non-causal (i.e. neutral or non-associated) RVs in a locus of interest while the effects of causal RVs on the trait are all (or mostly) in the same direction (i.e. either protective or deleterious, but not both), then the simple pooled association tests (without selecting RVs and their association directions) and a new test called kernel-based adaptive clustering (KBAC) perform similarly and are most powerful; KBAC is more robust than simple pooled association tests in the presence of non-causal RVs; however, as the number of non-causal CVs increases and/or in the presence of opposite association directions, the winners are two methods originally proposed for CVs and a new test called C-alpha test proposed for RVs, each of which can be regarded as testing on a variance component in a random-effects model. Interestingly, several methods based on sequential model selection (i.e. selecting causal RVs and their association directions), including two new methods proposed here, perform robustly and often have statistical power between those of the above two classes.
Proposed Level-of-Service Methodology for Toll Plazas

A proposed macroscopic methodology for measuring the level of service (LOS) of toll plazas has been developed using delay as the measure of effectiveness (MOE). On the basis of field research and data analyses, the 85th percentile of the cumulative individual vehicular delay was found to be the most comprehensive measure for evaluating the LOS at a toll plaza. Other MOEs were examined but found to be less flexible with different plaza configurations and lane payment types. More than 55,000 individual vehicular records from three mainline toll plazas in Orlando, Florida, representing eight different plaza configurations with varied percentages of electronic toll collection (ETC) usage were used to validate the methodology. TPSIM, a toll plaza simulation model, was used to produce an additional 49 scenarios representing the three plazas with varied percentages of ETC usage and 21 additional plaza configurations. Service time was examined to determine the level at which a driver begins to feel discomfort and...
The Impact of Racial and Sexual Politics on Women's History

Cornelia H. Dayton and Lisa Levenstein have done a brilliant job corralling recent publications in U.S. women’s and gender history under a big tent. Focusing on scholarship published in the last ten years that “reconceives gender” and/or rewrites mainstream historical narratives, Dayton and Levenstein point to new directions and challenge readers to consider the future of U.S. women’s and gender history. They open their essay by contrasting the current generational splits among feminist activists with the relative unity among scholars of women’s and gender history and remind us of the field’s long and deep connections to feminist politics. Noting the dynamic relationship between women’s and gender history and feminist politics, they convincingly argue that the simultaneous explication of race and gender has produced radical questions about intersectionality, relational differences among and between women, overlapping constructions of sexuality and gender, and the unfixed relationship between gender identity and sex. Yet Dayton and Levenstein say very little about the racial and sexual politics of the late twentieth century that provoked radical changes in the field of women’s and gender history. Understanding the emergence of the new scholarship that Dayton and Levenstein highlight is difficult without serious consideration of the political crisis that provoked women’s and gender historians to rethink issues of “intersectionality”: the idea that “emphasiz[es] that race and gender were not experienced separately and thus could not be analyzed independently of each other.” Acknowledging the political origins of this new literature provides a fuller picture of how the field has evolved over the last five decades. Moreover, the scholarship of the last ten years reflects not only an engagement with the sexual and racial politics of the late twentieth century but also a radical shift in the field of women’s and gender history that began in the 1990s. For decades, women of color in various disciplines and women’s historians working in the fields of African American, southern, and labor history had been quietly insisting on the significance of examining race and gender together. The racialized gender politics of the Ronald Reagan–George H. W. Bush era finally forced feminist scholars to insist that
Language style matching in writing: synchrony in essays, correspondence, and poetry.

Each relationship has its own personality. Almost immediately after a social interaction begins, verbal and nonverbal behaviors become synchronized. Even in asocial contexts, individuals tend to produce utterances that match the grammatical structure of sentences they have recently heard or read. Three projects explore language style matching (LSM) in everyday writing tasks and professional writing. LSM is the relative use of 9 function word categories (e.g., articles, personal pronouns) between any 2 texts. In the first project, 2 samples totaling 1,744 college students answered 4 essay questions written in very different styles. Students automatically matched the language style of the target questions. Overall, the LSM metric was internally consistent and reliable across writing tasks. Women, participants of higher socioeconomic status, and students who earned higher test grades matched with targets more than others did. In the second project, 74 participants completed cliffhanger excerpts from popular fiction. Judges’ ratings of excerpt–response similarity were related to content matching but not function word matching, as indexed by LSM. Further, participants were not able to intentionally increase style or content matching. In the final project, an archival study tracked the professional writing and personal correspondence of 3 pairs of famous writers across their relationships. Language matching in poetry and letters reflected fluctuations in the relationships of 3 couples: Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning, and Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes. Implications for using LSM as an implicit marker of social engagement and influence are discussed.
Spline Wavelet Transforms II

ABSTRACT In this paper, we will discuss integral wavelet transforms and orthogonal multiresolution analysis associatedwith spline functions in shift-invariant spaces of B-splines. A recurrence relation formula and the corresponding algorithm about the B-wavelets will also be given. Keywords: Integral wavelet transform, orthogonal multiresolution analysis, orthogonal scaling function, shift- invariant space, recurrence relation of B-wavelets, Bezier coefficients. 1 Introduction Let Nm(X) be the cardinal B-spline function of order m and S(Nm(X)) be the shift-invariant space of Nm(X) that is defined as the span of the integer translations of Nm(X). Thus, Sm E S(Nm(X)) can be written as Sm(X) = ;: CjNm(X _ j), X E R, j E Z. (1)Throughout, we will always assume that Sm(X) 5 a finite linear combination of {Nm(X _ j)}. In author's paper7 we have discussed window Fourier transforms and wavelet series expansions associated with Sm(X) because of two reasons. First, the basic function of a cardinal B-spline interpolation from S(Nm(X))can be expressed as Sm (x) ; the wavelet function associated with Sm (x) can then be used for numerical analysis.5
Eddy Current Effects in the Laminated Containment Structure of Railguns

The propulsive force in a railgun is reduced by eddy currents induced in the conductive containment structure. Here, we examine how a simple railgun's inductance gradient, which is directly proportional to the propulsive force, depends on containment structure geometry and armature motion. Numerical simulations were used for the sensitivity study as well as to understand eddy-current distribution and consequent effects under various kinematic conditions. Such characterization will aid in judicious design of containment structure
Kinkonychelys, A New Side-Necked Turtle (Pelomedusoides: Bothremydidae) from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar

Abstract The type specimen of Kinkonychelys rogersi, n. gen. et sp., is the first turtle skull to be described from the pre-Holocene fossil record of Madagascar. This specimen, a nearly complete cranium, along with several referred specimens (a series of maxillae and a partial lower jaw), was recovered from the Maastrichtian Maevarano Formation in the Mahajanga Basin of northwestern Madagascar. A braincase with the diagnostic characters of Kinkonychelys, but differing in the position of the jaw articulation, formation of the foramen nervi facialis, and a number of other characters, was found in the same rock unit and is provisionally identified as belonging to Kinkonychelys sp., a presumed distinct, but closely related species, too incomplete to be diagnosed at present. Kinkonychelys is a bothremydid because it has the diagnostic characters of an exoccipital-quadrate contact and a fully enclosed incisura columellae auris (Gaffney et al., 2006). Kinkonychelys belongs to the tribe Kurmademydini, previously ...
PRAXIS, SHMAXIS: COMMENTARY ON WAGAR

What are the controversies here? Wagar makes one main point and several subsidiary ones. The mainpoint is that a world party will /should be the principal organizational vehicle for the long-run victory of democratic socialism in a global commonwealth. The subsidiary points are (1) thatthe array of (multi-) cultures will / should give way to (or at least not preclude) agreement on the basic values of the Western Enlightenment; (2) that currently existing anti-systemic movements may be opposed to this or that aspect of contemporary social organization but are not really very anti-systemic, because they do not challenge the world-economy or the interstate system; (3) t hat the world will most probably pass through a prolonged and chaotic time of troubles (possibly including such horrors as environmental catastrophe, widespread nuclear war, or global North - South war) before the integrated, peaceful, egal itarian Utopia arrives; and (4) that world-system theory implies something like the world party as its complementary praxis. The implication is that world-system adepts should unburden themselves of illusory hopes in today's motley semi-relevant movements and set about the task of party formation. To me, not much of this makes sense, representing rather an awkward global analogy with what voluntarist Marxist political doctrine was taken to mean at the national level.
Supraventricular tachycardia presenting in labour: A case report achieving vaginal birth and review of the literature:

Arrhythmias are one of the most common forms of cardiac disease presenting in pregnancy. Women with underlying arrhythmias may only present to health care professionals when they are pregnant. The most common type of sustained arrhythmia presenting in pregnancy is a supraventricular tachycardia (SVT). This can be difficult to diagnose, as symptoms such as palpitations, dizziness and shortness of breath are also common symptoms of pregnancy. We present the management of a woman who developed intrapartum SVT. Her case highlights the importance of considering the diagnosis in the antenatal period, the use of antiarrhythmic drugs, as well as the fact that achieving vaginal delivery is possible in correctly selected cases while the mother and baby remain stable.
Prospective validation of text categorization filters for identifying high-quality, content-specific articles in MEDLINE.

Finding high quality articles is increasingly difficult with the exponential growth of the medical literature. This growth requires new methods to identify high quality articles. In prior work, we introduced a machine learning method to identify high quality MEDLINE documents in internal medicine. The performance of the original filter models built with this corpus on years outside 1998–2000 was not assessed directly. Validating the performance of the original filter models on current corpora is crucial to validate them for use in current years, to verify that the model fitting and model error estimation procedures do not over-fit the models, and to validate consistency of the chosen ACPJ gold standard (i.e., that ACPJ editorial policies and criteria are stable over time). Our prospective validation results indicated that in the categories of treatment, diagnosis, prognosis, and etiology, the original machine learning filter models built from the 1998–2000 corpora maintained their discriminatory performance of 0.95, 0.97, 0.94, and 0.94 area under the curve in each respective category when applied to a 2005 corpus. The ACPJ is a stable, reliable gold standard and the machine learning methodology provides robust models and model performance estimates. Machine learning filter models built with 1998–2000 corpora can be applied to identify high quality articles in recent years.
Gunshot-Induced Aorto-Left Atrial Fistula Diagnosed by Intraoperative Transesophageal Echocardiography

Aorto-left atrial fistula (AAF) is rarely encountered in clinical practice, and the early diagnosis can be very challenging. This report describes a unique case of AAF caused by a gunshot injury and the pivotal role of transesophageal echocardiography for diagnosis and assessment.
Transnational Criminal Law and Procedure: An Introduction

This preface to papers from the criminal law and procedure panels of the AALS Workshop on Integrating Transnational Legal Perspectives Into the First-Year Curriculum, which took place in Washington D.C. in January 2006, suggests a typology of transnational criminal matters - namely, matters of foreign criminal law or procedure, comparative criminal law or procedure, international criminal law or procedure, and extraterritorial aspects of domestic criminal law or procedure - and points readers to other publications on teaching transnational criminal matters in law school. The piece thus introduces the reader not only to the papers from the workshop but to teaching and scholarship in transnational criminal law and procedure generally.
Scheduling communication in multithreaded programs: experimental results: Research Articles

When the critical path of a communication session between end points includes the actions of operating system kernels, there are attendant overheads. Along with other factors, such as functionality and flexibility, such overheads motivate and favor the implementation of communication protocols in user space. When implemented with threads, such protocols may hold the key to optimal communication performance and functionality. Based on implementations of reliable user-space protocols supported by a threads framework, we focus on our experiences with internal threads' scheduling techniques and their potential impact on performance. We present scheduling strategies that enable threads to do both application-level and communication-related processing. With experiments performed on a Sun SPARC-5 LAN environment, we show how different scheduling strategies yield different levels of application-processing efficiency, communication latency and packet-loss. This work forms part of a larger study on the implementation of multiple thread-based protocols in a single address space, and the benefits of coupling protocols with applications. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
An Interview with Alan Singer

In this interview, Alan Singer provides a comprehensive review of the field of American education. He discusses it's beginnings and current concerns. He responds to questions about school reform and educational issues.
Intraoperative Vagus Nerve Monitoring: A Transnasal Technique during Skull Base Surgery.

Objectives Intraoperative vagus nerve monitoring during skull base surgery has been reported with the use of an oral nerve monitoring endotracheal tube. However, the intraoral presence of an endotracheal tube can limit exposure by its location in the operative field during transfacial approaches and by limiting superior mobilization of the mandible during transcervical approaches. We describe a transnasal vagus nerve monitoring technique. Design and Participants Ten patients underwent open skull base surgery. Surgical approaches included transcervical (five), transfacial/maxillary swing (three), and double mandibular osteotomy (two). The vagus nerve was identified, stimulated, and monitored in all cases. Main Outcome Measures Intraoperative nerve stimulation, pre- and postoperative vagus nerve function through the use of flexible laryngoscopy in conjunction with assessment of subjective symptoms of hoarseness, voice change, and swallowing difficulty. Results Three patients had extensive involvement of the nerve by tumor with complete postoperative nerve deficit, one patient had a transient deficit following dissection of tumor off of nerve with resolution, and the remaining patients had nerve preservation. One patient experienced minor epistaxis during monitor tube placement that was managed conservatively. Conclusions Transnasal vagal nerve monitoring is a simple method that allows for intraoperative monitoring during nerve preservation surgery without limiting surgical exposure.
Flow field characteristics of a complex blade tip at high angles of attack

I N T R O D U C T I O N Rotating blades exhibit aerodynamic characteristics which cannot be predicted from fixed-wing results. The differences become more pronounced at high angles of attack. The most famous example of this is the experiment of Himmelskampl who reported steady lift coefficients exceeding 3.2 near the root of a propeller blade. Recently, interest in this subject has increased for several reasons. If lift coefficients on the retreating blade can be increased, the forward flight speed of conventional helicopters can be increased. If the inboard portions of a blade can be operated at very high lift coefficients, rotor blade designs may be optimized at lower diameters and tip speeds, with attendant advantages i n power, weight, and noise reduction. Proprotor climb performance can be enhanced. This paper examines the flow field near the tip of a rotor blade with a complex tip shape, at very high pitch angles. Flow visualization and velocity measurements are presented from experiments where the blade is operated as a rotor and then as a fixed wing. These are used to examine flow separation and vortex formation effects, using digitized image data and contours of velocity data. The flow field is dominated by the strong vortices formed at high incidence. The tip shape is a generic representation of features found on modern helicopter blade tips. The blade planform and the single-bladed rotor configuration are shown in Fig. 1. The untwisted constant chord NACA0012 inboard shape changes to interpolated NACAOOxx profiles for the tip. The tip planform has some similarities to the BERP tip used by Westland Helicopters, but no conclusions are drawn about the BERP tip since the rotor geometry and airfoil sections are quite different. The experiments reported here extend past work on this blade tip. The rotating tests were performed in the Georgia Tech 2.74m (9') hover facility, and the blade was then used as a fixed wing in the John J. Harper 2.13m x 2.74m (7' x 9') wind tunnel. Komerath and Liou2 presented measurements around this blade at 15 deg. pitch in hover. Tsung et a13 presented Navier-Stokes computations of the flow around the same configuration, under both rotating and nonrotating conditions, and made qualitative comparisons with the rotor experiments. Further experiments reported in Ref. 4 compared results from the rotating and fixed-wing case. The separation was weaker on the rotating blade compared to the fixed wing. However, the experiments were performed at identical geometric incidence settings i n both cases, so that the wake-induced inflow correction was not incorporated. Also, the rotor case showed weaker inwarddirected flow along the span than in the fixed-wing case, but since the measurements could not go close to the blade surface, i t was not possible to determine the extent of centrifugal pumping as a factor i n controlling flow separation. These shortcomings were corrected here. *: Post Doctoral Fellow. Member, AIAA ISSUES AND 0B. IECTIVES **: Associate Professor. Senior Member, AIAA #: Formerly, Prcsidential Fellow. Copyright
The Adult Self: Process and Paradox

This paper defines the adult self as an identity-in-a-mutuality-of-relating, a reality that is at once a process and a paradox. As an identity-in-a-mutuality-of-relating this self has 5 characteristics, each of which is also a process and a paradox: it is a body-self; it is rooted and disclosed in feeling; it is a felt sense of depth; it has its own clear boundaries and exists in intimacy; and it is its own responsible process of experiencing. The fullness of the adult self lies in self-actualization and self-reflection, and here this self is most a process and most a paradox.
249 HIGH MORTALITY RATES FOR PREMATURE INFANTS WITH PROSTAGLANDIN-DEPENDENT CONGENITAL HEART DISEASE.

Background Using prostaglandin (PGE1) infusion to stabilize circulation prior to corrective surgery is standard of care for term infants with severe congenital heart disease (CHD). There is limited information on PGE1 therapy and outcomes for low birth weight (LBW) infants with CHD. Objective To study mortality rates for LBW infants with complex CHD requiring PGE1 infusion as a bridge to surgery. Methods We reviewed 5 years of our experience with infants Results Forty-three infants Conclusion We found a high rate of mortality and syndromes among infants
Which catheter is the best buy

Good but not perfect results can be obtained with many types of catheters. Convincing data demonstrating superiority of one catheter over another are not available. What is the comparative cost of ...
Availability of Remotely Sensed Data and Information from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Satellite Data Services Division

The chapter describes the main satellites which provide data bases for meteorological and oceanographic monitoring and resources development. Background or geostationary and polar orbiting satellites as well as the sensors from aboard those satellites is documented in order to guide in the use of products and services provided by NOAA.
Characterization and avoidance of critical pipeline structures in aggressive superscalar processors

In recent years, with only small fractions of modern processors now accessible in a single cycle, computer architects constantly fight against propagation issues across the die. Unfortunately this trend continues to shift inward, and now the even most internal features of the pipeline are designed around communication, not computation. To address the inward creep of this constraint, this work focuses on the characterization of communication within the pipeline itself, architectural techniques to avoid it when possible, and layout co-design for early detection of problems. I present work in creating a novel detection tool for common case operand movement which can rapidly characterize an application's dataflow patterns. The results produced are suitable for exploitation as a small number of patterns can describe a significant portion of modern applications. Work on dynamic dependence collapsing takes the observations from the pattern results and shows how certain groups of operations can be dynamically grouped, avoiding unnecessary communication between individual instructions. This technique also amplifies the efficiency of pipeline data structures such as the reorder buffer, increasing both IPC and frequency. I also identify the same sets of collapsible instructions at compile time, producing the same benefits with minimal hardware complexity. This technique is also done in a backward compatible manner as the groups are exposed by simple reordering of the binary's instructions. I present aggressive pipelining approaches for these resources which avoids the critical timing often presumed necessary in aggressive superscalar processors. As these structures are designed for the worst case, pipelining them can produce greater frequency benefit than IPC loss. I also use the observation that the dynamic issue order for instructions in aggressive superscalar processors is predictable. Thus, a hardware mechanism is introduced for caching the wakeup order for groups of instructions efficiently. These wakeup vectors are then used to speculatively schedule instructions, avoiding the dynamic scheduling when it is not necessary. Finally, I present a novel approach to fast and high-quality chip layout. By allowing architects to quickly evaluate ‘what if’ scenarios during early high-level design, chip designs are less likely to encounter implementation problems later in the process.