cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Personal Jurisdiction and the Declaration of Independence

The Declaration of Independence accuses the King of having “obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.” But despite the seemingly natural resonance of this particular charge with the legal profession, legal scholars have displayed remarkably little interest in exploring its factual foundations. This Essay traces the colonists’ complaint to a somewhat surprising and unexpected source — a dispute about personal jurisdiction. During the late eighteenth century, the administrative officials responsible for overseeing Britain’s North American possessions adopted an increasingly restrictive view of judicial jurisdiction, seeking to stamp out the custom of foreign attachment of nonresidents’ property that had proliferated throughout the colonies. The elected officials of North Carolina pushed back against the Crown’s efforts to deprive them of their privilege of foreign attachment by refusing the Governor’s insistence that a provision authorizing the procedure be stricken from a bill renewing authorization for the colony’s court system. The resulting impasse effectively terminated judicial authority in North Carolina and left the residents of the Colony without a fully functioning court system for more than three years. The Declaration of Independence, drafted amidst the North Carolinians’ showdown over foreign attachment, incorporated their complaint as one of the twenty-eight charges of royal abuse that the colonists claimed justified their claim to independence. Ironically, the restrictive ethos that animated Britain’s late eighteenth-century hostility to foreign attachment and that provided the grounds for the colonists’ complaint finds echoes in the modern Supreme Court’s restrictive approach to personal jurisdiction. This Essay uses the experience of the Founding-era showdown over personal jurisdiction as a lens through which to examine modern efforts by the Court to cut back on the jurisdictional reach of state courts. Although this Essay does not propose a specific framework to replace the Court’s existing doctrine, it urges the Court to abandon its defendant-centric emphasis in favor of an approach that gives more meaningful credence to the sovereign interests of the respective states in determining the jurisdictional reach of their own courts.
Canvas Considered Helpful

Canvas is one of the most widely used Learning Management Systems (LMSs) and, due to the pandemic, has become one of the primary tools many students use to access course content. Canvas provides everything that one would expect in a modern LMS: the ability to host and organize content; create, manage and grade assignments and quizzes; communicate via discussion boards and announcements; and integrate with external tools. But the devil is in the details, and Canvas suffers from significant shortcomings, some particular to computing courses, others that impede large course management and efficient instructor workflows. Participants in this BOF will share their successes, frustrations, failures, and workarounds using Canvas in computing courses. In the spirit of common commiseration, each participant will be welcome to highlight one "Canvas gripe", such as a specific example of poor usability or missing feature. (In the interest of time there's a limit of one gripe per person!)
Renin Angiotensin System and Atherosclerosis

Renin angiotensin system (RAS) regulates a host of biological functions in the body, including maintenance of vascular tone. All components of RAS have been identified in atherosclerotic tissues and are believed to regulate oxidation of LDL-cholesterol, endothelial function, formation of foam cells, smooth muscle cell proliferation, and collagen deposition that covers the atherosclerotic plaque. In keeping with the concept of the pathogenic role of RAS activation in atherosclerosis, inhibition of renin formation, angiotensin-converting enzyme and angiotensin II type 1 receptor activation, all have been shown to inhibit atherogenesis, primarily via the inhibition of oxidative stress. Recent studies from our laboratory show that delivery of angiotensin II type 2 receptor cDNA with adeno-associated virus as vector can inhibit the process of atherogenesis in the LDL receptor-knockout mice. This is associated with a marked increase in the expression of endothelial constitutive nitric oxide synthase, heme-oxygenase-1, and Akt activation and a dramatic reduction in the expression of LOX-1 and activity of NADPH oxidase and the redox-sensitive transcription factor NF-kB as well as the pro-inflammatory activity of p38 component of MAP kinase. This new information has the potential to lead to the development of novel therapeutic strategies directed at different components of RAS either in combination or as stand-alone therapy.
From quantical to numerical cognition: A crucial passage for understanding the nature of mathematics and its origins

Abstract What is the nature of mathematics? What are its foundations and origins? Many readers would perhaps agree that a reasonable place to begin such quest is with the concept of “number.” But where do numbers come from? The field of “numerical cognition,” which gathers efforts from multiple disciplines, ranging from experimental psychology to cognitive linguistics, and from animal cognition to cognitive neuroscience, has studied these questions for several decades. The field has made progress in many directions (see, for example, Campbell, 2005 ; Cohen Kadosh & Dowker, 2015 ; Henik, 2016 ), but it has also proposed various accounts that are deeply incompatible and inconsistent. For instance, while it is very well established that there are hundreds of human cultures that do not exhibit arithmetic and lack words for quantities beyond three or four ( Bowern & Zentz, 2012 ; Epps, Bowern, Hansen, Hill, & Zentz, 2012 ; Everett, 2017 ), studies in nonhuman animal cognition, in stark contrast, unproblematically report that there are “mathematical abilities” in monkeys ( Beran, Perdue, & Evans, 2015 ), “numerical and arithmetic abilities in non-primate species” ( Agrillo, 2015 ), “spontaneous number representation in mosquitofish” ( Dadda, Piffer, Agrillo, & Bisazza, 2009 ), and that “numerical cognition in honeybees enables addition and subtraction” ( Howard, Avargues-Weber, Garcia, Greentree, & Dyer, 2019 ). And while historians of mathematics document with painstaking detail the struggles and difficulties that were involved in the (relatively recent) development of the concept of “zero” ( Ifrah, 1985 ; Menninger, 1969 ), a recent article in Science magazine states that bees, despite their relatively simple nervous system and small cortex-less brains, are not prevented “from knowing how to understand numbers, including zero” ( Nieder, 2018 , p. 1970). How can insects with tiny cortex-less brains and nonsymbolic language be involved in “counting” and understanding “numbers” and “zero” while healthy humans from ancestral, environmentally adapted cultures, with brains that have about 90 billion more neurons, sophisticated symbolic languages and cultural practices do not? Clearly, there is something fundamental that does not square.
Vaccines, Public Health, and the Law

The COVID-19 pandemic has loomed over the world for the better part of a year now; yet, many still cannot shake the disbelief that it is here. Nonetheless, countries around the world continue to be ravaged by death, and the healthcare workers battle on. As vaccine distribution makes its way to the mainstream, I cannot help but wonder, will people even take the vaccine? In an already divided country, where many are refusing to wear masks due to disbelief, violation of liberty, or mere quarantine fatigue, what will become of those that disobey if vaccination orders become mandatory? Public health emergencies may seem novel, but that is not the case. Even with modern technology and the most brilliant minds, certain diseases continue to baffle the scientific community [1, pp. 611–612] . Furthermore, new ones appear and seem to render the world at the same mercy as the diseases of centuries before [1, pp. 618–619] . On the other hand, the evolution of vaccination has been successful on many fronts as well. Vaccines for polio, measles, rubella, mumps, and varicella are just a few of the vaccines that have been used successfully for several decades [2, S5, S6] .
Operative Fixation Versus Cast Immobilization: Tibial Shaft Fractures in Adolescents.

Introduction Tibial shaft fractures are common injuries in the adolescent age group. Potential complications from the injury or treatment include infection, implant migration, neurovascular injury, compartment syndrome, malunion, or nonunion. Methods Published literature was reviewed to identify studies which describe the management options, complications, and outcome of tibial shaft fractures in adolescents. Results Acceptable alignment parameters for tibial shaft fractures have been defined. Operative indications include open fractures and other severe soft tissue injuries, vascular injury, compartment syndrome, ipsilateral femoral fractures, and polytrauma. Relative indications for operative treatment are patient/family preference or morbid obesity. Closed reduction and cast immobilization necessitates radiographic observation for loss of reduction over the first 3 weeks. Cast change/wedging or conversion to operative management may be required in 25% to 40%. Flexible nailing provides relative fracture stability while avoiding the proximal tibial physis, but the fracture will still benefit from postoperative immobilization. Rigid nailing provides greater fracture stability and allows early weight bearing but violates the proximal tibial physis. Plate and screw osteosynthesis provide stable anatomic reduction, but there are concerns with delayed union and wound complications related to the dissection. External fixation is an excellent strategy for tibia fractures associated with complex wounds but also requires observation for loss of reduction. Discussion and conclusions The majority of adolescent tibia shaft fractures can be successfully managed with closed reduction and cast immobilization. Unstable fractures that have failed cast treatment should be treated operatively. Flexible intramedullary nailing, rigid intramedullary nailing, plate and screw osteosynthesis, and external fixation are acceptable treatment options that may be considered for an individual patient depending upon the clinical scenario.
Quantifying Shoulder Activity After Rotator Cuff Repair: Technique and Preliminary Results

Repair tissue healing after rotator cuff repair remains a significant clinical problem, and excessive shoulder activity after surgical repair is believed to contribute to re-tears. In contrast, small animal studies have demonstrated that complete removal of activity impairs tendon healing and have advocated for an "appropriate" level of activity, but in humans the appropriate amount of shoulder activity to enhance healing is not known. As an initial step toward understanding the relationship between postoperative shoulder activity and repair tissue healing, the objectives of this study were to assess the precision, accuracy, and feasibility of a wrist-worn triaxial accelerometer for measuring shoulder activity. Following assessments of precision (±0.002 g) and accuracy (±0.006 g), feasibility was assessed by measuring 1 week of shoulder activity in 14 rotator cuff repair patients and 8 control subjects. Shoulder activity was reported in terms of volume (mean acceleration, activity count, mean activity index, active time) and intensity (intensity gradient). Patients had significantly less volume (p ≤ .03) and intensity (p = .01) than controls. Time post-surgery was significantly associated with the volume (p ≤ .05 for mean acceleration, activity count, and mean activity index) and intensity (p = .03) of shoulder activity, but not active time (p = .08). These findings indicate this approach has the accuracy and precision necessary to continuously monitor shoulder activity with a wrist-worn sensor. The preliminary data demonstrate the ability to discriminate between healthy control subjects and patients recovering from rotator cuff repair and provide support for using a wearable sensor to monitor changes over time in shoulder activity.
Laparoscopic Hunt-Lawrence Jejunal Pouch for Reconstruction After Total Gastrectomy for Gastric Cancer.

Background: There are several reconstruction options described in the literature after total gastrectomy for gastric cancer. The most common laparoscopic jejunal pouch technique involves evisceration of the small bowel and extracorporeal pouch formation. Methods: We describe a completely intracorporeal technique for the Hunt-Lawrence J-pouch Roux-en-Y reconstruction. After gastrectomy and formation of the Roux limb, we create the esophagojejunal anastomosis using an end-to-end anastomosis (EEA) stapler threaded 6-7 cm into the Roux limb to leave a tail of jejunum for the pouch. Next we form the jejunal pouch with a linear stapler and close the common enterotomy with suture or stapler. Conclusion: Our technique offers a streamlined and efficient approach to the Hunt-Lawrence reconstruction and can be effectively performed both laparoscopically and robotically.
Measuring and Mapping Potassium in Agricultural Fields Using Gamma Spectroscopy

Mapping total soil potassium based on scanning gamma spectroscopy, paired with global positioning system (GPS) technology is described. Total potassium was determined from the 1.46 MeV gamma peak area of the 40K isotope. A calibration coefficient was defined based on measuring spectra of small reference samples (dozen of cubic decimeters) and Monte Carlo simulations (Geant4) of spectra in different sample volumes (up to several hundred cubic meters). Soil potassium distribution maps of agricultural fields were created based on measuring the potassium-40 peak areas in gamma spectra and calculating the soil potassium weight percent using defined calibration coefficient. ArcMap software was used for map creation. Results demonstrated the feasibility of using gamma spectroscopy and the described calibration method for determining total soil potassium.
SpeCollate: Deep cross-modal similarity network for mass spectrometry data based peptide deductions

Historically, the database search algorithms have been the de facto standard for inferring peptides from mass spectrometry (MS) data. Database search algorithms deduce peptides by transforming theoretical peptides into theoretical spectra and matching them to the experimental spectra. Heuristic similarity-scoring functions are used to match an experimental spectrum to a theoretical spectrum. However, the heuristic nature of the scoring functions and the simple transformation of the peptides into theoretical spectra, along with noisy mass spectra for the less abundant peptides, can introduce a cascade of inaccuracies. In this paper, we design and implement a Deep Cross-Modal Similarity Network called SpeCollate, which overcomes these inaccuracies by learning the similarity function between experimental spectra and peptides directly from the labeled MS data. SpeCollate transforms spectra and peptides into a shared Euclidean subspace by learning fixed size embeddings for both. Our proposed deep-learning network trains on sextuplets of positive and negative examples coupled with our custom-designed SNAP-loss function. Online hardest negative mining is used to select the appropriate negative examples for optimal training performance. We use 4.8 million sextuplets obtained from the NIST and MassIVE peptide libraries to train the network and demonstrate that for closed search, SpeCollate is able to perform better than Crux and MSFragger in terms of the number of peptide-spectrum matches (PSMs) and unique peptides identified under 1% FDR for real-world data. SpeCollate also identifies a large number of peptides not reported by either Crux or MSFragger. To the best of our knowledge, our proposed SpeCollate is the first deep-learning network that can determine the cross-modal similarity between peptides and mass-spectra for MS-based proteomics. We believe SpeCollate is significant progress towards developing machine-learning solutions for MS-based omics data analysis. SpeCollate is available at https://deepspecs.github.io/.
Mode of Conversion of Asparto, β-Semialdehyde to l-Threonine and l-Lysine in Brevibacterium lactofermentum

The regulatory mechanism of homoserine dehydrogenase and dihydrodipicolinate synthetase was investigated in Brevibacterium lactofermentum. Brevibacterium lactofermentum AJ 3585, which is a mutant resistant to S-(2-aminoethyl) l-cysteine (AEC) and α-amino-β-hydroxyvaleric acid (AHV), simultaneously produced 13 mg/ml each of l-threonine and l-lysine HCl. Homoserine dehydrogenase of AJ 3585 was genetically desensitized to feedback inhibition by l-threonine and l-isoleucine, and its affinity for asparto β-semialdehyde was increased about 8-fold compared with the parental strain. However, l-threonine production and homoserine dehydrogenase formation of AJ 3585 were inhibited by l-methionine. We tried to derive the mutant resistant to S-methylcysteine sulfoxide from AJ 3585 to release the repression of homoserine dehydrogenase. Derepressed mutant, M–15, produced 17.4 mg/ml of l-threonine and 8.6 mg/ml of l-lysine-HCl, and the homoserine dehydrogenase level was increased about 2-fold as compared with AJ 3585. On...
Reuse of Salmonella and Shigella Absorbing Cells for Preparing Monospecific Salmonella O and Shigella Antisera

Salmonella and Shigella organisms used as absorbing cells for preparing group-or type-specific Salmonella O or Shigella antisera may be reused four or more times without qualitatively reducing their capacity to remove undesired antibodies. The cells may be reclaimed by heating in flowing steam or by treatment with N/5 HCl. The former method is preferred.
Criticality- and QoS-Based Multiresource Negotiation andAdaptation

This paper presents design, analysis, and implementation of a multiresource management system that enables criticality- and QoS-based resource negotiation and adaptation for mission-critical multimedia applications. With the goal of maximizing the number of high-criticality multimedia streams and the degree of their QoS, it introduces a dynamic scheduling approach using on-line QoS adjustment and multiresource preemption. An integrated multiresource management infrastructure and a set of scheduling algorithms for multiresource preemption and on-line QoS adjustment are presented. The optimality and execution efficiency of two preemption algorithms are analyzed. A primal-dual-algorithm-based approximation solution is shown (1) to be comparable to the linear-programming-based solution, which is near optimal; (2) to outperform a criticality-cognitive baseline algorithm; and (3) to be feasible for on-line scheduling. In addition, the dynamic QoS adjustment scheme is shown to greatly improve the quality of service for video streams. The multiresource management system is part of the Presto multimedia system environment prototyped at Honeywell for mission-critical applications.
A pilot study on the corneal curvatures and ocular dimensions of horses less than one year of age

Intraocular lenses (IOLs) have been implanted in adult equine eyes after cataract surgery. Foals and weanlings comprise a large proportion of those horses undergoing cataract surgery. Due to potential differences in the size and corneal curvature of the juvenile eye, it is not currently known whether implantation of adult IOLs is appropriate in foals and weanlings. The objective of the study was to measure the anterior chamber depth (ACD), central lens thickness (CLT), vitreous chamber depth (VCD), axial globe length (AGL) and corneal curvature of horses less than one year of age. The axial dimensions from one eye of 10 foals were measured using simultaneous A and B scan ultrasonography. The corneal curvature from one eye of 7 weanlings was determined using a modified photokeratometer. Ultrasonography revealed a mean ACD of 4.94 mm, mean CLT of 9.38 mm, mean VCD of 18.96 mm and mean AGL of 33.32 mm for the foals. The mean corneal curvature was 15.4 diopters (D). The mean ACD, CLT, VCD and AGL of the foals were less than the measurements reported in the literature for adult horses. The mean corneal curvature was similar to the values reported by some authors for adult horses. Due to the differences in axial dimensions between adult and juvenile eyes, an IOL that corrects vision in an adult horse might not adequately correct vision in a horse less than one year of age.
Purification of cardiac myosin. Application to hypertrophied myocardium.

Abstract A method is described for the preparation of high purity myosin from small amounts of cardiac muscle. The method employs homogenization and prolonged extraction of the cardiac tissue. Purification is achieved through three successive precipitation-dissolution cycles and without the use of column chromatographic techniques. Purity of the myosin preparation is assessed at various stages of the purification procedure by sodium dodecylsulfate-acrylamide gel electrophoresis and by measurement of RNA and nucleoprotein content. With 1.5–2.0 g of rabbit right ventricle as the starting tissue, this method yields 4–6 mg myosin per g wet tissue. The method is also shown to give similar results with rabbit right ventricles hypertrophied by pulmonary stenosis.
Auditing as Pattern Recognition: Automated Analysis of Documentary Procedures

Most information systems analysis techniques focus on data: storage, processing and communication. While these aspects are important, there is a further level of analysis -- for the most part ignored -- that is potentially even more important from the organizational standpoint. This has to do with how organizational commitments are formed and executed. The focus of this paper is on the modeling and analysis of formal procedures for commitments, both internal and external. Of particular interest are commitment procedures involving communications by means of structured documents, what we call documentary procedures. Documentary procedures are remarkable in that the communications involved are not only informative, but also performative in that they alter the state of commitment between the parties. The particular focus in this paper is on the adequacy of controls in these documentary procedures. A pattern matching technique, called audit daemons, is developed, analogous to daemons used elsewhere in AI. These audit daemons are used to diagnose fraud and collusion potentials, and other control weaknesses in the designed procedure.
Frühgeschichte einer Theorie: Beta-Versionen, liebe Menschen und Zahlen

Meine Kolumne in der GI-Mitgliederzeitschrift „Informatik-Spektrum“ setzt sich satirisch-kritisch-angriffslustig mit wissenschaftlichen Alltagsfragen auseinander. Sie heist „β — inside“. Sie beginnt immer mit den Satzen: „Alpha-Versionen sind Lehrbucher, Gesetze, Produkthochglanzprospekte, Aktienneuemissionsanzeigen, Regierungserklarungen. Dahinter ist das Reale. Hinter den Lehrbuchern die vorlesende Forscherpersonlichkeit, hinter dem Prospekt der Rat des erfahrenen Fachverkaufers. Alpha-Versionen meiden Urteile, Meinungen und Leidenschaft. Die Kolumne ist kompromisslos beta.“
Set operations in a data model supporting complex objects

Class creation by set operations has largely been ignored in the literature. Precise semantics of set operations on complex objects require a clear distinction between the dual notions of a set and a type, both of which are present in a class. Our paper fills this gap by presenting a framework for executing set-theoretic operations on the class construct. The proposed set operations determine both the type description of the derived class as well as its set membership. For the former, we develop inheritance rules for property characteristics such as single- versus multi-valued and required versus optional. For the later, we borrow the object identity concept from data modeling research. Our framework allows for property inheritance among classes that are not necessarily is a related.
The Implementation of the Cell Tree: Design Alternatives and Performance Evaluation

The cell tree is a new dynamic object-oriented index structure for geometric databases. All data objects in the database are represented as unions of convex point sets (cells). The cell tree is a balanced tree structure whose leafs contain the cells and whose interior nodes correspond to a hierarchy of nested convex polyhedra. This index structure allows quick access to the cells (and therefore to the data objects) that occupy a given location in space. Furthermore, the cell tree is designed for paged secondary memory to minimize the number of disk accesses occuring during a tree search. Point locations and range searches can therefore be carried out very efficiently using the cell tree. This paper reports our experiences with the implementation of the cell tree and presents the results of a performance evaluation.
Signal processing for preserving the environment

Summary form only given. Signal processing has now had many benefits to our daily life though we may not be aware of. For examples: microprocessors (a kind of signal processor) are used to control gas consumption to make our cars more fuel efficient and signal processing is used to predict the major weather changes. Signal processing has played important roles in our environment including land water and air, through monitoring, control and prediction functions. In this presentation, the recent progress of signal processing, including hardware, software and algorithms, the neural networks, and the roles of remote sensing, will be reviewed first. This is followed by presenting several examples of using signal processing to preserve our environment. Some notable examples are: monitoring of landmines, pollutants in waterways, the salinity in the coastal zones, and the changes in environment; control of oil spills, flood mapping and control; inspection of damages of forest fires; prediction of major storms; etc. It is noted that signal processing is closely linked to pattern recognition in many of these examples. Signal processing in conjunction with pattern recognition will play an increasingly important role in all of these activities that aim to preserve our precious environmental resources.
Transgene-mediated suppression of the RNA interference pathway in Aedes aegypti interferes with gene silencing and enhances Sindbis virus and dengue virus type 2 replication.

RNA interference (RNAi) is the major innate antiviral pathway in Aedes aegypti that responds to replicating arboviruses such as dengue virus (DENV) and Sindbis virus (SINV). On the one hand, the mosquito's RNAi machinery is capable of completely eliminating DENV2 from Ae. aegypti. On the other, transient silencing of key genes of the RNAi pathway increases replication of SINV and DENV2, allowing the viruses to temporally overcome dose-dependent midgut infection and midgut escape barriers (MEB) more efficiently. Here we expressed Flock house virus B2 (FHV-B2) from the poly-ubiquitin (PUb) promoter in Ae. aegypti using the ΦC31 site-directed recombination system to investigate the impact of transgene-mediated RNAi pathway suppression on infections with SINV-TR339eGFP and DENV2-QR94, the latter of which has been shown to be confronted with a strong MEB in Ae. aegypti. FHV-B2 was constitutively expressed in midguts of sugar- and blood-fed mosquitoes of transgenic line PUbB2 P61. B2 over-expression suppressed RNA silencing of carboxypeptidase A-1 (AeCPA-1) in midgut tissue of PUbB2 P61 mosquitoes. Following oral challenge with SINV-TR339eGFP or DENV2-QR94, mean titres in midguts of PUbB2 P61 females were significantly higher at 7 days post-bloodmeal (pbm) than in those of nontransgenic control mosquitoes. At 14 days pbm, infection rates of carcasses were significantly increased in PubB2 P61 mosquitoes infected with SINV-TR339eGFP. Following infection with DENV2-QR94, midgut infection rates were significantly increased in the B2-expressing mosquitoes at 14 days pbm. However, B2 expression in PUbB2 P61 did not increase the DENV2-QR94 dissemination rate, indicating that the infection phenotype was not primarily controlled by RNAi.
Extrapolation of Space-Simulation Beam-Plasma Investigations to Shuttle-Borne Applications

Abstract : Laboratory simulations of space plasma phenomena provide an important link in establishing broader perspectives of various plasma processes, in helping to understand spatially or temporally limited rocket and satellite observations, and in planning future spaceborne experiments. One such area has been the artificial injection of energetic electron beams in space which has transitioned from an early and somewhat confused set of rocket data through a relatively intensive program of laboratory based space simulations, to an ambitious program which exploits the Shuttle as a readily accessible laboratory in space. While accumulated information points to a considerably improved understanding of beam plasma parameters which define single particle behavior on the one hand and collective beam plasma properties on the other, the extrapolation of these results to Shuttle borne applications is met with a number of constraints. Focusing on the transition from single particle behavior to the collective nonlinear interactions in the beam plasma discharge, this paper provides a comparative analysis on aspects involving Shuttle unique environmental effects. Emphasis is placed on Shuttle potentials and associated sheaths, ambient plasma and neutral density effects including relative spacecraft motion, pulsed versus dc gun operation, and beam plasma discharge criteria in general.
Experimental electrocoagulation of dog gastric mucosa

Lesions produced by electrocoagulation of gastric mucosa using the Cameron-Miller electrocoagulation probe and coagulator unit were evaluated as to size of ulceration and depth of coagulation necrosis. Five different settings on the coagulator unit and 4 different time intervals were used in 5 dogs. The safest electrocoagulation settings were at 5 to 5.5 for 1 second duration. The size of the ulcer produced did not correlate with depth of injury at the higher settings of 6.5 and 7.
Measurements of nonlinear refractive index in scattering media

We have recently developed a spectral re-shaping technique to simultaneously measure nonlinear refractive index and nonlinear absorption. In this technique, the information about the nonlinearities is encoded in the frequency domain, rather than in the spatial domain as in the conventional Z-scan method. Here we show that frequency encoding is much more robust with respect to scattering. We compare spectral re-shaping and Z-scan measurements in a highly scattering environment and show that reliable spectral re-shaping measurements can be performed even in a regime that precludes standard Z-scans.
Spectroscopy and reactivity of the type 1 copper site in Fet3p from Saccharomyces cerevisiae: correlation of structure with reactivity in the multicopper oxidases.

Fet3p is a multicopper oxidase recently isolated from the yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Fet3p is functionally homologous to ceruloplasmin (Cp) in that both are ferroxidases. However, by sequence homology Fet3p is more similar to fungal laccase, and both contain a type 1 Cu site that lacks the axial methionine ligand present in the functional type 1 sites of Cp. To determine the contribution of the electronic structure of the type 1 Cu site of Fet3p to the ferroxidase mechanism, we have examined the absorption, circular dichroism, magnetic circular dichroism, electron paramagnetic resonance, and resonance Raman spectra of wild-type Fet3p and type 1 and type 2 Cu-depleted mutants. The spectroscopic features of the type 1 Cu site of Fet3p are nearly identical to those of fungal laccase, indicating a very similar three-coordinate geometry. We have also examined the reactivity of the type 1 Cu site by means of redox titrations and stopped-flow kinetics. From poised potential redox titrations, the E ° of the...
Instant Messaging and Chat Reference

Instant Messaging (IM) is seeing renewed interest among libraries trying to reach out to users and increase their chat reference volume. Younger patrons especially are using IM software as a routine part of their online lives. This article suggests methods and directions libraries can pursue to incorporate IM into their current chat reference services.
The effects of early exposure of cellulitis-associated Escherichia coli in 1-day-old broiler chickens.

Two experiments were performed to test the effect of various field strains of Escherichia coli of cellulitis origin. In the first experiment, 1-day-old broiler chicks were challenged with one of two E. coli field strains using inoculation routes including oral gavage, swabbing of the navel and subcutaneous injection. No cellulitis lesions were produced, although the birds experienced high levels of septicemia/toxemia, characteristic of colibacillosis. The birds that received the E. coli by subcutaneous injection experienced the highest rate of mortality, while those that were challenged by gavage and those that had their navels swabbed experienced lesser rates of mortality. Birds in the second experiment were challenged at 1 day of age with one of three field strains of cellulitis-origin E. coli administered alone or in combination (1:1), which were serially diluted prior to subcutaneous injection. No significant differences in body weight, mortality or cellulitis rates were associated with specific isola...
Measuring industrial variation in racial discrimination using log-linear models

Abstract This paper modifies previous research on discrimination by measuring different aspects of discrimination across 39 industrial segments of the labor market during an interesting period—the late 1960s. Operating within a standardization framework, we show how simple functions of multiplicative log-linear parameters can be meaningfully interpreted as measures of racial discrimination across and within industry categories. Our results indicate that there is substantial variation across industries in the degree and kind of discrimination.
BACTERIAL CONTRIBUTIONS BY RURAL MUNICIPALITIES IN AGRICULTURAL WATERSHEDS

Four rural municipalities were evaluated for their bacterial contributions to the nonpoint source pollution (NPSP) in the Little Bear agricultural watershed. Total and fecal coliform were investigated to determine the bacterial contributions of these municipalities. Grab samples collected from perennial streams upstream and downstream of these municipalities were collected for about 15 months in 1993-1994. Total and fecal coliform were statistically significantly higher downstream compared to upstream for each municipality. The number of total coliform bacteria in either the upstream or downstream samples did not exceed the State criterion of 5000/100 mL. However, the State numerical criteria for fecal coliform, 200/mL, was exceeded in downstream samples at least five times over the 15-month period for all four municipalities. Bacterial nonpoint source pollution from rural municipalities should be incorporated in the predictive computer models used to determine total NPSP from agricultural watersheds.
Constrained polarization filtering for surface‐wave mitigation

We present a new method of surface-wave mitigation using polarization filtering. The method evolves from the polarization-analysis technique developed by Diallo et al., (2006) and introduces new constraints to effectively detect and mitigate surface waves without damaging the signal. Straightforward application of polarization filtering without these constraints results in ineffective filtering or damage to the signal, due to the complexity of surface-wave wavetrains. We illustrate the performance of the method with examples from multicomponent seismic data, and demonstrate the superiority of the filtering compared to the unconstrained approach.
METEOR: Hybrid photonic ring-mesh network-on-chip for multicore architectures

With increasing application complexity and improvements in process technology, Chip MultiProcessors (CMPs) with tens to hundreds of cores on a chip are becoming a reality. Networks-on-Chip (NoCs) have emerged as scalable communication fabrics that can support high bandwidths for these massively parallel multicore systems. However, traditional electrical NoC implementations still need to overcome the challenges of high data transfer latencies and large power consumption. On-chip photonic interconnects with high performance-per-watt characteristics have recently been proposed as an alternative to address these challenges for intra-chip communication. In this article, we explore using low-cost photonic interconnects on a chip to enhance traditional electrical NoCs. Our proposed hybrid photonic ring-mesh NoC (METEOR) utilizes a configurable photonic ring waveguide coupled to a traditional 2D electrical mesh NoC. Experimental results indicate a strong motivation to consider the proposed architecture for future CMPs, as it can provide about 5× reduction in power consumption and improved throughput and access latencies, compared to traditional electrical 2D mesh and torus NoC architectures. Compared to other previously proposed hybrid photonic NoC fabrics such as the hybrid photonic torus, Corona, and Firefly, our proposed fabric is also shown to have lower photonic area overhead, power consumption, and energy-delay product, while maintaining competitive throughput and latency.
Effect of convective cooling on frictionally excited thermoelastic instability

Abstract The effect of convective cooling on thermoelastic instability is evaluated using a finite element analysis. This is achieved by inserting a thermal convection term to the frictional heat generation in the formulation. It has been found that the convection or radiation heat dissipation can stabilize the thermal–mechanical feedback process, leading to a raised critical sliding velocity. Two representative models for brake and clutch systems are studied. The computational results reveal that the effect of thermal convection on the critical sliding speed is significant for liquid cooling (e.g. water, lubricants), but negligible for air convection. With the practical range of the convection coefficient estimated from the fundamental heat transfer theories, the critical speed in the presence of convection can be raised by two to three times as much as the original value. However, the wave number for the lowest critical speed remains almost unchanged regardless of the convective dissipation. The comparisons between linear and quadratic finite element interpolations are also made via a set of convergence studies. The results show that implementing quadratic elements in the friction layer has an obvious advantage over linear elements due to the rapid oscillations of the temperature across the thermal skin layer. This is particularly important in future studies when the problems in higher dimensions are of interest.
Behavioral effects of phencyclidine on nicotine self-administration and reinstatement in the presence or absence of a visual stimulus in rats.

Tobacco use is a serious health problem in the USA, and this problem is potentiated in patients with schizophrenia. The reward system is implicated in schizophrenia and may contribute to the high comorbidity between nicotine use and schizophrenia, but very little research has been done on the topic. The reward-enhancement effect of nicotine has been shown to be important in nicotine use, but there have been no studies on this effect in animal models of schizophrenia. This study was designed to determine the effects of phencyclidine, used to model negative symptoms of schizophrenia, on self-administration of nicotine with or without a co-occurring sensory reinforcer [i.e., visual stimulus (VS)] in rats. Phencyclidine (2.0 mg/kg) was administered before each of seven nicotine self-administration sessions (0.01 mg/kg/inf) after which rats (n = 8–9 per group) were given 7 days of extinction without phencyclidine pretreatment. Reinstatement using phencyclidine (2.0 mg/kg), nicotine (0.2 mg/kg), and yohimbine (1.25 mg/kg, a pharmacological stressor) was tested after extinction to determine if previous exposure to phencyclidine would alter reinstatement of active lever pressing. Phencyclidine initially decreased nicotine self-administration but only in the groups with a concurrent VS. This decrease in self-administration dissipated after 5 days. During reinstatement, rats that had previously received phencyclidine during self-administration with a VS were more sensitive to stress-induced reinstatement than any other group. These results show a transitory effect of phencyclidine on nicotine self-administration. Phencyclidine may induce a potential sensitivity to pharmacological stressors contributing to reinstatement of nicotine.
Diluent crystal alignment in the formation of membranes via liquid-solid thermally induced phase separation

Liquid–solid thermally induced phase separation (L–S TIPS), in which a diluent crystallizes within a liquid polymer matrix, has been used to produce microporous materials previously. However, little work has been done applying this concept to membrane formation due to the fact that these materials are tortuous and show no advantage over other microporous materials. This paper suggests a method of crystal alignment in L–S TIPS, which could lead to microporous membranes of high porosity, high selectivity, and low tortuosity.
Tele-immersive gaming for everybody

In this demonstration, we present two 3D tele-immersive games: light-saber dual and block fencing that merge 3D video representations of participants in real-time to enable remote interactions in a virtual world. The light-saber dual arranges participants in a symmetric setup where both participants interact with each other in a virtual world with similar goals. On the other hand, the block fencing creates an asymmetric setup where participants interact with virtual objects having different goals. Using these two setups, we address the challenges and novelty of our solutions in portable environment setup, data acquisition, multi-stream synchronization, multi-stream session management, mobile device rendering, and overlay communication in the design and implementation of advanced 3D tele-immersive systems.
Relation between sound discrimination and sound learning

Abstract Four studies relating the learning processes of discrimination and articulation for normal speaking children were reviewed. The findings generated a fifth investigation whose subjects were children with /r/ errors. The conclusions we drew from the four studies with normal speaking children were as follows: (1) discrimination skills of articulatory defective children may well reflect their articulary errors rather than an inherent perceptual defiency, (2) in the early stages of articulatory leraning orientation to a word will impair learning, (3) in some cases discrimination pretaining will result in almost immediate learming of an articulatory response, and (4) discrimination learing can be facilitated effectively by a pretraining program which utilizes distinctive stimuli. In the fifth study discrimination pretraining procedures were used to teach the [r] vs. [w], and [r] vs. [rw] contrasts. This training did not effect correct production of the /r/. Reasons for the negative results were advanced. In particular we suggested that discrimination pretraining may not be facilitative for the response availability phase.
A new optimality property of the Holm step-down procedure

Abstract The celebrated Holm step-down multiple testing procedure was introduced as an extension of the Bonferroni procedure that still controls the familywise error rate (FWER)–the probability of one or more false rejections–at the same level as the Bonferroni procedure. It follows from a recent result (Gordon and Salzman, 2008) that the Holm procedure cannot be further extended in the class of monotone step-down procedures without weakening the control of the FWER. Here the term “step-down” is understood in the most general sense, and monotonicity means that reduction in some (or all) observed p -values of the individual tests can only increase the number of rejections. What if we look for an extension of the Holm procedure beyond the class of step-down procedures? The result of the present work states that even in the entire class of monotone procedures the Holm procedure still cannot be extended without weakening the control of the FWER.
Edge jitter and bias in median filter

More and more attention has been given to the edge jitter that may occur when a robust nonlinear filter for edge restoration is applied. In this paper, we consider the possible edge jitter introduced by the median filter i.e., the bias behavior of the median filter at an edge both for edge location and for restoration of the constant signal on each side of the edge. A nonparametric method is proposed to evaluate the edge jitter (location only) of the nonlinear filters. Simulation shows that the method gives an efficient and effective way to study the performance of a nonlinear filter at edges. The second part of this paper concentrates on quantifying the bias behavior of the median filter in restoration of the constant signals on either side of the edges in one and two dimensional signals. Median filters preserve convex and concave edges, this is a well known fact. The behavior of the median filter at perfect edges which have been corrupted by noise has not been studied in detail. It is proven that the median filter actually `rearranges' the noisy perfect edges to concave or convex edges i.e., they do not preserve perfect edges perturbed by noise and, indeed, preserve the noise as well as the edges. It is argued in this paper that the median filter actually implements a max or min filter at the edges in one dimensional signals and in the two dimensional signals the output of the median is a value, the order of which is a function of the height and width of the window. Proofs in the second part of the paper question the credibility of the median filter as an edge preserving filter in the presence of noise, in that the median yields biased estimates of each constant region.
Stereoselective interaction of tetrahydroisoquinolines in β-adrenoceptor systems

Abstract In selected β 1 - (heart, lipolysis) and β 2 -adrenoceptor (trachea) systems, the interaction of racemic-trimetoquinol (TMQ) and the erythro- and threo-diastereomers of 1-(3′,4′,5′-trimethoxy-α-hydroxybenzyl)-6,7-dihydroxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline (α-hydroxy TMQ) was investigated. Each tetrahydroisoquinoline possessed agonist activity in these β-adrenoceptor systems. The rank order of potency observed for these compounds was racemic-TMQ > erythro-α-hydroxy TMQ > threo-α-hydroxy TMQ. Using isolated fat adipocytes, a favorable correlation was observed between the elevation in c-AMP and pharmacological response for the TMQ stereoisomers and diastereomers of α-hydroxy TMQ. The rise in intracellular c-AMP produced by (−)- and (+)-TMQ in fat cells was blocked by the presence of propranolol, and not in the presence of phentolamine. Since considerably higher concentrations (>10 −4 M) of these compounds were required to produce a significant inhibition of c-AMP phosphodiesterase activity in adipose tissue, it is proposed that the lipolytic response is a result of stereoselective interaction of these tetrahydroisoquinolines at the level of membrane-bound adenylate cyclase.