cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Surgeon Annual and Cumulative Volumes Predict Early Postoperative Outcomes After Brain Tumor Resection.

Objective Surgeon volume has been previously shown to affect patient outcomes. However, data related to neuro-oncologic surgery are limited and do not include neurologic morbidities as an outcomes measure. In this study, we aimed to determine if 5-year surgeon cumulative and annual volumes predict early postoperative outcomes in patients after brain tumor surgery. Methods A population-based cohort of patients (n = 10,258) undergoing brain tumor resection between 2005 and 2014 were included for study using the New York Statewide Planning and Research Cooperation System. Surgeons were categorized by their cumulative and annual surgical volume. Results Patients treated by high cumulative/high annual (HC/HA) volume surgeons had shorter length of stay (median, 5 days vs. 8 days vs. 8 days vs. 6 days, respectively; P Conclusions There is some evidence for improved postoperative outcomes when surgery is performed by HC and HA volume surgeons. This finding suggests that subspecialization in surgical neuro-oncology should be considered.
Sequence of flower and leaf emergence in deciduous trees is linked to ecological traits, phylogenetics, and climate

While much research has focused on the timing of individual plant phenological events, the sequence of phenological events has received considerably less attention. Here we identify drivers and patterns of flower and leaf emergence sequence (FLS) in deciduous tree species of the Great Lakes region of North America. Five hypotheses related to cold tolerance, water dynamics, seed mass, pollination syndrome, and xylem anatomy type were compared for their ability to explain FLS. Phylogenetic and geographic patterns of FLS were also assessed. We identified additional traits associated with FLS using Random Forest models. Of the hypotheses assessed, those related to species' water dynamics and seed mass had the greatest support. The spatial pattern of FLS was found to be strongly related to minimum monthly temperature and the phylogenetic pattern was clustered among species. Based on results from Random Forest models, species' fruiting characteristics were found to be the most important variables in explaining FLS. Our results show that FLS is related to a suite of plant traits and environmental tolerances. We emphasize the need to expand phenological research to include both the timing and sequence of plant's entire phenology, in particular in relation to plant physiology and global change.
Pediatric Asthma: Guidelines-Based Care, Omalizumab, and Other Potential Biologic Agents

Over the past several decades, the evidence supporting rational pediatric asthma management has grown considerably. As more is learned about the various phenotypes of asthma, the complexity of management will continue to grow. This article focuses on the evidence supporting the current guidelines-based pediatric asthma management and explores the future of asthma management with respect to phenotypic heterogeneity and biologics.
Radiation Balance and Solar Radiation Spectrum

Global radiation balance ultimately controls the climate of the Earth and thus plays an important role in the functioning of all ecosystems. The two key components of the global radiation balance are solar radiation, which is emitted by the Sun, and terrestrial radiation, which is emitted by the Earth’s surface and atmosphere. Besides regulating climate, solar radiation is vital for sustaining life on our planet, given that almost all living organisms need sunlight for their well-being. This article discusses the global radiation balance and its main components, including solar radiation and its spectrum.
Trends in nanomedicine

Abstract: In this chapter, I will present some general background on nanomedicine, particularly focusing on some of the investment that is being made in this emerging field. The bulk of the chapter, though, will consist of explorations of two areas in which the impacts of nanomedicine are likely to be most significant: diagnostics and medical records and treatment, including surgery and drug delivery. Under each discussion, I will survey some of the ethical and social issues that are likely to arise in these applications.
THE G(m)-SPACES AND OTHER RELATED TOPICS

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the extension of the definition of G (m)-space to non-Hausdorff spaces and introduces classes of spaces related to G (m)-spaces. It is shown that a Hausdorff space X is a G (m)-space, if X has a complete m-sequence of open covers. It is also shown that the converse is true for completely regular Hausdorff spaces. Any Hausdorff extension of a space X is an H-extension of X. The fact that X has an H-extension does not imply that X is Hausdorff. For each space X, the collection {Gμ: G is open in X} forms a base for a topology on Mx, and μX, considered with this topology, is an H-closed, H-extension of X.
The Beauty of Physics

The idea of a liberal arts education is deeply rooted in our academic history. Originally based in the goal of learning about the classical literature of Greece and Rome, the approach has morphed over the years into a broad course of study, including mathematics, literature, history, languages, philosophy, art, and the sciences. It is those last two subjects that caused the two of us to come to meet one another.
The Bully Pulpit, Social Media, and Public Opinion: A Big Data Approach

In this paper, we seek to understand the contemporary power of the presidential “bully pulpit”—the persuasive power of the nation’s highest elected office—in a context of shifting patterns of media...
Modeling fluidized bed impregnation of active pharmaceutical ingredients onto porous excipients

Abstract Impregnation of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) onto porous excipients offers several advantages to solid dosage pharmaceutical preparation over conventional formulation methods. Previous work has successfully introduced fluidized bed (FB) impregnation of APIs onto porous carriers as a robust manufacturing process with numerous benefits (easy to implement, excellent blend uniformity and dissolution kinetics, stabilization of amorphous APIs). This study aims to develop a simple, multi-scale modeling approach to FB impregnation. The model consists of three main parts: (1) an energy/mass balance on the FB and an evaporative flux calculation, (2) an impregnation model for a single particle and (3) a drying model for a single particle. The model allows the calculation of some important process parameters (e.g. product temperature, maximum liquid spray rate) for given drying conditions. These are important process parameters needed to achieve successful impregnation. The model accounts for convection, diffusion and crystallization within the particle. The main characteristic is the 2D modeling of the liquid and API distributions within the particle during impregnation and drying. Several cases are presented to illustrate the effect of some material properties (fast crystallization, slow diffusion, low porosity) on the final API profile. Simulation results regarding API profiles of impregnation are in a very good agreement with experimental measurements carried out in our previous work.
Response to Michael M. J. Fischer’s Review of Healing Fukushima, Part 2

At first glance, the Japanese town of Minamisōma felt to me like a ghost town, blanketed in snow, depopulated, and dystopian. The town had already been divided, somewhat arbitrarily, into sectors d...
Scrum in the undergraduate computer science curriculum

While Scrum is an increasingly popular software development practice, there still exist questions of how one can incorporate the Scrum process into the undergraduate curriculum. This paper provides information on how Scrum has been used and evaluated in three different Computer Science courses at the same university. First, a brief review of Scrum is given, detailing the meetings, roles and ways that Scrum differs from other methodologies. Next, the paper examines the literature which discusses how particular courses at several institutions have implemented Scrum in a variety of majors and settings. Then this paper discusses how Scrum was implemented in three courses, and how these implementations were evaluated. The evaluation data provides support for the idea that Scrum is in large part a methodology that is viewed positively by students in a variety of classes, with both benefits and shortcomings of implementing Scrum in classrooms discussed.
Some emotional considerations in cyber conflict

One of the most neglected and important aspects of cyber conflict involves the role of emotions in decision-making and its potential influence on the cyber domain in particular. This paper constitu...
Herpes simplex virus entry by a non-conventional endocytic pathway

Herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) causes significant morbidity and mortality in humans worldwide. HSV-1 enters epithelial cells via an endocytosis mechanism that is low pH-dependent. However, the precise intracellular pathway has not been identified, including the compartment where fusion occurs. In this study, we utilized a combination of molecular and pharmacological approaches to better characterize HSV entry by endocytosis. HSV-1 entry was unaltered in both cells treated with siRNA to Rab5 or Rab7 and cells expressing dominant-negative forms of these GTPases, suggesting entry is independent of the conventional endo-lysosomal network. The fungal metabolite brefeldin A (BFA) and the quinoline compound Golgicide A (GCA) inhibited HSV-1 entry via beta-galactosidase reporter assay and impaired incoming virus transport to the nuclear periphery, suggesting a role for trans Golgi network (TGN) functions and retrograde transport in HSV entry. Silencing of Rab9 or Rab11 GTPases, which are involved in the retrograde transport pathway, resulted in only a slight reduction in HSV infection. Together these results suggest that HSV enters host cells by an intracellular route independent of the lysosome-terminal endocytic pathway.
Spatially varying sparsity in dynamic regression models

Abstract Motivated by the problem of variable selection in spatially varying coefficients models for spatial econometrics data, a Bayesian spatially dynamic selection model based on spatial normal-gamma process (SNGP) is proposed, which pursues spatial varying sparsity in dynamic regression models. Theoretical properties of SNGP are discussed. Posterior samples are obtained by nimble, a powerful R package for Bayesian inference. A new tuning-free variable selection based on K -groups clustering is proposed for discriminating the signal and the noise. Simulation studies show that the proposed method has both good estimation performance and selection performance. Finally, the new method is applied to analyzing a county level income data of Louisiana.
Local reliability weighting explains identification of partially masked objects in natural images

A fundamental natural visual task is the identification of specific target objects in the environments that surround us. It has long been known that some properties of the background have strong effects on target visibility. The most well-known properties are the luminance, contrast, and similarity of the background to the target. In previous studies, we found that these properties have highly lawful effects on detection in natural backgrounds. However, there is another important factor affecting detection in natural backgrounds that has received little or no attention in the masking literature, which has been concerned with detection in simpler backgrounds. Namely, in natural backgrounds the properties of the background often vary under the target, and hence some parts of the target are masked more than others. We began studying this factor, which we call the "partial masking factor," by measuring detection thresholds in backgrounds of contrast-modulated white noise that was constructed so that the standard template-matching (TM) observer performs equally well whether or not the noise contrast modulates in the target region. If noise contrast is uniform in the target region, then this TM observer is the Bayesian optimal observer. However, when the noise contrast modulates then the Bayesian optimal observer weights the template at each pixel location by the estimated reliability at that location. We find that human performance for modulated noise backgrounds is predicted by this reliability-weighted TM (RTM) observer. More surprisingly, we find that human performance for natural backgrounds is also predicted by the RTM observer.
PCBench: Benchmarking of Board-Level Hardware Attacks and Trojans

Most modern electronic systems are hosted by printed circuit boards (PCBs), making them a ubiquitous system component that can take many different shapes and forms. In order to achieve a high level of economy of scale, the global supply chain of electronic systems has evolved into disparate segments for the design, fabrication, assembly, and testing of PCB boards and their various associated components. As a consequence, the modern PCB supply chain exposes many vulnerabilities along its different stages, allowing adversaries to introduce malicious alterations to facilitate board-level attacks. As an emerging hardware threat, the attack and defense techniques at the board level have not yet been systemically explored and thus require a thorough and comprehensive investigation. In the absence of standard board-level attack benchmark, current research on perspective countermeasures is likely to be evaluated on proprietary variants of ad-hoc attacks, preventing credible and verifiable comparison among different techniques. Upon this request, in this paper, we will systematically define and categorize a broad range of board-level attacks. For the first time, the attack vectors and construction rules for board-level attacks are developed. A practical and reliable board-level attack benchmark generation scheme is also developed, which can be used to produce references for evaluating countermeasures. Finally, based on the proposed approach, we have created a comprehensive set of board-level attack benchmarks for open-source release.
Thinking about the Past? Examining the Effects of Temporal Comparisons and Reminiscing on Cognitive Processing of Music and Radio Advertisements

Exposure to music has been found to evoke temporal comparisons and reminiscing processes. However, little yet is known about how temporal comparisons and reminiscing influence cognitive processing ...
K+-dependent Müller cell-generated components of the electroretinogram.

The electroretinogram (ERG) has been employed for years to collect information about retinal function and pathology. The usefulness of this noninvasive test depends on our understanding of the cell sources that generate the ERG. Important contributors to the ERG are glial Muller cells (MCs), which are capable of generating substantial transretinal potentials in response to light-induced changes in extracellular K+ concentration ([K+]o). For instance, the MCs generate the slow PIII (sPIII) component of the ERG as a reaction to a photoreceptor-induced [K+]o decrease in the subretinal space. Similarly, an increase of [K+]o related to activity of postreceptor retinal neurons also produces transretinal glial currents, which can potentially influence the amplitude and shape of the b-wave, one of the most frequently analyzed ERG components. Although it is well documented that the majority of the b-wave originates from On-bipolar cells, some contribution from MCs was suggested many years ago and has never been experimentally rejected. In this work, detailed information about light-evoked [K+]o changes in the isolated mouse retina was collected and then analyzed with a relatively simple linear electrical model of MCs. The results demonstrate that the cornea-positive potential generated by MCs is too small to contribute noticeably to the b-wave. The analysis also explains why MCs produce the large cornea-negative sPIII subcomponent of the ERG, but no substantial cornea-positive potential.
Evolution, Stability and Regulation of Methylation Patterns

Benzer (1961) demonstrated large variations in the mutability of certain sites in phage T 4; he called the highly mutable sites “hotspots”. Coulondre et al. (1978) studied the effects of 5-methylcytosine on mutation rates in the lacl gene of E. coli, and showed that several hotspots for base substitutions involve the transition from a G:C base pair to A:T in the lacl gene. The hotspot occurred at the second cytosine in the sequence CCAGG which is known to be methylated at this position by the product of the mec gene in the strain of E. coli K 12 used in the study. To test the hypothesis that the hotspots were the result of the methylation rather than some other characteristic of the sites a new CCAGG sequence was selected. From an amber mutant with a sequence CTAGG at the mutant site they obtained a reversion to a sense codon with the new sequence CCAGG. The new base sequence was now a hot spot with a factor 10 higher mutation rate than the unmethylated site. When the gene was transferred to E. coli B, which does not methylate the CCAGG sequences, the difference in mutation rate disappeared.
Explaining Changes in Settlement Dynamics across Transformations of Modes of Production

I think it no exaggeration to say that Lewis Binford’s (1980) characterization of hunter-gatherer mobility strategies has become foundational to modern archaeological practice. In one form or another, Binford’s formulation of the forager-collector continuum is taught in introductory archaeology classes, described in textbooks (see Fagan 1995: 88–90), used in countless professional discussions about hunter-gatherer adaptations, and debated at the level of theory by others (see Bettinger 1991; Kelly 1995). The model has been modified and refined through these discussions and examinations of case studies, both ethnographic as well as archaeological
Comparison of noise removal techniques used in digital mammography

Four distinct methods have recently been proposed for noise removal in mammography images: a tree-structured iterative selective median filter, a selective median filter, an improved median filter, and a weighted majority minimum range filter. These four methods, along with two general noise removal techniques, and the three standard techniques of mean, median, and k-nearest neighbors, are compared. A simulated mammography phantom to which varying levels of binary and Gaussian noise have been added is used. Two methods of measuring noise, a normalized root mean squared error and a signal-to-noise ratio, were used to compare and rank the nine different filters. There are no clear winners in all categories. Further research is needed to discover whether, by combining the best features of the best filters, one can produce a significantly improved method of noise removal. >
Self-regulating markets for electricity: letting customers into the game

This article presents an analytic model of electricity supply and demand, developed to understand which components might be solved in theory by markets, and which would have to rely upon regulatory oversight. Three demand-side market structures were evaluated: (1) fixed price (FP), (2) a demand response feature (DRP) and (3) real time pricing (RTP). Experimental results show that RTP leads to a redistribution of market power with great market efficiency.
Changing Citizen Identity and the Rise of a Participatory Media Culture

Many schools, however, have been reluctant to allow students to use digital participatory media for learning during the school day. Because digital media are so pervasive among youth and offer new avenues for civic participation, schools must rethink how they prepare students for active, participatory citizenship. In short, the civic mission of schools has broadened to include the mission of preparing “digital citizens”3 — those who use digital media to fulfill their civic duty.
Item Response Theory, Approach to Test Construction

Item response theory (IRT) has had a major impact on instrument design and analysis, both in academic and clinical settings. This entry provides an introduction to the common dichotomous and polytomous IRT models and motivates the use of IRT in the test design process by comparing it with the previously dominant classical test theory. This entry provides a brief introduction to IRT to provide a foundation for the reader to develop a functional instrument within the IRT framework. Keywords: individual differences; measurement in psychology; psychometric testing; testing in psychology; test construction
Umbilical cord casualties; a résumé with presentation of cases

Abstract Intrauterine life, sustained only by two small arteries and a tortuous vein coursing through a long flexible cord, hangs by a very delicate thread. That fetal fatalities occur so seldom from cord complications seems incredible. Gradually, however, it has become more apparent that cord abnormalities are frequently involved in Nature's plan for "survival of the fittest," especially in view of Javert and Barton's 12 findings in early and late abortions. They found 35 per cent of the available cords for study to be abnormal and inconsistent with life, with torsion occurring in 15.3 per cent, looping in 5.7 per cent, and knotting in 0.9 per cent. As pregnancy progresses the incidence of knotting apparently decreases, while the incidence of looping (and probably torsion) increases, if we are to refer to Lundgren and Boice's 13 figure of 0.3 per cent for knotting and Atwood's 1 figure of approximately 25 per cent for looping in the viable stages of pregnancy. These percentages probably reflect the fact that the more serious cord disorders kill the fetus in the early stages of pregnancy, leaving the lesser, though no less potentially dangerous, disorders until later gestation. It is these abnormalities which occur after viability has been reached with which we are concerned in this paper. Intrauterine death from cord abnormalities most frequently involves anoxia of the fetus. Clementson 6 lists the general types of anoxia as anoxemic, histotoxic, cord obstruction, and anemic, the latter two being those in which cord complications may be directly involved. He further divides cord obstruction anoxia into the following causes: loops of cord about the fetus, prolapse of the cord, true knots, breech delivery with cord compression, and short cord. To this we might add torsion, new growths, and partial rupture of the cord with hematoma formation causing vascular obstruction. Anemic anoxia may be caused by complete laceration of the cord or its vessels with bleeding external to the cord's amniotic covering. Other sources of obstructive or anemic anoxia are so rare that their consideration is not warranted. It is the purpose of this paper to summarize briefly, in so far as is possible, the incidence, associated fetal mortality, influencing factors, and general considerations of cord anoxia; to present two additional cases; and to discuss methods by which our fetal salvage rate may be increased.
Defensor Fidei: The Travails of a Post-Realist Formalist

This Article probes the philosophical and psychological attractions of formalism and suggests that its promise of stability and order may be essential to the effective functioning of the legal system, even if the promise can never be realized.
Evolução metodológica da relação entre pressão arterial sangüínea e prega cutânea: um enfoque epidemiológico

Foi elaborada revisao de varios trabalhos que estudam a relacao entre certas caracteristicas antropometricas (prega do tricipite, adiposidade e circunferencia do braco) e a pressao arterial sanguinea. Apos analisar criticamente a qualidade de diversos estudos, com base no desenho do estudo, na qualidade das medicoes e no tipo de analises estatisticas, verificou-se que, nos trabalhos selecionados, a associacao entre prega cutânea do tricipite e a pressao arterial relaciona-se com tres caracteristicas demograficas. A questao da independencia dessa associacao ainda permanece sem resposta. Discute-se o efeito da membrana adiposa do braco sobre a medida da pressao arterial. Faz-se serie de recomendacoes para a padronizacao da medida de pressao arterial com a finalidade de uniformizar o procedimento na clinica e na investigacao epidemiologica.
Developmental expression of multiple forms of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase mRNA in rat testes.

: The developmental expression of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase, the enzyme that catalyzes the rate-limiting reaction of mevalonate formation, was investigated in rat testes. Adult testes were found to contain three distinct forms of HMG-CoA reductase mRNA of 4.8, 4.2, and 4.0 kilobases (kb) in length. In testes from 26-day-old rats the 4.8-kb species was the major form present. By 40 days of age, large increases in the levels of the testes-specific 4.2- and 4.0-kb forms occurred, with a small decrease in the amount of the 4.8-kb form. The level of the 4.8-kb form appeared to be associated with the level of testicular HMG-CoA reductase activity.
Gas chromatography mass spectrometry based profiling of alkyl coumarates and ferulates in two species of cattail (Typha domingensis P., and Typha latifolia L.)

Abstract Several long-chain n-alkyl coumarates and ferulates were identified in cattails (Typha domingensis and Typha latifolia) from the Florida Everglades. Characterization of these compounds was achieved based on the interpretation of mass spectra obtained by GCMS as their trimethylsilyl ether derivatives, comparison with published mass spectra and available standards. Both n-alkyl p-coumarates and n-alkyl ferulates were identified in roots and leaves of both Typha species, featuring unique distribution patterns and differences between leaf and root biomass. For both Typha species, roots have higher concentrations and a much greater diversity of n-alkyl p-coumarates and ferulates but with different side chain carbon numbers ranging from C14 to C28. Typha domingensis leaves only contained n-alkyl ferulates with traces of n-alkyl p-coumarates, while both types of compounds were present in Typha latifolia leaf material. These chemicals were not found in the other dominant wetland vegetation, which suggests their potential for application as phytochemical tracers of fresh cattail-derived organic matter in the Everglades ecosystem.
Categorizing turn-taking interactions

We address the problem of categorizing turn-taking interactions between individuals. Social interactions are characterized by turn-taking and arise frequently in real-world videos. Our approach is based on the use of temporal causal analysis to decompose a space-time visual word representation of video into co-occuring independent segments, called causal sets [1]. These causal sets then serves the input to a multiple instance learning framework to categorize turn-taking interactions. We introduce a new turn-taking interactions dataset consisting of social games and sports rallies. We demonstrate that our formulation of multiple instance learning (QP-MISVM) is better able to leverage the repetitive structure in turn-taking interactions and demonstrates superior performance relative to a conventional bag of words model.
Abandonment as a Settlement Strategy

Abandonment of Settlements and Regions: Ethnoarchaeological and Archaeological Approaches. Catherine M. Cameron and Steve A. Tomka, eds.
When is a Proteinase Inhibitor a Hormone? The Strange Tale of α2-Macroglobulin

In this review, we will consider the role of the plasma proteinase inhibitor a 2 -macroglobulin in the regulation of cancer cell metabolism. Surprisingly, when activated by reaction with a proteinase, the inhibitor binds to cell surface GRP78 and promotes proliferation while suppressing apoptosis. At the mechanistic level, this occurs by regulation of cellular metabolism via signal transduction cascades. Recent studies demonstrate that this regulation extends to promoting glucose uptake, cholesterol synthesis, and lactate secretion. Journal of Nature and Science, 1(7):e128, 2015.
Fungicidal and spectral studies of some triphenyltin compounds

In the interest of developing a more effective fungicide to combat Dutch elm disease, our laboratories have synthesized several triphenyltin carboxylates and some 1:1 addition compounds of triphenyltin chloride using 2,3-disubstituted thiazolidin-4-ones as the ligand and screened them in vitro against Ceratocystis ulmi, the causative agent of Dutch elm disease, using a shake culture method. Elemental analyses and spectroscopic data indicate that the structures of the carboxylates in the solid state are monomeric with a tetrahedral tin atom with the exception of the furan-2-carboxylic acid derivative, which was found to be polymeric. The triphenyltin chloride adducts are trigonal-bipyramidal with the three phenyl groups in the equatorial plane. Far-infrared data indicate that the three phenyl groups are not co-planar. Screening results for both series of organotins indicate that these two classes of compounds are effective inhibitors of Ceratocystis ulmi, with the adducts having a higher activity. The furan-2-carboxylic acid derivative has a markedly decreased activity compared with the other carboxylates and this is attributed to its polymeric structure.
Maximum a posteriori displacement field estimation in quantum-limited image sequences

In this paper, we develop an algorithm for obtaining the maximum a posteriori (MAP) estimate of the displacement vector field (DVF) from two consecutive image frames of an image sequence acquired under quantum-limited conditions. The estimation of the DVF has applications in temporal filtering, object tracking, and frame registration in low-light level image sequences as well as low-dose clinical x-ray image sequences. The quantum-limited effect is modeled as an undesirable, Poisson-distributed, signal-dependent noise artifact. The specification of priors for the DVF allows a smoothness constraint for the vector field. In addition, discontinuities of the field are taken into account through the introduction of a line process for neighboring vectors. A Bayesian formulation is used in this paper to estimate the DVF and a block component algorithm is employed in obtaining a solution. Several experiments involving a phantom sequence show the effectiveness of this estimator in obtaining the DVF under severe quantum noise conditions.© (1993) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Narrow-angle cosmic-ray anisotropies

An alternate interpretation is presented for the diurnal cosmic ray anisotropy measurements made with underground muons in London. From the widely accepted models of cosmic ray diffusion in the Galaxy, a diurnal anisotropy (24 h wave) would be expected. But from a model predicting the occurrence of an excess within some small region of the celestial sphere, it is suggested that the direction of this excess would depend on the orientation (in space and time) of the source relative to galactic magnetic field lines which connect the source with the solar system.
The Jordan cononical form of a product of a Hermitian and a positive semidefinite matrix

Abstract A given square complex matrix C is the product of a positive semidefinite matrix A and a Hermitian matrix B if and only if C 2 is diagonalizable and has nonnegative eigenvalues. This condition is equivalent to requiring that C have real eigenvalues and a Jordan canonical form that is diagonal except for r copies of a 2-by-2 nilpotent Jordan block. We show that r is bounded from above by the rank of A , the nullity of A , and both the positive and negative inertia of B . It follows that a product of two positive semidefinite matrices is diagonalizable and has nonnegative eigenvalues, a result that leads to a characterization of the possible concanonical forms of a positive semidefinite matrix.
Epitaxial LiNbO3 thin films prepared by a sol-gel process

Abstract LiNbO3 thin films were prepared on sapphire substrates by a sol-gel process using lithium ethoxide and niobium pentaethoxide. Decreasing the amount of water added for hydrolysis of the alkoxides caused the films to show a higher preferred orientation in the same crystal plane as the orientation of the substrate. Without the addition of water to the alkoxides, a heteroepitaxial film with single-crystal nature was obtained. Films of this quality have not been reported previously.
Development and use of a novel automated Mueller matrix polarization imaging system for In-vivo imaging of lesions

The ability to detect skin cancer accurately, quickly, and non-invasively has been the object of researchers for many years. This paper describes a novel Automated Mueller Matrix Polarimetric Imaging System that has the potential for non- invasive determination of cancerous lesions from their benign counterparts. Our system collects the 16 images used to calculate the 16 Mueller matrix elements in less than 70 seconds. To validate the system, we used known samples that show a maximum error of 1.41 percent in the Mueller matrix. Tissue-phantoms with varying concentrations of scatterers were used to determine the effects of changes in the sample scattering coefficient on the Mueller matrix. The system was also used to image a benign lesion on a human subject to show the ability to collect of polarization information from the skin.
High Sn solder reaction with Cu metallization

Abstract When Sn based solders or high Sn solders are reflowed on to thin film Cu metallization, the fast reaction between Cu and Sn can convert the Cu layer completely into an intermetallic layer. After the conversion, prolonged exposure of the intermetallic to solder melt can cause dissolution of Cu from the intermetallic to the bulk solder. Excessive dissolution of the intermetallic from the interface impairs the interface strength, since it results in solder dewetting at the exposed Cr layer (solder does not wet Cr surface). Utilization of Cu-Cr phased layer is not sufficient to prevent dewetting from occurring at high Sn solders.
Organizer restriction through modulation of Bozozok stability by the E3 ubiquitin ligase Lnx-like

Ubiquitin-mediated degradation influences embryonic axis formation by regulating the stability of ventrally expressed transcription factors, although it is unclear whether dorsal factors are similarly modulated. In Zebrafish, the E3 ubiquitin ligase Lnx-l acts on the dorsal transcriptional repressor Boz to control dorso-ventral axis formation.
Michael's Fraction Schemes.

A longitudinal teaching experiment was conducted with six third graders to analyze the itinerary of their ways of operating while solving fraction tasks. These children's quantitative reasoning with fractions was based on their quantitative reasoning with natural numbers. They solved fraction tasks in similar ways, though with different degrees of sophistication, depending on their sophistication in working with natural numbers. Their consistent method of operating indicated that they constructed fraction schemes that had the characteristic of being developmental, in the sense that prior schemes were the cornerstones of new ones. This article presents the constructive itinerary of one of the most advanced children in the group, Michael.
Automatically predicting the helpfulness of online reviews

Online shopping websites provide platforms for consumers to review products and share opinions. Online reviews provided by the previous consumers are major information source for both consumers and marketers. However, a large number of reviews for a product can make it impossible for readers to read through all the reviews in order to collect information. So it is important to classify and rank the reviews based on their helpfulness to make them easily accessible by readers. This will not only help consumers finish their information search and decision making more easily, but also be valuable for product manufacturers or retailers to get informative and meaningful consumer feedbacks. Due to the lack of editorial and quality control, the reviews of products vary dramatically in quality: from very helpful to useless and even spam-like. The helpfulness of reviews is currently assessed manually by the votings from readers. This paper describes a machine learning approach to predicting the helpfulness of online reviews. The experiments conducted in the study were based on data collected from Amazon. We also discuss the determinants of the helpfulness of online reviews.
A New Testimonium To a Judaic-Christian Gospel Fragment From a Hymn of Romanos the Melodist1

Il existe entre 32 et 50 fragments des evangiles judeo-chretiens. Au moins deux d'entre eux apparaissent dans les hymnes de Romanos le Melode. Les hymnes de Romanos fournissent la confirmation de l'existence d'une tradition du chagrin de Pierre avant de renier le Christ. L'hymne de Romanos fournit un terminus ante quem pour la genese de cette tradition qui trouve son origine au VI e siecle. La source de Romanos le melodiste est un evangile judeo-chretien ce qui renseigne sur le degre d'erudition du poete. Il s'agit enfin d'une nouvelle source qui doit etre prise en compte dans les collections de fragmenta
EFFECT OF SHELL TYPE ON THE IN VIVO BACKSCATTER FROM POLYMER-ENCAPSULATED MICROBUBBLES

Abstract This study compared in vivo enhancement from four different polymer-encapsulated ultrasound (US) contrast agents. The agents were produced with a rigid shell composed of the biodegradable block copolymer poly[d,l-lactide- co -glycolide] (PLGA) with the lactic and glycolic acid ratios 50:50, 75:25, 85:15 and 100:0 (i.e., increasingly hydrophobic shell compositions). Approximately the same bubble diameter (1.2 μm) and concentration (0.4 g/mL) were obtained for each agent. In four rabbits, audio Doppler signals were acquired from a 10 MHz cuff transducer placed around a surgically exposed vessel (contrast dose: 0.0125 to 0.15 mL/kg). In vivo dose responses were calculated off-line (in dB). Nine rabbit kidneys were imaged during contrast administration (0.1 mL/kg) in power Doppler and grey-scale pulse inversion harmonic (PIHI) modes using an HDI 5000 scanner (Philips Medical Systems, Bothell, WA). Time-intensity curves were produced and the time-to-peak, peak intensity, slope, area under the curve (AUC) and total duration of enhancement for each agent were compared. All agents produced marked Doppler enhancement with increasing duration from the 50:50 agent (48 ± 10 s) to the 75:25 agent (166 ± 46 s), the 85:15 agent (403 ± 83 s) and with the 100:0 agent (603 ± 93 s) lasting longest ( p p = 0.02). The in vivo dose-response curves were similar for all agents, with mean enhancement up to 20.6 ± 1.11 dB ( p = 0.17). In conclusion, contrast duration increases by an order of magnitude as the lactic acid component in the polymer-encapsulated bubbles increases and the shell, thus, becomes increasingly hydrophobic. (E-mail: flemming.forsberg@jefferson.edu)
Translating learners, researchers, and qualitative approaches through investigations of students’ experiences in school

This article uses the conceptual framework offered by ‘translation’ to argue for transforming students into authorities and agents in research on educational practice. Drawing on various definition...
Effects of uniaxial stress on excitons in Cu 2 O

We have investigated the effects of uniaxial stress up to 2.5 kbar on the first four dipole-forbidden states of the yellow exciton series in cuprous oxide. The linear and nonlinear splittings and shifts as well as the symmetries of the stress-split components were determined using the quadrupole-dipole Raman-scattering technique involving odd-parity phonons. We have observed the triply degenerate $1S$ quadrupole state split into a singlet and a doublet with the singlet energy increasing and the doublet energy decreasing with stress as first seen by Gross and Kaplyanskii. For the higher quadrupole $S$ states, however, the sense of the splitting was reversed from that of the $1S$, while the magnitude of the $3S$ splitting exceeded that of the $1S$ as previously noted by Agekyan and Stepanov. The quadratic stress coefficients for all components of the $1S$, $3D$, and $4S$ states were found to be equal while those for the $3S$ state were markedly different. A theoretical analysis was carried out for [001] stress using the effective-Hamiltonian formalism including both deformation of the bands and electron-hole exchange. The theory accounts satisfactorily for the general features of the $1S$, $3D$, and $4S$ states only if both the magnitude and sign of the exchange constant are considered to be dependent on the exciton state. For the $3S$, however, the nonlinear stress dependence cannot be reconciled with the theory for yellow excitons. These results suggest that the "$3S$ yellow exciton" may actually belong to the green-exciton series, or that interactions between yellow and green excitons with different principal quantum numbers may be significant although not included in the theory.
The process γγ → X by parton model and prediction of equivalent-photon method for ee → ee + X

Abstract A parton model for the virtual photon process γ → X is examined. It is assumed that a scaling property applies and the total cross section is σγγ→X = s−1 φ(ξ), where the function ∅ is dependent on the scaling variable ξ defined by ξ = s/(q21q22). The cross section for the process ee → + X is calculated using the equivalent-photon technique.
Application of the spatial distribution of nitrogen stable isotopes for sediment tracing at the watershed scale

Summary Sediment tracing technology relies on the use of natural biogeochemical tracers to identify sediment sources in a watershed. This improves sediment tracer technology by presenting a method to model the spatial distribution of biogeochemical tracers. The nitrogen stable isotope of surface soils is modeled across the landscape and was chosen due to (i) its ability to reflect land management changes across the landscape, (ii) the lack of understanding regarding its distribution at the watershed scale, and (iii) its recent successful use within sediment tracer technologies and anticipated future use. Potential linkages between watershed variables that vary across the landscape and nitrogen stable isotopes are postulated based on assessment of the watershed variables in a geographical information system, field assessment, and review of biogeochemical processes. Thereafter field data collection and analyses of nitrogen stable isotope using an isotope ratio mass spectrometer are performed followed by statistical analyses and modeling of the tracer across the landscape. The nitrogen stable isotope is statistically dependent upon land management practices, geomorphologic landform and soil depth in the agricultural soils, which is a result of plant harvest as a nitrogen sink, fertilization and mineralization rates. Short-range variability of soil moisture and surface heterogeneity due to cobbles and gravel, woody debris and litter control nitrogen isotopic variability in the forest and only a small portion of the total data variance is dependent upon the watershed variables. The spatially distributed model of nitrogen stable isotope of surface soils is presented and is expected to provide further pin-pointing of sediment sources using natural tracer technology.
Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity levels in white newborn infants.

Objective To define normal levels of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) activity in a population of North American white newborns. Study design We studied 2 white newborn populations, ≥35 weeks of gestation. In the retrospective study, G6PD activity was measured (on clinical indication) in 242 newborns aged ≤7 days. In the prospective study, we measured G6PD activity in umbilical cord blood samples in 347 newborns and daily transcutaneous bilirubin levels in these infants. Results The mean G6PD activity level was 12.3 ± 3.1 units per gram hemoglobin (U/gHb) in the retrospective population and 13.3 ± 1.8 U/gHb in the prospective population, and there was no difference between males and females. The distribution of values suggested that infants with activity levels Conclusions As in other ethnic populations, the mean G6PD activity in white newborn infants is substantially greater than that of white adults. The lower limits of normal are also similar to those of other newborn ethnic groups and of adults. The diagnosis of G6PD deficiency should be considered in any white infant whose G6PD activity is
Water Constraints on Emerging Energy Production

: A comprehensive nationwide recognizance-level assessment of water needs for energy development over the 1985 to 2000 time frame and options for overcoming any actual or potential water supply problems are summarized. Water requirements for energy production and other uses are totaled for each geographic region of the United States and compared with available stream flow to identify regions with potentially inadequate water supplies to meet expanding energy needs. Water quality impacts and water-related institutional factors affecting energy development are also considered. It is concluded that, if proper planning measures are not initiated, water demands for energy production will not be satisfied by the year 2000, particularly in those areas with known fossil energy resources. No unmanageable water quality problems are foreseen, and water-related institutional factors will primarily delay rather than exclud energy development.
Random coefficient first-order autoregressive models

Abstract This paper discusses the random coefficient model applied to panel data in a time-series context. Some of the basic issues involved in pooling problems are studied. An analysis of a first-order autoregressive model, where the autoregressive coefficients across units are regarded as a random sample from a beta distribution, is presented and illustrated by an example using real data. Generalizations to higher-order models are discussed.
The determination of acetone in butanone-2 by phase separation

Abstract Binary solutions of acetone in butanone-2 have been analysed by adding a constant amount of water and determining the temperature at which phase separation takes place. Because butanone-2 and water have a lower critical solution temperature, solutions are clear at lower temperatures and opalescent at higher temperatures. The weight percent of acetone in the original binary solution of ketones is a function of the phase-separation temperature, enabling the analyst to construct a calibration curve and determine unknown solutions directly. The error is about 0.1 absolute %.