cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Reduction of homogeneous Yang-Mills fields

Abstract The structure of the reduced phase space for a homogeneous Yang-Mills field on a spatially compactified ( n + 1 ) -dimensional Minkowski spacetime is studied. Using the theory developed in [AGJ], various reductions of this system are considered and are shown to agree. Moreover, the reduced phase space is realized as semi-algebraic set which carries a nondegenerate Poisson algebra. For the gauge groups SU( 2 ) or SO( 3 ) it is shown that this system is equivalent to that of n interacting particles moving in R 3 with zero total angular momentum. The particular cases n = 1 and 2 are discussed in detail.
The quasi-rational fusion structure of SU(m|n) Chern-Simons and WZW theories

Abstract The SU( m | n ) K fusion ring is found. The existence of a positive trace on this ring, rather than integrability, is the common principle underlying the fusion rings of WZW models, ordinary and super. The argument proceeds by means of a combined examination of the ring of positive q -superdimensions, associated Chern-Simons observables, and several WZW correlation functions. The tensor product ring of U q ( su (m|n)) for q a root of unity admits a doubly truncated tensor product structure isomorphic to the SU( m | n ) K fusion ring in the cases we examine. The SU( m | n ) K WZW models are found to be quasi-rational (non-unitary) conformal field theories. Many important quantities in SU( m | n ) K theories are given exactly by analogous SU( m − n ) K quantities, including the conformal weights, fusion coefficients, Chern-Simons observables, and the matrix elements of modular transformations of the relevant affine supercharacters. These matrix elements are related to the fusion ring via a (slightly modified) Verlinde formula. The SU( n + N | n ) K and SU( k + K | k ) N Chern-Simons and WZW theories are related by group-level duality.
Prognostic Validity of Short‐Term Abstinence in Alcoholism

A demonstrated period of abstinence is often viewed as a good prognostic sign in alcoholism. For example, short-term abstinence is one factor often considered important as a selection criteria for alcoholics who are being evaluated as liver transplant candidates. However, the prognostic validity of short-term abstinence is unclear. We evaluated the effects of 3 and 6 months of abstinence on readmission rates in a series of 299 alcoholics following discharge from inpatient treatment. Readmission rates were stratified using a 3-factor model of alcoholism severity. This 3-factor model defined groups with 1-year readmission rates, ranging from 15.8% to 62.7%. Short-term abstinence did not have strong effects on readmission rates for the most severe alcoholics, nor did short-term abstinence produce clinically significant reduction for readmission rates for the least severe alcoholics. We conclude that short-term abstinence has minimal effect on prognosis for alcoholics with various levels of baseline severity.
Comprehensive procedure for fast and accurate coupled oscillator network simulation

Coupled oscillator networks occur in various domains such as biology, astrophysics and electronics. In this paper, we present a comprehensive procedure for rapid and accurate simulation of large coupled oscillator networks using widely accepted, fully-nonlinear perturbation projection vector (PPV) phase macromodels. We validate our method against full simulation of 20times20 coupled network of Brusselator biochemical oscillator and obtain computational speedups of 170x over full simulation. Furthermore, we apply the method to study self-organization phenomenon of Brusselator under asymmetric coupling and time period variations.
Intron bypass: a rapid procedure for eliminating introns from cloned genomic DNA and its application to a cellulase gene

Abstract We have devised a DNA cloning procedure in which the introns present in a genomic DNA fragment can be eliminated easily and rapidly. The technique combines the methods of cDNA and genomic cloning in a way which assures full-length representation of the intron-free transcript. Moreover, plasmids made by this technique can be designed to contain flanking untranscribed regions which may play a role in the regulation of expression. One strand of a linearized plasmid containing the 3'-end of a gene is used to prime cDNA synthesis from an annealed mRNA template. A second plasmid containing the 5'-end of the gene is linearized, denatured, and annealed to the extended 3'-end molecules and the resulting circular, partial duplexes are used to transform bacterial cells. Two different recombinant plasmids which contain DNA encoding the cellulase, exocellobiohydrolase I, from Trichoderma reesei have been constructed using this method. They both contain the entire translated region of the gene uninterrupted by introns. One plasmid contains additional DNA at the 5'-end, including approximately 150 bp 5' to the start of transcription. The inserts of both plasmids can be excised in one piece.
TcR-α/β+ CD4−CD8− T Cells in Humans with the Autoimmune Lymphoproliferative Syndrome Express a Novel CD45 Isoform That Is Analogous to Murine B220 and Represents a Marker of Altered O-Glycan Biosynthesis

Autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome (ALPS), caused by inherited defects in apoptosis secondary to mutations in genes encoding Fas/CD95/APO-1 and Fas ligand (Fasl)/CD95L, is characterized by nonmalignant lymphadenopathy and splenomegaly, increased T cell receptor alpha/beta(+) CD4(-)CD8(-) T cells (alpha/beta(+) double-negative T cells [alpha/beta(+)-DNT cells]), autoimmunity, hypergammaglobulinemia, and cytokine abnormalities. The alpha/beta(+)-DNT cells are immunophenotypically and functionally similar to alpha/beta(+)-DNT cells that accumulate in lpr and gld mice, which bear genetic mutations in Fas and FasL. In these mice, alpha/beta(+)-DNT cells express the B-cell-specific CD45R isoform B220. We show that alpha/beta(+)-DNT cells of ALPS patients, with either Fas or FasL mutations, also express B220. In addition, also similar to LPR/gLD mice, they have an unusual population of B220-positive CD4(+) T cells. B220 expression, together with our finding of characteristic lectin binding profiles, demonstrates that cell surface O-linked glycoproteins have undergone specific modifications, which may have consequences for lymphocyte trafficking, cell-cell interactions, and access to alternative apoptosis pathways.
Complete physical map of the common deletion region in Williams syndrome and identification and characterization of three novel genes

Williams syndrome (WS) is a contiguous gene deletion disorder caused by haploinsufficiency of genes at 7q11.23. We have shown that hemizygosity of elastin is responsible for one feature of WS, supravalvular aortic stenosis (SVAS). We have also implicated LIM-kinase 1 hemizygosity as a contributing factor to impaired visual-spatial constructive cognition in WS. However, the common WS deletion region has not been completely characterized, and genes for additional features of WS, including mental retardation, infantile hypercalcemia, and unique personality profile, are yet to be discovered. Here, we present a physical map encompassing 1.5 Mb DNA that is commonly deleted in individuals with WS. Fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis of 200 WS individuals shows that WS individuals have the consistent deletion interval. In addition, we identify three novel genes from the common deletion region: WS-betaTRP, WS-bHLH, and BCL7B. WS-betaTRP has four putative beta-transducin (WD40) repeats, and WS-bHLH is a novel basic helix-loop-helix leucine zipper (bHLHZip) gene. BCL7B belongs to a novel family of highly conserved genes. We describe the expression profile and genomic structure for each of these genes. Hemizygous deletion of one or more of these genes may contribute to developmental defects in WS.
Plant hydraulics: the ascent of water.

When you're a large organism and made of wood, you can't have a heart or other contractile organs, but you still need to move fluids to live. How is this done?
Re-evaluation of the age of the Brandon lignite (Vermont, USA) based on plant megafossils

Abstract The Brandon Lignite of west-central Vermont contains the northernmost megafossil flora of Cenozoic angiosperms, and one of the most diverse Cenozoic pollen floras, in northeastern North America. While the floristic composition clearly indicates deposition of the Brandon sediments in the warmer parts of the Cenozoic, previous attempts at a more precise stratigraphic placement have been inconclusive, ranging from Cretaceous to Miocene. Re-evaluation of existing and new fruit, seed and wood data from the Brandon flora in the context of other floras in the Northern Hemisphere leads to the conservative conclusion that the deposit could range from earliest Oligocene to Early Miocene. Several lines of potentially weak evidence favor on Early Miocene age, in agreement with recent biostratigraphic data from the associated pollen flora. I conclude that the Brandon Lignite is Early Miocene.
A general mutual helicity formula

In this paper, we consider the mutual helicity of a pair of divergence–free vector fields defined on, and tangential to, the boundaries of two disjoint domains in 3–space. Generalizing previous results of Moffatt and Laurence & Avellaneda, we derive a simple formula for this helicity in terms of the linking numbers of curves on the boundary of the two domains, and fluxes of the vector fields across corresponding spanning surfaces inside the domains.
Rattling nucleons: New developments in active interrogation of special nuclear material

Active interrogation is a vigorous area of research and development due to its promise of offering detection and characterization capabilities of special nuclear material in environments where passive detection fails. The primary value added by active methods is the capability to penetrate shielding—special nuclear material itself, incidental materials, or intentional shielding—and advocates hope that active interrogation will provide a solution to the problem of detecting shielded uranium, which is at present the greatest obstacle to interdiction efforts. The technique also provides a unique benefit for quantifying nuclear material in high background-radiation environments, an area important for nuclear material safeguards and material accountancy. Progress has been made in the field of active interrogation on several fronts, most notably in the arenas of source development, systems integration, and the integration and exploitation of multiple fission and non-fission signatures. But penetration of interrogating radiation often comes at a cost, not only in terms of finance and dose but also in terms of induced backgrounds, system complexity, and extended measurement times (including set up and acquisition). These costs make the calculus for deciding to implement active interrogation more subtle than may be apparent. The purpose of this review is thus to examine existing interrogation methods, compare and contrast their attributes and limitations, and identify missions where active interrogation may hold the most promise.
Model systems for DNA and its environment: Suitability and accuracy in theoretical calculations

An investigation of the effects of different approximations on the results of Poisson-Boltzmann and Monte Carlo calculations of the accumulation of counterions at the highly charged surface of DNA is presented. Uniformly charged cylinders of various finite lengths are used to model a segment of DNA and the results of Poisson-Boltzmann calculations are compared with those obtained using an infinitely long charged cylinder. Results of Poisson-Boltzmann calculations using all-atom models of different lengths are also compared in a study of end effects. The use of rigid structures that are significantly shorter than is the persistence length of DNA appears to be justified. Monte Carlo calculations of counterion densities around charged cylinder models have been performed to assess the magnitude of the statistical errors in this approach. Comparison of the calculated local densities at different, symmetrically equivalent, positions indicate that even after 20 million configurations have been sampled there is a small but significant error in the concentrations calculated over regions with a volume of 3.36 {angstrom}{sup 3}. Monte Carlo calculations for 1 and 4 {angstrom} hard-sphere counterions are presented with results given after 5 million, 10 million, and 20 million configurations were sampled. The results of these calculations show amore » strong dependence on the model system used and demonstrate the need for accurate geometric details in the calculations.« less
Repair of DNA double-strand breaks in Escherichia coli, which requires recA function and the presence of a duplicate genome.

A method was devised for extracting, from cells of Escherichia coli K12, DNA molecules which sedimented on neutral sucrose gradients as would be expected for free DNA molecules approaching the genome in size. Gamma ray irradiation of oxygenated cells produced 0.20 DNA double-strand breaks per kilorad per 109 daltons. Incubation after irradiation of cells grown in K medium, with four to five genomes per cell, showed repair of the double-strand breaks. No repair of double-strand breaks was found in cells grown in aspartate medium, with only 1.3 genomes per cell, although DNA single-strand breaks were still efficiently repaired. Cells which were recA− or recA− recB− also did not repair double-strand breaks. These results suggest that repair of DNA double-strand breaks may occur by a recombinational event involving another DNA double helix with the same base sequence.
Compound-specific δ15N and chlorin preservation in surface sediments of the Peru Margin with implications for ancient bulk δ15N records

Abstract Understanding the processes that control the preservation of paleoceanographic proxies is of clear importance. Surface sediments from the Peru Margin oxygen-minimum zone are subject to lateral and downslope transport by bottom currents that decrease organic matter (OM) quality. Indicators of bulk OM quality (pyrolysis hydrogen index, pyrolysis S1 + S2 and C/N) demonstrate significant degradation between 150 and 400 m water depth, within the oxygen-minimum zone. Concentrations of the three most abundant chlorins (chlorophyllone, pheophytin and pyropheophytin) decrease from 750 to 150 nmol g TOC−1 from 150 to 400 m water depth though the relative abundances of the chlorins in an individual sample do not change. This suggests that the three chlorins have similar reactivity over the ambient conditions. Values for δ15N of bulk sediments (δ15Nbulk) decrease by 3‰ from the inner shelf to the upper slope (1000 m) but co-occurring compound-specific δ15N values (δ15Nchlorin) do not decrease downslope. The low variability of δ15Nchlorin values supports a single source for the chlorins, and demonstrates the recalcitrance of δ15Nchlorin values despite degradation. This set of observation raises questions about which type of OM fraction best records ‘primary’ signatures. We assess two possible models to guide our interpretation of these disparate datasets (1) that decreasing δ15Nbulk values are the result of degradation of a 15N-enriched fraction during downslope transport, and that δ15Nchlorin values reflect primary values; (2) that δ15Nbulk values are primary and that chlorins are derived from material transported from upslope. These data reaffirm that in active sedimentary environments such as the Eastern Tropical Pacific, transport of OM can significantly alter bulk geochemical parameters of OM integrity, but the impacts on the δ15N record of bulk sediments and chlorins are less clear, and require more study to be thoroughly understood.
Physician-diagnosed respiratory conditions and mental health symptoms 7–9 years following the World Trade Center disaster

BACKGROUND: This study examines the prevalence of physician-diagnosed respiratory conditions and mental health symptoms in firefighters and emergency medical service workers up to 9 years after rescue/recovery efforts at the World Trade Center (WTC). METHODS: We analyzed FDNY physician and self-reported diagnoses by WTC exposure and quintiles of pulmonary function (FEV1%predicted). We used screening instruments to assess probable PTSD and probable depression. RESULTS: FDNY physicians most commonly diagnosed asthma (8.8%) and sinusitis (9.7%). The highest prevalence of physician-diagnosed obstructive airway disease (OAD) was in the lowest FEV1%predicted quintile. Participants who arrived earliest on 9/11 were more likely to have physician-diagnosed asthma (OR=1.4). 7% had probable PTSD. 19.4% had probable depression. CONCLUSIONS: Self-reported and physician-diagnosed respiratory conditions remain common, especially among those who arrived earliest at the WTC site. OAD was associated with the lowest pulmonary function. Since respiratory and mental health conditions remain prevalent, ongoing monitoring and treatment is important. Language: en
Toward a science of learning systems: a research agenda for the high-functioning Learning Health System

Objective The capability to share data, and harness its potential to generate knowledge rapidly and inform decisions, can have transformative effects that improve health. The infrastructure to achieve this goal at scale— marrying technology, process, and policy—is commonly referred to as the Learning Health System (LHS). Achieving an LHS raises numerous scientific challenges. Materials and methods The National Science Foundation convened an invitational workshop to identify the fundamental scientific and engineering research challenges to achieving a national-scale LHS. The workshop was planned by a 12-member committee and ultimately engaged 45 prominent researchers spanning multiple disciplines over 2 days in Washington, DC on 11–12 April 2013. Results The workshop participants collectively identified 106 research questions organized around four system-level requirements that a high-functioning LHS must satisfy. The workshop participants also identified a new cross-disciplinary integrative science of cyber-social ecosystems that will be required to address these challenges. Conclusions The intellectual merit and potential broad impacts of the innovations that will be driven by investments in an LHS are of great potential significance. The specific research questions that emerged from the workshop, alongside the potential for diverse communities to assemble to address them through a ‘new science of learning systems’, create an important agenda for informatics and related disciplines.
ASSESSING PREFERENCES FOR STAFF: SOME PILOT DATA

Stimulus preference assessment (SPA) methods have been used to identify stimuli that might function as reinforcers. These methods typically assess social stimuli, such as hugs and verbal praise, tangible stimuli, such as toys and edibles, and high-frequency activities. Individual preferences for staff personnel, however, have not been assessed. In this study, the paired-stimulus assessment method was adapted to assess consumer preferences for different staff. Four adults with intellectual disabilities, two children with autistic-spectrum disorders, and one child with emotional difficulties participated in the present study. The results showed that preferences for different staff were identified for five of the seven consumers. These results provide support for the use of this procedure for identifying preferences for different staff. Directions for future research are discussed in terms of systematizing the assessment procedure, validation of results, and practical considerations regarding the assessment of preferences for staff personnel.
Relaxation training assisted by heart rate variability biofeedback: Implication for a military predeployment stress inoculation protocol

Decreased heart rate variability (HRV) is associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression symptoms, but PTSD's effects on the autonomic stress response and the potential influence of HRV biofeedback in stress relaxation training on improving PTSD symptoms are not well understood. The objective of this study was to examine the impact of a predeployment stress inoculation training (PRESTINT) protocol on physiologic measures of HRV in a large sample of the military population randomly assigned to experimental HRV biofeedback-assisted relaxation training versus a control condition. PRESTINT altered the parasympathetic regulation of cardiac activity, with experimental subjects exhibiting greater HRV, that is, less arousal, during a posttraining combat simulation designed to heighten arousal. Autonomic reactivity was also found to be related to PTSD and self-reported use of mental health services. Future PRESTINT training could be appropriate for efficiently teaching self-help skills to reduce the psychological harm following trauma exposure by increasing the capacity for parasympathetically modulated reactions to stress and providing a coping tool (i.e., relaxation method) for use following a stressful situation.
BIOGEOGRAPHY AND DECLINE OF RARE PLANTS IN NEW ENGLAND: HISTORICAL EVIDENCE AND CONTEMPORARY MONITORING

Detecting range shifts and contractions is critical for determining the conservation priority of rare and declining taxa. However, data on rare species occurrences frequently lack precise information on locations and habitats and may present a biased picture of biogeographic distributions and presumed habitat preferences. Herbarium or museum specimen data, which otherwise could be useful proxies for detecting temporal trends and spatial patterns in species distributions, pose particular challenges. Using data from herbaria and Natural Heritage Programs on numbers of occurrences within individual municipalities (towns, cities, or townships), we quantified temporal changes in the estimated distributions of 110 rare plant species in the six New England (USA) states. We used the partial Solow equation and a nonparametric test to estimate the probability of observing multiple absences (gaps in the collection record) if a given population was actually still extant. Bayes' Theorem was used to estimate the probability that occurrences were misclassified as extinct. Using the probabilities obtained from these three methods, we eliminated taxa with high probabilities of pseudo-absence (that would yield an inaccurate profile of species distributions), narrowing the set for final analysis to 71 taxa. We then expressed occurrences as centroids of town polygons and estimated current and historical range areas (extents of occurrence as defined by a-hulls inscribing occurrences), mean distances between occurrences, and latitudinal and longitudinal range boundaries. Using a geographic information system, we modeled first, second, and third circular standard deviational polygons around the mean center of the historical range. Examining the distribution of current occurrences within each standard deviational polygon, we asked whether ranges were collapsing to a center, expanding, fragmenting, or contracting to a margin of the former range. Extant ranges of the species were, on average, almost 67% smaller than their historical ranges, and distances among occurrences decreased. Five New England hotspots were observed to contain .35% of rare plant populations. Extant occurrences were more frequently marginalized at the periphery of the historical range than would be expected by chance. Coarse-grained data on current and historical occurrences can be used to examine large suites of species to prioritize taxa and sites for conservation.
D2d, a D-End class I gene: tissue expression and alternative processing of the pre-mRNA

The H-2D region in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) of the BALB/c mouse includes at least five class I genes: Dd, D2d, D3d, D4d, and Ld. The pattern of expression and functions of the D2d, D3d, and D4d genes are not known. To examine the expression of D2d we obtained mouse L cells transfected with a wildtype D2d gene or an exon shufled D2d/D2d/Dd gene that contained exons encoding the alpha 1 and alpha 2 domains of D2d and the alpha 3 domain of H-2Dd. Analysis of the mRNA in transfected cells suggested that two forms of the message were generated at approximately equal abundance by alternative splicing. Several tissues were analyzed and shown to express both forms of the D2d mRNA although the highest levels were found in lymphoid organs. Tumor lines also expressed D2d mRNA but exhibited differing ratios of alternative versus normally spliced message. This ratio was also affected by treatment of cells with Con A supernatants that contain interferon or infection with vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV).
Molecular Characterization of eutF Mutants of Salmonella typhimurium LT2 Identifies eutF Lesions as Partial-Loss-of-Function tonB Alleles

The eutF locus of Salmonella typhimurium LT2 was identified as a locus necessary for the utilization of ethanolamine as a sole carbon source. Initial models suggested that EutF was involved in either ethanolamine transport or was a transcriptional regulator of an ethanolamine transporter. Phenotypic characterization of eutF mutants suggested EutF was somehow involved in 1,2-propanediol, propionate, and succinate utilization. Here we provide evidence that two alleles defining the eutF locus, Δ903 and eutF1115, are partial-loss-of-function tonB alleles. Both mutations were complemented by plasmids containing a wild-type allele of the Escherichia coli tonB gene. Immunoblot analysis using TonB monoclonal antibodies detected a TonB fusion protein in strains carrying eutF alleles. Molecular analysis of the Δ903 allele identified a deletion that resulted in the fusion of the 3′ end of tonB with the 3′ end of trpA. In-frame translation of the tonB-trpA fusion resulted in the final 9 amino acids of TonB being replaced by a 45-amino-acid addition. We isolated a derivative of a strain carrying allele Δ903 that regained the ability to grow on ethanolamine as a carbon and energy source. The molecular characterization of the mutation that corrected the Eut− phenotype caused by allele Δ903 showed that the new mutation was a deletion of two nucleotides at the tonB-trpA fusion site. This deletion resulted in a frameshift that replaced the 45-amino-acid addition with a 5-amino-acid addition. This change resulted in a TonB protein with sufficient activity to restore growth on ethanolamine and eut operon expression to nearly wild-type levels. It was concluded that the observed EutF phenotypes were due to the partial loss of TonB function, which is proposed to result in reduced cobalamin and ferric siderophore transport in an aerobic environment; thus, the eutF locus does not exist.
A scan pattern debugger for partial scan industrial designs

In this paper, we propose an implication graph based sequential logic simulator for debugging scan pattern failures encountered during First Silicon. A novel Debug Implication Graph (DIG) is constructed during logic simulation of the failing scan pattern. An efficient node traversal mechanism across time frames, in the DIG, is used to perform the root-cause analysis for the failing scan-cells. We have developed an Interactive Pattern Debug environment (IDE), viz. scan pattern debugger, around the logic simulator to systematically analyze and root-cause the failures. We integrated the proposed technique into the scan ATPG flow for industrial microprocessor designs. We were able to resolve the First Silicon logical pattern failures within hours, which would have otherwise taken a few days of manual effort.
Implementation of second-order perfectly matched layers in the time-domain finite element method

This paper describes a time-domain finite element implementation of the second-order perfectly matched layer (PML) previously proposed for the FDTD method. Numerical results show that the finite element implementation of the second-order PML is accurate and stable and the second-order PML is highly effective for the absorption of both propagating and evanescent waves of all spectrum.
Georectification of HDF-EOS swath data

HDF-EOS is a standard data format for NASA EOS program data products. Data stored in HDF-EOS swath structure is in raw sensor coordinate system and is not rectified to a map projection or geographical coordinate system. The geolocation information is stored as separate fields in a swath. Presently, no remote sensing image processing system or geographical information system has the capability to directly perform georectification of HDF-EOS swath data. Most even do not import such data. This has limited the public use of NASA EOS data products. A software package has been developed to georectify HDF-EOS swath data. A description of algorithms is presented in this paper.
High-speed QDI asynchronous pipelines

This paper introduces two new high-speed quasi delay insensitive (QDI) asynchronous pipeline templates. These new high throughput templates support complex non-linear pipeline structures and are well suited for fine-grain pipelining. Timing analysis and HSPICE simulations show that these templates are 20% and 40% faster than known QDI counterparts.
Rational Expectations in Agriculture? A Review of the Issues and the Evidence

A rapidly-growing literature on rational expectation modeling and testing is found in agricultural economics. The reviewed studies do not offer a consensus regarding the verification or falsification of the rational expectation hypothesis in agricultural markets. Small sample sizes and the low power of statistical tests in the presence of alternative expectation hypotheses contribute to the variability in conclusions. An additional and confounding source of the variability is specification searching. With a wide variability in specifications, divergent results are to be expected. Despite the lack of consensus, rational expectations modeling and testing has improved our knowledge of both expectation formation in agricultural markets, and the processes of agricultural market equilibrium and price determination.
Beyond the cherry-red spot: Ocular manifestations of sphingolipid-mediated neurodegenerative and inflammatory disorders

Sphingolipids are a ubiquitous membrane lipid present in every cell and found most abundantly in neural tissues. Disorders such as Tay-Sachs or Niemann-Pick disease are the most familiar examples of dysfunction in sphingolipid metabolism and are typically associated with neurodegeneration and ocular findings such as blindness. More recently, the role of bioactive sphingolipids has been established in a multitude of cellular events, including cell survival, growth, senescence and apoptosis, inflammation, and neovascularization. We discuss our current knowledge and understanding of sphingolipid metabolism and signaling in the pathogenesis of ocular diseases.
Analysis for Antigenic Similarities Among the 30S Ribosomal Proteins of Escherichia coli

Antiserum was made against a single 30S protein, 30S-7. The amount of complement fixed by total 30S protein in the presence of this antiserum indicated that protein 30S-7 was the major antigen in the mixture of proteins. Each of the 30S ribosomal proteins was tested for cross-reactivity with anti-30S-7. This was done by determining if any of the other 30S proteins inhibited complement fixation by 30S-7. None of the other 30S proteins was found to inhibit complement fixation by 30S-7, indicating that 30S-7 is antigenically distinct from the other proteins.
Inexpensive instrumentation for frequency domain detection and localization of heterogeneities utilizing diffusing optical waves

We introduce a low cost apparatus utilizing a PIN photodiode receiver and a LED transmitter for frequencydomain optical diffusion imaging. We present sample data to demonstrate the system performance and discussthe performance of LED sources and solid state detectors.Key words: optical diffusion, photon migration, optical scattering.
DEEP RESERVOIR THERMAL STRATIFICATION MODEL

. A method of predicting reservoir temperature profiles is presented. The model requires monthly averaged meteorological and hydrological data along with reservoir physical characteristics. The one-dimensional profiles are predicted by solving the time-dependent energy equation with an assumed epilimnetic depth and a diffusion coefficient applicable below the epilimnion. The model is verified using an existing reservoir.
The relationship between eating disorder not otherwise specified (EDNOS) and officially recognized eating disorders: Meta-analysis and implications for DSM

Eating disorder not otherwise specified (EDNOS) is the most prevalent eating disorder (ED) diagnosis. This meta-analysis aimed to inform DSM revisions by comparing the psychopathology of EDNOS to that of the officially recognized EDs: anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN), and binge eating disorder (BED). A comprehensive literature search identified 125 eligible studies (published and unpublished) appearing in the literature from 1987 to 2007. Random effects analyses indicated that while EDNOS did not differ significantly from AN and BED on eating pathology or general psychopathology, BN exhibited greater eating and general psychopathology than EDNOS. Moderator analyses indicated that EDNOS groups who met all diagnostic criteria for AN except for amenorrhea did not differ significantly from full syndrome cases. Similarly, EDNOS groups who met all criteria for BN or BED except for binge frequency did not differ significantly from full syndrome cases. Results suggest that EDNOS represents a set of disorders associated with substantial psychological and physiological morbidity. While certain EDNOS subtypes could be incorporated into existing DSM-IV categories, others such as purging disorder and non-fat-phobic AN—may be best conceptualized as distinct syndromes.
A kinetic model for pyrolysis of cellulose.

It has been shown that the pyrolysis of cellulose at low pressure (1.5 Torr) can be described by a three reaction model. In this model, it is assumed that an “initiation reaction” leads to formation of an “active cellulose” which subsequently decomposes by two competitive first-order reactions, one yielding volatiles and the other char and a gaseous fraction. Over the temperature range of 259–341°C, the rate constants of these reactions, ki (for cellulose → “active cellulose”), kv (for “active cellulose” → “volatiles”), and kc (for “active cellulose” → char + the gaseous fraction) are given by ki = 1.7 × 1021e− (58,000/RT) min −1, kv = 1.9 × 1016e− (47,300/RT) min−1, and kc = 7.9 × 1011e− (36,600/RT) min−1, respectively.
Lessons about Clients' Expectations.

Taking clients' expectations into account enhances the potential utility of the evaluator's efforts.
CoSAC: Coordinated Session-Based Admission Control for Multi-Tier Internet Applications

Popular Internet applications deploy a multi-tier architecture, with each tier provisioning a certain functionality to its preceding tier. The session-based admission control approach (SBAC) designed for a single Web server is not effective for a multi-tier architecture. This is due to the fact that the bottleneck in a multi-tier website dynamically shifts among tiers as client access patterns change. Admission control based on only the bottleneck tier is not efficient as different sessions impose different resource consumptions at the different tiers. In this paper, we propose a multi-tier measurement based admission control (MBAC), which pro-actively accepts different session mixes based on the utilization state of all tiers. More significantly, we design a novel coordinated session-based admission control approach (CoSAC) based on a machine learning technique. It uses a Bayesian network to correlate the states of all tiers. The probability with which a session is admitted is determined by the probabilistic inference of the network after applying the evidence in terms of utilization and processing time at each tier to the network. We compare CoSAC with MBAC and a black- box approach tailored from SBAC, using the industry standard TPC-W benchmark in a typical three-tier e-commerce website. Experimental results demonstrate the superior performance of CoSAC with respect to the effective session throughput. I. INTRODUCTION Today, popular Internet applications deploy a multi-tier architecture, with each tier provisioning a certain functionality to its preceding tier and making use of the functionality
Some Limitations On Generalizability From Social Psychological Experiments

The experimental model has severe limitations that often are ignored by experimenters. The limitations are likely to account for the low level of external validity of experiments. Placing the model in the context of requirements for measurement emphasizes the limitations and suggests alternatives for improvements in the future.
Activity of intrathecal 4-hydroperoxycyclophosphamide in a nude rat model of human neoplastic meningitis.

Abstract Neoplastic meningitis can result from leptomeningeal dissemination of a variety of cancers. We now report the development of animal models of human neoplastic meningitis and activity of intrathecal 4-hydroperoxycyclophosphamide (4-HC) against the human rhabdomyosarcoma cell line TE-671 and the human glioma cell line D-54 MG grown in the subarachnoid space of athymic rats. The injection of 5 × 10 5 TE-671 or D-54 MG cells resulted in leptomeningeal tumor growth from the base of the brain to the cauda equina. Daily weights and neurological examinations revealed progressive neurological deficits and weight loss, with death occurring between Days 21 and 27 for TE-671 and Days 14 and 26 for D-54 MG. 4-HC toxicity in non-tumor-bearing rats was assessed at dose levels of 2.0, 10.0, 15.0, and 20.0 mm, with clinical and histological evidence of neurotoxicity observed at the 2 highest dose levels. Intrathecal treatment with 4-HC on Day 8 following injection of TE-671 resulted in an increase in median survival of 20% ( P = 0.04) at 1.0 mm 4-HC and 41% ( P P = 0.009). These studies show the usefulness of the athymic rat model of human neoplastic meningitis and demonstrate the efficacy in vivo of intrathecally administered 4-HC against a human glioma and a human rhabdomyosarcoma cell line and the lack of toxicity at therapeutic levels of 4-HC in normal athymic rats.
31P-magnetic resonance spectroscopy assessment of subnormal oxidative metabolism in skeletal muscle of renal failure patients.

Abstract In hemodialysis patients, erythropoietin increases hemoglobin, but often the corresponding increase in peak oxygen uptake is low. The disproportionality may be caused by impaired energy metabolism. 31P-magnetic resonance spectroscopy was used to study muscle energy metabolism in 11 hemodialysis patients, 11 renal transplant recipients, and 9 controls. Measurements were obtained during rest, static hand-grip, and rhythmic hand-grip; recoveries were followed to baseline. During static hand-grip, there were no between-group differences in phosphocreatine (PCr), inorganic phosphate (Pi), or PCr/(PCr + Pi), although intracellular pH was higher in hemodialysis patients than transplant recipients. During rhythmic hand-grip, hemodialysis patients exhibited greater fatigue than transplant recipients or controls, and more reduction in PCr/(PCr + Pi) than transplant recipients. Intracellular pH was higher in controls than either hemodialysis patients or transplant recipients. Recoveries from both exercises were similar in all groups, indicating that subnormal oxidative metabolism was not caused by inability to make ATP. The rhythmic data suggest transplantation normalizes PCr/(PCr + Pi), but not pH. In hemodialysis patients, subnormal oxidative metabolism is apparently caused by limited exchange of metabolites between blood and muscle, rather than intrinsic oxidative defects in skeletal muscle.
Gesture salience as a hidden variable for coreference resolution and keyframe extraction

Gesture is a non-verbal modality that can contribute crucial information to the understanding of natural language. But not all gestures are informative, and noncommunicative hand motions may confuse natural language processing (NLP) and impede learning. People have little difficulty ignoring irrelevant hand movements and focusing on meaningful gestures, suggesting that an automatic system could also be trained to perform this task. However, the informativeness of a gesture is context-dependent and labeling enough data to cover all cases would be expensive. We present conditional modality fusion, a conditional hidden-variable model that learns to predict which gestures are salient for coreference resolution, the task of determining whether two noun phrases refer to the same semantic entity. Moreover, our approach uses only coreference annotations, and not annotations of gesture salience itself. We show that gesture features improve performance on coreference resolution, and that by attending only to gestures that are salient, our method achieves further significant gains. In addition, we show that the model of gesture salience learned in the context of coreference accords with human intuition, by demonstrating that gestures judged to be salient by our model can be used successfully to create multimedia keyframe summaries of video. These summaries are similar to those created by human raters, and significantly outperform summaries produced by baselines from the literature.
A Crustal Cross-Section for a Terrain of Superimposed Shortening and Extension: Ruby Mountains-East Humboldt Range Metamorphic Core Complex, Nevada

Geologic mapping coupled with geochronological, thermobarometric, and seismic reflection studies provide the data for constructing a crustal cross-section through a Tertiary extensional orogen in the eastern Great Basin, western U.S. Cordillera. Oligocene-Miocene sedimentary and volcanic rocks were deposited during brittle, upper-level crustal extension dominated by high-angle normal faults, rotation of the strata and the faults themselves, and the progressive evolution of a low-angle detachment fault system. Together with nonmetamorphosed to very low-grade rocks of the Cordilleran miogeocline, the synextensional strata comprise an upper crustal suprastructure that was attenuated during Tertiary crustal extension. Structurally below the suprastructure and commonly separated from it by a regional detachment fault is a transitional metasedimentary/granitoid zone which preserves a principally Mesozoic magmatic, metamorphic, and deformational history. In turn, this zone grades downward abruptly into a 1.5- to 2.0-km-thick, upper amphibolite facies Tertiary shear zone that forms the top of a mylonitic to nonmylonitic migmatitic infrastructure of variable age. This infrastructural zone clearly records a complex Mesozoic history, but is in part characterized by a Tertiary magmatic-metamorphic-deformational history that appears to increase in intensity with depth.
Full-chip characterization of compression algorithms for direct-write maskless lithography systems

Future lithography systems must produce more dense microchips with smaller feature sizes, while maintaining throughput comparable to today's optical lithography systems. This places stringent data-handling requirements on the design of any maskless lithography system. Today's optical lithography systems transfer one layer of data from the mask to the entire wafer in about sixty seconds. To achieve a similar throughput for a direct-write maskless lithography system with a pixel size of 22 nm, data rates of about 12 Tb/s are required. Over the past 8 years, we have proposed a datapath architecture for delivering such a data rate to a parallel array of writers. Our proposed system achieves this data rate contingent on two assumptions: consistent 10 to 1 compression of lithography data, and implementation of real-time hardware decoder, fabricated on a microchip together with a massively parallel array of lithography writers, capable of decoding 12 Tb/s of data. To address the compression efficiency problem, in the past few years, we have developed a new technique, Context Copy Combinatorial Coding (C4), designed specifically for microchip layer images, with a low-complexity decoder for application to the datapath architecture. C4 combines the advantages of JBIG and ZIP, to achieve compression ratios higher than existing techniques. We have also devised Block C4, a variation of C4 with up to hundred times faster encoding times, with little or no loss in compression efficiency. While our past work has focused on characterizing the compression efficiency of C4 and Block C4 on samples of a variety of industrial layouts, there has been no full chip performance characterization of these algorithms. In this paper, we show compression efficiency results of Block C4 and competing techniques such as BZIP2 and ZIP for the Poly, Active, Contact, Metal1, Via1, and Metal2 layers of a complete industry 65 nm layout. Overall, we have found that compression efficiency varies significantly from design to design, from layer to layer, and even within parts of the same layer. It is difficult, if not impossible, to guarantee a lossless 10 to 1 compression for all blocks within a layer, as desired in the design of our datapath architecture. Nonetheless, on the most complex Metal1 layer of our 65 nm full chip microprocessor design, we show that a average lossless compression of 5.2 is attainable, which corresponds to a throughput of 60 wafer layers per hour for a 1.33 Tb/s board-to-chip communications link. As a reference, state-of-the-art HyperTransport 3.0 offers 0.32 Tb/s per link. These numbers demonstrate the role lossless compression can play in the design of a maskless lithography datapath.
Ring Loaded Laminated Cylindrical Shells

The stress analysis of a laminated anisotropic cylindrical shell subjected to a circumferentially varying line load is considered. The solution state is obtained through a super-position of two specialized theories derived by the method of the asymptotic integration along with Reissner’s variational principle for an anisotropic elastic solid. Each theory is seen to yield a fourth order differential equation in terms of the radial displacement. A proper superposition of the respective solutions allows for the satisfaction of all boundary conditions. Numerical results are presented for a glass-epoxy material system. It is also shown that the results presented here reduce to those of a previous method of analysis for an isotropic cylinder.
Intermittent androgen deprivation therapy (IADT) for patients with non-metastatic prostate cancer: A retrospective review

15635 Background: IADT is a therapeutic option frequently utilized in men with progressive non-castrate prostate cancer (PCa) which, compared to continuous ADT, may result in an improvement in qual...
Family chaos and lack of mealtime planning is associated with food insecurity in low income households.

• Family chaos and lack of meal planning distinguished food insecure from food secure households.
Basic training in shoulder surgery: investigating molecular mechanisms of rotator cuff disease.

Rotator cuff disease is one of the most common shoulder problems in adults. In the U.S. alone, up to 40% of individuals sixty years of age and older are affected, with approximately 75,000 rotator cuff repairs performed annually. Despite advances in treatments, failure of rotator cuff repairs continues to pose a major problem. Furthermore, little is known about the basic mechanisms that play a role in rotator cuff healing, including tendon degeneration and repair, tendon-to-bone healing, the role of inflammation and bursitis in repair, and the role of muscle response to injury. One of the potential causes of failed rotator cuff repair is inability of the rotator cuff muscles to respond to injury and promote repair. In prior studies, authors have shown that the rotator cuff muscles are replaced by fat in the presence of a massive rotator cuff tear, chronic rotator cuff disease, and muscle denervation from neurologic injury1-5. Some earlier molecular studies have also shown that gene expression is altered in response to rotator cuff injury and that alterations are associated with muscle …
A method for assay of serum proteolytic activity.

SummaryA method for preparation of plasminogen from small quantities of blood has been described. Activation by streptokinase, protamine sulphate, and spontaneous activity have been observed. Studies of other activators and of species differences are in progress.