cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Low-Complexity Adaptive Transmission for Cognitive Radios in Dynamic Spectrum Access Networks

Cognitive radios that are employed in a network with dynamic frequency assignments must operate efficiently in the presence of uncertainties and variations in the propagation characteristics of the network's communication links. A low-complexity adaptive transmission protocol is described and evaluated for use in cognitive radio networks whose links have unknown and possibly time-varying propagation losses as a result of such phenomena as slow fading or variations in shadowing. The cognitive radios are required to derive only simple statistics in the receivers in order to provide the information that is needed by our protocol; no estimates or measurements of received power or channel gain are used. The protocol's primary mechanism for responding to changes in propagation loss is to adjust the modulation and coding. Because of disruptions that can be caused by higher levels of interference to other radios in the network, the transmitter power is increased only if the most powerful combination of coding and modulation is inadequate. We employ finite-state Markov models for slowly varying channels, and we demonstrate that for such channels our protocol performs nearly as well as an ideal protocol that is told the exact value of the propagation loss for each packet transmission. Thus, the additional complexity that is required to enable cognitive radios to obtain precise channel-gain estimates is not justified and would lead to only negligible improvement in throughput. The throughput of our adaptive transmission protocol is compared with an upper bound that is derived from information theory for a hypothetical ideal protocol that is given perfect channel-state information, and some preliminary results on learning the adaptation decision intervals are included.
A Combined Grain Scale Elastic-plastic Criterion for Identification of Fatigue Crack Initiation Sites in a Twin Containing Polycrystalline Nickel-base Superalloy

Abstract Damage initiation during cycling loading of polycrystalline metallic alloys involves localized damage at the scale of individual grains. To better understand damage processes and to build models for material behavior, there is a need for quantitative assessment of the microstructural configurations that favor fatigue crack initiation. In materials that form annealing twins during processing, these special interfaces are often locations of particular interest for their role in strain and damage accumulation. In the present study, fatigue experiments in the very high and low cycle fatigue regime on a Rene 88DT polycrystalline nickel-base superalloy were performed to statistically evaluate grain-scale features that favor crack initiation. Combined elastic and plastic criteria at the grain scale have been developed. A crack distribution function is defined to compare and assess the effect of the microstructural parameters for the two fatigue regimes.
A Breath Ammonia Sensor Based on Conducting Polymer Nanojunctions

We present an ammonia sensor for human breath analysis based on electrically conducting polymer nanojunctions. Each nanojunction is formed by bridging a pair of gold nanoelectrodes on a silicon chip separated by a small gap (<60 nm) with electrodeposited polyaniline. The signal transduction mechanism of the sensor is the change in the nanojunction conductance as a result of polymer dedoping by ammonia. The sensor response to human breath is validated by comparison with a reference method for detection of ammonium ion combined with an optimized breath ammonia trapping system. The nanojunction sensor is capable of in situ detection of parts per billion (ppb) levels of ammonia in human breath.
A single-phase to three-phase quasiconverter. V. Design methodology

For part IV see ibid., pp.362-7 (1988). Analytical relationships between the circuit parameters of the quasiconverter and the dynamical variables characterizing its electrical state, developed in Parts I-IV, are used for the inverse task: design of a quasiconverter for given specifications with maximum attainable efficiency. Two modes of operation are considered: with symmetric 3/spl phi/-voltages at no-load (T1C) and at a fixed load (T2C). The main result is that the T2C can attain the efficiency of at least 83%, while the T1C has the maximum efficiency of 62% for the same specifications.
Preparation of High-Density Si3N4 by a Gas-Pressure Sintering Process

Si3N4 compacts, containing ≅7 wt% of both BeSiN2 and SiO2 as densification aids, can be reproducibly sintered to relative densities >99% by a gas-pressure sintering process. Nearly all densification takes place via liquid-phase sintering of transformed β-Si3N4 grains at T=1800° to 2000°C. Compacts with high density are produced by first sintering to the closed-pore stage (≅92% relative density) in 2.1 MPa (20 atm) of N2 pressure at 2000°C and then increasing the N2 pressure to 7.1 MPa (70 atm) where rapid densification proceeds at T= 1800° to 2000°C. The experimental density results are interpreted in terms of theoretical arguments concerning the growth (coalescence) of gas-filled pores and gas solubility effects. Complex chemical reactions apparently occur at high temperatures and are probably responsible for incomplete understanding of some of the experimental data.
Just a Teardrop in the Rain? The movida madrileña and Democratic Identity Formation in the Capital, 1979–1986

By 1985 word had spread to the rest of the world that something was happening in Madrid.1 The early and mid 1980s in particular were years of elation, almost euphoria, for the citizens of Madrid. S...
Leakage Aware Scheduling on Maximum Temperature Minimization for Periodic Hard Real-Time Systems

Thermal management is becoming a critical issue in computing system design as the processor power continues to grow exponentially. Since high power consumption leads to high temperature, and high temperature in turn dramatically increases the leakage power consumption, a thermal management technique becomes ineffective if this temperature/leakage relation is not properly addressed in the deep sub-micron domain. This paper incorporates the leakage/temperature dependency into real-time scheduling analysis and presents a novel real-time scheduling method that can reduce the peak temperature when scheduling a hard real-time periodic task set. We formally prove the correctness of the proposed algorithm based on a processor model that can effectively account for the leakage/temperature relationship. The experimental results validate the assumptions of our scheduling method and also demonstrate its effectiveness in terms of feasibility improvement and peak temperature reduction.
Relative-income effects on subjective well-being in the cross-section

Abstract Recent work suggests that a person’s subjective well-being (SWB) depends to a large degree on relative-income. Focusing on the underlying identification, this paper makes four contributions to this literature: it describes the aggregation problem with past studies, implements an estimation strategy to overcome this problem, finds micro-level evidence in support of the hypothesis that relative-income does matter in individual assessments of SWB, and uses cross-section estimates to replicate the aggregate time-series. The evidence further indicates that relative-income effects may be smaller at low income levels. The results are obtained from ordered probit techniques and the general social survey (GSS).
A test for the composite hypothesis that a population has a gamma distribution

A test of the composite hypothesis that a population has a gamma distribution is presented. The test is conducted by using a rank test of bivariate independence, such as the one .based on Kendallfs sample tau coefficient. The performance of the test is examined by means of a Monte Carlo study.
The ubiquitin–proteasome system in spongiform degenerative disorders

Spongiform degeneration is characterized by vacuolation in nervous tissue accompanied by neuronal death and gliosis. Although spongiform degeneration is a hallmark of prion diseases, this pathology is also present in the brains of patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease, diffuse Lewy body disease, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, and Canavan's spongiform leukodystrophy. The shared outcome of spongiform degeneration in these diverse diseases suggests that common cellular mechanisms must underlie the processes of spongiform change and neurodegeneration in the central nervous system. Immunohistochemical analysis of brain tissues reveals increased ubiquitin immunoreactivity in and around areas of spongiform change, suggesting the involvement of ubiquitin-proteasome system dysfunction in the pathogenesis of spongiform neurodegeneration. The link between aberrant ubiquitination and spongiform neurodegeneration has been strengthened by the discovery that a null mutation in the E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase mahogunin ring finger-1 (Mgrn1) causes an autosomal recessively inherited form of spongiform neurodegeneration in animals. Recent studies have begun to suggest that abnormal ubiquitination may alter intracellular signaling and cell functions via proteasome-dependent and proteasome-independent mechanisms, leading to spongiform degeneration and neuronal cell death. Further elucidation of the pathogenic pathways involved in spongiform neurodegeneration should facilitate the development of novel rational therapies for treating prion diseases, HIV infection, and other spongiform degenerative disorders.
Effects of Land-Use Change on Water in Andean Páramo Grassland Soils

Mountain environments, including the Andean paramo grasslands of Ecuador, are important water source areas. They are often sites of programs and policies intended to achieve multiple management obj...
Plume Measurement and Modeling Results for a Hollow Cathode Micro-Thruster

Behavior of the xenon dispenser hollow cathode is complex, exhibiting high ion emission and plume erosion rates, and unusual particle energy distributions. A flight-type hollow cathode was characterized with and without an external extraction electrode. Measurements involved a retarding potential analyzer, quadrupole mass spectrometer, and Langmuir probe. The far-field energy, flux, and charge state distributions of plume ions were studied as a function of cathode keeper current, flow rate, and viewing angle. The plume expansion was modeled by explicitly including both electrons and heavy particles in a combined Particle In Cell and direct simulation Monte Carlo approach. Initial comparisons between experimental and theoretical results have been made. The potential suitability of the device as an ion thruster is also discussed.
Giant benign gastric ulcers.

Recently we have collected a group of 7 cases of large, gastric ulcers with clinical features and surgical findings that suggested malignancy, but which after resection, were all proven to be benign. The term, giant benign ulcer of the stomach, has been used because the large size of the ulcer, each more than 3.5 em. in diameter, was the most striking feature of the disease process. The average age of onset was 60.0 years, the youngest patient was 50 and the oldest 74. Clinically, the chief complaint was abdominal pain, not responding to a strict ulcer regime. Progress of the patient as followed by X-ray failed to reveal any evidence of healing of the gastric lesion. Because of these factors the clinical impression was malignancy. On roentgen examination, all these giant ulcers were visualized on the posterior wall near the lesser curvature in the mid-corpus of the stomach. Gastroscopically, the ulcers presented smooth, regular, well-defined margins, but the bases were necrotic. At laparotomy, a hard, indurated mass involving the stomach, pancreas and occasionally the liver or mesentery, was found. The surgeon, in some instances, was reluctant to resect the stomach because the huge, indurated mass suggested an extension of the malignancy into adjacent tissues. The characteristic pathology was a complete, walled-off perforation through the entire thickness of the gastric wall. The base of the ulcer was formed by the capsule of the pancreas or liver. Microscopic examination of the lesion, however, revealed chronic, benign, gastric ulcer. Since subtotal gastrectomy is curative, the possibility that a giant, gastric ulcer is benign must be considered.
LATE ONSET RECURRENT PENILE CHORDEE AFTER SUCCESSFUL CORRECTION AT HYPOSPADIAS REPAIR

AbstractPurpose: Artificial erections are induced at hypospadias repair to prevent recurrent chordee. We describe the development and etiology of late onset recurrent chordee greater than 10 years after the initial surgery.Materials and Methods: We reviewed the medical records of 22 patients with a median age of 4 years at surgery who were referred for evaluation of chordee 10 years after successful hypospadias repair.Results: Of the 22 patients with recurrent chordee 13 had penoscrotal and 9 had proximal penile hypospadias at the initial operation. All originally required corporoplasty for the release of chordee, including Nesbit procedure in 19 and tunica vaginalis graft in 3. Successful artificial erections were induced after corporoplasty in all cases. Urethral reconstruction was performed with full-thickness preputial free grafts in 11 cases, bladder mucosal grafts in 7 and transverse island flap urethroplasty in 4. Although chordee developed during puberty (median age of onset 16 years, range 12 to ...
Nature of the transmission eigenvalue spectrum for elastic bodies

This study develops a spectral theory of the interior transmission problem (ITP) for heterogeneous and anisotropic elastic solids. The subject is central to the so-called qualitative methods for inverse scattering involving penetrable obstacles. Although simply stated as a coupled pair of elastodynamic wave equa- tions, the ITP for elastic bodies is neither self-adjoint nor elliptic. To help deal with such impediments, earlier studies have established the well-posedness of an elastodynamic ITP under notably restrictive assumptions on the contrast in elastic and mass density parameters between the scatterer and the back- ground solid. Due to lack of self-adjointness of the problem, these analyses were further successful in substantiating the discreteness of the relevant eigenvalue spectrum but not its existence. The aim of this work is to provide a systematic treatment of the ITP for elastic bodies that transcends the limitations of earlier analyses. Considering a broad range of material-contrast configurations, this paper investigates the questions of the solvability of the ITP, the discreteness of its eigenvalues and, for the first time, of the existence of such eigenvalue spectrum. Necessitated by the breadth of material configurations studied, the relevant claims are established via a suite of variational formulations, each customized to meet the needs of a particular subclass of eigenvalue problems.
Flexible bivariate phase II clinical trial design incorporating toxicity and response on different schedules

The single-arm, two-stage clinical trial is a popular design utilized to evaluate oncology treatments. The designs are typically augmented with an ad hoc toxicity monitoring rule that is imposed outside of the formal two-stage design. In this work, we present a flexible bivariate single-arm clinical trial design that incorporates both response and toxicity. The design is considered flexible because it can monitor toxicity on a different schedule from the response. An example is considered in which toxicity is measured at four equally spaced times, which correspond to the data monitoring committee's meeting schedule while evaluating the response only at the second and fourth toxicity evaluations. The effect of the correlation on the types I and II error rates is examined through simulation. The simulations also examine the power over the response rates when the toxicity rate is fixed in the alternative region and vice versa.
Learning and exploiting knowledge in multi-agent task allocation problems

Imagine a group of cooperating agents attempting to allocate tasks amongst themselves without knowledge of their own capabilities. Over time, they develop a belief of their own skill levels through failed attempts at completing the tasks they are assigned. How will various task allocation approaches perform when there exists this added level of complexity? In particular, we compare two task allocation strategies: a greedy, first-come-first-serve approach, and a more intelligent, best-fit method. By varying the number of tasks along with the amount of time it takes to complete those tasks, we find that the different task allocation methods work better in different situations. Because of the way the tasks are allocated by the two methods, the greedy approach does a better job of giving agents opportunities to learn their capabilities. Thus, the greedy approach allows for quicker learning and performs better on problems where the task durations are short, whereas the best-fit method performs better on problems where the task quantity and durations are large. What is needed is a hybrid method that balances between the exploration of the greedy approach and the exploitation of the best-fit method.
The Dark Sides of Virtue: Reassessing International Humanitarianism

The Dark Sides of Virtue: Reassessing International Humanitarianism David Kennedy (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2004)
Circulating Vitamin D Metabolites, Polymorphism in Vitamin D Receptor, and Colorectal Adenoma Risk

Objective: Vitamin D is a potential agent for the prevention of colorectal cancer possibly through mechanisms mediated by the vitamin D receptor (VDR). We investigated the association of circulating vitamin D metabolites and a genetic variant of the VDR gene with advanced colorectal adenoma, a precursor lesion of colorectal cancer. Methods: Cases with advanced adenoma of the distal large bowel and gender- and ethnicity-matched controls with a negative sigmoidoscopy were randomly selected from participants in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening trial. Genotype analysis of the VDR TaqI polymorphism was completed on 763 cases and 774 controls. Serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D [1,25(OH)2D] were measured in a subset of 394 cases and 397 controls. Results: Serum levels of 25(OH)D were inversely associated with advanced adenoma risk in women but not in men. Comparing those in the highest quintile with those in the lowest quintile, the risk for advanced adenoma decreased by 73% in women [odds ratio (OR) = 0.27, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) = 0.11–0.69; P for trend = 0.0002], while the risk did not decrease in men (OR = 1.10, 95% CI = 0.60–2.05; P for trend = 0.85). In women, 25(OH)D levels were significantly higher in current users of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) than in former or never HRT users. Neither serum 1,25(OH)2D nor VDR TaqI genotype was associated with advanced adenoma risk. Conclusion: Higher serum 25(OH)D levels were associated with decreased adenoma risk. Serum 1,25(OH)2D and VDR TaqI genotype were not associated with adenoma risk.
Refined BCF-type boundary conditions for mesoscale surface step dynamics

Deposition on a vicinal surface with alternating rough and smooth steps is described by a solid-on-solid model with anisotropic interactions. Kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) simulations of the model reveal step pairing in the absence of any additional step attachment barriers. We explore the description of this behavior within an analytic Burton-Cabrera-Frank (BCF)-type step dynamics treatment. Without attachment barriers, conventional kinetic coefficients for the rough and smooth steps are identical, as are the predicted step velocities for a vicinal surface with equal terrace widths. However, we determine refined kinetic coefficients from a two-dimensional discrete deposition-diffusion equation formalism which accounts for step structure. These coefficients are generally higher for rough steps than for smooth steps, reflecting a higher propensity for capture of diffusing terrace adatoms due to a higher kink density. Such refined coefficients also depend on the local environment of the step and can even become negative (corresponding to net detachment despite an excess adatom density) for a smooth step in close proximity to a rough step. Our key observation is that incorporation of these refined kinetic coefficients into a BCF-type step dynamics treatment recovers quantitatively the mesoscale step-pairing behavior observed in the KMC simulations.
Global Terrorism in Our Own Backyard: Colombia’s Legal War against Illegal Armed Groups

In the aftermath of 9-11, the United States embarked on an aggressive and costly war on terrorism in far flung regions of the world, mainly in the middle east and Afghanistan. However, the United States largely overlooked the terrorist threat to national security emanating much closer to home – in Colombia, where illegal armed groups have formed close connections to international terrorists organizations or have themselves transformed into international terrorists organizations intent on launching terrorist attacks within Colombia and throughout the Americas.
The Character of Hamlet’s Mother

HE character of Hamlet's mother has not received the specific critical attention it deserves. Moreover, the traditional account of her personality as rendered by the critics will not stand up under close scrutiny of Shakespeare's play. None of the critics of course has failed to see Gertrude as vital to the action of the play; not only is she the mother of the hero, the widow of the Ghost, and the wife of the current King of Denmark, but the fact of her hasty and, to the Elizabethans, incestuous marriage, the whole question of her "falling off", occupies a position of barely secondary importance in the mind of her son, and of the Ghost. Indeed, Freud and Jones see her, the object of Hamlet's Oedipus complex, as central to the motivation of the play.' But the critics, with no exception that I have been able to find, have accepted Hamlet's word "fraility" as applying to her whole personality, and have seen in her not one weakness, or passion in the Elizabethan sense, but a character of which weakness and lack of depth and vigorous intelligence are the entire explanation. Of her can it truly be said that carrying the "stamp of one defect", she did "in the general censure take corruption from that particular fault," (I. iv. 35-36). The critics are agreed that Gertrude was not a party to the late King's murder and indeed knew nothing of it, a point which on the clear evidence of the play, is indisputable. They have also discussed whether or not Gertrude, guilty of more than an "o'er-hasty marriage", had committed adultery with Claudius before her husband's death. I will return to this point later on. Beyond discussing these two points, those critics who have dealt specifically with the Queen have traditionally seen her as well-meaning but shallow and feminine, in the pejorative sense of the word: incapable of any sustained rational process, superficial and flighty. It is this tradition which a closer reading of the play will show to be erroneous. Professor Bradley describes the traditional Gertrude thus:
A NEW SPECIES OF PSEUDOMASSARIA AND ITS BELTRANIELLA CONIDIAL STATE

SUMMARY A new species, Pseudomassaria carolinensis Barr & Hodges, found in circular necrotic spots formed around perithecia of Phyllachora persea Hodges on living leaves of Persea borbonia (L.) Spreng. in South Carolina, is described. Its associated conidial state is Beltraniella portoricensis (F. L. Stevens) Pirozynski & Patil. This is the first report of a conidial state for any species of Pseudomassaria.
Design and Path Planning for a Spherical Rolling Robot

Several designs for a spherical rolling robot have been suggested and some of them were implemented. The kinematics and dynamics study as well as the path planning for the rolling robot are based on the assumption that the deterministic model describes the actual rolling robot successfully. However, due to the high mobility of the sphere, the stochastic behavior is obviously observed. In this paper, we first build a rolling robot to confirm the stochasticity. The robot is actuated by a mass-shifting mechanism where an unbalanced weight inside the spherical robot is rotated by two motors, and the imbalance induced by the weight makes the robot roll. After confirming that this actual rolling robot shows the stochastic behavior, we propose a path planning method for the spherical robot rolling on the plane. The path-of-probability method is applied to generate the most probable path from starting location to destination. This planning method uses the stochasticity of the system to produce the probability density function, and generates the piece-wise short steps for the robot move, which construct the whole trajectory that the robot should follow.© 2013 ASME
HISTOCOMPATIBILITY IN HAWAIIAN AND POLYNESIAN POPULATIONS OF THE PARTHENOGENETIC GECKO LEPIDODACTYLUS LUGUBRIS.

In this paper, I describe the degree of intraand interpopulational histocompatibility in Pacific populations of the parthenogenetic gecko Lepidodactylus lugubris. This gecko is one of the most widely distributed species of lizards in the world, inhabiting islands throughout the entire Indian and Pacific oceans (Oliver and Shaw, 1953; Darlington, 1955). As far as is known, it is diploid, occurs in the absence of closely related bisexuals and is not a hybrid (Cuellar and Kluge, 1972). A preliminary transplantation study revealed histocompatibility among Hawaiian individuals from the island of Oahu (Cuellar and Kluge, 1972), suggesting probable histocompatibility between different populations, perhaps even between populations of different islands. Because L. lugubris was introduced by early Polynesians (Oliver and Shaw, 1953; Darlington, 1955), a more exciting but more remote possibility would be the existence of genetic homogeneity between Hawaii and Polynesia, particularly among those archipelagos that served as sources for the colonization of Hawaii. Moreover, since L. lugubris may only be capable of changing through mutation, and the colonization dates of Hawaii are fairly well known (Sinoto, 1967; Emory et al., 1968; Kirch, 1975; Tuggle, 1979), it might also be theoretically possible to calculate the amount of genetic differentiation by determining the degree of histogenetic change. The unique distribution of L. lugubris, its well known colonization dates, and its relatively simple genetic system allowed the testing of these ideas in the present paper.
Abstract 367: Engineering of targeted nanoparticles for cancer therapy using internalizing aptamers isolated by cell-uptake selection

There has been a substantial interest in the development of targeted nanoparticles (NPs) that provide increased efficacy and lower toxicity for cancer therapy. One of the major obstacles has been the paucity of optimal targeting ligands that can discriminate between the expression of antigens on cancer cells and normal cells, and subsequently deliver a therapeutic payload into the cancer cells. Using prostate cancer (PCa) as a model disease, we have addressed the difficulty by developing a “cell-uptake selection” strategy to isolate PCa-specific internalizing 2′-O-methyl RNA aptamers (Apts). Twelve cycles of selection and counter-selection were done to obtain a panel of PCa-specific internalizing Apts, with little or no internalization into non-prostate and normal prostate cells. After Apt characterization, size minimization, improvement of nuclease stabilization, and conjugation of the Apts with fluorescently-labeled polymeric NPs, the NP-Apt bioconjugates exhibit PCa specificity and enhancement in cellular uptake when compared to non-targeted NPs lacking the internalizing Apts. Furthermore, when docetaxel (Dtxl), a chemotherapeutic agent used for the treatment of PCa, was encapsulated within the NP-Apt, a significant improvement in cytotoxicity was achieved in targeted PCa cells. Further application of this Apt by conjugating with gold nanorods demostrated remarkable anti-tumor efficacy in vivo. To our knowledge, this is the first report of designing selection to enrich cancer cell-specific internalizing aptamers rather than highest affinity aptamers in previously reported selection process. A similar cell-uptake selection strategy may be used for developing specific internalizing ligands for a myriad of other diseases and can potentially facilitate delivering various molecules, including drugs and siRNAs, into cells. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 367. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-367
Randomized, Prospective Trial of Antioxidant Supplementation in Critically Ill Surgical Patients

ObjectiveTo determine the effectiveness of early, routine antioxidant supplementation using α-tocopherol and ascorbic acid in reducing the rate of pulmonary morbidity and organ dysfunction in critically ill surgical patients.Summary Background DataOxidative stress has been associated with the develo
Identifying and Addressing Reachability and Policy Attacks in “Secure” BGP

BGP is known to have many security vulnerabilities due to the very nature of its underlying assumptions of trust among independently operated networks. Most prior efforts have focused on attacks that can be addressed using traditional cryptographic techniques to ensure authentication or integrity, e.g., BGPSec and related works. Although augmenting BGP with authentication and integrity mechanisms is critical, they are, by design, far from sufficient to prevent attacks based on manipulating the complex BGP protocol itself. In this paper, we identify two serious attacks on two of the most fundamental goals of BGP—to ensure reachability and to enable ASes to pick routes available to them according to their routing policies—even in the presence of BGPSec-like mechanisms. Our key contributions are to 1 formalize a series of critical security properties, 2 experimentally validate using commodity router implementations that BGP fails to achieve those properties, 3 quantify the extent of these vulnerabilities in the Internet's AS topology, and 4 propose simple modifications to provably ensure that those properties are satisfied. Our experiments show that, using our attacks, a single malicious AS can cause thousands of other ASes to become disconnected from thousands of other ASes for arbitrarily long, while our suggested modifications almost completely eliminate such attacks.
Coordination of pricing, advertising, and production decisions for multiple products

We address a decision problem of a profit-maximising firm which produces multiple products on the same equipment and markets them as different brands. The firm has to choose the prices of each of the product in each period, allocate advertising budget to the products, and decide a production schedule such that it maximises its profit. We formulate and solve this problem in discrete-time setting with capacity constraints and setup costs. Using real world data from a manufacturer, we create problem instances, for different demand scenarios at different capacities, and solve for optimal prices, advertising, and lot sizing. We demonstrate that the firm can significantly increase its profitability by coordinating marketing and operational decisions.
Influence of Muszynska Model Empirical Coefficient on the Stability of a Rotor System

Based on Muszynska model,derived and established was a non-linear dynamic equation for a rotor-gland seal system under the action of a seal fluid excitation force.A numerical analysis was performed of the movement differential equation and a law governing the influence of the bifurcation characteristics of the system under discussion and the empirical coefficient in Muszynska model on the system stability was studied.The analytic results show that the nonlinear kinetic behavior of the rotor caused by the seal fluid excitation force features a very complicated evolution process.During this process,the average circumferential speed ratio constant and the empirical coefficient depicting the relationship between the average circumferential speed ratio and the rotor swirling constitute the key factors influencing the stability of the rotor system.The influence of other empirical coefficients,however,is invariably within 5%.This result can provide a theoretical basis for lowering relevant experiment costs.
Effects of sex and color phase on ion regulation in the invasive European green crab, Carcinus maenas

The European green crab, Carcinus maenas, is a globally invasive species with detrimental impacts on the ecology and economy in affected areas, and the focus of many studies has been to examine both its ecology and physiology to gain a better understanding of this invasiveness. Green crabs exhibit a ventral color change from green to yellow then orange to red as they progress through intermolt. Previous studies documented red color phase males as less tolerant to environmental stress, but cellular- and molecular-level investigations into sex differences in regard to these color phases are lacking. In this study, red and green color phases of both sexes were exposed to low salinity (10 ppt) and assessed for whole animal performance, and indicators of cellular stress and energy status were measured in the gills as mRNA and protein expression. Red phase individuals exhibited poorer whole animal performance during low salinity exposure, where females outperformed males. Consistently, higher hemolymph osmolality in green phase animals was facilitated through increased mRNA expression of ion transport drivers in both sexes, but females showed elevated mRNA levels under control conditions with subsequently diminished upregulation during low salinity exposure. Differential physiological responses can have a significant impact on future invasions of this species. The approach in this study highlights the increased resilience of female animals in both color phases revealing that taking the molt cycle and sex-dependent variability into account is crucial for understanding and predicting the success of future invasions.
Labor Unions, Management Innovation and Organizational Change in Police Departments

Historically, change in policing on a national level has been difficult and gradual. Kelling and Moore’s (1988) history of modern policing in the United States divides a 150-year period into three eras (Political, Reform, and Community Problem-Solving).
A Model of Rights and Government

According to the economic theory of rights, individuals have rights to the extent that they are able to bargain for them. In the real world, significant rights might sometimes be bargained for on an individual basis. When does the teenager have the right to take the family car? Rights of family members within the family setting are clearly subject to negotiation, but the same is true outside of the family setting. What often is referred to as corruption is the outcome of an exchange process that accords some individuals more rights than others.1 Even in societies that espouse equal rights as a public policy, factors such as corruption and special interest legislation create a setting where some people have more rights, or more securely enforced rights, than others.2 Differential rights can be created by individual bargaining, but can also be the result of group action, where one group is able to impose a rights structure that gives them advantages over others.
Chapter 3. Gas chromatography

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the role of contemporary gas chromatography (GC) in biochemistry. The ionization detectors used in GC possess unparalleled measurement sensitivity, and are the major reason for using GC in biochemical and biomedical investigations. The flame ionization detector has been extremely useful as a sensitive, universal detector, and there are numerous analytical problems where detection selectivity is required. A mass spectrometer employed in a mass-fragmentographic mode provides almost the ultimate in both selectivity and high sensitivity. The use of other selective devices, such as the electron capture, thermionic or flame-photometric detectors, has been steadily on the increase. Some of these detectors were primarily developed to overcome the problems of sample complexity, and an increasing use of capillary GC does not appear to diminish their importance. On the contrary, the columns of greater resolving power and higher degree of inertness further expand the utility of such detectors. The most frequent use of selective detectors in biochemical analysis is associated with the formation of derivatives that are particularly suitable for such detection.
Targeting the HVEM-BTLA-CD160-LIGHT network in Psoriasis

Genetic studies have identified heritable linkages to psoriasis. However, complete identification of psoriasis susceptibility loci remains elusive. We have identified the HVEM-BTLA-CD160-LIGHT pathway as a critical regulator of innate and adaptive cell function in several autoimmune diseases, and recently in a mouse model of experimental psoriasis. Specifically, we have shown that the inhibitory receptor BTLA regulates the activity of innate γδ T cells, correlating with worsened dermatitis in BTLA-deficient animals, and attenuated disease in animals treated with agonistic BTLA antibodies. Additionally, our data indicates that the TNF receptor protein HVEM activates CD160 receptors in innate cells, promoting inflammatory signaling. More recently we have observed that skin inflammation is also worsened in animals lacking the TNF ligand for HVEM, LIGHT. In order to promote anti-inflammatory activities of HVEM, we sought to develop ligand specific biologics that could selectively engage inhibitory pathways through BTLA. Our initial studies showed that wild-type HVEM-Fc worsens disease. Additionally, we find that LIGHT-specific proteins that block HVEM-LIGHT interactions also worsen disease, consistent with our results in LIGHT-deficient animals, and identifying a unique regulatory role for LIGHT in skin inflammation . Finally, animals treated with proteins specific for BTLA and CD160 show reduced pathology compared to animals treated with wild-type HVEM-Fc. Through our efforts to synthesize ligand specific HVEM biologics, we have shown how select ablation of HVEM ligands can result in both pro- and anti-inflammatory signaling that can be targeted for the development of therapeutics for inflammatory diseases.
Targeted Gene Correction of Glanzmann Thrombasthenia Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Restores Surface Expression and Fibrinogen Binding of Integrin αIIbβ3

Abstract Abstract 4173 Glanzmann Thrombasthenia (GT) is a rare, autosomal recessive disorder resulting from an absence of functional platelet integrin αIIbβ3, leading to impaired platelet aggregation and clinically presenting with severe bleeding. It is a model of an inherited platelet disorder that might benefit from corrective gene therapy. Treatment options for GT are limited and largely supportive. They include anti-fibrinolytics, activated factor VII, platelet transfusions, and bone marrow transplantation. Recent gene therapy research in a canine model for GT demonstrated that lentiviral transduction of mobilized hematopoietic stem cells could restore 6% αIIbβ3 receptors in thrombasthenic canine platelets relative to wild type (WT) canine platelets. As an alternative gene therapy strategy, we generated induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell lines from the peripheral blood of two patients with GT and examined whether a megakaryocyte-specific promoter driving αIIb cDNA expression within the AAVS1 safe harbor locus could ameliorate the GT phenotype in iPS cell-derived megakaryocytes. Patient 1 is a compound heterozygote for αIIb with the following two missense mutations: exon 2 c.331T>C (p.L100P) and exon 5 c.607G>A (p.S192N). Patient 2 is homozygous for a c.818G>A (p.G273D) mutation adjacent to the first calcium-binding domain of αIIb, leading to impaired intracellular transport of αIIbβ3. Both patients express 50% and >70% αIIbβ3 surface expression for patients 1 and 2, respectively. Both patients’ iPS cell-derived megakaryocytes also demonstrated fibrinogen binding upon thrombin activation. This is the first report of the generation and genetic correction of iPS cell lines from patients with a disease affecting platelet function. These findings suggest that this GPIbα-promoter construct targeted to the AAVS1 locus drives megakaryocyte-specific expression at a therapeutically significant level, which offers the possibility of correcting severe inherited platelet disorders beginning with iPS cells derived from these affected individuals. Disclosures: Lambert: Cangene: Honoraria.
Protocol-independent packet delivery improvement service for mobile ad hoc networks

This paper addresses the issue of improving packet delivery for multicast in mobile, ad hoc networks and proposes a reliability improvement mechanism called protocol-independent packet delivery improvement service (PIDIS) to recover lost packets. PIDIS is a non-persistent, best-effort reliability improvement service that exploits the mechanism of swarm intelligence to make intelligent decisions about whence to fetch the lost packets. PIDIS employs the beneficial aspects of probabilistic routing and adapts well to mobility. PIDIS achieves probabilistic reliability and, unlike other gossip-based schemes, does not need to maintain information about group members from which lost packets are retrieved. Further PIDIS does not rely on any underlying routing protocol or primitive, and can be incorporated into any (unreliable) ad hoc multicast routing protocol. Lastly, because PIDIS is non-persistent, it does not incur any overhead when there is no lost message to be recovered. We incorporated PIDIS into ODMRP, and compared it against anonymous gossip (AG) implemented over ODMRP, and ODMRP. Our simulation results show that PIDIS+ODMRP in most cases, is more efficient and performs better than AG+ODMRP and ODMRP in terms of packet delivery, end-to-end delay and MAC layer overheads. We attribute the better performance and lower MAC overheads of PIDIS+ODMRP to the efficient gossiping made possible by using swarm intelligence techniques.
Mechanosensitivity of the Bacterial Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel NaChBac

INTRODUCTION: The voltage-gated sodium channel family spans from ancestral prokaryotic complexes found in bacterial extremophiles to eukaryotic proteins that are essential for excitability of most cell types. The SCN5A-encoded mechanosensitive voltage-gated channel Nav1.5 is expressed in electro-mechanical organs such as the heart and gastrointestinal tract. It is well-established that Nav1.5 is mechanosensitive, but biophysical studies of NaV mechanosensitivity are limited by the size of NaV proteins and their rapid kinetics, especially inactivation. Bacterial voltage-gated sodium channels recapitulate many of the eukaryotic NaV functional properties and have allowed significant advances in structural, functional and pharmacologic understanding of NaV channels and would serve as a good mechanosensitivity model. However, NaChBac mechanosensitivity has not been examined. AIMS: To determine if the bacterial Na+ channel NaChBac and a NaChBac non-inactivating mutant are mechanosensitive. METHODS: Nav1.5, NaChBac WT or the non-inactivating mutant T220A NaChBac constructs were co-transfected with GFP into HEK-293 cells. NaChBac mechanosensitivity was compared to Nav1.5 by whole Cell voltage-clamp with shear stress and in cell-attached patches using pressure clamp. RESULTS: Shear-stress increased Nav1.5 peak current by 18±3%. Similarly, shear-stress increases peak current in both WT NaChBac (+36.9%) and the non-inactivating mutant T220A (+41.6%). Clusters of single-channel openings (∼2 pS) were obtained from T220A in absence and presence of pressure (−30 mmHg). CONCLUSIONS: Effects of shear in peak current and voltage-dependency found in WT NaChBac and T220A were comparable to those found in Nav1.5. NaChBac T220A presented long-lasting frequent single channel openings, which were affected by pressure. NaChBac may serve as a good model to understand eukaryotic NaV channel mechanosensitivity.
Minimal Residual Disease

Disease relapse remains a major problem in a significant proportion of patients treated for cancer. Molecular monitoring of minimal residual disease (MRD), usually using a real-time quantitative PCR-based approach, is an important tool for risk stratification and prognostication and can be used as a guide for optimizing clinical management in these patients. Most MRD monitoring is currently performed in patients with leukemia and lymphoma, while neuroblastoma is the only nonhematologic malignancy for which molecular testing for MRD is well established.
Suitability of EGCG as a Means of Stabilizing a Porcine Osteochondral Xenograft

As a non-crosslinked osteochondral xenograft would be mechanically inferior to native cartilage and vulnerable to premature degradation, we seek a safe and effective method of xenograft stabilization. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the capacity for epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) to stabilize a decellularized porcine osteochondral xenograft through collagen crosslinking. Our objectives were to assess the effects of EGCG on the degree of crosslinking, mechanical properties, collagenase resistance, cytotoxicity, and in vitro biocompatibility. EGCG is a green tea polyphenol that acts as a collagen crosslinker. Porcine osteochondral plugs were decellularized and then crosslinked by soaking in EGCG. The degree of crosslinking, cartilage compressive stiffness, cartilage-bone interface strength, coefficient of friction, and residual mass after collagenase exposure all increased with an increasing EGCG concentration. With the exception of the coefficient of friction, EGCG treatment could restore mechanical properties to levels equal to, or exceeding those, of native cartilage. EGCG treatment profoundly increased the enzymatic resistance, and 1% EGCG provided protection equivalent to 1% glutaraldehyde. EGCG up to 0.5 mM was essentially not cytotoxic to chondrocytes embedded in alginate, and autologous chondrocytes attached to decellularized, EGCG-fixed cartilage were all viable five days after seeding. Results demonstrate that EGCG has many beneficial effects on a decellularized osteochondral xenograft, and may be suitable for use in stabilizing such a graft prior to implantation for the repair of a defect.
Effects of propagule pressure and priority effects on seedling recruitment during restoration of invaded grassland

Abstract High disturbance frequency, low water availability, and advantageous growth mechanisms of invasive annual compared to native perennial grasses reduce native grass establishment throughout arid rangelands. Modifying seeding dispersal processes, including seeding rate and time, may increase native grass recruitment by influencing safe site occupation. A better understanding of seedling development through life history stages and the ecological processes occurring during these stages may be necessary to comprehend modified dispersal dynamics on plant community assembly. We tested the effects of spring vs. fall annual grass seeding times, adding water, and varying annual and perennial grass propagule pressure on perennial and annual grass recruitment in an eastern Oregon shrub-steppe ecosystem. Across species, survival rates were lowest between germination and emergence stages. However, perennial grass germination rates were highest when perennials were seeded with annual grasses in autumn. Perennial grass recruitment was generally low, especially when annual grass propagule pressure was higher than 150 seeds m−2. Although, by the second growing season, perennial grasses had the highest density when perennials were seeded with annuals in autumn and water was added. Consequently, modifying native perennial grass dispersal, like priority autumn seeding and increasing propagule pressure, should produce higher perennial grass recruitment across arid lands.