cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Characterization of Heterogeneous Perfusion in Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound

Ultrasound contrast agent (UCA) imaging continues to offer the promise of functional imaging with a number of existing clinical applications such as myocardial perfusion. However, imaging UCA in heterogeneous perfusion regions continue to be a challenge. We present an algorithm combining nonlinear imaging, motion compensation and machine learning to improve the specificity of perfusion imaging to UCA activity in vivo. The algorithm also employs singular value decomposition to identify and suppress signal components with high sensitivity to tissue motion, specular reflections and noise. The algorithm used motion compensation, differential filtering, and mode selection to penalize the effects of tissue motion, specular reflection, and noise while rewarding sporadic contrast activity in order to increase sensitivity and specificity to perfusion in the tissue. These modes were fed into a neural network for quantitative classification of the perfusion in the tissue. The results from in vivo imaging of a heterogeneous tumor model exhibit high degree of separation in computed perfusion index values with and without UCA.
1673-P: The Neighborhood Deprivation Index and Provider Geocoding Identify Critical Catchment Areas for Diabetes Outreach Programs

Extension for Community Health Outcomes (ECHO) programs have successfully empowered primary care providers (PCPs) to deliver advanced care to patients lacking access to subspecialists. In designing an ECHO type 1 diabetes (T1D) program in Florida and California, the Neighborhood Deprivation Index (NDI) was used in conjunction with geocoding of primary care providers (PCPs) and endocrinologists in each state to concurrently identify areas with low endocrinology provider density and high health risk/poverty areas. The NDI measures many aspects of poverty proven to be critical indicators of community health outcomes such as cardiometabolic risk, adverse birth outcome, and substance use. Data from the 2013-2017 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates were used to create census tract- and block group-level NDI maps for California and Florida. In addition, geocoding and 30-minute drive-time buffers were performed using publicly available provider directories for PCPs and endocrinologists in both states by Google Geocoding API and TravelTime Search Application Programming Interface (API). Based on these findings, we defined high need catchment areas as census tracts or census block groups with: 1) more than a 30-minute drive to the nearest endocrinologist, but within a 30-minute drive to the nearest PCP; 2) an NDI in the highest quartile; and 3) a population above the median (5,199 for census tracts, and 1,394 for census block groups). Out of the 12,181 census tracts and 34,490 census block groups in California and Florida, we identified 57 tracts and 215 block groups meeting these criteria as high need catchment area. Geospatial analysis provides an important precursory methodologic step to effectively focus outreach efforts in diabetes program development. The integration of the NDI with geocoded provider directories enables more cost-effective and targeted interventions to reach the most vulnerable populations living with T1D. Disclosure A.F. Walker: None. H. Hu: None. N. Cuttriss: None. M.J. Haller: Advisory Panel; Self; Pancreum, SAB Biotherapeutics. C. Wang: None. C. Anez-Zabala: None. K. Yabut: None. M.J. Gurka: None. D.M. Maahs: Advisory Panel; Self; Novo Nordisk Inc. Consultant; Self; Abbott, Sanofi. Research Support; Self; Dexcom, Inc., Tandem Diabetes Care. Funding The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust
Oversimplifying Teaching of the Control of Variables Strategy

Two experiments compared closely related interventions to teach the control of variables strategy (CVS) to fourth-grade students. Over the two experiments, an intervention first developed by Chen and Klahr (1999) was most effective at helping students learn how to design and evaluate single-factor experiments. In Experiment 1, attempts to reduce the cognitive load imposed by Chen and Klahr’s basic teaching intervention actually produced poorer learning and transfer of CVS. In Experiment 2, attempts to simplify Chen and Klahr’s algorithm for teaching students how to set up a valid experimental design also produced poorer learning and transfer of CVS. Both experiments illustrate that oversimplifying a domain or the logic behind controlling variables can undermine the effectiveness of an intervention designed to teach CVS.
Socioeconomic and experiential influences on the neurobiology of language development

Purpose The process by which young children acquire language is an incredible feat subserved by neurobiological language circuitry. Although the foundations of brain structure and function are gene...
Understanding the Impact of Statistical Time Series Features for Flare Prediction Analysis

Machine learning-based space weather analytics has attracted much attention due to the potential damages that can be caused by the extreme space weather events. Using a recently released data benchmark, named SWAN-SF, designed for solar flare forecasting based on the pre-flare time series of solar magnetic field parameters, we conduct a case study on the impacts of statistical features derived from the multivariate time series. We investigate the relationship between the number of needed statistical features extracted from the multi-variate time series and the performance of flare forecast models. To that end, we employ random forest and mean decrease impurity to determine a feature selection methodology along with an evaluation procedure. The proposed evaluation method delivers a balance between the two frequently used metrics in this domain, namely True Skill Statistic and Heidke Skill Score. Our approach allows to introduce a generic feature selection and evaluation procedure that is independent from the minor and often obscured decisions that must be made for having a binary forecast model, while presenting interpretable and actionable tools that can help non-data experts make more informed and realistic decisions.
See America: the politics and administration of federal tourism promotion, 1937–1973: by Mordecai Lee, Albany, State University of New York Press, 2020, 237 pp., US$95.00 (hardcover), ISBN 9781438478098

See America discusses the history of the United States Travel Bureau (USTB), a federal tourism agency that mainly focused on stimulating domestic tourism. The book’s subtitle and the background of ...
Quantification of seizure termination patterns reveals limited pathways to seizure end

Abstract Seizures result from a variety of pathologies and exhibit great diversity in their dynamics. Although many studies have examined the dynamics of seizure initiation, few have investigated the mechanisms leading to seizure termination. We examined intracranial recordings from patients with intractable focal epilepsy to differentiate seizure termination patterns and investigate whether these termination patterns are indicative of different underlying mechanisms. Seizures (n=710) were recorded intracranially from 104 patients and visually classified as focal or secondarily generalized. Only two patterns emerged from this analysis: (a) those that end simultaneously across the brain (synchronous termination), and (b) those whose ictal activity terminates in some regions but continues in others (asynchronous termination). Finally, seizures ended with either an intermittent bursting pattern (burst suppression pattern), or continuous activity (continuous bursting). These findings allowed for a classification and quantification of the burst suppression ratio, absolute energy and network connectivity of all seizures and comparison across different seizure termination patterns. We found that different termination patterns can manifest within a single patient, even in seizures originating from the same onset locations. Most seizures terminate with patterns of burst suppression regardless of generalization but that seizure that secondarily generalize show burst suppression patterns in 90% of cases, while only 60% of focal seizures exhibit burst suppression. Interestingly, we found similar absolute energy and burst suppression ratios in seizures with synchronous and asynchronous termination, while seizures with continuous bursting were found to be different from seizures with burst suppression, showing lower energy during seizure and lower burst suppression ratio at the start and end of seizure. Finally, network density was observed to increase with seizure progression, with significantly lower densities in seizures with continuous bursting compared to seizures with burst suppression. Our study demonstrates that there are a limited number of seizure termination patterns, suggesting that, unlike seizure initiation, the number of mechanisms underlying seizure termination is constrained. The study of termination patterns may provide useful clues about how these seizures may be managed, which in turn may lead to more targeted modes of therapy for seizure control.
The Role of Credit Attributes in Explaining the Homeownership Gap between Whites and Minorities since the Financial Crisis, 2012–18

Homeownership rates have been slow to recover since the financial crisis. Minority groups such as Blacks and Hispanics have been particularly slow to transition into homeownership. Using uniquely constructed anonymized household panel data obtained from a credit bureau, we find that Blacks and Hispanics were, respectively, one-half and two-thirds as likely as Whites to transition into mortgage ownership between 2012 and 2018. We analyze the role of credit attributes, among other factors, in explaining the racial/ethnic gap in transition into mortgage ownership by 2018 for a sample of individuals who were non-mortgage holders in 2012. First, we investigate the major determinants of obtaining new mortgages in the post-crisis period. While age, income, marital status, and mortgage inquiries are big drivers of mortgage entry, other factors such as student loan debt, gender, and education level play lesser, although important, roles. Consumers with missing credit scores, insufficient or inadequate credit histories are less likely to transition. Second, using the Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition technique for a nonlinear equation, we find that racial/ethnic differences in credit attributes explain a large portion of the White-minority gap in the transition rates. However, there are key differences in experience across the two minority groups. While racial/ethnic differences in geographic location contribute substantially to the White-Hispanic gap in the mortgage transition rate, racial/ethnic differences in household composition and income growth matter more in explaining the White-Black gap in the mortgage transition rate. Lastly, we find there is considerable heterogeneity across states in the contribution of credit attributes and geography to the White-minority gap in the transition rate.
Rendezvous of Networked Autonomous Underwater Vehicles in 3D Space

Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) are widely used in 3D marine environments for oceanographic inquiry. Once AUVs have finished their tasks, they are often required to return to a common destination to dock or exchange information. To achieve the rendezvous of a group of AUVs, a distributed controller is designed by taking into account the vehicle 3D nonholonomic constraints and the entire group network connectivity. Each AUV considered in this study has 6 degrees of freedom (DOF) and can move longitudinally freely along with roll, pitch and yaw rates but not laterally and vertically as imposed by vehicle nonholonomic kinematics. The group of AUVs is networked based on a directed spanning graph to enable group-level communication and collaboration capabilities. It is critical that the network of the group always be preserved during all AUV motions to avoid communication and collaboration failures. The designed distributed controller is based on a dipolar navigation function that generates potential forces to align the AUV configurations with the common destination and to enable the group vehicle-to-vehicle distances to be maintained. This ultimately results in the group network to be continually connected. Simulation results are presented to demonstrate the ability and effectiveness of the proposed distributed controller to steer a group of AUVs to achieve rendezvous.
Defect Repair of Polyelectrolyte Bilayers Using SDS: The Action of Micelles Versus Monomers.

Defects within single, double, and triple polyelectrolyte bilayers derived from poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate) (PSS) and poly(diallyldimethyammonium chloride) (PDDA) have been repaired using aqueo...
America’s Atomic Age: The Health and Environmental Consequences of Governmental Negligence in Nuclear Tests

The first atomic bombs tested and detonated in the United States (US) sparked a mass fascination with atomic technology in a period that came to be known as the Atomic Age. The widespread support of the atomic bombings in World War II (WWII) and approval of atomic weapons thus ignited accelerated testing of atomic weaponry. However, with the earliest nuclear weapons tests, the American military paid little attention to the potential consequences of the tests. This paper examines the nature, impact, and implications of two of the major twentieth-century American atomic tests: Crossroads Baker and Castle Bravo. These tests led to serious health repercussions for both native Bikini Islanders and American servicemen involved with the tests. The American government’s reckless approach to nuclear testing in the first part of the twentieth century was not only disastrous in terms of the health issues it created but was also unethical due to its misleading warnings. The environmental and health effects of the US government’s negligent actions then can still be felt today — nuclear waste from the tests remains locked up with little maintenance at the Enewetak Atoll, threatening another potential nuclear disaster due to mismanagement and negligence.
Age-dependent DNA modifications (I-compounds): Effects of carcinogenesis and oxidative stress

I-compounds are bulky covalent DNA modifications which increase with age in tissues of unexposed laboratory animals and arc derived from endogenous DNA-reactive intermediates of nutrient and oxygen metabolism. Profiles and levels of I-compounds depend on species, strain, tissue, and gender, but are also affected by diet and chemical exposures, indicating that their formation is determined by genetic and environmental factors. A gradual depletion of I-compounds occurs during carcinogenesis, as carcinogens/tumor promoters substantially reduce I-compound levels and hepatomas display very low I-compound levels irrespective of growth rates, apparently having lost much of the ability to form these nucleotides. Conversely, caloric restriction (CR), the most effective method to retard carcinogenesis and aging, elicits significant elevations of I-compound levels in tissue DNA of rodents, as compared to age-matched ad libitum (AL) fed animals. Levels of many liver and kidney I-compounds exhibit strain- and diet-dependent, positive linear correlations with median lifespan. These results suggest that such DNA modifications, termed type I I-compounds, do not represent DNA lesions, but may rather be functionally important. This view is supported by the circadian rhythms displayed by some I-compounds. Thus, type I I-compounds appear to play a protective role against carcinogenesis and age-associated degenerative processes. Type II I-compounds, on the other hand, represent DNA damage and include several bulky lesions, which are enhanced by the renal carcinogens and pro-oxidants nickel acetate and ferric nitrilotriacetate (Fe-NTA) in kidney DNA of rodents and are identical to products generated by oxidizing DNA under Fenton reaction conditions in vitro. In addition, Fe-NTA reduces the levels of three major, polar kidney I-compounds in analogy to the depletion of hepatic I-compounds by hepatocarcinogens. Modulations of both type I and type II I-compounds elicited by Fe-NTA may affect the expression of genes critical to the carcinogenic process.
Spatial aggregation for qualitative assessment of scientific computations

Qualitative assessment of scientific computations is an emerging application area that applies a data-driven approach to characterize, at a high level, phenomena including conditioning of matrices, sensitivity to various types of error propagation, and algorithmic convergence behavior. This paper develops a spatial aggregation approach that formalizes such analysis in terms of model selection utilizing spatial structures extracted from matrix perturbation datasets. We focus in particular on the characterization of matrix eigenstructure, both analyzing sensitivity of computations with spectral portraits and determining eigenvalue multiplicity with Jordan portraits. Our approach employs spatial reasoning to overcome noise and sparsity by detecting mutually reinforcing interpretations, and to guide subsequent data sampling. It enables quantitative evaluation of properties of a scientific computation in terms of confidence in a model, explainable in terms of the sampled data and domain knowledge about the underlying mathematical structure. Not only is our methodology more rigorous than the common approach of visual inspection, but it also is often substantially more efficient, due to well-defined stopping criteria. Results show that the mechanism efficiently samples perturbation space and successfully uncovers high level properties of matrices.
Transforming Home Health Nursing with Telehealth Technology

Telehealth technology is an evidence-based delivery model tool that can be integrated into the plan of care for mental health patients. Telehealth technology empowers access to health care, can help decrease or prevent hospital readmissions, assist home health nurses provide shared decision making, and focuses on collaborative care. Telehealth and the recovery model have transformed the role of the home health nurse. Nurses need to be proactive and respond to rapidly emerging technologies that are transforming their role in home care.
Promoting the Recruitment and Retention of Minority Dental Faculty: Federal, State, and Personal Programs.

There are federal programs available for both minority students and faculty. There are also private, state, and foundation funds available for minority students. The most important factor for these programs to succeed is the understanding of peoples' needs. We have to create an environment in which people are judged on their ability. At the same time we have to create an environment that rewards diversity.
Properties of the input pattern fault model

Recent work in IC failure analysis strongly indicates the need for fault models that directly analyze the function of circuit primitives. The input pattern (IP) fault model is a functional fault model that allows for both complete and partial functional verification of every circuit module, independent of the design level. We describe the IP fault model and provide a method for analyzing IP faults using standard SSL-based fault simulators and test generation tools. The method is used to generate test sets that target the IP faults of the ISCAS85 benchmark circuits and a carry-lookahead adder. Improved IP fault coverage for the benchmarks and the adder is obtained by adding a small number of test patterns to tests that target only SSL faults. We also conducted fault simulation experiments that show IP test patterns are effective in detecting non-targeted faults such as bridging and transistor stuck-on faults. Finally, we discuss the notion of IP redundancy and show how large amounts of this redundancy exist in the benchmarks and in SSL-irredundant adder circuits.
EVALUATION OF MATERIALS FROM NORTHEAST TEXAS USING SUPERPAVE MIX DESIGN TECHNOLOGY

During 1994 and 1995, asphalt overlay performance problems in the form of disintegration, rutting, and raveling were experienced in the Atlanta District of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). An investigation of the damage by TxDOT engineers in Atlanta identified the cause as extreme moisture susceptibility of asphalt mixtures containing locally available crushed gravel. A task force was assembled to identify tests and specifications to allow use of local gravel aggregates while, at the same time, precluding future moisture damage problems. The resources of the South Central Superpave Center were mobilized to assess whether Superpave mix design tests and criteria would have identified the mixtures as troublesome in ways other than moisture sensitivity. Because TxDOT already uses a moisture damage test very similar to the Superpave moisture sensitivity evaluation, no Superpave moisture damage tests were conducted. The Superpave mix design evaluation indicated that one or more Superpave aggregate tests, gradation requirements, and volumetric and compaction properties would have precluded use of the materials.
Investigation of an abnormality in fatigue crack growth curves-the Marci effect

The threshold stress intensity factor range of materials, {Delta}K{sub th}, is important for the design of engineering structures. The intrinsic component of this parameter can be effectively measured using the K{sub max}-constant test method, where the maximum stress intensity factor, K{sub max}, is kept constant, while the minimum stress intensity factor, K{sub min}, is gradually increased until the crack growth rate reaches the threshold for fatigue crack propagation. In the scientific literature, a perplexing phenomenon has been reported in which several high temperature titanium alloys were found not to exhibit an intrinsic threshold value in the K{sub max}-constant test-a phenomenon that the authors refer to as the Marci Effect. This effect occurs if the K{sub max} value is sufficiently high and the fatigue amplitude, {Delta}K, becomes sufficiently small. Under these conditions abnormal crack growth behavior occurs, wherein cracks propagate due to cyclic amplitudes below {Delta}K{sub T} and, in some instances, the crack growth rate even increases while {Delta}K decreases. So far, this effect has been shown for Ti-6Al-6V-2Sn, IMI 834 and IMI 685, but the reasons for the phenomenon are yet unknown. The issue could be important for practical applications, because in case this effect can occur where structural componentsmore » are exposed to high stress levels combined with vibratory loading, the ultimate utility of an intrinsic threshold value as a design criterion is in question. To study the features of the Marci Effect, two different alloys were examined: the nickel-base super alloy IN100 and the titanium alloy Ti-6Al-2Sn-4Zr-6Mo (Ti-6246). The alloy IN100 was investigated to determine whether a typical high strength nickel-base superalloy would also exhibit the abnormality.« less
Edge and Screw Dislocations in an Amorphous Solid

We have studied, using computer simulation techniques, the properties of edge and screw dislocations in an amorphous Lennard-Jones solid. We find the edge dislocation to be unstable and the screw to be stable. The elastic properties of the screw dislocation in the amorphous solid are like those in a crystal.
Tiger Beetle Defenses Revisited: Alternative Defense Strategies and Colorations of Two Neotropical Tiger Beetles, ODONTOCHEILA NICARAGUENSIS Bates and PSEUDOXYCHEILA TARSALIS Bates (Carabidae: Cicindelinae)

Abstract The alternative defensive strategies of two neotropical tiger beetles, Odontocheila nicaraguensis Bates and Pseudoxycheila tarsalis Bates, are described and compared. The defensive functions of their respective colorations were analyzed in the context of local ambient light and visual backgrounds using spectroradiometry. Odontocheila nicaraguensis exhibited a cryptic elytral coloration that closely matched the substrate of the forest understory. When disturbed, the beetles quickly flew and exposed an iridescent green abdomen that was highly conspicuous in the ambient light of forest gaps. Pseudoxycheila tarsalis exhibited a color pattern that was highly conspicuous against the exposed soil within large gaps of cloud forest, and matched the color pattern of mutillid wasps. When disturbed, P. tarsalis did not fly, but released a distasteful secretion; suggesting that the beetle was both aposematic and a Mullerian mimic of the mutillids. The behavioral observations and spectroradiometric analyses of...
Renewal reward processes with heavy-tailed inter-renewal times and heavy-tailed rewards

It is well known that fractional Brownian motion can be obtained as the limit of a superposition of renewal reward processes with inter-renewal times that have infinite variance (heavy tails with exponent α) and with rewards that have finite variance. We show here that if the rewards also have infinite variance (heavy tails with exponent β) then the limit Zβ is a β-stable self-similar process. If β≤α, then Zβ is the Levy stable motion with independent increments; but if β> α, then Zβ is a stable process with dependent increments and self-similarity parameter H = (β- α+ 1)/β.
Chronometric comparisons of imagery to action: Visualizing versus physically performing springboard dives

Motor imagery research emphasizes similarities between the mental imagery of an action and its physical execution. In this study, temporal differences between motor imagery and its physical performance as a function of performer expertise, skill complexity, and spatial ability were investigated. Physical execution times for springboard dives were compared with visualized execution times. Results indicate that physical and visualized performance times were not identical: Their relation is a function of dive complexity and diver expertise, but not their interaction. Relative to physical time, visualization time increased with increased complexity, suggesting the involvement of capacity-limited working memory. A nonmonotonic relation was found for expertise: Unlike experts or novices, visualization time for intermediates was significantly slower than physical time. These temporal differences are most consistent with schematic differences in skill representation. Intermediates may be relatively slowed by greater amounts of nonautomatized knowledge, as compared with the automatized knowledge of experts or the sparse knowledge of novices.
Nonlinear multi-beam interactions in the D-region ionosphere

Summary form only given. This paper presents experimental observations of ELF/VLF wave generation performed during multi-beam HF heating experiments at the High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) observatory. The primary objective of these experiments is to advance the scientific understanding of the nonlinear absorption processes occurring within the collisional D-region ionosphere. During the February, May, and August 2012 HAARP campaigns, a series of multi-beam HF transmissions were designed to produce inter-harmonic modulation products in the ELF/VLF range. Experiments were performed using a variety of simultaneous 2- to 6-frequency HF transmissions spaced at ELF/VLF frequencies. For instance, in order to generate the 3-frequency experiment using frequencies of 3,248,485 Hz, 3,251,515 Hz, and 3,250,200 Hz, one half of the array broadcast a synthesized-two-frequency (STF) modulation format centered on 3.25 MHz (X-mode) with a modulation frequency of 1515 Hz while the other half of the array broadcast CW at 3.250200 MHz (X-mode). In the presence of the auroral electrojet, this transmission format generated ELF/VLF tones at 1315 Hz, and 1715 Hz, and 3030 Hz, as expected. Additionally, in order to generate ELF waves by the cubic nonlinearity, one half of the array broadcast at 2,750,250 Hz while the other half broadcast at 5,499,500 Hz, generating ELF waves at 1000 Hz. These experiment were repeated using different HF frequencies, different modulation frequencies, and different HF power levels. During the May and August 2012 experiments, a frequency-time variation was imposed on the transmissions in order to enable time-of-arrival signal processing. Experimental observations are compared with the initial results of a multi-beam HF heating model that accounts for inter-harmonic mixing among the various field components. We demonstrate that not all observations (particularly those for the cubic nonlinearity generation method) can be explained without accounting for the electron temperature oscillations that occur at the second harmonic of the HF waves.
Multimodal processing by finding common cause

Commonalities help answer many context-aware questions that arise in human-computer interaction.
Positional Cloning of Disease Genes: Advantages of Genetic Isolates

Genetic isolates with a history of a small founder population, long-lasting isolation and population bottlenecks represent exceptional resources in the identification of disease genes. Specific rare,
Lessons from (triggered) tremor

[1] I test a “clock-advance” model that implies triggered tremor is ambient tremor that occurs at a sped-up rate as a result of loading from passing seismic waves. This proposed model predicts that triggering probability is proportional to the product of the ambient tremor rate and a function describing the efficacy of the triggering wave to initiate a tremor event. Using data mostly from Cascadia, I have compared qualitatively a suite of teleseismic waves that did and did not trigger tremor with ambient tremor rates. Many of the observations are consistent with the model if the efficacy of the triggering wave depends on wave amplitude. One triggered tremor observation clearly violates the clock-advance model. The model prediction that larger triggering waves result in larger triggered tremor signals also appears inconsistent with the measurements. I conclude that the tremor source process is a more complex system than that described by the clock-advance model predictions tested. Results of this and previous studies also demonstrate that (1) conditions suitable for tremor generation exist in many tectonic environments, but, within each, only occur at particular spots whose locations change with time; (2) any fluid flow must be restricted to less than a meter; (3) the degree to which delayed failure and secondary triggering occurs is likely insignificant; and 4) both shear and dilatational deformations may trigger tremor. Triggered and ambient tremor rates correlate more strongly with stress than stressing rate, suggesting tremor sources result from time-dependent weakening processes rather than simple Coulomb failure.
Data X-Ray: A Diagnostic Tool for Data Errors

A lot of systems and applications are data-driven, and the correctness of their operation relies heavily on the correctness of their data. While existing data cleaning techniques can be quite effective at purging datasets of errors, they disregard the fact that a lot of errors are systematic, inherent to the process that produces the data, and thus will keep occurring unless the problem is corrected at its source. In contrast to traditional data cleaning, in this paper we focus on data diagnosis: explaining where and how the errors happen in a data generative process. We develop a large-scale diagnostic framework called DATA X-RAY. Our contributions are three-fold. First, we transform the diagnosis problem to the problem of finding common properties among erroneous elements, with minimal domain-specific assumptions. Second, we use Bayesian analysis to derive a cost model that implements three intuitive principles of good diagnoses. Third, we design an efficient, highly-parallelizable algorithm for performing data diagnosis on large-scale data. We evaluate our cost model and algorithm using both real-world and synthetic data, and show that our diagnostic framework produces better diagnoses and is orders of magnitude more efficient than existing techniques.
Comparative genomic hybridization analysis of archival formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded uveal melanomas

Comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) was used to analyze seven autologous uveal melanomas with both formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded and fresh-frozen specimens. In addition, DNA from two archival formalin-fixed tumors more than 45 years old were also analyzed. The most frequent genetic changes were loss of chromosome 3; increase in copy number of 6p and loss of 6q; and increase in copy number of 8q. A comparison of CGH data from the fresh-frozen tumors and their autologous formalin-fixed tumors revealed a correlation coefficient of 0.83. Comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) analysis of 45-year-old specimens identified genetic changes similar to those found in more recent tumors including loss of chromosome 3 and increase in copy numbers of 6p and 8q. The results indicate that there is a good agreement between data obtained from formalin-fixed and fresh-frozen specimens using CGH. Furthermore, the results demonstrate the applicability of this technique in analyzing archival formalin-fixed tumors that were previously not accessible to cytogenetic analysis.
Corn silk volatiles attract many pest species of moths

Abstract The volatile components (ppm of total solids) emitted by corn silk were found to be l‐butanol (1), 1‐pentanol (7), 1‐hexanol (1), (E)‐4‐hexen‐1‐ol (4), 3‐methyl‐1‐butanol (1), acetaldehyde (5), hexanal (4), 2‐furancarboxaldehyde (furfural) (2), and phenylacetaldehyde (12). Phenylacetaldehyde was found to attract the corn earworm, European corn borer, soybean looper, tarnished plant bug, Cisseps fulvicollis, and forage looper. Combining phenylacetaldehyde with butanol or acetaldehyde increased attractiveness to some species; other combinations reduced attractiveness.
Nitrogen metabolism of the eutrophic Delaware River ecosystem1

A comprehensive investigation of the nitrogen cycle in the Delaware River was carried out using 15N tracers to measure rates for important transformations of nitrogen. Daily, depth-averaged 15N rates for the principal inorganic nitrogen species were consistent with rates derived from longitudinal profiles of concentration in the river. The data indicated that nitrification was a rapid, irreversible sink for NH4+, with export of the product N03from the study area. Utilization of NO,by primary producers was negligible, owing to low irradiance levels and to high NH,+ concentrations. The oxygen sag near Philadelphia was found to result from oxygen demand in the water column, with only minor benthic influence. Reaeration provided the major oxygen input. Nitrification accounted for about 1% of the net oxygen demand near Philadelphia but as much as 25% farther downstream. Many rivers and coastal waters act as treatment facilities for large inputs of primary-treated sewage. Microbial processes convert the organic material and inorganic nitrogen to more oxidized forms. Water quality declines owing to low oxygen concentrations, phytoplankton blooms, and high turbidity due to sewage-derived suspended particulate material. Investigation of the nitrogen cycle in such systems must account for the complexity and dynamic nature of the various nitrogen transformations and for the influence of light (Lipschultz et al. 198 5; Stanley and Hobbie 198 1; Dugdale and Goering 1967; Garside 198 l), dissolved oxygen content (Goreau et al. 1980; Lipschultz et al. 198 1; Lipschultz 1984), and flushing rates (Wofsy et al. 198 1). Most investigations of nitrogen cycling have been focused on a restricted subset of metabolic processes, principally phytoplankton uptake of NH,+ and N03-. Recent studies, however, have emphasized the need to expand the number of processes under investigation in order to understand the nitrogen cycle in a system (e.g. see Glibert et al. 1982; Lipschultz et al. 1985; Olson 198 1; McCarthy et al. 1984). We describe here 15N tracer experiments on the Delaware River intended to permit ’ This work was funded by NSF grant BSR 8316359 and by EPA grant R8 10219-01-O to Harvard University. identification of the important processes from an expanded set of nitrogen transformations and to relate the measured rates to observed changes in inorganic nitrogen concentration. Rates were integrated over depth and time to account for their sensitivity to light (Lipschultz et al. 198 5). This permitted quantitative comparisons and identification of the principal processes in the ecosystem. Net production (or loss) rates were then calculated for each inorganic nitrogen species at seven stations along the river near Philadelphia, and net production rates derived from 15N incubations were compared to net rates derived from river concentration data using a mass conservation model. We thank L. Kerkhof for assistance in the laboratory and fieldwork and M. Zahniser for help in design and use of the emission spectrometer.
Hepatic resection for metastases from colorectal carcinoma is of dubious value.

In the United States, during the past 5 to 10 years, there has been an increasingly aggressive surgical approach to resection of hepatic metastases from colorectal cancer. Operations for this purpose are currently the most common hepatic operation performed in this country, and the procedure is likely to become even more prevalent. It has been estimated that only about 1000 of the 6000 to 12 000 patients who might be potential candidates yearly actually have a resection. 1 While several series have reported 5-year survival rates of about 25% for those who undergo resection of hepatic metastases, comparison of this kind of outcome has been made only with retrospective series, a nonvalid control. Thus, it is not known whether surgical excision of these metastatic lesions is appropriate. A presentation and critical analysis of available data are made in this article in an attempt to provide some kind of rational approach to
Dependence of viscoelastic properties on spacer length and molecular weight for a side-chain liquid crystal polymer in a nematic solvent

The light scattering technique was used to investigate the viscoelastic parameters characterizing director distortions in miscible nematic mixtures of pentacyanobiphenyl (5CB) with the liquid crystal polymer (LCP) [CH 2 CH(O[CH 2 ] m OPhPhCN)] n (m= 2, 3, 5, 7, 11). The results agree earlier observations that the addition of the LCP causes relatively large increases in viscosities and small decreases in the elastic constants. It is found that, for longer spacers, the viscosity increments of the twist and splay modes become smaller and are numerically comparable to that of the bend mode
Cytokines released by granulocytes and mononuclear cells stimulate amnion cell prostaglandin E2 production

Abstract Preterm labor is associated with histologic chorioamnionitis and intraamniotic infection. Chorioamnionitis is characterized by infiltration of the fetal membranes by granulocytes. In intraamniotic infection, white cells accumulate in amniotic fluid. Granulocytes and mononuclear cells have been shown to release products that stimulate prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) production by amnion cells. The aim of the present study was to identify some of these products. Cell-free supernatant obtained from formlymethionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (FMLP)-activated granulocytes was subjected to size exclusion chromatography. The fractions obtained were analyzed for their stimulatory effect on PGE2 production by human amnion cells in culture. Two peaks of PGE2-stimulatory activity were found. The activity present in one of these was synergistic with interleukin-1β (IL-1β) in stimulating amnion cell PGE2 production and was found to contain mainly transforming growth factor-α (TGF-α) immunoreactivity. This cytokine originated at least in part from eosinophils. The PGE2-stimulatory activity present in the other peak contained IL-1β, epidermal growth factor (EGF), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). The release of IL-β, TNF-α, TGF-α, and EGF by granulocytes differed from that of mononuclear cells. We have previously shown that TGF-α and EGF are synergistic with IL-1 and TNF-α in enhancing amnion cell PGE2 production. The different pattern of prostaglandin-stimulatory cytokines released from different types of white cells suggest that the cells may potentiate each others' effects.
HAPDAR&#8212;An operational phased array radar

The HAPDAR (HArd Point Demonstration Array Radar) described is a multifunction phased array radar in operation at the White Sands Missile Range. The principle design feature is the TACOL (Thinned Aperture COmputed Lens) array. The array and system design concepts are discussed and a detailed physical, functional, and analytical description of the radar is presented. Recently obtained operational test results on array patterns and multitarget tracking performance are discussed and compared with design specifications.
Evaluation of Internal Tag Performance in Hatchery-Reared Juvenile Spotted Seatrout

Abstract Stock enhancement programs rely on the ability to recapture and identify stocked fish to evaluate stocking effectiveness. Since 2006, the Seatrout Population Enhancement Cooperative (SPEC) has released almost 600,000 Spotted Seatrout Cynoscion nebulosus, about 100 mm TL, tagged with opercular coded wire tags (CWTs) into coastal Mississippi waters. However, only about 50 fish have been recaptured and initial retention of the opercular CWT has rarely exceeded 75%. This study first evaluated the suitability of visible implant alpha (VIA) and visible implant elastomer (VIE) tags for use in juvenile Spotted Seatrout. The VIA tags performed poorly. Based on those results, the study evaluated the effects of tagging site and fish size on survival, growth, and retention of CWTs and VIE tags and VIE tag fragmentation in juvenile Spotted Seatrout. Three separate growth experiments with juvenile Spotted Seatrout that had mean initial TLs of 93, 138, and 152 mm, respectively, were conducted to assess the effe...
The enthalpy of occlusion of the (lithium chloride + potassium chloride) eutectic salt in zeolite 4A

The molar enthalpy of occlusion of the (lithium chloride + potassium chloride) eutectic salt in zeolite 4A at the salt melting temperature {Delta}{sub 9cc}H{sub m}(T{sub fus}) was measured using differential scanning calorimetry. It was found that up to a mole fraction of the salt x = 0.931 in the (salt + zeolite) mixture, which is near the expected zeolite occlusion limit, {Delta}{sub occ}H{sub m}(T{sub fus}) was negative and directly proportional to x . Thus, within this composition range, the partial molar enthalpy of occlusion of the (lithium chloride + potassium chloride) eutectic salt in zeolite 4A at the salt melting temperature is constant and equal to - (24 {+-}1)kJ {center_dot} mol{sup -1}.
Vocal tract aerodynamics in /aCa/ utterances: measurements

Abstract This paper examines air flow patterns at vowel-consonant and consonant-vowel transitions. Oral air flow was recorded in six speakers of American English producing reiterant speech. The air flow signal was inverse filtered to obtain an estimate of the glottal pulse. Measurements were made of peak and minimum flow, open quotient, pulse area and fundamental frequency. The results show that at the transitions between vowels and voiceless consonants the pulse properties show large variations. In particular, the source is characterized by a breathy mode of phonation. Breathiness was indexed by large values of peak and minimum flow, and an open quotient close to 1. The observed variations can be accounted for by the laryngeal adjustments that are made for voiceless consonants, in particular the glottal opening movement and its phasing with the oral articulatory events. Individual differences suggest that speakers vary in their use of the longitudinal tension of the vocal folds in controlling voicelessness.
The effects of flicker adaptation upon temporal contrast enhancement

Temporal contrast enhancement refers to the finding that intermediate-duration, low-spatial-frequency gratings are perceived to have a greater contrast than long-duration gratings of similar spatial frequency. Kitterle and Corwin (1979) suggested that this effect reflects primarily activity in transient channels. To test this, 30 subjects were run in one of three groups consisting of either adaptation to a steady or flickering low-spatial-frequency grating or no adaptation. Temporal contrast enhancement was found for both steady and no-adaptation conditions. Flicker adaptation abolished temporal contrast enhancement. It was suggested that flicker adaptation may decrease the contribution of transient channels to perceived contrast and may cause processing of the test gratings to be switched to sustained channels. The implications of these results for understanding the coding of brightness are discussed.
Leptin in whales: validation and measurement of mRNA expression by absolute quantitative real-time PCR.

Leptin is the primary hormone in mammals that regulates adipose stores. Arctic adapted cetaceans maintain enormous adipose depots, suggesting possible modifications of leptin or receptor function. Determining expression of these genes is the first step to understanding the extreme physiology of these animals, and the uniqueness of these animals presents special challenges in estimating and comparing expression levels of mRNA transcripts. Here, we compare expression of two model genes, leptin and leptin-receptor gene-related product (OB-RGRP), using two quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) methods: “relative” and “absolute”. To assess the expression of leptin and OB-RGRP in cetacean tissues, we first examined how relative expression of those genes might differ when normalized to four common endogenous control genes. We performed relative expression qPCR assays measuring the amplification of these two model target genes relative to amplification of 18S ribosomal RNA (18S), ubiquitously expressed transcript (Uxt), ribosomal protein 9 (Rs9) and ribosomal protein 15 (Rs15) endogenous controls. Results demonstrated significant differences in the expression of both genes when different control genes were employed; emphasizing a limitation of relative qPCR assays, especially in studies where differences in physiology and/or a lack of knowledge regarding levels and patterns of expression of common control genes may possibly affect data interpretation. To validate the absolute quantitative qPCR methods, we evaluated the effects of plasmid structure, the purity of the plasmid standard preparation and the influence of type of qPCR “background” material on qPCR amplification efficiencies and copy number determination of both model genes, in multiple tissues from one male bowhead whale. Results indicate that linear plasmids are more reliable than circular plasmid standards, no significant differences in copy number estimation based upon background material used, and that the use of ethanol precipitated, linearized plasmid preparation produce the most reliable results.
Disrupting the Ethical Imperatives of “Junior” Critical Qualitative Scholars in the Era of Conservative Modernization

In this article, we wrestle with the core issue of how early career researchers translate central tenets and core concepts of critical theory and critical methodology into their research practice. By way of creative representation, we draw from bell hooks and Cornel West’s (1991) written rendition of their verbal dialogue in Breaking Bread: Insurgent Black Intellectual Life. Their hope was to offer the book in a dialogic format in such a way that mirrored the synergy in their verbal discussions as friends and intellectual colleagues. In a similar vein, we hope to share with readers the synergy and depth of the narratives that have transpired during our ongoing discussions on the important topic of critical praxis as part of a collaborative research group called the Disruptive Dialogue Project (Gildersleeve, Kuntz, Pasque & Carducci, 2010; Kuntz, Pasque, Carducci, & Gildersleeve, 2009).