cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Selection and screening procedures to determine optimal product designs

Abstract To compare several promising product designs, manufacturers must measure their performance under multiple environmental conditions. In many applications, a product design is considered to be seriously flawed if its performance is poor for any level of the environmental factor. For example, if a particular automobile battery design does not function well under temperature extremes, then a manufacturer may not want to put this design into production. Thus, this paper considers the measure of a product's quality to be its worst performance over the levels of the environmental factor. We develop statistical procedures to identify (a near) optimal product design among a given set of product designs, i.e., the manufacturing design that maximizes the worst product performance over the levels of the environmental variable. We accomplish this by intuitive procedures based on the split-plot experimental design (and the randomized complete block design as a special case); split-plot designs have the essential structure of a product array and the practical convenience of local randomization. Two classes of statistical procedures are provided. In the first, the δ- best formulation of selection problems, we determine the number of replications of the basic split-plot design that are needed to guarantee, with a given confidence level, the selection of a product design whose minimum performance is within a specified amount, δ, of the performance of the optimal product design. In particular, if the difference between the quality of the best and second best manufacturing designs is δ or more, then the procedure guarantees that the best design will be selected with specified probability. For applications where a split-plot experiment that involves several product designs has been completed without the planning required of the δ-best formulation, we provide procedures to construct a ‘confidence subset’ of the manufacturing designs; the selected subset contains the optimal product design with a prespecified confidence level. The latter is called the subset selection formulation of selection problems. Examples are provided to illustrate the procedures.
On-line Surface Area Measurement of Concentrated Slurries using low field spin-lattice relaxation NMR

A method for the rapid on-line determination of surface area and solids content in flowing concentrated slurries using low field NMR spin-lattice relaxation measurements has been developed and demonstrated. The relationship between flow and spin-lattice relaxation time (T 1 ) of protons in water at 20 MHz was examined using aqueous copper sulfate solutions. The ability to measure surface area and solids concentration in both stagnant (stopped flow) and flowing systems via NMR was demonstrated using several different concentrated aqueous titania and glass slurries (20 to 80 weight percent) for which the dried powder surface area was previously determined via nitrogen adsorption/BET analysis and the solids content determined gravimetrically. Surface areas were also calculated from particle size analysis and found to vary by up to an order of magnitude from the adsorption and NMR results
Progeny Testing in Breeding for Egg Production

Abstract THE most effective way of breeding to improve egg production is to select the breeding stock from among the progeny of sires and dams that have proved to be good breeders. Such a method of breeding constitutes what is known as progeny testing. Although progeny testing is practiced by a few of the most progressive poultry breeders in various countries, the great majority of breeders frequently base the selection of their breeding stock almost entirely on the records of egg production of the females. In the latter case a hen with a 280-egg record is claimed to be a much better breeder than a hen with a 220-egg record. Also, a male, the son of a 300-egg dam, is often claimed to be a much more valuable breeder than a male, the son of a 230-egg dam. That such is not necessarily the case is clearly borne out by the . . .
Process Development of CP-481715, a Novel CCR1 Antagonist

Process development for the synthesis of 2-quinoxalinecarboxamide, N-[(1S,2S,4R)-4-(aminocarbonyl)-1-[(3-fluorophenyl)methyl]-2,7-dihydroxy-7-methyloctyl] is described. An optimized and streamlined process starting from lactone 2 was developed: Lactone 2 was alkylated diastereoselectively with prenyl bromide, followed by deprotection of the N-Boc group and concomitant hydration of the olefin. Aminolysis of the lactone in methanolic ammonia afforded the titled compound.
Scattering of slow electrons by polar molecules: Application of effective-range potential theory to HCl

We present a non-empirical potential model for studying threshold vibrational excitation of polar molecules by electron impact. This work builds on the zero-range potential virtual state model of Gauyacq and Herzenberg (J.P. Gauyacq and A. Herzenberg, Phys. Rev. A 25, 2959 (1982)), using known analytic properties of the S-matrix for a dipole potential to predict the analytic continuation of the negative ion potential curve into the continuum. We derive an equation that determines the nuclear dynamics which can be solved without the need for an expansion in target vibrational states. The model is applied to e{sup -} - HCl and is found to capture the essential features of the observed excitation cross sections, including both the threshold peaks as well as oscillatory structures at energies above threshold.
A vocabulary for medical informatics

The terminology in medical informatics is evolving rapidly. The organizers of MEDINFO and SCAMC have used different sets of keywords to index their documents. Recognizing the limitations of this approach, members of those organizations joined with the National Library of Medicine in the creation of a better terminology for medical informatics. A hierarchical structure was placed on the terms to produce a thesaurus typical of the sort often used in the indexing and retrieving of documents. The building of this thesaurus began with an automatic merging of the thesaurus used by the Association of Computing Machinery and the Information Sciences component of the "Medical Subject Headings." This product was pruned by eliminating terms not related to those in the MEDINFO keyword list or not in the medical informatics literature. Further refinement of the thesaurus resulted from extensive discussions among the authors of this paper. The first major application of this terminology has been to the indexing of the articles in "MEDINFO-86 Proceedings." Major components of this medical informatics thesaurus also have been incorporated into the "Medical Subject Headings." This paper describes the process of preparing the thesaurus and presents an evaluation of its coverage of the "MEDINFO-86 Proceedings."
Structure-function relationships in the NA+,K+-pump.

The Na,K-pump was discovered about 50 years ago. Since then there has been a methodic investigation of its structure and functional characteristics. The development of the Albers-Post model for the transport cycle was a milestone that provided the framework for detailed understanding of the transport process. The pump is composed of 2 subunits that exist in the membrane as an αβ heterodimer. All known enzymatic functions of the pump occur through the α subunit. Although necessary for activity, the complete role of the β subunit is not understood fully. Numerous studies have established that the αβ protomer is the minimal functional unit needed to perform the Albers-Post reaction cycle. However, higher orders of aggregation [(αβ) n ] are commonly detected. There is little evidence that oligomerization has functional consequence for ion transport. The Na + ,K + -adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) is a member of the P-type ATPase family of transporters. Proteins within this family have common amino acid sequence motifs that share functional characteristics and structure. Low-resolution 3-dimensional reconstruction of 2-dimensional crystal diffractions provide evidence for the similarity in tertiary structure of the α subunit and the Ca 2+ ATPase (a closely related P-type ATPase). The spatial location of the β subunit also is obvious in these reconstructions. Recent high-resolution reconstructions from 3-dimensional crystals of the Ca 2+ ATPase provide structural details at the atomic level. It now is possible to interpret structurally some of the key steps in the Albers-Post reaction. Some of these high-resolution interpretations are translatable to the Na + ,K + -ATPase, but a high-resolution structure of the Na,K-pump is needed for the necessary details of those aspects that are unique to this transporter.
Reversible compression of medical images with adaptive context selection

An improved version of an efficient method for the reversible compression of digitized medical images is described. The modifications made in this version are aimed at reducing some of the limitations imposed by the original method. As in the original method, the improved method uses the well-known linear prediction technique to decorrelate a given image. A statistical source model with multiple contexts is employed to model the sequence of decorrelated image pixels. The selection of contexts for the source model is based on the horizontal and vertical components of the gradient in the given image as well as the predicted gray-level value of a pixel. The selection procedure is however entirely adaptive in the improved method, whereas it is only partially adaptive in the original method. The source model statistics are also calculated adaptively. The decorrelated image pixels are encoded using the appropriate contextual statistics with the arithmetic coding technique. Experiments on three groups of medical images show that the improved method achieves satisfactory compression performance.
VISIBILITY OF YELLOW CENTER LINE PAVEMENT MARKINGS AS A FUNCTION OF LINE CONFIGURATION AND LINE WIDTH.

The end detection distance of finite length yellow center lines (tape, no edge lines included) was determined in the field at night under automobile low beam illumination as a function of the line configuration (single dashed, single solid, and double solid) and width (0.05m, 0.1m). Ten subjects were used in the study. The factor line type (configuration and width), and approach direction were statistically significant. A 16 fold increase in the retro-reflective area resulted in a near 100% average end detection distance increase in the westbound direction, and in a 65% average end detection distance increase in the eastbound direction (different backgrounds). The findings confirm that an about 65% to near 100% increase in the average end detection distance represents the approximate upper limit of what can be achieved by adding more retro-reflective area to a yellow center line. Increasing the material retroreflectivity and/or improving the material angularity might be much more effective to increase the...
Stable isotope composition of benthic foraminifera from the equatorial Pacific

When ranked according to deviation from isotopic equilibrium, deep-sea benthic foraminifera exhibit no correlation between the rankings for oxygen and for carbon. Both rank sequences are stable from east to west in the equatorial Pacific (fertility-independent) and from Glacial to post-Glacial (time-independent). Records for the past 15,000 yr suggest marked changes in deep-sea circulation during this time interval.
Primary pneumococcal peritonitis complicated by exudative pleural effusion in an adolescent girl

A healthy, young adolescent girl developed primary pneumococcal peritonitis, an infection rarely reported in this age group in North America. Her course was further complicated by exudative pleural effusion and pneumonia despite receiving 10 days of clindamycin therapy. Laparascopy proved useful in making the initial diagnosis, but may have contributed to the pathogenesis of the pulmonary process. Case presentation, management, and etiology are discussed.
Morphology and mechanical function of long-term in vitro engineered cartilage

Cartilage tissue can be engineered in vitro with articular chondrocytes and poly(glycolic acid) nonwoven scaffolds as previously shown over 12 weeks in vitro. This study addressed whether engineered cartilage would further evolve and approach natural cartilage in extracellular matrix organization and biomechanical properties, especially aggregate modulus through longer term in vitro cultivation. Cellularity, cell size, compressive modulus, and permeability of the in vitro engineered cartilage stabilized within the 12-week cultivation time and remained at the same levels as those of natural cartilage thereafter. The linear range of the stress-strain curve was from 0 to a strain value between 5 and 10% for all the engineered cartilage tissues that were in vitro cultured for longer than 2 weeks, which was the same linear range for natural cartilage. The aggregate modulus further increased from week 12 to week 20 and remained approximately the same value thereafter during a 25-week in vitro cultivation. The aggregate modulus of the engineered cartilage reached 179+/-9 kPa after 20 weeks of in vitro cultivation, which was 40% that of natural articular cartilage. To our knowledge this is the highest aggregate modulus value yet reported of any in vitro engineered cartilage tissue.
A direct test of the reductionist approach to structural studies of calmodulin activity: relevance of peptide models of target proteins.

Ca2+-saturated calmodulin (CaM) directly associates with and activates CaM-dependent protein kinase I (CaMKI) through interactions with a short sequence in its regulatory domain. Using heteronuclear NMR13C-15N-1H correlation experiments, the backbone assignments were determined for CaM bound to a peptide (CaMKIp) corresponding to the CaM-binding sequence of CaMKI. A comparison of chemical shifts for free CaM with those of the CaM·CaMKIp complex indicate large differences throughout the CaM sequence. Using NMR techniques optimized for large proteins, backbone resonance assignments were also determined for CaM bound to the intact CaMKI enzyme. NMR spectra of CaM bound to either the CaMKI enzyme or peptide are virtually identical, indicating that calmodulin is structurally indistinguishable when complexed to the intact kinase or the peptide CaM-binding domain. Chemical shifts of CaM bound to a peptide (smMLCKp) corresponding to the calmodulin-binding domain of smooth muscle myosin light chain kinase are also compared with the CaM·CaMKI complexes. Chemical shifts can differentiate one complex from another, as well as bound versus free states of CaM. In this context, the observed similarity between CaM·CaMKI enzyme and peptide complexes is striking, indicating that the peptide is an excellent mimetic for interaction of calmodulin with the CaMKI enzyme.
Mechanics of membrane fusion

A fascinating problem in modern cell biology — how membranes fuse — may be close to a solution. A flurry of recent papers report structural results on proteins that are essential for membrane fusion during exocytosis, providing a starting point from which a mechanistic understanding of membrane fusion can be launched.
Sodium- potassium requiring adenosinetriphosphatase activity III. Purification and properties of the adenosinediphosphate-adenosinetriphosphate exchange enzyme

Summary The ADP-ATP exchange reaction has been studied in a partially purified fraction containing (Na + -K + )-requiring ATPase prepared from pig kidney. Similarities between exchange activity and ATPase could be shown for pH optimum, K m 's for ATP, nucleotide and divalent cation specificity. The exchange reaction is unaffected by monovalent cations and none of the inhibitors of the ATPase affect the exchange reaction. The exchange enzyme was solubilized and purified 20–30-fold. No Na + -stimulated phosphorylated intermediate is formed with the solubilized exchange enzyme after incubation with [ γ - 32 P]ATP.
Recognition and pose estimation of unoccluded three-dimensional objects from a two-dimensional perspective view by banks of neural networks

This paper describes a neural network (NN) based system for recognition and pose estimation of an unoccluded three-dimensional (3-D) object from any single two-dimensional (2-D) perspective view. The approach is invariant to translation, orientation, and scale. First, the binary silhouette of the object is obtained and normalized for translation and scale. Then, the object is represented by a set of rotation invariant features derived from the complex orthogonal pseudo-Zernike moments of the image. The recognition scheme combines the decisions of a bank of multilayer perceptron NN classifiers operating in parallel on the same data. These classifiers have different topologies and internal parameters, but are trained on the same set of exemplar perspective views of the objects. Next, two pose parameters, elevation and aspect angles, are obtained by a novel two-stage NN system consisting of a quadrant classifier followed by NN angle estimators. Performance is tested on clean and noisy data bases of military ground vehicles. Comparative studies with three other classifiers (a single NN, the weighted nearest-neighbor classifier, and a binary decision tree) are carried out.
Behavioral analog circuit models for multiple simulation environments

A method for modeling analog circuits at the behavioral level using nonlinear differential equations is described. The resulting models execute efficiently in various simulation environments, including a circuit analysis program and an event-driven logic simulator. Behavioral models are expressed as differential equations with respect to time. A variety of linear and nonlinear operators are provided. The equations provide a concise method of specifying circuit behavior in engineering terms, rather than in programming terms. The equation compiler produces three object models from a single equation source model. One of the object models is used by a circuit simulator, ASTAP, the second by DSL, a continuous system simulation language, and the third by an event-driven logic simulator. The compiler and its run-time libraries guarantee that all of the object models perform identically. >
Analysis of conductor impedances accounting for skin effect and nonlinear permeability

It is often necessary to protect sensitive electrical equipment from pulsed electric and magnetic fields. To accomplish this electromagnetic shielding structures similar to Faraday Cages are often implemented. If the equipment is inside a facility that has been reinforced with rebar, the rebar can be used as part of a lighting protection system. Unfortunately, such shields are not perfect and allow electromagnetic fields to be created inside due to discontinuities in the structure, penetrations, and finite conductivity of the shield. In order to perform an analysis of such a structure it is important to first determine the effect of the finite impedance of the conductors used in the shield. In this paper we will discuss the impedances of different cylindrical conductors in the time domain. For a time varying pulse the currents created in the conductor will have different spectral components, which will affect the current density due to skin effects. Many construction materials use iron and different types of steels that have a nonlinear permeability. The nonlinear material can have an effect on the impedance of the conductor depending on the B-H curve. Although closed form solutions exist for the impedances of cylindrical conductors made of linear materials, computational techniques are needed for nonlinear materials. Simulations of such impedances are often technically challenging due to the need for a computational mesh to be able to resolve the skin depths for the different spectral components in the pulse. The results of such simulations in the time domain will be shown and used to determine the impedances of cylindrical conductors for lightning current pulses that have low frequency content.
Computerized Prescriber Order Entry Implementation in a Physician Assistant–Managed Hematology and Oncology Inpatient Service: Effects on Workflow and Task Switching

The authors found that CPOE implementation did not negatively affect time available for direct patient care and that workflow fragmentation decreased, which is likely beneficial.
Thermal properties of graphene and multilayer graphene: Applications in thermal interface materials

Abstract We review the thermal properties of graphene and multilayer graphene, and discuss graphene’s applications in thermal management of advanced electronics and optoelectronics. A special attention is paid to the use of the liquid-phase-exfoliated graphene and multilayer graphene as the fillers in the thermal interface materials. It has been demonstrated that addition of an optimized mixture of graphene and multilayer graphene to the composites with different matrix materials produces the record-high enhancement of the effective thermal conductivity at the small filler loading fraction (f≤10 vol%). The thermal conductivity enhancement due to the presence of graphene in the composites has been observed for a range of matrix materials used by industry. The hybrid composites where graphene is utilized together with metallic micro- and nanoparticles allow one to tune both the thermal and electrical conductivity of these materials. Theoretical considerations indicate that the graphene-based thermal interface materials can outperform those with carbon nanotubes, metal nanoparticles and other fillers owing to graphene’s geometry, mechanical flexibility and lower Kapitza resistance at the graphene–base material interface.
Influence of gender on hip and knee mechanics during a randomly cued cutting maneuver

Abstract Objective . To investigate gender differences in three-dimensional hip and knee joint mechanics in collegiate athletes during a randomly cued cutting maneuver. Design . Three-dimensional kinematics and kinetics were collected on 24 collegiate soccer players (12 females and 12 males) while each performed the cutting maneuver. In order to create a randomly cued condition, subjects were signaled by a lighted target board that directed them to perform one of three tasks. Hip and knee joint mechanics were compared between genders using one-tailed t -tests. Background . Female athletes have an anterior cruciate ligament injury rate that is larger than their male counterparts. Gender differences in hip and knee joint mechanics during a randomly cued cutting maneuver have not been previously reported. Methods . Five randomly cued cutting trials were included in the analysis. Selected peak hip and knee joint angles and moments were measured during the first 40° of knee flexion across the stance phase. Results . Females demonstrated significantly less peak hip abduction than did males. Otherwise, there were no gender differences in selected peak hip and knee joint kinematics and moments. Conclusions . Male and female collegiate soccer players demonstrate similar hip and knee joint mechanics while performing a randomly cued cutting maneuver. Relevance . Because it is known that females incur a greater number of anterior cruciate ligament injuries than males, it is of interest to identify gender differences in lower extremity mechanics when performing sport specific tasks. Understanding of these differences will contribute to the development of prevention training programs.
Temperature-triggered shape-transformations in layer-by-layer microtubes

One-dimensional layer-by-layer (LbL) nano- and microtubes have been extensively studied for energy and biomedical applications. Here, we report a temperature-triggered transformation in shape for LbL microtubes consisting of poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) and poly(acrylic acid) (PAA). PAH/PAA microtubes were assembled onto porous sacrificial templates. Released microtubes transform to closed ellipsoids upon heating in water. On the other hand, unreleased microtubes (remaining within the template) exhibit a completely different behavior in which periodic perforations appear, suggestive of Rayleigh instabilities. In both cases, the transformations occurred near and above the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the hydrated PAH/PAA LbL assembly, suggesting that the transformation in shape is tied to the thermal properties of the LbL assembly.
Epithelial-mesenchymal transition, cancer stem cells and treatment resistance

Breast cancer relapse, in a large number of patients, after initial response to standard of care therapy warrants development of novel therapies against recurrent and metastatic cancer. Cancer stem cells (CSCs), present in breast tumors while being intrinsically resistant to conventional therapy, have the ability to self renew and cause tumor recurrence. The residual tumors after therapy, with dramatic enrichment of the CSCs, have all the hallmarks of epithelial- mesenchymal transition (EMT). This review will focus on the link between EMT, CSCs and treatment resistance, since a better understanding of these interactions will allow us to effectively target the residual population after therapy.
Statistical significance of variables driving systematic variation in high-dimensional data.

Motivation: There are a number of well-established methods such as principal component analysis (PCA) for automatically capturing systematic variation due to latent variables in large-scale genomic data. PCA and related methods may directly provide a quantitative characterization of a complex biological variable that is otherwise difficult to precisely define or model. An unsolved problem in this context is how to systematically identify the genomic variables that are drivers of systematic variation captured by PCA. Principal components (PCs) (and other estimates of systematic variation) are directly constructed from the genomic variables themselves, making measures of statistical significance artificially inflated when using conventional methods due to over-fitting. Results: We introduce a new approach called the jackstraw that allows one to accurately identify genomic variables that are statistically significantly associated with any subset or linear combination of PCs. The proposed method can greatly simplify complex significance testing problems encountered in genomics and can be used to identify the genomic variables significantly associated with latent variables. Using simulation, we demonstrate that our method attains accurate measures of statistical significance over a range of relevant scenarios. We consider yeast cell-cycle gene expression data, and show that the proposed method can be used to straightforwardly identify genes that are cell-cycle regulated with an accurate measure of statistical significance. We also analyze gene expression data from post-trauma patients, allowing the gene expression data to provide a molecularly driven phenotype. Using our method, we find a greater enrichment for inflammatory-related gene sets compared to the original analysis that uses a clinically defined, although likely imprecise, phenotype. The proposed method provides a useful bridge between large-scale quantifications of systematic variation and gene-level significance analyses. Availability and implementation: An R software package, called jackstraw, is available in CRAN. Contact: ude.notecnirp@yerotsj
Regulation of Maternal and Fetal Hemodynamics by Heme Oxygenase in Mice

Heme oxygenase (HMOX) regulates vascular tone and blood pressure through the production of carbon monoxide (CO), a vasodilator derived from the heme degradation pathway. During pregnancy, the maternal circulation undergoes significant adaptations to accommodate the hemodynamic demands of the developing fetus. Our objective was to investigate the role of HMOX on maternal and fetal hemodynamics during pregnancy in a mouse model. We measured and compared maternal tissue and placental HMOX activity and endogenous CO production, represented by excreted CO and carboxyhemoglobin levels, during pregnancy (Embryonic Days 12.5–15.5) to nonpregnant controls. Micro-ultrasound was used to monitor maternal abdominal aorta diameters as well as blood flow velocities and diameters of fetal umbilical arteries. Tin mesoporphyrin, a potent HMOX inhibitor, was used to inhibit HMOX activity. Changes in maternal vascular tone were monitored by tail cuff blood pressure measurements. Effects of HMOX inhibition on placental structures were assessed by histology. We showed that maternal tissue and placental HMOX activity and CO production were significantly elevated during pregnancy. When HMOX in the placenta was inhibited, maternal and fetal hemodynamics underwent significant changes, with maternal blood pressures increasing. We concluded that increases in maternal tissue and placental HMOX activity contribute to the regulation of peripheral vascular resistance and therefore are important for the maintenance of normal maternal vascular tone and fetal hemodynamic functions during pregnancy. carbon monoxide, heme oxygenase, hemodynamic function, hemodynamics, placenta, pregnancy
Activation of Aliphatic C-H and C-C Bonds

Alkyl C-H bonds are generally resistant to attack by soluble transition metal complexes. Nevertheless, alkane reactions are catalyzed by [PtCl4]2- and activated methanes form C-H oxidative addition products with Fe°(dmpe)2 and [Ir (dmpe)2]+. The iridium system is especially interesting because it reacts with CH3X compounds (X = CN, Ac, NO2) even though it is inert to aryi C-H bonds which are often more reactive. The iridium complex brings about reaction of acetonitrile with carbon dioxide to form cyano-acetic acid derivatives.
Bounds for low-density parity-check codes over partial-response channels

Summary form only given. The application of low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes to magnetic recording systems motivates the search for analytical ways to evaluate system performance over partial-response (PR) channels. In this paper a technique proposed by Duman and Kurtas (IEEE Trans. Inform. Theory, vol. 47, pp. 1203-1205, 2001) is extended to bound the frame error rate (FER) of high-rate LDPC codes. We circumvent the requirement that the weight distribution of the underlying code must be known by using estimates (A. Ashikhmin et al, ibid., vol. 47, pp. 1050-1061, 2001). This new bounding technique is used to compute the bounds for geometrically constructed LDPC codes over PR channels. Simulations are used to evaluate the computed bounds.
Scintillation of pseudo-Bessel correlated beams in atmospheric turbulence

The concept of pseudo-Bessel correlated beams is introduced, and their scintillation properties on propagation through turbulence are investigated. By using the Rytov approximation, the scintillation index of pseudo-Bessel correlated beams is formulated in weak turbulence. The study of scintillation is extended into strong turbulence by numeric simulations. It is shown that by choosing an appropriate coherence parameter, pseudo-Bessel correlated beams have lower scintillation than comparable fully coherent beams in both weak and strong turbulence. In addition, the configuration of pseudo-Bessel correlated beams is modified by adding a horizontal beamlet; the scintillation properties of these modified beams are also discussed.
Mitochondrial DNA divergence does not reflect morphological difference between Myotis californicus and Myotis ciliolabrum

The California myotis, Myotis californicus, and western small-footed myotis, Myotis ciliolabrum, are 2 morphologically similar bats which have had a complex taxonomic history due to intraspecific geographic variation across their sympatric distribution in western North America. Despite several published differences, field identification remains problematic in the southwestern United States. Mitochondrial cytochrome-b and control region fragments were amplified from tissue samples (n ¼ 20) from Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and California to examine species boundaries and phylogenetic relationships. DNA sequences (1,184 bp) were used in parsimony and maximum-likelihood analyses. To corroborate species identification, cranial measurements from all specimens included in the molecular analysis along with additional specimens were analyzed statistically using principal components analysis (PCA). Individuals were designated either as M. californicus or M. ciliolabrum. Molecular analysis placed M. leibii within clades containing both M. californicus and M. ciliolabrum. In addition, sequence divergence and phylogenetic results do not recover distinct lineages for each species (M. californicus and M. ciliolabrum) as recognized by morphology. Our results suggest that these species have recently diverged, or alternatively that they are 1 phenotypically variable species. Based on network estimation of cytochrome-b haplotypes, phylogeographic structure is minimally represented between haplotypes with an east-west separation in the southwestern United States.
CONSERVATION TREATMENT OF THE EYE: CONFORMAL PROTON REIRRADIATION FOR RECURRENT UVEAL MELANOMA

Purpose: To evaluate the outcomes of a second course of proton beam radiation therapy (PBRT) in patients with recurrent uveal melanoma. Methods and Materials: Thirty-one patients received a second course of PBRT. The mean interval between the first and the second PBRT course was 50.2 months (range, 8–165 months). Most patients (87%) received 70 cobalt Gray equivalent (CGE) for both courses. Visual acuity was 20/200 or better in 30 patients initially and in 22 patients at the second treatment. The mean follow-up time after the second treatment was 50 months (range, 6–164 months). Results: At the time of the last follow-up, 20 patients were classified as having no evidence of disease, defined as tumor regression or an absence of tumor progression. Nine eyes (29%) were enucleated because of local recurrence (n = 5) or intractable pain (n = 4). The 5-year eye retention rate was 55% (95% confidence interval: 25.2–77.4). Six of the 22 patients who retained the eye (27%) had useful vision (20/200 or better). Conclusions A second course of PBRT for recurrent uveal melanoma to total doses between 118 and 140 CGE was associated with a relatively good probability of local control and a low enucleation rate. Although most patients lost vision, the majority were able to retain the reirradiated eye. Further evaluation is needed to assess metastasis-free survival of additional proton irradiation vs. enucleation after local recurrence.
Use of remotely sensed soil moisture to determine soil hydraulic properties

Laboratory and field methods for determining soil hydraulic properties are time consuming and expensive. An alternative approach is to use pedotransfer functions which predict various soil hydraulic properties based on more readily available physical properties. Pedotransfer functions have been developed that operate with various levels of information. Greater available information yields more reliable estimates of any particular hydraulic property. Because some of the physical properties being used in pedotransfer functions are not available on a regional scale, there is a need to develop pedotransfer functions for use with regional soil databases. A system is described that uses soil texture classes and remotely sensed soil moisture in the dry state to estimate soil hydraulic properties at a 800 m pixel scale.
A Framework for Querying Sensor Networks Using Mobile Devices

An interplay between mobile devices and static sensor nodes is envisioned in the near future. This will enable a heterogeneous design space that can offset the stringent resource and power constraints encountered in traditional static sensor networks by taking advantage of the more powerful mobile devices. As such, we present a systematic framework for end-to-end query processing, using a two-layer architecture that consists of mobile devices at the upper layer and static sensor nodes at the bottom layer. One of our key goals is to achieve energy-efficient query injection and data collection by leveraging the mobility and transmission flexibility of objects at the upper layer. We propose a pull query model that contains staged operations including query generation, query routing, query injection, and query result routing. In the context of this model, we investigate a suite of techniques for the scenario with location-ignorant sensor nodes.
Maximizing Throughput in Layered Peer-to-Peer Streaming

Layered streaming is an effective solution to address the receiver heterogeneity in peer-to-peer (P2P) multimedia distribution. This paper targets a fundamental challenge in this application, i.e., how to find optimal routing structure maximizing receiver throughput and achieving intra-layer and inter-layer fairness. We formulate the problem using the multicommodity flow theory, and propose a series of routing algorithms that fully explore the tradeoff between theoretical optimality and practicability. For each algorithm, we have proved its optimality to achieve maximum throughput under fairness constraint, or approximation bound to the optimal rate. Experimental results confirm our algorithms to greatly outperform their theoretical bounds.
Histology-based screen for zebrafish mutants with abnormal cell differentiation.

The power of histology to define states of cell differentiation was used as the basis of a mutagenesis screen in zebrafish. In this screen, 7-day-old parthenogenetic half-tetrad larvae from potential carrier females were screened for mutations affecting cell differentiation in hematoxylin and eosin-stained tissue sections. Seven, noncomplementing, recessive mutations were found. Two mutations affect only the retina: segmented photoreceptors (spr) show a discontinuous photoreceptor cell layer; vestigial outer segments (vos) has fewer photoreceptor cells and degenerated outer segments within this cell layer. Three mutants have gut-specific defects: the epithelial cells of kirby (kby) are replaced by ballooned cells; the intestines of stuffy (sfy) and stuffed (sfd) contain increased luminal mucus. Two mutations affect multiple organs: disordered neural retina (dnr) has disrupted retinal layering and mild nuclear abnormalities in the gut and liver; and in huli hutu (hht), the retinal cell layers are disorganized and multiple organs have mild to severe nuclear abnormalities that are reminiscent of the atypia of human neoplasia. Each mutation appears to be homozygous lethal. This screen is proof of principle for the feasibility of histologic screens to yield novel mutations, including potential models of human disease. The throughput for this type of screen may be enhanced by automation.
Study and Analysis of User Behaviour and Usage Patterns in a Unified Personal Multimedia Information Envirionment

The ability to capture information using multiple media simultaneously is becoming common due to the development of powerful and easy to use sensor technologies and consumer products. It has therefore been widely postulated that systems that recognize the semantic correlations between heterogeneous media, model them, and allow interactions across them in unified manners are essential for sustaining effective information assimilation in such true multimedia scenarios. In this context, at the state-of-the-art, a key challenge involves studying and analyzing user behaviors and usage patterns in such information management frameworks. In this paper, we address this issue using an event-based unified multimedia information management system. Our research analyzes, both qualitatively and quantitatively, how users organize, manage, query, explore, and assimilate information in such an environment. We also identify certain key features in the unified model, which are found to be of special value in information access and assimilation. Results from our investigation provide important insights into user behavior in pan-media information organization and interaction frameworks and will be valuable in further development of unified modeling, querying, and interaction techniques.
Revisions to stratigraphic nomenclature of the Upper Triassic Chinle Group in New Mexico New insights from geologic mapping, sedimentology, and magnetostratigraphic/paleomagnetic data

Upper Triassic strata, termed the Chinle Formation or Group, reveal a complex sedimentologic history, which has led to numerous modifications to the lithostratigraphic nomenclature for this unit. Recent revisions to Chinle nomenclature in New Mexico are based on local stratigraphic section inspection. The utility of some stratigraphic subdivisions, especially at formation rank, are problematic when mapping units away from type areas. New magnetostratigraphic records for the Chinle Group, as well as 1:24,000-scale mapping, stratigraphic section logs, and sedimentologic analyses support the following revisions to current nomenclature of the Chinle: (1) formally raising Chinle strata to group status in New Mexico; (2) abandoning the term Zuni Mountains Formation for lower Chinle strata in the Chama Basin; (3) including the lower member of the Salitral Formation in the Shinarump Formation; and (4) reassigning strata termed Rock Point Formation in the Chama Basin to the Moenave Formation. Sedimentologic and basin-analysis interpretations utilized in earlier studies of the Chinle should be resurrected. The revised stratigraphic nomenclature for the Chinle Group and sedimentologic analyses, both old and new, greatly expands our understanding of depositional changes in the Chinle Basin of northern New Mexico. The trunk stream for Chinle deposition in New Mexico coursed westward through the site of the modern Sierra Nacimiento of north-central New Mexico during Shinarump time (?late Carnian or early Norian), then moved northward to flow to the west in the area of the modern Chama Basin. In addition, north-central New Mexico was probably a topographic high during the time of Owl Rock and Rock Point deposition in the late Norian, and thus no uppermost Triassic (late Norian to early Rhaetian) strata were deposited in the area of the modern Chama Basin.
Modified Boussinesq equations and associated parabolic models for water wave propagation

The modified Boussinesq equations given by Nwogu (1993a) are rederived in terms of a velocity potential on an arbitrary elevation and the free surface displacement. The optimal elevation where the velocity potential should be evaluated is determined by comparing the dispersion and shoaling properties of the linearized modified Boussinesq equations with those given by the linear Stokes theory over a range of depths from zero to one half of the equivalent deep-water wavelength. For regular waves consisting of a finite number of harmonics and propagating over a slowly varying topography, the governing equations for velocity potentials of each harmonic are a set of weakly nonlinear coupled fourth-order elliptic equations with variable coefficients. The parabolic approximation is applied to these coupled fourth-order elliptic equations for the first time. A small-angle parabolic model is developed for waves propagating primarily in a dominant direction. The pseudospectral Fourier method is employed to derive an angular-spectrum parabolic model for multi-directional wave propagation. The small-angle model is examined by comparing numerical results with Whalin's (1971) experimental data. The angular-spectrum model is tested by comparing numerical results with the refraction theory of cnoidal waves (Skovgaard & Petersen 1977) and is used to study the effect of the directed wave angle on the oblique interaction of two identical cnoidal wavetrains in shallow water.
Back-Pressure Routing for Intermittently Connected Networks

We study a mobile wireless network where groups or clusters of nodes are intermittently connected via mobile ``carriers'' (the carriers provide connectivity over time among different clusters of nodes). Over such networks (an instantiation of a delay tolerant network), it is well-known that traditional routing algorithms perform very poorly. In this paper, we propose a two-level Back- Pressure with Source-Routing algorithm (BP+SR) for such networks. The proposed BP+SR algorithm separates routing and scheduling within clusters (fast time-scale) from the communications that occur across clusters (slow time-scale), without loss in network throughput (i.e., BP+SR is throughput-optimal). More importantly, for a source and destination node that lie in different clusters, the traditional back-pressure algorithm results in large queue lengths at each node along its path. This is because the queue dynamics are driven by the slowest time-scale (i.e., that of the carrier nodes) along the path between the source and destination, which results in very large end-to-end delays. On the other-hand, we show that the two-level BP+SR algorithm maintains large queues only at a very few nodes, and thus results in order-wise smaller end-to-end delays. We provide analytical as well as simulation results to confirm our claims.
Gender, Race, and Dissensus on State Supreme Courts*

Objectives The objectives of this study were to integrate multiple streams of research on judicial dissensus to better understand the causes of state court of last resort justices’ decisions to dissent. The study particularly focused on the relationship between dissent and gender and race (and their intersection) at the individual and panel level. Methods We employed probit regression with clustered standard errors of the population of state court of last resort cases from 1995 to 1998. Results Women and minorities were more likely to dissent in cases involving issues that are particularly salient to those particular groups. We also find evidence of the intersectionality of race and gender: while white women and African-American males were less likely to dissent than white males, African-American women were the most likely to cast dissenting votes. Conclusions Our results suggest that, in addition to small-group (panel) and institutional characteristics, individual attributes such as race and gender (and their intersection) matter in the decision to dissent.
PC based laboratory station for testing adaptive controllers on synchronous generators

The authors describe a laboratory station for testing real-time control algorithms. These algorithms were designed for generator excitation and stabilizer control and were implemented on an IBM PS/2 used as a digital controller. The central philosophy of the station design is presented. Its ability to accommodate any digital controller is emphasized. The station features, such as switching between different controllers in real time, are discussed. The graphics capabilities that allow the user to compare fully the responses of the various adaptive controllers are described. >
Hydride Attack on a Coordinated Ferric Nitrosyl: Experimental and DFT Evidence for the Formation of a Heme Model–HNO Derivative

Heme–HNO species are crucial intermediates in several biological processes. To date, no well-defined Fe heme–HNO model compounds have been reported. Hydride attack on the cationic ferric [(OEP)Fe(NO)(5-MeIm)]OTf (OEP = octaethylporphyrinato dianion) generates an Fe–HNO product that has been characterized by IR and 1H NMR spectroscopy. Results of DFT calculations reveal a direct attack of the hydride on the N atom of the coordinated ferric nitrosyl.