cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IN EMERGENCY TRANSPORTATION PLANNING

Government planning is required when private pricing cannot represent the benefits involved. This often occurs in planning for emergencies because private persons know they are unlikely to realize the benefits of their preparations. Government transportation planning has characteristics, such as reliance on investment in new equipment instead of the use of existing equipment through pricing, a tendency to solidify existing technology and retard phasing-out activity, and a poor record of innovation, that do not lead one to optimism concerning planning for emergencies. The Defense Department has relied mainly on motor transport, operating through a Traffic Command analogous to the traffic department of a private firm. A limited war can be supplied with ships and planes hired from the private sector. A full-scale war would almost certainly be nuclear, of short duration, and fought with the resources at hand. The subsidy to the merchant marine should be ended; shipping for military and naval purposes should be acquired in competitive markets.
Validation of quantitative polymerase chain reaction assays for measuring cytokine expression in equine macrophages

Abstract The study of the equine immune system and inflammatory responses, by measuring cytokine expression, can provide important insight into disease pathogenesis in the horse. A set of quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (QPCR) assays for the equine cytokines IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α were validated using QPCR primers and probes which were generated for the equine IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α and 18S genes. Amplification efficiency, intra-assay and inter-assay variation were determined using 10-fold dilutions of plasmid for each gene. Under these conditions the amplification efficiencies of the primers and probes ranged from 99% to 101%. The mean coefficient of variation (CV) across five sets of plasmid DNA for both intra-assay and inter-assay variation was 0.63% (range 0.2% to 1.8%). Amplification efficiency was also determined using 2-fold dilutions of cDNA and under these conditions amplification efficiency ranged from 83% to 95%. The specificity of amplification was confirmed by DNA sequencing of reaction products. The QPCR assays were also evaluated using three sets of cDNA from equine monocyte derived macrophages (EMDM) stimulated for 1 h with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The general trend was the same for all three samples with IL-1α showing the greatest induction and IL-6 the lowest induction. The range of cytokine induction was greater than has previously been reported with values ranging from 12-fold to 30,000-fold. We present a set of QPCR primers and probes that are suitable for quantitation of expression of a set of equine cytokines. The primers and probes have been rigorously analyzed, and we demonstrate that they are specific for the desired genes, have a high amplification efficiency and the assays are highly reproducible.
Management of Infraorbital Dark Circles: A Significant Cosmetic Concern

Despite the frequency with which it occurs, little has been written in the scientific literature on the treatment of infraorbital dark circles. I have developed a technique that simultaneously treats the 2 contributing causes of these circles: hyperpigmentation of skin and pseudoherniation of orbital fat. The technique involves simultaneous transconjunctival blepharoplasty and deep-depth phenol chemical peel. Successful outcomes have been obtained in patients with Fitzpatrick classification skin types 1 to 5, with a low incidence of complications. Adequate preoperative counseling regarding prolonged erythema and careful postoperative monitoring with, if necessary, medical intervention are essential if both surgeon and patient are to be satisfied with the outcomes.
Analysis of atmospheric pressure plasma torch and the effects of multiple gas compositions on plasma chemistry and its interaction with high density polyethylene

Summary form only given. Atmospheric plasma torches with compressed air feed gas are currently being evaluated as an alternative to grit blasting for the removal of paint coatings on naval and air vessels. Although these systems have demonstrated the ability to remove coatings at a moderate rate, the mechanisms by which the paint is removed are not well understood. It is widely postulated that the oxidizing dissociated species formed in the plasma torch provide a chemical pathway for enhanced removal of coatings; however, this mechanism has not been confirmed. In this work, we seek to elucidate mechanisms that drive paint removal with an atmospheric plasma torch. Specifically, the influence of reactive species, thermal energy dissipation, and energetic plasma species on coating removal rates need to be quantified. To this end, an atmospheric pressure plasma torch operating at 100 kHz and approximately 1 kW delivered power is studied under different feed gases. High density polyethylene (HDPE) samples are used as a surrogate for a generic paint matrix. Operating the plasma torch with compressed air as the feed gas, this system has been shown to remove HDPE up to a rate of approximately 100 mg/s. Preliminary results indicate the removal of HDPE with a nitrogen plasma in ambient and inert environments, suggesting that the removal mechanism is not solely oxidation. We compare these results with removal rates obtained with different gases including nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen-oxygen mixtures. Removal rates are also compared to optical emission spectroscopy to identify the reactive plasma constituents. This work exhibits a complex plasma chemistry comprised of energetic metastable and reactive species that portends the feasibility of anaerobic removal under ambient conditions with comparable rates.
ORNL Evaluation of the ORR-PSF Metallurgical Experiment and “Blind Test

A methodology is described to evaluate the dosimetry and metallurgical data from the two-year ORR-PSF metallurgical irradiation experiment. The first step is to obtain a three-dimensional map of damage exposure parameter values based on neutron transport calculations and dosimetry measurements which are obtained by means of the LSL-M2 adjustment procedure. Metallurgical test data are then combined with damage parameter, temperature, and chemistry information to determine the correlation between radiation and steel embrittlement in reactor pressure vessels including estimates for the uncertainties. Statistical procedures for the evaluation of Charpy data, developed earlier, are used for this investigation. The data obtained in this investigation provide a benchmark against which the predictions of the ″PSF Blind Test″ can be compared. The results of this investigation and the Blind Test comparison will be discussed.
Consecutive ion/molecule condensation reactions and photodissociation mechanisms of condensation ions in polyacetylenic compounds

Abstract Consecutive ion/molecule condensation and condensation/dissociation reactions in diacetylene, cyanoacetylene, and cyanogen have been examined in an ion cyclotron resonance spectrometer at pressures of ∼ 10−6 torr and in a high pressure photoionization mass spectrometer at pressures of ∼ 10−2 torr. The initial reaction of the diacetylene radical cation with diacetylene generates C6H2+ and C8H4+ ions which react further with neutral diacetylene, initiating the parallel series of reactions C6H2+ → C10H4+ → C14H6+ → C18H8+ and C8H4+ → C12H6+ → C16H8+ → C20H10+. The ions of the second sequence all show two populations, one of which is reactive and one unreactive with diacetylene. At lower pressures, the C8H4+ ions dissociate to give C8H2+ + H2 and the second sequence is replaced by the sequence C8H2+ → C12H4+ → C16H6+. The C12 and C10 ions are dissociated by 600 nm photons through loss of acetylene or diacetylene. Parent radical cations generated in cyanoacetylene and cyanogen mainly undergo simple consecutive addition processes with their respective parent molecules: M+ → M2+ → M3+ → etc. Rate constants are reported for the first few steps of the condensation sequences in all systems and inferences are made about the heats of formation of observed ions.
Dual-Band Composite Right/Left-Handed Metamaterial Concept

In this letter a concept of a simple dual-band (DB) composite right/left-handed (CRLH) metamaterial is presented and discussed. This DB-CRLH concept is based on the combination of a conventional CRLH unit-cell with two conventional right-handed transmission-line sections. The equations required for analysis of such structure is derived and presented. The effect of the equivalent circuit model parameters on the dispersion diagram of the DB-CRLH unit-cell is investigated.
A parts selection model with one-way substitution

Abstract This paper develops a parts selection model with one-way substitution. The problem horizon is assumed to be infinite and cost and demand parameters are assumed to be stationary over the problem horizon. The objective is to select a subset of parts from the available set of parts to minimize the average per-period cost. In addition to the purchase and inventory related costs, we assume that there is an overhead cost to manage the stock of parts which is a function of the number of parts kept in stock. The purchase price function used in the paper covers all the commonly used quantity discount models. Several analytical results are developed for the problem and an efficient dynamic programming algorithm is developed to find an optimal solution.
On the cooling of the moon by solid convection

If a molten, or partially molten, lunar core exists at present, constraints would be placed on the viscosity of the solid mantle and the distribution of radioactive heat sources. Models in which the heat sources have been concentrated near the surface would rapidly solidify if the effective viscosity did not exceed 10 to the 22nd power sq cm/sec. Retention of most of the heat sources throughout the mantle would permit present day solid convection to occur without cooling the core.
Surface stress-induced island shape transition in Si(001) homoepitaxy

A low-energy electron microscopy study of two-dimensional Si(001) island shapes near thermal equilibrium on $10\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}15 \ensuremath{\mu}{\mathrm{m}}^{2}$ large single-domain terraces reveals a continuous increase of island aspect ratio and a shape transition from elliptical to ``American-football''-like with increasing island size. The size-dependent island shapes are driven by elastic relaxation caused by the intrinsic surface stress anisotropy present on Si(001). Analysis of the measured elliptical island shapes based on an elastic-model calculation allows a quantitative determination of step energies and of the surface stress anisotropy as a function of temperature.
Limited fine motor and grasping skills in 6-month-old infants at high risk for autism.

Atypical motor behaviors are common among children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). However, little is known about onset and functional implications of differences in early motor development among infants later diagnosed with ASD. Two prospective experiments were conducted to investigate motor skills among 6-month-olds at increased risk (high risk) for ASD (N1 = 129; N2 = 46). Infants were assessed using the Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL) and during toy play. Across both experiments, high-risk infants exhibited less mature object manipulation in a highly structured (MSEL) context and reduced grasping activity in an unstructured (free-play) context than infants with no family history of ASD. Longitudinal assessments suggest that between 6 and 10 months, grasping activity increases in high-risk infants.
Aversive behavior rehearsal for sexual exhibitionism

The aversive behavior rehearsal (ABR) technique is a specific procedure for the management of chronic sexual exhibitionism. The in vivo ABR (I-V-ABR) makes an appointment for the patient to come into the clinic and expose himself at a specific time and place to people who know of him. The vicarious aversive behavior rehearsal (V-ABR) technique arranges for a chronic exhibitionist to observe via video tape the I-V-ABR treatment of a fellow exhibitionist. Twenty chronic exhibitionists have been treated with one to four sessions with the above methods, and none has relapsed to date in follow-ups ranging up to 7 years.
Noise, detectors, and submillimeter–terahertz system performance in nonambient environments

Because many sources of radiation in the submillimeter–terahertz have relatively low power, the development of sensitive detectors has been important. Equally important is the selection of detector and source methodologies appropriate for specific scientific or technological applications. Discussed is the effect of Bose–Einstein statistics, blackbody mode structure, and detector optical and electronic bandwidths to develop closed-form expressions for the contributions from experimental backgrounds to overall system noise. The results obtained allay the oft-expressed concerns that many important experiments, especially those conducted at elevated temperatures or in harsh environments such as plasmas, are either difficult or not possible with high-resolution cw systems. To the contrary, in the large majority of cases this excess background noise is not observable. Experimental examples are provided.
Arboreal camera trapping: Taking a proven method to new heights

Summary Although camera trapping has been shown to be a highly effective non-invasive tool for wildlife monitoring, the technique has not yet been widely applied to studies of arboreal species. Despite the unique challenges that camera trapping in the canopy poses, its versatility and relatively non-invasive nature, combined with recent technological improvements on the cameras themselves, make camera trapping a highly useful tool for arboreal research. We present data on the methodology and effectiveness of arboreal camera trapping during the first 6 months of a year-long study in the Lower Urubamba Region of Peru investigating animal use of natural crossing points (i.e. branches) over a natural gas pipeline clearing. We placed Reconyx PC800 Hyperfire cameras in 25 crossing points of 13 distinct natural canopy ‘bridges’ at a mean height of 26·8 m. After 6 months of data collection, we logged 1522 photoevents, recording 20 mammal, 23 bird and four reptile species. An analysis of animal passing events in front of the cameras over time did not suggest any negative response to camera presence. While we found that cameras in the canopy are triggered more frequently by non-target stimuli (e.g. leaves) than cameras on the ground, we demonstrated significantly reduced false triggering following leaf removal within 1·5 m of the camera. Our results suggest that arboreal camera trapping can provide robust documentation of a diversity of vertebrate species engaged in a variety of activities, and we provide recommendations for other researchers interested in using in this method. This is the most extensive arboreal camera trapping study to date in terms of the length of the study period, the number of cameras being used and the height of the cameras in the trees. Therefore, lessons provided from this experience can be used to improve the design of future arboreal camera trap studies.
Bridging psychology and genetics using large-scale spatial analysis of neuroimaging and neurogenetic data

Understanding how microscopic molecules give rise to complex cognitive processes is a major goal of the biological sciences. The countless hypothetical molecule-cognition relationships necessitate discovery-based techniques to guide scientists toward the most productive lines of investigation. To this end, we present a novel discovery tool that uses spatial patterns of neural gene expression from the Allen Brain Institute (ABI) and large-scale functional neuroimaging meta-analyses from the Neurosynth framework to bridge neurogenetic and neuroimaging data. We quantified the spatial similarity between over 20,000 genes from the ABI and 48 psychological topics derived from lexical analysis of neuroimaging articles, producing a comprehensive set of gene/cognition mappings that we term the Neurosynth-gene atlas. We demonstrate the ability to independently replicate known gene/cognition associations (e.g., between dopamine and reward), and subsequently use it to identify a range of novel associations between individual molecules or genes and complex psychological phenomena such as reward, memory and emotion. Our results complement existing discovery-based methods such as GWAS, and provide a novel means of generating hypotheses about the neurogenetic substrates of complex cognitive functions.
Do primary small intestinal melanomas exist? Report of a case

Metastatic melanoma to the gastrointestinal tract is not uncommon with the small intestine representing the most common site of gastrointestinal metastases. The occurrence of primary melanoma of the small intestine, however, is rare. We describe a case of primary melanoma of the small intestine and establish criteria for distinction between primary and metastatic small intestinal melanoma.
How to make your software Section 508 compliant

In the USA, under the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 - Section 508, individuals with disabilities can file a complaint concerning the inaccessibility of an agency's electronic or information technology. Alternatively, individuals may file a civil action against an agency. Remedy is agency compliance, i.e., not a monetary penalty or reward.
Delay and power expressions for a CMOS inverter driving a resistive-capacitive load

A delay and power model of a CMOS inverter driving a resistive-capacitive load is presented. The model is derived from Sakurai's alpha power law and exhibits good accuracy. The model can be used to design and analyze those inverters that drive a large RC load when considering both speed and power. Expressions are provided for estimating the propagation delay, transition time, and short circuit power dissipation for a CMOS inverter driving resistive-capacitive interconnect lines.
Semantic visual templates: linking visual features to semantics

The rapid growth of visual data over the last few years has lead to many schemes for retrieving such data. With content-based systems today, there exists a significant gap between the user's information needs and what the systems can deliver. We propose to bridge this gap, by introducing the novel idea of semantic visual templates (SVT). Each template represents a personalized view of concepts (e.g. slalom, meetings, sunsets, etc.). The SVT is represented using a set of successful queries, which are generated by a two-way interaction between the user and the system. We have developed algorithms that interact with the user and converge upon a small set of exemplar queries that maximize recall. The SVTs emphasize intuitive models that allow for easy manipulation and queries to be composited. The resulting system performs well, for example with small number of queries in the "sunset" template, we are able to achieve 50% recall and 24% precision over a large unannotated database.
Life History, Activity Period and Lemur Social Systems

Extant lemuriform and anthropoid primates differ dramatically in social behavior, grouping patterns, social structure, and sexual dimorphism In this paper, we analyze and contrast grouping and bonding patterns among lemurs, and suggest determinants of social organization that explain many of these differences. Lemurs exhibit three main grouping patterns: solitary individuals, bonded pairs, and larger groups. Transitions between pairs and larger groups occur within several species and even within populations in some of Eulemur species and in Varecia. Larger groups of these species have an equal adult sex ratio, and spatial associations and social behavior suggest the existence of male-female pair bonds. Larger groups of the consistently diurnal Lemur and Propithecus also show equal adult sex ratios, but no evidence for pair-bonding. These differences among lemurs are likely due to variation in the activity periods of the cathemeral species, whose groups are hypothesized to break up into pairs during periods of nocturnal activity. The pair bond is therefore the fundamental umt of many lemur groups. This is a special case of the permanent male-female associations found among the great majority of primate species. We suggest that the evolution of permanent male-female associations is favored by selection for infanticide prevention, because the male can effectively protect the females against infanticide attempts by other males. Where females live alone permanently or part of their time (the cathemeral species), this association takes the form of a pair bond. Where they live in groups, it takes the form of permanently bisexual groups. This hypothesis leads us to predict no male-female association in species with absentee maternal care. This prediction is confirmed: the interspecific variation in infant care (carry vs hide) covaries perfectly with grouping pattern among prosimians, as well as among other primate radiations. We conclude that activity period and type of infant care determine grouping and bonding patterns in both prosimian and anthropoid societies. Both cathemeral activity periods and infant carrying among primates were probably made possible by increased precociality.
Meandered line microstrip filter with suppression of harmonic passband response

This paper presents a new technology for implementing parallel-coupled line filters with suppression of passband harmonics. The meandered line design suppresses passband harmonics by using numerous bends and angles to equalize the phase velocities of the odd and even mode field distributions that occur in conventional straight-coupled line filters. A meandered line filter fabricated as part of this study achieved 40% size reduction and 70 dB rejection at the 2/sup nd/ harmonic without degrading the passband performance.
Capability based Secure Access Control to Networked Storage Devices

Today, access control security for storage area networks (zoning and masking) is implemented by mechanisms that are inherently insecure, and are tied to the physical network components. However, what we want to secure is at a higher logical level independent of the transport network; raising security to a logical level simplifies management, provides a more natural fit to a virtualized infrastructure, and enables a finer grained access control. In this paper, we describe the problems with existing access control security solutions, and present our approach which leverages the OSD (Object-based Storage Device) security model to provide a logical, cryptographically secured, in-band access control for today's existing devices. We then show how this model can easily be integrated into existing systems and demonstrate that this in-band security mechanism has negligible performance impact while simplifying management, providing a clean match to compute virtualization and enabling fine grained access control.
EXISTENCE OF A DERBESIA PHASE IN THE LIFE HISTORY OF HALICYSTIS OSTERHOUTII BLINKS AND BLINKS1,2,3

SUMMARY Halicystis osterhoutii is shown to be the gametophytic generation of a Derbesia species; problems involved in the identification and nomenclature of this species are discussed.
Exposure to Organic Solvents and Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy

The present investigation compares the frequency of adverse pregnancy complications and outcomes in 90 women who worked with various organic solvents during pregnancy and in 180 unexposed matched (2:1) subjects. Solvent-exposed women were approximately four times more likely to develop preeclampsia, a disorder of pregnancy characterized by hypertension, edema, and proteinuria (unconditional adjusted RR = 3.9, 95% CI = 2.5, 5.4). That hypertension alone, without edema or proteinuria, was also more likely to be reported in solvent-exposed women (unconditional adjusted RR = 3.0, 95% CI = 0.9, 9.9) lent additional support to the association of solvent exposure and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. Because preeclampsia is thought to be associated primarily with glomerular lesions, our findings, although in need of replication with a larger sample size, may be biologically plausible given the growing literature associating solvent exposure with renal disease. Solvent-exposed women were more likely to have cardiovascular complications and to deliver by cesarean section; however, given the specific type of complications and reason for cesarean, it is unlikely that these findings were directly related to solvent exposure. Other pregnancy complications such as threatened abortion and vaginal bleeding, and poor neonatal growth and maturity, were not more common in the exposed group.
Statins Promote the Regression of Atherosclerosis via Activation of the CCR7-Dependent Emigration Pathway in Macrophages

HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins) decrease atherosclerosis by lowering low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol. Statins are also thought to have additional anti-atherogenic properties, yet defining these non-conventional modes of statin action remains incomplete. We have previously developed a novel mouse transplant model of atherosclerosis regression in which aortic segments from diseased donors are placed into normolipidemic recipients. With this model, we demonstrated the rapid loss of CD68+ cells (mainly macrophages) in plaques through the induction of a chemokine receptor CCR7-dependent emigration process. Because the human and mouse CCR7 promoter contain Sterol Response Elements (SREs), we hypothesized that Sterol Regulatory Element Binding Proteins (SREBPs) are involved in increasing CCR7 expression and through this mechanism, statins would promote CD68+ cell emigration from plaques. We examined whether statin activation of the SREBP pathway in vivo would induce CCR7 expression and promote macrophage emigration from plaques. We found that western diet-fed apoE-/- mice treated with either atorvastatin or rosuvastatin led to a substantial reduction in the CD68+ cell content in the plaques despite continued hyperlipidemia. We also observed a significant increase in CCR7 mRNA in CD68+ cells from both the atorvastatin and rosuvastatin treated mice associated with emigration of CD68+ cells from plaques. Importantly, CCR7-/-/apoE-/- double knockout mice failed to display a reduction in CD68+ cell content upon statin treatment. Statins also affected the recruitment of transcriptional regulatory proteins and the organization of the chromatin at the CCR7 promoter to increase the transcriptional activity. Statins promote the beneficial remodeling of plaques in diseased mouse arteries through the stimulation of the CCR7 emigration pathway in macrophages. Therefore, statins may exhibit some of their clinical benefits by not only retarding the progression of atherosclerosis, but also accelerating its regression.
Tightening the Bounds on Feasible Preemption Points

Caches have become invaluable for higher-end architectures to hide, in part, the increasing gap between processor speed and memory access times. While the effect of caches on timing predictability of single real-time tasks has been the focus of much research, bounding the overhead of cache warm-ups after preemptions remains a challenging problem, particularly for data caches. This paper makes multiple contributions. 1) We bound the penalty of cache interference for real-time tasks by providing accurate predictions of data cache behavior across preemptions, including instruction cache and pipeline effects. We show that, when considering cache preemption, the critical instant does not occur upon simultaneous release of all tasks. 2) We develop analysis methods to calculate upper bounds on the number of possible preemption points for each job of a task. To make these bounds tight, we consider the entire range between the best-case and worst-case execution times (BCET and WCET) of higher priority jobs. The effects of cache interference are integrated into the WCET calculations by using a feedback mechanism to interact with a static timing analyzer. Significant improvements in tightening bounds of up to an order of magnitude over two prior methods and up to half a magnitude over a third prior method are obtained by experiments for (a) the number of preemptions, (b) the WCET and (c) the response time of a task. Overall, this work contributes by calculating the worst-case preemption delay under consideration of data caches.
Magnetic moment of massive neutrinos and the cosmic helium abundances

We point out that if neutrinos have mass they will also develop a magnetic dipole moment. We calculate that moment in the simplest extension of the Weinberg-Salam theory. We then propose that spin precession in the magnetic fields of the early universe may be an important production mechanism for right-handed neutrinos from left-handed neutrinos. We consider two models of the primordial magnetic field: one based on the equipartition of energy and the other a ''flux-freezing'' model: and show that the angle of spin precession can be large. Since we would expect very different cosmic abundances of /sup 4/He at present if right-handed neutrinos were to come into thermal equilibrium before the onset of /sup 4/He production, we are thus able to put a constraint on the amount of spin precession of neutrinos in the early universe. This, in turn, allows us to set severe constraints on either the mass of each light neutrino in the SU(2)/sub L/ x U(1) model, on the magnetic moment in an arbitrary model, or on the magnitude of any intergalactic magnetic field which is a remnant of the early universe.
Half-lives of homologous serum albumins in several species.

SummaryThe half-lives of homologous serum albumins in humans, cows. dogs, rabbits and mice have been presented. The albumin half-lives are similar to the gamma globulin half-lives for the same species and apparently are dependent upon the metabolic characteristics of the host.
Particle Filtering for Large-Dimensional State Spaces With Multimodal Observation Likelihoods

We study efficient importance sampling techniques for particle filtering (PF) when either (a) the observation likelihood (OL) is frequently multimodal or heavy-tailed, or (b) the state space dimension is large or both. When the OL is multimodal, but the state transition pdf (STP) is narrow enough, the optimal importance density is usually unimodal. Under this assumption, many techniques have been proposed. But when the STP is broad, this assumption does not hold. We study how existing techniques can be generalized to situations where the optimal importance density is multimodal, but is unimodal conditioned on a part of the state vector. Sufficient conditions to test for the unimodality of this conditional posterior are derived. Our result is directly extendable to testing for unimodality of any posterior. The number of particles N to accurately track using a PF increases with state space dimension, thus making any regular PF impractical for large dimensional tracking problems. But in most such problems, most of the state change occurs in only a few dimensions, while the change in the rest of the dimensions is small. Using this property, we propose to replace importance sampling from a large part of the state space (whose conditional posterior is narrow enough) by just tracking the mode of the conditional posterior. This introduces some extra error, but it also greatly reduces the importance sampling dimension. The net effect is much smaller error for a given N, especially when the available N is small. An important class of large dimensional problems with multimodal OL is tracking spatially varying physical quantities such as temperature or pressure in a large area using a network of sensors which may be nonlinear and/or may have nonnegligible failure probabilities. Improved performance of our proposed algorithms over existing PFs is demonstrated for this problem.
Evolving aesthetic images using multiobjective optimization

We consider the problem of using evolutionary multiobjective optimization to evolve visual imagery. In our method, images (phenomes) are generated from expressions (genomes), and then color segmented so that they can be evaluated under a number of different aesthetic criteria. Our principal task is to formulate fitness functions that make the best use of these elementary aesthetic components. We demonstrate the benefits obtained from using more than one objective function. We also discuss technical issues that arose as a consequence of treating our computational aesthetics problem as a "real-world" application of evolutionary multiobjective optimization.
Change in the Stratification of Educational Expectations and Their Realization

What do recent trends toward increasingly ambitious educational expectations and rising college completion rates mean for the stratification of higher education? This article shows that the odds of achieving expectations for a bachelor's degree increased across 15 cohorts of young adults, and to a lesser extent, for expectations to attend graduate/professional school. Gender-related constraints on realizing expectations for a bachelor's degree weakened, while constraints associated with minority racial/ethnic and lower socioeconomic statuses did not. Recent trends in educational stratification were thus a mixture of fulfilled expectations for growing proportions of some young adults, but continued social constraints for many others. Note, these results are derived from the experiences of high school seniors successfully reinterviewed over time, who are advantaged relative to school dropouts and nonrespondents.
Teaching Students About The Financial Crisis Through Best-Selling Books

The 2007-2009 financial crisis was such a momentous time that entire business courses could be devoted to its study. While some schools may undertake that task, this paper discusses ways in which students may learn about the crisis as part of an established course in economics or finance departments. Popular press books are highlighted, and writing prompts and discussion questions are shared. The paper focuses on the response by two key public institutions: the Federal Reserve and the Treasury. Results from a student survey provide evidence of value from the use of such books.
Long-Term Speech Results of Cleft Palate Patients with Primary Palatoplasty:

This investigation examined the influence of cleft type, type of surgery, age at surgery, and gender on speech proficiency of 204 patients with cleft palate who required only primary palatoplasty. Speech measures were obtained for each subject from at least three annual examinations between the ages of 4 and 16 years. Neither age at surgery nor type of surgery were discriminating factors. The less extensive cleft type, i.e., soft palate only, was associated with greater rates of change in the performance variables than were the other three cleft types. Females showed greater rate changes than males.
Choledocholithiasis Without Cholelithiasis: Should the Gallbladder Stay or Should It Go?

Cholelithiasis (gallstones) is common, with an estimated prevalence of *12 % of adult population in the USA. The prevalence, increasing with age, approaches 33 % in elderly women [1]. Approximately 15 % of patients with cholelithiasis have concurrent choledocholithiasis (bile duct stones), and conversely, 95 % of patients with choledocholithiasis have cholelithiasis [2, 3]. Although the natural history of asymptomatic common bile duct (CBD) stones is not well defined, they are thought to be less benign than asymptomatic gallbladder gallstones. Although CBD stones may pass uneventfully through the ampulla of Vater into the duodenum, their passage can induce acute pancreatitis and stone impaction at the distal bile duct, causing biliary colic and cholangitis. Because adverse events may be serious and life-threatening, it is generally recommended that CBD stones be removed.
UK survey of management of paediatric localized scleroderma

8 BSPAR107 SCLERODERMATOUS GRAFT VS HOST DISEASE C. McVitty, J. Stevenson, N. Martin, B. Gibson, A. M. Ewins, L. Jones, D. Shanks, C. Grant, M. Berry, J. Duncan and J. E. Davidson Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Glasgow, Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Edinburgh and Raigmore Hospital, Inverness, UK. Correspondence to: C. McVitty. E-mail: catrionamcvitty@googlemail.com Introduction: Cutaneous graft-vs-host-disease (GVHD) is common post-haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Sclerodermatous GVHD is rare, with few paediatric reports. Aims: To describe three paediatric cases of scleradermatous GVHD. Method: Retrospective case note review. Results: A 7-year-old girl was referred 2 years after matched HSCT for ALL. She subsequently presented with severe scleroderma on her legs with reduced range of movement (ROM) of her ankles. The disease progressed, involving her thighs and left arm, with significant joint contractures. She was successfully treated with methylprednisolone, MTX and physiotherapy (PT). A 4-year-old girl was referred 3 years after having two matched HSCTs for MHC class 2 deficiency. She presented with worsening contractures affecting her hands and legs with swelling, erythema and skin tethering. She was successfully treated with PT, occupational therapy (OT) splinting, prednisolone and MTX. A 6-year-old girl with beta thalassaemia major was referred 2 years post-HSCT. Buccal GVHD was noted 4 months post-transplant, treated with steroids and ciclosporin before extra-corporeal photophoresis. Despite initial improvement, hand function deteriorated with reduced ROM and grip strength. She was treated with prednisolone, MTX, PT and OT. Conclusion: Sclerodermatous GVHD is rare in children but results in significant morbidity. In these cases severe joint contractures were seen. Monitoring for early contracture post-HSCT and raising awareness of this potential complication should facilitate earlier diagnosis and better outcomes. Disclosure statement: The authors have declared no conflicts of interest.
Intestinal absorption of water-soluble vitamins.

AbstractVitamin utility is a scientific/medical topic that appears to be pursued as ardently by the lay public as by scientists and medical practitioners. A group of epidemiologists evaluates the effects on health of vitamin intake in the natural diet and by supplementation. The role in ocular disease, cancer of the breast or colon, and cardiovascular disease are a few of the concerns. The results and recommendations concerning dietary vitamin intake will likely continue to change. However, the processes by which dietary vitamins are delivered from intestinal chyme to the blood are more certain. The concept of homeostasis might apply to various of the vitamins as it does to minerals, water, etc. This review will discuss some common methods used to study vitamin absorption and the proposed mechanisms of absorption, and will conclude with a section about dietary regulation.
MACROSCOPIC T-WAVE ALTERNANS: AN UNUSUAL COMPANION OF QT PROLONGATION

Macroscopic T-wave alternans (MTWA) is beat to beat variability in the vector or amplitude of T-waves on surface ECG. Often linked with acquired long-QT syndrome, MTWA is a sign of electrical instability and impending reentrant arrhythmias. This is a case of medication related QT-prolongation with
A Flow Model for the Kinetics of Dissolution of Nuclear Waste Forms; A Comparison of Borosilicate Glass, Synroc and High-Silica Glass

A model has been developed to predict the long-term leach or release rates of various waste-form materials under repository conditions.
Greasing the Wheels: Presidential Bargaining with Congress: The NAFTA Bazaar

Anyone with adequate political resources can be a policy coalition leader, as Chapter 2 explains. Among those people are committee and party leaders in each house of Congress. Some of those leaders have access to distributive benefits to trade for votes on general interest legislation. So does the president, who can, for example, influence the allocation of some of the massive amounts of money distributed on a discretionary basis by the bureaucracy, as candidates who challenge his reelection often discover to their dismay. This chapter provides an account and systematic analysis of President Clinton's use of distributive benefits to persuade the House of Representatives to pass legislation to implement the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1993. He did so in concert with the leadership of the House Republicans, not his own majority-party Democrats. Thus we move from a focus in Chapters 3 and 4 on the use of distributive benefits by committee leaders in the House to a focus on the president and minority party leaders in that same body. On November 17, 1993, the House of Representatives approved NAFTA by passing H.R. 3450, a bill to provide for implementation of the terms of that agreement. The Clinton administration's victory on the 234-200 vote had been in doubt until only a week earlier. By all accounts, the administration prevailed in the end only with a series of concessions to members of Congress representing a long list of local interests that felt threatened by NAFTA's liberalization of trade with Mexico and Canada.
Statistical approach to the operational testing of space fence

The United States is acquiring a new terrestrial space-directed radar system to detect, track, and catalog space objects, including the growing population of space debris (“space junk”). The new system will consist of two S-band (2- to 4-GHz) phased-array radar sites, located at Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands and one other location to be determined. The radars will autonomously perform cued and uncued surveillance, as well as cued searches for objects in low- and medium-Earth orbits and higher. Space Fence will provide object tracking and radar characterization data to the U.S. Air Force Joint Space Operations Center (JSpOC) to support Satellite Catalog (SATCAT) maintenance and other space situational awareness needs [1].
The Analysis of Influenza A /H1N1 Infection among Inpatients in Luohu District of Shenzhen

Objective To describe and analyze the characters of influenza A /H1N1 infection among inpatients in Luohu District of Shenzhen from November,2009 to February,2010 so as to provide scientific basis for prevention and control of influenza A /H1N1 epidemic in Luohu District of Shenzhen.Method Descriptive epidemiological method was applied to analyze the characteristics of influenza A /H1N1 infection among inpatients in two hospitals(Shenzhen people hospital and Luohu people hospital)of Luohu District in Shenzhen during November,2009 to February,2010.Results The total number of the collected throat swab samples was up to 292.93 inpatients were found to be influenza A /H1N1 positive.The number of inpatients infected with A /H1N1 reached peak in November,2009 and the rate of influenza A /H1N1 among inpatients was 68.18%.Influenza A /H1N1 mainly occurred in inpatients with age below 30,and the number of inpatients with age below 30 account for 81.7% of the total inpatients with influenza A /H1N1 infection.The rate of male and female inpatients with influenza A /H1N1 infection was 1.21:1.Conclusions Influenza A /H1N1 mainly occur in inpatients with age below 30,timely examination of influenza A /H1N1 and effective management for the young inpatients with influenza-like symptom should be strengthened.
Depression, obesity, and metabolic syndrome: Prevalence and risks of comorbidity in a population-based representative sample of Mexican Americans

Introduction We examined the prevalence of depression, obesity, and metabolic syndrome and associations between them in a population-based representative cohort of Mexican Americans living on the United States-Mexico border. Method The sample in this cross-sectional analysis consisted of 1,768 Mexican American adults (≥ 18 years of age) assessed between the years 2004 and 2010, with whom we tested our central hypothesis of a significant relationship between obesity and depression. Depression was measured using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression scale (CES-D) with a cutoff score of ≥ 16 for depression and a cutoff score of ≥ 27 for severe depression. We categorized body mass index (BMI) values as obese (≥ 30kg/m(2)) and later subdivided the obese subjects into obese (30-39 kg/m(2)[inclusive]) and morbidly obese (≥ 40 kg/m(2)). Metabolic syndrome was defined using the American Heart Association definition requiring at least 3 of the following: increased waist circumference, elevated triglycerides, reduced high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, elevated blood pressure, and elevated fasting glucose. Weighted data were analyzed to establish prevalence of depression, obesity, and metabolic syndrome. Univariate and multivariable weighted regression models were used to test potential associations between these disorders. Results Using weighted prevalence, we observed high rates of depression (30%), obesity (52%), and metabolic syndrome (45%). Univariate models revealed female gender (P = .0004), low education (P = .003), low HDL level (P = .009), and increased waist circumference (P = .03) were associated with depression. Female gender (P = .01), low education (P = .003), and morbid obesity (P = .002) were risk factors for severe depression and remained significant in multivariable models. Conclusions In this large cohort of Mexican Americans, obesity, female gender, and low education were identified risk factors for depression. These indicators may serve as targets for early detection, prevention, and intervention in this population.
Adolescent and Parent Willingness to Participate in Microbicide Safety Studies

Abstract Study Objective To understand adolescents' and parents' willingness to participate (WTP) in a hypothetical phase I prevention study of sexually transmitted infections, discordance within adolescent-parent dyads, and expectations of each other during decision-making. Design and Setting Adolescent-parent dyads were recruited to participate in a longitudinal study about research participation attitudes. Participants Adolescents (14-17 years old) and their parents (n = 301 dyads) participated. Interventions None. Main Outcome Measures Individual interviews at baseline assessed WTP on a 6-level Likert scale. WTP was dichotomized (willing/unwilling) to assess discordance. Results WTP was reported by 60% (182 of 301) of adolescents and 52% (156 of 300) of parents. In bivariate analyses, older adolescent age, sexual experience, and less involvement of parents in research processes were associated with higher level of WTP for adolescents; only sexual experience remained in the multivariable analysis. For parents, older adolescent age, perceived adolescent sexual experience, and conversations about sexual health were significant; only conversations remained. Dyadic discordance (44%, 132 of 300) was more likely in dyads in which the parent reported previous research experience, and less likely when parents reported higher family expressiveness. Adolescents (83%, 248 of 299) and parents (88%, 263 of 300) thought that the other would have similar views, influence their decision (adolescents 66%, 199 of 300; parents 75%, 224 of 300), and listen (adolescents 90%, 270 of 300; parents 96%, 287 of 300). There were no relationships between these perceptions and discordance. Conclusion Inclusion of adolescents in phase I clinical trials is necessary to ensure that new methods are safe, effective, and acceptable for them. Because these trials currently require parental consent, strategies that manage adolescent-parent discordance and support adolescent independence and parental guidance are critically needed.