cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Efficacy of Heterogeneous Ensemble Assisted Machine Learning Model for Binary and Multi-Class Network Intrusion Detection

The exponential rise in internet technologies and allied applications encompass a significantly large number of networked devices have alarmed academia-industries to achieve more effective and robust security solutions. Undeniably, digitization has led to revolution globally; however, the security threats, breaches, and subsequent losses indicate the need for a robust cybersecurity solution. Unlike classical intrusion detection systems (IDS), network IDS (NIDS) has been becoming more challenging due to continuous changes in attack-patterns and anomaly behavior. As solution data-driven machine learning methods have exhibited better by learning over network traffic information and detecting anomalies; however, its generalization over a network with both known and unknown patterns remains questionable. Moreover, most of the classical approaches fail to address the key issues of class-imbalance, level-of-significance centric feature selection, normalization and over-fitting problems resulting in different performance by varied machine learning models. In this paper, a novel and robust heterogeneous ensemble machine learning model is developed to detect anomalies in NIDS. The proposed model first applies sub-sampling to alleviate the class-imbalance problem of NIDS datasets. Subsequently, performing normalization using the Min-Max algorithm, it mapped the input data in the range of 0 to 1, thus alleviating overfitting and convergence. The feature reduction is used to reduce the features; it retained the most suitable features without imposing computational overheads, often in meta-heuristic-based approaches. Finally, the proposed NIDS solution designed a Heterogeneous ensemble learning model with J48, k-NN, SVM, Bagging, AdaBoost, and RF algorithms as base-classifier to perform two-class as well as multi-class classification over feature-selected NSL-KDD, KDD99, and UNSW-NB-15 datasets. Performance assessment in terms of true-positive rate, false positive rate and AUC revealed that the proposed NIDS model exhibited better performance than the standalone classifiers and superior to other existing anomaly detection methods.
PIK3CA mutations in plasma circulating tumor DNA predict survival and treatment outcomes in patients with advanced cancers.

Background Oncogenic mutations in PIK3CA are prevalent in diverse cancers and can be targeted with inhibitors of the phosphoinositide-3-kinase/protein kinase B/mammalian target of rapamycin (PI3K/AKT/mTOR) pathway. Analysis of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) provides a minimally invasive approach to detect clinically actionable PIK3CA mutations. Patients and methods We analyzed PIK3CA hotspot mutation frequency by droplet digital PCR (QX 200; BioRad) using 16 ng of unamplified plasma-derived cell-free DNA from 68 patients with advanced solid tumors (breast cancer, n = 41; colorectal cancer, n = 13; other tumor types, n = 14). Results quantified as variant allele frequencies (VAFs) were compared with previous testing of archival tumor tissue and with patient outcomes. Results Of 68 patients, 58 (85%) had PIK3CA mutations in tumor tissue and 43 (74%) PIK3CA mutations in ctDNA with an overall concordance of 72% (49/68, κ = 0.38). In a subset analysis, which excluded samples from 26 patients known not to have disease progression at the time of sample collection, we found an overall concordance of 91% (38/42; κ = 0.74). PIK3CA-mutated ctDNA VAF of ≤8.5% (5% trimmed mean) showed a longer median survival compared with patients with a higher VAF (15.9 versus 9.4 months; 95% confidence interval 6.7-17.1 months; P = 0.014). Longitudinal analysis of ctDNA in 18 patients with serial plasma collections (range 2-22 time points, median 5) showed that those with a decrease in PIK3CA VAF had a longer time to treatment failure (TTF) compared with patients with an increase or no change (10.7 versus 2.6 months; P = 0.048). Conclusions Detection of PIK3CA mutations in ctDNA is concordant with testing of archival tumor tissue. Low quantity of PIK3CA-mutant ctDNA is associated with longer survival and a decrease in PIK3CA-mutant ctDNA on therapy is associated with longer TTF.
Abstract 49: Supine Versus Seated Positions On The Detection Of Orthostatic Hypotension And Its Association With Fall Risk And Orthostatic Symptoms

Background: Hypertension trials that monitor orthostatic hypotension (OH) compare standing to seated blood pressure (BP) rather than supine BP. We determined the impact of a supine vs seated positi...
Planning Laser-Forming Folding Motion with Thermal Simulation

Designing a robot or structure that can fold into a target shape is a process that involves challenges originated from multiple sources. For example, the designer of self-folding robots must consider foldability from geometric and kinematic aspects to avoid self-collisions and undesired deformations. Recent works have shown success in estimating foldability of a design using robot motion planners. However, many foldable structures are actuated using physically coupled reactions, e.g., folding originated from thermal, chemical, or electromagnetic loads. Therefore, a reliable folding process must consider additional constraints that result from these critical and coupled phenomena. This work investigates the idea of efficiently incorporating computationally intensive physics simulations within the folding motion planner to affect the physical folding results. We will use the manufacturing process of laser-forming origami as an example to demonstrate the benefits of considering the physical properties of the foldable structure beyond its kinematics. We show that designs produced by the proposed method can be fabricated more efficiently.
CEO Marital Status and Tax Aggressiveness

This study examines the effect of marital status of CEOs on tax aggressiveness. Using various measures of tax aggressiveness such as probability of tax sheltering, the predicted unrecognized tax benefits, and the discretionary permanent book-tax differences, we show that married CEOs are less tax aggressive than single CEOs. Furthermore, we focus on firms that experience a single-to-married CEO transition, the paper compares those firms’ degree of tax aggressiveness during the pre- and post transition periods. The results confirm that married CEOs are associated with less tax aggressiveness as compared to their single counterparts. The main findings are supported by additional tests based on propensity score matching. Overall, our study establishes CEO marital status as an important determinant of tax aggressiveness.
Serial Order: A Parallel Distributed Processing Approach

ABSTRACT A theory of learned sequential behavior is presented, with a focus on coarticulatory phenomena in speech. The theory is implemented as a recurrent parallel distributed processing network that is trained via a generalized error-correcting algorithm. The basic idea underlying the theory is that both serial order and coarticulatory overlap can be represented in terms of relative levels of activation in a network if a clear distinction is made between the state of the network and the output of the network.
The Post-Earnings-Announcement Drift and Liquidity Risk

This paper investigates the relation between the post-earnings-announcement drift anomaly and liquidity. First, we find that, on average, bad-news firms (low standardized unexpected earnings (SUE)) are less liquid than good-news firms (high SUE), reflecting more information asymmetry and/or uncertainty among bad-news firms. Yet, we argue that this liquidity spread is less likely to explain the drift. Second, the returns of SUE-sorted portfolios are sensitive to fluctuations in market-wide liquidity. We find that systematic liquidity risk is an important determinant in explaining the cross-sectional variation of expected returns among SUE-sorted portfolios. This implies that a substantial part of the post-earnings-announcement drift anomaly can be viewed as compensation for risk associated with shocks to the information environment in the economy. Therefore, the evidence suggests that the previously reported anomalous returns are associated with model misspecification and/or hidden transaction costs.
Hepatic Veno-Occlusive Syndrome in an American Adult

Summary The clinical syndrome associated with fibrotic occlusion of the smaller hepatic vein radicles is described in a patient with metastatic seminoma, treated with irradiation and alkylating agents. Histologically this syndrome is characterized by thickening of the intimal layers of the vessels while the endothelium remains intact until the vessel is totally obliterated. The veno-occlusive syndrome was originally thought to be a specific toxic effect of senecio and related alkaloids, but apparently there are multiple causes.
THE NEW TRADE-OFFS IN ENGINEERING MATERIALS SELECTION

The paper outlines three emerging issues that are currently affecting material selection decisions throughout the world ecology, increasing government regulations and consumerism, and the energy shortage. Contents of the paper explain and discuss an analysis regarding the need for automotive weight reduction and the concomitant effects of weight reduction on fuel economy. /HSRI/
Chapter 2 Application of diels-alder cycloaddition chemistry for heterocyclic synthesis

Publisher Summary This chapter provides an indication of the wide assortment of Diels–Alder chemistry that has been used for heterocyclic synthesis. The importance of the Diels–Alder reaction in organic synthesis derives in large part from its ability to generate six-membered rings containing several contiguous stereogenic centers in one synthetic operation. In recent years, the Diels–Alder reaction of heterosubstituted 1,3-dienes and dienophiles has emerged as a powerful method for preparing highly functionalized heterocyclic ring systems. The chapter describes reaction sequences of a sampling of some noteworthy transformations in this area of heterocyclic chemistry.
Substrate-binding properties of firefly luciferase. I. Luciferin-binding site.

Abstract Various techniques were used for characterization of the luciferin-binding site of the firefly luciferase. Both equilibrium-dialysis and fluorescence-titration techniques revealed the existence of two identical, noninteracting binding sites for dehydroluciferin, which is a potent competitive inhibitor. Kinetically obtained dissociation constants of various luciferin analogues and other competitive inhibitors revealed that most of the binding energies of these compounds reside in the backbone ring structure and that various substituents did not influence the binding to any significant extent. Exceptions to this are the methyl group at the 6-position of the benzothiazole ring and the carboxylic acid group. The binding energy of the luciferin backbone structure to the luciferin-binding site is 7.5 kcal/mole. Two parts of the luciferin molecule, the benzothiazole ring portion and the thiazoline ring portion, contribute 6.0 kcal/mole and 1.5 kcal/mole respectively to the binding energy. Comparison of the binding energies of several heterocyclic compounds structurally related to benzothiazole suggests that the nitrogen atom of the benzothiazole ring may be important in orienting the compound to a fixed position in the luciferinbinding site. The binding studies with N -ethylmaleimide-inactivated luciferase gave further evidence that the two sulfhydryl groups essential for the luciferase activity are located at the luciferin binding sites, most likely one at each binding site. Excitation spectra of luciferase-bound dehydroluciferin indicated that the phenolic group of dehydroluciferin is in unionized form on the enzyme even in a medium of high pH. This effect and a large enhancement of the blue fluorescence peak at 440 mμ suggest the environment of luciferin-binding site to be quite hydrophobic in agreement with earlier observations.
The Constitutive Tyrosine Phosphorylation of CD3ζ Results from TCR-MHC Interactions That Are Independent of Thymic Selection

The TCR complex, when isolated from thymocytes and peripheral T cells, contains a constitutively tyrosine-phosphorylated CD3ζ molecule termed p21. Previous investigations have shown that the constitutive phosphorylation of CD3ζ results from TCR interactions with MHC molecules occurring in both the thymus and the periphery. To determine what contribution the selection environment had on this constitutive phosphorylation, we analyzed CD3ζ from several distinct class I- and II-restricted TCR-transgenic mice where thymocyte development occurred in either a selecting or a nonselecting MHC environment. Herein, we report that constitutively phosphorylated CD3ζ (p21) was present in thymocytes that developed under nonselecting peptide-MHC conditions. These findings strongly support the model that the TCR has an inherent avidity for MHC molecules before repertoire selection. Biochemical analyses of the TCR complex before and after TCR stimulation suggested that the constitutively phosphorylated CD3ζ subunit did not contribute to de novo TCR signals. These findings may have important implications for T cell functions during self-MHC recognition under normal and autoimmune circumstances.
DNA damage induces cdk2 protein levels and histone H2B phosphorylation in SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells

DNA damage and activation of the cell cycle have been implicated in numerous neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer disease, Parkinson's disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. To better understand the role of cell cycle proteins in DNA-damage induced neuronal cell death, we examined various cell cycle proteins during camptothecin-induced death of human neuroblastoma cells. We report a rapid induction of p53 and increased expression of p21, concurrent with reduced levels of many cell cycle proteins that regulate G1 to S phase cell cycle progression. However, we found increased levels of cdk2 and cyclin E, and formation of a cyclin E-cdk2-p21 protein complex. DNA damage failed to induce activation and progression of the cell cycle. Finally, camptothecin-induced neuronal cell death occurred concurrent with phosphorylation of histone H2B. Pretreatment of cells with cdk inhibitor olomoucine impeded cdk2-cyclin E accumulation, but not the induction of p53. Olomucine concurrently delayed histone H2B phosphorylation, caspase-3 activation and cell death. These findings suggest that DNA-damage of differentiated neuroblastoma cells induces a rapid p53-mediated inhibition of cell cycle progression and induction of cdk2-cyclin E, followed by caspase-3 activation, phosphorylation of histone and cell death.
Idiopathic hypercalcemia in cats.

Unexplained hypercalcemia has been increasingly recognized in cats since 1990. In some instances, hypercalcemia has been associated with calcium oxalate urolithiasis, and some affected cats have been fed acidifying diets. We studied the laboratory findings, clinical course, and treatment of 20 cats with idiopathic hypercalcemia. Eight (40%) of the cats were longhaired and all 14 cats for which adequate dietary history was available had been fed acidifying diets. Clinical signs included vomiting (6 cats), weight loss (4 cats), dysuria (4 cats), anorexia (3 cats), and inappropriate urinations (3 cats). Hypercalcemia was mild to moderate in severity, and serum parathyroid hormone concentrations were normal or low. Serum concentrations of phosphorus, parathyroid hormone-related peptide, 25-hydroxycholecalciferol, and calcitriol were within the reference range in most cats. Diseases commonly associated with hypercalcemia (eg, neoplasia, primary hyperparathyroidism) were not identified despite thorough medical evaluations and long-term clinical follow-up. Azotemia either did not develop (10 cats) or developed after the onset of hypercalcemia (3 cats), suggesting that renal failure was not the cause of hypercalcemia in affected cats. Seven of 20 cats (35%) had urolithiasis, and in 2 cats uroliths were composed of calcium oxalate. Subtotal parathyroidectomy in 2 cats and dietary modification in 11 cats did not result in resolution of hypercalcemia. Treatment with prednisone resulted in complete resolution of hypercalcemia in 4 cats.
Legal requisites for social work practice

The manuscript reviews the implications of the latest lower and Supreme Court decisions for social work practice. Specific items discussed are: contracts, private and public agencies, token economies, and adversive treatment. Finally, the effects of legal decisions upon the future of social work practice are outlined.
Inversion of left-right asymmetry alters performance of Xenopus tadpoles in nonlateralized cognitive tasks.

Left–right behavioural biases are well documented across the animal kingdom, and handedness has long been associated with cognitive performance. However, the relationship between body laterality and cognitive ability is poorly understood. The embryonic pathways dictating normal left–right patterning have been molecularly dissected in model vertebrates, and numerous genetic and pharmacological treatments now facilitate experimental randomization or reversal of the left–right axis in these animals. Several recent studies showed a link between brain asymmetry and strongly lateralized behaviours such as eye use preference. However, links between laterality of the body and performance on cognitive tasks utilizing nonlateralized cues remain unknown. Xenopus tadpoles are an established model for the study of early left–right patterning, and protocols were recently developed to quantitatively evaluate learning and memory in these animals. Using an automated testing and training platform, we tested wild-type, left–right-randomized and left–right-reversed tadpoles for their ability to learn colour cues in an automated assay. Our results indicate that animals with either randomization or reversal of somatic left–right patterning learned more slowly than wild-type siblings, although all groups were able to reach the same performance optimum given enough training sessions. These results are the first analysis of the link between body laterality and learning of nonlateralized cues, and they position the Xenopus tadpole as an attractive and tractable model for future studies of the links between asymmetry of the body, lateralization of the brain and behaviour.
Peptide specificity of protein prenyltransferases is determined mainly by reactivity rather than binding affinity.

Protein farnesyltransferase (FTase) and protein geranylgeranyltransferase type I (GGTase I) catalyze the attachment of lipid groups from farnesyl diphosphate and geranylgeranyl diphosphate, respectively, to a cysteine near the C-terminus of protein substrates. FTase and GGTase I modify several important signaling and regulatory proteins with C-terminal CaaX sequences (“C” refers to the cysteine residue that becomes prenylated, “a” refers to any aliphatic amino acid, and “X” refers to any amino acid). In the CaaX paradigm, the C-terminal X-residue of the protein/peptide confers specificity for FTase or GGTase I. However, some proteins, such as K-Ras, RhoB, and TC21, are substrates for both FTase and GGTase I. Here we demonstrate that the C-terminal amino acid affects the binding affinity of K-Ras4B-derived hexapeptides (TKCVIX) to FTase and GGTase I modestly. In contrast, reactivity, as indicated by transient and steady-state kinetics, varies significantly and correlates with hydrophobicity, volume, and st...
Concordance Between Ethnographer and Folk Perspectives: Observed Performance and Self-Ascription of Sibling Caretaking Roles

This paper compares field observers' perceptions of role performance with culture members' reports of what their roles are. Children's and field observers' judgments concerning child caretaking in Honolulu, Hawaii, were compared. The results show (1) statistically significant concordance between the two sets of reports; (2) fairly low (50%) agreement on who cares for the child; and (3) fairly high (80%) agreement on children's reports of being a caretaker. The concordance between children and caretakers is influenced by children's age, sex, and the social setting. Situational factors associated with sibling care (mother absence, distance from home, and numbers of children present) increased agreement on the caretaker role, but not on being cared for by others. Girls tend to overreport that they are caretakers and charges, and boys tend to underreport. There is a pattern of partial and systematically variable agreement with field observers' judgments. Concordance refers to folk and observer agreement on cl...
New surprises for the Ramsey Test

In contemporary discussions of the Ramsey Test for conditionals, it is commonly held that (i) supposing the antecedent of a conditional is adopting a potential state of full belief, and (ii) Modus Ponens is a valid rule of inference. I argue on the basis of Thomason Conditionals (such as ‘If Sally is deceiving, I do not believe it’) and Moore’s Paradox that both claims are wrong. I then develop a double-indexed Update Semantics for conditionals which takes these two results into account while doing justice to the key intuitions underlying the Ramsey Test. The semantics is extended to cover some further phenomena, including the recent observation that epistemic modal operators give rise to something very like, but also very unlike, Moore’s Paradox.
Performance of closed access and open access femtocells in a heterogeneous LTE microcellular environment

In this paper, we investigate the performance of open access and closed access femtocell (HeNB) in the presence of a co-channel interference (CCI) from a nearby microcell base station (eNB). The analysis is presented for a downlink (DL) Long term Evolution (LTE) channel model in a heterogeneous network where there is no co-operation involved between eNB and HeNB. We further consider that the primary common pilot symbol (P-CPICH) is at least 20hdB higher at the user equipment (UE) to which it is connected so as to differentiate the useful signal from the interference. Our performance study indicates that a significant variation in bit error rate (BER) is observed when HeNB transmit power is varied and approximately 4dB gain in SNR is achievable when the eNB MUE link distance reduces from 700m to 500m.
Vascular responsiveness in obstructed gut.

Multiorgan system failure due to hypotension and sepsis is an important cause of death in patients with bowel obstruction. We have investigated the pathophysiology of this entity in an animal model. After 5 days of bowel obstruction, blood flow in the superior mesenteric artery was measured with and without Pitressin and norepinephrine given in separate experiments. In controls, Pitressin in moderate dosages caused a substantial fall in gut blood flow, which was not seen in obstructed animals (blood flow reduction 52 percent vs. 11 percent in sham and obstructed animals respectively,P <0.01). Similarly, norepinephrine infusion had less of an effect on gut blood flow in obstructed animals (blood flow reduction 79 percent vs. 58 percent sham vs. obstructed animals (P < 0.05). Thus, both agents had dose-related effects on gut blood flow, which was maintained at a higher level throughout the drug infusion periods in the bowel of obstructed animals, demonstrating that splanchnic flow is less responsive to vasoactive drug infusion under these experimental conditions. Because splanchnic vasoconstriction is an important feature of normal hemodynamic homeostasis, we suggest that these results may help explain some aspects of the pathophysiology of multiorgan failure caused or worsened by systemic hypotension seen in bowel obstruction.
Self-affine fractal distributions of the bulk density, elastic moduli, and seismic wave velocities of rock.

The scale dependence of the bulk density $\ensuremath{\rho}$ and seismic wave velocities ${V}_{p}$ and ${V}_{s}$ and the possibility of the existence of long-range correlations in such properties in field-scale porous media (FSPM) are investigated. We analyze measured data for $\ensuremath{\rho}$, ${V}_{p}$, and ${V}_{s}$ for nine FSPM, using the maximum entropy method and the wavelet decomposition technique. The analysis indicates the existence of long-range correlations in the data, characterized by self-affine fractal distributions that follow the statistics of the fractional Brownian motion. Therefore, the elastic moduli of the FSPM should also be fractally distributed and contain long-range correlations; our analysis confirms this. The implications of the results for modeling elastic moduli of porous rock, fracture propagation in FSPM, and the interpretation of seismic wave recordings of FSPM are discussed, and the possible deviations from the classical analysis of such phenomena are pointed out.
History of macrolide use in pediatrics.

Erythromycin, the prototypical macrolide, has been widely used since the 1950s in the management of pediatric infections. Erythromycin is the drug of choice for infants and children with Legionnaire's disease, pertussis, diphtheria, lower respiratory tract infections caused by Mycoplasma pneumoniae,
Comparison of Fiberglass and Other Polymeric Well Casings Part II. Sorption and Leaching of Trace-Level Organics

This paper contains the results of a laboratory study that was designed to compare sorption of low (mg/L) concentrations of 11 organic solutes by six polymeric materials (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene [ABS], fluorinated ethylene propylene [FEP], fiberglass-reinforced epoxy [FRE] and fiberglass-reinforced plastic [FRP], polyvinyl chloride [PVC], and poly-tetrafluoroethylene [PTFE]). During this six-week study, ABS sorbed analytes much more rapidly and to a greater extent than did the other materials, and PVC and FRE sorbed analytes more slowly and to a lesser extent than the other materials tested. As the study progressed, an increasing number of spurious peaks were found in the high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) chromatograms of some of our samples, indicating that leaching of some consituents had occurred. By the end of the study, there were 11 additional peaks in the ABS samples, five in the FRP samples, and one in the FRE samples. Analysis by purge and trap gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) of those samples and of well water samples that were exposed to the casings for 500 hours revealed the identity of some of the leached constituents; acrylonitrile and styrene (components of ABS), chloroform and ethylbenzene (an intermediate in the production of styrene) from the ABS pipe, and toluene, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, and ethylbenzene from the FRP casing.
Survey of the Enthesopathy of X-Linked Hypophosphatemia and Its Characterization in Hyp Mice

X-linked hypophosphatemia (XLH) is characterized by rickets and osteomalacia as a result of an inactivating mutation of the PHEX (phosphate-regulating gene with homology to endopeptidases on the X chromosome) gene. PHEX encodes an endopeptidase that, when inactivated, results in elevated circulating levels of FGF-23, a novel phosphate-regulating hormone (a phosphatonin), thereby resulting in increased phosphate excretion and impaired bone mineralization. A generalized and severe mineralizing enthesopathy in patients with XLH was first reported in 1985; we likewise report a survey in which we found evidence of enthesopathy in fibrocartilaginous insertion sites, as well as osteophyte formation, in the majority of patients. Nonetheless, there has been very little focus on the progression and pathogenesis underlying the paradoxical heterotopic calcification of tendon and ligament insertion sites. Such studies have been hampered by lack of a model of mineralizing enthesopathy. We therefore characterized the involvement of the most frequently targeted fibrocartilaginous tendon insertion sites in Hyp mice, a murine model of the XLH mutation that phenocopies the human syndrome in every detail including hypophosphatemia and elevated FGF-23. Histological examination of the affected entheses revealed that mineralizing insertion sites, while thought to involve bone spur formation, were not due to bone-forming osteoblasts but instead to a significant expansion of mineralizing fibrocartilage. Our finding that enthesis fibrocartilage cells specifically express fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3)/Klotho suggests that the high circulating levels of FGF-23, characteristic of XLH and Hyp mice, may be part of the biochemical milieu that underlies the expansion of mineralizing enthesis fibrocartilage.
Circulating Levels of Soluble Intracellular Adhesion Molecule-1 (sICAM-1), TNF-α, and the Th2 Cytokines IL-4 and IL-10 Do Not Predict Allograft Rejection in Pediatric Heart Transplant Recipients

Circulating Levels of Soluble Intracellular Adhesion Molecule-1 (sICAM-1), TNF-α, and the Th2 Cytokines IL-4 and IL-10 Do Not Predict Allograft Rejection in Pediatric Heart Transplant Recipients
Connecting product design, process and supply chain decisions to strengthen global supply chain capabilities

Abstract The importance of product design as a main determinant of process design has been emphasized in operations management literature for decades, but the direct and indirect impacts of product design on process and supply chain activities is a research area that has received less attention to date. This multiple case study addresses this research gap by assessing how and why changes in product design shape process and supply chain practices and in particular, how these changes influence global supply chain behavior and capabilities. Utilizing a 3DCE theory base, multiple manufacturing case studies are compared and contrasted to examine the interrelationships and dependencies among product, process and supply chain behaviors and capabilities. Product design changes were found to alter the scope and scale of process and supply chain modifications in specific ways that alter firms' competitive product design customization capabilities and competencies; flexible, advanced process technologies; and collaborative supplier practices. This study contributes to operations management literature by providing a rich empirical analysis of operations system interplay. The study develops substantive research propositions and a 3DCE theoretical framework that may be used to drive future operations management research and in addition, provides managerial insights that can be used to strengthen supply chain capabilities in a global and dynamic context.
Sparse nonnegative matrix factorization for protein sequence motif discovery

The problem of discovering motifs from protein sequences is a critical and challenging task in the field of bioinformatics. The task involves clustering relatively similar protein segments from a huge collection of protein sequences and culling high quality motifs from a set of clusters. A granular computing strategy combined with K-means clustering algorithm was previously proposed for the task, but this strategy requires a manual selection of biologically meaningful clusters which are to be used as an initial condition. This manipulated clustering method is undisciplined as well as computationally expensive. In this paper, we utilize sparse non-negative matrix factorization (SNMF) to cluster a large protein data set. We show how to combine this method with Fuzzy C-means algorithm and incorporate bio-statistics information to increase the number of clusters whose structural similarity is high. Our experimental results show that an SNMF approach provides better protein groupings in terms of similarities in secondary structures while maintaining similarities in protein primary sequences.
Lupus Anticoagulant Syndrome: A Case Report

Thromboses of the deep veins (DVT) and potential complications are disorders with which physicians need to be well familiarized so they can be recognized and managed. Hypercoagulable states play a significant role in the development of DVT and these disorders must be suspect when thrombosis occurs, especially in the upper extremities. Antiphospholipid antibody syndrome (APS) is one such hypercoagulable state in which autoantibodies are formed against anionic phospholipid complexes. In vivo, these antibodies cause a hypercoagulable state through a number of proposed mechanisms, whereas in vitro they interfere with the assembly of phospholipid complexes, thereby inhibiting coagulation and prolonging various clotting times. Though appearing to be anticoagulated on ancillary testing, patients with APS are actually in a pro-thrombotic state requiring treatment with the anticoagulants heparin and warfarin. This case discussion focuses on the recognition and treatment of thrombotic events in the setting of APS.
Logarithmic corrections to N ≥ 2 black hole entropy

By means of a new efficient method for computing the one-loop corrections to the entropy of supersymmetric four-dimensional black holes, the logarithmic correction to the Bekenstein-Hawking area law is found.
Multivariate estimation of cumulative incidence, prevalence, and morbidity time of a disease when death is likely.

Abstract Competing risk of death from other causes before developing the outcome of interest is a common phenomenon in clinical settings. In a previous article, we developed the “sandwiching method” as one approach to estimate disease incidence and morbidity time for populations at a high risk of death from other causes. In addition to its computational simplicity, the sandwiching method is also relatively assumption free. This article extends the original sandwiching method to incorporate patient characteristics into the estimation by using Cox's proportional hazards model. Data from the Johns Hopkins Hospital AIDS service were used to illustrate this extended method. The importance of estimates was discussed in the context of planning health care needs.
The infinite-lived rat—An equal-age replacement process

Abstract Equal-age replacement is used to formulate the competing-risk problem in terms of a set of nonhomogenous Poisson processes whose mean value functions are the set of cumulative hazards (the integrals of the age-and cause-specific incidence rates). Cumulative hazard is estimated by a weighted count that is the sum of the reciprocals of numbers at risk at the times of occurrence of the specific risk. Occurrence data are generally insufficient to distinguish between plausible forms of the distribution function or types of nonparametric shifts with dose. More emphasis has to be given to understanding the biological mechanisms that dictate the parametric form to be fitted to the data.
Dual wavelength laser damage testing for high energy lasers

As high energy laser systems evolve towards higher energies, fundamental material properties such as the laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) of the optics limit the overall system performance. The Z-Backlighter Laser Facility at Sandia National Laboratories uses a pair of such kiljoule-class Nd:Phosphate Glass lasers for x-ray radiography of high energy density physics events on the Z-Accelerator. These two systems, the Z-Beamlet system operating at 527nm/ 1ns and the Z-Petawatt system operating at 1054nm/ 0.5ps, can be combined for some experimental applications. In these scenarios, dichroic beam combining optics and subsequent dual wavelength high reflectors will see a high fluence from combined simultaneous laser exposure and may even see lingering effects when used for pump-probe configurations. Only recently have researchers begun to explore such concerns, looking at individual and simultaneous exposures of optics to 1064 and third harmonic 355nm light from Nd:YAG [1]. However, to our knowledge, measurements of simultaneous and delayed dual wavelength damage thresholds on such optics have not been performed for exposure to 1054nm and its second harmonic light, especially when the pulses are of disparate pulse duration. The Z-Backlighter Facility has an instrumented damage tester setup to examine the issues of laser-induced damage thresholds in a varietymore » of such situations [2] . Using this damage tester, we have measured the LIDT of dual wavelength high reflectors at 1054nm/0.5ps and 532nm/7ns, separately and spatially combined, both co-temporal and delayed, with single and multiple exposures. We found that the LIDT of the sample at 1054nm/0.5ps can be significantly lowered, from 1.32J/cm{sup 2} damage fluence with 1054/0.5ps only to 1.05 J/cm{sup 2} with the simultaneous presence of 532nm/7ns laser light at a fluence of 8.1 J/cm{sup 2}. This reduction of LIDT of the sample at 1054nm/0.5ps continues as the fluence of 532nm/7ns laser light simultaneously present increases. The reduction of LIDT does not occur when the 2 pulses are temporally separated. This paper will also present dual wavelength LIDT results of commercial dichroic beam-combining optics simultaneously exposed with laser light at 1054nm/2.5ns and 532nm/7ns.« less
The Scientisation of Culture: Colonial Medicine's Construction of Egyptian Womanhood, 1893–1929

At the turn of the century a middle-class discourse of domesticity was certainly ubiquitous in Cairo propagated through competing ideologies including nationalism but consistently made by the privileged classes of Egypt. Particularly among the Egyptian secular nationalists there were doctors who gave this brand of nationalist discourse an added level of legitimacy and credibility through a new-found authority brought by the rising importance of modern medicine. The British colonial encounter was certainly pivotal in creating this new-found medical authority indeed in forging a new template of the modern Egyptian doctor. This article is part of a larger study and attempts to analyse the contingent historical processes that explain: (a) the new-found prominence and socio-political authority of the modern Egyptian doctor who became almost exclusively male urban upper-class and English speaking at the expense of the Egyptian midwife; (b) the role that the Egyptian medical establishment and its authority played in reconstituting the modern Egyptian woman in nationalist terms; and lastly (c) how these two formations left in their wake a popular discourse that not only medically explained womans roles and rationalised the domicile but also scienticised Egyptian culture. At the heart of this study then is the question of how Egyptian women presented here as both medical subjects (e.g. midwives) and medicalised objects (e.g. housewives) were implicated by the intersecting historical processes of colonisation modernisation and nationalism - an intersection that also explains the scientisation of Egyptian culture. (excerpt)
Predictive medicine. V. Linear versus curvilinear functions.

In predictive medicine it is essential to regard the relationship between biochemical and clinical patterns as a curvilinear (parabolic) function involving a trichotomous system rather than the traditional dichotomous system. The parabolic pattern is a function of age and also of the range of values chosen to describe “normo-,” “hypo-” and “hyper-” for the biochemical measurement in question.
Pictorial Applications For Range Sensing Cameras

The acquisition of range information allows real-world scenes to be manipulated in ways traditionally restricted to computer-generated images. This paper will describe lighting, focus, and other changes upon real scenes, describe some of the implications of range sensing to efficient coding of image sequences, and outline some new research into passive range sensing cameras which use focus information to infer distance.
A laser induced fluorescence study of vibrational energy transfer processes in cyclopropane

Abstract Results of infrared laser induced fluorescence studies on cyclopropane are presented. Molecules were excited from the ground state to the v 10 level of cyclopropane using a Q-switched CO 2 laser operating on either the P(14) or P(20) transition of the 9.6 μ branch. Fluorescence was observed from the v 6 , v 8 , v 10 + v 11 and v 5 + v 10 levels of cyclopropane. The self-deactivation of vibrationally excited cyclopropane through V → T/R processes was found to have a rate of 8.0 ± 1.5 ms −1 torr −1 . Deactivation by rare gas collisions was also studied with comparison to simple V → T and V → R theories. V → V equilibration processes are discussed involving the v 6 , v 8 , v 10 , v 11 , and v 10 + v 11 levels.
How microRNAs influence both hereditary and inflammatory-mediated colon cancers

MicroRNAs have emerged as important post-translational regulators of gene expression and are involved in several physiological and pathological states including the pathogenesis of human colon cancers. In regards to tumor development, microRNAs can act as oncogenes or tumor suppressors. Two hereditary predispositions (i.e., Lynch syndrome and familial adenomatous polyposis) contribute to the development of colon cancer. In addition, individuals who suffer from inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis have a higher risk of developing colon cancer. Here, we discuss the occurrence of the deregulated expression of microRNAs in colon cancer that arise as a result of hereditary predisposition and inflammatory bowel disease.
Medical applications of polycapillary x-ray optics

Medical imaging was one of the earliest applications of x radiation and remains one of the most common and most important. Despite the advent of ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging, x-ray imaging is still the most widely used medical imaging modality. Its low cost and ease of use are critical for mass screening, for example in cancer detection. The recent invention of Kumakhov polycapillary x-ray optics allows for a new mechanism of control of broadband x-ray radiation for imaging. Polycapillary x-ray optics provide nearly complete scatter rejection, and can be used to magnify or demagnify the x-ray image without conversion to visible photons. Measurements have been made of the performance of prototype magnifying antiscatter optics. Significant contrast enhancement and resolution improvement have been measured. The potential application of polycapillary optics to focused beam therapy is also discussed.
Retinoic acid-induced differentiation of a nontumorigenic embryonal carcinoma cell mutant created through retroviral insertion.

Abstract A mutant embryonal carcinoma cell line, NR1-6, was created through retroviral insertion. We have previously reported that due to a single insertional event the mutant cell line is altered in regard to both its morphology and its tumorigenic capacity. We now report that this same cell line is also aberrant in its differentiative potential following exposure to the morphogen retinoic acid (RA). Unlike the parental NR1-0 cells, the NR1-6 cells apparently do not respond to RA by elaborating primitive endodermal derivatives in monolayer culture but rather appear morphologically to differentiate into mesodermal cells. This hypothesis is substantiated by the observation that RA treatment induces the transcription of both Endo A and B mRNA in parental but not mutant cells. No differences have been observed in the transcription of other RA sensitive markers such as c-myc, tissue plasminogen activator, collagen type IV, and laminin. In addition, the mutant cells are quantitatively much more sensitive to RA induction than are the parental cells, achieving full differentiation within 72 h of treatment with 10 −10 M RA. The parental cells, in contrast, will only differentiate at concentrations of 10 −5 or 10 −6 M RA, following 5 to 7 days of treatment. A spontaneous revertant cell line, which was isolated from an NR1-6 population and lacks the retroviral insert, is identical to the parental population in all parameters. Therefore, these data indicate that, in this case at least, a single genetic locus is involved in regulating both the qualitative and quantitative response of EC cells to RA-induced differentiation, as well as their morphology and tumorigenic potential.
Analysis of steady, two-dimensional, chemically reacting, nonequilibrium, inviscid flow in nozzles

A method for solving the equations governing unsteady, two-dimensional, chemically reacting, nonequilibrium, inviscid flow for subsonic, transonic, and supersonic flowfields is described. Steady-state solutions are obtained as the asymptotic solution for large time. Interior points are computed using MacCormack's method, while all boundary points are computed by a reference-plane characteristic method. The finite difference approximation of the species continuity equations is inconsistent in time, but becomes consistent at the steady-state limit. Nonuniform nonequilibrium conditions can specified at the nozzle inlet. Results are presented for a C-H-O-N chemistry system. Computational time is highly problem dependent. For the cases studied to date, converged solutions have been obtained in 5 min to 1 h using a CDC 6500 computer.
Rangeland management and fluvial geomorphology in northern Tanzania.

Abstract Researchers have independently documented the effects of land use on rivers and threats to river management institutions, but the relationship between changes in institutional context and river condition is not well described. This study assesses the connections between resource management institutions, land use, and rivers by integrating social science, geospatial analysis, and geomorphology. In particular, we measured hydraulic geometry, sediment size distributions, and estimated sediment yield for four rivers in northern Tanzania and conducted semistructured interviews that assessed corresponding resource management institutions. Communities managed rivers through both customary (traditional, nonstate) and government institutions, but the differences in the resource management policies and practices of the study rivers themselves were fairly subtle. Clearer differences were found at broader scales; the four watersheds exhibited substantial differences in land-cover change and sediment yield associated with the location of settlements, roadways, and cultivation. Unexpectedly, these recent land-use changes did not initiate a geomorphic response in rivers. The long history of grazing by domestic and wild ungulates may have influenced water and sediment supplies such that river channel dimensions are more resistant to changes in land use than other systems or have already adjusted to predominant changes in boundary conditions. This would suggest that not all rivers will have the anticipated responses to contemporary land-use changes because of antecedent land-use patterns; over long time scales (centuries to millennia), the presence of grazers may actually increase the ability of rivers to withstand changes in land use. Our findings point to a need for further interdisciplinary study of dryland rivers and their shifts between system states, especially in areas with a long history of grazing, relatively recent changes in land use, and a dynamic social and institutional context.