cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Generalized permutohedra, h-vectors of cotransversal matroids and pure O-sequences

Stanley has conjectured that the h-vector of a matroid complex is a pure O-sequence. We will prove this for cotransversal matroids by using generalized permutohedra. We construct a bijection between lattice points inside an r -dimensional convex polytope and bases of a rank r transversal matroid.
Resonance Effects and the Vocalization of Speech

Studies of the respiratory and laryngeal actions required for phonation are central to our understanding of both voice and voice disorders. The purpose of the present article is to highlight complementary insights about voice that have come from the study of vocal tract resonance effects.
Debt and taxes in eight U.S. wars and two insurrections

Abstract From decompositions of U.S. federal fiscal accounts from 1790 to 1988, we describe differences and patterns in how expenditure surges were financed during 8 wars between 1812 and 1975. We also study two insurrections. We use two benchmark theories of optimal taxation and borrowing to frame a narrative of how government decision makers reasoned and learned about how to manage a common set of forces that bedeviled them during all of the wars, forces that included interest rate risks, unknown durations of expenditure surges, government creditors' debt dilution fears, and temptations to use changes in units of account and inflation to restructure debts. Ex post real rates of return on government securities are a big part of our story.
Introduction and Summary: the Hafsids and the Axial Western Mediterranean

From February 13–15, 2018, Le Centre d’Etudes Maghrebines a Tunis (CEMAT) and the American Institute for Maghrib Studies (AIMS) hosted the symposium ‘Early Hafsid Tunis – Capital of the Caliphate’ ...
Perinatal Outcomes in Women with a History of Recurrent Pregnancy Loss.

Objective This study aimed to evaluate perinatal outcomes in women with a history of recurrent pregnancy loss. Study Design Retrospective cohort study of singleton and nonanomalous gestations at ≥ 20 weeks who delivered at our academic institution. The exposed group was defined as women with a history of ≥ 2 consecutive spontaneous abortions (SABs) at Results Of 17,670 women included, 235 (1.3%) had a history of ≥ 2 consecutive SABs. Compared with women with a history of ≤ 1 SAB, women with ≥ 2 consecutive SABs were not more likely to have a PTB (19.6 vs. 14.0%, p = 0.01, adjusted odds ratios (AOR): 0.91, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.62–1.33). However, they were more likely to deliver at an earlier mean gestational age (37.8 ± 3.4 vs. 38.6 ± 2.9 weeks, p Conclusion A history of ≥ 2 consecutive SABs was not associated with an increased incidence of PTB but may be associated with gestational diabetes in a subsequent pregnancy. Key Points
Property G and the $4$--genus

We say a null-homologous knot $K$ in a $3$--manifold $Y$ has Property G, if the properties about the Thurston norm and fiberedness of the complement of $K$ is preserved under the zero surgery on $K$. In this paper, we will show that, if the smooth $4$--genus of $K\times\{0\}$ (in a certain homology class) in $(Y\times[0,1])\#N\overline{\mathbb CP^2}$, where $Y$ is a rational homology sphere, is smaller than the Seifert genus of $K$, then $K$ has Property G. When the smooth $4$--genus is $0$, $Y$ can be taken to be any closed, oriented $3$--manifold.
Traumatic Blunt Injuries to the Celiac Artery: A 5-Year Review From a Level I Trauma Center.

BackgroundInjury to the celiac artery secondary to a blunt mechanism of trauma is an extremely rare injury that accounts for only 1%-2% of all visceral vascular lesions. Although rare, this injury ...
The impact of the implementation of a mobile stroke unit on a stroke cohort.

Abstract Background Mobile stroke units (MSUs), specialized ambulances with a built-in computed tomography (CT) scanner and telemedicine connected stroke team, have been on the rise in recent years largely due to the ‘time is brain’ concept. We aim to report our initial experience since establishing our MSU, the first unit in the Tri-state area, and assess its impact on the stroke standards of care timeline. Methods We conducted a retrospective analysis of a prospectively maintained database of all MSU dispatched cases from August 2019 to March 2020. Results Of 195 MSU responses, 101 were treated and transported by the MSU. The mean time (hr:mm) of dispatch to scene arrival was 0:07 + 0:03, scene arrival to CT start was 0:10 + 0:03, CT start to teleneuro start was 0:05 + 0:03, teleneuro start to scene departure was 0:06 + 0:05, scene departure to hospital arrival was 0:12 + 0:06, and hospital arrival to arterial puncture was 2:59 + 1:01. The mean time of dispatch to arterial puncture was 3:34 + 1:02. The mean teleneuro consult duration was 0:04 + 0:02. The mean time of last know well (LKW) to tPA administration was 1:28 + 0:48 with 4 (57.1 %) patients receiving tPA within 60 min of LKW and 5 (71.4 %) patients receiving tPA within 90 min. The mean time of dispatch to tPA was 0:37 + 0:09 and scene arrival to tPA administration was 0:28 + 0:07. Conclusion MSUs may expedite each step along the stroke standards of care. In theory, this should drastically improve functional outcomes. However, the impact on functional outcomes or reductions in stroke-related morbidity is still unknown.
Schema.org: Evolution of Structured Data on the Web: Big data makes common schemas even more necessary.

Separation between content and presentation has always been one of the important design aspects of the Web. Historically, however, even though most Web sites were driven off structured databases, they published their content purely in HTML. Services such as Web search, price comparison, reservation engines, etc. that operated on this content had access only to HTML. Applications requiring access to the structured data underlying these Web pages had to build custom extractors to convert plain HTML into structured data. These efforts were often laborious and the scrapers were fragile and error-prone, breaking every time a site changed its layout.
A data-driven approach to estimate leaf area index for Landsat images over the contiguous US

Abstract Leaf Area Index (LAI) is a fundamental vegetation biophysical variable serving as an essential input to many land surface and atmospheric models. Long-term LAI maps are typically generated with satellite images at moderate spatial resolution (0.25 to 1 km), such as those from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). While useful for regional-scale land surface modeling, these moderate resolution products often cannot resolve spatial heterogeneity important for many agricultural and hydrological applications. This paper proposes an approach to map LAI at 30-m resolution based on Landsat images for the Contiguous US (CONUS) consistent with the MODIS product, aimed at multi-scale modeling applications. The algorithm was driven by 1.6 million spatially homogeneous samples derived from MODIS LAI and Landsat surface reflectance products from 2006 to 2018. Based on these samples, we trained separate random forest models to estimate LAI from Landsat surface reflectance for eight biomes of the National Land Cover Database (NLCD). A balanced sample design regarding the saturation status of MODIS LAI and a machine-learning-based noise detection technique were introduced to mitigate the trade-off in estimation accuracy between medium LAI (e.g., 3 to 4, unsaturated) and high LAI (e.g., 4–6, saturated). This approach was evaluated using ground measurements from 19 National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) sites and eight independent sites from other sources. These sites comprise a representative sample of forests, grasslands, shrublands, and croplands across the US. For NEON sites, the LAI estimates show an overall Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) of 0.8 with r2 of 0.88. For the eight independent sites, the Landsat LAI algorithm achieves RMSE between 0.52 and 0.91. The uncertainty in Landsat estimated LAI varies across biomes and locations. The proposed algorithm was implemented on the Google Earth Engine platform, allowing for the rapid generation of long-term high-resolution LAI records from the 1980s using Landsat images (code is available at https://github.com/yanghuikang/Landsat-LAI). Our findings also highlight the importance of sample balance on regression-based modeling in remote sensing applications.
Surgical resection and survival outcomes in metastatic young adult colorectal cancer patients.

BACKGROUND The incidence of colorectal cancer in adults younger than age 50 has increased with rates expected to continue to increase over the next decade. The objective of this study is to examine the survival benefit of surgical resection (primary and/or metastatic) versus palliative therapy in this patient population. METHODS We identified 6708 young adults aged 18-45 years diagnosed with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) from 2004 to 2015 from the SEER database. Overall survival (OS) was analyzed using Kaplan-Meier estimation, log rank test, and multivariate Cox proportional hazards model. RESULTS Sixty-three percent of patients in our study underwent primary tumor resection (PTR), with 40% undergoing PTR alone and 23% undergoing both resection of primary disease and metastasectomy. The median OS for patients who underwent both PTR and metastasectomy was 36 months, compared to 13 months for those who did not receive any surgical intervention. The multivariate analysis showed significant OS benefit of receiving both PTR and metastasectomy (HR 0.34, 95% CI: 0.31-0.37, p < 0.001) compared to palliative therapy. Undergoing PTR only and metastasectomy only were also associated with improved OS (HR 0.46, 95% CI: 0.43-0.49, p < 0.001 and HR 0.64, 95% CI: 0.55-0.76, p < 0.001, respectively). CONCLUSION This is the largest observational study to evaluate survival outcomes in young-onset mCRC patients and the role of surgical intervention of the primary and/or metastatic site. Our study provides evidence of statistically significant increase in OS for young mCRC patients who undergo surgical intervention of the primary and/or metastatic site.
Normalizing Flows for Knockoff-free Controlled Feature Selection.

The goal of controlled feature selection is to discover the features a response depends on while limiting the proportion of false discoveries to a predefined level. Recently, multiple methods have been proposed that use deep learning to generate knockoffs for controlled feature selection through the Model-X knockoff framework. We demonstrate, however, that these methods often fail to control the false discovery rate (FDR). There are two reasons for this shortcoming. First, these methods often learn inaccurate models of features. Second, the "swap" property, which is required for knockoffs to be valid, is often not well enforced. We propose a new procedure called FlowSelect that remedies both of these problems. To more accurately model the features, FlowSelect uses normalizing flows, the state-of-the-art method for density estimation. To circumvent the need to enforce the swap property, FlowSelect uses a novel MCMC-based procedure to directly compute p-values for each feature. Asymptotically, FlowSelect controls the FDR exactly. Empirically, FlowSelect controls the FDR well on both synthetic and semi-synthetic benchmarks, whereas competing knockoff-based approaches fail to do so. FlowSelect also demonstrates greater power on these benchmarks. Additionally, using data from a genome-wide association study of soybeans, FlowSelect correctly infers the genetic variants associated with specific soybean traits.
Renal Afferents

Purpose of Review The etiology of hypertension, a critical public health issue affecting one in three US adults, involves the integration of the actions of multiple organ systems, including the renal sympathetic nerves. The renal sympathetic nerves, which are comprised of both afferent (sensory input) and efferent (sympathetic outflow) arms, have emerged as a major potential therapeutic target to treat hypertension and disease states exhibiting excess renal sympathetic activity.
New Bank Start-Ups: Entrepreneurs Funding Other Entrepreneurs

There has traditionally been a symbiotic link between new business ventures and new banking ventures. This article finds that the traditional link between small businesses and small banks â€“ the small business loan â€“ has weakened in recent years. While new banks have intensified their reliance on small business customers, small business borrowers have become less reliant on small banks for their credit needs. These findings are consistent with rapid changes in the structure of the banking industry, financial instruments and markets, and communications and information technology over the past two decades.
Developing a Quality Assurance Program in a University Counseling Center

As the 1960s drew to a close, those involved in higher education in the United States began to witness the first signs of a significant lessening of resources, which, for many years, had been flowing at an increasing rate into colleges and universities. Those responsible for the training of psychological service providers and the delivery of mental health services in the public sector could discern a similar pattern.
Toward the Nondestructive Characterization of Fatigue Damage in Composite Materials

This paper is based upon introductory remarks presented at the opening of the ASTM Symposium on Damage in Composite Materials. The cooperation between specialists in fatigue and in nondestructive testing, in the organization and implementation of the symposium, is marked as a noteworthy milestone in an era in which closer cooperation between these two groups will be needed in order to achieve enhanced quality in materials and manufactured products. Experiences with an unusual form of damage in pultruded guys for antenna support systems are described to show that the development of meaningful test methods for composites may benefit from unconventional approaches. It is suggested, furthermore, that the development of voluntary standards for the nondestructive characterization of composite materials will succeed only to the extent that individuals with the relevant competences are encouraged to contribute to this important activity.
The Wisdom of Exile: Edward Everett Hale’s the Man Without a Country

Edward Everett Hale's short story "The Man Without a Country" is universally regarded as an American classic. Within a year of its publication in the Atlantic Monthly in 1863, it had sold a half a million copies. It's protagonist, Philip Nolan, is a figure in American literature that ranks up there with as Washington Irving's Rip Van Winkle or Ichabod Crane. This short story was very successful in civics textbooks, has been anthologized innumerable times, was the subject of an opera, and even had its title adopted with a single change from the definite to the indefinite article by none other than Kurt Vonnegut Jr. If the story is looked at with an eye to the themes of freedom of thought on the one hand and human sociability on the other it takes us to the heart of the the question of how spiritual freedom and civic belonging relate to each other
Characterization of a novel dentin matrix acidic phosphoprotein. Implications for induction of biomineralization

Acidic phosphorylated proteins have been shown to be prominent constituents of the extracellular matrix of bone and dentin. The acidic phosphoproteins of bone contain more glutamic acid than aspartic acid and a lower serine content than either. On the other hand, the major dentin acidic phosphoproteins, phosphophoryns, have been defined as aspartic acid- and serine-rich proteins, with a lesser content of glutamic acid. Both sets of phosphoproteins have been implicated as key participants in regulating mineralization, but it has been difficult to unify their mechanisms of action. We have now identified, by cDNA cloning, a new serine-rich acidic protein of the dentin matrix, AG1, with a composition intermediate between the bone acidic proteins and dentin phosphophoryns. AG1 has numerous acidic consensus sites for phosphorylation by both casein kinases I and II. Immunochemical and organ culture biosynthetic studies show that AG1 is present in phosphorylated form at low levels in the dentin matrix. If fully phosphorylated, AG1 would bear a net charge of -175/molecule of 473 residues. AG1 contains single RGD integrin binding and N-glycosylation sequences. The overall picture that emerges is that of a matrix-associated acidic phosphoprotein, with a potentially high calcium ion binding capacity, present at levels compatible with a regulatory role in dentin mineralization.
Team projects throughout the curriculum: course management, teaching initiatives and outreach

With current undergraduate, computer science and information systems curricula, students graduate with technical skills, but lack the understanding of an organizational structure, a team project experience and the impact of information technology on a global community. We believe the approach to our degree program in Information Sciences and Technology (IST) will benefit students, faculty and industry through academic initiatives and outreach. Students will learn more, retain more and have better communication skills by the use of problem-based learning, team projects, and real-world applications. This paper presents the course management framework, teaching initiatives, and outreach opportunities that evolved from a curriculum that requires team projects in each course.
Preliminary study on the relationship between visitation in the emergency department and posttraumatic mental health

This study documented family/friend support to patients in the Emergency Department (ED), including bedside visits and transportation of patients from the ED after discharge, and measured depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms within 2 weeks, 1 month, and 3 months after motor vehicle accidents. Stress and depression symptoms significantly decreased during the initial three months. Family/friend visitation in the ED was negatively associated with anxiety and depression symptoms within 2 weeks and with stress symptoms months after trauma. This pilot study suggests family/friend visitation in the ED is associated with fewer mental health issues in the months following an accident.
A Combined Heat and Power System For the College of Engineering : University of Louisiana at Lafayette

ABSTRACT Combined heat and power (CHP) systems are an evolving technology that is at the front of the energy conservation movement. With the reduction in energy consumption and green house gas emissions, CHP systems are improving the efficiency of power generation. Our goal for this research is to develop a specification for a CHP system that will improve the University of Louisiana at Lafayette's operating efficiency. This system will reduce the operating cost of the university and provide reliable, clean energy to the College of Engineering and surrounding buildings. If this system is implemented correctly, it has the ability to meet the economic and reliability needs of the university. CHP systems are the combination of various forms of equipment to meet the electrical and thermal needs from one single fuel source. Major steps involved in the development of a CHP system, including data collection and analysis, system calculations, and system specifications, will be discussed. This research also examine...
Recent Developments in Intellectual Property Law — A 2014 Retrospective

The year 2014 was an eventful one for intellectual property law. Every branch of government affected intellectual property law in one way or another. The Supreme Court ruled on several important intellectual property law cases; federal and state legislatures contemplated and enacted various new statutes that changed the intellectual property law landscape; and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office continued to implement new procedures governing the issuance and reconsideration of intellectual property rights. These events captured the consciousness of the American public and garnered significant media attention, more so than any year in recent memory. As these events proved, technological advancements will continue to test the limits of intellectual property law. Courts will seek to clarify and refine intellectual property laws where complexity and confusion persist. Lawmakers will attempt to create or refine laws that respond to social and market pressure. And agencies will work toward full implementation of all of the changes that courts and lawmakers mandate. In sum, these events show that intellectual property law is and will continue to be an exciting and complex field. This essay provides an overview of these events and considers their importance and immediate impact.
Reliability-oriented switching frequency analysis for Modular Multilevel Converter (MMC)

In this paper, reliability-oriented switching frequency analysis for Modular Multilevel Converter is investigated. In the medium voltage and high voltage direct current applications, the switching frequency should be low enough to avoid the converter from high switching power losses. In the other hand, choosing the switching frequency very low will impose higher ripple over the capacitor and will increase the THD of the output current. The result of this paper shows that although less semiconductor losses are incurred when operating at lower switching frequencies, the increase of the voltage ripple across capacitors and IGBTs can detrimentally affect the reliability of the converter, illustrating one of the key tradeoffs when designing the MMC.
EPR spectroscopic analysis of U7 hammerhead ribozyme dynamics during metal ion induced folding.

Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy was used to examine changes in internal structure and dynamics of the hammerhead ribozyme upon metal ion induced folding, changes in pH, and the p...
Identification of essential nucleotides of the FP1 element responsible for enhancement of low density lipoprotein receptor gene transcription

Low density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor gene is regulated at the transcriptional level by the intracellular level of sterols in animal cells. We have recently identified a 20 bp long region (-145 to -126), designated Footprint 1 (FP1), participating in maximal expression of the human LDL receptor gene in the absence of sterols in HepG2 cells [Mehta, K. D., Chang, R., Underwood, J., Wise, J. and Kumar, A. (1996) J. Biol. Chem ., 271, 33616-33622]. To determine the minimal FP1 sequence and to define the critical nucleotides required for function, a series of single nucleotide substitutions were introduced in the FP1 region. Twenty-three independent mutations were analyzed by transfection into HepG2 cells. These studies localize the regulatory region to 14 bp and demonstrate the requirement for essential guanine nucleotides at positions -135 and -136 for FP1 function. Furthermore, transfection studies suggest that the FP1-dependent increase in reporter gene expression is possibly mediated through interaction with the sterol-regulatory element. UV cross-linking and Southwestern blot analysis identified FP1-binding factors of approximately 50 and 125 kDa, which we have denoted p50 and p125. Mutations of the critical guanine residues (-135/-136) decreased the formation of the specific protein-DNA complex with the FP1 sequence and abolished its binding to the p125. We conclude that direct interaction of the p125 factor with these nucleotides of the FP1 element potentially contributes to FP1-dependent induction of LDL receptor gene expression.
Glass ionomer microleakage from preparations by an Er/YAG laser or a high-speed handpiece

Abstract Objective . The purpose of this study was to compare microleakage of glass ionomer materials (GIC) using two different modes of cavity preparation: a high-speed hand piece and an erbium/yttrium–aluminum–garnet (Er/YAG) laser. Methods . Eighty caries free permanent molar teeth had class V preparations cut on both the buccal and lingual surfaces. The high-speed hand piece was used to prepare a class V cavity preparation on the buccal surface and an Er/YAG laser was used to prepare a class V cavity preparation on the lingual surface. GIC or resin modified GIC was used as the restorative material. The teeth were thermocycled for 7000 cycles, placed in 2% basic fushin for 24 h, sectioned in the center of each restoration, and analyzed under a stereomicroscope. Results . There was no statistical difference in microleakage between the two modes of cavity preparations. The gingival margins had more microleakage than the occlusal margins for both GIC materials and the resin modified GIC showed significantly more leakage than the conventional GIC. Conclusions . The Er/YAG laser provided an equivalent method of tooth removal when evaluated for microleakage of GIC materials compared to a high-speed hand piece.
Overcoming the combined effect of geometric distortion and object change in image registration and conflation

A persistent problem with new unregistered geospatial data is geometric image distortion caused by different sensor/camera location. Often this distortion is modeled by means of arbitrary affine transformations. However in most of the real cases such geometric distortion is combined with other distortions caused by different image resolutions, different feature extraction techniques and others. Often images overlap only partially. Thus, the same objects on two images can differ significantly. The simple geometric distortion preserves one-to-one match between all points of the same object in the two images. In contrast when images are only partially overlapped or have different resolution there is no one-to-one point match. This paper explores theoretical and practical limits of building algorithms that are both robust and invariant at the same time to geometric distortions and change of image resolution. We provide two theorems, which state that such ideal algorithms are impossible in the proposed formalized framework. On the practical side we explored experimentally the ways to mitigate these theoretical limitations. Effective point placement, feature interpolation, and super-feature construction methods are developed that provide good registration/conflation results for the mages of very different resolutions.
PECONPI: a novel software for uncovering pathogenic copy number variations in non-syndromic sensorineural hearing loss and other genetically heterogeneous disorders.

This report describes an algorithm developed to predict the pathogenicity of copy number variants (CNVs) in large sample cohorts. CNVs (genomic deletions and duplications) are found in healthy individuals and in individuals with genetic diagnoses, and differentiation of these two classes of CNVs can be challenging and usually requires extensive manual curation. We have developed PECONPI, an algorithm to assess the pathogenicity of CNVs based on gene content and CNV frequency. This software was applied to a large cohort of patients with genetically heterogeneous non-syndromic hearing loss to score and rank each CNV based on its relative pathogenicity. Of 636 individuals tested, we identified the likely underlying etiology of the hearing loss in 14 (2%) of the patients (1 with a homozygous deletion, 7 with a deletion of a known hearing loss gene and a point mutation on the trans allele and 6 with a deletion larger than 1 Mb). We also identified two probands with smaller deletions encompassing genes that may be functionally related to their hearing loss. The ability of PECONPI to determine the pathogenicity of CNVs was tested on a second genetically heterogenous cohort with congenital heart defects (CHDs). It successfully identified a likely etiology in 6 of 355 individuals (2%). We believe this tool is useful for researchers with large genetically heterogeneous cohorts to help identify known pathogenic causes and novel disease genes.
Experimental measurements and empirical modelling of the regional deposition of inhaled particles in humans

Regional deposition of inhaled particles was studied experimentally in a hollow cast of the human larynx-tracheobronchial tree extending through the first six branching levels, and in twenty-six non-smoker human volunteers in vivo. Results of the hollow cast study indicated a linear dependence of particle deposition efficiency on the Stokes number for aerosols with aerodynamic diameters greater than 2 micrometers. Alveolar and total respiratory tract in vitro deposition in healthy non-smokers was minimal for particles of approximately 0.4 micrometers, and alveolar deposition for mouthpieces inhalations peaked for particles of approximately 3 micrometers. A new anatomic parameter, the bronchial deposition size (BDS), is introduced to permit the classification of various individuals and populations according to their tracheobronchial deposition efficiencies. The average BDS's were 1.20 cm for 26 healthy non-smokers, 1.02 cm for 46 cigarette smokers, 0.90 cm for 19 clinical patients being treated for obstructive lung disease and 0.60 cm for six severely disabled patients.
Intent-Based Probabilistic Conflict Detection for the Next Generation Air Transportation System

The Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) is a proposed transformation of air traffic operations to meet future growth. Under the NextGen, aircraft are expected to perform air traffic management tasks such as flight plan changes, trajectory prediction, and conflict detection. We propose a trajectory prediction algorithm for the NextGen that utilizes an aircraft dynamics model to account for changes in aircraft flight modes. This model is useful for short-term trajectory prediction and is able to account for the correlation in prediction errors due to aircraft maneuvers. We also utilize verified or inferred intents of aircraft to improve the trajectory prediction in the long term. We then propose a computationally efficient analytical algorithm to compute the conflict probability between any pair of maneuvering or nonmaneuvering aircraft. We demonstrate the computational efficiency and the accuracy of the proposed algorithm through various illustrative air traffic scenarios.
Crowdsourcing using Mechanical Turk: quality management and scalability

I will discuss the repeated acquisition of "labels" for data items when the labeling is imperfect. Labels are values provided by humans for specified variables on data items, such as "PG-13" for "Adult Content Rating on this Web Page." With the increasing popularity of micro-outsourcing systems, such as Amazon's Mechanical Turk, it often is possible to obtain less-than-expert labeling at low cost. We examine the improvement (or lack thereof) in data quality via repeated labeling, and focus especially on the improvement of training labels for supervised induction.
Land use regulation in the Lake George basin: an ecological economic perspective

Abstract This paper examines land use policy in Lake George, New York. In spite of a multitude of federal, state, and local regulations the environmental quality of Lake George has deteriorated significantly in recent years. We attribute this to a planning approach based implicitly on conventional economics. This approach is characterized by marginal analysis, exclusive reliance on discounted market values, and an emphasis on economic growth. We argue that an ecological economic approach explicitly recognizing the inherent conflict between economic activity and environmental protection is necessary to prevent further deterioration of the Lake George environment. We recommend a proactive planning approach clearly delineating the level of environmental integrity to be achieved and allowing this to be the governing factor in determining the permissible level of economic activity.
The Posthuman Ethos in Cyberpunk Science Fiction

In her article "The Posthuman Ethos in Cyberpunk Science Fiction" Maria Goicoechea explores the posthuman tendencies of Anglo-American popular culture as they are manifested in the representations of the cyborgs, clones, and artificial intelligences that populate cyberpunk science fiction. Choosing the figure of the cyborg as the central myth of cyberculture, Goicoechea exposes the underlying tensions and contradictions present in cyberpunk prescient visions of humanity's evolution. Goicoechea reviews the variety of contradictory meanings that have been sedimented over this hybrid creature, using as ideological framework the digital narratives of "Technoromanticism" and "Cybergothic," respectively the dominant and the countercultural trend inside cyberculture. Goicoechea postulates that although cyberpunk narratives have been associated traditionally with the subversiveness and rebelliousness of the more dystopian Cybergothic, they are also prey to the mesmerizing promises of the technoromantics. Goicoechea argues that the discourses of Technoromanticism and Cybergothic run parallel in many of the cyberpunk novels explored, provoking a schizoid and paranoid tunnel vision in characters and readers alike. Cyberpunk visions coincide in diagnosing the cyborg with the illness of Narcissus. In their quest for immortality, humans that have fused too intimately with the machine seem propelled towards a solipsistic free fall, a movement which tries to avoid any form of ideology but which entraps them instead in their own contradictory impulses for control and freedom. Maria Goicoechea, "The Posthuman Ethos in Cyberpunk Science Fiction" page 2 of 11 CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture 10.4 (2008): Thematic issue New Studies on the Fantastic in Literature. Ed. Asuncion Lopez-Varela
A Survey of the Principal Modes of Nonaxisymmetric Instability in Self-Gravitating Accretion Disk Models

We present a survey of the three principal nonaxisymmetric modes of instability (the so-called P-, I-, and J-modes) that have been found in rotating, self-gravitating, accretion disk models. The relevant equations that describe the equilibrium structure and the linear stability properties are formulated quite simply for what has turned out to be the ii standard ˇˇ idealized model of accretion tori orbiting a central star, the so-called slender incompressible torus with constant speci—c angular momentum. In this sense, our survey is a natural extension of the work done by Goodman & Narayan. We map out the three unstable nonaxisymmetric modes in this model, and we illustrate the regions of instability in various parameter spaces, the most important of which is the (M D /M C , T / o W o )-plane, where is the torus/central star mass ratio and T / o W o is the ratio of the rotational kinetic energy M D /M C of the torus to the total gravitational potential energy of the system. We place particular emphasis on this parameter space because the physical signi—cance of the two ratios is easily understood and because of its potential importance for observers, having in mind protostellar star/disk systems for which the mass ratio of the two components can currently be determined and for which the ratio T / o W o may eventually be estimated from observations. We compare our solutions of the linearized stability equations with the results previously obtained from linear analyses of (in)compressible two-dimensional annular models and from nonlinear hydrody- namical simulations of compressible three-dimensional toroidal models. The I- and J-modes are pri- marily driven by self-gravity, so they appear in all models with nonzero torus mass that are sufficiently slender; the J-modes dominate over the I-modes only in the most slender of the unstable models; and the corresponding regions of instability are not expected to be strongly dependent on the assumption of incompressibility or on the particular choice of the angular momentum pro—le. The P-modes appear only at extremely low mass ratios and only in extremely slender tori (aspect (M D /M C " 1.15 ) 10~3) ratios v " 0.02733). Thus, they probably play no role in the dynamical evolution of realistic disk systems such as those around protostars and compact objects in active galactic nucleiand the I-modes emerge as the most important and dangerous modes of instability for all self-gravitating accretion disks with small or moderate aspect ratios. Subject headings: accretion, accretion diskscircumstellar mattergalaxies: nuclei ¨ hydrodynamicsinstabilities
Selective adsorption and hydrogen embrittlement

This paper presents a definite correlation between hydrogen embrittlement and adsorption. The effects of the presence of gaseous additives on hydrogen embrittlement and hydrogen adsorption were studied. Those gaseous additives which halt a running crack in 4340 steel loaded in a hydrogen atmosphere also halt hydrogen adsorption. Those gaseous additives which accelerate the crack growth increase the supply of hydrogen atoms at the metal surface. It is concluded that the effect of gaseous additives to inhibit or promote crack growth is a consequence of their ability to increase or decrease the supply of hydrogen atoms at the metal surface by some chemical process.
An explicit solution for progress curve analysis in systems characterized by endogenous substrate production.

The Lambert W function was used to explicitly relate substrate concentration S, to time t, and the kinetic parameters V m, K m, and R in the modified Michaelis–Menten equation that accounts for endogenous substrate production. The applicability of this explicit formulation for kinetic parameter estimation by progress curve analysis was demonstrated using a combination of synthetic and experimental substrate depletion data. Synthetic substrate depletion data were generated using S 0 values of 1, 2, and 3 μM and V m, K m, and R values of 1.0 μM h−1, 1.0 μM, and 0.1 μM h−1, respectively, and contained 5% normally distributed error. Experimental data were obtained from two previously published studies on hydrogen depletion in four experimental systems. In all instances, experimental data were well described by the explicit solution presented in this study. Differential equation solution and iterative S estimation are eliminated with the explicit solution approach, thereby simplifying progress curve analysis in systems characterized by endogenous substrate production.
Activity and stability of non-precious metal catalysts for oxygen reduction in acid and alkaline electrolytes

Abstract The activity and stability of non-precious metal catalysts (NPMCs) for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in both acid and alkaline electrolytes were studied by the rotating disk electrode technique. The NPMCs were prepared through the pyrolysis of cobalt–iron–nitrogen chelate followed by combination of pyrolysis, acid leaching, and re-pyrolysis. In both environments, the catalysts heat-treated at 800–900 °C exhibited relatively high activity. Particularly, an onset potential of 0.92 V and a well-defined limiting current plateau for the ORR was observed in alkaline medium. The potential cycling stability test revealed the poor stability of NPMCs in acid solution with an exponential increase in the performance degradation as a function of the number of potential cycling. In contrast, the NPMCs demonstrated exceptional stability in alkaline solution. The numbers of electron transferred during the ORR on the NPMCs in acid and alkaline electrolytes were 3.65 and 3.92, respectively, and these numbers did not change before and after the stability test. XPS analysis indicated that the N-containing sites of catalysts are stable before and after the stability test when in alkaline solution but not in acid solution.
ERYTHROCYTIC ENZYMES OF VARIOUS ANIMAL SPECIES.

ENZYMES involved in the reduction of triphosphopyridine nucleotide (TPN) have been reported to be of primary importance in the resistance of erythrocytes to drug-induced haemolytic conditions1. A hereditary defect in man associated with erythrocytes sensitive to drugs (primaquine) has been described in which there is a deficiency of hexose monophosphate pathway enzymes in the erythrocytes. Evidence of a susceptibility to drug-induced haemolysis of erythrocytes has also been reported in the dog2.
Multiple assessments of local properties, production, and performance in metal objects: an experimental case study from Petra, Jordan

This object-specific case study focuses on cupreous artifacts excavated from the Great Temple complex of Petra, Jordan to demonstrate how the use of compositional X-ray analyses alongside two experimental applications (ImageJ software and nanoindentation) have the potential to generate different and otherwise unobtainable information about archaeological metals. The study highlights the value of using multiple techniques as a means of resolving the ambiguities that tend to arise from interpretations of single-sited measurements on objects and from single-instrumental analyses during studies of production processes and consequent material performance. Employing different techniques on multiple localities within a sample permits the gathering of precise information about the behavior of and interrelationships between variables that affect the objects’ fabrication and use, particularly composition, structure, and hardness properties. The resulting data are interpreted in association with contextual archaeological information from Petra to consider the use-life and potential significance of these objects.
Preliminary evidence of the association between monochlorinated bisphenol A exposure and type II diabetes mellitus: A pilot study

Evidence for the association of bisphenol A (BPA) with type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has been inconsistent in human studies. In-vitro and animal studies indicate that chlorinated BPA derivatives aggravate BPA health effects via higher estrogenic activity and alteration of membrane-initiating signaling pathways. We evaluated the association between urinary monochlorinated BPA (mono-ClBPA) concentrations and the incidence of T2DM. In our cross-sectional study, we identified 20 adult participants (≥18 yr) who reported having T2DM (doctor-diagnosed) and 131 adults with normal health. First morning void urine samples were analyzed for total BPA and mono-ClBPA. Detection limits of the analytical method were 95 ng L(-1) for BPA and 32 ng L(-1) for mono-ClBPA. Multivariable logistic regression analyses and additive Bayesian network modeling were performed. After adjusting for age, gender, BMI, urinary total BPA and other confounders, the odds of having T2DM was 3.29 times higher (95% confidence interval, CI: 1.10, 11.4; P < 0.05) per unit increase in log-transformed and creatinine-adjusted urinary mono-ClBPA levels (n = 151); this relation did not hold for total BPA. The globally optimum Bayesian model corroborated the results of the logistic regression by expressing mono-ClBPA in the pathway of T2DM, and not for total BPA. An age-matched sensitivity analysis confirmed the increase in OR of T2DM by 3.04 times (95% CI: 1.10, 11.0; P < 0.05) per unit increase in log-transformed and creatinine-adjusted urinary mono-ClBPA concentration (n = 68). The urinary monochlorinated BPA derivative was significantly associated with T2DM, whereas the parent compound (total BPA) was not. Caution should be applied in interpreting these findings, as this is the first study to report this association and the sample size of participants with T2DM is small. Additional research with a larger sample size coupled with relevant toxicological studies is warranted.
Regulatory reform in the broadcasting industries of Brazil and Argentina in the 1990s

Regulatory reform has changed the organization of the broadcasting industry in Brazil and Argentina in the past decade. Although responding to a similar set of pressure, the pace, instruments, and character of reforms have been different in the 2 countries, resulting in media markets of diverse natures. This study argues that these different policy outcomes in the reform of broadcasting regulation in Brazil and Argentina reflect variations in three factors: the nature of the political system, the structure of the existing broadcasting industry, and the ideological legacy in the regulation of communication industries. The case of regulatory reform in the broadcasting industry illustrates different policy patterns in the restructuring of state-industry relations in communications and information technology industries in the 2 neighboring countries.
Nonoperative extraction of stones from the bile ducts

T HE DETECTION of retained stones on postcholecystectomy T-tube cholangiograms places the surgeon in a difficult position. T-tube cholangiography is usually obtained 7-10 days after surgery and the patient expects to go home at this time. Instead, the surgeon has to explain to him that a second operation is required to remove the retained stone. The second intervention carries twice the operative mortality as the initial surgical procedure. It is only in the last few years that a practical alternative to reoperation has become available for the removal of retained stones. This procedure of nonoperative extraction of retained stones under fluoroscopic control is now gaining wide acceptance.
Monuments Between Covers The Politics of Textbooks

History textbooks have represented state-approved civic truth. They reveal what adults thought children should learn about the past and are probably the best index of what young Americans did learn in class. History texts have given the past a patriotic gloss, varnishing familiar icons and perpetuating familiar interpretations. Like monuments designed to commemorate and re-present emblematic figures and events, textbooks shaped the public culture. But over time, textbooks did change, for many groups insisted that their truths prevail. Conflicts often intensified in periods of stress—hot and cold wars, depression, and sharp demographic shifts—when loyalty police went on alert and social activists recruited allies. The present history wars are a late chapter in a long book.
A trade-off-invariant life-history rule for optimal offspring size.

OPTIMIZATION models have been widely and successfully used in evolutionary ecology to predict the attributes of organisms1a¤-6. Most such models maximize darwinian fitness (or a component of fitness) in the face of trade-offs and constraints; the numerical results usually depend on the exact form of the trade-offs/constraints. Here we report the first (to our knowledge) numerical optimum for life-history evolution which is independent of the details of the underlying trade-off, for a large array for trade-off forms. The rule is that at small litter sizes, the range in offsping size is inversely proportional to the size of the litter. Details of the offspring-survival/offspring-size trade-off7a¤-10 set the value of the proportionality constant, but the a¤-1 exponent, the inverse proportionality itself, is universal. Studies of life histories have yielded many empirical examples of universality for various scaling exponents6 (for example, adult lifespan scales as ≈0.25 with adult body mass within many taxa); this is an example of the numerical value of an exponent (here a¤- 1) emerging from a life-history model as independent of all but a few general features of the underlying economic structure.