cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Toward Automatic Optimized Code Generation for Multiprecision Modular Exponentiation on a GPU

Multiprocessing modular exponentiation has a variety of uses, including cryptography, prime testing and computational number theory. It is also a very costly operation to compute. GPU parallelism can be used to accelerate these computations, but to use the GPU efficiently, a problem must involve a significant number of simultaneous exponentiation operations. Handling a large number of TLS/SSL encrypted sessions in a data center is a significant problem that fits this profile. We have developed a framework that enables generation of highly efficient NVIDIA PTX implementations of exponentiation operations for different GPU architectures and problem instances. One of the challenges in generating such code is that PTX is not a true assembly language, but is instead a virtual instruction set that is compiled and optimized in different ways for different generations of GPU hardware. Thus, the same PTX code runs with different levels of efficiency on different machines. And as the precision of the exponentiation values changes, each architecture has its own break-even points where a different algorithm or parallelization strategy must be employed. To make the code efficient for a given problem instance and architecture thus requires searching a multidimensional space of algorithms and configurations, by generating thousands of lines of carefully constructed PTX code for each combination, executing it, validating the numerical result, and evaluating its actual performance. Our framework automates much of this process, and produces exponentiation code that is up to six times faster than the best known hand-coded implementations. More importantly, the framework enables users to relatively quickly find the best configuration for each new GPU architecture. Our framework is also the basis for the eventual creation of a multiprocessing matrix arithmetic package for GPU cluster systems that will be portable across multiple generations of GPU.
Surface-functionalized electrospun carbon nanofiber mats as an innovative type of protein adsorption/purification medium with high capacity and high throughput.

Abstract Due to recent advances in the production of biotherapeutics, high capacity, high throughput adsorption media for efficient and economic separation of these medically important products are in great demand. One option that has been evaluated extensively is membrane/mat adsorption. While these media allow for rapid adsorption (due to the decreased internal diffusion) and high throughput processing (due to the open porous structure), they often suffer from low capacity and poor enrichment factors. Herein, we report the fabrication, characterization, and protein adsorption evaluation of an innovative type of membrane/mat adsorption media based on electrospun carbon nanofibers. By surface-functionalization of these nanofibers with a weak acid cation-exchange ligand, the capacity was doubled for binding a model protein (i.e., lysozyme) compared to commercial products; and the capacity value was over 200 mg lysozyme per gram of adsorption media. Meanwhile, the thin nanofibers (having diameters of ∼300 nm) along with open pores among nanofibers in the mats (having sizes of ∼10–15 μm) allowed for higher operating flow rates and lower pressure drops. Furthermore, the incorporation of higher ligand density and the addition of a non-ionic surfactant (i.e., Triton X-305) into the adsorption buffer eliminated the non-specific binding of a competing protein (bovine serum albumin). In combination, this study suggested that electrospun carbon nanofiber adsorption media would provide a promising alternative to packed resin beds for bioseparations.
Alkylphenol Xenoestrogens with Varying Carbon Chain Lengths Differentially and Potently Activate Signaling and Functional Responses in GH3/B6/F10 Somatomammotropes

BackgroundAlkylphenols varying in their side-chain lengths [ethyl-, propyl-, octyl-, and nonylphenol (EP, PP, OP, and NP, respectively)] and bisphenol A (BPA) represent a large group of structurall...
Integrating Ideas into Policy-Making Analysis: Frames and Race Policies in Britain and France

This article argues that systematically integrating ideas into policy-making analysis greatly enhances our understanding of policy outcomes. Variables emphasized by other schools of thought—such as power, interests, institutions, and problems—often provide an inadequate explanation of policy choices. To demonstrate the contribution of ideas to policy-making analysis, this article examines the impact of policy frames, showing how they help actors define their interests, generate interpretations of pressing problems, and constrain actions. Retracing the history of race policy development in Britain and France reveals that each country's frames influenced domestic policy outcomes and thus played a vital role in explaining cross-national race policy differences.
Nanoindentation of submicron polymeric coating systems

Abstract Characterization of the mechanical properties of layered structures is of importance for the applications of nanoscale multilayer materials. Nanoindentation experiments of bilayer structures have been performed with polymeric coatings of 47, 125, 220 and 3000 nm on acrylic substrates of 3 mm. The coatings have higher elastic modulus and flow resistance than the substrates. The reduced relaxed contact modulus decreases with the increase in the indentation load for all the coating systems. A semi-empirical relation is developed to correlate the ratio of the coating modulus to the substrate modulus with the depth of elastic recovery. Using this relationship, the elastic modulus of the polymeric coatings is found to be 4.5 GPa. The flow behavior of the coating systems subjected to a constant indentation load is shear thinning and can be described by a linear relation between the creep depth and the square root of the indentation load with a stress exponent of 1/2 at small indentation loads for the 3000 nm coating system and at large indentation loads for the 47, 125 and 220 nm coating systems.
Vasoactive intestinal peptide concentrations in turkey hypophysial portal blood differ across the reproductive cycle.

Abstract Hypophysial portal blood was collected for the first time in an avian species using a dorsal approach through the third ventricle and median eminence of the turkey. This was done to test for the presence of the prolactin (PRL)-releasing factor vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) in the portal blood and to determine whether VIP concentrations there varied with and corresponded to plasma PRL levels across the reproductive cycle. VIP concentrations in hypophysial portal blood were 2.5- to 13.5-fold greater than in the general circulation. VIP concentrations were lowest in portal blood of nonphotostimulated, reproductively inactive hens (231.8 ± 26.4 pg/ml) and highest in incubating hens (1108.1 ± 363.7 pg/ml), while laying, and photorefractory hens were intermediate at 372.5 ± 95.6 and 715.3 ± 338.5 pg/ml, respectively. These differences in concentration of VIP in portal blood mirrored those of PRL in the general circulation and support other evidence that VIP is the avian PRL-releasing factor.
Meta‐Ontology and Accidental Unity

My wife and I and our three children may stand in various relations: being a family, being a basketball team, and so on. I show that Frege's doctrine of existence, when coupled with this simple point, easily solves the problem of material constitution and blocks the overdetermination argument for eliminativism. It does all this work while providing a plausible and clear reductionistic account of material objects. These seem to be very good reasons for accepting Frege's doctrine of existence.
Generalized Flow Rating Equations at Prototype Gated Spillways

Gated spillways are used to control flow in canals, rivers, and estuaries. Despite their widespread use, available flow ratings at these gated structures are largely derived from reduced-scale laboratory models. In this paper, generalized flow rating equations are developed based on field flow measurements collected mostly with an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler at about 90 prototype gated spillways in South Florida. The proposed ratings, developed using dimensional analysis, agree well with field measurements. A single generalized equation that is applicable to all flow conditions was also developed. This generalized equation addresses the limitation of continuity of the calculations as flow transitions from one condition to another.
The importance of a respiratory therapist in the ALS clinic

Although multidisciplinary amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) clinics are widely endorsed, there is limited evidence they improve outcome. We retrospectively assessed use of non-invasive ventilation in 37 ALS patients seen before and 40 patients seen after the addition of a respiratory therapist to our clinic. Patients undergoing respiratory therapy were more likely to try non-invasive ventilation (odds ratio 4.01; 95% confidence interval 1.42-11.35) and more likely to use it for at least four hours per night (odds ratio 9.5, 95% confidence interval 2.32-38.88). Median survival following non-invasive ventilation institution was 10 months for those using it four or more hours per night and five months for those who refused it or who used it for less than four hours per night (p<0.03). We conclude that adding a respiratory therapist to our multidisciplinary ALS clinic led to an increase in the percentage of patients willing to try BiNIV as well as to use it more than four hours per night, and confirm as in prior studies that such use leads to prolonged survival.
Time-resolved emission studies of ArF-laser-produced microplasmas

ArF-laser-produced microplasmas in CO, CO2, methanol, and chloroform are studied by time-resolved emission measurements of the plasma decay. Electron densities are deduced from Stark broadening of the line profiles of atomic H, C, O, and Cl. Plasma ionization and excitation temperatures are determined from measurements of relative populations of ionic and neutral species produced in the plasmas. A discussion of the thermodynamic equilibrium status of ArF-laser microplasmas is presented. In general, the ArF-laser-produced microplasma environment is found to be similar in all the gases studied, in terms of both temperature (15,000–20,000 K) and electron density (1017 cm−3–1018 cm−3), despite the considerable differences observed in the breakdown thresholds and relative energies deposited in the various gases.
Laboratory confirmation of clinical heart allograft preservation variability

Abstract Background . Previously, we reported survival differences from the national heart transplant registry favoring centers that used intracellular organ preservation solutions. To eliminate center selection bias, we tested some of these solutions in a biventricular working rat heart model to determine their relative efficacy. Methods . Using 103 Sprague-Dawley rat hearts perfused with modified Krebs-Henseleit buffer, both ventricles functioned with adjustable independent preload and afterload and their pressure–length loops generated load-insensitive measurements of cardiac performance. After 15 minutes of stable function, each heart sustained 180 minutes of cold (4°C) ischemia after a 5-minute perfusion by University of Missouri (UMC), Plegisol, Collins, University of Wisconsin, Custodiol, or Roe solutions. Eighty-two hearts were reperfused and the remainder were used for ATP analyses. Results . Although the extracellular solution Plegisol showed good recovery of traditional hemodynamic values, including developed pressure and cardiac output, intracellular solutions like Roe had superior preservation of load-insensitive indices such as preload recruitable stroke work: Roe (intracellular) 103% ± 13%; Custodiol (intracellular) 96% ± 9%; UW (intracellular) 69% ± 12%; Collins (intracellular) 68% ± 9%; Plegisol (extracellular) 68% ± 7%; and University of Missouri (extracellular) 56% ± 10% ( p = 0.04). Furthermore, recovery with intracellular solutions tended to be gradual but more progressive after ischemia in contrast to an early plateau shown by extracellular ( p Conclusions . These data support the superiority of certain intracellular preservation solutions and provide evidence that optimal heart organ protection may be difficult to judge clinically using hemodynamic values routinely available to the heart transplant surgeon. Care should be taken to verify the performance of some solutions used in heart organ transplantation.
Purinergic P2X Receptors Presynaptically Increase Glutamatergic Synaptic Transmission in Dorsolateral Periaqueductal Gray

Purinergic P2X receptors have been reported to be present in regions of the midbrain periaqueductal gray (PAG). The purpose of this study was to determine the role of presynaptic P2X receptors in modulating excitatory and inhibitory synaptic inputs to the dorsolateral PAG (dl-PAG), which has abundant neuronal connections. First, whole cell voltage-clamp recording was performed to obtain excitatory and inhibitory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs and IPSCs) of the dl-PAG neurons. Our data show that alpha, beta-methylene ATP (a P2X receptor agonist), in the concentration of 50 microM, significantly increased the frequency of miniature EPSCs without altering the amplitude of miniature EPSCs in eight tested neurons. The effects were attenuated by PPADS, an antagonist to P2X receptors. Furthermore, alpha, beta-methylene ATP increased the amplitude of evoked EPSCs, and decreased the paired-pulse ratio of eEPSCs in ten neurons. In contrast, activation of P2X had no distinct effect on IPSCs. In addition, immunofluorescent methods demonstrate that P2X labeling was co-localized with a presynaptic marker, synaptophysin, in the dl-PAG. The results of the current study provide the first evidence indicating that P2X receptors facilitate glutamatergic synaptic transmission in the dl-PAG via presynaptic mechanisms.
Magnetometry via a double-pass continuous quantum measurement of atomic spin

We argue that it is possible in principle to reduce the uncertainty of an atomic magnetometer by double passing a far-detuned laser field through the atomic sample as it undergoes Larmor precession. Numerical simulations of the quantum Fisher information suggest that, despite the lack of explicit multibody coupling terms in the system's magnetic Hamiltonian, the parameter estimation uncertainty in such a physical setup scales better than the conventional Heisenberg uncertainty limit over a specified but arbitrary range of particle number. Using the methods of quantum stochastic calculus and filtering theory, we demonstrate numerically an explicit parameter estimator (called a quantum particle filter) whose observed scaling follows that of our calculated quantum Fisher information. Moreover, the quantum particle filter quantitatively surpasses the uncertainty limit calculated from the quantum Cram\'er-Rao inequality based on a magnetic coupling Hamiltonian with only single-body operators. We also show that a quantum Kalman filter is insufficient to obtain super-Heisenberg scaling and present evidence that such scaling necessitates going beyond the manifold of Gaussian atomic states.
Working under pressure: Evidence from the impacts of soccer fans on players’ performance

Abstract In this paper we study how pressure affects individual’s behavior. For this purpose we use sports data, where the attendance is a proxy for pressure, to investigate if the number of fans in the stadium affects the performance of the players. We overcome the reverse causality problem by proposing an instrument variable: a promotion in Brazil during which low cost tickets were assigned to random soccer matches. In contrast to previous literature, our results suggest that pressure does not significantly affect players’ behavior.
Planar Fabrication of a Mesoscale Voice Coil Actuator

Mesoscale robots are devices with characteristic dimensions in the centimeter to millimeter scale, with feature sizes ranging from millimeters to micrometers. Due to the physics involved in scaling down conventional motors, such robots frequently require novel approaches to actuation. Actu- ation can have a very significant effect on robot performance, particularly at small scales where locomotion becomes ener- getically expensive; however, existing options for small-scale actuation are quite limited. We present a mesoscale voice coil actuator (VCA) with favorable scaling characteristics and a design that minimizes costly frictional effects at small scales while allowing fast, linear, high-displacement motion. The VCA is fabricated using planar manufacturing techniques, making it well-suited for integration into a number of mesoscale robotic platforms and for mass production. The designed VCA has a mass of 310mg, maximum force of 11.8mN, bandwidth of 51Hz, and a stroke of 4mm.
Networking Strategies for Business and Economics Librarians

ABSTRACT Different modes of networking for business and economics librarians are explored. Business librarians are urged to think beyond the traditional associations and means of communication.
Intrathecal octreotide for relief of intractable nonmalignant pain: 5-year experience with two cases.

SOMATOSTATIN IS DISTRIBUTED in the substantia gelatinosa in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord, and its application has been found to produce an inhibitory effect on nociceptive neurons. Although intraspinal administration of somatostatin-14 produces pain relief in patients with cancer and in postoperative patients, its short half-life limits its clinical usefulness. Octreotide, a synthetic analog of somatostatin, is more stable and has not been associated with neurodegenerative changes when administered intrathecally in dogs. Intrathecal octreotide provides analgesia without adverse drug effects when administered chronically for cancer pain ; however, treatment periods have been limited. This article describes the 5-year clinical course of two patients receiving intrathecal octreotide for severe, intractable nonmalignant pain. Included in this description are the results of blinded, randomized N of 1 trials conducted in each of these patients.
From light to optic nerve: optimization of the front end of visual systems

Blindness is nature is fatal. In biology and physiology one finds many situations where nature has obtained neat solutions to problems, solutions that ar every nearly the best possible. Many of the design parameters for the eye are not arbitrarily selected, but are constrained to a narrow range of values by physics and information theory considerations. As Helmholtz mentioned more than a century ago 'the eye has every possible defect that can be found in an optical instrument and even some which are peculiar to itself; but they are all so interacted, that the inexactness of the image which results from their presence very little exceeds, under ordinary conditions of illumination, the limits which are set to the delicacy of sensation by the dimensions of the retinal cones.' Helmholtz was particularly prescient in his reference to cone dimension because, as we will see, many eye properties are completely determined once cone diameter is selected. The ideas presented in this paper are based on the working assumption that the eye does the best possible job within physical limits. This idea originated with Horace Barlow more than 40 years ago. Once excellent reference is the proceedings of a conference organized to honor Barlow's retirement with presentations by his many collaborators over the years. The list includes practically everyone referenced in this paper, which explores the design and optimization of the optics of the eye, retinal transduction and coding of visual data.© (1998) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Case Investigation and Forensic Evidence for a New Plant Disease: The Case of Lettuce Corky Root

Abstract The process of disease diagnosis reminds of the process of solving a crime. This starts with a so-called ‘crime scene investigation’ (CSI) carried out in a highly systematic manner. The CSI is followed by ‘forensic investigation’ in specialized laboratories. The final step in solving a crime is the ‘crime scene reconstruction’ process, which involves systematic elimination of unlikely scenarios and comparison of results from the analysis of physical evidence with eye witness accounts. If more evidence becomes available, an ‘old case may be reactivated’. In this review, the same sequence of activities is followed to solve a plant disease problem using a case study of a disease that was difficult to diagnose, namely the ‘case’ of corky root of lettuce.
ISAR target parameter estimation with application for automatic target recognition

Algorithms for estimating the angular velocity, angular acceleration, orientation, length, and width of an ISAR target and for identifying the scattering points of ISAR targets are derived and demonstrated. A correspondence between the ISAR motion estimation operations and a rigid body dynamical model is illustrated. It will be shown that an ISAR image amounts to projecting scatterers into a plane perpendicular to the target axis of rotation and coplanar with the range axis. The proper Doppler scale factor of imagery and its variation is proportional to the rotation rate and acceleration. These result as a by-product of SAIC ISAR motion estimation techniques. Improved geometric estimates can then be found by incorporating modeling assumptions and a priori knowledge. A number of land and sea examples are provided to reinforce the above concepts.© (1998) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
GAMMA-RADIATION FROM INTERACTION OF 14-MEV NEUTRONS WITH IRON

Experiments have been performed to observe gamma-rays produced by the interaction of 14-Mev neutrons with iron. Although the gamma-spectrum appears to be continuous below 3.0 Mev, there may be discrete gamma-rays at 3.3, 4.4, 5.8, 7.1, and 8.75 Mev. The total cross section for gamma-ray production is 4.6\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.5 barns.
Simultaneous transplant nephrectomy and ipsilateral second graft retransplantation

Six cases of simultaneous transplant nephrectomy and retransplantation in the ipsilateral iliac fossa are presented. All primary grafts were lost due to chronic rejection. Patients were followed from forty-one to one hundred months after the second graft transplant. The sources for all grafts were either living related donors or cadavers. Graft nephrectomy was performed through the previous lower quadrant incision; the arterial and venous stumps of the primary grafts were used when possible. In all cases continuity of the urinary tract was reestablished with a Politano-Leadbetter ureteroneocystostomy. There appears to be no increased morbidity in any of these 6 cases, and the survival rate of the second graft is comparable to that of transplantation into the contralateral virginal fossa. Advantages of the simultaneous procedure are discussed.
Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) Loop 4 Dimeric Mimetics Activate ERK and AKT and Promote NGF-like Neurotrophic Effects

Previous work indicating that nerve growth factor (NGF) protein loops 2 and 4 interact with TrkA receptors raise the possibility that small molecule mimetics corresponding to TrkA-interacting domains that have NGF agonist activity can be developed. We applied our previously developed strategy of dimeric peptidomimetics to address the hypothesis that loop 4 small molecule dimeric mimetics would activate TrkA-related signal transduction and mimic NGF neurotrophic effects in a structure-specific manner. A loop 4 cyclized peptide dimer demonstrated NGF-like neurotrophic activity, whereas peptides with scrambled sequence, added or substituted residues, or cyclized in monomeric form were inactive. Activity was blocked by the TrkA inhibitors K252a and AG879 but not by NGF p75 receptor blocking antibody. Dimeric, but not monomeric, peptides partially blocked NGF activity. This profile was consistent with that of a NGF partial agonist. ERK and AKT phosphorylation was stimulated only by biologically active peptides and was blocked by K252a. The ERK inhibitor U0126 blocked the neurite- but not the survival-promoting activity of both NGF and active peptide. These studies support the proof of concept that small molecule NGF loop 4 mimetics can activate NGF signaling pathways and can mimic death-preventing and neurite-promoting effects of NGF. This finding will guide the rational design of NGF single-domain mimetics and contribute to elucidating NGF signal transduction mechanisms.
Glucocorticoid modulation of specific protein metabolism in hippocampal slices maintained in vitro

Transverse slices of hippocampus, the primary neural target of the glucocorticoids, were prepared from adult male Sprague-Dawley rats and maintained in vitro at 32–34 °C in a balanced salt medium. The incorporation of [3H]leucine into TCA-precipitable proteins during a 1 h incubation in the presence or absence of 10−9 M corticosterone was determined. In addition, the incorporation of labeled amino acid into specific proteins was evaluated by fractioning proteins from nuclear, microsomal, and cytosol subcellular fractions on SDS-polyacrylamide gels. In further experiments, slices of neocortex, a brain region which shows considerably less hormone binding, were co-incubated with hippocampal slices and subjected to identical treatments and analyses. Hormone treatment neither increased nor decreased the incorporation of [3H]leucine into acid-precipitable proteins in either hippocampal or cortical slices. However, analysis of SDS-polyacrylamide gels revealed that incubation of hippocampal slices in 10−9 M corticosterone for 1 h consistently (18/20 experiments) and significantly (t = 4.21; df = 19; P < 0.001) increased amino acid incorporation into at least one soluble cytoplasmic protein by an average of 12% over controls. The affected protein(s) has an apparent molecular weight of approximately 54,000 daltons. Glucocorticoid treatment did not detectably alter the metabolism of any cortical proteins. These results provide the first evidence that steroid hormones may regulate the synthesis or degradation of specific proteins in their central as well as their peripheral target organs.
Mild Caloric Restriction During the Reproductive Cycle in Rats: Its Influence on the Offspring

Mild caloric restriction during pregnancy and lactation in rats resulted in lower average birth weights and weaning weights. Male offspring had a slower rate of growth during 60-day postweaning caries assay. No increased susceptibility to dental caries, abnormal development of accessory cusps of third molars, or delayed third molar eruption was evident.
The effects of alcohol on the heart: detrimental or beneficial?

PREVIEWAlcohol has had an appropriate Jekyll-and-Hyde reputation within the medical field. While alcohol abuse is a significant public health problem, substantial evidence now suggests that moderate alcohol consumption has cardioprotective effects. What, then, should physicians recommend to patients seeking advice about alcohol consumption? In this article, Dr Figueredo discusses factors to consider when making such a recommendation.
Composition dependence of superconductivity in YBa2(Cu(3-x)Al(x))O(y)

Eleven different compositions in the system YBa2(Cu(3-x)Al(x))O(y) (x = 0 to 0.3) have been synthesized and characterized by electrical resistivity measurements, powder x-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy. The superconducting transition temperature T sub c (onset) was almost unaffected by the presence of alumina due to its limited solubility in YBa2Cu3O(7-x). However, T sub c(R = 0) gradually decreased, and the resistive tails became longer with increasing Al2O3 concentration. This was probably due to formation of BaAl2O4 and other impurity phases from chemical decomposition of the superconducting phase by reaction with Al2O3.
Y-Faujasite Encapsulated Co Clusters: Synthesis, Characterization and Theoretical Model as Probe of the Methane Homologation

The adsorption of Co2(CO)8 onto the dehydrated Y-faujasite powder under an N2 atmosphere and onto the tetrahydrofuran slurry of Y-faujasite under a mixed CO and H2 atmosphere predominately yielded supported Co4(CO)12 and supported Co6(CO)16, respectively. The molecular cobalt-carbonyl clusters and their decarbonylated products have been structurally characterized by extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS). The decarbonylated sample a possesses a cluster of two Co atoms and the decarbonylated sample b has a cluster phase of three Co atoms. The decarbonylated sample a exhibited higher CH4 conversion and C2+ selectivity (C2+ selectivity = ∑nC n(n = 2–5)/∑nC n (n = 1–5) * 100%) in comparison with the decarbonylated sample b in methane homologation. A density functional theory (DFT) model was employed to calculate Co clusters adsorbed on a silica substrate which simulates Y-faujasite encapsulated Co clusters. The structural geometries, net spin electronic charge densities, energies of the metal–silica and metal–metal interactions in stable geometries are discussed and used to interpret the cluster size dependence of the catalytic activity and selectivity to C 2+ hydrocarbons in the methane homologation.
Metastatic epidural tumors in children

Spinal cord compression is a rare but serious complication of malignant diseases in children. Epidural cord compression was noted in 81 patients within the past 17 years at this center. The complication developed at different times during the course of the primary disease. For 29 of our patients, cord dysfunction was one of the initial signs of cancer--Ewing sarcoma, neuroblastoma, Hodgkin disease, and malignant lymphoma. By contrast, for most of the patients with osteosarcoma and rhabdomyosarcoma, it appeared later in their clinical course. The treatment outcome of patients who were paraplegia with complete loss of sensory function for greater than or equal to 48 hours was poor. Only four of 22 in this group became ambulatory. Ten patients with osteosarcoma did not undergo laminectomies because they all had multiple metastases and terminal disease. Paraplegia developed in all ten. There was no difference in ambulatory rates among other patients, with or without laminectomies.
Compressive sensing based sub-mm accuracy UWB positioning systems: A space-time approach

A key challenge to achieve very high positioning accuracy (such as sub-mm accuracy) in Ultra-Wideband (UWB) positioning systems is how to obtain ultra-high resolution UWB echo pulses, which requires ADCs with a prohibitively high sampling rate. The theory of Compressed Sensing (CS) has been applied to UWB systems to acquire UWB pulses below the Nyquist sampling rate. This paper proposes a front-end optimized scheme for the CS-based UWB positioning system. A Space-Time Bayesian Compressed Sensing (STBCS) algorithm is developed for joint signal reconstruction by transferring mutual a priori information, which can dramatically decrease ADC sampling rate and improve noise tolerance. Moreover, the STBCS and time difference of arrival (TDOA) algorithms are integrated in a pipelined mode for fast tracking of the target through an incremental optimization method. Simulation results show the proposed STBCS algorithm can significantly reduce the number of measurements and has better noise tolerance than the traditional BCS, OMP, and multi-task BCS (MBCS) algorithms. The sub-mm accurate CS-based UWB positioning system using the proposed STBCS-TDOA algorithm requires only 15% of the original sampling rate compared with the UWB positioning system using a sequential sampling method.
Properties of asymmetric benzyl-substituted ammonium ionic liquids and their electrochemical properties

Benzyl-substituted quaternary ammonium ions were used to form room-temperature ionic liquids with chloroaluminate ions. Asymmetric ammonium structures significantly lowered the melting point of the ionic liquid. Asymmetric benzyl-substituted ammonium chlorides were mixed with AlCl 3 to form acidic room-temperature ionic liquids. It is shown that the melting point and viscosity are a function of the symmetry of the quaternary ammonium ion and its molecular weight. Asymmetry and low molecular weight favor lower viscosity and melting point, and higher conductivity. These liquids were neutralized with NaCI and tested as electrolytes for sodium batteries. The neutralized ionic liquid of benzyldimethylethylammonium chloride had a low self-discharge current (3.96 μA/cm 2 ) at room temperature on a platinum electrode substrate.
Infrared Spectroscopy of Human Tissue. V. Infrared Spectroscopic Studies of Myeloid Leukemia (ML-1) Cells at Different Phases of the Cell Cycle

Infrared spectra of myeloid leukemia (ML-1) cells are reported for cells derived from an asynchronous, exponentially growing culture, as well as for cells that were fractionated according to their stage within the cell division cycle. The observed results suggest that the cells' DNA is detectable by infrared spectroscopy mainly when the cell is in the S phase, during the replication of DNA. In the G1 and G2 phases, the DNA is so tightly packed in the nucleus that it appears opaque to infrared radiation. Consequently, the nucleic acid spectral contributions in the G1 and G2 phases would be mostly that of cytoplasmic RNA. These results suggest that infrared spectral changes observed earlier between normal and abnormal cells may have been due to different distributions of cells within the stages of the cell division cycle. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Biospectroscopy 5: 219 -227, 1999
A moving hum filter to suppress rotor noise in high-resolution airborne magnetic data

A unique filtering approach is developed to eliminate helicopter rotor noise. It is designed to suppress harmonic noise from a rotor that varies slightly in amplitude, phase, and frequency and that contaminates aeromagnetic data. The filter provides a powerful harmonic noise-suppression tool for data acquired with modern large-dynamic-range recording systems. This three-step approach — polynomial fitting, bandpass filtering, and rotor-noise synthesis — significantly reduces rotor noise without altering the spectra of signals of interest. Two steps before hum filtering — polynomial fitting and bandpass filtering — are critical to accurately model the weak rotor noise. During rotor-noise synthesis, amplitude, phase, and frequency are determined. Data are processed segment by segment so that there is no limit on the length of data. The segment length changes dynamically along a line based on modeling results. Modeling the rotor noise is stable and efficient. Real-world data examples demonstrate that this met...
Regional Heart K42 Clearance Determined by Computer Analysis of Serial Digital Scans

Medical scanning procedures which provide a visual image of the distribution of a radioisotope in internal organs are customarily done using nuclides which emit gamma rays of relatively low energy. In the study of deeply placed organs, such as the heart, most of the radiation is absorbed or scattered by tissue located between the site of interest and the detector. Through the use of K42 (1.5 mev gamma) and heavily shielded detectors, satisfactory visualization of the regional tracer uptake in the heart muscle has been obtained. In order to separate radioactivity originating in muscle from that in the circulating blood, a regression analysis of the changes in counting rate with time at each of 960 locations was made by computer processing of serial scans.
Electron Tunneling Through Organic Molecules in Frozen Glasses

Reaction rates extracted from measurements of donor luminescence quenching by randomly dispersed electron acceptors reveal an exponential decay constant of 1.23 per angstrom for electron tunneling through a frozen toluene glass (with a barrier to tunneling of 1.4 electron volts). The decay constant is 1.62 per angstrom (the barrier, 2.6 electron volts) in a frozen 2-methyl-tetrahydrofuran glass. Comparison to decay constants for tunneling across covalently linked xylyl (0.76 per angstrom) and alkyl (1.0 per angstrom) bridges leads to the conclusion that tunneling between solvent molecules separated by ∼2 angstroms (van der Waals contact) is 20 to 50 times slower than tunneling through a comparable length of a covalently bonded bridge. Our results provide experimental confirmation that covalently bonded pathways can facilitate electron flow through folded polypeptide structures.
Barbiturate copper complexes: preparation and spectral studies

Abstract The preparation and spectral properties of copper(II) complexes of barbiturates are reported. Complexes of the general formula Cu(II)B2L2, where B = phenobarbital or amobarbital; and L = pyridine, imidazole, or H2O were synthesized. EPR and infrared data show that the copper atom is bound to the nitrogen atom of the barbiturate anion to form 2:1 barbiturate:copper complexes. The EPR spectra also indicate that all complexes have tetragonal symmetry (g∥> gL> ge) with the unpaired electron in the dx2−y2 orbital.
Surveying the Microbiome of Ants: Comparing 454 Pyrosequencing with Traditional Methods To Uncover Bacterial Diversity

We are only beginning to understand the depth and breadth of microbial associations across the eukaryotic tree of life. Reliably assessing bacterial diversity is a key challenge, and next-generation sequencing approaches are facilitating this endeavor. In this study, we used 16S rRNA amplicon pyrosequencing to survey microbial diversity in ants. We compared 454 libraries with Sanger-sequenced clone libraries as well as cultivation of live bacteria. Pyrosequencing yielded 95,656 bacterial 16S rRNA reads from 19 samples derived from four colonies of one ant species. The most dominant bacterial orders in the microbiome of the turtle ant Cephalotes varians were Rhizobiales, Burkholderiales, Opitutales, Xanthomonadales, and Campylobacterales, as revealed through both 454 sequencing and cloning. Even after stringent quality filtering, pyrosequencing recovered 445 microbe operational taxonomic units (OTUs) not detected with traditional techniques. In comparing bacterial communities associated with specific tissues, we found that gut tissues had significantly higher diversity than nongut tissues, and many of the OTUs identified from these groups clustered within ant-specific lineages, indicating a deep coevolutionary history of Cephalotes ants and their associated microbes. These lineages likely function as nutritional symbionts. One of four ant colonies investigated was infected with a Spiroplasma sp. (order Entomoplasmatales), a potential ant pathogen. Our work shows that the microbiome associated with Cephalotes varians is dominated by a few dozen bacterial lineages and that 454 sequencing is a cost-efficient tool to screen ant symbiont diversity.
Interactive Simulation of Fibrin Fibers in Virtual Environments

We present a data-driven method for interactive simulation and visualization of fibrin fibers, a major component of blood clotting. A fibrin fiber is a complex system consisting of a hierarchy with at least three separate levels of detail. Using measurements acquired with an atomic force microscope (AFM) at the smallest scale in this hierarchy, a physically-based model for the larger scales can be constructed and then simulated. Unlike most traditional work dealing with Monte Carlo (MC) or Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations, our method makes simplifying assumptions about the simulation and enables interactive visualization of simulated fibers in a virtual environment.
Long-term retention of a pursuitmeter skill.

The long-term retention of continuous motor skills appears to be well established ( 1, 3, 4) . Of Adams' (1) four hypotheses, this study rests one, that the superiority of motor skills retention is an artifact of the method of measurement. The Renshaw (6) pursuitmeter is a device which requires S to keep an electronic stylus on an electronic "bead" as it moves through a complex spacetime-motion matrix of 3.81 min. duration. Loss of contact stops the apparatus and is counted as an error. Plotting the retention curve in terms of lost contacts presents a situation analogous to a failure to recall a verbal response, i.e., an allor-none response.
Multiattribute Preference Analysis with Performance Targets

This paper develops an approach based on performance targets to assess a preference function for a multiobjective decision under uncertainty. This approach yields preference functions that are strategically equivalent to conventional multiattribute utility functions, but the target-oriented approach is more natural for some classes of decisions. In some situations, the target-oriented preference conditions are analogous to reliability theory conditions for series or parallel failure modes in a system. In such cases, reinterpreting the conditions using reliability concepts can be useful in assessing the preference function. The target-oriented approach is also a generalization of common forms of goal programming. The approach has particular applicability for resource allocation decisions where the outcome of the decision is significantly determined by the actions of other stakeholders to the decision, such as new product development or decision making in a controversial regulated environment.
Customized Advertising via a Common Media Distributor

We show that when a single media content distributor (such as a television cable company or an Internet provider) delivers advertising messages on behalf of multiple competing brands, it can sometimes utilize customized advertising to implement monopoly pricing. Even though such monopolistic pricing can be implemented with varying degrees of customization of commercials, product revenues and consumer surplus are highest when the distributor chooses the highest level of customization feasible. Consumers would, obviously, prefer aggressive price competition in product markets. However, given that collusion on prices is facilitated anyway, when the distributor acts as a common agent, the welfare of consumers is enhanced when commercials are better aligned with their preferences.
Black Carbon Aerosol over the Los Angeles Basin during CalNex

Refractory black carbon (rBC) mass and number concentrations were quantified by a Single Particle Soot Photometer (SP2) in the CalNex 2010 field study on board the Center for Interdisciplinary Remotely-Piloted Aircraft Studies (CIRPAS) Twin Otter in the Los Angeles (LA) Basin in May, 2010. The mass concentrations of rBC in the LA Basin ranged from 0.002–0.530 μg m^(−3), with an average of 0.172 μg m^(−3). Lower concentrations were measured in the Basin outflow regions and above the inversion layer. The SP2 afforded a quantification of the mixing state of rBC aerosols through modeling the scattering cross-section with a core-and-shell Mie model to determine coating thickness. The rBC particles above the inversion layer were more thickly coated by a light-scattering substance than those below, indicating a more aged aerosol in the free troposphere. Near the surface, as the LA plume is advected from west to east with the sea breeze, a coating of scattering material grows on rBC particles, coincident with a clear growth of ammonium nitrate within the LA Basin and the persistence of water-soluble organic compounds as the plume travels through the outflow regions. Detailed analysis of the rBC mixing state reveals two modes of coated rBC particles; a mode with smaller rBC core diameters (∼90 nm) but thick (>200 nm) coating diameters and a mode with larger rBC cores (∼145 nm) with a thin (<75 nm) coating. The “weekend effect” in the LA Basin results in more thickly coated rBC particles, coinciding with more secondary formation of aerosol.
Ensemble‐based data assimilation for thermally forced circulations

[1] The effectiveness of the ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) for thermally forced circulations is investigated with simulated observations. A two-dimensional, nonlinear, hydrostatic, non-rotating, and incompressible sea breeze model is developed for this purpose with buoyancy and vorticity as the prognostic variables. Model resolution is 4 km horizontally and 50 m vertically. Forcing is maintained through an explicit heating function with additive stochastic noise. Pure forecast experiments reveal that the model exhibits moderate nonlinearity. The strongest nonlinearity occurs along the sea breeze front at the time of peak sea breeze phase. Considerable small-scale error growth occurs at this phase for vorticity, while buoyancy is dominated by large-scale error as the direct result of the initial condition uncertainty. In the EnKF experiments, simulated buoyancy observations (with assumed error of 10 � 3 ms � 2 ) on land surface with 40-km spacing are assimilated every 3 hours. As a result of their resolution, the observations naturally sample the larger-scale flow structure. At the first analysis step, the filter is found to remove most of the large-scale error resulting from the initial conditions and the domainaveraged error of buoyancy and vorticity is reduced by about 83% and 42%, respectively. Subsequent analyses continue to remove error at a progressively slower rate and the error ultimately stabilizes within about 24 hours for both variables. At later model times, while mostly large-scale buoyancy errors due to the stochastic heating uncertainty are effectively removed, the filter also performs well at reducing smaller-scale vorticity errors associated with the sea breeze front. This is an indication that observations also contain useful small-scale information relevant at the scales of frontal convergence.
Preferential expression of myelencephalon-specific protease by oligodendrocytes of the adult rat spinal cord white matter.

Myelencephalon-specific protease (MSP) is a novel serine protease that is expressed predominantly in the nervous system. In the adult rat spinal cord, MSP mRNA expression was dramatically upregulated, in both the white and gray matter, after systemic exposure to the glutamate receptor agonist, kainic acid (KA) (Scarisbrick et al. J Neurosci 17:8156 - 8168, 1997b). To determine the cell-specific expression pat- terns of MSP, we generated MSP-specific monoclonal antibodies. These have been used in immunohistochemical and in situ hybridization colocalization studies, to demonstrate that MSP mRNA and protein are produced predominantly by CNP-immunoreactive oligodendroglia, but not by GFAP-immunoreactive astrocytes, in the white matter of the normal adult cord. In vitro, the soma of oligodendrocytes were also densely MSP immunoreactive, as were their growth tips, while astrocytes were associated with lower levels. These findings suggest that the enzymatic activity of MSP is likely to be impor- tant in the biology of oligodendrocytes and/or in the maintenance of the nerve fiber tracts of the adult spinal cord. GLIA 30:219 -230, 2000. © 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Hurry up and Wait: Growth of Young Bluegills in Ponds and in Simulations with an Individual-Based Model

Abstract The growth of young-of-the-year bluegills Lepomis macrochirus was measured in six experimental ponds and simulated with an individual-based model. In the ponds the young bluegills grew at a rate of about 0.6 mm/d for 3–4 weeks. An abrupt reduction in growth rate to about 0.2 mm/d occurred when total zooplankton density (exclusive of rotifers) decreased below about 50 organisms/L, and growth rate decreased to nearly zero by September. The model included daily foraging for several sizes of open-water or benthic prey and a revised set of bioenergetics parameters for bluegill. The simulations suggest that the initially rapid growth rate was near the limit set by maximum daily ration; the fish may have obtained full rations even with suboptimal foraging during this phase, Over a wide range of fry densities, the time of growth reduction and the average final fish size at the end of the growing season were strongly density dependent, both in the simulations and in the ponds. Two natal cohorts started 10...