cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
CONTROL WITH STOCHASTIC STOPPING TIME

The usual (non-stochastic stopping) control problem is extended to the case of random terminal time. The more general model presented hero should be particularly useful when a system will change while being controlled. Systems which are otherwise deterministic, and systems with additive noise in the dynamic equation are considered. Results concerning the relevant aspects of reliability and Markov process theories are presented. We show that stochastically stopped control optimality conditions are simply extensions of the usual conditions and that the limits of the criteria and optimal control, as the variance of the stopping probability distribution approaches zero, are the corresponding quantities for the non-stochastic problem.
Exercise of the SSM/PMAD Breadboard

The Space Station Module Power Management and Distribution (SSM/PMAD) Breadboard is a test facility designed for advanced development of space power automation. Originally designed for 20 kHz power, the system is being converted to work with direct current (DC). Power levels are on a par with those expected for a Space Station module. Some of the strengths and weaknesses of the SSM/PMAD system in design and function are examined, and the future directions foreseen for the system are outlined. >
Drying temperature - duration impacts on moisture, carbon, and nitrogen losses from broiler litter

Drying poultry litter (PL) prior to analysis minimizes nutrient transformations and losses and facilitates sample preparation. Drying also allows comparison among different litters on dry-weight (dw) basis. However, losses of carbon (C) as carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen (N) as ammonia (NH3) can confound moisture losses. Thus, the apparent moisture content (MC) that also includes C and N losses will be higher than the true MC. Further, use of apparent MC may also result in overestimation of C and N concentrations (dw basis). Broiler litter (BL) MC was determined using FD 50 (flask-dried at 50° C for 24 h), FD 70 (flask-dried at 70° C for 16h), CT70 (oven-dried at 70° C to constant mass), and CT105 (oven-dried at 105° C to constant mass). Carbon and NH3-N losses during drying were measured for the FD50 and FD70 treatments. Carbon and N losses were significantly greater with FD70 vs. FD50; however, FD50 did not completely dry the BL and was hence, not appropriate for MC determination. Flask-drying and oven-drying at 70° C were equally effective in completely drying BL. The true MC (22.5%) and apparent MC (26.3%) were significantly different. Hence, CO2-C and NH3-N losses accounted for 14.4% of the total mass lost during drying. While total Kjeldahl N (TKN), total ammoniacal-N (TAN), and total C (TC) concentrations calculated using apparent MC were 5% higher than the concentrations calculated using true MC, they were not significantly different. The TKN concentrations in the field-moist samples adjusted to dw basis for true or apparent MC were significantly greater than TKN concentration in CT105 possibly due to urea sublimation and decomposition at 105° C. Where accurate C and N accounting are required, C and N losses should be measured during drying. Due to wide variability in litter properties, extrapolating these findings to other litters or different sample sizes is not desirable.
A comparative study of user performance in a map-based virtual environment

We present a comparative study of user performance with tasks involving navigation, visual search, and geometric manipulation, in a map-based battlefield visualization virtual environment (VE). Specifically, our experiment compared user performance of the same task across four different VE platforms: desktop, cave, workbench, and wall. Independent variables were platform type, stereopsis (stereo, mono), movement control mode (rate, position), and frame of reference (egocentric, exocentric). Overall results showed that users performed tasks fastest using the desktop and slowest using the workbench. Other results are detailed in the article. Notable is that we designed our task in an application context, with tasking much closer to how users would actually use a real-world battlefield visualization system. This is very uncommon for comparative studies, which are usually designed with abstract tasks to minimize variance. This is, we believe, one of the first and most complex studies to comparatively examine, in an application context, this many key variables affecting VE user interface design.
Focused crawling: experiences in a real world project

Focused crawling is the act of examining a collection of hyperlinked documents (i.e. the Web) to find out those that are about a certain topic ([2, 1]). In contrast, general (unrestricted) crawling examines the whole collection, gathering some information (keywords) about each document. Here we report on our experiences building a focused crawler as part of a larger project. The National Surface Treatment Center (NSTCenter) is an organization run for the U.S. Navy by Innovative Productivity Inc., a non-profit company that provides innovative technology-enhanced services and solutions for National Defense, business, and work force customers. The NSTCenter web site was created with the goal to become a premier forum for Navy officers, independent consultants, researchers and companies offering products and/or services involved in the process of servicing Navy ships. In order to help generate content, we developed a focused web crawler that searched the web for information relevant to the NSTCenter. The team has developed a system that achieves significant precision; real recall is extremely difficult to establish in an open, dynamic environment like the Web, although some limited testing suggest that recall is also quite positive (see later). Focused crawling has attracted considerable attention recently ([1, 4, 5, 2, 3, 6]). Mos methods use primarily link structure to identify pages about a topic, or combine several measures from text analysis and link analysis to better characterize the page. [5] proposes a method similar to the one used here, in that a knowledge structure (an ontology) is used to identify relevant pages. We use a thesaurus, which does not have as much information but is much easier to build and maintain. Focused crawling on the real web can be extremely difficult for several reasons. First, the concept of topic is not formal or formalized (and perhaps not formalizable). As a consequence, the relationship of being about a topic, already difficult to determine, is even more difficult. Second, on a networked collection, the network itself is used to determine page aboutness, on the assumption that a page content can
The Natural Law Thesis: Affirmation or Denial?.

The age old contest between the proponents of natural law and their opponents continues unabated, and a solution does not seem in sight. The reason, it seems to me, is simply that representatives of either side often quite literally do not know what they themselves, as well as their opponents, are talking about. Instead of arguing for their respective theories and against those of their antagonists, they knock down straw men. And since there are periodic “revivals” of natural law, and of its denial as well, the game continues endlessly. Yet, I believe it is sufficient to state the issue clearly to realize that the advocates of natural law adhere to an incorrect epistemological view, and that political thought must dispense with natural law because it is a mistaken doctrine.
Streamlining behaviour of the red urchin Strongylocentrotus franciscanus in response to flow

SUMMARY This work was motivated by subtidal observations of red urchins (Strongylocentrotus franciscanus) moving their spines into streamlined positions as water current increased in the field. Trials in a flume across flow speeds from 0 to 65 cm s–1 enabled us to observe the change in overall shape of the urchins and quantify the decrease in spine angle that occurred as flow speeds increased. The effect of this behaviour on drag and lift was measured with physical models made from urchin tests with spines in the `up9 position (typical in stagnant and slow velocities) and in the `down9 position (typical of posture in high velocities). Streamlining spines decreased the drag, but increased the lift experienced by urchin models at flow speeds between 10 and 40 cm s–1, current velocities that are commonly encountered by these animals in the field in Washington, USA. Total force (combination of drag and lift) was similar for `up9 and `down9 models at all flow speeds, lift comprising the majority of the force for `down9 models, and drag slightly higher for `up9 models. Live urchins in the field routinely adopt a streamlined `down9 posture in flow, suggesting that they may be better able to cope with lift than drag. This behaviour, although affecting hydrodynamic forces and enabling S. franciscanus to remain attached to the substratum in high currents, may lead to reduced capture of drift kelp, which is entrapped on upright spines and then eaten, delivery of which is positively related to flow speed. Urchins living in deep subtidal habitats rely on drift kelp capture but must stay attached to the substratum to be successful in a habitat. Therefore, this streamlining behaviour may be an important factor enabling S. franciscanus to persist in deep, high-current areas.
Impact of Stochastic Traffic on Modified Cross-Section Profiles of a Slender Long-Span Bridge: Wind Tunnel Experimental Investigation

For a slender long-span bridge, the global aeroelastic and aerodynamic phenomena, such as flutter stability and buffeting response, induced by wind turbulence significantly affect the safety and lifetime performance of the bridge. To investigate these phenomena, a wind tunnel experimental technique with bridge section models is typically required to identify some critical aerodynamic coefficients, such as flutter derivatives, which are dependent on the specific profile (shape) of a bridge cross section and the functions of reduced frequencies. Obviously, this practice is based on the assumption that the shape of the cross section of a long-span bridge does not vary over time. Such an assumption may not remain valid when the stochastic traffic on the bridge is considered, because of the simple fact that the presence of vehicles changes the profile of the bridge cross section. The current study aims to provide some insights through experimental assessment of traffic impacts on flutter derivatives of the modified bridge cross section because of the presence of traffic. A bridge section model with scaled vehicle models distributed on the bridge deck is tested in the wind tunnel following the simulated stochastic traffic flow. Several scenarios are tested to provide insights on the variations of the flutter derivatives over different sections along the bridge and at different time instants for the same location. In addition, some extreme situations, such as under evacuation or serious congestion, are also studied.
Forecasting the cytokine storm following systemic interleukin (IL)-2 administration

Extensive clinical experience has shown that systemic interleukin (IL)-2 administration can induce complete or partial regression of renal cell cancer (RCC) metastases in 15 to 20 % of patients. Since IL-2 has no direct anti-cancer effects, it is believed that cancer regression is mediated either by a direct modulation of immune cell effector functions or through the mediation of soluble factors released as a result of IL-2 administration. We previously observed that transcriptional and protein changes induced by systemic IL-2 administration affect predominantly mononuclear phagocytes with little effect, particularly within the tumor microenvironment, on T cell activation, localization and proliferation. It further appeared that mononuclear phagocyte activation could be best explained by the indirect mediation of a secondary release of cytokines by IL-2 responsive cells either in the circulation or in peripheral tissues. To better characterize the cytokine outburst that follows systemic IL-2 administration we followed the serum levels of 68 soluble factors in ten patients with RCC undergoing high dose (720,000 IU/kg intravenously every 8 hours) IL-2 therapy. Serum was collected before therapy, 3 hours after the 1st and 4th dose and assayed on a multiplexed protein array platform. This study demonstrated that 1) the serum concentration of more than half the soluble factors studied changed significantly during therapy; 2) changes became more dramatic with increasing doses; 3) subclasses of soluble factors displayed different kinetics and 4) cytokine patterns varied quantitatively among patients. This study shows that the cytokine storm that follows systemic IL-2 administration is complex and far-reaching inclusive of soluble factors with disparate, partly redundant and partly contrasting effects on immune function. Therefore comparing in parallel large number of soluble factors, it sets a comprehensive foundation for further elucidation of "cytokine storm" in larger patient pools. Based on this analysis, we propose a prospective collection of serum samples in a larger cohort of patients undergoing IL-2 administration with the purpose of discerning patterns predictive of clinical outcome and toxicity.
Framework for role-based delegation models

The basic idea behind delegation is that some active entity in a system delegates authority to another active entity to carry out some functions on behalf of the former. Delegation in computer systems can take many forms: human to human, human to machine, machine to machine, and perhaps even machine to human. We focuses on the human to human form of delegation using roles. As we show, there are many different ways in which role-based human-to-human delegation can occur. We develop a framework for identifying interesting cases that can be used for building role-based delegation models. This is accomplished by identifying the characteristics related to delegation, using these characteristics to generate possible delegation cases, and using a systematic approach to reduce the large number of cases into few useful cases which can be used to build delegation models.
AP-1 (Fra-1/c-Jun)-mediated induction of expression of matrix metalloproteinase-2 is required for 15(S)-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid-induced angiogenesis

To understand the involvement of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) in 15(S)-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (15(S)-HETE)-induced angiogenesis, we have studied the role of MMP-2. 15(S)-HETE induced MMP-2 expression and activity in a time-dependent manner in human dermal microvascular endothelial cells (HDMVECs). Inhibition of MMP-2 activity or depletion of its levels attenuated 15(S)-HETE-induced HDMVEC migration, tube formation, and Matrigel plug angiogenesis. 15(S)-HETE also induced Fra-1 and c-Jun expression in a Rac1-MEK1-JNK1-dependent manner. In addition, 15(S)-HETE-induced MMP-2 expression and activity were mediated by Rac1-MEK1-JNK1-dependent activation of AP-1 (Fra-1/c-Jun). Cloning and site-directed mutagenesis of MMP-2 promoter revealed that AP-1 site proximal to the transcriptional start site is required for 15(S)-HETE-induced MMP-2 expression, and Fra-1 and c-Jun are the essential components of AP-1 that bind to MMP-2 promoter in response to 15(S)-HETE. Hind limb ischemia led to an increase in MEK1 and JNK1 activation and Fra-1, c-Jun, and MMP-2 expression resulting in enhanced neovascularization and recovery of blood perfusion in wild-type mice as compared with 12/15-Lox−/− mice. Together, these results provide the first direct evidence for a role of 12/15-Lox-12/15(S)-HETE axis in the regulation of ischemia-induced angiogenesis.
Can i borrow your phone?: understanding concerns when sharing mobile phones

Mobile phones are becoming increasingly personalized in terms of the data they store and the types of services they provide. At the same time, field studies have reported that there are a variety of situations in which it is natural for people to share their phones with others. However, most mobile phones support a binary security model that offers all-or-nothing access to the phone. We interviewed 12 smartphone users to explore how security and data privacy concerns affected their willingness to share their mobile phones. The diversity of guest user categorizations and associated security constraints expressed by the participants suggests the need for a security model richer than today's binary model.
An optimal index reshuffle algorithm for multidimensional arrays and its applications for parallel architectures

Reshuffling elements of a multidimensional array according to an index operation traditionally requires an auxiliary buffer of the same size as the original array. We describe a new in-place algorithm using vacancy tracking cycles with minimum memory access which eliminates the buffer array and the related copy-back, speeding up the reshuffle significantly for large arrays. The algorithm can be parallelized using a multithread approach on shared-memory multiprocessor computers. On distributed-memory multiprocessor computers, the index reshuffle of distributed multidimensional arrays amounts to a remapping of processor domains and is carried out using the in-place local algorithm combined with a global exchange algorithm. Implementation and test results on CRAY T3E and IBM SP indicate the effectiveness of the algorithm.
Hijacking an insulin pump: Security attacks and defenses for a diabetes therapy system

Wearable and implantable medical devices are being increasingly deployed to improve diagnosis, monitoring, and therapy for a range of medical conditions. Unlike other classes of electronics and computing systems, security attacks on these devices have extreme consequences and must, therefore, be analyzed and prevented with utmost effort. Yet, very little work exists on this important topic and the security vulnerabilities of such systems are not well understood. We demonstrate security attacks that we have implemented in the laboratory on a popular glucose monitoring and insulin delivery system available on the market, and also propose defenses against such attacks. Continuous glucose monitoring and insulin delivery systems are becoming increasingly popular among patients with diabetes. These systems utilize wireless communication links, which are frequently utilized as a portal to launch security attacks. Our study shows that both passive attacks (eavesdropping of the wireless communication) and active attacks (impersonation and control of the medical devices to alter the intended therapy) can be successfully launched using public-domain information and widely available off-the-shelf hardware. The proposed attacks can compromise both the privacy and safety of patients. We propose two possible defenses against such attacks. One is based on rolling-code cryptographic protocols, and the other is based on body-coupled communication. Our security analysis shows that the proposed defenses have the potential to mitigate the security risks associated with personal healthcare systems.
Short and long term stability of optical oscillators

Progress in making stable laser sources which can be used as local oscillators for an optical atomic frequency standard is reported. For short-term stability, the laser frequency was stabilized to the resonance frequency of a high-finesse Fabry-Perot cavity. Linewidths of 50 mHz (FWHM) for He-Ne lasers and 0.49 Hz (FWHM) for a commercial dye laser system were obtained. By locking the optical phase of a commercial dye laser system to a reference laser, more than 97% of the power could be put into the carrier, which means >97% of the dye laser power is within the linewidth of the reference laser. With both passive and active vibration isolation of the optical table on which the reference cavities are mounted, >
Real-time synchronization on distributed architecture with Ada-2005

Ada is found in most Avionics processing. It is often the hidden software that makes life safe in systems that fly most passenger/private aircraft. In an effort to promote the use of Ada-2005 in more embedded systems, we will present a Distributed Stack Resource Policy (DSRP) suitable for synchronizing tasks executing on distributed systems, meaning the protocol relies only on message-passing between processors. Accordingly, we will present an empirical evaluation that tests the performance of the DSRP with the Distributed Priority Ceiling Protocol (DPCP) created by Rajkumar. To the best of our knowledge, no empirical distributed-based evaluation of the DPCP has ever been conducted prior to this. We will also discuss the efficacy of Ada and examine the resulting design issues and trade-offs, and the ability of the DSRP to manage multiple shared resources efficiently on distributed processors.
The neuroprotective effects of MK-801 on the induction of microgyria by freezing injury to the newborn rat neocortex

Four-layered microgyria is associated with many developmental disorders, including mental retardation, epilepsy, and developmental dyslexia. Freezing lesions to the newborn rodent neocortex result in the formation of four-layered microgyria. Previous research had suggested this type of injury acts as an hypoxic/ischemic event to the developing cortical plate. The current study examines the effectiveness of the non-competitive N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist dizocilpine (MK-801) in protecting against freezing injury to the newborn rat cortical plate. Three groups of rats received freezing injury to the cortical plate on the first day of life (postnatal day 1). Two groups were treated with MK-801 (1 or 2 mg/kg) 0.5 h before the lesion and 6 and 14 h after, while one group received saline injections. A fourth group received MK-801 injections, but did not have a freezing lesion. The volume of neocortical abnormality was determined for all three groups in rats killed after postnatal day 7. Treatment with the higher dose of MK-801 (3 x 2 mg/kg) dramatically reduced the effects of freezing injury but also resulted in over 50% mortality in both lesioned and unlesioned groups. Animals in the lesioned group, however, had a decreased volume of abnormal cortex, and there were fewer animals with microsulci than in the untreated group. This is the first demonstration of a significant anatomical neuroprotective effect in newborns leading to a reduction of cortical malformation.
Effects of strabismus and monocular deprivation on the eye preference of neurons in the visual claustrum of the cat

Visual response properties of neurons in the dorsocaudal claustrum were studied in two cats reared with convergent strabismus and three cats reared with monocular lid-suture. In the normal claustrum, most cells respond about equally well to stimulation of either eye (Sherk and LeVay, '81). In the strabismic animals, there was a partial breakdown of binocularity: most cells remained binocular but were influenced more strongly by one eye (usually the contralateral eye) than the other. The loss of binocularity was less extreme in the claustrum than in area 17 of the same animals. In the monocularly deprived cats, claustral cells responded exclusively to the experienced eye. We interpret the changes observed in the claustrum as reflecting changes in the ocular dominance of cortical inputs to the claustrum, rather than as evidence for plasticity within the claustrum itself. Autoradiography was used to study the return projection from claustrum to cortex in monocular deprivation. The cortical labeling pattern resembled that seen in normal cats. To examine whether this return projection might be involved in reducing cortical responsiveness to the deprived eye, recordings were made from area 17 of a monocularly deprived cat before and after ablation of the ipsilateral claustrum by injection of kainic acid. Following ablation, there was no unmasking of cortical responses to the deprived eye. Thus the cortico-claustral loop does not appear to suppress cortical responses to the deprived eye.
Interval Type-2 Fuzzy Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (IT2- fsQCA)

Fuzzy Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) is a methodology for obtaining linguistic summarizations from data that are associated with cases. It seeks to establish logical connections between combinations of causal conditions and an outcome, the result being rules that summarize the sufficiency between subsets of all of the possible combinations of the causal conditions (or their complements) and the outcome. The rules are connected by the word OR to the output. Each rule is a possible path from the causal conditions to the outcome. FsQCA rules involve words that are modeled using type-1 fuzzy sets (T1 FSs). Unfortunately, once the T1 FS membership functions (MFs) have been chosen, all uncertainty about the words that are used in fsQCA disappears, because T1 MFs are totally precise. Interval type-2 FSs (IT2 FSs), on the other hand, are first-order uncertainty models for words. In this paper, we extend fsQCA to IT2 FSs. More specifically, we develop IT2- fsQCA by extending the steps of fsQCA from T1 FSs to IT2 FSs. In order to illustrate the application of IT2-fsQCA, we consider Ragin's Breakdown of Democracy example, which studies the effects of five causal conditions on the Breakdown of Democracy of 18 European countries between World Wars 1 and 2. We show results obtained for IT2-fsQCA and compare them with those obtained from fsQCA.
Overcoming the Gender Gap: Women Entrepreneurs as Economic Drivers

This paper explores the intersection of two issues that often are thought of separately: the need for sustained economic recovery in the United States, and the status of women’s entrepreneurship. Despite recent gains, women still lag behind men on key measures of startup activity, and their firms tend not to grow or prosper nearly as much. Typically, this is seen as a - women’s issue. It is framed as a problem to be dealt with for the benefit of women, in the interest of gender equality. In fact, it is an economic issue that affects everyone. Research has shown that startups, especially high-growth startups, are the keys to job creation and leadership in new industries. With nearly half of the workforce and more than half of our college students now being women, their lag in building high-growth firms has become a major economic deficit. The nation has fewer jobs - and less strength in emerging industries - than it could if women’s entrepreneurship were on par with men’s. Women capable of starting growth companies may well be our greatest under-utilized economic resource. And what would it take to develop the resource more fully? We at the Kauffman Foundation hope this paper will help to stimulate new thinking on the subject. The following themes run throughout: While every entrepreneur, big or small, helps the economy, the emphasis here is on those who start high-growth companies, which help the most. More women’s startups need to be aimed at growth targets far above the oft-cited benchmark of $1 million in revenues. There is a particular need for innovative, transformative new firms that can grow to serve global markets. Many (though not all) high-growth firms are built around new science and technology. With more women than ever entering these fields, the upside potential for women’s tech startups is huge. What it takes to succeed in business is not necessarily the same as what it takes to succeed in starting a business. While women have made great strides in breaking through the proverbial - glass ceiling - to advance to high rank within corporations, few have made similar strides in breaking out laterally - through what might be called the - glass walls - to start their own high-growth firms. What it will take‖ to have more high-impact women entrepreneurs includes all of the following: what women themselves might need to do, what men might do, and what might be done collectively in the way of public policies or private initiatives. Finally, to reiterate the main point: It is essential to see women’s entrepreneurship as an economic issue, not a gender-equity issue. When new companies and industries flourish, everyone benefits. And the returns will increase when more women contribute to the process by bringing their ideas to market and building high-growth firms around them.
Dictionary design for text image compression with JBIG2

The JBIG2 standard for lossy and lossless bilevel image coding is a very flexible encoding strategy based on pattern matching techniques. This paper addresses the problem of compressing text images with JBIG2. For text image compression, JBIG2 allows two encoding strategies: SPM and PM&S. We compare in detail the lossless and lossy coding performance using the SPM-based and PM&S-based JBIG2, including their coding efficiency, reconstructed image quality and system complexity. For the SPM-based JBIG2, we discuss the bit rate tradeoff associated with symbol dictionary design. We propose two symbol dictionary design techniques: the class-based and tree-based techniques. Experiments show that the SPM-based JBIG2 is a more efficient lossless system, leading to 8% higher compression ratios on average. It also provides better control over the reconstructed image quality in lossy compression. However, SPM's advantages come at the price of higher encoder complexity. The proposed class-based and tree-based symbol dictionary designs outperform simpler dictionary formation techniques by 8% for lossless and 16-18% for lossy compression.
High-performance thick copper inductors in an RF technology

With the emergence of wired and wireless communication technologies, on-chip inductors find applications in a variety of high performance radio frequency (RF) circuits. In this work, we present two approaches for high-performance copper inductors in an RF technology. In the first approach (Type I), we lower ohmic losses to realize a high Q-factor. This is achieved by using, for the first time in a manufacturable technology, 4 μm thick copper spirals along with a 4 μm thick copper underpass on high-resistivity substrates (75 Ω-cm). The underpass is connected to the spirals with a 4 μm tall copper via, which lowers spiral to underpass capacitance. For further lowering the capacitive losses, an additional 6.1 μm thick interlayer dielectric separates the underpass from the substrate. In the second approach (Type II), we utilize a novel one-mask CMOS-compatible micromachining scheme to eliminate substrate losses. This is achieved by completely removing the silicon substrate from directly below the inductors. For a 1.1nH inductor, peak-Q shows an impressive two-fold improvement from 26.6 at 3.8 GHz for Type I inductor to 52.8 at 8.2 GHz for Type II inductor after silicon micromachining. The resonant frequency increases from 18 GHz to 27 GHz after substrate micromachining.
Short-term haemodynamic evolution and late follow-up of post-infarct patients with left ventricular dysfunction undergoing a physical training programme

The aims of this study were to investigate the short-term haemodynamic changes occurring in post-infarct patients with left ventricular dysfunction undergoing a physical training programme and the prognostic implications of such changes. Ninety-five male patients with no evidence of congestive heart failure, consecutively admitted for exercise testing with haemodynamic monitoring in the supine position, in whom exercise pulmonary artery diastolic pressure (PAdP) exceeded 20 mmHg were enrolled in an in-hospital one-month physical training programme. After training all patients' exercise capacity increased by 24% (P less than 0.001) with no change of PAdP. At matched work load, heart rate decreased (126 +/- 21 vs 120 +/- 19 bt min-1, P less than 0.05) as did PAdP (27 +/- 5 vs 25 +/- 6 mmHg, P less than 0.05) and A-VO2 difference increased (9.5 +/- 1.7 vs 10 +/- 1.6 ml%, P less than 0.01). Similar results were observed in a subset of patients with exercise PAdP greater than 30 mmHg (30 patients). In 11 patients with inadequate cardiac output neither heart rate nor PAdP decreased after training and a disproportionate increase in blood pressure was noted. Clinical follow-up ranged from 1 to 8 years (62 +/- 32 months). Seven deaths, 12 reinfarctions and 14 coronary artery bypass graftings occurred. The modifications, after training in work capacity, heart rate and PAdP, were not predictive of events.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Optimum Structural Design with Dynamic Constraints

Dynamic response quantities, treated parametrically in time, are included in the problem for the first time. The method is made efficient by the use of the following approximation concepts: (1)Design variable linking; (2)time parametric constraint deletion; and (3)use of the first-order Taylor series expansions of the dynamic response functions with respect to the design variables. It is found that the feasible design space in an optimum structural design problem in the dynamic response regime is usually disjoint. The Davidon-Fletcher-Powell algorithm is used for the unconstrained minimizations. To successfully implement the exterior penalty function with approximate constraints, dummy boundaries and a new concept of move limits are introduced. It is found that the sinusoidal contributions in the relation between design variables and dynamic response functions can cause infeasible minima of the exterior penalty function.
Heterodyned Optical Coherence Tomography for Complete Stokesmetric Imaging

We show theoretically and experimentally that a novel type of Optical Coherence Tomography employing heterodyned interferometry is capable of determining all sixteen elements of the Mueller matrix for the target, by measuring all Stokes parameters.
Genetic parameters for testes traits in swine.

Data were collected from 1,245 Duroc boars and 527 Yorkshire boars. This represents 128 Duroc and 57 Yorkshire sires. Body weights, testis length and combined testes width at 140 and 168 d were obtained. Of these boars, 432 were castrated at a later age to evaluate relationships between in situ measures and excised testis traits. Heritabilities for testis length, width and volume at 140 d ranged from .16 to .25 in both Duroc and Yorkshire data. Heritabilities for testis measurements at 168 d ranged from .16 to .36 in both data sets. Favorable negative genetic relationships were found between in situ testis measures and age to 104 kg and backfat adjusted to 104 kg. Correlations among in situ measurements were high and positive. All excised testicular traits were highly heritable except for right epididymis weight and excised testis width. Correlation estimates among excised testis traits were generally positive. Phenotypic and genetic correlation estimates between live (in situ testis and growth performance traits) measurements and excised testis traits were generally favorable. This study suggests that in situ testis measurements should be good predictors of sperm production. It also suggests that selection for testis size should not be antagonistic to selection for growth performance traits.
Do Hawks and Doves Deliver? The Words and Deeds of Foreign Policy in Democracies

What are the domestic determinants of international conflict? I employ elements of salience theory to build an issue emphasis approach to foreign policy. I argue that parties and candidates in democracies credibly signal their foreign policy position prior to their election and that leaders live up to their foreign policy position. Significant research explains how both the behavior of other states and domestic political institutions may constrain leaders, so there are reasons to doubt leaders may be able to match deeds with words. Some scholars have integrated measurements of partisanship into their theoretical explanations, but extant scholarship has not effectively introduced the foreign policy position of the executive into the equation. Using this approach, we can connect competing foreign policy platforms to conflict behavior in a new way. I estimate initiation of militarized interstate disputes by democracies from 1951–2000 in the empirical test, and the results provide support for the hypothesis.
Screening of 16 common therapeutic drugs. Possible association with the Ah locus.

16 common therapeutic agents were screened for differences in sedation or lethality between C57BL/6N and DBA/2N inbred mouse strains that had been previously treated with beta-naphthoflavone. No differences were observed for meprobamate, valium, promethazine, valproic acid, lincomycin, imipramine, terbutaline, propoxyphene, nitrofurantoin, amphotericin B, or diphenhydramine. C57BL/6N mice appeared to be more resistant than DBA/2N mice to the lethal effects of isoxsuprine, niridazole, pentazocine, isoniazid, and hydralazine. None of these latter five drugs had any capacity to displace [3H-1,6]2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin from the liver cytosolic Ah receptor in C57BL/6N mice. With the use of beta-naphthoflavone-pretreated offspring from the (C57BL/6N) (DBA/2N)F1 X DBA/2N backcross, a strict correlation (100% of 24 individuals in each case) was found between the Ahb allele and resistance to the lethal effects of isoxsuprine or niridazole. No correlation between the Ah locus and pentazocine, hydralazine, or isoniazid lethality was apparent. These results indicate that presence of the Ahb allele is associated with increased protection against isoxsuprine and niridazole lethality. This increased protection may reflect enhanced detoxication metabolic pathways (e.g., induced cytochrome P1-450 and/or uridine diphosphate glucuronosyltransferase controlled by the Ah locus). The increased protection is not related to interaction of these drugs with the Ah receptor. It should be kept in mind that gene-environment interactions involving the Ah locus and isoxsuprine or niridazole may be important in certain clinical instances.
Making Policy Public: Participatory Bureaucracy in Practice

Bureaucratic administration means fundamentally the exercise of control on the basis of knowledge ... technical knowledge ... [and] official secrets. – Max Weber Nothing has been discovered which acts in entire isolation. – John Dewey Participatory bureaucracy is a systematic process of public engagement that brings diverse expertise to bear on task implementations. When participation is bureaucratic, it is consistent with the core elements of bureaucratic reputation: unique agency expertise and diverse support. When bureaucracy is participatory, the scope of participation is fluid. It enables information to flow in multiple directions – to the agency, from the agency, and beyond the individuals who participate in a particular decision. Yet, when is participatory bureaucracy likely to arise and add value to bureaucratic administration and democratic accountability? When are we more likely to see participatory oversight that is imposed on bureaucratic administration and that potentially perpetuates the bureaucracy-democracy trade-off, where participation comes at the expense of bureaucratic administration and reputation? The answer resides, in part, in the conditions of the policy task and the design of participation. Scholars have long examined bureaucrats’ intentional and active engagement with publics outside agency walls to build supportive coalitions, to gather information, and to facilitate policy implementation. Agencies also intentionally reveal their information to exert regulatory authority, to persuade, to educate other implementers, and to build consensus. Francis Rourke astutely observed more than a half century ago: “Many ... agencies spend a great deal more time in publicizing themselves than they do in concealing information ... their path to power is publicity rather than secrecy.” Participatory bureaucracy builds on these insights but embodies a key distinction: it has the potential to manage the tension between bureaucratic administration and democratic accountability. In other words, for participation to be bureaucratic, it must support competent public administration. For bureaucracy to be participatory, it must support aspects of democratic accountability. Not all public engagement supports bureaucratic administration. Not all public engagement supports democratic accountability. Participatory bureaucracy represents a subset of public engagement in which both bureaucracy and democracy have the potential to be better off.
Delineating the dimensions of social support on social networking sites and their effects

Social networking sites (SNSs) allow users to connect with each other by overcoming geographical and temporal boundaries and thus empower people to search for social support from online. Social support has been considered a key social value that online users can obtain from SNSs. However, few studies have systematically investigated social support in such a context. Motivated to address this gap, we have developed an advanced and theoretical framework to delineate social support on SNSs by clearly revealing the dimensions of online social support on SNSs and examining their effects on users' commitment and SNS continuance. Further, we introduce gender as a key moderator and explain in theory how differently men and women perceive the importance of the dimensions in evaluating online social support over SNSs. Our research results indicate that the identified three dimensions (informational support, emotional support, and network management) are important components of the online social support on SNSs, which is positively associated with commitment and continuance. In addition, the weight of each dimension in the evaluation of online social support varies by gender. This study is among the very first to explore online social support in the context of SNS and its effects, and has rich theoretical and practical implications.
Biomarkers of Sarcopenia and Mitochondrial Dysfunction

Research over the last 20 years has led to a new understanding of the central role of mitochondrial function in the physiology of aging and the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases. Sarcopenia, the gradual loss of skeletal muscle mass, is the most vivid result of the progressive, global decline in mitochondrial DNA and energy production. This deterioration in cellular bioenergetics is implicated in many diseases such as heart failure and diabetes. It carries a significant economic burden, and portends decreased functional capacity and increased mortality. This chapter reviews recent research on emerging biomarkers to better diagnose mitochondrial dysfunction and sarcopenia.
Internal Pressurization in Solid Mixed-Oxide Fuel Due to Transient Fission Gas Release

A model employing Darcy's law has been developed to describe the transient pressure field within interconnected porosity of mixed-oxide liquid-metal fast breeder reactor fuel during hypothetical re...
Electrochemical Control of Copper Intercalation into Nanoscale Bi2Se3.

Intercalation of exotic atoms or molecules into the layered materials remains an extensively investigated subject in current physics and chemistry. However, traditionally melt-growth and chemical interaction strategies are either limited by insufficiency of intercalant concentrations or destitute of accurate controllability. Here, we have developed a general electrochemical intercalation method to efficaciously regulate the concentration of zerovalent copper atoms into layered Bi2Se3, followed by comprehensive experimental characterization and analyses. Up to 57% copper atoms (Cu6.7Bi2Se3) can be intercalated with no disruption to the host lattice. Meanwhile the unconventional resistance dip accompanied by a hysteresis loop below 40 K, as well as the emergence of new Raman peak in CuxBi2Se3, is a distinct manifestation of the interplay between intercalated Cu atoms with Bi2Se3 host. Our work demonstrates a new methodology to study fundamentally new and unexpected physical behaviors in intercalated metasta...
From Hermeneutics to Rhetoric, and Back Again

The William S. Boyd School of Law at UNLV convened the Annual West Coast Rhetoric Workshop in November 2016. Steven Mailloux, President’s Professor of Rhetoric at Loyola Marymount University, and Francis J. Mootz III, Dean and Professor of Law at McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific, were invited to deliver the Plenary Address. This paper is a slightly edited version of their joint Plenary talk. Professor Mailloux and Dean Mootz discuss their journey “From Hermeneutics to Rhetoric, and Back Again” and how it shaped their approaches to literature and law, respectively. After describing their theoretical conclusions and commitments, they each consider their positions in light of the jurisprudence of Justice Antonin Scalia.
Moonshine in North Carolina: Crafting Quality for Tourism

We interviewed the owners of five permitted craft-distillers in North Carolina (NC) to document the role of tourism in the emergence of this industry. Findings elucidated distillers’ learning journey from crafting unique spirits to diving into the fast-paced growth of this new industry. Participants explained how their success is and will be sustained by marrying their craft-spirits to tourism, preserving the uniqueness of their products and stories, and tying it to local agricultural ingredients and the locavore market. Findings also provided marketing and management insights for strengthening the NC craft-distilling industry and maximize its economic impact in rural communities. Insights speak for the need of orchestrated efforts to educate the public and policy makers about the meaningfulness of permitted moonshining.
Fragility curves for RC frames under multiple earthquakes

Abstract This study aims to overcome previous limitations and derive fragility curves for three RC (reinforced concrete) buildings with different number of stories under multiple earthquakes. As-recorded seismic sequences in different regions around the world are employed and fiber-based modeling approach that captures degradation in concrete and reinforcing steel materials is used. The results indicate that considering damage from previous events, number of stories, and earthquake region significantly affect fragility curves.