cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
SIRIUS: Enabling Progressive Data Exploration for Extreme-Scale Scientific Data

Scientific simulations on high performance computing (HPC) platforms generate large quantities of data. To bridge the widening gap between compute and I/O, and enable data to be more efficiently stored and analyzed, simulation outputs need to be refactored, reduced, and appropriately mapped to storage tiers. However, a systematic solution to support these steps has been lacking in the current HPC software ecosystem. To that end, this paper develops SIRIUS, a progressive JPEG-like data management scheme for storing and analyzing big scientific data. It co-designs data decimation, compression, and data storage, taking the hardware characteristics of each storage tier into considerations. With reasonably low overhead, our approach refactors simulation data, using either topological or uniform decimation, into a much smaller, reduced-accuracy base dataset, and a series of deltas that is used to augment the accuracy if needed. The base dataset and deltas are compressed and written to multiple storage tiers. Data saved on different tiers can then be selectively retrieved to restore the level of accuracy that satisfies data analytics. Thus, SIRIUS provides a paradigm shift towards elastic data analytics and enables end users to make trade-offs between analysis speed and accuracy on-the-fly. This paper further develops algorithms to preserve statistics for data decimation, a common requirement for reducing data. We assess the impact of SIRIUS on unstructured triangular meshes, a pervasive data model used in scientific simulations. In particular, we evaluate two realistic use cases: the blob detection in fusion and high-pressure area extraction in computational fluid dynamics.
Effect of nutrition on muscle protein turnover in callipyge and normal lambs

v CHAPTER 1. GENERAL INTRODUCTION 1 Meat animals: The biological processors 1 The callipyge phenomenon -History and background 1 Genetic role of callipyge gene 3 The callipyge lambs -Is it a better animal? 6 Dissertation organization 7 CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEWS 9 Physical differences between callipyge and normal lambs 9 Growth 9 Feeding 10 Tissues 12 Bone 12 Muscles 12 Fat 14 Organs 15 Wool 16 Metabolic differences between callipyge and normal lambs 16 Protein synthesis 18 Protein breakdown 20 Energy metabolism 22
Declining Numbers in PETE Programs: Secondary Teachers as the Front Line of Recruitment

Universities have seen a steady decline in students enrolled in teacher education programs. This also includes physical education teacher education (PETE) programs, which directly affects the futur...
Image analysis for neuroscience and relevant signal, image, and data processing at the NSF

In this talk, Scott Acton will first talk about recent advances in image analysis that impact the study of the brain. Highlights of this work include the segmentation of neurons, glia and meningeal lymphatics as well as the degeneration and generation of neurons. A graph theoretic model that incorporates elasticity via a shape manifold will be introduced. Connections between the immune system and the brain made by way of image analysis will be discussed. As a program manager in Computer and Information Science and Engineering at the NSF, Acton will discuss programs and opportunities relevant to the SPIE Signal, Image and Data Processing Community.
A Neural Passage Model for Ad-hoc Document Retrieval

Traditional statistical retrieval models often treat each document as a whole. In many cases, however, a document is relevant to a query only because a small part of it contain the targeted information. In this work, we propose a neural passage model (NPM) that uses passage-level information to improve the performance of ad-hoc retrieval. Instead of using a single window to extract passages, our model automatically learns to weight passages with different granularities in the training process. We show that the passage-based document ranking paradigm from previous studies can be directly derived from our neural framework. Also, our experiments on a TREC collection showed that the NPM can significantly outperform the existing passage-based retrieval models.
Multi-phase algorithm design for accurate and efficient model fitting

Recent research applies soft computing techniques to fit software reliability growth models. However, runtime performance and the distribution of the distance from an optimal solution over multiple runs must be explicitly considered to justify the practical utility of these approaches, promote comparison, and support reproducible research. This paper presents a meta-optimization framework to design stable and efficient multi-phase algorithms for fitting software reliability growth models. The approach combines initial parameter estimation techniques from statistical algorithms, the global search properties of soft computing, and the rapid convergence of numerical methods. Designs that exhibit the best balance between runtime performance and accuracy are identified. The approach is illustrated through nonhomogeneous Poisson process and covariate software reliability growth models, including a cross-validation step on data sets not used to identify designs. The results indicate the nonhomogeneous Poisson process model considered is too simple to benefit from soft computing because it incurs additional runtime with no increase in accuracy attained. However, a multi-phase design for the covariate software reliability growth model consisting of the bat algorithm followed by a numerical method achieves better performance and converges consistently, compared to a numerical method only. The proposed approach supports higher-dimensional covariate software reliability growth model fitting suitable for implementation in a tool.
Factors Influencing Telehealth Implementation and Use in Frontier Critical Access Hospitals: Qualitative Study.

Background: Telehealth has potential to help individuals in rural areas overcome geographical barriers and to improve access to care. The factors that influence the implementation and use of telehealth in critical access hospitals are in need of exploration. Objective: The aim of this study is to understand the factors that influenced telehealth uptake and use in a set of frontier critical access hospitals in the United States. Methods: This work was conducted as part of a larger evaluation of a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services–funded demonstration program to expand cost-based reimbursement for services for Medicare beneficiaries for frontier critical access hospitals. Our sample was 8 critical access hospitals in Montana, Nevada, and North Dakota that implemented the telehealth aspect of that demonstration. We reviewed applications and progress reports for the demonstration program and conducted in-person site visits. We used a semistructured discussion guide to facilitate conversations with clinical, administrative, and information technology staff. Using NVivo software (QSR International), we coded the notes from the interviews and then analyzed the themes. Results: Several factors influenced the implementation and use of telehealth in critical access hospitals, including making changes to workflow and infrastructure as well as practitioner acceptance and availability. Participants also cited technical assistance and support for implementation as supportive factors. Conclusions: Frontier critical access hospitals may adopt telehealth to overcome challenges such as distance from specialty practitioners and workforce challenges. Telehealth can be used for provider-to-patient and provider-to-provider interactions to improve access to care, remove barriers, and improve quality. However, the ability of telehealth to improve outcomes is limited by factors such as workflow and infrastructure changes, practitioner acceptance and availability, and financing.
Comparing older nonmedical and medical cannabis users: health-related characteristics, cannabis use patterns, and cannabis sources.

Background: US epidemiologic data show that nearly one in 10 individuals aged 50+ report past-year cannabis use, and nearly one in five users report medical use. However, research on older cannabis...
Pre-Clinical Models and Potential Novel Therapies for Glioblastomas

ABSTRACT Glioblastoma is an extremely aggressive form of cancer most commonly derived from neural stem cells, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes that occurs in the brain and has a 5-year survival rate of 6.7%. These gliomas have an incidence of 3.19 cases per 100,000 person and are assigned grade IV according to the World Health Organization classification of brain tumors. Current approved therapies include surgical resection followed by a combination of radiation and chemotherapy with temozolomide, and more recently tumor-treating (TT) fields. However, there are many limitations with the current treatment strategies due to several resistance mechanisms varying from low concentrations of chemotherapeutics crossing the blood brain barrier to increased risk of temozolomide resistance in a sub-set of patients. In recent years, novel therapies and delivery systems have been developed to overcome these limitations. In this chapter, we discuss pre-clinical assessments and the evaluation of potential, promising therapeutics in xenograft models for glioblastoma using advanced magnetic resonance imaging techniques.
Efficient Electroblotting of Low-Molecular-Weight Protein After Staining with Coomassie

Scientists have successfully transferred proteins stained with Coomassie blue on polyacrylamide gels to polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) membranes. This is normally hard since the proteins are already fixed to the gels because of the fixative acetic acid and methanol. Drs. Der-Yen Lee and Geen-Dong Chang show an efficient and reliable transfer of stained peptides to a membrane in this chapter. They demonstrate increased retention of stained peptides on the membrane due to selective staining protocols for peptides, even peptides like bacitracin and granuliberin R that are smaller than 2 kDa. The authors find that post-staining electroblotting is roughly sixteen times more sensitive than traditional electroblotting for visualizing insulin on the membrane. As a result, peptide blots have become useful for other assays such as immunoblotting studies, blot overlay detection, or N-terminal sequence studied to identify peptides in crude or partially purified samples.
Language input to infants of different socioeconomic statuses: A quantitative meta-analysis.

For the past 25 years, researchers have investigated language input to children from high- and low-socioeconomic status families. Hart and Risley (1995) first reported a '30 Million Word Gap' between high-SES and low-SES children. More recent studies (e.g., Sperry et al., 2019) have challenged the size or even existence of this gap. The present study is a quantitative meta-analysis on socioeconomic differences in language input to young children, which aims to systematically integrate decades of research on this topic. We analyzed 19 studies and found a significant effect of SES on language input quantity. However, this effect was moderated by the type of language included in language quantity measures: studies that include only child-directed speech in their language measures find a large SES difference, while studies that include all speech in a child's environment find no effect of SES. These results support recent work suggesting that methodological decisions can affect researcher' estimates of the 'word gap.' Overall, we find that young children from low-SES homes heard less child-directed speech than children from mid- to high-SES homes, though this difference was much smaller than Hart & Risley's '30 Million Word Gap.' Finally, we underscore the need for more cross-cultural work on language development and the forces that may contribute to it, highlighting the opportunity for better integration of observational, experimental, and intervention-based approaches. Research Highlights We conducted a quantitative meta-analysis on language input to young children of different socioeconomic statuses (SES) and analyzed data from 19 studies (nearly 2000 children). The overall effect of SES was statistically significant (g=0.41), but much smaller than the often-cited "30 Million Word Gap." Studies that included only child-directed speech in their language measures found a larger SES difference than those that included all speech in children's environments. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Engagement, Disengagement, or Exit: A Theory of Equilibrium Associations

This article considers the possibility of mutually beneficial communication among groups when any group may choose to unilaterally join or exit an alliance. My main concern is the trade-off groups face between the informational benefits of associating with others in a large society versus the costs imposed by power sharing and preference diversity. When these costs are sufficiently high, groups may prefer exit to association. The results of this article characterize the associations of groups that can be sustained in equilibrium, and within those associations, the types of groups that choose to meaningfully communicate with others. The results demonstrate that there can be benefits or costs associated with the inclusion of preference extremists in a diverse society, whether or not those extremists choose to actively communicate with outgroups. The results also speak to institutional mechanisms for fostering communication across diverse groups.
A Review of: “The couple checkup: Find your relationship strengths”

Eight hundred graduates sat anxiously as they filled the commencement arena. Here they sat, after years of hard work, listening to the address that was specifically written with them in mind. The g...
Enzyme pathways: C1 metabolism redesigned.

One-carbon metabolic pathways create new opportunities for metabolic engineering, but natural pathways have limitations in catalytic efficiency and interspecies transferability. Now a computationally designed enzyme, formolase, enables the construction of a synthetic metabolic pathway in Escherichia coli for assimilation of formate into a glycolytic intermediate in only five reaction steps.
Fiscal Spending Shocks and the Price of Investment: Evidence from a Panel of Countries

The effects of fiscal spending shocks are estimated by the introduction of a measure of fiscal policy into the neoclassical growth model via a parametric function that distorts the value of newly created capital. The model is estimated by Method of Simulated Moments (MSM) via conditional moments (IRFs) from a panel of countries. We find that fiscal spending distortions cannot be rejected as an important determinant for deviations in the relative price of investment for the OECD countries. An implication is that a one standard error shock to fiscal spending can increase GDP by as much as 1.12 percent over an eight year horizon. Alternatively, the price of investment seems not to be affected by fiscal policy shocks in less developed countries.
Influence of interleukin‐2 infusion on cell cycle kinetics in the Walker‐256 carcinosarcoma

The effect of recombinant human interleukin-2 (IL-2) on tumor cell cycle kinetics was evaluated in rats bearing the Walker-256 carcinosarcoma. Seven days after implantation, tumor-bearing rats were infused intravenously with IL-2 at a dose of 500 mg/kg body weight or 5% dextrose for 6 h. Tumor cell mean DNA synthesis time (TDNA), labeling index, potential doubling time (Tpot), and growth fraction (GF) were determined in vivo by use of bromodeoxyuridine (BrdUrd) pulse labeling and bivariate BrdUrd/DNA analysis using flow cytometry. IL-2 treatment significantly reduced the relative number of S-phase cells by 11.9% and increased the number of cells in the G0/G1 phase by 9.4%. The labeling index was reduced from 41.3 +/- 2.5% to 32.7 +/- 1.2% (P < .01). Estimates of TDNA derived from the change in BrdUrd movement relative to DNA content were not affected by IL-2 treatment. Based on these cytokinetic changes, IL-2 infusion significantly increased tumor Tpot from 15.3 +/- 0.3 h to 21.5 +/- 0.2 h (P < .001) and reduced GF from 1.01 +/- 0.07 to 0.83 +/- 0.01 (P < 0.001). The inhibitory effect of IL-2 infusion on tumor cell growth, which may be either direct or secondarily mediated by other factors, contrasts with other stimulatory effects of this cytokine on lymphoid cell proliferation.
Function of Pituitary-Thyroid Axis in Copper-Deficient Rats

Thirty male weanling Sprague-Dawley rats were fed either a copper deficient diet (0.85 mg Cu/kg) or a copper-adequate diet (8 mg Cu/kg). After 7 weeks, the rats were fasted for 12 hours, and injected intravenously with thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH, 30 ng/100 g body weight). Six rats from each treatment were killed at 0, 0.5, 1, 2 and 4 hours after TRH injection. Sera obtained at 0, 0.5 and 1 hour, and at 0.2 and 4 hours were used for the radioimmunoassay of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and thyroxine (T4), respectively. Reduction in liver copper content confirmed that the rats fed the test diet were copper-deficient. Serum TSH levels appeared to have peaked at 30 minutes but declined to a level higher than basal at 1 hour. No difference in TSH response was observed between the 2 treatments. Serum T4 response to TRH was reduced in the copper-deficient as compared to the adequate rats at all time intervals. After 2 hours a slight elevation was observed in the controls, but marked elevations in T4 were observed in both treatments at 4 hours. This reduction in T4 levels could be due to an impaired T4 synthesis or release in copper-deficient rats.
The carbohydrate sialyl Lewis(x) (sLe(x)) sulfated glycomimetic GM2941 attenuates glucan-induced pulmonary granulomatous vasculitis in the rat.

We examined the protective effects of GM2941, a sulfated glycomimetic of the complex carbohydrate sialyl Lewisx, in a model of pulmonary granuloma development. This study was based on the rationale that formation of glucan-induced lung granulomas is dependent on neutrophils and that sialyl Lewisx glycomimetic (GM2941) interferes, in vitro , with P-selectin-dependent neutrophil-endothelial adhesive interactions. Infusion of particulate yeast cell wall glucan into rats results in the rapid (48 hr) formation of monocyte/macrophage-rich angiocentric pulmonary granulomas. Development of granulomas exhibits a temporal pattern characterized by the early, transient influx of neutrophils into blood vessel walls at sites of glucan embolization, followed by accumulation of monocytes and macrophages that constitute the definitive angiocentric lesions. Within 1 hr after the infusion of glucan, immunohistochemical analysis revealed up-regulation of blood vessel wall-associated P-selectin. Previous studies utilizing neutrophil-depleted animals have revealed that neutrophils, although not present in definitive lesions, are required for full granuloma development. The potential of GM2941 to inhibit neutrophil-endothelial cell adhesive interactions was demonstrated by the ability of the compound to inhibit P-selectin-mediated adhesion to histamine-stimulated HUVECs. Infusion of GM2941 retarded pulmonary granuloma development in a dose-dependent manner. Whole-lung myeloperoxidase activity, measured at the time of peak neutrophil accumulation, was significantly reduced in animals pretreated with GM2941 (30 mg/kg, 24 μM/kg), which suggests that this compound affords protection, at least in part, through impedance of neutrophil recruitment. These data indicate that GM2941 affords a significant degree of protection against granuloma formation associated with glucan infusion, probably through the interruption of neutrophil recruitment.
My Own Invention - Ten Years of Excellence in Poetry for Children

Daniel Hade surveys 10 years of the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award which aims to recognize annually the most outstanding new book of poetry for young people and generally to promote the reading enjoyment of poetry for children.
Paternal Incarceration and the Housing Security of Urban Mothers

High rates of imprisonment among American fathers have motivated an ongoing examination of incarceration's role in family life. A growing literature suggests that incarceration creates material and socioemotional challenges not only for prisoners and former prisoners but also for their families and communities. The authors examined the relationship between fathers' incarceration and one such challenge: the housing insecurity of the mothers of their children. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 4,125) and a series of longitudinal regression models, they found that mothers' housing security was compromised following their partners' incarceration, an association likely driven in part, but not entirely, by financial challenges following his time in prison or jail. Given the importance of stable housing for the continuity of adult employment, children's schooling, and other inputs to healthy child development, the findings suggest a grave threat to the well-being of children with incarcerated fathers.
Multilayered temporal modeling for the clinical domain

Objective To develop an open-source temporal relation discovery system for the clinical domain. The system is capable of automatically inferring temporal relations between events and time expressions using a multilayered modeling strategy. It can operate at different levels of granularity—from rough temporality expressed as event relations to the document creation time (DCT) to temporal containment to fine-grained classic Allen-style relations. Materials and Methods We evaluated our systems on 2 clinical corpora. One is a subset of the Temporal Histories of Your Medical Events (THYME) corpus, which was used in SemEval 2015 Task 6: Clinical TempEval. The other is the 2012 Informatics for Integrating Biology and the Bedside (i2b2) challenge corpus. We designed multiple supervised machine learning models to compute the DCT relation and within-sentence temporal relations. For the i2b2 data, we also developed models and rule-based methods to recognize cross-sentence temporal relations. We used the official evaluation scripts of both challenges to make our results comparable with results of other participating systems. In addition, we conducted a feature ablation study to find out the contribution of various features to the system’s performance. Results Our system achieved state-of-the-art performance on the Clinical TempEval corpus and was on par with the best systems on the i2b2 2012 corpus. Particularly, on the Clinical TempEval corpus, our system established a new F1 score benchmark, statistically significant as compared to the baseline and the best participating system. Conclusion Presented here is the first open-source clinical temporal relation discovery system. It was built using a multilayered temporal modeling strategy and achieved top performance in 2 major shared tasks.
The excess Gibbs energy of mixtures of cyclohexane with n-eicosane and with two other n-alkanes. A relation of congruence

The vapor pressures of mixtures of cyclohexane + n -eicosane have been measured at 32.79, 39.49, and 44.25°C, and the results have been used to calculate the excess Gibbs energy of the system. The results show G E to be negative, with a small increase in negative value with increase in temperature, and with G E ( x ) where x denotes mole fraction skewed toward the cyclohexane-rich region. Comparison of the experimental results with those which can be predicted from the lattice theory shows good agreement. The behavior is similar to that previously shown for mixtures of cyclohexane with n -dodecane and with n -hexadecane. When the three systems are compared, the negative excess Gibbs energies show a linear decrease with increase in the chain length of the paraffin. The decrease in the value of G E seems to be related also to the relative decrease in the fraction of contacts made by the end-groups as the chain increases. The excess Gibbs energies of the systems mentioned exhibit a relation of congruence.
Normative Commitment and Instrumental Attachment as Intervening Variables in the Prediction of Union Participation

This study analyzed organizational commitment as a social psychological process in a labor union setting. It proposed that normative commitment and instrumental attachment are variables that intervene between antecedent constructs and union participation as a behavioral outcome and, further, that such commitment and attachment are separate motivational processes that affect behavior differentially. Two competing theoretical models were evaluated, using structural equation analysis of self-report data from a sample of 176 recently unionized public agency employees. The model predicting that normative commitment and instrumental attachment mediate between union participation and four antecedent constructs provided a significantly better fit to the data than did the model predicting that these antecedents relate directly to participation. Path coefficient patterns observed within each model also supported the intervening variable hypothesis. The proposition that normative commitment and instrumental attachme...
N-Terminal Phosphorylation of the Dopamine Transporter Is Required for Amphetamine-Induced Efflux

Amphetamine (AMPH) elicits its behavioral effects by acting on the dopamine (DA) transporter (DAT) to induce DA efflux into the synaptic cleft. We previously demonstrated that a human DAT construct in which the first 22 amino acids were truncated was not phosphorylated by activation of protein kinase C, in contrast to wild-type (WT) DAT, which was phosphorylated. Nonetheless, in all functions tested to date, which include uptake, inhibitor binding, oligomerization, and redistribution away from the cell surface in response to protein kinase C activation, the truncated DAT was indistinguishable from the full-length WT DAT. Here, however, we show that in HEK-293 cells stably expressing an N-terminal-truncated DAT (del-22 DAT), AMPH-induced DA efflux is reduced by approximately 80%, whether measured by superfusion of a population of cells or by amperometry combined with the patch-clamp technique in the whole cell configuration. We further demonstrate in a full-length DAT construct that simultaneous mutation of the five N-terminal serine residues to alanine (S/A) produces the same phenotype as del-22—normal uptake but dramatically impaired efflux. In contrast, simultaneous mutation of these same five serines to aspartate (S/D) to simulate phosphorylation results in normal AMPH-induced DA efflux and uptake. In the S/A background, the single mutation to Asp of residue 7 or residue 12 restored a significant fraction of WT efflux, whereas mutation to Asp of residues 2, 4, or 13 was without significant effect on efflux. We propose that phosphorylation of one or more serines in the N-terminus of human DAT, most likely Ser7 or Ser12, is essential for AMPH-induced DAT-mediated DA efflux. Quite surprisingly, N-terminal phosphorylation shifts DAT from a “reluctant” state to a “willing” state for AMPH-induced DA efflux, without affecting inward transport. These data raise the therapeutic possibility of interfering selectively with AMPH-induced DA efflux without altering physiological DA uptake.
Numerical Simulations of the Genesis of Hurricane Diana (1984). Part I: Control Simulation

Abstract The complete transformation of a weak baroclinic disturbance into Hurricane Diana is reproduced by numerical simulations using the fifth generation Pennsylvania State University–National Center for Atmospheric Research Mesoscale Model. Three distinct phases of the evolution are evident. First, baroclinic and barotropic development, strongly modified by the effects of latent heating, occurs. During the latter part of this phase, the low-level circulation is strengthened through the axisymmetrization of remote potential vorticity anomalies that are generated by condensational heating and then advected toward the incipient storm. The axisymmetrization process evinces properties of both nonlinear, discrete vortex merger and vortex Rossby wave dynamics. The transformation from cold-core to warm-core vortex occurs in this development stage. In the second phase, lasting 10–12 h, little deepening occurs. Spiral bands of convection begin to form and the core of the storm moistens, eventually reaching 95% ...
Biosynthesis and Stability of Coiled-Coil Peptides Containing (2S,4R)-5,5,5-Trifluoroleucine and (2S,4S)-5,5,5-Trifluoroleucine

We report the effects of 5,5,5-trifluoroleucine (TFL) stereochemistry on coiled-coil peptide biosynthesis and stability. We demonstrate that two diastereoisomers of TFL are activated and incorporated into peptides expressed in E. coli. Coiled-coil homodimers of these peptides exhibited increased stability. An equimolar mixture of the two fluorinated peptides formed a heterodimer of modestly enhanced thermal stability relative to the homodimers.
Single View Reconstruction of Piecewise Swept Surfaces

We present a novel approach for the single view reconstruction (SVR) of piecewise swept scenes, exploiting the regular structure present in these man-made scenes. The parallelism of lines and its extension to curves are used as cues within a novel sequential algorithm propagating information across faces and their boundaries. Using this approach we are able to model a wide variety of architectural scenes and man-made objects. We show results generated both automatically as well as using user interaction, within a unified framework.
Dose mapping of porcine coronary arteries using an optical fiber dosimeter

Abstract Background This study is about the measurement of radiation dose contribution to the coronary arteries during intravascular brachytherapy with β and γ emitters utilizing in vivo optical fiber dosimeters. Methods and materials Domestic pigs were used. With each measurement, catheters were introduced into two different coronary arteries, including the left circumflex (LCX), the left anterior descending (LAD), the first diagonal, and/or the right coronary artery (RCA). A radioactive source ( 192 Ir, 90 Sr/Y, or 32 P) and the dosimeter were loaded in each of these catheters. Data were collected as the dosimeter was being retracted at a constant rate via computer control. Results The radiation dose was normalized to 100% at a 2-mm radial distance from the source. When radiating a branching artery, the dose to the bifurcation at 5 mm from the source was 35%, 10%, and 3% for the 192 Ir (10 seeds), 90 Sr/Y (40 mm), and 32 P sources, respectively. When utilizing a 23-seed 192 Ir source, the dose is 40% at a 5-mm distance. However, radiation of the RCA did not result in dosing to the LAD or LCX using any source. Conclusions The dose to adjacent artery segments is less with β than with γ emitters. Significant dose exposition is noted when using γ emitters at a distance of 5 mm. The results can serve as a guideline for establishing prescription doses and safety margins for the treatment of bifurcation lesions and retreatment of the arteries.
Inactivation of thymidylate synthetase by a novel mechanism-based enzyme inhibitor: 1-(β-D-2′-deoxyribofuranosyl)8-azapurin-2-one 5′-monophosphate

Summary Incubation of thymidylate synthetase from Lactobacillus casei with the novel substrate analog 1-(2′-deoxyribosyl)8-azapurin-2-one 5′-monophosphate (I) resulted in a time dependent, irreversible, loss of enzyme activity (k i =1.4 min −1 ; K i =1.6×10 −5 M ). The presence or absence of the cofactor 5,10-CH 2 -tetrahydrofolate did not influence the inhibition, whereas the substrate deoxyuridylate afforded protection against inactivation of the enzyme by I . The destruction of the electrophilic center at position 6 by reduction to the dihydro derivative transformed I into a reversible competitive inhibitor (K i =1.2×10 −4 M ). Mechanistic considerations suggest that I acts as an enzyme generated, covalently bound, transition state analog.
Sensitivity of distributional prediction algorithms to geographic data completeness

Abstract The sensitivity of one algorithm for prediction of geographic distributions of species from point data to depth of geographic information was tested for three species of North American birds. Test species were chosen to represent three distinct distributional patterns—western North America (Pygmy Nuthatch Sitta pygmaea), eastern North America (Barred Owl Strix varia), and the Great Plains in the central part of the continent (Lark Bunting Calamospiza melanocorys). Distributional predictions were made using the expert-system algorithm Genetic Algorithm for Role-set Prediction (GARP). Depth of geographic information was manipulated by rarifying the number of coverages on which predictions were based, from the full complement of eight down to one, using a combination of jackknifing and bootstrapping. In all three species, five of the eight coverages were necessary to arrive at the asymptotic maximum predictive efficiency and to avoid broad variance in resulting predictive efficiencies. Annual mean temperature was a critical variable, in some cases more important than inclusion of additional coverages, to producing accurate distributional predictions.
EMBench: An IEC61499 Based Integrated Environment for Manufacturing Systems

In these days, manufacturing organizations are facing global competition and short technological cycles. The flexibility of an enterprise and its ability to respond to miscellaneous customer requests decide the competitiveness in the global market. It also requires that the manufacturing plant must reorganize efficiently to produce various products at low cost and short time. This flexibility in the manufacturing process must be able to accommodate various tasks to share resources under safe and efficient control. In the current development processes of manufacturing systems, information handling usually is an undeveloped area. Domains such as design, validation, and deployment will be separated and isolated. One reason for the redundant non-value-added implementation of the component model is that existing system development largely consists of isolated sub-processes that generate proprietary information such as control logic, simulation models, etc. This paper focuses on introducing an innovative software environment, EMBench, which integrates mechanical design, control configuration, simulation and deployment services seamlessly for manufacturing automation systems. Its auto-generated user-friendly GUI (Graphical User Interface) supports direct commanding to the controller at different layers, and internal data (control/mechanical) and model (simulation/physical) mapping eliminates redundant and error-prone manual data entry and model replication at different stages. This tool provides a means of layered and encapsulated services so that complex systems can be designed, configured, simulated and deployed hierarchically with various levels of details. IEC61499 is an emerging industrial standard for distributed industrial process measurement & control systems. Using IEC61499 function blocks and service layer architecture, control services ranging from basic joint servo, to kinematics of a mechanism, to trajectory interpolation, to language parsing and HMI processing, to complex multiple resources/processes coordination can be configured for an application. With the adaptation of IEC61499, EMBench serves as a modular, component-based design, simulation and prototyping tool for shop floor control. Several case studies are presented in details and various potential usages in different fields are discussed. EMBench uses IEC61499 as a means for modularization and reuse of control services.Copyright © 2006 by ASME
New Nonparametric Tests of Multivariate Locations and Scales Using Data Depth

Multivariate statistics plays a role of ever increasing importance in the modern era of information technology. Using the center-outward ranking induced by the notion of data depth, we describe several nonparametric tests of location and scale differences for multivariate distributions. The tests for location differences are derived from graphs in the so-called DD plots (depth vs. depth plots) and are implemented through the idea of permutation tests. The proposed test statistics are scale-standardized measures for the location difference and they can be carried out without estimating the scale or variance of the underlying distributions. The test for scale differences introduced in Liu and Singh (2003) is a natural multivariate rank test derived from the center-outward depth ranking and it extends the Wilcoxon rank-sum test to the testing of multivariate scale. We discuss the properties of these tests, and provide simulation results as well as a comparison study under normality. Finally, we apply the tests to compare airlines’ performances in the context of aviation safety evaluations.
NONLINEAR WAVE INTERACTION WITH A VERTICAL CIRCULAR CYLINDER - PART II: WAVE RUN-UP

Abstract Theoretical results for second-order wave run-up around a large diameter vertical circular cylinder are compared to results of 22 laboratory experiments conducted in regular nonlinear waves. In general, the second-order theory explains a significant portion of the nonlinear wave run-up distribution measured at all angles around the cylinder. At the front of the cylinder, for example, measured maximum run-up exceeds linear theory by 44% on average but exceeds the nonlinear theory by only 11% on average. In some cases, both measured run-up and the second-order theory exceed the linear prediction by more than 50%. Similar results are found at the rear of the cylinder where the second-order theory predicts a large increase in wave amplitude for cases where the linear diffraction theory predicts little or no increase. Overall, the nonlinear diffraction theory is found to be valid for the same relative depth and wave steepness conditions applicable to Stokes second-order plane-wave theory. In the last section of the paper, design curves are presented for estimating the maximum second-order wave run-up for a wide range of conditions in terms of the relative depth, relative cylinder size, and wave steepness.
Double-walled polymer microspheres for controlled drug release

One approach to the controlled release of drugs involves incorporation of the drug molecules into the matrix of microscopic polymer spheres or capsules. Existing methods for preparing such microparticles do not, however, always guarantee a constant release rate, for example because drug molecules may be trapped preferentially at the surface, because they have to diffuse through an increasing thickness of polymer when the particles are non-eroding or because the surface area changes for eroding particles. In other situations pulsed release may be required--an application to which simple polymer microspheres do not readily lend themselves. Multi-walled microspheres might solve some of these problems. Here we describe a one-step process for preparing double-walled polymer microspheres with diameters ranging from about 20 to 1,000 micrometers. Our technique involves the phase separation of a polymer mixture owing to solvent evaporation: with an appropriate choice of interfacial tensions and evaporation rate, a spherical droplet of one polymer becomes coated with a highly uniform layer of the other. This process, which might be adapted to yield multi-walled microspheres, should make possible the engineering of highly specific drug-release properties.
Altered brain function underlying verbal memory encoding and retrieval in psychotic major depression.

Psychotic major depression (PMD) is associated with deficits in verbal memory as well as other cognitive impairments. This study investigated brain function in individuals with PMD during a verbal declarative memory task. Participants included 16 subjects with PMD, 15 subjects with non-psychotic major depression (NPMD) and 16 healthy controls (HC). Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data were acquired while subjects performed verbal memory encoding and retrieval tasks. During the explicit encoding task, subjects semantically categorized words as either ‘‘man-made’’ or ‘‘not manmade.’’ For the retrieval task, subjects identified whether words had been presented during the encoding task. Functional MRI data were processed using SPM5 and a group by condition ANOVA. Clusters of activation showing either a significant main effect of group or an interaction of group by condition were further examined using t-tests to identify group differences. During the encoding task, the PMD group showed lower hippocampus, insula, and prefrontal activation compared to HC. During the retrieval task, the PMD group showed lower recognition accuracy and higher prefrontal and parietal cortex activation compared to both HC and NPMD groups. Verbal retrieval deficits in PMD may be associated with deficient hippocampus function during encoding. Increased brain activation during retrieval may reflect an attempt to compensate for encoding deficits.
The LIM domain: from the cytoskeleton to the nucleus

First described 15 years ago as a cysteine-rich sequence that was common to a small group of homeodomain transcription factors, the LIM domain is now recognized as a tandem zinc-finger structure that functions as a modular protein-binding interface. LIM domains are present in many proteins that have diverse cellular roles as regulators of gene expression, cytoarchitecture, cell adhesion, cell motility and signal transduction. An emerging theme is that LIM proteins might function as biosensors that mediate communication between the cytosolic and the nuclear compartments.
Electromagnetic field inside a surface current distribution

The electromagnetic field and a generalised electric Green's dyad, when the field point is inside a surface current distribution are derived. The Green's dyad is represented by the sum of the dyadic Green's function in free space and a source dyad determined by the shape of the principal area that surrounds the singularities of the Green's function.
‘This isn't usual, Mr. Pendleton, this is history’: Spielberg's Lincoln and the production of historical knowledge

This brief essay considers the ways that Steven Spielberg's film Lincoln produces historical knowledge. As many scholars have pointed out, there are details in the film that are not borne out by the historical record. A much more important critique, persuasively articulated by historian Kate Masur, takes issue not with isolated facts, but with overall interpretation. She argues that the film erases the work African Americans did to fight for their own freedom. The goal here is not to champion the film, but rather to use the space to examine the film's narrative and stylistic strategies, including affective engagement, for producing a certain kind of historical knowledge, and also to consider the political ramifications of this kind of knowledge. More specifically, this essay asserts that the film is written and structured in such a way as to register, in a completely unsentimental way, African American demands for equality and the stakes of those demands. Finally, by insisting that the fundamental goal of...
Examining Welcome Center Visitors’ Travel and Information Behaviors: Does Location of Centers or Residency Matter?

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of welcome center location and residency of visitors in serving different vacation market segments. Data from all 13 Michigan welcome centers were analyzed to examine the relationship between center location and residency, and other consumer travel characteristics. Results indicated in-state travelers were more likely to visit interior welcome centers (than border), and out-of-state travelers were more likely to visit border welcome center locations (than interior). For trip purpose and timing of the visit in relation to the trip, location and residency effects were found. A residency effect was found for selected types of information search and accommodation types. The location of state-managed information centers appears to play a role in the type of traveler served, thus suggesting interior and border welcome centers are an important element of a state’s tourism marketing program and information network.
Enhanced recovery after surgery in microvascular breast reconstruction

Summary Background Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) pathways have been shown in multiple surgical specialties to decrease hospital length of stay (LOS) after surgery, but they have not been described for patients undergoing microvascular breast reconstruction. Study design A standardized ERAS pathway was developed through multidisciplinary collaboration which addressed all phases of surgical care for patients undergoing free-flap breast reconstruction using an abdominal donor site. Two surgeons used the ERAS pathway, and results were compared with a historical cohort of the same 2 surgeons' patients treated by traditional care after surgery (TRAS). All patients underwent surgery between September 2010 and September 2013. The primary outcome measure was hospital LOS. Results A total of 100 patients were analyzed: 49 in the ERAS cohort, and 51 in the TRAS cohort, with a total of 181 flaps. Mean hospital LOS was shorter with ERAS than TRAS (3.9 vs 5.5 days; P P P = 0.21). Conclusions The initiation of an ERAS pathway significantly decreased hospital LOS in our study. The pathway also significantly decreased the amount of opioids used postoperatively by 71%, without a consequent increase in patient-reported pain.
Grain destruction in interstellar shock waves

Interstellar shock waves can erode and destroy grains present in the shocked gas, primarily as the result of sputtering and grain-grain collisions. Uncertainties in current estimates of sputtering yields are reviewed. Results are presented for the simple case of sputtering of fast grains being stopped in cold gas. An upper limit is derived for sputtering of refractory grains in C-type MHD shocks: shock speeds v s ≳ 50kms−1 are required for return of more than 30% of the silicate to the gas phase. Sputtering can also be important for removing molecular ice mantles from grains in two-fluid MHD shock waves in molecular gas. Recent estimates of refractory grain lifetimes against destruction in shock waves are summarized, and the implications of these short lifetimes are discussed.
An examination of the ASTM Lime Pozzolanic Activity Test for class C fly ashes

Abstract The role of the type of calcium hydroxide (“lime”) used in the ASTM C 311-81 Lime Pozzolanic Activity Test (LPAT) has been studied. Three types of lime (reagent grade Ca(OH) 2 , a commercial lime and a mixture of the reagent grade lime and MgO) were used with four fly ashes (three Class C and one Class F) in the LPAT. The same four fly ashes were used in the ASTM Cement Pozzolanic Activity Test. The formation of crystalline reaction products in the lime test was monitored by x-ray powder diffraction. All three Class C fly ashes failed to meet the LPAT seven-day 800 psi compressive strength criterion when the reagent grade lime was used but all three passed the test when the other two types of lime were used. X-ray diffractograms of pastes cured for three days at 55°C showed different reaction products formed from the pastes containing reagent grade lime compared to the other two lime sources. It is proposed that impurities in the commercial lime play a key role in determining the pozzolanic activity of Class C fly ashes.