cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Orientation dependence of the properties of PZN-4.5%PT relaxor single crystals

Relaxor ferroelectric PZN-xPT and PMN-xPT single crystals exhibit excellent electromechanical coupling properties that depend on crystallographic orientations. In this study compressive stress and electric field were applied to relaxor single crystals [Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3]0.955-[PbTiO3]0.045 (PZN-4.5%PT) in a series of crystal orientations between and , and the corresponding strain and electric displacement were measured. It was found that as the angle of the orientation cut is rotated from to , the piezoelectric coefficient d33 drops and hysteresis increases dramatically. A crystal variant based approach was used to model the piezoelectric coefficients and remnant electric displacement. The bipolar electro-mechanical response of these crystals is presented. Observed hysteresis and nonlinear phenomena related to polarization reorientation and phase transitions is discussed. In actuator design and performance control, these results give a guideline regarding appropriate external fields in order to prevent depolarization, heat generation and damage.© (2005) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Early vascular land plants: proof and conjecture

Megafossil evidence does not fill the ‘evolutionary gap’ between land plants and their hypothetical green algal ancestors. Rare Late Silurian vascular plant megafossils provide little information about the morphological, physiological, biochemical, and ecological steps that preceded their evolution. Dissociated trilete spores, spore tetrads, cuticle- and tracheid-like structures far exceed the abundance and diversity of Silurian vascular plant megafossils, and appear millions of years before them. In reference to whole-bodied organisms, these or analogous structures belong to land plants or emergent aquatics; they may represent plants evolutionarily intermediate between green algae and descendent vascular plants at the bryophyte or pre-bryophyte stages. Changes in the cellular biochemistry of pre-Devonian land plants in response to the selective pressures of terrestrial life may have led to the origin of lignin and cutin, neither of which has any counterpart among the algae, and to the evolutionary surge of the vascular plants in the Early Devonian represented by the plant megafossil record. Positive correlation between abundance and diversity of trilete spores and shallow-water, nearshore sites reinforces conclusions based on morphology that a terrestrial flora existed well prior to the appearance of vascular plant megafossils.
Vulnerability of CPS inference to DoS attacks

We study distributed inference of Cyber Physical Systems (CPS) subject to Denial of Service (DoS). For the purpose of inference, we assume the CPS as a physical-layer (dynamical system) monitored by a cyber-layer (multiagent network). Under DoS, an adversary may disrupt the sensor network monitoring the system either at the underlying communication or at sensors. We investigate countermeasures and CPS resiliency to such failures. We show that the rank-deficiency of the physical system increases the prevalence of hubs in the cyber-layer, and consequently, the vulnerability to the adversary attacks. We provide a power system monitoring example to illustrate our approach.
An altered spectrum of herpes simplex virus mutations mediated by an antimutator DNA polymerase

The mutation spectrum attributable to an antimutator DNA polymerase in a eukaryotic cell was examined. Drug-resistant thymidine kinase (tk) mutants derived from both a wild-type (wt) strain, KOS and an antimutator DNA polymerase (pol) mutant, PAAr5, of herpes simplex virus (HSV), were isolated, and the mutated tk genes were characterized at the sequence level. While both transition and frameshift mutations were found in the mutated tk genes derived from the wt KOS Pol, all the PAAr5-mediated mutants analyzed were frameshift mutations. These results imply that the wt HSV Pol is less faithful than the antimutator enzyme, at least in part, because of its propensity to mediate transition mutations.
An analysis by rotary shadowing of the structure of the mammalian vitreous humor and zonular apparatus.

Abstract An electron microscopic analysis of human and bovine vitreous humor after rotary shadowing showed the presence of both collagen fibrils and an extensive loose network of hyaluronan molecules. No interaction between the collagen fibrils and the hyaluronan molecules was observed under the conditions used for rotary shadowing. Periodic “struts” were present on the surface of the collagen fibrils. These struts showed an organization the same as that previously observed for type IX collagen on the surface of collagen fibrils from chicken cartilage and vitreous. However, the knob of the noncollagenous NC4 domain of cartilage type IX collagen was not observed at the ends of the struts in a manner identical to that of chicken vitreous humor. Zonular fibrils were dissected out from bovine eyes and shown by rotary shadowing to contain a beaded fibril which is similar in morphology to the “elastin-associated” microfibrils of many connective tissues. Experiments in which the zonular fibrils were stretched and fixed prior to rotary shadowing showed that the distance between each bead is variable and can be accounted for by the bowing out of overlapping filaments which connect each bead.
Nucleic acid in-situ hybridization detection of infectious agents

Limitations of traditional culture methods and newer polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based methods for detection and speciation of infectious agents demonstrate the need for more rapid and better diagnostics. Nucleic acid hybridization is a detection technology that has gained wide acceptance in cancer and prenatal cytogenetics. Using a modification of the nucleic acid hybridization technique known as fluorescence in-situ hybridization, infectious agents can be detected in a variety of specimens with high sensitivity and specificity. The specimens derive from all types of human and animal sources including body fluids, tissue aspirates and biopsy material. Nucleic acid hybridization can be performed in less than one hour. The result can be interpreted either using traditional fluorescence microscopy or automated platforms such as micro arrays. This paper demonstrates proof of concept for nucleic acid hybridization detection of different infectious agents. Interpretation within a cytologic and histologic context is possible with fluorescence microscopic analysis, thereby providing confirmatory evidence of hybridization. With careful probe selection, nucleic acid hybridization promises to be a highly sensitive and specific practical diagnostic alternative to culture, traditional staining methods, immunohistochemistry and complicated nucleic acid amplification tests.© (2000) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Can cognitive training improve episodic memory

Neuroscience-inspired approaches to train cognitive abilities are bringing about a paradigm shift in the way scientists view the treatment of memory dysfunction, but it can be challenging to prove whether such approaches have significant effects.
Interactions of human sperm acrosomal protein SP-10 with the acrosomal membranes.

The interaction of the human acrosomal protein SP-10 with the acrosomal membranes was analyzed by the ability of Triton X-114 (TX-114) and other agents to release SP-10 from the acrosome. Treatment of human sperm with TX-114 revealed a pool of SP-10 that was released by TX-114 and a pool of SP-10 that was TX-114-resistant. TX-114-resistant SP-10 was associated with the equatorial segment and with TX-114-resistant portions of the acrosomal matrix and the inner acrosomal membrane. Phase partitioning of TX-114-released and TX-114-resistant SP-10 pools showed that both were hydrophilic, indicating that these pools consist of proteins that are peripherally associated with, rather than integral to, the acrosomal membranes. Sequential treatments of human sperm with various agents showed that repeated washes with TX-114 or 1.5 M NaCl had little or no effect on TX-114-resistant SP-10, whereas treatment with a chaotropic salt (150 mM sodium thiocyanate) and buffers at pH extremes (pH 2.0 and 10.0) completely released this pool of SP-10 from the acrosome. Together the results suggest that SP-10 is a hydrophilic peripheral acrosomal membrane protein that may be associated with a TX-114-resistant "anchor."
A Unique Signal Distorts the Perception of Species Richness and Composition in High-Throughput Sequencing Surveys of Microbial Communities: a Case Study of Fungi in Indoor Dust

Sequence-based surveys of microorganisms in varied environments have found extremely diverse assemblages. A standard practice in current high-throughput sequence (HTS) approaches in microbial ecology is to sequence the composition of many environmental samples at once by pooling amplicon libraries at a common concentration before processing on one run of a sequencing platform. Biomass of the target taxa, however, is not typically determined prior to HTS, and here, we show that when abundances of the samples differ to a large degree, this standard practice can lead to a perceived bias in community richness and composition. Fungal signal in settled dust of five university teaching laboratory classrooms, one of which was used for a mycology course, was surveyed. The fungal richness and composition in the dust of the nonmycology classrooms were remarkably similar to each other, while the mycology classroom was dominated by abundantly sporulating specimen fungi, particularly puffballs, and appeared to have a lower overall richness based on rarefaction curves and richness estimators. The fungal biomass was three to five times higher in the mycology classroom than the other classrooms, indicating that fungi added to the mycology classroom swamped the background fungi present in indoor air. Thus, the high abundance of a few taxa can skew the perception of richness and composition when samples are sequenced to an even depth. Next, we used in silico manipulations of the observed data to confirm that a unique signature can be identified with HTS approaches when the source is abundant, whether or not the taxon identity is distinct. Lastly, aerobiology of indoor fungi is discussed.
Perioperative endocrine status and prognosis in early breast cancer.

: Although the relationship between breast cancer and hormones has been known for almost two centuries, it is only during the last 16 years that evidence suggesting the hormonal profile of the patient at the time of surgery can affect the outcome, came to light. A series of studies investigated the hypothesis that unopposed estrogen (observed during the follicular phase of the cycle) may adversely affect the overall and/or disease-free survival of women operated on at that time. The findings have been, at times, contradictory. The retrospective nature of the studies, poor recording of last menstrual period, small study size, and the possible effect of the timing of the diagnostic procedures (cytology or core biopsy) on the outcome may be responsible for the conflicting results. Despite this, more sophisticated studies based on pathological or hormonal observations/measurements, confirmed the relation of luteal phase surgery to better outcome. Estrogen-induced increased protease activity activates a cascade of proteolysis and allows the more discohesive tumor cells to gain access to the circulation. Moreover, disseminated cells might be able to proliferate easier because of several estrogen-dependent growth factors. Diminished immune function during the follicular phase, because of natural killer cell activity and mononuclear cell phagocytic activity down-regulation may also be implicated in the dissemination of viable tumor cells. Taken together these findings provide a framework for explaining the observation that luteal phase surgery can lead to an improved outcome. By altering the perioperative hormonal milieu it may be possible to reduce deaths from breast cancer in a simple and nontoxic manner.
Self‐Control of Smoking: When Does Narrowed Attention Help?1

Two studies examined the capacity of cognitive load to enhance or disrupt the self-control of smoking in the presence of situational pressures that either promote or discourage the behavior. In Study 1, participants who were exposed to cues encouraging smoking smoked more under high cognitive load than under low cognitive load. In Study 2, participants who were exposed to cues discouraging smoking smoked less under high load than under low load. Cognitive load appears to narrow attention, resulting in a state of attentional myopia, which leads to disinhibited smoking behavior when pressures to smoke are disproportionately salient and enhanced control of smoking when pressures not to smoke are disproportionately salient. Implications for smoking cessation are discussed.
Increase of Residual Magnetism Caused by a Current Flowing Through an Iron Bar

If a bar of high grade wrought iron or of permalloy is placed in a sufficiently strong magnetic field, and if this field is abruptly reduced to zero, a current set up in the iron causes an increase of the residual magnetism. This effect is not obtained when the field is gradually eliminated, nor is it obtained when the current flows in a wire along the axis of a bored out iron cylinder unless the cylinder is slotted longitudinally. Then the increase of magnetism is again observed. There seem to be two effects involved in this phenomenon. One of these results in decreasing the residual magnetism in accordance with Wiedeman's and Villari's observations, and is apparently associated with the circular flux set up in the bar by a current sent directly through it or in a separate wire along its axis. The other effect, if it could be completely isolated, would probably produce only increases in residual magnetism, and seems to depend on an unstable condition of the magnet.
Ungrateful or Honorable: A Re-examination of the Word Kanūd in Qur'ān 100 (al-'Ādiyāt)

In a previous study, and building on the work of Gunter Luling and Christoph Luxenberg, I argued that the first five verses of Q100 were either misunderstood or deliberately modified by the Qur'an editors from an original text that can be characterized as a pre-Islamic hymn. Instead of the traditional Muslim interpretation of horses charging into battle and striking at the enemy, the "reconstructed" version presents an image of maidens going out in the morning and lighting a flame to benefit others.This paper focuses on the second half of the sūra, vv. 6-11. Starting with a reexamination of the word kanūd in v. 6, which is a hapax legomenon in the Qur'an and which is virtually non-existent in the language in general, I argue for a radically different interpretation of these verses. Evidence is provided from the sūra itself, from other parts of the Qur'an, and from a comparison with a related form in Hebrew, a language which is known to have influenced the Qur'an. Just as the reconstruction of vv. 1-5 results in an image of peace and sharing in place of war and destruction, the reconstruction of vv. 6-12 results in an image of man honoring and glorifying his Lord and loving to do good deeds rather than a selfish and ungrateful creature whose selfishness and ingratitude cannot be hidden from God.One of the problems with the traditional interpretation of Q100 is the lack of thematic unity: vv. 1-5 portray horses charging into battle, while vv. 6-11 condemn man as being an ingrate. My reconstruction of the sūra gives it a high degree of coherence. The first half shows women doing good deeds in worship, while the second confirms that mankind loves to do good deeds in the service of God and that God knows all about such deeds.
A configurable quantized compressed sensing architecture for low-power tele-monitoring

Energy efficiency is one of the most concerns in tele-monitoring. As the rapid development of mobile technology, wireless communication has gradually become the biggest energy sector in most tele-monitoring applications. Recently, Compressed Sensing (CS) has attracted increasingly attention to solve this problem due to its extremely low sampling rate. In this paper, we investigate the quantization effect in the Compressed Sensing architecture. We point out that quantization configuration is a critical factor towards the energy efficiency concern of the entire CS architecture. To this end, we present a configurable Quantized Compressed Sensing (QCS) Architecture, where sampling rate and quantization are jointly explored for better energy-efficiency. Furthermore, to overcome the computational complexity of the configuration procedure, we propose a rapid configuration algorithm, called RapQCS, to promote the configuration speed. Through the experiments with public physiological data, the configurable QCS architecture can gain more than 60% performance-energy trade-off than the constant QCS architecture. Furthermore, our proposed RapQCS algorithm can achieve more than 200x speedup on average, while only decreasing the reconstructed signal fidelity by 1.75%.
Incorporating collaborative technologies into university curricula: lessons learned

Web-based collaboration tools and groupware are uniquely qualified to address the emerging business opportunities heretofore hindered by location barriers, constraints of time, and expensive travel costs. Global business enterprises are implementing online collaboration software to augment their face-to-face meetings and group decision making in areas of strategic planning and business processes improvements. Several business schools have also integrated web-based group decision support systems into their business education curricula so that students can learn how to use collaboration technologies to support virtual teamwork, group problem solving, and collective intelligence. A collaborative technologies course module is presented, as well as a sampling of web-based group decision support product descriptions. Finally, the paper concludes with a synopsis of student perceptions about integration of these collaborative technologies and the paramount importance of this concept for augmenting virtual team performance in our Digital Age.
Death and Organ Procurement: Public Beliefs and Attitudes *

Although "brain death" and the dead donor rule--i.e., patients must not be killed by organ retrieval--have been clinically and legally accepted in the U.S. as prerequisites to organ removal, there is little data about public attitudes and beliefs concerning these matters. To examine the public attitudes and beliefs about the determination of death and its relationship to organ transplantation, 1351 Ohio residents >18 years were randomly selected and surveyed using random digit dialing (RDD) sample frames. The RDD telephone survey was conducted using computer-assisted telephone interviews. The survey instrument was developed from information provided by 12 focus groups and a pilot study of the questionnaire. Three scenarios based on hypothetical patients were presented: "brain dead," in a coma, or in a persistent vegetative state (PVS). Respondents provided personal assessments of whether the patient in each scenario was dead and their willingness to donate that patient's organs in these circumstances. More than 98 percent of respondents had heard of the term "brain death," but only one-third (33.7%) believed that someone who was "brain dead" was legally dead. The majority of respondents (86.2%) identified the "brain dead" patient in the first scenario as dead, 57.2 percent identified the patient in a coma as dead (Scenario 2), and 34.1 percent identified the patient in a PVS as dead (Scenario 3). Nearly one-third (33.5%) were willing to donate the organs of patients they classified as alive for at least one scenario, in seeming violation of the dead donor rule. Most respondents were not willing to violate the dead donor rule, although a substantial minority was. However, the majority of respondents were unaware, misinformed, or held beliefs there were not congruent with current definitions of "brain death." This study highlights the need for more public dialogue and education about "brain death" and organ donation.
Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) of polyisoprenes

Polyisoprenes (PIPs) with average molecular weights from 650 to 800,000 Da have been studied by time-of-flight secondary ion mass Spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) in the static mode. Polymer samples were bombarded by argon primary ions, and positive SIMS spectra were collected. Effects of branching and unsaturation in the polymer structure on ion formation were studied. The pendant methyl group showed little tendency to fracture as a cation. In the low mass region, CnH2n−1+ appeared to be more intense than CnH2n+1+, attributed to the double bond structure of polyisoprene. Additionally, ion formation varied as a function of polymer molecular weight. Cationized intact oligomers and fragments dominate the high mass region. Oligomer distributions were used to calculate average molecular weights for polyisoprenes. A statistical chain scission mechanism was used to qualitatively explain the formation of five clusters within a unique fragmentation pattern. Detailed studies of the cluster structure pointed out that each cluster contained several species having varied degrees of unsaturation. It is believed that double bond rearrangements occur.
Patterns of gene expression associated with BMP-2-induced osteoblast and adipocyte differentiation of mesenchymal progenitor cell 3T3-F442A.

The pluripotent mesenchymal stem cells give rise to osteoblasts, adipocytes, chondrocytes, and myoblasts. The differentiation of these stem cells into each of the mature functional cells may be controlled by a distinctive master gene(s) and is associated with temporal and spatial expression of diverse genes. Identification of genes that are expressed during the differentiation of the mesenchymal cells to osteoblasts is, therefore, important to obtain insights into the molecular mechanisms of osteogenesis. The murine undifferentiated mesenchymal cell 3T3-F442A, when treated with the bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP-2), a well-characterized inducer of mesenchymal cell differentiation, exhibited both osteoblastic and adipocytic differentiation. Using the SAGE (serial analysis of gene expression) technique, which has been shown to enable quantitative analysis of large numbers of genes in a simple and quick manner, we obtained 1600 sequence tags representing 2107 individual nucleotide sequences from control and BMP-2-treated 3T3-F442A cells, respectively. By comparing the frequency of tag occurrence, we found profiles of up- or downregulated genes associated with osteoblast or adipocyte phenotype such as type I collagen, osteonectin and OSF-2, or C/EBPβ, aP2, fatty acid synthase, and lipoprotein lipase, respectively, in BMP-2-treated 3T3-F442A cells. Our data show that BMP-2 induces not only osteoblastic but also adipocytic differentiation in the 3T3-F442A cells. They also show that the 3T3-F442A cells have bipotentials of differentiating toward osteoblasts and adipocytes. The results, therefore, might explain the inverse correlation between trabecular bone volume and fat volume in the bone marrow cavity. The results also suggest that the SAGE may be a useful technique that allows us a fast and efficient way to generate global and local views of gene expression associated with cellular differentiation of the mesenchymal stem cells.
Transforming solar system exploration: The origins of the Discovery Program, 1989–1993

Abstract The Discovery Program is a rarity in the history of NASA solar system exploration: a reform program that has survived and continued to be influential. This article examines its emergence between 1989 and 1993, largely as the result of the intervention of two people: Stamatios “Tom” Krimigis of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), and Wesley Huntress of NASA, who was Division Director of Solar System Exploration 1990–92 and the Associate Administrator for Space Science 1992–98. Krimigis drew on his leadership experience in the space physics community and his knowledge of its Explorer program to propose that it was possible to create new missions to the inner solar system for a fraction of the existing costs. He continued to push that idea for the next two years, but it took the influence of Huntress at NASA Headquarters to push it on to the agenda. Huntress explicitly decided to use APL to force change on the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the planetary science community. He succeeded in moving the JPL Mars Pathfinder and APL Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) mission proposals forward as the opening missions for Discovery. But it took Krimigis's political skill and access to Sen. Barbara Mikulski in 1993 to get the NEAR into the NASA budget, thereby likely ensuring that Discovery would not become another one-mission program.
Induction of anti-tumor immunity with epidermal cells pulsed with tumor-derived RNA or intradermal administration of RNA.

The skin is well-suited to serve as a substrate for vaccination strategies. In this regard, epidermal cells exposed to granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor can, upon subcutaneous injection into naive mice, present a soluble extract of tumor as a source of tumor-associated antigens for the induction of in vivo anti-tumor immunity. Use of RNA for immunization has a potential advantage over this technique. Because RNA can be amplified, only a small amount of tumor is needed for antigen preparation and, as with a soluble extract, it is not necessary to know the molecular nature of the antigen(s) relevant to immunity. To test the hypothesis that RNA-pulsed epidermal cells can induce anti-tumor immunity, total cellular RNA was isolated from the S1509a spindle cell tumor and used to pulse CAF1 epidermal cells enriched for Langerhans cell content and pre-exposed to granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor. These cells were then injected subcutaneously into naive CAF1 mice three times at weekly intervals followed by challenge with living S1509a cells. Tumor growth was significantly less than in control animals immunized in an identical fashion but with irrelevant RNA. Digestion of S1509a RNA with RNase prior to pulsing of epidermal cells prevented the development of immunity. In separate experiments, intradermal injection of S1509a RNA into naive mice three times at weekly intervals also induced immunity to challenge with the tumor. Digestion of S1509a RNA with RNase also prevented development of immunity in this system. Effective anti-tumor immunity can be induced in mice utilizing RNA-pulsed epidermal cells for in vivo immunization or by injecting RNA intradermally into naive mice.
Dealing with nonnormal data : parametric analysis of transformed data vs nonparametric analysis

Researchers have typically employed parametric analysis of raw data to test experimental data for statistical significance. When the data are not normally distributed, data transformation or nonpar...
Functional Status, Chronic Stress, and Cortisol Response After Mild-to-Moderate Traumatic Brain Injury

It is well known that individuals experience difficulties with depressive symptoms and functional status after traumatic brain injury. However, it is unclear what the relationship is between these ...
Checkpoint Failure and Chromosomal Instability without Lymphomagenesis in Mre11ATLD1/ATLD1 Mice

In this study, mice expressing one of the two Mre11 alleles inherited in the human ataxia-telangiectasia like disorder (A-TLD) were derived. The mutation had a profound maternal effect on embryonic viability, revealing an acute requirement for Mre11 complex function in early embryogenesis. Mre11(ATLD1/ATLD1) mice exhibited several indices of impaired ATM function. The mice also exhibited pronounced chromosomal instability. Despite this phenotypic spectrum, the animals were not prone to malignancy. These data indicate that defective cell cycle checkpoints and chromosomal instability are insufficient to significantly enhance the initiation of tumorigenesis. In contrast, the latency of malignancy in p53(+/-) mice was dramatically reduced. We propose that in Mre11(ATLD1/ATLD1) mice, genome instability and cell cycle checkpoint defects reduce viability in early embryos and in proliferating cells, while promoting malignancy in the context of an initiating lesion.
The generalized theory of perfectly matched layers (GT-PML): numerical reflection analysis and optimization

The use of a perfectly matched layer (PML) has been demonstrated as a highly efficient absorbing boundary condition in FDTD (Berenger 1994). Although the PML is supposed to absorb the outgoing wave totally, its discrete implementation gives rise to numerical reflections. Investigation of the numerical reflection properties of Berenger's PML, based on the 2D FDTD method with split components, and the Chew-Weedon stretched-coordinate formulation can be found in Fang and Wu (1996) and Chew and Jin (1996). An alternative approach to Berenger's implementation is based on properly designed anisotropic absorbers and doesn't require splitting of the fields (Sacks et al. 1995). In this paper the generalized theory of a PML of Zhao and Cangellaris (1996) is used to quantify the numerical reflection properties of such anisotropic perfectly matched absorbers (PMAs). An optimum implementation to minimize the numerical reflection is presented also. Numerical results using a parallel plate waveguide demonstrate the validity and accuracy of the formulation.
Electromagnetic field treatment of nerve crush injury in a rat model: effect of signal configuration on functional recovery.

Electromagnetic fields (EMFs) have been demonstrated to enhance mammalian peripheral nerve regeneration in vitro and in vivo. Using an EMF signal shown to enhance neurite outgrowth in vitro, we tested this field in vivo using three different amplitudes. The rat sciatic nerve was crushed. Whole body exposure was performed for 4 h/day for 5 days in a 96-turn solenoid coil controlled by a signal generator and power amplifier. The induced electric field at the target tissue consisted of a bipolar rectangular pulse, having 1 and 0.3 ms durations in each polarity, respectively. Pulse repetition rate was 2 per second. By varying the current, the coils produced fields consisting of sham (no current) and peak magnetic fields of 0.03 mT, 0.3 mT, and 3 mT, corresponding to peak induced electric fields of 1, 10, and 100 µV/cm, respectively, at the tissue target. Walking function was assessed over 43 days using video recording and measurement of the 1–5 toe-spread, using an imaging program. Comparing injured to uninjured hind limbs, mean responses were evaluated using a linear mixed statistical model. There was no difference found in recovery of the toe-spread function between any EMF treatments compared to sham. Bioelectromagnetics 28:256–263, 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Combustion in a turbulent mixing layer formed at a rearward-facing step

A premixed propane/air flame was stabilized in a turbulent mixing layer formed at a rearward-facing step. The mean and rms averages of the turbulent velocity flowfield were determined by laser velocimetry for both reacting (phi = 0.57) and nonreacting flows (Re = 15,000-37,000 based on step height). The reacting-flow was visualized by high-speed schlieren photography. Large-scale structures dominate the reacting mixing layer. The growth of the large-scale structures was tied to the propagation of the flame. The linear growth rate of the reacting mixing layer defined by the mean velocity profiles was unchanged by combustion but the virtual origin moves downstream. The reacting mixing layer boundaries based on the mean velocity profiles were shifted toward the recirculation zone and reattachment lengths were shortened by 30 percent. The edge of the flame controlled by the large-scale structure development propagated faster into the incoming reactants than the boundary of the mixing layer given by the mean velocity flowfield. Thus, the region of high velocity gradient did not coincide with the region of high reaction and heat transfer.
Single-cell analysis of Daxx and ATRX-dependent transcriptional repression

Histone H3.3 is a constitutively expressed H3 variant implicated in the epigenetic inheritance of chromatin structures. Recently, the PML-nuclear body (PML-NB)/Nuclear Domain 10 (ND10) proteins, Daxx and ATRX, were found to regulate replication-independent histone H3.3 chromatin assembly at telomeres and pericentric heterochromatin. As it is not completely understood how PML-NBs/ND10s regulate transcription and resistance to viral infection, we have used a CMV-promoter-regulated inducible transgene array, at which Daxx and ATRX are enriched, to delineate the mechanisms through which they regulate transcription. When integrated into HeLa cells, which express both Daxx and ATRX, the array is refractory to activation. However, transcription can be induced when ICP0, the HSV-1 E3 ubiquitin ligase required to reverse latency, is expressed. As ATRX and Daxx are depleted from the activated array in ICP0-expressing HeLa cells, this suggests that they are required to maintain a repressed chromatin environment. As histone H3.3 is strongly recruited to the ICP0-activated array but does not co-localize with the DNA, this also suggests that chromatin assembly is blocked during activation. The conclusion that the Daxx and ATRX pathway is required for transcriptional repression and chromatin assembly at this site is further supported by the finding that an array integrated into the ATRX-negative U2OS cell line can be robustly activated and that histone H3.3 is similarly recruited and unincorporated into the chromatin. Therefore, this study has important implications for understanding gene silencing, viral latency and PML-NB/ND10 function.
Teaching Bayes' Rule: A Data-Oriented Approach

Abstract There is a current emphasis on making the introductory statistics class more data-oriented. Data distributions are used to motivate probability distributions, such as the normal, and sampling distributions. However, difficulties remain in communicating the basic tenets of traditional statistical procedures such as confidence intervals and hypothesis tests. It is shown that skills in understanding relationships between two data variables can be used to motivate basic principles of Bayesian inference. Two devices, the Bayes' box and the Bayes' scatterplot, are introduced to display the relationship between models and data. The methods are illustrated for inference problems for a proportion, and are contrasted with simulation methods for introducing traditional inference in the quantitative literacy materials.
Pharmacoeconomic Modeling of Lorazepam, Midazolam, and Propofol for Continuous Sedation in Critically Ill Patients

Study objective To compare the expected costs of short-, intermediate-, and long-term sedation ( 72 hrs, respectively) with propofol, lorazepam, and midazolam in an intensive care unit. Methods Decision-analysis models were constructed for each sedative and each duration by using institutional costs associated with drug administration and adverse events (including personnel time). Costs were expressed in 2002 U.S. dollars. Adverse events were agitation, hypertriglyceridemia and/or pancreatitis, hypotension, nutritional changes, ventilator-associated pneumonia, and prolonged awakening and/or extubation. MEDLINE and EMBASE databases were searched to obtain durations of sedation, the incidence of outcomes, and cost estimates of outcomes. The ability to maintain specific levels of sedation was assumed equivalent among the sedatives. Univariate sensitivity analyses were conducted to determine the cost-driving variables, and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were conducted by using second-order Monte Carlo simulations. Results Weighted mean durations of sedation from 50 studies were 13.46 (short term), 45.27 (intermediate term), and 119.78 (long term) hours. Expected costs for sedation with lorazepam, midazolam, and propofol, respectively, were 497 dollars, 294 dollars, and 272 dollars short term; 932 dollars, 587 dollars, and 674 dollars intermediate term; and 1604 dollars, 1737 dollars, and 2033 dollars long term. Propofol was least costly in 86% of the short-term simulations, midazolam was least costly in 97.5% of the intermediate-term simulations, and lorazepam was least costly in 84% of the long-term simulations. The most important cost-driver for all sedatives was drug cost. Prolonged extubation after sedation was an important cost-driver for lorazepam and midazolam, especially as sedation was lengthened. Conclusion Propofol, midazolam, and lorazepam had the lowest expected costs for short-, intermediate-, and long-term sedation, respectively. Many factors aside from drug costs influenced the cost of sedation.
Screening Algorithms for Monoclonal Gammopathies

In this issue of Clinical Chemistry , Piehler et al. (1) present data on the use of serum protein electrophoresis (SPE),1 clinical history, and selective use of serum immunoglobulin free light chain (FLC) assay as a diagnostic screening algorithm for multiple myeloma (MM) in a general hospital population and conclude that this algorithm allows for efficient diagnosis or exclusion of multiple myeloma. The authors investigated clinical histories and sera of the 3818 samples sent to their laboratory for SPE over a 1-year period. These samples translated into 2854 unique patients: 2302 who did not have either an abnormality detected on SPE or a clinical history that included unexplained anemia, renal disease, hypercalcemia, increased sedimentation rate, and/or osteolysis, bone pain, or fractures; and 545 who met at least 1 of these criteria. Of the 545, 157 were excluded because their monoclonal protein had been previously recognized, leaving 332 patients: 83 who had a newly identified monoclonal band on SPE and 249 who had no monoclonal band detected. These 332 patients were subsequently screened with the FLC assay. Of the group without a monoclonal protein detected by SPE, 56 patients had an abnormal FLC ratio, and only 14% of these had a plasma cell disorder. Using this methodology, the authors “missed” only 4 diagnoses—2 myelomas and 2 plasmacytomas—and conclude that their algorithm detected 95% of all cases of MM, Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia, or primary amyloidosis. The authors should be congratulated on this endeavor, but there are 2 major limitations of their study that must be addressed. The first is that clinical …
Region of Attraction with Performance Bounds

In this paper we introduce the notion of region of attraction with performance bounds as a useful tool for design and analysis of adaptive control systems. The benefit of using this tool is that ensuring the closed-loop dynamics for the adaptive system within this specific region can guarantee both stability and performance requirements. In this paper, we first define a region of attraction with performance bounds for a nonlinear system. We then compare it with the existing idea of a region of attraction for a nonlinear system with an illustrative example. Next, we demonstrate the usage of this new design and analysis tool with two aircraft adaptive control examples. The first example deals with the analysis of an adaptive controller for the roll-rate dynamics of an aircraft. We show that the region of attraction with performance bounds can be estimated by solving a Sum-of-Squares (SOS) relaxation of the problem which provides an efficient computation technique. The second example deals with designing an adaptive controller for the unstable short-period dynamics of an aircraft. In this example, the adaptive controller is augmented on a baseline dynamic inversion baseline control law. We demonstrate that we can use this tool to perform adaptive control design tradeoffs in an efficient manner.
Robust control using GA-optimized neural networks

The power of genetic algorithms is utilized in the development of robust neuro-controllers. Specifically, a genetic algorithm (GA) is used to explore the connection space of an artificial neural network (ANN) with the objective of finding a sparsely connected network that yields the best accuracy in mapping. Such sparsity is desired as it improves the generalization (robustness) capabilities of the mapping. The ANN with the GA chosen connections is then trained using a supervised mode of learning known as backpropagation of error. Two different approaches for designing robust ANN are examined. In the first approach, a GA is used to minimize the mapping error before backpropagation learning is applied. For the second approach, a GA is used to minimize the sum of second order error derivatives with respect to the ANN weights. These approaches are applied to the Space Station three-axis attitude control problem. Results observed show good robustness qualities of GA-optimized neuro-controllers. >
TacTex-05: a champion supply chain management agent

Supply chains are ubiquitous in the manufacturing of many complex products. Traditionally, supply chains have been created through the interactions of human representatives of the companies involved, but advances in autonomous agent technologies have sparked an interest in automating the process. The Trading Agent Competition Supply Chain Management (TAC SCM) scenario provides a unique testbed for studying supply chain management agents. This paper introduces TacTex-05 (the champion agent from the 2005 competition), describes its constituent intelligent components, and examines the success of the complete agent through analysis of competition results and controlled experiments.
Managing Organizational Change: An Integrative Perspective:

An integrative approach to managing organizational change is presented. This approach is based on a congruence model of organizational behavior which views the organization as an interdependent set...
How Domestic Is Domestic Politics? Globalization and Elections

▪ Abstract Studies of how economic globalization influences domestic politics have disproportionately focused on questions of policy rather than politics. Recently, however, a number of studies have examined how economic globalization influences politics—specifically electoral politics. This article surveys these new studies, which have often appeared in disparate research areas, and argues that they constitute considerable evidence that international economic integration influences seemingly domestic political processes.
A strategy for trading the S&P 500 futures market

A system for trading the S&P 500 futures market is proposed. The system is applied to S&P 500 futures data during the period from September 14, 1987, to September 27, 1999. The system uses a momentum oscillator for generating entry or exit prices. In addition, the system uses another indicator for predicting the direction of the trend. When only the oscillator is used for selecting trades, the system is not, in general, as good as buy-and-hold. However, when the trend indicator is used as a filter, the trading system is, at least, as good as buy-and-hold.
Relating Satellite-Observed Cloud Properties from MODIS to Meteorological Conditions for Marine Boundary Layer Clouds

This study examines 6 yr of cloud properties observed by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board the NASA Terra satellite in five prominent marine boundary layer (MBL) cloud regions (California, Peru, Canary, Angola, and Australia) and investigates their relationships with nearsurface meteorological parameters obtained from NCEP reanalyses. About 62 000 independent scenes are used to examine the instantaneous relationships between cloud properties and meteorological parameters that may be used for global climate model (GCM) diagnostics and parameterization. Cloud liquid water path (LWP) generally increases with lower-tropospheric stability (LTS) and lifting condensation level (LCL), whereas cloud drizzle frequency is favored by weak LTS and negligible cold air advection. Cloud fraction (CF) depends strongly on variations in LTS, and to a lesser extent on surface air temperature advection and LCL, although the relationships vary from region to region. The authors propose capturing the effects of these three parameters on CF via their linear combination in terms of a single parameter, the effective lowertropospheric stability (eLTS). Results indicate that eLTS offers a marked improvement over LTS alone in explaining the median CF variations within the different study regions. A parameterization of CF in terms of eLTS is provided, which produces results that are improved over those of Klein and Hartmann’s LTS-only parameterization. However, the new parameterization may not predict the observed variability correctly, and the authors propose a method that might address this shortcoming via a statistical approach.
WLC33-4: Array-based Linear Modulation Classifier with Two-Stage CFO Estimation in Fading Channels

Likelihood ratio test (LRT)-based linear modulation classifier is sensitive to unknown parameters, such as carrier frequency offset (CFO), phase shift, etc. An antenna array-based quasi-hybrid likelihood ratio test (qHLRT) approach is proposed to cope with the problem. A non-maximum likelihood (ML) estimator is employed to reduce the computational burden of multivariate maximization. A two-stage CFO estimation scheme is also proposed to increase the accuracy of CFO estimation. To combat channel fading, maximal ratio combining (MRC) technique is applied for CFO estimation as well as the computation of the likelihood functions. The Cramer-Rao lower bound (CRLB) of the proposed CFO estimation method is derived. It is shown that with nonlinear least-squares (NLS) algorithm and method- of-moment (MoM) algorithm to estimate phase and amplitude respectively, our scheme offers an effective and practical solution to recognize linear modulation formats in fading channels.
Interfacial Crack Propagation

Abstract Interfacial crack propagation studies were conducted on specimens of epoxy bonded to aluminum under both tensile and bending loads. The effect of surface roughness of the aluminum on fracture toughness was measured for four different surface finishes: polished, milled, glass-peened and sandblasted. It was found that increased surface roughness resulted in greater fracture toughness and that the interfacial cracks replicated the surface features of the aluminum. Microscopic studies of the failure surfaces indicated that crack propagation occurs in the epoxy near the interface, and that a residue of epxoy remains bonded to the aluminum. The magnitude of the residual stresses due to casting and curing of the epoxy was determined by photoelastic techniques. Methods were developed for analyzing the birefringent pattern in the epoxy to determine the magnitude of the elastic residual stress and the frozen stress. It was found that the residual stresses contributed 15 to 20% of the strain required for cr...
Parental net wealth and personal consumption

This paper uses data from the 1988 to 1991 PSID to examine the relationship between parental net wealth and consumption behavior of adult children. In a model where the probability of receiving a future transfer from the parent is an increasing function of the level of parental net wealth, a non-linear relationship is expected. The results in this study are consistent with such a relationship. Parental net wealth is found to have a positive influence on children’s consumption only at very high levels. In addition, this relationship appears to apply only to parental housing wealth and not parental non-housing wealth.