cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Variations in discharge rate of demand pacemakers not due to malfunction

Demand pacemakers may have variations in discharge rate which are not due to malfunction. Physiologic changes of intraventricular conduction can cause implanted ventricular units to sense earlier or later during the QRS interval and therefore discharge so as to produce a different R-R interval. Furthermore, if the patient's own ventricular rate exceeds the pacer's escape rate, demand pacing will not occur. Because of such features, demand units should be regularly tested in a continuous (fixed-rate) mode produced by application of an external magnet. The rate of the induced continuous mode will always by design exceed the escape rate in the demand mode. External demand pacers discharge more slowly in the demand than in the fixed-rate mode as a function of the interval from the pacemaker spike to the peak of the corresponding R wave which is sensed by the demand pacemaker circuit. The decreased heart rate is particularly striking with temporary atrial pacing, where the beat to beat interval is lengthened by the interposition of the P-R segment. Electrocardiograms from illustrative cases are presented to demonstrate these phenomena. The physician should be aware that variations in pacer discharge rate in the demand mode and between demand and continuous pacing are not necessarily due to pacemaker malfunction, but are rather inherent features of normal demand pacemaker operation.
An exploration of real-time environmental interventions for care of dementia patients in assistive living

Patients in the early stages of dementia are often subject to a variety of dangerous symptoms and behaviors including depression, wandering, and aggression. These conditions severely influence both quality of life and the degree of caretaker intervention that is necessary. Non-pharmacological interventions can alleviate these symptoms in some cases and are preferred as an alternative to medication when possible. This paper explores alternatives to the traditional definition of intervention, wherein the involvement of a caregiver is assumed, using a new modality wherein interventions are automatically instigated in response to conditions detected by physiological and behavioral measures. The environment is automatically manipulated in these methods in response to detected symptoms, intervening without the immediate assistance of a caregiver.
Two-way cooperative prediction for collaborative filtering recommendations

The two of the most famous techniques in collaborative filtering (CF) are the so-called User-Based CF and Item-Based CF. In this paper, we claim that each of them takes only one-directional information from the user-item ratings matrix to generate recommendations. In other words, the former combines user similarities and the latter tries to make a prediction by utilizing item similarities. We can observe the same appearance in the other CF area using binary user-item matrix in which transactions, i.e. purchase (1) or non-purchase (0), are marked. It means that we may use only half of the total information from the given data set. Completing the missing part of usable information we proposed a new prediction method, two-way cooperative CF which takes both vertical and horizontal information, in the ensemble respect. The proposed prediction scheme does not fix its CF technique but associates two predictions, which come from different CF algorithms, by weighted averaging. To decide fair weights the four cases, equivalent case, user-winning case, item-winning case, and prediction-impossible case are categorized by measuring the amount of information which each CF utilizes, or the degree of the reliability of a prediction model. We also embedded bagging in our prediction frame to make more accurate predictions. Numerical experiments showed that the proposed method outperformed in terms of prediction accuracy and robustness to data sparseness based on both ratings and binary user-item matrix.
Did deglaciation trigger intraplate seismicity in the New Madrid seismic zone

We have investigated the interaction between large-scale plate driving forces, lithospheric structure, and the stresses induced by bending of the lithosphere as a result of glacial loading and unloading in the New Madrid seismic zone, eastern-central United States. The modeling shows that the removal of the Laurentide ice sheet that covered large parts of the northern United States until ca. 20 ka changed the stress field in the vicinity of New Madrid and caused seismic strain rates to increase by about three orders of magnitude. The modeling predicts that the high rate of seismic energy release observed during late Holocene time is likely to remain essentially unchanged for the next few thousand years.
Echelon-stock (R,nT) control in two-stage serial stochastic inventory systems

For the two-stage (R,nT) policy, we present an algorithm to estimate expected costs, given (R,nT), and to compute near-optimal (R,nT) values. We illustrate that the (R,nT) policy is cost-effective compared to an (r,nQ) policy and to lower bounds on minimum achievable costs. We explore the impact of parameters on costs.
Effect of improved fitness beyond weight loss on cardiovascular risk factors in individuals with type 2 diabetes in the Look AHEAD study

BackgroundBecause lifestyle-induced improvements in cardiovascular risk factors vary substantially across individuals with type 2 diabetes, we investigated the extent to which increases in fitness explain cardiovascular risk factor improvements independent of weight loss in a lifestyle intervention.MethodsWe studied 1-year changes in Look AHEAD, a randomized trial comparing an intensive lifestyle intervention (ILI) to a diabetes support and education (DSE) control group in adults with type 2 diabetes. Assessments included weight, fitness, blood pressure (BP), glucose, HbA1c, and lipids. We evaluated the effects of changes in weight and fitness on changes in cardiovascular risk factors by study arm, using R2 from multiple linear regression.ResultsAnalyses included participants with fitness data at baseline and 1-year (n = 4408; 41% male, 36% non-white; mean age 58.7 ± 6.8 years). Weight change alone improved R2 for explaining changes in risk factors up to 8.2% in ILI and 1.7% in DSE. Fitness change alone i...
Memory Text: Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe (1940–2007)*

OCTOBER 122, Fall 2007, pp. 121–127. © 2007 October Magazine, Ltd. and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. On March 23, 2007, I spoke at an event sponsored by New York University, Columbia University, and the Slought Foundation commemorating Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe. Since, I believed, I had been invited to contribute “intellectual-autobiographical” remarks, I did not write out a text. There were a thousand ways in which I could have begun my speech; so, like the narrator in E. T. A. Hoffmann’s “Der Sandman,” I decided not to begin at all. As I listened to the ten eminent and articulate speakers before me read carefully composed texts, I began to wonder how I could have permitted myself to stand up before them with only a piece of paper with some notes. I realized, though, that I had not written a text in part because I was faced with a genre I did not understand: I did not know how to mourn LacoueLabarthe. Gathering together my remarks and subsequent thoughts here, I am faced with the same uncertainty about genre. Is this a eulogy? A personal memoir? An intellectual tribute?
Infowar on the web: measuring mass annoyance

Research on Information Warfare on the Web is still at an early stage and the question of the true nature of Cyberwarfare actions that target the Web needs to be answered on both conceptual and methodological levels. Existing research proved that the Web is a new battlefield with specific strategic objectives, but research needs to create assessment tools to validate the impact of Cyberattacks, especially when they aim at "soft" targets like Web sites or Social Media platforms. This position paper serves as starting point of reference and discussion and wants to clarify several misunderstandings in definitions of Information Warfare and Cyberwarfare. It also offers methodological directions to identify actions and measure their impact to answer the question: Is Cyberwarfare just a weapon of mass annoyance?
Early Paleozoic South Pole in Northwest Africa

Three independent lines of research (by fauna, sediment facies, and remanent magnetism) have demonstrated the existence of a continental ice sheet over 4000 km of North Africa during the Ordovician and Silurian. The trace of this pole leads eventually to the present South Pole, although its paleomagnetic indications for Africa are properly described as “north.” Due to multiple magnetic reversals through time, confusion may result, and to avoid that situation, the writer proposes that the historic destiny of a given pole may be established if we call this “southern” one the “Gondwana Pole” and the “northern” one the “Pacific Pole.”
γ-carboxyglutamic acid distribution

Abstract The distribution of the vitamin K-dependent amino acid, γ-carboxyglutamic acid was examined in proteins from a variety of sources. Proteins examined include purified rat and bovine coagulation proteins, barium citrate-adsorbing proteins from trout plasma, lamprey plasma, earthworm hemolymph, army worm hemolymph, lobster hemolymph, E. coli B/5, soybean leaf, the protein lysate from the hemolymph cell of the horseshoe crab and parathyroid extract. Other purified proteins examined included human α-1-antitrypsin, pepsinogen, S-100, fetuin, tropomyosin-troponin and complement protein C-3. Of these, only the blood-cotting proteins and the vertebrate plasma samples were shown to contain γ-carboxyglutamic acid.
Double Helix: Reciprocity between juvenile play and brain development

This review summarizes what is presently known about the function, sexual differentiation, and neural circuitry of juvenile rough-and-tumble play. Juvenile rough-and-tumble play is a unique motivated behavior that is widespread throughout the mammalian order and usually occurs more often in males. Immediate early gene studies indicate that cortical and subcortical circuits, many of which are sensitive to sex steroid hormones, mediate juvenile play. Sex differences in rough-and-tumble play are controlled in part by neonatal exposure to androgens or their estrogenic metabolites. Studies indicate that testicular androgens during play are also necessary to stimulate male-like levels of play initiation. The resemblance of rough-and-tumble play to aggression and sexual behavior has led some to question whether male-typical adult behavior is contingent upon the experience of play. Attempts to control the amount of play through social isolation show that social experience during adolescence is critical for male-typical adult behaviors to be expressed. This well-established finding, together with evidence that play induces neural plasticity, supports the hypothesis that juvenile play contributes to male-typical brain development that ultimately enables the expression of adult social and reproductive behavior.
Neonatal Binge Ethanol Exposure Using Intubation: Timing and Dose Effects on Place Learning

Abstract Neonatal rats were given ethanol using an acute intubation procedure that resulted in daily binge-like exposure with minimal effects on somatic growth. Acquisition of place learning in the Morris water maze was evaluated on postnatal days (PD) 26–31. In Experiment 1, a total of 5.25 g/kg/day of ethanol was administered in two daily intubations on PD 4–6, PD 7–9, or PD 4–9, producing mean peak BACs of 265 mg/dl. Place learning acquisition deficits in a 114-cm-diameter tank were found for the PD 4–9 and PD 7–9 groups, but not the PD 4–6 group. In Experiment 2, either 4.5 or 5.25 g/kg/day of ethanol was administered on PD 7–9 and place learning was tested in a 171-cm-diameter tank. Significant acquisition deficits resulted from the higher dose, and probe trial search patterns for both ethanol groups were significantly less localized than controls. In Experiment 3, no significant effects of either PD 7–9 dose were found on a visible platform task. These findings reveal selective place learning deficits in this intubation model of neonatal binge exposure, and confirm a temporal window of vulnerability to spatial learning deficits during the second neonatal week.
Laparoscopic cholecystectomy in the cirrhotic patient: predictors of outcome.

Background We sought to determine the outcome predictors of 94 cirrhotic patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC). Methods We performed a single-center, retrospective review of cirrhotic patients undergoing LC for symptomatic gallbladder disease. Statistical analysis was completed using the Chi-square, Wilcoxon rank-sum, and Student t tests as appropriate. Results Ninety-four procedures were completed. The median Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) score was 6 (range, 5–12), and the average Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score was 11 ± 5. Hepatitis C was the most common etiology of liver disease (50%) followed by Laennec's cirrhosis (22%). The average length of stay was 2.6 ± 4.3 days; 21% were outpatient procedures. The conversion rate was 11%. Conversion risk factors were decreased serum albumin, increased MELD score, and blood loss. Morbidity occurred in 32 patients. Predictors of morbidity were decreases in serum albumin, increases in International Normalized Ratio (INR) and CTP score, and the number of intraoperative red blood cell transfusions. Mortality occurred in 4 patients. Increased INR, CTP score, CTP class, the number of intraoperative blood and platelet transfusions were predictors of mortality. Conclusion LC can be safely performed in cirrhotic patients with appropriate patient selection. Liver synthetic function, operative blood loss, transfusion requirement, CTP, and MELD scores may be used to predict outcomes in these patients.
Current trends in high temperature design

Abstract A review of high temperature design guidelines has been carried out in preparation for designing a solar storage module for the Freedom Spacelab. Three major guidelines, N47, R5 and RCC-MR form the basis of the survey. The main issues with current, mature design in the power industry appear to be adequately covered by these guidelines. A significant finding is that long established models of material damage have survived the test of time very well. A new design regime referred to as Very High Temperature Design (VHTD) is identified. The characteristics of this regime are changing material properties which require some changes in philosophy in drafting of future codes, particularly in regard to definitions of yield strengths and other design allowables. Finally, there is some discussion of the more general use of the stress/strain plane, e.g. isochronous curves, for representation of very complex material constitutive behavior. A concept called the ‘Relaxation Locus’, which summarizes essential local constrained component behavior, is introduced and its application to high temperature design problems is discussed briefly.
Scaling Analysis and a Critical Thickness Criterion for Thermosetting Composites

In composites processing, the combination of thickness, mold temperature, and resin kinetics can lead to temperature overshoot within a part during cure. In this paper, the interplay between these variables was considered to establish a critical thickness separating parts having large overshoots from parts having small overshoots. The one-dimensional heat equation with an autocatalytic relation for curing was used to model the process. The equations were placed in dimensionless form using a scaling analysis. Five dimensionless groups were identified. Two of these groups were found to affect the overshoot of the temperature: the modified Damkohler number Da*, which distinguishes thin and thick composites and the dimensionless temperature ramp rate [Equation]trise , which depends on the boundary condition and heat transfer characteristics of the composite. To validate the scaling analysis, a finite difference model was created to calculate part temperatures during cure. The numerical analysis confirms that thin and thick parts, as defined by the relative temperature overshoot, can be predicted by Da* and [Equation]trise .Copyright © 2006 by ASME
UV Emission of Gd3+ in the Presence of Cu2+: Towards Luminescence Quenching through Quantum Cutting?

The first investigation into the ultraviolet (UV) photoluminescence of gadolinium(III) in the presence of copper(II) is reported. A melt-quenched barium phosphate glass was used as a model matrix. The optical spectroscopy assessment shows that with increasing CuO concentration the Cu(2+) absorption band grows steadily, whereas the UV emission from Gd(3+) ions is progressively quenched. The data, thus, suggests the existence of a Gd(3+) →Cu(2+) energy-transfer process ocurring through quantum cutting. A downconversion/cross-relaxation pathway proceeding through a virtual state in Gd(3+) is proposed. These findings suggest gadolinium(III) could potentially be used in the optical sensing of copper(II).
The role of fish oil/omega-3 fatty acids in the treatment of IgA nephropathy

Beneficial effects of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) have been reported in recent epidemiologic studies and randomized clinical trials in a variety of cardiovascular and autoimmune diseases. Fish and marine oils are the most abundant and convenient sources of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), the two major n-3 fatty acids that serve as substrates for cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase pathways leading to less potent inflammatory mediators than those produced through the n-6 PUFA substrate, arachidonic acid. N-3 PUFA can also suppress inflammatory and/or immunologic responses through eicosanoid-independent mechanisms. Although the pathophysiology of IgA nephropathy is incompletely understood, it is likely that n-3 PUFA prevents renal disease progression by interfering with a number of effector pathways triggered by mesangial immune-complex deposition. In addition, potential targets of n-3 PUFA relevant to renal disease progression could be similar to those involved in preventing the development and progression of cardiovascular disease by lowering blood pressure, reducing serum lipid levels, decreasing vascular resistance, or preventing thrombosis. In IgA nephropathy, efficacy of n-3 PUFA contained in fish oil supplements has been tested with varying results. The largest randomized clinical trial performed by our collaborative group provided strong evidence that treatment for 2 years with a daily dose of 1.8 g of EPA and 1.2 g of DHA slowed the progression of renal disease in high-risk patients. These benefits persisted after 6.4 years of follow up. With safety, composition, and dosing convenience in mind, we can recommend two products that are available as pharmaceutical-grade fish-oil concentrates, Omacor (Pronova Biocare, Oslo, Norway) and Coromega (European Reference Botanical Laboratories, Carlsbad, CA).
Sex differences in effects of cigarette smoking and 24-hr abstinence on plasma arginine vasopressin

Abstract The present study examined plasma arginine vasopressin (AVP) levels in 18 smokers (10 men, 8 women) and in 22 non-smokers (12 men, 10 women). Non-smokers came to the laboratory once, whereas smokers came twice: while smoking freely and following 24-hr abstinence. Plasma was collected for AVP assessment; salivary cotinine and expired carbon monoxide levels confirmed smoking status. Among non-smokers, men had higher AVP levels than did women (p
From theory to practice: research territory, processes and structure at an organizational learning centre

By definition, all organizations that survive as their environment evolves are learning, at least to some degree, but proposes that the learning capabilities of most organizations are extremely limited, especially when learning requires that diverse constituencies build shared understanding of dynamically complex business environments. As such, learning capabilities become increasingly needed, and those organizations which possess them will have unique advantages. Discovering how organizations might develop such learning capabilities represents a unique opportunity for partnership between researchers and practitioners. Suggests that to do this will require consensus about the research territory, research methods and goals, and how meaningful field projects can be designed and conducted.
Conformational Heat Capacity of Interacting Systems of Polymer and Water

Conformational contributions to the heat capacity of the interacting system of polymer−water have been studied on the example of starch with and without low concentrations of water. This work continues a series of thermal analyses of biological materials. The heat capacity has been linked to its vibrational, external, and conformational contributions. The conformational part is evaluated from a fit to a one-dimensional Ising model for two discrete states, characterized by parameters linked to stiffness, cooperativity, degeneracy, and various interactions. The changes in heat capacity within the glass-transition region are interpreted, thus, as contributions of different conformational heat capacities arising from the changes in interaction of the carbohydrate chains with water. The vibrational contribution was calculated as the heat capacity arising from group and skeletal vibrations. The external contribution was computed as a function of temperature from experimental data of the mobile state of the ther...
Discrete States Buried in the Continuum

It is possible to have discrete normalizable eigenstates of energy with eigenvalues overlapping the continuous spectrum. A simple collection of examples exhibiting this behaviour is presented in this paper.
Quantitative Determination of Sildenafil (Viagra®) and Its Metabolite (UK-103,320)in Fluid and Tissue Specimens Obtained from Six Aviation Fatalities

During the investigation of aviation accidents, postmortem samples from victims are submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration's Civil Aerospace Medical Institute for toxicological analysis. This report presents a rapid and reliable method for the identification and quantitation of sildenafil (Viagra) and its active metabolite, UK-103,320. This procedure utilizes sildenafil-d(8) as an internal standard for more accurate and reliable quantitation. The quantitation of sildenafil and UK-103,320 in postmortem fluid and tissue specimens obtained from victims from six separate aviation fatalities is described. The method incorporates solid-phase extraction and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) and MS-MS-MS utilizing an atmospheric pressure chemical ionization ion trap MS in the positive chemical ionization mode. Solid-phase extraction provided an efficient sample extraction yielding recoveries ranging from 79 to 88%. The limits of detection for sildenafil and UK-103,320 were 0.39 and 0.19 ng/mL, respectively. The linear dynamic range for both compounds was 0.78-800 ng/mL. The current method proved to be simple, accurate, and robust for the identification and quantitation of sildenafil and UK-103,320 in postmortem fluids and tissues.
Viral hijacking of the host ubiquitin system to evade interferon responses

The post-translational attachment of ubiquitin or ubiquitin-like modifiers (ULMs) to proteins regulates many cellular processes including the generation of innate and adaptive immune responses to pathogens. Vice versa, pathogens counteract immune defense by inhibiting or redirecting the ubiquitination machinery of the host. A common immune evasion strategy is for viruses to target host immunoproteins for proteasomal or lysosomal degradation by employing viral or host ubiquitin ligases. By degrading key host adaptor and signaling molecules, viruses thus disable multiple immune response pathways including the production of and response to interferons as well as other innate host defense mechanisms. Recent work further revealed that viruses inhibit the ligation of ubiquitin or ULMs or remove ubiquitin from host cell proteins. Thus, viruses succeed in either stabilizing negative regulators of innate immune signaling or thwart host cell proteins that are activated by ubiquitin or ULM-modification.
Mechanism of action of thymosin. II: Effects of aspirin and thymosin on enhancement of IL-2 production

Recent studies have shown that thymosin fraction 5 (TF5) enhances production of interleukin-2 (IL-2) by phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-stimulated normal human peripheral blood mononuclear leukocytes (PBL). In this study we sought to determine whether this effect of TF5 might be mediated via the cyclooxygenase or lipoxygenase pathways. Our studies demonstrate that aspirin, an inhibitor of the cyclooxygenase pathway, given in vivo, or added to cultures in vitro, results in two-fold increased IL-2 production by PHA-stimulated PBL. This increase is comparable to that seen when PBL are cultured in vitro with TF5. When aspirin and TF5 are added simultaneously to PBL in the presence of PHA, an additive response is seen. An inhibitor of the lipoxygenase pathway, 15-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid, did not significantly change IL-2 production by PBL or influence the enhancement by TF5. Augmentation of IL-2 production by aspirin and/or TF5 was prevented by monocyte depletion of the PBL population. These results are interpreted as demonstrating (a) that TF5 and aspirin augment, by distinct mechanisms, IL-2 production by normal human PBL, (b) that the effects of both of these agents are mediated directly or indirectly via a monocyte population and (c) that aspirin, in addition to its analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties, may act as a modulator of immunological responsiveness, either alone or in combination with other biological response modifiers such as thymosin.
A New 5,000-Volt Air-Break Contactor for Industrial Service

This paper describes a line of air-break contactors made for controlling 100-horsepower to 3,000-horsepower motors on 2,400-, 4,160- and 4,800-volt systems. The design features compactness, accessibility, and long life. The arc-rupturing structure has a magnetic blowout and an arc chute which confines and interrupts the arc entirely within its boundaries for all currents which it is rated to interrupt.
Experimenting with an Ad Hoc wireless network on campus: insights and experiences

Ad hoc wireless networks are new communication networks that can be dynamically formed and deformed on-the-fly, anytime and anywhere. User data is routed with the help of an ad hoc mobile routing protocol. Before the deployment of ad hoc mobile services, the communication performance of such networks has to be evaluated to demonstrate the practicality limits based on today's hardware and innovative communication software. This paper describes the realization of an ad hoc wireless testbed and the various experimental field trials performed on campus. In particular, throughput, end-to-end delay, route discovery time, and the impact of varying source packet size and beaconing intervals are examined.
Maculopathy induced by nicotinic acid

Abstract Nicotinic acid is a commonly used oral medication for the treatment of hyperlipidemia. Numerous systemic and ocular adverse effects have been reported. Cystoid macular edema, although uncommon, has been reported and resolves upon cessation of the medication. What makes this maculopathy unusual is the absence of leakage on fluorescein angiography. A 47-year-old white male presented with the complaint of blurred vision OU for several months. The patient had an extensive medical history, including hyperlipidemia, for which he was taking nicotinic acid. Bilateral cystoid macular edema was diagnosed. Nicotinic acid was discontinued and the patient's vision returned to 20/20 after 2 months.
Independent origins of syringyl lignin in vascular plants

Lycophytes arose in the early Silurian (≈400 Mya) and represent a major lineage of vascular plants that has evolved in parallel with the ferns, gymnosperms, and angiosperms. A hallmark of vascular plants is the presence of the phenolic lignin heteropolymer in xylem and other sclerified cell types. Although syringyl lignin is often considered to be restricted in angiosperms, it has been detected in lycophytes as well. Here we report the characterization of a cytochrome P450-dependent monooxygenase from the lycophyte Selaginella moellendorffii. Gene expression data, cross-species complementation experiments, and in vitro enzyme assays indicate that this P450 is a ferulic acid/coniferaldehyde/coniferyl alcohol 5-hydroxylase (F5H), and is capable of diverting guaiacyl-substituted intermediates into syringyl lignin biosynthesis. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that the Selaginella F5H represents a new family of plant P450s and suggests that it has evolved independently of angiosperm F5Hs.
Locus of control research on alcoholic populations: a review. I. Development, scales, and treatment.

Research literature dealing with the relationships of locus of control to alcoholism and the treatment of alcoholism is reviewed. The review includes a discussion of some of the scales used in this research, the relative locus of control of alcoholics compared with controls, the change in locus of control during treatment of alcoholics, and the relationship of locus of control to treatment success. Much of the research is inconclusive. Research on the control orientation of alcoholics compared to controls has had equivocal results, but the better designed studies tend to find no difference or externality in alcoholics. Most studies find that alcoholics become more internal over treatment, but the relationship of locus of control to treatment success is unclear. Methodological difficulties have included problems with sampling, selecting appropriate controls, assuming homogeneity of alcoholics as a group, and assuming linearity and unidimensionality of the scales. A number of needed studies which would clar...
Gas Phase Electronic Sensing Using Single Wall Carbon Nanotube/Boipolymer Hybrids

We report on a class of hybrid sensors involving single-walled carbon nanotube field effect transistors (SWNT FET’s) functionalized with various oligonucleotides. These oligonucleotides include ten sequences of single-stranded DNA (ss-DNA) and two sequences of single-stranded RNA (ss-RNA). We show that the sequence of the adsorbed oligonucleotide is the key component in determining the response that the hybrid will experience upon exposure to a panel of five volatile organic compounds (VOC’s). Our sensors present a change in conductance, which is specific to the analyte being tested, and the adsorbed species. Our devices respond and recover quickly (seconds), and are reproducible over 100s of cycles. These traits are highly desirable for the creation of a technology for to be used as an electronic nose. We present a database of responses involving hundreds of devices.
Single machine scheduling with early and quadratic tardy penalties

This paper considers the problem of scheduling a single machine when the objective uses a penalty for each job that is equal to the earliness of the job plus the squared tardiness of the job. A timetabling algorithm is presented that inserts idle time into a sequence in order to minimize the objective considered. Optimal branch and bound algorithms are presented as well as efficient heuristic algorithms. The procedures are tested on randomly generated problems of varying numbers of jobs and due date tightness parameters. The results show that a branch and bound procedure can solve small and medium sized problems in a reasonable amount of time and that a simple descent procedure can quickly generate solutions that are close to optimal.
Polymer LEDs and lasers for integrated optics

Summary form only given. Polymer LEDs and lasers are attractive for integrated optics because they can be easily deposited from solution by spin coating, inkjet printing or screen printing techniques onto just about any substrate. The best polymer LEDs now have high efficiencies (> 4 %), brightnesses of 100 Cd/m/sup 2/ at 3-4 V and lifetimes longer than 10,000 hours. Several companies are beginning to manufacture displays based on them. We are exploring the possibility of using polymer LEDs, or other polymer light-emitting devices for integrated optics. For this application, it is necessary to have light-emitting devices that emit over a narrow range of wavelengths. Since typical polymer LEDs have broad emission spectra, we have considered two possibilities for reducing the spectral width. These are making polymer distributed feedback diode lasers and transferring energy from polymers to rare earth complexes.
Self-Organization of Binocular Disparity Tuning by Reciprocal Corticogeniculate Interactions

This article develops a neural model of how sharp disparity tuning can arise through experience-dependent development of cortical complex cells. This learning process clarifies how complex cells can binocularly match left and right eye image features with the same contrast polarity, yet also pool signals with opposite contrast polarities. Antagonistic rebounds between LGN ON and OFF cells and cortical simple cells sensitive to opposite contrast polarities enable anticorrelated simple cells to learn to activate a shared set of complex cells.Feedback from binocularly tuned cortical cells to monocular LGN cells is proposed to carry out a matching process that dynamically stabilizes the learning process. This feedback represents a type of matching process that is elaborated at higher visual processing areas into a volitionally controllable type of attention. We show stable learning when both of these properties hold. Learning adjusts the initially coarsely tuned disparity preference to match the disparities present in the environment, and the tuning width decreases to yield high disparity selectivity, which enables the model to quickly detect image disparities. Learning is impaired in the absence of either antagonistic rebounds or corticogeniculate feedback. The model also helps to explain psychophysical and neurobiological data about adult 3-D vision.
Early versus delayed zidovudine in the management of HIV infection

The controversy surrounding the use of early versus delayed zidovudine therapy has created a contentious debate among clinical investigators, practitioners and their patients. The theoretical basis...
Automated Refinement of Automated Visual Inspection Algorithms

One of the challenges faced by the users of automated visual inspection (AVI) systems is how to efficiently upgrade the legacy systems to inspect the new components introduced into the assembly lines. If the AVI systems are not flexible enough to accommodate new components, they will be rendered obsolete even by small changes in the product being inspected. The overall objective of the research presented in this paper is to produce the methodological basis that will result in the development of highly reconfigurable AVI systems. In this paper, we focus on part of this overall development, the adaptation of preexisting inspection algorithms to inspect similar components introduced into the assembly line. While this paper bases its development and discussion on the inspection of surface mounted devices (SMDs), the proposed methodology is general enough to be applicable to a broad range of inspection problems. In this paper, we present a methodology that would allow the automation of the refinement of AVI algorithms. In particular, the proposed method identifies a set of components, or cluster of components, for which a particular set of inspection features or algorithms, renders a certain level of inspection reliability. This is particularly useful for adapting preexisting systems to inspect new components, especially when the characteristics of the new components are similar to those of components already inspected by the inspection system. We applied this methodology to a case of study of the inspection of SMDs.
Landsat-5 bumper-mode geometric correction

The Landsat-5 Thematic Mapper (TM) scan mirror was switched from its primary operating mode to a backup mode in early 2002 in order to overcome internal synchronization problems arising from long-term wear of the scan mirror mechanism. The backup bumper mode of operation removes the constraints on scan start and stop angles enforced in the primary scan angle monitor operating mode, requiring additional geometric calibration effort to monitor the active scan angles. It also eliminates scan timing telemetry used to correct the TM scan geometry. These differences require changes to the geometric correction algorithms used to process TM data. A mathematical model of the scan mirror's behavior when operating in bumper mode was developed. This model includes a set of key timing parameters that characterize the time-varying behavior of the scan mirror bumpers. To simplify the implementation of the bumper-mode model, the bumper timing parameters were recast in terms of the calibration and telemetry data items used to process normal TM imagery. The resulting geometric performance, evaluated over 18 months of bumper-mode operations, though slightly reduced from that achievable in the primary operating mode, is still within the Landsat specifications when the data are processed with the most up-to-date calibration parameters.
Pricing and Operational Recourse in Coproduction Systems

Coproduction systems, in which multiple products are produced simultaneously in a single production run, are prevalent in many industries. Such systems typically produce a random quantity of vertically differentiated products. This product hierarchy enables the firm to fill demand for a lower-quality product by converting a higher-quality product. In addition to the challenges presented by random yields and multiple products, coproduction systems often serve multiple customer classes that differ in their product valuations. Furthermore, the sizes of these classes are uncertain. Employing a utility-maximizing customer model, we investigate the production, pricing, downconversion, and allocation decisions in a two-class, stochastic-demand, stochastic-yield coproduction system. For the single-class case, we establish that downconversion will not occur if prices are set optimally. In contrast, we show that downconversion can be optimal in the two-class case, even if prices are set optimally. We consider the benefit of postponing certain operational decisions, e.g., the pricing or allocation-rule decisions, until after uncertainties are resolved. We use the term recourse to denote actions taken after uncertainties have been resolved. We find that recourse pricing benefits the firm much more than either downconversion or recourse allocation do, implying that recourse demand management is more valuable than recourse supply management. Special cases of our model include the single-class and two-class random-yield newsvendor models.
Long noncoding RNAs: past, present, and future.

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have gained widespread attention in recent years as a potentially new and crucial layer of biological regulation. lncRNAs of all kinds have been implicated in a range of developmental processes and diseases, but knowledge of the mechanisms by which they act is still surprisingly limited, and claims that almost the entirety of the mammalian genome is transcribed into functional noncoding transcripts remain controversial. At the same time, a small number of well-studied lncRNAs have given us important clues about the biology of these molecules, and a few key functional and mechanistic themes have begun to emerge, although the robustness of these models and classification schemes remains to be seen. Here, we review the current state of knowledge of the lncRNA field, discussing what is known about the genomic contexts, biological functions, and mechanisms of action of lncRNAs. We also reflect on how the recent interest in lncRNAs is deeply rooted in biology’s longstanding concern with the evolution and function of genomes.
Detection of “Shingles” in CZCS and AVHRR Images East of Cape Hatteras

“Shingles” (filaments) are ejections of Gulf Stream water which occur at the crest of meanders, and are opposite in direction to the flow of the stream. Evidence from AVHRR images of sea-surface temperature off the US eastern coast clearly shows the occurrence of numerous “shingles” flowing shoreward within any single image. Ocean color images (CZCS) show pockets of high pigment content located between the “shingles” and the north wall of the Gulf Stream. Coastal Zone Color Scanner images are available from 1978–1986, albeit on an irregular basis. AVHRR images for sea-surface temperature are available twice daily since 1982; before this, only radiance values were obtained. Nonetheless, the features of interest, i.e. “shingles”, can still be detected from these data. Phytoplankton growth along the north wall of the Gulf Stream is sustained by the recycling of essential nutrients, as well as by nutrient transport resulting from upwelling. CZCS and AVHRR images off the northeast US coast were examined to determine the spatial/temporal occurrence of “shingles” in relation to upwelling mechanisms along the shelf break.
Nutritional effects on male calling behaviour in the variable field cricket

In the variable field cricket, Gryllus lineaticeps, females prefer higher chirp rates and longer chirp durations in male calling song. Higher chirp rates are energetically more expensive to produce, but the energetic cost of calling does not vary with chirp duration. We tested the hypothesis that nutrition affects male chirp rate and chirp duration. Full-sibling brothers of similar age were placed on high- and low-nutrition feeding regimes. There was no effect of feeding regime on male weight; neither group showed a significant change in weight, and the two groups did not differ from each other in weight change. However, males on the high-nutrition feeding regime both called more frequently and called at higher chirp rates when they did call. The two groups did not differ in chirp duration, the duration of pulses within chirps or chirp dominant frequency. These results suggest that females select mates based on one nutrition-dependent call character (chirp rate) and one nutrition-independent call character (chirp duration). In addition, because males in the two groups did not show significant differences in weight change, and because males on the high-nutrition feeding regime engaged in energetically more expensive calling, these results suggest that males invest any excess energy above their basic maintenance requirements in the production of call types that increase their attractiveness to females. The absence of a relationship between body condition and calling song structure for males in the field may be a consequence of this pattern of energy allocation. Copyright 1999 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.
Education for Citizenship: The Argentine Case in Comparison

This article considers how Argentina produces its citizens following its transition to democracy in the early 1980s. We ask how the schooling system is preparing the next generation to participate ...
A negotiation credo for controversial siting disputes

Prisons, half-way houses, AIDS hospices, solid and hazardous waste treatment plants, landfills, housing for low-income families, power plants, transmission lines, sewage treatment facilities-all are ''Locally Unwanted Land Uses" (LULUs) in somebody's eyes. LULUs are the targets of individuals or groups who believe they stand to "lose" if a facility is built. They worry about changes in the character of their neighborhood, possible loss of property value, explosions, threats to water supplies or air quality, increased risk to health and safety, threats to endangered habitats and species, or other disruptions to their everyday lives. Those who stand to gain, on the other hand, are fearful that potential tax ratables will be lost. They are angered by any challenge to the rights of property owners to use their land as they like, and annoyed at what they see as a tendency to put environmental concerns above immediate human needs and long-term economic progress. Government officials are under pressure from both potential gainers and losers to "do something" about the siting of LULUs. While it is often clear that there is a need for many of these facilities, it is apparent to those who have followed these controversies closely that the process of making and implementing facility siting decisions is often unfair and unproductive. Many of the groups most directly affected are not given a meaningful opportunity to get involved in the process until it's too late to affect the outcome. Technical considerations are sometimes given short shrift while political priorities are served. Some neighborhoods are occasionally asked to accept far more than their "fair share" of LULUs, while promises regarding the mitigation of adverse impacts are not always kept. Quite often, fmancial constraints or scheduling deadlines are used as excuses to cut off public debate.
Discrete-time simulation model for 1/f noise

This paper proposes a simulation model based on the fact that 1/f processes belong to the class of statistically self-similar random processes. Unlike most of the earlier modeling approaches, which were confined to the spectral domain, the model generates 1/f noise in the time domain with a simple white noise input and is parameterized by a quantity whose value can be adjusted to reflect the desired slope of the 1/f spectrum. To verify the fit between the model and actual 1/f noise measurements, experiments were conducted with a p-i-n photodiode at various bias conditions and sampling frequencies.
Heart rate variability predicts cell death and inflammatory responses to global cerebral ischemia

This study examines the relationship between autonomic functioning and neuropathology following cardiac arrest (CA) in mice. Within 24 h of CA, parasympathetic cardiac control, as indexed by high frequency (HF) heart rate variability, rapidly decreases. By day 7 after CA, HF heart rate variability was inversely correlated with neuronal damage and microglial activation in the hippocampus. Thus, by virtue of its sensitivity to central insult, HF heart rate variability may offer an inexpensive, non-invasive method of monitoring neuropathological processes following CA. The inverse linear relationships between heart rate variability and brain damage after CA also may partially explain why low heart rate variability is associated with increased morbidity and mortality in myocardial infarction patients.
Stimulation of ovarian growth by methyl farnesoate and eyestalk ablation in penaeoidean model shrimp, Sicyonia ingentis Burkenroad, 1938

The effect of methyl farnesoate (MF) administration on the vitellogenesis of the penaeoidean shrimp, Sicyonia ingentis, was studied. The short- and long-term treatment effects as well as the effect of two MF injection regimens (0.1 and 1.0 μg MF/injection) were evaluated. The studies were also carried out to understand the pattern of vitellogenesis in eyestalk ablated adult and juvenile shrimps. A combination of endpoints, haemolymph vitellogenin (Vg) levels, gonadosomatic index (GSI) and histology, was used to study the effect of these treatments. The GSI increased in all the MF-treated shrimp compared with the control shrimps. Although haemolymph Vg levels declined over the experimental period in all the treatments, the Vg levels decreased significantly only in the short-term treatment with 1.0 μg MF. Similarly, haemolymph protein level also declined over the experimental period in all the treatment groups. However, except in the long-term treatment with 0.1 μg MF, all treatments showed a significant decrease in haemolymph protein level. Conversely, in all eyestalk ablated adults and juveniles, haemolymph Vg, total protein and GSI increased over the experimental period, all of which were higher than the concurrent control. The discrepancy in the vitellogenic pattern between MF-treated and eyestalk ablated shrimp was possibly due to the difference in the ovarian phase of the initial control. Although unilateral eyestalk ablation failed to induce vitellogenesis in juveniles, bilateral ablation induced vitellogenesis, which indicates that juveniles are competent to undergo vitellogenesis.