cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Structure of homogeneous nonhelical magnetohydrodynamic turbulence

Results are presented for three‐dimensional direct numerical simulations of nonhelical magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence for both stationary isotropic and homogeneous shear flow configurations with zero mean induction and unity magnetic Prandtl number. Small scale dynamo action is observed in both flows, and stationary values for the ratio of magnetic to kinetic energy are shown to scale nearly linearly with the Taylor microscale Reynolds numbers above a critical value of Reλ≊30. The presence of the magnetic field has the effect of decreasing the kinetic energy of the flow, while simultaneously increasing the Taylor microscale Reynolds number due to enlargement of the hydrodynamic length scales. For shear flows, both the velocity and the magnetic fields become increasingly anisotropic with increasing initial magnetic field strength. The kinetic energy spectra show a relative increase in high wave‐number energy in the presence of a magnetic field. The magnetic field is found to portray an intermittent b...
Teaching the Nintendo generation to program

While the phrase “New Economy” doesn’t hold the same promise that it did for the dotcommers a couple years ago, we all still recognize that Information Technology has become the backbone of the world’s economy. The National Science Foundation’s Information Technology Research program was developed in response to the PITAC (1999) report which said as much. Even in the down-turned economy, there are still huge numbers of IT jobs that are going unfilled.
Neuroimaging: Directions and Potentials for Communication Research

The field of Communication Studies and the field of Social Neuroscience have a common goal of studying and understanding human social behavior. This article invites those in the Communication field to learn about the neuroimaging practices that are common in the Social Neuroscience field. The article relays the basics of neuroimaging, especially functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). Using a recent article on violent media perception as an example, we will go over the details of how neuroimaging studies are designed, analyzed and interpreted, with attention paid to common pitfalls and current trends in the field. In addition, for one interested in the potential for neuroimaging, suggestions on how to initiate such research pursuits are detailed.
Toward an electro-physiological identification of a primary drive factor

Kangaroo rats, which do not drink water, were implanted with monopolar electrodes in order to measure changes in electrical brain resistance. The manipulation of water balance and caloric intake resulted in slow resistance changes over a period of days. The direction and magnitude of the changes were consistent with extracellular osmotic theories. The results are more suggestive of changes in drive parameters than start-stop mechanisms of water and food regulation.
Instructional design theory provides insights into evolving information technology technical curricula

One of the challenges of university technological education is the constant evolution of new technologies in most high-tech disciplines. Nowhere is this more apparent than in computer-oriented disciplines that are subject to Moore's Law. New developments require frequent updating of college curricula in many fields, with the concomitant additional load on faculty members to not only constantly update their technical knowledge but to constantly invest effort into updating curricula to provide students with a sound and relevant education. Instructional Design (ID) is the educational discipline focused on the theoretical and practical problems inherent in designing curricula. As such ID has developed a number of theories and methodologies that have a bearing on the problem of rapidly changing curricula. In particular some newer evolving theories of viewing instructional design in terms of abstract layers offers a powerful paradigm that will help technology curriculum designers.There is a useful model in the work of Stewart Brand in analyzing how buildings are built in layers that age differently. His work is related to Christopher Alexander's seminal exposition on the design of buildings, which inspired the development of Design Patterns in software design. These approaches also lead to new theoretical approaches in technical educational design.These design theories enable viewing curriculum design in a layered context and thus lead to paradigms which enable updating technical courses to cater for evolutionary changes without having to completely redesign courses. This promises both better instruction and less development effort for course designers.Several related theories relating to this work with some discussion of the practical applications to creating Information Technology curricula are discussed in this paper.
Inhibition of metabolite anion uptake in mitochondria by tetraphenylboron

Abstract 1. 1. The effect of the permeant anion, tetraphenylboron, on the uptake of metabolite anions has been examined in rat liver mitochondria. 2. 2. Tetraphenylboron, inhibits the translocation of ADP and ATP, and the uptake of succinate, malonate, and inorganic phosphate. The uptake of malonate is inhibited by picric acie, whereas salicylate and nitrate have no effect on metabolite anion uptake at concentrations examined. 3. 3. Tetraphenylarsonium has little or no stimulatory effect on the uptake of metabolite anions at concentrations up to 10 mM. 4. 4. Mg2+ selectively relieves the inhibition of the ATP exchange by tetraphenylboron, but has no similar effect on the uptake of ADP or succinate. 5. 5. Tetraphenylboron decreases the respiratory control ratio by inhibiting ADP exchange, rather than by stimulating State IV respiration. There is only a slight ATPase activity associated with tetraphenylboron in the presence of Mg2+. 6. 6. The primary effect of tetraphenylboron is therefore a generalized inhibition of the binding of all metabolic anions to the membrane.
Symbolic Gender Politics, Religious Group Identity, and the Decline in Female Genital Cutting in Minya, Egypt

The introduction of female genital cutting to Egypt predates the arrival of Christianity and Islam. Elsewhere, a belief that the practice is religiously significant has justified its continuation, and a belief that it contradicts religious tenets has instigated its abandonment. Findings from Minya, Egypt, show more rapid declines in the prevalence of female genital cutting and more negative effects of maternal education on the odds of circumcising daughters among Christian compared to Muslim families. Such differences have emerged as Islamists have engaged the state in public debates over women's authentic roles and as Christian voluntary organizations have adopted alternative "gender symbols" as indicators of group identity in public discourses on development.
Metmyoglobin/Azide: The Effect of Heme-Linked Ionizations on the Rate of Complex Formation☆☆☆

The kinetics of formation and dissociation of the horse metmyoglobin/azide complex has been investigated between pH 3.5 and 11.5. The ionic strength dependence of the reaction has been determined at integral pH values between 5 and 10. Hydrazoic acid, HN3, binds to metmyoglobin with a rate constant of (3.8 +/- 1.0) x 10(5) M-1 s-1. Protonation of a group with an apparent pKa of 4.0 +/- 0.3 increases the rate of HN3 binding 6.5-fold to (2.5 +/- 0.8) x 10(6) M-1 s-1. The ionizable group is attributed to the distal histidine, His-64. The azide anion, N-3, binds to metmyoglobin with a rate constant of (4.7 +/- 0.3) x 10(3) M-1 s-1, about two orders of magnitude slower than HN3. Conversion of aquometmyoglobin to hydroxymetmyoglobin slows azide binding significantly. Binding of HN3 to hydroxymetmyoglobin cannot be detected, while N-3 binds to hydroxymetmyoglobin with a rate of 5.7 +/- 3.2 M-1 s-1, almost three orders of magnitude slower than N-3 binding to aquometmyoglobin. Protonation of the distal histidine facilitates HN3 dissociation from the complex. HN3 dissociates from the metmyoglobin/azide complex with a rate constant of 18 +/- 6 s-1, while the azide anion dissociates with a rate constant of 0.16 +/- 0.02 s-1, about 100 times slower. The apparent pKa for His-64 is essentially the same in metmyoglobin and the metmyoglobin/azide complex, 4.0 +/- 0.3 and 4.4 +/- 0.2, respectively. The ionic strength dependence of the observed association rate constant is influenced by both primary and secondary kinetic salt effects. The primary kinetic salt effect is anomalous, with the rate of N-3 binding decreasing with increasing ionic strength above the isoelectric point of metmyoglobin where the protein has a net negative charge. The ionic strength dependence of the dissociation rate constant can be described solely in terms of the ionic strength dependence of the acid dissociation constant for His-64 in the metmyoglobin/azide complex, a secondary kinetic salt effect.
Serotonin depletion by 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine or para-chloroamphetamine does not affect cancer anorexia.

Abstract Anorectic tumor-bearing rats exhibited increased brain levels of the 5-HT precursor, tryptophan, and metabolite, 5-hydroxindoleactic acid (5-HIAA). In an effort to determine whether indoleamine systems had any role in the etiology of cancer anorexia the anorectic effects of cancer (Walker 256 carcinosarcoma) were investigated in immature female rats that had been depleted of brain serotonin (5-HT) by the intracisternal injection of 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine (5,7-DHT) or the systemic injection of para-chloroamphetamine (PCA). Although both 5,7-DHT and PCA significantly reduced brain concentrations of 5-HT and 5-HIAA by approximately 50%, no effects on the onset or severity of the anorectic response to cancer were observed. Similarly, neither drug affected eating in non-tumor-bearing control animals. Therefore, these data do not support increased brain 5-HT activity as a primary mediator of cancer anorexia.
p27Kip1 and stathmin share the stage for the first time

Cell migration is essential for development, morphogenesis, tissue repair and tumor metastasis. p27 Kip1 and stathmin are two cell-cycle-regulatory proteins that were recently shown to play important roles in the regulation of cell migration. In this article, we discuss a new study that places p27 Kip1 and stathmin in the same pathway by showing that stathmin, a microtubule-regulatory protein, mediates the effects of p27 Kip1 on cell motility. These findings provide new insights into migration and metastasis of tumor cells and the relationship of these processes to cell proliferation.
Global particle balance measurements in DIII-D H-mode discharges

Abstract Experiments are performed on the DIII-D tokamak to determine the retention rate in an all graphite first-wall tokamak. A time-dependent particle balance analysis shows a majority of the fuel retention occurs during the initial Ohmic and L-mode phase of discharges, with peak fuel retention rates typically ∼2 × 1021 D/s. The retention rate can be zero within the experimental uncertainties ( ⩽ 0.6 - 1.2 × 10 20 D/s. Dynamic particle balance is also performed on discharges with resonant magnetic perturbation ELM suppression and shows no additional retention during the ELM-suppressed phase of the discharge.
Stable isotope fractionation of selenium by natural microbial consortia

The mobility and bioavailability of Se depend on its redox state, and reduction of Se oxyanions to less mobile, reduced species controls transport of this potentially toxic element in the environment. Stable isotope fractionation of Se is currently being developed as an indicator of Se immobilization through reduction. In this study, Se isotope fractionation resulting from reduction of Se(VI) and Se(IV) oxyanions by natural microbial consortia was measured in sediment slurry experiments under nearly natural conditions, with no substrate added. Experiments were conducted with a wide range of initial Se concentrations and with sediment and water from three locations with contrasting environmental settings. The products of Se(VI) and Se(IV) reduction were enriched in the lighter isotopes relative to the reactants. Shifts of −2.6‰ to −3.1‰ and −5.5‰ to −5.7‰, respectively, were observed in the 80Se/76Se ratio. These isotopic fractionations did not depend significantly on initial Se concentrations, which were varied from 22 μg/l to 8 mg/l, or on geochemical differences among the sediments. These results provide estimates of Se isotope fractionation in organic-rich wetland environments but may not be appropriate for substrate-poor aquifers and marine sediments.
Distribution of promethium plasma fractions in rats.

Preliminary results are presented which indicate that selective distribution in tissues of promethium-147 may be related to combinations with plasma fractions following injection. (C.H.)
Geometrical spreading of P-waves in horizontally layered, azimuthally anisotropic media

For processing and inverting reflection data, it is convenient to represent geometrical spreading through the reflection traveltime measured at the earth’s surface. Such expressions are particularly important for azimuthally anisotropic models in which variations of geometrical spreading with both offset and azimuth can significantly distort the results of wide-azimuth amplitude-variationwith-offset (AVO) analysis. Here, we present an equation for relative geometrical spreading in laterally homogeneous, arbitrarily anisotropic media as a simple function of the spatial derivatives of reflection traveltimes. By employing the Tsvankin-Thomsen nonhyperbolic moveout equation, the spreading is represented through the moveout coefficients, which can be estimated from surface seismic data. This formulation is then applied to P-wave reflections in an orthorhombic layer to evaluate the distortions of the geometrical spreading caused by both polar and azimuthal anisotropy. The relative geometrical spreading of P-waves in homogeneous orthorhombic media is controlled by five parameters that are also responsible for time processing. The weak-anisotropy approximation, verified by numerical tests, shows that azimuthal velocity variations contribute significantly to geometrical spreading, and the existing equations for transversely isotropic media with a vertical symmetry axis (VTI) cannot be applied even in the vertical symmetry planes. The shape of the azimuthally varying spreading factor is close to an ellipse for offsets smaller than the reflector depth but becomes more complicated for larger offset-to-depth ratios. The overall magnitude of the azimuthal variation of the geometrical spreading for the moderately anisotropic model used in the tests exceeds 25% for a wide range of offsets. While the methodology developed here is helpful in modeling and analyzing anisotropic geometrical spreading, its main practical application is in correcting the wideazimuth AVO signature for the influence of the anisotropic overburden.
Predictability of charmonium levels from a range of good fits.

A QCD-motivated potential with five parameters and a cutoff on high virtual momentum is used in a relativistic bound-state equation to examine the predictive power of valence quark potential models by computing fits to the seven well-established charmonium levels. The predictions of potential models are really ranges for new levels given by the ranges of parameters that give good fits to established levels, rather than the single best fit. The range of parameters that give good fits is presented in three-dimensional plots by isosurfaces of fits with fixed theoretical standard deviations in energy from the known levels. Next, for each value of a predicted splitting we show the minimum deviation found over all the fits that lead to that value of splitting. We also show correlations between predictions by finding for each pair of values for two predictions the mininum deviation among the fits that give those predicted values, and making contour plots. For the [sup 1][ital P][sub 1-][sup 3][ital P][sub c.g.] splitting we find the predictions to cover a range of several MeV both positive and negative. A correlation of the spin-spin [sup 1][ital P][sub 1]-[sup 3][ital P][sub c.g.] splitting with the similar [psi][prime]-[eta][sub [ital c]][sup [prime]] splitting predictionmore » is presented, and values for [psi][prime][minus][eta][sub [ital c]][sup [prime]] have a range of order 20--50 MeV centered about 35 MeV. To range as high as the single experimental observation of 92 MeV for [psi][prime][minus][eta][sub [ital c]][sup [prime]], such a poor fit to the seven levels is encountered that the model lacks any significant predictive power. Predictions for the [sup 3][ital D][sub 2] and [sup 1][ital D][sub 2] levels are also given.« less
Attentional focus and motor learning: a review of 15 years

Over the past 15 years, research on focus of attention has consistently demonstrated that an external focus (i.e., on the movement effect) enhances motor performance and learning relative to an internal focus (i.e., on body movements). This article provides a comprehensive review of the extant literature. Findings show that the performance and learning advantages through instructions or feedback inducing an external focus extend across different types of tasks, skill levels, and age groups. Benefits are seen in movement effectiveness (e.g., accuracy, consistency, balance) as well as efficiency (e.g., muscular activity, force production, cardiovascular responses). Methodological issues that have arisen in the literature are discussed. Finally, our current understanding of the underlying mechanisms of the attentional focus effect is outlined, and directions for future research are suggested.
Precision of Ages Determined from Scales and Opercles for Yellow Perch Perca flavescens

Scales and opercles were used to age yellow perch Perca flavescens collected in 1989 from Lake Madison (South Dakota), Dauphin Lake (Manitoba), and southern Lake Michigan (Indiana). Three readers aged fish from Lake Madison and Dauphin Lake once and two readers aged fish from Lake Michigan twice. The coefficient of variation (CV) was calculated to compare precision. Ages determined from opercles were as precise as those from scales for fish from Lake Madison (CV = 0 for both structures), and more precise than ages from scales for fish from Dauphin Lake (CVopercle = 14.0, CVscale = 27.4, p < 0.001) and Lake Michigan (CV opercle = 10.6, CVscale = 13.9, p < 0.001). The high precision of scale and opercle ages for yellow perch from Lake Madison can be attributed to the fast growth rate of fish from that lake and also that only age 1 and 2 fish were aged. The greater precision of opercle ages in comparison to scale ages for Dauphin Lake and Lake Michigan yellow perch can be attributed to ease of recognition of false annuli on opercles as well as to difficulty in distinguishing between false and true annuli crowded on the edge of scales from mature, slower growing fish. Because true annuli are more easily recognized on opercles, ages determined from opercles may be more accurate than ages determined from scales for yellow perch growing at slow or moderate rates.
Consequences of complex environments: Temperature and energy intake interact to influence growth and metabolic rate.

Abstract The field of comparative physiology has a rich history of elegantly examining the effects of individual environmental factors on performance traits linked to fitness (e.g., thermal performance curves for locomotion). However, animals live in complex environments wherein multiple environmental factors co-vary. Thus, we investigated the independent and interactive effects of temperature and energy intake on the growth and metabolic rate of juvenile corn snakes ( Pantherophis guttatus ) in the context of shifts in complex environments. Unlike previous studies that imposed constant or fluctuating temperature regimes, we manipulated the availability of preferred thermal microclimates (control vs. relatively warm regimes) for eight weeks and allowed snakes to behaviorally thermoregulate among microclimates. By also controlling for energy intake, we demonstrate an interactive effect of temperature and energy on growth—relevant temperature shifts had no effect on snakes' growth when energy intake was low and a positive effect on growth when energy intake was high. Thus, acclimation to relatively warm thermal options can result in increased rates of growth when food is abundant in a taxon in which body size confers fitness advantages. Temperature and energy also interactively influenced metabolic rate—snakes in the warmer temperature regime exhibited reduced metabolic rate (O 2 consumption rate at 25 °C and 30 °C) if they had relatively high energy intake. Although we advocate for continued investigation into the effects of complex environments on other traits, our results indicate that warming may actually benefit important life history traits in some taxa and that metabolic shifts may underlie thermal acclimation.
Influence of Polymer Viscoelasticity on a Bending Bilayer

The bending bilayer technique is commonly employed to provide an empirical assessment of the often significant thermal stresses that develop in thin polymer films used in microelectronic packaging. Polymers are known to exhibit time-dependent (viscoelastic) behavior that is greatly accelerated at elevated temperatures. The solution for a bilayer beam with a linear viscoelastic, thermorheologically simple film bonded to a linear elastic substrate is developed. A wide variety of assumed viscoelastic material properties are considered along with properties for several specific electronic polymers in order to illustrate the general effects of polymer viscoelasticity upon the thermal stress in a polymer film. Practical methods for deducing the relative significance of polymer viscoelasticity from empirical bending bilayer results are emphasized. Comparisons with experimental data for two polymides and one epoxy molding compound are also provided.
Psychological Control Associated with Youth Adjustment and Risky Behavior in African American Single Mother Families

A distinction between parental behavioral control and psychological control has been elucidated in the literature, yet far less is known about the role of psychological control in youth adjustment broadly or risky behavior in particular. We examined the interrelationship of maternal psychological control, youth psychosocial adjustment, and youth risk behaviors among African American single mother-youth (11–16-year old) dyads (n = 194), families in which youth are more vulnerable to adjustment problems and risky behavior than Caucasian youth or youth from intact homes. Higher levels of maternal psychological control were associated with increased youth psychosocial adjustment problems as well as increased youth risk behavior, after statistically controlling for one domain of behavioral control, parental knowledge about a child’s whereabouts and activities. Furthermore, youth externalizing problems mediated the relation between psychological control and risk behavior. The findings suggest that parenting programs targeting risk behavior among African American youth may benefit from including psychological control among the parenting dimensions that are targeted.
In vitro stimulation of germinal vesicle breakdown and ovulation of yellow perch (Perca flavescens) oocytes. Effects of 17α-hydroxy-20β-dihydroprogesterone and prostaglandins

The in vitro effects of 17α-hydroxy-20β-dihydroprogesterone (17α-OH-20β-D-PROG), 20β-dihydroprogesterone, and 11-deoxycortisol on germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD) and ovulation of yellow perch (Perca flavescens) oocytes were investigated. Of the steroids tested 17α-OH-20β-D-PROG was the most effective in inducing GVBD and ovulation. At higher concentrations each steroid induced ovulation and GVBD but these processes were not necessarily synchronized. Therefore, in certain incubates with less mature oocytes (denoted by germinal vesicle position) ovulation occurred prior to GVBD. In general, there was a lower steriod concentration that induced GVBD without ovulation by 48 hr. Longterm incubations revealed that ovulation did eventually occur in incubates with low concentrations of 17α-OH-20β-D-PROG that induced GVBD but not ovulation by 48 hr. Indomethacin blocked in vitro ovulation induced by 17α-OH-20β-D-PROG. Prostaglandins F2α, E1, and E2 (PGE2) all induced ovulation in the indomethacin-blocked follicles but PGE2 was the most effective.
Use of CO and CO 2 Lasers to Detect Pollutants in the Atmosphere

Several spectral coincidences between CO laser emission lines and infrared absorption lines of oxides of nitrogen have recently been observed. Using existing infrared spectroscopy data, we predict additional spectral coincidences; the Q-switched CO laser emits certain lines which overlap SO2 absorption lines, and certain frequency-doubled CO2 laser lines overlap NO and CO absorption lines. Other spectral overlaps involving the CO2 laser have been reported elsewhere. Based on such coincidences remote sensing of these atmospheric constituents can be accomplished by observing resonant absorption, thermal emission, or fluorescence. We discuss sensitivities for each of these methods, using data on line strengths and pressure-broadened line widths. Wide band heterodyne receivers offer high sensitivity when they can be used; our discussion includes the use of this type of receiver system.
Investigations on plasma activity of low molecular weight heparin after intravenous and oral administrations.

This study investigated the absorption of low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) after oral administration in man. Six healthy subjects received 5,000 anti-Xa units of LMWH (Kabi 2165) by both i.v. and oral administration. The oral formulations were prepared in pH 4.0 and pH 7.0 buffered solutions. Multiple blood samples were collected after each dose for measurements of anti-Xa, anti-IIa and APTT plasma heparin activities. Pharmacokinetic parameters based on the anti-Xa activity measurements after the i.v. dose were as follows (mean +/- s.d.): t1/2, 1.82 +/- 0.23 h; V, 4.34 +/- 0.651; and CL, 28.0 +/- 6.2 ml min-1. Half-life values based on the anti-IIa and APTT activities were 1.63 +/- 0.43 and 1.09 +/- 0.51 h, respectively. Considerable prolongations in APTT were observed, with APTT at 30 min averaging 55.7 +/- 4.1 s (1.84 +/- 0.27 times baseline values). After oral administration, no measurable plasma heparin activities were observed with either LMWH preparation. The results of this investigation indicate that LMWH does not have detectable plasma activity after oral administration, and that after i.v. administration it has significant anti-IIa and APTT activities in addition to its anti-Xa activity.
Organ specific zinc deficiency in testicular feminization rats: Hormone-metal interaction

Summary In the present study, we observed that zinc concentration in the testes of testicular feminization rats was significantly lower than control animals. Reduced zinc concentration was not observed in any other organ systems including serum, liver, kidney and adrenal gland. The contents of two other trace elements, copper and manganese in all tissues examined were comparable. The organ-specific zinc deficiency in Tfm rats was associated with a parallel decrease in the activity of the testicular metalloenzyme alkaline phosphatase. These findings substantiate the suggested relationship between zinc and androgen action.
Using The Soybean Genome Database (SoyGD) To Display and Analyze a 1 Gbp Genome Sequence

Genomes like Glycine max (soybean) that have been highly conserved following increases in ploidy (by duplication or hybridization) present challenges for bioinformatics and genome analysis. At http://soybeangenome.siu.edu the Soybean Genome Database (SoyGD) genome browser has, since 2002, integrated and served the publicly available soybean physical map, BAC fingerprint database and genetic map associated genomic data (1). Duplicated regions have been identified and catalogued with a-d suffix to marker anchor names and contig names that communicate ploidy (ctg>8000 are tetraploid, ctg>9000 are octoploid). DNA sequence data has been used to separate DNA marker anchors from homologs of DNA marker anchors in BAC pools. About 200 gene families were mapped by EST hybridization. About 23,000 minimum tiling path (MTP) BIBAC clones provided BAC end sequences (BES) to decorate the physical map and were added to the database as separate tracks. Predicted gene models were developed for about 15% of the BES. From these models candidate genes underlying disease resistance, seed yield and seed protein, oil or isoflavone content were detected and fine-mapped. In recent additions 1 Gbp of genome sequence was made available in about 1500 scaffolds by DOE. Methods for display were improved by cross-referencing the BES and WGS with Arabidopsis (3). In genome evolution analyses more than a thousand additional microsatellite marker anchors were developed for contigs, 353 on the map and about 700 still in new microsatellite markers on the genetic map with contigs and associated features. About half of the markers mapped to regions of the genome that formed gaps in earlier maps suggesting marker clustering biases. SoyGD represents the new build 5 for the physical map with 800 contigs from the 76,749 fingerprinted clones publicly available. New QTL data has been incorporated from the newly release 'Essex' by 'Forrest' and 'Flyer' by 'Hartwig' RIL populations. Gene expression data has been added to the gene models represented in SoyGD. This work was supported by NSF project #9878635 and USB 2218-6218.
A Fast Algorithm for the Generalized Parametric Minimum Cut Problem and Applications

Many combinatorial optimization problems are solved by a sequence of network flow computations on a network whose edge capacities are given as a function of a parameter λ. Recently Galloet al. [7] made a major advance in solving such parametric flow problems. They showed that for an important class of networks, calledmonotone parametric flow networks, a sequence ofO(n) flow computations could be solved in the same worst-case time bound as a single flow. However, these results require one of two special assumptions: either that the λ values are presented in increasing or decreasing order; or that the edge capacity functions are affine functions of λ. In this paper we show how to remove both of these assumptions while obtaining the same running times as in [7]. This observation generalizes and unifies the two major results of [7], and allows its ideas to be applied to many new combinatorial problems. Of greatest importance, it allows the efficient application of binary search and successive binary search to a sequence of network flow problems.
A behavioral manifestation of the development of interhemispheric transfer of learning in children.

Summary Two hundred and fifty normal, right-handed children ranging in age from 5 to 15 were administered measures of grip strength, finger-tapping speed and the Tactual Performance Test. In order to assess the development of manual preference, analysis for each of the measures were performed on the left hand score as a percentage of the right hand score. Small age-related trends were found for the pure motor measures of speed and strength. In the case of the TPT, a clear age-related practice effect was found. The results were discussed in terms of the development of hemispheric cooperation.
Synthesis of an antisense oligonucleotide targeted against C-raf kinase: efficient oligonucleotide synthesis without chlorinated solvents.

Abstract It is demonstrated that a solution of dichloroacetic acid in toluene removes dimethoxytrityl groups from the 5′-terminus of an antisense phosphorothioate oligodeoxyribonucleotide (ISIS 5132/CGP69846A) during synthesis on solid support cleanly and efficiently. It is therefore suggested to replace health hazardous dichloromethane which is typically used in oligonucleotide synthesis as solvent for DMTr-removal by toluene.
The effect of intracerebroventricular indomethacin on osmotically stimulated vasopressin release.

Experiments were carried out to investigate the effect of intracerebroventricular administration of a prostaglandin synthesis inhibitor on the osmotic control of vasopressin (ADH) secretion. During ventriculocisternal perfusion with indomethacin (7.6 μg/min) or vehicle, dogs were infused intravenously with either 2.5 or 0.15 M NaCl. Hypertonic saline infusion elevated plasma osmolality approximately 60 mosm/kg H2O. In accordance, the plasma ADH concentration increased substantially in animals perfused ventriculocisternally with the vehicle (from 2.1 ± 0.7 to 7.3 ± 1.3 μU/ml); this response was markedly attenuated, however, in animals perfused with indomethacin (from 1.0 ± 0.2 to 2.2 ± 0.4 μU/ml). Isotonic saline infusion caused a decline in plasma ADH concentration which was similar in the indomethacin- and vehicle-perfused groups. Mean arterial blood pressure was unchanged during the experiments. In a companion study, ventriculocisternal perfusion with 152 ng PGE2/min was found to be as effective in stimulating ADH release in the presence of indomethacin as in its absence, indicating that the action of indomethacin in the first study was not nonspecific. The suppression of osmotically induced ADH release by intracerebroventricular indomethacin suggests that endogenous brain prostaglandins play a critical intermediary role in the osmotic control of ADH secretion.
The effect of choroidal congestion in retinal pigment epithelium function and the electroretinogram

Increased choroidal pressure and choroidal stasis were induced in Dutch rabbit eyes by tying off vortex veins. Ligating one to three vortex veins caused a progressive diminution in the b- and c-waves of the electroretinogram so that the amplitudes were approximately half of control values when three vortices had been ligated. After ligation of four vortex veins, the responses rapidly disappeared. Release of the occlusion twenty minutes later caused the b-wave to return to normal over a few hours' time, but the c-wave showed variable recovery and was replaced by a large slow pIII response in half of the experiments. These observations may reflect a combination of hypoxia and alterations in fluid movement that affect the status of the subretinal space.
The impact of formalized strategic planning on financial performance in small organizations

The relationship between formality of planning procedures and financial performance was examined for a sample of small U.S. banks. Small banks without formal planning systems performed equally with small, formal planners. Regardless of formality, each set of banks placed equal emphasis on all aspects of strategic decision-making except formalized goals and objectives. Results suggest that managers responsible for strategic planning activity in smaller organizations do not appear to benefit from a highly formalized planning process, extensive written documentation, or the use of mission and goal identification as the beginning of a strategic planning process.
Dynamic Response of Composite Pressure Vessels to Inertia Loads

A new analytical model has been developed in order to investigate the potential benefits of using fiber-reinforced composites in pressure vessels that undergo rigid-body motions. The model consists of a quasi-static lamination analysis of a cylindrical, filament-wound, pressure vessel, combined with an elastodynamic analysis that accounts for the coupling effects between its rigid-body motion and its elastic deformations. The particular type of motion investigated in this paper is that of an oil-pressurized, tubular connecting rod in a slider-crank mechanism of an internal combustion engine. A comprehensive parametric study has been focused on the maximum wall stresses induced in such a rod by the combined effect of internal pressure and inertia loads associated with its motion. The numerical results illustrate potential ways to reduce these stresses by appropriate selection of material systems, lay-up configurations and geometric parameters.
Dynamics of Polar Solvation in Quaternary Microemulsions

Steady-state spectroscopy and time-resolved solvation dynamics have been used to investigate the effects the addition of alkanol has on the location of coumarin 343 (C343) in cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB)/1-pentanol/cyclohexane/water, CTAB/1-heptanol/cyclohexane/water, and sodium dodecyl sulfate/1-heptanol/cyclohexane/water reverse micelles. Steady-state spectroscopy showed that the probe molecule is not sensitive to alkanol chain lengths or water loading. Instead, C343 is sensitive to the surfactant used to form the reverse micelles. Solvation dynamics measurements utilizing ultrafast time-resolved fluorescence-upconversion spectroscopy revealed two solvation reorganization times regardless of the micellar system studied or hydration level. A hundreds of picosecond time component is attributed to collective motion of the interface. Time-zero analysis reveals a substantial relaxation component occurring on the femtosecond time scale.
Contrast and assimilation in lightness judgments

Experiments studied how assimilation and contrast varied as a function of the reflectance of figures above and below the reflectance of a gray background. The results showed that for the experimental conditions investigated: (a) contrast always occurs when the reflectance of lines is above the reflectance of the background, (b) assimilation occurs when the reflectance is below that of the background, (c) circles produce the same degree of assimilation and contrast as lines of equal width, and (d) repeated judgments do not affect contrast but reduce assimilation; as line darkness and line width increase assimilation gives way to contrast following repeated judgments. The results are discussed in connection with the hypothesis that assimilation and contrast arise from opponent processes in the visual system,
Generalized Affinity-Based Association Rule Mining for Multimedia Database Queries

The recent progress in high-speed communication networks and large-capacity storage devices has led to a tremendous increase in the number of databases and the volume of data in them. This has created a need to discover structural equivalence relationships from the databases since queries tend to access information from structurally equivalent media objects residing in different databases. The more databases there are, the more query-processing performance improvement can be achieved when the structural equivalence relationships are automatically discovered. In response to such a demand, association rule mining has emerged and proven to be a highly successful technique for discovering knowledge from large databases. In this paper, we explore a generalized affinity-based association rule mining approach to discover the quasi-equivalence relationships from a network of databases. The algorithm is implemented and two empirical studies on real databases are conducted. The results show that the proposed generalized affinity-based association rule mining approach not only correctly exploits the set of quasi-equivalent media objects from the databases, but also outperforms the basic association rule mining approach in the discovery of the quasi-equivalent media object pairs.
Effect of incentives and mailing features on online health program enrollment.

Background With the growing use of Internet-based interventions, strategies are needed to encourage broader participation. This study examined the effects of combinations of monetary incentives and mailing characteristics on enrollment, retention, and cost effectiveness for an online health program. Methods In 2004, a recruitment letter was mailed to randomly selected Midwestern integrated health system members aged 21–65 and stratified by gender and race/ethnicity; recipients were randomly pre-assigned to one of 24 combinations of incentives and various mailing characteristics. Enrollment and 3-month retention rates were measured by completion of online surveys. Analysis, completed in 2005, compared enrollment and retention factors using t tests and chi-square tests. Multivariate logistic regression modeling assessed the probability of enrollment and retention. Results Of 12,289 subjects, 531 (4.3%) enrolled online, ranging from 1% to 11% by incentive combination. Highest enrollment occurred with unconditional incentives, and responses varied by gender. Retention rates ranged from 0% to 100%, with highest retention linked to higher-value incentives. The combination of a $2 bill prepaid incentive and the promise of $20 for retention (10% enrollment and 71% retention) was optimal, considering per-subject recruitment costs ($32 enrollment, $70 retention) and equivalent enrollment by gender and race/ethnicity. Conclusions Cash incentives improved enrollment in an online health program. Men and women responded differently to mailing characteristics and incentives. Including a small prepaid monetary incentive ($2 or $5) and revealing the higher promised-retention incentive was cost effective and boosted enrollment.
Age-Related Differences in Reading Text Presented with Degraded Contrast

Reading is a daily activity for most individuals. Unfortunately, people frequently read in sub-optimal conditions (Charness & Dijkstra, 1999), which can degrade the perceptual quality of the text, ...
Mixed Ladder Determinantal Varieties

Abstract We investigate ladder determinantal varieties defined by ideals of minors of possibly different sizes in the different regions (the steps) of one-sided ladders L . These varieties are an important generalization of the classical ladder determinantal varieties (i.e., with equal-size minors) since they are very closely related to Schubert varieties, this being the first main result of this paper. We show that they correspond to opposite cells in Schubert varieties in flag varieties of type A n . In consequence, one deduces the normality and the Cohen–Macaulayness of these one-sided ladder determinantal varieties with ideals of mixed-size minors, as well as the fact that they have rational singularities. Next we show that, up to products by affine spaces, each of these varieties is a basic open set in a classical ladder determinantal variety (i.e., with equal-size minors) and that it contains as a basic open set another classical ladder determinantal variety. This result, along with a general localisation lemma used to show it, enables us to compute the divisor class group and singular locus of the coordinate rings of these varieties, as well as to determine when they are Gorenstein.
Congenital superior vena cava obstruction causing anasarca and respiratory failure in a newborn: successful transcatheter therapy.

Superior vena cava (SVC) obstruction is a rare entity in the pediatric population. It usually presents in association with either previous cardiac surgery or external compression from a neoplasm. We present the case of an infant born with congenital SVC obstruction and significant bilateral chylothorax and anasarca necessitating mechanical ventilation. Successful placement of an intravascular stent led to resolution of the chylothoraces with rapid clinical improvement. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Application of the Human Expertise-Based Model for Evaluation of Manual Lifting Tasks in the Hong Kong Worker Population

The objective of this paper is to document how workers from different cultures and with different physical characteristics evaluate physical effort in industrial lifting activities. Three hundred and seventy-nine workers in Hong Kong were asked to evaluate the interactive effort of three lifting variables: weight of load, horizontal distance and height of lift. Logistic regression analysis was used to model the effort as a function of the lifting input variables. The input variables were subsequently classified according to the relationship between the input and output variables. The results showed that human personal knowledge and expertise can indeed be used to evaluate the physical effort required for different lifting tasks. Also, there was no difference in the cognitive reasoning pattern in evaluating the physical effort between the Hong Kong workers and the US workers.
Hashing-Based Approaches to Spelling Correction of Personal Names

We propose two hashing-based solutions to the problem of fast and effective personal names spelling correction in People Search applications. The key idea behind our methods is to learn hash functions that map similar names to similar (and compact) binary codewords. The two methods differ in the data they use for learning the hash functions - the first method uses a set of names in a given language/script whereas the second uses a set of bilingual names. We show that both methods give excellent retrieval performance in comparison to several baselines on two lists of misspelled personal names. More over, the method that uses bilingual data for learning hash functions gives the best performance.
Switching distributions and write reliability of perpendicular spin torque MRAM

We report data from 4-kbit spin torque MRAM arrays using tunnel junctions (TJs) with magnetization perpendicular to the wafer plane. We show for the first time the switching distribution of perpendicular spin torque junctions. The percentage switching voltage width, σ(V c )/&#60;V c > = 4.4%, is sufficient to yield a 64 Mb chip. Furthermore we report switching probability curves down to error probabilities of 5×10−9 per pulse which do not show the anomalous switching seen in previous studies of in-plane magnetized bits.
Temperature Effects on Egg Survival and Hatching during the Extended Incubation Period of California Grunion, Leuresthes tenuis

The California grunion Leuresthes tenuis, a teleost fish (Atherinopsidae), spawns terrestrially by burying its eggs in damp sand on beaches following semilunar spring tides. The eggs incubate above the water line and are ready to hatch after approximately 10 days at 18 C. However, grunion eggs do not hatch, even when developmentally ready, until returned to water and mechanically stimulated by wave action. In nature, the environmental trigger occurs on subsequent semilunar tides, when waves reach as high on the shore as the eggs were buried during spawning. If waves do not reach the eggs after one semilunar tidal cycle, the eggs survive by extending incubation and delaying hatching until the trigger occurs. This may take up to several additional weeks. Temperature affects the time to hatching readiness in California grunion eggs; this interval is shorter at warmer temperatures than at cooler ones. We incubated grunion eggs at three relevant temperatures: 15, 20, and 25 C. Viability of embryos was ascertained by microscopic examination, and hatching was attempted daily for eggs from each temperature, until no eggs hatched. The ability to extend incubation and delay hatching decreased with increasing incubation temperature. At the coolest temperature, eggs survived longer but were not able to hatch at the time of the first semilunar spring tide series. Hatching success and the duration of extended incubation are also influenced by temperature. Eggs incubated at 15 C always had lower hatching success than eggs incubated at the two higher temperatures. Eggs incubated at 20 C had a significantly greater chance of surviving and hatching during the three subsequent semilunar tides than eggs at 15 or 25 C. Eggs incubated at higher temperatures matured more quickly but had a shorter total period of viability. Temperature affects the duration of extended incubation for grunion eggs, and influences their hatching success, yet a majority of the eggs can mature and hatch successfully at each of the three temperatures. A broad temperature tolerance, plasticity in incubation duration, and environmentally triggered hatching allow the grunion fish to spawn terrestrially over a long season in a variable coastal ecosystem.