cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Climatic warming and basal melting of large ice sheets: Possible implications for east Antarctica

Climatic warming is shown to be capable of inducing shear heating instability and basal melting in a model ice sheet that is creeping slowly downslope. Growth times of the instability are calculated from a nonlinear analysis of temperature and flow in the model ice sheet whose surface undergoes a prescribed increase of temperature. The source of instability lies in the decrease of maximum ice thickness for steady downslope creep with increasing surface temperature. A surface temperature increase of 5 to 10 K can cause instability on a 104 year time scale for realistic ice rheology. The instability occurs suddenly after a prolonged period of dormancy. The instability might be relevant to the East Antarctic ice sheet. Warming associated with the Holocene interglacial epoch that heralded the end of the last ice age may have set the East Antarctic ice sheet on a course toward widespread instability some 104 years later. The present CO2-induced climate warming is also a potential trigger for instability and basal melting of the East Antarctic ice sheet.
A Minorities Educational Program for Technologists in a Research Laboratory

For the past 4 years, the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) has conducted a program for training unskilled personnel into technical fields at the technician level. In common with many such programs, the SLAC effort is divided into two parts: 1) on-the-job practical experience, and 2) correlated academic studies. The SLAC approach to the second part, academic studies, is somewhat unique. SLAC has entered into an arrangement with the local community colleges whereby the courses taken by the students are those which lead toward an AA degree at those colleges. Courses are taught at SLAC by professional employees who have been accredited in the State Junior College system. The courses follow the outline and standards set up by the particular department within the community college itself. Thus the student learns not only those subjects of interest to SLAC, but those which will satisfy the college technical program requirements for an AA degree. The practical aspects of this program, along with some of the history and results, are discussed.
The Impact of Beef By-Product Exports on Live Cattle Prices

Since the early 1960s, beef producers have been concerned about price-depressing effects of beef and veal imports on live cattle prices (U.S. Senate 1964a,b, 1976a,b, 1978). The concern about imports reached a peak in 1964 with the passage of the Meat Import Act. This concern continues as evidenced by the House of Representatives bills 1995, 1996, 1997, and 1998 currently under consideration by the 96th Congress. Each of these bills proposes further restrictions on meat imports. However, both imports and exports of cattle, beef, veal, and beef by-products have an impact on live cattle prices. Imports are only one side of the larger issue of international trade in these products. For example, the dollar value of exports has been considerably greater than the dollar value of imports of beef, veal, and beef by-products for three of the four years, 1975-1977 (table 1). Much attention has been given to the adverse impact of imports on domestic live cattle prices through models which directly examined this relationship or by imputing the impacts from econometric models of the beef sector (Edwards, Ehrich and Usman, Folwell and Shapouri, Freebairn and Rausser, Houck 1974, 1977, Jackson, Langemeier and Thompson, and Schmitz and Nelson). However, these researchers have neglected the impact of beef and beef by-product exports on domestic live cattle prices. In this note, these impacts are quantified. Beef exports are not examined because they comprised about 0.35% of total U.S. beef production in 1977 (Blake and Coppersmith).
A routine for converting regression algorithms into corresponding orthogonal regression algorithms

The routine converts any standard regression algorithm (that calculates both the coefficients and residuals) into a corresponding orthogonal regression algorithm. Thus, a standard, or robust, or L1 regression algorithm is converted into the corresponding standard, or robust, or L1orthogonal algorithm. Such orthogonal procedures are important for three basic reasons. First, they solve the classical errors-in-variables (EV) regression problem. Standard L2 orthogonal regression, obtained by converting ordinary least squares regression, is the maximum likelihood solution of the EV problem under Gaussian assumptions. However, this L2 solution is known to be unstable under even slight deviations from the model. Thus this routine's ability to create robust orthogonal regression algorithms from robust ordinary regression algorithms will also be very useful in practice. Second, orthogonal regression is intimately related to principal components procedures. Therefore, this routine can also be used to create corresponding L1, robust, etc., principal components algorithms. And third, orthogonal regression treats the x and y variables symmetrically. This is very important in many science and engineering modeling problems. Monte Carlo studies, which test the effectiveness of the routine under a variety of types of data, are given.
Essay VI Innovative technology transfer initatiatives

The Physical Sciences Directorate (PSD) of the Army Research Laboratory (ARL), Fort Monmouth, NJ, has achieved significant success in the technology transfer/strategic alliance arena by blending technology transfer statutes, regulations, and practices into its corporate culture. The essay describes the process and procedure PSD utilized in achieving that success, along with the lessons learned in introducing new and innovative methodologies, techniques, and approaches in transferring federal laboratory technology to the private sector.
The Case of Brew

The author, a personality and social psychologist, attempts a candid life history for his colleagues in psychology.
Photodissociation quantum yield of NO2 in the region 375 to 420 nm

The absolute absorption cross section and photodissociation quantum yield of NO2 were determined over the wavelength region 375 to 420 nm at a temperature of 296 K. The quantum yield measurements were made at 1 nm intervals over this frequency range with an accuracy of ± 7%. The data show a significant decrease in the quantum yield between 380 and 390 nm indicating the possibility of a non-dissociating NO2 excited state in this region.
Comparative effects of x-ray and u.v. irradiations on pollen germination and growth

Abstract Comparative studies were made of the inhibition of pollen germination and growth by X-rays and germicidal u.v. light. Thirteen flowering plant species were chosen for the diversity of pollen types they represented. LD 37 doses (incident exposures) of u.v. ranged from 16 to 107 × 10 6 ergs/cm 2 . LD 50 doses of unfiltered X-rays (2 meV peak) ranged from 350 to 1200 krad. The two sets of data were not correlated, nor were they correlated with any cytogenetic characteristic of the pollen types. Ultraviolet killing curves were entirely exponential (avg. extrapolation number=0·98) while X-ray killing curves were wholly sigmoidal (avg. extrapolation number=34·4). It is proposed that, in contrast to X-rays, 2537A u.v. kills the haploid pollen cell by inactivating a single gene.
Pleasure, Learning, Video Games, and Life: The Projective Stance

This article addresses three questions. First, what is the deep pleasure that humans take from video games? Second, what is the relationship between video games and real life? Third, what do the answers to these questions have to do with learning? Good commercial video games are deep technologies for recruiting learning as a form of profound pleasure, and have much to tell us about what learning could look like in the future should we relinquish the old grammars of traditional schooling. They are extensions of life insofar as they recruit and externalize some fundamental features of how humans orientate themselves in and to the real world when operating at their best. Video games create a projective stance in the sense of a stance toward the world in which we see the world simultaneously as a project imposed on us and as a site onto which we can actively project our desires, values and goals. A special category of games allows players to enact the projective stance of an 'authentic professional', thereby experiencing deep expertise of the kind that so widely eludes learners in school.
A Wavelet Based Self-Adaptive Mesh for Semiconductor Devices Simulation

A MESFET is simulated using a non-uniform mesh generated by an interpolating wavelet scheme. The wavelet coefficient threshold controls the compression ratio of the number of unknowns. It is shown that a tread off can be found between good compression and acceptable error on the gate, drain and source current of the MESFET. A compression of 83% gives a relative error of 4% on the computed drain current. This is the first step toward a numerical technique that uses wavelets to solve the hydrodynamic equations that model sub-micrometer gate length transistor, used in high frequency microwave circuits.
CURVILINEAR RANDOM FATIGUE CRACK GROWTH: EFFECTS OF OVERLOADS

In the paper a previously proposed stochastic description for curvilinear fatigue crack growth is extended and adopted to the characterization of crack retardation due to overloads. The model has the form of a cumulative process with random elementary crack increments and random angles of the crack deflection. The basic statistical characteristics of the model-process are related to fracture mechanics and to the parameters known from traditional experimental predictions.
How Well the General Course in Personnel Management Is Being Taught An Accountability Assessment of Contemporary Course Syllabi in Public and Business Administration

SYLLABI CAN GREATLY AID AN INSTRUCTOR'S EFFICIENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS; INFORM STUDENTS IN WAYS WHICH ENHANCE THEIR LEARNING; MITIGATE CERTAIN POTENTIAL PROBLEMS IN STUDENT BEHAVIOR; HELP OTHER FACULTY MEMBERS, ADJUNCTS, AND POTENTIAL TEACHERS; AND NURTURE AND FACILITATE ACCOUNTABILITY TO STUDENTS IN THE CLASS, TO COLLEAGUES IN CURRICULAR POLICY DECISIONS AND IN PEER REVIEWED PERSONNEL CASES, AND TO THE PROFESSION.
Intrafractional target motions and uncertainties of treatment setup reference systems in accelerated partial breast irradiation.

Purpose This study investigated the magnitude of intrafractional motion and level of accuracy of various setup strategies in accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) using three-dimensional conformal external beam radiotherapy. Methods and materials At lumpectomy, gold fiducial markers were strategically sutured to the surrounding walls of the cavity. Weekly fluoroscopy imaging was conducted at treatment to investigate the respiration-induced target motions. Daily pre- and post-RT kV imaging was performed, and images were matched to digitally reconstructed radiographs based on bony anatomy and fiducial markers, respectively, to determine the intrafractional motion magnitudes over the course of treatment. The positioning differences of the laser tattoo- and the bony anatomy-based setups compared with those of the marker-based setup (benchmark) were also determined. The study included 21 patients. Results Although lung exhibited significant motion, the average marker motion amplitude on the fluoroscopic image was about 1 mm. Over a typical treatment time period, average intrafractional motion magnitude was 4.2 mm and 2.6 mm based on the marker and bony anatomy matching, respectively. The bony anatomy- and laser tattoo-based interfractional setup errors, with respect to the fiducial marker-based setup, were 7.1 and 9.0 mm, respectively. Conclusions Respiration has limited effects on the target motion during APBI. Bony anatomy-based treatment setup improves the accuracy relative to that of the laser tattoo-based setup approach. Since fiducial markers are sutured directly to the surgical cavity, the marker-based approach can further improve the interfractional setup accuracy. On average, a seroma cavity exhibits intrafractional motion of more than 4 mm, a magnitude that is larger than that which is otherwise derived based on bony anatomy matching. A seroma-specific marker-based approach has the potential to improve treatment accuracy by taking the true inter- and intrafractional motions into consideration.
Comments on the renormalization group, scaling and measures of complexity

Abstract One definition of complexity is implicit in phenomena that are neither completely ordered nor completely random. This lack of certitude can be traced to the fact that the phenomenon has multiple scales, all of which are coupled to one another. This multiplicity of scales is the harbinger of fractals and scaling. Herein we discuss some of the methods, such as renormalization group theory, scaling and fractal geometry, that have been applied to the understanding of such complex phenomena in physics, economics and medicine. The simplest and probably the most familiar model of statistical processes in the physical sciences is the random walk. Herein we extend the random walk model to include long-time memory in the dynamics and find that this gives rise to a fractional-difference stochastic equation of motion for complex phenomena. The continuum limit of this latter random walk is a fractional differential equation driven by random fluctuations, which in physics is called a Langevin equation for integer dimensions. The index of the inverse power-law spectrum in many biophysical processes can be related to the non-integer order of the fractional derivative in a fractional Langevin equation. Such a fractional stochastic model suggests that a scale-free process guides the dynamics of many complex biophysical phenomena, which are typically multifractal.
Electrostatic Determinants of Membrane Ion Permeability

Ion channels facilitate the passage of charged molecules across cell membranes by eliminating energetic costs thought to be associated with dehydration inside a low-dielectric membrane core. However, recent atomistic simulation studies have uncovered a different picture of charge-lipid interactions with reduced barriers due to membrane deformations. Having a correct description of the origins and magnitudes of these energetic barriers is essential to describe ion permeation, as well as to understand processes that involve the interaction of charged peptides or protein domains with membranes. Here we seek energetic decompositions to unveil the mechanisms of assisted or unassisted permeation and explore the roles of membrane electronic polarizability, dipole potential and composition (including charged lipids). We find that while electronic polarizability has some considerable effects on ion solvation free energies in non-polar solvents, as well as solvent interfacial potentials, a polarizable lipid model reveals only small effects on ions in the membrane. We show that the full membrane dipole potential is not seen by ions and explore the role of the membrane electrostatics on ions inside ion channel proteins.
Perceptual asymmetries in left- and right-handers for cartoon and real faces.

Abstract We examined 40 left-handers and 40 right-handers on two free-vision tests of face processing. A chimeric face composed of a smiling half-face joined to either a neutral half-face (real faces) or a sad half-face (cartoon faces) and its mirror image were presented on each trial. Subjects judged which chimeric face looked happier, the one with the smile to the left or the one with the smile to the right. Right-handers, but not left-handers, had a highly significant leftward attentional bias, since chimeras with the smile to the left were judged happier than those with the smile to the right. The cartoon- and real-face tasks did not differ in the mean perceptual asymmetries they elicited. However, correlations between attentional-asymmetry scores for the two tasks, although high for both left- and right-handers, were significantly smaller than task reliabilities. Thus, the cartoon-and real-face tasks overlap to a major extent in the lateralized processes they measure, but to a lesser extent, they also index different lateralized processes.
Semigroups of Automata

Abstract : A new means of associating a semigroup with an automaton is presented. Some preliminary results are reported that suggest that this new class of semigroups more faithfully carries the structure of the original automaton than the classical semigroup approach does. (Author)
The effect of molecular weight and crystallinity on the conductivity of a conducting polymer

Abstract Recent theories have related the molecular-weight dependence of the conductivity of a conjugated polymer to the relative importance of interchain and intrachain charge transport processes. This prompted an experimental search for this effect using a series of fractionated poly(3-octylthiophenes). No significant molecular-weight dependence was found over the range 30 000⩽Mw⩽400 000, indicating that interchain transport does not limit the macroscopic conductivity of these samples. However, even small differences in the degree of crystallinity among the polymer samples were determined to have a profound effect on the conductivity.
A Long-term View of Research Targets in Nanoelectronics

This paper presents a summary of the second workshop on Silicon Nanoelectronics and Beyond held at the National Science Foundation in Washington DC in December 2004. The objective was to set research directions to vigorously pursue both extending the CMOS technology to its limits and to develop Beyond-CMOS technologies to sustain the historical exponential improvement in performance/cost with time. Workshop themes were: (1) Post CMOS information processing technologies, (2) Novel materials and assembly methods for extending charge-based technology to its ultimate limits, (3) Multi-scale/multi-phenomena modeling and simulation, (4) Novel nano-architectures, and (5) Nano environmental safety and health.
[D-Ala2,(F5)Phe4]-dynorphin1–13-NH2 (DAFPHEDYN): A potent analog of dynorphin 1–13

Abstract Intracerebroventricular administration of the dynorphin analog, [D-Ala 2 ,(F 5 )Phe 4 ]-dynorphin 1–13 -NH 2 (DAFPHEDYN) in rats produced diuresis and profound analgesia. Both effects were antagonized by central administration of naltrexone or naloxone. Intravenous administration of 10, 25, and 50 mg/kg of DAFPHEDYN failed to induce diuresis. The increased potency of DAFPHEDYN was apparent from the failure of an equal dose of the parent compound (dynorphin 1–13) to produce diuresis and the failure of [D-Ala 2 ]-dynorphin 1–13 -NH 2 to produce analgesia. Radioligand binding studies indicated the DAFPHEDYN retains the same degree of κ selectivity as the parent compound (dynorphin 1–13) though a drop in affinity occurred. DAFPHEDYN may be of significant interest because it retains the essential pharmacology of the parent compound and exhibits marked in vivo potency.
How to Catch a Robot Rat: When Biology Inspires Innovation. By Agnès Guillot and Jean-Arcady Meyer

How to Catch a Robot Rat: When Biology Inspires Innovation. By Agnes Guillot and Jean-Arcady Meyer. Translated by Susan Emanuel (Cambridge, MA: MIT University Press, 2010), xiii + 226 pp. $29.95 cl...
Glucocorticoids suppress human immunodeficiency virus type-1 long terminal repeat activity in a cell type-specific, glucocorticoid receptor-mediated fashion: direct protective effects at variance with clinical phenomenology.

Abstract Glucocorticoid administration and/or excess secretion have been associated with increased Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type-1 (HIV-1) replication and AIDS progression. The HIV-1 long terminal repeat (LTR) promoter contains glucocorticoid-responsive element (GRE)-like sequences that could mediate a positive effect of glucocorticoids on HIV-1. In addition, we recently demonstrated that the HIV-1 accessory protein Vpr is a potent coactivator of the glucocorticoid receptor, which, like the host coactivator p300, potentiates the effect of glucocorticoids on GRE-containing, glucocorticoid-responsive genes. Such an effect may increase the sensitivity of several host target tissues to glucocorticoids by several fold, and may, thus, contribute to a positive effect of glucocorticoids on the HIV-1-LTR in infected host cells. In this study, we determined the direct effect of glucocorticoids on HIV-1-LTR by examining the ability of dexamethasone to modulate the activity of this promoter coupled to the luciferase reporter gene in human cell lines. Dexamethasone markedly inhibited Tat-stimulated, p300- or Vpr-enhanced luciferase activities in a cell-type specific, dose-dependent, and glucocorticoid receptor-mediated fashion. This effect of dexamethasone was not potentiated by Vpr, was antagonized by the glucocorticoid receptor antagonist RU 486 and required the DNA-binding domain of the receptor. These data suggest that the inhibitory effect of glucocorticoids on the HIV-1-LTR may be exerted via non-GRE-dependent inhibition of the strongly positive host transcription factor NF-κB, which interacts with the DNA- and ligand-binding domains of the receptor. Alternatively, it is also possible that dexamethasone-activated glucocorticoid receptor competes with other transcription factors for their binding sites on the promoter region or squelches transcription factors shared by HIV-1-LTR and glucocorticoid-responsive promoters. We conclude that glucocorticoids suppress, rather than stimulate, the HIV-1 promoter, thus acting, protectively for the host. Their apparent negative clinical association with AIDS is most likely due to immunosuppression of the host.
Altered glucagon release in biotin deficiency

Classical biotin deficiency in young chickens is characterized by a reduction in the activity of liver biotin-dependent enzymes which thus impairs gluconeogenesis during periods of food withdrawal. Because the normal bird maintains an elevated fasting blood glucose level, the ability of the classically biotin-deficient animal to resist changes induced by fasting has not been established. Whether the release of insulin and/or glucagon is affected by biotin deficiency has not been investigated and so determining the importance of these hormones in maintaining fasting glucose levels as well as their ability to respond to a challenge is the objective of the present study. Experimental animals (15-week-old cockerels) were fed a biotin-deficient diet for 9 weeks while control animals (n = 8) were pair-fed biotin-supplemented diets. Before fasting, concentrations of plasma glucose, insulin, and glucagon were not different between the two groups. After 72 h of fasting basal glucose levels remained the same in both groups and concentrations of plasma insulin were equally suppressed but concentrations of glucagon were significantly elevated in biotin-deficient animals (P less than 0.025). Ten minutes after an iv glucose challenge the magnitude of the increase in plasma insulin concentrations was equivalent for both groups of animals whereas the magnitude of the decline in plasma glucagon concentrations was greater for biotin-deficient birds. Twenty minutes after a protein challenge (purified casein diet) the levels of plasma glucagon in both groups were maximally increased although the concentrations remained elevated only in control animals. In conclusion the release of insulin and glucagon is not impaired in biotin-deficient animals.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Studying Children's Attachment to their Pets: A Conceptual and Methodological Review

AbstractFour dimensions of attachment are distinguished, based on the psychological literature on children's attachments to others: (1) time with and activities directed toward the attachment object; (2) interest in and affect expressed toward the attachment object; (3) knowledge about the attachment object; and (4) behavioral responsiveness to the attachment object. Considering pets as attachment objects, research bearing on each of these dimensions is reviewed, with particular attention to methodological issues. Future directions for research on each dimension are noted.
Facilitating Transformative Learning: Attending to the Dynamics of the Educational Helping Relationship.

In most professions, images of exemplary practitioners influence practice powerfully, and adult education is no exception in this regard. In the adult education literature, arguably the most influential images of exemplary adult educators include the following: (a) Belenky, Clinchy, Goldberger, & Tarule's midwife (1986), (b) Brookfield's skillful teacher (1 990), (c) Daloz's mentor (1 986), (d) Freire's partner (1993), (e) Knowles's andragogue (1975, 1989; Knowles & Associates, 1984), and (f) Mezirow's emancipatory educator (1991). Although these images are not identical, they clearly share several features. Perhaps foremost among those commonalities is their encouragement of adult educators to establish educational helping relationships with learners and to promote transformative learning within the context of those relationships. In this essay, I attempt the following: (a) explain briefly the goal of promoting transformative learning within an educational helping relationship; (b) point out the critical problem of a relative lack of preparation and support that the field offers its practitioners to accomplish this goal effectively and responsibly; and (c) discuss six recommendations that will help to alleviate this problem.
Sex Ratios and Survival Probabilities of Brown-Headed Cowbirds (Molothrus ater) in Southwest Colorado

ABSTRACT. We live-trapped and banded Brown-headed Cowbirds (Molothrus ater, n = 1,722 individuals) to evaluate sex ratios and survival probabilities during the breeding season at the San Juan Basin Research Center, La Plata County, Colorado, from 1992 to 1999. For adult Brown-headed Cowbirds, sex ratios varied significantly among years, and sex ratios were always male-biased within a year. In hatch-year (HY) cowbirds, and within years, sex ratios were similarly male-biased, but there was no difference among years in HY sex ratios. Using the program MARK, for adult females, second-year (SY) males, and after-second-year (ASY) males, the most parsimonious model, suggested that some variation occurred among these groups in individual survival probability (φ) to the next year after the initial year of capture and in all following years. However, this model indicated no differences among these groups to best describe the probability of recapturing an individual (P). For HY individuals, analyses in MARK indicate...
Rest and exercise hemodynamics in children before and after aortic valvotomy.

Abstract The rest and exercise hemodynamics in children with congenital valvar aortic stenosis were studied before and after aortic valvotomy. Eighteen patients were studied at rest; ten of the 18 patients were also studied during supine leg exercise using a bicycle ergometer. Aortic valvotomy resulted in a significant reduction in the mean left ventricular-aortic pressure gradient and in peak left ventricular systolic pressure with an increase in aortic valve area in most patients. There was an associated increase in the subendocardial blood flow assessed indirectly by the DPTI × O 2 c SPTI ratio. There was a minor increase in the degree of aortic insufficiency in most patients. Although, in general, there was significant hemodynamic improvement, three of the 18 patients still had significant residual stenosis after surgery and another four patients had a major increase in aortic insufficiency. The three patients with residual obstruction and one of the four patients with moderate to severe aortic insufficiency still had a DPTI × O 2 c SPTI ratio of less than 10, suggesting possible residual subendocardial ischemia. Also, the increased left ventricular end-diastolic pressures (LVEDP) present in nearly 50% of the patients before surgery did not change significantly after surgery. Three patients showed an actual increase in LVEDP after surgery. Before surgery, the left ventricular systolic pressure and mean gradient increased on exercise, but this increase was proportionately less than the increase in cardiac output, so that calculated aortic valve area increased on exercise. The DPTI × O 2 c SPTI ratio decreased significantly on exercise, suggesting an increase in myocardial ischemia. Successful surgery resulted in a reduction in left ventricular systolic pressure and mean left ventricular-aortic gradient on exercise, and in improvement in the subendocardial blood flow as assessed by the DPTI × O 2 c SPTI ratio. In general, children with severe aortic stenosis have relatively normal cardiac function on exercise. Some children did show a reduction of stroke index on exercise in spite of rising LVEDP. However, stroke work index increased in all of our children. Adult studies have shown many patients with decrease in stroke work index relative to LVEDP on exercise. The results of pre- and postoperative rest and exercise hemodynamics may be useful in evaluating results of surgery; the postoperative hemodynamic evaluation including the use of DPTI × O 2 c SPTI ratio provides additional useful information which can be used in making decisions concerning exercise activity after surgery.
Proarrhythmia with Non-Antiarrhythmics

In 1987, at the American College of Cardiology national meeting, a group of physicians from Europe and the United States agreed to use the term ‘arrhythmogenesis’ to refer to an aggravation or provoca
Tension field theory and the stress in stretched skin.

Abstract Tension field theory is generalized to membranes undergoing arbitrarily large deformations. The theory is used to model operations on the human skin performed by plastic surgeons. It is shown that the tension rays are geodesics of the surface over which the skin slides. The theory is applied to a plane sheet having an elliptical hole which is closed into a straight line coinciding with its major axis, to obtain a formula for the maximum stress on a closed skin defect. The theory is also applied to a model for the Z-plasty operation, and the theoretical equations are compared with published experimental results.
Privacy protection in personalized search

Personalized search is a promising way to improve the accuracy of web search, and has been attracting much attention recently. However, effective personalized search requires collecting and aggregating user information, which often raise serious concerns of privacy infringement for many users. Indeed, these concerns have become one of the main barriers for deploying personalized search applications, and how to do privacy-preserving personalization is a great challenge. In this paper, we systematically examine the issue of privacy preservation in personalized search. We distinguish and define four levels of privacy protection, and analyze various software architectures for personalized search. We show that client-side personalization has advantages over the existing server-side personalized search services in preserving privacy, and envision possible future strategies to fully protect user privacy.
POLSSS: surveying stakeholders about acceptability of risks and system changes

Abstract This paper describes two surveys that were carried out during the Policy for Sea Shipping Safety (POLSSS) project [Walker, 2000. POLSS: overview and cost-effectiveness analysis. Safety Science 35 (1–3, 105–121]. The first focused on the acceptability of risks. Its main goal was to find out how stakeholder groups accept different risks involved in maritime transport. The respondents were asked about their acceptance of the current risks and situations where the risks are either increased or decreased. The second survey examined the non-risk-related acceptability of different policy measures — both those being used currently, and those being considered in the POLSSS project for future implementation.
THE WARP IN THE SUBPARSEC MOLECULAR DISK IN NGC 4258 AS AN EXPLANATION FOR PERSISTENT ASYMMETRIES IN THE MASER SPECTRUM

Neufeld & Maloney have proposed a model in which the warp in the subparsec-scale molecular disk in NGC 4258 allows direct illumination of the disk by a central X-ray source, heating the gas to temperatures appropriate for collisional pumping of water vapor masers. One element of this model is the creation of a layer of warm atomic gas above the cooler molecular gas where the masing occurs. Here, we examine the effects of this warm atomic gas on the maser emission. We find that for a range of plausible warps, thermal free-free extinction in the atomic gas can generate opacities of 2-3 at a wavelength of 1.3 cm. Furthermore, because of the orientation of the warp with respect to the line of sight, we argue that this extinction will only occur on the blueshifted side of the disk. Thus, we demonstrate that such thermal absorption is a likely explanation for the persistent weakness of the blueshifted maser features relative to the redshifted ones.
Importance of Including Borderline Cases in Trachoma Grader Certification

We assessed trachoma grading agreement among field graders using photographs that included the complete spectrum of disease and compared it with cases where there was consensus among experienced graders. Trained photographers took photographs of children's conjunctiva during a clinical trial in Ethiopia. We calculated κ-agreement statistics using a complete set of 60 cases and then recalculated the κ using a consensus set where cases were limited to those cases with agreement among experienced graders. When the complete set of 60 cases was used, agreement was moderate (κ = 0.61, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] = 0.56–0.67). When the consensus set was used, agreement improved significantly (κ = 0.75, 95% CI = 0.68–0.80). The κ of the consensus set was higher than the complete set by 0.14 (95% CI = 0.12–0.16) (P < 0.001). If testing sets remove difficult-to-grade cases, agreement in trachoma grading may be higher than actually seen in population-based trachoma surveys.
Synchrotron Small-Angle X-ray Scattering Studies on Phase Separation and Crystallization of Associated Polymer Blends

Time-resolved synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) measurements during isothermal crystallization of an associated polymer blend, consisting of one-end-aminated polystyrene (APS) and one-end-sulfonated poly(ethylene glycol) (SPEG), have been performed. Two different methods of sample preparations were used. In the solvent cast method, the slowly evaporated APS/SPEG/toluene ternary solution should pass through the phase-separated region in the phase diagram. In the freeze−dry method, the solvent benzene was quickly frozen and then evaporated under vacuum, preventing the associated copolymer from dissociation. The freeze−dry sample exhibited similar microphase separation and crystallization behavior as that of the semicrystalline− (hard−) amorphous diblock copolymers with symmetric compositions. The interdomain distance of the freeze−dry sample remained relatively constant when SPEG was being crystallized. On the other hand, both microphase and macrophase separation occurred in the solvent-cast s...
Stories from the evolution of guidelines for causal inference in epidemiologic associations: 1953-1965

Guidelines for causal inference in epidemiologic associations were a major contribution to modern epidemiologic analysis in the 1960s. This story recounts dramatic elements in a series of exchanges leading to their formulation and effective use in the 1964 Report of the Advisory Committee to the US Surgeon General on Smoking and Health, the landmark report which concluded that cigarette smoking caused lung cancer. The opening salvo was precipitated by Ancel Keys' presentation of an ecologic correlation between diet and cardiac death, which was vigorously criticized in an article by Jacob Yerushalmy calling for “proper handling” of bias and confounding in observational evidence. The dispute demonstrated a need for guidelines for causal inference and set off their serial refinement among US thinkers. Less well documented parallel efforts went on in the United Kingdom, leading to the criteria that Bradford Hill presented in his 1965 President's Address to the Royal Society of Medicine. Here the authors recount experiences with some of the principals involved in development of these criteria and note the omission from both classic reports of proper attribution to those who helped create the guidelines. They also present direct, if unsatisfying, evidence about those particular lapses.
Shedding light on health and disease using molecular beacons

The detection and identification of pathogens is often painstaking due to the low abundance of diseased cells in clinical samples. The genomic sequences of the pathogen can be amplified through methods such as the polymerase chain reaction and nucleic acid sequence-based amplification, but the nucleic acid targets are often lost among other unintended products of amplification. Novel nucleic acid probes known as molecular beacons have been developed allowing for the rapid and specific detection of genetic markers of a disease. Molecular beacons are hairpin-forming oligonucleotides labelled at one end with a quencher and at the other end with a fluorescent reporter dye. In the absence of target, the fluorescence is quenched. In the presence of target, the hairpin structure opens upon beacon/target hybridisation, resulting in the restoration of fluorescence. The ability to transduce target recognition into a fluorescence signal with high signal-to-background ratio, coupled with an improved specificity, has allowed molecular beacons to enjoy a wide range of biological and biomedical applications. Here, we describe the basic features of molecular beacons, review their applications in disease detection and diagnosis and discuss some of the issues and challenges of in vivo studies. The aim of this paper is to foster the development of new molecular beacon-based assays and to stimulate the application of this technology in laboratory and clinical studies of health and disease.
FAULT STABILITY UNDER CONDITIONS OF VARIABLE NORMAL STRESS

The stability of fault slip under conditions of varying normal stress is modeled as a spring and slider system with rate- and state-dependent friction. Coupling of normal stress to shear stress is achieved by inclining the spring at an angle, o, to the sliding surface. Linear analysis yields two conditions for unstable slip. The first, of a type previously identified for constant normal stress systems, results in instability if stiffness is below a critical value. Critical stiffness depends on normal stress, constitutive parameters, characteristic sliding distance and the spring angle. Instability of the first type is possible only for velocity-weakening friction. The second condition yields instability if spring angle o < -cot −1μss, where μss is steady-state sliding friction. The second condition can arise under conditions of velocity strengthening or weakening. Stability fields for finite perturbations are investigated by numerical simulation.
Paratuberculosis and Type I diabetes: is this the trigger?

Summary Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is an autoimmune disease. The etiology of T1DM is incompletely understood but environmental agent(s) are thought to trigger T1DM in the genetically at risk. Exposure to cow’s milk early in life is a recognized risk factor in the development of T1DM. Mycobacterium avium ss. paratuberculosis (MAP) is the cause of bovine Johne’s disease and also is thought to act as an immune antigen in Crohn’s disease and other granulomatous diseases. MAP is shed in cow’s milk and has been shown to survive pasteurization. Genetic susceptibilities, epitope homologies and epidemiologic studies are presented that support MAP as a causative agent of T1DM in the genetically at risk.
The interaction of Ca2+-binding proteins with the carbocyanine dye stains-all.

The interaction of the carbocyanine dye Stains-all with the Ca2+-binding proteins calmodulin, troponin C, and parvalbumin has been monitored by means of absorption spectra and CD. In the absence of Ca2+, complexes with Stains-all of all three proteins exhibit at high dye: protein mole ratios an intense J absorption band at 600–650 nm, which is associated with a characteristic CD spectrum. In the cases of calmodulin and troponin C, the J-band is progressively lost as the dye: protein ratio decreases and is replaced by bands of the γ and β types at 450–550 nm, which likewise give rise to characteristic CD spectra. For parvalbumin, only the J-band is observed; its intensity is undiminished at the lowest dye: protein ratios examined. In the presence of excess Ca2+ the J-band is lost for all three proteins. For calmodulin and troponin C it is replaced by σ- and β-bands; in the case of parvalbumin the bound dye is released. A tentative model has been proposed to account for these observations.
Improved prognosis for asymptomatic carotid stenosis with prophylactic carotid endarterectomy.

The value of carotid endarterectomy in asymptomatic patients with high-grade stenosis is controversial. The objective of this study is to compare the immediate and long-term outcome of patients after carotid endarterectomy for asymptomatic carotid stenosis (greater than 75%) with the reported natural history of patients followed nonoperatively to determine whether carotid endarterectomy reduces the subsequent neurological event rate.The data from 141 carotid endarterectomies performed in 123 patients between January 1980 and December 1986 were reviewed from the perspective of perioperative results and long-term follow-up to January 1990, providing a follow-up ranging from 3 to 10 years. The mean follow-up was 56.6 months (range 27-117 months).There were no perioperative deaths. There were two postoperative stokes: one in the cerebellar distribution and one in the middle cerebral distribution. During the course of follow-up, no patient suffered a stroke in the hemisphere ipsilateral to carotid endarterecto...
Retinopathy of Prematurity: Practical Clinical Approach

After completing this article, readers should be able to: 1. Describe the forms that should be used to record all retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) screening examinations. 2. Characterize the roles of ophthalmologists and neonatologists in developing local screening policies. 3. Delineate which preterm infants require screening for ROP and when the first screening examination should occur. 4. Describe the procedure for laser therapy to treat ROP and postsurgical follow-up. The neonatologist and neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) staff have a serious responsibility to minimize vision loss from retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). It requires a team effort throughout the hospitalization to reduce the incidence and severity of ROP and particularly conscientious tracking of patients during the phase of active disease to detect and treat the few cases that become severe enough to threaten retinal detachment. It is particularly frustrating in this most visual of diseases that the pathology occurs inside the eye where the threat is not visible and at the particular time when the infants are recovering from so many other insults and are nearly ready for home! Among infants of similar gestations, those who have the more unstable hospital course have the higher risk of serious ROP. It is important to remember that interventions that prolong pregnancy and reduce intraventricular hemorrhage, pneumothorax, serious sepsis, and chronic lung disease all reduce the risk of vision-threatening ROP. To date it is impossible to prevent all morbidities, but each year brings increased knowledge about how to reduce their incidence and hopefully the incidence of severe ROP. An effective ROP screening program requires the cooperative efforts of the neonatal team, screening ophthalmologists, and discharge coordinators. Unlike many screening programs in which the “screening test” is inexpensive, the time and effort of ophthalmologists is considerable in this program, and rarely are their consulting fees paid. Participating in ROP …
Changes in data sharing and data reuse practices and perceptions among scientists worldwide

The incorporation of data sharing into the research lifecycle is an important part of modern scholarly debate. In this study, the DataONE Usability and Assessment working group addresses two primary goals: To examine the current state of data sharing and reuse perceptions and practices among research scientists as they compare to the 2009/2010 baseline study, and to examine differences in practices and perceptions across age groups, geographic regions, and subject disciplines. We distributed surveys to a multinational sample of scientific researchers at two different time periods (October 2009 to July 2010 and October 2013 to March 2014) to observe current states of data sharing and to see what, if any, changes have occurred in the past 3–4 years. We also looked at differences across age, geographic, and discipline-based groups as they currently exist in the 2013/2014 survey. Results point to increased acceptance of and willingness to engage in data sharing, as well as an increase in actual data sharing behaviors. However, there is also increased perceived risk associated with data sharing, and specific barriers to data sharing persist. There are also differences across age groups, with younger respondents feeling more favorably toward data sharing and reuse, yet making less of their data available than older respondents. Geographic differences exist as well, which can in part be understood in terms of collectivist and individualist cultural differences. An examination of subject disciplines shows that the constraints and enablers of data sharing and reuse manifest differently across disciplines. Implications of these findings include the continued need to build infrastructure that promotes data sharing while recognizing the needs of different research communities. Moving into the future, organizations such as DataONE will continue to assess, monitor, educate, and provide the infrastructure necessary to support such complex grand science challenges.
Agents support for flexible Inter-AS policy control

Inter-AS routing is difficult to control since advertised inter-AS routing information changes as it spreads through ASs that are managed based on each policy. For operating the Internet reliably as we intend, we propose a flexible and autonomous policy control environment called AISLE. AISLE uses cooperative actions among distributed agents to know and control inter-AS routing behavior. This paper describes the AISLE model and architecture that enable policy control at the inter-AS level.
A Monte-Carlo algorithm for path planning with many degrees of freedom

A stochastic technique is described for planning collision-free paths of robots with many degrees of freedom (DOFs). The algorithm incrementally builds a graph connecting the local minima of a potential function defined in the robot's configuration space and concurrently searches the graph until a goal configuration is attained. A local minimum is connected to another one by executing a random motion that escapes the well of the first minimum, succeeded by a gradient motion that follows the negated gradient of the potential function. All the motions are executed in a grid shown through the robot's configuration space. The random motions are implemented as random walks which are known to converge toward Brownian motions when the steps of the walks tend toward zero. The local minima graph is searched using a depth-first strategy with random backtracking. In the technique, the planner does not explicitly represent the local-minima graph. The path-planning algorithm has been fully implemented and has run successfully on a variety of problems involving robots with many degrees of freedom. >