cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Measuring dimensions of perceived e-business risks

The risks to e-business from breaches of security and privacy are well known. However, research has given very little attention to other important e-business risks. Using a socio-technical approach, in this study we survey a diverse sample of almost 200 participants to rate their perception of 16 e-business risks, compiled from the research and practitioner literature. Strategic risks, organizational risks and e-business policy risks emerged as the three underlying dimensions of e-business risk. In terms of the socio-technical model, strategic risks focus on the actor-structure component, and policy risks focus on the task-structure component. Organizational risks cover a wide spectrum of socio-technical components such as technology, actor-technology, technology structure and task-actor. The main contribution of this study is a multi dimensional scale of e-business risk perception. Practitioners can benefit by focusing their risk management efforts on the three dimensions of e-business risk, which are easier to manage than a long checklist of unrelated risks. Researchers benefit from a raised awareness on the importance of strategic and organizational risk factors in addition to policy risk factors for e-business risk management. A model that incorporates the three dimensions of e-business risks and shows theoretically based relationships with control mechanisms, trust, perceived uncertainty and profitability is proposed for testing in future research.
Conical projection algorithms for linear programming

The Linear Programming Problem is manipulated to be stated as a Non-Linear Programming Problem in which Karmarkar's logarithmic potential function is minimized in the positive cone generated by the original feasible set. The resulting problem is then solved by a master algorithm that iteratively rescales the problem and calls an internal unconstrained non-linear programming algorithm. Several different procedures for the internal algorithm are proposed, giving priority either to the reduction of the potential function or of the actual cost. We show that Karmarkar's algorithm is equivalent to this method in the special case in which the internal algorithm is reduced to a single steepest descent iteration. All variants of the new algorithm have the same complexity as Karmarkar's method, but the amount of computation is reduced by the fact that only one projection matrix must be calculated for each call of the internal algorithm.
Robustness of multimode fiber focusing through wavefront shaping

We study the robustness of a focus created through a multimode fiber using wavefront shaping. The focus enhancement can withstand up to 2mm translation of the fiber in any direction with less than 50% reduction.
A communitarian critique of authoritarianism

A ccording to Amitai Etzioni, the starting point of responsive communitarian thinking is "the concept of a permanently tensed relation between individuals and the society of which they are members. Centrifugal forces will tend to lead individuals to break out, dangerously reducing the social realm, in their quest for ever more attention to their particular individual or bond-breaking subgroup agendas; centripetal forces will tend to collectivize members' energies ever more in the service of shared goals and to curb their degrees of freedom. A society functions best when both forces are well balanced." On this view, the relation between individual liberties and commitments to the common good is a zero-sum game: the greater the personal freedom, the less the commitment to the public good, and vice versa. Thus, Etzioni concludes, "it is the role of social observers and commentators, of intellectuals, to establish in which direction society is leaning and to throw their weight on the other side of history.. .while responsive communitarians within any one given societal context or historical period may argue for more community (as in the present-day United States) or more individual rights (as in presentday China), they actually seek to maintain the elementary balance that is at the foundation of all good societies." My essay will question both the premise that there is a necessary trade-off between individual liberties and commitment to the community, and the conclusion that, in societies such as China where citizens are relatively deprived of freedom, communitarians ought to be concerned primarily with the promotion of individual rights.
Modeling Fate and Transport of Munitions Constituents on Firing Ranges

The Training Range Environmental Evaluation and Characterization System (TREECS™) computes the fate and transport of munitions constituents deposited on military firing/training ranges. TREECSTM was developed with two levels of capability, Tiers 1 and 2, where Tier 1 is for conservative screening assessments, and Tier 2 is for more accurate predictions. The models and associated processes for Tier 2 are described. Tier 2 was applied to ranges at Fort A.P. Hill, VA, for initial demonstration purposes. Observed field data were provided after model application and are compared to model-computed results. Although the comparison was not sufficient for model validation, it does demonstrate that the model leads to the same general conclusions that the field data provided.
Unsteady dynamo effects at large magnetic reynolds number

Abstract In this paper we show that the adjoint formulation of the Stretch-Fold-Shear (SFS) fast dynamo model has smooth eigenfunctions at zero diffusivity. We thus compute fast dynamo action with smooth fields. We note that the adjoint problem is equivalent to use of a vector potential in reversed flow. We compare this behavior with analogous results for general pulsed-flow models. Some calculations using pulsed Beltrami waves are described.
A model for the dynamics of an annual plant population

Abstract A model for the dynamics of a single species population of plants is proposed and its use demonstrated by the analysis of a simple example. The model incorporates the effects of microsite variation by allowing for individual differences in growth and death rates within each season. We demonstrate that an increase in the variance in individual growth rates may increase both the chances that a plant population will persist and the equilibrium size of that population. We also show that even if size-dependent death is occurring, it may not have a significant effect on the shape of the size frequency distribution. An extension of the model to multispecies communities of plants suggests an experimental procedure to determine whether competition is responsible for excluding a particular plant species from a community that appears otherwise to be suitable. A more detailed analysis of the model for a two-species community produces conditions for competitive coexistence reminiscent of those from the Lotka-Volterra competition equations. Another extension suggests that selection will favor those genotypes that maximize the product of germination probability and mass of seeds produced, if survivorship and growth are not substantially altered. Finally, an analog to r - and K -selection theory for animal populations is developed. Selection in low-density populations favors increasing growth rate, and in high-density populations favors minimizing the effect of neighbors on one's own growth rate.
True and false discovery in DNA microarray experiments: transcriptome changes in the hippocampus of presenilin 1 mutant mice.

Abstract In transcriptome profiling experiments using DNA microarrays, it is critical to maximize putatively true data discovery while keeping the false discovery rate at acceptable levels. Using previously published and verified transcriptome datasets of mice with genetically altered PS1 physiology, we present a simple, robust, and system-specific assessment of type I and type II errors in two independent microarray experimental series. We provide evidence to suggest that for maximizing true discovery and minimizing false discovery, statistical criteria alone are inferior to statistical significance plus magnitude of change criteria. Furthermore, we found that, regardless of the exact criteria used for determining differential expression, different data extraction protocols give rise to different discovery and false discovery rates. In addition, a large proportion of expression differences were both dataset and analytical approach dependent. The data assessment methods presented and discussed in this manuscript can be easily carried out on any microarray dataset using basic spreadsheet functions as the only tool needed. Finally, we provide an in-depth analysis of the hippocampal transcriptome of ΔE9 hPS1 transgenic mice and mice with a conditional ablation of the PS1 gene.
Sexual Assault Response Teams (SARTs): An Empirical Review of Their Effectiveness and Challenges to Successful Implementation

Historically, the response of the legal, medical, and mental health/advocacy systems to sexual assault has been inadequate and uncoordinated. To address this problem, communities have developed coordinated sexual assault response teams (SARTs) to address these problems. SARTs are community-level interventions that seek to build positive relationships and increase collaboration among sexual assault responders. SARTs hope to improve both the community response to sexual assault victims and the processing of sexual assault cases through the criminal justice system. This article has three aims: to summarize the historical development of SARTs in the United States, to review the empirical literature on SARTs' effectiveness at improving multidisciplinary relationships, legal outcomes, and victims' help-seeking experiences; and to review the empirical literature on the challenges SARTs face, which may hamper their effectiveness. Findings suggest that SARTs are a promising practice, but face many challenges; further methodologically rigorous research is needed to more fully understand these interventions. Implications for policy, practice, and future research are discussed.
Excision repair in xeroderma pigmentosum group C cells is regulated differently in transformed cells and primary fibroblasts

Excision repair in xeroderma pigmentosum group C cells occurs at about 20-30% of normal levels. In confluent fibroblasts a unique characteristic of this low repair is that it is clustered, representing very efficient repair in a small region of the genome. In SV40-transformed fibroblasts and Epstein-Barr virus-transformed lymphocytes of complementation group C, however, excision repair is randomly distributed. This may be a consequence of the high rate of proliferation of both of these cell types, because random repair is also observed in rapidly proliferating group C fibroblasts. The distribution of sites that can be mended in group C cells, therefore, varies according to the transformed and proliferative state of the cells, demonstrating that transformed cells do not always exhibit repair characteristics identical to those of primary fibroblasts.
A Methodology for High Cycle Fatigue Characterization of Lead-Free Interconnects Under Simultaneous Harsh Environments of High Temperature and Vibration

Current trends in the automotive industry warrant a variety of electronics for improved control, safety, efficiency and entertainment. Many of these electronic systems like engine control units, variable valve sensor, crankshaft-camshaft sensors are located under-hood. Electronics installed in under-hood applications are subjected simultaneously to mechanical vibrations and thermal loads. Typical failure modes caused by vibration induced high cycle fatigue include solder fatigue, copper trace or lead fracture. The solder interconnects accrue damage much faster when vibrated at elevated temperatures. Industry migration to lead-free solders has resulted in a proliferation of a wide variety of solder alloy compositions. Presently, the literature on mechanical behavior of lead-free alloys under simultaneous harsh environment of high-temperature vibration is sparse. In this paper, the reduction in stiffness of the PCB with temperature has been demonstrated by measuring the shift in natural frequencies. The test vehicle consisting of a variety of lead-free SAC305 daisy chain components including BGA, QFP, SOP and TSOPs has been tested to failure by subjecting it to two elevated temperatures and harmonic vibrations at the corresponding first natural frequency. The test matrix includes three test temperatures of 25C, 75C and 125C and simple harmonic vibration amplitude of 10G which are values typical in automotive testing. PCB deflection has been shown to increase with increase in temperature. The full field strain has been extracted using high speed cameras operating at 100,000 fps in conjunction with digital image correlation. Material properties of the PCB at test temperatures have been measured using tensile tests and dynamic mechanical analysis. FE simulation using global-local finite element models is thus correlated with the system characteristics such as modal shapes, natural frequencies and displacement amplitudes for every temperature. The solder level stresses have been extracted from the sub-models. Stress amplitude versus cycles to failure curves are obtained at all the three test temperatures. A comparison of failure modes for different surface mount packages at elevated test temperatures and vibration has been presented in this study.Copyright © 2013 by ASME
Effects of coupling agents on the rheological properties, processability, and mechanical properties of filled polypropylene

An experimental study was carried out to investigate the effects of coupling agents on the rheological properties, processability, and mechanical properties of highly filed polypropylenes (PP). Inorganic fillers used were CaCO3 and glass beads, and coupling agents used were two silane coupling agents, N-octyl triethoxy silane and γ-aminopropyl triethoxy silane, and one titanate coupling agent, isopropyl triisostearoyl titanate. It was found that the addition of the coupling agents to the PP-CaCO3 (50 wt percent) decreased the melt viscosity and increased the melt elasticity (first normal stress difference). However, the addition of the silane coupling agents to the PP-glass beads (50 wt percent) affected the rheological properties of the melts quite differently. The N-octyl triethoxy silane had relatively little effect on either the melt viscosity or the melt elasticity, whereas the γ-aminopropyl triethoxy silane increased the melt viscosity and decreased the melt elasticity. The CaCO3- or glass bead-filled polypropylenes, with and without coupling agents, were injection-molded and the mechanical properties of the molded specimens were measured by the use of an Instron testing machine. It was found that the effect on the tensile strength and percent elongation of the filled polypropylenes depended upon the specific coupling agent utilized. A melt-spinning study was also carried out to investigate the effect of coupling agents on the spinnability (defined as the maximum draw-down ratio) of the PP-CaCO3 system, and on the mechanical properties of the melt-spun fibers. It was found that the spinnability of the PP-CaCO3 was enhanced considerably by the addition of the coupling agents, and that the tensile strength of the melt-spun fibers was also improved by their addition. Scanning electron micrographs were taken of the fracture surface of injection-molded specimens and an attempt was made, with the aid of photomicrographs, to explain the mechanical properties of molded specimens observed experimentally.
Use of Electrostatic Probes in Plasma Physics

The principles of classical Langmuir probe theory are outlined to indicate the type of information theoretically obtainable by this technique. In the dense, hot plasmas and high magnetic fields encountered in modern plasma physics, difficulties arise both in instrumentation and in interpretation of the measurements. Because of these difficulties, perhaps the usefulness of probes lies primarily in the measurements of local fluctuating electric fields. The types of circuits required in probe work are described in general terms.
Improved coupled-line microstrip circuit for L and S band oscillators

The coupled-bar microstrip circuit described here utilises a TRAPATT diode, and is ideally suited for systems applications such as i.f.f. transponder-transmitter sources and airborne altimeter sources. It is compact and rugged and allows high-efficiency operation. This circuit has delivered 150 W with 30% efficiency at L band, 150 W with 26% efficiency at 3.5 GHz, and 120 W with 19% efficiency at 3.85 GHz. The devices were operated with 0.5 μs pulses up to 1% duty cycle in a near jitterfree operation.
Topical versus retrobulbar anesthesia for combined phacotrabeculectomy: prospective randomized study.

Abstract Purpose: To compare the safety and efficacy of topical and retrobulbar anesthesia for combined phacotrabeculectomy. Setting: Tertiary-care university hospital ambulatory surgical center. Methods: In this prospective study, 40 consecutive patients having combined phacotrabeculectomy were randomized to receive topical (n = 20) or retrobulbar (n = 20) anesthesia. Operating conditions, patient comfort, and surgical outcome were evaluated. Results: There was no significant between-group difference in operating conditions ( P = .56), pain during ( P = .41) or after ( P = .23) surgery, or supplemental anesthesia required ( P = .49). Few patients in either group were bothered by tissue manipulation or the microscope light, although more patients in the topical group were slightly bothered by touch sensation ( P = .05). Chemosis, subconjunctival hemorrhage, and eyelid hematoma were seen almost exclusively in the retrobulbar group ( P P = .04), although this did not pose a problem to the surgeon. Conclusion: Topical anesthesia is a safe and effective alternative to retrobulbar anesthesia for combined phacotrabeculectomy.
Quantitative estimation of absorption and degradation of a carnitine supplement by human adults.

Abstract Results of kinetic and pharmacokinetic studies have suggested that dietary carnitine supplements are not totally absorbed, and are in part degraded in the gastrointestinal tract of humans. To determine the metabolic fate of dietary carnitine supplements in humans, we administered orally a tracer dose of [methyl-3H] l -carnitine with a meal to five normal adult males, who had been adapted to a high-carnitine diet plus carnitine supplement (2 g/d) for 14 days. Appearance of [methyl-3H] l -carnitine and metabolites in serum, and urinary and fecal excretion of radiolabeled carnitine and metabolites was monitored for 5 to 11 days following administration of the test dose. Maximum concentration of [methyl-3H] l -carnitine in serum occurred at 2.0 to 4.5 hours after administration of the tracer, indicating relatively slow absorption from the intestinal lumen. Total radioactive metabolites excreted in urine and feces ranged from 47% to 55% of the ingested tracer. Major metabolites found were [3H]trimethylamine N-oxide (8% to 49% of the administered dose; excreted primarily in urine) and [ 3 H]γ-butyrobetaine (0.44% to 45% of the administered dose; excreted primarily in feces). Urinary excretion of total carnitine was 16% to 23% of intake. Fecal excretion of total carnitine was negligible (less than 2% of total carnitine excretion).
College attendance and the college wage premium: Differences by gender

Abstract This paper examines gender differences in the decision of whether or not to attend college. We use a human capital model of the decision to attend college, positing that this decision is a function of family background characteristics and the expected future earnings differential between college and high school graduates (the college wage premium). Using data from the NLSY, we demonstrate that for men, the higher the college wage premium, the more likely they are to attend college. However, for women, higher college wage premia have an insignificant effect on the decision to attend college and this effect is robust to a variety of specifications. In addition, we find some support for the comparative advantage hypothesis suggesting that individuals self-select themselves into that level of education which best utilizes their talents.
Sound-Wave—Soft-Mode Interaction near Displacive Phase Transitions: Spin Reorientation in ErFe O 3

We present experimental and theoretical results of the sound-wave\char22{}spin-wave interaction in the spin reorientation region for the orthoferrite ErFe${\mathrm{O}}_{3}$. Near the transition temperatures ${T}_{l}=87$ \ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}K and ${T}_{u}=96.6$ \ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}K, a longitudinal sound wave propagating along the c axis exhibits a sound-wave\char22{}order-parameter interaction which is linear in the strain and quadratic in the order parameter. This leads to steplike discontinuities in the sound velocity. The experimentally observed velocity change at ${T}_{l}$ and ${T}_{u}$ is 0.8%. This gives a magnetoelastic coupling constant of $|{B}_{33}\ensuremath{-}{B}_{31}|\ensuremath{\sim}18\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{6}$ erg/${\mathrm{cm}}^{3}$. Attenuation peaks at ${T}_{l}$ and ${T}_{u}$ arise from the same resonant interaction. Shear waves, with polarization vector along the $a$ axis, exhibit velocity dips at ${T}_{l}$ and ${T}_{u}$ indicating an interaction linear in the strain and the order parameter. A theoretical fit to the velocity curve yields the magnetoelastic coupling constant $|{B}_{55}|=2.2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{6}$ erg/${\mathrm{cm}}^{3}$. Again, spin-wave damping leads to attenuation peaks at ${T}_{l}$ and ${T}_{u}$. Finally, shear waves, with polarization vector along the $b$ axis, do not give any coupling to the order parameter, but only a coupling to the optical branch of the spin-wave spectrum. This leads to a small noticeable sound-wave velocity change in the spin reorientation region. All these effects can be quantitatively described by a linearized set of coupled spin-wave and sound-wave equations of motion.
Discriminative Clustering by Regularized Information Maximization

Is there a principled way to learn a probabilistic discriminative classifier from an unlabeled data set? We present a framework that simultaneously clusters the data and trains a discriminative classifier. We call it Regularized Information Maximization (RIM). RIM optimizes an intuitive information-theoretic objective function which balances class separation, class balance and classifier complexity. The approach can flexibly incorporate different likelihood functions, express prior assumptions about the relative size of different classes and incorporate partial labels for semi-supervised learning. In particular, we instantiate the framework to un-supervised, multi-class kernelized logistic regression. Our empirical evaluation indicates that RIM outperforms existing methods on several real data sets, and demonstrates that RIM is an effective model selection method.
IL-6 stimulates system A amino acid transporter activity in trophoblast cells through STAT3 and increased expression of SNAT2.

Changes in placental nutrient transport are closely associated with abnormal fetal growth. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the regulation of placental amino acid transporters are unkno...
Residence times in river basins as determined by analysis of long-term tritium records

The US Geological Survey has maintained a network of stations to collect samples for the measurement of tritium concentrations in precipitation and streamflow since the early 1960s. Tritium data from outflow waters of river basins draining 4500–75000 km2 are used to determine average residence times of water within the basins. The basins studied are the Colorado River above Cisco, Utah; the Kissimmee River above Lake Okeechobee, Florida; the Mississippi River above Anoka, Minnesota; the Neuse River above Streets Ferry Bridge near Vanceboro, North Carolina; the Potomac River above Point of Rocks, Maryland; the Sacramento River above Sacramento, California; the Susquehanna River above Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The basins are modeled with the assumption that the outflow in the river comes from two sources—prompt (within-year) runoff from precipitation, and flow from the long-term reservoirs of the basin. Tritium concentration in the outflow water of the basin is dependent on three factors: (1) tritium concentration in runoff from the long-term reservoir, which depends on the residence time for the reservoir and historical tritium concentrations in precipitation; (2) tritium concentrations in precipitation (the within-year runoff component); (3) relative contributions of flow from the long-term and within-year components. Predicted tritium concentrations for the outflow water in the river basins were calculated for different residence times and for different relative contributions from the two reservoirs. A box model was used to calculate tritium concentrations in the long-term reservoir. Calculated values of outflow tritium concentrations for the basin were regressed against the measured data to obtain a slope as close as possible to 1. These regressions assumed an intercept of zero and were carried out for different values of residence time and reservoir contribution to maximize the fit of modeled versus actual data for all the above rivers. The final slopes of the fitted regression lines ranged from 0.95 to 1.01 (correlation coefficient > 0.96) for the basins studied. Values for the residence time of waters within the basins and average relative contributions of the within-year and long-term reservoirs to outflow were obtained. Values for river basin residence times ranged from 2 years for the Kissimmee River basin to 20 years for the Potomac River basin. The residence times indicate the time scale in which the basin responds to anthropogenic inputs. The modeled tritium concentrations for the basins also furnish input data for urban and agricultural settings where these river waters are used.
Secrecy Extraction from Increased Randomness in a Time-Variant MIMO Channel

This paper proposes a practical protocol useful for establishing encryption keys between nodes in a wireless network. The method is designed to enable creation of long keys by extracting the increased randomness inherent in reciprocal time-variant multiple-input multiple-output wireless channels. The presentation provides a strategy for exploiting the degrees of freedom existing in the protocol to decorrelate the information in the public discussion from the key information as well as the channel state information. The paper further discusses several error reduction techniques that can efficiently enhance key agreement between the multiple-antenna nodes. Simulations based on a realistic time-variant channel model demonstrate the efficiency of the key establishment as well as the probability of key agreement for the protocol.
Practice variations and health care reform: connecting the dots.

Unwarranted variation is a ubiquitous feature of U.S. health care. Remedies for variations exist, and several are described in the current collection of Health Affairs pa- pers. Several obstacles stand in the way of widespread adoption of these remedies: (1) a quality agenda that has yet to focus on improving the quality of patient decision making; (2) economic incentives that do not reward exemplary practice; and (3) the poor state of clini- cal science. Medicare reform legislation creates the opportunity for a demonstration pro- ject to redesign health care to address these barriers. We also must grapple with the cul- tural bias that more care is better and that physicians must know best.
Investigation of scintillation light multiplexing for PET detectors based on position sensitive avalanche photodiodes

Dedicated high resolution compact PET systems are being developed for breast and small animal imaging that use lutetium oxyorthosilicate (LSO) crystals (1/spl times/1/spl times/3 mm/sup 3/) coupled to highly compact position sensitive avalanche photodiodes (PSAPDs) with 8/spl times/8 mm active area and 200 /spl mu/m thickness. The full system will consist of thousands of PSAPDs. In this paper, we investigated methods to multiplex scintillation light from the LSO crystals in order to significantly reduce the number of PSAPDs required without compromising the system performance. Initial experiments were performed using dual-layer slotted LSO crystals forming crystal pixels that are offset with respect to either layer by half crystal pixel width in either 1D or 2D configuration. For the 1D crystal configuration, the results show that all crystal pixels (1/spl times/1/spl times/3 mm/sup 3/ ) except the edge crystal pixels can be resolved with an average of 3:1 peak-to-valley ratio when a specular reflector is used between the crystal slots. An average energy resolution of (/spl sim/13%) is also obtained. Compared to the 1D offset crystal configuration, the 2D offset crystal configuration showed slightly better performance with an average energy resolution of (/spl sim/12%) and peak-to-valley ratio of (/spl sim/4.5:1). This result is comparable to the previous published data using discrete single layer crystal arrays. A relatively uniform photo peak energy distribution (standard deviation /spl sigma/ < 0.3 volts) is also observed. The result showed that light multiplexing using dual layer LSO crystals with offset crystal slot configuration has great potential. In addition, the slot crystal offset mechanism will simplify the mechanical assembly of the crystals.
Ensuring a Minimum: Social Security Reform and Women

Purpose: The potential effects of implementing three different minimum benefits in Social Security, which have accompanied proposals to privatize the program and reform family benefits, are examined in relation to the adequacy of benefits for women reaching age 62 between 2020 and 2030. Design and Methods: The 1992 Health and Retirement Study is used to conduct a simplified microsimulation. Results: The minimum benefit proposal accompanying privatization proposals, which requires 40 earnings years for a poverty level benefit, fails to cover significant numbers of vulnerable women. The elimination of spousal benefits, criticized for being outdated and regressive, helps offset the costs of more generous minimum benefits, such as those that require residency or 10 earnings years for eligibility. Implications: Noncontributory benefits distributed based on marital status are not as effective at protecting poorer women, as well as a new generation of women that is less likely to be married, than are minimum benefits where eligibility is tied to U.S. residency or simply Social Security eligibility.
A multilevel technique for robust and efficient extraction of phase macromodels of digitally controlled oscillators

PPV phase macromodels are important for speeding up simulation of oscillator related circuits, such as PLLs, without sacrificing accuracy. Prior numerical methods for extracting PPVs face very significant robustness and accuracy problems when confronted with digitally controlled oscillators (DCOs, core building blocks in digital phase-locked loops), due to large RC time-constants from gated capacitors. In this paper, we present a hierarchical harmonic balance based technique for numerically extracting the PPV of DCOs from their SPICE-level circuit descriptions. The proposed method applies hierarchical circuit partitioning and multi-level Newton methods to achieve dramatically superior convergence and PPV accuracy in the presence of large RC time-constants. We validate the method on a large DCO with many gated capacitors and demonstrate that it can extract the PPV efficiently and robustly, succeeding when prior methods fail. The method also provides speedups of an order of magnitude for large circuits, in addition to having significantly smaller memory requirements.
The crystal structure of NADPH: Ferredoxin reductase from azotobacter vinelandii

NADPH:ferredoxin reductase (AvFPR) is involved in the response to oxidative stress in Azotobacter vinelandii. The crystal structure of AvFPR has been determined at 2.0 A resolution. The polypeptide fold is homologous with six other oxidoreductases whose structures have been solved including Escherichia coli flavodoxin reductase (EcFldR) and spinach, and Anabaena ferredoxin:NADP+ reductases (FNR). AvFPR is overall most homologous to EcFldR. The structure is comprised of a N-terminal six-stranded antiparallel beta-barrel domain, which binds FAD, and a C-terminal five-stranded parallel beta-sheet domain, which binds NADPH/NADP+ and has a classical nucleotide binding fold. The two domains associate to form a deep cleft where the NADPH and FAD binding sites are juxtaposed. The structure displays sequence conserved motifs in the region surrounding the two dinucleotide binding sites, which are characteristic of the homologous enzymes. The folded over conformation of FAD in AvFPR is similar to that in EcFldR due to stacking of Phe255 on the adenine ring of FAD, but it differs from that in the FNR enzymes, which lack a homologous aromatic residue. The structure of AvFPR displays three unique features in the environment of the bound FAD. Two features may affect the rate of reduction of FAD: the absence of an aromatic residue stacked on the isoalloxazine ring in the NADPH binding site; and the interaction of a carbonyl group with N10 of the flavin. Both of these features are due to the substitution of a conserved C-terminal tyrosine residue with alanine (Ala254) in AvFPR. An additional unique feature may affect the interaction of AvFPR with its redox partner ferredoxin I (FdI). This is the extension of the C-terminus by three residues relative to EcFldR and by four residues relative to FNR. The C-terminal residue, Lys258, interacts with the AMP phosphate of FAD. Consequently, both phosphate groups are paired with a basic group due to the simultaneous interaction of the FMN phosphate with Arg51 in a conserved FAD binding motif. The fourth feature, common to homologous oxidoreductases, is a concentration of 10 basic residues on the face of the protein surrounding the active site, in addition to Arg51 and Lys258.
The Use of Negotiated Order Theory as a Tool for the Analysis and Development of an Interorganizational Field

Negotiated order theory provides a useful tool for cooperative planning among organizations, which may be the best approach for addressing shared problems. Organizations can negotiate the terms of ...
Intelligent bounds on modeling uncertainty: applications to sliding mode control

Robust control techniques such as sliding mode control (SMC) require a dynamic model of the plant and bounds on modeling uncertainty to formulate control laws with guaranteed stability. Although techniques for modeling dynamic systems and estimating model parameters are well established, very few procedures exist for estimating uncertainty bounds. In the case of SMC design, a conservative global bound is usually chosen to ensure closed-loop stability over the entire operating space. The primary drawbacks of this conservative, "hard computing" approach are excessive control activity and reduced performance, particularly in regions of the operating space where the model is accurate. In this paper, a novel approach to estimating uncertainty bounds for dynamic systems is introduced. This "soft computing" approach uses a unique artificial neural network, the 2-Sigma network, to bound modeling uncertainty adaptively. This fusion of intelligent uncertainty bound estimation with traditional SMC results in a control algorithm that is both robust and adaptive. Simulations and experimental demonstrations conducted on a magnetic levitation system confirm these capabilities and reveal excellent tracking performance without excessive control activity.
Should perioperative anticoagulation be an integral part of the priapism shunting procedure

We propose that post-shunting recurrence of ischemic priapism is a postoperative thromboembolic complication, similar to cases of postoperative thrombosis of veins (femoral or popliteal) or arteries (cerebral or coronary). Therefore, perioperative anticoagulation should be given to men undergoing these shunting procedures to prevent this complication.
Restoration of Breeding by Snowy Plovers Following Protection from Disturbance

Promoting recreation and preserving wildlife are often dual missions for land managers, yet recreation may impact wildlife. Because individual disturbances are seemingly inconsequential, it is difficult to convince the public that there is a conservation value to restricting recreation to reduce disturbance. We studied threatened western snowy plovers (Charadrius alexandrinus nivosus) at a public beach (Sands Beach, Coal Oil Point Reserve) in Santa Barbara, California (USA) before and during a period when a barrier directed foot traffic away from a section of upper beach where snowy plovers roost. The barrier reduced disturbance rates by more than half. Snowy plovers increased in abundance (throughout the season) and their distribution contracted to within the protected area. Snowy plovers that were outside the protected area in the morning moved inside as people began using the beach. Experiments with quail eggs indicated an 8% daily risk of nest trampling outside the protected area. Before protection, plovers did not breed at Coal Oil Point. During protection, snowy plovers bred in increasing numbers each year and had high success at fledging young. These results demonstrate how recreational disturbance can degrade habitat for shorebirds and that protecting quality habitat may have large benefits for wildlife and small impacts to recreation.
Interleukin-18-Related Genes Are Induced during the Contraction Phase but Do Not Play Major Roles in Regulating the Dynamics or Function of the T-Cell Response to Listeria monocytogenes Infection

Proinflammatory cytokines, such as gamma interferon (IFN-gamma), impact aspects of T-cell responses after infection, including expansion, contraction, and memory formation. Interleukin-18 (IL-18) functions as a proinflammatory cytokine by stimulating the production of IFN-gamma from multiple cell types and accentuating the development of Th1 CD4 T-cell responses. Focused microarray analyses revealed upregulation of IL-18 and IL-18 receptor genes in CD8 T cells during the contraction phase. Based on these findings we investigated if and how signaling through the IL-18 receptor influences the development and kinetics of antigen (Ag)-specific CD8 and CD4 T-cell responses following infection. IL-18Ralpha(-/-) and IL-18(-/-) mice developed frequencies and total numbers of Ag-specific CD8 T cells after Listeria monocytogenes infection that were similar to those of wild-type C57BL/6 mice. The kinetics of expansion, contraction, and memory CD8 T-cell maintenance were also similar. When IL-18Ralpha deficiency was isolated to Ag-specific CD8 T cells, the kinetics of the expansion and contraction phases were also normal. These basic findings were confirmed by examining the response to vaccinia virus infection. In contrast, the expansion of Ag-specific CD4 T cells was slightly curtailed by the absence of IL-18Ralpha; however, contraction and the maintenance of memory were not altered. Importantly, both memory Ag-specific CD8 and CD4 T cells generated in the absence of IL-18Ralpha expanded appropriately after secondary antigen exposure and were protective, indicating that signaling through the IL-18 receptor is not required for normal T-cell response kinetics and survival of immunized mice challenged with a lethal L. monocytogenes infection.
Impact of ionizing radiation and thermal treatments on furan levels in fruit juice

The formation of furan in freshly prepared apple and orange juices as affected by ionizing radiation and thermal treatments was studied using a newly developed solid-phase microextraction method coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Results show that furan levels increased linearly as radiation dose increased from 0 to 5 kGy. Irradiation induced more furan in apple juice than in orange juice. During post-irradiation storage at 4 °C, furan levels increased in both apple and orange juices, particularly in the 1st 3 d. On the other hand, irradiation degraded deuterated furan (d 4 -furan) spiked in water and fruit juices. The rate of degradation as a function of radiation dose was the highest in water and the lowest in orange juice. Submerging the juice samples in boiling water for 5 min induced higher amounts of furan in orange juice than in apple juice, but autoclaving (121 °C, 25 min) resulted in more furan formation in apple juice than in orange juice. Results reported here suggest that both ionizing radiation and thermal treatments induce furan formation in fruit juices.
Critical Analysis of Sensors for Physiological Responsive Pacing

La stimulation physiologique asservie comporte l'application de capteurs pour mesurer des parametres physioiogiques, qui ensuite fournissent un rhythme asservi. Nous faions l'analyse de six systemes en comparant (1) la rapidite des reponses (2) Ja fiabilite des capteurs et (3) la specificite de chaque systeme. Bien qui'il n'existe pas de solution ideale, et qu'il existe des points faibles dans chaque systeme, plusieurs capteurs paraissent meilleurs que d'autres. II leur reste aetre mieux etudies. De plus, les indications et les benefices pour les patients doivent etre clarifyes.
An approach toward reuse of engineering models in the automation of system verification

In large systems such as weapons systems or enterprise business systems, validation of the requirements and verification of system performance are often performed by completely separate and independent teams. This often results in greater resources being used, which results in greater cost of acquisition. However, by tailoring the requirements validation process during the systems engineering and detailed design efforts to produce reusable models of the system software, these models can then be reused to increase the level of automation in the scenario planning, execution, and analysis during Test and Evaluation (T&E). We present our method of reusing engineering models to provide increased analysis coverage during system verification. We also describe our automated retest capability and discuss policy issues related to automated testing of components on the desktop.
Fast implementation of wavelet transform for m-band filter banks

An orthogonal m-band discrete wavelet transform has an O(m2) complexity. In this paper, we present a fast implementation of such a discrete wavelet transform. In an orthonormal m-band wavelet system, the vanishing moments and orthogonality conditions are imposed on the scaling filter only. Given a scaling filter, one can design the other m-1 wavelet filters. It is well-known that there are infinitely many solutions in such designing procedure. Here we choose one specific type of solutions and implement the corresponding wavelet transform in a scheme which has complexity O(m). Thus for any scaling filter, one can always construct a full orthogonal m-band wavelet matrix with an O(m) discrete wavelet transform.© (1998) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Carboxylmethylation of the β subunit of xENaC regulates channel activity

The action of aldosterone to increase apical membrane permeability in responsive epithelia is thought to be due to activation of sodium channels. Aldosterone stimulates methylation of a 95-kDa protein in apical membrane of A6 cells, and we have previously shown that methylation of a 95-kDa protein in the immunopurified Na+ channel complex increases open probability of these channels in planar lipid bilayers. We report here that aldosterone stimulates carboxylmethylation of the beta subunit of xENaC in A6 cells. In vitro translated beta subunit, but not alpha or gamma, serves as a substrate for carboxylmethylation. Carboxylmethylation of ENaC reconstituted in planar lipid bilayers leads to an increase in open probability only when beta subunit is present. When the channel complex is immunoprecipitated from A6 cells and analyzed by Western blot with antibodies to the three subunits of xENaC, all three subunits are recognized as constituents of the complex. The results suggest that Na+ channel activity in A6 cells is regulated, in part, by carboxylmethylation of the beta subunit of xENaC.
BLyS: Member of the Tumor Necrosis Factor Family and B Lymphocyte Stimulator

The tumor necrosis factor (TNF) superfamily of cytokines includes both soluble and membrane-bound proteins that regulate immune responses. A member of the human TNF family, BLyS (B lymphocyte stimulator), was identified that induced B cell proliferation and immunoglobulin secretion. BLyS expression on human monocytes could be up-regulated by interferon-γ. Soluble BLyS functioned as a potent B cell growth factor in costimulation assays. Administration of soluble recombinant BLyS to mice disrupted splenic B and T cell zones and resulted in elevated serum immunoglobulin concentrations. The B cell tropism of BLyS is consistent with its receptor expression on B-lineage cells. The biological profile of BLyS suggests it is involved in monocyte-driven B cell activation.
Will antimicrobial resistance of BRD pathogens impact BRD management in the future

Resistance is a qualitative interpretation of antimicrobial activity in vitro. Critical to management of bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is the clinical response in vivo. Attempts to connect activity in vitro to response in vivo have been complicated by the complexity of BRD, interpretation of antimicrobial activity in vitro, and inconsistent measures of clinical success or failure. During recent history, the discovery, development, and commercialization of antimicrobials have decreased. In response to resistance, voluntary and imposed restrictions on use of antimicrobials have been implemented. Resistance can be reversed using technology and knowledge of mechanisms of resistance. Perhaps approaches that reverse resistance will be used in clinical management of BRD in the future. The short answer to the question posed in the title is, ‘yes.’ Since antimicrobial drugs were discovered, resistance has been a consideration for selection of treatment of any infectious disease and BRD is not unique. In the opinion of the author, the more important question is, ‘How will antimicrobial resistance of BRD pathogens impact BRD management in the future?’
Review: Lesa Lockford (2004). Performing Femininity: Rewriting Gender Identity

Performing Femininity beschreibt Performances der Autorin vor unterschiedlichstem Publikum: hierzu gehorten Kunden eines Stripclubs in New Orleans ebenso wie ein Universitatsseminar, das sich mit dem feministischen "Spin the Bottle"-Spiel beschaftigte. Indem LOCKFORD Uberzeugungen und Befreiungsmoglichkeiten im Kontext von Marginalisierung zu identifizieren versucht, fordert sie den herrschenden feministischen Theorie-Diskurs heraus. Zusatzlich werden in diesem provokativen Buch traditionelle Themen der "Verkorperung" wieder entdeckt. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs0602130