cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Automatic Transmission Shift Calibration Based on Parallel-Modulated Neural Network (PMNN) Friction Component Model

The parallel-modulated-neural-network (PMNN) -based friction component model [19] provides a simple pressure-torque formula, which possesses much improved scalability with respect to the applied pressure. In this paper, the PMNN friction component model is implemented within a comprehensive powertrain model, to simulate the shifting process of an automatic transmission (AT) system under various operating conditions. Simulation results demonstrate that the PMNN model can be effectively applied as a part of powertrain system model to accurately predict transmission shift dynamics. A pressure-profiling scheme through a quadratic polynomial pressure-torque relationship from the PMNN model is developed for the transmission shifting optimization. This scheme is implemented to improve the transmission shifting quality under certain operating conditions. The pressure profiling results illustrate that the proposed pressure profiling technique can be potentially applied to a wide range of operating conditions. This study demonstrates that the PMNN architecture not only outperforms the conventional network modeling techniques in accuracy and numerical efficiency, but is also a new tool for AT controller design.Copyright © 2004 by ASME
Two-way pushdown automata*

In this paper, a new type of automation, called a two-way pushdown automaton is defined and studied. The model is a generalization of a pushdown automaton in that two-way motion is allowed on the input tape which is assumed to have endmarkers. The model is investigated in both the nondeterministic and deterministic cases. A number of basic results are obtained which include relationships with other families, closure and nonclosure results, and decidability properties. Certain special cases are studied such as the cases when the input alphabet has one letter and the device has no endmarkers.
The anatomy of the proximal tibia in pediatric and adolescent patients: implications for ACL reconstruction and prevention of physeal arrest

Although the treatment of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears in skeletally immature patients is still controversial, several studies have advocated ACL reconstruction in selected patients to prevent secondary injury. The proximal tibial physis is a structure at risk during ACL reconstruction in young patients, and physeal growth complications have been reported after surgery in this area. The relationship between the ACL and the proximal tibial physeal/apophyseal regions is poorly understood. This study examined the MRI anatomy of the ACL and the proximal tibia apophysis and epiphysis. MRIs of 59 skeletally immature knees were reviewed (Average age = 12.75 years, range 6–15) to define the anatomy of the epiphyseal and apophyseal regions. Measurements were recorded in three parasagittal planes: (1) at the lateral border of the patellar tendon, (2) the lateral edge of the ACL insertion, and (3) the medial edge of the ACL insertion. A single three-dimensional (3D) computed tomography (CT) scan was used to evaluate the position of standard drill holes used in ACL reconstruction to assess for potential degree of injury to the epiphyseal and apophyseal growth plates. In the parasagittal planes, the average height of the epiphysis was 19.6, 20.7, and 21.5 mm at the lateral border of the patellar tendon, the lateral border of the ACL, and the medial border of the ACL, respectively. At the level of the same landmarks, the apophysis extended below the physis at an average of 20.2, 16.8, and 7.0 mm, respectively. Expressed as a percentage of epiphysis height this was an average of 104, 82, and 33%, respectively. Examination of 3D CT images revealed that variations in drill hole placement had effects on the volume of injury to the proximal tibial physis and apophysis. Drill holes that started more medial, distal, and with a steeper angle of inclination reduced the amount of physis and apophysis violated when compared with holes placed more lateral, proximal, and with a shallow angle of inclination. The proximal tibial physis and apophysis is vulnerable to injury by drill hole placement during ACL reconstruction in skeletally immature patients. This paper defines the anatomic relationship of the apophyseal and epiphyseal regions of the physis in the proximal tibia. The volume of injury to the physis can be reduced by avoiding tunnel placement that is too lateral or too proximal on the tibia. A better understanding of these relationships may guide the placement of tibial drill holes, which have a lower risk of producing significant physeal damage.
Chronic cough and dyspnea in ice hockey players after an acute exposure to combustion products of a faulty ice resurfacer.

The aim of this study was to characterize pulmonary function and radiologic testing in ice hockey players after exposure to combustion products of a faulty ice resurfacer. Our patients were 16 previously healthy hockey players who developed chronic cough and dyspnea after exposure. Symptom questionnaires, pulmonary function tests (PFTs), bronchoprovocation testing, cardiopulmonary exercise testing, high-resolution computed tomography (CT) imaging, and impulse oscillometry (IOS) were all used. A normal group was used for PFTs and IOS controls. Patients had onset of cough within 72 h of exposure. Ninety-two percent complained of dyspnea, 75% chest pain, and 33% hemoptysis. Eight percent were initially hospitalized for their symptoms. Eighty-five percent were treated with systemic steroids and 39% with inhaled bronchodilators. Six months postexposure, 54% complained of cough and 46% complained of dyspnea on exertion. All patients had normal PFTs; 8.3% had a significant bronchodilator response. All had normal exercise tests (mean VO2max = 90 ± 3% predicted) and chest CTs. With IOS, 80% had a significant bronchodilator response (decreased resistance > 12% and SD score > 1; mean change = 21.1 ± 9.9%, mean SD score = 3.1 ± 2.5). No correlation existed between changes in resistance or reactance and spirometric values. Patient symptoms correlated significantly with bronchodilator response on IOS resistance (R = 0.61, p = 0.03). More than 50% of patients exposed to the combustion products of a faulty ice resurfacer remained symptomatic six months after exposure. Despite persistence of symptoms, conventional pulmonary function tests and radiologic evaluation did not reveal airway abnormalities. IOS showed evidence of increased airway resistance and small-airway disease, which correlated with patient symptoms.
Survivor Feedback on a Safety Decision Aid Smartphone Application for College-Age Women in Abusive Relationships

College-age women are at high risk for dating violence and tend to seek services at rates lower than older adults. Young women are more likely to look to their peers or to technology as a forum for accessing safety resources. This study explores a prototype smart phone application (“app”) that is a safety decision aid for female survivors of dating violence. The app is intended to assist young women to assess the danger in their abusive relationship, set priorities for safety, and develop a personalized safety plan. Through focus group sessions and individual interviews, 38 female college students in 4 states (Arizona, Maryland, Missouri, and Oregon) who self-identified as survivors of abusive relationships reviewed and provided feedback on the usefulness, understandability, appropriateness, and comprehensiveness of the app. The focus group sessions and interviews were transcribed and analyzed. Participants were positive about the potential of the app to provide personalized information about abusive dati...
Catamenial fevers associated with a uterine smooth muscle tumor of undetermined malignant potential.

Abstract Background: Pyrexia associated with solid and hematogenous neoplasms are a well-recognized clinical condition. Menstrually related (catamenial) fevers have not been reported previously. Case: A 52-year-old woman with a history of stage I breast cancer on adjuvant tamoxifen citrate presented with recurrent fevers associated with menses. An extensive evaluation of possible causes, including recurrent breast cancer and infectious, collagen-vascular, and drug-related sources, initially was unrevealing. A gynecologic evaluation identified a uterine tumor, which appeared to be a cellular leiomyoma on hysteroscopic biopsy. The catamenial fevers resolved immediately after hysterectomy. A uterine smooth muscle tumor of undetermined malignant potential was identified on pathology. Conclusion: Smooth muscle tumors of the myometria are a rare cause of menstrual fevers.
LINGUISTIC CONTEXT SPACES: NECESSARY FRAMES FOR CORRECT APPROXIMATE REASONING

Effective inference under uncertainty in Artificial Intelligence depends on context. Inferences based on Bayesian conditional probabilities use context effectively. However, newer approaches, such as fuzzy reasoning (and others—e.g., Dempster-Shafer, rough sets, etc.) cannot take context appropriately into account without further development of linguistic context. We develop the new concept of “context space” for fuzzy sets theory. Many-valued fuzzy sets were introduced by Nakanishi [1989]. We use them in this paper to describe context (context space) as an analog of probability space. Such a description of context space allows one to usefully construct fuzzy sets for specific applications, and thus improves the foundation for fuzzy sets theory. In addition, the problem of establishing membership functions (MFs) is considered for context spaces. It is shown that semantic operational procedures [Hisdal, 1984] and modal logic [Resconi, et al., 1992] are preferable when used jointly with a complete and exact...
Surface nonlinear optics [Invited]

Nonlinear optics has made giant strides in the past 50 years. It has impacted broadly on many disciplines of science and technology. Surface science is one of them because nonlinear optics provides unique opportunities to probe surfaces and interfaces. As surface and interface properties become increasingly important in science and technology, so does nonlinear optics as a surface characterizing tool. This article gives a brief review of the field. We reminisce on the early years of surface nonlinear optics and its subsequent development as surface analytical probes. We discuss how surface nonlinear optics, with emphasis on second harmonic and sum frequency generation, has influenced various areas of surface science and how the impact can be extended in the future.
In-Plane Microstructure of Gas Diffusion Layers With Different Properties for PEFC

Gas diffusion layer (GDL) is undoubtedly one of the most complicated components used in a polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) in terms of liquid and gas transport phenomena. An appropriate fuel cell design seeks a fundamental study of this tortuous porous component. Currently, porosity and gas permeability have been known as some of the key parameters affecting liquid and gas transport through GDL. Although these are dominant parameters defining mass transport through porous layers, there are still many other factors affecting transport phenomena as well as overall cell performance. In this work, microstructural properties of Toray carbon papers with different thicknesses and for polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) treated and untreated cases have been studied based on scanning electron microscopy (SEM) image analysis. Water droplet contact angle as a dominant macroscale property as well as mean pore diameter, pore diameter distribution, and pore roundness distribution as important microscale properties have been studied. It was observed that the mean pore diameter of Toray carbon paper does not change with its thickness and PTFE content. Mean pore diameter for Toray carbon papers was calculated to be around 26μm regardless of their thicknesses and PTFE content. It was also observed that droplet contact angle on GDL surface does not vary with GDL thickness. The average contact angle for 10 wt.% PTFE treated GDLs of different thicknesses was measured about 150°. Finally, the heterogeneous in-plane PTFE distribution on the GDL surface was observed to have no effect on mean pore diameter of GDLs.Copyright © 2013 by ASME
Revised dates of large earthquakes along the Carrizo section of the San Andreas Fault, California, since A.D. 1310 ± 30

[1] Precise knowledge of the age and magnitude of past earthquakes is essential for characterizing models of earthquake recurrence and key to forecasting future earthquakes. We present 28 new radiocarbon analyses that refine the chronology of the last five earthquakes at the Bidart Fan site along the Carrizo section of the south central San Andreas Fault, which last ruptured during the Fort Tejon earthquake in A.D. 1857. The new data show that the penultimate earthquake in the Carrizo Plain occurred not earlier than A.D. 1640 and the modeled 95th percentile ranges of the three earlier earthquakes (and their mean) are A.D. 1540–1630 (1585), A.D. 1360–1425 (1393), and A.D. 1280–1340 (1310), indicating an average time interval of 137 ± 44 years between large earthquakes since A.D. 1310 ± 30. A robust earthquake recurrence model of the Carrizo section will require even more well-dated earthquakes for thorough characterization. However, these new data imply that since A.D. 1310 ± 30, the Carrizo section has failed more regularly and more often than previously thought.
Flexural Lateral Load Distribution Characteristics of Sandwich Plate System Bridges: Parametric Investigation

The sandwich plate system (SPS) is a relatively new bridge deck system that consists of steel face plates bonded to a rigid polyurethane core. The decks are thin, lightweight, and modular in design and can be tailored to numerous applications. This system provides an excellent alternative for the rapid construction and rehabilitation of bridge decks. With any new system, there exists some uncertainty in the design procedures as a result of the limited population for comparison. This paper presents the results of a finite-element parametric investigation of the lateral load distribution characteristics of SPS bridges. The parametric study primarily focuses on the influence of deck thickness on distribution behavior as compared to conventional reinforced concrete decks. Results from the study demonstrate that the inherent flexibility of a thin SPS deck yields larger distribution factors (up to 20%) than a typical reinforced concrete deck, but these distribution factors can still be conservatively estimated with current AASHTO LRFD methods. Additional comparisons indicate that the distribution behavior of SPS bridges can also be estimated with the equations proposed by the NCHRP 12-62 project.
Activation of the Stat3 Signaling Pathway Is Required for Differentiation by Interleukin-6 in PC12-E2 Cells

The role of signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) signaling pathways in the interleukin-6 (IL-6)-induced morphological differentiation of PC12-E2 cells was assessed using wild type and dominant negative mutants of Stat1 and Stat3, containing Tyr → Phe (YF), Ser → Ala (SA), and the double mutations (DM), respectively. FS3-YF or FS3-DM markedly inhibited the IL-6-induced response, but overexpression of FS3-SA caused only a modest inhibition. Expression of all Stat3 mutants had no effect on NGF-induced neurite outgrowth. Overexpression of wild type Stat1 protein inhibited IL-6 activated DNA binding complexes containing Stat3 homodimers, which may explain the partial negative effect of Stat1 on IL-6-induced neurite outgrowth. Specificity of these STAT constructs was confirmed using luciferase reporter gene assays, which showed that IL-6-activated transcription was blocked by expression of FS3-YF and FS3-DM and that FS1 enhanced the interferon γ-activated transcription. Thus, in PC12-E2 cells, Stat3 homodimers are preferentially activated by IL-6, indicating a role for Stat3 in the regulation of cellular differentiation. Furthermore, IL-6 induced robust neurite outgrowth in PC12-E2 cells expressing dominant negative forms of RAS or SHC or in cells pretreated with the mitogen-activated protein kinase mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase inhibitor, PD98059. Thus, activation of the Stat3 signaling pathway, but not RAS/ERK dependent pathways, is essential for differentiation of PC12-E2 cells by IL-6.
Adipose tissue and reproduction in women

Adipose tissue has been viewed as the primary source of stored energy, but with the discovery of novel adipose tissue gene products, i.e., adipokines, another equally important role has emerged. Adipose tissue is a key endocrine organ involved in multiple processes, including glucose homeostasis, steroid production, immunoregulation, hematopoesis, and reproduction. The distribution of adipose tissue may also have a significant impact on reproductive function.
Giant cell arteritis. Corticosteroids, temporal artery biopsy, and blindness.

Objective To describe three patients with giant cell arteritis (GCA) who suffered profound, irreversible visual loss due to delayed initiation or discontinuation of corticosteroid therapy pending results of histopathologic examination of temporal artery biopsy specimens and to review the appropriate management of GCA once the clinical diagnosis is made. Study design Case series. Setting University-affiliated eye hospital. Patients Three women with biopsy-proven GCA and bilateral visual loss due to delayed institution or discontinuation of corticosteroid therapy. Main outcome measures Visual acuity and onset, and time course of corticosteroid therapy. Results Permanent visual loss resulted from delayed initiation of corticosteroid therapy in two patients and discontinuation of therapy in one patient with clinically suspected diagnosis of GCA. In two of these patients, visual loss was preceded by amaurosis fugax and other visual disturbances, although one patient did not volunteer this information to her physician. Conclusions Giant cell arteritis may cause rapid and profound loss of vision bilaterally, often without warning. It is essential that systemic corticosteroid therapy be initiated as soon as the diagnosis of GCA is made clinically. Corticosteroid therapy should not be delayed until results of examination of the temporal artery biopsy specimen are obtained. Biopsy specimen interpretation will not be affected if the biopsy is performed within 7 to 10 days of starting therapy.
An empirical study of the possible relation of treatment differences to quality scores in controlled randomized clinical trials.

Abstract Meta-analytic investigations sometimes use assessements of research qualityaccording to a formal protocol as a tool for improving research synthesis. We asked whether a particular quality scoring system could have a direct use in adjusting the summary estimates of a treatment difference. In an empirical study of the relation of quality scores to treatment differences in published meta-analyses of 7 groups of controlled randomized clinical trials comprising 107 primary studies, we found no relation between treatment difference and overall quality score. We also found no relation between quality score and variation in treatment difference. The level of quality scores has increased at a rate of 9% per decade for three decades, averaging 0.51 on a scale of 0 to 1 for the 1980s, and leaving much room for improvement. Nevertheless, attention to quality of studies by editors, reviewers, and authors may be raising both the level of research done and quality of the reports.
Candidate single nucleotide polymorphism markers for arsenic responsiveness of protein targets.

Arsenic is a toxic metalloid that causes skin cancer and binds to cysteine residues—a property that could be used to infer arsenic responsiveness of a target protein. Non-synonymous Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (nsSNPs) result in amino acid substitutions and may alter arsenic binding with cysteine residues. Thus, the objective of this investigation was to identify and analyze nsSNPs that lead to substitutions to or from cysteine residues as an indication of increased or decreased arsenic responsiveness. We hypothesize that integration of data on molecular impacts of nsSNPs and arsenic-gene relationships will identify nsSNPs that could serve as arsenic responsiveness markers. We have analyzed functional and structural impacts data for 5,811 nsSNPs linked to 1,224 arsenic-annotated genes. In addition to the identified candidate nsSNPs for increased or reduced arsenic responsiveness, we observed i) a nsSNP that results in the breakage of a disulfide bond, as candidate marker for reduced arsenic responsiveness of KLK7, a secreted serine protease participate in normal shedding of the skin; and ii) 6 pairs of vicinal cysteines in KLK7 protein that could be binding sites for arsenic. In summary, our analysis identified non-synonymous SNPs that could be used to evaluate responsiveness of a protein target to arsenic. In particular, an epidermal expressed serine protease with crucial function in normal skin physiology was prioritized on the basis of abundance of vicinal cysteines for further research on arsenic-induced keratinocyte carcinogenesis.
Normal and transformed human prokeratinocytes express divergent effects of a tumor promoter on cell cycle-mediated control of proliferation and differentiation

The tumor promoter, 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA), is shown to be a potent inhibitor of growth of normal human prokeratinocytes (HPK) cultured in serum-free medium. More specifically TPA inhibits the clonal growth of low density HPK cultures in a dose-dependent manner and the anti-proliferative effect of TPA is selective in that the inactive phorbol diester, 4-alpha-12,13-phorbol didecanoate, does not exert a similar effect. One-hour pulse exposure of HPK to TPA also has an effect comparable with continuous exposure to TPA; both treatments induce rapid growth arrest. Flow cytofluorometric analysis of DNA content shows that in TPA-treated HPK growth arrest is associated with accumulation of cells in both the G1 and G2/M phases of the cell cycle. Most interestingly, the data establish that the growth arrest of HPK induced by TPA is irreversible in that treated cells lose their colony-forming potential and that such cells are committed to differentiate without further cell cycle progression when placed in differentiation-promoting medium. In contrast, a human squamous carcinoma cell line, designated SCC-25, is insensitive to the anti-proliferative effect of TPA regardless of whether these cells are cultured in either serum-containing or serum-free medium. These data are interpreted to suggest that transformed human epithelial cells SCC-25 are defective in their ability to regulate their proliferation and differentiation by TPA-sensitive cell cycle-dependent mechanisms.
High-capacity Optical Transport Network based on DSP-aided high-speed channels

The paper reviews the recent technical challenges of digital-signal-processing (DSP)-aided high-speed channel for future high-capacity Optical Transport Network (OTN) with the channel data rate beyond 100Gbit/s.
A guide to the crystallographic analysis of icosahedral viruses

Determining the structure of an icosahedral virus crystal by X-ray diffraction follows very much the same course as conventional protein crystallography. The major differences arise from the relatively large sizes of the particles, which significantly affect the data collection process, data processing and management, and later, the refinement of a model. Most of the other differences are due to the high 5 3 2 point group symmetry of icosahedral viruses. This alters dramatically the means by which initial phases are obtained by molecular substitution, extended to higher resolution by electron density averaging and density modification, and the refinement of the structure in the light of high non-crystallographic symmetry. In this review, we attempt to lead the investigator through the various steps involved in solving the structure of a virus crystal. These steps include the purification of viruses, their crystallization, the recording of X-ray diffraction data, and its reduction to structure amplitudes. ...
Continuous-time point-queue models in dynamic network loading

Abstract Extending a recent work ( Pang et al., in press ) pertaining to a simple single-bottleneck model, this paper is the first of a two-part research wherein we undertake a mathematically rigorous study of the continuous-time dynamic user equilibrium (DUE) problem using the recently introduced mathematical paradigm of differential complementarity systems (DCSs) ( Pang and Stewart, 2008 ). The first step in this comprehensive research is to gain a thorough understanding of some continuous-time point-queue models, which will be used as the building block of a computationally tractable model for the continuous-time DUE problem that we will study in detail in the accompanying paper ( Ban et al., in press ). Starting with the original point-queue model introduced by Vickrey (1969) , we summarize some desirable properties that a continuous-time point-queue model should possess, and show that one of these properties—the nonnegativity of the queue lengths—is violated by Vickrey’s original model. As a remedy to this drawback of Vickrey’s model and with the goal of extending it to a continuous-time setting, we introduce two continuous-time point-queue models and show that they satisfy the properties we propose. Discretizations of the continuous-time models are discussed and construction of numerical trajectories is presented; convergence of such trajectories as the time step approaches zero is established; regularity of a solution to the continuous-time problem is clarified, and numerical results are presented.
Diode-pumped microchip lasers electro-optically Q switched at high pulse repetition rates.

We have obtained ≈50 mW of time-averaged 1.064-μm output power from a diode-pumped, electro-optically Q-switched Nd:YAG microchip laser at pulse repetition rates between 5 and 500 kHz. The FWHM of the output pulses is proportional to the repetition rate, varying from <300 ps at low repetition rates to 13.3 ns at 500 kHz. The multikilowatt peak power obtained at low repetition rates allows for efficient nonlinear frequency conversion and is sufficient to ablate thin layers of metal.
Patterned media write designs

Recording design alternatives are analyzed for 100 1 Gbit/in/sup 2/ vertical and horizontal patterned media, written at 1 Gbit/s with one and two pole heads. Bit write fields, disturb fields, and switching speeds are calculated as part of a system analysis of the theoretical potential of patterned media to address possible physics limits for conventional "featureless" continuous film media (these include thermal decay, nonlinear transition shift and transition noise, and high writer pole M/sub s/ requirements near the limit of known materials). The patterned media "bits" are assumed oriented vertically or horizontally by crystalline anisotropy, and smaller than 100 nm to allow single-domain, 1/2 ns switching. M/sub s/H/sub c/V/kT>500, implying thermal stability including media demagnetization and write head remanent fields, are nearly an order of magnitude areal density extensibility beyond 100 Gbit/in/sup 2/ with present-day head/media magnetic requirements.
Scattering attributes of one-dimensional semiconducting oxide nanomaterials individually probed for varying light-matter interaction angles

We report the characteristic optical responses of one-dimensional semiconducting oxide nanomaterials by examining the individual nanorods (NRs) of ZnO, SnO2, indium tin oxide, and zinc tin oxide under precisely controlled, light-matter interaction geometry. Scattering signals from a large set of NRs of the different types are evaluated spatially along the NR length while varying the NR tilt angle, incident light polarization, and analyzer rotation. Subsequently, we identify material-indiscriminate, NR tilt angle- and incident polarization-dependent scattering behaviors exhibiting continuous, intermittent, and discrete responses. The insight gained from this study can advance our fundamental understanding of the optical behaviors of the technologically useful nanomaterials and, at the same time, promote the development of highly miniaturized, photonic and bio-optical devices utilizing the spatially controllable, optical responses of the individual semiconducting oxide NRs.
Induction of Heme Oxygenase-1 During Endotoxemia Is Downregulated by Transforming Growth Factor-β1

Heme oxygenase (HO)-1 generates CO, a gas with vasodilatory properties, during heme metabolism. HO-1 is expressed highly in vascular tissue after endotoxin stimulation, and generation of CO through the HO-1 pathway contributes to the hemodynamic compromise of endotoxic shock. Shock related to endotoxemia is an immune-mediated process that involves the generation of proinflammatory cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-1beta. Because transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta1 is a modulator of immune-mediated inflammatory responses and it blocks the hypotension of endotoxic shock, we determined whether TGF-beta1 could be used to reduce expression of HO-1 in vascular tissue and smooth muscle cells. In a rat model of endotoxic shock, lipopolysaccharide-induced HO-1 mRNA and protein expression was reduced by TGF-beta1 in highly vascularized tissue, such as heart and lung, by Northern and Western analysis. Furthermore, TGF-beta1 downregulated HO-1 mRNA after its induction by IL-1beta in vascular smooth muscle cells in culture. TGF-beta1 also decreased HO-1 but not HO-2 protein expression in these cells. TGF-beta1 decreased HO enzyme activity induced in IL-1beta treated vascular smooth muscle cells to a level not different from that in vehicle-treated cells. These studies suggest that this downregulation of HO-1 mRNA and protein expression and decrease in IL-1beta-induced HO enzyme activity may contribute to the beneficial effect of TGF-beta1 on endotoxic shock.
The influence of uninterpretability on the assessment of diagnostic tests.

Abstract A frequent problem faced by physicians utilizing diagnostic tests is the occurrence of uninterpretable test results. Such results, if they occur commonly, can seriously impair the diagnostic performance of the test. Moreover, in assessing the characteristics of the test, i.e. sensitivity, specificity, etc. failure to consider the impact of uninterpretability will artificially inflate the test characteristics. In this paper we explore the implications of this issue. We observe that a relevant factor is the potential repeatability of the test, i.e. whether the cause of uninterpretability is a transient phenomenon or an inherent property of the subject. We distinguish uninterpretable results, in which no result is obtained, from indeterminate results, in which the result is equivocal, or for which predisposing concomitant factors limit the interpretability of the result. Our results demonstrate that the naive approach of ignoring uninterpretable results in test assessments may indeed be unbiased in certain circumstances. However, if the cause of uninterpretability is related to disease status or to the potentially observable test result, then this approach will lead to bias. In either case, the frequency of uninterpretability is an important consideration in the cost-effectiveness of the test.
Topographical mapping of GnRH receptors on dispersed mouse pituitary cells by backscattered electron imaging

Mouse anterior pituitary cells cultured for 2 days were stimulated with one of three biotinylated-GnRH probes ([biotinyl-Lys6]-[D-Lys6]GnRH, [biotinyl-Ser4]-[D-Lys6]GnRH, [biotinyl-Ser4]-[D-Trp6, des-Gly10]GnRH) in the cold (4°C) for 1 hr. These cells were subsequently fixed and an avidin-gold complex was conjugated to the bound GnRH. After a second fixation, the gold label was silver-enhanced for viewing with a scanning electron microscope. Gonadotropes were identified as a result of the labeling procedure, measured for size, and the number of GnRH receptor sites counted. Gonadotropes ranged from 3 to 13 μm in diameter and contained from 23.2 ± 3.3 to 338.4 ± 25.2 sites per cell depending upon the size of the cell and the ligand employed. The methods described should be applicable for studying the topographical distribution of a variety of cellular receptors. © 1992 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
How Entrepreneurial Firms Prosper while Larger Firms Crumble

Many firms are facing great difficulty surviving the declining financial markets in Fall 2008. As larger firms take drastic measures to control and cut costs while forecasting declining revenue, entrepreneurial firms view the same marketplace in a more positive light. What separate these two types of firms is their differing levels of entrepreneurial intensity.An entrepreneurial grid positions firms upon two dimensions: Frequency of Entrepreneurship and Degree of Entrepreneurship (innovativeness, risk taking, and proactiveness). Just as managers select the placement of their firm on market dimensions such as quality and price, firms need to make a strategic position choice on where they wish their firm to be placed as related to entrepreneurial intensity. The firms listed in a recent article from BusinessWeek magazine titled “The World’s Most Innovative Companies” portrays a higher level of entrepreneurial efforts on both dimensions; firms that would be labeled as revolutionary on the entrepreneurial grid. It would be expected that as consumers expect new and improved products and services to emerge from innovative markets, firms labeled as periodic/incremental would have difficulties in sustaining continual growth. Additionally, firms labeled as continuous or incremental, dynamic, and periodic or discontinuous on the grid would be expected to have moderate success.
Sustainability and Environmental Ethics

Humans have always sought utopias, utopias free from disease, utopias free from sin and pain, or utopias free from ignorance. Many of the current utopias focus on a “back to nature” sentiment that encourages refugees from industrialized society to join communes that establish a more desirable relationship between humans and the environment. Real experimental isolation is almost impossible to achieve in such communes, however, and in times of difficulty, high-technology society has often provided a safety net for isolated groups attempting to establish a truly sustainable relationship with nature.
The Impact of Religious Conservatism On Men's Work and Family Involvement

The social conservatism of evangelical and fundamentalist groups includes their support for premarital sexual restraint, husband leadership, and father involvement. The authors explore whether religious conservatism affects work–family outcomes of men using the National Survey of Families and Households, 1988 and 1993 waves. The authors hypothesize that men from conservative households will make earlier transitions to adulthood, work fewer hours, and earn less money. Moreover, the belief in strong paternal involvement should lead religiously conservative men to spend more time in housework and child care. Results show that conservative religious affiliation does not hasten the transition to adulthood among men. Current religious conservatism results in lower wages but not reduced work hours, and religious affiliation does not affect housework or child care.
Code compression for embedded VLIW processors using variable-to-fixed coding

In embedded system design, memory is one of the most restricted resources, posing serious constraints on program size. Code compression has been used as a solution to reduce the code size for embedded systems. Lossless data compression techniques are used to compress instructions, which are then decompressed on-the-fly during execution. Previous work used fixed-to-variable coding algorithms that translate fixed-length bit sequences into variable-length bit sequences. In this paper, we present a class of code compression techniques called variable-to-fixed code compression (V2FCC), which uses variable-to-fixed coding schemes based on either Tunstall coding or arithmetic coding. Though the techniques are suitable for both reduced instruction set computer (RISC) and very long instruction word (VLIW) architectures, they favor VLIW architectures which require a high-bandwidth instruction prefetch mechanism to supply multiple operations per cycle, and fast decompression is critical to overcome the communication bottleneck between memory and CPU. Experimental results for a VLIW embedded processor TMS320C6x show that the compression ratios using memoryless V2FCC and Markov V2FCC are around 82.5% and 70%, respectively. Decompression unit designs for memoryless V2FCC and Markov V2FCC are implemented in TSMC 0.25-/spl mu/m technology.
Tevatron AC dipole system

The AC dipole is an oscillating dipole magnet which can induce large amplitude oscillations without the emittance growth and decoherence. These properties make it a good tool to measure optics of a hadron synchrotron. The vertical AC dipole for the Tevatron is powered by an inexpensive high power audio amplifier since its operating frequency is approximately 20 kHz. The magnet is incorporated into a parallel resonant system to maximize the current. The use of a vertical pinger magnet which has been installed in the Tevatron made the cost relatively inexpensive. Recently, the initial system was upgraded with a more powerful amplifier and oscillation amplitudes up to 2-3sigma were achieved with the 980 GeV proton beam. This paper discusses details of the Tevatron AC dipole system and also shows its test results.
An approach to order reduction in decentralized systems

An approach to order reduction in Decentralized Systems is presented. In this approach, a measure of "channel effectiveness" is used to retain or drop certain states in a system model. Each control agent, thus ends up with a partial model of the system (possibly with over-lapping states) and uses it to calculate a feedback to minimize a quadratic cost. The composite feedback is suboptimal with respect to the global criterion, however, the suboptimality may be acceptable if the "channel effectiveness" approach is used in obtaining the local models.
An enhanced two-stage multiple description video coder with drift reduction

Multiple description coding (MDC) is a source coding technique that exploits path diversity to increase the robustness of transmitting a compressed signal over error-prone channels. However, the application of MDC to video coding is still problematic because a prediction mismatch problem, called drift, may occur at the decoder when one description is lost. In the literature, it has been shown that drift can be effectively prevented by encoding this prediction mismatch and sending it as side information in a three-prediction-loop structure. However, this side information is totally redundant when both descriptions are received. We propose a very simple, but efficient two-stage MDC in the central prediction loop based on the three-prediction-loop structure of A. Reibman et al. (see Proc. IEEE Int. Conf. Image Processing - ICIP'99, p.837-41, 1999). We introduce an additional multiple description scalar quantizer into the central prediction loop. The encoding of the side information is modified in such a way that it can be used to improve the video quality when no drift occurs, but still maintain a drift prevention capability. The simulation results, with different video sequences at various packet loss rates, demonstrate that the proposed two-stage MDC structure indeed enhances the quality when the channel is error-free, yet effectively avoids drift when one description is completely lost.
Selective Ablation of Virion Host Shutoff Protein RNase Activity Attenuates Herpes Simplex Virus 2 in Mice

The virion host shutoff (vhs) protein of herpes simplex virus (HSV) has endoribonuclease activity and rapidly reduces protein synthesis in infected cells through mRNA degradation. Herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) and HSV-2 vhs mutants are highly attenuated in vivo, but replication and virulence are largely restored to HSV-2 vhs mutants in the absence of a type I interferon (IFN) response. The role of vhs in pathogenesis and the hindrance of the type I IFN response have classically been examined with viruses that completely lack vhs or express a truncated vhs protein. To determine whether RNase activity is the principal mechanism of vhs-mediated type I IFN resistance and virulence, we constructed a HSV-2 point mutant that synthesizes full-length vhs protein lacking RNase activity (RNase(-) virus). Wild-type and mutant HSV-2 vhs proteins coimmunoprecipitated with VP16 and VP22. vhs protein bearing the point mutation was packaged into the virion as efficiently as the wild-type vhs protein. Like a mutant encoding truncated vhs, the RNase(-) virus showed IFN-dependent replication that was restricted compared with that of the wild-type virus. The RNase(-) virus was highly attenuated in wild-type mice infected intravaginally, with reduced mucosal replication, disease severity, and spread to the nervous system comparable to those of the vhs truncation mutant. Surprisingly, in alpha/beta interferon (IFN-alpha/beta) receptor knockout mice, the vhs RNase mutant was more attenuated than the vhs truncation mutant in terms of disease severity and virus titer in vaginal swabs and central nervous system samples, suggesting that non-enzymatically active vhs protein interferes with efficient virus replication. Our results indicate that vhs enzymatic activity plays a complex role in vhs-mediated type I IFN resistance during HSV-2 infection.
Pulpal considerations for operative dentistry

Abstract 1. 1. Permanent restorative procedures should not be attempted unless the pulp is clinically normal. 2. 2. Maximal dentin thickness or “effective depth” between the wall of the restoration and the pulp offers the best protection for the pulp. This includes the injury that can result from caries, grinding procedures, or filling materials. 3. 3. All burs produce a rise in temperature while cutting enamel and dentin. Temperature elevations can be reduced by the use of burs with small diameters with a light amount of pressure. 4. 4. Handpiece water coolants are necessary in order to keep the pulpal responses minimal when using operating speeds above 50,000 r.p.m. Tooth thickness varies and this is of benefit in minimizing the inflammatory response of the pulp. Cavity extension is the critical phase of cavity preparation in producing a traumatic response. 5. 5. Adequate vision is necessary to produce proper cavity preparations. There is no substitute for the use of the rubber dam to obtain an acceptable operating field. 6. 6. The conservation of the pulp and tooth structure must be realized in all diagnoses and treatments for complete restorative service. No material or technique should serve as a substitute for sound operative procedures.
Probability sampling of stony coral populations in the Florida Keys.

Principles of probability survey design were applied to guide large-scale sampling of pop- ulations of stony corals and associated benthic taxa in the Florida Keys coral reef ecosystem. The survey employed a two-stage stratified ran- dom sampling design that partitioned the 251-km 2 domain by reef habitat types, geographic re- gions, and management zones. Estimates of the coefficient of variation (ratio of standard error to the mean) for stony coral population density and abundance ranged from 7% to 12% for four of six principal species. These levels of survey precision are among the highest reported for com- parable surveys of marine species. Relatively pre- cise estimates were also obtained for octocoral density, sponge frequency of occurrence, and ben- thic cover of algae and invertebrates. Probabilistic survey design techniques provided a robust frame- work for estimating population-level metrics and optimizing sampling efficiency.
Chemistry of Large Molecular Systems Using Molecular Quantum Mechanics

Recent developments in ab initio techniques and their applications to large molecular systems are presented, with particular emphasis on the molecular fragment technique. Included in the discussion are questions of basis set balance as applied to both ground and excited states of large molecules, as well as several computational considerations. In addition, studies on DNA components are discussed, including molecular orbital structure, ionization potentials, charge distribution, and electrostatic potentials, and these calculated properties are compared with available experimental data.
Use of Instuctional Technology in Agricultural Education in North Carolina and Virginia

A variety of induction activities are being provided to beginning teachers by school district personnel. Little evidence exists concerning the frequency and impact of delivery of selected forms of assistance. This study involved 64 beginning secondary agricultural education teachers from three consecutive cohorts. Results of this study show that teacher induction programming that was frequently provided for beginning teachers by school personnel did not address the largest share of the forms of assistance that resulted in a major impact upon the experience of the beginning teachers. The initial five forms of assistance that had a major impact upon the experience of beginning teachers were: an adequate supply of instructional materials, parental support for the program, availability of purchasing information, planning time, and an extra planning period. Mean impact scores were not affected by gender, level of stress, origin of preservice education, and size of school. The researcher concluded that school district personnel need to secure input from beginning teachers to inform induction programming efforts.
Image Processing Using Nonlinear Transmission

We demonstrated novel all-optical self-adaptive continuous band-pass spatial filtering system which exploits any nonlinear transmission mechanism. As intensity is increased above threshold, low spatial frequencies are blocked resulting in edge-enhanced images containing high spatial frequencies.
The Abandoned Shipwreck Act of 1987 in the New Millennium: Incentives to High Tech Piracy?

The Abandoned Shipwreck Act (ASA) of 1987 controls the search for and exploration of historic shipwrecks located within state territorial waters. These waters generally extend out 3 miles from state shorelines. Under the ASA, states automatically acquire title to any historic abandoned shipwreck located within this 3 mile boundary. Each state may then set up a regulatory system for "treasure hunting" these wrecks. (It is estimated that there are at least 50,000 shipwrecks along the coasts of the United States). In addition, the Act also strips federal courts of jurisdiction over "salvage" and "finds" admiralty law claims to wrecks covered by the Act. Such claims must be asserted in state courts. This article examines the legislative history and judicial interpretation of the Abandoned Shipwreck Act in light of its broad goal of protecting and preserving historic shipwrecks and wreck sites. It concludes that the Act promotes just the opposite of its stated purposes. State regulatory regimes have given birth to a new breed of "high tech pirates" who, because of the burdensomeness of state laws and unavailability of traditional federal admiralty law remedies, now treasure hunt outside the law. Such treasure hunters will not spend the time and money required to search for wrecks unless they are confident of a suitable reward for their discoveries. In order to deal with this phenomenon, the article proposes reforms in the ASA that could restore incentives for governmentally permitted shipwreck exploration. These include state-guaranteed rewards for historic shipwreck discoveries reported to the state, federal funding of state shipwreck regulatory programs, various modifications of US Department of Interior Guidelines governing such state programs, and limited restoration of federal court jurisdiction.
Effect of dolutegravir functional monotherapy on HIV-1 virological response in integrase strand transfer inhibitor resistant patients.

BackgroundVIKING-4 assessed the safety and efficacy of dolutegravir in heavily antiretroviral treatment-experienced patients who had documented integrase strand transfer inhibitor (INSTI) resistanc...