cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Online stochastic reservation systems

This paper considers online stochastic reservation problems, where requests come online and must be dynamically allocated to limited resources in order to maximize profit. Multi-knapsack problems with or without overbooking are examples of such online stochastic reservations. The paper studies how to adapt the online stochastic framework and the consensus and regret algorithms proposed earlier to online stochastic reservation systems. On the theoretical side, it presents a constant sub-optimality approximation of multi-knapsack problems, leading to a regret algorithm that evaluates each scenario with a single mathematical programming optimization followed by a small number of dynamic programs for one-dimensional knapsacks. On the experimental side, the paper demonstrates the effectiveness of the regret algorithm on multi-knapsack problems (with and without overloading) based on the benchmarks proposed earlier.
H/sup /spl infin// control of large scale jump linear systems via averaging and aggregation

This paper studies, under state feedback policies, the H/sup /spl infin// control design for large scale jump linear systems where the form process admits strong and weak interactions. Using averaging and aggregation techniques, an aggregate jump linear system of considerably smaller order has been obtained, along with a corresponding cost function. This reduced-order (aggregate) problem is another piecewise-deterministic H/sup /spl infin// control problem, and based on its solution, we obtain the asymptotic limit of the optimal performance level for the full-order system, as well as an approximate controller that asymptotically achieves any desired performance level for the full-order system. A by product of this analysis is a similar decomposition for the piecewise-deterministic linear-regulator problem.
Intercellular communication in the vascular wall: a modeling perspective.

Intercellular signaling allows for integration and coordination of responses in microcirculatory vessels, and is critical for local regulation of vascular tone and blood flow [1; 2; 3]. Cell - cell communication depends to a large extent on homocellular and heterocellular gap junction channels which form pathways for the diffusion of ionic species and second messengers. The exchange of current, calcium (Ca2+) and inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) through gap junctions, in particular, can readily initiate signaling events in neighboring cells and thus, these three fluxes can play a key role in vascular communication. Ca2+ has been established as a key signaling molecule in the cardiovascular system that regulates a plethora of functions including tone development or the release of vasoactive mediators. It also modulates electrical properties and the membrane potential (Vm). Although Ca2+ homeostasis and intercellular fluxes have attracted most of the attention of investigators, other ionic species can influence Ca2+ dependent responses and participate in vascular signaling. K+, Cl-, and Na+ concentrations, for example, determine corresponding membrane currents and thus membrane potential and the activity of voltage-operated Ca2+ channels (VOCC) in smooth muscle cells (SMCs) [4]. Na+ balance has been suggested to affect intracellular Ca2+ via Na+-Ca2+ exchange in SMCs [5]. Direct Ca2+ diffusion through gap junction or indirect Ca2+ coupling through the diffusion of IP3 can provide a pathway for cell to cell communication. Intercellular Ca2+ fluxes have been suggested to synchronize SMCs in vasomotion [6] and IP3 and/or Ca2+ diffusion via heterocellular gap junctions may generate a myoendothelial feedback control loop that can modulate SM responses to vasoconstrictors [7; 8]. Current carried by the three major ionic species is also a key signal for coordinated vessel behavior. Current flow within the smooth muscle or endothelial layers, as well as between the two layers, play a central role in conducted responses [3] and Cl- currents have been suggested to coordinate SMCs during vasomotion [9]. Furthermore, experimental results indicate that intracellular ionic composition of endothelial cells (ECs) is altered after coupling to SMCs [10]. Despite several evidence that exchange of ions and second messenger occurs between vascular cells, it has been often difficult to assess their relative importance in different responses. A major limitation in investigations is the quantification of these intercellular fluxes experimentally. Thus, alternative hypotheses have often been proposed regarding the actual signaling mediator that contributes to a coordinated vessel behavior. Theoretical analyses and mathematical models can contribute in this discussion by providing estimates for the magnitude of these fluxes and their potential contribution in signaling. This perspective utilizes such approaches to examine the role of these mediators in myoendothelial communication, conducted responses and vasomotion.
Design of a Novel Open-Path Aerosol Extinction Cavity Ringdown Spectrometer

We describe a new open-path aerosol extinction cavity ringdown spectrometer (CRDS), which measures extinction coefficients as aerosol is drawn transversely through the optical cavity. With no inlet tubing, particle losses in the open-path CRDS due to impaction of coarse particles or evaporation of highly humidified particles in transfer lines are minimized, improving aerosol extinction measurements in dusty and humid environments. This report presents the key elements of the new open-path CRDS design as well as comparisons with a conventional closed-path CRDS and data obtained during a field study at NOAA's instrumented 300 m tower in Erie, Colorado. The open-path CRDS's 1σ detection limit for one second averaged data was 0.05 Mm−1, comparable to the limit of our closed-path CRDS.Copyright 2015 American Association for Aerosol Research
Localized states within the gap of Ce3Au3Sb4

Abstract The temperature dependence of the specific heat and of the resistivity under pressure has been measured for single crystals of the semiconductor Ce 3 Au 3 Sb 4 . The transport data follow an exponential activation and variable range hopping at low T , consistent with weak disorder and localization, while C / T has a - ln T dependence with large entropy. Thus the properties of Ce 3 Au 3 Sb 4 are very different from those of ordinary Kondo insulators.
Preliminary Assessment of Potential for Metal-Ligand Speciation in Aqueous Solution via the Liquid Sampling-Atmospheric Pressure Glow Discharge (LS-APGD) Ionization Source: Uranyl Acetate.

The determination of metals, including the generation of metal–ligand speciation information, is essential across a myriad of biochemical, environmental, and industrial systems. Metal speciation is generally affected by the combination of some form of chromatographic separation (reflective of the metal–ligand chemistry) with element-specific detection for the quantification of the metal composing the chromatographic eluent. Thus, the identity of the metal–ligand is assigned by inference. Presented here, the liquid sampling–atmospheric pressure glow discharge (LS-APGD) is assessed as an ionization source for metal speciation, with the uranyl ion–acetate system used as a test system. Molecular mass spectra can be obtained from the same source by simple modification of the sustaining electrolyte solution. Specifically, chemical information pertaining to the degree of acetate complexation of uranyl ion (UO22+) is assessed as a function of pH in the spectral abundance of three metallic species: inorganic (nonl...
Systemic Mastocytosis: Clinical Update and Future Directions

Systemic mastocytosis (SM) is defined as the accumulation of abnormal mast cells (MC) in 1 or more extracutaneous tissues. Symptoms are due to either MC activation or organ infiltration and vary depending on disease subtype. More benign forms of SM, such as indolent SM, result in a life expectancy similar to the general population, while more aggressive subtypes, such as MC leukemia (MCL), have a median survival measured on the order of months. Treatment of indolent SM is directed at controlling the symptoms associated with MC activation. In advanced forms, such as aggressive SM and MCL, agents targeting MC proliferation such as KIT tyrosine kinase inhibitors, cladribine, and thalidomide may be provided. Newer agents based on preclinical rationale are also being actively investigated. However, the only potentially curative therapy for aggressive SM/MCL remains hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Given that SM is a relatively rare disease, clinicians are often underprepared to evaluate, diagnose, and effectively treat this clinically heterogeneous condition. Here we seek to familiarize clinicians with this orphan disease and review current and future treatment approaches.
Vulnerabilities of Tropical Forests to Climate Change: The Significance of Resident Epiphytes

Predictions about the impacts of climate change on tropical forests require information on the relative vulnerabilities and roles of the biological components of these unusually complex systems. Central to the structure and function of any ecosystem – and the subject of this paper – is its flora, the energetic base for co-occurring heterotrophs. Much data indicate that arboreal flora (the epiphytes), those plants anchored in the forest canopy without access to the ground, occupy unusually climate-defined ecospace compared with co-occurring types such as the supporting trees. This report also describes how the epiphytes influence adjacent biota and whole-system processes, specifically those concerned with energetics, hydrology, and mineral cycling. Second, a mechanistic explanation for the exceptionally climate-sensitive nature of arboreal flora is provided. Finally, points one and two are used to make the case that arboreal flora represent a weak link in the integrity of certain types of forest, especially cloud forest and other types at lower elevations well known for their extraordinarily diverse biota. These plants, more than most, should provide early indications of floristic response to climate change throughout much of the tropics, but particularly in montane regions.
Stress, Substance Abuse, and Addiction

Experiencing stressful life events is reciprocally associated with substance use and abuse. The nature of these relationships varies based on the age of stress exposure and stage of substance use involvement. This chapter reviews the developmental and biological processes involved in the relationship of stress exposure and substance use initiation, substance use maintenance and relapse, and response to substance abuse treatment. Special emphasis is given to describing the various stress-related mechanisms involved in substance use and abuse, highlighting the differences between each of these phases of drug use and drawing upon current research to make suggestions for treatments of substance use disorder (SUD) patients. Stress is inherent to the experience of life and, in many situations, unavoidable. Through ongoing research and treatment development, there is the potential to modify the relationship of stress with ongoing substance use and abuse.
Propertyless in Peru, Even with a Government Land Title

This article investigates the ability and process of government land titling as a method to achieve secure property rights institutions. Specifically, we analyze the impact of government land titling in rural Peru. Our findings suggest that land titling does not achieve the positive benefits associated with secure property, such as access to credit. We also find that individuals prefer private enforcement methods of securing property to public means. This suggests that government land titling is not always a channel through which countries can achieve secure property rights institutions.
Techniques and experiences capturing requirements for several real-time applications

This paper discusses techniques used and experiences gained while gathering and documenting the functional requirements for five control systems and one engineering database system. The majority of this work was performed on several projects at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory over a period of three years.Teams of from one to four engineers gathered requirements for a large laser control system, several separator control and diagnostic systems, a security system, and an engineering database system. These systems required gathering requirements data from physicists, electrical, mechanical and material engineers, and in the case of one security application system, police officers. The paper discusses team structure, the advantages of larger teams and problems with one person teams. It defines the interview, document, feedback and critique cycle used for requirements acquisition.All but one of these systems are operating. The paper concludes with a discussion on the usefulness of the requirements during system development.
Direct functional assay for tobacco mosaic virus cell-to-cell movement protein and identification of a domain involved in increasing plasmodesmal permeability.

Abstract Plasmodesmata are cytoplasmic bridges between plant cells thought to generally allow only the passage of small molecules and metabolites. However, large structures such as plant viruses also move from cell to cell via plasmodesmata. In tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) infection a viral movement protein (TMV-MP) mediates viral spread. Here, a microinjection assay is used to monitor the dynamics of TMV-MP function directly in wild-type plants. The results indicate that TMV-MP interacts with an endogenous plant pathway increasing plasmodesmal size exclusion limit to permit passage of 20-kDa dextrans. Furthermore, TMV-MP influences plasmodesmal size exclusion limit several cells distant from the injection site, indicating either that TMV-MP itself crosses plasmodesmata or that TMV-MP induces a diffusable signal capable of dilating microchannels of plasmodesmata. The region of TMV-MP responsible for increasing plasmodesmal size exclusion limit was mapped to the carboxyl-terminal part of the 268-amino acid residue protein between amino acid residues 126 and 224.
Large Scale Discriminative Metric Learning

We consider the learning of a distance metric, using the Localized Supervised Metric Learning (LSML) scheme, that discriminates entities characterized by high dimensional feature attributes, with respect to labels assigned to each entity. LSML is a supervised learning scheme that learns a Mahalanobis distance grouping together features with the same label and repulsing features with different labels. In this paper, we propose an efficient and scalable implementation of LSML allowing us to scale significantly and process largedata sets, both in terms of dimensions and instances. This implementation of LSML is programmed in SystemML with an R-like syntax, and compiled, optimized, and executedon Hadoop. We also propose experimental approaches for the tuning of LSML parameters yielding significant analytical and empirical improvements in terms of discriminative measures such as label prediction accuracy. We present experimental results on both synthetic and real-world data (feature vectors representing patients in an Intensive CareUnit with labels corresponding to different conditions) assessing respectively how well the algorithm scales and howwell it works on real world prediction problems.
A study on compression-induced morphological changes of nonwoven fibrous materials

Abstract Pore size is a characteristic parameter that is often defined for fibrous materials used in industrial applications. While there exist many available studies on the pore size distribution of different fibrous materials, the influence of compression load on pore size distribution has not been studied well. Studying the behavior of fibrous materials under compression is important especially because in many applications these materials are subjected to some degree of compression during use. In this work, we present a novel image-based modeling technique to study the changes in the pore size distribution of a fibrous material exposed to compressive load. This was made possible by building a miniature compression cell, and imaging the structure of a hydroentangled fabric under varying levels of compression. The 3D images obtained with Digital Volumetric Imaging were utilized to study the pore size distribution of the material and develop an empirical correlation as a function of compressive stress for these structures. This new correlation indicates that the mean pore diameter of a nonwoven material decreases exponentially with increasing the compressive stress.
Variation of turbulence intensities and integral scales during the passage of a hurricane

Abstract A high-resolution wind speed data set acquired at the Field Research Facility in Duck, NC during the passage of Hurricane Bob (1991) is evaluated in terms of longitudinal and lateral turbulence intensities, and longitudinal integral scales. The calculated parameters are analyzed with regard to mean wind speeds and direction and are separated into stationary and nonstationary segments.
Percutaneous absorption of progesterone in postmenopausal women treated with transdermal estrogen

Abstract Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the serum levels of progesterone resulting from the application of a progesterone cream to the skin. Study Design: Six postmenopausal women were evaluated at a university clinic over a 4-week period. Results: Transdermal estradiol 0.05 mg was applied 2 days before the first application of progesterone (30 mg/d) and was continued throughout the study. Patches were changed twice a week. Progesterone cream was applied once a day for 2 weeks. On day 15 and for the next 2 weeks, the progesterone cream was applied twice daily (60 mg/d). Serum 17β-estradiol and progesterone were measured at 9 different times over a 24-hour period on day 1 and at weekly intervals for the 4-week duration of the study. Serum 17β-estradiol concentrations varied among women, with mean concentrations of 40 to 64 pg/mL observed. Consistency in 17β-estradiol concentrations was found within individual persons throughout the study. Serum progesterone concentrations also varied among women, with mean concentrations ranging from 1.6 to 3.3 ng/mL. After 2 weeks of percutaneous dosing, progesterone concentrations were sustained for at least 8 hours and were consistent within a given person. An appropriate increase in progesterone concentration occurred after 4 weeks compared with 2 weeks of application. Individually, a 0.53 correlation, significant at P Conclusion: Significant increases in serum concentrations of progesterone were observed in all of the women studied. The percutaneous absorption of progesterone correlates strongly with the absorption of transdermal 17β-estradiol. There is variance in absorption of progesterone just as with 17β-estradiol, and the 2 measures are closely correlated. The percutaneous application of progesterone cream appears to be a safe and effective route of administration. (Am J Obstet Gynecol 1999;180:1504-11.)
Solid State Lighting

This PDF file contains the editorial “Editorial: Solid State Lighting” for OE Vol. 44 Issue 11
Hair defects in Hoxc13 mutant mice.

Hox genes encode transcription factors that are important during normal embryonic development of diverse organisms including vertebrates. In mammals, Hox genes are responsible for conferring regional identity in embryonic tissues, including the limb bud, the neural tube, the presomitic mesoderm and the intestinal tract. Recent studies have demonstrated expression of Hox genes in skin and hair follicles, suggesting potential functions for these genes in epidermal appendages. These studies are reviewed here with emphasis on Hoxc13, as Hoxc13 mutants are the first Hox mutants to demonstrate overt hair defects. In addition, because Hoxc13 does not show regionally restricted expression in the skin, as demonstrated for other Hox genes, the potentially different roles of Hoxc13 versus other Hox genes in the skin are discussed. J invest Dermatol 4:244-247, 1999
Plasticity of Chasmogamous and Cleistogamous Reproductive Allocation in Grasses

Cleistogamy is more common in grasses than in any other angiosperm family. Both self-fertilized cleistogamous (CL) spikelets and open-pollinated chasmogamous (CH) spikelets are typically produced. Relative allocation to CL and CH varies among species and populations, and is influenced by ontogeny and environment. The balance between reproductive modes can be expressed as a CH/CL ratio. This ratio is very plastic and stressful conditions can result in values < 1.0. In Amphicarpum purshii, an annual with subterranean CL spikelets, CH/CL declined as density increased because CH decreased more than CL as size was reduced by intraspecific competition. In the shade-tolerant annual Microstegium vimineum, CH/CL was lowest in large greenhouse-grown plants in an unlimited, sunny environment, but was highest in small plants from a shady forest interior; tiller vegetative mass often showed a negative allometric relation to CH and CL allocation. In the perennial Dichanthelium clandestinum, CH and CL allocation varied among populations, but there was no consistent effect of light on CH/CL. The phenology of reproduction strongly affects CH/CL. In Danthonia spicata, CH/CL was high early in the season as CH flowering commenced, but dropped quickly as axillary CL spikelets matured: A. purshii showed the opposite pattern because CL reproduction occurred first. The assumption that cleistogamy simply provides reproductive assurance should be reevaluated in light of new information on phenology and allometry. Changes in the balance between CH and CL caused by environmental factors may be indirect effects of size. Evolutionary models that do not explore the plasticity and allometry of CH and CL reproduction may not be useful in predicting the myriad patterns in nature.
Exploring 3D User Interface Technologies for Improving the Gaming Experience

We present the results of a comprehensive video game study which explores how the gaming experience is effected when several 3D user interface technologies are used simultaneously. We custom designed an air-combat game integrating several 3DUI technologies (stereoscopic 3D, head tracking, and finger-count gestures) and studied the combined effect of these technologies on the gaming experience. Our game design was based on existing design principles for optimizing the usage of these technologies in isolation. Additionally, to enhance depth perception and minimize visual discomfort, the game dynamically optimizes stereoscopic 3D parameters (convergence and separation) based on the user's look direction. We conducted a within subjects experiment where we examined performance data and self-reported data on users perception of the game. Our results indicate that participants performed significantly better when all the 3DUI technologies (stereoscopic 3D, head-tracking and finger-count gestures) were available simultaneously with head tracking as a dominant factor. We explore the individual contribution of each of these technologies to the overall gaming experience and discuss the reasons behind our findings.
The benthic cycle of copper: Evidence from sediment trap experiments in the eastern tropical North Pacific Ocean

Abstract The benthic fluxes of 24 elements and components are calculated from sediment trap fluxes and sediment accumulation rates at MANOP sites H and M in the eastern tropical North Pacific Ocean. In this paper, we focus our discussion on our data for copper. Benthic flux estimates for copper are 0.7 and 1.4 nmol/cm 2 /yr at H and M, respectively. These results compare well with estimates from another trap deployment in the Galapagos and modeling of pprewater and water column concentration data by other authors. Partitioning of near-bottom Cu flux indicates that the two sites receive similar amounts of primary Cu flux (flux from upper water column) and resuspended Cu flux. Only the site located on the East Pacific Rise (Site M) shows any input of hydrothermal Cu. At Site M, 35% of the near-bottom flux is due to some source other than primary, resuspended, or hydrothermal flux. We speculate that dissolved Cu from the sediments is readsorbed onto particles near the bottom at this site. Sequential leaching of trap material indicates that the flux of Cu associated with organic matter, using an operational definition, ranges from 56% to 84% of the trap material. This fraction of the total Cu increases with depth in the water column, probably through scavenging.
Sidak-type simultaneous prediction intervals for the mortality measures RSRRi about the corresponding SePMRi for several competing risks of death in an epidemiologic study

Abstract Simultaneous prediction intervals are obtained involving the externally standardized proportional mortality measures S e PMR i which include the corresponding RSRR i with probability 0.95, or better, for several competing risks of death, under a reasonable assumption, namely, that the total number of deaths d .. due to all risks in the mortality study be large. The results are obtained under a very general situation when several risks compete for an individual's life in the study, irrespective of any covariance structure among the risks of death, known or unknown, positive or negative, or zero. As a particular case, if the risks of death may be assumed as independent, then the simultaneous prediction intervals reduce to those of the present authors (1985a). It is demonstrated that asymptotically (as d .. → ∞) the joint c.d.f. of the statistics Z 1 , Z 2 , ·, Z M , where Z i = RSRR i /S e PMR i , may be approximated by means of the joint c.d.f. of the multivariate ( M -variate) normal distribution. This is the basic result from which the prediction intervals are derived, using Sidak's (1967, 1968) multivariate normal probability inequalities. Our results are empirically evaluated using real data from a recent retrospective cohort mortality study of Enterline and Marsh (1983), concerning respiratory cancer among man-made mineral fiber workers. These prediction intervals do indeed quantify the observation that for each cause i of death, the measure S e PMR i is close in value to the corresponding RSRR i .
Measurements of 90Zr, 96Zr, 98Mo(p, p′e) through isobaric analog resonances☆

Abstract Internal conversion electrons from 0 2 + to 0 1 + electric monopole transitions are easily identified in the charged particle spectra resulting from proton bombardment. Excitation functions are presented for these electron gourps at proton energies corresponding to analog resonances in the proton plus target system.
Research on the Hospital Market: Recent Advances and Continuing Data Needs

Research focused on the hospital market has been instrumental in furthering our understanding of the role of competition in health care. Such research would not have been conducted without the extensive public use data that have been made available to researchers. In particular, path-breaking studies were made possible thanks to access to Medicare and state all-payer discharge data. This paper describes recent advances in our understanding of hospital competition and speculates about what we could learn if additional data were available.
On the length of the shortest crossing in the super-critical phase of Mandelbrot's percolation process

Abstract The fractal percolation process, which generates random subsets of the unit square, is investigated in the super-critical (percolating) regime. It is found, with probability one, that all crossing paths in the limiting set are non-rectifiable and in fact have a dimension in excess of unity.
Deformation and Strain Fields in Pin Specimens in Sliding Contact by Laser Speckle and Metallographic Techniques

This paper describes the application of laser speckle photography to the measurement of deformations associated with sliding wear
Effect of handling stress on susceptibility of channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus to Ichthyophthirius multifiliis and channel catfish virus infection.

A quantitative bioassay employing immersion exposure was developed for the infection of channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus with the protozoan parasite Ichthyophthirius multifiliis, commonly referred to as ich. This bioassay as well as waterborne challenge of channel catfish with channel catfish virus (CCV) was used to investigate the effect of confinement stress on the sensitivity of the fish to exposure of these pathogens. Infestation by ich was shown to be proportional to the density of infective theronts in the exposure tank and low-water crowding stress was shown to increase susceptibility of catfish to infection. Mortality from CCV was related to the virus exposure dose; however, low-water crowding stress did not affect mortality. Increased susceptibility, due to crowding stress of naive channel catfish to I. multifiliis but not to CCV, suggests a difference in the defence mechanisms. Stress-induced increased susceptibility to I. multifiliis may be due to a suppression of an innate protection mechanism. The lack of effect of stress on CCV mortality may be due to protection afforded by an inducible system which was not affected by the stressor, or the lethal effects of the virus were too fast for the stress to change susceptibility in fish exposed to CCV for the first time.
Optical analysis of mirror-based pattern generation

We study mirror based pattern generation systems to provide an understanding of how they can be operated in an analog mode to meet the quasi-continuous sizing and placement requirements of optical lithography. Both tilting mirrors and piston-motion mirrors are examined. The aerial images are compared with those generated by simple binary masks. The effect of grayscaling, used to place and size features, on image quality is measured. Normalized image log slope (NILS) is used as the measure of image quality. Tilting mirrors used in grayscale mode provide image quality comparable to binary masks, and piston mirrors are somewhat better.
Making the Difference: Applying a Logic of Diversity

Executive Overview Each year, corporations spend billions of dollars on diversity training, education, and outreach. In this article, I explain why these efforts make good business sense and why organizations with diverse employees often perform best. I do this by describing a logic of diversity that relies on simple frameworks. Within these frameworks, I demonstrate how collections of individuals with diverse tools can outperform collections of high “ability” individuals at problem solving and predictive tasks. In problem solving, these benefits come not through portfolio effects but from superadditivity: Combinations of tools can be more powerful than the tools themselves. In predictive tasks, diversity in predictive models reduces collective error. It's a mathematical fact that diversity matters just as much as highly accurate models when making collective predictions. This logic of diversity provides a foundation on which to construct practices that leverage differences to improve performance.
Metastatic cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma to the parotid and cervical lymph nodes: treatment and outcomes.

Purpose of reviewThe role of parotidectomy and neck dissection in the management of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the head and neck is not as well defined as the role in operations of upper aerodigestive tract and salivary glands. The purpose of this article is to review the current lit
A spam resistant family of concavo-convex ranks for link analysis

A parameterized family of non-linear, link analytic ranking functions is proposed that includes Pagerank as a special case and uses the convexity property of those functions to be more resistant to link spam attacks. A contribution of the paper is the construction of such a scheme with provable uniqueness and convergence guarantees. The paper also demonstrates that even in an unlabelled scenario this family can have spam resistance comparable to Trustrank [3] that uses labels of spam or nat-spam on a training set. The proposed method can use labels, if available, to improve its performance to provide state of the art level of link spam protection.
Remote radio control of insect flight.

We demonstrated the remote control of insects in free flight via an implantable radio-equipped miniature neural stimulating system. The pronotum mounted system consisted of neural stimulators, muscular stimulators, a radio transceiver-equipped microcontroller and a microbattery. Flight initiation, cessation and elevation control were accomplished through neural stimulus of the brain which elicited, suppressed or modulated wing oscillation. Turns were triggered through the direct muscular stimulus of either of the basalar muscles. We characterized the response times, success rates, and free-flight trajectories elicited by our neural control systems in remotely-controlled beetles. We believe this type of technology will open the door to in-flight perturbation and recording of insect flight responses.
Delivery confirmation of bolus electron conformal therapy combined with intensity modulated x-ray therapy

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to demonstrate that a bolus electron conformal therapy (ECT) dose plan and a mixed beam plan, composed of an intensity modulated x-ray therapy (IMXT) dose plan optimized on top of the bolus ECT plan, can be accurately delivered. Methods: Calculated dose distributions were compared with measured dose distributions for parotid and chest wall (CW) bolus ECT and mixed beam plans, each simulated in a cylindrical polystyrene phantom that allowed film dose measurements. Bolus ECT plans were created for both parotid and CW PTVs (planning target volumes) using 20 and 16 MeV beams, respectively, whose 90% dose surface conformed to the PTV. Mixed beam plans consisted of an IMXT dose plan optimized on top of the bolus ECT dose plan. The bolus ECT, IMXT, and mixed beam dose distributions were measured using radiographic films in five transverse and one sagittal planes for a total of 36 measurement conditions. Corrections for film dose response, effects of edge-on photon irradiation, and effects of irregular phantom optical properties on the Cerenkov component of the film signal resulted in high precision measurements. Data set consistency was verified by agreement of depth dose at the intersections of the sagittal plane with the five measured transverse planes. For these same depth doses, results for the mixed beam plan agreed with the sum of the individual depth doses for the bolus ECT and IMXT plans. The six mean measured planar dose distributions were compared with those calculated by the treatment planning system for all modalities. Dose agreement was assessed using the 4% dose difference and 0.2 cm distance to agreement. Results: For the combined high-dose region and low-dose region, pass rates for the parotid and CW plans were 98.7% and 96.2%, respectively, for the bolus ECT plans and 97.9% and 97.4%, respectively, for the mixed beam plans. For the high-dose gradient region, pass rates for the parotid and CW plans were 93.1% and 94.62%, respectively, for the bolus ECT plans and 89.2% and 95.1%, respectively, for the mixed beam plans. For all regions, pass rates for the parotid and CW plans were 98.8% and 97.3%, respectively, for the bolus ECT plans and 97.5% and 95.9%, respectively, for the mixed beam plans. For the IMXT component of the mixed beam plans, pass rates for the parotid and CW plans were 93.7% and 95.8%. Conclusions: Bolus ECT and mixed beam therapy dose delivery to the phantom were more accurate than IMXT delivery, adding confidence to the use of planning, fabrication, and delivery for bolus ECT tools either alone or as part of mixed beam therapy. The methodology reported in this work could serve as a basis for future standardization of the commissioning of bolus ECT or mixed beam therapy. When applying this technology to patients, it is recommended that an electron dose algorithm more accurate than the pencil beam algorithm, e.g., a Monte Carlo algorithm or analytical transport such as the pencil beam redefinition algorithm, be used for planning to ensure the desired accuracy.
Novel single-cell functional analysis of red blood cells using laser tweezers Raman spectroscopy: Application for sickle cell disease

Laser tweezers Raman spectroscopy was used to characterize the oxygenation response of single normal adult, sickle, and cord blood red blood cells (RBCs) to an applied mechanical force. Individual cells were subjected to different forces by varying the laser power of a single-beam optical trap, and the intensities of several oxygenation-specific Raman spectral peaks were monitored to determine the oxygenation state of the cells. For all three cell types, an increase in laser power (or mechanical force) induced a greater deoxygenation of the cell. However, sickle RBCs deoxygenated more readily than normal RBCs when subjected to the same optical forces. Conversely, cord blood RBCs were able to maintain their oxygenation better than normal RBCs. These results suggest that differences in the chemical or mechanical properties of fetal, normal, and sickle cells affect the degree to which applied mechanical forces can deoxygenate the cell. Populations of normal, sickle, and cord RBCs were identified and discriminated based on this mechanochemical phenomenon. This study demonstrates the potential application of laser tweezers Raman spectroscopy as a single-cell, label-free analytical tool to characterize the functional (e.g., mechanical deformability, oxygen binding) properties of normal and diseased RBCs.
Drug problems and “at risk” women’s involvement in HIV risk behaviors

Summary Objectives: This paper focuses on two research questions: Is there a relationship between women’s number of drug problems and the extent to which they engage in HIV risk behaviors? What factors influence the extent to which women experience drug-related problems? Methods: This study is based on 250 adult “at risk” women (predominantly African American) in the Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan area. Street outreach efforts, targeted sampling, and ethnographic mapping procedures were used to identify potential study participants. Results: The more drug problems women experienced, the greater their involvement in HIV risk behaviors was. The number of drug problems experienced was a significant contributor to the model predicting women’s HIV risk involvement, along with religiosity, living with substance abusers, and age of first drug use. Depression, optimism, coping with stress, and number of different drugs used predicted the extent to which women experienced drug problems. Conclusions: Drug problems are an important predictor of women’s involvement in HIV risk behaviors. Programs wishing to reduce their risk for contracting HIV should target druginvolved women and help them to stop using drugs.
In the name of genetics

Exploding the Gene Myth. By Ruth Hubbard and Elijah Wald. Beacon: 1993. Pp. 206. $24. Biology as Ideology: The Doctrine of DNA. By Richard C. Lewontin. HarperPerennial: 1993. Pp. 128. $10 (pbk).
Iron Porphyrin-Catalyzed Reduction of CO2 - Photochemical and Radiation-Chemical Studies

Several iron porphyrins have been reduced by photochemical and radiation chemical methods, in organic solvents and in aqueous solutions, from FeIIIP to FeIIP to FeIP and beyond. In aqueous solutions, the FeIP state is relatively stable for the tetrakis(N-methyl-2-pyridyl)porphyrin at high pH but is shorter lived in neutral and acidic solutions. The FeIP state of tetrakis(N-methyl-3-pyridyl)porphyrin and tetrakis(N-methyl-4-pyridyl)porphyrin are short-lived at any pH. Decay of FeIP is accelerated by H+ and by CO2, probably via reaction with the Fe0P state formed upon disproportionation of FeIP. These reactions may lead to formation of H2 and CO, respectively, and to formation of the chlorin, FeIIPH2, as a side product. The FeIP state is also observed as a stable product in several organic solvents. This is observed by photolysis of iron tetraphenylporphyrin and several of its derivatives (e.g., trimethyl-, dichloro- and pentafluorophenyl), mainly in dimethylformamide and acetonitrile solutions, using triet...
Site-Directed Alkylation of [EFe3(CO)9]2- (E = S, Se, Te) Mediated by the Chalcogenide. Synthesis, Spectroscopic Characterization, and Reactivity of [PPN][MeFe3(CO)9E] (E = Se, Te)

The compounds [PPN]2[EFe3(CO)9] (E = S ([PPN]2[Ib], E = Se ([PPN]2[Ic]), and E = Te ([PPN]2[Id])) (PPN = [(Ph3P)2N]+) were alkylated using methyl triflate or methyl iodide. [PPN]2[Ib] reacted with methyl triflate at the sulfur atom to form [PPN][Fe3(CO)9SMe] ([PPN][IVb]). In contrast, alkylation of [PPN]2[Ic] and [PPN]2[Id] occurred at the metal framework giving [PPN][MeFe3(CO)9E] (E = Se, [PPN][Vc], Te = [PPN][Vd]), of which [PPN][Vc] was characterized by X-ray crystallography. Compounds [PPN][Vc] and [PPN][Vd] represent new examples of the uncommon class of cluster compounds having alkyl groups terminally bound to a metal carbonyl cluster compound. The crystal structure of [PPN][Vc] shows a long Fe−Me distance of 2.226(9) A. The removal of electron density from the parent clusters [Ic]2- and [Id]2- could be seen in the trends of the 77Se or 125Te chemical shifts for [Vc]-, [Vd]-, and some structurally related compounds.
On the homology between the X and the Y chromosomes of the Chinese hamster.

The chiasmatic association of the heteromorphic sex chromosomes in the spermatocytes of the Chinese hamster was observed in squash and/or air-dried preparations. The pairing arm of the Y was invariably its short arm. Although the X in diakinesis did not show distinct long and short arm as in mitotic metaphase, the DNA replication patterns of the sex chromosomes in spermatogonia suggested that the distal segment of the long arm of the X is homologous to the short arm of the Y.
On the relationships between gender, power control, self-control, and crime

Abstract This article bridges the gap between two theories that attempt to explain the gender – crime relationship. Power-control theory posits that power relationships of parents in the public sphere are reflected in their relationship at home. Different kinds of households are thus distinguished by degrees of patriarchy. Differential socialization generates gender differences in crime across households. Gottfredson and Hirschi's general theory purports that low self-control explains all crime across all groups, yet little research explored the link between low self-control and crime both among, as well as between, genders. Linking low self-control and power-control theories, this study examined the relationships gender, power-control, self-control, and crime. Results indicated that while low self-control explained both male and female criminality, the effect of parenting on the development of low self-control was complex; males and females differentially responded to parents' control. The gender-based processes that impact the development of self-control should further be explored.
Depositional environments and tectonic significance of the Wajid Sandstone of southern Saudi Arabia

Abstract The Wajid Sandstone, of probable Early Paleozoic age, rests disconformably on crystalline rocks of the southern part of the Arabian shield. Scattered outcrops extend over an area about 450 km north-south and 300 km east-west. The southern part of the formation, near the Yemen border, consists of fluvial sandstones and very minor siltstones and silty shales. The fluvial origin is demonstrated by the presence of fining-upward cycles, channels, trough cross bedding, and absence of all organic traces. The northern part of the outcrop area consists of internally homogeneous, tabular cross-bedded, horizontally bedded sandstones apparently formed in a shallow marine environment. These marine rocks contain trace fossils broadly similar to Skolithos. Abundant cross bedding in both facies of the Wajid indicates a northward transport direction, toward what is now the center of the Arabian shield. The southern part of the Arabian shield, which was cratonized about 500 to 600 Ma ago (Pan-African age), was apparently still a depositional area receiving sediments from a southern source in Early Paleozoic time. Other, older, shields also show a tendency to be areas of deposition shortly after their apparent age of stabilization, becoming sources of clastic sediments only after several hundreds of millions of years. The conversion from basin to uplifted source may indicate a prolonged process of shield maturation after initial stabilization.
Fast best-effort pattern matching in large attributed graphs

We focus on large graphs where nodes have attributes, such as a social network where the nodes are labelled with each person's job title. In such a setting, we want to find subgraphs that match a user query pattern. For example, a "star" query would be, "find a CEO who has strong interactions with a Manager, a Lawyer,and an Accountant, or another structure as close to that as possible". Similarly, a "loop" query could help spot a money laundering ring.Traditional SQL-based methods, as well as more recent graph indexing methods, will return no answer when an exact match does not exist. This is the first main feature of our method. It can find exact-, as well as near-matches, and it will present them to the user in our proposed "goodness" order. For example, our method tolerates indirect paths between, say, the "CEO" and the "Accountant" of the above sample query, when direct paths don't exist. Its second feature is scalability. In general, if the query has nq nodes and the data graph has n nodes, the problem needs polynomial time complexity O(nnq), which is prohibitive. Our G-Ray ("Graph X-Ray") method finds high-quality subgraphs in time linear on the size of the data graph.Experimental results on the DLBP author-publication graph (with 356K nodes and 1.9M edges) illustrate both the effectiveness and scalability of our approach. The results agree with our intuition, and the speed is excellent. It takes 4 seconds on average fora 4-node query on the DBLP graph.
Experimental investigation of the performance of industrial evaporator coils operating under frosting conditions

This paper describes a field experimental investigation of the effects of frost formation on the performance of a low-temperature large-scale evaporator coil used in industrial refrigeration systems. A series of experiments were conducted to determine the in situ coil cooling capacity of the evaporator over time as frost builds on its surfaces. Field-measured quantities include inlet and outlet air temperatures, inlet and outlet air relative humidity, and air volume flow rate. These measurements provide a baseline set of experimental data that can be used to validate numerical models of industrial evaporators operating under frosting conditions.
Two-line planar fluorescence for temporally resolved temperature imaging in a reacting supersonic flow over a body

An instantaneous temperature imaging technique for chemically reacting, supersonic flows over bodies is described and demonstrated in a H2/O2/Ar shock tube flow (M=1.3, 0.7 atm, 1760K freestream). Based on a planar fluorescence measurement, the approach uses a two-line rotational population ratio to infer temperature. The measured 2-d temperature profiles qualitatively match the expected flowfield structure around the blunt body, and the temperature increase across the bow shock in a single-shot measurement agrees within 5–10% of the prediction of a 1-d shock analysis. The significant systematic error sources for the technique are detailed, and the random error effects associated with shot-noise-limited fluorescence images are statistically analyzed to identify transitions which minimize the temperature errors for instantaneous and average measurements. Even for average temperature measurements, the analysis predicts errors which can be as large as 5–10% when noisy fluorescence images are used in conjunction with low temperature sensitivity. In general, temperature errors can be reduced by increasing sensitivity, i.e., the energy separation of the two rotational levels, until the fluorescence shot-noise rises to a value of 30–50% within the temperature range of interest.