cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Compliance of bacterial polyhooks measured with optical tweezers

In earlier work, a single-beam gradient force optical trap ("optical tweezers") was used to measure the torsional compliance of flagella in wild-type cells of Escherichia coli that had been tethered to glass by a single flagellum. This compliance was nonlinear, exhibiting a torsionally soft phase up to 180 degrees, followed by a torsionally rigid phase for larger angles. Values for the torsional spring constant in the soft phase were substantially less than estimates based on the rigidity determined for isolated flagellar filaments. It was suggested that the soft phase might correspond to wind-up of the flagellar hook, and the rigid phase to wind-up of the stiffer filament. Here, we have measured the torsional compliance of flagella on cells of an E. coli strain that produces abnormally long hooks but no filaments. The small-angle compliance of these cells, as determined from the elastic rebound of the cell body after wind-up and release, was found to be the same as for wild-type cells. This confirms that the small-angle compliance of wild-type cells is dominated by the response of the hook. Hook flexibility is likely to play a useful role in stabilizing the flagellar bundle.
Metachronous bilateral testicular seminoma developing after an interval of 31 years: Case report and review of the literature

Men diagnosed with testicular germ cell tumors are at higher risk for development of a second germ cell tumor in the contralateral testis. Metachronous bilateral testicular germ cell tumors usually occur within 5 years. Here, we report a case of a 63-year-old man previously diagnosed with testicular seminoma and treated with a left orchiectomy followed by radiation, developing contralateral testicular seminoma after an interval of 31 years. The patient was asymptomatic and found to have an enlarged, nontender right testis on routine urological examination. Further workup did not reveal evidence of metastatic disease or lymphadenopathy. The surgery specimen revealed a 4.2 × 3.1 × 1.8 cm distinct mass without tumor involvement of tunica albuginea or the tunica vaginalis. Microscopy showed classic seminoma with venous/lymphatic tumor invasion. The current case underscores the importance of recommending lifelong follow-up for patients with testicular germ cell tumors.
LAMINAR FILM CONDENSATION OF FLOWING VAPOR ON A HORIZONTAL MELTING SURFACE

Abstract Laminar film condensation of a saturated vapor flowing over a horizontal melting surface is studied analytically. Using an approximate treatment of the shear stress at the vapor-liquid interface (as suggested by Shekriladze and Gomelauri), the similarity conservation equations are solved numerically. Solutions for the condensation rate, melting rate and skin friction are obtained for three values of the liquid Prandtl number (0.1, 1 and 10) and for a wide range of condensation and melting parameters (Stefan numbers). The solutions become exact as the parameter [(ρμ)/(ρ v μ v )] 1 2 goes to infinity. Simple analytical solutions based on a thin-film approximation are also derived and compared with the numerical results.
Sustained attention on a continuous performance test.

The present study compared means of 54 nonpatients on two Continuous Performance Test measures in five administration conditions. Both response measures differentiated performance among the conditions, certain of which may have an alerting function that facilitates deployment of attention. Appreciable attentional demand or effort, however, may limit this facultative effect.
Pierre Bourdieu and intercultural education: it is not just about lack of knowledge about others

In response to the current intersection of pluralism, globalization, the histories and persistence of inequality in society and schools, and in response to well intended but potentially dangerous tendency toward the romantic versions of everyone’s points of views are valid and let us respect each other’s viewpoints in intercultural education, some intercultural educators are adamantly arguing that the goal of intercultural education must be to work against inequality and inhumanity linked to the system of domination and to foreground social justice. Joining the commitment of such intercultural educators within the framework of anti oppressive intercultural education, this essay shows how Pierre Bourdieu’s sociological theoretical framework can help to problematize the psychologically based intercultural education that mainly focuses on benign differences. Using Bourdieu’s framework, the author demonstrates that the barrier to intercultural education is not just lack of knowledge about others, illuminates ...
Extracting and compensating dispersion mismatch in ultrahigh-resolution Fourier domain OCT imaging of the retina

We present a numerical approach to extract the dispersion mismatch in ultrahigh-resolution Fourier domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging of the retina. The method draws upon an analogy with a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor. By exploiting mathematical similarities between the expressions for aberration in optical imaging and dispersion mismatch in spectral / Fourier domain OCT, Shack-Hartmann principles can be extended from the two-dimensional paraxial wavevector space (or the x-y plane in the spatial domain) to the one-dimensional wavenumber space (or the z-axis in the spatial domain). For OCT imaging of the retina, different retinal layers, such as the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL), the photoreceptor inner and outer segment junction (IS/OS), or all the retinal layers near the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) can be used as point source beacons in the axial direction, analogous to point source beacons used in conventional two-dimensional Shack-Hartman wavefront sensors for aberration characterization. Subtleties regarding speckle phenomena in optical imaging, which affect the Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor used in adaptive optics, also occur analogously in this application. Using this approach and carefully suppressing speckle, the dispersion mismatch in spectral / Fourier domain OCT retinal imaging can be successfully extracted numerically and used for numerical dispersion compensation to generate sharper, ultrahigh-resolution OCT images.
Transforming proteins of fujinami and PRCII avian sarcoma viruses have different subcellular locations

Abstract The subcellular locations of transforming proteins encoded by the related avian sarcoma viruses, PRCII and Fujinami sarcoma virus (FSV), were compared by cell fractionation and by indirect immunofluorescence. Whereas both viruses encode gag-fps proteins associated with tyrosine-specific kinase activity, FSV is more highly tumorigenic than PRCII in vivo Cell fractionation studies showed that the PRCII transforming protein, P105, became associated with the high-speed particulate fraction shortly after synthesis. However, PRCII P105 did not fractionate with the plasma membrane marker, but rather with high-density membranes. It is unique in this subcellular localization among viral tyrosine kinases. This membrane association was found to be relatively insensitive to salt concentration and did not require divalent cations. Immunofluorescent studies, using anti-fps serum, showed that the PRCII protein was present in discrete, large, cytoplasmic patches, as well as in a juxtanuclear location. In contrast, FSV-encoded P130 was found to fractionate with the plasma membrane marker when cells were analyzed in low salt in the presence of magnesium. However, at higher salt concentrations and in the absence of magnesium, the bulk of P130 was found to be soluble. Immunofluorescent staining of FSV P130 revealed a diffuse, cytoplasmic pattern that was distinct from that of the PRCII product. The observed difference in the subcellular localization of these transforming proteins may be the cause of the difference in tumorigenicity between the two viruses.
Separate and combined psychopharmacological effects of alprazolam and oxycodone in healthy volunteers

Background There are epidemiological data indicating that medical and/or nonmedical use of prescription opioids oftentimes involves concurrent use of other substances. One of those substances is benzodiazepines. It would be of relevance to characterize the effects of an opioid and a benzodiazepine when taken together to determine if measures related to abuse liability-related effects and psychomotor performance impairment are increased compared to when the drugs are taken alone.
Prognostic Impact of FoxP3+ Regulatory T Cells in Relation to CD8+ T Lymphocyte Density in Human Colon Carcinomas

Background T-lymphocyte infiltration into colon carcinomas can influence clinical outcome, and interactions among T cell subsets may be more informative than either subset alone. Our objective was to examine the prognostic impact of tumor-infiltrating FoxP3+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) in relation to cytotoxic CD8+ T lymphocytes in patients with colon carcinomas characterized by DNA mismatch repair (MMR) status who participated in adjuvant chemotherapy trials.
Auditory brainstem responses of stutterers and nonstutterers during speech production

Abstract This study was designed to determine if significant, predictable stimulus-related variations in evoked auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) could be documented between stuttering and nonstuttering adults during various verbal rehearsal tasks. ABRs were recorded while subjects were engaged in overt speech, whispering, silent articulation, and covert verbal rehearsal tasks. Results revealed that stutterers demonstrated significantly larger Wave I absolute amplitudes, and significantly larger Wave V to Wave I relative amplitude ratios (V/I) than nonstutterers. Such variations may serve to further an understanding of a possible relationship between dysfluent speech and central nervous system functioning. No significant differences were found between stuttering and nonstuttering subjects for absolute or interpeak latencies of the ABRs during the verbal rehearsal tasks.
Letter to the Editor---Reply: Heuristic Problem Solving

According to the preceding letter, Richard Bellman thinks that our predictions about heuristic programming are incorrect, irresponsible, and sensationalist. We should like to comment on these three points in turn.
Feature-Specific Difference Imaging

Difference images quantify changes in the object scene over time. In this paper, we use the feature-specific imaging paradigm to present methods for estimating a sequence of difference images from a sequence of compressive measurements of the object scene. Our goal is twofold. First is to design, where possible, the optimal sensing matrix for taking compressive measurements. In scenarios where such sensing matrices are not tractable, we consider plausible candidate sensing matrices that either use the available a priori information or are nonadaptive. Second, we develop closed-form and iterative techniques for estimating the difference images. We specifically look at l2 - and l1 -based methods. We show that l2-based techniques can directly estimate the difference image from the measurements without first reconstructing the object scene. This direct estimation exploits the spatial and temporal correlations between the object scene at two consecutive time instants. We further develop a method to estimate a generalized difference image from multiple measurements and use it to estimate the sequence of difference images. For l1-based estimation, we consider modified forms of the total-variation method and basis pursuit denoising. We also look at a third method that directly exploits the sparsity of the difference image. We present results to show the efficacy of these techniques and discuss the advantages of each.
High performance magnesium anode in paper-based microfluidic battery, powering on-chip fluorescence assay

A high power density and long-lasting stable/disposable magnesium battery anode was explored for a paper-based fluidic battery to power on-chip functions of various Point of Care (POC) devices. The single galvanic cell with magnesium foil anode and silver foil cathode in Origami cellulose chip provided open circuit potential, 2.2 V, and power density, 3.0 mW/cm2. A paper-based fluidic galvanic cell was operated with one drop of water (80 μl) and continued to run until it was dry. To prove the concept about powering on-chip POC devices, two-serial galvanic cells are developed and incorporated with a UV-light emitting diode (λ = 365 nm) and fluorescence assay for alkaline phosphatase reaction. Further, detection using smart phones was performed for quantitative measurement of fluorescent density. To conclude, a magnesium-based fluidic battery paper chip was extremely low-cost, required minute sample volumes, was easy to dispose of, light weight, easy to stack, store and transport, easy to fabricate, scalable, and has faster analysis times.
Changes in plasma histamine concentration in the streptozotocin-diabetic rat.

Abstract Plasma histamine concentrations were measured in rats made diabetic via jugular vein injection of streptozotocin and held 4 weeks following diabetes diagnosis. At least 15 diabetic animals received insulin (6–8 U/day) or α-hydrazinohistidine (α-HH) for the last week of the holding period. α-HH is a specific inhibitor of histidine decarboxylase (HD), the principle histamine-forming enzyme in mammals. Plasma histamine concentrations, expressed as means and mean standard errors (ng/ml) were as follows: control, 25.5 ± 2.4; diabetic, 47.1 ± 5.2; diabetic-insulin, 34.6 ± 2.9; diabetic-α-HH, 28.1 ± 2.1. These data indicate that in experimental diabetes there is an expansion of the nascent, or inducible histamine pool, an increase which is reflected by increased circulating plasma histamine. This may be one component mediating altered microvessel as well as large vessel permeability characteristics, an underlying component of both diabetic microangiopathy and macroangiopathy.
Electrical effects of clustered defects in heteroepitaxial Si films

Abstract Our work indicates that the behavior of injected majority and minority carriers in representative Si/spinel samples is dominated by deep-level defects that are agglomerated into defect clusters rather than being uniformly distributed in the volume of the Si layer. Since these defect clusters will be surrounded by space-charge regions, the resulting trap occupancy-dependent potential barriers result in slow, nonexponential majority carrier trapping effects but subnanosecond minority carrier lifetimes. Accurate numerical calculations of the electrical properties of a sheet of clustered defects are shown to agree with detailed measurements at 90 and 300°K of the transient conductance decay in P - and N -type films following pulsed carrier injection from electron bombardment. A significant conclusion of the theoretical calculations is that the electrical behavior of a defect cluster is insensitive to any of the model parameters chosen as long as there are a sufficient number of defects to completely deplete the material in the vicinity of the defect plane. Our results show that the observed short minority carrier lifetimes, long-term majority carrier trapping effects and mobility temperature dependences can all be explained by the same cluster defect model and cannot be explained by uniformly distributed point defects. Our calculations also imply that minority carrier lifetime in these films should be strongly injection level dependent. Thus, lifetime measured by the MOS transient capacitance technique will not be the lifetime needed to evaluate the material for bipolar device applications.
Characterization and solubilization of the specific binding sites for d-α-tocopherol from human erythrocyte membranes

Abstract Previous work from our laboratory has demonstrated the presence of specific binding sites for d - α -tocopherol (vitamin E) in intact human erythrocytes [A. E. Kitabchi and J. Wimalasena, Biochim. biophys. Acta 684 , 300 (1982)]. The binding was time, temperature and cell concentration dependent. To localize the binding sites, red blood cells were further fractionated; greater than 90% of the tocopherol binding sites were localized on membranes. The washed membrane fraction from normal human erythrocytes has specific binding sites for d - α -tocopherol with properties suggestive of protein receptors. Two binding sites with K a values of 3.31 × 10 7 M −1 and 1.51 × 10 6 M −1 were demonstrated, and solubilized d - α -tocopherol binding site complexes were resolved to major component with an M r of 65,000 and a minor component with an M r of 125,000.
Elastic properties of alkali silicate glasses with iron oxide: Relation to glass structure

Elastic moduli of lithium- and sodium-silicate glasses with 2, 5 and 10 mol% Fe2O3 were determined from acoustic measurements. Moduli of glasses with Li are higher than those for glasses with Na and increase with Fe3+ and with the Li content. The unpredictably high moduli of glasses with Li are interpreted in relation to a collapse of the glass structure due to bending of the SiOSi angle.
Representing Serial Correlation of Meteorological Events and Forecasts in Dynamic Decision–Analytic Models

Abstract A recursive solution for optimal sequences of decisions given uncertainty in future weather events, and forecasts of those events, is presented. The formulation incorporates a representation of the autocorrelation that is typically exhibited. The general finite-horizon dynamic decision–analytic framework is employed, with the weather forecast for the previous decision period included as a state variable. Serial correlation is represented through conditional probability distributions of the forecast for the current decision period, given the forecast for the previous period. Autocorrelation of the events is represented by proxy through the autocorrelation of the forecasts. The formulation is practical to implement operationally, and efficient in the sense that the weather component can be represented through a single state variable. A compact representation of the required conditional distributions, based on an autoregressive model for forecast autocorrelation, is presented for the em of 24-h prob...
Evaluating the Efficacy of a Parenting Program for Incarcerated Mothers

Life course theory supports strengthening incarcerated mothers' parenting skills and parent–child relationships to help both inmate mothers and their children. Prison parenting programs address this need. This study evaluates the efficacy of the parenting program at a Southern correctional institution for women in changing inmate mothers' parenting knowledge and skills. A pretest–posttest nonequivalent comparison group quasi-experimental design was used to assess short-term change in knowledge after 12-week parent education courses. Paired sample t tests of parenting class participants' (n = 64) Time 1 and Time 2 scores on two parenting inventories suggest significant positive change likely resulting from the parent education program. No significant change was indicated in a comparison group (n = 26) of inmate mothers.
Bayesian object detection in dynamic scenes

Detecting moving objects using stationary cameras is an important precursor to many activity recognition, object recognition and tracking algorithms. In this paper, three innovations are presented over existing approaches. Firstly, the model of the intensities of image pixels as independently distributed random variables is challenged and it is asserted that useful correlation exists in the intensities of spatially proximal pixels. This correlation is exploited to sustain high levels of detection accuracy in the presence of nominal camera motion and dynamic textures. By using a non-parametric density estimation method over a joint domain-range representation of image pixels, multi-modal spatial uncertainties and complex dependencies between the domain (location) and range (color) are directly modeled. Secondly, temporal persistence is proposed as a detection criteria. Unlike previous approaches to object detection which detect objects by building adaptive models of the only background, the foreground is also modeled to augment the detection of objects (without explicit tracking) since objects detected in a preceding frame contain substantial evidence for detection in a current frame. Third, the background and foreground models are used competitively in a MAP-MRF decision framework, stressing spatial context as a condition of pixel-wise labeling and the posterior function is maximized efficiently using graph cuts. Experimental validation of the proposed method is presented on a diverse set of dynamic scenes.
Coexistence with malicious nodes: A game theoretic approach

In this paper, we use game theory to study the interactions between a malicious node and a regular node in wireless networks with unreliable channels. Since the malicious nodes do not reveal their identities to others, it is crucial for the regular nodes to detect them through monitoring and observation. We model the malicious node detection process as a Bayesian game with imperfect information and show that a mixed strategy perfect Bayesian Nash Equilibrium (also a sequential equilibrium) is attainable. While the equilibrium in the detection game ensures the identification of the malicious nodes, we argue that it might not be profitable to isolate the malicious nodes upon detection. As a matter of fact, malicious nodes and regular nodes can co-exist as long as the destruction they bring is less than the contribution they make. To show how we can utilize the malicious nodes, a post-detection game between the malicious and regular nodes is formalized. Solution to this game shows the existence of a subgame perfect Nash Equilibrium and the conditions that achieve the equilibrium. Simulation results and their discussions are also provided to illustrate the properties of the derived equilibria.
Bars and Pies Make Better Desserts than Figures

In a previous article on figures (1) I discussed line graphs and scattergrams, 2 of the most widely used approaches for presenting data and results in scientific papers. In line graphs and scattergrams, each axis is of a continuous variable. For example, the x axis may show a continuous range of phenytoin doses, and the y axis may show the corresponding range of the resulting serum phenytoin concentrations. Or, the x axis may be a range of months after chemotherapy, and the y axis may be the percentage of surviving patients. Assay comparisons, chromatograms, ROC curves, and PCR amplification curves are all examples of line graphs or scattergrams. There are, however, situations in which the variables are discontinuous (also called “discrete” or “nominal” variables), meaning that they are categorically different (e.g., eye color); combined within an interval (e.g., ages 21–30 years, 31–40 years, 41–50 years); or numerically scaled (ordinal variables) (e.g., tumor stages 1, 2, 3, and 4). When a visual representation of the results for discontinuous variables is desired, 2 commonly used approaches are bar graphs and pie charts. In this article, I discuss the pros and cons of these 2 types of figures. A bar graph, also known as a column graph when the bars are plotted vertically (2), is a 2-dimensional figure in which a set of discontinuous independent variables is plotted versus a continuous dependent variable. Fig. 1 is a plot of the dollars spent per capita on healthcare, which is a continuous variable, for 5 industrialized countries with medium-sized populations, each of which is a discontinuous variable. The length of the rectangular bar (or column) represents the dollars spent by each country. Fig. 1. Per capita healthcare expenditures for 5 industrialized countries with medium-sized populations. All expenditure amounts have been converted to US dollars. Panels (A), (B), and (C) are different representations of the same data. (D), Same …
Bounded Queries and the NP Machine Hypothesis

The NP machine hypothesis posits the existence of an \in \ge 0 and a nondeterministic polynomial-time Turing machine M which accepts the language 0 but for which no deterministic Turing machine running in 2^n time can output an accepting path infinitely often. This paper shows two applications of the NP machine hypothesis in bounded query complexity. First, if the NP machine hypothesis holds, then P^SAT[1] = P^SAT[2] \Rightarrow PH \subseteq NP. Without assuming the NP machine hypothesis, the best known collapse of the Polynomial Hierarchy (PH) is to the class S_2^P due to a result of Fortnow, Pavan and Sengupta [9]. The second application is to bounded query function classes. If the NP machine hypothesis holds then for all constants d \ge 0, there exists a constant k \ge d such that for all oracles X, PF^SAT[n^k] \not\subset PF^X[n^d]. In particular, PF^SAT[n^d] \varsubsetneq PF^SAT[n^k]. Without the NP machine hypothesis, there are currently no known consequences even if for all k \ge 1, PF^SAT[n^k] \subseteq PF^SAT[n].
What is network analysis, and what is it good for?

Jeremy Boissevain and J. Clyde Mitchell, eds. Network Analysis: Studies In Human Interaction. The Hague: Mouton, 1973. xiii + 271 pp. Tables, figures, bibliography, and index. $11.00 (Dutch Guilders: 29).
Integrating reliable memory in databases

Recent results in the Rio project at the University of Michigan show that it is possible to create an area of main memory that is as safe as disk from operating system crashes. This paper explores how to integrate the reliable memory provided by the Rio file cache into a database system. Prior studies have analyzed the performance benefits of reliable memory; we focus instead on how different designs affect reliability. We propose three designs for integrating reliable memory into databases: non-persistent database buffer cache, persistent database buffer cache, and persistent database buffer cache with protection. Non-persistent buffer caches use an I/O interface to reliable memory and require the fewest modifications to existing databases. However, they waste memory capacity and bandwidth due to double buffering. Persistent buffer caches use a memory interface to reliable memory by mapping it into the database address space. This places reliable memory under complete database control and eliminates double buffering, but it may expose the buffer cache to database errors. Our third design reduces this exposure by write protecting the buffer pages. Extensive fault tests show that mapping reliable memory into the database address space does not significantly hurt reliability. This is because wild stores rarely touch dirty, committed pages written by previous transactions. As a result, we believe that databases should use a memory interface to reliable memory.
Green's function theory for the Cheng–Schick model of 3He–4He mixtures

In this paper, we outline a theory for the thermodynamic properties of 3He–4He mixtures in the neighborhood of the critical line and the tricritical point (TCP). The theory utilizes the Cheng–Schick (CS) lattice gas model where both the 3He and 4He atoms are treated as quantum particles on a lattice. The analysis is based on Green's function approach. Results are presented for the ordering susceptibility and the thermal averages of the occupation numbers of 3He and 4He atoms. We derive a self-consistent equation for the ordering susceptibility and use it to calculate the critical line and locate the TCP. Our findings are compared with the predictions obtained from high temperature series expansions, mean field theory and the random phase approximation (RPA).
Distribution and interspecies contact of feral swine and cattle on rangeland in south Texas: implications for disease transmission.

The last outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in the United States occurred in 1929. Since that time, numbers and distribution of feral swine (Sus scrofa) have increased greatly, especially in the southern states. This creates a potential risk to livestock production because swine are susceptible to, and can be carriers of, several economically harmful diseases of livestock. Most importantly, swine are potent amplifiers of FMD virus. In this study, global positioning system (GPS) collars were placed on rangeland cattle (Bos indicus × taurus) and feral swine to determine shared habitat use by these species on a large ranch in south Texas from 2004 to 2006. The aim was to identify locations and rates of interspecies contact that may result in effective transfer of FMD virus, should an outbreak occur. In shrubland and riparian areas, animals were dispersed, so contacts within and between species were relatively infrequent. Indirect contacts, whereby cattle and feral swine used the same location (within 2...
SEA96--A New Predictive Relation for Earthquake Ground Motions in Extensional Tectonic Regimes

We present a new predictive relation for horizontal peak ground acceleration and 5% damped pseudo-velocity response spectrum appropriate for predicting earthquake ground motions in extensional tectonic regimes. This new empirical relation, which we denote “Sea96,” was originally derived by Spudich et al. (1996) as part of a project to estimate seismic hazard at the site of a proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Because of the length and relative inaccessibility of that report, we are briefly presenting the Sea96 relation and its derivation here. We developed our relation based on data from extensional regime earthquakes having moment magnitude M > 5.0 recorded at distances less than 105 km. Extensional regions are regions in which the lithosphere is expanding areally. This areal expansion is the result of applied forces that yield a state of stress for which Sv > SHmax > SHmin , where Sv , SHmax , and SHmin represent principal...
Incorporating the costs of access management to the prioritization of transportation corridors vulnerable to land development

A transportation agency has elected to prioritize the needs to protect corridors and corridor sections that are most vulnerable to land development. An existing methodology developed at the University of Virginia has begun to use parcel assessments, parks and schools, conservation easements, population data, employment data, and associated modeling and analysis to develop a priority score useful to screen among vulnerable corridor sections. This paper contributes data collection and analysis of the potential costs of access management and corridor protection along thirty-mile corridors. The costs are represented by (i) parcel values adjacent to half-mile corridor sections, and (ii) driveways, intersections, and other access points in the corridor sections. We discuss the demonstration of the extended methodology in a Virginia locality using a geographic information system. The extended methodology enables localities and transportation planners to address needs for corridor protection along many miles of corridor in a 60,000 mile statewide transportation system.
Guarded execution and branch prediction in dynamic ILP processors

We evaluate the effects of guarded (or conditional, or predicated) execution on the performance of an instruction level parallel processor employing dynamic branch prediction. First, we assess the utility of guarded execution, both qualitatively and quantitatively, using a variety of application programs. Our assessment shows that guarded execution significantly increases the opportunities, for both compiler and dynamic hardware, to extract and exploit parallelism. However, existing methods of specifying guarded execution have several drawbacks that limit its use. Second, we study the interaction of guarded execution and dynamic branch prediction and show that the use of guarded execution significantly increases the number of instructions between mispredicted branches. Third, we propose a new method of specifying guarded execution. The proposed method uses special GUARD instructions, which can be used to incorporate guarded execution into existing instruction sets. GUARD instructions realize the full power of guarded execution, without the drawbacks of existing methods of specifying guarded execution.
The Twelve Federal Reserve Banks: Governance and Accountability in the 21st Century

Chronicling the politics that led to the creation of the twelve Reserve Banks and the pursuant legal and political consequences, this paper argues that the Federal Reserve’s quasi-private Reserve Banks are, at best, opaque and unaccountable, and, at worst, unconstitutional. Following the Panic of 1907, one of the most destructive in the nation’s history, Republicans and Democrats offered competing proposals to overhaul the nation’s monetary system. Republicans wanted a single central bank, whereas Democrats wanted multiple independent reserve banks across the country that could tailor policy to local conditions. In both plans, private bankers would determine central bank leadership. As a compromise, President Woodrow Wilson proposed the creation of 8–12 reserve banks run by appointees of private bankers, but supervised by a single central board of Presidential appointees. Wilson’s vision formed the basis of the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, the Fed’s founding statute. The Wilsonian structure resulted in turf battles between the private Reserve Banks and the public Board in Washington, which led to policy uncertainty that contributed to the Great Depression. In response to this uncertainty, Congress, at the insistence of President Roosevelt, revoked Wilson's vision and centralized authority in the Board of Governors in Washington. But while the Depression-era legislation removed the 12 quasi-private Reserve Banks' autonomy, it did not eliminate them. This structure, which persists today, presents problems for both constitutional law and public policy. The President and Congress play no role in choosing who leads the Reserve Banks, and the President must rely on an indirect process if he wants to remove Reserve Bank presidents, a feature which violates constitutional principles of separation of powers. In addition, because Reserve Bank presidents have close ties to the banks they regulate, they are less likely to police bad behavior. One possible solution is to give the Fed’s Board of Governors the power to appoint and remove Reserve Bank Presidents at will. This structural change would make our nation’s central banking system more answerable to the democratic process and, in turn, improve the Fed’s policymaking.
The 68040 processor. 2. Memory design and chip

For pt.1 see ibid., February (1990). The memory subsystem, the external bus, chip and board testing, and design-verification methods for the 68040, a third-generation, full-32-bit microprocessor in the Motorola 68000 family, are discussed. The internal caches and memory management are examined at length. The external bus protocol, arbitration, snooping, and timing specifications are addressed. The MOVE16 instruction, which moves a cache line from one address (which may reside in the data cache) to another address outside the cache is described. User testing, based on dedicated test logic that is fully compliant with the IEEE 1149.1 standard, and factory testing, for which the processor employs structured design techniques for random logic and special test modes for embedded arrays, are examined. The use of top-down design and a hierarchical method of design verification is discussed. >
Effect of β-Carotene and Vitamin A on Progesterone Production by Bovine Luteal Cells

The relationship between concentrations of plasma vitamin A and c-carotene and corpora lutea was studied using 52 Holstein cows. Bovine luteinizing hormone was added to incubation tubes in doses of 0, 10, or 100 ng/ml. Regression of progesterone secretion by luteal cells in vitro on plasma beta-carotene was positive and significant for corpora lutea collected during the winter months when plasma beta-carotene was low. The two were unrelated during the summer months when beta-carotene was higher. Similar regressions for in vitro progesterone production and vitamin A were not significant in either season. These results suggest that in vivo beta-carotene status is related to bovine luteal function in vitro.
Determination of NTA in Environmental Water by gas Chromatography

A rapid, sensitive gas chromatographic method for the determination of NTA as its trimethylsilyl ester has been developed. The method is not subject to interference by common cations, a wide variet...
Differential encoding of high-resolution data

Predictive models for generating side information in differential encoding of data (e.g., images) sampled at high densities are considered. A model based on incremental difference operators is used in place of the conventional linear predictive coding (LPC) paradigm. It is seen that, unlike standard LPC, this formulation is stable for high sampling densities. Moreover, this formulation leads to more efficiently encoded side information in this regime.
A distributed self-organization algorithm for ad-hoc sensor networks

A distributed task-oriented self-organization algorithm that enables sensors in an ad-hoc network to organize them according to the task being announced is proposed in this paper. When a task is announced, a distributed leader election algorithm is used to select the sensor that best 'matches' the announced task based on minimizing a distance measure between the task and sensor specifications. The selected sensor then uses a task decomposition method to generate and announce the residual tasks that 'cover' the matching error. In this manner, sensors are sequentially selected until all residual tasks are 'covered'. All sensors selected by the algorithms from a sensor group for the originally announced task. To improve the communication overhead of a previous version of this algorithm, location information of each sensor is used to dynamically maintain a contributor group of sensors that may contribute to the announced task. Leader election and all task announcements are confined to this group.
Limits on the Predictive Power of Domain-Specific Experience and Knowledge in Skilled Performance:

It is clear from decades of research that, to a very large degree, success in music, games, sports, science, and other complex domains reflects knowledge and skills acquired through experience. However, it is equally clear that basic abilities, which are known to be substantially heritable, also contribute to performance differences in many domains, even among highly skilled performers. As we discuss here, our research shows that working memory capacity predicts performance in complex tasks even in individuals with high levels of domain-specific experience and knowledge. We discuss implications of our findings for the understanding of individual differences in skill and identify challenges for future research.
A Potential Case of Brood Parasitism by Eastern Bluebirds on House Sparrows

Abstract Sialia sialis (Eastern Bluebird) and Passer domesticus (House Sparrow) are common cavity-nesting birds that can compete with each other for nest sites in habitats where they overlap. Both species occasionally lay eggs in the nests of conspecifics, but evidence of interspecific brood parasitism (IBP) is lacking. Here we report the first detailed case of an Eastern Bluebird laying an egg in a House Sparrow nest and discuss potential explanations, including intentional IBP, IBP by default, and failed nest usurpation.
Oxygen Reduction Reaction on Platinum/Tantalum Oxide Electrocatalysts for PEM Fuel Cells

Electrocatalysts comprising platinum supported on transition metal oxides MOx ( M=Ti, W, V, Nb ) are promising candidates for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in PEM fuel cells (1-3). Oxide supports may promote the electrocatalytic activity of platinum due to metal-support interactions and/or the preferential adsorption of the OH groups to the oxide vs. the Pt surface (4,5). We have chosen Pt/TaOx/VC nanocomposites as an alternative to conventional Pt/VC because of the high stability of TaOx in acid at high potentials. Promotion of Pt catalytic activity by TaOx and NbOx was demonstrated previously for the CO oxidation reaction (6). Higher activity for the ORR (compared to 20% Pt/VC (E-TEK)) was recently reported by Adzic for Pt monolayers supported on niobium dioxide (3). We have also studied Pt supported on phosphates (7), but oxides provide a more simple system for synthesis and mechanistic analysis. Three different synthetic routes are evaluated to track metal-support interaction in Pt/TaOx/VC nanocomposites (5). Briefly, the first route involves deposition of platinum colloids (average particle size ~2.3nm) on tantalum oxide followed by mechanical grinding with Vulcan carbon. The second route consists of the deposition of tantalum oxide on Vulcan carbon, followed by the deposition of platinum colloids. Platinum colloids are deposited on Vulcan carbon and coated with tantalum oxide nanoparticles to implement the third route. To control for particle size effects, we compared the activity of the Pt/TaOx/VC nanocomposites to that of Pt/VC catalysts that we synthesized by deposition of platinum colloids on Vulcan carbon. The electrocatalytic activity of platinum supported on tantalum oxide is evaluated by rotating disk electrode (RDE) voltammetry. XRD, XPS, SEM and HRTEM are used for structural and surface characterization of the catalysts obtained by different synthetic routes.
Romanticism and Gender Identity as Predictors of Sexual Behaviours among Undergraduate Students in a Nigerian University

The study examined the effects of romanticism and gender identity on the occurrences of sexual behavior among 400 undergraduate students of Delta State University, Nigeria. Two valid scales were responded to by the participants. The Pearson correlation, Multiple Regression and t-test procedures were used to investigate the predictive capacity of the independent variables on the dependent variables. The result indicated that independent variables, when taken together and individually were effective predictors to the sexual behavior of undergraduate students. It was suggested that Sex Education is required with an in- depth understanding of the functionality of the romanticism and gender, to enable students become more knowledgeable, and understanding of their sex, gender, sexual health and sexual relationships and related issues for the adequate development of a proper sexual behavior.
Alphabet-size dependent bounds for exact repair in distributed storage

We use some simple techniques to derive a universal alphabet-size dependent bound on the parameters of erasure-correcting regenerating codes. It can be shown that the well-known previous bounds are special cases of our more general bound. In certain cases our bound leads to improvement over prior results.
The Marriage Penalty after the Jgtrra

The marriage penalty has been the subject of much public discussion and many bills introduced in Congress. The changing demographics of the American population have intensified the importance of this issue and led to many small, quick fixes in the tax law. The most recent attempt to alleviate the marriage penalty is found in the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 (2003 Act). The authors of this article present examples to illustrate the effects of the marriage penalty and marriage penalty reform in various situations. The marriage penalty due to tax rates still exists for couples with high income. However, there is a marriage bonus when one spouse provides all of the income. The 2003 Act did not change the head of household tax rates. Consequently, there is a divorce bonus when the couple has children that continue to live with one or more of the former spouses, or if there is any situation where one or both of the former spouses can file as a head of household after the divorce. There are still many provisions in the tax law causing a marriage penalty. Another example is the amount of social security included in gross income. When coupled with the differences in the additional standard deduction, many older taxpayers are still suffering a marriage penalty. Although the marriage penalty relief provided by the 2003 Act is short-term, the authors identify several planning opportunities to make the most of its benefits.
Impact of Cooling Rate-Induced Recrystallization on High G Mechanical Shock and Thermal Cycling in Sn-Ag-Cu Solder Interconnects

The mechanical stability and thermo-mechanical fatigue performance of solder joints with low silver content Sn-1.0Ag-0.5Cu (wt.%) (SAC105) alloy based on different cooling rates are investigated in high G level shock environment and thermal cycling conditions. The cooling rate-controlled samples ranging from 1°C/min to 75°C/min cooling rate, not only show differences in microstructure, where a fine poly-granular microstructure develops in the case of fast cooling versus normal cooling, but also show various shock performances based on the microstructure changes. The fast cooling rate improves the high G shock performance by over 90% compared to the normal cooled SAC105 alloy air-cooling environment commonly used after assembly reflow. The microstructure effect on thermal cycling performance is also discussed, which is analyzed based on the Sn grain orientation, interconnect stability, and solder joint bulk microstructure.
Repeated wildfires alter forest recovery of mixed‐conifer ecosystems

Most models project warmer and drier climates that will contribute to larger and more frequent wildfires. However, it remains unknown how repeated wildfires alter post-fire successional patterns and forest structure. Here, we test the hypothesis that the number of wildfires, as well as the order and severity of wildfire events interact to alter forest structure and vegetation recovery and implications for vegetation management. In 2014, we examined forest structure, composition, and tree regeneration in stands that burned 1-18 yr before a subsequent 2007 wildfire. Three important findings emerged: (1) Repeatedly burned forests had 15% less woody surface fuels and 31% lower tree seedling densities compared with forests that only experienced one recent wildfire. These repeatedly burned areas are recovering differently than sites burned once, which may lead to alternative ecosystem structure. (2) Order of burn severity (high followed by low severity compared with low followed by high severity) did influence forest characteristics. When low burn severity followed high, forests had 60% lower canopy closure and total basal area with 92% fewer tree seedlings than when high burn severity followed low. (3) Time between fires had no effect on most variables measured following the second fire except large woody fuels, canopy closure and tree seedling density. We conclude that repeatedly burned areas meet many vegetation management objectives of reduced fuel loads and moderate tree seedling densities. These differences in forest structure, composition, and tree regeneration have implications not only for the trajectories of these forests, but may reduce fire intensity and burn severity of subsequent wildfires and may be used in conjunction with future fire suppression tactics.