cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Predictive model to identify positive tuberculosis skin test results during contact investigations.

ContextBudgetary constraints in tuberculosis (TB) control programs require streamlining contact investigations without sacrificing disease control.ObjectiveTo develop more efficient methods of TB contact investigation by creating a model of TB transmission using variables that best predict a positive tuberculin skin test among contacts of an active TB case.Design, Setting, and SubjectsAfter standardizing the interview and documentation process, data were collected on 292 consecutive TB cases and their 2941 contacts identified by the Alabama Department of Public Health between January and October 1998. Generalized estimating equations were used to create a model for predicting positive skin test results in contacts of active TB cases. The model was then validated using data from a prospective cohort of 366 new TB cases and their 3162 contacts identified between October 1998 and April 2000.Main Outcome MeasureTuberculin skin test result.ResultsUsing generalized estimating equations to build a predictive model, 7 variables were found to significantly predict a positive tuberculin skin test result among contacts of an active TB case. Further testing showed this model to have a sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value of approximately 89%, 36%, and 26%, respectively. The false-negative rate was less than 10%, and about 40% of the contact workload could be eliminated using this model.ConclusionsCertain characteristics can be used to predict contacts most likely to have a positive tuberculin skin test result. Use of such models can significantly reduce the number of contacts that public health officials need to investigate while still maintaining excellent disease control.
Non-Maxwell velocity distributions in inhomogeneous materials

Determining velocity distribution functions for ensembles is one of the most fundamental problems in statistical mechanics. In this paper, based on the results of computer molecular dynamics (MD) methods, we point out that the velocity distribution of low-mass classical particles subjected to a strong force field in a heavy atom environment is generally noncanonical. When the system reaches equilibrium, a non-Maxwellian distribution persists. The effective temperature of some of the low-mass particles may be one or two orders of magnitude greater than the average temperature of the system. “Cold” fusion may thus be enhanced by as much as 30–50 orders of magnitude over that calculated on the basis of 300K Maxwell distributions.
Time-Resolved Luminescence Investigation of the Adsorption of Ru(bpy)32+ onto Antimony-Doped SnO2 Colloidal Particles

The adsorption of Ru(bpy)32+ (bpy = 2,2‘-bipyridine) onto negatively charged antimony-doped SnO2 colloidal particles (ca. 4-nm diameter) was monitored by time-resolved luminescence. Electron injection from photoexcited Ru(bpy)32+ into the conduction band of the semiconductor particle results in luminescence quenching predominantly within the laser pulse when the complex is bound to the particle, whereas the luminescence of the unbound complex decays with a lifetime of several hundred nanoseconds. The relative concentrations of the bound and free species are thus readily obtained by determining the relative contributions of the quenched and unquenched components in the luminescence decay curve. Binding of Ru(bpy)32+ to the particles conforms to the Frumkin adsorption isotherm and suggests that the adsorbed Ru(bpy)32+ molecules self-associate with a free energy of interaction equal to −1.9 ± 0.7 kcal mol-1. The average maximal capacity of each particle for adsorbed Ru(bpy)32+ determined by the binding data,...
A computer-assisted optimal depth lower bound for nine-input sorting networks

It is demonstrated, using a combination of theoretical and experimental computer science, that there is no nine-input sorting network of depth six. If a nine-input sorting network of depth six exists, then there exists one with very special structure. There is an efficient algorithm for constructing and testing comparator networks of this form. This algorithm was implemented and executed on a supercomputer.
Recent Advances In Dielectric Millimeter Wave Integrated Circuits

This paper describes how various concepts and ideas developed in integrated optics structures can be and have been applied toward development of new components and devices for millimeter-wave integrated circuits. Methods of analyzing dielectric waveguides are given and examples of passive and active components made of dielectric waveguides are presented. We discuss possibilities of developing new active and nonreciprocal structures based on the distributed interaction of the guided waves with matters. Some of the difficulties involved in development of these devices are included.© (1982) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Confusional State in HaNDL Syndrome: Case Report and Literature Review

The syndrome of transient headache and neurologic deficits with cerebrospinal fluid lymphocytosis (HaNDL syndrome) is a self-limited condition. Confusional states are uncommonly reported as a clinical manifestation of this syndrome. Here, I report a 76-year-old female who presented with headache, confusion, and agitation with a mild CSF lymphocytosis. Other workup to determine the cause of her altered mental status was otherwise negative. The literature available in the English language on HaNDL syndrome is reviewed, including its history, pathophysiology, possible associations with migraine and stroke, and previously reported cases of confusional states in this syndrome. While HaNDL syndrome has been a described entity since the 1980s, its pathophysiology has yet to be clearly defined.
Hematological and biochemical effects of chronic CO exposure on the Japanese quail.

Abstract Japanese Quail were exposed to a concentration of 300 to 350 ppm CO to maintain an equilibrium carboxyhemoglobin concentration of 30% for a period of 4 weeks. Compared to a control group of birds maintained in an identical chamber, the CO-exposed quail demonstrated increases in hematocrit ratio and hemoglobin concentration. At the end of the exposure period, the CO-exposed quail had significantly larger plasma and blood volumes, slight but significant right ventricular hypertrophy
Business English and the Case Method: A Reassessment

i As markets become increasingly global, the demand for managers with language skills and cultural sensitivity will grow. One way for the language teaching community to respond to this challenge is by redefining the goals of English for business purposes and rethinking the use of the case method. Since the early 1980s, the study of English for business purposes has attracted growing interest. Business now outranks engineering as the most popular field of study among international students in the U.S. (Zikopoulos, 1990). In the 1990s, interest in international business and economics is bound to increase with the advent of the European Community, liberalization of East European economies, and expansion of U.S. commercial ties with Asia. With these dramatic developments and the opportunities they present to the language teaching community, it is important to take a fresh look at the subdiscipline of English language teaching known as English for specific purposes (ESP) for business, or ESP-B, including a reassessment of the case method-no single theme has been more prominent in discussions of curriculum and methodology for business English. Judging by professional and commercial publications, there is widespread agreement that this method borrowed from graduate business schools is the most appropriate pedagogical model for ESP-B. The consensus on this point is so strong that two basic assumptions are seldom challenged: that the purposes of ESP-B and MBA (Master of Business Administration) programs are essentially similar and therefore the same methodology and curriculum are appropriate, and that the case method is a rigidly defined procedure requiring a specific kind of case text and discussion.
Optimizing Algorithms for Region-of-Interest Video Compression, with Application to Mobile Telehealth

Wireless communication of video poses constraints on information capacity. Region-of-Interest (ROI) video coding provides higher quality in the ROI, but poorer quality in the background (BKGRND), for a given total bitrate (TBR). Researchers, including the authors, have also proposed more graceful quality management methods, using what is referred to here as an Extended-Region-of-Interest (EROI). We consider three levels of losslessness - mathematical, diagnostic, and perceptual, with the goal of associating them with the above-mentioned regions. We describe work in progress aimed at optimizing an elastic expert system based on the above methodology, with telehealth video as its anchor. The optimizations are threefold - user, perceptual, and network oriented, and are incorporated in the rate control algorithm. We propose a rate control method where, unlike conventional methods, bit allocation is shifted from the frame level to individual regions within the frame. Thereafter, the above-mentioned criteria are used to determine regional bit allocation. Peak-Signal-to-Noise-Ratio (PSNR) results show, as expected, that the proposed scheme achieves higher ROI-EROI quality than the verification model VM8 of MPEG4. This is illustrated with four examples of pediatrics video. The value and design of the proposed methodology is being corroborated by subjective testing involving medical experts. We are independently researching another standing issue in the telehealth application, that of low complexity segmentation and tracking of the ROI-EROI boundaries.
Value of information for water quality management

[1] There is now much interest in comprehensive watershed-based approaches to water quality protection. While there is much to be said in favor of such an approach, it is also clear that implementation requires information that is often lacking. Given that information acquisition is costly, decisions are required about the types and amounts of information that should be sought. We examine the expected value of different types of information for price and quantity instruments for agricultural nitrogen pollution control in the Susquehanna River Basin. We also compare the ex ante economic efficiency of price and quantity instruments. The analysis explicitly accounts for public sector uncertainty about the benefits and costs of pollution reductions, with economic efficiency measured as the expected benefits less the expected costs of pollution reductions. We find optimized price controls to outperform optimized quantity controls under a range of possible information structures. For both instruments, information collection improves policy performance, with information about the benefits of pollution reductions having the greatest impact. The performance of the quantity instrument is more sensitive to information than is the price instrument. In consequence, the value of information to reduce benefit and cost uncertainty is greater for the quantity control.
Policy solutions in the U.S.

The paper focuses on relocation, retreat, zoning, insurance, and subsidy as major dimensions of coastal hazard mitigation measures that have resurfaced as potent forces for combating coastal inundation and climate change. It reviews the issues surrounding the practice of these measures and discusses compatibilities of policies, engineering measures, and natural defense. Property rights, development interest, and distorted financial incentives pose as main barriers to coastal relocation and retreat policies in hazard-prone areas. To understand and propose coastal adaptation solutions, the paper recommends place-based studies of local coastal adaptation strategies. Place-based studies offer an in-depth knowledge of local conditions specifically regarding the level of implementation of hazard mitigation policies, and shed light on important trade-offs and synergies of various hazard policies. In addition, coupling existing hazard mitigation policies with coastal management and community management can better inform long-term and comprehensive planning of coastal adaptation.
Progressive planning, biased discourse, and critique: An agentic perspective

Progressive theorists and reflective practitioners have exhorted agents to renounce exploitative planning discourses. This repudiation can, however, only be successful if the agent’s own investment in biased discourses is accounted for. Reflecting on the work of Jon Elster, John Thompson, and Raymond Geuss, it is argued that the progressive planner should direct agents toward an acknowledgement of the motives compelling them to become invested in biased discourse, and how these discourses satisfy these motives by capitalizing on the trappings of habitual modes of reasoning and thriving on the ambiguity of referents. The value of this perspective is illustrated in an analysis of neoliberalism as a contemporary hegemonic discourse. It is discussed how popular anxieties about social mobility and community power motivate the investment in discourses characterized by a thesis of the inevitability of neoliberal restructuring and associations with narratives on entrepreneurialism, multiculturalism, and self-help.
KU675, a Concomitant Heat-Shock Protein Inhibitor of Hsp90 and Hsc70 that Manifests Isoform Selectivity for Hsp90α in Prostate Cancer Cells

The 90-kDa heat-shock protein (Hsp90) assists in the proper folding of numerous mutated or overexpressed signal transduction proteins that are involved in cancer. Inhibiting Hsp90 consequently is an attractive strategy for cancer therapy as the concomitant degradation of multiple oncoproteins may lead to effective antineoplastic agents. Here we report a novel C-terminal Hsp90 inhibitor, designated KU675, that exhibits potent antiproliferative and cytotoxic activity along with client protein degradation without induction of the heat-shock response in both androgen-dependent and -independent prostate cancer cell lines. In addition, KU675 demonstrates direct inhibition of Hsp90 complexes as measured by the inhibition of luciferase refolding in prostate cancer cells. In direct binding studies, the internal fluorescence signal of KU675 was used to determine the binding affinity of KU675 to recombinant Hsp90α, Hsp90β, and Hsc70 proteins. The binding affinity (Kd) for Hsp90α was determined to be 191 μM, whereas the Kd for Hsp90β was 726 μM, demonstrating a preference for Hsp90α. Western blot experiments with four different prostate cancer cell lines treated with KU675 supported this selectivity by inducing the degradation of Hsp90α-dependent client proteins. KU675 also displayed binding to Hsc70 with a Kd value at 76.3 μM, which was supported in cellular by lower levels of Hsc70-specific client proteins on Western blot analyses. Overall, these findings suggest that KU675 is an Hsp90 C-terminal inhibitor, as well as a dual inhibitor of Hsc70, and may have potential use for the treatment of cancer.
A numerical investigation of wall effects in three‐dimensional, laminar flow over a backward facing step with a constant aspect and expansion ratio

SUMMARY The wall effects are investigated in the three-dimensional laminar flow over a backward-facing step. For this purpose, a numerical experiment is designed under actual laboratory conditions. The aspect ratio of the computational domain is 1:40 and the expansion ratio is 1:2. The Reynolds number ranges from 100 to 950. The governing equations are the steady state, isothermal and incompressible Navier–Stokes equations for Newtonian fluids. They are solved with a homemade Galerkin finite element code. The computations are validated with data from available laboratory and numerical experiments. The results focus on the variation of both velocity profiles and lengths of eddies along the lower and upper wall in the spanwise direction. Calculated streamlines in the streamwise and transverse direction show how the flow is distorted near the lateral wall and how it develops up to the plane of symmetry. The study of skin friction lines along the top and bottom wall of the domain reveals a flow that takes place in the spanwise direction. This spanwise component of the flow becomes more dominant with increasing Reynolds number and is impossible to be sustained at steady state for Reynolds numbers higher than 950 for this particular geometry. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Does the GABAA Receptor Have a Role to Play in Angelman Syndrome

Angelman syndrome (AS) is a genetic disorder which produces severe mental retardation with concurrent epileptic seizures. AS typically results from a large deletion on maternal chromosome 15q11–13. The mutant mouse strain p cp (pink-eyed cleft palate) has a deletion in murine chromosome 7, syntenic to the human chromosomal region on 15 associated with AS, and may prove to be a valuable asset in addressing some of the pharmacological and behavioral consequences associated with AS. Changes in the density and properties of GABAA receptors in these mice is consistent with a loss of a GABAA gene cluster (subunits α5, β3, γ3) on murine chromosome 7. A large loss of inhibitory receptors could conceivably contribute to altered brain function possibly leading to seizure activity.
Ex Vivo Lymphadenectomy During Gastrectomy for Adenocarcinoma Optimizes Lymph Node Yield.

Variability in surgical and pathological techniques in Western centers may lead to inconsistency in lymph node staging in patients with gastric adenocarcinoma. We hypothesize that ex vivo dissection (EVD) after gastrectomy for adenocarcinoma increases lymph node yield. We retrospectively reviewed 222 consecutive patients who underwent gastrectomy with curative intent for adenocarcinoma between November 2010 and June 2014. In August of 2012, we began performing EVD of nodes in surgical specimens (EVD group, N = 111), as opposed to submitting specimens en bloc with lymph node basins attached to the specimen (No EVD group, N = 111). Primary end point was lymph node yield. The median number of lymph nodes procured was significantly higher in the EVD compared to that in the No EVD group (30 vs. 21 lymph nodes, respectively; P < 0.0001). Moreover, 28 % of the No EVD group were not adequately staged (defined by ≤15 nodes), compared to 5 % of the EVD group (P < 0.0001). Stage-for-stage overall survival was not significantly different. EVD may be a useful tool to maximize lymph node yield. However, this had no impact on staging or survival. This is an interesting finding that warrants further investigation.
Depletion of the Adaptor Protein NCK Increases UV-Induced p53 Phosphorylation and Promotes Apoptosis

The cellular response to DNA damage requires the coordination of many proteins involved in diverse molecular processes. Discrete molecular pathways are becoming increasingly well understood, but the interconnectivity and coordination of multiple pathways remains less clear. We now show that NCK, an adapter protein involved in cytoskeletal responses to tyrosine kinase receptor signaling, accumulates in the nucleus in response to DNA damage and this translocation can be blocked by specific inhibition of the ATR protein kinase. Strikingly, HeLa cells depleted of NCK undergo apoptosis shortly after UV irradiation, as monitored by caspase-3 cleavage and PARP cleavage. This rapid, hyperactive apoptosis in NCK depleted cells might be p53 dependent, because loss of NCK also increased UV-induced p53 phosphorylation. Importantly, depletion of SOCS7, which is necessary for NCK nuclear translocation, phenocopies NCK depletion, indicating the nuclear accumulation of NCK is responsible for these molecular events. There are two NCK isoforms that have mostly redundant functions, and although NCK2 appears to have a greater contribution, depletion of NCK1 or NCK2, led to increased p53 phosphorylation and early apoptosis after UV exposure. These data reveal a novel function for NCK in regulating p53 phosphorylation and apoptosis, and provide evidence for interconnectedness of growth factor signaling proteins and the DNA damage response.
Effects of rotation and shear on doubly diffusive instability

A linear stability analysis of a doubly diffusive system, with rotation and shear, shows that overstable oscillations can occur in stratifications typical of the equatorial ocean, that internal waves encountering an equatorial current can exchange energy with the current, and that the wave-induced fluxes of salt and heat can lead to layer formation in the salinity, temperature and velocity fields.
An ISM band RF front-end for short range wireless telemetry

This paper presents an integrated CMOS RF front-end block design for a 1 GHz ISM band wireless telemetry system. The front end includes a LNA, a Gilbert-cell mixer with low frequency feedback, a local oscillator and an IF stage. The low frequency feedback suppresses offset and low frequency noise. The complete design is fabricated in a 0.5 /spl mu/m CMOS process. The operation of all the components have been verified via experimental results. Measured conversion gain is 45 dB and overall power consumption is below 10 mW.
Context-aware multicast routing scheme for disruption tolerant networks

Disruption Tolerant Networks (DTNs) are emerging solutions to networks that experience frequent network partitions and large end-to-end delays. Several schemes have been proposed for multicast routing in DTNs assuming the availability of different amount of knowledge about network topology etc. In this paper, we propose a node-density based adaptive multicast routing scheme which can handle different network scenarios than the existing multicast delivery schemes for DTNs that we are aware of. Our scheme can address the challenges of opportunistic link connectivity in DTNs. Simulation results show that our CAMR scheme performs better than the DTBR and OS-multicast schemes. The CAMR scheme can achieve a better message delivery ratio, with higher transmission efficiency and similar delay performance especially when the nodes are very sparsely connected
Growth Characteristics of the Krebs Ascites Tumor

SummaryExperiments are reported in which the growth of an ascites tumor in mice has been followed by estimating the volume of ascites by dye dilution and the concentration of tumor cells from total and differential cell counts. The methods afford a reasonably quantitative picture of the growth pattern, which, after inoculation of 20 × 106 Krebs-2 ascites tumor cells, consists of an initial log phase of several days duration followed by a period of leveling to an asymptote of about 109 cells. The period of apparent less rapid growth parallels the moribund condition of the animals. The number of tumor cells doubles in 19 to 20 hours during the log phase. The mitotic index is around 2.3%, which is suggestive of a mitotic time of 25 to 30 minutes. It is not possible from these experiments to determine the extent, if any, of a lag or delay period in growth immediately after tumor inoculation. The volume of ascites and body weight increase progressively during the course of tumor development. However, the relat...
Peer influence groups: identifying dense clusters in large networks

Sociologists have seen a dramatic increase in the size and availability of social network data. This represents a poverty of riches, however, since many of our analysis techniques cannot handle the resulting large (tens to hundreds of thousands of nodes) networks. In this paper, I provide a method for identifying dense regions within large networks based on a peer influence model. Using software familiar to most sociologists, the method reduces the network to a set of m position variables that can then be used in fast cluster analysis programs. The method is tested against simulated networks with a known small-world structure showing that the underlying clusters can be accurately recovered. I then compare the performance of the procedure with other subgroup detection algorithms on the MacRea and Gagnon prison friendship data and a larger adolescent friendship network, showing that the algorithm replicates other procedures for small networks and outperforms them on the larger friendship network.
Apoptotic rate in peripheral T-cell lymphomas. A study using a tissue microarray with validation on full tissue sections.

Peripheral T-cell lymphomas (PTCLs) are a heterogeneous group of non-Hodgkin lymphomas with a wide spectrum of clinicopathologic features, and apoptosis mechanisms may have a role in lymphomagenesis. We assessed apoptotic rate (AR) in 112 PTCLs using a tissue microarray developed in our laboratory and a modified terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase–mediated dUTP nick-end labeling assay. The mean AR was 1.37% ± 1.12% for the entire group of PTCLs (range, 0.00%-5.15%), and AR varied significantly among different tumor types. In mycosis fungoides, the mean AR was 0.65%; angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, 0.95%; PTCL, not otherwise specified, 1.21%; cutaneous anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL), 1.41%; anaplastic lymphoma kinase protein (ALK)-negative ALCL, 1.43%; extranodal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma of nasal type, 2.04%; ALK-positive ALCL, 2.95%; and enteropathytype T-cell lymphoma, 3.06%. Mean AR was higher in PTCL with large cell vs small/medium cell morphologic features (1.66% ± 1.1% vs 0.99% ± 1.0%). In a subset of 33 PTCLs, the tissue microarray results compared favorably with those obtained in full tissue sections. We conclude that the highest ARs in PTCLs are found in enteropathy-type T-cell lymphoma and ALK-positive ALCL, and that AR can be assessed reliably by using a tissue microarray.
Solving for non-ideal conditions in two-dimensional Fourier transform magnetic resonance imaging using a generalised inverse transform

Magnetic resonance imaging uses real and complex forms of the Fourier transform and to a lesser degree the Radon transform and their appropriate inverses. Under ideal conditions, these solutions are fast and optimal in the sense of signal-to-noise ratio (S/N). In practice, though, the phase of the signal may not be ideal so that the effective forward transform is no longer a Fourier transform. Using the inverse Fourier transform would then result in an image with artifacts. In this paper the generalised matrix inverse problem is addressed for such non-ideal conditions. Solutions are obtained for the following non-ideal circumstances: non-uniform sampling; imaging in the presence of motion; deconvolution of T2 effects; resolution enhancement; one-sided data reconstruction. The method is applicable to other deviant models as well. The goal is to maintain some specified property of the image, such as resolution, with minimal production of artifacts. A concomitant loss in S/N is inevitable for such trade-offs, but is often not a serious problem compared with the artifacts themselves.
A note on the relationship between time spent in turnout and behaviour during turnout in horses (Equus caballus)

Abstract We examined if time spent in turnout influenced behaviour during turnout for horses maintained in stalls and given either 2 h/week ( n = 7) or 12 h/week ( n = 7) of turnout. Horses turned out for 2 h/week were more likely than those turned out for 12 h/week to trot, canter, and buck. Frequency of trotting and cantering was also higher and frequency of grazing lower in horses turned out for 2 h/week. These results have welfare implications and support previous studies showing that horses react to confinement with increased activity when not confined.
Stream window join: tracking moving objects in sensor-network databases

The widespread use of sensor networks presents revolutionary opportunities for life and environmental science applications. Many of these applications involve continuous queries that require the tracking, monitoring, and correlation of multi-sensor data that represent moving objects. We propose to answer these queries using a multi-way stream window join operator. This form of join over multi-sensor data must cope with the infinite nature of sensor data streams and the delays in network transmission. The paper introduces a class of join algorithms, termed W-join, for joining multiple infinite data streams. W-join addresses the infinite nature of the data streams by joining stream data items that lie within a sliding window and that match a certain join condition. W-join can be used to track the motion of a moving object or detect the propagation of clouds of hazardous material or pollution spills over time in a sensor network environment. We describe two new algorithms for W-join, and address variations and local/global optimizations related to specifying the nature of the window constraints to fulfill the posed queries. The performance of the proposed algorithms are studied experimentally in a prototype stream database system, using synthetic data streams and real time-series data. Tradeoffs of the proposed algorithms and their advantages and disadvantages are highlighted, given variations in the aggregate arrival rates of the input data streams and the desired response times per query.
Adsorption and Desorption of Cholesterol in Continuous Supercritical Fluid Processing of Anhydrous Milk Fat

The adsorption breakthrough volume of adsorbent for cholesterol reduction of anhydrous milk fat (AMF) was determined by passing supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO 2 ) phase through an adsorption column with magnesium silicate at 40°C/241 bar. The breakthrough quantity for 76% cholesterol reduction was 2.0g fat/g adsorbent. With in-line adsorption on magnesium silicate, the cholesterol reduction in the extracts was 80 to 86%. Magnesium silicates saturated with cholesterol were regenerated with 10% ethanol in CO 2 at 40°C and 64°C/241 bar. The adsorption capacity of the magnesium silicate regenerated with 10% ethanol in SC-CO 2 at 40°C/241 bar was close to its original value. Its behavior was described by the Langmuir isotherm.
Geometrical fusion method for multi-sensor robotic systems

A general statistical fusion method motivated by the geometry of uncertainties is proposed for robotic systems with multiple sensors. The treatment of nonlinearity is generalized so as to include both the structural nonlinearity and the computational nonlinearity. First, assuming Gaussian noise additive to the sensory data, the uncertainty ellipsoid associated with the covariance matrix of the error of the sensory information is defined. Second, the optimal fusion is defined as the one, among all the possible linear combinations of sensory information, that minimizes the geometrical volume of the ellipsoid. The resultant fusion equation coincides with those obtained by Bayesian inference, Kalman filter theory, and the weighted least-squares estimation. Finally, the method is extended to include the fusion of partial information. >
From form to meaning: Stages in the acquisition of second-language vocabulary

During early stages of second language acquisition adult learners make frequent errors of lexical form. An experiment was performed to examine this effect in the laboratory. More and less fluent bilinguals in English and Spanish performed a translation recognition task in which they decided whether the second of two words was the correct translation of the first. In the critical conditions of the experiment the words were not correct translation equivalents, but related by lexical form (e.g., man-hambre (hunger) instead of man-hombre (man)) or by meaning (e.g., man-mujer (woman) instead of man-hombre (man)). Less fluent participants suffered more interference for form-related than for semantically related words relative to unrelated controls, but the reverse pattern held for more fluent participants. The results support a progression from reliance on word form to reliance on meaning with increasing proficiency in the second language. The performance of the more fluent bilinguals further suggests that the ability to retrieve semantic information directly for second-language words can potentially override some of the costs associated with lexical competition in languages that access shared lexical features.
Relative Role of Individual Phospholipids on Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances Formation in Chicken Meat, Skin and Swine Aorta

Fatty acid profiles and distribution of individual phospholipids (PL) in the total PL were determined in chicken meat and skin and swine aortas, and the contribution of each PL to malondialdehyde (MDA) formation was studied. Results indicate that phosphatidyl choline (PC) and phosphatidyl ethanolamine (PE) produced 70-77% of the total PL MDA while 16-25% of the MDA was formed by phosphatidyl inositol (PI) and phosphatidyl serine (PS). Much lower concentrations of MDA (3-6%) were formed by sphingomyelin (SP), cardiolipin (CL) and lysophosphatidyl choline (LyPC). In all analyzed tissues, both the MDA concentration and the percentage of polyenoic fatty acids, especially arachidonic acid, were highest in PI followed by PE, PS, PC, CL LyPC, and SP.
The Year 2000 Problem and Ethical Responsibility: A Call to Action

Many organizations have made substantial progress in solving the year 2000 computer problem, while many others lag perilously behind. With the year 2000 deadline looming ever closer, this article examines several key issues, including the nature of the year 2000 problem itself, its potential to do harm, the progress that organizations have made to date on this issue, and factors that have worked to inhibit or facilitate organizational responses to this problem. An ethical analysis of the year 2000 problem is presented that reveals that both top management and IS professionals have an ethical responsibility to act on this issue. Organizations are urged to make the completion of their year 2000 problem efforts a top priority, because it is their responsibility and it serves as an investment for the future.
New decompilation techniques for binary-level co-processor generation

Existing ASIPs (application-specific instruction-set processors) and compiler-based co-processor synthesis approaches meet the increasing performance requirements of embedded applications while consuming less power than high-performance gigahertz microprocessors. However, existing approaches place restrictions on software languages and compilers. Binary-level co-processor generation has previously been proposed as a complementary approach to reduce impact on tool restrictions, supporting all languages and compilers, at the cost of some decrease in performance. In a binary-level approach, decompilation recovers much of the high-level information, like loops and arrays, needed for effective synthesis, and in many cases yields hardware similar to that of a compiler-based approach. However, previous binary-level approaches have not considered the effects of software compiler optimizations on the resulting hardware. In this paper, we introduce two new decompilation techniques, strength promotion and loop rerolling, and show that they are necessary to synthesize an efficient custom hardware coprocessor from a binary in the presence of software compiler optimizations. In addition, unlike previous approaches, we show the robustness of binary-level co-processor generation by achieving order of magnitude speedups for binaries generated for three different instruction sets, MIPS, ARM, and MicroBlaze, using two different levels of compiler optimizations.
Automatic identification of cause-effect relations in tamil using CRFs

We present our work on automatic identification of cause-effect relations in a given Tamil text. Based on the analysis of causal constructions in Tamil, we identified a set of causal markers for Tamil and arrived at certain features used to develop our language model. We manually annotated a Tamil corpus of 8648 sentences for cause-effect relations. With this corpus, we developed the model for identifying causal relations using the machine learning technique, Conditional Random Fields (CRFs). We performed experiments and the results are encouraging. We performed an error analysis of the results and found that the errors can be attributed to some very interesting structural interdependencies between closely occurring causal relations. After comparing these structures in Tamil and English, we claim that at discourse level, the complexity of structural interdependencies between causal relations is more complex in Tamil than in English due to the free word order nature of Tamil.
Response of broiler chickens to dietary energy and lysine levels in a warm environment.

Two trials were conducted to determine the response of 23- to 47-day-old broiler chickens to dietary lysine and energy levels when reared in a 26.7 C environment. Broiler finishing diets, which contained 3100, 3175, 3250, or 3325 kcal ME/kg of feed were fed in combination with either .308 or .322% lysine/Mcal (kg) with a constant 18.7% dietary protein. Male and female body weights were not statistically different (P less than .05) among dietary energy levels when both sexes were fed .308% lysine/Mcal (kg). When the male chicks were fed .322% lysine/Mcal (kg), body weights increased with increasing dietary energy level. Feed utilization also increased with increasing dietary energy level when broilers were fed either .308 or .322% lysine/Mcal (kg). These data suggest that the body weight response to dietary energy level when broilers were reared in a warm environment will occur only when adequate amino acid levels are employed. The dietary energy requirement is at least 3250 kcal ME/kg of feed when 23- to 47-day-old broilers are fed .322% lysine/Mcal (kg) and reared in a hot environment but appeared to be lower when broilers were fed .308% lysine/kg of feed.
The Inapplicability of American Law to the Indian Nations

I. THE INDEPENDENT FOUNDATION OF INDIGENOUS LEGAL ANALYSIS....1599 A. TREATY RECOGNITION 1600 B. AMERICAN COMMON-LAW RECOGNITION 1602 C. INTERNATIONAL LAW RECOGNITION 1603 D. THE STRUGGLE FOR JURISPRUDENTIAL AUTONOMY 1604
Responding to Global Constraints and Opportunities: Access to Medicines and the Impact of Intellectual Property and Competition Rules in Post-Apartheid South Africa

This article explores how institutional changes within a state are shaped by a mixture of events, opportunities and constraints, from both within and from across the country's geographical boundaries. Focusing on the interaction between different policy demands and imperatives: from demands for medical care to the promotion of economic competition and the need to implement international trade commitments, including specific levels of intellectual property protection. Within the context of South Africa's democratic transition and HIV/AIDS pandemic, I argue that despite a strong commitment to change, to address the legacies of apartheid, and the relative strength and political will of the dominant political party, the African National Congress, the transformation of the state was significantly framed by the global environment in which the state found itself. As the state responded to a range of shifting opportunities and constraints, whether real or perceived, so impetus was given to different policies and competing political and economic factions enabling particular institutions and rules to be embraced, created, reshaped or simply foregone.
Measurement of Multidimensional Brand Loyalty of a Consumer

This paper extends the factor analytic model of brand loyalty to multichotomous data in which a consumer's varying degrees of loyalty to several brands are estimated. The resultant loyalty scores a...
Forecasting Future Enrollment by Curve-Fitting Techniques

WE KNOW relatively little in advance about the future, yet we are frequently making plans for the future. Every university president or every college dean is constantly interested in knowing how many dollars, buildings, numbers of the faculty and course offerings would be re quired to provide instruction for the students who would be in attendance in one or in aseries of years in the future0 This requires in a high degree the forecast of future college enrollment. There are a number of approaches which have been made to the problem of forecasting school enrollment. The approach as discussed here involves a curve-fitting technique. The curve-fitting procedure consists in determining a functional relationship which exists between years and the past enrollment records and then projecting this function to the year or years for which prediction is desired. It should be noted that this approach is made on the fundamental assumption that the historical records provide a useful clue to the possible future enrollments. In other words, it is assumed that the present enrollment growth is fairly well indicated by past records, and that factors operating in the recent past will continue their influences in the future. The purpose of this paper is to suggest three types of curves by means of which the predic tion of future enrollment might be made. It is not my attempt to review all growth curves, but merely to give a little suggestion on the prob lem of estimating uncertain enrollments.
International Lobbying and The Dow Chemical Company (A)

This case explores company strategy, business-government relations, and collective action challenges associated with international and domestic lobbying regarding regulation of the chemical industry. In the fall of 2006, a five-year legislative process for a major new law regulating chemicals in the European Union appeared to be nearing its conclusion. REACH, the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals would create a new European Chemicals Agency, require companies to submit testing data on existing and new compounds, and restrict the manufacture of hazardous substances. Andrew Liveris, CEO of the Dow Chemical Company, has to decide whether the company should engage in direct discussions with the European Parliament and Commission, with the implication that the company can influence the regulations but also would have to support the final outcome. The case summarizes Dow's history, competitive dynamics in the sector, and regulation of the chemical industry before describing the REACH legislative process and various approaches to lobbying used by chemical companies, trade groups, and environmental NGOs.
Carcinoma in Situ of the Bladder.

Central to the earlier detection and effective treatment of bladder cancer is the understanding of the basic principle that in situ cancer, evolving from epithelial atypia or hyperplasia, is the early phase in the development of invasive bladder cancer. While it may be asymptomatic, irritative bladder symptoms such as frequency, urgency, and dysuria irrespective of bacteriuria are usually evident and should be evaluated with exfoliative urinary cytology to detect the presence of this cancer. Properly collected and skillfully interpreted cytologic examination of the urine is probably the most accurate screening test for this and other important varieties of bladder cancer. Improved technologic features of cystoscopy have aided in the identification of in situ cancer, particularly when multiple random cold biopsy specimens of all quadrants, including the trigone, of the bladder and of the prostatic urethra are employed. Such investigative methods recognize that in situ cancer is a generalized urothelial malignancy that very often involves ureteral, prostatic as well as all bladder mucosa. Despite the pathologic observation that this cancer shows an intense cellular activity, the temporal aspect of its transition from a superficial cancer to an invasive one remains unpredictable, although clearly finite. Treatment is controversial. Radical cystectomy should effect cure if recommended early and before it becomes clinically apparent that the disease is already invasive in some urothelial locations. If the cancer appears to be localized to a relatively small (5 cm) area of the bladder and the patient's symptoms are not excessive, intravesical chemotherapy using such preparations as Thio-tepa, mitomycin, Adriamycin, or epodyl may result in a temporary, sometimes complete, remission.
Resuscitation of the surgical neonate.

The general principles of resuscitation of the surgical neonate is reviewed, A framework for the early recognition, orderly workup, initial resuscitation, and basic surgical principles of a variety of urgent and emergent surgical disorders in the neonatal period is discussed.
Gender and Race in the Timing of Requests for Ethics Consultations: A Single-Center Study.

BACKGROUND Clinical ethics consultants are expected to "reduce disparities, discrimination, and inequities when providing consultations," but few studies about inequities in ethics consultation exist.1 The objectives of this study were (1) to determine if there were racial or gender differences in the timing of requests for ethics consultations related to limiting treatment, and (2) if such differences were found, to identify factors associated with that difference and the role, if any, of ethics consultants in mitigating them. METHODS The study was a mixed methods retrospective study of consultation summaries and hospital and ethics center data on 56 age-and gender-matched Caucasian and African American Medicare patients who received ethics consultations related to issues around limiting medical treatment in the period 2011 to 2014. The average age of patients was 70.9. RESULTS Consultation requests for females were made significantly earlier in their stays in the hospital (6.57 days) than were consultation requests made for males (16.07 days). For African American patients, the differences in admission-to-request intervals for female patients (5.93 days) and male patients (18.64 days) were greater than for Caucasian male and female patients. Differences in the timing of a consultation were not significantly correlated with the presence of an advance directive, the specialty of the attending physician, or the reasons for the consult request. Ethics consultants may have mitigated problems that developed during the lag in request times for African American males by spending more time, on average, on those consultations (316 minutes), especially more time, on average, than on consultations with Caucasian females (195 minutes). Most consultations (40 of 56) did result in movement toward limiting treatment, but no statistically significant differences were found among the groups studied in the movement toward limiting treatment. The average number of days from consult to discharge or death were strongly correlated with the intervals between admission to the hospital and request for an ethics consultation. CONCLUSION Our findings suggest race and gender disparities in the timing of ethics consultations that consultants may have partially mitigated.