cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Regret and Feedback Information in First-Price Sealed-Bid Auctions

We investigate the effect of regret-related feedback information on bidding behavior in sealed-bid first-price auctions. Two types of regret are possible in this auction format. A winner of the auction may regret paying too much relative to the second highest bid, and a loser may regret missing an opportunity to win at a favorable price. In theory, under very general conditions, being sensitive to winning and paying too much should result in lower average bids, and being sensitive to missing opportunities to win at a favorable price should result in higher bids. For example, the U.S. Government's policy of revealing losing bids may cause regret-sensitive bidders to anticipate regret and bid conservatively, decreasing the government's revenue. We test these predictions in the laboratory and find strong support for both.
Meta-algorithms for scheduling a chain of coarse-grained tasks on an array of reconfigurable FPGAs

This paper considers the problem of scheduling a chain of n coarse-grained tasks on a linear array of k reconfigurable FPGAs with the objective of primarily minimizing reconfiguration time. A high-level meta-algorithm along with two detailed metaalgorithms (GPRM and SPRM) that support a wide range of problem formulations and cost functions is presented. GPRM, the more general of the two schemes, reduces the problem to computing a shortest path in a DAG; SPRM, the less general scheme, employs dynamic programming. Both meta algorithms are linear in n and compute optimal solutions. GPRM can be exponential in k but is nevertheless practical because k is typically a small constant. The deterministic quality of this meta algorithm and the guarantee of optimal solutions for all of the formulations discussed make this approach a powerful alternative to other metatechniques such as simulated annealing and genetic algorithms.
Managing the Slot Operations of a Hotel Casino in the Las Vegas Locals’ Market

This exploratory study was designed to identify and explain the sources of variation in the daily slot handle of a locals’ market hotel casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. A regression model was used to analyze the effects of temporal, operational, and marketing variables hypothesized to influence slot handle. A simultaneous regression analysis was conducted with audited, secondary data using variables adapted from prior research. Significance tests were conducted at the .05 alpha level. The model failed to produce a significant effect for the food covers variable. The buy-in incentives (direct mail) and bingo headcount variables were significantly and positively related to slot handle. The temporal variables emerged as powerful predictors of slot handle. Finally, the results demonstrate the questionable economic significance of the buy-in incentives program and the bingo operation.
Hydroxyapatite whiskers provide improved mechanical properties in reinforced polymer composites.

Synthetic hydroxyapatite (HA) whiskers have been utilized as a new, biocompatible reinforcement for orthopedic biomaterials. High-density polyethylene (HDPE) was reinforced with either the synthesized HA whiskers or a commercially available spherical HA powder using a novel powder processing technique that facilitated uniform dispersion of the reinforcements in the matrix prior to compression molding. Composites were processed for up to 60 vol % HA whiskers and up to 50 vol % spherical HA. The mechanical properties of the new composite biomaterials were examined by uniaxial tensile tests. As expected, increased volume fraction of either reinforcement type over 0-50 vol % resulted in increased elastic modulus, a maximum in ultimate tensile stress, and decreased work to failure. Composites reinforced with HA whiskers had higher elastic modulus, ultimate tensile strength, and work to failure relative to composites reinforced with spherical HA. Thus, HA whisker-reinforced HDPE composites possessed improved mechanical properties over those reinforced with spherical HA. HA whisker-reinforced composites were anisotropic due to alignment of the whiskers in the matrix during processing.
Transmission of a signal that synchronizes cell movements in swarms of Myxococcus xanthus

We offer evidence for a signal that synchronizes the behavior of hundreds of Myxococcus xanthus cells in a growing swarm. Swarms are driven to expand by the periodic reversing of direction by members. By using time-lapse photomicroscopy, two organized multicellular elements of the swarm were analyzed: single-layered, rectangular rafts and round, multilayered mounds. Rafts of hundreds of cells with their long axes aligned in parallel enlarge as individual cells from the neighborhood join them from either side. Rafts can also add a second layer piece by piece. By repeating layer additions to a raft and rounding each layer, a regular multilayered mound can be formed. About an hour after a five-layered mound had formed, all of the cells from its top layer descended to the periphery of the fourth layer, both rapidly and synchronously. Following the first synchronized descent and spaced at constant time intervals, a new fifth layer was (re)constructed from fourth-layer cells, in very close proximity to its old position and with a number of cells similar to that before the “explosive” descent. This unexpected series of changes in mound structure can be explained by the spread of a signal that synchronizes the reversals of large groups of individual cells.
Children's Achievement-Related Beliefs: Effects of Academic Area, Sex, and Achievement Level.

AbstractWe examined how children’s academic self-concepts, causal attributions, and perceptions of teacher feedback varied as a function of academic area, achievement level, and sex. One hundred and ninety-two 5th graders were administered a questionnaire that assessed their beliefs separately for math, reading, social studies, and science. Children viewed the feedback that they received for social studies and science as less frequent and more ambiguous than the feedback for math and reading. Because prior research suggested that sex differences in self-confidence are most likely when performance feedback has been infrequent or ambiguous, we expected sex differences in confidence primarily for social studies and science. As predicted, girls rated themselves as less smart than boys in social studies and science, but not in math or reading. We also found sex differences in children’s causal attributions, and these were consistent with prior research. These sex differences in attributions did not vary as a f...
Pollination of two sympatric species of Dalechampia (Euphorbiaceae) in Suriname by male euglossine bees

Dalechampia brownsbergensis and D. fragrans co-occur in Suriname, and both are pollinated by fragrance-collecting male euglossine bees. Dalechampia brownsbergensis appears to bloom year-round and is pollinated by relatively few species of bees, including Euglossa tridentata and E. gaianii. In contrast, D. fragrans appears to bloom from late October through early December and is visited and pollinated by at least 13 species of euglossines. Field observations of pollination indicated that the two species did not share pollinators. However, when the flowers of D. fragrans were "transplanted" into a population of D. brownsbergensis, the main pollinator of D. brownsbergensis also visited the flowers of D. fragrans. The pollinators of D. fragrans, however, did not visit the flowers of D. brownsbergensis. Partial sharing of pollinators may have only a small negative impact on the two sympatric plant species at this site because they flower simultaneously only part of the year, and they are often spatially separated from one another.
Observation of spin-1 f1(1285) in the reaction gamma gamma *--> eta 0 pi + pi -

We observe both the J/sup P//sup C/ = 1/sup + +/ f/sub 1/(1285) and the J/sup P//sup C/ = 0/sup - +/ eta'(958) in tagged two-photon interactions and the eta'(958) in untagged interactions. The measured Q/sup 2/ dependence and decay distribution support the f/sub 1/(1285) spin and parity assignment. The radiative width of the f/sub 1/(1285) is measured as (M/sup 2//Q/sup 2/)GAMMA/sub ..gamma..//sub ..gamma..//sub */ = 9.4 +- 2.5 +- 1.7 keV, on the assumption of a rho-pole form factor.
Contour-based handwritten numeral recognition using multiwavelets and neural networks

Abstract In this paper, we develop a handwritten numeral recognition descriptor using multiwavelets and neural networks. We first trace the contour of the numeral, then normalize and resample the contour so that it is translation- and scale-invariant. We then perform multiwavelet orthonormal shell expansion on the contour to get several resolution levels and the average. Finally, we use the shell coefficients as features to input into a feed-forward neural network to recognize the handwritten numerals. The main advantage of the orthonormal shell decomposition is that it decomposes a signal into multiresolution levels, but without down-sampling. Wavelet transforms with down-sampling can give very different coefficients when the input signal is shifted. This is the main limitation of wavelet transforms in pattern recognition. For the shell expansion, we prefer multiwavelets to scalar wavelets because we have two coordinates x and y for each point on the contour. If we extract features from x and y separately, just as Wunsch et al. did (Pattern Recognition 28 (1995) 1237), then we may not get the best features. In addition, we know that multiwavelets have advantages over scalar wavelets, such as short support, orthogonality, symmetry and higher order of vanishing moments. These properties allow multiwavelets to outperform scalar wavelets in some applications, e.g. signal denoising (IEEE Trans. Signal Process. 46 (12) (1998) 3414). We conducted experiments and found that it is feasible to use multiwavelet features in handwritten numeral recognition.
A comparison of physiological indicators of sublethal cadmium stress in wetland plants

Physiological indices, including photosynthesis, chlorophyll fluorescence, adenylate energy charge (AEC) ratio, and leaf reflectance, were determined for Typha domingensis and Spartina alterniflora in response to increasing concentrations of Cd and compared with the growth responses of these species. Leaf expansion, the live/total ratio of plant aboveground biomass, and the aboveground regrowth rate after the initial harvests were significantly reduced with increasing Cd concentration in the growth medium. Of the four physiological responses measured, only photosynthesis and AEC responded to the Cd treatment before damage was visually apparent. Also, these indices were significantly correlated with leaf expansion rate and live/total ratio in most instances. Except at the end of the experiment, when the most stressed plants began to die, the Fv/Fm ratio was not significantly affected by the Cd treatment. The leaf spectral reflectance parameters showed no significant change during the entire treatment period. The significant correlation between the stress indicators and plant growth supported the findings that photosynthesis and AEC were the most responsive of the indicators tested, however, further research investigating other chlorophyll fluorescence and leaf reflectance parameters may demonstrate as well the value of these indicators in quantifying sublethal stress.
Discussion of “Capital mobility and international sharing of cyclical risk”

Abstract This is a comment on “Capital mobility and international sharing of cyclical risk.” The comment focuses on the authors' choice of portfolio adjustment costs in explaining limited international risk sharing. The comment raises two main issues. One is that investors hold large gross positions that vary significantly in value over the business cycle. The second is that it is difficult to identify portfolio adjustment costs from trade costs within the authors' environment.
Suboptimal pharmacotherapeutic management of chronic stable angina in the primary care setting

Abstract Purpose To assess the adequacy of symptomatic treatment for chronic stable angina among primary care patients who receive care from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Methods We conducted a cross-sectional analysis involving 7038 veterans with self-reported coronary heart disease who completed the Seattle Angina Questionnaire and who had made a primary care visit to one of seven VA general internal medicine clinics between May 1997 and January 2000. The main outcome measures included the anginal frequency scale of the questionnaire and receipt of prescriptions for antianginal medication in three classes (beta-blockers, calcium antagonists, and long-acting nitrates). Results Seventy percent of the patients experienced angina or took sublingual nitroglycerin preparations two or fewer times per week. Of the 30% of patients with more frequent symptoms, 22% were receiving no antianginal medications and 33% were receiving only one class of antianginal medication. Of the patients with frequent angina who were prescribed medications, 18% were taking no medications at the recommended therapeutic dose and 50% were receiving only one class of antianginal medication at the recommended therapeutic dose. Conclusion A substantial proportion of patients with frequent episodes of chronic stable angina appeared to be receiving an inadequate antianginal regimen in terms of number of agents and dosages. While numerous studies have described inadequate treatment of asymptomatic conditions and risk factors, our results suggest similar deficiencies in addressing a serious and eminently treatable symptomatic problem.
The short term satiety peptide cholecystokinin reduces meal size and prolongs intermeal interval

Camostat mesilate (or mesylate) releases endogenous cholecystokinin (CCK) or CCK-58, the only detectable endocrine form of CCK in the rat, and reduces cumulative food intake by activating CCK(1) receptor. However, the literature lacks meal pattern analysis and an appropriate dose-response curve for this peptide. Therefore, the current study determines meal size (MS), intermeal interval (IMI) and satiety ratio (SR) by orogastric gavage of camostat (0, 12.5, 25, 50, 100, 200, 300, 400, 800mg/kg) and compares them to those previously reported by a single dose of CCK-8 (1nmol/kg, i.p), the most utilized form of CCK. We found that camostat (200, 300, 400 and 800mg/kg) and CCK-8 reduced cumulative food intake and the size of the first meal, but only camostat prolonged IMI and increased SR. There was no change in the duration of the first two meals or in rated behaviors such as feeding, grooming, standing and resting in response to camostat and CCK-8, but there was more resting during the IMI in response to camostat. This study provides meal pattern analysis and an appropriate dose-response curve for camostat and CCK-8. Camostat reduces food intake by decreasing MS and prolonging IMI, whereas CCK-8 reduces food intake by reducing only meal size.
The cohort model of melody identification: Evaluating primacy and similarity

Two experiments investigated two hypotheses derived from the cohort model of melody identification. The primacy hypothesis holds that the initial notes of a melody are differentially important for identification because they are used to activate the cohort. The similarity hypothesis holds that the likelihood of identifying a stimulus as a particular song will depend on the musical similarity of the stimulus to that song. Consistent with the primacy hypothesis, identification performance decreased significantly when the initial notes of the melody were not heard. However, musical similarity was generally a poor predictor of identification performance and confusion errors were rare and showed little evidence of musical similarity. These data are used to argue that melody identification does not involve an initial activation of candidate melodies based on low-level musical properties that are gradually winnowed down on a note-by-note basis. Instead, melody identification seems to be more ‘all-or-none’ than t...
Optical Matrix-Matrix Multiplication Using Multi-Color Four-Wave Mixing

The concept of using color-multiplexed four-wave mixing to achieve optical matrix-matrix multiplication with N3 parallelism is described. Experimental results, for the case of 2 x 2 matrices, using two-color four-wave mixing in a photorefractive crystal are presented.
Caveolae: A regulatory platform for nutritional modulation of inflammatory diseases

Dietary intervention strategies have proven to be an effective means of decreasing several risk factors associated with the development of atherosclerosis. Endothelial cell dysfunction influences vascular inflammation and is involved in promoting the earliest stages of lesion formation. Caveolae are lipid raft microdomains abundant within the plasma membrane of endothelial cells and are responsible for modulating receptor-mediated signal transduction, thus influencing endothelial activation. Caveolae have been implicated in the regulation of enzymes associated with several key signaling pathways capable of determining intracellular redox status. Diet and plasma-derived nutrients may modulate an inflammatory outcome by interacting with and altering caveolae-associated cellular signaling. For example, omega-3 fatty acids and several polyphenolics have been shown to improve endothelial cell function by decreasing the formation of ROS and increasing NO bioavailability, events associated with altered caveolae composition. Thus, nutritional modulation of caveolae-mediated signaling events may provide an opportunity to ameliorate inflammatory signaling pathways capable of promoting the formation of vascular diseases, including atherosclerosis.
The excitation of the O(1S) state by the dissociative recombination of O+2 ions: Electron temperature dependence

The rate coefficient for the excitation of the O(1S) state due to the dissociative recombination of O2(+) (v of not greater than 3) ions has been determined as a function of the electron temperature from 300-3500 K. In agreement with the work of Guberman (1987), the results suggest that the absolute magnitude of alpha(1S) is nearly the same for a wide variety of O2(+) vibrational distributions over the electron temperature range normally encountered in the nocturnal F-region. It is noted that previous studies which modeled 5577-A airglow data using a fixed value for f(1S) may be misleading.
The Modified Invance Perineal Sling in the Treatment of Incontinence in Boys with the Exstrophy-Epispadias Complex

Purpose The surgical management of incontinence in boys with the exstrophy-epispadias complex has challenged surgeons for many decades. We present a modification of our previously described sling for the treatment of neurogenic incontinence to permit the treatment of these patients. Material and Methods Two boys aged 11 and 18 with the exstrophy-epispadias complex were treated for severe urinary incontinence. The 11 year old was status post a Mitchell single stage repair with an anterior iliac osteotomy. The 18 year old had undergone a staged Cantwell –Ransley repair with a posterior iliac osteotomy. Both patients underwent the placement of an AMS InVance sling modified with the creation of a midline polypropylene bolster to permit adequate urethral compression while obviating corporal compression. Both procedures were discharged home the day of surgery. Results Both patients immediately had an improvement in continence and were able to volitionally void without CIC. With a follow-up ranging to 26 months, both patients maintain a significant clinical improvement. The 18 year old has minor spotting with valsalva but is otherwise dry both day and night. The younger boy required the placement of a larger bolster 7 months following his initial repair but remains largely dry with occasional daytime pad use for mild stress incontinence. Both patients are on oxybutynin and have not undergone bladder augmentation. Conclusions The modified bone-anchored perineal sling is a simple out-patient option in the treatment of this difficult problem. Long-term studies with larger number of patients will be required to determine the ultimate role of this new procedure.
Antigen-specific T cells can mediate demyelination in organotypic central nervous system cultures.

Abstract To investigate a role for T lymphocytes in primary demyelination of central nervous system (CNS) tissue, antigen-specific T cell lines sensitized to myelm-associated and myelin-unrelated antigens were developed from SJL mice and tested on myelinated organotypic cultures of syngeneic spinal cord. Demyelination was assessed morphologically by electron microscopy. Antigen responsiveness and specificity, and the phenotypes of the cell lines, were determined by thymidine uptake ( 3 H-TdR) assays and flow cytometry (FC), respectively. Although all T cell lines caused pathologic changes in myelin, the CNS-antigen-specific line induced the most pronounced effects. 3 H-TdR uptake assays and FC showed that after three cycles of incubation in the presence of interleukin-2 (IL-2) or antigen, the T cell lines had increased specificity and responsiveness to the priming antigen and were enriched for the L3T4 (helper/inducer) phenotype. This represents the first direct demonstration of T-cell-mediated demyelination, supports a role for the helper/inducer subset in CNS lesion development, and may prove relevant to the human demyelinating disease multiple sclerosis.
Cancer Emergencies: The Acute Abdomen

The most common complaints among patients with cancer who present to the emergency department are related to the gastrointestinal system, and 40% of these patients complain of abdominal pain. These presentations can stem from the underlying malignancy itself, treatment directed toward the disease, or the full range of pathologies present in a healthy population. Immunosuppression may blunt many of the findings one expects in a healthy population of patients, thus rendering the clinical exam less reliable in many patients with cancer. Moreover, the degree of immunosuppression shapes both the types of pathologies the clinician should consider and the rate at which the disease may progress. Understanding the limitations of physical examination, pathophysiology of disease, and the methods by which these diagnoses are established is of critical importance in this population. This article focuses specifically on patients with cancer who present with an acute abdomen, and it discusses how a concurrent malignancy can shape the differential diagnosis in these cases.
Treatment Options for Carbapenem-Resistant and Extensively Drug-Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii Infections

Acinetobacter baumannii is a leading cause of healthcare-associated infections worldwide. Because of various intrinsic and acquired mechanisms of resistance, most β-lactam agents are not effective against many strains, and carbapenems have played an important role in therapy. Recent trends show many infections are caused by carbapenem-resistant or even extensively drug-resistant (XDR) strains, for which effective therapy is not well established. Evidence to date suggests that colistin constitutes the backbone of therapy, but the unique pharmacokinetic properties of colistin have led many to suggest the use of combination antimicrobial therapy. However, the combination of agents and dosing regimens that delivers the best clinical efficacy while minimizing toxicity is yet to be defined. Carbapenems, sulbactam, rifampin and tigecycline have been the most studied in the context of combination therapy. Most data regarding therapy for invasive, resistant A. baumannii infections come from uncontrolled case series and retrospective analyses, though some clinical trials have been completed and others are underway. Early institution of appropriate antimicrobial therapy is shown to consistently improve survival of patients with carbapenem-resistant and XDR A. baumannii infection, but the choice of empiric therapy in these infections remains an open question. This review summarizes the most current knowledge regarding the epidemiology, mechanisms of resistance, and treatment considerations of carbapenem-resistant and XDR A. baumannii.
Vulnerability of Contrast Tests to Simpler Interpretations: An Addendum to Rosnow and Rosenthal

The recent article in this journal by Rosnow and Rosenthal (1995) amplified on previous pleas that in analyses of variance, priority be given single-degree-of-freedom contrasts focused on specific hypotheses The present commentary supports this plea, but notes a problem in choosing appropriate contrasts when global predicted patterns link two or more local effect predictions Misleading claims can arise in very simple experimental designs, because global patterns are often confounded with relatively uninteresting simple effects or main effects This problem is illustrated with a 1 x 3 example and a discussion of the 2 x 2 With careful attention to what points are of most interest in the data, and an appreciation of the potential sensitivity of some contrasts to banal alternative interpretations, this problem can be avoided
Contribution of the Myosin Binding Protein C Motif to Functional Effects in Permeabilized Rat Trabeculae

Myosin binding protein C (MyBP-C) is a thick-filament protein that limits cross-bridge cycling rates and reduces myocyte power output. To investigate mechanisms by which MyBP-C affects contraction, we assessed effects of recombinant N-terminal domains of cardiac MyBP-C (cMyBP-C) on contractile properties of permeabilized rat cardiac trabeculae. Here, we show that N-terminal fragments of cMyBP-C that contained the first three immunoglobulin domains of cMyBP-C (i.e., C0, C1, and C2) plus the unique linker sequence termed the MyBP-C “motif” or “m-domain” increased Ca2+ sensitivity of tension and increased rates of tension redevelopment (i.e., ktr) at submaximal levels of Ca2+. At concentrations ≥20 μM, recombinant proteins also activated force in the absence of Ca2+ and inhibited maximum Ca2+-activated force. Recombinant proteins that lacked the combination of C1 and the motif did not affect contractile properties. These results suggest that the C1 domain plus the motif constitute a functional unit of MyBP-C that can activate the thin filament.
Determination of Test Spacing in Pavement Evaluation

Highway engineers must conduct pavement evaluations before making rehabilitation decisions. Deflection tests performed at a uniform spacing are often used for structural evaluation purposes. The spacing between adjacent tests is often determined empirically. For pavements with large variability, more tests are needed. Variability is usually measured by the coefficient of variation (CV). Several methods of determining test spacing were reviewed. A new method is proposed to calculate the test spacing based on the equivalent coefficient of variation (CVe), which considers not only the variance but also the autocorrelation among the pavement responses. The new parameter CVe is more sensitive to test spacing than is the CV.
An Application of a Method for Analysis of Cyclic Prog rams

A parallel program, Dijkstra's "on-the-fly" garbage collector, is proved correct using analysis along the lines suggested by Francez and Pnueli for cyclic programs. The method is briefly reviewed, and the proof is compared to another proof by D. Gries, based on a method by S. Owickd. The differences between the two approaches are discussed.
Ray-pulse matrices: a rational treatment for dispersive optical systems

A new formalism to describe beam propagation in paraxial optical systems with dispersive elements, including both spatial and temporal variations in the propagating signal, is presented. This formalism makes use of 4*4 ray-pulse matrices which take account of dispersive effects up to quadratic phases in both spatial coordinates (as in the usual paraxial ABCD matrix approach) and in the temporal domain. How to use these matrices to write a space-time integral analogous to a generalized Huygens integral is shown, and propagation laws for Gaussian ray pulses which are space- and time-varying analogs of the conventional results for Gaussian beams are derived. The formalism should be useful for analyzing dispersive optical systems such as prism beam expanders, femtosecond pulse compression systems, and dispersive mode-locked laser cavities. >
Fully symbolic analysis of large analog integrated circuits

Our fully symbolic analysis algorithms relax the circuit size limitation (due to exponential time and storage complexity) of previously known methods. Our implementation (AnalogSifter) will output simplified symbolic expressions in the desired frequency range for any desired transfer function, including input resistances, output resistances, as well as current and voltage gains. Symbolic pole and zero expressions were extracted accurately in the desired frequency range. Very compact symbolic expressions for the voltage gains of the two-stage CMOS and 741 operational amplifiers were obtained in less than 40 CPU seconds on a SUN SPARCstation 2, and the simplified results match well with the exact numerical values up to the unity gain frequencies in both the magnitude and phase versus frequency plots. >
Morphology, taxonomy, and phylogeny of Triassic pholidophorid fishes (Actinopterygii, Teleostei)

ABSTRACT This study presents the first comprehensive revision of ‘pholidophoriform’ fishes, which are a key taxon for understanding the early diversification of teleost fish. Systematic revisions of Triassic pholidophorids, which are based on numerous well-preserved specimens, include †Annaichthys, gen. et sp. nov., †Knerichthys, gen. nov., †Parapholidophorus, †Pholidoctenus, †Pholidophoretes, †Pholidophorus, †Pholidorhynchodon, and †Zambellichthys, gen. et sp. nov. The morphological descriptions presented support a phylogenetic analysis that proposes a new hypothesis for character evolution within basal Teleostei, with implications for holosteans and teleosteans. The phylogenetic analysis resolves traditional ‘pholidophoriform’ species as a paraphyletic assemblage, with some grouped in a monophyletic †Pholidophoridae and others more closely related to crown-group teleosts. The monophyletic Family †Pholidophoridae is restricted to European Triassic taxa and is the sister group of the Jurassic genus †Euryc...
Treatment adherence and transitioning youth in pediatric multiple sclerosis

Background Transitioning youth with multiple sclerosis (MS) represent a vulnerable group to potentially poor outcomes. It is unknown how pediatric MS patients transition into adult care.
Increasing Compliance With the Residency Review Committee Requirements for Follow-up in Academic Emergency Departments

Abstract Study Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess patient follow-up activities and changes in compliance with the Residency Review Committee follow-up requirements among emergency medicine residency training programs over a 12-year period. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of residency directors of all accredited programs in emergency medicine listed in the Graduate Medical Education Directory was performed in 1996. Program director responses were matched with the results of our study group's previous surveys performed in 1984, 1988, and 1992. The survey requested information regarding the mechanism for follow-up on patients admitted to the hospital, as well as those treated and released from the emergency department. Results: All residency programs responded to the survey. Seventy-four percent of the residency programs surveyed reported a formal system of follow-up for admitted patients, and 51% had a formal system in place for discharged patients. Inpatient follow-up mechanisms included follow-up case conferences (56%), discharge summaries (55%), follow-up book/cards (47%), or follow-up rounds (11%). Outpatient follow-up mechanisms included routine telephone follow-up (86%), follow-up document (37%), ED follow-up clinic (24%), or home visits ( Conclusion: Emergency medicine residency training programs report an increasing compliance with residency requirements for ED patient follow-up. However, a significant number of programs still lack a formal mechanism. Compliance continues to be much better for patients admitted to the hospital than those treated and released. Specific suggestions and model follow-up mechanisms are described.[Gaeta TJ, Osborn HH, Emergency Medicine Follow-up Study Group: Increasing compliance with the Residency Review Committee requirements for follow-up in academic emergency departments. Ann Emerg Med May 1999;33:510-515.]
Query Recommendations for Interactive Database Exploration

Relational database systems are becoming increasingly popular in the scientific community to support the interactive exploration of large volumes of data. In this scenario, users employ a query interface (typically, a web-based client) to issue a series of SQL queries that aim to analyze the data and mine it for interesting information. First-time users, however, may not have the necessary knowledge to know where to start their exploration. Other times, users may simply overlook queries that retrieve important information. To assist users in this context, we draw inspiration from Web recommender systems and propose the use of personalized query recommendations. The idea is to track the querying behavior of each user, identify which parts of the database may be of interest for the corresponding data analysis task, and recommend queries that retrieve relevant data. We discuss the main challenges in this novel application of recommendation systems, and outline a possible solution based on collaborative filtering. Preliminary experimental results on real user traces demonstrate that our framework can generate effective query recommendations.
Optimal Experimental Design for Modeling Battery Degradation

Accurate battery health modeling allows one to make better design decisions, enables health conscious control, and allows for feed-forward State of Health estimation. However, experiments are necessary in order to obtain and validate these models. Unfortunately, battery health experiments are costly in terms of time, person-hours, and equipment. This makes it extremely important to minimize the number of experimental iterations. This paper aims to minimize time and expense of experiments while maximizing information gathered by bridging an important gap between the Optimal Experimental Design (OED) and the battery health experimental/modeling literature. We demonstrate how to apply static OED methods to a battery aging experiment. This allows us to select a set of Constant Current Constant Voltage (CCCV) cycles that maximizes the amount of information gathered - in turn allowing us to better identify the health model parameters. The CCCV cycling is carried out in a laboratory using 14 LiFePO 4 cells (10 for fitting and 4 for validation). Each of these cells undergoes 429 days of battery health cycling. Results from these experiments include: a model of battery capacity fade based on voltage and current, battery health dependence on voltage, and a lack of power fade under the cycling conditions. The use of OED to coordinate our model form and experiment helped to ensure a fruitful model resulted when processing the collected data. Based on this success we suggest a
Efficacy of manual fiber optic cleavers used on coated optical fibers

This work compares the performance of two manual fiber cleavers, which are specifically intended to solve the problem of field cleaving fibers in the presence of durable coatings such as polyimide.
RF Superconducting Materials Research at SLAC

A materials research program is described. The program objectives are to evaluate materials and develop processing and fabrication techniques which it will be economically feasible to use in the construction of a high-gradient (10 MeV/ft) two-mile linear accelerator. RF properties are evaluated by cavity Q measurements at selected frequencies in the range 3 to 11 GHz. Techniques for reducing field emission are being sought. At present, this phenomenon is being studied by making dc measurements at room temperature. RF superconducting properties are known to be very sensitive functions of material purity and crystal structure. For this reason, various methods of deposition, surface purification and heat treatment are being tried. Most work is being done with lead and niobium, but technetium plating is being actively investigated.
Software engineering education: a modest proposal

For the profession to advance, software engineering education must improve. The author proposes a conceptual model for achieving this that is founded on the triad of people, process, and technology. He then outlines a sample curriculum based on his model.
Experimental comparison of internet haptic collaboration with time-delay compensation techniques

In this paper we analyzed the performance of a peer-to-peer haptic collaboration system with two users jointly manipulating an object with mass and damping properties. We used objective measures to compare tuned PD, wave variables and time domain passivity controllers subject to real time delays from the Internet through similar experimental parameters. We set up a packet reflector network at our collaborators' servers in order to able to perform the experiment with subjects located in the same laboratory. Subjects were blinded to which controller was used and received them in a randomized sequence. UDP data packets were used for haptic data communication and the packet transmission rate was maintained at 1000 Hz. Our experimental results show that the tuned PD controller gave the best performance in terms of position error and wave variables in terms of force.
A Sixth-Order 200 MHz IF Bandpass Sigma-Delta Modulator With Over 68 dB SNDR in 10 MHz Bandwidth

This paper presents a sixth-order bandpass ΣΔ modulator with 10 MHz bandwidth and 200 MHz center frequency suitable for high-IF applications. The fs/4 modulator employs an 800 MHz clock frequency and uses an active RC loop filter implemented with three-stage linearized operational amplifiers achieving more than 50 dB gain at 200 MHz. Furthermore, a calibration technique is proposed to compensate for process-voltage-temperature (PVT) variations, which involves measurement and optimization of the noise transfer function by injecting two auxiliary tones at the quantizer input. The modulator achieves 68.4 dB peak SNDR measured in 10 MHz bandwidth and IM3 of -73.5 dB at -2 dBr input signal. Fabricated in a vanilla 0.18 μm CMOS technology, the modulator consumes 160 mW (static + dynamic power) and occupies an active silicon area of 2.5 mm2.
Composable Volumetric Lenses for Surface Exploration

We demonstrate composable volumetric lenses as interpretational tools for geological visualization. The lenses provide a constrained focus region that provides alternative views of datasets to the user while maintaining the context of surrounding features. Our rendering method is based on run-time composition of GPU shader programs that implement per-fragment clipping to lens boundaries and surface shader evaluation. It supports composition of lenses and the user can influence the resulting visualization by interactively changing the order in which the individual lens effects are applied. Multiple shader effects have been created and used for interpretation of high-resolution elevation datasets (like LTDAR and SRTM) in our lab.
Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Practices in Psychoeducational Reports for English Language Learners

Past researchers suggested there are a number of shortcomings in the psychoeducational evaluation process and practices used with English language learners (ELLs). In the present exploratory study, the authors descriptively examined the assessment practices used in the special education eligibility determination process for ELLs as documented in 34 psychoeducational evaluation reports in one southwestern state. The authors reviewed psychoeducational evaluation reports prepared by school psychologists to determine (a) the extent to which school psychologists adhered to legal and ethical guidelines in the evaluation of ELLs for special education eligibility and needs and (b) how school psychologists account for cultural and linguistic differences in the evaluation process. Results indicated that school psychologists rarely used culturally and linguistically responsive practices such as the use of interpretation and translation services and language proficiency data, as well as limited adherence to legal and...
Detecting unit of analysis problems in nested designs : Statistical power and type I error rates of the F test for groups-within-treatments effects

The nested analysis of variance (ANOVA) model is often recommended for analysis of educational data in which students receive treatments within classrooms. The Type I error rate and statistical pow...
Space-time zero-inflated count models of Harbor seals ‡

SUMMARY Environmental data are spatial, temporal, and often come with many zeros. In this paper, we included space–time random effects in zero-inflated Poisson (ZIP) and ‘hurdle’ models to investigate haulout patterns of harbor seals on glacial ice. The data consisted of counts, for 18 dates on a lattice grid of samples, of harbor seals hauled out on glacial ice in Disenchantment Bay, near Yakutat, Alaska. A hurdle model is similar to a ZIP model except it does not mix zeros from the binary and count processes. Both models can be used for zero-inflated data, and we compared space–time ZIP and hurdle models in a Bayesian hierarchical model. Space–time ZIP and hurdle models were constructed by using spatial conditional autoregressive (CAR) models and temporal first-order autoregressive (AR(1)) models as random effects in ZIP and hurdle regression models. We created maps of smoothed predictions for harbor seal counts based on ice density, other covariates, and spatio-temporal random effects. For both models predictions around the edges appeared to be positively biased. The linex loss function is an asymmetric loss function that penalizes overprediction more than underprediction, and we used it to correct for prediction bias to get the best map for space–time ZIP and hurdle models. Published in 2007 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Pathology in patients with ventricular assist devices: a study of 21 autopsies, 24 ventricular apical core biopsies and 24 explanted hearts.

Abstract Background Ventricular assist devices (VADs) are used as a bridge to cardiac transplantation or as a permanent or sometimes temporary treatment for end stage heart failure. Methods Our autopsy and surgical pathology experience with VADs prior to August 2002 was reviewed. Noted were patient's age, sex, underlying (UCOD) and proximate causes of death (PCOD), duration of VAD implantation, presence of native or prosthetic valvar disease and organ complications. Myocardium from biopsies and explanted hearts were blindly assessed for coagulative necrosis (CN), contraction bands (CB), myocytolysis (MC), increased eosinophilia (IE), myocyte waviness (MW) and fibrosis (F). Each was graded as either mild (score 1), moderate (score 2) or severe (score 3). Results Autopsy patients: Twenty-one patients, with mean age 55 years (range 10–73), comprised 10 women and 11 men. UCOD was ischemic disease in 16 patients, dilated cardiomyopathy in 4 and aortic valve disease in 1. The mean duration of VAD implantation was 125.7 days (range 1–1095 days, S.D.=253.6). Five patients had biventricular VADs, and 16 had LVAD only. Acquired aortic valve fusion was noted in three patients. PCOD was VAD related in six, donor heart problem in four, cerebrovascular accident in four, miscellaneous in three, pulmonary hypertension in two and aortic disease in two patients. Morbidity: local liver necrosis in seven, acquired aortic valve disease in four, gut infarction in three, abdominal aortic aneurysm in two and host cell assault against VAD porcine aortic valves in one case. Biopsies and explanted hearts: Twenty-four patients had a mean age of 53 years (range 38–68, S.D.=8.6). VADs were implanted for 177.8 days (range 7–593 days, S.D.=151.1). Comparison of histologic scores of biopsies with explanted hearts showed the following: CN 1.33 (S.D.=1.4)/0.21 (S.D.=0.66; P Conclusions VAD significantly reduced the amount of CN, MC and MW in the left ventricle but may lead to acquired aortic stenosis of native aortic valves or total occlusive thrombosis of aortic prosthetic valves. Proximate cause of death was, most often, VAD related.
SPITZER OBSERVATIONS OF GX17+2: CONFIRMATION OF A PERIODIC SYNCHROTRON SOURCE

GX17+2 is a low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB) that is also a member of a small family of LMXBs known as "Z-sources" that are believed to have persistent X-ray luminosities that are very close to the Eddington limit. GX17+2 is highly variable at both radio and X-ray frequencies, a feature common to Z-sources. What sets GX17+2 apart is its dramatic variability in the near-infrared, where it changes by ΔK ~ 3 mag. Previous investigations have shown that these brightenings are periodic, recurring every 3.01 days. Given its high extinction (A_V≥9 mag), it has not been possible to ascertain the nature of these events with ground-based observations. We report mid-infrared Spitzer observations of GX17+2 which indicate a synchrotron spectrum for the infrared brightenings. In addition, GX17+2 is highly variable in the mid-infrared during these events. The combination of the large-scale outbursts, the presence of a synchrotron spectrum, and the dramatic variability in the mid-infrared suggest that the infrared brightening events are due to the periodic transit of a synchrotron jet across our line of sight. An analysis of both new, and archival, infrared observations has led us to revise the period for these events to 3.0367 days. We also present new Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) data for GX17+2 obtained during two predicted infrared brightening events. Analysis of these new data, and data from the RXTE archive, indicates that there is no correlation between the X-ray behavior of this source and the observed infrared brightenings. We examine various scenarios that might produce periodic jet emission.
Patterns of Pronoun Case Error.

This paper addresses the question of whether the rate and patterns of pronoun case error are influenced by the composition of an individual pronoun's paradigm. Twenty-nine children, aged 2;6 to 4;0 were audiotaped for two 1-hour sessions, interacting with their primary caregivers engaged in free play, book reading and family album viewing. It was found that her was overextended for she at a significantly higher rate than him for he and them for they, providing evidence of a 'double-cell' effect that increases the incidence of error in the feminine pronoun. It was also found that the overextension of nominative forms (e.g. he for him), were antagonistic to the more frequently occurring type of overextension, objective for nominative (e.g. him for he). These findings indicate that the composition of a pronoun's paradigm influenced the patterns of pronoun case error observed.
From microarrays to networks: mining expression time series.

Over the past few years, powerful new methods have been devised that enable researchers to study the expression dynamics of many genes simultaneously (e.g. gene expression profiles using cDNA microarrays). In principle, this potentially vast quantity of data enables the dissection of the complex genetic networks that control the patterns and rhythms of gene expression in the cell. Finding the patterns in those data represents the next major phase in our understanding of the programming and functioning of the living cell. Simple dynamic models can be used to generate gene expression networks. These networks reveal the phenomenological link between the expression of different genes. This review discuss how these networks are generated and outlines several data-mining techniques for extracting relationships and hypotheses in gene expression. These emerging methods can be applied to a range of biological problems.