cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
An Introduction to the Medieval Bible

The Middle Ages spanned the period between two watersheds in the history of the biblical text: Jerome's Latin translation c.405 and Gutenberg's first printed version in 1455. The Bible was arguably the most influential book during this time, affecting spiritual and intellectual life, popular devotion, theology, political structures, art, and architecture. In an account that is sensitive to the religiously diverse world of the Middle Ages, Frans van Liere offers here an accessible introduction to the study of the Bible in this period. Discussion of the material evidence - the Bible as book - complements an in-depth examination of concepts such as lay literacy and book culture. This introduction includes a thorough treatment of the principles of medieval hermeneutics, and a discussion of the formation of the Latin bible text and its canon. It will be a useful starting point for all those engaged in medieval and biblical studies.
Joint distribution approaches to simultaneously quantifying benefit and risk

The benefit-risk ratio has been proposed to measure the tradeoff between benefits and risks of two therapies for a single binary measure of efficacy and a single adverse event. The ratio is calculated from the difference in risk and difference in benefit between therapies. Small sample sizes or expected differences in benefit or risk can lead to no solution or problematic solutions for confidence intervals. Alternatively, using the joint distribution of benefit and risk, confidence regions for the differences in risk and benefit can be constructed in the benefit-risk plane. The information in the joint distribution can be summarized by choosing regions of interest in this plane. Using Bayesian methodology provides a very flexible framework for summarizing information in the joint distribution. Data from a National Institute of Child Health & Human Development trial of hydrocortisone illustrate the construction of confidence regions and regions of interest in the benefit-risk plane, where benefit is survival without supplemental oxygen at 36 weeks postmenstrual age, and risk is gastrointestinal perforation. For the subgroup of infants exposed to chorioamnionitis the confidence interval based on the benefit-risk ratio is wide (Benefit-risk ratio: 1.52; 90% confidence interval: 0.23 to 5.25). Choosing regions of appreciable risk and acceptable risk in the benefit-risk plane confirms the uncertainty seen in the wide confidence interval for the benefit-risk ratio – there is a greater than 50% chance of falling into the region of acceptable risk – while visually allowing the uncertainty in risk and benefit to be shown separately. Applying Bayesian methodology, an incremental net health benefit analysis shows there is a 72% chance of having a positive incremental net benefit if hydrocortisone is used in place of placebo if one is willing to incur at most one gastrointestinal perforation for each additional infant that survives without supplemental oxygen. If the benefit-risk ratio is presented, the joint distribution of benefit and risk also should be shown. These regions avoid the ambiguity associated with collapsing benefit and risk to a single dimension. Bayesian methods allow even greater flexibility in simultaneously quantifying benefit and risk.
F. Meneses (2010). Afonso Costa. Portugal

Scholars and students of contemporary Portuguese as well as Iberian history should be pleased with the publication of this new, well-documented biography of Afonso Costa, a major political figure o...
Exploiting temporal correlation in temporal data warehouses

Data is typically incorporated in a data warehouse in increasing order of time. Furthermore, the MOLAP data cube tends to be sparse because of the large cardinality of the time dimension. We propose an approach to improve the efficiency of range aggregate queries on MOLAP data cubes in a temporal data warehouse by factoring out the time-related dimensions. These time-related dimensions are handled separately to take advantage of the monotonic trend over time. The proposed technique captures local data trends with respect to time by partitioning data points into blocks, and then uses a perfect binary block tree as an index structure to achieve logarithmic time complexity for both incremental updates and data retrievals. Experimental results establish the scalability and efficiency of the proposed approach on various datasets.
An empirical analysis of the value of complete information for ECRM models

Due to the vast amount of user data tracked online, the use of data-based analytical methods is becoming increasingly common for e-businesses. Recently the term analytical eCRM has been used to refer to the use of such methods in the online world. A characteristic of most of the current approaches in eCRM is that they use data collected about users' activities at a single site only and, as we argue in this paper, this can present an incomplete picture of user activity. However, it is possible to obtain a complete picture of user activity from across-site data on users. Such data is expensive, but can be obtained by firms directly from their users or from market data vendors. A critical question is whether such data is worth obtaining, an issue that little prior research has addressed. In this paper, using a data mining approach, we present an empirical analysis of the modeling benefits that can be obtained by having complete information. Our results suggest that the magnitudes of gains that can be obtained from complete data range from a few percentage points to 50 percent, depending on the problem for which it is used and the performance metrics considered. Qualitatively we find that variables related to customer loyalty and browsing intensity are particularly important and these variables are difficult to derive from data collected at a single site. More importantly, we find that a firm has to collect a reasonably large amount of complete data before any benefits can be reaped and caution against acquiring too little data.
Improving Outcomes in Colorectal Surgery by Sequential Implementation of Multiple Standardized Care Programs

Background The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the sequential implementation of the enhanced recovery program (ERP) and surgical site infection bundle (SSIB) on short-term outcomes in colorectal surgery (CRS) to determine if the presence of multiple standardized care programs provides additive benefit. Study Design Institutional ACS-NSQIP data were used to identify patients who underwent elective CRS from September 2006 to March 2013. The cohort was stratified into 3 groups relative to implementation of the ERP (February 1, 2010) and SSIB (July 1, 2011). Unadjusted characteristics and 30-day outcomes were assessed, and inverse proportional weighting was then used to determine the adjusted effect of these programs. Results There were 787 patients included: 337, 165, and 285 in the pre-ERP/SSIB, post-ERP/pre-SSIB, and post-ERP/SSIB periods, respectively. After inverse probability weighting (IPW) adjustment, groups were balanced with respect to patient and procedural characteristics considered. Compared with the pre-ERP/SSIB group, the post-ERP/pre-SSIB group had significantly reduced length of hospitalization (8.3 vs 6.6 days, p = 0.01) but did not differ with respect to postoperative wound complications and sepsis. Subsequent introduction of the SSIB then resulted in a significant decrease in superficial SSI (16.1% vs 6.3%, p Conclusions Sequential implementation of the ERP and SSIB provided incremental improvements in CRS outcomes while controlling hospital costs, supporting their combined use as an effective strategy toward improving the quality of patient care.
An elementary construction of the geometric algebra

We give a simple, elementary, direct, and motivated construction of the geometric algebra overRn.
Comprehending idioms cross-linguistically.

Speakers of three different languages (English, Latvian, and Mandarin) rated sets of idioms from their language for the analyzability of the relationship between each phrase's literal and figurative meaning. For each language, subsets of idioms were selected based on these ratings. Latvian and Mandarin idioms were literally translated into English. Across three experiments, people classified idioms from the three languages according to their figurative meanings. Response times and error rates indicate that participants were able to interpret unfamiliar (e.g., other languages') idioms depending largely on the degree to which they were analyzable, and that different forms of processing were used both within and between languages depending on this analyzability. Results support arguments for a continuum of analyzability (Bortfeld & McGlone, 2001), along which figurative speech ranges from reflecting general conceptual structures to specific cultural and historical references.
Stochastic optimal control with indecomposible cost criteria

The formal minimization of a nonlinear cost functional for a diffusion process defined by d?1 = F1(?1, u)dt + G(?1)dw is straightforward if the functional can be represented in the form E{?(?1(T),?2(T)): ?1(0) = x1,?2(0) = c} where ? is a point function, d/dt?2 = F2(?1,?2, u), and c is a constant. If the Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equation -Vt = 1/2tr(GGTVx1x1) + minu[ ] V(T, x1, x2) = ?(x1,x2) has a smooth solution,the optimal cost is V(0, x1,c). When F2 is linear in ?2 and ? is a linear or exponential function, the corresponding optimal control may depend only on ?1(t), as is the case for integral plus terminal cost criteria [2] and exponential of integral plus terminal cost criteria [1], [3], [4]. In general, however, the optimal control is a feedback function of both ?1(t) and the auxiliary variable ?2(t). For a special class of problems in which F2 is linear in ?2, a verification lemma is given and the Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equation is solved by the policy iteration method.
Caspase-3-dependent and -independent degradation of 28 S ribosomal RNA may be involved in the inhibition of protein synthesis during apoptosis initiated by death receptor engagement.

Activation of death receptors initiates intrinsic apoptosis programs in various parts of the cell. To explore the possibility that ribosomal RNA (rRNA), essential for translation in ribosomes, is a target of pro-apoptotic proteins, rRNA was analyzed by electrophoresis in two apoptosis systems: human Jurkat cells treated with anti-Fas antibody and human U937 cells treated with tumor necrosis factor-α. In both systems, bands in addition to those of unmodified rRNA were detected a few hours after death receptor engagement. In both systems, the primary additional band was identical and comprised the 3′-terminal region of 28 S rRNA. The degradation of 28 S rRNA was simultaneous with protein synthesis inhibition in both systems. The caspase-3 inhibitor Z-DEVD-FMK suppressed rRNA degradation and protein synthesis inhibition in Jurkat cells but not in U937 cells. Together, our data suggest that different pathways are activated in the two systems we studied, and the final steps in these pathways use very similar or identical ribonucleases to cleave 28 S rRNA. These data suggest a physiological link between rRNA degradation and inhibition of protein synthesis. In general, apoptosis execution initiated by death receptor engagement is promoted by protein synthesis inhibition. Triggered by rRNA degradation, malfunction of the protein synthesis machinery may prompt death execution.
Prismatic VHTR neutronic benchmark problems

Abstract This paper aims to fill an apparent scarcity of benchmarks based on high temperature gas-cooled reactors. Within is a description of a whole prismatic VHTR core in its full heterogeneity and modeling using continuous energy nuclear data at a representative hot operating temperature. Also included is a core which has been simplified for ease in modeling while attempting to preserve as faithfully as possible the neutron physics of the core. Fuel and absorber pins have been homogenized from the particle level, however, the blocks which construct the core remain strongly heterogeneous. A six group multigroup (discrete energy) cross section set has been developed via Monte Carlo using the original heterogeneous core as a basis. Several configurations of the core have been solved using these two cross section sets; eigenvalue results, block-averaged power results, and some selected pin fission density results are presented in this paper, along with the six-group cross section data, so that method developers may use these problems as a standard reference point.
Specializations within the lumbosacral spinal cord of the pigeon

The prominent accessory lobes of Lachi in birds are considered to be marginal nuclei; similar nuclei have been implicated in mechanoreceptive functions in snakes and lampreys. Reptile studies emphasized the involvement of the denticulate ligament with this mechanoreceptive function. This investigation examines the fine structure of the accessory lobes of Lachi in pigeons and their interaction with ligaments for features which might support such a mechanoreceptive function. In the lumbosacral area of the spinal cord, the lateral longitudinal ligaments and the ventral longitudinal ligament are hypertrophied. The ventral transverse ligaments are present only within the lumbosacral segments of the spinal cord and they interconnect with the lateral and ventral longitudinal ligaments. The lateral longitudinal ligament makes intimate contact with the spinal cord, and many glial processes from the spinal cord mingle with and are firmly attached to collagenous fibers of the ligament. The lobes lie dorsal to the lateral longitudinal ligament in the exact area where it interconnects with the transverse ligament. The lobe's multipolar neurons have a number of synaptic contacts but no unusual specializations were noted. Most of each lobe is composed of interdigitating saccular structures filled to varying degrees with flocculent material. The sacs are extensions of the cytoplasm of neuroglial cells, which also give rise to membranes surrounding neuronal processes and the sacs themselves. A possible functional relationship of the lobes and the ligaments of the lumbosacral spinal segments within the vertebral column is described.
Characterization of human thymic epithelial cells grown in serum-free medium.

Thymic epithelial cells have a critical influence on T-cell differentiation. In order to characterize these cells in humans, a serum-free growth medium was developed for their long-term culture. Important components of this medium included transferrin, epidermal growth factor, prostaglandin E1, and selenous acid. The presence of a keratin cytoskeleton, tonofilaments, and desmosomes confirmed the epithelial nature of these cells. Indirect immunofluorescence study of these epithelial cells demonstrated the presence of Ia and B-2 microglobulin antigens. The availability of highly enriched thymic epithelial cultures should simplify the functional characterization of this cell.
Laparoscopic partial nephrectomy: comparison of transperitoneal and retroperitoneal approaches.

ABSTRACTPurpose: Laparoscopic partial nephrectomy has become an effective alternative for small renal tumors. Previous reports include transperitoneal and retroperitoneal approaches but to our knowledge the indications for when to apply the techniques have not been defined. We report our experience with comparing the 2 techniques.Materials and Methods: A retrospective review of 51 laparoscopic partial nephrectomies was performed. Patients were analyzed based on the surgical approach, operative parameters and postoperative recovery. The 2 approaches used similar operative techniques to control parenchymal bleeding and collecting system entry.Results: There were 32 retroperitoneal and 19 transperitoneal partial nephrectomies. Mean operative time (3.5 vs 5.4 hours, p = 0.000001) and blood loss (192 vs 403 cc, p = 0.002) was significantly less for the retroperitoneal approach. Renal vessel clamping was performed in 81% of retroperitoneal and 63% of transperitoneal operations. Warm ischemia time was not signif...
Three-piece inflatable penile prostheses can be safely implanted after radical prostatectomy through a transverse scrotal incision.

OBJECTIVES Some surgeons will not offer a three-piece inflatable penile prosthesis (IPP) to patients who have undergone retropubic surgery because of a perceived increase in intraoperative risk during reservoir placement into the retropubic space. METHODS Of 942 consecutive patients undergoing IPP placement from 1986 to 2006, 115 had undergone radical prostatectomy before placement of an American Medical Systems Ultrex (n = 73), CX (n = 34), or CX-M (n = 8) device. Intraoperative and follow-up data for all patients were collected in an institutional review board-approved database. RESULTS All 115 IPP placements were completed as planned and without intraoperative complications, including no injury to the bladder or iliac vessels. An increased amount of scarring often made the fascia more difficult to perforate, but blind entrance into the retropubic space was performed successfully in all cases. Three prosthetic infections (2.6%) and eight mechanical failures (7%) occurred during a median follow-up of 3.3 years. The estimated probability of no infection or mechanical failure at 3 years in this patient cohort was 97.0% and 95.5%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Retropubic placement of the reservoir of a three-piece IPP was accomplished without intraoperative complications in 115 consecutive postprostatectomy patients, with more than 90% of devices free of mechanical failure at 5 years. Because three-piece IPPs can be placed safely and have been associated with the greatest patient and partner satisfaction rates, we do not believe that prostatectomy should be a contraindication for placement of the retropubic reservoir of a three-piece IPP through a transverse scrotal incision.
Penetration of Cefotaxime and Moxalactam into Cerebrospinal Fluid of Rabbits with Experimentally Induced Escherichia coli Meningitis

Penetration of the new beta-lactam antibiotics cefotaxime and moxalactam into cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was studied in rabbits with experimentally produced Escherichia coli meningitis. Cefotaxime reached peak concentrations (mean +/- SEM) of 31.9 +/- 5.4 micrograms/ml in serum and 2.8 +/- 0.3 micrograms/ml in CSF after an infusion of 50 mg/kg per hr for 8 hr. Moxalactam, after an infusion of 12.5 mg/kg per hr iv, produced peaks of 31.0 +/- 13.1 micrograms/ml in serum and 9.7 +/- 1.2 micrograms/ml in CSF. Both drugs reduced the initial concentration of E. coli in the CSF by greater than 1,000-fold. An infusion of 100 mg/kg per hr of cephalothin produced a peak concentration of 76.5 +/- 15.2 micrograms/ml in serum but resulted in a concentration of only 0.17 +/- 0.05 micrograms/ml in CSF and had no bactericidal activity in CSF. Paper chromatography of CSF from cefotaxime-treated rabbits showed that 85.3% (+/- 3.1%) of the antibiotic activity was ascribed to desacetylcefotaxime, a metabolite that is less potent than the parent drug. Neither cefotaxime nor moxalactam was taken up in vitro by rabbit choroid plexus tissue, but cephalothin was taken up at a rate of 9.6 +/- 1.1 microgram/g per hr. Perhaps cefotaxime and moxalactam reached higher concentrations in CSF than did cephalothin because they are not removed from the CSF by the exit pump of the choroid plexus. The fact that levels of cefotaxime in CSF are lower than those of moxalactam could be attributed to the presence of desacetylcefotaxime, a metabolite that is less active than cefotaxime.
Differential Cytotoxicity of Corticosteroids on Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Background Corticosteroids are a common, short-term, local antiinflammatory and analgesic for treating patients with musculoskeletal disorders. Studies have shown the deleterious effects of corticosteroids on chondrocytes, suggesting a potentiation of degenerative joint disease. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are the direct progenitors of chondrocytes and other musculoskeletal tissue. Additionally, they serve an important antiinflammatory role, which can combat the chronic inflammatory state that mediates degenerative joint disease. Little is known about how corticosteroids interact with this regenerative and reparative cell population.
Safety Information Processing at the FDA

Adverse drug experience (ADE) in formation processing is a surveillance activity at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that monitors the safety of drugs after marketing. This paper is an overview of the spontaneous Adverse Drug Reaction Information System, postmarketing surveillance activities, and samples of summary reports used to identifr safety issues.
Rethinking the Interface between Mental Illness, Criminal Justice and Academia

Punishment and treatment don’t occur within a vacuum. Responses in the justice system affect the mental health system, hospitals, clinics, and the welfare system. These systems are inextricably bound to each other. This paper, drawn from the 2009 Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS) Presidential Address, discusses issues regarding the criminalization of mental illness, fiscal crises, and three deinstitutionalization movements. Particular attention is given to the role of academia in reshaping the criminal justice system during the current fiscal crisis.
Drug-Induced Arrhythmia

Prolongation of the QTc interval has been associated with proarrhythmia resulting from a potentially fatal form of polymorphic ventricular tachycardia called torsades de pointes (TdP). Genetic forms of the long-QT syndrome (LQTS) associated with high arrhythmic risk have been causally related to mutations in ion channels responsible for the cardiac action potential; genetic factors associated with milder degrees of QTc prolongation and arrhythmic risk have also been described. Acquired forms of QTc prolongation and proarrhythmia, particularly related to drug therapy, are frequently related to drug effects on the same ion channels involved in genetic forms of LQTS. As is true for genetic forms of LQTS, there is a wide spectrum of potential drug effects on the QTc interval ranging from trivial to potentially lethal. Drug-induced QTc prolongation is a complicated phenomenon related not just to the properties or dose of a particular drug but also to drug-drug interactions and a variety of patient factors, including age, gender, the presence and severity of underlying heart disease, and genetic predisposition. Additionally, drug effects on other ion channels, including blockade of sodium channels (causing prolongation of the QRS interval rather than the QTc interval), are an important cause of drug-induced proarrhythmia. The purpose of this review is to summarize the available data related to acquired forms of LQTS, with particular focus on drug-related LQTS and proarrhythmia. A brief summary is presented here of genetic LQTS because the relevant genes and proteins form the basis for an understanding of the causes of acquired LQTS, and in any given patient, the QTc is determined by genetic, substrate, and environmental factors. Emphasis is placed on practical strategies for clinicians, with the goal of minimizing the risk of dangerous proarrhythmia related to the use of both cardiac and noncardiac drugs with the potential for QTc prolongation. Genetic …
Polymers with self-avoiding interaction in random medium: a localization-delocalization transition

In this paper we investigate the problem of a long self-avoiding polymer chain immersed in a random medium. We find that in the limit of a very long chain and when the self-avoiding interaction is weak, the conformation of the chain consists of many “blobs” with connecting segments. The blobs are sections of the molecule curled up in regions of low potential in the case of a Gaussian distributed random potential or in regions of relatively low density of obstacles in the case of randomly distributed hard obstacles. We find that as the strength of the self-avoiding interaction is increased the chain undergoes a delocalization transition in the sense that the appropriate free energy per monomer is no longer negative. The chain is then no longer bound to a particular location in the medium but can easily wander around under the influence of a small perturbation. For a localized chain we estimate quantitatively the expected number of monomers in the “blobs” and in the connecting segments.
Issues in the diagnosis of α1-antitrypsin deficiency

α 1 -Antitrypsin deficiency is a relatively common genetic disease that is underrecognized and underdiagnosed. Early diagnosis in the asymptomatic patient helps modify lifestyle choices to reduce the risk of emphysema. In 2003, the American Thoracic Society and the European Respiratory Society issued guidelines to improve standards in diagnosing α 1 -antitrypsin deficiency. This review highlights key recommendations for diagnosis of α 1 -antitrypsin deficiency, including the different types of diagnostic tests recommended in the guidelines. Options for patient treatment will be discussed.
Simultaneous design and training of ontogenic neural network classifiers

The use of neural networks in pattern classification is a relatively recent phenomena. In some instances the nonparametric neural network approach has demonstrated significant advantages over more conventional methods. However, certain of the drawbacks of neural networks have led to interest in the augmentation of the neural network approach with such supporting tools as genetic algorithms (e.g. in support of neural network training). In this paper, we take yet a further step. Specifically, we present an approach for the simultaneous design and training of neural networks by means of a tailored genetic algorithm. We then demonstrate its employment on the problem of the classification of firms with regard to future fiscal well-being (i.e. are they likely to fail or survive). The resulting ontogenic neural network exhibits, we believe, some particularly attractive characteristics.
Rapid blister formation in human skin with ammonium hydroxide

The topical application to human skin of a 1:1 aqueous solution of ammonium hydroxide in a well drilled into a plastic block will provoke an intra-epidermal blister in an average time of about 13 min. The blister roof can be used for physico-chemical analyses of the horny layer while the base is suitable for studies of wound healing, bacterial infections, etc. The minimal blistering time (MBT) increases directly as the number of cell layers of the stratum corneum and ranges from 3 to 57 min in different regions and persons. The intensity of the dermatitis provoked by a 24 h exposure to sodium lauryl sulphate is strongly correlated with the MBT. The latter is therefore a reliable measure of cutaneous irritability. The blisters are virtually painless. The inflammatory reaction clinically and histologically is slight. Healing is rapid without scarring.
Anomaly detection in sensor networks based on large deviations of Markov chain models

We introduce an anomaly detection framework for wireless sensor networks able to detect statistically significant temporal or spatial changes in either the underlying process the sensor network is monitoring or the network operation itself. We consider a series of Markov models to characterize the behavior of the sensor network, including tree-indexed Markov chains which can model its spatial structure. Large deviations techniques are used to compare the distribution of the Markov model estimated from past anomaly-free traces with its most recent empirical measure. We develop optimal decision rules for each corresponding Markov model to identify anomalies in recent activity. Simulation results validate the effectiveness of the proposed anomaly detection algorithms.
Flk2+ myeloid progenitors are the main source of Langerhans cells

Langerhans cells (LCs) are antigen-presenting cells (APCs) residing in the epidermis that play a major role in skin immunity. Our earlier studies showed that when skin is inflamed LCs are replaced by bone marrow-derived progenitor cells, while during steady-state conditions LCs are able to self-renew in the skin. Identification of the LC progenitors in bone marrow would represent a critical step toward identifying the factors that regulate LC generation as well as their trafficking to the skin. To determine LC lineage origin, we reconstituted lethally irradiated CD45.2 mice with rigorously purified lymphoid and myeloid progenitors from CD45.1 congenic mice. Twenty-four hours later, we exposed the mice to UV light to deplete resident LCs and induce their replacement by progenitors. Reconstitution with common myeloid progenitors (CMPs), common lymphoid progenitors (CLPs), granulocyte-macrophage progenitors (GMPs), or early thymic progenitors led to LC generation within 2 to 3 weeks. CMPs were at least 20 times more efficient at generating LCs than CLPs. LCs from both lineages were derived almost entirely from fetal liver kinase-2+ (Flk-2+) progenitors, displayed typical dendritic-cell (DC) morphology, and showed long-term persistence in the skin. These results indicate that LCs are derived mainly from myeloid progenitors and are dependent on Flt3-ligand for their development.
Oh, my aching laptop: expanding the boundaries of campus computing ergonomics

Feeling pins-and-needles in your fingers, having a sore back, blurry vision or aching wrists are common symptoms for many employees in the technology field. Such aches and pains are often warning signs that significant injuries are just one more mouse click away. Until recently, such ailments have not traditionally been considered common symptoms for students. Yet, with the rapid growth of game-playing software, computer-related coursework and online classes, which cause students to spend longer hours in front of a computer, repetitive stress injuries are inevitable. Consequently, such injuries should and must be considered in the educational environment by department heads and information technology personnel. Repetitive stress injuries are of particular concern at Northwest Missouri State University, where all campus-housed residents are provided with campus-owned notebook computers. Notebook computers can increase the chances of injury since the monitor and keyboard cannot be positioned separately. Also, due to the notebook computer's portability students can work in locations and positions that can increase the risk of acquiring repetitive stress injuries from neck pain to carpal tunnel syndrome. Computer users need more education and training in the science of ergonomics in order to avoid injuries.In this paper, users and educators will learn techniques for adapting workspaces and habits in order to perform at optimum efficiency. The paper will define the problems and costs associated with workspace ergonomics and offer solutions to these problems. Additionally, the authors will discuss techniques to avoid repetitive stress injuries and how to effectively train users before injuries occur.
On the design of VLF transmitting antennas, then and now

This paper considers the way Harold Wheeler addressed the design of a VLF transmitting antenna a half century ago and how we might approach the same problem today. Although we now have access to a host of computing tools for analysis, we must still be able to organize our knowledge of the problem and how we may use it to satisfy a set of practical constraints. These include performance criteria, size and cost, as well as the physical limitations of materials. The purpose of this paper is to review the most basic elements of VLF antenna design and to consider what, if anything, has changed in the intervening years.
Robust modular product family design using a modified Taguchi method

The Taguchi method is very effective in improving quality and decreasing cost while increasing the robustness of designs. However, it is an ‘open control system’ that relies on experiments to determine the optimal levels of control factors. The critical information about how the quality characteristic is affected by changes in the control factor is not considered in the experimental design process. This paper proposes a modified Taguchi methodology by introducing the feedback of quality characteristics to improve the robustness of modular product families against changes in customer requirements to efficiently determine the optimal control factors and the corresponding suitable time periods for designing robust product families. The research questions addressed in this paper include: How to efficiently optimize control factors in the design of product families? How to measure the robustness of a product family for meeting current and future needs? How far into the future should designers look in while des...
Estimating the ends of the sensitive period for photoperiodically induced diapause in arthropods

A new method is proposed and tested for estimating the beginning and end of the sensitive period for the photoperiodic induction of diapause (a type of dormancy) in arthropods. The method incorporates three experiments already commonly used to study photoperiodism: (1) an experiment in which samples of individuals are transferred at successively older ages from a diapause inducing short day length to a diapause averting long day length, (2) an experiment in which samples are transferred at successively older ages in the opposite direction from long to short day conditions, and (3) an experiment to determine the number of short days required to induce diapause, the required day number. Using the Mexican bean beetle (Epilachna varivestis Mulsant), which has an adult diapause, the new method estimates that this beetle's sensitive period at 25°C begins approximately on day 9 for males and on day 10 for females corresponding to the beginning and early second instar, respectively, and ends on day 21 for both sexes corresponding to the start of the pupal stage. The observation that the sensitive period is 1 day longer for males resolves the otherwise inconsistent findings that the mean required day number is 1 day greater for males but the critical photoperiod is the same for both sexes. To assess the responses of the beetles to the experiments, they were dissected on day 4 after adult eclosion and classified according to their level of gonadal development. Four classes were recognized in females and 3 in males yielding 3 and 2 thresholds, respectively, instead of the usual single threshold separating the diapause and nondiapause classes. Estimates of the ends of the sensitive period using the different thresholds were consistent. Obtaining reliable estimates of the ends of the sensitive period is an important step toward the goal of using the physiological model of diapause induction based on the required day number-sensitive period interaction to address ecological and evolutionary questions concerning the timing of diapause induction.
Characterization of host immunity during persistent vaginal colonization by Group B Streptococcus

Streptococcus agalactiae (Group B Streptococcus, GBS) is a Gram-positive bacterium, which colonizes the vaginal tract in 10-30% of women. Colonization is transient in nature, and little is known about the host and bacterial factors controlling GBS persistence. Gaining insight into these factors is essential for developing therapeutics to limit maternal GBS carriage and prevent transmission to the susceptible newborn. In this work, we have used human cervical and vaginal epithelial cells, and our established mouse model of GBS vaginal colonization, to characterize key host factors that respond during GBS colonization. We identify a GBS strain that persists beyond a month in the murine vagina, whereas other strains are more readily cleared. Correspondingly, we have detected differential cytokine production in human cell lines after challenge with the persistent strain vs. other GBS strains. We also demonstrate that the persistent strain more readily invades cervical cells compared with vaginal cells, suggesting that GBS may potentially use the cervix as a reservoir to establish long-term colonization. Furthermore, we have identified interleukin-17 production in response to long-term colonization, which is associated with eventual clearance of GBS. We conclude that both GBS strain differences and concurrent host immune responses are crucial in modulating vaginal colonization.
Capping of conconavalin a receptors on lymphocytes of aged individuals and patients with Down’s syndrome: Enhancing effect of colchicine; possible relation to microtubular system

The redistribution of conconavalin A (Con A) receptors on peripheral blood mononuclear cells was studied in young adult patients with Down’s syndrome (DS), and young-adult controls and aged normal volunteers. DS was included in the study as it shows many features of accelerated aging. The percentage of Con A capping was markedly lower in DS patients and aged individuals than in young-adult controls. Colchicine displayed a significant enhancing effect on Con A capping in DS patients and aged individuals, but a moderate inhibitory effect on Con A capping in the young adults. The enhancing effect in DS patients and aged volunteers suggests the possibility that an excess of polymerized tubulin (microtubules) may occur in lymphocytes during normal or accelerated aging.
In vitro phosphorylation and inactivation of rat liver acetyl-CoA carboxylase purified by avidin affinity chromatography.

Abstract Acetyl-CoA carboxylase (EC 6.4.1.2) has been isolated from rat liver by an avidin-affinity chromatography technique. This preparation has a specific activity of 1.17±0.06 U/mg and appears as a major (240 000 dalton) and minor (140 000 dalton) band on SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Enzyme isolated by this technique can incorporate 1.09±0.07 mol phosphate per mol enzyme (Mr = 480 000) when incubated with the catalytic subunit of the cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase at 30°C for 1 h. The associated activity loss under these conditions is 57±4.0% when the enzyme is assayed in the presence of 0.2 mM citrate. Less inactivation is observed when the enzyme is assayed in the presence of 5.0 mM citrate. The specific protein inhibitor of the cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase blocks both the protein kinase stimulated phosphorylation and inactivation of acetyl-CoA carboxylase. The phosphorylated, inactivated rat liver carboxylase can be partially dephosphorylated and reactivated by incubation with a partially purified protein phosphatase. Preparations of acetyl-CoA carboxylase also contained an endogenous protein kinase(s) which incorporated 0.26±0.11 mol phosphate per mol carboxylase (Mr = 480 000) accompanied by a 26±9% decline in activity. We have additionally confirmed that the rat mammary gland enzyme, also isolated by avidin affinity chromatography, can be both phosphorylated and inactivated upon incubation with the cyclic AMP-dependent kinase.
Fundamental combustion research in support of industrial applications

Abstract A Workshop was organized for the purpose of receiving expert inputs on basic research in support of industrial applications of combustion systems. The output of this Workshop is here summarized.
Environmentally produced alterations of the tetra-hymanol: Phospholipid ratio in Tetrahymena pyriformis membranes

Abstract Whereas the sterol-like triterpenoid tetrahymanol constitutes a fixed proportion of membrane lipids in growing and early stationary phase Tetrahymena cells, starved or senescent cultures increase their tetrahymanol-phospholipid ratios many fold. We detected two causes of tetrahymanol enrichment, both related to the absolute resistance of the compound to catabolic attack. Surviving cells of senescent cultures ingest fragments of dead cells, degrading the phospholipids but accumulating tetrahymanol in large amounts. On the other hand, growing cells placed in a nutrient-free medium receive no exogenous lipids. Rather, they gradually utilize their own structural components for energy, decreasing to 20% of their normal size during the process. There is a concomitant reduction of the cellular phospholipid content, but tetrahymanol is not degraded. Consequently, after 4 days of starvation the membrane tetrahymanol: phospholipid ratio is 3 times the normal value despite a virtual absence of tetrahymanol synthesis. We discuss the apparently successful adjustment of the cells to altered proportions of a lipid whose concentration is considered critical for proper membrane function.
LACK OF CORRELATION BETWEEN URINARY IODINE AND DIETARY IODINE IN GOITROUS CHILDREN.

Because of difficulties of direct measurement of dietary iodine intake during the course of endemic goiter studies, investigators have used urinary iodine excretion as an index of dietary iodine intake. In those studies, the urinary excretion of iodine has been either (a) measured directly by determining the iodine content of 24-hour urine collections, or (b) estimated from the ratio of urinary iodine concentration to urinary creatinine concentration (iodine/creatinine ratio) in casual urine specimens. The assumptions on which such procedures have been based—namely, that the average daily total iodine excretion (urinary plus fecal) is equal to iodine intake (i.e., iodine balance) and that fecal excretion of iodine is negligible relative to urinary iodine excretion—have not been fully validated.
Hard-Core Potential Representation by δ' in Variation and Hartree Calculations

The ${\ensuremath{\delta}}^{\ensuremath{'}}$ interaction has been used to represent the hard-core potential in variation and Hartree calculations. These calculations were compared with exact calculations for a two-body bound-state problem and a soluble three-body problem. The trial wave function in the variational problem with the ${\ensuremath{\delta}}^{\ensuremath{'}}$ interaction is shown to approach rapidly its hard-core limit with increasing number of trial parameters. The ${\ensuremath{\delta}}^{\ensuremath{'}}$ interaction is superior to current soft-core representations of the nucleon-nucleon potential in the Hartree calculations.
Vehicle Routing Problem with Weight Coefficients and Stochastic Demands Based on the Cross-Entropy Method

The cross-entropy (CE) method is a new generic approach to combinatorial and multi-extremal optimization and rare event simulation. Vehicle Routing Problem has been approved a NP problem and it belongs to classical Combination Optimization hard problem. An effective algorithm based on cross-entropy is designed to solve the model which named Vehicle Routing Problem with Weight Coefficients and Stochastic Demands (WVRPSD) with weight coefficients and stochastic demands. Numerical experiments have been conducted and the results indicate that the method can effectively solve this problem.
Kant and Hegel on freedom: Two new interpretations

Can Kant's theory of freedom be defended in contemporary ‘incompatibilist’ terms, as Henry Allison believes, or is it vulnerable to Hegelian criticisms of the ‘compatibilist’ sort that Allen Wood presents? I argue that the answer to both of these questions is negative, and that there is a third option, namely that Kant's real theory of freedom is not as well off as Allison contends, nor as weak as Wood claims. Allison tries to save Kant's theory of freedom from both what he takes to be traditional and improper interpretations ‐ notably including Hegel's and Wood's ‐ of what that theory means, as well as from traditional and improper objections to its defensibility. I argue in part with Wood (and Hegel) against Allison on the issue of the meaning of Kant's theory, and in part with Allison against Wood (and Hegel) on the issue of the defensibility of Kant's theory.
A Direct Sampling Particle Filter from Approximate Conditional Density Function Supported on Constrained State Space

Constraints on the state vector must be taken into account in the state estimation problem. Recently, acceptance/rejection and projection methods are proposed in the particle filter framework for constraining the particles. A weighted least squares formulation is used for constraining samples in unscented and ensemble Kalman filters. In this paper, direct sampling from an approximate conditional probability density function (pdf) is proposed. It is obtained by approximating the a priori pdf as a Gaussian. The support of the conditional density is a subset of the intersection of two supports, the 3-sigma bounds of the priori Gaussian and the constrained state space. A direct sampling algorithm is proposed for handling linear and nonlinear equality and inequality constraints. The algorithm uses the constrained mode for nonlinear constraints.
Declining decline: Wittgenstein as a philosopher of culture

Granted a certain depth of accuracy in citing an aspect of Spengler as an enactment of an aspect of Wittgenstein's thought, Wittgenstein's difference from Spengler should have depth. One difference can be characterized by saying that in the Investigations Wittgenstein diurnalizes Spengler's vision of the destiny toward exhausted forms, toward nomadism, toward loss of culture, or of home, or community: he depicts our everyday encounters with philosophy, with our ideals, as brushes with skepticism, wherein the ancient task of philosophy, to awaken us, or bring us to our senses, takes the form of returning us to the everyday, the ordinary, every day, diurnally.
Applying pareto ant colony optimization to solve bi-objective forest transportation planning problems

Problems related to the transportation of timber products have traditionally involved finding routes that minimize timber hauling and road construction costs. However, increasing environmental concerns have introduced negative impacts (i.e., soil erosion and water quality) into forest transportation planning problems (FTPPs). In this paper, we designed and implemented a multi-objective ant colony optimization algorithm (MOACO) to solve a bi-objective FTPP that considers both transportation cost and environmental impacts. The goal is to provide decision makers with different timber transportation planning alternatives to help them make informed decisions. The MOACO incorporates various design choices that have been identified to have better performances in recent research literature. To test for performance, we applied the algorithm to ten FTPPs. Experimental results demonstrate the MOACO was able to solve all test problems under different stop conditions.