cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Activation linearity and parallelism of the superficial quadriceps across the isometric intensity spectrum.

The purpose of this study was to assess neuromuscular activation of the three superficial portions of the quadriceps femoris muscles during linearly increasing isometric contraction intensities. Thirty healthy volunteers were assessed for isometric electromyographic (EMG) activity of the vastus medialis (VM), vastus lateralis (VL), and rectus femoris (RF) muscles with the knee at 60° of flexion. For 5 s, subjects performed isometric contractions equivalent to 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, and 90% of the average of three maximal voluntary contractions (MVC), in random order. Full-wave rectified and integrated EMG signals over the middle 3 s of each contraction were expressed as a percentage of the activity recorded during the three averaged MVCs. One sample t-tests and 95% confidence intervals were calculated at each relative torque level. A two-factor analysis of variance (muscle by intensity) with repeated measures was performed to evaluate parallel activation across the intensity levels. Activation linearity was assessed via regression analysis for each muscle. VM activation was shown to be significantly lower than expected at 20–70% MVC. VL and RF activations were significantly higher than expected at 10% MVC, and RF EMG was less than expected at 40–70% MVC. EMG of VM was shown to increase significantly more than VL and RF from 80% to 90% MVC. Significant linear and quadratic relations were also demonstrated for all three muscles. Parallel activation of the superficial quadriceps muscles occurred from low to moderate intensities, whereas convergence was noted at near maximal intensities. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Muscle Nerve 23: 393–398, 2000
Modeling of deformation behavior and strain-induced crystallization in poly(ethylene terephthalate) above the glass transition temperature

Abstract A constitutive model for large deformation stress–strain behavior and strain-induced crystallization in poly(ethylene terephthalate), at temperatures above the glass transition temperature, is proposed. In this model, the intermolecular resistance is treated in a composite framework where the crystalline and amorphous phases are considered as two separate resistances coupled through two different analog representations leading to the upper and the lower bound approaches. The crystallization rate is expressed following a non-isothermal phenomenological expression based on the modified Avrami equation. Our predicted results are compared to existing experimental results and good agreement is found.
Appropriate Control Tissues for Host-pathogen Studies in Onion

Inner epidermal tissue of onion bulb-scale was studied by means of quantitative interference microscopy at the time of inoculation (with Aspergillus niger) and again after 48 hours of incubation. Nuclear area (NA), dry mass per unit area (DM/A) and nuclear dry mass (NDM) of epidermis cells 15-20mm ahead of mycelium were not statistically different from cells initially removed from the inoculation site. NDM of cells immediately ahead of advancing mycelium (0-5mm from the inoculation site) averaged 42% lower than that of cells obtained at the time of inoculation; NA was 46% lower; whereas, DM/A was 8% higher. We conclude that either sample of inner epidermal tissue, one removed from the inoculation site at the start of an experiment or one from 15-20mm away from the inoculation site 48 hours after the start of the experiment, is an appropriate control for determining the degree of host response to a pathogen within 0-5mm of the mycelium. The alteration and killing of host cells ahead of advancing mycelium suggested secretion of toxic metabolites by the fungus.
Fuzzy prediction based on regression models

Abstract We use a linguistic variable to represent imprecise information to be inserted in regression models used for prediction. We show how one can obtain probabilistic statements about the forecasted variables.
Cholangiocarcinoma in USA- versus Asian-born Asians: Is viral hepatitis a factor?

Aim: Though liver and biliary tract cancers are more common in Asian countries they are increasing in incidence in the USA. This study attempted to clarify the risk factor profile for immigrant Asians compared with the USA population. Methods: A retrospective review was made of 128 cholangiocarcinoma cases presenting to a tertiary referral center from 1996–2007. Data were collected on patient characteristics, risk factors, tumor characteristics, treatment and survival. We then compared Asian immigrants (n = 40) to USA-born Asians (n = 46). Results: In our cohort, the mean age was 66.7 years, of whom 54% were men, 51% had cholelithiasis, 51% were smokers, 41% used alcohol, 10% had hepatitis C and 27% had hepatitis B. In four patients, one each had sclerosing cholangitis, liver flukes, choledochal cyst and previous biliary tract surgery. The distribution of tumors was as follows: 43 intrahepatic (ICC) and 85 extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ECC) including 43 proximal, nine middle and 33 distal tumors. Immigrants were more likely to be younger (mean age 63 vs 70 years old) and to have ICC than ECC (50% vs 26%) and hepatitis B (46% vs 14%). There was no significant difference between groups in hepatitis C, smoking, alcohol, cholelithasis, resectability or survival. Conclusion: Traditionally described risk factors for cholangiocarcinoma are not as evident in this largely Asian cohort. Asian immigrants were more likely to have ICC and have hepatitis B though whether hepatitis B is directly carcinogenic to the biliary tract is not clear. Immigrant status did not seem to have an effect on outcome from cholangiocarcinoma.
Bose Condensate in Superfluid 4He and Momentum Distributions by Deep Inelastic Scattering

In 1938 London [1,2] offered an explanation of the observation earlier that year of superfluid behavior in liquid 4He when it is cooled below a critical temperature of 2.17 °K. He argued that the superfluid transition was analogous to the Bose condensation of an (ideal) gas of non-interacting atoms obeying the same Bose-Einstein spin-statistics relation as 4He atoms. This relation requires the many-atom wave function to be completely symmetric in the atomic coordinates, resulting in a preference for the atoms to occupy the same single-particle states. For a finite system of atoms the momenta are quantized in spacings proportional to the inverse of the system size. At high temperatures the fraction of atoms occupying any one of the momentum states also scales as the inverse of the size. However, as the temperature is reduced below a critical Bose condensation temperature a significant fraction of the atoms, independent of the system size, begins to occupy the zero-momentum state. The Bose condensate fraction of an ideal gas approaches one at zero temperature. For 4He, by analogy, at high temperatures in the normal fluid the condensate fraction should be zero, but as temperatures are reduced below the superfluid transition temperature the condensate fraction should rise to a non-zero value. The effect of the strong interactions among the (non-ideal) 4He atoms is to deplete the zero temperature condensate fraction from one in an ideal gas to a value much less than one for 4He. While the analogy between superfluidity and Bose condensation is imperfect, the concept of a Bose condensate in the superfluid phase has survived. A variety of increasingly sophisticated many-body calculations have predicted a condensate fraction of about 10 % at zero temperature in superfluid 4He at SVP. Because of the importance of superfluidity and the related phenomenon of superconductivity to condensed matter physics, this simple prediction has motivated a more than twenty year effort involving up to one hundred scientists to measure the Bose condensate fraction in 4He.
Intake of fat and carbohydrate: role of energy density

In this review, we consider two hypotheses which could explain why high-fat foods are overeaten. The first hypothesis is that fat is overeaten because it affects satiety and satiation less than carbohydrate. In several studies which have evaluated the effects of fat on satiety and satiation, fat differed little from carbohydrate when both the palatability and energy density of the test foods were matched. Therefore it is unlikely that the effects of fat on satiety or satiation provide the primary explanation for why it is overeaten. The second hypothesis is that the high energy density of fat facilitates its overconsumption. Support for this view comes from recent studies in which energy density significantly influenced intake when both the macronutrient content and palatability of the test foods were matched. For example, when individuals were fed diets varying in energy density and could eat as much food as they liked, they ate the same amount of food (by weight) so energy intake varied directly with energy density. Furthermore, when participants consumed foods of low energy density, they felt satisfied, despite reductions in energy intake. These findings show that energy density is a key determinant of energy intake in that cognitive, behavioral, and sensory cues related to the volume or weight of food consumed can interact with or override physiological cues associated with food intake.
Focusing on abuse, not use, in drug education

How societies deal with drug use is premised on how drug abuse is defined and on distinguishing disordered drug abuse from non-disordered drug use. The Epidemiologic Catchment Area Study revealed that only 20.27% of consumers of illicit drugs in the United States experienced a period of abuse at some time during their drug use history, whereas among illicit drug users the current prevalence of substance abuse disorders was 4.19%. The persistent failure to differentiate use from abuse where currently illicit drugs are concerned undermines effective primary prevention of the addictive disorders we are really concerned with. Typical programmes have ignored this reality, which helps explain the failure of most drug education. Adolescents soon recognize the inaccuracies and exaggerations, which undermines the credibility of drug education and limits its effectiveness. The purpose of this article is to offer a more realistic strategy for drug education that focuses on the prevention of abuse rather than prevent...
Paper Deacidification: A Bibliographie Survey. Part II

Bibliographie retrospective qui fait suite a celle publiee dans le vol. 7, no 2 de Restaurator et qui etait consacree aux problemes de methode. Celle-ci presente des experiences en matiere de desacidification realisees dans des bibliotheques ainsi que des resultats de tests. Sont associes a ces problemes, les sujets connexes concernant l'acidite du papier et les facteurs environnants comme force agissante sur le processus d'acidification
First-order optical and intervalley scattering in semiconductors

The scattering rate and momentum relaxation time for nonpolar optical and intervalley scattering is determined for the case in which the interaction matrix element is of first order in the wave vector of the phonon. This process is expected to be important in many cases in which the zero-order interaction is forbidden by symmetry selection rules. The results are applied to silicon where, for reasonable values of the coupling constants, scattering via first-order coupling is comparable to the weakly coupled value that until now has been improperly assumed for the zero-order low-energy phonon interaction, which is actually forbidden.
Release of macrophage migration inhibitory factor(s) from lymphocytes stimulated by streptococcal preparations.

Abstract Lymphocytes from apparently healthy subjects, incubated for 5 hours with cellular components or extracellular products of group A streptococci and then washed and reincubated, were found to release factor(s) capable of inhibiting guinea pig lung macrophage migration (“ indirect method ”). Inhibitition of macrophage migration was also obtained when the same preparations were tested directly on guinea pig lung cells, a macrophage-lymphocyte population (“ direct method ”). The guinea pigs had not been experimentally sensitized. The inhibition of migration appeared to depend on the presence of lymphocytes among the macrophages, since macrophages purified by repeatedly discarding nonadherent cells proved resistant to the migration inhibiting activity of the most active Streptococcal preparation, a 20 × concentrated filtrate. Reconstitution of the original lymphocyte-macrophage mixture reestablished the reactivity. The macrophage migration inhibition did not correlate with the age of the guinea pigs. It could not be obtained with preparations of group D streptococci or of Salmonella paratyphi . Group C streptococci did not inhibit the macrophage migration with the indirect method, but it did with the direct one. The factor(s) released into the medium on stimulation of apparently normal lymphocytes by Streptococcal preparations was relatively heat resistant, nondialyzable, and DNase and RNase resistant; its release was inhibited by puromycin. Pretreatment of the cells with trypsin prevented the absorption of the factor(s) and left migration unaffected. These characteristics are similar to those previously described for the migration inhibitory factor (MIF) produced by the interaction of sensitized lymphocytes and specific antigens. Whether or not these similarities indicate an identity remains to be determined.
Transport through Prince William Sound: numerical study in a nowcast/forecast system

Using 1-year simulated data from extended Prince William Sound (PWS) nowcast/forecast system, both barotropic and baroclinic transports through two-strait, semi-enclosed PWS are examined. With major tidal constituents removed, hourly time series of volume transports through two straits are significantly correlated with net transport well balanced by the time rate of change of the PWS spatial-mean sea level. A transition frequency band occurs within the coherence function of hourly volume transports, which is characterized by a nearly 180° phase shift between low-frequency (>30 h) and high-frequency (<6 h) bands. The transition band is implicitly related to the horizontally divergent and horizontally non-divergent flows inside the Sound. Further investigation of monthly and annual mean volume transports indicates strong seasonal variability of flows through two straits. On the other hand, baroclinic transport through PWS demonstrates the transition between a two-layered flow structure during the wintertime and a well-defined three-layered structure, i.e., inflow in both the surface and bottom layer with outflow in the intermediate layer, in the remainder of the year. This three-layer exchange flow is determined to be mainly buoyancy-driven, geostrophic flow, and thus largely affected by seasonal variability of buoyancy over the shelf and PWS.
Chronic experimental fumonisin intoxication of calves.

Fumonisins are structurally related mycotoxins produced by the mold Fusarium moniliforme, which is the most common fungal contaminant of com. Fumonisin (FB1) is the most abundant of the fumonisins produced by F. moniliforme. The fumonisins cause encephalomalacia in horses11 and pulmonary hypertension with pulmonary artery medial hypertrophy and right ventricular hypertrophy in swine,4,21 are hepatotoxic in most animal species3,8–10,14,24 and carcinogenic in rats6 and possibly people,22 and are nephrotoxic in rats and rabbits.8,24 Swine also exhibit altered myocardial function when exposed to fumonisins, and porcine cultured endothelium exhibits disruption of barrier function when FB1 is present.7,21 Previously, cattle fed fumonisins experimentally for short periods of time to determine the effects exhibited only minimal hepatic and immune function changes.14,15 Cattle in feed lots are fed large quantities of corn for weight gain and occasionally develop pulmonary hypertension and congestive heart failure even at altitudes that are not usually considered a risk for pulmonary hypertension. This experiment was conducted to determine if cattle develop pulmonary hypertension in response to consumption of fumonisins for prolonged periods of time at altitudes that are not usually associated with pulmonary hypertension in cattle. Fusarium moniliforme was prepared as previously described.26 The F. moniliforme culture material was ground to a fine powder and analyzed for FB1 by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) as previously described.27 The culture material contained 5,500 mg FB1/kg. This F. moniliforme culture material was mixed with com lacking FB1, and the resulting mixture was reassayed. The average fumonisin B1, B2, and B3 levels in the final corn mixture fed to cattle was 328 FB1, 89 ppm FB2, and 23 ppm FB3. Five Holstein steers weighing 86–127 kg were individually housed in pens enclosed in an unheated barn and fed either alfalfa/grass mixed hay and rolled corn (group A) or alfalfa/grass mixed hay and corn mixed with fumonisin culture material (group B). Cattle were purchased after being weaned, allowed to acclimate to the environment, and fed corn at an increasing amount over a period of 7 days to a final consumption level of 0.72% of body weight once daily in all calves. Following 1 week of dietary acclimation, group A cattle were fed rolled corn at the same rate as group B calves. Group B calves were acclimated to the fumonisincontaminated corn over a period of 7 days by blending on treated corn and fumonisin-contaminated corn until after 7
RAPID TRANSPORT OF BIOLOGICALLY INTACT INSULIN THROUGH CULTURED ENDOTHELIAL CELLS

Mono A14-[125I].iodoinsui in was incubated with cultured endothelial cells derived from bovine pulmonary arteries at physiologic conditions. The processing of the cell-bound A14-[l25I]-iodoinsulin was evaluated by trichloroacetic acid precipitation, gel filtration and high performance liquid chromatography. In contrast to insulin processing in many other cell types, approximately 95% of cell bound insulin was dissociated from the cells in <15 minutes, and biologically intact insulin rapidly passed through the endothelial cells. The unique location of endothelial cells coupled withthe ability of rapid transport of intact insulin are consistent with an endothelial role for either the transport of insulin out of the bloodstream or as an extrapancreatic storage area for insulin.
Cache coherence using local knowledge

Typically, commercially available shared memory machines have addressed the cache coherence problem with hardware strategies based on global inter-cache communication. However, global communication limits scalability and efficiency. "Local knowledge" coherence strategies, which avoid global communication at run-time, offer better scalability, at the cost of some additional cache misses. The most effective local knowledge strategies described in the literature are those based on generation time-stamps (TS). The authors propose a new strategy, TS1, that requires less extra storage than TS, only one extra bit per cache line, and can produce more cache hits by exploiting sophisticated compiler analysis. TS1 handles common synchronization paradigms including DOALL, DOACROSS, and critical sections. Early results show TS1 is, worst case, slightly slower than TS. Best case, TS1's flexibility allows for significant improvements.
Reduced T Cell–Dependent Humoral Immune Response in Microsomal Prostaglandin E Synthase-1 Null Mice Is Mediated by Nonhematopoietic Cells

Microsomal PGE synthase-1 (mPGES-1) is an inducible enzyme that specifically catalyzes the conversion of PGH2 to PGE2. We showed that mPGES-1 null mice had a significantly reduced incidence and severity of collagen-induced arthritis compared with wild-type (WT) mice associated with a marked reduction in Abs to type II collagen. In this study, we further elucidated the role of mPGES-1 in the humoral immune response. Basal levels of serum IgM and IgG were significantly reduced in mPGES-1 null mice. Compared with WT mice, mPGES-1 null mice exhibited a significant reduction of hapten-specific serum Abs in response to immunization with the T cell-dependent (TD) Ag DNP-keyhole limpet hemocyanin. Immunization with the T cell-independent type 1 Ag trinitrophenyl-LPS or the T cell-independent type 2 Ag DNP-Ficoll revealed minimal differences between strains. Germinal center formation in the spleen of mPGES-1 null and WT mice were similar after immunization with DNP-keyhole limpet hemocyanin. To determine whether the effect of mPGES-1 and PGE2 was localized to hematopoietic or nonhematopoietic cells, we generated bone marrow chimeras. We demonstrated that mPGES-1 deficiency in nonhematopoietic cells was the critical factor for reduced TD Ab production. We conclude that mPGES-1 and PGE2-dependent phenotypic changes of nonhematopoietic/mesenchymal stromal cells play a key role in TD humoral immune responses in vivo. These findings may have relevance to the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune inflammatory diseases associated with autoantibody formation.
GPS-INS state estimation for multi-robot systems with computational resource constraints

A decoupled Kalman Filter for GPS-INS sensor fusion is developed for a high-speed multi-robot system with computational resource constraints. An eighth-order filter describing system and bias dynamics is decoupled into four second-order filters. Process and measurement noise statistics and first-order bias dynamics are derived from experimental data. The decoupled filter reduces computation time by a factor of seven over the coupled filter, enabling real-time implementation on an inexpensive processor at the required control update rate of 20 Hz. The decoupled filter is evaluated through simulation and experiments and provides sub-meter position error for over a minute, an order of magnitude improvement over GPS alone.
Antibiotic therapy—managing odontogenic infections

Several pharmaceuticals have been developed in the past 10 years that have made a significant impact on the health of the human race. There have been few advances, however, that have proved more efficacious than the pharmacotherapies we have had available for many decades for the treatment of odontogenic infections. Many new antibiotics/antimicrobials have been developed, but none have been determined to be of significant benefit to replace or supplant the use of penicillins for the management of orofacial infections caused by pathogens in and around the oral cavity. Judicious use of antibiotics in conjunction with surgical therapy is the most appropriate method to treat odontogenic infections. Using the antibiotic "du jour," many times promoted by pharmaceutical representatives, results in costly and unnecessary complexity of care. A return to the basics is indicated for the antibiotic management of odontogenic infections.
Contrast-enhanced micro-computed tomography of fatigue microdamage accumulation in human cortical bone

article Conventional methods used to image and quantify microdamage accumulation in bone are limited to histological sections, which are inherently invasive, destructive, two-dimensional, and tedious. These limitations inhibit investigation of microdamage accumulation with respect to volumetric spatial variation in mechanical loading, bone mineral density, and microarchitecture. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate non-destructive, three-dimensional (3-D) detection of microdamage accumulation in human cortical bone using contrast-enhanced micro-computed tomography (micro-CT), and to validate micro-CT measurements against conventional histological methods. Unloaded controls and specimens loaded in cyclic uniaxial tension to a 5% and 10% reduction in secant modulus were labeled with a precipitated BaSO4 stain for micro-CT and basic fuchsin for histomorphometry. Linear microcracks were similarly labeled by BaSO4 and basic fuchsin as shown by backscattered electron microscopy and light microscopy, respectively. The higher X-ray attenuation of BaSO4 relative to the bone extracellular matrix provided enhanced contrast for the detection of damage that was otherwise not able to be detected by micro-CT prior to staining. Therefore, contrast-enhanced micro-CT was able to nondestructively detect the presence, 3-D spatial location, and accumulation of fatigue microdamage in human cortical bone specimens in vitro. Microdamage accumulation was quantified on segmented micro-CT reconstructions as the ratio of BaSO4 stain volume (SV) to total bone volume (BV). The amount of microdamage measured by both micro-CT (SV/BV) and histomorphometry (Cr.N, Cr.Dn, Cr.S.Dn) progressively increased from unloaded controls to specimens loaded to a 5% and 10% reduction in secant modulus (pb0.001). Group means for micro-CT measurements of damage accumulation were strongly correlated to those using histomorphometry (pb0.05), validating the new methods. Limitations of the new methods in the present study included that the precipitated BaSO4 stain was non-specific and non- biocompatible, and that micro-CT measurements exhibited greater variability compared to conventional histology. Nonetheless, contrast-enhanced micro-CT enabled non-destructive imaging and 3-D spatial
Postoperative radiotherapy for oral cavity cancers : impact of anatomic subsite on treatment outcome

We have retrospectively reviewed the treatment results of postoperative radiotherapy (RT) for advanced oral cavity cancers. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of anatomic subsite on the results of treatment. Between 1975 and 1985, 51 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the oral tongue (OT = 29 patients) and floor of mouth (FOM = 22 patients) were treated with combined surgery plus RT. All had an indication(s) for RT including advanced primary disease (T3 or T4) (29 patients), close or positive margins (34 patients), and multiple positive neck nodes and/or extracapsular extension (41 patients). With a median follow-up of 6 years, the 5-year actuarial local control rate was 74% and the rate of distant metastasis (DM) was 34%. Despite the similar T stage, margin status and median RT dose, the 5-year actuarial local failure rate was 38% for OT vs. 11% for FOM (p = 0.03). Furthermore, the median survival after recurrence was 9 months for OT and 40 months for FOM (p = 0.02). At 5 years the determinate survival for both sites was (55%), and the likelihood of developing a second malignancy was 31%. The likelihood of developing DM was 50% for FOM (N0-N1 = 3 of 12, N2-N3 = 8 of 10) and 21% for OT (N0-N1 = 4 of 21, N2-N3 = 1 of 8). This study highlights significant differences between FOM and OT cancers in response to combined surgery and RT. Future strategies should be directed at the enhancement of local control for OT and better systemic therapy for those with advanced N-stage FOM.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Technology, environment and public policy in perspective: lessons from the history of the automobile

The spread of the automobile over the course of the twentieth century has had a dramatic impact upon the environment. Drawing upon an extensive investigation of the early history of the automobile in the United States, the paper proposes a dynamic model connecting technological and environmental change. Three concepts are central to the operation of the model-technological choice, system, and scale. Technological choice solves one set of problems, but inevitably sets the stage for new, unintended consequences downstream. In the case of the automobile, all of the available technological alternatives-steam, gasoline and electricity-were preferable to continued expansion of horse-drawn transportation. As the automobile based system expanded during the middle decades of the century, the environmental constraints associated with the horse-drawn world eased; and gradually, a new set of environmental limitations began to emerge. Finally, as the automotive system grew to scale in the industrialized world in the late 1960s and 1970s, these hazards began to retard further expansion. In the context of the present discussion, the specific technology chosen was less important than the fact of its emergence as a standard. Had electric or steam powered cars become the norm, we would simply be facing a different set of environmental constraints. Implications of the model for policy making and policy making institutions are advanced.
Westmoreland was right: learning the wrong lessons from the Vietnam War

More than thirty years after the fall of Saigon, historians still argue about the lessons of the Vietnam War. Most fall into two schools of thought: those who believe that the United States failed to apply enough pressure – military and political – to the Communist government in Hanoi, and those who argue that the Americans failed to use an appropriate counterinsurgency strategy in South Vietnam. Both arguments have merit, but both ignore the Communist strategy, and the result is a skewed picture of what sort of enemy the United States actually faced in Vietnam. The reality is that the United States rarely held the initiative in Vietnam. Hanoi began a conventional troop build up in South Vietnam beginning in the early 1960s, and by the time of the US ground force intervention in 1965 the allies already faced a large and potent conventional Communist army in the South. Simply employing a ‘classic’ counterinsurgency strategy would have been fatal from the beginning. Despite this fact, the US military has te...
Spatial Separation of Speech Signals Using Continuously-Variable Masks Estimated From Comparisons of Zero Crossings

This paper describes an algorithm that achieves noise robustness in speech recognition by reconstructing the desired signal from a mixture of two signals using continuously-variable masks. In contrast to current methods which use binary masks, this approach estimates the relative contribution of the desired source in a mixture of sources and reconstructs the desired signal in proportion to its estimated contribution to each time-frequency segment. Estimation of the continuously-variable masks is based on the relationship between the relative intensity of each source and the interaural time difference (ITD). Estimation of the ITD is accomplished using zero-crossing-based methods. It is shown that the use of zero-crossing approaches to estimate ITDs and continuously-variable masks provide better speech recognition accuracy than cross-correlation-based approaches to ITD estimation and binary masks.
Customer Advocacy: A New Era in Marketing?

have been active as a marketing researcher since 1964, ormuch of what Wilkie and Moore (2003) call Eras III andIV of scholarly research. The field of management sci-ence in marketing has grown in both scope and impact dur-ing this time. My work has been centered on new productdevelopment, with models from assessor to informationacceleration. Most recently, I have been working on issuesof trust, advice for consumers, and the discovery of newproduct opportunities by “listening in” to the online dia-logue between a trusted advisor and a customer (Urban andHauser 2004). Because I have done this recent work on theInternet, I sensed a sea change in the underlying consumerbehavior. Something had shifted, and it took me a while todiscover that customers had gained new power in buyingdecisions. Since 1950, marketing has been based on a push/pull model in which the manufacturer designs a product tofill a need and then convinces the consumer to buy withaggressive advertising, promotion, and distribution tactics.The increase in customer power changes the equation, and Ibelieve that this shift in the power relationship will definethe dividing line between Eras IV and V of marketing. I callthis new era “customer advocacy” because it is based on thefirm representing the customers’ interest by providing themcomplete and unbiased information, advice on which prod-uct is best for them (including fair comparisons with com-petitors), joint design of products, and a partnership thatbreeds long-term loyalty. In other words, advocate for yourcustomers and they will advocate for you!In this article, I do not concentrate on my previous worknor on prior changes in the field (others in this special sec-tion have done a good job of this), but rather I emphasize thefuture. I examine the customer power shift and its implica-tions for a new paradigm of marketing, outline the newstrategic choices for companies, indicate some implicationsfor scholarly research and societal marketing, and close withsome personal forecasts on the emerging customer advocacyera of marketing.
An optimal multi-writer snapshot algorithm

An m-component, n-process snapshot object is an abstraction of shared memory that consists of m words and allows up to n processes to concurrently execute the following two types of operations: write(i,v), which writes v into the ith word, and scan(), which returns the current values of all m locations [1, 3]. The snapshot problem is to design algorithms for the write and scan operations that meet two challenging requirements: (1) operations appear to be atomic, and (2) operations are wait-freeFor any (m-component, n-process) snapshot algorithm, which runs on hardware that supports only word-sized objects, Ω(1) and Ω(m) are trivial lower bounds on the time complexity of write(i,v) and scan(), respectively. But, are these bounds tight?For a restricted version of the snapshot problem, known in the literature as the single-writer snapshot problem, Riany, Shavit and Touitou [18] showed that the answer is yes: they designed an algorithm with O(1) and O(m) running times for the write(i,v) and scan() operations, respectively. (The single-writer snapshot problem assumes that (i) the number m of words of the snapshot object is equal to the number n of processes, and (ii) only the ith process may write into the ith snapshot word.This paper shows that the same (optimal) running times of O(1) for write(i,v) and O(m) for scan() are achievable for the general problem, known in the literature as the multiwriter snapshot problem. Our algorithm requires hardware support for the CAS (compare&swap) operation (in comparison, Riany, Shavit and Touitou's algorithm requires hardware support for CAS, fetch&inc, and fetch&dec operations).
An analysis of the elliptical reflector

The distribution of the electromagnetic fields diffracted by an elliptical reflector which is fed by a line source at or near one of its two foci is studied. For the elliptic cylinder the magnitude of the fields near the foci, the size of the focal region, the displacement of the focal spot as a function of the source displacement, and the application of the method of stationary phase in calculating the fields at points distant from either focus are calculated. Explicit results are presented for the fields as a function of the eccentricity of the ellipse and the angles subtended by the reflector edges.
β‐arrestin Kurtz inhibits MAPK and Toll signalling in Drosophila development

β-Arrestins have been implicated in the regulation of multiple signalling pathways. However, their role in organism development is not well understood. In this study, we report a new in vivo function of the Drosophila β-arrestin Kurtz (Krz) in the regulation of two distinct developmental signalling modules: MAPK ERK and NF-κB, which transmit signals from the activated receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) and the Toll receptor, respectively. Analysis of the expression of effectors and target genes of Toll and the RTK Torso in krz maternal mutants reveals that Krz limits the activity of both pathways in the early embryo. Protein interaction studies suggest a previously uncharacterized mechanism for ERK inhibition: Krz can directly bind and sequester an inactive form of ERK, thus preventing its activation by the upstream kinase, MEK. A simultaneous dysregulation of different signalling systems in krz mutants results in an abnormal patterning of the embryo and severe developmental defects. Our findings uncover a new in vivo function of β-arrestins and present a new mechanism of ERK inhibition by the Drosophila β-arrestin Krz.
Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing: The Issue of Testing Bias from the Perspective of School Psychology and Psychometrics:

This article examines the various ways in which the problem of testing bias in the context of some contemporary educa tional, legal, and societal developments can and cannot be addressed by developments in test standards. It reiterates the contention that school psychologists should utilize differ ential assessment strategies in formulating decisions regard ing school age Black children.
RNA Bulges as Architectural and Recognition Motifs

RNA bulges constitute versatile structural motifs in the assembly of RNA architectures. Three-dimensional structures of RNA molecules and their complexes reveal the role of bulges in RNA architectures and illustrate the molecular mechanisms by which they confer intramolecular interactions and intermolecular recognition.
23.3: Invited Paper: Upgrading Self‐Aligned Imprint Lithography (SAIL) in Preparation for Roll‐to‐Roll Manufacturing of Large‐Sized High‐Performance Flexible Electronics

Self-aligned imprint lithography (SAIL) is currently being upgraded to a next stage to better address the needs for roll-to-roll compatible manufacturing of large-sized flexible OLED display backplanes. Cu and oxide semiconductors are preferred choices of materials, and control of process and yield becomes even more important an issue.
Abstract 60: B Cell--Specific Deletion of Id3 is Atheroprotective and Enhances B1b B Cell Numbers and Antibody Production

Introduction: B cells have been shown to have subset specific functions in atherosclerosis. B1a B cells, which contribute to innate immunity, are atheroprotective due to the spontaneous generation of protective natural antibodies. B1b B cells, the sister population to B1a B cells, also produce natural antibodies and unlike B1a B cells, have memory and inducible properties. B1b B cells have not been studied in atherosclerosis. Our lab has demonstrated that the helix-loop-helix transcription factor Id3 is important for B cell mediated atheroprotection. However, how Id3 in B cells regulates atheroprotection is incompletely understood. Hypothesis: Loss of Id3 specifically in B cells regulates an atheroprotective subset. Methods: To determine the impact of loss of Id3 specifically in B cells, we generated B cell specific Id3 knockout mice on the Apoe -/- background (Id3fl/fl Apoe -/-CD19cre/+). To measure atherosclerosis, 8 week old male Id3fl/fl Apoe -/-CD19cre/+ mice were fed Western diet for 16 weeks (n=7). These mice developed significantly less atherosclerosis in the aortic sinus compared to litter matched wildtype controls (Id3fl/fl Apoe -/-CD19+/+, n=10) suggesting loss of Id3 in B cells was atheroprotective. Additionally, immunohistochemistry of atherosclerotic plaques demonstrated decreased intraplaque macrophage accumulation and fewer apoptotic bodies compared to wildtype. Immunophenotyping of Id3fl/fl Apoe -/-CD19cre/+ mice by flow cytometry revealed a specific increase of B1b B cells in the peritoneal cavity, spleen, and in circulation compared to wildtype (n=12-19). Additionally, 8 week old Id3fl/fl Apoe -/-CD19cre/+ mice (n=8) were shown by ELISA to have significantly greater circulating IgM and, after 16 weeks of Western diet feeding (n=10), significantly greater circulating natural antibodies compared to wildtype (n= 9 & 11 respectively). Conclusion: B cell-specific loss of Id3 enhances the B1b B cell pool, natural antibody production, and atheroprotection suggesting B1b B cells are important in defending against atherosclerosis in an antibody dependent manner.
Molecular Mechanisms of Freeze-Thaw Injury and Cold Acclimation in Herbaceous Plants: Merging Physiological and Genetic Approaches

In nature several factors including ice nucleation, temperature, freezing (cooling) rate, duration of exposure to ice, thawing rate and post-thaw conditions contribute to the degree of injury caused by frost episodes. Our results show that an increase in cooling rate from 1 to 4 °C h-1 made the difference between survival and death. We have also found that in the critical temperature range where injury occurs, the thaw rate influenced the degree and type of injury. The plasma membrane is a key site of alteration by freeze-thaw stress and cold acclimation. Important properties in this respect include membrane lipids and proteins (plasma membrane ATPase, kinase, desaturase), and the concentration of membrane and cytosolic calcium. Plasma membrane ATPase appears to be an important site of cellular response to freeze-thaw stress and an alteration in the function of this enzyme is one of the earliest manifestations of stress. Our results provide evidence that these alterations could be mediated by perturbation of cellular Ca2+ and/or changes in membrane lipid composition. These results provide an insight into the mechanisms of incipient injury and recovery following injury. To understand the genetics of freezing stress resistance, we performed an interspecific hybridisation of two diploid potato species that vary in freezing tolerance and cold acclimation ability. The species were Solanum commersonii, which is freezing tolerant and able to cold-acclimate (double its freezing tolerance in 10 days at chilling temperatures) and Solanum cardiophyllum, which is freezing sensitive and unable to cold-acclimate. Analysis of the backcross progenies shows that non-acclimated freezing tolerance and acclimation ability are genetically distinct traits that segregate independently. Generation mean analysis revealed that cold-acclimation ability can be explained by a simple additive- dominance model. Our results indicate that the ability to cold-acclimate is genetically relatively simple and should be amenable to selection at the diploid level. We have recently performed lipid analysis of purified plasma membrane preparations obtained from the parents, F1 and the backcross progenies. Analysis shows that the relative increase in linoleic acid (18:2) in the plasma membrane is highly correlated to the cold acclimation ability. An increase in 18:2 co-segregated with the capacity to acclimate. Our results suggest that specific membrane lipids play a role in the genetic ability of the plant material to cold-acclimate.
Glycerol andl-α-Glycerol-3-phosphate uptake bypseudomonas aeruginosa

Uptake activities for both glycerol andl-α-glycerol-3-phosphate inPseudomonas aeruginosa strain PAO were induced during growth in the presence of either glycerol ordl-α-glycerol-3-phosphate. Succinate, malate, and glucose exerted catabolite repression control over induction of both uptake activities. Glycerol uptake exhibited saturation kinetics with an apparentK m of 13 μM and aV max of 73 nmol/min/mg cell protein. The uptake ofl-α-glycerol-3-phosphate was inhibited by the presence of glycerol, but uptake of glycerol was unaffected by exogenousl-α-glycerol-3-phosphate. Uptake of both substrates by starved, induced cells was stimulated by exogenously providedd-glucose, 2-deoxy-d-glucose,d-gluconate, orl-malate. In a mutant deficient in gluconate uptake and glucose dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.47) activities,d-glucose, 2-deoxy-d-glucose, andd-gluconate exerted little or no effect on the uptake of either substrate, butl-malate markedly stimulated the processes. The uptake of both glycerol andl-α-glycerol-3-phosphate, by either starved or unstarved cells, was inhibited by a number of metabolic poisons, including arsenate, azide, cyanide, 2,4-dinitrophenol, and iodoacetate.
The Impact of Hazardous Alcohol Use on Behavioral Healthcare Utilization Among National Guard Service Members

ABSTRACTBackground: Prior research suggests that both posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol abuse affect behavioral healthcare utilization among combat-exposed military populations. However, their interactive effect is not well documented, especially after experiencing psychological trauma. Objective: This study examined the role of hazardous alcohol use (i.e. repeated patterns of drinking which lead to harmful consequences) on behavioral healthcare utilization among service members stratified by past-year combat exposure. Method: This study utilized a sample of National Guard service members who participated in an in-depth survey 2–4 months after returning from Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, or Operation New Dawn deployments (2011–2013) (n = 467). We examine the marginal effect (the change in the probability) of hazardous alcohol use on utilization while controlling for trauma exposure, PTSD and other potential covariates. Results: In the unadjusted logistic model, hazard...
Estimating Word-Stability During Incremental Speech Recognition

Many speech user interfaces can be improved by incrementally displaying or interpreting a speech recognizer’s current best path as a user speaks. This gives rise to a problem of instability, whereby the best path may change frequently, particularly with respect to the words most recently spoken. Introducing a lag between the audio most recently processed and the portion of the best path shown to the user can lead to more usable incremental results. In the ideal case, the lag introduced would vary to recover exactly the longest stable prefix of the best path. In this paper, we introduce a framework for estimating a stability statistic for each word, and explore the tradeoff of stability and lag by thresholding stability statistics estimated using a variety of features.
Fertilization rate and early embryonic loss in Brahman crossbred heifers.

Summary The fertilization rate and incidence of embryonic loss in virgin Brahman crossbred heifers between d 3 and 35 postinsemination (d 0 = first day of estrus) were determined. One hundred fifty-five virgin heifers, maintained in a dry lot, received approximately 22 Mcal" head -1`d -1 and were allotted to one of three groups (d 3, 16 or 35) according to body weight at the time of estrous detection. Seven empty ruptured zona pellucidae (ERZP) were recovered from five heifers in the d 3 group. It was impossible to determine whether the ERZP originated from fertilized or unfertilized ova and whether they were ovulated at the estrus immediately preceding or during a previous cycle. Consequently, the fertilization rate (d 3) was calculated to be 80 or 93% depending upon whether the ERZP were included or deleted from the calculations, respectively. Because of the large number of ERZP recovered, a second study was conducted with an additional 21 virgin Brahman crossbred heifers from which ova were recovered on d 3 postinsemination. The results of the two studies were similar. The percentage of heifers with an embryo on d 16 was 78 (10% had degenerating embryos and 12% no embryos), and the percentage pregnant at d 35 was 72. The conclusions suggested from this study depend upon
Sex Steroids and the Differentiation and Activation of Avian Reproductive Behaviour

Due to the efforts of numerous researchers, it is now well established and well known that in mammals the development of adult behavioural and morphological sex differences (sexual differentiation is importantly influenced by sex steroids secreted during early life (MacLusky and Naftolin 1981). These steroids exert an organizational effect during the early life of the animal in which they cause the tissues to develop into the male or female pattern, and exert an activational effect during pubertal and adult life in which they stimulate whatever pattern has already been organized. Much of the evidence for this phenomenon comes from experiments in which foetal or neonatal animals are gonadectomized or treated with steroids, and as adults exhibit sex-reversed patterns of behaviour and hormone responsiveness. Regardless of genetic sex, mammals gonadectomized early grow up to be female-like (thus the neutral, or anhormonal, sex is said to be female), and exposure of young females to either androgen or oestrogen causes masculinization and/or defeminization.