cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Estimating daytime CO2 fluxes over a mixed forest from tall tower mixing ratio measurements

[1] Difficulties in estimating terrestrial ecosystem CO2 fluxes on regional scales have significantly limited our understanding of the global carbon cycle. This paper presents an effort to estimate daytime CO2 fluxes over a forested region on the scale of 50 km in northern Wisconsin, USA, using the tall-tower-based mixed layer (ML) budget method. Budget calculations were conducted for 2 years under fair-weather conditions as a case study. With long-term measurements of CO2 mixing ratio at a 447-m-tall tower, daytime regional CO2 fluxes were estimated on the seasonal scale, longer than in earlier studies. The flux derived from the budget method was intermediate among those derived from the eddy-covariance (EC) method at three towers in the region and overall closest to that derived from EC measurements at 396 m of the tall tower. The dormant season average daytime-integrated regional CO2 flux was about 0.35 ± 0.18 gC m−2. During the growing season, the monthly averaged daytime-integrated regional CO2 flux varied from −1.58 ± 0.19 to −4.15 ± 0.32 gC m−2, suggesting that the region was a net sink of CO2 in the daytime. We also discussed the effects on theses estimates of neglecting horizontal advection, selecting for fair-weather conditions, and using single-location measurements. Daytime regional CO2 flux estimates from the ML budget method were comparable to those from three aggregation experiments. Differences in results from the different methods, however, suggest that more constraints are needed to estimate regional fluxes with more confidence. Despite uncertainties, our analyses indicate that it is feasible to estimate daytime regional CO2 fluxes on long timescales using tall tower measurements.
Stability of Large Reinforcing Column Cages during Temporary Construction Conditions

AbstractReinforcing cages for large columns requires shoring during the fabrication and erection stages of construction before concrete is placed to form a permanent load-bearing structure. Many column-reinforcing cage collapses have occurred, resulting in injuries and fatalities because the cages were not properly supported in the temporary condition. Guying systems are commonly used to stabilize large reinforcing cages during construction to avoid such accidents. This paper presents a two-dimensional first-principle stability analysis of reinforcing cages that are either pinned or fixed at the base, and supported by one level of guy wires along the height of the cage. The effect of lowering guy-wire attachment points on the stability of cages is also included because this construction practice is reported to be used in some locales. Critical buckling-load diagrams are determined that account for the relative stiffness of the guy wires with respect to the reinforcing cages and the effect of pretensioning...
Genetic Types of Some Sandstones in the Allegheny Formation of Ohio: ABSTRACT

Sandstones between the Middle Kittanning and Lower Freeport coal beds in the Allegheny Formation of southeastern Ohio are divisible into three genetic categories based on gross external morphology of the sand body, proportion of major mineral components, grain size, and homogeneity of cross-bed orientation. The following types are continuously arrayed in eastwest trending bands along a northeast-southwest outcrop: 1) Thin, lenticular, discontinuous sand bodies with quartz content about 58 per cent. Among all other constituents, feldspar averages 15 per cent, muscovite 25 per cent, chlorite-biotite 60 per cent. Sands are predominantly fine to medium grained and cross-bedding is randomly oriented. 2) Thick, less widespread, partly continuous, elongate sand bodies in which quartz averages 54 per cent. Among all other constituents, feldspar, averages 25 per cent, muscovite 30 per cent, chlorite-biotite 45 per cent. Sand is medium grained and cross-bedding is weakly oriented. 3) Thick, widespread apron or sheet sands in which quartz averages 62 per cent. Among all other constituents, feldspar averages 35 per cent, muscovite 30 per cent, chlorite-biotite 35 per cent. Sands are predominantly medium to coarse grained and cross-bedding is oriented in a northwest-southeast direction. Type 1, found in the southern part of the area, is believed to represent a meandering, relatively nearshore portion of a fluvial system. In contrast, Type 3, found in the northern part of the area, probably represents sand distribution beyond the area of well-developed channels, perhaps near distributary mouths. Type 2, found between areas of Types 1 and 3, presumably reflects an intermediate situation. End_of_Article - Last_Page 340------------
Opioid-Sensitive GABA Inputs from Rostromedial Tegmental Nucleus Synapse onto Midbrain Dopamine Neurons

Opioids increase dopamine release in the brain through inhibition of GABA-A IPSCs onto dopamine cells. Immunolabeling indicates that GABA neurons in the rostromedial tegmental nucleus (RMTg), also known as the tail of the ventral tegmental area, send a dense projection to midbrain dopamine neurons stain for μ-opioid receptors. There is however, little functional evidence that these neurons play a role in the opioid-dependent increase in dopamine neuron activity. The present study used retrograde tracers injected into the ventral tegmental area and substantia nigra (VTA/SN) to identify RMTg neurons that project to the VTA/SN. Whole-cell current-clamp and cell-attached recordings from labeled RMTg neurons were performed in sagittal slices from rat. The rhythmic spontaneous firing rate of RMTg neurons was decreased and the membrane potential was hyperpolarized in response to application of μ-opioid agonist DAMGO. Agonists that act at κ- and δ-opioid receptors (U69593 and DPDPE) failed to hyperpolarize RMTg neurons. Whole-cell recordings made in dopamine neurons revealed rhythmic, large amplitude spontaneous IPSCs that had a similar frequency, pattern and opioid sensitivity to the firing of RMTg neurons. In addition, electrical and channelrhodopsin-2 stimulation within the RMTg evoked GABA-A IPSCs in dopamine neurons that were inhibited by μ-opioid agonists DAMGO, but not κ- and δ-opioid agonists. Thus, this study demonstrates functional connection from the RMTg to the VTA/SN mediated by a dense, opioid-sensitive GABA innervation, and that the RMTg is a key structure in the μ-opioid receptor-dependent regulation of dopamine neurons.
Dissociation of CO on rounded Pt crystals III. Influence of high Si contamination on the dissociation activity of {210} and {1195} areas

Abstract Measurements on rounded Pt crystals show that in the presence of a high Si contamination the CO dissociation activity of {210} areas drops drastically to zero after about 27% of their adsorption sites (which are identical with their kink sites) are blocked by Si. The drastic decrease is attributed to Pt-silicide formation on {210};. To obtain complete poisoning of {1195} areas, considerably higher contamination levels are required than in the case of {210}.
Temporally overlapped linear frequency-chirped pulse programming for true-time-delay applications

A novel technique for programming broadband true-time delays that uses two frequency-offset temporally overlapped linear frequency-chirped pulses to produce periodic spectral gratings in an inhomogeneously broadened absorber is presented. Advantages of this technique include its ability to use chirped pulses that are longer than the coherence time of the crystal, less stringent laser frequency-stability requirements for grating accumulation, lower power requirements, a simplified system design, and the ability to tune broadband (multigigahertz) delays over a wide dynamic range (picoseconds to microseconds).
Structural Insights into Adeno-Associated Virus Serotype 5

The adeno-associated viruses (AAVs) display differential cell binding, transduction, and antigenic characteristics specified by their capsid viral protein (VP) composition. Toward structure-function annotation, the crystal structure of AAV5, one of the most sequence diverse AAV serotypes, was determined to 3.45-Å resolution. The AAV5 VP and capsid conserve topological features previously described for other AAVs but uniquely differ in the surface-exposed HI loop between βH and βI of the core β-barrel motif and have pronounced conformational differences in two of the AAV surface variable regions (VRs), VR-IV and VR-VII. The HI loop is structurally conserved in other AAVs despite amino acid differences but is smaller in AAV5 due to an amino acid deletion. This HI loop is adjacent to VR-VII, which is largest in AAV5. The VR-IV, which forms the larger outermost finger-like loop contributing to the protrusions surrounding the icosahedral 3-fold axes of the AAVs, is shorter in AAV5, creating a smoother capsid surface topology. The HI loop plays a role in AAV capsid assembly and genome packaging, and VR-IV and VR-VII are associated with transduction and antigenic differences, respectively, between the AAVs. A comparison of interior capsid surface charge and volume of AAV5 to AAV2 and AAV4 showed a higher propensity of acidic residues but similar volumes, consistent with comparable DNA packaging capacities. This structure provided a three-dimensional (3D) template for functional annotation of the AAV5 capsid with respect to regions that confer assembly efficiency, dictate cellular transduction phenotypes, and control antigenicity.
Estimating short-run costs of a barge company

By extending a methodology developed by the US Army Corps of Engineers, firm-specific short-run costs of a barge company are estimated in this paper. The estimated costs include average costs, marginal costs, and cost elasticities. These estimates led to a breakeven analysis and an analysis of financial conditions of the barge industry in general. Findings include that the breakeven ton-mile rates range from 0. 52 to 0.72 cents for a full-capacity operation and that the costs of barge services are highly inelastic. A questionnaire survey of 256 barge and towing companies has also been shown to corroborate the findings of this paper.
Territoriality: Seat Preferences in Different Types of Classroom Arrangements

Students' degree of territoriality based on gender and seat preferences in different types of classroom arrangements was studied. The types of classroom arrangements included rows of tablet-arm cha...
Gene delivery by lentivirus vectors

The capacity to efficiently transduce nondividing cells, shuttle large genetic payloads, and maintain stable long-term transgene expression are attributes that have brought lentiviral vectors to the forefront of gene delivery vehicles for research and therapeutic applications in a clinical setting. Our discussion initiates with advances in lentiviral vector development and how these sophisticated lentiviral vectors reflect improvements in safety, regarding the prevention of replication competent lentiviruses (RCLs), vector mobilization, and insertional mutagenesis. Additionally, we describe conventional molecular regulatory systems to manage gene expression levels in a spatial and temporal fashion in the context of a lentiviral vector. State of the art technology for lentiviral vector production by transient transfection and packaging cell lines are explicitly presented with current practices used for concentration, purification, titering, and determining the safety of a vector stock. We summarize lentiviral vector applications that have received a great deal of attention in recent years including the generation of transgenic animals and the stable delivery of RNA interference molecules. Concluding remarks address some of the successes in preclinical animals, and the recent transition of lentiviral vectors to human clinical trials as therapy for a variety of infectious and genetic diseases.
A computational simple model to represent and manipulate linguistic imprecision

During recent years much research has been published with the aim of creating a reasonable way to represent attributes and to manipulate attributes. In this context, by attributes we mean linguistic expressions which consist of a term (selected from a finite set of possible choices) which may be paired to an optional modifier (which may also be selected from a finite set of possible choices) including the negations of these pairs. If the representation of attributes is interesting, the problem of representing the fact that different individuals often have different understandings of the same attribute is an awesome challenge. This paper develops a mathematical model to represent and to manipulate linguistic imprecision, via an interval-based approach. This approach is important because the resulting computational techniques are quite simple. Their execution creates (i) the representation of the attributes including negations, and (ii) the comparison and composition of several different sets of attributes ...
Effect of river sediment on phosphorus chemistry of similarly aged natural and created wetlands in the Atchafalaya Delta, Louisiana, USA

The goal of wetland creation is to produce an artificial wetland that functions as a natural wetland. Studies comparing created wetlands to similarly aged natural wetlands provide important information about creation techniques and their improvement so as to attain that goal. We hypothesized that differences in sediment phosphorus accretion, deposition, and chemistry between created and natural wetlands in the Atchafalaya Delta, Louisiana, USA were a function of creation technique and natural river processes. Sediment deposition was determined with feldspar marker horizons located in created and natural wetlands belonging to three age classes (<3, 5-10, and 15-20 yr old). Phosphorus fractions were measured in these deposited sediments and in suspended and bedload sediment from the Atchafalaya River. Bedload sediment had significantly lower iron- and aluminum-bound, reductant-soluble, and total phosphorus than suspended sediment due to its high sand percentage. This result indicates that wetlands artificially created in the Atchafalaya Delta using bedload sediment will initially differ from natural wetlands of the same age. Even so, similarities between the mudflat stratum of the <1- to 3-yr-old created wetland and the mudflat stratum of the 15- to 20-yr-old natural wetland support the contention that created wetlands in the Atchafalaya Delta can develop natural characteristics through the deposition of river suspended sediment. Differences between three created wetland strata, the 15- to 20-yr-old willow stratum and the <1- to 3-yr-old willow and mixed marsh strata, and their natural counterparts were linked to design elements of the created wetlands that prevented the direct deposition of the river's suspended sediment.
Influence of Humeral Torsion on Interpretation of Posterior Shoulder Tightness Measures in Overhead Athletes

Objective:To measure the influence of humeral torsion on interpretation of clinical indicators of posterior shoulder tightness in overhead athletes.Design:Cross-sectional control group comparison.Setting:A university-based sports medicine research laboratory.Participants:Twenty-nine healthy intercol
Abrogated response to cellular stress identifies DCIS associated with subsequent tumor events and defines basal-like breast tumors

Summary Approximately 15%–30% of women diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) develop a subsequent tumor event within 10 years after surgical lumpectomy. To date, little is known about the molecular pathways that confer this differential risk for developing subsequent disease. In this study, we demonstrate that expression of biomarkers indicative of an abrogated response to cellular stress predicts DCIS with worse outcome and is a defining characteristic of basal-like invasive tumors. Mechanistic studies identify the Rb pathway as a key regulator of this response. Conversely, biomarkers indicative of an intact response to cellular stress are strongly associated with a disease-free prognosis. Assessment of these biomarkers in DCIS begins to allow prediction of tumor formation years before it actually occurs.
Biochemical Analysis of Neoplastic Versus Nonneoplastic Abdominal Effusions in Dogs

This prospective study of 15 dogs evaluated biochemical parameters in abdominal effusions of neoplastic and nonneoplastic origin in an attempt to identify markers for malignant effusions. Dogs in the neoplastic group had statistically significant lower glucose concentrations (mean, 72.6 mg/dL versus 110.0 mg/dL; P=0.0431) and higher lactate levels (mean, 3.81 mmol/L versus 1.68 mmol/L; P=0.0377) in their abdominal fluid than did dogs in the nonneoplastic group, indicating that low glucose and high lactate in abdominal effusions may be markers for neoplasia.
An alternate burst analysis for detecting intra-burst firings based on inter-burst periods

Abstract A time-scale invariant burst-detection algorithm for single-unit spike train is described. This burst analysis is an auto-adaptive algorithm that uses inter- and intra-burst intervals for identifying the burst itself. By using a self-adaptive algorithm, a burst is defined by the characteristic firing patterns within and between bursts. Bursts are detected by auto-adaptive method when the inter-burst periods (inter-spike intervals (ISIs) between bursts) exceed the intra-burst periods (the sum of ISIS within a burst). This adaptive method is time-scale invariant because bursts are defined by the firing patterns rather than the specific time scale of the bursts or ISIs.
A Classification Scheme for Codes of Business Ethics

A great deal of interest in codes of ethics exists in both the business community and the academic community. Within the academic community, this interest has given rise to a number of studies of codes of ethics. Many of these studies have focused on the content of various codes.One important way the study of codes of ethics can be advanced is by applying formal tools of analysis to codes of ethics. An understanding of important dimensions that may differ across codes of ethics, a common terminology to describe these dimensions, and a means to measure these dimensions will facilitate applying such tools. They will also facilitate discussion, enable comparisons, and advance our understanding of codes of ethics. The present paper describes a classification scheme to use in studying codes of ethics. This scheme uses six important dimensions to distinguish among codes of ethics: length, focus, level of detail, shape, thematic content, and tone. The paper also introduces metrics that can be used to measure the dimensions.
Chocolate, women and empire: a social and cultural history

Chocolate, women and empire: a social and cultural history, by Emma Robertson, Manchester, Manchester University Press, 2009, vii + 249 pp., b/w illus., £60.00 (hardback), ISBN 978-0-7190-7777-7 Si...
Return of vocal cord movement : An independent predictor of response to nonsurgical management of laryngeal cancers

Objective: To determine whether return of vocal cord function after treatment of T2b/T3 laryngeal carcinoma is an independent prognostic factor for locoregional recurrence. Study Design: A retrospective review of patients treated with radiation ± chemotherapy between 2000 and 2005 for T2 with vocal cord paresis and T3 laryngeal carcinoma was conducted. Methods: Only those patients obtained from the tumor registry with pre-and posttreatment video stroboscopies were included. Patients' charts were reviewed for local and regional recurrence after treatment. Fisher's exact test was used to determine significant association between recurrence and possible risk factors. Results: Fourteen patients met the inclusion criterion. Six patients had T2 lesions with vocal cord paresis, and eight patients had T3 lesions. Fifty percent of patients with T2 and 75% of patients with T3 lesions had return of vocal cord function after treatment. Five of 14 patients did not have return of vocal cord function, and of these, 100% had locoregional recurrence. Of the nine patients who had return of vocal cord movement, none of the patients had recurrence. The proportion of recurrence was significantly higher for those whose vocal function did not return compared with the patients whose vocal function returned (100% vs. 0%, P < .01). Conclusion: The immobile vocal cord is associated with a worse prognosis and is therefore factored into the American Joint Commission on Cancer staging for laryngeal tumors. We show that vocal cord immobility is an independent prognostic factor of recurrence even after treatment and can predict treatment failure in T2 and T3 lesions of the larynx.
Complex adaptations can drive the evolution of the capacitor [PSI], even with realistic rates of yeast sex.

The [PSI+] prion may enhance evolvability by revealing previously cryptic genetic variation, but it is unclear whether such evolvability properties could be favored by natural selection. Sex inhibits the evolution of other putative evolvability mechanisms, such as mutator alleles. This paper explores whether sex also prevents natural selection from favoring modifier alleles that facilitate [PSI+] formation. Sex may permit the spread of “cheater” alleles that acquire the benefits of [PSI+] through mating without incurring the cost of producing [PSI+] at times when it is not adaptive. Using recent quantitative estimates of the frequency of sex in Saccharomyces paradoxus, we calculate that natural selection for evolvability can drive the evolution of the [PSI+] system, so long as yeast populations occasionally require complex adaptations involving synergistic epistasis between two loci. If adaptations are always simple and require substitution at only a single locus, then the [PSI+] system is not favored by natural selection. Obligate sex might inhibit the evolution of [PSI+]-like systems in other species.
Equilibrium properties of auctions and alternative procedures for allocating transferable permits

Abstract This paper examines the equilibrium properties of a range of auctions and related procedures, placing emphasis on the types of procedures that are likely to be of special interest in environmental management applications. Nash equilibrium properties are first derived for a very general class of auctions for multiple homogeneous or heterogeneous objects or permits. Next, it is shown that, given appropriate assumptions, three broad classes of public allocation procedures that do not generate revenues for the government would yield participants equal expected profits. These classes are (1) incentive-compatible auctions where bidders receive equal lump-sum refunds; (2) non-incentive-compatible procedures where refunds are a function of participants' bids; and (3) free initial distribution of permits on a lump-sum basis followed by trading via a competitive market. The applicability of the general results is then demonstrated by examining the particular non-incentive-compatible “fair division” procedure originally suggested by Knaster. Finally, implications of the theoretical results for applications including the allocation of transferable discharge permits and water rights are discussed.
Identification of Rgg-Regulated Exoproteins of Streptococcus pyogenes

Streptococcus pyogenes secretes many proteins that influence host-pathogen interactions. Despite their importance, relatively little is known about the regulation of these proteins. The rgg gene (also known as ropB) is required for the expression of streptococcal erythrogenic toxin B (SPE B), an extracellular cysteine protease that contributes to virulence. Proteomics was used to determine if rgg regulates the expression of additional exoproteins. Exponential- and stationary-phase culture supernatant proteins made by S. pyogenes NZ131 rgg and NZ131 speB were separated by two-dimensional electrophoresis. Differences were identified in supernatant proteins from both exponential- and stationary-phase cultures, although considerably more differences were detected among stationary-phase supernatant proteins. Forty-two proteins were identified by peptide fingerprinting with matrix-assisted laser desorption mass spectrometry. Mitogenic factor, DNA entry nuclease (open reading frame [ORF 226]), and ORF 953, which has no known function, were more abundant in the culture supernatants of the rgg mutant compared to the speB mutant. ClpB, lysozyme, and autolysin were detected in the culture supernatant of the speB mutant but not the rgg mutant. To determine if Rgg affected protein expression at the transcriptional level, real-time (TaqMan) reverse transcription (RT)-PCR was used to quantitate Rgg-regulated transcripts from NZ131 wild-type and speB and rgg mutant strains. The results obtained with RT-PCR correlated with the proteomic data. We conclude that Rgg regulates the transcription of several genes expressed primarily during the stationary phase of growth.
Play: A Necessity for all Children

(1988). Play: A Necessity for all Children. Childhood Education: Vol. 64, No. 3, pp. 138-145.
Crystallization and melting of a polyethylene copolymer: In situ observation by atomic force microscopy

The isothermal crystallization and subsequent melting of a narrow composition distribution polyethylene (PE) copolymer (containing a few mole percent of an α-olefin) was observed by hot-stage atomic force microscopy (AFM). The observations revealed that a thicker lamellae population formed first, followed by a thinner population. This indicated that the crystallization process occurred in two sequential steps. Initially, a single population of uniform lamellar thickness appeared rapidly and progressively occupied the surface. These skeletal lamellae typically ranged in thickness from about 10–15 nm. Progressively, upon isothermal storage, a second, bridging population of lamellae filled in between this initial skeletal population. This second population was thinner with thicknesses of about 4–6 nm. Upon heating, the second, thinner, bridging population of lamellae melted first, leaving the initial, skeletal population, which melted at higher temperatures. These results indicate that PE copolymers crystallize in a stepwise fashion; this was envisioned to begin with a first step in which the thickest lamellae crystallize from the folding of the longest ethylene sequences, followed by a second step in which shorter sequences, constrained between thicker lamellae, crystallize into a population of thinner crystals. The melting of this presumed bimodal population of crystal thicknesses would produce a broad and bimodal endotherm; the bimodal melting endotherm was observed by differential scanning calorimetry. Furthermore, the lamellar thickness dimensions measured by AFM were in approximately the same range as those calculated from the melting endotherm by means of Gibbs–Thompson theory. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008
Diagnosing and controlling mix in National Ignition Facility implosion experiments a)

High mode number instability growth of “isolated defects” on the surfaces of National Ignition Facility [Moses et al., Phys. Plasmas 16, 041006 (2009)] capsules can be large enough for the perturbation to penetrate the imploding shell, and produce a jet of ablator material that enters the hot-spot. Since internal regions of the CH ablator are doped with Ge, mixing of this material into the hot-spot results in a clear signature of Ge K-shell emission. Evidence of jets entering the hot-spot has been recorded in x-ray images and spectra, consistent with simulation predictions [Hammel et al., High Energy Density Phys. 6, 171 (2010)]. Ignition targets have been designed to minimize instability growth, and capsule fabrication improvements are underway to reduce “isolated defects.” An experimental strategy has been developed where the final requirements for ignition targets can be adjusted through direct measurements of mix and experimental tuning.
On Amicable Numbers With Different Parity

In this paper we provide a straightforward proof that if a pair of amicable numbers with different parity exists (one number odd and the other one even), then the odd amicable number must be a perfect square, while the even amicable number has to be equal to the product of a power of 2 and an odd perfect square.
Religion and Corporate (Mis)Behavior

We provide evidence that religiosity deters unethical corporate behavior. Firms headquartered in highly religious counties are less likely to backdate options, grant excessive compensation packages to their managers, practice aggressive earnings management, and be the target of class action securities lawsuits. Our results are strongest for locations with greater concentrations of Protestants, and especially of Mainline Protestants. Finally, we find that a regulatory change designed to curb option backdating has had a much larger effect in less religious counties, suggesting that in this case regulation and religion are substitute mechanisms for monitoring and control.
Problems and prospects for electrical signaling [VLSI]

Summary form only given, as follows. The growing gap between on-chip gates and off-chip I/O bandwidth is reaching crisis proportions, yet signaling system designers continue to use inefficient and inappropriate circuit techniques for many chip-to-chip interconnections. For example, most chip-to-chip interconnect still uses CMOS inverters as transmitters and receivers, even though it would be difficult to imagine more unfavorable components for a signaling system. Processor-to-memory and processor-to-processor communication systems are still almost universally built using physical buses, transmission lines with multiple loads attached along their length. Though logically simple and convenient, these structures impose fundamental limits on signal speed that preclude their use above about 1-2 Gbaud, exact a heavy price in power dissipation, and are very difficult to engineer. Some have suggested replacing electrical signaling with optical interconnect; however, converting between optical and electrical signals is still expensive, and in any case, electrical signaling is far from its theoretical limits. With reasonable assumptions, the wiring embedded in a typical circuit board has bisection bandwidth of order 10 s of Tbit/s. Recent advances in high-speed serial link techniques point the way to unlocking a substantial fraction of this bandwidth. In CMOS, 1-2 Gbit/s links are fairly common, experimental 4 Gb/sec links have been demonstrated, and speeds up to 20 Gbits/s appear quite feasible.
Parallelization of Finite Element Navier-Stokes codes using MUMPS Solver

The study deals with the parallelization of 2D and 3D finite element based Navier-Stokes codes using direct solvers. Development of sparse direct solvers using multifrontal solvers has significantly reduced the computational time of direct solution methods. Although limited by its stringent memory requirements, multifrontal solvers can be computationally efficient. First the performance of MUltifrontal Massively Parallel Solver (MUMPS) is evaluated for both 2D and 3D codes in terms of memory requirements and CPU times. The scalability of both Newton and modified Newton algorithms is tested.
The Prevalence and Combined Prevalences of Anatomic Factors Associated With Recurrent Patellar Dislocation: A Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study

Background:Anatomic factors, including patella alta, increased tibial tubercle–trochlear groove (TT-TG) distance, rotational deformities, and trochlear dysplasia, are associated with dislocation of the patella. Identifying the presence of these anatomic factors both in isolation and in combination may influence treatment in patients with patellar dislocation.Purpose:The aim of this study was to compare the prevalence and combined prevalences of these anatomic factors using magnetic resonance imaging in a group of patients with and without histories of recurrent dislocation of the patella.Study Design:Case-control study; Level of evidence, 3.Methods:The prevalence and combined prevalences of patella alta, increased TT-TG distance, rotational deformity, and trochlear dysplasia on magnetic resonance imaging were reported and compared in 60 patients (60 knees) with and 120 patients (120 knees) without histories of recurrent patellar dislocation.Results:Patients with recurrent patellar dislocation possessed hi...
Immunosuppressive effect of an impurity of malathion: inhibition of murine T- and B-lymphocyte responses by O,O,S-trimethyl phosphorothioate.

Abstract The effect of O,O,S -trimethyl phosphorothioate (OOS-TMP) on immune responsesssuch as antigen presentation, antibody production, and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) function was examined in vitro . The roles of non-enzymatic and enzymatic glutathione (GSH) conjugation of OOS-TMP in these responses were studied. Antibody responses to T-dependent and T-independent antigens were evaluated after (i) direct culture with spleen or B cells; (ii) cocultivation of B cells with T cells with and without preincubation of OOS-TMP with GSH fortified cytosol. Antigen presentation by macrophages was also assessed after such treatment as compared to untreated controls. OOS-TMP preincubated with GSH had an inhibitory effect on the cytotoxic T lymphocyte and the direct hemolytic plaque forming cell responses. This was found to be mediated by a direct inhibitory effect on macrophages, T, and B cells of the immune system and not through the generation of regulatory suppressor T cells. Thus, the mode of suppressive action of OOS-TMP in vitro is due to inhibition of lymphocytic proliferation. This is only possible in the presence of glutathione which was determined to be a prerequisite for the induction of OOS-TMP suppressive effect.
FISCAL POLICY AND THE THEORY OF CONFLICT INFLATION

The author presents a model that formalizes the role of deficits in the conflict theory of inflation. In it, government behavior is endogenous and special interests force a link between fiscal policy and inconsistent income claims in the private sector. Government attempts to alleviate social tensions through fiscal expenditure contribute to the propagation of inflation. The model facilitates an analysis of the type of 'heterodox' stabilization policies attempted in Latin America. These policies are shown to be inherently unstable unless structural changes are made to discipline the propagating effects of fiscal policy. Copyright 1994 by Blackwell Publishers Ltd and The Victoria University of Manchester
An Investigation of Self‐Concept, Clothing Selection Motivation, and Life Satisfaction among Disabled Consumers

This study examined the impact that aspects of self-concept (i.e., generalized self-efficacy, public self-consciousness, state hope, self-esteem) have on clothing selection motivation and life satisfaction among disabled consumers. A total of 318 questionnaires were completed by participants, the majority of whom had either a mobility impairment or a visual impairment. Structural equation modeling was employed to test the hypotheses. Results indicated that for disabled consumers, generalized self-efficacy, public self-consciousness, and state hope were related to self-esteem, and also self-esteem positively influenced the assurance dimension of clothing selection motivation. Additionally, a significant relationship was found between life satisfaction and the individuality dimension of clothing selection motivation. Results shed light on the social/psychological factors influencing the clothing choices of disabled consumers and address a gap in the literature by considering clothing use among disabled consumers.
Class-based identification of underwater targets using hidden Markov models

It has been demonstrated that hidden Markov models (HMM) provide an effective architecture for classification of distinct targets from multiple target-sensor orientations. We present a methodology for designing class-based HMM that are well suited to the identification of targets with common physical attributes. This approach provides a means to form associations between existing target classes and data from targets never observed in training. After performing a wavefront-resonance matching-pursuits feature extraction, we present an information theoretic tree-based state-parsing algorithm to define the HMM state structure for each target class. In training, class association is determined by minimizing the statistical divergence between the target under consideration and each existing class, with a new class defined when the target is poorly matched to each existing class The class-based HMM are trained with data from the members of its corresponding class, and tested on previously unobserved data. Results are presented for simulated acoustic scattering data.
Fuzzy homogeneity approach to multilevel thresholding

The spatial ambiguity among pixels has inherent vagueness rather than randomness, therefore, the conventional methods might not work well. We propose fuzzy homogeneity vectors to handle the greyness and spatial uncertainties among pixels, and to perform multilevel thresholding. The experimental results prove that the proposed approach works better than the histogram-based algorithms.
Reflections on the highway safety field.

Patricia F Waller Memorial Lecture Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 28 April 2004 It is a great honor to have been invited to give the inaugural Patricia F Waller memorial lecture. Certainly any reflections on this field would have to note Pat’s many significant contributions over several decades. I will mention several, as I tell you what I think about the status of the highway safety field, based on my own 30+ years of experience. Pat and I served together on various committees. The most recent was a National Academy of Sciences committee assembled to assess the status of the injury control field. Motor vehicle injury control was determined to be the “show horse” of the field, as evidenced by this quote from the committee report: “Over the past three decades, dramatic progress has been made in reducing motor vehicle injuries by understanding the factors that increase the risk of injury, designing interventions to reduce these risks, and implementing and evaluating a wide array of interventions”.1 I am going to darken this rosy assessment somewhat because not all is well with the highway safety situation in the United States. To some extent this is because of factors that have always been with us, and to some extent it is because of more recent developments. First, the field is held back by woeful underfunding. We don’t pay very much attention to the highway safety problem, which is evident when you “follow the money”. In 2004 the United States federal research budget for the National Cancer Institute was $3 billion, for the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute $2.3 billion, and for highway safety research (the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Federal Highway Administration) $164 million. These are huge differentials, even though in terms of adjusted years of life lost …
W-band CPW RF MEMS circuits on quartz substrates

This paper presents W-band coplanar waveguide RF microelectromechanical system (MEMS) capacitive shunt switches with very low insertion loss (-0.2 to -0.5 dB) and high-isolation (/spl les/ -30 dB) over the entire W-band frequency range. It is shown that full-wave electromagnetic modeling using Sonnet can predict the performance of RF MEMS switches up to 120 GHz. Also presented are W-band 0/spl deg//90/spl deg/ and 0/spl deg//180/spl deg/ switched-line phase shifters with very good insertion loss (1.75 dB/bit at 90 GHz) and a wide bandwidth of operation (75-100 GHz). These circuits are the first demonstration of RF MEMS digital-type phase shifters at W-band frequencies and they outperform their solid-state counterparts by a large margin.
Emerging business models for mobile brokerage services

Business models designed specifically for the mobile arena are reshaping the industry. But each model has unique advantages and disadvantages---potential adopters should take care in choosing among them.
Global Economic Effects of Changes in Crops, Pasture, and Forests due to Changing Climate, Carbon Dioxide, and Ozone

Multiple environmental changes will have consequences for global vegetation. To the extent that crop yields and pasture and forest productivity are affected, there can be important economic consequences. We examine the combined effects of changes in climate, increases in carbon dioxide (CO2), and changes in tropospheric ozone on crop, pasture, and forest lands and the consequences for the global and regional economies. We examine scenarios where there is limited or little effort to control these substances, and policy scenarios that limit emissions of CO2 and ozone precursors. We find the effects of climate and CO2 to be generally positive, and the effects of ozone to be very detrimental. Unless ozone is strongly controlled, damage could offset CO2 and climate benefits. We find that resource allocation among sectors in the economy, and trade among countries, can strongly affect the estimate of economic effect in a country.
Lexical Quality in the Brain: ERP Evidence for Robust Word Learning From Context

We examined event-related potentials (ERPs) before and after word learning, using training contexts that differed in their level of contextual support for meaning acquisition. Novel words appeared either in contexts that were semantically constraining, providing strong cues to meaning, or in contexts that were weakly constraining, that is, uninformative. After each sentence, participants were shown the word in isolation and were asked to generate a close synonym. Immediately after training, words trained in high-constraint contexts elicited a smaller left temporal negativity (N300FT7) compared with words trained in low-constraint contexts, and both types of trained words elicited a stronger medial frontal negativity (N350Fz) relative to familiar words. Two days after training the N300FT7 disappeared and was replaced by a later, left parietal (P600Pz) effect. To examine robust learning, we administered a semantic priming test two days after training. Familiar words and words trained in high-constraint cont...
Power allocation schemes for target localization in widely distributed MIMO radar systems

Widely distributed multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar systems offer parameter estimation improvement for target localization, proportional to the product of the number of transmitting and receiving radars and the total transmitted power. Thus far, power allocation has been uniformly distributed between the system transmitters. For a large number of radars, the achievable localization mean-square error (MSE), with full resource allocation, may extend beyond the system predetermined performance goals, such as target localization accuracy (i.e., minimum estimation MSE) and total power radiation. In this study, power allocation schemes are developed, taking into account system constraints. The first is concerned with minimizing the total transmitted power such that a predefined estimation MSE objective is met, while keeping the transmitted power at each station within an acceptable range. The second, optimally distributes a given power budget among all transmitting radars to maximize performance, i.e., minimize the attainable localization MSE. As the Cramer-Rao bound (CRB) is known to be asymptotically tight to the maximum likelihood estimator (MLE) MSE at high SNR, it is used as a metric for the estimation MSE. The CRB is derived for a signal model that incorporates the propagation path loss, the target radar cross section (RCS), and the transmitters' powers. It is shown that uniform or equal power allocation is not in general optimal and that the proposed allocation algorithms result in a local optimum that provided either better localization MSE for the same power budget or requires less power to establish the same performance in terms of estimation MSE. A physical interpretation of these conclusions is offered.
Bilateral glossopharyngeal neuropathy following chemo and radiation therapy for a primitive neuroectodermal tumour

This case describes a young adult male patient diagnosed and treated for a primitive neuroectodermal tumour (PNET) at 3 years of age. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy used following surgical treatment of this tumour have known neurotoxic complications, some of which have delayed onset. In this case, the patient exhibited sudden onset, persistent bilateral and deep ear pain that was consistent with a neuropathy of the glossopharyngeal nerve occurring 17 years after the completion of therapy for PNET. Treatment with pregabalin was successful with near-complete resolution of the complaint. The diagnostic certainty in this case is discussed in relation to the current diagnostic criteria for neuropathic pain.
Transport Equation Stability and Estuary Modeling

A method is presented for judging the stability of discrete approximations to the estuary mixing equations. It is applicable to unequal as well as equal reach lengths. A mathematical model is developed for the Hudson River Estuary and the model results are compared to U.S. Geological Survey chloride measurements. For constant flow velocity, an exact solution is developed and compared to the discrete approximation results.
Entity Linking for Spoken Language

Research on entity linking has considered a broad range of text, including newswire, blogs and web documents in multiple languages. However, the problem of entity linking for spoken language remains unexplored. Spoken language obtained from automatic speech recognition systems poses different types of challenges for entity linking; transcription errors can distort the context, and named entities tend to have high error rates. We propose features to mitigate these errors and evaluate the impact of ASR errors on entity linking using a new corpus of entity linked broadcast news transcripts.
Communication Strategies in Marketing Channels: A Theoretical Perspective:

Though the marketing literature acknowledges that communication plays a vital role in channel functioning, it provides no integrated theory for channel communication. The authors build a theoretica...
Monitoring Intramolecular Proton Transfer with Two-Dimensional Infrared Spectroscopy: A Computational Prediction

Proton transfer processes are ubiquitous and play a vital role in a broad range of chemical and biochemical phenomena. The ability of two-dimensional infrared (2D IR) spectroscopy with a carbon–deuterium (C–D) reporter to monitor the kinetics of proton transfer in the model compound malonaldehyde was demonstrated computationally. One of the two carbonyl/enol carbon atoms in malonaldehyde was labeled with a C–D bond. The C–D stretch vibrational frequency provides ∼150 cm–1 of sensitivity to the two tautomers of malonaldehyde. Mixed quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics simulations employing the self-consistent-charge density functional tight binding (SCC-DFTB) method were used to compute 2D IR line shapes for the C–D stretch of labeled malonaldehyde in aqueous solution. The 2D IR spectra reveal cross peaks from the chemical exchange of the proton. The kinetics for the growth of the cross-peaks (and the decay of the diagonal peaks) precisely match the proton transfer rate observed in the SCC-DFTB simulations.
Discourse Practices in the New Standards: The Role of Argumentation in Common Core- Era Next Generation Science Standards Classrooms for English Language Learners

In this paper, I argue that the practice of argumentation will have implications for students not only in science learning, but also, potential transfer in other disciplines. More importantly, the shift toward a shared discursive language practice of argumentation provides an opportunity for both content-area and language development teachers to build on each other's pedagogical knowledge around argumentation, design tasks that support both content and language development, and create a more coherent learning experience for students. For English language learners, this convergence in the discourse practice of argumentation from evidence is particularly salient because content area teachers will be expected to create a more communicative classroom that supports both content and language development.