cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
An adaptive packet soft handoff scheme based on punctured turbo coding

Reliable and bandwidth-efficient soft handoff schemes that consider different QoS requirements are required for packetized data transmission in 3G W-CDMA cellular systems. Since soft handoff diminishes channel availability due to the consumption of multiple radio channels, the radio resources consumed by soft handoff must be minimized. A. packet soft handoff scheme is proposed that uses punctured turbo coding and iterative decoding to increase the spectral efficiency and data rate. The frame error rate performance for different puncturing patterns and code rates is evaluated on an AWGN and Rayleigh fading channels.
Casinos and economic growth: an update.

As U.S. politicians and voters continue to grapple with the slower-than-expected recovery from the 2007-09 recession, the legalization (or expansion) of commercial casinos has become an increasingly popular policy. Casinos are politically popular because the state government legalizes them, and can thus create a new industry which pays high taxes and may stimulate employment and economic development. Despite the fact that casinos are now widespread in the United States – there are around 1,000 commercial and tribal casinos – the empirical evidence on their economic impacts is still negligible.In two previous studies ( we have tested the relationship between state-level casino revenues and per capita income (i.e., economic growth) to provide evidence on whether or not casinos have a positive economic impact on states’ economies. We have utilized a Granger causality model modified for use with panel data. Our initial evidence, from a paper published in 1998, indicated that casinos do Granger cause economic growth. However, when we re-tested the model using up-to-date data (at the time, through 2005), we found no significant results. The casino industry has grown extensively since 2005, and although the recession of 2007-09 had a negative impact on the casino industry, the national-level revenue numbers are again climbing.We extend our previous analyses in order to provide updated evidence on the economic growth impact of commercial casinos in the United States. Section 2 provides a more detailed background of our previous analysis and an overview of other relevant literature. Section 3 describes the data and model, and provides the results. Section 4 is a discussion and conclusion.
Post-parathyroidectomy hypocalcemia: incidence, risk factors, and management.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the incidence and severity of hypocalcemia after parathyroidectomy and delineate its risk factors. Data was retrieved from a prospective database. Patients with postoperative hypocalcemia were identified and risk factors were investigated including primary versus renal hyperparathyroidism (HPT), preoperative calcium, parathyroid hormone (PTH) and alkaline phosphatase levels, gland weight, pathology, extent of surgery, and reoperative surgery. Of the 162 patients who underwent parathyroidectomy, 84 (52%) were hypocalcemic postoperatively: 55 (42%) of 132 patients with primary and 29 (97%) of 30 patients with renal HPT (P = 0.0001). Patients with renal HPT had more profound hypocalcemia with a mean ± SD calcium of 7.34 mg/dL ± 1.07 versus 7.76 mg/dL ± 0.59 for patients with primary HPT (P < 0.05). Symptoms were present in 28 (51%) of 55 patients with primary and 13 (45%) of 29 patients with renal HPT. Only three (2%) patients with primary compared to 29 (97%) with renal HPT were treated with intravenous calcium. The average length of stay for hypocalcemic patients was 0.7 days for primary HPT versus 4.7 days for renal HPT (P < 0.0005). Patients with primary HPT who underwent subtotal parathyroidectomy had significantly lower postoperative calcium levels (7.95 mg/dL ± 0.64) than patients who had a single or double adenoma removed (8.49 mg/dL ± 0.79) (P = 0.036). No other factor was predictive of postoperative hypocalcemia. Patients with renal HPT develop profound postoperative hypocalcemia requiring intravenous calcium and vitamin D therapy. Hypocalcemia in patients with primary HPT develop less severe hypocalcemia that is amenable to outpatient oral calcium therapy and should be routinely initiated following subtotal parathyroidectomy.
Learning from software reuse experience

What makes certain software reuse practices successful is not currently well understood. This is partly because experience with reuse is scarce. Furthermore, data on reuse experience often includes many qualitative factors. These factors limit the applicability of statistical analysis. This paper presents an empirical study that investigates and evaluates an approach to extracting information from past software reuse experience. Specifically, a machine learning system, SORCER is introduced and applied to survey data on 24 software reuse projects. The data has 29 attributes, and was obtained from 19 companies over a three-year period. Results show that, as expected, some management actions are crucial for success of a project. Interestingly, most factors influencing the implementation of reuse programs and company profiles relevant to reuse projects have little impact on project success. Instead, some of the reuse program implementation factors (e.g., reuse approach, independence of the reuse development and presence of domain analysis) appear to have impact on project failure.
Parameter estimation for a physics-based distributed hydrologic model using measured outflow fluxes and internal moisture states

[1] We use an inverse simulation strategy to estimate soil hydraulic parameter values for an extensively measured planar hillslope plot in Seattle, Washington, United States. Both the integrated (subsurface outflow) and internal (piezometer water levels, volumetric water contents) hydrologic responses are measured at the plot. Inverse simulation scenarios are configured in the physics-based variably saturated hydrologic model, HYDRUS-2D, for a nonhysteretic drainage scenario starting from saturated initial conditions. Multiple inverse simulations calibrate the model either to single-measurement time series or to combinations of multiple types of measurements. Inverse simulations calibrated to different types of measurements give a wide range of parameter combinations, including over 2 orders of magnitude in predicted saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks), in part because the calibrations to a single measurement type are poorly constrained and biased. Parameter values are better constrained with multiobjective inverse simulations (Ks from 30 to 55 cm h−1). All parameter combinations from inverse simulations were tested in 2-month-long continuous simulations of the plot flow response to natural precipitation and evapotranspiration. The long-term outflow response was predicted best (Nash-Sutcliffe E = 0.94) by the parameters from a multiobjective inverse simulation calibrated to both the outflow and the piezometer water levels. Overall results show that for an assumed nonhysteretic soil a physics-based hydrologic response model can be calibrated using one short-duration drainage-from-saturation event if both integrated (outflow) and internal (saturated water level) measurements are used as calibration objectives.
A multistratal account of the projective Tagalog evidential ‘daw’

We present original fieldwork data as evidence that the Tagalog reportative evidential daw projects, like e.g. presuppositions and conventional implicatures (CIs), in the sense that daw can carry an implication that is immune to entailment-modifying operators. Previous work has purported that evidentials in other languages can project, but after examining these claims, we argue that the data we give for daw constitute the first evidence of a projective evidential. We then give a formally explicit account of daw in a multistratal semantics that is both dynamic and compositional. This semantics is general enough to also capture the behavior of English CIs, but avoids a well-known flaw in a previous theory of CIs due to Potts.
Oncolytic virotherapy for head and neck cancer: current research and future developments

Head and neck cancer (HNC) is the sixth most common malignancy worldwide. Despite recent advancements in surgical, chemotherapy, and radiation treatments, HNC remains a highly morbid and fatal disease. Unlike many other cancers, local control rather than systemic control is important for HNC survival. Therefore, novel local therapy in addition to systemic therapy is urgently needed. Oncolytic virotherapy holds promise in this regard as viruses can be injected intratumorally as well as intravenously with excellent safety profiles. This review will discuss the recent advancements in oncolytic virotherapy, highlighting some of the most promising candidates and modifications to date.
The Classification Theorem: Informal Presentation

The purpose of this chapter is to give an informal presentation of the classification theorem for compact surfaces. The problem is motivated and a solution is proposed. The solution consists of two steps: a topological step and a combinatorial step. The first step consists in showing that every compact surface can be triangulated. This is the most difficult step. The second step consists in showing that every triangulated surface can be converted to a normal form in a finite number of steps, using some (finite) set of transformations. An informal proof of the fact that every surface can be converted to a normal form is sketched.
Should ischemic stroke patients with aphasia or high National Institutes of Health stroke scale score undergo preprocedural intubation and endovascular treatment

Background Presence of aphasia or severe neurologic deficits is considered an indication for preprocedural intubation (PPI) for endovascular treatment (ET) in acute ischemic stroke patients. We determined the feasibility, technical success rates, and outcomes of ET without PPI in 2 groups of patients: those with aphasia and those with an admission NIHSS score of 20 or more. Methods The rates of intraprocedural intubation (IPI), good functional outcome at discharge (modified Rankin Scale score of 0-2), mortality, and intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) were compared between those who did or did not undergo PPI in the above-mentioned patient groups. Results A total of 60 (50%) of 120 patients with aphasia underwent ET without PPI; 6 of 60 patients required IPI. The odds of any ICH (odds ratio [OR] 6.3) and in-hospital mortality (OR 9.3) were significantly higher in those undergoing PPI. In the second analysis, 36 (39%) of 93 patients with an NIHSS score of 20 or more underwent ET without PPI; 6 of 57 patients required IPI. The risk of any ICH (OR 7.6) and in-hospital mortality (OR 5.0) was higher among patients who underwent PPI. The rates of good outcome at discharge were significantly lower among patients with aphasia (OR .1, 95% confidence interval [CI] .04-.2) or those with an NIHSS score of 20 or more (OR .07, 95% CI .005-.9) with PPI compared with those without PPI. Conclusions Despite the risk of IPI, patients with aphasia or an admission NIHSS score of 20 or more who underwent ET with PPI had lower rates of good outcomes and higher rates of ICH and death.
Use of Assertive Training in Teaching the Expression of Positively Assertive Behavior

In teaching positively assertive responses for interpersonal situations requiring such responses, subjects were assigned to either a Videotaped Modeling, Practice Control, Bibliotherapy, or Positive-thinking Control group (ns = 10 college students). There was a significant over-all increase in level of assertiveness from pretest to posttest, and a significant effect of group. An analysis of the adjusted posttest means indicated that the Videotaped Modeling and Practice Control Groups were significantly more effective than the Positive-thinking Control Group, and the mean posttest score of the combined treatment groups was significantly different from that of the control group.
SAIC marine unexploded ordnance (UXO) survey system

SAIC has developed a unique underwater UXO detection system for use in shallow water with typical depths up to 6 m (~20 ft) and a maximum depth of 10 m (~30 ft).This new system, known as the Marine Towed Array (MTA) has completed its first successful UXO survey on the Currituck Sound in Duck, NC in May 2005. A perspective view of the sensor platform is presented.
Homogeneous Periodic Heat Flow via Nonequilibrium Molecular Dynamics

Two nonequilibrium methods for simulating homogeneous periodic heat flow are applied to 108 three-dimensional soft spheres in both the fluid and face-centered cubic solid phases. Both nonequilibrium methods use irreversible thermodynamics to express heat conductivity in terms of the work required to generate heat flow. The Evans-Gillan method, derived from Green-Kubo theory, correctly reproduces Ashurst's heat conductivities. An approach based on Gauss' principle of least constraint, in which the heat flow is constrained to a fixed value, fails this test. Heat flow is an inhomogeneous, nonlinear function of particle velocities and coordinates. Thus, Gauss' principle cannot be relied upon for treating inhomogeneous nonlinear nonholonomic constraints.
Variability and selectivity of anterior pituitary response to dopamine agonists throughout the normal menstrual cycle.

Abstract To clarify whether there is a variation of dopamine effect throughout the normal menstrual cycle, 24 studies were performed during the follicular, periovulatory, and luteal phase in seven ovulatory women. The subjects were studied for 24 hours after receiving two different dopamine agonists, 2.5 mg of bromocriptine in one cycle and 50 μg of pergolide in a subsequent cycle. Baseline plasma luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, prolactin, and thyrotropin were followed through time, and the dynamic responses to gonadotropin-releasing hormone and thyrotropin-releasing hormone before and at 6 and 22 hours after medication were studied. Since the results obtained with both agonists were similar, the data have been combined in a single group. Baseline luteinizing hormone levels (but not follicle-stimulating hormone) were significantly suppressed (p
Fast heuristic algorithms for rectilinear steiner trees

A fundamental problem in circuit design is how to connectn points in the plane, to make them electrically common using the least amount of wire. The tree formed, a Steiner tree, is usually constructed with respect to the rectilinear metric. The problem is known to be NP-complete; an extensive review of proposed heuristics is given. An early algorithm by Hanan is shown to have anO(n logn) time implementation using computational geometry techniques. The algorithm can be modified to do sequential searching inO(n2) total time. However, it is shown that the latter approach runs inO(n3/2) expected time, forn points selected from anm×m grid. Empirical results are presented for problems up to 10,000 points.
Regional Approach to fMRI Data Analysis Using Hemodynamic Response Modeling

Analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data has been performed using both model-driven (parametric) methods and data-driven methods. An advantage of model-driven methods is incorporation of prior knowledge of spatial and temporal properties of the hemodynamic response (HDR). A novel analytical framework for fMRI data has been developed that identifies multi-voxel regions of activation through iterative segmentation-based optimization over HDR estimates for both individual voxels and regional groupings. Simulations using synthetic activation embedded in autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) noise reveal the proposed procedure to be more sensitive and selective than conventional fMRI analysis methods (reference set: principle component analysis, PCA; independent component analysis, ICA; k-means clustering, k=100; univariate t-test) in identification of active regions over the range of average contrast-to-noise ratios of 0.5 to 4.0. Results of analysis of extant human data (for which the average contrast-to-noise ratio is unknown) are further suggestive of greater statistical detection power. Refinement of this new procedure is expected to reduce both false positive and negative rates, without resorting to filtering that can reduce the effective spatial resolution.
The unrealized value of incentivized eWOM recommendations

While companies have recognized the perceived economic benefits of encouraging and managing electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM), the benefits may be understated. Companies take into account the influence on the audience. But, what about any effects on the person who communicates the eWOM? We explore the impact that incentivized eWOM has on communicator attitude. Using the saying is believing effect as our theoretical foundation, we suggest that providing eWOM induces a change in the communicator’s attitude. By generating and providing a biased recommendation, the communicator will believe the biased recommendation. Furthermore, the communicator is likely to remember the biased recommendation and will use it to update their attitude. We examine how valence of recommendations (negative versus positive) and the number of opportunities to recommend affect the change in attitude. Our findings indicate that providing recommendations changes communicator’s attitude. Implications of the results are discussed.
Service encounter satisfaction: conceptualized

Presents a model of service encounter satisfaction offering conceptual and pragmatic advantages over the dominant disconfirmation paradigm. Expectations are compared with performance, at three separate stages, which directly combine into one overall consumer service encounter judgment. Offers service practitioners increased insight into understanding consumers′ satisfaction processes.
Non-stationarity and power spectral shifts in EMG activity reflect motor unit recruitment in rat diaphragm muscle.

Abstract We hypothesized that a shift in diaphragm muscle (DIAm) EMG power spectral density (PSD) to higher frequencies reflects recruitment of more fatigable fast-twitch motor units and motor unit recruitment is reflected by EMG non-stationarity. DIAm EMG was recorded in anesthetized rats during eupnea, hypoxia-hypercapnia (10% O 2 –5% CO 2 ), airway occlusion, and sneezing (maximal DIAm force). Although power in all frequency bands increased progressively across motor behaviors, PSD centroid frequency increased only during sneezing ( p
Control of B Lymphocyte Apoptosis by the Transcription Factor NF-κB

B cells maintain homeostasis by balancing cell viability and cell death. B lymphocytes are susceptible to mitochondria- and receptor-initiated cell death at various stages of peripheral differentiation and during immune responses. The inducible transcription factor NF-kappaB enhances cell viability by activating genes that counteract both cell-death pathways. This review uses characteristic features of NF-kappaB activation and downregulation to provide insight into the regulation of B cell apoptosis in the periphery. In particular, the temporal patterns of NF-kappaB induction, differences between Rel family members, and the intersection between canonical and noncanonical signaling pathways in keeping B cells alive are discussed.
Urban School Choice and Integration The Effect of Charter Schools in Little Rock

We examine the impact of charter schools on school integration in the Little Rock, Arkansas metropolitan area. We find that charters are less likely to be hyper-segregated than traditional public schools (TPS), but TPS have compositions more closely reflecting the region. However, differences in each case are slight. Using student-level data to follow students who left TPS for charters, we find that most transfers improve integration levels at the schools they left. This finding is attributed to the fact that most transfers involve minority students leaving predominately minority schools or White students leaving predominantly White schools.
Structural and Mechanistic Investigations of the Oxidation of Dimethylplatinum(II) Complexes by Dioxygen

The oxidation of (tmeda)PtII(CH3)2 (1, tmeda = N,N,N‘,N‘-tetramethylethylenediamine) to (tmeda)PtIV(OH)(OCH3)(CH3)2 (3) by dioxygen in methanol proceeds via a two-step mechanism. The initial reaction between (tmeda)Pt(CH3)2 and dioxygen yields a hydroperoxoplatinum(IV) intermediate, (tmeda)Pt(OOH)(OCH3)(CH3)2 (2), which reacts with a second equivalent of (tmeda)Pt(CH3)2 to afford the final product 3. Both 2 and 3 have been fully characterized, including X-ray crystallographic structure determinations. The effect of ligand variation on the oxidation of several dimethylplatinum(II) complexes by 2 as well as by dioxygen has been examined.
Quantum Logic as a Fragment of Independence-Friendly Logic

The working assumption of this paper is that noncommuting variables are irreducibly interdependent. The logic of such dependence relations is the author's independence-friendly (IF) logic, extended by adding to it sentence-initial contradictory negation ¬ over and above the dual (strong) negation ∼. Then in a Hilbert space ∼ turns out to express orthocomplementation. This can be extended to any logical space, which makes it possible to define the dimension of a logical space. The received Birkhoff and von Neumann “quantum logic” can be interpreted by taking their “disjunction” to be ¬(∼A & ∼B). Their logic can thus be mapped into a Boolean structure to which an additional operator ∼ has been added.
Quantity and quality of trabecular bone in the femur are enhanced by a strongly anabolic, noninvasive mechanical intervention.

The skeleton's sensitivity to mechanical stimuli represents a critical determinant of bone mass and morphology. We have proposed that the extremely low level ( 2000 microstrain). If these low-level strains are indeed anabolic, then this sensitivity could serve as the basis for a biomechanically based intervention for osteoporosis. To evaluate this hypothesis, the hindlimbs of adult female sheep were stimulated for 20 minutes/day using a noninvasive 0.3g vertical oscillation sufficient to induce approximately 5 microstrain on the cortex of the tibia. After 1 year of stimulation, the physical properties of 10-mm cubes of trabecular bone from the distal femoral condyle of experimental animals (n = 8) were compared with controls (n = 9), as evaluated using microcomputed tomography (microCT) scanning and materials testing. Bone mineral content (BMC) was 10.6% greater (p < 0.05), and the trabecular number (Tb.N) was 8.3% higher in the experimental animals (p < 0.01), and trabecular spacing decreased by 11.3% (p < 0.01), indicating that bone quantity was increased both by the creation of new trabeculae and the thickening of existing trabeculae. The trabecular bone pattern factor (TBPf) decreased 24.2% (p < 0.03), indicating trabecular morphology adapting from rod shape to plate shape. Significant increases in stiffness and strength were observed in the longitudinal direction (12.1% and 26.7%, respectively; both, p < 0.05), indicating that the adaptation occurred primarily in the plane of weightbearing. These results show that extremely low level mechanical stimuli improve both the quantity and the quality of trabecular bone. That these deformations are several orders of magnitude below those peak strains which arise during vigorous activity indicates that this biomechanically based signal may serve as an effective intervention for osteoporosis.
Aggressive behavior in birds: An experimental model for studies of brain-steroid inteactions

Abstract 1. 1. Although testosterone (T) stimulates aggressiveness in males of many vertebrate species, it is now known that the full expression of T actions in the central nervous system requires aromatization to estradiol (E2) and subsequent binding of formed E2 to its receptor. 2. 2. We have recently confirmed these as rate-limiting steps in the control of sex-related and individual differences in aggressiveness of the Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica). 3. 3. In this review, we describe some of the neuroendocrine factors which control aggression with a focus on our recent studies in quail.
The Effects Of Random Error And Subsampling Of Dimensions On Recovery Of Configurations By Non-Metric Multidimensional Scaling.

Similarity judgments of three-dimensional stimuli were simulated, with the hypothetical subject attending to only some dimensions of stimulus variation (i.e., “subsampling”) on each trial. Recovery of the stimulus configuration by non-metric multidimensional scaling was investigated as a function of subsampling, the amount of random error in the judgments, and the number of stimuli being scaled.
Determination of Spins of Neutron Resonances and the Hyperfine Coupling Constant in Ho 165

Neutron transmission measurements on targets of polarized holmium nuclei were extended using a holmium single crystal. Owing to the large hyperfine coupling in holmium and the complete magnetization of the single-crystal sample, it was possible to make spin determinations for the compound states corresponding to the neutron resonances at 18.2 eV and 21.3 eV. The spins were both found to be $I\ensuremath{-}\frac{1}{2}=3$. The nuclear polarization of the sample was obtained as a function of temperature at the 3.924-eV resonance and the data were fitted to a theoretical curve with the magnetic and electric hyperfine splitting constants as fitting parameters. The results for the magnetic and electric hfs constants are, respectively, $\frac{A}{k}=0.610\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.005\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}$K and $\frac{P}{k}=0.002\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.001\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}$K. This corresponds to an effective magnetic field at the nucleus of 8.8\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{6}$ Oe.
Programmed to be Human

Pletikos et al. (2014) demonstrate in this issue of Neuron that the human neocortex has an "hourglass" temporal gene expression pattern with robust and dynamic transcriptome differences during the prenatal and adolescent/adult periods. Similar changes are not observed in the nonhuman primate—is this what makes us human?
Reducing the NMR sample volume using a single organic liquid: increased sensitivity for mass-limited samples with standard NMR probes.

Abstract A simple inexpensive protocol for confining an aqueous sample to the active region of a standard NMR probe is examined for high-resolution NMR. The aqueous sample is sandwiched between an inert perfluorinated organic liquid that has been exploited in the design of micro-coil NMR probes. The procedure is demonstrated with 3 mm NMR tubes at ambient and elevated temperatures but should be equally applicable to smaller diameter tubes. It is shown that confinement has minimal effects on line shape and provides at least a two fold increase in sensitivity over a conventional sample, for the same mass of solute.
Nutrient differences of beef from heifers with different genotypes for myostatin

Strip loins and eye of rounds from steers genotyped as having zero, one, or two copies of the inactive myostatin (IM) mutation were obtained. Steaks for nutrient analysis were cut and frozen and steaks for tenderness were aged for 14 days and cooked fresh, never frozen. Meat from cattle with one copy and two copies were more tender than zero copy cattle for eye of round steaks. Homozygous IM cattle had less overall fat content and calories than homozygous normal cattle.
Acquired palmoplantar keratoderma.

Palmoplantar keratodermas (PPKs) are a diverse entity of disorders that are characterized by abnormal thickening of the skin on the palms and soles. Traditionally they have been classified as either hereditary or acquired and are distinguished from each other on the basis of mode of inheritance, presence of transgrediens (defined as contiguous extension of hyperkeratosis beyond the palmar and/or plantar skin), co-morbidities with other symptoms, and extent of epidermal involvement, namely diffuse, focal, and punctate. As the terms hyperkeratosis and keratoderma have been used interchangeably throughout the literature, we define acquired keratoderma as a non-hereditary, non-frictional hyperkeratosis of the palms and/or soles that involves ≥50% of the surface of involved acral areas and that may or may not be associated with clinical and histologic inflammation. Given the numerous possible underlying causes for acquired PPKs, evaluation of patients presenting with acquired PPK can be a perplexing task. To facilitate such evaluations, this review categorizes the acquired PPKs as: keratoderma climactericum, drug related, malnutrition associated, chemically induced, systemic disease related, malignancy associated, dermatoses related, infectious, and idiopathic. In order to avoid the possibility of overlooking an underlying etiology and to eliminate excessive testing, we present an algorithm for assessing patients presenting with acquired PPK. The first step should include a comprehensive history and a physical examination, including a complete skin examination. If findings are consistent with a hereditary keratoderma, then a genetics consultation should be considered. Any findings suggestive of underlying conditions should be aggressively evaluated and treated. If no pertinent findings are identified after a history and a physical examination, laboratory and radiology studies should be undertaken in a systematic, logical fashion. In terms of treatment, the most successful results occur when the underlying etiology is diagnosed and treated. If no such etiology is evident, then conservative treatment options include topical keratolytics (urea, salicylic acid, lactic acid), repeated physical debridement, topical retinoids, topical psoralen plus UVA, and topical corticosteroids. Etretinate and acitretin have also shown some success as alternative treatments in recalcitrant cases.
Emerging fiber-optic microendoscopy technologies for high-resolution biomedical imaging

We present recent advances of micro-endoscopy technologies that are critical for clinical translation of high-resolution optical imaging modalities (such as OCT, SHG and two-photon fluorescence microscopy). Remaining challenges will also be discussed.
Discharge of alkanes during offshore oil production in the Buccaneer oilfield.

We have characterized the alkane content of the discharged brine from both production platforms in the Buccaneer oilfield over a period of eleven months, from April, 1976 to March, 1977. The mean concentration of C12-C36 alkanes was approximately 2 ppm (2 mg/l). The mean rate of discharge of brine in the field is approximately 600 bbl (95,400 l) per day. The mean rate of discharge of alkanes per day, therefore, is 191 g. Additional research is required to determine the rate of dispersion of these alkanes, their pool size in the vicinity of the production platforms, and their significance relative to alkanes of biogenic origin.
Mining Knowledge Sharing Processes in Online Discussion Forums

Online discussion forums have become a popular knowledge source for sharing information or solving problems. This study is an attempt to apply business process modeling and mining techniques to analyzing online knowledge sharing activities. Traditional process mining techniques have little consideration on social interactions, which are rich in online forums. We propose to complement traditional process mining with analyses on social interactions among discussion participants. Our experiments show that business process modeling and mining techniques can be used to model online knowledge sharing processes and identify patterns related to effective knowledge sharing. In addition, analyses on social interactions provide insights that verify and supplement the process mining results.
China Gazes West: Xinjiang's Growing Rendezvous with Central Asia

A senior American specialist on the geography of China surveys that country's enduring interest and involvement with the former Soviet republics of Central Asia, increasingly on the basis of Xinjiang's role as a bridgehead for economic linkages. Among the key features of this growing involvement reviewed in the paper are the establishment in 2001 of a regional security alliance (Shanghai Cooperation Organization) to combat Islamist extremism as well as separatist activities; growing commercial linkages (especially with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan) in tandem with improved transport links and increasing crossborder movements of merchants, traders, and tourists; and China's growing need for oil and increasing reliance on Kazakhstan as a key source for petroleum. China's growing engagement with Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries is examined within the context of both opportunities as well as challenges, the latter reflecting the increasing complexity of Han Chinese and Uyghur/Turkic relat...
Elastic pathing: your speed is enough to track you

Today, people have the opportunity to opt-in to usage-based automotive insurances for reduced premiums by allowing companies to monitor their driving behavior. Several companies claim to measure only speed data to preserve privacy. With our elastic pathing algorithm, we show that drivers can be tracked by merely collecting their speed data and knowing their home location, which insurance companies do, with an accuracy that constitutes privacy intrusion. To demonstrate the algorithm's real-world applicability, we evaluated its performance with datasets from central New Jersey and Seattle, Washington, representing suburban and urban areas. Our algorithm predicted destinations with error within 250 meters for 14% traces and within 500 meters for 24% traces in the New Jersey dataset (254 traces). For the Seattle dataset (691 traces), we similarly predicted destinations with error within 250 and 500 meters for 13% and 26% of the traces respectively. Our work shows that these insurance schemes enable a substantial breach of privacy.
NK cell lineage and target specificity: a unifying concept

Natural killer (NK) cells play a part in tumor resistance, host immunity to viral and other microbial infections, and the regulation of lymphoid and other haemopoietic cell populations(1). Yet the lineage to which NK cells belong, and the nature of their target cell specificity remain uncertain. The phenotypic heterogeneity of cells with spontaneous cytotoxicity has led to the suggestion that NK activity is not restricted to a single cell type but is a property of cells of several different lineages at particular stages of maturation or activation. Do NK cells, like T and B lymphocytes, recognize their targets via clonally distributed receptors for distinct cell-surface antigens, or do they, like macrophages, bind to target cells via non-specific structures such as Fc receptors, complement receptors, or lectin-like receptors for ubiquitous cell-surface carbohydrates? Joseph Kaplan has previously proposed(2) that both the nature and specificity of NK cells can be accounted for in terms of a single unifying concept - that NK cells are pre-thymic T cells which, as originally proposed by Jerne(3), express germ line V gene-encoded receptors for either self or non-self histocompatibility antigens. Here he discusses how this hypothesis fits with current evidence concerning NK cell lineage and target specificity.
Reduction of fossil fuel emissions in the USA: A holistic approach towards policy formulation

Abstract In the United States, the response of the federal government to the global initiative of reduction of emissions of CO2 has been limited. With the Kyoto Protocol having entered into force in February 2005, there will be renewed international pressure on the United States for action. Concurrently, the US economy, growing modestly, is characterized by large current account and budget deficits. This situation calls for garnering additional revenue through repealing of the recent tax cuts. An option available is to impose a modest carbon tax. The rationale of such a tax is that it would address the twin objectives of additional revenue and reduction of emissions. In this paper, the impact of a hypothetical carbon tax imposed in a revenue-neutral context on 2001 household incomes is analyzed primarily to ascertain its progressivity. Progressivity of any tax is strongly associated with its political acceptability. The incidence of the hypothetical carbon tax is computed across the income quintiles. It is observed that only the households in the highest income quintile and the lowest income quintile are impacted by the tax. It is found that this tax is weakly regressive in the US context.
Achalasia: Current evaluation and therapy

The current evaluation of and therapy for achalasia are reviewed. Esophageal manometry remains the best means for diagnosing achalasia. Initial therapy can include either pneumatic dilation or esophagomyotomy. Symptomatic improvement occurs in 71% of patients after pneumatic dilation, with a risk of perforation of 1.4%. Eight percent of these patients require subsequent esophagomyotomy. Surgical procedures for achalasia can be performed through either an abdominal or a thoracic incision. Nearly all authors favoring an abdominal approach add an antireflux operation to esophagomyotomy, whereas many authors advocating a transthoracic esophagomyotomy believe that an antireflux wrap is unnecessary. Overall results for the various surgical approaches used as initial therapy are excellent, with symptomatic improvement in 89% of patients, a mortality rate of less than 1%, and development of gastroesophageal acid reflux in less than 10%. Factors governing the choice of initial therapy are discussed.
Does axonopathy play a role in Parkinson's disease?

Background Impaired axonal transport may play an early, pivotal role in a variety of neurodegenerative disorders, including Parkinson’s disease (PD). For example, postmortem studies on PD patients show widespread axonal pathology preceding the loss of cell bodies, animal models of PD-linked mutations such as the R1441G LRRK2 mutation exhibit decreased dopamine (DA) terminal fields together with increased dystrophic processes and abnormal axonal swellings, reduced axonal transport is also seen with a-synuclein mutants, and the PD-like toxin, MPP, de-polymerizes microtubules leading to axon fragmentation as well as directly inhibiting axon transport in the isolated squid axoplasm. Thus, PD-linked environmental and genetic factors support the hypothesis that axon transport failure plays an early, critical role in this disorder.
Height and weight of Southeast Asian refugee children

Abstract Children account for a large component of the Southeast Asian refugee population, and their growth characteristics are an important part of their nutritional and health supervision. Four hundred seventy-nine children (249 males and 230 females) from 2 to 18 years old were measured for height and weight and the data were plotted by percentiles. When the growth curves for height of the refugee children were compared with those of children in the United States, the 75th, 50th, and 25th percentiles of the refugee children corresponded approximately to the 50th, 10th, and 5th percentiles of native-born American children, respectively. Males older than 15 years deviated even more, so that by age 18, the 75th percentile corresponded to the 10th percentile of US-born persons. This difference was not so pronounced in females older than 15 years. To what extent these differenced reflect genetic or environmental factors (nutrition, infection, parasitism) is not known. Comparable studies need to be conducted 10 to 20 years from now to evaluate how the new environment has affected the growth pattern in the descendents of the current Southeast Asian group.
A laboratory study of voluntary public goods provision with imperfect monitoring and communication

Abstract This paper reports 17 laboratory sessions that introduce imperfect contribution monitoring in the voluntary contributions mechanism. In the imperfect monitoring treatment subjects learn others' public good contributions every six periods, and the experiment also includes face-to-face verbal communication as a treatment variable. The results demonstrate that improved contribution monitoring does not increase contributions without verbal communication, and that communication (even with imperfect monitoring) dramatically improves subjects' ability to efficiently provide the public good. The results have implications for the design of development programs that feature a prominent role for collective action.
Armenia and the Caucasus in the Genesis of the Soviet–Turkish Entente

On 26 April 1920, three days after the opening of the Grand National Assembly in Angora (Ankara), Mustafa Kemal addressed his first officially confirmed message to the Council of People's Commissars (Sovnarkom) of Russia. Shortly thereafter, Bekir Sami Bey (Kundah), Turkish foreign minister, departed for negotiations in Mosocow.A draft treaty was initialed in August and delivered to Angora in September, and in March 1921 the governments of the Turkish Grand National Assembly and of the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic established formal bonds by concluding the Treaty of Moscow. During the few intervening months the small Caucasian Armenian republic, which had been created in May of 1918 and which had become the fulcrum of Armenian aspirations for an independent state encompassing both the Russian Armenian provinces and the contiguous Turkish Armenian provinces of eastern Anatolia, was crushed by the invasion of General Kazim Karabekir's XV Army Corps. The offensive, begun after attainment of a vague Soviet-Turkish understanding, not only overturned the Allied-imposed Treaty of Sevres, which had awarded to the Armenian republic much of the four eastern vilayets of Van, Bitlis, Diyarbakir, and Erzurum, but also restored to Turkish dominion the sanjaks of Kars and Ardahan, since 1878 parts of Russian or Eastern Armenia. What was more, Nationalist Turkey annexed the Surmalu district, embracing Mount Ararat, the historic symbol of the Armenian people.
Effect on the groundstate threshold pc by different boundary conditions in 2D ±J Ising models

Abstract In the so-called uniform classes HCz, SQz, TRz of random honeycomb, square and triangular ±J Ising models without exterior magnetic field, we investigate the effect of periodic and mixed lattice boundary conditions (b.c.) on the groundstate threshold pc of the spontaneous absolute magnetization per spin; z is a fixed number of PAF-bonds on the plaquette perimeter where these bonds have the same positive probability p to be antiferromagnetic and the probability 1−p to be ferromagnetic, the remaining bonds are ferromagnetic. For the models in the uniform classes it turns out that periodic b.c. ensure the existence of a critical concentration pc,p.b.c. (at zero temperature). Whereas for mixed b.c. (periodic b.c. in one direction, and in the orthogonal direction only couplings +1 on opposite boundaries) there are, in the classes SQ1 and TR1, models for which pc,m.b.c. does not exist. The emphasis is on models in classes SQ1, TR1, HC1, as a counterpart to isotropic models. For z=1, by means of simulations of exact groundstates, we have strong support that there is a first-order phase transition in the magnetization, in several models. For pc in the three regular isotropic models we give a simple formula based on the lattice node degree.
Integration of electronic support measures and an α-β radar tracker

In target environments that include electronic countermeasures, where the availability of radar range measurements is severely reduced, an integration of electronic support measures (ESM) into a multisensor tracker provides an inexpensive but effective approach to augmenting radar tracking systems. Tracking filter equations are presented for a multiheterogeneous-sensor tracking system consisting of radars and ESM sensors. Measurement time-based track updating is performed, due to nonperiodicity of ESM measurement acquisition times, instead of unusal track-based updates. Track updating using ESM measurements is accomplished via an EKF-based algorithm and radar measurements via an alpha-beta tracking algorithm. The integration of data from different sensor types is a logical response to increasingly hostile airborne threats. The technique described is a straightforward and cost-effective approach for accomplishing that integration.© (1990) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Design, development, and hover testing of a helicopter rotor blade chord extension morphing system

A rotor blade chord extension system was designed, fabricated and hover tested, using electromechanical and pneumatic actuation. A 1.5 in actuator stroke output in the spanwise direction was converted into chordwise motion of a trailing-edge plate (TEP), via a rigid link. On the hover stand, with a 20 V dc input, the electromechanical actuator was shown to fully extend and retract the plate at rotational speeds up to 385 RPM (which put the system at a centrifugal loading of 209.5 g, or 47.2% of that on a Black Hawk helicopter at 73% span). The configuration was changed to reduce the actuator force requirement for the pneumatic actuator. The rotor test facility allowed a maximum of 105 psi pressure input through the rotary union (significantly lower than the rating of the actuator). At these moderate pressure inputs, full TEP deployment was observed at 315 RPM (140.2 g, or 31.6% of that on a Black Hawk helicopter at 73% span). The model prediction of TEP displacement versus pressure showed good correlation with test results.
Reversible changes in the nuclear lamina induced by hyperthermia.

The nuclear matrix (NM) has been identified as a potential target for heat-induced cell killing. Previous studies have shown that heat-shock may significantly modulate lamin B content. Since changes in NM structure have often been accompanied by changes in protein composition, we investigated whether hyperthermia induced changes in nuclear lamina (NL) structure in non-tolerant and thermotolerant cells, and the implications of these changes on cell survival. Using indirect immunofluorescence techniques and confocal microscopy, we found that heating cells at 42 or 45.5°C caused invaginations and other distortions of the peripheral NL. While hyperthermia did not alter the number or structure of internal lamin B foci, heat-induced alterations to the peripheral NL were dose-dependent. Interestingly, NL structure recovered with time after heating in cells that were destined to live or die. Thermotolerant cells heated at 45.5°C showed similar initial changes in the NL compared to non-tolerant cells, but recovery occurred much faster. Taken together, these results suggest that the amount of initial damage to the peripheral NL is not correlated with heat-induced cell killing. However, the possibility that an increased rate of recovery might confer a survival advantage cannot be discounted. J. Cell. Biochem. 86: 451–460, 2002. © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.