cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
E-Learning as a Core Component of the Instructional Design Profession

Periodic assessment and evaluation is an important part of any successful program. This paper presents the findings of a needs assessment which examined the influence of e-learning and technical skill development in the area of educational technology with specific attention paid to the field of instructional design. A three-phase mixed methods approach was employed to carryout this assessment. Findings indicate that there is a strong perception among the participants that e-learning is a core component of the instructional design profession. The results of the study give a clear indication that e-learning is a significant influence on current instructional design operations. Therefore, it is necessary for students to acquire the skills required to successfully operate these programs. Recommendations were developed that can allow programs to be more responsive to current trends impacting the profession.
Diagnosis and management of diverticular disease of the colon in adults

PREAMBLE Guidelines for clinical practice are intended to suggest preferable approaches to particular medical problems as established by interpretation and collation of scientifically valid research, derived from extensive review of published literature. When data are not available, which will withstand objective scrutiny, a recommendation may be made based on a consensus of experts. Guidelines are intended to apply to the clinical situation for all physicians without regard to specialty. Guidelines are intended to be flexible, not necessarily indicating the only acceptable approach, and should be distinguished from standards of care that are inflexible and rarely violated. Given the wide range of choices in any health care problem, the physician should select the course best suited to the individual patient and the clinical situation presented. These guidelines are developed under the auspices of the American College of Gastroenterology and its Practice Parameters Committee. These guidelines are also approved by the governing boards of the American Gastroenterological Association and the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. Expert opinion is solicited from the outset for the document. Guidelines are reviewed in depth by the committee, with participation from experienced clinicians and others in related fields. The final recommendations are based on the data available at the time of the production of the document and may be updated with pertinent scientific developments at a later time. The following guidelines are intended for adults and not for pediatric patients.
Surface-mine Rehabilitation in the American West

The rehabilitation plan for a surface-mined area should be in detail and prepared as part of the mining plan. The area to be disturbed should be identified as to its vegetation-types and potential for rapid and complete restoration. The rehabilitation plan should show, by means of topographic maps or three-dimensional maps prepared before the advent of mining, the general lay of the terrain and the reconfiguration after mining. Such maps will indicate how soil-slope regulations are being met, how aesthetic acceptability can be evaluated, and how ecological response-units for revegetation can be characterized.In order to prepare a detailed revegetation plan before mining, the following maps and information are needed: (1) a topographic map, (2) a soil-series map, (3) a vegetation-cover map, and details concerning (4) the wildlife that inhabits the area, (5) the prevailing climatic conditions such as wind and the amount and form of precipitation, and (6) the character of each geological stratum that lies above the coal-seams or whatever is to be mined—including its structure, depth, and possible toxicity.The detailed revegetation plan should identify where the topsoil or other plant-growth medium will be obtained, so that it can be stockpiled to be redistributed over the spoil material. Fine sandy loams, silty clay soils, and soils that are high in toxic elements or low in organic matter, should be avoided. It is recommended that topsoil material be redistributed over the spoil material to a minimum depth of 18 to 24 inches (457 to 610 mm), in order to furnish adequate depth for root concentration and for storage of reserve moisture following the spring snow-melt. The seedbed should be firm and free from competitive weeds. On harsh sites, water-holding basins or contour trenches should be constructed.The method of seeding should include either drilling or broadcasting the seed, with due provisions for seed coverage by soil, and the addition of fertilizers and mulches where appropriate. The selection of species should include both native and introduced species that are adapted to the site. A wide diversity of life-forms and species should be included, to ensure stabilization of the area and furnish the wildlife habitat requirements. The season of seeding should be the period prior to the incidence of the most dependable precipitation in the area. The quantities of different seeds in the mixture and the overall amount employed will vary from site to site and with the method of planting. Generally speaking, poorer sites require more seed than favourable sites, and broadcasting requires about twice as much seed as does drilling.Direct on-site costs for reclamation may vary from 2,750 per acre (0.405 ha), depending upon saving and distributing the topsoil, shaping the overburden, seed-bed preparation, planting, fertilization, drainage control, mulching, and irrigation.
Towards Scalable Application Checkpointing with Parallel File System Delegation

The ever-increasing scale of modern high-performance computing (HPC) systems presents a variety of challenges to the parallel file system (PFS) based storage in these systems. The scalability of application check pointing is a particularly important challenge because it is critical to the reliability of computing and it often dominates the I/Os in a HPC system. When a large number of parallel processes simultaneously perform check pointing, the PFS metadata servers can become a serious bottleneck due to the large volume of concurrent metadata operations. This paper specifically addresses this PFS metadata management issue in order to support scalable application check pointing in large HPC systems. It proposes a new technique named PFS-delegation which delegates the management of the PFS storage space used for check pointing to applications, thereby relieving the load of metadata operations on the PFS during their check pointing. This proposed technique is prototyped on PVFS2, a widely used PFS implementation, and evaluated on a HPC cluster using a representative parallel I/O benchmark, IOR. Experiments with up to 128 parallel processes show that the PFS-delegation based check pointing is significantly faster than the traditional shared-file and file-per-process based check pointing methods (7% and 10% speedup when the underlying PVFS2 uses a centralized metadata server, 22% and 31% speedup when using distributed metadata servers). The results also demonstrate that the PFS-delegation based check pointing substantially reduces the total number of metadata operations handled by the metadata servers during the check pointing.
Turnover of Rat Brain Perivascular Cells

Brain perivascular spaces harbor a population of cells which exhibit high phagocytic capacity. Therefore, these cells can be labeled by intraventricular injection of tracers. Such perivascular cells at the interface between blood and brain are believed to belong to the monocyte/macrophage lineage and to be involved in antigen presentation. Currently, it is unclear whether these cells undergo a continuous turnover by entering and leaving the bloodstream. Using bone-marrow-chimeric animals, migration of donor macrophages into brain perivascular spaces has been reported. On the other hand, following intracerebral injection of india ink into nontransplanted animals, ink-labeled perivascular cells were still found 2 years after injection, suggesting a high stability of this cell pool. Thus, the turnover of perivascular cells observed in chimeras might be a result of bone marrow transplantation rather than a physiological occurrence. To address this issue, we monitored de novo invasion of macrophages into perivascular spaces of apparently healthy adult rats by applying techniques other than bone marrow transplantation, (i) consecutive injections of different tracers and (ii) ex vivo isolation of macrophages from the blood, cell labeling, and reinjection into the same animal to avoid MHC mismatch. Both approaches revealed vivid de novo invasion of macrophages into perivascular spaces, but not into brain parenchyma, rendering untenable the concept of perivascular cells forming a stable population of macrophages in the brain. Thus, brain perivascular spaces are under permanent immune surveillance of blood borne macrophages in normal adult rats.
Assessing Carbon and Nutrient Inputs in a Spring-fed Estuary Using Fluorescence Spectroscopy and Discriminatory Classification

Environmental and chemical properties were investigated in water samples collected at sites in Kings Bay, Florida, within its springshed, and in the adjacent Crystal River, in an attempt to discover the cause of observed increases in nitrogen and nuisance filamentous algae over the past 40 yr. Colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) was characterized by excitation emission matrix and absorption spectroscopy. Subsequent parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) identified five recurring peaks: two terrestrial humic (C-type), two marine humic (M-type), and one protein-like component. Optical and environmental parameters used for discriminant analysis included fluorescence maximum intensity (Fmax), emission maximum (Emmax), absorption coefficient [aCDOM (λ)], spectral slope (S), PARAFAC components, total nitrogen (TN), dissolved inorganic nitrogen, dissolved organic nitrogen, ratio of TN to Fmax (TN : F), total phosphate, and salinity. Canonical analysis of principal (CAP) coordinates indicated that 82% of the samples could be accurately categorized on the basis of their site of origin. Northern Kings Bay sites were characterized by a protein-like component associated with wastewater, as well as DIN concentrations in excess of the United States Environmental Protection Agency limit of 0.35 mg NO3 L−1. Two distinct M-type humic components were identified: partially photobleached component that was found in the brackish water and unbleached component found in meteoric groundwater. We propose that the latter can be utilized as a groundwater marker. Our results provide a model by which meteoric and subterranean estuary groundwater sources may be uncovered through the use of multiple environmental parameters combined with PARAFAC components in multivariate analyses.
ConvexFit: an optimal minimum-error convex fitting and smoothing algorithm with application to gate-sizing

Convex optimization has gained popularity due to its capability to reach global optimum in a reasonable amount of time. Convexity is often ensured by fitting the table data into analytically convex forms such as posynomials. However, fitting the look-up tables into the posynomial forms with minimum error itself may not be a convex optimization problem and hence excessive fitting errors may be introduced. In this paper, we propose to directly adjust the look-up table values into a numerically convex look-up table without explicit analytical form. We show that numerically "convexifying" the table data with minimum perturbation can be formulated as a convex semidefinite optimization problem and hence optimality can be reached in polynomial time. Without an explicit form limitation, we find that the fitting error is significantly reduced while the convexity is still ensured. As a result, convex optimization algorithms can still be applied. Furthermore, we also develop a "smoothing" algorithm to make the table data smooth and convex to facilitate the optimization process. Results from extensive experiments on industrial cell libraries demonstrate that our method reduces 30/spl times/ fitting error over a well-developed posynomial fitting algorithm. Its application to circuit tuning is also presented.
Segmentation of the Left Ventricle From Cardiac MR Images Using a Subject-Specific Dynamical Model

Statistical models have shown considerable promise as a basis for segmenting and interpreting cardiac images. While a variety of statistical models have been proposed to improve the segmentation results, most of them are either static models (SMs), which neglect the temporal dynamics of a cardiac sequence, or generic dynamical models (GDMs), which are homogeneous in time and neglect the intersubject variability in cardiac shape and deformation. In this paper, we develop a subject-specific dynamical model (SSDM) that simultaneously handles temporal dynamics (intrasubject variability) and intersubject variability. We also propose a dynamic prediction algorithm that can progressively identify the specific motion patterns of a new cardiac sequence based on the shapes observed in past frames. The incorporation of this SSDM into the segmentation framework is formulated in a recursive Bayesian framework. It starts with a manual segmentation of the first frame, and then segments each frame according to intensity information from the current frame as well as the prediction from past frames. In addition, to reduce error propagation in sequential segmentation, we take into account the periodic nature of cardiac motion and perform segmentation in both forward and backward directions. We perform ?leave-one-out? test on 32 canine sequences and 22 human sequences, and compare the experimental results with those from SM, GDM, and active appearance motion model (AAMM). Quantitative analysis of the experimental results shows that SSDM outperforms SM, GDM, and AAMM by having better global and local consistencies with manual segmentation. Moreover, we compare the segmentation results from forward and forward-backward segmentation. Quantitative evaluation shows that forward-backward segmentation suppresses the propagation of segmentation errors.
A PDP Approach to Localized Fractal Dimension Computation with Segmentation Boundaries

A parallel distributed processing approach to the computation of localized fractal dimension values in imagery is pre sented. This approach is a further development of the covering method which requires only nearest neighbor commu nication. A major benefit of our approach is the ability to readily incorporate any boundary information that may be available. Man y fractal textures or surfaces are fractal only in distribution. With this in mind, we show that compari son of the fractal dimension distribrctions via Kullback-Leibler can give an improved texture discrimination capability over comparison of computed fractal dimension. Results are presented for a set of textures.
Cerebral function monitoring: A new scoring system for the evaluation of brain maturation in neonates

Objective. Cerebral function monitoring (CFM), using compressed single-channel amplitude-integrated electroencephalogram recorded from 2 biparietal electrodes, has been shown previously to be a simple bedside tool for monitoring neonatal central nervous system (CNS) status. As the pattern of the CFM changes with gestational age, the technique can be used to assess brain maturation in premature infants. We have developed a new scoring system for the interpretation of neonatal CFM recordings. The objective of this study was to evaluate CFM tracings at increasing gestational and postnatal ages to develop a scoring system to quantify CFM pattern changes. Methods. Term and preterm neonates were studied with CFM at 12 to 24 hours of life, 48 to 72 hours of life, and then weekly or biweekly until hospital discharge. Each study comprised 8 to 24 hours of continuous CFM recording. CFM recordings were evaluated using the scoring system for record continuity, presence of cyclic changes in electrical activity, degree of voltage amplitude depression, and bandwidth. Each variable was scored for each recording. All variables were summed to yield a total score (minimum 0, maximum 13). Total scores were correlated with gestational and postconceptional ages. Results. Thirty infants were studied with gestational ages at birth that ranged from 24 to 39 weeks and birth weights that varied between 450 and 3850 g. A total of 146 CFM tracings were analyzed. With advancing gestational and postconceptional age, scores for each variable as well as total scores progressively increased with CNS maturation. The highest scores were attained at 35 to 36 weeks’ postconceptional age, which corresponded to previously reported subjective observations performed by visual description of CFM patterns. Of the 4 component variables that we analyzed, the most sensitive indicators of CNS maturity were 1) the presence of a cycling pattern, 2) the continuity of the record pattern, and 3) the CFM recording bandwidth. Conclusions. Our proposed scoring system may be a valuable tool to quantify changes during CFM more objectively, reflecting variations in CNS activity in newborn infants and allowing for better statistical comparisons between amplitude-integrated electroencephalogram tracings from different patients as well as from the same patient at different points of time.
Balancing and optimizing a portfolio of R&D projects

A mathematical formulation of an optimization model designed to select projects for inclusion in an R&D portfolio, subject to a wide variety of constraints (e.g., capital, headcount, strategic intent, etc.), is presented. The model is similar to others that have previously appeared in the literature and is in the form of a mixed integer programming (MIP) problem known as the multidimensional knapsack problem. Exact solution of such problems is generally difficult, but can be accomplished in reasonable time using specialized algorithms. The main contribution of this paper is an examination of two important issues related to formulation of project selection models such as the one presented here. If partial funding and implementation of projects is allowed, the resulting formulation is a linear programming (LP) problem which can be solved quite easily. Several plausible assumptions about how partial funding impacts project value are presented. In general, our examples suggest that the problem might best be formulated as a nonlinear programming (NLP) problem, but that there is a need for further research to determine an appropriate expression for the value of a partially funded project. In light of that gap in the current body of knowledge and for practical reasons, the LP relaxation of this model is preferred. The LP relaxation can be implemented in a spreadsheet (even for relatively large problems) and gives reasonable results when applied to a test problem based on GM's R&D project selection process. There has been much discussion in the literature on the topic of assigning a quantitative measure of value to each project. Although many alternatives are suggested, no one way is universally accepted as the preferred way. There does seem to be general agreement that all of the proposed methods are subject to considerable uncertainty. A systematic way to examine the sensitivity of project selection decisions to variations in the measure of value is developed. It is shown that the solution for the illustrative problem is reasonably robust to rather large variations in the measure of value. We cannot, however, conclude that this would be the case in general. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 48: 18–40, 2001
SSPH basis functions for meshless methods, and comparison of solutions with strong and weak formulations

We propose a new and simple technique called the Symmetric Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SSPH) method to construct basis functions for meshless methods that use only locations of particles. These basis functions are found to be similar to those in the Finite Element Method (FEM) except that the basis for the derivatives of a function need not be obtained by differentiating those for the function. Of course, the basis for the derivatives of a function can be obtained by differentiating the basis for the function as in the FEM and meshless methods. These basis functions are used to numerically solve two plane stress/strain elasto-static problems by using either the collocation method or a weak formulation of the problem defined over a subregion of the region occupied by the body; the latter is usually called the Meshless Local Petrov–Galerkin (MLPG) method. For the two boundary-value problems studied, it is found that the weak formulation in which the basis for the first order derivatives of the trial solution are derived directly in the SSPH method (i.e., not obtained by differentiating the basis function for the trial solution) gives the least value of the L2-error norm in the displacements while the collocation method employing the strong formulation of the boundary-value problem has the largest value of the L2-error norm. The numerical solution using the weak formulation requires more CPU time than the solution with the strong formulation of the problem. We have also computed the L2-error norm of displacements by varying the number of particles, the number of Gauss points used to numerically evaluate domain integrals appearing in the weak formulation of the problem, the radius of the compact support of the kernel function used to generate the SSPH basis, the order of complete monomials employed for constructing the SSPH basis, and boundary conditions used at a point on a corner of the rectangular problem domain. It is recommended that for solving two-dimensional elasto-static problems, the MLPG formulation in which derivatives of the trial solution are found without differentiating the SSPH basis function be adopted.
The Retrieval and Validation of Doppler Velocity Estimates from Range Imaging

Abstract Range imaging (RIM) is used to describe a constrained optimization signal-processing method that can be applied to wind profilers capable of operating over a small set of distinct transmitter frequencies. The results of the signal-processing method are typically high-resolution maps of the backscattered power as a function of range. In this paper it is discussed how RIM processing can be implemented in order to additionally obtain high-resolution estimates of the Doppler velocity. The method has been demonstrated using data from a 915-MHz tropospheric profiler located in Platteville, Colorado. Examples of data collected during an experiment conducted on 10 April 2001 are presented. In this experiment the radar was operated alternately in two different modes. The cycle time for the two modes was about 50 s. The particular operation of the radar allowed comparison of radar reflectivity (η) and vertical velocity (V) measurements collected using the two modes. In the first mode, 2-μs pulses were tran...
Linear system identification from non-stationary cross-sectional data

The identification of time invariant linear stochastic systems from cross-sectional data on non-stationary system behavior is considered. A strong consistency and asymptotic normality result for maximum likelihood and prediction error estimates of the system parameters, system and measurement noise covariances and the initial state covariance is proven. A new identifiability property for the system model is defined and appears in the set of conditions for this result. The non-stationary stochastic realization (i.e., covariance factorization) theorem in [1] describes sufficient conditions for the identifiability property to hold. An application illustrating the use of a computer program implementing the identification method is presented.
Can the human right ventricle create a negative diastolic pressure suggestive of suction

Pressure in the right ventricle (RV) as well as the right atrium (RA) and pulmonary artery (PA) were measured in 80 patients with catheter-tip micromanometers and evaluated to determine if the pressures are compatible with the concept of RV diastolic suction. In 40 patients with normal PA pressure, minimal RV diastolic pressure that occurred during early filling, was negative (-2 +/- 0.3 mm Hg) (mean +/- SEM). In 29 patients with PA hypertension, minimal RV diastolic pressure during expiration also was negative (-2 +/- 0.7 mm Hg). In 11 patients with right ventricular failure, however, minimal RV diastolic pressure was positive (9 +/- 2 mm Hg). These results indicate that the human right ventricle, in the absence of failure, has a negative early diastolic pressure, which may reflect RV diastolic suction.
Variability in Response to Antihypertensive Drug Treatment

One of the definitions of the word pragmatic is “practical as opposed to idealistic.” Many of the controversies regarding the issue of the use of race to any degree whatsoever in medical decision-making may be more of a result of tensions between pragmatic and idealistic positions on the issue. The biological determinants of human intraarterial pressure are such that there is no precise cutpoint that can be defined for what can be considered to be “normal.” Certainly, the statistical population norm is not a satisfactory cutpoint, because it is skewed to the right by those people whose blood pressures are biologically abnormal. How do we know that they are biologically abnormal? Here is another point of tension. We must make that determination based on the best epidemiological data on target organ consequences of elevated intraarterial pressure that we can gather. Reducing intraarterial pressure appears to be more important than the means by which it is reduced.1 Currently, a systolic pressure of <120 mm Hg and a diastolic pressure of <80 mm Hg defines normal, but there is growing evidence that <115 mm Hg systolic and <75 mm Hg diastolic should be the cutpoint.2–4 As if this were not enough uncertainty, add the fuel of measurement, physiological, geographic,5 and treatment variability of blood pressure to the philosophical fire. It is this variability within individuals and the overlap of group responses that is the central point of the study by Mokwe et al reported in this issue of Hypertension .6 In brief, the authors used data from the …
Demography of greater prairie‐chickens: Regional variation in vital rates, sensitivity values, and population dynamics

Intensification of rangeland management has coincided with population declines among obligate grassland species in the largest remaining tallgrass prairie in North America, although causes of declines remain unknown. We modeled population dynamics and conducted sensitivity analyses from demographic data collected for an obligate grassland bird that is an indicator species for tallgrass prairie, the greater prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus cupido), during a 4-year study in east-central Kansas, USA. We examined components of reproductive effort and success, juvenile survival, and annual adult female survival for 3 populations of prairie-chickens across an ecological gradient of human landscape alteration and land use. We observed regional differences in reproductive performance, survivorship, and population dynamics. All 3 populations of prairie-chickens were projected to decline steeply given observed vital rates, but rates of decline differed across a gradient of landscape alteration, with the greatest declines in fragmented landscapes. Elasticity values, variance-scaled sensitivities, and contribution values from a random-effects life-table response experiment all showed that the finite rate of population change was more sensitive to changes in adult survival than other demographic parameters in our declining populations. The rate of population change was also sensitive to nest survival at the most fragmented and least intensively grazed study site; suggesting that patterns of landscape fragmentation and land use may be affecting the relative influences of underlying vital rates on rates of population growth. Our model results indicate that 1) populations of prairie- chickens in eastern Kansas are unlikely to be viable without gains from immigration, 2) rates of population decline vary among areas under different land management practices, 3) human land-use patterns may affect the relative influences of vital rates on population trajectories, and 4) anthropogenic effects on population demography may influence the regional life-history strategies of a short-lived game bird. 2012 The Wildlife Society.
Two-dimensional consecutive-k-out-of-n:F models

A two-dimensional version of the consecutive-k-out-of-n:F model is considered. Bounds on system failure probabilities are determined by comparison with the usual one-dimensional model. Failure probabilities are determined by simulation for a variety of values of k and n. >
Accuracy of the Leisure Activities Finder: Expanding Holland's typology

Abstract The Self-Directed Search was given to 70 university graduate students in counseling. Their resulting summary codes were compared with a two-letter leisure code obtained from The Leisure Activities Finder. A high degree of agreement between the two sets of codes was found. Implications for career counselors are discussed.
Some Characteristics of Thyratrons

The fundamental characteristics of thyratrons are discussed. Comparisons are made with characteristics of high-vacuum tubes to show the outstanding advantages and limitations of the thyratron. Starting characteristics are discussed and typical examples are shown. Several types and sizes of thyratrons are described briefly.
HIV in testis: quantitative histology and HIV localization in germ cells.

Abstract The testes of AIDS patients invariably show decreased spermatogenesis and are atrophic. These testicular changes can be grouped into three categories: (1) spermatogenesis present, but decreased; (2) spermatogenic arrest at primary spermatocyte stage; and (3) Sertoli only (or almost Sertoli only). The purpose of this study is 2-fold: firstly, to quantitate the numbers and types of germ cells in these three groups as compared with normals. In addition the presence of HIV-1 DNA positive germ cells was quantitated by PCR in situ hybridization. HIV-1 was identified in 14 of 15 testes from HIV infected adults, and was present in 25–33% of residual germ cells. There was an average of 18.9 HIV infected germs cells/tubule in the spermatogenesis group, 6.3 HIV infected germs cells in the spermatogenic arrest group, and 0.25 HIV infected germ cells in the almost Sertoli only group. HIV-1 DNA was absent in three of the three preadolescent boys testes (HIV acquired in utero). This study quantitates the degree of germ cell loss in AIDS patients and quantitates the degree of HIV positivity of the residual germ cells, thus shedding more light on the testicular HIV burden, with its possible repercussions for sexual transmission of HIV.
Template-Controlled Synthesis in the Solid-State

The application of molecular templates to direct reactivity in the solid state is described. Specifically, molecules that function as linear templates are demonstrated to pro- vide control of the (2+2) photodimerization in the solid state such that it is possible to use the templates to conduct target-oriented molecular syntheses, or molecular syntheses by de- sign. The degree of organization provided by the solid state is also shown to provide chemists a reliable means to capture and transform ordered complexes formed by way of hydrogen- bonded-driven self-assembly into complex covalent molecular and polymeric structures.
Nuclear Receptor Signaling Atlas (www.nursa.org): hyperlinking the nuclear receptor signaling community

The nuclear receptor signaling (NRS) field has generated a substantial body of information on nuclear receptors, their ligands and coregulators, with the ultimate goal of constructing coherent models of the biological and clinical significance of these molecules. As a component of the Nuclear Receptor Signaling Atlas (NURSA)—the development of a functional atlas of nuclear receptor biology—the NURSA Bioinformatics Resource is developing a strategy to organize and integrate legacy and future information on these molecules in a single web-based resource (www.nursa.org). This entails parallel efforts of (i) developing an appropriate software framework for handling datasets from NURSA laboratories and (ii) designing strategies for the curation and presentation of public data relevant to NRS. To illustrate our approach, we have described here in detail the development of a web-based interface for the NURSA quantitative PCR nuclear receptor expression dataset, incorporating bioinformatics analysis which provides novel perspectives on functional relationships between these molecules. We anticipate that the free and open access of the community to a platform for data mining and hypothesis generation strategies will be a significant contribution to the progress of research in this field.
Unsupervised image segmentation using triplet Markov fields

Hidden Markov fields (HMF) models are widely applied to various problems arising in image processing. In these models, the hidden process of interest X is a Markov field and must be estimated from its observable noisy version Y. The success of HMF is mainly due to the fact that the conditional probability distribution of the hidden process with respect to the observed one remains Markovian, which facilitates different processing strategies such as Bayesian restoration. HMF have been recently generalized to "pairwise" Markov fields (PMF), which offer similar processing advantages and superior modeling capabilities. In PMF one directly assumes the Markovianity of the pair (X, Y). Afterwards, "triplet" Markov fields (TMF), in which the distribution of the pair (X, Y) is the marginal distribution of a Markov field (X, U, Y), where U is an auxiliary process, have been proposed and still allow restoration processing. The aim of this paper is to propose a new parameter estimation method adapted to TMF, and to study the corresponding unsupervised image segmentation methods. The latter are validated via experiments and real image processing.
Recomposing an Irregular Algorithm Using a Novel Low-Level PGAS Model

This paper presents analysis and simulation results for a toolkit of parallel graph traversal primitives which were built using a novel, low-level partitioned global address space (PGAS) programming model. Unlike high-level HEC PGAS languages (UPC, Chapel, Fortress), this mobile-subjective (MoS) model does not hide parallelization or communication overhead in the compiler or runtime. Unlike other low-level HEC languages (C/MPI) this model provides 1) facilities for fine-grain synchronization, 2) PGAS view of memory, and 3) object encapsulation. This paper shows how this programming model facilitated the transformation of the well-studied minimum spanning forest (MSF) algorithm into a new MSF algorithm which allowed for million way well-behaved parallelism on a novel multithreaded architecture. We provide analysis to show why naive formulations of MSF are not scalable for certain input graphs. We then provide analysis of the MoS reformulation to show how scalability is achieved by ensuring a good distribution of data and computation for arbitrary input graphs.
The moral code in Islam and organ donation in Western countries: reinterpreting religious scriptures to meet utilitarian medical objectives

End-of-life organ donation is controversial in Islam. The controversy stems from: (1) scientifically flawed medical criteria of death determination; (2) invasive perimortem procedures for preserving transplantable organs; and (3) incomplete disclosure of information to consenting donors and families. Data from a survey of Muslims residing in Western countries have shown that the interpretation of religious scriptures and advice of faith leaders were major barriers to willingness for organ donation. Transplant advocates have proposed corrective interventions: (1) reinterpreting religious scriptures, (2) reeducating faith leaders, and (3) utilizing media campaigns to overcome religious barriers in Muslim communities. This proposal disregards the intensifying scientific, legal, and ethical controversies in Western societies about the medical criteria of death determination in donors. It would also violate the dignity and inviolability of human life which are pertinent values incorporated in the Islamic moral code. Reinterpreting religious scriptures to serve the utilitarian objectives of a controversial end-of-life practice, perceived to be socially desirable, transgresses the Islamic moral code. It may also have deleterious practical consequences, as donors can suffer harm before death. The negative normative consequences of utilitarian secular moral reasoning reset the Islamic moral code upholding the sanctity and dignity of human life.
New estimates of influenza-related pneumonia and influenza hospitalizations among the elderly

Abstract Objectives: The aim of this study is to present a method to provide accurate estimates of influenza-associated pneumonia and influenza (PI average annual cost=$372.3 million. Influenza A(H3N2) was associated with 73.9% of influenza-related PI influenza B with 21.3% and influenza A(H1N1) with 4.8%. Conclusions: Our estimates were consistent with the estimates of influenza-associated P&I mortality reported by CDC. Thus, we suggest that estimates of influenza-associated morbidity and costs based on virus surveillance and administrative data may be used for monitoring the impact of influenza and of intervention strategies.
Dynamics and Control of the Shoot-the-Moon Tabletop Game

The classic tabletop game Shoot-the-Moon has interesting dynamics despite its simple structure, consisting of a steel ball rolling on two cylindrical rods. In this paper, we derive the equations of motion for Shoot-the-Moon using a Lagrangian approach and examine the underactuated, nonlinear, and nonholonomic dynamics. Two ball position controllers are designed, one using a local linearization and another using the nonlinear dynamics. Simulations of both controllers are performed, showing that the ball converges to the setpoint position for the linearized controller and continuous signals can be tracked by the nonlinear controller. Finally, the experimental results are presented for the nonlinear controller applied to a physical implementation of Shoot-the-Moon. The effect of the nonholonomic constraint relating the ball's linear and angular position is demonstrated. This system has rich dynamics that can provide a challenging problem for control design and serve as a new educational example.
Surgical management of medically refractory epilepsy in patients with polymicrogyria.

Author(s): Wang, Doris D; Knox, Renatta; Rolston, John D; Englot, Dario J; Barkovich, A James; Tihan, Tarik; Auguste, Kurtis I; Knowlton, Robert C; Cornes, Susannah B; Chang, Edward F | Abstract: ObjectivePolymicrogyria (PMG) is a malformation of cortical development characterized by formation of an excessive number of small gyri. Sixty percent to 85% of patients with PMG have epilepsy that is refractory to medication, but surgical options are usually limited. We characterize a cohort of patient with polymicrogyria who underwent epilepsy surgery and document seizure outcomes.MethodsA retrospective study of all patients with PMG who underwent epilepsy surgery (focal seizure foci resection and/or hemispherectomy) at our center was performed by review of all clinical data related to their treatment.ResultsWe identified 12 patients (7 males and 5 female) with mean age of 18 (ranging from 3 months to 44 years) at time of surgery. Mean age at seizure onset was 8 years, with the majority (83%) having childhood onset. Six patients had focal, five had multifocal, and one patient had diffuse PMG. Perisylvian PMG was the most common pattern seen on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Eight patients had other cortical malformations including hemimegalencephaly and cortical dysplasia. Scalp electroencephalography (EEG) often showed diffuse epileptic discharges that poorly lateralized but were focal on intracranial electrocorticography (ECoG). Eight patients underwent seizure foci resection and four underwent hemispherectomy. Mean follow-up was 7 years (ranging from one to 19 years). Six patients (50%) were seizure-free at last follow-up. One patient had rare seizures (Engel class II). Three patients were Engel class III, having either decreased seizure frequency or severity, and two patients were Engel class IV. Gross total resection of the PMG cortex trended toward good seizure control.SignificanceOur study shows that even in patients with extensive or bilateral PMG malformations, some may still be good candidates for surgery because the epileptogenic zone may involve only a portion of the malformation. Intracranial ECoG can provide additional localizing information compared to scalp EEG in guiding resection of epileptogenic foci.
Dynamics and Control of Surface Exploration Robots on Asteroids

Over the past decade, a few solo-robotic landing missions have been sent to asteroids at modest cost, providing a basic understanding of their environment. These missions can diversify and be improved upon by having multiple landers which also contribute to increasing the overall mission reliability. Since the gravity on an asteroid is low, a wheeled vehicle would likely bounce back from hitting the surface, and be difficult to control. Instead we consider hopping robots. We develop a first order model of the dynamics of hoppers to estimate the total time and distance covered from an initial bounce to a stop due to friction and restitution coefficients. From this dynamical model, hoppers could easily investigate the surface by controlling their initial velocity; one would just need to estimate to desired distance to be covered. To extend the single hopper control law to collaborative landers, we apply sliding-mode control to discrete formation control.
Obesity as an Epidemic: Causes, Morbidities and Reproductive Performance

Obesity is an epidemic causing significant morbidity and mortality in United States. It is facilitated by many factors including sedentary life style, abundance of food, and unhealthy dietary habits. This review aims to briefly address causes and conditions associated with obesity, with a special emphasis on reproductive performance for Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Evaluation of the protective effects of zoledronic acid on bone mass in premenopausal women undergoing adjuvant chemotherapy following treatment discontinuation

562 Background: Adjuvant chemotherapy is associated with a significant reduction in bone mineral density (BMD) in premenopausal women with breast cancer (BC). We previously showed that this loss of...
Profits from Tax Evasion Under the Midco Transaction

In a transaction the IRS has called the midco shelter, a scoundrel evades tax on the sale of a corporation’s business assets and shares the benefit of the evasion with the sellers of the corporation’s stock and the buyers of its assets. Shareholders of a corporation with appreciated assets sell stock to the scoundrel, and the corporation sells its assets. Tax on the gain is due but the scoundrel evades tax. Asset buyers get a step-up in basis to cost without having to cover the tax on the asset sale. Stock sellers get a price greater than the net worth of assets, when tax due is considered.The proposal would make the selling shareholders secondarily liable for the corporate tax, limited by the premium they receive in excess of the corporation’s net worth. That premium would be measured from the actual sales of corporate assets. The proposal would also make asset buyers secondarily liable for corporate tax, limited by the deemed value of the step-up in basis. The proposal would have no effect on current transferee liability law. The proposal is made as a part of the Shelf Project, a collaboration among tax professionals to develop proposals to help Congress raise revenue in ways that improve the fairness and efficiency of the tax system. Shelf projects follow the format of a committee report, describing current law and the reasons for change and providing an explanation of the proposal.
Radial pulsation of less-massive yellow supergiants

Linear and nonlinear pulsation computations for the modelsM=0.8M ⊙,L=10000 and 20000L ⊙ were carried out in order to understand FG Sge's pulsation. The results may be summarized as follows: We also examine the possibility, suggested by Whitney (1978), that the mass of FG Sge is 0.4M ⊙.
Moral monsters and saints

This paper argues for the moral significance of the notion of an evil person or character. First, I argue that accounts of evil character ought to support a robust bad/evil distinction; yet existing theories cannot plausibly do so. Consequentialist and related theories also fail to account for some cru- cial properties of evil persons. Second, I sketch an intuitively plausible "affective-motivational" ac- count of evil character. Third, I argue that the notion of evil character, thus conceived, denotes a sig- nificant moral category. It marks one end of a moral continuum that has, at the opposite pole, the saint. Fourth, I argue that "frequent evildoing" accounts confuse this moral space with another: that defined by the moral hero and the moral criminal.
Flammability Studies of Thermoplastic Polyurethane Elastomer Nanocomposites

Thermal protection materials are required to protect structural components of space vehicles during the re-entry stage, missile launching systems, and solid rocket motors. Novel materials based on nanotechnolog y creating nontraditional polymers are rapidly changing the technology base for thermal protection systems. In the present study, a nanophase was introduced into the thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer via twin screw extrusion. Thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer pellets were blended separately with chemically modified montmorillonite organoclays, carbon nanofibers, or multiwall carbon nanotubes to create a family of thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer nanocomposites. Flammability properties of each family of materials were studied using UL 94. The addition of different nanoadditive to the thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer drastically changes its flammability properties, charred strength, and failure mechanism.
Effect of testosterone propionate on phosphatases in the seminal vesicle and prostate of the rat.

SummaryThe acid and alkaline phosphatases of seminal vesicles and prostate glands of rats were estimated quantitatively in normal animals, castrates, and castrates receiving testosterone propionate.In both glands the enzymes decrease in activity after castration, are restored to essentially normal levels by androgen therapy. The seminal vesicle is more sensitive than the prostate gland in this respect.Androgen therapy caused hypertrophy of the glands beyond normal, size, but under the conditions of these experiments, the acid and alkaline phosphatase active was not increased beyond normal levels.
Rigidity of Layered Random Alloys

Randomly intercalated layered alloys are excellent models for two-dimensional microporous systems. We have studied the nonlinear gallery expansion and the gallery height fluctuations by constructing a double layer model that describes the layer rigidity and the size and stiffness of the intercalant species. Exact solutions, simulations and an effective-medium theory (EMT) results are compared. Applications of the results to ternary intercalation compounds are discussed.
The Application of DCS System Based on PLC in Sewage Treatment Plant

This paper introduces the application of DCS based on PLC.Compared with the old DCS, this can meet the needs of automatic operation of the sewage plant .Besides, it is much more flexible and low cost.
Influence of nucleobase stoichiometry on the self-assembly of ABC triblock copolymers

ABC triblock copolymers bearing adenine- and thymine-functionalized external blocks self-assembled into long-range, ordered lamellar microphase-separated morphologies on non-patterned substrates. Intermolecular hydrogen bonding formed thymine–adenine triplets and promoted self-assembly into well-defined lamellae consisting of poly(n-butyl acrylate) soft domains and complementary nucleobase hard domains, while thymine–adenine duplets contributed to superior mechanical properties.