cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Migration of T cells from nearby inflammatory foci into antibody bound tissue: a relay of T cell and antibody actions in targeting native autoantigen

Abstract We have reported that binding of antibody to native autoantigen is prerequisite for T cells to target the native antigen in murine autoimmune ovarian disease model (AOD). As a result, ovarian follicles, with target antigen ZP3 (Zona Pellucida 3), are destroyed. In this study, AOD was induced by co-transfer of ZP3-specific CD4+T cells and ZP3 antibody. ZP3 CD4+T cells, labeled with CFSE, were found to target macrophages in degenerated follicles to form inflammatory foci, which were composed of mainly endogenous CD4+T cells (85%). Only endogenous T cells in the foci, with increased CD69+expression, further migrated into antibody bound follicles. No F4/80 or MHC II+cells were found to co-migrate with the T cells or in follicles. Co-transfer of ZP3 T cell and antibody also induced (1) a transient PMN influx at early stage and (2) a dramatic increase in IL-1β expression coincident with the migration in the ovary. These results suggest that ZP3 antibody binding, only in the presence of ZP3 T cells, may cause an inflammatory change in follicles, which attract endogenous T cells from nearby inflammation. Thus, through a relay between T cell and antibody mediated mechanisms, native autoantigen is targeted and destroyed. This mechanism may explain the requirement of antibody in several T cell mediated autoimmune diseases.
Empirical Estimation of Urban Effects on Climate: A Problem Analysis.

Abstract Doubt exists among atmospheric scientists about current estimates of local and regional effects of urbanization on climate, but not generally about the existence of these urban effects. This paper presents a framework for discussion of various estimators, uses the framework to make the case for a particular estimator, and then uses the framework to examine possible shortcomings of other estimators which appear in the literature. The measure recommended consists of differences between observations, from urban and pre-urban periods, first stratified by synoptic weather type. The measures whose shortcomings are examined are 1) contemporaneous urban-rural differences, 2) contemporaneous upwind-downwind differences, 3) contemporaneous urban-regional ratios, 4) time trends of differences and ratios and 5) contemporaneous weekday-weekend differences. The paper is designated as a “problem analysis” because its goal is general facilitation of discussion about the problem of empirical estimation of urban e...
Practical Three-Dimensional Aerodynamic Design and Optimization Using Unstructured Meshes

A methodology for performing optimization on three-dimensional unstructured grids based on the Euler equations is presented. The same, low-memory-cost explicit relaxation algorithm is used to resolve the discrete equations that govern the flow, linearized direct, and adjoint problems. The analysis scheme is a high-resolution local-extremum-diminishing-type scheme that uses Roe decomposition for the dissipative fluxes. Mesh movement is performed in such a way that optimization of arbitrary geometries is allowed. The parallelization of the algorithm, which permits its extension to optimization of realistic, complete aircraft geometries, is presented. Two sample optimizations are performed. The flrst is the inverse design of a transonic wing/body configuration using a surface target pressure distribution found by analyzing the geometry for known design variable deflections. The second exercise is the inverse design of a business jet configuration consisting of wing, body, strut, nacelle, horizontal fin, and vertical fin. The surface target pressure distribution in this case is provided by an analysis of the configuration with no strut-nacelle.
A critical layer dominated by non-parallel effects in a rotating barotropic flow

The critical layer of perturbations to slowly modulating strong rectified currents induced by vorticity sources in a quasi-geostrophic barotrophic flow is investigated. For $r \gg Re^{-\frac{3}{2}}$ and $r \gg \delta^2$ which correspond to realistic geophysical conditions, the critical layer is dominated by the advection of the perturbation's vorticity by the weak transverse velocity of the basic state and not by the traditional viscous or nonlinear balance. The Ekman, Rossby and Reynolds numbers of the flow are $E, Ro$ and $Re$ respectively and $r = E^\frac{1}{2}/Ro$, while $\delta$ is the parameter of nonlinearity. The width of the critical layer is $O(r^\frac{1}{6})$ which can be quite thick for relevant flow conditions. This suggests that non-parallel effects play an important role in the dynamics of large scale geophysical flows.
Algebraic specifications and sequencing: A defect detection method

One class of program defects results from illegal sequences of otherwise legal operations in software implementations. Explicit statement of sequencing constraints, however, is not a common activity when specifying software even when using formal specification methods. This paper shows that constraints on program execution sequences can be derived directly from algebraic specifications. Results include heuristic methods for generating sequencing constraints and a generalization of these methods into automatable rules. The heuristics can be integrated into a specification methodology such as Larch. Engineers can use the generated sequencing constraints to detect sequencing defects in software even before dynamic testing begins. The method can be used to increase the reliability of software that is specified using algebraic methods.
Protective role of the half-center oscillator connectivity against external perturbations

Central pattern generators (CPGs) are neuronal circuits that control rhythmic movements in animals. The heartbeat of the medicinal leech is controlled by a CPG that is distributed over several ganglia. In ganglia 3 and 4, there are half-center oscillators (HCOs): pairs of reciprocally inhibitory heart interneurons (HNs). These HCOs form the kernel of the heartbeat CPG, and each HCO is composed of a pair of endogenously bursting heart interneurons [1]. A canonical model of the HN accurately reproduces experimental results [1,2]. It also exhibits bistability of bursting and silence in single HNs and the HCO [1,3]. The single HN and HCO model have been expanded into a family of models that satisfy biological constraints [2]. Multistability is highly prevalent in this database [4]. The coexistence of bursting and silent regimes could present a life threatening condition for the animal. If a perturbation were able to trigger a switch in the activity of the CPG to a silent state, circulation of blood in the leech would be crippled. Our hypothesis is that the HCO connectivity protects functional pattern of activity against an external perturbation. Here, we investigated the perturbations that switch the activity of the HN and the HCO from bursting to silence. Over a series of simulations, we applied a 30 ms pulse of current with various amplitudes and phases of application in the period of bursting activity. This protocol provided a set of pulse parameters in the (phase, amplitude) parameter space for which a switch was triggered. In the canonical model of a single HN for which the leak conductance was 9.59 nS, both depolarizing and hyperpolarizing pulses could trigger switches (Figure ​(Figure1).1). We observed contiguous sets of pulse parameters where triggered switches occurred, but there were also fine structures in the parameter space (Figure ​(Figure1).1). We estimated the susceptibility of bursting activity in the HN to perturbations by the proportion of pulse parameter sets that would trigger a switch to the total number of trials. We found that 20.84% of pulses triggered a switch (Figure ​(Figure1).1). We repeated this pulse protocol in the HCO for the same parameter values of the ionic conductances, and found that no pulses elicited a switch from bursting to silence. Our results suggest that in a network consisting of bistable elements, the half-center oscillator connectivity protects the functional regime against external perturbations. Figure 1 Properties of pulses triggering a switch from bursting to silence. Red or blue points indicate a switch or failure to switch. The yellow trajectory is the bursting waveform that defines the phase. The green dashed line indicates 0 nA.
Acute heart failure syndromes: the role of vasopressin antagonists.

Hospitalizations for acute heart failure syndromes (AHFS) are associated with high post-discharge morbidity and mortality. The potential role of vasopressin antagonists (VA) in AHFS was presented at the 2008 European Society of Cardiology Working Group on Acute Cardiac Care Meeting held in Versailles, France from 25–28 October 2008. This report represents a summary of the presentation at this meeting.
Partial purification of a triacylglycerol lipase isolated from steelhead trout (Salmo gairdneri) adipose tissue

A triacylglycerol (TG) lipase (EC 3.1.1.2), assayed by monitoring [1-14C]-oleic acid release from [carboxyl-14C]-triolein after liquid-liquid partition of the fatty acid from the unhydrolyzed triacylglycerol substrate, was isolated and partially purified from steelhead trout adipose tissue. The TG lipase was resolved from contaminating lipoprotein lipase by heparin-sepharose affinity chromatography and purified ca. 71-fold over the original fraction. Optimal enzyme activity occurred at pH 7.5. The purified enzyme migrated on SDS-polyacrylamide gels with an apparent molecular weight of 48,000.
Clay mineral formation in DSDP Leg 34 basalt

Abstract A blue-green smectite (iron-rich saponite) and green mica (celadonite) are the dominant sheet silicates in veins within the 10.5 m of basalt cored during DSDP Leg 34, Site 321, in the Nazca plate. Oxygen isotopic analyses of these clays, and associated calcite, indicate a formation temperature of ≤25°C . Celadonite contains appreciable Fe 2 O 3 , K 2 O and SiO 2 , intermediate MgO, and very little Al 2 O 3 . Celadonite is commonly associated with goethite and hematite, which suggests that this phase formed by precipitation within a dominantly oxygenated environment of components leached from basalt and provided by seawater. A mass balance estimate indicates that celadonite formation can remove no more than 15% of the K annually transported to the oceans by rivers. In contrast, iron-rich saponite containing significant Al 2 O 3 appears to have precipitated from a non-oxidizing , distinctly alkaline fluid containing a high Na/K ratio relative to unmodified seawater. Seawater-basalt interaction at low temperatures, resulting in the formation of celadonite and smectite may explain chemical gradients observed in interstitial waters of sediments overlying basalts.
Extinction map of the Galactic centre: OGLE‐II Galactic bulge fields

We present the reddening [E(V - I)] and extinction maps in the V band (A V ) and the I band (A I ) for 48 Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment II (OGLE-II) Galactic bulge (GB) fields, covering a range of -11° < l < 11°, with the total area close to 11 deg 2 . These measurements are based on two-band photometry of red clump giant (RCG) stars in OGLE-II VI maps of the GB. We confirm the anomalous value of the ratio of total to selective extinction R VI ≡ A V /E(V - I) = 1.9-2.1, depending on the line of sight, as measured recently by Udalski. By using the average value of R VI = 1.964 with the standard deviation sdev = 0.085, we measured E(V - I), A V and A I , and we obtained extinction and reddening maps with a high spatial resolution of 26.7-106.8 arcsec, depending on the stellar density of each field. We have assumed that average, reddening corrected colours of RCGs are the same in every field. The maps cover the ranges 0.42 < E(V - I) < 3.5, 0.83 < A V < 6.9 and 0.41 < A I < 3.4 mag, respectively. The zero-points of these maps are calibrated by using V - K colours of 20 RR Lyrae ab variables (RRab) in Baade's window. The apparent reddening corrected I-band magnitudes of the RCGs change by +0.4 mag while the Galactic coordinate l varies from +5° to -5°, indicating that these stars are in the Galactic bar. The reddening corrected colour of RRab and RCGs in the GB are consistent with colours of local stars, while in the past these colours were claimed to be different.
PARP-14 functions as a transcriptional switch for STAT6 dependent gene activation

A subset of poly ADP-ribose polymerases (PARP) that also contain macro domains regulate transcription. One such macro PARP, PARP-14 alters interleukin 4 (IL-4) and Stat6-dependent transcription. Stat6, activated by IL-4 plays an important role in T helper cell immunity and B cell responses. Here we define the mechanism by which PARP-14 regulates Stat6-activated transcription. Under non-stimulating conditions, PARP-14 recruits HDAC 2 and 3 to IL-4 responsive promoters. In the presence of IL-4, PARP-14 promotes efficient binding of Stat6 to its target genes. Moreover, HDAC 2 and 3 are released from the promoter with an IL-4 signal, this is aided by the ADP-ribosylation of the HDACs by PARP-14. The HDACs and PARP-14 get replaced by coactivators containing HAT activity. Based on these observations we put forth a mechanism in which PARP-14 functions as a transcriptional switch for Stat6-dependent gene induction. Thus, in the absence of a signal PARP-14 acts as a transcriptional repressor by recruiting HDACs. In contrast, in the presence of IL-4 the catalytic activity of PARP-14 facilitates Stat6 binding to the promoter, and release of HDACs so as to activate transcription.
Improving the granularity of access control for Windows 2000

This article presents the mechanisms in Windows 2000 that enable fine-grained and centrally managed access control for both operating system components and applications. These features were added during the transition from Windows NT 4.0 to support the Active Directory, a new feature in Windows 2000, and to protect computers connected to the Internet. While the access control mechanisms in Windows NT are suitable for file systems and applications with simple requirements, they fall short of the needs of applications with complex data objects. Our goal was to use operating system access control mechanisms to protect a large object hierarchy with many types of objects, each with many data properties. We also wanted to reduce the exposure of users to untrustworthy or exploited programs.We introduced three extensions to support these goals. First, we extended the entries in access control lists to provide an unlimited number of access rights for a single object and to allow grouping those rights for efficiency. Second, we extended the entries to specify precisely how access control lists are assigned to each distinct type of object, instead of treating all types identically. Finally, we extended the data structure identifying users' identity to the operating system to allow users to restrict the set of objects a program may access. These changes allow a single access control mechanism to be used to protect both system and application resources, as well as protect users from each other and users from their programs, simplifying both program development and system management.
Effect of housing factors and surficial uranium on the spatial prediction of residential radon in Iowa

Growing epidemiologic evidence suggests that residential radon is an important risk factor for lung cancer. Consequently, public health professionals have expressed interest in characterizing the spatial distribution of radon concentrations in order to identify geographic regions of high exposure. Ambient radon concentrations are a function of geologic features including soil radium content. Indoor radon concentrations can vary based on building characteristics that affect the entry of radon into the building and movement between rooms therein. We present a geostatistical hierarchical Bayesian model for radon that allows for spatial prediction based on geologic data and housing characteristics. Our model is applied to radon data from an epidemiologic study in Iowa that consist of 136 outdoor measurements and 2590 indoor measurements from 614 residential homes. Housing characteristics collected in the Iowa Study are included as predictors in the model. Geologic data in the form of county-average surficial uranium concentrations from the USGS National Uranium Resource Evaluation project are also considered. A ‘change of support’ approach is implemented to combine the radon measurements, collected at points in space, and the uranium concentrations, averaged over counties, so that point-source concentrations for the latter are available for the analysis. Estimates of the effect of select housing factors on radon are provided along with spatial maps of predicted radon concentrations in Iowa. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Predicting Active Pulmonary Tuberculosis Using an Artificial Neural Network

Background: Nosocomial outbreaks of tuberculosis (TB) have been attributed to unrecognized pulmonary TB. Accurate assessment in identifying index cases of active TB is essential in preventing transmission of the disease. Objectives: To develop an artificial neural network using clinical and radiographic information to predict active pulmonary TB at the time of presentation at a health-care facility that is superior to physicians’ opinion. Design: Nonconcurrent prospective study. Setting: University-affiliated hospital. Participants: A derivation group of 563 isolation episodes and a validation group of 119 isolation episodes. Interventions: A general regression neural network (GRNN) was used to develop the predictive model. Measurements: Predictive accuracy of the neural network compared with clinicians’ assessment. Results: Predictive accuracy was assessed by the c-index, which is equivalent to the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve. The GRNN significantly outperformed the physicians’ prediction, with calculated c-indices (6 SEM) of 0.947 6 0.028 and 0.61 6 0.045, respectively (p < 0.001). When the GRNN was applied to the validation group, the corresponding c-indices were 0.923 6 0.056 and 0.716 6 0.095, respectively. Conclusion: An artificial neural network can identify patients with active pulmonary TB more accurately than physicians’ clinical assessment. (CHEST 1999; 116:968 ‐973)
Early Caregiving and Adult Depression Good News for Young Caregivers

Purpose Limited information is available on the effects of caregiving experiences on the adult development of caregivers under 21 years old in the United States. The current study provided an examination of the effects of youthful caregiving on the mental health of these persons when adults. Design and methods Twelve individuals, 23 to 58 years old, were given brief phone interviews with semistructured questions, and then they completed questionnaires on their early caregiving experiences and current mental health. To be included, respondents must have provided primary caregiving assistance (i.e., bathing, dressing, feeding, etc.) for at least one parent when the caregiver was under 21 years old. Results The findings showed that individuals were young caregivers for parents with a number of problems, ranging from dementia to drug abuse. Individuals reported more positive mental health than negative mental health, and only two individuals had scores indicative of clinical depressive symptoms. Implications It appears that early caregiving experiences may not result in universally negative consequences in the adulthood of young caregivers.
Phase Relations in the Ternary System Fe2O3—FeO—YFeO3

Equilibrium data are presented for the ternary system Fe2O3–FeO–YFeO3 in ambient atmospheres of air, oxygen, and carbon dioxide at melting temperatures. The temperature range for the coexistence of yttrium-iron garnet and oxide liquid decreases with decreasing oxygen partial pressure from 127°C in oxygen to 86° C in air to 28° C in carbon dioxide. In addition, the composition of the garnet phase crystallizing from these melts changes with variations of temperature and oxygen pressure. The experimental data are discussed in terms of a polythermal-polybaric model of the system. Some conclusions are drawn as to the limiting conditions in different atmospheres for the growth and the resulting composition of yttrium-iron garnet crystals in equilibrium with ternary oxide liquids.
Simple circuits for generating high-voltage staircase waveforms

Two novel circuits are described which provide simple generation of high-voltage staircase waveforms for driving electro-optical (EO) loads. The circuits use power MOSFET's in what is essentially a switching mode. For applications which require high-voltage step-type waveforms, this technique offers substantial power savings and improved time-domain response over drive circuits that use a linear amplifier approach. Waveform characteristics can be controlled at a low voltage point, allowing flexible and accurate operation. >
The long-term effects of seizures on the developing brain: clinical and laboratory issues.

The long-term effects of seizures on the developing brain is a difficult clinical problem to study since cognitive impairment and behavioral abnormalities may be related to the etiological agent responsible for the seizures, age at time of onset of seizures, the type, frequency, or duration of the seizures, or the antiepileptic drugs used to treat the seizures. Many of these variables can be eliminated by using animal models of epilepsy. Work in our laboratory using the kainic acid (KA) model has demonstrated that status epilepticus in prepubescent and mature rats leads to significant deficits in memory, learning and behavior as adults when compared to control littermates without seizures. These rats also had a high incidence of spontaneous recurrent seizures (SRS) and an increased susceptibility to seizures using kindling and flurothyl. However, younger animals (≤20 day old) with KA-induced seizures of similar severity were not associated with later neurological deficits. The immature animals also had a low rate of SRS and did not differ from controls in susceptibility to kindling or flurothyl. Studies using the continuous hippocampal stimulation model of epilepsy have also demonstrated that prolonged seizures in the developing brain are less severe than those in the mature animal. The pathophysiological mechanisms that “protect” the young brain from long-term detrimental effects of prolonged seizures are unknown.
Heavy-Fermion Valence-Bond Liquids in Ultracold Atoms: Cooperation of the Kondo Effect and Geometric Frustration

We analyze a microscopic mechanism behind the coexistence of a heavy Fermi liquid and geometric frustration in Kondo lattices. We consider a geometrically frustrated periodic Anderson model and demonstrate how orbital fluctuations lead to a Kondo-screened phase in the limit of extreme strong frustration when only local singlet states participate in the low-energy physics. We also propose a setup to realize and study this exotic state with $SU(3)$-symmetric alkaline-earth cold atoms.
Discontinuous Galerkin optimal control for constrained nonlinear problems

A new numerical technique is presented for solving optimal control problems. This paper introduces a direct method that calculates optimal trajectories by discretizing the system dynamics using Galerkin numerical techniques and approximates the cost function with quadrature. We show that for bang-bang optimal control problems, discontinuous element-based Galerkin techniques lead to improved solution accuracies. Also, we show that the Galerkin optimal control method has the potential to reduce the dimension of multi-scale problems. Using two examples, the Galerkin method described in this paper is shown to be a very accurate and highly versatile method.
Fragmentation of Care and the Use of Head Computed Tomography in Patients With Ischemic Stroke

Background—Computed tomographic (CT) scans are central diagnostic tests for ischemic stroke. Their inefficient use is a negative quality measure tracked by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Methods and Results—We performed a retrospective analysis of Medicare fee-for-service claims data for adults admitted for ischemic stroke from 2008 to 2009, with 1-year follow-up. The outcome measures were risk-adjusted rates of high-intensity CT use (≥4 head CT scans) and risk- and price-adjusted Medicare expenditures in the year after admission. The average number of head CT scans in the year after admission, for the 327 521 study patients, was 1.94, whereas 11.9% had ≥4. Risk-adjusted rates of high-intensity CT use ranged from 4.6% (Napa, CA) to 20.0% (East Long Island, NY). These rates were 2.6% higher for blacks than for whites (95% confidence interval, 2.1%–3.1%), with considerable regional variation. Higher fragmentation of care (number of different doctors seen) was associated with high-intensity ...
Four strategies for the management of esophageal coins in children.

Objective. To compare clinical outcomes and costs under 4 strategies for the management of esophageal coins in children. Methods. We developed a decision analysis model of 4 possible strategies for managing esophageal coins: 1) endoscopic removal under general anesthesia; 2) esophageal bougienage, 3) an outpatient 12- to 24-hour observation period to allow spontaneous coin passage; and 4) an inpatient observation period. Probabilities of success and complication rates for endoscopy and esophageal bougienage were obtained from published data. The probability of spontaneous coin passage was derived from chart review data at our institution. Costs were calculated from charges using a cost-to-charge ratio of .72. Hypothetical patients included in the model were those with a single esophageal coin presenting within 24 hours of ingestion, with no respiratory compromise on presentation and with no previous history of esophageal disease. Strategy-specific outcomes were overall complication rate and total cost in dollars per patient. Sensitivity analyses were performed to account for variations in the data. Results. The esophageal bougienage strategy resulted in no complications and a total cost per patient of $382, which represents a marginal advantage of $2915 per patient compared with the endoscopic removal strategy. On sensitivity analysis over the range of success and complication rates of bougienage, this strategy maintained a considerable decrease in both overall complications and total cost per patient compared with all other strategies. Both outpatient and inpatient observation strategies had overall complication rates of 4.2% compared with the complication rate of 5.8% for the endoscopy strategy. The total cost per patient under these strategies was $2439 for the outpatient and $3141 for the inpatient strategy, representing a marginal advantage of $858 and $156 per patient, respectively, compared with the endoscopy strategy. Both observation strategies maintained a lower overall complication rate compared with endoscopy in the sensitivity analysis. The outpatient observation strategy maintained a marginal advantage of $645 to $1257 per patient compared with endoscopy; however, the inpatient observation strategy total cost per patient surpassed that of endoscopy at a spontaneous passage rate Conclusions. Given the high success and low complication rates reported for esophageal bougienage, substantial savings in overall complications and costs would be expected with the use of this procedure. With spontaneous passage rates >23%, either an outpatient or an inpatient observation strategy would reduce costs and complications, compared with endoscopic removal of all esophageal coins.
Sherlock: scalable deadlock detection for concurrent programs

We present a new technique to find real deadlocks in concurrent programs that use locks. For 4.5 million lines of Java, our technique found almost twice as many real deadlocks as four previous techniques combined. Among those, 33 deadlocks happened after more than one million computation steps, including 27 new deadlocks. We first use a known technique to find 1275 deadlock candidates and then we determine that 146 of them are real deadlocks. Our technique combines previous work on concolic execution with a new constraint-based approach that iteratively drives an execution towards a deadlock candidate.
Production of neutrinos and secondary electrons in cosmic sources

Abstract We study the individual contribution to secondary lepton production in hadronic interactions of cosmic rays (CRs) including resonances and heavier secondaries. For this purpose we use the same methodology discussed earlier [C.-Y. Huang, S.-E. Park, M. Pohl, C.D. Daniels, Astropart. Phys. 27 (2007) 429], namely the Monte-Carlo particle collision code DPMJET3.04 to determine the multiplicity spectra of various secondary particles with leptons as the final decay states, that result from inelastic collisions of cosmic-ray protons and Helium nuclei with the interstellar medium of standard composition. By combining the simulation results with parametric models for secondary particle (with resonances included) for incident cosmic-ray energies below a few GeV, where DPMJET appears unreliable, we thus derive production matrices for all stable secondary particles in cosmic-ray interactions with energies up to about 10 PeV. We apply the production matrices to calculate the radio synchrotron radiation of secondary electrons in a young shell-type SNR, RX J1713.7-3946, which is a measure of the age, the spectral index of hadronic cosmic rays, and most importantly the magnetic field strength. We find that the multi-mG fields recently invoked to explain the X-ray flux variations are unlikely to extend over a large fraction of the radio-emitting region, otherwise the spectrum of hadronic cosmic rays in the energy window 0.1–100 GeV must be unusually hard. We also use the production matrices to calculate the muon event rate in an IceCube-like detector that are induced by muon neutrinos from high-energy γ-ray sources such as RX J1713.7-3946, Vela Jr. and MGRO J2019+37. At muon energies of a few TeV, or in other word, about 10 TeV neutrino energy, an accumulation of data over about 5–10 years would allow testing the hadronic origin of TeV γ-rays.
Fasting versus 24-h urine pH in the evaluation of nephrolithiasis

An abnormal urinary pH (UpH) represents an important risk factor for nephrolithiasis. In some stone formers, a fasting urine specimen is obtained instead of a 24-h urine collection for stone risk evaluation. We examined the relationship between 24-h and fasting UpH in non-stone forming individuals and stone formers with various etiologies and a wide range of urine pH to test the validity of fasting UpH. Data from 159 subjects was examined in this retrospective study. We included non-stone forming subjects and stone formers with hypercalciuria, distal renal tubular acidosis, idiopathic uric acid nephrolithiasis, or chronic diarrhea. Participants collected a 24-h urine followed by a 2-h fasting urine. For the entire cohort, a significant correlation was seen between fasting and 24-h UpH (r2 = 0.49, p 0.2 pH units different from 24-h UpH in 58% of participants. The difference between fasting and 24-h UpH did not correlate with net gastrointestinal alkali absorption or urine sulfate, suggesting that dietary factors alone cannot explain this difference in UpH. Fasting urine pH correlates moderately with 24-h urine pH in a large cohort of individuals. Significant variability between these two parameters is seen in individual patients, emphasizing the cardinal role of 24-h urine collection for evaluating UpH in nephrolithiasis.
Chemical weathering of a marine terrace chronosequence, Santa Cruz, California. Part II: Solute profiles, gradients and the comparisons of contemporary and long-term weathering rates

The spatial and temporal changes in hydrology and pore water elemental and 87 Sr/ 86 Sr compositions are used to determine contemporary weathering rates in a 65- to 226-kyr-old soil chronosequence formed from granitic sediments deposited on marine terraces along coastal California. Soil moisture, tension and saturation exhibit large seasonal variations in shallow soils in response to a Mediterranean climate. These climate effects are dampened in underlying argillic horizons that progressively developed in older soils, and reached steady-state conditions in unsaturated horizons extending to depths in excess of 15 m. Hydraulic fluxes (qh), based on Cl mass balances, vary from 0.06 to 0.22 m yr � 1 , resulting in fluid residence times in the terraces of 10–24 yrs. As expected for a coastal environment, the order of cation abundances in soil pore waters is comparable to sea water, i.e., Na > Mg > Ca > K > Sr, while the anion sequence Cl > NO3 > HCO3 >S O 4 reflects modifying effects of nutrient cycling in the grassland vegetation. Net Cl-corrected solute Na, K and Si increase with depth, denoting inputs from feldspar weathering. Solute 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios exhibit progressive mixing of sea water-dominated precipitation with inputs from less radiogenic plagioclase. While net Sr and Ca concentrations are anomalously high in shallow soils due to biological cycling, they decline with depth to low and/or negative net concentrations. Ca/Mg, Sr/Mg and 87 Sr/ 86 Sr solute and exchange ratios are similar in all the terraces, denoting active exchange equilibration with selectivities close to unity for both detrital smectite and secondary kaolinite. Large differences in the magnitudes of the pore waters and exchange reservoirs result in short-term buffering of the solute Ca, Sr, and Mg. Such buffering over geologic time scales can not be sustained due to declining inputs from residual plagioclase and smectite, implying periodic resetting of the exchange reservoir such as by past vegetational changes and/or climate. Pore waters approach thermodynamic saturation with respect to albite at depth in the younger terraces, indicating that weathering rates ultimately become transport-limited and dependent on hydrologic flux. Contemporary rates Rsolute are estimated from linear Na and Si pore weathering gradients bsolute such that Rsolute ¼ qh bsolutebSv
Uncertainty representation in practical decision support systems for the field service of large systems

The application of probabilistic reasoning in building a practical decision support system for servicing large physical systems is described. Certainty factors (CFs) with probabilistic semantics reduce both the representational and the computational complexities of probabilistic reasoning. When the modularity assumption is violated, however, their use results in counterintuitive beliefs. To overcome this problem, context-dependent CFs must be computed. Qualitative conditions that context-dependent CFs should satisfy are derived. These derivations assume a sub-synergistic influence of causes on effects, which is typical in physical systems. These qualitative conditions admit many solutions of context-dependent CFs; therefore, the choice of an exact solution is arbitrary. Experimental results show improvement in the quality of updated beliefs with respect to the modularity assumption. >
Generalized Mixture Models for Molecular Phylogenetic Estimation

The rapidly growing availability of multigene sequence data during the past decade has enabled phylogeny estimation at phylogenomic scales. However, dealing with evolutionary process heterogeneity across the genome becomes increasingly challenging. Here we develop a mixture model approach that uses reversible jump Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) estimation to permit as many distinct models as the data require. Each additional model considered may be a fully parametrized general time-reversible model or any of its special cases. Furthermore, we expand the usual proposal mechanisms for topology changes to permit hard polytomies (i.e., zero-length internal branches). This new approach is implemented in the Crux software toolkit. We demonstrate the feasibility of using reversible jump MCMC on mixture models by reexamining a well-known 44-taxon mammalian data set comprising 22 concatenated genes. We are able to reproduce the results of the original analysis (with respect to bipartition support) when we make identical assumptions, but when we allow for polytomies and/or use data-driven mixture model estimation, we infer much lower bipartition support values for several key bipartitions.
The unit preference strategy in theorem proving

Unit Preference and Set of Support Strategies The theorems, axioms, etc., to which the algorithm and strategies described in this paper are applied are stated in a normal form defined as follows: A literal is formed by prefixing a predicate letter to an appropriate number of arguments (constants, variables, or expressions formed with the aid of function symbols) and then perhaps writing a negation sign (-) before the predicate letter. For example: P(b, x) -P(b, x) Q(y) R(a, b, x, z, c) S are all literals if P, Q, R, and S are two-, one-, five-, and zero-place predicate letters, respectively. The predicate letter is usually thought of as standing for some n-place relation. Then the literal P(a, b), for example, is thought of as saying that the ordered pair (a, b) has the property P. The literal -P(a, b) is thought of as saying that (a, b) does not have the property P.
Graphical Models for Inference with Missing Data

We address the problem of recoverability i.e. deciding whether there exists a consistent estimator of a given relation Q, when data are missing not at random. We employ a formal representation called 'Missingness Graphs' to explicitly portray the causal mechanisms responsible for missingness and to encode dependencies between these mechanisms and the variables being measured. Using this representation, we derive conditions that the graph should satisfy to ensure recoverability and devise algorithms to detect the presence of these conditions in the graph.
Effects of 2D Random Velocity Heterogeneities in the Mantle Lid and Moho Topography on Pn Geometric Spreading

Pn-wave energy refracts through the uppermost mantle, with the first seismic wave arrival at distances of ∼200 to ∼1500 km from crustal sources. The Pn phase provides important constraints on source type, location, and magnitude, but its propagation is complicated by frequency-dependent sensitivity to the Earth's sphericity and lithospheric velocity structure. Converging on an acceptable Pn geometric spreading correction and specifying its uncertainties, a requirement for accurately determining frequency-dependent attenuation models for Pn, depends on improved understanding of the behavior of Pn geometric spreading for various heterogeneous models. We investigate the effects of radial mantle lid velocity gradi- ents, mantle lid random volumetric velocity heterogeneities, and Moho topography on Pn geometric spreading using reflectivity and two-dimensional (2D) finite-difference 1-Hz wave propagation calculations for elastic Earth models. Mantle lid velocity gra- dients systematically modify the frequency-dependent geometric spreading from that found for models with constant velocity but retain the same overall functional form. Pn amplitudes are also sensitive to the presence of modest 2D random lateral velocity heterogeneities within the uppermost mantle, with geometric spreading approaching a power-law behavior as the root mean square strength of heterogeneity increases. 2D Moho topography introduces scatter into the amplitude of Pn, but the overall behavior remains compatible with that for a laterally homogeneous model. Given the lack of knowledge of specific small-scale structure for any particular Pn path, the preferred geometric spreading parameterization is the frequency-dependent model for a constant mantle lid velocity structure unless Pn travel-time branch curvature can constrain the radial gradient in the mantle lid.
Valuing the Changes in Herbicide Risks Resulting from Adoption of Roundup Ready Soybeans by U.S. Farmers: A Revealed-Preference Approach

A revealed-preference–based approach is proposed for valuation of the environmental and human impacts of pesticides. It is assumed that farmers reveal their willingness to pay for improved pesticide safety by selecting a specific product out of the set of available alternatives based on their costs, effectiveness, and safety. The approach is applied to estimate the welfare impact of changed patterns of herbicide use on Roundup Ready soybeans. The results indicate that farmers associate positive values with safety improvements. The aggregate welfare impact of the reduced risk for the U.S. soybean farmers was estimated to be $90.3 million in 2001.
Heteroaromatic polyamides from cyanoimidazoles

The synthesis of a new class of heteroaromatic polyamides based on cyanoimidazoles are described. The monomer, 2-amino-4-cyanoimidazole-5-carboxylic acid (3) is prepared from a two-step hydrolysis of 2-amino-4,5-dicyanoimidazole (1). A model dimer prepared from condensation of 1 with 4-cyanoimidazole-5-carboxylic acid was structurally characterized by single crystal diffraction. The dimer, C10H8N8O3, crystallizes with Z = 2 and includes two waters of hydration in the P1 space group, a = 7.684 (2), b = 7.864 (3), c = 10.918 (5), α = 100.14 (3), β = 93.15 (3), γ = 103.79 (3). The model dimer is totally planar and shows trans geometry across the amide linkage. The monomer was polymerized by phosphorylation reaction conditions leading to a highly colored oligomeric polyamide. The polymer was characterized by IR spectroscopy, viscometry, GPC chromatography, and luminescence studies. The polymer luminesces strongly under 450 nm laser irradiation at low temperatures.
PHYLLODISTOMUM FUNDULI N. SP. (TREMATODA: GORGODERIDAE) FROM FUNDULUS SCIADICUS COPE FROM CEDAR CREEK IN WESTERN NEBRASKA

Phyllodistomum funduli n. sp. is described from the urinary bladder and ureters of the plains topminnow, Fundulus sciadicus, from Cedar Creek in Keith County, Nebraska (41°11.18′N, 101°21.77′W). Phyllodistomum funduli differs from most other Phyllodistomum species reported in possessing an oral sucker that is larger than the acetabulum. Currently, 7 other species of Phyllodistomum have been reported to possess this trait. A comparison of P. funduli with these 7 other species indicates that P. funduli is a distinct species, lacking notches, posterior body folds, caudal projections, or cephalic glands found in some congeners. There is no published report on parasites other than monogeneans inhabiting the plains topminnow, and there is no other report of members from the Gorgoderidae inhabiting any members of the Fundulidae.
Antibiotic prophylaxis in an animal model of chronic peritoneal exposure.

ObjectivesAcute infection in an animal model of chronic peritoneal dialysis (PD) induces structural changes in the peritoneum and alters functional characteristics of transport. These changes may c...
Number of siblings and personality.

Are children from small [U.S.] families advantaged and those from large families disadvantaged other factors being equal?...Our results indicate that the assumption that children from smaller families are less sociable than children from larger families is weak and is confounded by other factors. Rather the results suggest that on average those from more advantaged socioeconomic backgrounds are less sociable and those from small families are more frequently from advantaged backgrounds. Data are from various published sources. (EXCERPT)
Abnormal Vibration Analysis and Treatment for Unit 7 in a Power Plant

This paper discussed the vibration problem of unit 7 in a power plant.The main vibration reasons for unit were analyzed,and the position of unbalance conservation was accurately analyzed.Then successfully handled through field balance to eliminate the vibration fault for level of excellence.Guaranteed the safety of the unit operation.
Progress in the Research of Screening Technique and Thermodynamics of Pharmaceutical Cocrystals

The advances in research of screening technique and thermodynamics of pharmaceutical cocrystals were reviewed.The purpose of studies on screening technique and thermodynamics of cocrystals is enhancing the screening efficiency.Pharmaceutical cocrystal has the advantage of modifying the physicochemical properties of the original drug.With the precise intellectual property,pharmaceutical cocrystals may extend the market of the original drug and then get wide perspective in research and development.
Confucius Temple——The Place Where Educate Intellectuals to Become Sages and Virtuous

Ancient schools are the place where Yang Sheng and intellectuals of the above rank of scholarly honor are educated.The purpose of building Confucius Temple in schools is to morally educate intellectuals how to be sage and virtuous by enshrining Confucius and Confucian sages as well as respecting well-known officials and the virtuous persons,in the hope of cultivating officials who are expected to be patriotic and beneficial to people and scholar-bureaucrat who are of wisdom and noble character.
Minimizing Regret with Multiple Reserves

We study the problem of computing and learning non-anonymous reserve prices to maximize revenue. We first define the {\sc Maximizing Multiple Reserves (MMR)} problem in single-parameter matroid environments, where the input is $m$ valuation profiles v^1,...,v^m, indexed by the same n bidders, and the goal is to compute the vector r of (non-anonymous) reserve prices that maximizes the total revenue obtained on these profiles by the VCG mechanism with reserves r. We prove that the problem is APX-hard, even in the special case of single-item environments, and give a polynomial-time 1/2-approximation algorithm for it in arbitrary matroid environments. We then consider the online no-regret learning problem, and show how to exploit the special structure of the MMR problem to translate our offline approximation algorithm into an online learning algorithm that achieves asympototically time-averaged revenue at least 1/2 times that of the best fixed reserve prices in hindsight. On the negative side, we show that, quite generally, computational hardness for the offline optimization problem translates to computational hardness for obtaining vanishing time-averaged regret. Thus our hardness result for the MMR problem implies that computationally efficient online learning requires approximation, even in the special case of single-item auction environments.
Fault-tolerant bandwidth reservation strategies for data transfers in high-performance networks

Many next-generation e-science applications require fast and reliable transfer of large volumes of data with guaranteed performance, which is typically enabled by the bandwidth reservation service in high-performance networks. One prominent issue in such network environments with large footprints is that node and link failures are inevitable, hence potentially degrading the quality of data transfer. We consider two generic types of bandwidth reservation requests (BRRs) concerning data transfer reliability: (i) to achieve the highest data transfer reliability under a given data transfer deadline, and (ii) to achieve the earliest data transfer completion time while satisfying a given data transfer reliability requirement. We propose two periodic bandwidth reservation algorithms with rigorous optimality proofs to optimize the scheduling of individual BRRs within BRR batches. The efficacy of the proposed algorithms is illustrated through extensive simulations in comparison with scheduling algorithms widely adopted in production networks in terms of various performance metrics.