cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Integrated Procurement Planning in Multi‐division Firms

For large multi-division firms, coordinating procurement policies across multiple divisions to leverage volume discounts from suppliers based on firm-wide purchasing power can yield millions of dollars of savings in procurement costs. Coordinated procurement entails deciding which suppliers to use to meet each division's purchasing needs and sourcing preferences so as to minimize overall purchasing, logistics, and operational costs. Motivated by this tactical procurement planning problem facing a large industrial products manufacturer, we propose an integrated optimization model that simultaneously considers both firm-wide volume discounts and divisional ordering and inventory costs. To effectively solve this large-scale integer program, we develop and apply a tailored solution approach that exploits the problem structure to generate tight bounds. We identify several classes of valid inequalities to strengthen the linear programming relaxation, establish polyhedral properties of these inequalities, and develop both a cutting-plane method and a sequential rounding heuristic procedure. Extensive computational tests for realistic problems demonstrate that our integrated sourcing model and solution method are effective and can provide significant economic benefits. The integrated approach yields average savings of 7.5% in total procurement costs compared to autonomous divisional policies, and our algorithm generates near-optimal solutions (within 0.75% of optimality) within reasonable computational time.
A Strategy for Assessing Exposures with Reference to Multiple Limits

Abstract This article addresses the problem of assessing exposures to chemical agents which are regulated with multiple limits such as a permissible exposure limit (PEL) and an action level (AL). If exposures are described adequately by a lognormal distribution, the mean exposure is correlated with the frequency of large excursions above any particular value. This implies that by controlling the mean value below the lower exposure limit, one can constrain the frequency of exposures above the upper limit and vice versa. For example, if the mean exposure is maintained below the AL = 0.5 (PEL), then a maximum of 12 percent of the lognormally-distributed exposures are expected to exceed the PEL regardless of the degree of temporal variability. Furthermore, this property is independent of the averaging time of the measurements, thus samples collected over eight hours or longer can be used to limit the frequency of exposures in excess of a short-term exposure limit (STEL). Several applications regarding pairs o...
A laboratory for teaching parallel computing on parallel structures

For the effective use of a laboratory for teaching parallel processing, it is desirable to have parallel systems that can implement various parallel structures at hardware or software level. Such systems developed in our laboratories are described in this paper. They are a multi-computer with reconfiguration and the PVM (Parallel Virtual Machine) with structural implementation. The paper proposes a methodology and several classes of problems for teaching message-passing programming on parallel structures.
Lumbar spinal stenosis and degenerative spondylolisthesis

Abstract Lumbar spinal stenosis and degenerative spondylolisthesis are common spinal conditions resulting in pain and functional disability. The prevalence of these conditions will increase as the population ages. Multiple nonsurgical treatment options have been reported including physical therapy, medications, and injections but with only limited data and marginal effect. Large, multicenter studies have compared surgical to nonsurgical treatment and have consistently demonstrated greater success in the surgical treatment of both lumbar spinal stenosis and of degenerative spondylolisthesis. This positive treatment effect has been seen at both short-term and long-term follow-up with good durability over time. This suggests that surgical treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis and degenerative spondylolisthesis significantly improves the patient's pain and functional status.
Treating Hypertension in the Patient With Overt Diabetic Nephropathy

Arterial blood pressure is a major determinant of renal and cardiovascular outcomes in diabetic nephropathy. There is a proportional relationship between the systolic blood pressure and renal and mortality outcomes. Decreasing the diastolic pressure does not significantly decrease these outcomes. Irrespective of the magnitude of pretreatment systolic hypertension in the patient with type 2 diabetic nephropathy, the systolic pressure achieved with antihypertensive therapy is the important determinant of renal and cardiovascular risk. Achieving a lower systolic pressure down to 120 mm Hg is associated with substantial risk reduction. Although the data are limited, systolic blood pressure less than 120 mm Hg may be associated with increased all-cause mortality in this patient population, increasing the possibility of a J-curve response. A marked decrease in diastolic pressure, which is a danger when undertaking aggressive therapy with the goal of decreasing the systolic pressure to 130 mm Hg, can be associated with an increased risk of cardiac events. The renoprotective and proteinuria-decreasing effects of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin-receptor blockers recommend these agents as the standard of care in type 2 diabetic nephropathy. In addition to angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin-receptor blocker therapy, controlling the systolic blood pressure in this difficult to control patient population may require the use of 3 or more antihypertensive agents.
Cardiac Troponin T Isoforms Affect the Ca2+Sensitivity and Inhibition of Force Development INSIGHTS INTO THE ROLE OF TROPONIN T ISOFORMS IN THE HEART

At least four isoforms of troponin T (TnT) exist in the human heart, and they are expressed in a developmentally regulated manner. To determine whether the different N-terminal isoforms are functionally distinct with respect to structure, Ca2+ sensitivity, and inhibition of force development, the four known human cardiac troponin T isoforms, TnT1 (all exons present), TnT2 (missing exon 4), TnT3 (missing exon 5), and TnT4 (missing exons 4 and 5), were expressed, purified, and utilized in skinned fiber studies and in reconstituted actomyosin ATPase assays. TnT3, the adult isoform, had a slightly higher α-helical content than the other three isoforms. The variable region in the N terminus of cardiac TnT was found to contribute to the determination of the Ca2+ sensitivity of force development in a charge-dependent manner; the greater the charge the higher the Ca2+ sensitivity, and this was primarily because of exon 5. These studies also demonstrated that removal of either exon 4 or exon 5 from TnT increased the cooperativity of the pCa force relationship. Troponin complexes reconstituted with the four TnT isoforms all yielded the same maximal actin-tropomyosin-activated myosin ATPase activity. However, troponin complexes containing either TnT1 or TnT2 (both containing exon 5) had a reduced ability to inhibit this ATPase activity when compared with wild type troponin (which contains TnT3). Interestingly, fibers containing these isoforms also showed less relaxation suggesting that exon 5 of cardiac TnT affects the ability of Tn to inhibit force development and ATPase activity. These results suggest that the different N-terminal TnT isoforms would produce different functional properties in the heart that would directly affect myocardial contraction.
Tests of current algebra and partially conserved axial-vector current in the subthreshold region of the pion-nucleon system

Current algebra and partially controlled axial-vector current ~PCAC! make powerful predictions in the threshold and subthreshold regions of the pN system @1#. Some of the most important examples are the Adler consistency condition @2# ~which predicts a zero in the pole-subtracted isospin-even amplitude for one soft pion!, the Weinberg-Tomozawa prediction of pN scattering lengths @3#, the Adler-Weisberger sum rule @4# ~which constrains the isospin-odd amplitude at n5t50 for massless pions!, and the pN s term ~which measures the chiral-symmetry breaking in the pN system!. The values of these quantities are determined from amplitudes evaluated within the small subthreshold ‘‘crescent’’ region in the Mandelstam diagram shown in Fig. 1 @5#. Because the crescent lies below the physical threshold of all of the crossed reactions (pN→pN , pN→pN , and NN→pp!, the invariant amplitudes are real in this region. In this article we report on an application of a recent Virginia Polytechnic Institute phase-shift analysis SP98 @6# and interior dispersion relations ~IDR’s! @7# to map the relevant amplitudes within the entire crescent @8#. Hence, this analysis provides current tests of several predictions of chiral symmetry. The present work is an extension and update of work done at the beginning of the era of the meson factories @9#; since then, new high-precision pN data have been obtained, from which improved low-energy phase shifts have been extracted. The general structure of the pion-nucleon invariant amplitudes has long been known @10#, of course, but the IDR method is especially well suited for studies of the subthreshold region, especially when coupled with the high-precision VPI phase-shift analyses.
Response characteristics of the human torsional vestibuloocular reflex.

The characteristics of the response dynamics of the human torsional vestibuloocular reflex were studied during controlled rotations about an earth-horizontal axis. The results extended the frequency range to 2 Hz and identified the nonlinearity of the amplitude response.
Electrophysiological study of human heart muscle.

Membrane potential changes in human ventricular and atrial muscle, excised from patients undergoing open-heart surgery, were recorded by micro-electrodes in vitro. Mean ventricular resting and action potentials were -87 mv. and 115 mv., respectively. The mean atrial resting potential was -70 mv., mean action potential 75 mv. Two forms of atrial action potential were found, one having conventional contour, the other with prominent spike and plateau. A disturbance in repolarization is believed to underlie the latter type of atrial potential cycle. The relation between the upstroke velocity of the action potential and the extracellular sodium concentration and membrane potential was shown to be similar to that in other mammalian cardiac tissue. The mean conduction velocity determined in ventricular fibers (1.3 M./sec.) was somewhat greater than that of the dog, and the possible relationship to hypertrophy of the cardiac fibers in the preparations studied is described. The effect of increased rate and anoxia ...
Sigmoid dose using 3D imaging in cervical-cancer brachytherapy ☆

Background and Purpose To evaluate the proximity, variance, predictors of dose, and complications to the sigmoid in cervical-cancer brachytherapy using 3D planning.
Unitary, relativistic resonance model for pi N scattering

Pion nucleon scattering up to 600 MeV lab kinetic energy is described by a manifestly covariant wave equation in which the pion is restricted to its mass-shell.The kernel of the equation includes nucleon (N), Roper (N*), delta, and D(sub)13 poles, with their corresponding crossed pole terms approximated by contact interactions, and contact sigma and rho-like exchange terms.The pi-NN vertex is treated as a mixture of gamma^5 and gamma^mu gamma^5 coupling, with a mixingparameter lambda chosen so that the dressed nucleon pole will be unshifted by the interaction.Chiral symmetry is maintained at threshold.The resonance contributions are fully unitarized by the equation, with their widths determined by the dynamics included in the model.The delta and D(sub)13 are treated as a pure spin 3/2 particles, with no spin 1/2 amplitude in the S-channel.The complete development of this model, which gives a very good fit to all the data up to 600 MeV, is presented.
A Langmuir isotherm-based prediction of competitive sorption of Sr, Cs, and Co in Ca-montmorillonite

Abstract An accurate determination of parameters such as the distribution coefficient Kd (for low concentrations) and the maximum adsorption capacity ST (for high concentrations) is desirable, as these values can be used in contaminant transport modeling. Considering that contaminants would more likely be found as mixtures and not as single components, the effects on Kd and ST values resulting from competitive interactions between the target cation and other cations present in the system were estimated. This study focused on the determination of Kd and ST for suspensions of Ca-montmorillonite and mixtures of the solutes strontium (Sr), cesium (Cs), and cobalt (Co) as analogs of a possible release of contaminants from radioactive waste repositories. Batch experiments were conducted for mixtures of the above solutes at intermediate concentrations at varying pH values and for two background electrolytes, NaCl and CaCl2. The Langmuir isotherm adequately fitted the experimental data and was used to determine Kd and ST. Maximum Kd values were obtained for Sr at pH 6 and for Co at pH 8, while for Cs the pH did not affect the resulting Kd value. The presence of competing ions resulted in a decrease of Kd values depending on the type and concentration of ions in the original mixture. For clay preconditioned with NaCl electrolyte solution, the Na+ partially saturated surface attracted more solutes, leading to greater Kd values than for suspensions preconditioned with a CaCl2 solution. Although the total amount of adsorbed cations (Scum) in either electrolyte solution was nearly constant, a difference in the adsorption of individual cations was observed as an increased percentage of adsorbed Sr and Co in systems preconditioned with NaCl solution.
Fatty acid composition of the glycerine and free fatty acid fractions of the fat body, and hemolymph of the cockroach, Periplaneta americana (L.)

Abstract 1. 1. The concentration and fatty acid composition of the tri-, di- and monoglycerides and free fatty acids of the fat body and hemolymph of Periplaneta americana (L.) were determined by column and gas-liquid chromatoraphy. 2. 2. Triglycerides increased in the fat body and decreased in the hemolymph of eight-instar roaches. In the young adults, triglycerides decreased markedly in the fat body and hemolymph; diglycerides increased in the hemolymph. 3. 3. The changes in the concentrations of fatty acids with chain lenghts of 16 and 18:1 with age were inversely related. 4. 4. The changes with age of the percentage of saturated fatty acids in the triglycerides and free fatty acids suggested a preferential utilization by the young adult of triglycerides composed of saturated fatty acids.
Femtosecond optical pulse amplification in saturated media

The generalized form of a nonlinear equation modeling the evolution of femtosecond pulses in a wide range of laser media is derived. Together with auxiliary equations, it describes both amplitude and phase changes owing to a variety of linear and nonlinear effects. These effects include gain saturation, more than one kind of self-phase modulation, and both gain and phase dispersions. The model is applied to previous experiments of ultrashort-pulse amplification in a dye-laser amplifier and is found to describe quantitatively the observed strong spectral changes. We show that the spectral changes are due both to gain dispersion and to the interplay of various dispersive and nonlinear effects.
A compiler-directed cache coherence scheme using data prefetching

Cache coherence enforcement and memory latency reduction and hiding are very important problems in the design of large-scale shared-memory multiprocessors. The authors propose a compiler-directed cache coherence scheme which makes use of data prefetching. The cache coherence with data prefetching (CCDP) scheme uses compiler analysis techniques to identify potentially-stale data references, which are references to invalid copies of cached data. The key idea of the CCDP scheme is to enforce cache coherence by prefetching the up-to-date data corresponding to these potentially-stale references from the main memory. Application case studies were conducted to gain a quantitative idea of the performance potential of the CCDP scheme on a real system. They applied the CCDP scheme on four benchmark programs from the SPEC CFP95 and CFP92 suites, and executed them on the Cray T3D. The experimental results show that for the programs studied, the scheme provides significant performance improvements by caching shared data and reducing the remote shared-memory access penalty incurred by the programs.
Long-Term Potentiation--A Decade of Progress?

Long-term potentiation of synaptic transmission in the hippocampus is the leading experimental model for the synaptic changes that may underlie learning and memory. This review presents a current understanding of the molecular mechanisms of this long-lasting increase in synaptic strength and describes a simple model that unifies much of the data that previously were viewed as contradictory.
Electromagnetic Target Detection in Uncertain Media: Time-Reversal and Minimum-Variance Algorithms

An experimental study is performed on imaging targets that are situated in a highly scattering environment, employing electromagnetic time-reversal methods. A particular focus is placed on performance when the electrical properties of the background environment (medium) are uncertain. It is assumed that the (unknown) medium characteristic of the scattered fields represents one sample from an underlying random process, with this random process representing our uncertainty in the media properties associated with the scattering measurement. While the specific Green's function associated with the scattered fields is unknown, we assume access to an ensemble of Green's functions sampled from the aforementioned distribution. This ensemble of Green's functions may be used in several ways to mitigate uncertainty in the true Green's function. Specifically, when performing time-reversal imaging, we consider a Green's function as a representative of the average of the ensemble, as well as Green's functions based on a principal components analysis of the ensemble. We also develop a wideband minimum-variance beamformer with environment perturbation constraints, in which the unknown Green's function is constrained to reside in a subspace spanned by the Green's function ensemble. These algorithms are examined using electromagnetic scattering data measured in a canonical set of laboratory experiments. The qualitative performance of the different techniques is presented in the form of images, with quantitative results presented in the form of receiver operating characteristic performance
Product configuration optimization for disassembly planning: A differential approach

Product configuration immensely influences the suitability of a product for end-of-life (EOL) disassembly. The product configuration is the relative spatial and logical arrangement of the different parts/sub-assemblies of the product with respect to each other. The complexity involved in studying the influence of configuration design on EOL disassembly has limited the scope of the current design for disassembly (DfD) approaches to guideline-based prescriptive methods and index-based evaluation techniques. The application of these approaches has primarily been limited to specific case studies of product redesign. Many of the current methods do not provide the necessary rigor that will lead to the creation of a theoretical base for addressing product configuration issues which is indispensable during product redesign. Though fraught with obstacles, studying the effects of product configuration on DfD will be useful to develop automated configuration optimization methods for EOL disassembly. To this end, a model to study the combinatorial configuration design optimization problem from a disassembly perspective is described in this study. The different structural principles of the design space derived in this study provide insights into the possibilities and the natural shortcomings of automated optimization of a product by relating the effects of design constraints and disassembly requirements on product redesign. A hierarchical evolutionary programming based algorithm is also developed to test the design solutions generated by the proposed model.
UNIVERSAL HISTORY FROM COUNTER-REFORMATION TO ENLIGHTENMENT

Historical scholarship often relies on intermittent adjustments rather than radical innovation. Through a close reading of three different universal histories published between 1690 and 1760, this essay argues that the secularization of world history in the age of Enlightenment was an incomplete and often unintended process. Nonetheless, one of the most significant changes in this period was the centering of universal history in Europe, a process that accompanied the desacralization of the story of man. Once human progress was embraced as a universal process, the story of the development of the arts and sciences gradually eclipsed the non-European cultures that had formerly played a central role in the Christian narrative of human history.
A long-term clinical and cephalometric study of cleft lip and palate patients following intraoral maxillary quadrangular le fort I osteotomy.

Objective: To evaluate the horizontal and vertical stability of the quadrangular Le Fort I in patients with congenital cleft lip and palate. Design: Prospective longitudinal study. Patients: A total of 15 congenital cleft lip and palate patients treated with the maxillary quadrangular Le Fort I were enrolled. Intervention: Lateral cephalometric radiographic examinations were obtained preoperatively, early postoperatively, and late postoperatively for four dental and skeletal landmarks. A questionnaire regarding patients' satisfaction with treatment and functional/cosmetic outcomes (airway, speech, mastication) was administered. Main Outcome Measures: Surgical horizontal and vertical movement, late postsurgical horizontal and vertical movement, and surgical and postsurgical movement in relation to age and cleft type were evaluated using Spearman correlation coefficients, Wilcoxon signed rank tests, and Mann-Whitney tests. Results: Surgical horizontal movements of all measured points showed significant chan...
Effect of a μ-opioid receptor-selective antagonist on interleukin-6 fever

The endogenous opioid system has been found to be involved in fever caused by pyrogens. Recent work in our laboratory has demonstrated that the mu-opioid receptor is involved in interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta)- and in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced fevers. In the present study, we have investigated the role of the mu-opioid receptor in the preoptic anterior hypothalamus (POAH) in fever induced by interleukin-6 (IL-6). Following stereotaxic implantation of a guide cannula into the POAH for microinjection, radio transmitters to monitor body temperature (Tb) continuously were inserted intraperitoneally. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were microinjected with 0.5 microg of the selective mu-opioid receptor antagonist, cyclic D-phe-Cys-Try-D-Trp-Arg-Thr-Pen-Thr-NH2 (CTAP), into the POAH. Thirty min later, IL-6 (100 ng) was injected into the POAH. CTAP significantly blocked the IL-6 fever. CTAP alone had no effect on Tb during the 390-min recording period. These data indicate that mu-opioid receptors within the POAH mediate IL-6 fever and add to the increasing evidence that the opioid system is involved in the pathogenesis of fever in rats.
Scrutinizing a Trade

I suppose I'm writing these comments because David Lewis was unavailable. By rights, he should surely have the first opportunity to respond to Prof. Fogelin's paper. What's more, although there is perhaps some possible world in which the counterpart of Jay Rosenberg is also the counterpart of David Lewis, this isn't it. I admire the ingenuity of Lewis's epistemological views, but I don't endorse them. Still, a commentator's role typically requires that he at least try to uphold the honor of a criticized view, and so I shall first try to say something useful about what is at issue between Professors Lewis and Fogelin that may partially ameliorate the force of the latter's critique of the former. Then I shall turn to some questions suggested by Prof. Fogelin's own positive views. My main thesis regarding Lewis's and Fogelin's epistemological views is that their similarities are perhaps more striking and more important than their differences. Fogelin explicitly cites Lewis's prima facie strongly externalist analysis of knowledge:
An improved in-situ bio-optical data set for ocean color algorithm development and satellite data product validation

Abstract Global satellite ocean color instruments provide the scientific community a high-resolution means of studying the marine biosphere. Satellite data product validation and algorithm development activities both require the substantial accumulation of high-quality in-situ observations. The NASA Ocean Biology Processing Group maintains a local repository of in-situ marine bio-optical data, the SeaWiFS Bio-optical Archive and Storage System (SeaBASS), to facilitate their ocean color satellite validation analyses. Data were acquired from SeaBASS and used to compile a large set of coincident radiometric observations and phytoplankton pigment concentrations for use in bio-optical algorithm development. This new data set, the NASA bio-Optical Marine Algorithm Data set (NOMAD), includes over 3400 stations of spectral water-leaving radiances, surface irradiances, and diffuse downwelling attenuation coefficients, encompassing chlorophyll a concentrations ranging from 0.012 to 72.12 mg m− 3. Metadata, such as the date, time, and location of data collection, and ancillary data, including sea surface temperatures and water depths, accompany each record. This paper describes the assembly and evaluation of NOMAD, and further illustrates the broad geophysical range of stations incorporated into NOMAD.
On the design of the Axel and DuAxel rovers for extreme terrain exploration

The solar system's most scientifically tantalizing terrain remains out of reach for traditional planetary rovers, which are typically limited to driving on slopes below 30 degrees. This paper details the design of a novel robotic explorer that would open access to these previously inaccessible locales, such as Martian crater walls where evidence of salty water was recently detected, Lunar polar craters where evidence of water ice was detected, and Lunar and Martian lava tubes for future habitability. The Axel rover is a two-wheeled robot capable of rappelling down steep (even vertical) slopes supported by a tether. The DuAxel rover is comprised of two Axel vehicles docked to a central module. Unrestricted by tether length, this four-wheeled system would be capable of driving long distances from a safe landing zone to the extreme terrain of interest. Once in the vicinity of terrain in which the tether would be required, one of the Axel rovers could undock from the central chassis and rappel downslope. The other Axel and central chassis would remain topside to act as an anchor and to provide line of site to Earth (for communications) and the Sun (for energy). As the detached Axel descends into the area of interest, it would receive power and relays data through conductors in its tether. Each Axel would carry a suite of instruments in a bay that would be tucked inside the wheels. Because of the novel configuration of Axel's major degrees of freedom, these instruments could be precisely pointed at targets at any desired downslope spatial separation. These instruments could then be deployed into close proximately to the ground by means of a simple mechanism, allowing for detailed study of the strata on the slope. Axel could accommodate a host of instruments, including a microscopic imager, infrared spectrometers, thermal probes, and sample collection devices. This paper will describe the design of both the latest generation of Axel and DuAxel systems and their instrument/sampling mechanisms. Results from recent field trials at a rock quarry in California and a Martian analog site in the desert of Arizona will be described.
Phase-matching between optical and sound waves in forward direction via ultra-slow light

We experimentally demonstrated phase-matching between optical waves propagating in the same direction and sound wave in the cell of Rb vapor. Phase-matching occurs when group velocity of light is equal to the sound speed
A Prospective Examination of the Relationship Between Physical Activity and Dementia Risk in Later Life

Abstract Purpose. To examine the relationship between vigorous physical activity and dementia risk. Design. Prospective study design utilizing physical activity data from the Health and Retirement Study and cognitive outcome data from the Aging, Demographics, and Memory Study. Setting. Community-based. Subjects. Adults age 71 and over (N = 808) with 3 to 7 years of physical activity information prior to dementia/no dementia diagnosis. Measures. Physical activity was measured by participation in vigorous activities such as aerobics, sports, running, bicycling, and heavy housework three or more times per week (yes/no). Dementia diagnosis was based on an expert panel (e.g., neuropsychologists, neurologists, geropsychiatrists) who performed and reviewed a battery of neuropsychological tests. Analysis. Binary logistic regression models were used to account for demographic characteristics, genetic risk factors (one or two apolipoprotein E e4 alleles), health behaviors (e.g., smoking, drinking alcohol), health...
Towards the empirical design of massively parallel arrays for spatially mapped applications

Although SIMD arrays have been built since the 1960's, they have undergone few empirical studies. The underlying problems-which have included the lack of a unified architectural framework and the computational intractability of simulating large PE arrays-are addressed through the use of trace compilation, a novel approach to trace driven simulation. The results indicate the benefits of adding another level to current SIMD array memory designs. Also, surprising results were obtained about performance effects of varying cache associativity and block size. Together, they indicate that while SIMD array programs have sufficient locality to make PE caches worthwhile, the type of locality may differ fundamentally from that of serial machine and multiprocessor programs. Other results demonstrate the limitations of increasing the datapath width and inter PE communication bandwidth without corresponding improvements in other processor features.
Public Views on Sentencing Juvenile Murderers: The Impact of Offender, Offense, and Perceived Maturity

Concerns about juvenile murderers were raised by increases in juvenile homicide rates between the mid-1980s and mid-1990s. Little is known, however, about what level of punishment the public desires for such youths. Using a randomly selected sample of Florida citizens and a factorial vignette survey approach, the present study assesses the impact of characteristics of the offender, aspects of the offense, and perceptions of a youth's maturity on public preferences for the punishment of juvenile murderers. Our findings show that the public favors short sentences of incarceration or less punitive responses in most cases and that the most salient determinant of punitiveness is the type of murder committed. These results are discussed in light of prior research and current policy directions.
Scaling of terahertz radiation from large-aperture biased InP photoconductors.

We present, for biased InP emitters, the dependence of the generated terahertz radiation on bias field and optical fluence for optical fluences of 0.01–1.0 mJ/cm2 and bias fields as high as 12 kV/cm. The radiated electric field scales linearly with the bias field up to 12 kV/cm and exhibits monotonic saturation behavior, radiating half the maximum field at an excitation fluence of 0.058 mJ/cm2.
Intense wildfire in southeastern Arizona: transformation of a Madrean oak-pine forest to oak woodland

Abstract Fire exclusion in southwestern USA and northern Mexico has decreased fire frequency and increased fire intensity in many forest types. I examined the effects of intense crown fire in a Madrean oak–pine community in southeastern Arizona, an ecosystem characterized by frequent, moderate-intensity fire during presettlement times. I sampled seedling establishment and sprouting response of crown-killed pines and oaks after the 10,330-ha Rattlesnake wildfire of 1994 and a smaller intense fire. About 90% of the Quercus hypoleucoides sprouted from top-killed stems. Sprouting occurred in none of the Pinus engelmannii and 13–23% of the P. leiophylla, a low level that nevertheless may help maintain this species after intense fire. Seedlings were very rare for all species, especially P. engelmannii. Height of pine sprouts and seedlings lagged far behind that for Q. hypoleucoides. Results of this case study suggest that anomalous crown fires radically changed community structure and composition for the long-term, from a lower canopy of oaks with large, emergent pines to a more homogeneous oak woodland. Such transformation, if repeated across the landscape, could seriously threaten the maintenance of biological diversity in these ecosystems.
Identification and characterization by antisense oligonucleotides of exon and intron sequences required for splicing

Certain thalassemic human beta-globin pre-mRNAs carry mutations that generate aberrant splice sites and/or activate cryptic splice sites, providing a convenient and clinically relevant system to study splice site selection. Antisense 2'-O-methyl oligoribonucleotides were used to block a number of sequences in these pre-mRNAs and were tested for their ability to inhibit splicing in vitro or to affect the ratio between aberrantly and correctly spliced products. By this approach, it was found that (i) up to 19 nucleotides upstream from the branch point adenosine are involved in proper recognition and functioning of the branch point sequence; (ii) whereas at least 25 nucleotides of exon sequences at both 3' and 5' ends are required for splicing, this requirement does not extend past the 5' splice site sequence of the intron; and (iii) improving the 5' splice site of the internal exon to match the consensus sequence strongly decreases the accessibility of the upstream 3' splice site to antisense 2'-O-methyl oligoribonucleotides. This result most likely reflects changes in the strength of interactions near the 3' splice site in response to improvement of the 5' splice site and further supports the existence of communication between these sites across the exon.
Management of Feeding Damage and Survival of Southwestern Corn Borer and Sugarcane Borer (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) with Bacillus thuringiensis Transgenic Field Corn

The efficacy of transgenic corn hybrids expressing an insecticidal Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) delta-endotoxin from different transformation events was evaluated in field corn, Zea mays L., against the southwestern corn borer, Diatraea grandiosella Dyar, and sugarcane borer, Diatraea saccharalis (F.). Susceptibilities of neonates and third instars were determined on Bt and non-Bt corn plants (V6 and R1 stages) in field plots and corn leaf tissue feeding exposure in laboratory bioassays. Bt corn hybrids associated with MON810 and CBH351 transformation events sustained significantly less injury by southwestern corn borer and sugarcane borer during mid-whorl stage infestations compared with their respective non-Bt hybrid equivalents. Southwestern corn borer and sugarcane borer feeding injury to ear leaf-sheath and husk tissues during the silking stage of corn was significantly reduced in MON810 and CBH351 Bt corn compared with their respective non-Bt hybrids. However, resistance levels to feeding injury in Bt hybrids associated with the MON810 event were significantly higher than that in the hybrid associated with the CBH351 event. Southwestern corn borer and sugarcane borer caused more feeding injury to husk tissue than to ear leaf-sheath tissue in both Bt and non-Bt hybrids infested during the silking stage. Laboratory performance of the MON810 event against southwestern corn borer and sugarcane borer varied among hybrids associated with the same event. Third instars of southwestern corn borer were highly susceptible to MON810 Bt corn hybrids in leaf tissue experiments. However, sugarcane borer larvae were susceptible to the MON810 event only in one of the Bt hybrids evaluated. Sugarcane borer mortality was significantly lower after 96 h of feeding exposure on CBH351 Bt corn leaf tissue than on MON810 Bt corn leaf tissue. Plant resistance to southwestern corn borer and sugarcane borer increased as plants matured, independent of the presence of a Bt construct. These results are essential to estimate the importance of Bt transgenic corn in areas of southern United States and other areas where mixed populations of southwestern corn borer and sugarcane borer are predominant and cause severe damage to corn production.
The Structure of Van Der Waals Molecules of S-Tetrazine

The structural behavior of van der Waals molecules of s-tetrazine is reviewed. Three types of van der Waals molecules are considered: complexes with rare gas atoms, complexes with hydrogen bonding partners such as HCl and water, and dimers of tetrazine. Differences between the dynamical properties of tetrazine dimers and dimethyl-tetrazine dimers are discussed.
A dual-isotope approach to allow conclusive partitioning between three sources

Stable isotopes have proved to be a transformative tool; their application to distinguish between two sources in a mixture has been a cornerstone of biogeochemical research. However, quantitatively partitioning systems using two stable isotopes (for example, (13)C and (12)C) has been largely limited to only two sources, and systems of interest often have more than two components, with interactive effects. Here we introduce a dual-isotope approach to allow conclusive partitioning between three sources, using only two stable isotopes. We demonstrate this approach by partitioning soil CO2 emissions derived from microbial mineralization of soil organic carbon (SOC), added pyrogenic organic matter (PyOM) and root respiration. We find that SOC mineralization in the presence of roots is 23% higher (P<0.05) when PyOM is also present. Being able to discern three sources with two isotopes will be of great value not only in biogeochemical research, but may also expand hitherto untapped methodologies in diverse fields.
Review: Oculus Rift

Oculus Rift Oculus VR, https://www.oculus.com In 1962, American cinematographer Morton Heilig patented an arcade game that allowed players to fly in a helicopter above the urban landscape or ride on a motorcycle through city streets, all for the price of a game of pinball. Heilig’s machine, the Sensorama, produced immersive simulacra of various urban experiences through the synthesis of film projection and mechanically generated wind, vibration, and odors. While the Sensorama never entered production, its prototype marked the birth of a new type of electromechanical simulation game that by the end of the 1960s would displace the mechanical pinball machine as an arcade staple and pave the way for the fully electronic games of the 1970s. The story of the Sensorama remains one of the founding myths of virtual reality (VR), a loosely defined, multidisciplinary, and, some would say, hubristic area of computer science that emerged between 1960 and the early 1980s. VR proposes that, by way of head-mounted displays and sophisticated input devices, users might inhabit computer-generated three-dimensional worlds with the same degree of “presence” (as it is called in VR) as they inhabit their actual material environments. To the historian or student of architecture, then, VR offers the possibility of exploring a past world as easily and as fully as the present one. The degree to which presence is achieved depends, of course, not only on the sophistication of the technology but also on the user’s desire to accept the experience as real along with the persuasiveness of the rhetoric by which the user’s expectations have been conditioned. Just as it was for Goethe, whose travel accounts contain as many stories of disappointment as of awe, presence depends on the calibration of actual experience to prior expectations. VR made promises it could not always keep. In contrast to computer networks, or even artificial …
Inhibition of Murine Osteogenic Sarcomas by Treatment With Type I or Type II Interferon

Interferon was used to treat C57BL/6 female mice inoculated with a continuous line of murine osteogenic sarcoma cells. A short 7-day course of 30,000--60,000 U/day of tpe I interferon either completely inhibited or delayed the appearance of tumors in experimental animals. The therapeutic efficacy of type I interferon was compared with murine serum that contained type II interferon as well as other lymphokine activity. Tumor development was strikingly inhibited in animals treated for 7 days with serum containing only 600 U of type II interferon. Inhibition of tumor development was thus achieved with 100-fold less interferon than that required with type I preparation.
The Future of Yesterday

What does it mean to not matter?1 To have lived your whole life and not count? In the pantheon of your field, your world, your culture—to be as if you did not exist. No contribution, no worth? Nothing notable at all. I am deathly afraid of it. Of not mattering. I suspect a few within the sound of my voice share the same fear. One can perhaps take solace in the knowledge that you have been a good spouse, a good lover, a good parent, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, friend, or person. Yes. But these things are, perhaps debatably, more about who you are than what you do; things we aspire to be, not what we aspire to do. These are what's expected, not so much what's accomplished. And while they are fulfilling and certainly worth cherishing, the truth of each—in the end—remains solely within the privy of that small circle of people who have come to know you intimately. Perhaps many in this room—myself included—can take solace in the fact that you are an academic; that through the actions of your yearly charges, your mark, and passage will remain and have some long-term meaning. Yes, this too is most admirable and surely worth the effort. But, this is not really what I mean, or perhaps more accurately, this is not what concerns me. What troubles me is perhaps something both smaller and broader. How might my peers, history, the media perceive me? Will any even take notice? What, if anything, might each find worthy to note of my efforts in this field I so clearly enjoy? Now, you might be thinking right now that such ruminations are rather presumptuous. I agree. But, you have to remember, I'm an architect and, well—presumptuousness is my middle name. Still, a just …
Adaptive Lasso for sparse high-dimensional regression models

We study the asymptotic properties of the adaptive Lasso estimators in sparse, high-dimensional, linear regression models when the number of covariates may increase with the sample size. We consider variable selection using the adap- tive Lasso, where the L1 norms in the penalty are re-weighted by data-dependent weights. We show that, if a reasonable initial estimator is available, under ap- propriate conditions, the adaptive Lasso correctly selects covariates with nonzero coefficients with probability converging to one, and that theestimators of nonzero coefficients have the same asymptotic distribution they would have if the zero co- efficients were known in advance. Thus, the adaptive Lasso hasan oracle property in the sense of Fan and Li (2001) and Fan and Peng (2004). In addition, under a partial orthogonality condition in which the covariates with zero coefficients are weakly correlated with the covariates with nonzero coefficients, marginal regression can be used to obtain the initial estimator. With this initial estimator, the adaptive Lasso has the oracle property even when the number of covariates is much larger than the sample size.
Laboratory Study on Load-Bearing Capacity of Micropiles by Using Different Construction Methods

Micropiles can be constructed by pressure grouting method or concreting method.In this paper,laboratory tests about load-bearing capacity of micropiles by using different construction methods were done.Study shows that the pressure grouting can increase vertical load-bearing capacity of micropiles,when calculating the vertical capacity of two-grouting micropiles the effect of the second grouting should be considered;micropiles used in transmission line should be made by two-grouting technology to ensure the quality of micropiles;the influence of pressure grouting on horizontal load-bearing capacity of micropiles is up to the nature of the upper soil layer,calculating the horizontal capacity of micropiles doesn't consider the effect of pressure grouting.
Cystadenocarcinoma of the Kidney: A Profile of 13 Cases

AbstractCystadenocarcinoma is an uncommon variant of renal cell carcinoma that is cystic in appearance. Our experience with 13 of these tumors is presented. The biological behavior was similar to renal cell carcinoma in general, although a greater proportion presented as stage I lesions. Computerized tomography and cyst aspiration may be helpful to differentiate these tumors from simple cysts.
Late recurrence of renal tubular carcinoma.

AbstractSolitary late recurrence of renal tubular carcinoma is unusual. We describe a case of such a recurrence after 19 years. The literature is reviewed. Resection of these recurrences is warranted and survival seems to be related to the site of recurrence.
Adaptation of distal convoluted tubule of rats. II, Effects of chronic thiazide infusion

Mammalian distal tubules adapt structurally and functionally when NaCl concentration in tubule fluid is altered chronically. These experiments were designed to test the hypothesis that chronic admi...
Formalizing communication protocols for multiagent systems

Protocols structure interactions among communicating agents. A commitment machine models a protocol in terms of how the commitments of the various parties evolve. Commitment machines thus support flexible behavior while providing a meaningful basis for compliance with a protocol. Unfortunately, current formulations of commitment machines are not sufficiently general or rigorous. This paper develops generalized commitment machines (GCMs) whose elements are described generically in terms of inferences, and whose computations are infinite (thus supporting nonterminating protocols). This paper shows how a GCM can be understood as a nondeterministic Buchi automaton (BA), whose acceptance condition accommodates infinite as well as finite executions. Deterministic BA are readily emulated by conventional software, e.g., a script running in a Web browser. In general, nondeterministic BA may have no equivalent deterministic BA. However, under well-motivated technical conditions, a GCM yields a deterministic Buchi automaton that, although not necessarily equivalent in automata theory terms, is sound (produces only computations allowed by the GCM) and complete (produces the effect of any computation allowed by the GCM).