cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Fast Reciprocal Collision Avoidance Under Measurement Uncertainty.

We present a fully distributed collision avoidance algorithm based on convex optimization for a team of mobile robots. This method addresses the practical case in which agents sense each other via measurements from noisy on-board sensors with no inter-agent communication. Under some mild conditions, we provide guarantees on mutual collision avoidance for a broad class of policies including the one presented. Additionally, we provide numerical examples of computational performance and show that, in both 2D and 3D simulations, all agents avoid each other and reach their desired goals in spite of their uncertainty about the locations of other agents.
Geometric resonance of four-flux composite fermions

Two-dimensional interacting electrons exposed to strong perpendicular magnetic fields generate emergent, exotic quasiparticles phenomenologically distinct from electrons. Specifically, electrons bind with an even number of flux quanta, and transform into composite fermions (CFs). Besides providing an intuitive explanation for the fractional quantum Hall states, CFs also possess Fermi-liquid-like properties, including a well-defined Fermi sea, at and near even-denominator Landau-level filling factors such as $\ensuremath{\nu}=1/2$ or $1/4$. Here, we directly probe the Fermi sea of the rarely studied four-flux CFs near $\ensuremath{\nu}=1/4$ via geometric resonance experiments. The data reveal some unique characteristics. Unlike in the case of two-flux CFs, the magnetic field positions of the geometric resonance resistance minima for $\ensuremath{\nu}l1/4$ and $\ensuremath{\nu}g1/4$ are symmetric with respect to the position of $\ensuremath{\nu}=1/4$. However, when an in-plane magnetic field is applied, the minima positions become asymmetric, implying a mysterious asymmetry in the CF Fermi sea anisotropy for $\ensuremath{\nu}l1/4$ and $\ensuremath{\nu}g1/4$. This asymmetry, which is in stark contrast to the two-flux CFs, suggests that the four-flux CFs on the two sides of $\ensuremath{\nu}=1/4$ have very different effective masses, possibly because of the proximity of the Wigner crystal formation at small $\ensuremath{\nu}$.
High-resolution three-dimensional ANGIE T1 mapping of the whole heart

Background Assessment of fibrosis in thinner myocardial structures such as the right ventricular (RV) and left atrial walls would be valuable in disorders such as pulmonary hypertension, congenital heart disease, and atrial fibrillation. We recently developed a novel technique, termed ANGIE, which provides high-resolution 2D T1 mapping for assessment of thin structures such as the wall of the RV. However, high resolution 2D imaging is limited by lower SNR and time efficiency. A 3D image acquisition provides higher SNR and complete coverage of the heart. However standard 3D navigated techniques have prohibitively long scan times. Thus, the aim of the present study was to extend ANGIE to perform high-resolution three-dimensional (3D) T1 mapping of the whole heart within a clinically acceptable scan time.
Optimization of Electrofusion for the Formation and Culture of Protoplast Heterokaryons

Electrofusion has been demonstrated with a wide variety of plant protoplasts. Nonetheless, it has not been shown that the fusion products are viable, nor has the technique been refined to make it a practical alternative to fusion by PEG. Protoplasts derived from suspension cultures of Nicotiana plumbaginifolia have been fused with N. tabacum mesophyll protoplasts. By fusing mesophyll protoplasts with suspension culture protoplasts, hybrid cells can be visually identified in both living and fixed material. This system has been used to determine the optimal conditions for electrofusion and for development of a protocol for the isolation and culture of protoplast heterokaryons.
COVID-19 pandemic: A Hill type mathematical model predicts the US death number and the reopening date

A mathematical model that can be used to estimate the total number of cases and deaths due to COVID-19 pandemic is presented in this study. The parameters and the associated uncertainty in the model are optimized and quantified using various reported data sets reported from different countries. The results suggest that, by the mid of June or early July 2020, the outbreak will strongly decay and the US will have about 800K confirmed cases and less than 50K deaths. Significance Statement This study presents a mathematical model that can be used to estimate the total number of cases and deaths in the US due to COVID-19. The model forecasting about
Chapter 6 – Game-Theoretical Semantics

Publisher Summary The leading ideas of game-theoretical semantics (GTS) can be seen best from a special case of the semantics of quantifiers. In using quantifiers and in theorizing about them, it is hard not to use game-laden terms. This chapter focuses on the game-theoretical semantics (GTS). The game-theoretical interpretation for the ordinary first-order languages is extended to cover also the sentences of the new language. The game rules for the new language is the same as the old ones. The only essential difference between the new and the old games is, thus, that the former are the games of imperfect information. The resulting logic is called “independence friendly (IF) first-order logic” and the languages associated with it are IF first-order languages. GTS is only one of the possible semantical treatments of first-order logic.
Protein-protein interaction probability landscapes for yeast replicative aging

Abstract We used probability landscapes to map the age-dependent protein-protein interaction profiles during Saccharomyces cerevisiae replicative aging. We used quasi-potentials, the negative logarithm of the probabilities, to visualize the downs and rises on the landscapes with respect to the young cells. When the interaction probability is gauged by protein abundance during aging, intra-essential protein interactions fell into a low-potential basin. When the interaction probability is estimated from gene expression, we observed that intra-essential protein interactions were located on a high-potential ridge. These opposite patterns coincide with the previously reported uncoupling of the transcriptome and proteome during yeast aging and were also observed in landscapes on different parameter spaces. A proteome-wide probability landscape revealed that the essential proteins favor the interactions with other essential proteins. The increases in essential hub protein abundances may partly explain the opposite trends observed in the landscapes.
Cross-comparison of methods for quantifying antibiotic resistance in agricultural soils amended with dairy manure and compost

Agricultural soils are often amended with livestock manure, making them a key reservoir of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Given that soils are among the most microbially-diverse environments on the planet; effective characterization and quantification of the effects of manure-derived amendments on soil resistomes is a major challenge. This study examined the effects of dairy manure-derived amendments on agricultural soils via two strategies: quantification of anthropogenic ARG markers via qPCR and shotgun metagenomic resistome profiling; and these strategies were compared to a previously published antibiotic resistant fecal coliform dataset. Soil samples were collected throughout a 120 day complete block field experiment to compare the effects of amendment type on antibiotic resistance. Results of all three measurements were consistent with the hypothesis that the application of composted manure reduced antibiotic resistance in soil relative to the application of raw manure, although some differences were noted in comparing the patterns of the three measurements with time. Raw dairy manure-amended soils yielded high sul1 and tet(W) relative abundances on Day 0 (following amendment application), but significantly decreased to background levels by Day 67 (harvest) and Day 120 (study completion). Shotgun metagenomics similarly detected a decrease in the relative abundances of sulfonamide and tetracycline-associated ARGs over time in the raw manure- and compost-amended soils; however, these levels were significantly lower than those estimated by qPCR. Interestingly, although patterns of sulfonamide and tetracycline resistance among culturable fecal coliforms echoed those observed via qPCR and metagenomics; erythromycin resistant coliforms were directly recovered by culture in amended soils, but corresponding ARGs were not detected by qPCR or metagenomics. This study supports both composting and time restrictions as means of reducing the potential for antibiotic resistance in manure to spread via soil application. Results suggest some differences in finer conclusions drawn depending on which antibiotic resistance monitoring target is selected.
Pre-Purchase Attribute Verifiability, Source Credibility, and Persuasion

Recent research has found that search and experience attribute claims are processed differently by consumers, with search attribute claims typically being more believable than experience attribute claims. It is, however, routinely the case that marketers desire to promote a product by making a claim featuring an experience attribute. The marketing literature has largely neglected the issue of how to enhance persuasion of experience attribute claims. The purpose of this research was to fill this void. We reason that source credibility impacts the receipt of experience claims and search claims differently and then report results of two experiments featuring two different types of sources in the context of two different categories which suggest that a source high in credibility can be employed to make experience claims more persuasive. The contributions our study makes to the persuasion literature and avenues for future research are discussed.
Occupant-Centric key performance indicators to inform building design and operations

Building performance indicators are widely used to guide building design and track and benchmark operational performance. Traditional building performance indicators mostly focus on the energy effi...
Accountancy With Historical and Professional Perspective

I discussed in this paper about the historical view of Accountancy. I highlighted a out the professional aspects of Accountancy.
The Role of Disclosure in Closing Going Private Deals.

A perceived conflict of interest in going private transactions can occur when a company transfers ownership and control to affiliated parties and terminates its public status. For example, conflict can occur if acquiring owners and selling owners have dissimilar information and competing incentives. These deals are subject to mandatory disclosure requirements to inform shareholders before the transaction is put to a general vote. However, the expected incremental role of these disclosures is uncertain. We demonstrate that disclosure volume is positively associated with the likelihood of closing a deal. However, we also find that disclosure volume is positively associated with two proxies for the intensity of shareholders’ negotiations: upward price revisions and litigation. Our findings offer insights into the incremental benefits and costs of disclosure in this setting. Specifically, increased disclosure can facilitate the completion of going private deals and exiting shareholders can use it to negotiate better terms.
Dance for Me When I Die: By Cristian Alarcón. Translated by Nick Caistor and Marcela López Levy

Alarcon, Cristian. Dance for Me When I Die. Translated by Nick Caistor andMarcela Lopez Levy. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2019.
The ontogeny of adrenergic fibers in rat spinal cord.

Preganglionic neurons play a pivitol role in the integration of descending central signals involved in sympathetic and parasympathetic regulation. However, the number of neurotransmitter systems which converge in the preganglionic cell column has made study of the complex synaptology of the preganglionic neuron and the development of its innervation exceedingly difficult. Although many neurotransmitters have been identified in the region of preganglionic neurons, it was not until recently that the termination of phenotypically defined fibers was demonstrated on preganglionic neurons which project to identified sympathetic targets. This chapter reviews studies which have focused on the development and synaptology of one of these projections which arises in adrenergic neurons located in the medulla oblongata and which terminates in the thoracic region of spinal cord. Study of adrenergic neurons has been facilitated by the specific expression of the epinephrine-synthesizing enzyme, phenylethanolamine N-methyltransferase (PNMT), which distinguishes adrenergic neurons from other types of catecholamine-synthesizing cells. Study of this particular projection is interesting due to the implication of adrenergic neurons in a wide array of autonomic and endocrine functions including cardiovascular regulation (Saavedra et al., 1979; Ross et al., 1984b; Goodchild et al., 1984; Morrison et al., 1988), reproduction (Coen and Coombs, 1983; Sheaves et al., 1985; and the stress response (Saavedra and Torda, 1980; Mezey et al., 1984; Liposits et al., 1986 a,b).
Investigating the Role of the Yeast Metacaspase, Yca1p, in the Programmed Cell Death of Aneuploid Cells of the Budding Yeast, Saccahromyces cerevisiae

Aneuploidy is the genetic state of a cell that has a chromosomal number that is not an exact multiple of the haploid complement. It is a leading cause of spontaneous abortions and of mental retarda...
A Gas Chromatograph-Based System for Measuring the Methane Fraction of Diesel Engine Hydrocarbon Emissions

An instrument has been developed (termed the methane analytical system) enabling diesel methane emissions to be quatified separately from total unburned hydrocarbon emissions. The instrument employed gas-chromatographic principles whereby a molecular-sieve column operating isothermally separated methane from the nonmethane hydrocarbons. Direct on-line sampling occurred via constant-volume sample loops. The effluent was monitored with a flame ionization detector. The instrument was fully calibrated (i.e., extremely linear response over a large concentration range) for use with diesel engines as part of an on-going alternative-fuels research program. Methane emissions from a light-duty, multi-cylinder, indirect-injected diesel engine fumigated with natural gas were measured on-line using the methane analytical system. Methane emissions were found to range from as low as 250 ppm to a high of nearly 2%. The nonmethane hydrocarbon emissions were determined by subtracting the methane level from the total unburned hydrocarbon level. In the event that the federal engine certification procedures are changed to be based on nonmethane hydrocarbon emissions, a methane analytical system such as the one described here would have great utility.
Association of Blood Monocyte and Lymphocyte Count and Disease-Free Interval in Dogs with Osteosarcoma

Background: Identification of biomarkers that predict outcomes in dogs with osteosarcoma (OSA) would be valuable to veterinarians and owners. Leukocyte numbers in peripheral blood are associated with outcomes in some types of cancer in humans. Hypothesis/Objectives: We hypothesized that increased numbers of monocytes would be associated with reduced disease-free interval (DFI) in dogs with OSA. Animals: Medical data from 69 dogs with appendicular OSA treated with amputation and chemotherapy were selected for study. Methods: Retrospective study. Statistical associations were assessed by univariate and multivariate analysis. Information about DFI and leukogram values, tumor location, and serum alkaline phosphatase was abstracted from the medical record. Results: Higher numbers of circulating monocytes (>0.4 × 103 cells/μL) and lymphocytes (>1.0 × 103 cells/μL) before treatment were found to be significantly (P < .05) associated with shorter DFI in dogs with OSA. Other parameters associated with poor outcomes were increased alkaline phosphatase, primary tumor location, and age. Conclusion and Clinical Importance: These results indicated that pretreatment evaluation of monocyte and lymphocyte counts provided prognostic information for dogs with appendicular OSA. Notably, most animals in this study had monocyte counts within the normal reference range, indicating that variations within the reference range of leukocyte values might also have prognostic significance.
Concerning possible effects of air pollution on climate

A summary is given of testimony before the subcommittee on Environment and the Atmosphere in the House of Representatives. The testimony is a response to questions in six areas: threats, response characteristics, ambiguities of prediction, ambiguities of measurement, research needs and comments on setting standards. Included is a table of some of the pollutants (all of which are emitted as an inadvertent by-product in the course of achieving a desirable goal) and briefly describes their importance. All act to disturb either the radiation balance or the precipitation mechanisms, two processes having a fundamental impact in determining the climate.
Cada renglón un verso, todo el arte un poema: Monsiváis, el juglar de la crónica mexicana

El 19 de junio de 2010 murio Carlos Monsivais, un escritor cardinal de la segunda mitad del siglo XX y uno de los criticos fundamentales para entender el Mexico contemporaneo. Su lucidez intelectual, su capacidad ironica y su estilo sui generis de interpretar la realidad (asi como la fuerza y omni- presencia de sus intervenciones en el espacio publico), lo convirtieron en un icono, al mismo nivel de aquellas figuras que solia retratar en sus cro- nicas. Fue un escritor carismatico, desenfadado y mordaz, cuya obra resulto una bocanada de aire puro en medio de la gazmoneria y la so- lemnidad literarias de su epoca. A pesar de su importancia, Monsivais ha sido un autor poco estudiado y tambien muy mal leido: la recepcion de su obra esta plagada de prejuicios. Para rendirle un homenaje a su figura, Andamios busca contribuir a sal- dar esa deficiencia, traduciendo un articulo surgido de la pluma de una de las estudiosas mas notables de la literatura monsivaita, Linda Egan, quien tuvo el privilegio de escribir el primer libro que se propuso un analisis integro de su obra: Carlos Monsivais: Culture and Chronicle in Contemporary Mexico (2001).
Grammaticization, synchronic variation, and language contact

This study of Old Spanish and present-day Mexico and New Mexico data develops a grammaticization account of variation in progressive constructions. Diachronic changes in cooccurrence patterns show that grammaticization involves reductive change driven by frequency increases. Formal reduction results in the emergence of auxilliary-plus-gerund sequences as fused units. Semantically, the constructions originate as spatial expressions; their grammaticization involves gradual loss of locative features of meaning. Semantic generalization among parallel evolutionary paths results in the competition among different constructions in the domain of progressive aspect. Patterns of synchronic variation follow from both the retention of meaning differences and the routinization of frequent collocations, as well as sociolinguistic factors. Register considerations turn out to be crucial in evaluating the effects of language contact. Purported changes in Spanish — English bilingual varieties are largely a feature of oral, informal language rather than a manifestation of convergence.
Protein composition of clots detected in pooled cryoprecipitate units

BACKGROUND: On rare occasions, upon thawing of stored cryoprecipitate components, clots are observed on visual inspection. Although it has been assumed that the clot reflects fibrinogen to fibrin conversion, there are few published studies that document that this assumption is correct. Our studies were conducted to further identify the protein characteristics of the clotted material. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Clotted material isolated from four thawed cryoprecipitate pools was examined by solubilization procedures and electrophoresis analysis. RESULTS: Solubilization of much of the clotted material in phosphate-buffered saline warmed to 37°C suggested the presence of soluble fibrin. Gel electrophoresis under reducing conditions showed that the most prevalent bands exhibited molecular weights corresponding to the α, β, and γ subunits of fibrinogen with a much lighter band exhibiting the molecular weight of fibrinogen γ-γ dimer, consistent with the presence of partially crosslinked fibrin. The presence of the dimer indicated that the clotted material was caused by the action of thrombin, but also reflected the action of Factor XIIIa. No ongoing clot formation was observed. CONCLUSION: Our studies indicate that, on rare occasions, fibrinogen conversion to fibrin is responsible for observable clots in thawed cryoprecipitate pools. These clots are structurally heterogeneous, including both noncrosslinked (soluble) and crosslinked (insoluble) fibrin. This diversity in the fibrin structure may account for some of the diversity in the limited literature regarding their presence in cryoprecipitate pools.
Voronovskaya Type Asymptotic Expansions for Error Function Based Quasi-interpolation Neural Networks

Here we examine further the quasi-interpolation error function based neural network operators of one hidden layer.
Effect of histologic subtype on treatment and outcomes for esophageal cancer in the United States

BACKGROUND: Esophageal adenocarcinoma (AC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) have distinct clinico-pathologic characteristics; however, it is unclear whether treatment patterns differ by histologic subtype. The objective of this study was to examine differences in treatment use and outcomes by histologic subtype for esophageal cancer in the United States. METHODS: From the National Cancer Data Base, patients with esophageal cancer were identified. Regression models were formulated to assess the influence of histologic subtype on treatment use and overall survival. RESULTS: From 1998 to 2007, 80,961 patients were identified with esophageal cancer in the United States. A higher percentage of patients with nonmetastatic AC underwent surgical resection compared with patients with nonmetastatic SCC (AC, 65.7%; SCC, 36.0%; P<.001), who were more often treated with chemoradiotherapy alone (AC, 25.7%; SCC, 54.1%; P<.001). High-volume academic centers used surgery more frequently for both AC and SCC than did other centers, yet even at high-volume academic centers, surgery was used much less often to treat SCC than AC (AC, 79.3%; SCC, 53.7%; P<.001). The likelihood of operative treatment for nonmetastatic disease was significantly lower in patients with SCC compared with patients with AC (P<.001). Overall survival was lower for patients with stage II/III disease of either histologic subtype treated with chemoradiotherapy alone compared with surgery plus chemoradiotherapy (P<.001). CONCLUSION: A large proportion of patients with esophageal cancer are being treated nonoperatively, and treatment use varies according to tumor histology, particularly by center type. Cancer 2011. © 2011 American Cancer Society.
Removal of ultrafine particles in indoor air: Performance of various portable air cleaner technologies

Ultrafine particle (UFP) exposures have been associated with human morbidity and mortality. The removal of UFP from indoor air using portable air cleaners (PACs) of various technologies has not been studied in detail. In this study, 12 devices representing different PAC technologies were tested with an UFP challenge in a full-scale stainless-steel chamber. UFP generation and measurements were conducted using a six-jet atomizer and scanning mobility particle sizer, (SMPS) respectively. It was found that high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) and electrostatic precipitator (ESP) PACs have the best performance in terms of UFP removal rate, with an electret-based PAC also showing comparably high removal rates. Using modeling based on the experimental findings, some PAC technologies were shown to be effective in reducing indoor UFP concentrations in a typical Quebec City residential room by a factor of about 90%. Negative and bi-polar ion generators were found to have mediocre UFP removal performance, while ph...
Numerical simulation of shock-cylinder interactions I.: resolution

Abstract We apply two different high-order shock capturing schemes to the study of a two-dimensional unsteady inviscid flow. In particular, we study the interaction of a planar shock with o cylindrical volume of a light gas (helium or hydrogen) contained in air. The two schemes used are the Chebyshev collocation method and the ENO finite difference scheme of Osher and Shu, and they are applied to a physical model consisting of the Euler equations with a real gas equation of state and multiple chemical species. The parallel implementation and low-level coding of the ENO scheme on the Thinking Machines CM-5 results in much higher performance than is possible on a standard serial or vector machine. The ENO code is compared with an existing experimental result and agrees well with it. The results of spectral and ENO calculations are then compared with each other at different resolutions for a Mach 2 interaction. The spectral scheme, though highly oscillatory in nature for discontinuous problems (Gibbs), accurately predicts both large and fine scale structures of the interaction between the shock and the light gas cylinder. Good results can be recovered from the spectral results by post-processing the raw numerical data to remove the Gibbs phenomena. These results are compared with the ENO schemes. The comparison is progressively better as the grid refinement and numerical order of the ENO scheme is increased. This demonstrates definitively the applicability and value of high order schemes to flows with shocks and complicated non-linear physics.
Multidimensional Network Monitoring for Intrusion Detection

An approach for real-time network monitoring in terms of numerical time-dependant functions of protocol parameters is suggested. Applying complex systems theory for information flow analysis of networks, the information traffic is described as a trajectory in multi-dimensional parameter-time space with about 10–12 dimensions. The network traffic description is synthesized by applying methods of theoretical physics and complex systems theory, to provide a robust approach for network monitoring that detects known intrusions, and supports developing real systems for detection of unknown intrusions. The methods of data analysis and pattern recognition presented are the basis of a technology study for an automatic intrusion detection system that detects the attack in the reconnaissance stage.
SHEAR FORCE DISTRIBUTION AT ECCENTRIC WEB OPENINGS

The main objective of the elastic rests was to determine the amount of shearing force carried by the tee sections above the opening, V T , and below the opening, V B . This shearing force distribution is required to apply the approximate Vierendeel method for determining the elastic stresses. In the experimental investigation, linear strain gages were used to obtain strain distributions. These curves were numerically integrated to determine the moments at sections a specific distance apart and the shearing forces were then found from equilibrium requirements. In the finite element study both normal stresses and shearing stresses were used to find the shearing forces. These results are compared to those obtained from five theoretical formulas for V T /V B . Curves comparing the normal stresses found by the different methods and curves showing the effect of the addition of reinforcing bars are presented.
Logical foundations of continuous query languages for data streams

Data Stream Management Systems (DSMS) have attracted much interest from the database community, and extensions of relational database languages were proposed for expressing continuous queries on data streams. However, while relational databases were built on the solid bedrock of logic, the same cannot be said for DSMS. Thus, a logic-based reconstruction of DSMS languages and their unique computational model is long overdue. Indeed, the banning of blocking queries and the fact that stream data are ordered by their arrival timestamps represent major new aspects that have yet to be characterized by simple theories. In this paper, we show that these new requirements can be modeled using the familiar deductive database concepts of closed-world assumption and explicit local stratification. Besides its obvious theoretical interest, this approach leads to the design of a powerful version of Datalog for data streams. This language is called Streamlog and takes the query and application languages of DSMS to new levels of expressive power, by removing the unnecessary limitations that severely impair current commercial systems and research prototypes.
Modeling electrodeposition for LIGA microdevice fabrication

To better understand and to help optimize the electroforming portion of the LIGA process, we have developed one and two-dimensional numerical models describing electrode-position of metal into high aspect-ratio molds. The one-dimensional model addresses dissociation, diffusion, electromigration, and deposition of multiple ion species. The two-dimensional model is limited to a single species, but includes transport induced by forced flow of electrolyte outside the mold and by buoyancy associated with metal ion depletion within the mold. To guide model development and to validate these models, we have also conducted a series of laboratory experiments using a sulfamate bath to deposit nickel in cylindrical molds having aspect ratios up to twenty-five. The experimental results indicate that current densities well in excess of the diffusion-limited currents may still yield metal deposits of acceptable morphology. However, the numerical models demonstrate that such large ion fluxes cannot be sustained by convection within the mold resulting from flow across the mold top. Instead, calculations suggest that the observed enhancement of transport probably results from natural convection within the molds, and that buoyancy-driven flows may be critical to metal ion transport even in micron-scale features having very large aspect ratios. Taking advantage of this enhanced ion transportmore » may allow order-of-magnitude reductions in electroforming times for LIGA microdevice fabrication. 42 refs., 14 figs., 1 tab.« less
The Short Path and the Long Road: Explaining the Duration of US Military Operations

US presidents have used military force short of war many times since World War II. While some military operations are finished in a fairly brief period of time, such as the evacuation of US citizens from an unstable foreign capital, other deployments may last much longer, as the US military is charged with accomplishing more ambitious foreign policy goals, such as promoting peace, democracy, or maintaining US influence. What explains why some of these uses of force short of war are fairly brief, while other military operations last much longer? The authors contend that the duration of such missions depends on the military resources available, the president’s political support at home, and crisis-specific factors. Using duration modeling techniques, they find that the availability of military resources and the characteristics of the international crisis matter a great deal, while US political and economic conditions mostly do not explain the duration of US military operations. As research has shown with re...
Hepcidin--a regulator of intestinal iron absorption and iron recycling by macrophages.

Hepcidin is a recently discovered peptide made in the liver, distributed in plasma and excreted in urine. This peptide hormone is the homeostatic regulator of intestinal iron absorption, iron recycling by macrophages, and iron mobilization from hepatic stores. Hepcidin acts by inhibiting the efflux of iron through ferroportin, the sole known iron exporter of enterocytes, macrophages and hepatocytes. As befits an iron-regulatory hormone, hepcidin synthesis is increased by iron loading and decreased by anemia and hypoxia. Hepcidin is markedly induced during infections and inflammation, causing iron to be sequestered in macrophages, hepatocytes and enterocytes. The resulting decrease in plasma iron levels eventually contributes to the anemia associated with infection and inflammation. These alterations in iron metabolism probably have a role in host defense by limiting the availability of iron to invading microorganisms. At the opposite extreme, early studies indicate that hepcidin deficiency—due to the dysregulation of its synthesis or mutations in the hepcidin gene itself-is the immediate cause of most forms of hemochromatosis.
Fungal presence in paired cultivated and uncultivated soils in central Iowa, USA.

Amounts of fungal biomass in adjacent cultivated and uncultivated soils in central Iowa were estimated and compared by quantifying soil ergosterol concentrations and lengths of fungal hyphae present. Both indices of fungal biomass, with one exception, indicated that there was at least twice as much fungal biomass in uncultivated soil as in cultivated soil. Levels of microbial biomass carbon in uncultivated soils were also determined to be at least twice that in cultivated soils. Data collected in this study indicate that fungi may be more significantly affected by agricultural soil management practices than other components of the soil microbial community. For two of the soils examined, calculated estimates denote that fungal biomass carbon represented approximately 20% of the total microbial biomass carbon in cultivated soil and about 33% of the microbial biomass carbon in uncultivated soil. Results of this study indicate that conventional agricultural practices result in a significant reduction of fungal biomass production in soil. Implications of differences in fungal biomass between the soils are discussed.
A repressor region in the human β-myosin heavy chain gene that has a partial position dependency

Abstract Expression of the human β-myosin heavy chain (βMHC) gene was studied by transient assay in culture and in situ by direct injection of plasmids into adult rat hearts. In this report we describe a unique repressor region located −326/−309 (5′-TTGGTGGTCGTGGTCAGT-3′) of the human βMHC gene that is conserved among the rat, rabbit, and human βMHC genes. This sequence conferred repression onto heterologous promoters when the sequence was located 5′ but not 3′ to the promoters. This partial positional dependency suggests that the factor may act by limiting the binding of enhancers, located more proximally, to their DNA binding sites.
Trade-Offs Between Formal Home Health Care and Informal Family CareGiving

Using 1994 National Long Term Care Survey data, we estimated logistic regressions of formal and informal home health care use and hours. Home health care use and intensity were differentially impacted by chronic conditions, are higher for Medicaid enrollees and rural or small town residents, but lower for HMO enrollees. Decreases in the probability of home health care use increased informal instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) support four hours and decreased informal activities of daily living (ADL) support eight hours weekly. IADL caregiving substituted for formal care, but ADL caregiving declined with reductions in formal care. Public policy reducing formal home health care access may reduce informal ADL caregiving and increase informal IADL caregiving, producing net declines in support.
Large-Eddy Simulation of a Supersonic Boundary Layer Using an Unstructured Grid

A Mach 3 adiabatic flat plate turbulent boundary layer is studied using large-eddy simulation (LES). The filtered compressible Navier-Stokes equations are solved on a three-dimensional unstructured grid of tetrahedral cells. A compressible extension of the rescaling-reintroducing process of Lund et al. is developed to generate the inflow conditions. The effect of the subgrid-scale motion is incorporated using two approaches, namely, monotone integrated LES (MILES) and the Smagorinsky subgrid-scale model. A detailed grid refinement study is performed
A new species of Julolaelaps (Acari: Iphiopsididae) from African millipedes

Abstract Julolaelaps celestiae n. sp. (Acari: Iphiopsididae), an associate of Archispirostreptus sp. (Diplopoda: Juliformia: Spirostreptidae), is described and compared with other species in the genus. The species is unusual within the genus in having an anal shield that is wider than long. The host was collected from an unknown country in Africa.
Design and performance of a diffusion-suppressed streamer chamber

We have designed, built, and tested a high-resolution streamer chamber that employs a novel diffusion suppression scheme. The chamber operates at 60 atm, uses a few-nanoseconds-wide 250 kV high-voltage pulse, has a maximum repetition rate of 10 Hz, and has an active volume of 13.5 × 4.5 × 0.7 cm3. Under these conditions we measure the rms deviation of streamer centers from fitted track trajectories to be about 12 ωm in space, and a two-track resolution of approximately 50 ωm.
Efficient help for autoreactive B-cell activation requires CD4+ T-cell recognition of an agonist peptide at the effector stage.

T-cell recognition of peptide/MHC complexes is flexible and can lead to differential activation, but how interactions with agonist (full activation) or partial agonist (suboptimal activation) peptides can shape immune responses in vivo is not well characterized. We investigated the effect of stimulation by agonist or partial agonist ligands during initial CD4+ T-cell priming, and subsequent T-B-cell cognate interactions, on antibody production by anti-chromatin B cells. We found that autoantibody production required TCR recognition of an agonist peptide at the effector stage of B-cell activation. However, interaction with a weak agonist ligand at this effector stage failed to promote efficient autoantibody production, even if the CD4+ T cells were fully primed by an agonist peptide. These studies suggest that the reactivity of the TCR for a target self-peptide during CD4+ T-B-cell interaction can be a critical determinant in restraining anti-chromatin autoantibody production.
The role of enteral nutrition in the reversal of parenteral nutrition-associated liver dysfunction in infants.

Abstract Background Liver dysfunction in children dependent on parenteral nutrition (PN) is well established, and the extent of hyperbilirubinemia has been shown to correlate with morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to assess whether increasing provisions of enteral nutrition can improve PN-associated hyperbilirubinemia over time. Methods A retrospective review was conducted on infants in our institution's Short Bowel Syndrome Clinic from 1999 to 2004. Inclusion criteria included PN duration more than 1 month, serum direct bilirubin more than 3 mg/dL while on PN, and tolerance of full enteral nutrition with eventual discontinuation of PN. Paired t tests were used for statistical analyses. Results Twelve infants were identified with a PN duration of 5 ± 1 months. Five patients underwent liver biopsy while on PN, and histological evidence of cholestasis was found on all specimens. Peak total and direct bilirubin levels were 10.5 ± 1.9 and 7.0 ± 1.6 mg/dL, respectively, and occurred at time of PN discontinuation. Only 2 patients had improvement in serum bilirubin levels before initiation of full enteral nutrition. After initiation of full enteral nutrition and discontinuation of PN, all patients achieved permanent normalization of bilirubin levels by 4 months ( P Conclusion These data demonstrate for the first time that although PN-dependent infants can achieve normalization of marked hyperbilirubinemia with enteral nutrition, the improvement in liver function usually begins only after full enteral nutrition is tolerated and PN is withdrawn. These findings support the aggressive weaning of PN to enteral nutrition in infants with short bowel syndrome.
Time-lapse total internal reflection fluorescence video of acetylcholine receptor cluster formation on myotubes.

To study when and where ace- tylcholine receptor (AChR) clusters appear on de- veloping rat myotubes in primary culture, we have made time-lapse movies of total internal re- flection fluorescence (TIRF) overlaid with schlieren transmitted light images. The receptors, including the ones newly incorporated into the membrane, were labeled with rhodamine a-bun- garotoxin (R-BT) continuously present in the me- dium. Since TIRF illuminates only cell-substrate contact regions where almost all of the AChR clus- ters are located, background fluorescence from fluorophores either in the bulk solution or inside the cells can be suppressed. Also, because TIRF minimizes the exposure of the cell interior to light, the healthy survival of the culture during imaging procedures is much enhanced relative to standard epi- (or trans-) illumination. During the experi- ment, cells were kept alive on the microscope stage at 37°C in an atmosphere of 10% C02. Two digital images were recorded by a CCD camera every 20 min: the schlieren image of the cells and the TIRF image of the clusters. After background subtraction, the cluster image was displayed in pseudocolors, overlaid onto the cell images, and recorded as 3 frames on a videotape. The final movies are thus able to summarize a week-long experiment in less than a minute. These movies and images show that clusters form often shortly after the myoblast fusion but sometimes much later, and the formation takes place very rapidly (a few hours). The clusters have an average life- time of around a day, much shorter than the life- time of a typical myotube. The brightest and larg- est clusters tend to be the longest-lived. The cluster formation seems to be associated with the contacts of myotubes at the glass substrate, but not with cell-cell contacts or myoblast fusion into myotubes. New AChR continuously appear in pre- existing clusters: after photobleaching, the fluo- rescence of some clusters recovers within an
Single Wheat Kernel Size Effects on Near-Infrared Reflectance Spectra and Color Classification

ABSTRACT An optical radiation measurement system was used to measure reflectance spectra of single wheat kernels from 400 to 2,000 nm. Five classes of wheat were used for this study. Three kernel sizes (large, medium, and small) were used to determine how wheat kernel size affects visible and near-infrared (NIR) reflectance spectra and single wheat kernel color classification. Mean kernel weights ranged from 35.6 to 57.2 mg for large kernels, from 26.9 to 45.0 mg for medium kernels, and from 17.6 to 31.4 mg for small kernels. The results showed that wheat kernel size significantly affects visible and NIR reflectance spectra. Determination of the color class of red kernels increased in accuracy and that of white kernels decreased in accuracy as kernel size decreased. Data pretreatments such as multiplicative scatter correction (MSC), first or second derivatives, and first or second derivatives with MSC reduced the effect of kernel size on reflectance spectra and color classification.
A Redshift Survey of IRAS Galaxies. V. The Acceleration on the Local Group

The acceleration on the Local Group is calculated based on a full-sky redshift survey of 5288 galaxies detected by IRAS. A formalism is developed to compute the distribution function of the IRAS acceleration for a given power spectrum of initial perturbations. The computed acceleration on the Local Group points 18-28 deg from the direction of the Local Group peculiar velocity vector. The data suggest that the CMB dipole is indeed due to the motion of the Local Group, that this motion is gravitationally induced, and that the distribution of IRAS galaxies on large scales is related to that of dark matter by a simple linear biasing model.
THE IMPACT OF THE CORRECTIONAL FIELD SETTING ON THE RESEARCH EXPERIENCE: A RESEARCH CHRONICLE

Field research in a correctional setting may be subject to a number of constraints and biases in tenns of entree, and data acquisition and evaluation. The impact of this setting on the research exp...
Thermohydraulic Analysis of the Z-Pinch Power Plant Primary Cycle

In this paper, we investigate the thermohydraulic characteristics of the Z-pinch power plant (ZIFE) primary cycle. The generation of electric energy using a power cycle is possible only if a minimum operating temperature is achieved and maintained in the primary cycle. Many energy losses are associated with the operation of the primary cycle. These thermal and pressure losses have a direct impact on the development of the concentrated thermal energy source (CTES) temperature profile. It also affects the component performance and the net electric energy generation. The effect of some important thermal and pressure losses is evaluated and their impact on the CTES temperature profile is estimated. The energy losses are grouped and presented as a percent of the total energy input. The temperature profile is modeled using two different approaches. The results of these models are used to determine the time needed to reach steady state conditions. The major components of the primary cycle are: the CTES, the main heat exchanger (MHX), and the piping system. Lithium is a required component of the liquid wall for breeding the tritium fuel required to sustain the process. In this study Flibe is selected to serve as the heat transport media. Flibe is a 2:1 mixture of the salts lithium fluoride (LiF) and beryllium fluoride (BeF2). Thermohydraulic analyses were performed for each component. The outcome of the two models can be used as two limiting cases to establish the correct time to start the energy generation. These preliminary results serve as the basis for future research toward the development of a general thermohydraulic model of the ZIFE power plant
Static Accuracy Performance of the Selsyn Generator Control-Transformer System

The design of an accurate selsyn generator or control transformer may be accomplished by considering equations 47 and 48 or 55 respectively. The slot openings only increase or decrease certain errors given by these formulas. If according to these formulas a certain harmonic error is small or zero, the slot openings also cause a small or zero additional error. Exception of this rule has to be made only in the case that the errors caused by two different harmonic fields cancel each other. All errors of order (6n-3) can be avoided by making the rotor or stator winding insensitive to even harmonics. Therefore the winding also has to be symmetric to a line vertical to its axis. This is only possible if the punching contains an even number of slots. Curve a in Figure 10 shows a control transformer error curve. It corresponds to a control transformer with a 2-slot round rotor and a 15-slot stator winding, as shown in Figure 4. The 6th-harmonic error is caused by a 7th-harmonic flux and should reach, according to equation 55, an approximate maximum of 0.0013 radian, or 4.5 minutes. The actual 6th-harmonic error is 3.7 minutes. Curve ``b'' shows the error curve of a generator with a 15-slot stator winding and a salient pole rotor of 90-degree pole arc. The 6th-harmonic error has been eliminated by using a stator as before but coils of different number of turns. Thus it was possible to obtain a 7th harmonic reduction factor equal to zero.
Ibn al-Lihyani: Sultan of Tunis and would-be Christian convert (1311-18)

The fifteenth century is often seen as a turning point in Iberian Christian relations with North Africa, with the crusading rhetoric of recovery, or recuperatio, giving way after 1492 to the language of conquest and conversion, or dilatatio. In this paper, I consider an earlier example of North African–Iberian relations that brought the dilatatio theme to the fore. In this case, however, it was a Muslim prince who took the initiative. His name was Ibn al-Lihyani, and he seems to have understood the Christian urges of conquest and conversion well enough to turn them to his own advantage.