cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Conventional 20-GeV muon storage rings for a neutrino factory

20 and 50-GeV lattices have been designed for muon storage rings at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL), respectively. Only recent work on the 20-GeV ring will be discussed in detail here as the 50-GeV ring has been well documented (Fermilab-Pbu-00/108-E, 2000). The 20-GeV designs presented in this paper supplement the lattice developed at BNL for the Feasibility II Study of a Neutrino Factory (BNL-52623, June 2001). The principal difference between these designs is the use of an unconventional type of magnet in the Feasibility II Study design and of conventional magnets in the ones presented here.
Closed-Loop Precision Throttling of a Hybrid Rocket Motor

A closed-loop throttle controller for a laboratory-scale N2O and hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene hybrid rocket motor is presented. Closed-loop throttling was achieved using commercial off-the-shelf valve hardware and a commercially available motor case adapted for hybrid rocket testing. Multiple and open- and closed-loop tests were performed to demonstrate that closed-loop control can significantly reduce the run-to-run burn variability typical of hybrid rocket motors. Closed-loop proportional/integral control algorithms featuring thrust or pressure feedback were used to track prescribed step and linear ramp profiles. Because the relationship between the selected throttle control valve position and the effective valve flow area was highly nonlinear, the effect of valve position on motor thrust/chamber pressure was measured open loop and curve fit to allow direct command of either total thrust or chamber pressure. Control law gains were tuned a priori using a numerical model and then adjusted using the a...
Efficient collective data distribution in all-port wormhole-routed hypercubes

This paper addresses the problem of collective data distribution, specifically multicast, in wormhole-routed hypercubes. The system model allows a processor to send and receive data in all dimensions simultaneously. New theoretical results that characterize contention among messages in wormhole-routed hypercubes are developed and used to design new multicast routing algorithms. The algorithms are compared in terms of the number of steps required in each, their measured execution times when implemented on a relatively small-scale nCUBE-2, and their simulated execution times on larger hypercubes. The results indicate that significant performance improvement is possible when the multicast algorithm actively identifies and uses multiple ports in parallel.
Hydrothermal manganese in the deep sea: Scavenging residence time and Mn/3He relationships

Measurements of hydrothermal Mn in the water column overlying the Galapagos Rift have been fitted to a one-dimensional first-order scavenging model. Assuming a vertical advection velocity of 4 m/yr, the model gives a scavenging residence time for Mn of 51 years. The horizontal propagation distance for hydrothermal Mn in the water column is thus estimated to be on the order of 1000 km. The Mg/3He injection ratios for the Galapagos Rift hydrothermal plume samples and the Red Sea brines are in close agreement. The Mn flux determined from the scavenging model and the estimates of Mn flux based on the Mg/3He injection ratio are compared to the Mn accumulation rates observed in deep-sea sediments.
Assessment of an introductory database course: a case study

The Information Technology Department of the Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences at Rochester Institute of Technology uses program assessment activities to guide curricular decisions which increase the quality of our programs. The assessment process routinely measures student success at achieving program objectives and consequently feeds the results back into the curriculum design process. Core competencies for each degree program are stated as behaviorally-based objectives. When it is determined that students overall are not achieving a specified criterion level for any given objective, these data are fed back to a curriculum design team where changes are made to improve student performance. Specifically, this paper will document the assessment plan developed in 2006 for an introductory database and data modeling course and the subsequent assessment. The assessment indicated an area that did not meet our established expectations for student success. Improvements were made to the course as a result of this assessment. This paper will illustrate the use of class exercises and examination questions to evaluate student success in achieving specified objectives. Results from the 2008 course assessment will be discussed.
A specification language to assist in analysis of discrete event simulation models

Effective development environments for discrete event simulation models should reduce development costs and improve model performance. A model specification language used in a model development environment is defined. This approach is intended to reduce modeling costs by interposing an intermediate form between a conceptual model (the model as it exists in the mind of the modeler) and an executable representation of that model. As a model specification is constructed, the incomplete specification can be analyzed to detect some types of errors and to provide some types of model documentation. The primitives used in this specification language, called a condition specification (CS), are carefully defined. A specification for the classical patrolling repairman model is used to illustrate this language. Some possible diagnostics and some untestable model specification properties, based on such a representation, are summarized.
Dynamic NMR studies of cyclopropyldifluoroborane and vinyldifluoroborane

Abstract The two fluorines of cyclopropyldifluoroborane ( 1 ) and vinyldifluoroborane ( 2 ) show two chemical shifts at low temperatures, due to hindered rotation about the boron–carbon bonds. The rates of rotation were determined at higher temperatures, and the corresponding free-energy barriers at coalescence were found to be 4.85±0.1 and 4.56±0.1 kcal/mol , respectively. The two barriers indicate that the cyclopropyl and vinyl groups are comparable in electron donating ability. Calculated lineshapes suggest that determination of the rotational barrier in phenyldifluoroborane by making use of the difference in coupling constants for an ortho carbon and the two fluorines may not be possible.
A Perspective on Cancer Cell Metastasis

Metastasis causes most cancer deaths, yet this process remains one of the most enigmatic aspects of the disease. Building on new mechanistic insights emerging from recent research, we offer our perspective on the metastatic process and reflect on possible paths of future exploration. We suggest that metastasis can be portrayed as a two-phase process: The first phase involves the physical translocation of a cancer cell to a distant organ, whereas the second encompasses the ability of the cancer cell to develop into a metastatic lesion at that distant site. Although much remains to be learned about the second phase, we feel that an understanding of the first phase is now within sight, due in part to a better understanding of how cancer cell behavior can be modified by a cell-biological program called the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition.
NASAL TUMORS IN RATS FOLLOWING LONG-TERM INHALATION EXPOSURE TO 1,4-DICHLOROBUTENE-2 (DCB)

This study was conducted to elucidate the time- and dose-response relationships of long-term, low-level 1,4-dichlorobutene-2 (DCB) inhalation exposure to nasal tumor induction in rats. Male Crl:CD BR rats were exposed 6 hours per day, 5 days week to 0, 0.1, 0.3, or 1.0 ppm DCB for up to 19 months; some rats were sacrificed at various time intervals during the study. After 19 months of exposure, surviving rats were held without treatment for an additional 5 months. Tissues from the respiratory tract, lymph nodes, and brain were evaluated microscopically. Compound-related non-neoplastic lesions were observed in the nasal cavities of rats in the 1.0 ppm group after three months of exposure and in the other two groups after twelve months of exposure. The lesions were progressive in severity and frequency. A statistically significant increase in benign nasal tumors (adenomas) occurred in rats from all three DCB-exposed groups. The adenomas occurred in the respiratory region of the nasal cavity and were first observed in the 1.0 ppm group at study month 10. Malignant nasal tumors occurred in the olfactory region of the nasal cavity and were statistically increased at 1.0 ppm.
An analysis of the impact of lygus on cotton

Validation of the cotton simulation model GOSSYM against a commercial crop grown in 1976 at Scott, Mississippi, revealed that a 32% yield loss had occurred due to lygus (Lygus lineolaris) (Palisot de Beauvois) damage to squares and to fruiting branch development at the eighth and ninth nodes on the plant. Model crops grown under soil and weather conditions at Mississippi State University with various rates of lygus infestation at 0, 11 115, and 22 230 insects per hectare indicate that yield loss due to damage beginning the first week of squaring may be quite variable (7% to 60%) depending on the insect population. The higher insect population delayed crop maturity by two weeks. Simulated yield loss due to damage beginning after the first week of squaring was much less variable averaging about 25%.
Isolation and characterization of hepatocytes and Kupffer cells

Simplified isolation procedures are described for the parenchymal cell of the liver and the major non-parenchymal cell, the Kupffer cell. Hepatocytes are obtained in a purity of approximately 100%; a yield 10 X 10(6) cells/g liver tissue and the viability is greater than 85%. The recovery of Kupffer cells is 82%, viability 87% and purity 67%. Characterization of Kupffer cells is by the peroxidatic reaction, of hepatocytes by gluconeogenesis and also culture on collagen plates in a non-protein medium yielding albumin.
HYBRID EVOLUTIONARY AND ANNEALING ALGORITHMS FOR NONLINEAR DISCRETE CONSTRAINED OPTIMIZATION

This paper presents a procedural framework that unifies various mechanisms to look for discrete-neighborhood saddle points in solving discrete constrained optimization problems (DCOPs). Our approach is based on the necessary and sufficient condition on local optimality in discrete space, which shows the one-to-one correspondence between the discrete-space constrained local minima of a problem and the saddle points of the corresponding Lagrangian function. To look for such saddle points, we study various mechanisms for performing ascents of the Lagrangian function in the original-variable subspace and descents in the Lagrange-multiplier subspace. Our results show that CSAEA, a combined constrained simulated annealing and evolutionary algorithm, performs well when using mutations and crossovers to generate trial points and accepting them based on the Metropolis probability. We apply iterative deepening to determine the optimal number of generations in CSAEA and show that its performance is robust with respect to changes in population size. To test the performance of the procedures developed, we apply them to solve some continuous and mixed-integer nonlinear programming (NLP) benchmarks and show that they obtain better results than those of existing algorithms.
Starvation-Induced Ovine Toxemia: A Re-Evaluation

A syndrome of hypertension, proteinuria, thrombocytopenia and plasma prostaglandin alterations similar to human preeclampsia has been reported to be consistently induced by 72 hours of starvation in near-term twin-gestation ewes. To confirm this model, six mixed-Western and four Dorset twin gravid ewes of known gestation were prepared with fetal and maternal intravascular catheters. Following recovery (132 days), food was removed from the ewes' cages for 72 to 96 hours. In response to starvation, there was no significant increase in mean arterial pressure in either breed of sheep. Furthermore, there was no difference in the maternal arterial blood pressure response to intravenous graded infusions of angiotensin II (AII) (5, 10, and 25 ng/kg/min) prior to and following starvation of Dorset ewes. Maternal starvation did not result in fetal acidosis or hypoxia. The results suggest that hypertension and increased sensitivity to angiotensin II are not consistent findings in starved twin-bearing gravid ewes.
In vivo imaging of human retinal flow dynamics by color Doppler optical coherence tomography

Background Color Doppler optical coherence tomography (CDOCT) combines laser Doppler velocimetry and optical coherence tomography for simultaneous micron-scale resolution cross-sectional imaging of tissue microstructure and blood flow. Recently, CDOCT was adapted to a slitlamp biomicroscope for imaging structure and blood flow in the human retina. Objective To demonstrate feasibility of CDOCT for imaging retinal hemodynamics. Design Enabling CDOCT to measure retinal blood flow pulsatility in humans. Setting Laboratory. Main Outcome Measures Time-resolved flow profiles and images of retinal blood flow dynamics for measurement of pulsatility within retinal vessels. Results Rapid sequences of images were acquired over selected vessels near the optic nerve head. From these images, retinal blood flow profiles were extracted and synchronized to an external reference obtained with a photoplethysmograph. Each profile was acquired in less than 10 milliseconds. Conclusions Our results indicate that CDOCT provides laser Doppler information in addition to conventional optical coherence tomography, allowing the observation of blood flow dynamics simultaneous to imaging retinal structure. CDOCT is a promising technology for research and clinical studies of retinal blood flow dynamics. Clinical Relevance Blood flow dynamics, such as pulsatility and autoregulation, have been shown to change throughout the progression of diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma. Enabling CDOCT to observe retinal dynamics improves its potential as a clinical diagnostic tool.
Closed- and Open-Ridge Waveguide

Expressions are developed for the voltage-current and voltage-power impedance of closed-ridge and open-ridge waveguide, with the discontinuity capacitance taken into account. Approximate expressions for impedance are derived which are valid under given typical conditions.
The Typical Tools for the Job: Research Strategies in Institutional Analysis*

Institutional theory rests on a rejection of reductionism. Instead of reducing higher-order phenomena to aggregates of behavior, institutional theory reverses this causal imagery. It attributes the behavior of organizations and nation-states to contextual factors, notably organizational fields, national institutional systems, or the emerging global polity, Institutionalists, particularly within sociology, also emphasize specifically cultural mechanisms for these higher-order effects. This article develops the methodological foundations for these claims. It surveys and elaborates research designs for documenting higher-order effects and for differentiating the cultural mechanisms of institutional influence. It also presents new strategies for assessing multiple logics and the coherence of institutional orders, moving beyond adoption and diffusion studies to analyze the dynamic and contested processes of institutionalization and institutional change.
Self-bending of light: comment.

We believe that the effect observed by Xing et al. [Opt. Lett.18,479 (1993)] is essentially cross-phase modulation. It was inaccurately identified as self-bending of light, which is a self-action effect well known in the literature.
Relationship quality and oxytocin Influence of stable and modifiable aspects of relationships

Prior studies report that couples with higher relationship quality show higher oxytocin (OT) levels, yet other studies report those with higher distress have increased OT. This study investigated these competing predictions in the context of a support enhancement intervention among 34 young married couples (N = 68). Preintervention marital quality (Dyadic Adjustment Scale) was examined for associations with plasma and salivary OT levels 4 weeks apart and for changes between these time points within the intervention group. High relationship quality, not distress, was associated with higher OT in both saliva and plasma at both time points. No significant interaction was found between marital quality and intervention condition; relationship quality and support intervention were both independently associated with higher postintervention OT levels.
Minimum Cross-Entropy Pattern Classification and Cluster Analysis

This paper considers the problem of classifying an input vector of measurements by a nearest neighbor rule applied to a fixed set of vectors. The fixed vectors are sometimes called characteristic feature vectors, codewords, cluster centers, models, reproductions, etc. The nearest neighbor rule considered uses a non-Euclidean information-theoretic distortion measure that is not a metric, but that nevertheless leads to a classification method that is optimal in a well-defined sense and is also computationally attractive. Furthermore, the distortion measure results in a simple method of computing cluster centroids. Our approach is based on the minimization of cross-entropy (also called discrimination information, directed divergence, K-L number), and can be viewed as a refinement of a general classification method due to Kullback. The refinement exploits special properties of cross-entropy that hold when the probability densities involved happen to be minimum cross-entropy densities. The approach is a generalization of a recently developed speech coding technique called speech coding by vector quantization.
Disintegration efficiency of pulsed electric field induced effects on onion (Allium cepa L.) tissues as a function of pulse protocol and determination of cell integrity by 1H-NMR relaxometry.

The influence of electrical pulse protocol parameters on cell rupture of onion tissues was investigated in order to improve fundamental understanding and to enhance the processing of plant tissues with pulsed electric fields (PEFs). The impact of PEF parameters on cell integrity of 20 mm dia, 4-mm thick disks of Don Victor onions (Allium cepa L.) was determined by ion leakage measurements. Electric field strength, pulse width, total pulse duration, and frequency effects were determined in relation to their effects on cell damage as a function of pulse protocol. Electric field strengths up to 500 V/cm increased the damage efficiency but there was no significant difference in efficiency beyond this field strength. Larger pulse widths increased the degree of tissue disintegration at a constant pulse number. Higher PEF efficiency was achieved with shorter pulse widths and a larger number of pulses at a constant total treatment time. Lower frequencies caused a greater degree of disintegration at constant number of pulses. ¹H-NMR experiments were performed to determine the proton relaxation components of the PEF-treated onion samples and to obtain cell damage information nondestructively. Paramagnetic ion uptake by the onion sample was used to identify different proton relaxation components. Five different proton relaxation components were observed and changes in the 2 components representing different proton environments showed high correlations with ion leakage results (R²= 0.99), indicating that T(2) distributions can be used to obtain information about cell membrane integrity in PEF-treated samples. 1H-NMR proved to be an effective method for nondestructive quantification of cell membrane rupture in onions.
Retinaldehyde, a potent inhibitor of gap junctional intercellular communication.

Retinaldehyde and retinoic acid are derivatives of vitamin A, and retinaldehyde is the precursor for the synthesis of retinoic acid, a well-known inhibitor of gap junctional intercellular communication. In this investigation, we asked the question if retinaldehyde has similar effects on gap junctions. Gap junctional intercellular communication was measured by scrape-loading and preloading dye-transfer methods, and studies were carried out mainly on cultured liver epithelial cells. Retinaldehyde was found to be a more potent inhibitor (dye transfer reduced by 50% at 2.8 μM) than retinoic acid (dye transfer reduced by 50% at 30 μM) and glycyrrhetinic acid (dye transfer reduced by 50% at 65 μM). Both the 11-cis and all-trans forms of retinaldehyde were equally effective. Retinaldehyde inhibited dye transfer of both anionic Lucifer yellow and cationic Neurobiotin. Inhibition by retinaldehyde developed in less than two minutes at 50 μM, but unlike the reported case with retinoic acid, recovery was slower, thou...
New concepts for active control of rotating stall and surge

Flow instabilities in transonic compressors include rotating stall and surge. Air Injection control has been demonstrated to be an effective strategy for actively suppressing rotating stall and surge. In industrial applications such as aero-engines, the implementation of air injection control schemes is constrained by factors such as the "cost" in terms of efficiency lost and availability of high pressure air, and the size and weight of the actuation system. Air will typically be re-circulated from a downstream compressor stage. The challenge, then, is to create control schemes that achieve acceptable performance with less air and fewer actuators. In this paper, new control concepts to address these implementation challenges in active control of rotating stall and surge are presented. The single-sided injection control scheme was used to reduce the net mass injected, notch-based control strategy was used to provide a framework for implementing nonlinear controllers to high speed compressors, and control laws that incorporate the discrete nature of the actuators are used to reduce the number of actuators. Results from experimental validation with data from high speed compressors are presented.
Achieving the Reiger bound for burst errors using two-dimensional interleaving schemes

The Reiger bound states that the redundancy n-log/sub q/M of any q-ary code, of M codewords of n letters each, that corrects bursts of size up to B is at least 2B (assuming that there are two disjoint bursts of size B that can be corrected by the code (Bossert and Sidorenko, 1996; and Reiger, 1960). In order to achieve the Reiger bound by interleaving single error-correcting codes, these codes should be MDS and the interleaving scheme should use only B of them. Such interleaving is straightforward in one-dimension. Here we consider the two-dimensional version of this problem.
Endogenous PMN sialidase activity exposes activation epitope on CD11b/CD18 which enhances its binding interaction with ICAM-1

Diapedesis is a dynamic, highly regulated process by which leukocytes are recruited to inflammatory sites. We reported previously that removal of sialyl residues from PMNs enables these cells to become more adherent to EC monolayers and that sialidase activity within intracellular compartments of resting PMNs translocates to the plasma membrane following activation. We did not identify which surface adhesion molecules were targeted by endogenous sialidase. Upon activation, β2 integrin (CD11b/CD18) on the PMN surface undergoes conformational change, which allows it to bind more tightly to the ICAM-1 and ICAM-2 on the EC surface. Removal of sialyl residues from CD18 and CD11b, by exogenous neuraminidase or mobilization of PMN sialidase, unmasked activation epitopes, as detected by flow cytometry and enhanced binding to ICAM-1. One sialidase isoform, Neu1, colocalized with CD18 on confocal microscopy. Using an autoperfused microflow chamber, desialylation of immobilized ICAM-1 enhanced leukocyte arrest in vivo. Further, treatment with a sialidase inhibitor in vivo reversed endotoxin-induced binding of leukocytes to ICAM-1, thereby suggesting a role for leukocyte sialidase in the cellular arrest. These data suggest that PMN sialidase could be a physiologic source of the enzymatic activity that removes sialyl residues on β2 integrin and ICAM-1, resulting in their enhanced interaction. Thus, PMN sialidase may be an important regulator of the recruitment of these cells to inflamed sites.
High Graft CD8 Cell Dose Predicts Improved Survival and Enables Better Donor Selection in Allogeneic Stem-Cell Transplantation With Reduced-Intensity Conditioning

Purpose To characterize the impact of graft T-cell composition on outcomes of reduced-intensity conditioned (RIC) allogeneic hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (alloHSCT) in adults with hematologic malignancies.
Encodings of Cladograms and Labeled Trees

This paper deals with several bijections between cladograms and perfect matchings. The first of these is due to Diaconis and Holmes. The second is a modification of the Diaconis-Holmes matching which makes deletion of the largest labeled leaf correspond to gluing together the last two points in the perfect matching. The third is an entirely new encoding of cladograms, first as a bijection with a certain set of strings and then via this to perfect matchings. In this pair of bijections, deletion of the largest labeled leaf corresponds to deletion of the corresponding symbols from the string or deletion of the corresponding pair from the matching. These two new bijections are related through a common max-min labeling of internal vertices with two different choices for the label of the root node. All these encodings are extended to cladograms with edge lengths and left-right ordered children. Moving a single symbol in this last encoding corresponds to a subtree prune and regraft operation on the cladogram, making it well suited for use in phylogentics software. Finally, a perfect Gray code for cladograms is derived from the bar encoding, along with a total ordering on all cladograms, Algorithms are also provided for finding the next and previous cladogram, the cladogram at any position, and the position of any cladogram in the sequence.
Medium-Range Order in a-Si:H Below and Above the Onset of Microcrystallinity

Medium range order (MRO) and the formation of microcrystallites in a-Si:H prepared by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) and hot-wire chemical vapor deposition (HWCVD) have been probed by systematic x-ray diffraction studies with films as thin as those used in solar cells. Effects of substrate temperature, hydrogen dilution, film thickness, and type of substrate have been examined. High-hydrogen-diluted films of 0.5 μm thickness, using optimized deposition parameters for solar cell efficiency and stability, are found to be partially microcrystalline (μc) if deposited directly on stainless steel (SS) substrates but are fully amorphous provided a thin (20 nm) n-layer of a-Si:H or μc-Si:H is first deposited on the SS. The latter predeposition does not prevent partially microcrystallinity if the films are grown thicker (1.5 to 2.5 μm) and this is consistent with a recently proposed phase diagram of thickness versus hydrogen dilution. Analysis of the first (lowest angle) scattering peak of the a-Si:H phase demonstrates that its width, directly related to MRO, is reduced by heavier hydrogen dilution in PECVD growth or by increased substrate temperature in HWCVD growth. The narrowest width of fully amorphous material correlates with better solar cell stability and this is not likely related to bonded hydrogen content since it is quite different in the optimized PECVD and HWCVD a-Si:H. A wide range of MRO apparently exists in the residual amorphous phase of the mixed a/μc material.
Full-field digital gradient sensing method for evaluating stress gradients in transparent solids

A full-field digital gradient sensing method is proposed for measuring small angular deflections of light rays due to local stresses in transparent planar solids. The working principle of the method is explained, and the governing equations are derived. The analysis shows that angular deflections of light rays can be linked to nonuniform changes in thickness and refractive index of the material. In mechanically loaded planar solids, the angular deflections can be further related to spatial gradients of first invariant of stresses under plane stress conditions. The proposed method is first demonstrated by capturing the angular deflection fields in two orthogonal directions for a thin plano-convex lens. The measured contours of constant angular deflection of light rays are in good agreement with the expected ones for a spherical wavefront. The method is also successfully implemented to study a stress concentration problem involving a line load acting on an edge of a large planar sheet. Again, the stress gradients, measured simultaneously along and perpendicular to the loading directions, are in good agreement with the analytical predictions. The measured stress gradients have also been used to estimate stresses in the load point vicinity where plane stress results hold.
Chronic Infection and Reactivation in a Pulmonary Challenge Model of Histoplasmosis

Reactivation may be a mechanism for the development of histoplasmosis in AIDS. In this study, histoplasmosis was reactivated by the depletion of CD4 and CD8 lymphocytes in mice. CD4 and/or CD8 depletion beginning 1 month after intratracheal infection and continuing for 2 months caused reactivation with a 2.1 log/g increase in the lungs and a 1.5 log increase in the spleen of B6C3F1 mice. Because control animals showed persistent infection, a subsequent experiment sought to determine the long-term outcome in competent mice. Twelve of 32 immunocompetent mice died at weeks 26-52 of infection, and 4 survivors appeared to be clinically ill; all ill mice had high fungus burdens, whereas cultures were sterile in the healthy mice. Eight of the surviving healthy-appearing mice underwent autopsy 2 years after infection, and cultures were sterile. Thus, 16 of 32 immunocompetent mice exhibited progressive infection. CD4 and/or CD8 depletion exacerbated infection, but a chronic progressive and ultimately fatal infection occurred in half the immunocompetent mice.
Political and Socioeconomic Indicators of State Restrictiveness Toward Abortion

We compare the relative impacts of political and socioeconomic factors on state restrictiveness toward abortion during the pre. Roe, pre-Webster and post-Webster time frames. This analysis tests the value of cycle theory, where shifting epochs dominated by liberalism and conservatism enhance the role of political variables in shaping policy formation. It also tests the explanatory value of public opinion theory which holds that bimodal issues which cut across party lines accentuate the role of socioeconomic variables in shaping issue evolution. The results of this analysis lend support to cycle theory and public opinion theory, although public opinion theory receives stronger support. When socioeconomic independent variables are regressed against our dichotomous measures of state restrictiveness toward abortion, they explain more variance than political independent variables. Political variables were more important in the conservative era (1989) than in the liberal era (1972).
Online Submodular Set Cover, Ranking, and Repeated Active Learning

We propose an online prediction version of submodular set cover with connections to ranking and repeated active learning. In each round, the learning algorithm chooses a sequence of items. The algorithm then receives a monotone submodular function and suffers loss equal to the cover time of the function: the number of items needed, when items are selected in order of the chosen sequence, to achieve a coverage constraint. We develop an online learning algorithm whose loss converges to approximately that of the best sequence in hindsight. Our proposed algorithm is readily extended to a setting where multiple functions are revealed at each round and to bandit and contextual bandit settings.
Phosphatidylcholine Specific PLC-Induced Dysregulation of Gap Junctions, a Robust Cellular Response to Environmental Toxicants, and Prevention by Resveratrol in a Rat Liver Cell Model.

Dysregulation of gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC) has been associated with different pathologies, including cancer; however, molecular mechanisms regulating GJIC are not fully understood. Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase (MAPK)-dependent mechanisms of GJIC-dysregulation have been well-established, however recent discoveries have implicated phosphatidylcholine-specific phospholipase C (PC-PLC) in the regulation of GJIC. What is not known is how prevalent these two signaling mechanisms are in toxicant/toxin-induced dysregulation of GJIC, and do toxicants/toxins work through either signaling mechanisms or both, or through alternative signaling mechanisms. Different chemical toxicants were used to assess whether they dysregulate GJIC via MEK or PC-PLC, or both Mek and PC-PLC, or through other signaling pathways, using a pluripotent rat liver epithelial oval-cell line, WB-F344. Epidermal growth factor, 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate, thrombin receptor activating peptide-6 and lindane regulated GJIC through a MEK1/2-dependent mechanism that was independent of PC-PLC; whereas PAHs, DDT, PCB 153, dicumylperoxide and perfluorodecanoic acid inhibited GJIC through PC-PLC independent of Mek. Dysregulation of GJIC by perfluorooctanoic acid and R59022 required both MEK1/2 and PC-PLC; while benzoylperoxide, arachidonic acid, 18β-glycyrrhetinic acid, perfluorooctane sulfonic acid, 1-monolaurin, pentachlorophenol and alachlor required neither MEK1/2 nor PC-PLC. Resveratrol prevented dysregulation of GJIC by toxicants that acted either through MEK1/2 or PC-PLC. Except for alachlor, resveratrol did not prevent dysregulation of GJIC by toxicants that worked through PC-PLC-independent and MEK1/2-independent pathways, which indicated at least two other, yet unidentified, pathways that are involved in the regulation of GJIC. In conclusion: the dysregulation of GJIC is a contributing factor to the cancer process; however the underlying mechanisms by which gap junction channels are closed by toxicants vary. Thus, accurate assessments of risk posed by toxic agents, and the role of dietary phytochemicals play in preventing or reversing the effects of these agents must take into account the specific mechanisms involved in the cancer process.
Regulating Hunter Baiting for White-Tailed Deer in Michigan: Biological and Social Considerations

Eradication of bovine tuberculosis (TB) from free-ranging white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) requires mortality rates of infected deer exceed the rate of new infection. Efforts to reduce TB transmission in Michigan, USA, are based on 2 assumptions: 1) deer mortality may be increased through recreational hunting, and 2) encounter rates between infected and noninfected deer may be reduced by prohibiting baiting and supplemental feeding. Spatial correlation of TB-infected deer and supplemental feeding sites detected using aerial surveys validated a ban on artificial feeding in Michigan. Similar analysis could not be used to evaluate the effects of a baiting ban because bait distribution was unknown. Furthermore, a ban on deer baiting could confound attempts to increase deer mortality through reduced hunter participation or efficacy. We reviewed the process used to evaluate a strategy for regulating bait use by hunters. This review included an assessment of 5 factors: statewide spatial analysis of apparent TB prevalence, deer intraspecific interactions at bait sites, effects of bait on hunter harvest rates, impacts of disease presence and practice of eradication efforts on hunting participation in the infected area, and input from law enforcement personnel. Our analysis suggested that restricting baiting to a limited, consistent region incurred less biological risk than allowing bait to be used statewide and less political risk than a statewide ban.
Toxicity, persistence, and efficacy of indoxacarb on cabbage looper (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) on cabbage.

Toxicity of indoxacarb was bioassayed against eggs and young (first and second instars) and older larvae (third and fourth instars) of cabbage looper, Trichoplusia ni (Hubner), on cabbage (Brassicae oleracea variety capitata L.), and persistence of field-aged leaf residues of indoxacarb was bioassayed with second and third instars of T. ni on cabbage. Efficacies of indoxacarb and several other newer insecticides to T. ni were tested under field conditions for two seasons in south Texas. LC50 and LC90 values for T. ni eggs were relatively high, indicating that indoxacarb has little ovicidal effects on T. ni eggs. Indoxacarb was highly toxic to T. ni larvae, having low LC50 and LC90 values. Bioassays of field-aged leaf residues of indoxacarb tested in the spring of 1998 (0-, 3-, 5-, and 12-d-old residues) and the fall of 2000 (0-, 3-, 5-, 7-, 9-, and 13-d-old residues) indicated that ingesting indoxacarb was highly toxic to the second and third instars of T. ni, giving 100% mortality for the second instars at 2 d after exposure, and 100% mortality for third instars at 5 d after exposure. Two trials conducted under field conditions show that indoxacarb at 0.072 g (AI) /ha rate was effective against T. ni in cabbage, providing marketable cabbage with three applications per season. In addition, indoxacarb was as effective as spinosad and chlorfenapyr and significantly more effective than tebufenozide and emamectin benzoate.
Competition and the evolution of imperfect mimicry

Mimicry is widely used to exemplify natural selection's power in promoting adaptation. Nonetheless, it has become increasingly clear that mimicry is frequently imprecise. Indeed, the phenotypic match is often poor between mimics and models in many Batesian mimicry complexes and among co-mimics in many Mullerian mimicry complexes. Here, we consider whether such imperfect mimicry represents an evolutionary compromise between predator-mediated selection favoring mimetic conver- gence on the one hand and competitively mediated selection favoring divergence on the other hand. Specifically, for mimicry to be effective, mimics and their models/co-mimics should occur together. Yet, co-occurring species that are phenotypically similar often compete for resources, successful reproduction, or both. As an adaptive response to minimize such costly interactions, in- teracting species may diverge phenotypically through an evolutionary process known as character displacement. Such divergence between mimics and their models/co-mimics may thereby result in imperfect mimicry. We review the various ways in which character displacement could promote imprecise mimicry, describe the conditions under which this process may be especially likely to produce imperfect mimicry, examine a possible case study, and discuss avenues for future research. Generally, character displacement may play an underappreciated role in fostering inexact mimicry (Current Zoology 58 (4): 608-619, 2012).
Fostering the Professional Development of Saudi Female Students: Implications for Educators in Apparel and Textiles Programs in Saudi Arabia

Today, home economics in Saudi Arabia, in particular, apparel and textiles programs (AT) typically emphasize two major areas: apparel design and textile science. However, AT programs in Saudi Arabia need to evolve to help students take advantage of new job opportunities in the apparel retail sector. Establishing an apparel merchandising track in AT programs in Saudi Arabia will provide women with better preparation to succeed in the industry. Until recently, most female graduates of home economics programs in Saudi Arabia were prepared for teaching positions. The purpose of this study was to develop an apparel merchandising program for the AT discipline in Saudi Arabia. Qualitative data were collected in three phases to examine the focal points of choosing the new curricula: (a) the nature of the subject matter, (b) the nature of society, and (c) the nature of individuals. In Phase 1, the content of the top apparel merchandising programs in the US was examined to explore the nature of the subject matter. In Phase 2, the perceptions of industry professionals in Saudi Arabia were explored by interviewing 21 human resource managers and apparel store managers. Finally, the AT students’ needs to succeed in the apparel industry were examined by interviewing 17 female students. The data were analyzed by utilizing the word-based technique as well as comparing and contrasting responses to each question. The findings for all three phases were combined and compared to identify the knowledge and skills that need to be added to the new apparel merchandising track for AT discipline in Saudi Arabia. Results of the study indicated that all three phases reported the importance of considering hard skills, or content and process knowledge, and soft skills, or professional attitude and skills, in preparing AT student for the apparel retail industry. AT major knowledge, business knowledge, mathematics, as well as professional skills (e.g., communication, commitment, teamwork, English language, lifelong learning, and experience) are found to be essential for the success of Saudi women in the apparel retail industry. For AT educators in Saudi Arabia, this knowledge and skills have to be addressed in the apparel merchandising program. FOSTERING THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF SAUDI FEMALE STUDENTS: IMPLICATIONS FOR EDUCATORS IN APPAREL AND TEXTILES PROGRAMS IN SAUDI ARABIA by
An algebraic approach for quantum computation

Quantum computation is one of the very promising new fields of the new millennium for basic research in theoretical computer science and computational mathematics. Quantum computers have stimulated great interests due to their promise of being able to solve problems considered infeasible on current computers. From a computer scientist's and mathematician's point of view, the growth in the capacities of the underlying hardware is vital since an inefficient algorithm can solve the problem with the faster new hardware. For decades, this attitude was irrelevant but the deadline to change it is near. That is why quantum computation has led to rapid developments in physics, mathematics and computer science.This tutorial paper summarizes our year long series of multidisciplinary seminars on the topics of using computational algebra in quantum computation for finding new theoretical models for the upcoming generation of computers together with finding the models' computational abilities.
Keeping Warm in a Changing Place: The Meanings and Place Experiences of the Korean Heated Floor and House Structure in the 20th Century

This study examines the Korean ondol, the major residential heating method in Korea, and its related house features, particularly the rich symbolic meanings and associated lifestyles. By doing so, this study strives to understand the social aspects of Korean life that are embedded in the structure of Korean residential buildings. The study collected data from (a) scholarly articles on the ondol, (b) popular media, and (c) 30 interviews with elderly Koreans. Qualitative content analysis of these data reveals several contested meanings associated with the Korean ondol: thermal contrast, social dynamics, incubation, practice of everyday life, rootedness, healing/well-being, ethnic identity, modernization, and labor. While the narratives from the interviewees were firmly anchored in real-life situations, the narratives of popular media and scholarly articles showed departures from everyday experiences when discussing the ondol, often romanticizing and associating this building feature with Korean ethnic identity.
Central Nervous System and Head and Neck Histiocytoses: A Comprehensive Review on the Spectrum of Imaging Findings.

The histiocytoses are a rare group of varied but related disorders characterized by abnormal tissue proliferation of macrophages and dendritic cells within tissues. The purpose of this article was to review the imaging findings in patients presenting with CNS and with head and neck manifestations of these disorders. Histiocytoses include but are not limited to Rosai-Dorfman disease, Erdheim Chester disease, Langerhans cell histiocytosis, histiocytic sarcoma, and juvenile xanthogranuloma. A review of the literature was performed to determine the sites of disease involvement. This article includes the demographics, histopathologic criteria for diagnosis, and imaging features of these histiocytoses, and describes the manifestations in locations known to harbor disease: intraaxial and extra-axial intracranial regions, the calvaria, skull base, hypothalamopituitary axis, orbits, paranasal sinuses, spine, and the head and neck region. Histiocytoses have variable imaging appearances in the CNS and in the head and neck region, and radiologists should be aware of the spectrum of findings to avoid mistaking them for other disease processes. Learning Objective To understand the general pathophysiology, clinical presentation, and typical imaging characteristics of the most common histiocytoses; comprehend the morphologic and immunohistochemical characteristics of these histiocytoses and the hallmark findings on pathology; and be able to differentiate between these disorders based on their most common presentations.
Problems with fixation and embedding of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (glomales)

In order to conduct ultrastructural studies to clarify the nature of the spores formed in Glomales, an order of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, techniques for fixation and embedding of these spores were tested. Of nine methods, none was effective for fixation of Acaulospora, Gigaspora, and Scutellospora spores, but one was efficient for fixation of Glomus. This method included fixation with glutaraldehyde in a microwave oven, and breaking the spores under liquid nitrogen before postfixation with osmium tetroxide. For spore walls, however, most of the techniques were satisfactory for all of the genera tested.
When and Why does Harmonious Passion Lead to Increased Performance

Despite a burgeoning of research that examines passion for work, passion‒ performance relationships have received insufficient attention. Using data from 233 employee-supervisor dyads from multiple...
Lipid levels: A novel biomarker of impending intracerebral hemorrhage?

Despite many established behavioral and medical risk factors, such as smoking, hypertension, and atrial fibrillation, predicting which patients will develop a stroke and when it will occur remains vexing for clinicians and researchers alike. No matter how intuitive their existence, establishing more proximate triggers of stroke has proven quite difficult with some notable exceptions. One example of a known exogenous, environmental trigger is stimulant drugs that can cause cerebral vasospasm or acute hypertension leading to ischemic stroke or intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH).1 Another body of evidence supports the link between preceding infectious disease triggers and incident cerebrovascular events.2
A REVIEW OF MICROBIAL FUEL CELLS

Microbial fuel cells(MFCs) are a promising technology for electricity production from a variety of materials, such as natural organic matter, complex organic waste or renewable biomass, and can be advantageously combined with applications in wastewater treatment,with significant environmental and economic benefits. The article describes the fundamentals of MFCs, discusses the effects of the electrogenesis capacity, such as temperature, pH fuel characteristics, etc., summaries the some disadvantages and possible solutions, provides a glimpse into the future development of MFCs.
ToolTrack™: A Compact, Low-Cost System for Measuring Surgical Tool Motion

Accurate measurement of tool motion in minimally invasive procedures is an essential component of proficiency assessment. This is particularly important to automate the scoring procedures in, e.g., the Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery (FLS) trainer box. Existing techniques are bulky, require extensive modifications to the surgical tool or trocar mechanism and are expensive. In this work, we propose a new system - the ToolTrack™ consisting of an optical mouse sensor and a MEMS inertial unit that can be easily integrated with any laparoscopic tool, provide accurate and reliable sensing, is light weight and low cost.