cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A critical role for type I IFN-dependent NK cell activation in innate immune elimination of adenoviral vectors in vivo.

Recombinant adenoviruses have been used widely for gene therapy due to their high transduction efficiency in vivo. However, the attendant innate immune response to adenoviral vectors has limited their applications for in vivo gene therapy. Recent studies have shown that adenoviruses activate the innate immunity through both Toll-like receptor–dependent (TLR-dependent) and TLR–independent pathways, leading to the production of type I interferons (IFNs) and other inflammatory cytokines. Furthermore, type I IFNs play a pivotal role in innate immune elimination of adenoviral vectors in vivo. It remains to be defined how type I IFNs regulate innate immune clearance of adenoviral vectors. In this study, we showed in vivo that natural killer (NK) cells were activated and accumulated in the liver upon intravenous administration of adenoviral vectors, leading to the loss of adenoviral genome and the reduction of transgene expression. We further demonstrated that type I IFNs were critical for the activation of NK cells. This was achieved by direct action of type I IFNs on NK cells. Overall, our observations reveal a critical role for type I IFN–dependent NK cell activation in innate immune elimination of adenoviral vectors in vivo and may help design effective strategies to improve the outcome of adenovirus-mediated gene therapy.
Characterization of Dip‐Coated Boron Nitride on Silicon Carbide Fibers

Amorphous boron nitride thin coatings (∼0.2 μm) have been formed on Nicalon and C-Nicaion (pre-carbon-coated Nicalon) yarns via dip coating in boric acid solution followed by heating and nitriding in NH3gas at 1000°C. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Auger electron spec-troscopy (AES) studies have shown the formation of boron nitride. The coating was boron rich and contains oxygen. The N/B and O/B ratios range from 0.6 to 0.8 and from 0.1 to 0.25, respectively. Tensile strength measurements revealed that the BN-coated C-Nicalon yarn maintained ∼85% of its original strength while BN-coated Nicalon lost ∼85% of its original strength. Auger depth profiles showed that there was a consumption of carbon during the heating and nitridation process for both BN-coated Nicalon and C-Nicalon fibers. However, the depletion of carbon in BN-coated Nicalon fibers was much more severe than that in BN-coated C-Nicalon fibers.
Identification of mutations preventing n-hexadecane uptake among 26 n-alkane non-utilizing mutants of Yarrowia (Saccharomycopsis) lipolytica

Genetic analyses of n-alkane non-utilizing mutants of the yeast Yarrowia (Saccharomycopsis) lipolytica were continued. By analyses of inter-mutant complementation and recombination a total of 26 genetic loci have been identified. Mutations representing these loci have phenotypes characteristic of defects in substrate uptake or in one or more of the enzymatic activities making up the hydroxylase complex. Tests of 14C n-hexadecane uptake by a set of alkane-negative mutants representing the 26 loci show that 16 of the mutations cause a significant reduction in n-alkane uptake. N-alkane uptake by Y. lipolytica is shown to be inducible and to be inhibited by the metabolic poisons 2–4 dinitrophenol and KCN. The latter observation indicates that n-alkane uptake of Y. lipolytica is due to active transport.
Direction estimation using compressive array sensing and pattern reconfigurable antennas

In many situations it is desirable to identify the direction of arrival (DoA) of an incoming signal. Recently the idea of compressive sensing have been applied to DoA problems using sub-sampled linear arrays of omnidirectional antennas. In this paper we explore DoA estimation with compressive sensing using antennas with diverse and reconfigurable patterns. Our results show that compressively-sampled arrays using pattern-reconfigurable antennas may meet or even exceed the accuracy of traditional DoA arrays as well as static compressed arrays of comparable size and complexity. Furthermore, we show that for arrays with lower number of elements, the degradation in performance of a compressive array can be mitigated by including pattern reconfigurable antenna elements.
Multispecies comparative analysis of a mammalian-specific genomic domain encoding secretory proteins.

Abstract The mammalian-specific casein gene cluster comprises 3 or 4 evolutionarily related genes and 1 physically linked gene with a functional association. To gain a better understanding of the mechanisms regulating the entire casein cluster at the genomic level we initiated a multispecies comparative sequence analysis. Despite the high level of divergence at the coding level, these studies have identified uncharacterized family members within two species and the presence at orthologous positions of previously uncharacterized genes. Also the previous suggestion that the histatin/statherin gene family, located in this region, was primate specific was ruled out. All 11 genes identified in this region appear to encode secretory proteins. Conservation of a number of noncoding regions was observed; one coincides with an element previously suggested to be important for β-casein gene expression in human and cow. The conserved regions might have biological importance for the regulation of genes in this genomic “neighborhood.”
Surgical Outcomes in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patients and the Potential Impact of Biologic Therapies

The decision to proceed with surgery in an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patient is ideally a collaborative effort between the patient, gastroenterologist, and surgeon. Unlike emergency situations where surgery is required to address significant complications of the underlying disease, either ulcerative colitis (UC) or Crohn's disease (CD), elective cases often allow optimizing patient or disease factors in an attempt to improve surgical outcomes. Numerous factors contribute to success after IBD surgery. A detailed description of the pre-, intra-, and postoperative patient and procedure-specific risk factors associated with contributing to or reducing postoperative complications is beyond the scope of this monograph. However, a unique factor often encountered in IBD patients is their long-term immunosuppressive medication use in the perioperative period. They might be on a single agent. However, often they are on multiple medications with different modes of action. In this article, we will review the evidence regarding the impact of immunosuppressive medications commonly used in the treatment of IBD patients with an in-depth consideration of the newer antibody-based therapies.
An Assessment of Atmospheric Water Budget Components over Tropical Oceans

AbstractBalancing global moisture budgets is a difficult task that is even more challenging at regional scales. Atmospheric water budget components are investigated within five tropical (15°S–15°N) ocean regions, including the Indian Ocean, three Pacific regions, and one Atlantic region, to determine how well data products balance these budgets. Initially, a selection of independent observations and a reanalysis product are evaluated to determine overall closure, between 1998 and 2007. Satellite-based observations from SeaFlux evaporation and Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) precipitation, together with Interim ECMWF Re-Analysis (ERA-Interim) data products, were chosen. Freshwater flux (evaporation minus precipitation) observations and reanalysis atmospheric moisture divergence regional averages are assessed for closure. Moisture budgets show the best closure over the Indian Ocean with a correlation of 89% and an overall imbalance of −3.0% of the anomalies. Of the five regions, the western ...
Photochemistry of transition metal-organic systems

Abstract Irradiation of an organic substrate in the presence of a transition metal compound offers a convenient and often highly-selective route to a variety of interesting and useful products. In this article we seek to identify the key ground- and excited-state interactions between the metal and substrate, and thereby gain insight about the factors that predispose the system to a particular reaction path. Such information, in turn, can be of value in the design of new or improved applications based upon this type of process.
Modulation of Human Luteinizing Hormone β Gene Transcription by MIP-2A

MIP-2A was recently identified as a MBP-1 interacting cellular protein. We have shown previously that MBP-1 acts as a transcriptional repressor. Functional association between MIP-2A and MBP-1 suggests that MIP-2A can act as a cofactor and relieves MBP-1-mediated transcriptional repression. In this study, we report the tissue-specific expression of MIP-2A and its role in the regulation of gene transcription. RNA dot blot analysis of human multiple tissue expression array suggested that MIP-2A is highly abundant in right cerebellum, pituitary, adrenal, and testis but barely detectable in skeletal muscle. Predominant expression of MIP-2A in pituitary tissue led us to investigate whether MIP-2A can transcriptionally regulate luteinizing hormone beta (LHbeta), a pituitary-specific hormone synthesized and secreted from gonadotropic cells. The LHbeta promoter is regulated by the orphan nuclear receptor SF-1 and homeodomain protein Ptx1. Although each factor enhances the LHbeta promoter, coexpression of both results in a strong synergistic activation. Therefore, we examined whether MIP-2A can modulate SF-1- and Ptx1-mediated transcriptional activation. Our results suggested that MIP-2A expression inhibits SF-1- and Ptx1-mediated transactivation of LHbeta promoter. Subsequent analysis demonstrated that MIP-2A physically interacts with both SF-1 and Ptx1, thereby inhibiting transactivation of the LHbeta promoter. Taken together, our results indicate that MIP-2A preferentially expresses in certain tissues, including the pituitary gland, and negatively regulates the LHbeta gene transcription.
Compatible extensions of nearrings

If R is a zero-symmetric nearring with 1 and G is a faithful R-module, a compatible extension of R is a subnearring S of M 0(G) containing R such that G is a compatible S-module and the R-ideals and S-ideals of G coincide. The set of these compatible extensions forms a complete lattice and we shall study this lattice. We also will obtain results involving the least element of this lattice related to centralizers and the largest element of this lattice related to uniqueness of minimal factors with an application to 1-affine completeness of the R-module G.
On the Text of Athenagoras, De Resurrectione

Second, the textual tradition goes back to one single codex, the Parisinus 451 (= A), a manuscript copied in 914 by Baanes for Arethas, archbishop of Caesarea. And third, in his critical edition of the treatise, Eduard Schwartz has considerably improved the understanding of the text, helped by Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff ('Athenagorae alter editor,' Schwartz's Preface, p. XXX). But that was in 1891.2 Since then no textual criticism known to me has appeared.3 Schoedel's handy edition, in the Oxford Early Christian Texts series (1972), follows Schwartz's edition: where it does not, it offers no better text.4
Exosome-associated tau is secreted in tauopathy models and is selectively phosphorylated in cerebrospinal fluid in early Alzheimer disease

Recent demonstrations that the secretion, uptake, and interneuronal transfer of tau can be modulated by disease-associated tau modifications suggest that secretion may be an important element in tau-induced neurodegeneration. Here, we show that much of the tau secreted by M1C cells occurs via exosomal release, a widely characterized mechanism that mediates unconventional secretion of other aggregation-prone proteins (α-synuclein, prion protein, and β-amyloid) in neurodegenerative disease. Exosome-associated tau is also present in human CSF samples and is phosphorylated at Thr-181 (AT270), an established phosphotau biomarker for Alzheimer disease (AD), in both M1C cells and in CSF samples from patients with mild (Braak stage 3) AD. A preliminary analysis of proteins co-purified with tau in secreted exosomes identified several that are known to be involved in disease-associated tau misprocessing. Our results suggest that exosome-mediated secretion of phosphorylated tau may play a significant role in the abnormal processing of tau and in the genesis of elevated CSF tau in early AD.
Hospital-Based Event Medical Support for the Baltimore Marathon, 2002−2005

Objectives. We present a four-year, cross-sectional epidemiologic description of injuries andillnesses among Baltimore Marathon participants andthe evaluation, treatment, anddisposition of those conditions by an on-site event medical team led by physicians andstaff from an urban, academic emergency department. Methods.We analyzed data from injuries encountered during the marathon. Subjects presenting to a medical aid station along the course route or at the finish line were defined as “injured or ill” andwere prospectively divided into two groups: 1) a brief-encounter group and2) an extended-encounter group. Data collected included gender, presenting complaint(s), assessment, treatment(s), anddisposition. Results.Three percent (N = 1,144) of approximately 33,700 total participants over four years presented to medical aid stations during the Baltimore Marathon between 2002 and2005. Most participants (66%) did not require a full clinical evaluation. Common complaints encountered were dehydration (32%), musc...
Relation of acetylcholinesterase sensitivity to cross-resistance of a resistant house fly strain to organophosphates and carbamates

Abstract Acetylcholinesterase (AChE, E.C. 3.1.1.7) from an organophosphate-resistant strain of house fly, Musca domestica (L.) exhibited a decrease in sensitivity towards four organophosphates and two carbamates in comparison with enzyme from the parent susceptible strain. Sensitivity was less, as measured by the bimolecular reaction constant (ki), by a factor of 117 for dichlorvos, 94 for paraoxon, 11 for diazoxon, 7 for Tetram, 62 for propoxur, and 50 for dimetilan. These differences in bimolecular reaction constants were attributed entirely to differences in their affinity for the enzyme, as measured by the dissociation constant, Kd. It is suggested that the cross resistance to these inhibitors is due at least in part to insensitive acetylcholinesterase.
Research on Casting of GH3030 Superalloy with Electromagnetic Stirring

The effect of electromagnetic stirring on the inner quality and solidification microstructure of the GH 3030 superalloy ingots was investigated by casting experiments. As we know from the experiments, the solidification microstructure of GH3030 is the single-phase of austenite. With the electromagnetic stirring (EMS) the grains of the GH3030 ingots become finer significantly and the average grain size decrease as the currents of EMS increase. The results also show that the macrostructure of the ingots was improved significantly. The length of the shrinkage cavity with EMS become smaller and the porosity disappeared while the ingots without EMS have much porosity. And yet the macrosegregation always exists whether with EMS or not, but the chromium in the ingots with EMS is better distributed, and consequently the macrosegregation of chromium is inhibited.
Bacteria in oral secretions of an endophytic insect inhibit antagonistic fungi

Colonisation of host trees by an endophytic herbivore, the spruce beetle, Dendroctonus rufipennis , is accompanied by invasion of its galleries by a number of fungal species. Four of these associated species were identified as Leptographium abietinum , Aspergillus fumigatus , Aspergillus nomius , and Trichoderma harzianum . 2. Trichoderma and Aspergillus significantly reduced spruce beetle survival and reproduction in controlled assays. 3. A previously undescribed behaviour was observed, in which spruce beetle adults exuded oral secretions, especially within fungus-pervaded galleries. 4. These oral secretions inhibited the growth of fungi except A. nomius , and disrupted the morphology of the latter. Administration of these secretions indicated a dose- dependent inhibitory effect. 5. Oral secretions cultured on microbiological media yielded substantial bacterial growth. 6. Filter-sterilised secretions failed to inhibit fungal growth, evidence that the bacteria are responsible for the antifungal activity. 7. Nine bacterial isolates belonging to the Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, Gammapro- teobacteria, and Betaproteobacteria taxa were obtained from the secretions. 8. Bacterial isolates showed species-specific inhibitory activity against the four fungi antagonistic to spruce beetle. The bacterium with the strongest fungal inhibition activity was the actinomycete Micrococcus luteus . 9. The production of bark beetle secretions containing bacteria that inhibit fungal growth is a novel finding. This suggests an additional level of complexity to ecological associations among bark beetles, conifers, and microorganisms, and an important adaptation for colonising subcortical tissue.
Effects of trypsin and protein modification on the renal transporter of p-aminohippurate.

Basal-lateral membranous vesicles prepared from rabbit renal cortex exhibited Mg2+-stimulated, probenecid-inhibitable transport ofp-aminohippurate (PAH). This uptake could be completely eliminated by incubating the membranes with trypsin at a weight ratio of 1∶700 (trypsin/membrane protein). The loss of PAH uptake activity occurred in two stages. Over the first ten minutes of the vesicles' exposure to trypsin, there was a nearly linear loss, with respect to time, of about 80% of the PAH uptake activity. The remaining 20% of activity was resistant to further trypsin digestion for the next ten minutes, but by twenty-five minutes a total inactivation of the uptake activity occurred. Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of normal and trypsin-treated vesicles showed very little degradation of proteins. However, two minor polypeptides (Mr-410,000 and 388,000) were degraded during the first ten minutes of the membranes' exposure to trypsin. After twenty minutes of exposure, two other poypeptides (Mr=94,500 and 87,500) were degraded. Chymotrypsin and clostripain also caused a loss of PAH transport activity. However, compared to the effects of trypsin, the effects of these two proteases were less complete, slower in onset, and for clostripain, a much higher concentration of enzyme was required. Other functions or properties of the vesicles including morphological appearance, degree of vesiculation, glucose space or Na+-dependentl-glutamate transport and Na+, K+-ATPase activity were not altered by the concentration of trypsin which abolished 80% of the transport of PAH. Thus, it is possible that one or more of the degraded polypeptides detected by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis comprises the PAH transporter. Furthermore, modification of the vesicles with phenylglyoxal led to a 38% loss of PAH uptake activity. This suggests that arginine residues may play an important role in the transport system.
An experimental study of the impact of visual semantic feedback on novice programming

Prior empirical studies of programming have shown that novice programmers tend to program by exploration, relying on frequent compilation and execution of their code in order to make progress. One way visual and end-user programming environments have attempted to facilitate this exploratory programming process is through their support of ''live'' editing models, in which immediate visual feedback on a program's execution is provided automatically at edit time. Notice that the notion of ''liveness'' actually encompasses two distinct dimensions: (a) the amount of time a programmer must wait between editing a program and receiving visual feedback (feedback delay); and (b) whether such feedback is provided automatically, or whether the programmer must explicitly request it (feedback self-selection). While a few prior empirical studies of ''live'' editing do exist, none has specifically evaluated the impact of these dimensions of ''live'' editing within the context of the imperative programming paradigm commonly taught in first-semester computer science courses. As a preliminary step toward that end, we conducted an experimental study that investigated the impact of feedback self-selection on novice imperative programming. Our within-subjects design compared the impact of three different levels of feedback self-selection on syntactic and semantic correctness: (a) no visual feedback at all (the No Feedback treatment); (b) visual feedback, in the form of a visualization of the program's execution state, provided on request when a ''run'' button is hit (the Self-Select treatment); and (c) visual feedback, in the form of a visualization of the program's execution state, updated on every keystroke (the Automatic treatment). Participants in the Automatic and Self-Select treatments produced programs that had significantly fewer syntactic and semantic errors than those of the No Feedback treatment; however, no significant differences were found between the Automatic and Self-Select treatments. These results suggest that, at least in the case of novice imperative programming environments, the benefits of delivering a continuously updated visual representation of a program's execution may fail to justify the substantial costs of implementing such feedback. We recommend that programming environment designers instead direct their efforts toward carefully considering when programmers will be ready to take advantage of the feedback that is coming toward them, along with what content will be of most benefit to them.
Honor Among Thieves

Without a human organization that can sift information and raise the gold from the dust, knowledge will die as rumor and innuendo will overwhelm any truth that may be making the rounds.
The mini-conference: Teaching professionalism through student involvement

Professional orientation courses typically provide important knowledge about professional organizations, standards, credentials, and roles. Knowledge alone, however, may not instill a sense of professionalism in counseling students. This article describes one teaching method that seems to foster behaviors and attitudes that characterize professionalism.
Building an innovative organization: consistent business and technology integration

Purpose – The IBM 2006 CEO study (which interviewed 765 CEOs, business executives and public sector leaders) took a comprehensive global look at a topic that is increasingly important to leaders worldwide: innovation.Design/methodology/approach – The study's findings covered three major areas, such as the value of external collaboration, the importance of business model innovation, and the need for consistent business and technology integration.Findings – Two out of every three CEOs interviewed expect fundamental changes for their organizations over the next two years. Surprisingly undaunted by this challenge, they see innovation as a means to seize opportunities.Practical implications – In the IBM study: 76 percent of all CEOs ranked business partnerships and collaboration as important for innovation – but only half of the CEOs surveyed believed their organizations were collaborating beyond a moderate level. Only 14 percent of CEOs ranked internal R&D as a significant source for new ideas.Originality/val...
Performance of International Joint Ventures: What Factors Really Make a Difference and How?:

This article presents an in-depth review and critique of previous research on international joint venture (IJV) performance over the past 10 years. In doing so, the authors tease out the most important conceptualizations of IJV performance, the dominant drivers of IJV performance, and the key links among all these variables. They propose a comprehensive model that relates drivers to IJV performance measures and also performance measures to each other over time to guide future research.
Analysis of ritonavir in plasma/serum and tissues by high-performance liquid chromatography.

Abstract A method has been developed to quantify ritonavir concentrations in human plasma and in mouse serum, liver, and brain using high-performance liquid chromatography. Extraction recoveries for ritonavir and its internal standard averaged greater than 95%. Within-day variability, expressed as a coefficient of variation, averaged 6% over the concentration range 0.5 μg/mL to 15 μg/mL ritonavir, and between-day variability averaged 5.6% over 5 μg/mL to 15 μg/mL ritonavir. The method was applied to quantitation of ritonavir in mouse serum and tissue. Measured values deviated less than 5% from the actual values in mouse serum, liver, and brain samples containing 5 μg/mL ritonavir. The slopes of calibration curves for extracted calf serum, mouse serum, mouse liver and mouse brain standards were nearly identical to the calibration slope of standards which were not extracted. All curves were linear through zero, and r2 was no less than 0.998 for any form of calibration. In addition, there was no chromatographic interference from commonly prescribed medications.
The Relationship Between Board Composition and Leadership Structure and Bankruptcy Reorganization Outcomes

With the dramatic rise in the number of corporate bankruptcies since the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978, it is increasingly important to understand those factors which are associated with a Chapter 11 reorganization filing. Of particular interest is the association between firms’ strategic leadership and successfully emerging from a bankruptcy reorganization. This study examines the association between bankrupt firms’ board composition and board leadership structure and four outcomes of the bankruptcy reorganization process. While controlling for firm size, financial indicators, outside ownership interests, and CEO tenure, stepwise multiple discriminant function analysis indicates predictive power for board composition, but not board leadership structure.
A control problem with pointwise state constraints

We consider a parabolic control problem in which the state is constrained pointwise. We obtain useful approximations by considering a regularized family of problems and show that the associated family of optimal controls converges strongly to the optimal control of the original problem.
Do Antibodies Stimulate Myelin Repair in Multiple Sclerosis

One of the major goals in the study of multiple sclerosis (MS) is to identify a beneficial therapeutic intervention that mimics the intrinsic reparative process and results in long-term clinical improvement. As yet, the therapeutic strategies tested in MS have failed to accomplish this task. However, one potential therapy that has shown some promise in rodent models of demyelination involves the administration of antibodies. Studies in various models of demyelination (virus-induced, autoimmune, and toxic) indicate that a subset of autoantibodies with reactivity to CNS antigens promote remyelination. We have identified a prototypic germline IgMk monoclonal antibody, designated SCH 94.03, with reactivity to a surface antigen on oligodendrocytes that promotes CNS remyelination. This antibody has the phenotypic features of polyreactive physiological natural autoantibodies. Additionally, treatment of MS patients with intravenous immunoglobulin, which contains these natural autoantibodies, may be efficacious in a subset of patients. We propose three mechanisms (direct stimulation of oligodendrocytes, immunomodulation, and opsonization of debris) by which polyreactive natural autoantibodies directed against CNS antigen may promote remyelination. Remyelination has the potential to not only improve conduction velocity but also may protect axons from injury and improve neurological function.
Detecting stink bugs/damage in cotton utilizing a portable electronic nose

Current scouting techniques for stink bugs are variable, time-consuming, and costly. The overarching goal of this research was to develop effective and affordable tools for detecting stink bugs and damage induced by stink bugs in cotton. A commercially available electronic nose (Cyranose 320) comprising an array of 32 carbon-black composite sensors was used for this purpose and its performance was evaluated under laboratory and field conditions. Volatile compounds emitted by stink bugs were confirmed to be trans-2-decenal and trans-2-octenal. Four of 32 sensors responded to volatile chemicals produced by bugs and showed responses (smell-prints) to pure trans-2-decenal that were identical to those obtained from stink bugs. Under laboratory conditions, internal boll injury (interior walls of bolls and locks with raised callus growths or obvious damage to lint and seed) was predicted 95% of the time and the presence of stink bugs 100% of the time. There was a strong correlation (R^2=0.95) between the number of stink bugs in a sample and the response of Cyranose sensors.
Assessing the interaction between offender and victim criminal lifestyles & homicide type

Abstract Purpose This study examined the interaction between homicide victim and offender criminal lifestyles and the situational characteristics of homicides that occurred in the city of Newark, New Jersey from 1997 through 2007. Three research questions were explored: (1) what are the lifestyles exhibited by homicide victims and offenders; (2) are there different types of homicide actors (i.e., victim and/or offender) based on their criminal lifestyle; (3) do varying homicide actor (i.e., victim and/or offender) types influence the characteristics of homicide incidents? Methods Five hundred and thirteen homicide incidents was used to answer the three research questions. Hierarchical Agglomerative Cluster and Logistic Regression Analyses were employed to answer the research questions. Findings The findings showed that criminal lifestyles were indeed very common among homicide victims and offenders, and that they resemble each other. The findings also showed that there were two types of homicide victims and offenders, and that these types influenced the etiology of homicide incidents. Conclusion Overall, the results suggest that researchers and practitioners should take into account the criminal lifestyles of potential victims and offenders when tailoring homicide prevention strategies.
Interval-type and affine arithmetic-type techniques for handling uncertainty in expert systems

Expert knowledge consists of statements Sj (facts and rules). The facts and rules are often only true with some probability. For example, if we are interested in oil, we should look at seismic data. If in 90% of the cases, the seismic data were indeed helpful in locating oil, then we can say that if we are interested in oil, then with probability 90% it is helpful to look at the seismic data. In more formal terms, we can say that the implication "if oil then seismic" holds with probability 90%. Another example: a bank A trusts a client B, so if we trust the bank A, we should trust B too; if statistically this trust was justified in 99% of the cases, we can conclude that the corresponding implication holds with probability 99%. If a query Q is deducible from facts and rules, what is the resulting probability p(Q) in Q? We can describe the truth of Q as a propositional formula F in terms of Sj, i.e., as a combination of statements Sj linked by operators like &, ∨, and ¬ computing p(Q) exactly is NP-hard, so heuristics are needed. Traditionally, expert systems use technique similar to straightforward interval computations: we parse F and replace each computation step with corresponding probability operation. Problem: at each step, we ignore the dependence between the intermediate results Fj; hence intervals are too wide. Example: the estimate for P(A∨¬A) is not 1. Solution: similar to affine arithmetic, besides P(Fj), we also compute P(Fj&Fi) (or P(Fj1&...&Fjd)), and on each step, use all combinations of l such probabilities to get new estimates. Results: e.g., P(A∨¬A) is estimated as 1.
State and local finance in a command economy: the case of the soviet union

Two aspects of Western public finance, the economic theory of federalism and public choice theory, have insights that, if adopted in the Soviet Union, could help improve its resource allocation to permit economic growth, mitigate the problems it has with its minorities, and aid the transition away from a centralized, Communist-Party-dominated State and society. The economic reforms proposed by Chairman Mikhail Gorbachev are briefly summarized and criticized in the context of a summary discussion of governmental decisionmaking in the Soviet Union. Lessons are identified from the U.S. historical experience that suggest certain steps to improve local government as necessary preconditions for improving Soviet economic efficiency. These are free local elections, a free local press, an independent judiciary with real authority to protect the integrity of the press and local elections, real decentralization of political power to the regions, steps toward equalization of fiscal capacity among the regions, increas...
Political Economies of Day Labour: Regulation and Restructuring of Chicago's Contingent Labour Markets

Day labour and other forms of temporary, casualised and precarious employment lie at the centre of an emergent employment regime that is rewriting labour market rules in major US cities. Flexibilisation of work, processes of regional industrial restructuring and uneven development at the urban scale interact to create the conditions for the spread of low-wage contingent employment. The spread of contingent work has pursued a path of least resistance, destabilising and undermining the already difficult conditions in low-wage labour markets. This has contributed to the reproduction and reinforcement of patterns of labour market segmentation, racial polarisation and social exclusion within urban labour markets. This paper examines the restructuring of urban employment regimes through the lens of low-wage, temporary employment and its attendant social division of labour at the urban scale. The aim is two-fold: first, to examine the ways in which a 'regime of precarious employment' has been embedded within a r...
Faith and Forgetfulness: The Role of Spiritual Identity in Preservation of Self With Alzheimer's

Since research on religion has historically employed a psychological framework of coping, sociocultural influences on illness identities are not well understood. This article explores the role of religion/spirituality in a diverse sample of seniors dealing with Alzheimer's. Interviews with 75 affected elders reveal that faith can promote “strength and hope,” “never feeling alone,” “remembering,” “keeping a positive attitude,” “contentment,” and “social and interpersonal benefits.” This protective aspect of religious identities suggests views of self that are far less compromised and of dementia that are far less medicalized in this predominantly African American sample than previous studies with white counterparts report.
Cost-effectiveness of high-efficiency appliances in the U.S. residential sector: A case study

Abstract This paper presents an analysis of the cost-effectiveness of high-efficiency appliances in the U.S. residential sector using cost and efficiency data developed as part of the regulatory process of the U.S. Department of Energy's Appliances and Commercial Equipment Standards Program. These data are presented as a case study in the development of an ‘efficiency technology database’ which can be expanded and published as a resource to other researchers and policy makers seeking scenarios that optimize efficiency policies and forecast their likely impacts on energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions. The use of this data to evaluate cost-effectiveness according to a variety of metrics is demonstrated using the example of one refrigerator–freezer product class. Cost-effectiveness is then evaluated in terms of cost of conserved energy for refrigerators, room air conditioners, water heaters, cooking equipment, central air conditioners and gas furnaces. The resulting potential of cost-effective improvement ranges from 1% to 53% of energy savings, with a typical potential of 15–20%.
Fabrication and performance of InAs/GaSb-based superlattice LWIR detectors

Recent efforts in developing InAs/GaSb strained-layer superlattices for LWIR detectors are described. The structural properties of the devices grown by MBE at HRL were evaluated using optical microscopy, x-ray diffraction, and atomic force microscopy. Epilayer roughness and surface morphology are briefly described. Small format focal plane arrays were fabricated to serve as a baseline for device study, and to determine the effects of underfill epoxy on detector performance. A novel approach for epilayer transfer on silicon is also presented.
Path-path Ramsey-type numbers for the complete bipartite graph

Abstract For a fixed pair of integers r, s ≥ 2, all positive integers m and n are determined which have the property that if the edges of Km,n (a complete bipartite graph with parts n and m) are colored with two colors, then there will always exist a path with r vertices in the first color or a path with s vertices in the second color.
Why the Range in Grades? An Attempt to Explain the Variance in Students' Public Speaking Grades

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of student motivation, unwillingness to communicate, first-generation college status, and biological sex on students' public speaking grades. A standard multiple regression analysis tested the hypothesis. Participants were enrolled in public speaking courses at two midwestern universities. The only independent variable with a significant main effect was biological sex. While this finding was consistent with earlier research, biological sex differences outweighed other understudied variables. These results require further investigation.
Elucidating the role of non-radiative processes in charge transfer of core–shell Si–SiO2 nanoparticles

Crystalline silicon is the most commonly used material in photovoltaics but has limitations due to its high cost and non-tunable band gap. A new approach of using inexpensive, non-toxic materials with layers that have different band gaps which absorb a wide range of the solar spectrum has the potential to dramatically increase the efficiencies and lower the costs. Core–shell Si–SiO2 nanoparticles are ideally suited for the photovoltaic application and have been synthesised by different groups in an array of sizes allowing for absorption in a wide spectral range. A theoretical investigation of fundamental charge transfer processes in these systems can potentially lead to improved devices. Calculations on a model core–shell interface with the formula Si264O160 which features a silicon layer sandwiched between two SiO2 layers were performed using the Vienna ab initio software package. The Perdew–Burke–Ernzerhof functional in the basis of plane waves was used along with pseudopotentials to simulate electronic...
Math–Gender Stereotypes in Elementary School Children

A total of 247 American children between 6 and 10 years of age (126 girls and 121 boys) completed Implicit Association Tests and explicit self-report measures assessing the association of (a) me with male (gender identity), (b) male with math (math–gender stereotype), and (c) me with math (math self-concept). Two findings emerged. First, as early as second grade, the children demonstrated the American cultural stereotype that math is for boys on both implicit and explicit measures. Second, elementary school boys identified with math more strongly than did girls on both implicit and self-report measures. The findings suggest that the math– gender stereotype is acquired early and influences emerging math self-concepts prior to ages at which there are actual differences in math achievement. Imagine yourself an elementary school teacher. One of your female students fails to complete an arithmetic assignment and offers an excuse that ‘‘Girls don’t do math.’’ What might be a pretext for avoiding homework could also be the outcome of social-cognitive development. Combining cultural stereotypes (‘‘Math is for boys’’) with the knowledge about one’s own gender identity (‘‘I am a girl’’) to influence one’s self-concept (‘‘Math is not for me’’) reflects the tendency to achieve what social psychologists (Heider, 1946) call cognitive balance.
Higher-order spectrum factorization in one and two dimensions with applications in signal modeling and nonminimum phase system identification

The problem of modeling a given higher-order spectrum as that of the output of a linear time-invariant (LTI) system driven by a higher-order white random signal is discussed. This can be posed as a higher-order spectrum factorization problem. A theorem is provided to discuss the existence of such a factorization. A fast algorithm for efficient implementation of the higher-order spectrum factorization, if it exists, is then proposed. The results are extended to two dimensions straightforwardly. The relationship of the higher-order spectrum factorization problem to the well-known power spectrum factorization is also discussed. As applications, the problems of identification of nonminimum-phase LTI systems given the higher-order statistics of both input and output processes and phase reconstruction are presented. Experimental results are provided for the one-dimensional case. >
Loss aware rate allocations in H.263 coded video transmissions

For packet video, information loss and bandwidth limitation are two factors that affect video playback quality. Traditional rate allocation approaches have focused on optimizing video quality under bandwidth constraint alone. However, in the best-effort Internet, packets carrying video data are susceptible to losses, which need to be reconstructed at the receiver side. In this paper, we propose loss aware rate allocations in both group-of-block (GOB) level and macroblock level, given that certain packets are lost during transmissions and reconstructed using simple interpolation methods at the receiver side. Experimental results show that our proposed algorithms can produce videos of higher quality when sent over lossy Internet.
Touching buildings: a tangible interface for architecture visualization

The process of architectural design and urban planning has been fundamentally transformed through digital media. While providing the opportunity to make the process more flexible and open to realize an extensive public participation, they also pose specific problems. Touching Buildings is a prototype for a multimodal, collaborative interface that integrates the various aspects of the planning and communication process through a platform for tangible interaction with an open communication system. This paper presents the results of a first implementation of this prototype.
Food web consequences of long-term invasive crayfish control

Controlling invasive species can restore ecosystems while also quantifying species interaction strengths. We experimentally removed invasive rusty crayfish (Orconectes rusticus) from a Wisconsin la...
Breast Cancer Related Proteins Are Present in Saliva and Are Modulated Secondary to Ductal Carcinoma In Situ of the Breast

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine if protein-by-products secondary to cancer related oncogenes appear in the saliva of breast cancer patients. Methods: Three pooled (n = 10 subjects/pool) stimulated whole saliva specimens from women were analyzed. One pooled specimen was from healthy women, another pooled specimen from women diagnosed with a benign breast tumor and the other one pooled specimen was from women diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). Differential expression of proteins was measured by isotopically tagging proteins in the tumor groups and comparing them to the healthy control group. Experimentally, saliva from each of the pooled samples was trypsinized and the peptide digests labeled with the appropriate iTRAQ reagent. Labeled peptides from each of the digests were combined and analyzed by reverse phase (C18) capillary chromatography on an Applied Biosystems QStar LC-MS/MS mass spectrometer equipped with an LC-Packings HPLC. Results: The results of the salivary analyses in this population of patients yielded approximately 130 proteins in the saliva specimens. Forty-nine proteins were differentially expressed between the healthy control pool and the benign and cancer patient groups. Conclusions: The study suggests that saliva is a fluid suffused with solubilized by-products of oncogenic expression and that these proteins may be modulated secondary to DCIS. Additionally, there may be salivary protein profiles that are unique to both DCIS and fibroadenoma tumors.
Identifying pair-wise gene functional similarity by multiplex gene expression maps and supervised learning

Research has been done to explore the relationships between the Gene Ontology-based similarity and gene expression profiles in the mammalian brain. However, little attention has been paid to the location information of a gene's expressions. Gene expression maps, which contain spatial information regarding the expression of genes in mice's brain, are obtained by combining voxelation and microarrays. Based on the hypothesis that genes with similar gene expression maps may have similar gene functions, we propose an approach to identify pair-wise gene functional similarities by gene expression maps. By considering pairs of genes from an original dataset as samples whose features are extracted from expression maps and labels are the functional similarities of pairs of genes, we explore the relationship between similarities of gene maps and gene functions. We restrict the dataset to genes that are associated with previously detected functional expression profiles to strengthen the relationship. We use AdaBoost, coupled with our proposed weak classifier, to analyze the dataset and predict the functional similarities. The experimental results show that with the increasing similarities of gene expression maps, the functional similarities are increased too. The boosting analysis can predict the functional similarities between genes to a certain degree. The weights of the features in the model indicate which features are significant for this prediction. These findings can potentially assist the biologists by providing helpful clues in predicting gene functions.
Some Fundamental Differences in Real Property Ideas of the "Civil Law" and the Common Law Systems

A OMPARISON of the real property law ideas and approaches of the civil law and the common law encounters the initial difficulty that there is no longer such a thing as "Civil Law." The laws of those countries which are more or less based on the Roman law are widely different from one another at the present time.' Yet there are certain common features, which I shall attempt to emphasize. Where it is necessary to go into more detail, attention shall be paid principally to the law of Germany, not only because it is the system with which I happen to be most familiar, but particularly because it is contained in one of the most recent and most elaborate of the great European codes.2