cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Some consequences of normal aging for generating conceptual explanations: A case study of vitalist biology.

Abstract Accumulating evidence suggests that not only diseases of old age, but also normal aging, affect elderly adults’ ability to draw on the framework theories that structure our abstract causal-explanatory knowledge, knowledge that we use to make sense of the world. One such framework theory, the cross-culturally universal vitalist biology, gives meaning to the abstract concepts life and death. Previous work shows that many elderly adults are animists, claiming that active, moving entities such as the sun and the wind are alive (Zaitchik & Solomon, 2008). Such responses are characteristic of young children, who, lacking an intuitive theory of biology, distinguish animals from non-animals on the basis of a theory of causal and intentional agency. What explains such childlike responses? Do the elderly undergo semantic degradation of their intuitive biological theory? Or do they merely have difficulty deploying their theory of biology in the face of interference from the developmentally prior agency theory? Here we develop an analytic strategy to answer this question. Using a battery of vitalist biology tasks, this study demonstrates—for the first time—that animism in the elderly is due to difficulty in deployment of the vitalist theory, not its degradation. We additionally establish some powerful downstream consequences of theory deployment difficulties, demonstrating that the elderly’s use of the agency theory is not restricted to animist judgments—rather, it pervades their explicit reasoning about animates and inanimates. Extending the investigation, we identify specific cognitive mechanisms implicated in adult animism, finding that differences between young and elderly adults are mediated and moderated by differences in inhibition and shifting mechanisms. The analytic strategy developed here could help adjudicate between degradation and deployment in other conceptual domains and other populations.
Philosophy, Biology and Progress in Information Processing Technologies: A Historical Perspective

Summary Over the period of the last decade or so, there has been a remarkable resurgence in the activities of a number of computational paradigms, including evolutionary programming and neural net computing. The latter can truly be referred to as a 'paradigm' because it is more of a style of doing things rather than anything new or unique in itself, other than advocating computing in a parallel distributed manner with a large number of interconected, possibly elemental, processors. It is instructive, entertaining and perhaps useful to have a sense of the history of the developments which eventually gave birth to these technologies. In this brief discussion we relate present-day matters to the theoretical speculations of 18th century philosophers, to questions of associative memories, to doubts about inductive reasoning, and to difficulties in establishing causality. On a parallel path, we can marvel at the very long chain of painstaking biology and physiology research efforts which finally established the neuronic model. Establishment of 'Artificial Neural-Net' computing was a leap of faith which has proved to be highly rewarding but is still being rationalized and justified. The more it is justified, the less is it considered to be new; but it also becomes more useful. The spirit of resurgence in neural net computing has brought along with it a heightened pace of development of capabilities in several interacting information processing technologies. We try to provide an overview of the manner in which these technologies are now interacting in supportive ways to provide a fabric of computational procedures for information acquisition, processing and management.
Broadband microwave dielectric characterization method for printable dielectric inks

This work presents a parameter-related, one-probe based microwave characterization method for determining complex dielectric properties of various printable dielectric inks from 1–30 GHz. Dielectric constant and loss tangent of a material under test (MUT) are extracted utilizing the measured reflection 511-parameters and analyzed equivalent circuits of a cylindrical capacitor with and without the MUT. This method is also verified by HFSS simulations with predefined dielectric and loss tangent profiles. Both simulated and measured results show good agreement between the extracted data and predefined data. The method was implemented by microwave dielectric characterization of a commercially available dielectric ink. This commercial material was also characterized using a waveguide method developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and a commercial based software. Results show good agreements between the complex dielectric properties obtained from our wideband printed technique and the banded waveguide technique.
Adrenergic Signaling: A Targetable Checkpoint Limiting Development of the Antitumor Immune Response

An immune response must be tightly controlled so that it will be commensurate with the level of response needed to protect the organism without damaging normal tissue. The roles of cytokines and chemokines in orchestrating these processes are well known, but although stress has long been thought to also affect immune responses, the underlying mechanisms were not as well understood. Recently, the role of nerves and, specifically, the sympathetic nervous system, in regulating immune responses is being revealed. Generally, an acute stress response is beneficial but chronic stress is detrimental because it suppresses the activities of effector immune cells while increasing the activities of immunosuppressive cells. In this review, we first discuss the underlying biology of adrenergic signaling in cells of both the innate and adaptive immune system. We then focus on the effects of chronic adrenergic stress in promoting tumor growth, giving examples of effects on tumor cells and immune cells, explaining the methods commonly used to induce stress in preclinical mouse models. We highlight how this relates to our observations that mandated housing conditions impose baseline chronic stress on mouse models, which is sufficient to cause chronic immunosuppression. This problem is not commonly recognized, but it has been shown to impact conclusions of several studies of mouse physiology and mouse models of disease. Moreover, the fact that preclinical mouse models are chronically immunosuppressed has critical ramifications for analysis of any experiments with an immune component. Our group has found that reducing adrenergic stress by housing mice at thermoneutrality or treating mice housed at cooler temperatures with β-blockers reverses immunosuppression and significantly improves responses to checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy. These observations are clinically relevant because there are numerous retrospective epidemiological studies concluding that cancer patients who were taking β-blockers have better outcomes. Clinical trials testing whether β-blockers can be repurposed to improve the efficacy of traditional and immunotherapies in patients are on the horizon.
Determinants of Business-to-Business B2B Website Use by a Buyer-Supplier Dyad: Case of an Automotive Component Manufacturing Co.

This article is based on one of the manufacturers of automotive components in India referred to as Avanti Enterprises AvE. It describes the implementation of a Business-to-Business B2B website by AvE for its suppliers and highlights the factors that led to use of this website, by one particular supplier. As an example, this supplier is referred to as Bhusan Industries BHI. The case is based on a dyad of primary organization AvE and the user organization BHI to discuss the level of use of a B2B website by the dyad and describes the factors related to the primary hosting organization and the user organization that determines use. The article aims to: understand why a website is used; to describe the website features and how they are used; describe the primary organization characteristics; how and why those characteristics influence the website use; to describe the user organization characteristics; and how and why they influence the website use. Sources of data include company documentation, interviews, industry databases, secondary case studies relevant to the framework and company websites.
Management of a late breast implant rupture in the setting of previous radiation.

Management of ruptured breast implants is scarcely discussed in the literature, especially in the setting of previous breast cancer and radiation. The authors present an uncommon presentation of late breast implant rupture with seroma and history of prior radiation. It is important to acknowledge the increased risk of wound healing complications in patients who are several years’ postradiation therapy for breast cancer and should be an important factor when discussing treatment options with the patient.
The real ontological challenge

Rejoinder to Willerslev, Rane , and Christian Suhr . 2018. “Is there a place for faith in anthropology? Religion, reason, and the ethnographer’s divine revelation.” Hau : Journal of Ethnographic Theory 8 (1): 65–78
Self-Similar Groups

Self-similar groups, or automata groups, consist of certain automorphisms of the infinite complete rooted binary tree. We describe them using several different concepts: computers are designed, portraits are drawn, and self-similar rules are written. Some well-known self-similar groups such as Grigorchuk’s group, the Adding Machine, and the Tower of Hanoi are explored.
Scalars coupled to fermions in 0+1 dimensions

A model of a Bose field coupled to a Fermi field is presented which shows interesting features that might arise in higher dimensional field theories. The model is partly analytically soluble. The remaining, part is investigated using a computer solution and some analytic approximations.
Revision of forensics-relevant nuclear data in Sb 127 β decay

With a half-life of 3.85(5) d, the fission product $^{127}\mathrm{Sb}$ is potentially useful for the characterization of fallout debris that would be collected for forensic analysis following a hypothetical nuclear event. The $\ensuremath{\beta}$ decay of $^{127}\mathrm{Sb}$ has many characteristic $\ensuremath{\gamma}$-ray lines, however, the majority of decay strength is concentrated in the three strongest lines near 686, 473, and 784 keV, based on low-precision spectroscopic measurements from decades ago. In a new measurement of $^{127}\mathrm{Sb}\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}\ensuremath{\beta}$ decay, obtained from radiochemical separations of U photofission products, we show that the energies of the 686 and 784 lines are actually shifted lower by 0.8 and 1.1 keV, respectively. Such large discrepancies in the nuclear data inhibit accurate isotopic analyses and have important implications, for example, on the assessment of fission debris that might be collected in the days following a nuclear event. Therefore, a new evaluation of $^{127}\mathrm{Sb}\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}\ensuremath{\beta}$ decay and appropriate revisions to the various nuclear databases are warranted. This paper reports a new set of $\ensuremath{\gamma}$-ray energies and relative intensities corresponding to $^{127}\mathrm{Sb}$ decay.
Eradication of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type-1 (HIV-1)-Infected Cells

Predictions made soon after the introduction of human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) protease inhibitors about potentially eradicating the cellular reservoirs of HIV-1 in infected individuals were too optimistic. The ability of the HIV-1 genome to remain in the chromosomes of resting CD4+ T cells and macrophages without being expressed (HIV-1 latency) has prompted studies to activate the cells in the hopes that the immune system can recognize and clear these cells. The absence of natural clearance of latently infected cells has led to the recognition that additional interventions are necessary. Here, we review the potential of utilizing suicide gene therapy to kill infected cells, excising the chromosome-integrated HIV-1 DNA, and targeting cytotoxic liposomes to latency-reversed HIV-1-infected cells.
A framework for solving non-linear DSGE models

We propose a framework to solve non-linear DSGE models combining approximation and estimation techniques. Instead of relying on a fixed grid, we use Monte Carlo methods to draw samples from the state space, which are used to estimate an approximation for the value or policy functions of interest. By using estimators from high-dimensional statistics we can attenuate the curse of dimensionality while maintaining flexibility, theoretical guarantees for convergence and upper bound for the errors. In particular, we propose two different methods: a regularized projection and a support vector machine algorithm. To illustrate these solution procedures, we apply the first algorithm to solve a standard growth model, which has a known linear solution, and show that it achieves good accuracy, correctly shrinking the coefficients of a polynomial basis. Moreover, we use the support vector machine algorithm to solve a New Keynesian model with a Zero Lower Bound (ZLB) and compare our results with the ones from the Smolyak Method, which is widely used in the literature. We show that the latter overestimate the impact of the ZLB in the economy, achieving a lower accuracy than the one from our solution.
Dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) MR imaging: the role of qualitative and quantitative parameters for evaluating prostate tumors stratified by Gleason score and PI-RADS v2

To investigate the role of qualitative and quantitative DCE-MRI parameters in prostate cancer (PCa) stratified by whole-mount histopathology (WMHP) Gleason score (GS) and PI-RADSv2. This retrospective study included 323 PCa tumors in 254 men, who underwent 3T MRI prior to prostatectomy, 7/2009-12/2016. Qualitative DCE curve types included type 1 (progressive), type 2 (plateau) and type 3 (washout). Quantitative DCE-MRI pharmacokinetic (PK) parameters included Ktrans (influx volume transfer coefficient), Kep (efflux reflux rate constant) and iAUC (initial area under the curve). DCE-MRI features of true positive lesions were evaluated for overall, index, transition zone (TZ) and peripheral zone (PZ), based on GS grade (low = 6, high > 6) and PI-RADSv2 score using SPSSv24. There were 57 (17.6%) low-grade and 266 (82.4%) high-grade PCa lesions. PI-RADSv2 3, 4 and 5 included 106, 120 and 97 lesions, respectively. 251 (77.7%) and 72 (22.3%) lesions were located in PZ and TZ, respectively. High-grade lesions had significantly higher proportion of Type 3 curves compared to low-grade lesions in overall (70.3% vs. 54.4%) and TZ (73.5% vs. 43.5%). As PI-RADSv2 increased, the proportion of type 3 curve significantly increased for overall (80.4–51.9%), index (80.4–54.7%) and PZ (78.7–52.1%) lesions. Among PK parameters, Ktrans (0.43 vs 0.32) and iAUC (8.99 vs 6.9) for overall PCa, Ktrans (0.43 vs 0.31) and iAUC (9 vs 6.67) for PZ PCa, and iAUC (8.94 vs 7.42) for index PCa were significantly higher for high-grade versus low-grade lesions. Also, Ktrans (0.51–0.34), Kep (1.75–1.29) and iAUC (9.79–7.6) for overall PCa, Ktrans (0.53–0.32), Kep (1.81–1.26) and iAUC (9.83–7.34) for PZ PCa; and Kep (1.79–1.17) and iAUC (11.3–8.45) for index PCa increased significantly with a higher PI-RADSv2 score. The results of study show the possible utility of qualitative and quantitative DCE-MRI parameters for assessment of PCa GS and PI-RADSv2 categorization.
High-definition ultrasound characterization of acute cyclophosphamide-induced cystitis in the mouse

Purpose To examine associations if any between changes in voiding function, hematuria, and bladder ultrasonography metrics in murine cyclophosphamide-induced chemical cystitis. Materials and Methods Cystitis was induced in 6 female mice by an intraperitoneal injection of cyclophosphamide (300 mg/kg). Voiding frequency, void volume, hematuria assessment, and ultrasonographic measurements of the bladder were obtained at baseline, days 1 to 5, and days 9, 11, and 13. Voiding was induced with preferred sweet drinking solution and voiding data collected using an automated data collection system in 135 minute sessions. Bladder wall thickness, lumen volume, and vascular Doppler were acquired using a high definition ultrasound system. Spearman's correlation was used to analyze the association between the voiding changes, hematuria, and ultrasound findings. Results Hematuria was present 24 hours after cyclophosphamide injection. All animals displayed increased bladder vascularity, bladder wall thickness, and void frequency that was associated with concurrent decreased total and average void volumes. Increased bladder wall vascularity was correlated with the presence of hematuria (r=0.59, p<0.01) and bladder wall thickness (r=0.79, p<0.01). Hematuria correlated with increased void frequency (r=0.34, p<0.01). Average void volume was negatively correlated with hematuria (r=-0.50, p<0.01) and frequency (r=-0.38, p<0.01). Conclusions High-definition ultrasound imaging permits in vivo monitoring of changes in bladder morphology associated with voiding function in relation to cyclophosphamide-induced cystitis. Ultrasound imaging of the bladder may assist in differential diagnosis of bladder dysfunction.
Networks of need: a geospatial analysis of secondary cities

Urbanization and the continued growth of cities, both demographically and spatially, are topics of research studied across a range of disciplines in the urban millennium — a time in history when the majority of people live in cities. However, scholarly research has focused little attention on secondary cities, despite being the most rapidly growing cities in many low-and middle-income countries. Secondary cities, defined by their function rather than population size, are vital nodes for regional commerce and services. As these cities have historically been understudied, they lack geospatial data and the associated analyses important for local planners to understand how to meet current needs and plan for future growth. With this research, openly available geospatial data are evaluated, including both global (i.e., population distribution), local (i.e., municipal data), and data for four service categories (i.e., education, social, health, and food services). This research presents techniques to provide baseline understanding of data needs and accessibility of services in secondary cities with limited geospatial data and expertise. We examine two secondary cities, Pokhara, Nepal, and Douala, Cameroon. These cities are experiencing unplanned growth, development, and exposure to conditions that contribute to intra-urban inequalities. This research takes a spatial approach—coupling locally-created data sources (i.e., municipality data, field-collected, and non-governmental organizations’ data) with global databases (i.e., world population and satellite images) to demonstrate how spatial data can be integrated and analyzed to enrich our limited understanding of secondary cities and the needs of resident populations. Four categories of services are evaluated and the distance to services from populated areas is calculated. This research suggests that the distribution of services in both cities does not align with high-need, densely populated areas for certain services, a result of unplanned urban growth. Conversely, populations in areas far from the city center must travel relatively far distances to reach services, indicating lower levels of accessibility. The results of this research serve to identify mapping needs and service accessibility. Projects focusing on geospatial data creation provide information needed for local populations to assess their community and the network of services offered. Additionally, local-decision makers can seek policy options to address unmet needs for community improvements and inequality reduction.
Increased melting level height impacts surface precipitation phase and intensity

The global near-surface temperature increased by ~0.155 K per decade during 1979–2012, which resulted in decreasing snow and increasing rain events, retreating mountain glaciers and more frequent and intense rainfall extremes. Although surface temperature increases are well studied, less attention is given to the associated changes in the tropospheric thermal structure, such as melting level height, which affects cloud microphysics and surface precipitation. Here we use observations and reanalyses to show that the melting level height increased by 32 ± 14 m per decade over global land areas during 1979–2010, consistent with a warming atmosphere. This causes a transition from snow to rain, the enhanced melting of hail and an increased depth of warm cloud layers (cloud base to melting level distance). Warm cloud layers with a depth beyond ~3.5 km result in an intensification of extreme precipitation at twice the rate of the atmospheric moisture increases. Days with such environments increased by 25% per decade in populated regions, such as the eastern United States. Climate change has altered the vertical structure of atmospheric temperature. Global land observations show melting level height (the altitude where falling precipitation begins to melt) has increased, deepening the warm cloud layer and intensifying rainfall extremes at the expense of snow and hail.
Recombinant human parathyroid hormone (1-84) is effective in CASR-associated hypoparathyroidism.

Introduction Gain-of-function mutations in the CASR gene cause Autosomal Dominant Hypocalcemia Type 1 (ADH1), the most common genetic cause of isolated hypoparathyroidism. Subjects have increased calcium sensitivity in the renal tubule, leading to increased urinary calcium excretion, nephrocalcinosis and nephrolithiasis when compared with other causes of hypoparathyroidism. The traditional approach to treatment includes activated vitamin D but this further increases urinary calcium excretion. Methods In this case series, we describe the use of recombinant human parathyroid hormone (rhPTH)1-84 to treat subjects with ADH1, with improved control of serum and urinary calcium levels. Results We describe two children and one adult with ADH1 due to heterozygous CASR mutations who were treated with rhPTH(1-84). Case 1 was a 9.4-year-old female whose 24-h urinary calcium decreased from 7.5 to 3.9 mg/kg at 1 year. Calcitriol and calcium supplementation were discontinued after titration of rhPTH(1-84). Case 2 was a 9.5-year-old male whose 24-h urinary calcium decreased from 11.7 to 1.7 mg/kg at 1 year, and calcitriol was also discontinued. Case 3 was a 24-year-old female whose treatment was switched from multi-dose teriparatide to daily rhPTH(1-84). All three subjects achieved or maintained target serum levels of calcium and normal or improved urinary calcium levels with daily rhPTH(1-84) monotherapy. Conclusions We have described three subjects with ADH1 who were treated effectively with rhPTH(1-84). In all cases, hypercalciuria improved by comparison to treatment with conventional therapy consisting of calcium supplementation and calcitriol.
A 1.2-A Dual-Output SC DC–DC Regulator With Continuous Gate-Drive Modulation Achieving ≤0.01-mV/mA Cross Regulation

This article presents a dual-output switched-capacitor (DOSC) dc–dc regulator to support hundreds-of-milliampere load per output. To save chip and board areas, the regulator adopts an all-nMOS auto-configurable power stage and generates two different output voltages via sharing flying capacitors and power transistors. In the controller, a continuous gate-drive modulation (CGDM) scheme is proposed to minimize the output cross regulation when one output undergoes large load step changes. A small output voltage ripple is also achieved at each output by the CGDM with only a small capacitance of $2.2~\mu \text{F}$ /output under heavy-load conditions. Implemented in a standard 0.13- $\mu \text{m}$ CMOS process, the proposed regulator generates two regulated outputs of 0.8 V and 1.6 V from the input of 2.7–4.2 V. It supports a maximum load of 600 mA/output, provides a low output ripple of ≤20 mV with the CGDM, and achieves a peak power efficiency of 89.5%. The output cross regulation is only 0.01 mV/mA under large load step changes of 580 mA. Compared with state-of-the-art SIMO dc–dc converters, the proposed work achieves > $4\times$ reduction in the output cross regulation under > $2\times$ larger load step changes and > $2\times$ smaller load capacitance/output.
Comment on “Unconventional enhancement of ferromagnetic interactions in Cd-doped GdFe 2 Zn 20 single crystals studied by ESR and Fe 57 Mössbauer spectroscopies”

In the recent publication [Phys. Rev. B 102, 144420 (2020)], Cabrera-Baez et al., present a study of the effects of Cd substitution for Zn in the ferromagnetic compound ${\mathrm{GdFe}}_{2}{\mathrm{Zn}}_{20}$. As part of this paper they claim that for ${\mathrm{GdFe}}_{2}{\mathrm{Zn}}_{18.6}{\mathrm{Cd}}_{1.4}$ the effective moment of Gd is reduced by 25%, and the saturated moment of Gd is reduced by over 40%. We regrew representative members of the ${\mathrm{GdFe}}_{2}{\mathrm{Zn}}_{20\ensuremath{-}x}{\mathrm{Cd}}_{x}$ series and did not find any such reductions. In addition, we measured several crystals from the growth batch that was used by Cabrera-Baez et al. and did not see such reductions. Although there is a modest increase in ${T}_{C}$ with Cd substitution, there is no significant change in the Gd effective moment or the saturated moment associated with the low-temperature ferromagnetic state.
2021 SNMMI Highlights Lecture: Oncology and Therapy, Part 1.

From the Newsline Editor: The Highlights Lecture, presented at the closing session of each SNMMI Annual Meeting, was originated and presented for more than 30 years by Henry N. Wagner, Jr., MD. Beginning in 2010, the duties of summarizing selected significant presentations at the meeting were divided annually among 4 distinguished nuclear and molecular medicine subject matter experts. Each year Newsline publishes these lectures and selected images. The 2021 Highlights Lectures were delivered on June 15 as part of the SNMMI Virtual Annual Meeting. In this issue we feature the first part of the lecture by Heiko Schoder, MD, MBA, chief of the Molecular Imaging and Therapy Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (New York, NY) and a professor of radiology at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University (New York, NY), who spoke on oncology and therapy highlights from the meeting. The second part of the lecture will appear in the November issue of Newsline. Note that in the following presentation summary, numerals in brackets represent abstract numbers as published in The Journal of Nuclear Medicine (2021;62[suppl 1]).
Complex Luminaires: Illumination and Appearance Rendering

Simulating a complex luminaire such as a chandelier is expensive and slow, even using state-of-the-art algorithms. A more practical alternative is to use precomputation to accelerate rendering. Prior approaches cached information on an aperture surface that separates the luminaire from the scene, but many luminaires have large or ill-defined apertures leading to excessive data storage and inaccurate results. In this article, we separate luminaire rendering into illumination and appearance components. A precomputation stage simulates the complex light flow inside the luminaire to generate two data structures: a set of anisotropic point lights (APLs) and a radiance volume. The APLs are located near apparent sources and represent the light leaving the luminaire, allowing its nearand far-field illumination to be accurately and efficiently computed at render time. The luminaire's appearance consists of high- and low-frequency components, which are both visually important. High-frequency components are computed dynamically at render time, while the more computationally expensive low-frequency components are approximated using the precomputed radiance volume. Results are shown for several complex luminaires, demonstrating orders of magnitude faster rendering compared to the best global illumination algorithms and higher fidelity with greatly reduced storage requirements compared to previous precomputed approaches.
Control of nonlinear systems with applications to constrained robots and spacecraft attitude stabilization.

This thesis is organized in two parts. In Part 1, control systems described by a class of nonlinear differential and algebraic equations are introduced. A procedure for local stabilization based on a local state realization is developed. An alternative approach to local stabilization is developed based on a classical linearization of the nonlinear differential-algebraic equations. A theoretical framework is established for solving a tracking problem associated with the differential-algebraic system. First, a simple procedure is developed for the design of a feedback control law which ensures, at least locally, that the tracking error in the closed loop system lies within any given bound if the reference inputs are sufficiently slowly varying. Next, by imposing additional assumptions, a procedure is developed for the design of a feedback control law which ensures that the tracking error in the closed loop system approaches zero exponentially for reference inputs which are not necessarily slowly varying. The control design methodologies are used for simultaneous force and position control in constrained robot systems. The differential-algebraic equations are shown to characterize the slow dynamics of a certain nonlinear control system in nonstandard singularly perturbed form. In Part 2, the attitude stabilization (reorientation) of a rigid spacecraft using only two control torques is considered. First, the case of momentum wheel actuators is considered. The complete spacecraft dynamics are not controllable. However, the spacecraft dynamics are small time locally controllable in a reduced sense. The reduced spacecraft dynamics cannot be asymptotically stabilized using continuous feedback, but a discontinuous feedback control strategy is constructed. Next, the case of gas jet actuators is considered. If the uncontrolled principal axis is not an axis of symmetry, the complete spacecraft dynamics are small time locally controllable. However, the spacecraft attitude cannot be asymptotically stabilized using continuous feedback, but a discontinuous stabilizing feedback control strategy is constructed. If the uncontrolled principal axis is an axis of symmetry, the complete spacecraft dynamics cannot be stabilized. However, the spacecraft dynamics are small time locally controllable in a reduced sense. The reduced spacecraft dynamics cannot be asymptotically stabilized using continuous feedback, but again a discontinuous feedback control strategy is constructed.
Real-Time Automated Video and Audio Capture with Multiple Cameras and Microphones

This work presents the acoustic and visual-based tracking system functioning at the Harvard Intelligent Multi-Media Environments Laboratory (HIMMEL). The environment is populated with a number of microphones and steerable video cameras. Acoustic source localization, video-based face tracking and pose estimation, and multi-channel speech enhancement methods are applied in combination to detect and track individuals in a practical environment while also providing an improved audio signal to accompany the video stream. The video portion of the system tracks talkers by utilizing source motion, contour geometry, color data, and simple facial features. Decisions involving which camera to use are based on an estimate of the head's gazing angle. This head pose estimation is achieved using a very general head model which employs hairline features and a learned network classification procedure. Finally, a beamforming and postfiltering microphone array technique is used to create an enhanced speech waveform to accompany the recorded video signal. The system presented in this paper is robust to both visual clutter (e.g. ovals in the scene of interest which are not faces) and audible noise (e.g. reverberations and background noise).
Measuring willingness to pay to improve municipal water in southeast Anatolia, Turkey

[1] Increasing demands for water and quality concerns have highlighted the importance of accounting for household perceptions before local municipalities rehabilitate existing water infrastructures and bring them into compliance. We compared different willingness-to-pay (WTP) estimates using household surveys in the southern Anatolian region of Turkey. Our study is the first of its kind in Turkey. Biases resulting from sample selection and the endogeneity of explanatory variables were corrected. When compared to a univariate probit model, correction of these biases was shown to result in statistically significant findings through moderate reductions in mean WTP.
Entrepreneurship and Leadership in Hospitality: Insights and Implications for Hospitality and Tourism Education – Mr. Harris Rosen in conversation with Drs. Sandra Naipaul and Youcheng Wang

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide insights and implications for hospitality management and education through an interview with an entrepreneur, leader, hotelier, and philanthropist in Central Florida – Mr Harris Rosen.Design/methodology/approach – The study takes a qualitative approach along with a personal interview, which was used as a tool for data collection. An open‐ended interview protocol was designed to facilitate data collection.Findings – The study presents insights of Mr Rosen on several key issues in hospitality management and education, including: entrepreneurship, leadership, education, and philanthropy. Implications and discussions are provided based on his perspective.Originality/value – The study provides fresh ideas and perspectives on many relevant issues related to hospitality management and education. The insights and discussions provide prompt critical thinking on hospitality industry career development and various existing education systems.
Molecular Analysis of Gene Amplification in Tumors

Detection of gene amplification in human cancer cells has both clinical and biological importance. Amplified genes can be classified in one of two categoriesas oncogenes or as genes conferring drug resistance. Both types of gene amplification may alter clinical management of the patient. The basic protocol describes preparation and quantitation of DNA from tumor tissue and the use of conventional Southern blot hybridization analysis to detect and quantify gene amplification. The first alternate protocol provides an approach to quickly screen tumor samples for gene amplification using slot blot hybridization analysis. The second alternate protocol describes the use of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for analyzing tumors that may be difficult to analyze because of degradation or limited amounts of DNA. A Support Protocol explains the proper methods for obtaining, processing, storing, and shipping tumor tissue for DNA analysis.
Isolation of oligobacteria

Publisher Summary The chapter discusses the methods for isolation of oligobacteria. Oligobacteria are defined as bacteria that can accumulate dissolved organics from low concentrations. Oligobacteria are smaller than copeotrophs giving rise to the term ultramicrobacteria. They are low in solids content and DNA probably as a way of maximizing use of their energy reserves for growth and increasing their surface to volume ratio to maximize their specific affinities for nutrients. There are two methods of isolation discussed: (1) spread plate isolation and (2) extinction culture isolation. The procedures outlined are seen as a significant improvement over conventional techniques for isolating and thus understanding pelagic aquatic bacteria. The frequency of isolation success has been increased by use of extinction cultures where viabilities can approach 10% even in oligotrophic low-productivity waters. The extinction culture technique is based on the observation that when bacteria are filtered from seawater and then re-inoculated into filtered seawater, the population will regenerate. The resulting populations were first called “seawater cultures.” When the inoculum is large—that is, 10% unfiltered seawater—the rate of increase can be used to determine the rate of growth. When it is small, just a few organisms, it can be used in combination with the number of organisms inoculated to determine the culturability or viability of those originally present.
A Brief History of the Statistics Department of the University of California at Berkeley

The early history of our department was dominated by Jerzy Neyman (1894–1981), while the next phase was largely in the hands of Neyman’s students, with Erich Lehmann (1917–2009) being a central, long-lived, and much loved member of this group. We are very fortunate in having the biography Neyman—From Life written by Constance Reid (1918–2010), and Erich’s Reminiscences of a Statistician: The Company I Kept and other historical material documenting the founding and growth of the department, and the people in it. In what follows we will draw heavily on these sources, describing what seems to us a remarkable success story: one person starting “a cell of statistical research and teaching not being hampered by any existing traditions and routines,” and seeing that cell grow rapidly into a major force in academic statistics worldwide. That it has remained so since its founding is a testament to the strength of Neyman’s model for a department of statistics.
Uncertainties in Transient Capture‐Zone Estimates of Groundwater Supply Wells

UCOWR JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY WATER RESEARCH & EDUCATION Capture zones of water-supply wells are a widely used analysis tool for protection of ground water resources. Transient analyses of capture zones provide a more complete assessment than the commonly applied steady-state analyses. Previously, we have demonstrated that advectiononly analyses can produce biased transient capture-zone estimates. Therefore, it is important to consider the dispersion of contaminant plumes. Here, we extend our study to incorporate temporal and spatial distribution in the contaminant sources and their respective uncertainties. Our analysis indicates that the capture-zone estimates can be very sensitive to the transients in the contaminant releases. Even relatively small uncertainties in the contaminant source, when combined with transient fl ow effects associated with natural variability of gradients or water-supply pumping, can cause signifi cant uncertainties in the capture-zone estimates. This conclusion has important practical implications. Furthermore, we investigate the impact of uncertainty in the longitudinal and transverse dispersivities on the transient capture estimates. Capture zones are important for the effi cient protection of ground water resources produced by wells and springs. Typically, the capture zones are delineated using mathematical models. The models are based on simplifying assumptions for representation of real hydrogeological systems. For example, the transients are commonly ignored in the fl ow and transport models assuming a steady-state fl ow. Actually, substantial transients might exist, for example, due to variability in the pumping rates of water-supply wells (Reilly and Pollock 1996, Festger and Walter 2002) and, as a result, there might be substantial bias in the steady-state capture-zone estimates (Figure 1). Furthermore, even if the transients are incorporated in the model, the groundwater transport might be represented by advection-only fl ow paths (Rock and Kupfersberger 2002). The advection-only analysis might not provide an acceptable representation of mean plume behavior of potential transport because of the impact of transients on the effective plume dispersion. As a result, we might have an additional bias in the capture-zone estimates (Vesselinov and Robinson 2006). Here we analyse numerically the impact of the transients in the ground water fl ow and transport on the capture zone estimates for a series of synthetic cases. We also investigate the impact of uncertainty in the longitudinal and transverse dispersivities on the transient capture estimates.
Spectral indices for yellow canola flowers

Reproductive growth, such as by flowers, may contribute to a canopy-level signal yet there are no current indices that measure variation in flowering. This study was conducted to determine how flowers influence the overall canopy signal and what bands of light may be useful for estimating variation in flower density and leaf area index LAI. The effects of the number of yellow flowers per unit area and LAI on canopy spectral reflectance of spring canola Brassica napus L. were investigated in a field study consisting of three water regimes and three fertilizer nitrogen levels near Pendleton, Oregon, USA. A band ratio of green and blue light was strongly r2 = 0.87 related to the number of yellow flowers per unit area, whereas a ratio of near-infrared and blue light was most suitable for estimating LAI during flowering. Spectral information during flowering may improve how remote sensing is used to describe plant development and reproductive capacity during the growing season.
Suppression of acute and chronic experimental allergic encephalomyelitis in Strain 13 guinea pigs. A clinical and pathological study.

Abstract Adult inbred Strain 13 guinea pigs develop an acute, fatal form of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) about 2 weeks after a single injection of isologous spinal cord in complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA), but similarly injected juveniles develop a delayed, rarely fatal chronic form. Thirty-seven sensitised adult Strain 13 animals were separated into 2 groups. One group was permitted to develop acute EAE. The other group was injected intramuscularly with 1 mg of guinea pig or bovine myelin basic protein (MBP) in incomplete Freund's adjuvant (IFA) on day 2, 7 or 10 post-inoculation (PI) followed by 0.2 mg in IFA every third day for a total of 10 doses. Animals in the unsuppressed group succumbed to acute EAE 13–16 days post-sensitisation. No animal in the suppressed group died during this period. Animals treated with MBP beginning 2 days PI showed no clinical signs, but mild clinical manifestations occurred in animals suppressed from days 7 and 10 PI. These signs remitted by 21 days post-sensitisation. One suppressed animal (out of 21) died during the fourth week postsensitisation. The other 20 suppressed animals appeared clinically normal towards the end of the course of MBP injections and remained so for the 6 months of study. Morphological examination revealed that CNS lesions occurred in all animals. In animals suppressed with MBP beginning on day 2 PI, lesions consisted only of a few meningeal inflammatory cells. Animals given MBP beginning on day 7 or 10 PI and sampled 1–2 weeks later, had lesions which could not be distinguished from those occurring in the non-suppressed acute EAE group. In time, the suppressed animals developed lesions which were typical of chronic EAE with remyelination as a predominant feature. Preliminary experiments on the suppression of chronic EAE in 5 juvenile Strain 13 guinea pigs have revealed that 3 MBP-injected animals failed to develop clinical disease over a 28-week period of study although lesions typical of chronic EAE were present. Simultaneously, 2 non-suppressed juvenile animals developed clinical signs by 12 weeks. These were associated with both acute inflammation and demyelination superimposed upon regions of chronic demyelinative activity.
Lower Leg Trajectory Error: A novel optimization parameter for designing passive prosthetic feet

Roll-over geometry, a leading design objective for passive prosthetic feet, does not provide enough information to find the lower leg segment orientation in the laboratory reference frame. The physical behavior of a prosthetic foot adds a constraint which makes finding this orientation possible. A novel optimization parameter for prosthetic feet that incorporates both the roll-over geometry and the orientation of the lower leg, the Lower Leg Trajectory Error, is introduced. Ground reaction forces and locations of the center of pressure from published gait data for physiological, able-bodied walking are applied to a biologically inspired conceptual prosthetic foot to calculate the resulting lower leg trajectory from foot flat to toe off. The stiffnesses of this conceptual foot are optimized using the Lower Leg Trajectory Error. To further investigate the role of roll-over geometry and physical behavior, the lower leg trajectories of the optimized foot, a rigid foot with roll-over geometry identical to this optimized foot, and a rigid foot with physiological roll-over geometry are compared.
Assessing coral Sr/Ca–SST calibration techniques using the species Diploria strigosa

The coral species Diploria strigosa is a promising archive for paleoclimate reconstruction in the tropical Atlantic, but limited work has been accomplished thus far to quantify the relationship between strontium to calcium ratios and sea surface temperatures in this species. In this study, we collected three modern D. strigosa coral colonies from Anegada, British Virgin Islands to refine the use of this species as a paleoclimate archive. Three regression techniques including ordinary least squares, reduced major axis, and weighted least squares were used to assess how assumptions implicit in these regression methods influence the calibration. Our analysis demonstrated that regression slopes were strongly impacted by the assumptions about data uncertainty. We recommend using the unbiased weighted least squares regression technique for calibrating the Sr/Ca paleothermometer, especially when precise local sea surface temperature data are unavailable. Combining our Sr/Ca data with previously published data from this species results in a multi-site, multi-colony temperature sensitivity of − 0.046(± < 0.001) mmol/mol/°C for mean-centered monthly data, − 0.059(± 0.001) mmol/mol/°C for monthly anomalies, and − 0.063(± 0.004) for annual anomalies. We suggest these relationships are the best available characterization of the temperature dependence of Sr/Ca in D. strigosa, and can be utilized in future paleoclimate reconstructions.
Oráculos da geografia iluminista: Dom Luís da Cunha e Jean-Baptiste Bourguignon d’Anville na construção da cartografia do Brasil / The Map That Invented Brazil

These important, overlapping studies by Junia Ferreira Furtado examine the collaboration between the Portuguese diplomat Luis da Cunha and the renowned French geographer Jean-Baptiste Bourguignon d...
Environmental Justice, Statistics in

We briefly review the historical, legal, and regulatory background of environmental justice assessments, paying particular attention to the role of statistical techniques in such assessments. We stress the difference between “disparate impact” and intentional discrimination and the role of statistical comparisons as defined in the associated regulatory statutes. We contrast two general approaches, the first comparing demographic proportions within exposure categories and the second comparing exposure (or exposure surrogate) distributions between demographic categories. Keywords: legal statistics; regulatory statistics; demographics; disparity; exposure assessment; statistics