cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Multiuser Detectors for Multiple Antenna UWB Systems

Ultra-wideband (UWB) transmissions have well-documented advantages for low-power, peer-to-peer, and multiple-access communications. In this paper, we present novel linear receiver algorithms for multiuser detection (MUD) based on minimum mean square error (MMSE) for UWB multiuser communication systems. We assume multiple antennae at the receiver. The algorithms exploit inherent multipath diversity and mitigate the effects of both inter symbol interference (ISI) and multiuser interference (MUI). Further, the receiver algorithms also optimally exploit receiver diversity. We provide performance evaluation of the detectors through detailed simulations. The simulations show that MUD based receivers perform well for multiuser UWB environment. An analytical framework for obtaining closed form expression for the bit error rate (BER) of the above schemes is also discussed.
Characterization of Laser-Assisted Pulseid Laser Deiposited BaFe12O19

High quality, epitaxial barium hexaferrite (BaFe12O19) thin films have been deposited by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) onto basal plane sapphire at substrate temperatures of 900°C in 400 mTorr of oxygen. Thin films ( 1000 nm) had rough, polycrystalline surfaces and “soot-like” appearances. The integration of ferrite films with semiconductors will require thick films (< 70 μm) and low substrate processing temperatures (≤ 600°C). Films deposited at 600°C were mostly amorphous with the presence of some crystalline, non-hexaferrite material. In an effort to improve the quality of barium hexaferrite fihns, we have investigated the effects of excimer-laser-assisted PLD (LAPLD) on the growth of BaFe12O19. During the deposition, the substrate was illuminated with the output of a second pulsed excimer laser (KrF) weakly focused to an energy of 10 to 130 mJ/cm2. The output of the second laser was synchronized such that the delay between the vaporization laser and the annealing laser was 0 to 1 ms. The X-ray diffraction analysis of LAPLD films deposited at 600°C with an annealing fluence of 50 mJ/cm2 indicated that the films were a crystalline mixture of hexaferrite and non-hexaferrite phases. Both phases exhibited a preferred orientation characterized by narrow x-ray rocking curve widths (FWHM ∼ 1°). Magnetic properties (magnetic moment, saturation magnetization and coercive field) detennined from a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) also confirmed the presence of oriented hexaferrite material in the laser annealed samples. These results show clear advantages of LAPLD for improved structural and magnetic properties of BaFe12O19 deposited at substrate temperatures compatible with semiconducting materials.
First Intel Low-Cost IA Atom-based System-On-Chip for Nettop/Netbook

The paper describes a design IP-reuse methodology used in a new Intel Low Cost IA (LCIA) System-on-Chip (SoC) design, call Pineview (PNV). The PNV SoC is used in the next generation Intel Nettop/Netbook platform. The SoC chip integrates several Intel internal Intellectual Property (IP) blocks on the same die: mainly two Atom CPU cores, a Graphic engine, a memory controller, and IO interfaces. The IP-reuse methodology provides high design efficiency and productivity. It also allows flexibility and customization for lower power consumption and a floorplan optimization needed for the Nettop/Netbook market segment. The paper also provides an overview of the PNV based Nettop/Netbook platform architecture. It also explains IP-reuse methodology and full chip integration which is performed by a design team in Intel Penang Design Center.
Democracy and National Economic Performance: The Preference for Stability

appear to arise because democracies ameliorate the effects of social cleavages, another mechanism that might explain democratic stability. When growth and volatility are jointly examined, democracies reveal highly favorable economic results. oes democracy affect national economic performance and, if so, how? No question is more central to the study of political economics. Almost all previous work on democracy and economic performance has focused exclusively on growth rates, with contradictory and confusing results. In this article, we argue that, to reveal the impact of democratic institutions on economic performance, scholars must consider two dimensions of economic performance-growth rate and volatility. We begin with a novel hypothesis: economic policy in democracy is risk avoiding relative to policy in nondemocracies. 1 Because voters are riskaverse, they penalize incumbent governments for economic volatility, and democratic governments respond accordingly. In nondemocracies, we posit that elites are more likely to seek risk that voters would reject. Consequently, autocracies produce systematically more economic volatility than
Ca uptake by heart cells: II. Most entering Ca appears to leave without mixing with the sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca pool

Abstract The rate of verapamil-sensitive uptake of 45 Ca by rat heart cells stimulated to beat in suspension with 0.2 mM Ca and isoproterenol was increased > 2-fold by cell loading with the chelator Quin-2. No effect of Quin-2 loading was observed on the rate of uptake of trace levels of 54Mn, present in addition to Ca, which was used as an index of Ca channel activity. Quin-2 loading also had little effect on the rate of 45 Ca uptake by cells diluted into a high K/low Na medium, where Ca uptake was primarily by Na/Ca exchange. The fast chelator 1,2- bis (o-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N′,N′-tetraacetic acid (BAPTA) was 3-fold more effective than the slow chelator EGTA at preventing Ca efflux. BAPTA loading also caused an increase in sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca content. These results suggest that chelator loading had little effect on the rate of Ca influx by Ca channels or by Na/Ca exchange, and that the increased rate of 45 Ca uptake seen with Quin-2 loading was caused by an inhibition of Ca efflux, either directly by chelation or by increased Ca uptake by the SR or by other intracellular organelles. This further suggests that most of the Ca entering the cell without chelator leaves again within the same beat, and that this may result from Ca efflux from a kinetically limited Ca pool in or around the diad cleft.
Methoxychlor affects multiple hormone signaling pathways in the largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) liver

Methoxychlor (MXC) is an organochlorine pesticide that has been shown to have estrogenic activity by activating estrogen receptors and inducing vitellogenin production in male fish. Previous studies report that exposure to MXC induces changes in mRNA abundance of reproductive genes in the liver and testes of largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides). The objective of the present study was to better characterize the mode of action of MXC by measuring the global transcriptomic response in the male largemouth liver using an oligonucleotide microarray. Microarray analysis identified highly significant changes in the expression of 37 transcripts (p<0.001) (20 induced and 17 decreased) in the liver after MXC injection and a total of 900 expression changes (p<0.05) in transcripts with high homology to known genes. Largemouth bass estrogen receptor alpha (esr1) and androgen receptor (ar) were among the transcripts that were increased in the liver after MXC treatment. Functional enrichment analysis identified the molecular functions of steroid binding and androgen receptor activity as well as steroid hormone receptor activity as being significantly over-represented gene ontology terms. Pathway analysis identified c-fos signaling as being putatively affected through both estrogen and androgen signaling. This study provides evidence that MXC elicits transcriptional effects through the estrogen receptor as well as androgen receptor-mediated pathways in the liver.
Moral judgment, personality, and attitude to authority in early and late adolescence

The purpose of this study was to examine the personological features of moral judgment and to determine the extent to which principled moral reasoning is politically biased. We also attempted to determine the relation between moral judgment and attitude to authority and the developmental patterning of attitude to authority from early to late adolescence. Attitude to authority was assessed in terms of specific sources of authority (mother, father, police, government) and by the Attitude to Authority Scale, which assesses attitudes along the liberal-conservative political continuum. The conservative personality syndrome was assessed by the Conservatism Scale, while moral judgment was assessed by the Defining Issues Test. The results indicated that moral reasoning is unrelated to attitudes to specific sources of authority and negatively related to political conservatism and to conservative personality features. Attitudes toward sources of personal authority (mother, father) were more similar than attitudes toward impersonal authority (police, government), though attitudes toward Father were related to attitudes toward Government and Police. Age trends showed that younger adolescents are more politically conservative and more conforming to authority than older adolescents. Results are discussed in terms of the political and personological features of Kohlbergian moral judgment and in light of recent research on the transformation of adolescent-parent relations in adolescence.
Intestinal transplantation: current outcomes and opportunities.

Purpose of review This review highlights current outcomes in intestinal transplantation and summarizes advances that have recently occurred in five interrelated areas: progress in intestinal rehabilitation, immunologic and technical modifications, awareness of opportunities for improved allograft monitoring, and better assessment of long-term complications and morbidities. Recent findings Improved long-term management of patients with intestinal failure as well as improved outcomes with intestine transplant are changing the previously established paradigms of timing for referral. For those requiring transplant, use of monoclonal and polyclonal antibody induction protocols have been associated with improved outcomes. Experience at centers of excellence demonstrates 1 and 5 year patient survival rates of 93 and 78%, respectively with ongoing investigations focusing on lowering long-term causes of graft loss such as chronic rejection or morbidities such as renal dysfunction. Descriptions of tissue, proteomic and genomic technologies to complement traditional methodologies to monitor graft function are emerging. Summary Optimal timing for referral of children with intestinal failure and improved medical and surgical therapies increase the opportunity for intestinal adaptation without the need for transplant. For those undergoing transplant, technical and immunologic modifications, developments in graft monitoring, and reduction of long-term morbidities are leading to improved outcomes.
Dynamics of the photoinduced ring-opening of stilbene, a prototypical diarylethene

Abstract Simulations of the photoconversion of 4a,4b-dihydrophenanthrene (DHP) to stilbene, using semiclassical electron-radiation-ion dynamics, are reported. The carbon single bond connecting the phenyl rings breaks approximately 200 fs after the laser pulse is turned off. In the results shown here, the excited cis -stilbene molecule then further isomerizes to the trans conformation after about 1 ps. Each of these two changes of molecular geometry involves a HOMO–LUMO avoided crossing, which produces a transfer of electronic population from LUMO to HOMO. These detailed dynamical simulations are consistent with the interpretation that ring-opening in stilbene is a single photon process.
Structure-toxicity relationships for selected weak acid respiratory uncouplers

Abstract The relative biological response (log BR) for each of 30 select substituted phenols and anilines was evaluated using the 48-h Tetrahymena pyriformis population growth test system. Simple linear regression analysis of log BR versus log Kow (1-octanol/water partition coefficient) was used to formulate a quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR). The equation, log BR = 0.438 (log Kow) + 0.157; n=27, r2 =0.933, s = 0.151, f=348.02, is a highly predictive model. An evaluation of data on fathead minnow mortality for these same compounds shows a similar QSAR, log LC50= −0.590 (log Kow)− 3.247; n = 11, r2 = 0.917, s = 0.287, f=99.04. These relationships are the respective QSARs for the respiratory uncoupling mechanism of action of selected weak acids. Moreover, the toxic response in the two systems are highly correlated (r2 = 0.915).
Embodied encounters between humans and gators

Animal geographies have complicated our understanding of human/nonhuman animal relationships by positioning other animals as recipients of human culture and, more recently, by applying theories of embodiment to illustrate the co-constitution of human–animal worlds. This paper addresses human–alligator relationships in Louisiana by illustrating the history and culture of alligator hide production alongside an analysis of human–alligator encounters through tourism. Alligators have played all sorts of instrumental and symbolic roles in the Atchafalaya River Basin where populations here have been managed as a corollary to the exotic hide industry. More recently, gators have been positioned as the star attractions on swamp tours. Guides, tourists, and alligators share encounters where the nonhumans are anthropomorphized and empowered to shape human perceptions of other bodies. By jumping out of the water for food or simply allowing the tourists' gaze, alligators are positioned both as an exotic body and as a c...
Uric Acid in the Tapetum Lucidum of Mooneyes Hiodon (Hiodontidae Teleostei)

Tapeta lucida (ocular reflectors) of mooneyes, Hiodon tergisus and H. alosoides, lie in the pigment epithelium, the processes of which are packed with reflecting particles and also contain melanin granules. The reflecting particles are tiny birefringent crystals. On the basis of chromatography, u.v. spectroscopy and enzymic degradation (with uricase), it is concluded that the reflecting material contains uric acid. Mooneye tapeta are compared with those of other teleosts.
Polarization-dependent density-functional theory and quasiparticle theory: Optical response beyond local-density approximations.

The polarization (P) dependence of the exchange-correlation energy (${\mathit{E}}_{\mathit{xc}}$) of semiconductors results in an effective field (${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\partial}}}^{2}$${\mathit{E}}_{\mathit{xc}}$/\ensuremath{\partial}${\mathit{P}}^{2}$)P\ensuremath{\equiv}${\ensuremath{\gamma}}_{1}$P in the Kohn-Sham equations [Gonze et al., Phys. Rev. Lett 74, 4035 (1995)]. This effective field is absent in local-density approximations such as LDA and GGA. We show that in the long-wavelength limit ${\ensuremath{\gamma}}_{1}$\ensuremath{\simeq}${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\chi}}}_{\mathit{LDA}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}1}$-${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\chi}}}_{\mathit{expt}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}1}$ where \ensuremath{\chi} is the linear susceptibility. We find that ${\ensuremath{\gamma}}_{1}$ scales roughly linearly with average bond length suggesting a simple, weakly material-dependent function ${\mathit{E}}_{\mathit{xc}}$[P]. For medium-gap group IV and III-V semiconductors ${\ensuremath{\gamma}}_{1}$ is remarkably constant: ${\ensuremath{\gamma}}_{1}$=-0.25\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.05. Using the average LDA band gap mismatch \ensuremath{\Delta} and the average quasiparticle gap ${\mathit{E}}_{\mathit{g}}$ a simplified quasiparticle approach yields ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\chi}}}_{\mathit{LDA}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}1}$-${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\chi}}}_{\mathit{QP}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}1}$\ensuremath{\simeq}-\ensuremath{\Delta}/(${\mathit{E}}_{\mathit{g}}$\ensuremath{\chi})=-0.27 *0.10 in good agreement with the value of ${\ensuremath{\gamma}}_{1}$. However, for materials containing first-row elements (B,C,N,O) ${\ensuremath{\gamma}}_{1}$ varies by a factor of 2 while \ensuremath{\Delta}/(${\mathit{E}}_{\mathit{g}}$\ensuremath{\chi}) is roughly constant. That is, the simple quasiparticle estimate fails to reproduce the polarization dependence of ${\mathit{E}}_{\mathit{xc}}$[P]. For nonlinear response functions, an analysis of ${\mathit{E}}_{\mathit{xc}}$[P] leads to Miller-like expressions ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\chi}}}_{\mathit{expt}}^{(\mathit{n})}$\ensuremath{\simeq}[${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\chi}}}_{\mathit{expt}}$/${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\chi}}}_{\mathit{LDA}}$${]}^{\mathit{n}+1\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}}$${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\chi}}}_{\mathit{LDA}}^{(\mathit{n})}$, n= 2, 3, where the formula for ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\chi}}}^{(3)}$ is valid only when ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\chi}}}^{(2)}$=0. For ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\chi}}}^{(2)}$, this estimate works well for all the materials including those containing first-row elements. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.
Distinct signalling pathways regulate sprouting angiogenesis from the dorsal aorta and the axial vein

Angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels from pre-existing vessels, is critical to most physiological processes and many pathological conditions. During zebrafish development, angiogenesis expands the axial vessels into a complex vascular network that is necessary for efficient oxygen delivery. Although the dorsal aorta and the axial vein are spatially juxtaposed, the initial angiogenic sprouts from these vessels extend in opposite directions, indicating that distinct cues may regulate angiogenesis of the axial vessels. We found that angiogenic sprouts from the dorsal aorta are dependent on vascular endothelial growth factor A (Vegf-A) signalling, and do not respond to bone morphogenetic protein (Bmp) signals. In contrast, sprouts from the axial vein are regulated by Bmp signalling independently of Vegf-A signals, indicating that Bmp is a vein-specific angiogenic cue during early vascular development. Our results support a paradigm whereby different signals regulate distinct programmes of sprouting angiogenesis from the axial vein and dorsal aorta, and indicate that signalling heterogeneity contributes to the complexity of vascular networks.
The Relationships Among Critical Power Determined From a 3-Min All-Out Test, Respiratory Compensation Point, Gas Exchange Threshold, and Ventilatory Threshold

Purpose: Critical power (CP) from the 3-min test was compared to the power outputs associated with thresholds determined from gas exchange parameters that have been used to demarcate the exercise-intensity domains including the respiratory compensation point (RCP), gas exchange threshold (GET), and ventilatory threshold (VT). Method: Twenty-eight participants performed an incremental-cycle ergometer test to exhaustion. The VT was determined from the relationship between the ventilatory equivalent for oxygen uptake (V˙E/V˙O2) versus V˙O2 and the GET was determined using the V-slope method (V˙CO2 vs. V˙O2). The RCP was identified from the V˙E-versus-V˙CO2 relationship. CP was the average power output during the last 30 s of the 3-min all-out test. Linear regression was used to determine the power outputs associated with the RCP, GET, and VT, as well as the V˙O2 associated with CP. Mean differences among the associated power outputs, percent V˙O2 peak, and percent peak power output for the GET, VT, RCP, and ...
On subsystems of a fuzzy finite state machine

Abstract In this paper we study subsystems and strong subsystems of a fuzzy finite state machine. The ideas of cyclic subsystem, and simple strong subsystem are introduced and their basic properties are examined.
Sudden, Extreme Lake Erie Storm Surges and the Interaction of Wind Stress, Resonance, and Geometry

Abstract Lake Erie is at times subject to anomalously large storm surges, whose size and abruptness cannot be adequately explained by standard resonance theory. Here, we model such wind-generated surges in an attempt to explain their behavior and in particular to describe the influence of such factors as non-linear resonance dynamics, planform geometry, bottom topography, and friction on surge development, climax, and dissipation. Among the results are: Some previously unnoted aspects of resonant behavior; the very specialized conditions under which resonance occurs; and the differences in surge behavior between eastward and westward storm paths, which are caused by planform and frictional differences (the latter of which are directly linked to depth) between the eastern and western ends of the lake. In particular, the narrowing of the lake in the eastern basin serves to “focus” the surge, and produce an exaggerated response at resonance, significantly greater than that at both sub- and super-resonance. The non-dimensionalized characteristics approach used here allows explicit analytic solution in many of the idealized linear causes studied, so the effects of individual terms can be discerned. In the non-linear case, it allows explicit tracking of shock evolution and dissipation. The results are extended to simulations which make use of actual Lake Erie planform and topography data.
Strong pseudo Jahn-Teller effect in the cyclic C3H radical

Abstract A computational study of the structure and properties of the ground (X 2 B 2 ) and first excited (A 2 A 1 ) states of the cyclic C 3 H radical is reported. Although spectroscopic analyses have been uniformly consistent with a C 2v structure for the electronic ground state, previous quantum chemical investigations have predicted that in-plane distortion to a C s framework symmetry is an energetically favorable process. In contrast, the present results predict a C 2v equilibrium geometry for both the ground and excited states. Problems related to symmetry breaking of the zeroth-order wavefunction are avoided in this work by using an equation-of-motion coupled cluster technique. Properties evaluated in calculations for both the X 2 B 2 and A 2 A 1 states lend support to a published interpretation of the microwave spectrum.
Comment on Societal Risk

There is a need to measure societal risk more accurately; to examine and reevaluate our priorities in risk reduction; to determine the level of expenditure for risk reduction beyond which adverse economic and political effects may be overriding; and to develop a national approach to risk management.
Scoring under ordered constraints in contingency tables

Methods are developed for analyzing contingency tables which have ordered categoriesa priori. A correspondence analysis is extended to incorporate this a priori ordering. An exact represention is obtained when differences in the scores of the categories are known.
Raphael and the Beard of Pope Julius II

Few portraits of the Renaissance are as familiar as Raphael's official portrayal of his dynamic patron, Pope Julius II (Fig. 1).2 Praised by Vasari as “tanto vivo e verace, che faceva temere il ritratto a vederlo, come se proprio egli fosse il vivo,”3 Raphael's depiction of the aging pontiff in ca. 1511–12 was a most important model for later papal portraits. It is by now so well known to students of Renaissance art that our image of Julius must inevitably be that of a white-bearded old man. As such the Pope appears in other, equally famous portraits by Raphael, most notably in the Stanza d'Eliodoro, where the bearded pontiff is miraculously present at the Expulsion of Heliodorus and the Mass of Bolsena (Figs. 4–7). So unforgettable are these powerful portrayals that we need to be reminded that the beard was anything but a permanent fixture on the Pope's chin.
An Author as a Counter-Storyteller: Applying Critical Race Theory to a Coretta Scott King Award Book

This article analyzes the 2002 Coretta Scott King Award book by Mildred Taylor entitled The Land. The novel and its author are situated within a tradition of historical fiction written by and about African Americans. I then offer an analysis that utilizes Critical Race Theory as an interpretive tool for examining the ways Taylor embeds meanings of land ownership into the novel. In particular the following themes emerged: (1) inspiration and adoration, (2) entitlement and privilege, and (3) freedom and security. The conclusion addresses the importance of applying Critical Race Theory to literary studies as well as identifying ways to purposefully incorporate African American young adult historical fiction within today’s classrooms.
Outcome Instruments for Prosthetics: Clinical Applications

Outcome measurement is crucial to assuring high-quality patient services and improving the quality of services provided by prosthetists. This article summarizes recent evidence on the measurement properties of outcome measures, and updates previously published summaries of outcome instruments. The review focuses on measures of mobility, functional status, quality of life, and patient satisfaction, and includes both performance-based and patient-reported outcomes. Amputation-specific and general measures that are suitable for patients served by prosthetists are discussed. It is encouraging that responsiveness of measures is often reported, as this information is needed to improve clinical utility.
Analysis of the Channeling Effect in Variable Porosity Media

A theoretical solution of the channeling effect is presented. The details of the channeling production are investigated in detail and an approximate method for obtaining the temperature distribution is presented. These results complete a theoretical solution of the channeling effect which has a number of different applications in energy-related problems, such as fixed-bed catalytic reactors, metal processing, underground coal gasification, oil shale, chemical-reaction engineering, drying and packed-bed heat exchangers. These differential permeability problems are also encountered in several energy resource extraction applications related to underground coal conversion, vertical modified in-situ (VSIS) oil shale retortion, steam flooding and oil recovery from tar sands. The method of matched asymptotic expansions is used to obtain the theoretical solution. The effects of using the singular perturbation solution in obtaining the temperature distribution are discussed. The existence and the concept of the triple momentum boundary layer in variable porosity media is analyzed in detail. The theoretical results are found to be in good agreement with the numerical and the available experimental results.
Demonstration of Double Pulse Position Modulation (2-PPM) in Time-Wavelength Optical CDMA Systems

We have experimentally demonstrated a novel pulse position modulation technique for Optical CDMA systems that increases the bit rate by a factor of 6.9 compared to OOK-OCDMA systems, using the same bandwidth.
The Theory of Transnational Firms: an empirical reassessment

Theories of the transnational firm that stress the profit advantages of international operations in high-technology industries with high entry barriers are not supported for a sample of US-based transnational and domestic firms from Standard & Poor's Compustat database. Replacing the accounting-based profit rate with a measure of economic rate of return, designed to better assess enterprise performance, yields no significant difference in returns to transnational and domestic firms in high-technology manufacturing. Transnational firms do experience profit advantages over domestic firms in the less innovative industries, but this pattern does not fit the theories stressing advantages accuring from intangible assets, entry barriers, and technological accumulation.
8-Isoprostane F2alpha excretion is reduced in women by increased vegetable and fruit intake.

BACKGROUND Health benefits associated with diets rich in vegetables and fruit (VF) are often attributed to the antioxidant activity of their constituent phytochemicals. However, in vivo evidence that VF actually reduce markers of oxidative stress is limited. OBJECTIVE An 8-wk dietary intervention was conducted to test the hypothesis that increased VF consumption decreases oxidative stress. Urinary excretion of 8-isoprostane F2alpha (8-iso-PGF2alpha) was used as an index of whole-body lipid peroxidation. DESIGN The diets evaluated had comparable amounts of all macronutrients but varied in their content of VF. After a 2-wk low-VF (3.0 servings/d) run-in diet, 246 women were randomly assigned to receive either 3.6 (low) or 9.2 (high) servings VF/d. The low-VF group was switched to the high-VF diet during the final 2 wk of the study. Blood and first-void urine specimens were obtained at baseline and at 2-wk intervals thereafter. RESULTS The run-in diet reduced 8-iso-PGF2alpha concentrations by 33% (P < 0.0001). The excretion of 8-iso-PGF2alpha with the low-VF diet remained the same as that with the run-in diet, whereas urinary concentrations of 8-iso-PGF2alpha were further reduced (P < 0.01) by the high-VF diet, either fed throughout the study or when the diet was switched from low to high VF (P = 0.05). The greatest reductions in 8-iso-PGF2alpha were observed in subjects in the highest quartile of baseline concentrations of 8-iso-PGF2alpha. CONCLUSIONS A significant reduction in the excretion of 8-iso-PGF2alpha was induced by the run-in diet and the high-VF diet. The degree of reduction was related to the subject's baseline urinary concentration of 8-iso-PGF2alpha.
A new class of scale free solutions to linear ordinary differential equations and the universality of the golden mean (5-1)/2=0.618033…

Abstract A new class of finitely differentiable scale free solutions to the simplest class of ordinary differential equations is presented. Consequently, the real number set gets replaced by an extended physical set, each element of which is endowed with an equivalence class of infinitesimally separated neighbours in the form of random fluctuations. We show how a sense of time and evolution is intrinsically defined by the infinite continued fraction of the golden mean irrational number ( 5 −1)/2 , which plays a key role in this extended SL(2,R) formalism of calculus analogous to El Naschie’s theory of E (∞) spacetime manifold. Time may thereby undergo random inversions generating well defined random scales, thus allowing a dynamical system to evolve self similarly over the set of multiple scales. The late time stochastic fluctuations of a dynamical system enjoys the generic 1/f spectrum. A universal form of the related probability density is also derived. We prove that the golden mean number is intrinsically random, letting all measurements in the physical universe fundamentally uncertain. The present analysis offers an explanation of the universal occurrence of the golden mean in diverse natural and biological processes as well as the mass spectrum of high energy particle physics.
A New Moist Turbulence Parameterization in the Community Atmosphere Model

A new moist turbulence parameterization is presented and implemented in the Community Atmosphere Model (CAM). It is derived from Grenier and Bretherton but has been heavily modified to improve its numerical stability and efficiency with the long time steps used in climate models. A goal was to provide a more physically realistic treatment of marine stratocumulus-topped boundary layers than in the current CAM. Key features of the scheme include use of moist-conserved variables, an explicit entrainment closure for convective layers, diagnosis of turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) for computation of turbulent diffusivities, an efficient new formulation of TKE transport as a relaxation to layer-mean TKE, and unified treatment of all turbulent layers in each atmospheric column. The scheme is compared with the default turbulence parameterizations in the CAM using three singlecolumn modeling cases, using both operational and high vertical and time resolution. Both schemes performed comparably well on the dry convective boundary layer case. For a stable boundary layer case, the default CAM overdeepens the boundary layer unless its free-tropospheric mixing length is greatly reduced, whereupon the new scheme and default CAM again both perform well at both tested resolutions. A nocturnal stratocumulus case was much better simulated by the new scheme than the default CAM, with much less resolution sensitivity. Global climate simulations with the new scheme in tandem with a new shallow cumulus parameterization are presented in a companion paper.
Baroreceptor unloading does not limit forearm sweat rate during severe passive heat stress

This study tested the hypothesis that sweat rate during passive heat stress is limited by baroreceptor unloading associated with heat stress. Two protocols were performed in which healthy subjects ...
Goal-directed debugging of spreadsheets

We present a semi-automatic debugger for spreadsheet systems that is specifically targeted at end-user programmers. Users can report expected values for cells that yield incorrect results. The system then generates change suggestions that could correct the error. Users can interactively explore, apply, refine, or reject these change suggestions. The computation of change suggestions is based on a formal inference system that propagates expected values backwards across formulas. The system is fully integrated into Microsoft Excel and can be used to automatically detect and correct various kinds of errors in spreadsheets. Test results show that the system works accurately and reliably.
Nanojets, Electrospray, and Ion Field Evaporation: Molecular Dynamics Simulations and Laboratory Experiments

The energetics, interfacial properties, instabilities, and fragmentation patterns of electrosprays made from formamide salt solutions are investigated in a mass spectrometric vacuum electrospray experiment and using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The electrospray source is operated in a Taylor cone-jet mode, with the nanojet that forms being characterized by high surface-normal electric field strengths in the vicinity of 1 V/nm. Mass-to-charge ratios were determined for both positive and negative currents sprayed from NaI−formamide solutions with solute−solvent mole ratios of 1:8.4 and 1:36.9, and from KI−formamide solutions with mole ratios of 1:41 and 1:83. The molecular dynamics simulations were conducted on isolated 10 nm NaI−formamide droplets at mole ratios of 1:8 and 1:16. The droplet was subjected to a uniform electric field with strengths ranging between 0.5 and 1.5 V/nm. Both the experiments and simulations demonstrate a mixed charge emission regime where field-induced desorption of solvat...
Tests of the coupled expression of latex and cardenolide plant defense in common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)

The coexpression of plant resistance traits suggests the hypothesis that they may have complementary functions in defense against herbivory. To address the extent to which defensive traits are necessarily coupled in plants grown under various conditions, we focused on latex and cardenolides, two potent defenses of milkweeds. We measured defenses across ontogenetic stages, different biotic and abiotic environments, and across genetic families of the common milkweed Asclepias syriaca. We first addressed the extent to which foliar cardenolides are derived from latex because latex actively flows through canals in leaves. We rinsed latex out of shredded leaves, which had no impact on foliar cardenolides, suggesting cardenolides are allocated to leaves independently of latex. Accordingly, there is potential for independent expression of the two traits. We next followed a cohort of plants from germination over three years; expression of both latex exudation and cardenolides increased annually, with the exception of a second year dip in cardenolides. Damage by monarch caterpillars induced ≈50% increases of both latex and cardenolides, with the former occurring rapidly within a day and the latter taking five days of herbivory; these responses were preceded by an earlier peak of the signaling hormones jasmonic acid and abscisic acid. Endogenous jasmonic acid showed an instantaneous positive correlation with latex exudation and foliar cardenolides. Under drought stress, latex and cardenolide expression were reversed, with water stress suppressing latex exudation, but nearly doubling cardenolide concentrations. These drought effects were not driven by phytohormones in the expected manner, as jasmonic acid was unaffected, salicylic acid was strongly suppressed, and abscisic acid tripled in response to drought. Finally, a meta-analysis of four previously published field studies representing 85 genetic families of A. syriaca revealed no evidence for a genetic correlation between latex exudation and foliar cardenolide concentrations. The same lack of a correlation was observed across 22 populations of A. syriaca when grown in a common environment. Thus, the two most important defensive traits of milkweeds, although often coexpressed, can become uncoupled during some ontogenetic stages, under some biotic and abiotic conditions, and there is no evidence that they evolve together.
Comment: Re-evaluation of a Coulomb-fluctuation frequency-response model for disordered conductors

Abstract Various problems and limitations of a recent Coulomb-fluctuation model by Bondarev and Pikhitsa [Phys. Lett. A 196 (1994) 247] for the transient and frequency response of disordered conductors are considered. The model can be expressed in terms of a simple Gaussian distribution of activation energies, contains an inconsistency, and is of much less general applicability than is claimed by its authors.
Slepian-Wolf coding of multiple M-ary sources using LDPC codes

This paper presents a Slepian-Wolf coding of n correlated m-ary sources for LDPC codes. On applying the syndrome concept, multilevel codes with low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes can be used to approach the Slepian-Wolf limit at each level. The advantage of LDPC codes is that they can be designed for different correlation models between source outputs and the side information and approach the Slepian-Wolf limits. Specifically, for Slepian-Wolf coding of three sources, a design rule of rates for coding each source, which facilitates code design and allows multistage decoding was proposed.
Absolutely Pure Covers

Absolutely pure modules act in ways similar to injective modules. There are conditions on a ring which guarantee that the class of injective modules will be covering. In this article, we define conditions on the ring R which guarantee that the class of absolutely pure modules will be covering. These include R being left coherent, which we show implies a number of other necessary properties.
Current issues concerning thrombolytic therapy for acute myocardial infarction

Abstract Data are now available from three large-scale randomized trials that directly compare the risks and benefits of thrombolytic agents in acute myocardial infarction. In the interpretation of results from the Gruppo Italiano per lo Studio della Sopravvivenza nell'Infarto Miocardico (GISSI-2) trial and its International Extension, the Third International Study of Infarct Survival (ISIS-3), and the Global Utilization of Streptokinase and Tissue Plasminogen Activator for Occluded Coronary Arteries (GUSTO-1) trial, there are areas of both agreement and controversy. It is generally agreed that the agents most commonly used in the United States—tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA), streptokinase and anisoylated plasminogen streptokinase activator complex (APSAC)—all reduce mortality when given to patients with acute evolving myocardial infarction. Further, it is clear that thrombolytic therapy given to such patients presenting up to 12 h after onset of symptoms reduces the mortality rate by ∼20%, that aspirin therapy for patients presenting up to 24 h reduces the mortality rate by ∼23% and that the benefits of thrombolytic therapy and aspirin are additive. Finally, and of most importance, the earlier administration as well as the more widespread use of thrombolytic therapy and aspirin would save many more lives. The totality of evidence clearly indicates that streptokinase produces significantly fewer strokes and cerebral hemorrhages than either t-PA or APSAC. Whether or not accelerated t-PA has a small advantage for mortality is less conclusive. At present, any small differences in safety, efficacy and ease of administration of different thrombolytic agents are far outweighed by the large benefits that would accrue from earlier administration and wider utilization of any of these drugs.
CodY Is a Global Regulator of Virulence-Associated Properties for Clostridium perfringens Type D Strain CN3718

ABSTRACT CodY is known to regulate various virulence properties in several Gram-positive bacteria but has not yet been studied in the important histotoxic and intestinal pathogen Clostridium perfringens. The present study prepared an isogenic codY -null mutant in C. perfringens type D strain CN3718 by insertional mutagenesis using the Targetron system. Western blot analysis indicated that, relative to wild-type CN3718 or a complementing strain, this isogenic codY mutant produces reduced levels of epsilon toxin (ETX). Using supernatants from cultures of the wild-type, codY -null mutant, and complementing strains, CodY regulation of ETX production was shown to have cytotoxic consequences for MDCK cells. The CodY regulatory effect on ETX production was specific, since the codY -null mutant still made wild-type levels of alpha-toxin and perfringolysin O. Sialidase activity measurements and sialidase Western blot analysis of supernatants from CN3718 and its isogenic derivatives showed that CodY represses overall exosialidase activity due to a reduced presence of NanH in culture supernatants. Inactivation of the codY gene significantly decreased the adherence of CN3718 vegetative cells or spores to host Caco-2 cells. Finally, the codY mutant showed increased spore formation under vegetative growth conditions, although germination of these spores was impaired. Overall, these results identify CodY as a global regulator of many C. perfringens virulence-associated properties. Furthermore, they establish that, via CodY, CN3718 coordinately regulates many virulence-associated properties likely needed for intestinal infection. IMPORTANCE Clostridium perfringens is a major human and livestock pathogen because it produces many potent toxins. C. perfringens type D strains cause intestinal infections by producing toxins, especially epsilon toxin (ETX). Previous studies identified CodY as a regulator of certain virulence properties in other Gram-positive bacteria. Our study now demonstrates that CodY is a global regulator of virulence-associated properties for type D strain CN3718. It promotes production of ETX, attachment of CN3718 vegetative cells or spores to host enterocyte-like Caco-2 cells, and spore germination; the last two effects may assist intestinal colonization. In contrast, CodY represses sporulation. These results provide the first evidence that CodY can function as a global regulator of C. perfringens virulence-associated properties and that this strain coordinately regulates its virulence-associated properties using CodY to increase ETX production, host cell attachment, and spore germination but to repress sporulation, as would be optimal during type D intestinal infection.
Analyzing and Minimizing the Impact of Opportunity Cost in QoS-aware Job Scheduling

Quality of service (QoS) mechanisms allowing users to request for turn-around time guarantees for their jobs have recently generated much interest. In our previous work we had designed a framework, QoPS, to allow for such QoS. This framework provides an admission control mechanism that only accepts jobs whose requested deadlines can be met and, once accepted, guarantees these deadlines. However, the framework is completely blind to the revenue these jobs can fetch for the supercomputer center. By accepting a job, the supercomputer center might relinquish its capability to accept some future arriving (and potentially more expensive) jobs. In other words, while each job pays an explicit price to the system for running it, the system may also be viewed as paying an implicit opportunity cost by accepting the job. Thus, accepting a job is profitable only when the job's price is higher than its opportunity cost. In this paper we analyze the impact such opportunity cost can have on the overall revenue of the supercomputer center and attempt to minimize it through predictive techniques. Specifically, we propose two extensions to QoPS, value-aware QoPS (VQoPS) and dynamic value-aware QoPS (DVQoPS), to provide such capabilities. We present detailed analysis of these schemes and demonstrate using simulation that they not only achieve several factors improvement in system revenue, but also good service differentiation as a much desired side-effect.
Synthesis of iso-epoxy-amphidinolide N and des-epoxy-caribenolide I structures. Initial forays

Two strategies for the projected total synthesis of the phenomenally potent antitumour macrolides amphidinolide N (1) and caribenolide I (2) are described. The title compounds are introduced as challenging and unique targets for chemical synthesis, and their retrosynthetic analysis is presented. The synthesis of the four defined key building blocks (10, 39, 67 and 72), required for the construction of amphidinolide N (1), in their enantiomerically pure forms, is described, followed by the coupling of 10, 39 and 72 through hydrazone alkylation processes to generate the complete C6–C29 carbon framework of the target compound (1). Fusion of the remaining C1–C5 sector (72) onto the molecule by metathesis-based methods was unsuccessful, resulting in the adoption of a second-generation strategy which called for the employment of one of the array of palladium-catalysed cross-coupling reactions to generate the C5–C6 carbon–carbon bond. Vinyl bromide 125, representing the C6–C29 skeleton of caribenolide I (2), was prepared through the sequential alkylation of hydrazone 10 with bromide 116 and iodide 55, but failed to engage in the appropriate cross-coupling reaction with a variety of C1–C4 partners. Despite these setbacks, the information gleaned from these endeavours was to prove invaluable in laying the foundation for the eventual successful approach to the macrocyclic structures of amphidinolide N (1) and caribenolide I (2).
Electrocardiographic PR interval and adverse outcomes in older adults: the Health, Aging, and Body Composition study.

Background— The electrocardiographic PR interval increases with aging, differs by race, and is associated with atrial fibrillation (AF), pacemaker implantation, and all-cause mortality. We sought to determine the associations between PR interval and heart failure, AF, and mortality in a biracial cohort of older adults. Methods and Results— The Health, Aging, and Body Composition (Health ABC) Study is a prospective, biracial cohort. We used multivariable Cox proportional hazards models to examine PR interval (hazard ratios expressed per SD increase) and 10-year risks of heart failure, AF, and all-cause mortality. Multivariable models included demographic, anthropometric, and clinical variables in addition to established cardiovascular risk factors. We examined 2722 Health ABC participants (aged 74±3 years, 51.9% women, and 41% black). We did not identify significant effect modification by race for the outcomes studied. After multivariable adjustment, every SD increase (29 ms) in PR interval was associated with a 13% greater 10-year risk of heart failure (95% confidence interval, 1.02–1.25) and a 13% increased risk of incident AF (95% confidence interval, 1.04–1.23). PR interval >200 ms was associated with a 46% increased risk of incident heart failure (95% confidence interval, 1.11–1.93). PR interval was not associated with increased all-cause mortality. Conclusions— We identified significant relationships of PR interval to heart failure and AF in older adults. Our findings extend prior investigations by examining PR interval and associations with adverse outcomes in a biracial cohort of older men and women.