cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Agent-organized networks for dynamic team formation

Many multi-agent systems consist of a complex network of autonomous yet interdependent agents. Examples of such networked multi-agent systems include supply chains and sensor networks. In these systems, agents have a select set of other agents with whom they interact based on environmental knowledge, cognitive capabilities, resource limitations, and communications constraints. Previous findings have demonstrated that the structure of the artificial social network governing the agent interactions is strongly correlated with organizational performance. As multi-agent systems are typically embedded in dynamic environments, we wish to develop distributed, on-line network adaptation mechanisms for discovering effective network structures. Therefore, within the context of dynamic team formation, we propose several strategies for agent-organized networks (AONs) and evaluate their effectiveness for increasing organizational performance.
Cytoscape tools for the web age: D3.js and Cytoscape.js exporters

In this paper we present new data export modules for Cytoscape 3 that can generate network files for Cytoscape.js and D3.js. Cytoscape.js exporter is implemented as a core feature of Cytoscape 3, and D3.js exporter is available as a Cytoscape 3 app. These modules enable users to seamlessly export network and table data sets generated in Cytoscape to popular JavaScript library readable formats. In addition, we implemented template web applications for browser-based interactive network visualization that can be used as basis for complex data visualization applications for bioinformatics research. Example web applications created with these tools demonstrate how Cytoscape works in modern data visualization workflows built with traditional desktop tools and emerging web-based technologies. This interactivity enables researchers more flexibility than with static images, thereby greatly improving the quality of insights researchers can gain from them.
Keep frail elders warm

It is not uncommon to see an elderly person wearing a sweater on a hot summer day. We know that with advancing age, the efficiency of mechanisms that regulate heat production and loss declines, placing many older people at high risk for cold discomfort and hypothermia, even in warm environments. Whereas healthy elders compensate by turning up the thermostat and adding extra clothing, the frail elders with impaired environmental awareness, physical abilities, and communication may be dependent on caregivers to provide the extra warmth they require. Unfortunately, the thermoregulatory problems of the aged have received insufficient attention in the education of caregivers. As a consequence, some routine procedures in the care of frail elders may inadvertently cause cold discomfort and increase the risk that core temperature will fall. This article provides a brief review of the thermoregulatory system, age-related changes that impair its efficiency, and additional stressors that make it difficult for frail elders to maintain their core temperature at comfortable and safe levels. Nursing interventions to prevent cold discomfort and decrease the risk of hypothermia are emphasized, and changes in some current practices are suggested. Guidelines for assessment and emergency care of elders with hypothermia are provided.
Aviation Approach Charts in an iPad® World

The process used to create charted depictions of aviation instrument approach procedures in the United States is examined. The rapid growth of iPad®-like mobile technologies is discussed relative to the historical context of chart implementation. Notional new methods of electronic chart generation are introduced, demonstrating both the functional possibilities and concerns not directly addressed by existing regulation for private aircraft operators. These concerns suggest a ‘yin-yang’ of the stifling of innovation versus the creation of latent safety hazards. The article concludes by recommending regulatory oversight review of approach chart implementation. A glossary of terms is included at the end of this paper. The facts, analysis, and opinions offered in this article represent an independent effort of the author and do not reflect the opinions of any academic institution or government agency. The author also has a limited financial interest in certain iOS® applications.
An efficient transient thermal model for electronics thermal management based on singular value decomposition

Electronics thermal management for high power applications is crucial. Modeling is an indispensable tool to help engineers design better electronics cooling systems. An efficient transient thermal model for electronics thermal management based on singular value decomposition (SVD) is proposed. The model generation process starts with computation fluid dynamics (CFD) results of an electronics model, from which SVD is used to calculate the approximate subspace which temperature solution belongs to. Then a state space model is created based on the CFD and SVD results to calculate the temperature field in the subspace. The state space model is very efficient and runs orders of magnitude faster because the dimension of the subspace is small. The state space model is then shown to provide very similar results as those from CFD under arbitrary transient power dissipation.
Gazing Patterns and Attribution of Sexual Involvement

Summary Selected stimulus dimensions of interpersonal gazing—duration and reciprocity of gaze, sexual composition of the interacting pair—were examined for their impact on observer attributions of sexual involvement. One hundred seventy-one City College of New York psychology students rated 16 brief, filmed encounters as to the degree of sexual involvement apparent in each encounter. Longer and reciprocated gazes resulted in attributions of greater sexual involvement, as did gazing variations between opposite- as contrasted to same-sex pairs. Within every gaze condition, female judges made significantly greater attributions for opposite- as opposed to same-sex pairs. Few such differences appeared for male judges because of their tendency, relative to females, to give higher ratings for same- as opposed to opposite-sex pairs. Results suggest that females were relatively more discriminating in their use of gazing cues in attributing sexual involvement, a finding consonant with other reports of females' grea...
Partitioning sequential programs for CAD using a three-step approach

Many computer-aided design problems involve solutions that require the partitioning of a large sequential program written in a language such as C or VHDL. Such partitioning can improve design metrics such as performance, power, energy, size, input/output lines, and even CAD tool run-time and memory requirements, by partitioning among hardware modules, hardware and software processors, or even among time-slices in reconfigurable computing devices. Previous partitioning approaches typically preselect the granularity at which the program is partitioned. In this article, we define three distinct partitioning steps: procedure determination, preclustering, and N-way partitioning, with the first two steps focusing on granularity selection. Using three steps instead of one can provide for a more thorough design space exploration and for faster partitioning. We emphasize the first two steps in this article since they represent the most novel aspects. We illustrate the approach on an example, provide results of several experiments, and point to the need for future research that more fully automates the three-step approach.
Kindergarten Knowledge of Print Conventions and Later School Achievement: A Five-Year Follow-Up.

The Concepts About Print (CAP) test administered during kindergarten and first grade was shown to be highly correlated with various tests of school achievement obtained during the second through the fourth grades and to effectively predict those children who would later be retained in school. Based on the results of this longitudinal study, the CAP may be useful in the kindergarten and first grade as an early identifier of children who are relatively high educational risks.
Chain-length dependence of the protein and cell resistance of oligo(ethylene glycol)-terminated self-assembled monolayers on gold

Oligo(ethylene glycol) (O-EG(n))-terminated alkanethiol surface-assembled monolayers (SAMs) have been reported to demonstrate protein-resistant properties similar to those of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG). In this study, we compared the relative protein resistance of short and long ethylene oxide chains, SAMs of PEG 5000, PEG 2000, O-EG(3) (molecular weight = 120), and O-EG(6) (molecular weight = 240), on gold surfaces. Surface plasmon resonance showed that these monolayers were all protein-resistant within the uncertainty of the measurement. However, they exhibited different adhesive properties toward 3T3 mouse fibroblast adhesion in supplemented Dulbecco's modified Eagles medium. The results show that the cell adhesion was sensitive to the concentration of proteins supplemented in the culture medium and to the length of PEG chains.
A system for measuring contractions of the rat ventricle strip

A system is described for the quantitative measurement of the contractions of the electrically driven rat ventricle strip. The apparatus includes the components of the transducer-amplifier-recording system as well as a simplified muscle-holder and electrode assembly. As normally employed, the system accurately measures semi-isometric (>0.025 mm. displacement) muscle contractions at a stimulus frequency of four per second. It may also be employed at other frequencies and for moderate isotonic contractions as well as for gas displacement.
Rhabdomyolysis and myoglobinuria as manifestations of child abuse

Rhabdomyolysis should be suspected in cases of physical child abuse in which there is extensive soft tissue injury. It is easily investigated using the urinalysis and serum CPK levels. Renal failure is the most common complication and manifests itself as acute tubular necrosis, sometimes accompanied by the following specific laboratory abnormalities: elevated creatinine-to-BUN ratio, hyperkalemia, and myoglobinuria. Treatment is aimed at the preservation of renal function and the prevention of complications caused by electrolyte abnormalities. A full recovery can be expected for adults with this disorder, but information about the pediatric population is sparse. Our series suggests rapid improvement with appropriate therapy.
Correlating Single Phase Flow Measurements With Observations of Trailing Vortex Cavitation

The single phase and caviting tip vortex shed by a NACA 66-209 rectangular planform, rounded tip hydrofoil has been studied. Single-phase measurements of instantaneous flow velocity were made by taking double-pulsed holograms of microbubbles moving in and around the vortex core. The tailored air bubble technique of Ooi and Acosta was employed to measure both the mean and fluctuating single phase vortex core static pressure. Cavitation inception was determined visually. The flow in the vortex core is highly unsteady; the r.m.s. axial velocity fluctuation can be as high as 0.2U ∞ .
Detection of Hg2+ in Aqueous Solutions with a Foldamer-Based Fluorescent Sensor Modulated by Surfactant Micelles

A hybrid foldamer constructed from six cholate units and two methionines was labeled with a DANSYL (DNS) group. The foldamer was solubilized by surfactant micelles to allow its usage as a fluorescent sensor for mercury ions present in the micromolar range in aqueous solutions. Its sensitivity was largely independent of the concentration of nonionic surfactants but was strongly influenced by both the nature and the concentration of ionic surfactants.
Metal-isotopic substitution and high-pressure studies of zinc halide complexes of dithiodipyridine

Abstract New zinc halide complexes of dithiodipyridine were prepared and investigated by spectroscopic techniques. Band assignments in the far-i.r. region were made utilizing sensitivity techniques. By noting the sensitivity to cation-isotopic changes, anion changes, and pressure effects, assignments of metal-ligand vibrations were possible. From these assignments, structural inferences relative to these complexes were made.
Welfare Status and Child Care as Obstacles to Full-Time Work for Low-Income Mothers

SUMMARY In this study, we use new data from the Philadelphia Survey of Child Care and Work to expand on previous analyses: we include child care problems as a work obstacle, and we analyze both current welfare recipients and non-welfare “working poor” mothers. Results show that two main obstacles have a large impact on full-time work: poor mental health and child care problems. Net of other factors, mothers with severe child care problems are 22 percent less likely to work full time. Dividing the sample by welfare status, we find a child care problems effect for both groups. Among welfare recipients, the gap in full-time work between those with severe child care problems and those without is 30 percent. Among the working poor, child care problems reduce the chance of full-time work by about 18 percent. Our findings show that improving mothers' child care situation can significantly improve their ability to support their families.
The role of growth hormone in the glucose intolerance of uremia

The fasting plasma growth hormone (GH) concentration and the plasma growth hormone response to sustained hyperglycemia was examined in 8 chronically uremic subjects before and after hemodialysis employing the hyperglycemic clamp technique. The plasma glucose concentration was actuely raised and maintained at +125 mg/100 ml above basal levels. Since the glucose concentration was held constant, the glucose infusion rate is an index of glucose metabolism (M) and M divided by the plasma insulin response (I) is a measure of tissue sensitivity to insulin. Predialysis, the fasting GH concentration, 4.0±1.0 ng/ml, was significantly greater than controls, 0.3±0.1 ng/ml (p<0.01), and failed to suppress normally following sustained hyperglycemia. Both M, 4.23±0.36 mg/kg·min, and M/I, 5.05±0.79 mg/kg·min per µU/ml, were significantly reduced compared to controls (p<0.001). There was no correlation between either the fasting GH concentration or the GH response to sustained hyperglycemia and either M or M/I. Following dialysis both M, 6.30±0.64 mg/kg·min, and M/I, 8.39±1.06 mg/kg·min per µU/ml, increased (p<0.01) without significant change in either the fasting GH level, 4.0 ± 1.2 ng/ml, or the plasma GH response to hyperglycemia. It is concluded that while deranged GH physiology is a common accompaniment of the uremic state, it is not responsible for the glucose intolerance and tissue insensitivity to insulin observed in uremia.
EFFECTIVE THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY OF COMPOSITE SPHERES IN A CONTINUOUS MEDIUM WITH CONTACT RESISTANCE

Abstract The self-consistent field concept is extended to the determination of the effective thermal conductivity of mixtures containing composite spheres randomly distributed in a continuous medium. Contact resistance is allowed for at the interface between the spheres and the continuous phase. A simple, yet exact, analytical solution is derived by first determining the temperature distribution for particle/continuous phase spheres as they are surrounded by an extensive effective medium. Special cases of the general solution are developed which correspond to various types of ideal particle/continuum behaviors. One category-perfect contact with negligible core gas heat conduction-is a useful model for many syntactic foams . Under these conditions, it is shown that the ratio of the effective conductivity of the medium to the conductivity of the continuous phase depends on a single parameter. The `critical value' of this parameter is determined for which this ratio is unity. The result is consistent with prior studies of critical conditions in composite media.
Cable properties and propagation velocity in a long single chain of simulated myocardial cells

Propagation of simulated action potentials (APs) was previously studied in short single chains and in two-dimensional sheets of myocardial cells [1–3]. The present study was undertaken to examine propagation in a long single chain of cells of various lengths, and with varying numbers of gap-junction (g-j) channels, and to compare propagation velocity with the cable properties such as the length constant (λ). Simulations were carried out using the PSpice program as previously described. When the electric field (EF) mechanism was dominant (0, 1, and 10 gj-channels), the longer the chain length, the faster the overall velocity (θov). There seems to be no simple explanation for this phenomenon. In contrast, when the local-circuit current mechanism was dominant (100 gj-channels or more), θov was slightly slowed with lengthening of the chain. Increasing the number of gj-channels produced an increase in θov and caused the firing order to become more uniform. The end-effect was more pronounced at longer chain lengths and at greater number of gj-channels. When there were no or only few gj-channels (namely, 0, 10, or 30), the voltage change (ΔVm) in the two contiguous cells (#50 & #52) to the cell injected with current (#51) was nearly zero, i.e., there was a sharp discontinuity in voltage between the adjacent cells. When there were many gj-channels (e.g., 300, 1000, 3000), there was an exponential decay of voltage on either side of the injected cell, with the length constant (λ) increasing at higher numbers of gj-channels. The effect of increasing the number of gj-channels on increasing λ was relatively small compared to the larger effect on θov. θov became very non-physiological at 300 gj-channels or higher. Thus, when there were only 0, 1, or 10 gj-channels, θov increased with increase in chain length, whereas at 100 gj-channels or higher, θov did not increase with chain length. When there were only 0, 10, or 30 gj-channels, there was a very sharp decrease in ΔVm in the two contiguous cells on either side of the injected cell, whereas at 300, 1000, or 3000 gj-channels, the voltage decay was exponential along the length of the chain. The effect of increasing the number of gj-channels on spread of current was relatively small compared to the large effect on θov.
The Caspian Sea: Potentials and Prospects

The intense interest shown by the major international oil and gas companies in the Caspian Sea testifies to its promising potentials. The seven- hundred-mile long Caspian Sea is located in northwest Asia. Five countries—Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan—share the Caspian basin. Shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Caspian states became open to foreign investment and the region has reemerged as a potentially significant player in the global energy policy. Indeed, the geological potential of the Caspian region as a major source of oil and gas is not in doubt. The rate of investment, however, is (and will continue to be) determined by the perceived risk in the region. This report examines three socioeconomic and political challenges to the region: ethnic conflicts, disagreements over the most cost-effective pipeline routes, and disputes over the legal status of the Caspian.
Two orders of magnitude improvement in detection limit of lateral flow assays using isotachophoresis.

Lateral flow immunoassays (LFA) are one of the most prevalent point-of-care (POC) diagnostics due to their simplicity, low cost, and robust operation. A common criticism of LFA tests is that they have poor detection limits compared to those of analytical techniques, like ELISA, which confines their application as a diagnostic tool. The low detection limit of LFA and associated long equilibration times are due to kinetically limited surface reactions that result from low target concentration. Here, we use isotachophoresis (ITP), a powerful electrokinetic preconcentration and separation technique, to focus target analytes into a thin band and transport them to the LFA capture line, resulting in a dramatic increase in the surface reaction rate and equilibrium binding. We show that ITP is able to improve the limit of detection (LoD) of LFA by 400-fold for 90 s assay time and by 160-fold for a longer 5 min time scale. ITP-enhanced LFA (ITP-LF) also shows up to 30% target extraction from 100 μL of the sample, w...
Items by Design: The Impact of Systematic Feature Variation on Item Statistical Characteristics.

In this study we investigated the impact of systematic item feature variation on item statistical characteristics and the degree to which such information could be used as collateral information to supplement examinee performance data and reduce pretest sample size. Two families of word problem variants for the quantitative section of the Graduate Record Examinations General Test were generated by systematically manipulating item features. For rate problems, the item design features affected item difficulty (adjusted R2 = .90), item discrimination (adjusted R2 = .50), and guessing (adjusted R2 = .41). For probability problems the item design features affected difficulty (adjusted R2 = .61) but not discrimination or guessing. The results demonstrate the enormous potential of systematically creating item variants. The issue of how to develop a knowledge base that would support the systematic generation of a wider variety of quantitative problems is discussed.
The influence of estrogen and progesterone on parasympathetic vasodilatation in the rat submandibular gland

SUMMARY Previous studies suggest that NO- and PGI2-independent pathways play a greater role in parasympathetic vasodilatation in the submandibular glands (SMG) of female than of male rats. Thus, the purpose of this study was to determine whether estrogen and progesterone influence the relative contributions of NO and PGI2 to parasympathetic vasodilatation in the SMG. Vascular responses to chorda-lingual nerve stimulation were examined in sham-operated (SHAM) and ovariectomized (OVX) female rats and in OVX rats treated with either 17β-estradiol alone or a combination of 17β-estradiol and progesterone. Compared with SHAM animals, increases in vascular conductance in OVX rats were reduced at 1, 2 and 5 Hz (p<0.05). Blood flow responses in OVX + 17β-estradiol and OVX + 17β-estradiol + progesterone rats were indistinguishable from those observed in SHAM animals. Indomethacin had no effect on vasodilatation in SHAM and OVX + 17β-estradiol rats, but increased vascular responses in OVX animals (p<0.02). The addition of L-NAME resulted in a significant reduction in vasodilatation at all frequencies. In OVX rats treated with both estrogen and progesterone treatment, indomethatin caused a reduction in vasodilatation and L-NAME further diminished the remaining responses. Under these conditions, vasodilatation was due largely, if not exclusively, to direct parasympathetic rather than antidromic sensory nerve activation. Finally, both neuronally-derived and endothelium-derived NO appeared to be responsible for the NO-dependent vasodilatation, but endothelium-derived NO became increasingly important as the frequency of stimulation increased. We conclude that estrogen and progesterone influence parasympathetic vasodilatation through combined effects on NO-, PGI2- and non-NO/PGI2-mediated pathways.
Step‐strain deformations for viscoelastic fluids: Formulation of a strain‐coupling constitutive equation

An integral constitutive equation which includes strain-coupling effects is proposed. The constitutive equation is more general than the K-BKZ equation, and it is shown that this equation can explain various important aspects of double-step stress-relaxation data.
Excess Conduction Losses at Millimeter Wavelengths

Excess conduction losses and discrepancies between theoretical and measured values of waveguide attenuation and surface resistance are investigated. The results of comprehensive experiments to isolate the effects contributing to the discrepancies and excess losses are presented.
Effect of reducing the phytate content and of partially hydrolyzing the protein in soy formula on zinc and copper absorption and status in infant rhesus monkeys and rat pups

Background: Although soy formulas have been designed to meet the nutrient requirements of human infants, they also contain phytate, which may negatively affect trace element absorption. Objective: We evaluated the effect of removing phytate on zinc and copper absorption and status in infant rhesus monkeys and suckling rat pups and evaluated differences between intact and partially hydrolyzed soy protein. Design: In monkeys, regular and low-phytate soy formulas were fed exclusively for 4 mo and whole-body absorption and retention of 65 Zn, 67 Cu, 59 Fe, 54 Mn, and 47 Ca were determined at different time points with a whole-body counter. Subsequently, zinc and copper absorption from several human infant formulas and the effect of phytate concentration were evaluated in suckling rat pups by using 65 Zn and 64 Cu. Finally, infant rhesus monkeys were fed low-phytate formulas with intact or hydrolyzed soy protein for 4 mo and plasma zinc and copper were measured monthly. Results: In the first monkey study, zinc absorption at 1 mo was higher from low-phytate soy formula (36%) than from regular soy formula (22%), whereas there was no significant difference between groups in the absorption of other minerals. Plasma copper was significantly lower in monkeys fed low-phytate soy formula from 2 to 4 mo. In rat pups, zinc absorption was significantly higher from low-phytate soy formula (78%) than from regular soy formula (51%) and hydrolysis of the protein had no significant effect. Phytate content or protein hydrolysis did not significantly affect copper absorption. In the second monkey study, plasma copper concentrations were highest in monkeys fed the low-phytate, hydrolyzed-protein soy formula. Conclusion: Reducing the phytate content and partially hydrolyzing the protein in soy formula had a beneficial effect on zinc and copper absorption and status in infant rhesus monkeys. Am J Clin Nutr 1999;69:490‐6.
A neck burn of unexpected etiology during magnetic resonance imaging of a one year old boy

Journal of Clinical Anesthesia - In Press.Proof corrected by the author Available online since lundi 20 janvier 2014
Vaccines against Lyme Disease: What Happened and What Lessons Can We Learn?

This article reviews events that led to the withdrawal of the only vaccine to prevent Lyme disease licensed in the United States. The primary issues that led to the vaccine's withdrawal appear to be a combination of vaccine safety concerns, sparked by a molecular mimicry hypothesis that suggested that the vaccine antigen, outer surface protein A, serves as an autoantigen and hence was arthritogenic; concerns raised by anti-vaccine groups regarding vaccine safety; vaccine cost; a difficult vaccination schedule and the potential need for boosters; class action lawsuits; uncertainty regarding risk of disease; and low public demand. This article reviews lessons learned from these events and proposes that future candidate Lyme disease vaccines are unlikely to be developed, tested, and used within the United States in the near future, thus leaving at-risk populations unprotected.
Sin and bioethics: why a liturgical anthropology is foundational.

The project of articulating a coherent, canonical, content-full, secular morality-cum-bioethics fails, because it does not acknowledge sin, which is to say, it does not acknowledge the centrality of holiness, which is essential to a non-distorted understanding of human existence and of morality. Secular morality cannot establish a particular moral content, the harmony of the good and the right, or the necessary precedence of morality over prudence, because such is possible only in terms of an ultimate point of reference: God. The necessity of a rightly ordered appreciation of God places centrally the focus on holiness and the avoidance of sin. Because the cardinal relationship of creatures to their Creator is worship, and because the cardinal corporate act of human worship is the Liturgy, morality in general and bioethics in particular can be understood in terms of the conditions necessary, so as worthily to enter into Eucharistic liturgical participation. Morality can be summed up in terms of the require...
Mass determination of low-molecular-weight proteins in phloem sap using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry

The low-molecular-weight (LMW), low-abundance protein composition of lupin and pea phloem exudates was determined using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS). Phloem sap was collected from lupin inflorescence stalks and pods (using shallow incisions) or pea seedlings (by placing cut stems in an EDTA solution). Western blot analysis of phloem exudate proteins with either a polyclonal antibody raised against Ricinus communis sieve-tube exudate proteins or pea Rubisco antibody revealed that the collected exudates contained phloem sap, and that contamination with other plant fluids was negligible. Three matrix combinations were tested to assess their ability to facilitate protein ionization. Sinapinic acid in combination with trifluoroacetic acid yielded the cleanest mass spectra, and revealed an array of LMW proteins ranging from 2 to 10 kDa. For pea phloem exudate, the addition of protease inhibitors to the exudate collection solution prevented proteolysis of endogenous proteins ; the inhibitors did not interfere with the detection of proteins. The sensitivity of this technique was sufficient to detect changes in LMW phloem peptides throughout plant development in lupin, or to detect differences in the phloem peptide composition of two genotypes of pea. Because only limited sample preparation is required, MALDI-TOF-MS is a useful technique for characterizing complex fluids such as phloem sap.
Student Project Collaboration Using Wikis

A wiki is a web tool that allows users to easily create and edit web pages collaboratively. The ease-of-editing feature and accessibility from anywhere by anyone make wikis ideal for project collaboration. Although the wiki was introduced more than ten years ago, its use is relatively new in academia. This research explores the potential uses of wikis in Software Engineering, especially for software project team collaboration and communication. The author introduced wikis in a project-based software engineering course, and students soon discovered a number of innovative ways in which wikis can augment collaborative software development activities. A student survey indicates that vast majority of students found the wiki to be a good tool for project collaboration, and most of them plan to use wikis for future projects even if not required to do so.
Statistical ensemble error bounds for homogenized microheterogeneous solids

Typically, in order to characterize the homogenized effective macroscopic response of new materials possessing random heterogeneous microstructure, a relation between averages � σ� Ω = I E ∗ : � � � Ω is sought, where �·� Ω def = 1 |Ω| � Ω ·dΩ, and where σ andare the stress and strain tensor fields within a statistically representative volume element (SRVE) of volume |Ω| .T he quantity,I E ∗ , is known as the effective property, and is the elasticity tensor used in usual macroscale analyses. In order to generate homogenized responses computationally, a series of detailed boundary value representations resolving the heterogeneous microstructure, posed over the SRVE's domain, must be solved. This requires an enormous numerical effort that can overwhelm most computational facilities. A natural way of generating an approximation to the SRVE's response is by first computing the response of smaller (subrepresentative) samples, each with a different random realization of the microstructural type under investigation, and then to ensemble average the results afterwards. Compared to a direct simulation of an SRVE, testing many small samples is a computationally inexpensive process since the number of floating point operations is greatly reduced, as well as the fact that the samples' responses can be computed trivially in parallel. However, there is an inherent error in this process. Clearly the population's ensemble average is not the SRVE's response. However, as shown in this work, the moments on the distribution of the population can be used to generate rigorous upper and lower error bounds on the quality of the ensemble-generated response. Two-sided bounds are given on the SRVE response in terms of the ensemble average, its standard deviation and its skewness.
Secure software updates: disappointments and new challenges

A client can use a content distribution network to securely download software updates. These updates help to patch everyday bugs, plug security vulnerabilities, and secure critical infrastructure. Yet challenges remain for secure content distribution: many deployed software update mechanisms are insecure, and emerging technologies pose further hurdles for deployment. Our analysis of several popular software update mechanisms shows that deployed systems often rely on trusted networks to distribute critical software updates-despite the research progress in secure content distribution. We demonstrate how many deployed systems are susceptible to weak man-in-the-middle attacks. Furthermore, emerging technologies such as mobile devices, sensors, medical devices, and RFID tags present new challenges for secure software updates. Sporadic network connectivity and limited power, computation, and storage require a rethinking of traditional approaches for secure content distribution on embedded devices.
Acute sensorineural hearing loss resulting from cerebellopontine angle arachnoid cyst

We present the case of a 49-year-old woman who presented with acute, nonprogressive left sensorineural hearing loss and benign positional vertigo that was associated with an arachnoid cyst of the cerebellopontine angle. The presence of the lesion was documented by MRI examinations that were obtained 7 years apart. Arachnoid cysts at the cerebellopontine angle are usually found incidentally on MRI performed for unrelated reasons. However, if the arachnoid cyst displaces or compresses adjacent cranial nerves, symptoms may result. We review the salient imaging features of arachnoid cysts that allow their differentiation from other lesions of the cerebellopontine angle.
FIND: faulty node detection for wireless sensor networks

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) promise researchers a powerful instrument for observing sizable phenomena with fine granularity over long periods. Since the accuracy of data is important to the whole system's performance, detecting nodes with faulty readings is an essential issue in network management. As a complementary solution to detecting nodes with functionnal faults, this paper proposes FIND, a novel method to detect nodes with data faults that neither assumes a particular sensing model nor requires costly event injections. After the nodes in a network detect a natural event, FIND ranks the nodes based on their sensing readings as well as their physical distances from the event. FIND works for systems where the measured signal attenuates with distance. A node is considered faulty if there is a significant mismatch between the sensor data rank and the distance rank Theoretically, we show that average ranking difference is a provable indicator of possible data faults. FIND is extensively evaluated in simulations and two test bed experiments with up to 25 MicaZ nodes. Evaluation shows that FIND has a less than 5% miss detection rate and false alarm rate in most noisy environments.
Specular Flow and the Recovery of Surface Structure

In scenes containing specular objects, the image motion observed by a moving camera may be an intermixed combination of optical flow resulting from diffuse reflectance (diffuse flow) and specular reflection (specular flow). Here, with few assumptions, we formalize the notion of specular flow, show how it relates to the 3D structure of the world, and develop an algorithm for estimating scene structure from 2D image motion. Unlike previous work on isolated specular highlights we use two image frames and estimate the semi-dense flow arising from the specular reflections of textured scenes. We parametrically model the image motion of a quadratic surface patch viewed from a moving camera. The flow is modeled as a probabilistic mixture of diffuse and specular components and the 3D shape is recovered using an Expectation-Maximization algorithm. Rather than treating specular reflections as noise to be removed or ignored, we show that the specular flow provides additional constraints on scene geometry that improve estimation of 3D structure when compared with reconstruction from diffuse flow alone. We demonstrate this for a set of synthetic and real sequences of mixed specular-diffuse objects.
Obsidian hydration dating and correlation of Bull Lake and Pinedale Glaciations near West Yellowstone, Montana

The ages of the last two glaciations near West Yellowstone, Montana, can be calculated by obsidian hydration techniques that are calibrated by K-Ar dating of obsidian-bearing lava flows. The average age of glacial abrasion of obsidian in the Pinedale terminal moraines is about 30,000 yr, with most age measurements between 20,000 and 35,000 yr. For the Bull Lake moraines, it is about 140,000 yr, with most measurements between 130,000 and 155,000 yr. This age for the Bull Lake moraines is also supported by geologic relations that show that the moraines are older than a rhyolite flow dated by K-Ar as 114,500 ± 7,300 yr old (lσ). These obsidian hydration ages of the Pinedale and Bull Lake Glaciations correlate well with the last two cold intervals of the marine record. The age determined for the Bull Lake Glaciation near West Yellowstone antedates the last interglaciation of the marine record, which is commonly correlated with the Sangamon Interglaciation. Our results suggest correlation of the Pinedale Glaciation near West Yellowstone with much or all of the Wisconsin Glaciation and of the Bull Lake with the late Illinoian. This differs with the commonly accepted correlation of the Pinedale with the late (“classical”) Wisconsin and of the Bull Lake with the early Wisconsin. The correlation of Bull Lake with late Illinoian appears equally or more compatible with traditional criteria for correlation, namely comparative soil development and degree of preservation of morainal morphology.
Interleukin-7: biology and potential clinical applications.

(1993). Interleukin-7: Biology and Potential Clinical Applications. Cancer Investigation: Vol. 11, No. 4, pp. 487-498.
HUMAN β-ENDORPHIN Immunoreactivity of Synthetic Analogs with Various Chain Lengths

Immunoreactivity of synthetic human beta-endorphin analogs with various chain lengths has been examined using a specific radioimmunoassay. It was found that beta-endorphin-(1--21) and analogs of shortened chain exhibit no immunoreactivity, whereas beta-endorphin-(1--15) possesses significant in vitro opiate activity. It appears that immunoreactivity of beta-endorphin resides in the COOH-terminal segment of residues (22--31). The data also show the lack of correlation between opiate and immunological activities of beta-endorphin.
Real-time PCR with molecular beacons provides a highly accurate assay for detection of Tay-Sachs alleles in single cells.

The results presented here provide the first single-cell genetic assay for Tay-Sachs disease based on real-time PCR. Individual lymphoblasts were lysed with an optimized lysis buffer and assayed using one pair of primers that amplifies both the wild type and 1278 + TATC Tay-Sachs alleles. The resulting amplicons were detected in real time with two molecular beacons each with a different colored fluorochrome. The kinetics of amplicon accumulation generate objective criteria by which to evaluate the validity of each reaction. The assay had an overall utility of 95%, based on the detection of at least one signal in 235 of the 248 attempted tests and an efficiency of 97%, as 7 of the 235 samples were excluded from further analysis for objective quantitative reasons. The accuracy of the assay was 99.1%, because 228 of 230 samples gave signals consistent with the genotype of the cells. Only two of the 135 heterozygous samples were allele drop-outs, a rate far lower than previously reported for single-cell Tay-Sachs assays using conventional methods of PCR.
Assessment of Primary Care Physicians' Use of a Pocket Ultrasound Device to Measure Left Ventricular Mass in Patients with Hypertension.

Purpose: Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is common in primary care and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Treatment of underlying hypertension can reverse LVH and eliminate the associated risks. Electrocardiography is widely available and commonly used to screen hypertensive patients for LVH, but it is limited by low sensitivity. Limited echocardiographic measurement of the left ventricle is a method for screening with improved sensitivity; however, it is not currently widely used in the primary care setting. This study attempts to test the accuracy of primary care physicians9 (PCPs) measurements of the left ventricle using a pocket-sized ultrasound (pUS) device after a brief training session. Methods: This study was performed in an outpatient cardiology clinic by 3 family medicine residents and 1 family medicine faculty member after a 4-hour training session. Measurements of the left ventricle were made by PCPs using a pUS device; these measurements were compared with cardiologists9 measurements from images obtained by echocardiography technicians. Left ventricular mass index (LVMI) was calculated based on these measurements and then compared between groups. Results: There was no statistically significant difference between the mean LVMI calculations in the 2 groups. The agreement in measurements between the groups, however, showed high variability. This was manifested by the low sensitivity (70%) and specificity (76%) of PCPs in the detection of LVH. Conclusions: This study showed that limited echocardiography for the detection of LVH performed by PCPs at the point of care was feasible. Future studies are needed to determine the ideal training and experience necessary to yield competency.
Electrically-Assisted Machining of Titanium Alloy Ti-6Al-4V and Nickel-Based Alloy IN-738: An Investigation

Despite their increasing use in leading industries, manufacture of alloys with superior mechanical properties have been a big challenge in the recent years. Researchers have been working on using assisted or augmented processes to overcome this challenge, with methods such as ultrasonically assisted, thermally assisted, vibration-assisted, magnetic field-assisted, and laser-assisted machining. Utilizing electrical assistance in manufacturing has not caught much attention due to its difficult-to-apply nature. However, it is possible to increase the ductility and machinability (through reduced flow stress) of certain metallic materials through the use of electricity. In this method, the electrical current resistively heats the material while aiding in deforming the material through the electroplastic effect.The limited amount of work in this topic is mainly focused on exploring the forming characteristics of relatively softer materials. Application of this augmentation to alloys with superior mechanical properties at elevated temperatures, on the other hand, has not been explored. This study aims to fill in that void through an investigation of applying different currents through the tool concentrated on the tool-workpiece contact zone. Both the titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V and the nickel-based superalloy IN-738 were investigated, and the results showed that for both materials, there are two separate thresholds that need to be considered in any analysis. The first threshold is where the material starts to get deformed, below which no significant divergence from the baseline (no current) tests was observed. After exceeding this value, machining forces start decreasing with increasing current up to a certain point (second threshold) where the effect of electric current is reversed. If the second threshold is surpassed, the machining forces increase rapidly. Findings of this study can be used in assisting the machining of such materials.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Unexplainable on Grounds of Race: Doubts about Yick Wo

Yick Wo v. Hopkins is simultaneously celebrated as a classic equal protection case, establishing the rule against discriminatory prosecution, and lamented as both the first and last case in which the Supreme Court invalidated a prosecution as racially motivated. This essay explores why Yick Wo proved to be a dead end. It proposes that the traditional view of Yick Wo is mistaken: Yick Wo was about neither race discrimination nor prosecution. Yick Wo turned on the Court's treatment of the conduct at issue, operating a laundry, as a constitutionally protected property right. Therefore, a forgotten but large body of cases from the Jim Crow-era holds Yick Wo categorically inapplicable to prosecutions for conduct the state has the power to criminalize. In addition, because the property interest at stake was constitutionally protected, Yick Wo's race was irrelevant to the decision; a white person or corporation deprived of property would have had precisely the same claim. In fact Yick Wo's race was a barrier to rather than a basis for relief: He could raise a property claim only because he had a treaty right to operate a laundry on the basis of equality with others. When the treaty was inapplicable, the Supreme Court upheld race-based economic discrimination against Chinese and other Asians. Yick Wo is famous because it apparently foreshadows the anti-racist jurisprudence of the post-Brown era. Read in the context of the jurisprudence of its own time, it is completely consistent with Plessy v. Ferguson, and stands for only the mundane point that a valid treaty trumps inconsistent state law.
Investor Recognition and Information-Signaling Effects of Cross-Border Stock Listings

We examine the effect of 269 cross-border listings on rivals in the listing and domestic markets and find that U.S. rivals experience significant gains whereas domestic rivals do not. Both competitive and information effects are important in explaining the reaction of U.S. rivals. Regarding the competitive effects, the reaction of rivals is less favorable when listings originate in developed countries and more favorable when listing firms do not have prior operating presence in the United States. Regarding the information effects, the reaction is less favorable when listings are combined with equity offerings and more favorable when the listing is the first to occur in a particular industry.