cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Bundling Hume with Kripkenstein

It is argued that the intuition driving Kripke’s famous version of Wittgenstein’s meaning skepticism is precisely the one that prompted Hume to despair of his bundle theory of the self: there are no necessary connections between distinct mental states. This interpretation is shown to throw light on Wittgenstein’s notorious idea that all proofs “create concepts.” Wittgenstein has invented a new form of skepticism. Personally I am inclined to regard it as the most radical and original skeptical problem that philosophy has seen to date[.] – Saul Kripke
An Aspect-Oriented Approach to Assessing Fault Tolerance

Fault tolerance and survivability are important aspects of many business-critical and mission-critical systems but it is still difficult to assess how well fault tolerance techniques work. Ensuring fault tolerance in military communication systems is particularly important due to the inevitability of hardware failure, data corruption, or service interruption and the risk that cascading failures could jeopardize critical military operations. In this paper, we present a fault tolerance assessment framework designed for distributed systems that provides automated injection of faults without changes to client or server code and automated assessment of whether the injected faults are tolerated. The framework applies aspect-oriented programming, specifically AspectJ, to inject faults and weave in assessment criteria. The framework supports both assessing the tolerance of direct faults, such as crashes and corruption, like traditional fault injectors, and conditional faults, which can be probabilistically, randomly, or periodically injected at runtime. This latter class of faults is not historically supported by fault injectors, but enables the assessment of tolerance to many important classes of faults threatening modern distributed military communication systems, including timing faults, resource exhaustion (e.g., Denial-of-service), and integrity faults that are traditionally difficult to tolerate and assess. Additionally, the framework provides a centralized view for users enabling them to monitor and script coordinated tests comprising performance metrics and injected faults spanning services, applications, and hosts.
Recovery and determination of crystallographic modifications of K3TaO4 and K3NbO4

Abstract Tantalum and niobium ternary oxides were recovered from a liquid potassium solution. The compositions of these ternary oxides were determined by chemical analyses. X-ray diffraction patterns for these oxides were completely indexed. On the basis of the data from chemical and X-ray diffraction analyses, it was concluded that the recovered compounds were K 3 TaO 4 and K 3 NbO 4 . Both of these ternary oxides belong to the orthorhombic system.
Modeling stochastic live load for long-span bridge based on microscopic traffic flow simulation

A general framework of modeling the stochastic live load from traffic for a long-span bridge is developed. The cellular automaton (CA) traffic flow simulation technique is adopted to develop the analytical basis of the framework. Based on the traffic flow simulation results, the live load on a long-span bridge from the stochastic traffic is studied with a focus on the static component. Parametric studies of major variables of the framework, such as the length of the connecting roadways, the speed limit, and the vehicle combination, are conducted.
Red cell aggregation by macromolecules: roles of surface adsorption and electrostatic repulsion.

Aggregation of normal and neuraminidase-treated human red blood cells (RBC) by dextrans of various molecular sizes and concentrations was quantified by microscopic counting and light reflectometry. The influences of variations in the ionic strength and the cationic valency of the dextran solution on RBC aggregation were also investigated. The data on RBC aggregation were correlated with measurements of the zeta potential by cell electrophoresis and the intercellular distance in the rouleaux by electron microscopy. With the use of the classical equations and newly developed knowledge in colloid chemistry, the electrostatic repulsive force between adjacent cell surfaces (Fe) was calculated from the experimental data. The macromolecular bridging force causing RBC aggregation (Fb) has also been derived as a function of dextran concentration. Other forces that cause RBC disaggregation are the mechanical shearing force (Fs) and the RBC membrane bending force (Fm). The net force for RBC aggregation is equal to Fb – Fe – Fm – Fs. This model of aggregation involving force balance at the surface can explain known experimental results on factors influencing cell aggregation. It is proposed that such force balance between cell surfaces may be applicable in other cell or particulate systems and that it may be of fundamental importance in many physiological functions.
A computational model for a robotic arm instructed by natural language

An effort to develop a robotic system that can be instructed by a nonexpert user in an office environment using natural language is described. The central problem is the transformation of ordinary English utterances into unambiguous task structures that can be performed by a robot. The research reveals that a robotic system using natural language must include robot-level programming strategies if it is to be efficient. Moreover, to facilitate and enhance communication between a user and a robot, the robot-level programming language needs to be designed to reflect the way humans refer to actions, and to reflect temporal and logical relationships expressed in natural language. In place of a traditional point-to-point robot control scheme, a concurrent, perception-feedback-driven control strategy has been developed. An initial book handling experiment has been conducted in an officelike environment. >
Water and nitrogen limitations in soybean grain production I. Model development

A simple, phenomenological model was developed to describe the carbon, nitrogen, and water budgets of a soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr) crop from emergence to maturity. Daily meteorological data input to the model were minimum temperature, maximum temperature, solar radiation, and precipitation. Leaves were grown to give a linear function of mean daily temperature. From the calculated leaf area index the daily intercepted solar radiation by the crop was determined. Daily carbon accumulation was calculated as a linear function of intercepted radiation. The daily nitrogen accumulation rate was calculated as a linear function of vegetative biomass. Leaf growth, carbon accumulation and symbiotic-nitrogen fixation rates were all made sensitive to the amount of soil water. Experimental data were collected to develop the empirical relationships between these three physiological processes and the amount of transpirable soil water. These data showed nitrogen fixation rates to be more sensitive to soil dehydration than either leaf growth or leaf gas exchange. Preliminary tests showed that model predictions compared favorably with field observations. An analysis of the model's behavior showed that crop yield was most sensitive to those variables influencing the interception of solar radiation and its conversion to biomass.
Incidental learning in preschool children as a function of level of cognitive analysis

Abstract Preschool children's recall and clustering of organized lists of pictures were examined under deliberate instructions to remember or in incidental learning situations. The incidental tasks either required comprehension (categorization, or a rating of pleasantness-unpleasantness) or were formal orienting tasks involving processing in terms of physical features. Explicit instruction to remember and formal incidental instructions did not differ, and both lead to poorer performance than the comprehension activities. Categorization, whether accompanied by explicit instructions to recall, or occurring in the context of a meaningful activity, was no more efficient than categorization in and for itself. With children as with adults, it is the activity of the children which determines depth of processing and subsequent retention, not the intent to remember per se.
A 155-MHz clock recovery delay- and phase-locked loop

The authors describe a completely monolithic delay-locked loop (DLL) which may be used either by itself as a deskewing element or in conjunction with an external voltage-controlled crystal oscillator (VCXO) for a delay- and phase-locked loop (D/PLL) that enables jitter-peaking-free clock recovery by removing the zero from the forward path. The voltage-controlled phase shifter (VCPS) shifts incoming data under loop control to align the data with the clock. The loop amplifier is an integrator so that the DLL is first order. The bandwidth of the loop determines the frequencies over which input jitter may be tracked out. The phase detector is a pattern-and duty-cycle insensitive implementation. The higher-order poles provide additional filtering of phase-detector output ripple to further improve jitter accommodation. >
Thermal Models for Determining Thermal Conductivity and Thermal Boundary Conductance Using Pump-Probe Thermoreflectance Techniques

Pump-probe transient thermoreflectance (TTR) techniques are powerful tools for measuring thermophysical properties of thin films, such as thermal conductivity, Λ, or thermal boundary conductance, G. TTR experimental setups rely on lock-in techniques to detect the response of the probe signal relative to the pump heating event. The temporal decays of the lock-in signal are then compared to thermal models to deduce the Λ and G in and across various materials. There are currently two thermal models that are used to relate the measured signals from the lock-in to the Λ and G in the sample of interest. In this work, the thermal models, their assumptions, and their ranges of applicability are compared. The advantages and disadvantages of each technique are elucidated from the results of the thermophysical property measurements.Copyright © 2009 by ASME
Exact convergence of a parallel textured algorithm for data network optimal routing problems

In our earlier paper (1991), a textured decomposition based algorithm is developed to solve the optimal routing problem in data networks; a few examples were used to illustrate the speedup advantage and the convergence conditions for the textured algorithm to converge to a global minimum. The speedup advantage is investigated in Huang et al. (1993). However, the theoretical foundation is not provided. In this paper, we provide the foundation. First, we show that for any textured decomposition, the algorithm always converges to a stationary point, which may not be a global minimum. And then, we prove that if the conditions of the exact convergence theorem are satisfied, the textured algorithm will converge to a global minimum.
Triamcinolone in the treatment of allergic conditions

HE purpose of this report is to relate our experience with the use of triamcinolone in the treatment of allergic diseases. An attempt will be made to emphasize methods of administration, clinical effectiveness, occurrence of side effects, balance studies, and any possible advantages over other steroids. CHEMISTRY Many synthetic steroids have recently been made available in the hope that greater glucocorticoid, mineral-corticoid, and anti-inflammatory potency may thus be obtained without the production of accompanying undesirable side effects. These side actions are modified by various changes in the chemical composition of cortisone and hydrocortisone. Thus, cortisone (Compound E) is characterized by the carbonyl oxygen at carbon 11 and the hydroxyl grouping at carbon 17. The numbers at each position indicate a carbon atom (Fig. 1). The introduction of a hydroxyl group at position 11 yields hydrocortisones or Compound F (Fig. 2). It is the principal natural glucocorticoid hormone, whereas aldosterone is the principal natural mineral-corticoid hormone. The glucocorticoid activity is an index of its anti-inflammatory property. Prednisone and prednisolone are obtained by the removal of hydrogen from positions 1 and 2, respectively (Figs. 3 and 4). This changes the properties of the product, making it much more potent. When a hydroxyl group is added at the 16 alpha position to desoxycorticosterone, the salt-retaining activity is reduced. When the 16 alpha-hydroxyl group is added to hydrocortisone or to A1 hydrocortisone (prednisolone), glucocorticoid activity is lowered, with no sodium retenti0n.l The substitution of a methyl group for the hydrogen atom in the sixth alpha position produces another analogue of hydrocortisone, namely, methylprednisolone (Fig. 5). Triamcinolone is obtained by the fluorination of the product (the addition of fluorine at position 9a) and the addition of a hydroxyl group at position 16a (Fig. 6). This change reduces the sodium--retention effect produced by fluorination. Fluorination is known to increase both the mineral-corticoid and the glucocorticoid activity of the drug. Triamcinolone (Aristocort), then, is the generic term for this new synthetic corticosteroid. It is the diacetate ester of 9cr Cl 19, 823.
The Roles of Competition and Disturbance in a Marine Invasion

Two hypotheses for the decline of native species are the superior exploitation of disturbance by exotic species and the competitive displacement of native species by their exotic counterparts. Theory predicts that functional similarity will increase the intensity of competition between native and invasive species. Ecologically important “foundation” species, Zostera marina and other seagrasses have globally declined during the past century. This study used transplant and vegetation removal experiments to test the hypotheses that disturbance and competitive interactions with an invasive congener (Z. japonica) are contributing to the decline of native Z. marina in the northeastern Pacific. Interspecific competition reduced Z. marina and Z. japonica above-ground biomass by 44 and 96%, respectively, relative to intraspecific competition. Disturbance substantially enhanced Z. japonica productivity and fitness, and concomitantly decreased Z. marina performance, effects that persisted two years following substratum disturbance. These results demonstrate that disturbance and competitive interactions with Z. japonica reduce Z. marina performance, and suggest that Z. japonica’s success as an invasive species stems dually from its ability to persist in competition with Z. marina and its positive response to disturbance. These results highlight the importance of understanding the interconnected roles of species interactions and disturbance in the decline of seagrass habitats, and provide a rationale for amending conservation policy in Washington State. In the interest of conserving native eelgrass populations, the current policy of protecting both native and invasive Zostera spp. should be refined to differentiate between native and invader, and to rescind the protection of invasive eelgrass.
Learning a Translation Lexicon from Monolingual Corpora

This paper presents work on the task of constructing a word-level translation lexicon purely from unrelated monolingual corpora. We combine various clues such as cognates, similar context, preservation of word similarity, and word frequency. Experimental results for the construction of a German-English noun lexicon are reported. Noun translation accuracy of 39% scored against a parallel test corpus could be achieved.
Trastuzumab for Small HER-2+ Breast Cancer: Small Tumor, Big Decision

A 53-year-old postmenopausal woman was found to have a new area of microcalcification at the 10 o'clock position of her right breast during a routine screening mammogram. Ultrasound-guided core biopsy revealed a grade 2 invasive ductal carcinoma, estrogen receptor (ER)+ (90%), progesterone receptor positive (20%), and human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER)-2+ (3+ by immunohistochemistry). A right breast lumpectomy and sentinel node biopsy were performed. The invasive tumor measured 0.7 cm, no lymphovascular space invasion was identified, surgical margins were uninvolved, and the sentinel lymph nodes were negative for tumor. She was evaluated postoperatively in the medical oncology clinic to discuss an adjuvant treatment strategy. The question for our colleagues is: should she be offered adjuvant chemotherapy and trastuzumab prior to adjuvant radiation and 5 years of hormonal therapy?
Influence of Helicobacter hepaticus infection on the chronic toxicity and carcinogenicity of triethanolamine in B6C3F1 mice.

Helicobacter hepaticus (H. hepaticus) infection causes hepatitis and increased hepatocellular neoplasms in male mice; although females are also infected, liver lesions are not typically expressed. In the 1990s, B6C3F1 mice from some chronic National Toxicology Program (NTP) studies were found to be infected with H. hepaticus. In these studies, there was hepatitis in many of the males, and there were more hepatocellular neoplasms in control males compared to studies with uninfected mice. In one of these studies, increased hepatocellular neoplasms at the high doses in male and female mice exposed topically to triethanolamine (TEA) provided the only evidence of carcinogenic activity. This study was repeated in mice free of H. hepaticus. However, the NTP mouse production colony and the diet differed between studies; these differences were the result of NTP programmatic decisions. In repeat study males, although control incidences were similar between studies, exposure did not result in increased hepatocellular neoplasms. In repeat study females, the control incidence of hepatocellular neoplasms was half that observed in the initial study, and these neoplasms were increased over controls at all doses. These data suggest that in the initial study, H. hepaticus influenced the induction of hepatocellular neoplasms in males, but not in females.
Diapause Response of Laboratory Reared and Native Lygus hesperus Knight (Hemiptera: Miridae)

Inconsistencies among results of previous studies on the induction of adult diapause in the western tarnished plant bug, Lygus hesperus Knight, could be either attributed to differences in the criteria being applied to assess diapause status or to differences in the sources of the bugs. To determine the cause of variation and to refine the criteria used to define diapause status, we obtained eggs from adults collected from the field and from long-term laboratory colonies. Concurrent experiments were conducted at two locations. L. hesperus were reared from egg to adulthood under photophases of either 10 or 14 h and at a constant temperature (26.6°C, Shafter, CA; 27.5°C, Maricopa, AZ). Adults were dissected at 10-d posteclosion to measure diapause status using both stringent and relaxed morphological criteria. Under both sets of criteria, offspring of field caught parents were more likely to enter diapause with short day exposure than those offspring from stock colonies. The relaxed criteria appeared appropriate for distinguishing diapause in males, whose reproductive organs can appear undeveloped after mating, although the stringent criteria appeared appropriate for females. Additional analyses were conducted to determine whether extended laboratory rearing influenced other behavioral or physiological traits. Bugs from stock colonies were more likely to mate, and to oviposit as virgins, than were bugs originating from the field. The results demonstrate a pronounced effect of colony rearing on L. hesperus physiology and behavior, and also have led to refinement of the criteria used to assess diapause status.
Unpleasant Consequences: First Sex in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Veronica Mars, and Gilmore Girls

While many contemporary television series offer young female protagonists agency in terms of physical, social, economic, and intellectual power, they often fail to pursue this progressive ideology in terms of these young women’s sexuality. This article explores a cultural fascination with teenage girls as sexual (or asexual) subjects, particularly with their virginity, and the negative effects of that fascination in the experiences of first sex of teen protagonists in the popular television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer , Veronica Mars , and Gilmore Girls .
Community-Based Pharmacists’ Needs for HIV-Related Training and Experience:

Objective:To examine pharmacists’ self-reported competence in providing care to persons living with HIV (PLWH) and their HIV-related training and experience needs.Methods:We interviewed 28 communit...
The Effects of Dilute Epinephrine Saline Irrigation on the Need for Tourniquet Use in Routine Arthroscopic Knee Surgery

A prospective, randomized, double-blinded study was performed to determine whether dilute epinephrine saline irrigation (1 mg/l) delivered by gravity flow would significantly reduce the need for tourniquet use during routine arthroscopic surgery. One hundred five patients requiring straightforward arthroscopic knee surgery were randomly assigned to either an epinephrine group that received dilute epinephrine irrigation by gravity flow or to a placebo group that received normal saline irrigation by gravity flow. The need for tourniquet use and the tourniquet time, total operative time, and volume of irrigation fluid used were documented and compared between the two groups. A tourniquet was required 50% less often in the epinephrine group than in the placebo group. This difference was found to be statistically significant using the Student's t-test (P< 0.008, α ≤ 0.05). If a tourniquet was required, the presence of dilute epinephrine in the irrigation fluid did not affect the overall tourniquet time or the ...
A Five-Factor Theory Perspective on the Rorschach

Many of the constructs the Rorschach is used to assess are related to personality traits included in the Five-Factor Model, but studies to date have not shown convergence between Rorschach and self-report measures of these traits. This poses a problem for the Rorschach, because recent research on the universality, stability, heritability, and consensual validity of traits demonstrate that self-report measures cannot be dismissed. In an effort to understand these issues, we examine the Rorschach from the perspective of Five-Factor Theory (FFT), a systems model of the person. FFT is compatible with the projective hypothesis, but would generally lead to the expectation that Rorschach signs and self-reports should be correlated. Where they are not, the validity of Rorschach measures of personality traits would need to be confirmed by demonstrations of their heritability, stability, and convergence with observer ratings. The Rorschach may be more useful when interpreted in the context of a global psychodynamic...
Theoretical evaluation of contributions of heat conduction and countercurrent heat exchange in selective brain cooling in humans.

The purpose of this work is to evaluate the capacity of the heat loss from the carotid artery in the human neck and thus, to provide indirect evidence of the existence of selective brain cooling in humans during hyperthermia. A theoretical model is developed to describe the effects of blood flow rate and vascular geometry on the thermal equilibration in the carotid artery based on the blood flow and the anatomical vascular geometry in the human neck. The potential for cooling of blood in the carotid artery on its way to the brain by heat exchange with the jugular vein and by radial heat conduction loss to the cool neck surface is evaluated. It is shown that the cooling of the arterial blood can be as much as 1.1°C lower than the body core temperature, which is in agreement with previous experimental measurements of the difference between the tympanic and body core temperatures. The model also evaluates the relative contributions of countercurrent heat exchange and radial heat conduction to selective brain cooling. It is found that these mechanisms are comparable with each other. Results of the present study will help provide a better understanding of the thermoregulation during hyperthermia. © 2000 Biomedical Engineering Society.
Delay diversity code for frequency selective channels

Code construction criteria for frequency selective multiple input multiple output (MIMO) channels with single carrier modulation are derived. It is shown that the standard delay diversity code fails to exploit full diversity order in presence of delay spread. A generalised delay-diversity code which exploits full diversity is proposed.
Bilateral masseteric contractile activity in unilateral gum chewing: differential calculus

Twelve healthy subjects performed 10 s, 15 s, 20 s, and 25 s of right-sided and, subsequently, left-sided gum chewing. The contractile activities of the ipsilateral (chewing side) and contralateral (non-chewing side) masseter muscles, mainly the concentric contractions of the phase of jaw closing and the isometric contractions of the phase of dental occlusion, were recorded through cumulative surface electromyography (EMG). A linear function (y = ax + b) described the association between an increase in the duration (x) of unilateral gum chewing and the cumulative EMG (y) of both the ipsilateral and the contralateral masseter muscle, and because of different slopes (a) of the two straight lines a geometric function (y = aqx) described the progressively larger differences between the paired and straight lines. When differential calculus was applied to the exponential functions, it became evident that the chewing forces generated by the ipsilateral masseter muscle continually exceeded those generated by the contralateral masseter muscle, and that the positive work (force x distance) produced by the concentric contractions of the ipsilateral masseter muscle continually exceeded that produced by the concentric contractions of the contralateral masseter muscle. It was inferred that mechano-physical work plays a major role if clinical muscle fatigue develops during prolonged unilateral gum chewing.
A Parallel Visualization Pipeline for Terascale Earthquake Simulations

This paper presents a parallel visualization pipeline implemented at the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center (PSC) for studying the largest earthquake simulation ever performed. The simulation employs 100 million hexahedral cells to model 3D seismic wave propagation of the 1994 Northridge earthquake. The time-varying dataset produced by the simulation requires terabytes of storage space. Our solution for visualizing such terascale simulations is based on a parallel adaptive rendering algorithm coupled with a new parallel I/O strategy which effectively reduces interframe delay by dedicating some processors to I/O and preprocessing tasks. In addition, a 2D vector field visualization method and a 3D enhancement technique are incorporated into the parallel visualization framework to help scientists better understand the wave propagation both on and under the ground surface. Our test results on the HP/Compaq AlphaServer operated at the PSC show that we can completely remove the I/O bottlenecks commonly present in time-varying data visualization. The high-performance visualization solution we provide to the scientists allows them to explore their data in the temporal, spatial, and variable domains at high resolution. The new high-resolution explorability, likely not available to most computational science groups, will help lead to many new insights.
Second-order correlation method for bilinear system identification

An algorithm is developed to estimate parameters of a class of discrete-time bilinear systems using second-order correlations. It is shown that for pseudorandom binary and ternary input signals the computations in the estimation algorithm can be simplified. The method is compared with least-squares algorithm for a model of nuclear fission. The proposed algorithm gives a computationally simple and effective way of parameter estimation.
Fixed Asset Accounting Software Evaluation: A Structured Methodology For The Mid-Market Firm

Packaged software evaluation represents a major decision for business. It involves a number of quantitative as well as qualitative attributes in choosing among system alternatives. This paper illustrates an evaluation methodology for accounting software selection, specifically a fixed asset system. The methodology incorporates three stages: 1) software screening; 2) detail package evaluation; and, 3) confirmation and design (also known as a test drive). Initially, developing a short list through screening of accounting software determines whether an appropriate package exists and narrows the field of available fixed asset products for detailed consideration. The second stage determines which of the remaining fixed asset systems (the finalists) best meets the needs of the organization, from both functional and technical perspectives. The final stage, or phase, compares user requirements with the features of the selected fixed asset software by determining how these requirements will be satisfied by specific applications built using the fixed asset software. The methodology also controls for the possibility that no fixed asset software product is suitable and that such a system must be constructed on a custom basis. No other reported evaluation and selection approach offers this device. A case example demonstrating the applicability of the suggested methodology is given for a mid-sized hospital organization representing the largest market segment for accounting software.
Flat-panel digital mammography system: contrast-detail comparison between screen-film radiographs and hard-copy images.

PURPOSE: To compare the contrast-detail (CD) characteristics of screen-film (SF) and postprocessed digital images by using a phantom-based method. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Images of a CD phantom with polymerized methyl methacrylate were acquired with SF and full-field digital mammography systems at matched exposure conditions. A four-alternative forced-choice experiment was conducted with seven observers participating in the study. Each observer was required to identify randomly located disks in phantom images from which detection curves were computed. The CD diagrams for the SF and digital systems were estimated from the detection curves and compared at 50% and 62.5% threshold levels. Furthermore, a theoretic model was used to estimate the CD performance of the SF and digital systems. RESULTS: Analysis of covariance for mixed models was used with the natural logarithm of disk thickness as the dependent variable, the natural logarithm of disk diameter as the covariate, and the observer as a random factor. T...
Re-visioning Drug Use: A Shift Away From Criminal Justice and Abstinence-based Approaches

This paper outlines the need for a radical re-visioning of drug use in the United States, with a particular focus on New York. It begins by describing the current landscape of both national and state drug policy and showing how these current policies inform failing practices. It demonstrates how these practices, namely incarceration and abstinence-only treatment, are exacerbating the harms of substance use for individuals, families and communities, and society and public safety, as well as how they are contributing to racism. The author then suggests harm reduction as an alternative approach, describing the ways harm reduction can improve drug treatment and outcomes. The final section offers implications for social work, specifically examining the compatibility between harm reduction and social work, as well as the opportunities for integration. The author additionally proposes recommendations at the levels of perspective, policy, and practice, citing examples in which these recommendations have demonstrated success.
Detection of extremely rare alleles by bidirectional pyrophosphorolysis-activated polymerization allele-specific amplification (Bi-PAP-A): measurement of mutation load in mammalian tissues

Pyrophosphorolysis-activated polymerization (PAP) was developed to detect extremely rare mutations in complex genomes. In theory, PAP can detect a copy of a single base mutation present in 3 x 10(11) copies of the wild-type allele. In practice, the selectivity of detection is limited by a bypass reaction involving a polymerase extension error from the unblocked oligonucleotide annealed to the opposing strand. Bidirectional PAP allele-specific amplification (Bi-PAP-A) is a novel method that uses two opposing 3'-terminal blocked pyrophosphorolysis-activatable oligonucleotides (P*s) with one nucleotide overlap at their 3' termini. This eliminates the problematic bypass reaction. The selectivity of Bi-PAP-A was examined using lambda phage DNA as a model system. Bi-PAP-A selectively detected two copies of a rare mutated allele in the presence of at least 2 x 10(9) copies of the wild-type lambda phage DNA. Bi-PAP-A was then applied to direct detection of spontaneous somatic mutations in the mouse genome at a frequency as low as 3 x 10(-9). A 370-fold variation in the frequency of a specific somatic mutation among different mouse samples was found, suggesting clonal expansion of mutation occurring during early development and a hyper-Poisson variance. Bi-PAP-A is a rapid, general, and automatable method for the detection of rare mutations.
Linguistic typology and reconstruction: The animacy hierarchy and its implications for the Indo-European inflectional number category

AbstractTypological considerations have recently come to play an important role in the reconstruction of Proto-Indo-European. This paper explores the use of the so-called animacy hierarchy as a means of illuminating the status of the grammatical category of number in both verbal and nominal paradigms just prior to the dissolution of the Indo-European speech community. Specifically, on the basis of extant data, the animacy hierarchy implies that the late Indo-European conjugational system included a general (first/second/third person) plural marker and that animate nouns, though not inanimate nouns, were regularly inflected for number.
Lebesgue orbit equivalence of multidimensional Borel flows: A picturebook of tilings

The main result of the paper is classification of free multidimensional Borel flows up to Lebesgue orbit equivalence, by which we mean an orbit equivalence that preserves the Lebesgue measure on each orbit. Two non-smooth -flows are shown to be Lebesgue orbit equivalent if and only if they admit the same number of invariant ergodic probability measures.
Evolving Methods in Genetic Epidemiology. IV. Approaches to Non-Mendelian Inheritance

From this overview it can be concluded that the understanding of the biologic properties and the development of analytic tools to identify repeat sequence mutations, genomic imprinting effects, and mitochondrial mutations are only beginning. Development of approaches to identify such phenomena as modifying effects or genetic components of complex traits is a new area of research. Not mentioned here are the ways in which locating a gene with such properties (i.e., linkage analysis) would be affected if such properties were not accounted for, or how to alter such analyses to obtain full information. Again, this is an exciting new area of research that will continue to motivate epidemiologists and geneticists. Hopefully, we have learned a lesson from the earlier conclusions of the studies on myotonic dystrophy: keep an open mind and never assume that the "geneticist should know best about behavior of genes".
Ground design for crosstalk mitigation in a WL-CSP transceiver for mobile communications

This paper presents the methodology for redistribution layer (RDL) design of a communication Coherent Receiver block. The analysis focuses on the dual-input traces of the receiver for crosstalk mitigation between this block and a local aggressor. Interaction between Die/Package/Test-board is also discussed. Full-wave simulations show excellent correlation in electrical performance up to 6GHz. The measured trace-to-trace isolation for the integrated solution is reported to be close to −40dB at 2.7 GHz.
IMA Readiness for Autonomous Robotic Systems in Extraterrestrial Surface Exploration Missions

Recent developments in hardware readiness are closing the technological gaps which limited the implementation of robotic autonomy in extraterrestrial surface exploration missions. Innovative applications of wireless technology and avionics architectural principles drawn from the Orion crew module, to name one example, provide solutions for several of these gaps. If future space exploration missions are to grow significantly more complex, greater levels of autonomy must be afforded to robotic systems. This paper describes how Orion’s avionics architecture attributes can be leveraged to implement an independent, deterministic “Safety” partition” that prevents non-deterministic autonomous applications from issuing unsafe commands. The certification issues endemic to having autonomous applications operating alongside humans is also addressed. Robust avionic architectures by themselves are not sufficient, requiring aggressive innovations in size, weight and power, to allow the avionics hardware infrastructure to meet stringent robotic mission requirements. The emerging next generation of integrated modular avionics addresses this challenge with smaller, but very capable platforms. Another technology gap being addressed through the use of avionics architectural principles and deterministic wireless technology is the coordination of multiple autonomous systems. As a proof-ofconcept, Honeywell has developed various algorithms and wireless hardware that lead to a deterministic, fault tolerant, reliable wireless backplane. Honeywell has developed a laboratory facility based upon the Simulation & Modeling for Acquisition, Requirements and Training (SMART) concepts. Through this SMARTlabTM facility multi-robot collaboration can be achieved via interaction of real and simulated robots, rather than requiring the presence of several costly, physical robots. By filling technology gaps associated with space based autonomous systems, recent advances in wireless and simulation technology, along with Orion architectural principles, provide the means for decreasing operational costs and simplifying problems associated with autonomous systems, including those requiring the collaborative work of multiple robotic assets.
Applying Ecological Positive Youth Development Theory to Address Co-Occurring Health Disparities Among Immigrant Latino Youth

This article outlines the theory and resulting approach employed in a multilevel, integrated, collaborative community intervention called Adelante, implemented by a university-community partnership in a Latino immigrant community to address co-occurring health disparities of substance abuse, sex risk, and interpersonal violence among youth. The basis for the intervention is a social-ecological interpretation of positive youth development theory, which focuses on changes in the person environment context and community assets as a preventive mechanism. This approach is viewed as appropriate for a community facing multiple barriers to health equity. The article describes the translation of this positive youth development model to practice, including the design of the intervention, intervention components, and the protocol for evaluation. The Adelante intervention is intended to reduce health disparities and, in addition, to add a broader community model to the evidence base.
Isolation and Identification of protease producing Aeromonas hydrophila

A total of 89 samples were collected from pools of fish farms and gills pieces of fresh fishes from different locations in Baghdad governorate. From these samples, a total of 91 bacterial isolates were obtained and identified as suspected Aeromonas spp. according to the cultural and microscopical characteristics. After subjection to the biochemical tests, seven isolates were identified as Aeromonas hydrophila. Results of identification were confirmed by using Api 20E system. Ability of these isolates for protease production was screened. Results showed that all the seven isolates were protease producers; among them the A. hydrophila A4 obtained from gills pieces of fresh fishes was the most efficient in protease production. Enzyme specific activity of protease of the crude filtrate of this isolate was 31.01U/mg protein.
Music Information Seeking via Social Q&A: An Analysis of Questions in Music StackExchange Community

In this paper we report preliminary findings based on a quantitative analysis of data from a music social Q&A site, Music StackExchange, focusing on real-life music information needs, uses, and seeking. Eight major topic categories and a two-level taxonomy for question type/intent and the characteristics of questions in each category are presented. Our findings suggest that Q&A sites are a fruitful resource for identifying users' music information needs, how these needs are expressed, and intended uses for the information. On Music StackExchange, users' questioning behaviors were motivated by the recognition of knowledge gaps, lack of resources, need for others' opinions, or interest in research issues, spanning different topics. This study is explorative in nature and the results could improve the understanding of everyday life music information seeking. The findings can inform music librarians and general-purpose music information systems designers of the needs, requirements, and approaches to enhance music related controlled vocabularies, and improve search engines and online knowledge sharing communities to categorize and provide users with more relevant music information.
Factors predicting double embryo implantation following double embryo transfer in assisted reproductive technology: implications for elective single embryo transfer

The aim of this study was to identify factors associated with double embryo implantation following double embryo transfer (DET) during assisted reproductive technology (ART) procedures and to evaluate the implications of findings in selecting candidates for elective single embryo transfer (eSET). Factors predicting double embryo implantation, defined as embryo transfers with two or more heartbeats on 6-week ultrasound following DET, were assessed using the US National ART Surveillance System data from 2000 to 2012 (n = 1,793,067 fresh, autologous transfers). Adjusted risk ratios (aRRs) were estimated after stratifying by prognosis. Favorable prognosis was defined as first-time ART with supernumerary embryo(s) cryopreserved. Average prognosis was defined as first-time ART without supernumerary embryo(s) cryopreserved, prior unsuccessful ART with supernumerary embryo(s) cryopreserved, or prior ART with previous birth(s) conceived with ART or naturally. Rates and factors associated with double embryo implantation were compared with single embryo implantation following DET among both prognosis groups. Double embryo implantation was positively associated with blastocyst (versus cleavage) transfer in favorable (aRR = 1.58 (1.51–1.65)) and average (aRR = 1.67 (1.60–1.75)) prognosis groups and negatively associated with age >35 years in both prognosis groups. For average prognosis patients, double embryo implantation was associated with retrieving >10 oocytes (aRR = 1.22 (1.18–1.24)). Regardless of prognosis, patients aged 10 oocytes were retrieved may be good candidates for eSET. Physicians may consider using these data to counsel patients on eSET, which would reduce multiple gestations and associated complications.
Generalized adsorption isotherms for molecular and dissociative adsorption of a polar molecular species on two polar surface geometries: Perovskite (100) (Pm-3m) and fluorite (111) (Fm-3m)

Lattice based kinetic Monte Carlo simulations have been used to determine a functional form for the second order adsorption isotherms on two commonly investigated crystal surfaces: the (111) fluorite surface and the (100) perovskite surface which has the same geometric symmetry as the NaCl (100) surface. The functional form is generalized to be applicable to all values of the equilibrium constant by a shift along the pressure axis. Functions have been determined for estimating the pressure at which a desired coverage would be achieved and, conversely, for estimating the coverage at a certain pressure. The generalized form has been calculated by investigating the surface adsorbate coverage across a range of thermodynamic equilibrium constants that span the range 10−26 to 1013. The equations have been shown to be general for any value of the adsorption equilibrium constant.
Transcription of the rat alpha 1B adrenergic receptor gene in liver is controlled by three promoters.

The proximal 5‘-flanking region of the rat alpha 1B adrenergic receptor (alpha 1BAR) gene contains discrete transcription start points (tsp) utilized in liver, located at -54, -57 (tsp1), and -443 base pairs (tsp2) upstream from the translation start codon (Gao, B., and Kunos, G. (1993) Gene (Amst.) 131, 243-247). Primer extension analyses using 5‘ upstream primers now identify an additional cluster of tsp between -1035 and -1340 base pairs (tsp3). Northern blots of rat liver mRNA reveal three alpha 1BAR mRNAs of 2.3, 2.7, and 3.3 kilobases in length. Transient transfections of putative promoter/pCAT constructs document the existence of three promoters, P1 (-127, -49), P2- (-813, -432), and P3 (-1363, -1107), which direct transcription from tsp1, tsp2, and tsp3, respectively. P1 contains no recognition sequences for known transcription factors. P2 is (G + C)-rich, lacks a TATA box, and contains a cAMP response element, GC, CACC, and GCAAT boxes, and binding sites for nuclear factor I. P3 contains a putative TATATA and CCAAT box and is flanked by recognition sites for the liver-specific CCAAT/enhancer binding protein and hepatocyte nuclear factor 5. These findings indicate that heterogeneity of alpha 1BAR mRNA in liver is related to transcription of the gene by three distinct promoters. Differential control of these promoters may underlie the well documented developmental and tissue-specific regulation of the alpha 1BAR.