cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effects of some volatile sedative-hypnotics on punished behavior.

Lever-press responses of rats were established under a schedule in which punished and unpunished responding alternated. Every 30th response produced food (unpunished responding) during one schedule component, while every tenth response produced both food and shock (punished responding) during an alternate schedule component. Each schedule component was correlated with a different visual stimulus. Unpunished behavior was characterized by high sustained rates which followed brief pauses after food delivery. Punished behavior occurred at less than 10% the rate of unpunished behavior. Oral administration of diazepam, ethchlorvynol, chloral hydrate, tertiary-butanol, and ethanol all produced marked dose-related increases in punished behavior at doses that decreased or had little effect on unpunished responding. Potency estimates for increasing punished responding varied over a 400-fold range. The potency ranking was diazepam > ethchlorvynol > chloral hydrate > tertiary-butanol > ethanol. Higher doses of all drugs decreased unpunished responding with relative potencies comparable to those found for doses producing maximal increases in punished responding. increases in punished behavior appear to be a characteristic feature of drugs with sedative-hypnotic properties.
Dynamic Response to Normal Stresses in a Transversely Isotropic Material Containing an External Circular Crack

The dynamic response of an external circular crack to a harmonic longitudinal wave in a transversely isotropic material is investigated using the techniques of Hankel transform. The wave impinges normally onto the crack surfaces. The inversion integral is evaluated and simplified through a complete contour integration. An exact expression for the dynamic stress intensity factor is obtained in terms of the wave frequency and the anisotropic material constants. The maximum value of the normalized dynamic stress-intensity factor is shown to occur at different wave frequencies for different sample composite and metallic materials. The dynamic effect on the crack surface displacement is also shown to be a function of the wave frequency and the material anisotropy.
Implicit collaboration of sensor systems

The concept of goal lattices for the evaluation of potential sensor actions can be used to cause a multiplicity of heterogeneous sensor systems to collaborate. Previously goal lattices have been used to compute the value to a sensor system of taking a particular action in terms of how well that action contributes to the accomplishment of the topmost goals. This assumes that each sensor system is autonomous and only responsible to itself. If the topmost goals of each sensor system's goal lattice has adjoined to it two additional goals, namely "collaboration" and "altruism", then the value system is extended to include servicing requests from other systems. Two aircraft on a common mission can each benefit from measurements taken by the other aircraft either to confirm their own measurements, to create a pseudo-sensor, or to extend the area of coverage. The altruism goal indicates how much weight a sensor management system (SMS) will give in responding to a measurement request from any other system. The collaboration goal indicates how much weight will be given to responding to a measurement request from specific systems which are defined as being part of a collaborating group. By varying the values of the altruism and collaboration goals of each system, either locally or globally, various levels of implicit cooperation among sensor systems can be caused to emerge.© (2004) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Investigating the microstructure-reliability relationship in Cu damascene lines

Abstract The present work focuses upon characterizing the effects of differing bath chemistries on microstructures of Cu damascene lines and the reliability of the test structures as determined from accelerated electromigration tests. Both, microstructure and electromigration lifetimes of Cu damascene lines can be altered substantially.
Effect Of Various Parameters On Field Uniformity Corrections In Scintillation Cameras

Many Anger scintillation cameras are equipped with microprocessors for live correction of field nonuniformities. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the corrected flood field uniformity after varying count rate, analyzer window size, analyzer window position, and scatter. A 2.54 cm thick Tc-99m disk source was used with large and small field Anger cameras under conditions simulating clinical usage. Uniformity was evaluated quantitatively by computing the location and percentage of cells in a 64X64 matrix that were within ±5% of the mean cell count; it was judged qualitatively by examination of the computer thresholded image. The corrected 2.54 cm thick Tc-99m disk flood image showed virtually no change in uniformity as scatter medium was increased from 0 cm to 8.9 cm. When count rate was varied from 5K to 44K cps as much as a 13% decrease in field uniformity was observed. Changing the analyzer window size produced a 5-21% decrease in uniformity while changing the window position resulted in even more significant image degradation. Knowledge of these camera characteristics is important in improving clinical images.
Dynamic equilibrium in self-preserving aerosols.

Abstract It has been shown that a self-preserving aerosol in a state of dynamic equilibrium has a distribution of the form n(r) = C φ r−4, where r is the particle radius, n(r) is the size distribution function in terms of particle radius, φ is the particle volume fraction, and C is a dimensionless constant. The excellent agreement of the theoretically predicted size distribution with the available experimental data on the size distribution of atmospheric aerosols strongly suggests that the atmospheric aerosol may be regarded as having developed a self-preserving form of distribution and as being in a state of dynamic equilibrium over a substantial portion of its size spectrum.
Steering left-invariant control systems on matrix Lie groups

Generalizes a technique for eliminating the drift from the description of a control system on a matrix Lie group with left-invariant vector fields. A diffeomorphism of the state space together with an affine input transformation are used in order to put the system into an equivalent left-invariant drift-free form. Techniques developed for steering drift-free control systems may then be applied. The authors apply this method to the Lie group of the rigid rotations SO(3) as in the authors' previous work (Walsh, Sarti,and Sastry, 1993), and to a new example, the rigid motions SE(3). >
Growth and Survival of Larval Bluegills in the Laboratory under Different Feeding Regimes

Abstract The objective of this study was to develop a procedure for rearing larval bluegills Lepomis macrochirus in tanks. In preliminary experiments, seven commercial diets were fed to larval bluegills from the onset of exogenous feeding to 28 d posthatch. Although all diets were eaten by the larvae, none were observed to pass through the fish's digestive tract, and survival was essentially zero. In the next set of experiments, bluegill larvae survived on commercial diets when they were fed nauplii of brine shrimp Artemia franciscana for an initial 7-d period before being switched to commercial feed. Using this protocol, we compared three feeds (BioKyowa Fry Feed Kyowa B-250, Argent Hatchery Encapsulon Grade II, and Zeigler Larval AP-100) over a 28-d period. There were no significant (α = 0.05) differences in growth (length and weight) among fish fed the three diets at the end of 28 d, but survival was significantly higher for fish fed BioKyowa. In another experiment, we fed BioKyowa to larval bluegills ...
From Objects to Events: GEM, the Geospatial Event Model

This paper discusses the construction of a modeling approach for dynamic geospatial domains based on the concepts of object and event. The paper shows how such a model extends traditional object-based geospatial models. The focus of the research is the introduction of events into the object-based paradigm, and consequent work on the classification of object-event and event-event relationships. The specific geospatial nature of this model is captured in the concept of a geosetting. The paper also introduces an extension of UML diagrams to incorporate events and their relationship to each other, and to objects. The paper briefly considers an example to show the working of some of the modeling constructs, and concludes with a discussion of further research needed on event aggregation and event-based query languages.
Minimal and Null Predictive Effects for the Most Popular Blood Biomarkers of Cardiovascular Disease

At least 10 cardiovascular biomarkers that can be measured in blood have accrued more than 6000 published related papers each. A systematic evaluation of the evidence suggests that they have limited or no predictive ability for cardiovascular disease and suggests the need for a paradigm shift in testing and qualifying biomarkers and in the expectations surrounding them . Hundreds of thousands of papers have addressed cardiovascular biomarkers in the last few decades. Blood biomarkers in particular have been a very attractive topic of research efforts for myriads of investigators, given that they require only a blood draw. Emerging biomarkers hold diverse promises.1,2 In theory, they may inform about cardiovascular risk; reclassify patients into more appropriate risk categories versus what can be achieved on the basis of traditional risk factors; improve outcomes when used as appropriate guidance for treatment initiation, management, and monitoring; or point to other modifiable factors on which one can act. In this Perspective , we have reassessed the evidence on the performance of the most popular emerging blood biomarkers for cardiovascular disease. Popularity was defined on the basis of the number of PubMed articles retrieved on each of these biomarkers with a cardiovascular focus using the search string \[cardiovascular OR heart OR cardiac OR myocardial OR coronary OR angina OR hypertension OR “blood pressure”\] (search performed on January 14, 2012). We screened 36 emerging cardiovascular biomarkers measured in blood, serum, or plasma that are listed in 2 relevant reviews.2,3 This does not include traditional risk factors for cardiovascular disease that are already included in the Framingham Risk Score.4 Of those 36 candidates, we focus here on the 10 biomarkers that had at least 6000 articles each identified with the cardiovascular search string (Table 1). Search terms appear in the Appendix …
Response properties of cells in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus of the albino rat.

The response patterns of cells in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus of the albino rat were studied in order to examine the functional organization of the lateral geniculate nucleus. Both photic stimulation and electrical stimulation of the optic tract were used to activate single units in the lateral genicualte nuclei. Three different types of response patterns were fond for principal cells, while interneurons all had similar response patterns. The first class of principal cells, E-S cells, responded to stimulation with a period of excitation, followed by a period when activity was suppressed. A second class of cells, S cells, responded to photic stimulation with an initial period when activity was suppressed. The final class of cells, E cells, responded with a period of excitation followed by a return to spontaneous rates of firing. The response patterns of E cells suggest that this type of principal neuron does not receive feedback inhibition of the type proposed in previous models of the lateral geniculate nuclei. Based on these and other and other observations, a new model of the functional organization of the lateral geniculate nuclei is proposed.
Deer Herbivory as an Ecological Constraint to Restoration of Degraded Riparian Corridors

Ungulate herbivory can impact riparian vegetation in several ways, such as by reducing vigor or reproductive output of mature plants, and through increased mortality of seedlings and saplings. Much work has focused on the effects of livestock grazing within riparian corridors, while few studies have addressed the influence of native ungulate herbivory on riparian vegetation. This study investigated the effect of deer herbivory on riparian regeneration along three streams with degraded riparian corridors in Mendocino County, California. We utilized existing stream restoration efforts by private landowners and natural resource agencies to compare six deer exclosures with six upstream control plots. Livestock were excluded from both exclosure and control plots. Three of the deer exclosures had been in place for 15 years, one for 6 years, and two for 4 years. The abundance and size distribution of woody riparian plant species such as Salix exigua , S. laevigata , S. lasiolepis , Alnus rhombifolia , and Fraxinus latifolia were quantified for each exclosure and control plot. The mean density of saplings in deer exclosures was 0.49 6 0.15/m 2 , while the mean density of saplings in control plots was 0.05 6 0.02/m 2 . Within exclosures, 35% of saplings were less than 1 m and 65% were greater than 1 m; within control plots, 97% of saplings were less than 1 m in height. The fact that little regeneration had occurred in control plots suggests that deer herbivory can substantially reduce the rate of recovery of woody riparian species within degraded riparian corridors. Exclusionary fencing has demonstrated promising results for riparian restoration in a region with intense deer herbivory.
Achievement test performance in children conceived by IVF

ticipate (59.4% of parents), with ITBS/ITED scores available on 423 children (91.4% of participants). IVF children scored higher than the national mean (P , 0.0001) across all grades and subtests and higher than their matched peers for grades 3–11. A trend toward lower test scores in multiple gestations was present (but not significant). Factors found to affect test scores included parental level of education, maternal age, divorce and child’s BMI. Cryopreservation, length of embryo culture and method of insemination did not affect scores. conclusions: IVF children scored higher on standardized tests than their matched peers, suggesting that IVF does not have a negative effect on cognitive development. However, long-term follow-up of IVF children is still limited. Further research should be performed on the effect of multiple gestation on academic performance.
Scalable geometric hashing on MasPar machines

Scalable data parallel algorithms for geometric hashing are presented. Implementations of the proposed algorithms are performed on MasPar MP-1/MP-2. New parallel algorithms are designed and mapped onto MP-1/MP-2. These techniques significantly improve upon the number of processors employed while achieving superior time performance. The authors' implementations run on a P processor machine, such that 1/spl les/P/spl les/S, where S is the number of feature points in the scene. The results show that a probe of the recognition phase for a scene consisting of 1024 feature points takes less than 50 ms on a 1-K processor MP-1/MP-2. >
Iterative techniques in optimization: II. The linearity difficulty in dynamic programming and quasilinearization

The quasilinearization technique is used to overcome the dimensionality difficulty in dynamic programming. The advantage of this approach is that not only the dimensionality or the fast memory requirement can be reduced, but the computation time required can also be reduced considerably. A technique is also devised to overcome the linearity difficulty encountered in this reduction in dimensionality. To illustrate the approach, the three dimensional crosscurrent extraction problem is solved as a one- and a two-dimensional problem in the dynamic programming algorithm. Only approximately 1 min. is required to solve this one-dimensional problem. However, if this problem were solved as a three-dimensional problem, computation time of the order of hours would be required.
Fixed format liquid crystal display readability in bright ambient environments

The readability of fixed-format, liquid crystal displays in flight deck installations has recently become a subject of industry wide comment and discussion. Pilots have stated that LCDs mounted in flight deck instruments and control panels present inadequate readability levels when viewed in bright ambient environments. To better understand the relationships between display character legibility and key display parameters, a human subject evaluation was performed simulating daylight cockpit environments. The study varied character luminance and display contrast in several ambient environments, including very bright forward fields, to determine their effect on display recognition response speed and error rates. The results showed monotonically decreasing response time with increasing character luminance. The data also show that for the numeric displays used, a response time of around one second could be achieved with a total character luminance of 50 to 55 foot lamberts. >
Differential expression of neural-cadherin in pulmonary epithelial tumours

Aims: Neural (N)-cadherin belongs to a group of transmembrane molecules with a crucial role in tissue morphogenesis and maintenance of an epithelioid phenotype and increased N-cadherin expression is implicated in tumour progression and dedifferentiation. The aim was to determine whether evaluation of N-cadherin in pulmonary tumours might assist in identifying lesions with more aggressive potential. Methods and results: One hundred and fifty-five pulmonary lesions were analysed for N-cadherin expression using immunohistochemistry, including neuroendocrine hyperplasia (n = 3), typical carcinoid (n = 59), atypical carcinoid (n = 12), small cell lung carcinoma (n = 11), large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (n = 12), adenocarcinoma (n = 35) and squamous cell carcinoma (n = 23). Lymph node status was correlated with immunohistochemical expression. N-cadherin expression was demonstrated in all cases of neuroendocrine hyperplasia, 96% of typical carcinoids, 83% of atypical carcinoids, 63% of the small cell lung carcinomas and 32% of large cell neuroendocrine carcinomas. Over 90% of the adenocarcinomas and 100% of the squamous cell carcinomas were negative. Increased N-cadherin expression in typical carcinoids was associated with negative lymph node status (P < 0.001). Discussion: N-cadherin is differentially expressed in pulmonary tumours and is predominantly observed in neuroendocrine lung lesions with high expression in typical and atypical pulmonary carcinoids. The level of expression of N-cadherin between types of lung tumours does not appear to indicate malignant potential or aggressive behaviour.
Outpatient Antipsychotic Treatment and Inpatient Costs of Schizophrenia

Objective: To estimate the proportions of acute care inpatient admissions and hospital days for schizophrenia patients in the Medicaid program that are attributable to gaps in outpatient antipsychotic treatment and to calculate the corresponding total health care costs of this care. Methods: A series of multivariate regressions were performed with statewide 2001-2003 California Medicaid data to estimate the fraction of acute care hospital admissions and hospital days for schizophrenia attributable to gaps in antipsychotic medication treatment. This fraction was then applied to national estimates of the number and costs of inpatient treatment episodes for patients with schizophrenia in the national Medicaid program. Results: In the United States, there are roughly 87 000 annual acute care inpatient admissions of Medicaid patients for the treatment of schizophrenia. These admissions include a total of approximately 930 000 hospital days at a total cost of $806 million. Improving adherence to eliminate gaps in antipsychotic medication treatment could lower the number of acute care admissions by approximately 12.3% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 11.7%-12.6%) and reduce the number of inpatient treatment days by approximately 13.1% (CI: 9.8%-16.5%) resulting in a savings of approximately $106 million (95% CI: $79.0 million-$133.0 million) in inpatient care costs for the national Medicaid system. Conclusions: Nonadherence to antipsychotic medication treatment accounts for a considerable proportion of inpatient treatment costs of Medicaid patients with schizophrenia. Improving continuity of antipsychotic medications could lead to savings by reducing the frequency and duration of inpatient treatment.
Adaptive entitlement control of resource containers on shared servers

In this paper, we describe the design of online feedback control algorithms to dynamically adjust entitlement values for a resource container on a server shared by multiple applications. The goal is to determine the minimum level of entitlement for the container such that its hosted application achieves desired performance levels. Classic control theory is used for both model identification and controller design. Specific implementation issues that affect the closed-loop system performance are discussed. A self-tuning adaptive controller is also presented to handle limited variations in the workload. The controllers were implemented and evaluated on a testbed using the HP-UX PRM as the resource container and the Apache Web server as the hosted application in the container. In all experiments, our controller was able to quickly converge to the proper level of CPU entitlement for the Web server to track its performance target. By using our entitlement control system, shared servers can potentially reach much higher resource utilization while meeting service level objectives for the hosted applications under changing operating conditions.
Mismatch Aware Analog Performance Macromodeling Using Spline Center and Range Regression on Adaptive Samples

Analog design traditionally relies on designer's knowldge and expertise. Numerous automated synthesis methods have been proposed over the years; they reduce time complexity and explore wider design space. Manufacturing induced defects in the process parameters, render device characteristics inconsistent with their prediced behavior. Device mismatch causes significant variation in analog circuit performance. Monte Carlo simulation is known to be the most accurate method of measuring performance under random variation. But monte-carlo simulation is prohivitively expensive during synthesis process. In this work we present a novel Spline Center and Range Regression (SCRR) technique on adaptive samples to model performance in the presence of process variation. Mismatch aware macromodels can provide considerable speedup during synthesis with minimal loss in accuracy. Experimental results demonstrate the accuracy of the macromodels on an independent validation set using 180nm and 65nm technologies.
The Often-Neglected Vertebral Artery

To the Editor: The SSYLVIA trial’s results clearly add to the nascent body of literature evaluating vertebral artery stenting.1 Even in the absence of ’gold standard’ surgical procedures such as endarterectomy for the treatment for vertebral artery disease, the recognition of vertebral artery disease has not progressed like its carotid artery counterpart. Rocha-Singh insightfully attributed this to the nonspecific symptoms …
Immediate versus deferred androgen deprivation treatment in patients with node-positive prostate cancer after radical prostatectomy and pelvic lymphadenectomy

Summary Background Appropriate timing of androgen deprivation treatment (ADT) for prostate cancer is controversial. Our aim was to determine whether immediate ADT extends survival in men with node-positive prostate cancer who have undergone radical prostatectomy and pelvic lymphadenectomy compared with those who received ADT only once disease progressed. Methods Eligible patients from 36 institutes in the USA were randomly assigned in 1988–93 to receive immediate ADT (n=47) or to be observed (n=51), with ADT to be given on detection of distant metastases or symptomatic recurrences. Patients were followed up every 3 months for the first year and every 6 months thereafter. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival; secondary endpoints were overall and disease-specific survival. Analysis was by intention to treat. To ensure that the treatment groups were comparable, we did a retrospective central pathology review of slides and regraded the Gleason scores for available samples. This trial predates the requirement for clinical trial registration. Findings At median follow-up of 11·9 years (range 9·7–14·5 for surviving patients), men assigned immediate ADT had a significant improvement in overall survival (hazard ratio 1·84 [95% CI 1·01–3·35], p=0·04), prostate-cancer-specific survival (4·09 [1·76–9·49], p=0·0004), and progression-free survival (3·42 [1·96–5·98], p Interpretation Early ADT benefits patients with nodal metastases who have undergone prostatectomy and lymphadenectomy, compared with those who receive deferred treatment. The beneficial effects of early ADT, rather than an imbalance in risk factors, are likely to explain the differences in outcomes between treatments.
Dextroamphetamine or methylphenidate as adjuvants to opioid analgesia for adolescents with cancer

Abstract The doses of opioid analgesics required to control pain in patients with cancer may result in somnolence and reduced interaction with family members. Psychostimulants such as dextroamphetamine (DA, Dexedrine) or methylphenidate (MP, Ritalin) have been used in adults to counteract the sedation of opioid analgesia. We retrospectively reviewed our experience using these agents at Children's Hospital. Eleven patients (age 12–20 years) received DA or MP, and decreased somnolence or improved interaction was noted in five patients. Adverse effects potentially related to DA or MP were noted in two patients, none of which resulted in discontinuance of the stimulant. Further prospective, controlled studies are needed to assess the safety and efficacy of DA and MP in counteracting the sedation of opioid analgesia in children and adolescents.
The foundry perspective on integrated power technologies

The integrated power technologies intends to integrate devices and functions in Moore's law with the ones in More-then-Moores directions. The technology, where integrating power MOSFET together with high quality passive analog component and high speed digital processor is possible, requires effort to enhance analog and high V low Ron MOSFET in process and design support. The advantage of foundry technology to serve this integration is that already established logic technologies and design IPs which make it design friendly for power integration.
Self-Enhanced Accumulation of FtsN at Division Sites and Roles for Other Proteins with a SPOR Domain (DamX, DedD, and RlpA) in Escherichia coli Cell Constriction

Of the known essential division proteins in Escherichia coli, FtsN is the last to join the septal ring organelle. FtsN is a bitopic membrane protein with a small cytoplasmic portion and a large periplasmic one. The latter is thought to form an α-helical juxtamembrane region, an unstructured linker, and a C-terminal, globular, murein-binding SPOR domain. We found that the essential function of FtsN is accomplished by a surprisingly small essential domain (EFtsN) of at most 35 residues that is centered about helix H2 in the periplasm. EFtsN contributed little, if any, to the accumulation of FtsN at constriction sites. However, the isolated SPOR domain (SFtsN) localized sharply to these sites, while SPOR-less FtsN derivatives localized poorly. Interestingly, localization of SFtsN depended on the ability of cells to constrict and, thus, on the activity of EFtsN. This and other results suggest that, compatible with a triggering function, FtsN joins the division apparatus in a self-enhancing fashion at the time of constriction initiation and that its SPOR domain specifically recognizes some form of septal murein that is only transiently available during the constriction process. SPOR domains are widely distributed in bacteria. The isolated SPOR domains of three additional E. coli proteins of unknown function, DamX, DedD, and RlpA, as well as that of Bacillus subtilis CwlC, also accumulated sharply at constriction sites in E. coli, suggesting that septal targeting is a common property of SPORs. Further analyses showed that DamX and, especially, DedD are genuine division proteins that contribute significantly to the cell constriction process.
Mound defect modeling in yield forecasts

Although the majority of defects found in manufacturing lines have predominantly two-dimensional effects, there are many situations in which 2-D defect models do not suffice, e.g., tall layer bulks, residual resist flakes, and extraneous materials embedded in the IC. In this paper a more general model based on mound defects is presented. Both catastrophic and soft effects of mound defects are investigated. The defect model is based on the geometrical properties that result from the interaction between IC and defect size in two coordinate spaces: x-y and z. The approach to model catastrophic effects is a natural extension to the concept of critical areas, namely, the extraction of critical volumes. The simplicity of the extraction method makes it suitable for inclusion in common layout editing tools. Through the course of this work hints to the origins of mound defects will be given, conditions to capture critical volumes will be developed, realistic layout results will be shown, and a yield model taking into account these new kind of defects will be presented. >
Mobile elements reveal small population size in the ancient ancestors of Homo sapiens

Abstract The genealogies of different genetic loci vary in depth. The deeper the genealogy, the greater the chance that it will include a rare event, such as the insertion of a mobile element. Therefore, the genealogy of a region that contains a mobile element is on average older than that of the rest of the genome. In a simple demographic model, the expected time to most recent common ancestor (TMRCA) is doubled if a rare insertion is present. We test this expectation by examining single nucleotide polymorphisms around polymorphic Alu insertions from two completely sequenced human genomes. The estimated TMRCA for regions containing a polymorphic insertion is two times larger than the genomic average (P < <10−30), as predicted. Because genealogies that contain polymorphic mobile elements are old, they are shaped largely by the forces of ancient population history and are insensitive to recent demographic events, such as bottlenecks and expansions. Remarkably, the information in just two human DNA sequences provides substantial information about ancient human population size. By comparing the likelihood of various demographic models, we estimate that the effective population size of human ancestors living before 1.2 million years ago was 18,500, and we can reject all models where the ancient effective population size was larger than 26,000. This result implies an unusually small population for a species spread across the entire Old World, particularly in light of the effective population sizes of chimpanzees (21,000) and gorillas (25,000), which each inhabit only one part of a single continent.
Sea surface temperature variability: Patterns and mechanisms

Patterns of sea surface temperature (SST) variability on interannual and longer timescales result from a combination of atmospheric and oceanic processes. These SST anomaly patterns may be due to intrinsic modes of atmospheric circulation variability that imprint themselves upon the SST field mainly via surface energy fluxes. Examples include SST fluctuations in the Southern Ocean associated with the Southern Annular Mode, a tripolar pattern of SST anomalies in the North Atlantic associated with the North Atlantic Oscillation, and a pan-Pacific mode known as the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (with additional contributions from oceanic processes). They may also result from coupled ocean-atmosphere interactions, such as the El Nino-Southern Oscillation phenomenon in the tropical Indo-Pacific, the tropical Atlantic Nino, and the cross-equatorial meridional modes in the tropical Pacific and Atlantic. Finally, patterns of SST variability may arise from intrinsic oceanic modes, notably the Atlantic Multidecadal O...
The impact of goodwill on earnings

We can now evaluate what impact the recent goodwill rules have had on earnings. How should companies adjust their business growth strategy to future years, in light of the recent rules? © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
A LeVeque-type lower bound for discrepancy

A sharp lower bound for discrepancy on R=Z is derived that resembles the upper bound due to LeVeque. An analogous bound is proved for discrepancy on R k =Z k . These are discussed in the more general context of the discrepancy of prob- ablity measures. As applications, the bounds are applied to Kronecker sequences and to a random walk on the torus.
THE LAW AS A SOCIAL PRACTICE: Are Shared Activities at the Foundations of Law?

A central tenet of positivism is that social practices are at the foundations of law. This has been cashed out in a variety of ways. For example, Austin argues that, among other practices, a habit of obedience to a sovereign is at the foundations of law, and Hart argues that at the foundations of law is the converging attitudes and behaviors of a class of relevant officials. Since Hart, some prominent positivists have employed either David Lewis's analysis of conventions or Michael Bratman's theory of shared cooperative activities to develop new accounts of the social practices that are at the foundations of law, whatever those foundations might be. In this paper, I identify five features characteristic of the Lewisean and Bratmanian models of social facts—models of what I call hypercommittal social practices. I then show that models of social facts that have these features ought not to be used to explain the way in which a social practice is at the foundations the law. I conclude that hypercommittal social practices such as Lewisean conventions or Bratmanian shared activities are not at the foundations of law.
Accelerating radio astronomy cross-correlation with graphics processing units

We present a highly parallel implementation of the cross-correlation of time-series data using graphics processing units (GPUs), which is scalable to hundreds of independent inputs and suitable for the processing of signals from 'large-N' arrays of many radio antennas. The computational part of the algorithm, the X-engine, is implemented efficiently on NVIDIA's Fermi architecture, sustaining up to 79% of the peak single-precision floating-point throughput. We compare performance obtained for hardware- and software-managed caches, observing significantly better performance for the latter. The high performance reported involves use of a multi-level data tiling strategy in memory and use of a pipelined algorithm with simultaneous computation and transfer of data from host to device memory. The speed of code development, flexibility, and low cost of the GPU implementations compared with application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) and field programmable gate array (FPGA) implementations have the potential to greatly shorten the cycle of correlator development and deployment, for cases where some power-consumption penalty can be tolerated.
Patent Reform Getting a Fresh Look

The stunning rise in patents, patent lawsuits and patent controversies has emerged as a serious concern to the information industry. Between 1963 and 2005 the number of patent applications in the United States has quadrupled. The number of patent applications filed world wide increased nearly 10-fold. Patents, like copyrights, foster technological development and growth by providing to an inventor a legal monopoly over his or her invention. Patents give the inventor an exclusive right to develop, use, license, or restrict access to the invention. Many patents are issued for inventions that never see commercial development. Many patents have been issued for inventions that end up part of more complex inventions. It is this latter practice that has raised the controversy.
Thermal spraying I: Powder consolidation—From coating to forming

Thermal spray is a microsolidification consolidation process for metals, intermetallics, ceramics, polymers, and composites. Thermal-spray processing has become an important powder-consolidation technique, and innovations are now yielding novel ways of manufacturing new materials and material combinations. This article, the first of two parts, reviews thermal-spray processes, describes their characteristics, and describes the attributes of the materials sprayed by such processes. Part I presents the range of thermal-spray processes and the materials systems that are able to be produced, leading from a coating to a forming technology.
Abstract 4124: Activation of AMP-activated protein kinase as a novel mechanism of resistance to EGFR-targeted therapy

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-mediated cell signaling is aberrantly regulated in many types of human cancers. Targeting EGFR with receptor-blocking antibodies or small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitors has shown clinical activity against several types of cancers; however, most patients have had only moderate or no response. Our laboratory recently found that one of the antitumor mechanisms of cetuximab, which is an FDA-approved EGFR-blocking antibody, is to disrupt the biosynthetic and biogenetic metabolisms in cancer cells through inhibition of hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha (HIF-1α)-regulated glycolysis. In current study, we tested a novel hypothesis that AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) functions as a metabolic checkpoint activated in response to the decline in ATP levels by EGFR-targeted therapy. We selected three human head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cell lines, HN5 and FaDu (cetuximab-sensitive) and UMSCC1 (cetuximab-insensitive at low range Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4124. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-4124
Observability of the electropotential on a nested cylindrical domain. II. numerical solution

Abstract The discussion of the biomedical problem that was described in paper I is continued. Based on the analytical solution obtained there, the reconstruction of the solution of Laplace's equation from discrete measurements on the boundary is discussed and a numerical algorithm is developed to treat this ill-posed problem.
The Chest in Profile

Summary: Radiology has been abounding with technological advances since the chest film first became the mainstay in diagnosing thoracic disease, and yet the conventional chest examination has endured as a front-line tool. The ability to perceive structural alterations is facilitated by a solid foundation in anatomy, which should be easy to achieve in a practice environment in which CT has become so commonplace. Not only is knowledge of anatomic nuances important for analysis of conventional radiographs, but it can only be an asset as multiplanar imaging is increasingly utilized and new modalities are developed over time. Some fundamental anatomic variations are revisited here through correlating the perspective provided by the lateral radiograph with the equally common one provided by routine axial CT images.
Study on multiplex PCR assay for detection of Campylobacter jejuni,Listeria monocytogenes and Escherichia coli O157

Objective To establish a multiplex PCR method and apply multiplex PCR for simultaneous detection of Campylobacter jejuni,Listeria monocytogenes and Escherichia coli O157.Methods According to DNA sequences of the mapA gene of Campylobacter jejuni,the hly gene of Listeria monoytogenes and the rfbE gene of Escherichia coli O157,three pairs of specific primers were screened and designed to compose optimized system and conditions of multiplex PCR.The three expected sizes were 589bp for Campylobacter jejuni,360bp for Listeria monocytogenes and 194bp for Escherichia coli O157.Results The detection sensitivity of multiplex PCR were 2.264ng、 37.92ng and 2.100ng for Campylobacter jejuni,Listeria monocytogenes and Escherichia coli O157,respectively.The multiplex PCR took 6-8 hours to detect a sample.Conclusions The results of the experiments demonstrated that the multiplex PCR assay was rapid,simple,sensitive and specific,Which establish important foundation for simultaneous detection for these three bacteria in polluted sample.
Cost of Operating a Field Construction Office

Construction field offices of both the contractor and the owner (or his representative) can be organized, operated, and administered with the objectives of assuring the successful and profitable prosecution of the work by the builder and of providing a high-quality facility for the user. Costs of field office operation are dependent upon the delegation of authority and responsibility to the project manager, the functions to be performed, the remoteness of the work site, and the size and complexity of the job. Significant savings may be achieved by limiting expenditures for personnel, equipment, and communications, as well as by subcontracting certain administrative operations. However, the management technique of cost-control should be applied to facilitate, rather than impede, the timely and economical completion of work on the part of the contractor, and to insure that the owner receives a satisfactory facility that may be utilized with minimum maintenance for the duration of its useful life.
Immunological Evaluation of Recent MUC1 Glycopeptide Cancer Vaccines

Aberrantly glycosylated mucin 1 (MUC1) is a recognized tumor-specific antigen on epithelial cell tumors. A wide variety of MUC1 glycopeptide anti-cancer vaccines have been formulated by many research groups. Some researchers have used MUC1 alone as an immunogen whereas other groups used different antigenic carrier proteins such as bovine serum albumin or keyhole limpet hemocyanin for conjugation with MUC1 glycopeptide. A variety of adjuvants have been used with MUC1 glycopeptides to improve their immunogenicity. Fully synthetic multicomponent vaccines have been synthesized by incorporating different T helper cell epitopes and Toll-like receptor agonists. Some vaccine formulations utilized liposomes or nanoparticles as vaccine delivery systems. In this review, we discuss the immunological evaluation of different conjugate or synthetic MUC1 glycopeptide vaccines in different tumor or mouse models that have been published since 2012.
Toward region-of-interest (ROI)-based 4-D perfusion using angiography system

In this study, we propose to estimate time-dependent attenuation curves on region-of-interest basis using a priori and projection data acquired without gantry rotation.
Changes in the US hurricane disaster landscape: the relationship between risk and exposure

This research appraises how residential built environment growth influences coastal exposure and how this component of societal vulnerability contributes to tropical cyclone impact and disaster potential. Historical housing unit data and future demographic projections from a high-resolution, spatial allocation model illustrate that the area within 50 km of the US Atlantic and Gulf Coastlines has the greatest housing unit density of any physiographic region in the USA, with residential development in this region outpacing non-coastal areas. Tropical cyclone exposure for six at-risk metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) along the US Atlantic and Gulf Coasts are assessed. All six MSAs evaluated are distinct in their development character, yet all experienced significant growth from 1940 through the contemporary period; projections from the model under various socioeconomic pathways reveal that this growth is anticipated to continue during the twenty-first century. Using a worst-case scenario framework, the historical and future residential data for the six MSAs are intersected with synthetic hurricane wind swaths generated from contemporary landfalling events. The New York City MSA contains the greatest residential built environment exposure, but Miami is the most rapidly changing MSA and has the greatest potential for hurricane disaster occurrence based on the juxtaposition of climatological risk and exposure. A disaster potential metric illustrates that all six MSAs will experience significant increases in disaster probability during the twenty-first century. This analysis facilitates a detailed spatiotemporal assessment of US coastal region vulnerability, providing decision makers with information that may be used to evaluate the potential for tropical cyclone disasters, mitigate tropical cyclone hazard impacts, and build community resilience for these and other hazards in the face of environmental and societal change.
Performance of Laser and Spark Ignition Systems in a Reciprocating Natural Gas Engine

Lean-burn natural gas engines remain attractive as they offer low emissions with simultaneous high engine efficiency. The low carbon to hydrogen ratio in natural gas minimizes the carbon dioxide emission, while the low-temperature operation reduces NOx formation. However, to preserve engine specific power, turbo-charged operation is required, which results in an unfavorable environment for the spark ignition system. In this study, the performance of three ignition systems - Spark Ignition (SI), Laser Ignition (LI), and Prechamber Laser Ignition (PCLI) - were assessed through tests in a single-cylinder natural gas engine. Both λ and ignition timing sweeps were performed while maintaining a constant speed of 1800 rpm and a load of 10 bar BMEP. Emissions and combustion data analysis, while complying with allowable emission regulation and ignition stability requirements, showed the best performance to be achieved with the PCLI system. This is attributed to improved ignition with the use of a laser, volumetric ignition facilitated by spatially distributed flame jets, and increased in-cylinder turbulence. This results in reduced ignition delay and shortened combustion duration.
An Introduction to Getting Started in the Digital Humanities for Library Professionals

ABSTRACTLibrary professionals already possess many of the skills and expertise necessary for successful collaboration in digital humanities work. This article focuses on how activities that library professionals already engage in, such as digital asset management or metadata creation, can be leveraged in digital humanities work and skill-sets further developed through suggested online tutorials and resources. In addition, a list of suggested readings and resources is provided.
Selective Attention, Processing Load, and Semantics: Insights from Human Electrophysiology

Event-related potentials offer multiple signatures of attentional gain control and selective processing, and also a measure of access to meaning in the N400 component. I summarize progress on how attention influences language processing and the parallels between attentional modulation of perceptual and linguistic processes. Four issues are addressed: (1) how selective attention to physical features influences semantic processing, (2) whether preparatory attention can be tuned to words and/or the semantic features of words, (3) whether word meanings must be relevant to a subject’s assigned task for semantic processing to occur, and (4) the impact of general processing load on semantic processing. These topics are very pertinent to long-standing debates about the specificity vs generality of functional and neural resources applied to language processing.