cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
HeMT: A multilingual system for human evaluation of metadata records machine translation

We demonstrate HeMT, a multilingual Web system for human evaluation of machine translated metadata records. It allows human evaluators to examine and assess machine translation results for sample metadata records in Chinese, English, and Spanish. This paper describes the design principles, users, and the functions of the system. It also presents the research design of a small-scale usability testing that will not only examine the appearance of the Website, but also the accuracy of the content and the Website’s cultural appropriateness.
Perception of risk of natural hazards: a hazard mitigation plan framework

A new approach is presented for policy makers to incorporate sociological aspects of human risk perception into their hazard mitigation plans. Previous methods for creating these plans generally used equivalent dollar losses from natural hazard events as the statistic by which to make decisions. Such an approach fails to take into consideration how people view natural hazards, possibly leading to lack of public support and compliance with emergency plans. Such a situation could exacerbate the consequences of a disaster. In this paper, new graphs are presented that combine the typical risk assessment factors, such as death, injury and economic loss, with human perception of risk. The framework includes risk perception by graphing natural hazards on the axes of dread and familiarity. These two variables have been shown in previous studies by social psychologists to explain the largest variance of an individual’s risk perception. Understanding how the public perceives the risk for various natural hazards can assist decision makers in developing and communicating policy decisions.
Letting Scotus Speak for Himself

In “The Unmitigated Scotus,” Thomas Williams calls for another, better reading of the Subtle Doctor: one in which he is able to “speak for himself.”Archiv fur Geschichte der Philosophie 80. Bd, 1998, p. 162. In this and other articles, Williams criticizes recent Scotist scholarship for its misguided attempt to save Scotus from “the unpalatable position” he actually held, that is, a libertarian voluntarist divine command moral philosophy.Thomas Williams, “How Scotus Separates Morality from Happiness,” American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly 69 (1995): 425–46; Williams, “Reason, Morality, and Voluntarism in Duns Scotus: A Pseudo-Problem Dissolved,” The Modern Schoolman, 74 (1997): 73–94; Williams, “The Libertarian Foundations of Scotus's Moral Philosophy,” The Thomist 62 (1998): 193–215. He presents his position as one that, finally, allows Scotus to speak for himself.
Two innovations in diffraction calculations for cylindrically symmetrical systems.

Two mathematical innovations are presented that relate to calculating propagation of radiation through cylindrically symmetrical systems using Kirchhoff diffraction theory. The first innovation leads to an efficient means of computing Lommel functions of two arguments (u and ν), typically denoted by Un(u, ν) and Vn(u, ν). This can accelerate computations involving Fresnel diffraction by circular apertures or lenses. The second innovation facilitates calculations of Kirchhoff diffraction integrals without recourse to the Fresnel approximation, yet with greatly improved efficiency like that characteristic of the latter approximation.
Worldwide trends in fishing interest indicated by Internet search volume

There is a growing body of literature that shows internet search volume on a topic, such as fishing, is a viable measure of salience. Herein, internet search volume for ‘fishing’ and ‘angling’ is used as a measure of public interest in fishing, in particular, recreational fishing. An online tool, Google Insights for Search, which allows one to study internet search terms and their volume since 2004, is used to examine trends in interest in fishing for 50 countries. Trends in normalised fishing search volume, during 2004 through 2011, varied from a 72.6% decrease (Russian Federation) to a 133.7% increase (Hungary). Normalised fishing search volume declined in 40 (80%) of the countries studied. The decline has been relatively large in English-speaking countries, but also has been large in Central and South American, and European countries. Analyses of search queries provide a low-cost means of gaining insight into angler interests and, possibly, behaviour in countries around the world.
A hurricane simulation method for Florida utility damage and risk assessment

The 2004-2005 hurricane season caused severe infrastructure damage and economical loss to power systems. A good estimate of hurricane frequency, intensity, and duration is of great importance to emergency planners of utilities in vulnerable coastal areas. However, considerable uncertainty in hurricane characteristics makes the modeling a complicated task. This paper presents a probabilistic model that can simulate a hurricane year for Florida. This model determines the number of hurricanes landed in Florida in a year; and each simulated hurricane is probabilistically assigned landfall information such as location, approach angle, translation velocity, maximum wind speed, and radius to maximum wind. As the hurricane moves across Florida, its inland features including wind speed decay rate, central pressure filling rate, wind field profile, and duration are further simulated. Through Monte Carlo simulation, this hurricane model is able to generate a large number of random hurricane years so as to estimate the long-term risk levels arising from hurricanes and assist associated planning. The validation of the simulated wind map against the actual ASCE 7 wind map demonstrates that this hurricane model can well reproduce the actual pattern of overall hurricane activities in Florida.
The Role of Loop 5 in Acetylcholine Receptor Channel Gating

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor channel (AChR) gating is an organized sequence of molecular motions that couples a change in the affinity for ligands at the two transmitter binding sites with a change in the ionic conductance of the pore. Loop 5 (L5) is a nine-residue segment (mouse α-subunit 92–100) that links the β4 and β5 strands of the extracellular domain and that (in the α-subunit) contains binding segment A. Based on the structure of the acetylcholine binding protein, we speculate that in AChRs L5 projects from the transmitter binding site toward the membrane along a subunit interface. We used single-channel kinetics to quantify the effects of mutations to αD97 and other L5 residues with respect to agonist binding (to both open and closed AChRs), channel gating (for both unliganded and fully-liganded AChRs), and desensitization. Most αD97 mutations increase gating (up to 168-fold) but have little or no effect on ligand binding or desensitization. Rate-equilibrium free energy relationship analysis indicates that αD97 moves early in the gating reaction, in synchrony with the movement of the transmitter binding site (Φ = 0.93, which implies an open-like character at the transition state). αD97 mutations in the two α-subunits have unequal energetic consequences for gating, but their contributions are independent. We conclude that the key, underlying functional consequence of αD97 perturbations is to increase the unliganded gating equilibrium constant. L5 emerges as an important and early link in the AChR gating reaction which, in the absence of agonist, serves to increase the relative stability of the closed conformation of the protein.
Hospital Care inflation in the United States: prices adjustments in a disequilibrium econometric framework

Uncontrollable medical care expenditure inflation in excess of general price inflation in the United States has prompted the writing of this paper. It is argued that such a frustrating phenomenon is due to the existence of disequilibrium in the hospital market. This phenomenon can be verified only by modelling the market by disequilibrium methods. In this paper, a model of price adjustment in non-clearing market is presented and tested by using autoregressive techniques. It is found that excess demand for hospital care has been the source of disequilibrium for a large part of the period of the study, 1965–1984. It is observed then the key factor causing excess demand is low out-of-pocket expenditure for hospital care by patients due to third-party payments. Had the co-insurance rate been adjusted upward or co-payment patient rate not fallen, excess demand would have been eliminated. This study also finds that the response of providers and regulators to cost inflation through price control policy seems to ...
Managing energy use in a network with a new SNMP Power State MIB

Energy consumption has become a major factor in the total cost of ownership (TCO) of IT equipment. The power state of IT equipment is effectively ldquoinvisiblerdquo to the network making it difficult to measure or control energy use. In this short paper we propose, prototype, and evaluate a new SNMP power state MIB and its agent to expose equipment power state to the network. The power state includes all supported power management (PM) capabilities, current PM settings, total and current active, inactive, and sleep times, and statistics on wakeup and sleep events. With knowledge of the power state of network devices, a network manager could remotely audit the energy consumption of IT equipment and make changes to PM settings. We have implemented a subset of the power state MIB for Microsoft Windows Vista desktop and server computers.
Parametric vs. Non-Parametric Statistics of Low Resolution Electromagnetic Tomography (LORETA):

This study compared the relative statistical sensitivity of non-parametric and parametric statistics of 3-dimensional current sources as estimated by the EEG inverse solution Low Resolution Electromagnetic Tomography (LORETA). One would expect approximately 5% false positives (classification of a normal as abnormal) at the P < .025 level of probability (two tailed test) and approximately 1% false positives at the P < .005 level. EEG digital samples (2 second intervals sampled 128 Hz, 1 to 2 minutes eyes closed) from 43 normal adult subjects were imported into the Key Institute’s LORETA program and then used the Key Institute’s cross-spectrum and the Key Institute’s LORETA output files (*.lor) as the 2,394 gray matter pixel representation of 3-dimensional currents at different frequencies. The mean and standard deviation *.lor files were computed for each of the 2,394 gray matter pixels for each of the 43 subjects. Tests of Gaussianity and different transforms were computed in order to best approximate a normal distribution for each frequency and gray matter pixel. The relative sensitivity of parametric vs. non-parametric statistics were compared using a “leave-one-out” cross validation method in which individual normal subjects were withdrawn and then statistically classified as being either normal or abnormal based on the remaining subjects. Log10 transforms approximated Gaussian in the range of 95% to 99% accuracy. Parametric Z score tests at P < .05 cross-validation demonstrated an average misclassification rate of approximately 4.25%, and range over the 2,394 gray matter pixels was 27.66% to 0.11%. At P < .01 parametric Z score cross-validation false positives were 0.26% and ranged from 6.65% to 0% false positives. The non-parametric Key Institute’s t-max statistic at P < .05 had an average misclassification error rate of 7.64% and ranged from 43.37% to 0.04% false positives. The nonparametric t-max at P < .01 had an average misclassification rate of 6.67% and ranged from 41.34% to 0% false positives of the 2,394 gray matter pixels for any cross-validated normal subject. In conclusion, adequate approximation to Gaussian and high cross-validation can be achieved by the Key Institute’s LORETA programs by using a log10 transform and parametric statistics, and parametric normative comparisons had lower false positive rates than the non-parametric tests.
Work In Progress: Using Tablet PCs to Integrate Lecture and Laboratory in an Introductory Electrical and Computer Engineering Course

In the Spring of 2006, Tablet PCs were used in a new introductory course in Electrical and Computer Engineering to bridge the gap between lecture and laboratory activities. Additionally, the Tablet PCs facilitated active learning in the classroom, such as by wirelessly recording feedback on concept questions and enabling collaborative problem solving. These activities allowed lecture content and pacing to be dynamically modified to address students' questions, misconceptions, and interests. Students also ran interactive simulations either before or after laboratories on their Tablet PCs, making classroom demonstrations more engaging while encouraging the development of ideas to test in the laboratory. The same Tablet PCs were carried to the laboratories, where students used them to run simulations, collect data, and record observations that were shared in class. Student engagement was very high and students overwhelmingly indicated that the Tablet PCs enhanced the learning experience in both the classroom and the laboratory.
Visualizing and quantifying evoked cortical activity assessed with intrinsic signal imaging

Intrinsic signal imaging (ISI) measures changes in light reflectance from the illuminated cortex (intrinsic signals or IS) attributed to various vascular and metabolic sources that, when using illumination in the 600 nm range, appear to co-localize with neuronal activity. Given the multiple sources contributing to the collected IS, the common practice of averaging across an extended post-stimulus time epoch before dividing by baseline data typically visualizes evoked IS overlying both the cortical tissue and the large surface blood vessels. In rat PMBSF, the contribution from these vessels are problematic as they do not co-localize with known PMBSF function. Determining a means for quantifying the evoked IS area poses an additional challenge. Here, we describe how exploiting IS collected shortly after stimulus onset (within 1.5 s), which coincides with fast oxygen consumption of active neurons, visualizes evoked IS overlying the cortical tissue without the large surface vessels. We also describe how the use of absolute thresholds combined with a baseline determined from data collected immediately prior to stimulus onset (within 1 s) targets most precisely a specific evoked IS amplitude, a method that should be especially useful when evoked areas are expected to occupy a substantial portion of the total imaged area and/or when peak activity is expected to differ between subjects.
Silicon trench undercutting caused by the preferential plasma etching of surface-implanted-regions

It is shown that the residual surface damage present in heavily implanted n/sup +/ regions causes severe undercutting during the reactive ion etching (RIE) of silicon trenches in a SiCl/sub 4/-N/sub 2/ plasma. The trench sidewall undercutting was not observed when the trenches were etched in unimplanted silicon wafers. For specific implant does of arsenic and phosphorus, optimal thermal activation cycles were identified that resulted in negligible trench undercutting. The trench undercutting profiles traced the n/sup +/ junction profiles and the undercutting was more pronounced in phosphorus-implanted samples. >
Pseudo reaction rate in the AC response of an electrolytic cell

Abstract When theoretical impedance-frequency “data” calculated from an exact small-signal ac solution of the transport equations for an unsupported intrinsic-conduction situation are fitted to an appropriate equivalent circuit using nonlinear complex least squares, one finds that a non-zero apparent charge transfer resistance is necessary for a good fit even when charges of one sign are taken completely blocked at the electrodes and those of opposite sign are taken as completely unblocked. Normally, one would expect no reaction resistance under these conditions. This effect only occurs when positive and negative charges have different mobilities and may be ascribed to ambipolar drag of one set of charges on the other set. Here we demonstrate the effect and derive approximate relations to be used in data analysis which should allow an accurate estimate of the true reaction rate to be obtained when it is not too large. The practical limit to the maximum reaction rate which can be derived from experimental impedance data for the present situation is shown to depend on both a diffusion coefficient and the Debye length.
Bifurcation structure of phase locked modes in Type I excitable cells based on phase and spike time resetting curves

Some neurons are endogenous bursters, i.e., they intrinsically fire with a steady period (Ti) in the absence of external stimuli. In neural networks, the neurons constantly receive stimuli, e.g., presynaptic inputs that perturb their intrinsic activity. The transient changes in the firing frequency of a neuron due to a presynaptic input received at a stimulus time (ts), or phase = ts/Ti, is tabulated by the phase resetting curve (PRC). The first order PRC is extracted in open loop, i.e., from isolated neurons, by tabulating the relative change in the firing period F( ) = ΔT1/Ti = (T1-Ti)/Ti due to a stimulus received during the current cycle at phase (see Fig. 1A). Equivalently, we use the spike time resetting curve (STRC) that tabulates the recovery time tr of a neuron that received an input during the current cycle at a stimulus time ts (see Fig. 1A). The assumption is that the open loop PRC/STRC can predict the phase locked modes of a network provided, among other requirements, that the open loop stimulus closely resembles the input the neuron receives in a fully connected network. For example, the PRC/STRC method can predict the 1:1 phase locked modes of a two-neuron network (see Fig. 1B). Assuming that the effect of the presynaptic input dies out by the time the neuron receives another input, we can derive (Figure 1B) the recursions that determine the phase locked mode:
Aquarius RFI Detection and Mitigation Algorithm: Assessment and Examples

Aquarius is an L-band radiometer system designed to map sea surface salinity from space. This is a sensitive measurement, and protection from radio frequency interference (RFI) is important for success. An initial look at the performance of the Aquarius RFI detection and mitigation algorithm is reported together with examples of the global distribution of RFI at the L-band. To protect against RFI, Aquarius employs rapid sampling (10 ms) and a “glitch” detection algorithm that looks for outliers among the samples. Samples identified as RFI are removed, and the remainder is averaged to produce an RFI-free signal for the salinity retrieval algorithm. The RFI detection algorithm appears to work well over the ocean with modest rates for false alarms (5%) and missed detection. The global distribution of RFI coincides well with population centers and is consistent with observations reported by the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity mission.
Prostate intraepithelial neoplasia in Noble rats, a potential intermediate endpoint for chemoprevention studies.

Abstract In most prostate chemoprevention studies conducted with animal models, the incidence and multiplicity of tumours have been used as endpoints for efficacy. However, the latency of tumours is usually over 1 year, making these studies costly and time consuming. The main purpose of this study was to assess the utility of prostate intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN), induced in Noble rats by continuous testosterone + oestradiol (T + E) administration, as a potential intermediate endpoint biomarker of efficacy in chemoprevention studies. Noble rats at the age of 12 weeks were treated for 36 weeks with T + E given subcutaneously via Silastic capsules. The incidence and multiplicity of PIN were assessed in various prostate glands by serial sections generated at three separate tissue levels. The efficacy of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and DHEA 8354 (1000 and 2000 mg/kg diet), difluoromethylornithine (DFMO) (1000 and 2000 mg/kg diet) and oltipraz (125 and 250 mg/kg diet) to inhibit PIN was assessed in two independent sets of experiments. T + E induced multiple PIN in the dorsolateral prostate (DLP) of 80–100% of the animals. DHEA and DHEA 8354 did not affect the incidence but decreased the multiplicity of PIN in the DLP, from 3.2 ± 1.0 in control group to 1.5 ± 1.0 in the low-dose and to 1.6 ± 0.6 in the high-dose group for DHEA ( P P P
Fault analysis of non-uniform airgap length in frictionless linear induction motor drive

Application of linear induction machines (LIM) for electric propulsion have been investigated intensively in the past few decades. The advantages of LIM as applied in the propulsion system include easy maintenance, high acceleration/deceleration, and low cost to name a few. One of the active areas of research is aimed at combining the LIM with magnetically levitated system (Maglev) to achieve frictionless transportation system. Maintaining a uniform airgap is a prime goal in development of such system. Therefore timely detection of non-uniform airgap is an important task in this family of transportation systems. Using an experimental LIM and with the help of finite element analysis (FEA), effect of non-uniform airgap length on the force and magnetic characteristics of LIM has been explored. Furthermore, the detection method for this type of fault has been developed to monitor airgap length of LIM for high speed frictionless propulsive applications.
Theca cell cytochrome P450 17-hydroxylase and aromatase messenger ribonucleic acid abundance and serum steroid levels during follicular atresia associated with incubation behavior in the domestic turkey hen.

This study was designed to examine changes in cytochrome P450 17a-hydroxylase (C17) and aromatase (ARO) mRNA contents in the theca layer of preovulatory follicles (POF) as turkey hens transit from egg laying to incubation. Hens were grouped into the following categories: 1) laying hens-laid one egg per day and nested 1-2 times per day; 2) transitional hens-laid one egg per day and nested > 4 times per day; and 3) Day 1, Day 3, and Day 5 incubating hens-laid no eggs for 2, 4, or 6 days, respectively, and nested > 4 times per day. Small white follicles (SWF) and the theca layer from the largest (F.) and the third (F3), fifth (F 5), and seventh (F 7 ) largest POF were dispersed and challenged with testosterone (T) for 5 h. Relative levels of C17 and ARO mRNA were examined from the theca layers of F 1, F3, F, F 7, and SWF. The number of atretic follicles increased from O (layers) to 8 (Day 5 incubating hens). Serum LH, progesterone (P), and estradiol (E), but not T, declined on Day 1 of incubation. Basal levels of P, T, and E from theca and SWF cells declined in incubating hens. Both basal and T-stimulated theca and SWF production of E decreased in incubating hens. C17 and ARO mRNA declined in SWF, F 7, and F5 during follicular atresia. It is suggested that reduced gene expression of ovarian steroidogenic enzymes may be a partial determinant of reduced circulating sex steroid levels in incubating hens. Follicular maturation is associated with a progressive decrease in C17 and ARO mRNA steady state levels as the follicle matures; this may partially explain the decreases in T and E secretion that are associated with follicular maturation.
THE RANDOM-WALK HYPOTHESIS OF STOCK MARKET BEHAVIOR†

SUMMARY A model of the form xt - xt-1= et where xt is the price of a share at time t and et forms a sequence of independent random variates is postulated as a model of the price determining mechanism of stock markets. The form of the distribution function of the et's is investigated. In opposition to suggestions that have been made in connection with other speculative price mechanisms it is found that the distribution function appears to be well approximated by a normal distribution. There is no evidence that the data treated are samples from a stable process with an infinite variance. It is found that the model mentioned above, termed the random-walk model, provides a good explanation of the variation of stock market prices for daily observations of the price, and for the series formed by the price of every transaction taking place in the market. In the context of this model it is noted that it appears that the price determining mechanism continues to operate at a reduced ‘speed’ during times when the actual market is closed. While it has been suggested that a correlation between the volume of shares transacted and the absolute value of the first differences of the price series should be expected, no such correlation was observed. Two questions which the paper leaves open are the question of cross-sectional correlation between different shares, and the question of the possibility of information in moments of order greater than two. In conclusion the following law is stated: ‘The price determining mechanism described in Section II (i. e. the random-walk indicated above) is the only mechanism which is consistent with the unrestrained pursuit of the profit motive by the participants in the market’.
A Review of Evidence-Based Care of Symptomatic Trichomoniasis and Asymptomatic Trichomonas vaginalis Infections

Trichomonas vaginalis is the most prevalent nonviral sexually transmitted infection, affecting an estimated 3.7 million women and men in the United States. Health disparities are prominent in the epidemiology of this infection, which affects 11% of women aged ≥40 years and a disproportionately high percentage of black women. Particularly high prevalences have been identified among sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinic patients and incarcerated individuals. This article reviews and updates scientific evidence in key topic areas used for the development of the 2015 STD Treatment Guidelines published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Current evidence is presented regarding conditions associated with Trichomonas vaginalis infection, including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and pregnancy complications such as preterm birth. Nucleic acid amplification tests and point-of-care tests are newly available diagnostic methods that can be conducted on a variety of specimens, potentially allowing highly sensitive testing and screening of both women and men at risk for infection. Usually, trichomoniasis can be cured with single-dose therapy of an appropriate nitroimidazole antibiotic, but women who are also infected with HIV should receive therapy for 7 days. Antimicrobial resistance is an emerging concern.
Should I Stay or Should I Go? Why Applicants Leave the Extended Welfare Application Process

Since welfare reform of 1996, the use of extended application periods as a condition of welfare participation has become increasingly popular. Extended application periods include mandatory work activities and caseworker meetings for a period of time as a condition of and prerequisite to eligibility for welfare services. While much scholarly work has focused on welfare participants, we know comparatively less about those who apply for services but ultimately do not participate or receive benefits. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a random sample of twenty recent welfare applicants in the state of Wisconsin who did not complete the extended welfare application period. Beliefs about eligibility for a cash benefit, delayed welfare checks, and learning disabilities emerged as important factors that influence completion of extended welfare application periods.
Genes versus phenotypes in the study of speciation.

Despite persistent debate on the nature of spe- cies, the widespread adoption of Mayr's biological species concept has led to a heavy emphasis on the importance of reproductive isolation to the speciation process. Equating the origin of species with the evolution of reproductive isolation has become common practice in the study of speciation, coincident with an increasing focus on eluci- dating the specific genetic changes (i.e.—speciation genes) underlying intrinsic reproductive barriers between species. In contrast, some have recognized that reproductive isola- tion is usually a signature effect rather than a primary cause of speciation. Here we describe a research paradigm that shifts emphasis from effects to causes in order to resolve this apparent contradiction and galvanize the study of speciation. We identify major elements necessary for a balanced and comprehensive investigation of the origin of species and place the study of so-called ''speciation genes'' into its appropriate context. We emphasize the importance of characterizing diverging phenotypes, identifying rele- vant evolutionary forces acting on those phenotypes and their role in the causal origins of reduced gene flow between incipient species, and the nature of the genetic and phenotypic boundaries that results from such processes. This approach has the potential to unify the field of spe- ciation research, by allowing us to make better ''historical'' predictions about the fate of diverging populations regardless of taxon.
Transkingdom control of viral infection and immunity in the mammalian intestine

Viruses that infect the intestine include major human pathogens (retroviruses, noroviruses, rotaviruses, astroviruses, picornaviruses, adenoviruses, herpesviruses) that constitute a serious public health problem worldwide. These viral pathogens are members of a large, complex viral community inhabiting the intestine termed "the enteric virome." Enteric viruses have intimate functional and genetic relationships with both the host and other microbial constituents that inhabit the intestine, such as the bacterial microbiota, their associated phages, helminthes, and fungi, which together constitute the microbiome. Emerging data indicate that enteric viruses regulate, and are in turn regulated by, these other microbes through a series of processes termed "transkingdom interactions." This represents a changing paradigm in intestinal immunity to viral infection. Here we review recent advances in the field and propose new ways in which to conceptualize this important area.
SDF-1 Responsiveness Does Not Correlate With CXCR4 Expression Levels of Developing Human Bone Marrow B Cells

Chemokines and their receptors are broadly expressed in different tissues and are involved in diverse biologic processes. Gene inactivation studies have shown that both stromal cell derived factor-1 (SDF-1) and chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) are essential for B lymphopoiesis. However, it is not yet clear by which mechanisms B lymphopoiesis is affected. In the present study, we have examined CXCR4 expression and function on primary B cells representing sequential stages of development (eg, pro-B, pre-B, immature, and mature B cells) in fetal and adult bone marrow. The expression of CXCR4 was observed to be sinusoidal. Expression was highest on pre-B cells, decreased as cells developed into immature B cells, and then increased again upon transition to the mature B-cell stage. The corresponding ligand SDF-1 was shown to trigger vigorous cell signaling and migration responses, which are restricted to early lineage B cells. The responsiveness to SDF-1 was markedly decreased for immature and mature B cells despite relatively high levels of CXCR4 expression. Thus, the diminished responsiveness to SDF-1 by more mature B cells was determined to be disproportionate to the level of CXCR4 expression. These findings raise the possibility that CXCR4 function is differentially controlled during B lymphopoiesis and may be relevant to the compartmentalization of B-cell precursors in the bone marrow.
Spectroscopy of Ecr Plasma Used for Depositing Amorphous and Microcrystalline Silicon Films

Electron-cyclotron-resonance (ECR) plasma are used extensively to deposit amorphous and microcrystalline Si and (Si,Ge) films, and for depositing oxides and nitrides of Si. In this paper, we discuss the results of optical emission spectroscopy, Langmuir probe measurements and mass-spectrometery measurements of the ECR plasma when used to deposit a-Si films. We study He and H diluted plasmas. We find that the addition of hydrogen to the gas mixture immediately reduces the flux of the active (e.g. SiH, SiH 2 ,SiH 3 ) radicals and ions that are responsible for the growth of films. Thus, introducing hydrogen in the mixture reduces the growth rate significantly, not only because it etches the film during growth, but primarily because it reduces the production of the needed growth radicals. We find an excellent correlation between growth rates and SiH intensity signal. A surprising result is that the densities of all three ions, SiH, SiH 2 and SiH 3 , arriving at the substrate are comparable in magnitude in this low pressure reactor, with the SiH ion density becoming larger than the SiH3 density at higher powers. This observation raises some doubt about the standard model for growth that states that SiH 3 is the dominant radical responsible for growth during plasma CVD processes. We also find that decreasing the pressure increases the ratio of H/H 2 arriving at the substrate, which in turn means that more H ions and atoms are available to do etching of the growing film and change its properties at lower pressures.
Laser-induced capillary leakage for blood biomarker detection and vaccine delivery via the skin.

Circulation system is the center for coordination and communication of all organs in our body. Examination of any change in its analytes or delivery of therapeutic drugs into the system consists of important medical practice in today's medicine. Two recent studies prove that brief illumination of skin with a low powered laser, at wavelengths preferentially absorbed by hemoglobin, increases the amount of circulating biomarkers in the epidermis and upper dermis by more than 1,000-fold. When probe-coated microneedle arrays are applied into laser-treated skin, plasma blood biomarkers can be reliably, accurately, and sufficiently quantified in 15∼30 min assays, with a maximal detection in one hr in a manner independent of penetration depth or a molecular mass of the biomarker. Moreover, the laser treatment permits a high efficient delivery of radiation-attenuated malarial sporozoites (RAS) into the circulation, leading to robust immunity against malaria infections, whereas similar immunization at sham-treated skin elicits poor immune responses. Thus this technology can potentially instruct designs of small, portable devices for onsite, in mobile clinics, or at home for point-of-care diagnosis and drug/vaccine delivery via the skin. Laser-induced capillary leakage (a) to induce extravasation of circualing molecules only (b) or facilitate entry of attenuated malaria sporozoites into the capillary (c). Skin illumination with a laser preferably absorbed by hemoglobin causes dilation of the capillary beneath the skin. The extravasated molecules can be sufficiently measured in the skin or guide sporozoites to enter the vessel.
The Comparative Virulence of the Pneumococcus in the Sputum of Lobar Pneumonia at Various Stages of the Disease, with Special Reference to Crisis

are more remarkable than those in pneumonia, and of these manifestations a typical crisis is the most striking. With the abrupt drop of temperature, pulse, and respiration, the patient passes from a " state of extreme hazard and distress to one of safety and comfort"1 without any demonstrable change in the local condition. In solving the problem as to what happens at the time of crisis to produce this phenomenon, we must consider not only the methods of defense which the body adopts to get rid of the infection, but also the invading parasite. With the exception of a slight increase in agglutinins, the only difference so far determined between normal serum and the serum of immunized animals is in the presence of bacteriotropic substances which cause phagocytosis of virulent strains of pneumococci, while normal serum causes little or no phagocytosis. G. and F. Klemperer, Neufeld, and others have also demonstrated protective substances in the serum of patients convalescing from pneumonia. In these sera, however, the immunity conferred is relatively slight, and they do not cause phagocytosis of virulent strains.
Heat Conduction Inside of an Irregularly Shaped Non-Convex Body Immersed in a Turbulent Hypersonic Flow Field

This study examines the heat transfer through the thickness of a non-convex aluminum bluff body immersed in a hypersonic flow. The bluff body has two surfaces that are exposed to the flow environment, an external and an internal surface. The hypersonic flow field creates time varying temperature distributions over both of these surfaces which contain regions of high temperature. Our simulations show that heat conducts through the thickness of the body rapidly, particularly in thinner sections. The response slows substantially in thicker portions of the body, but the high rate of temperature change may have deleterious effects. High temperature gradients may cause excessive thermal stress and could cause failure in the thinner regions of the body.
Syphilis Infection and Awareness of HIV-related Knowledge Among Male Visitors in STDs Clinics,2009-2011

Objective To understand the situation of syphilis infection and awareness of AIDS-related knowledge among male vistors in STD clinics,for providing evidence of changing their risk behaviors and preventing STD/HIV.Methods Men who were older than 15 and first visited STD clinics in Pingxiang Maternity and Child Healthcare Hospital and Pingxiang People's Hospital during April to June from 2009 to 2011 were recruited to conduct face-to-face questionnaire interview,with 5 ml blood from each people was collected for syphilis testing.Results Totally 1200 men were surveyed during 2009 to 2010,45 of them were syphilis positive,with the infection rate 3.75%,and there wase no significant difference within the annual incidence rates of those years(χ2=5.40,P0.05).The awareness rate of HIV-related knowledge was only 76.33%,however,it increased from year to year(χ2=51.54,P0.01).The proportions of having sex with non-spouse in the last three month and drug use were significant different in different years,(χ2=75.75,P0.01;χ2=29.17,P0.01).Conclusion Targeted comprehensive intervention should be taken for changing risk behaviors of male visitors in STD clinics and preventing STD from spreading to general population.
Linear Bilevel Programming: Discrete Variables

In many optimization problems a subset of the variables is restricted to take on discrete values. This can complicate the problem by several orders of magnitude and render all but the smallest instances unsolvable. In this chapter, we investigate several versions of the linear BLPP with discrete variables and discuss the prospect of finding global optima using branch and bound.
View dependent tone mapping of HDR panoramas for head mounted displays

Head mounted display(HMD)s are characterized by relatively low resolution and low dynamic range. These limitations significantly reduce the visual quality of photorealistic captures on such displays. In this paper we present an interactive view dependent tone mapping technique for viewing up to 16K wide high dynamic range panoramas on HMDs via view-adjusted mapping function stored in separate texture file. We define this technique as ToneTexture. The use of a view adjusted tone mapping allows for expansion of the perceived color space available to the end user. This yields an improved visual appearance of both high dynamic range panoramas and low dynamic range panoramas on such displays. We present comparisons of the results produced by this technique against Reinhard tone mapping operators. Demonstration systems are available for WebGL and head mounted displays such as Oculus Rift and GearVR.
Toward Personalized Modeling: Incremental and Ensemble Alignment for Sequential Faces in the Wild

Fitting facial landmarks on unconstrained videos is a challenging task with broad applications. Both generic and joint alignment methods have been proposed with varying degrees of success. However, many generic methods are heavily sensitive to initializations and usually rely on offline-trained static models, which limit their performance on sequential images with extensive variations. On the other hand, joint methods are restricted to offline applications, since they require all frames to conduct batch alignment. To address these limitations, we propose to exploit incremental learning for personalized ensemble alignment. We sample multiple initial shapes to achieve image congealing within one frame, which enables us to incrementally conduct ensemble alignment by group-sparse regularized rank minimization. At the same time, incremental subspace adaptation is performed to achieve personalized modeling in a unified framework. To alleviate the drifting issue, we leverage a very efficient fitting evaluation network to pick out well-aligned faces for robust incremental learning. Extensive experiments on both controlled and unconstrained datasets have validated our approach in different aspects and demonstrated its superior performance compared with state of the arts in terms of fitting accuracy and efficiency.
Mechanical properties examined by nanoindentation for selected phases relevant to the development of monolithic uranium-molybdenum metallic fuels

Abstract Nanomechanical properties, specifically the reduced modulus and hardness of several intermetallic and solid solution phases are reported to assist the development of the U-10 wt% Mo (U-10Mo) monolithic fuel system for research and test reactors. Findings from this study and reported values of mechanical properties provide data critical for understanding and predicting the structural behavior of the fuel system during fabrication and irradiation. The phases examined are products of interdiffusion and reaction between (1) the AA6061 cladding and the Zr diffusion barrier, namely (Al,Si)3Zr and Al3Zr, (2) the U-10Mo fuel and the Zr diffusion barrier, namely UZr2, Mo2Zr, and α-U, and (3) the U (or U-10Mo) and Mo, namely a mixture gradient of α- and γ-phases. The UC inclusions observed within the fuel alloy were also examined. Only phases present in thick or continuous microstructure on cross-sectioned fuel plates and diffusion couples were investigated for reduced modulus and hardness. Concentration-dependence of room-temperature reduced modulus in U solid solution with 0–10 wt% Mo was semi-quantitatively modeled based on mixture of α- and γ-phases and solid solutioning within the γ-phase.
Using direct antiglobulin test results to reduce unnecessary cold agglutinin testing.

BACKGROUND:Cold agglutinin disease (CAD) is a rare autoimmune hemolytic anemia mediated by autoantibodies that preferentially react at 4°C. Laboratory testing for cold-reactive autoantibodies is laborious and may not be ordered judiciously, particularly in patients with a negative direct antiglobuli
Children's outcomes at 2-year follow-up after 4 years of structured multi-professional medical-ethical decision-making in a neonatal intensive care unit

We reviewed our decisions about continuation/withdrawal of life-sustaining treatments in a group of critically ill newborns who were discussed in structured medical ethical decision-making meetings, and provide the surviving children’s outcomes at 2-year follow-up. In an explorative observational study, 61 cases were evaluated. The children involved had been discussed in such a structured way from 2009 to 2012 in a level III-D neonatal intensive care unit. Decisions made were: full treatment (n=6), earlier restriction cancelled (n=3), treatment restriction (n=30) and palliative care (n=22). Parents of six children disagreed with the decision proposed. Thirteen (54%) of the 24 children who survived (39%) had moderate to severe neurological problems; 8 (33%) had additional sequelae; only one 2-year-old child was healthy. Decisions made varied to a large extent. The poor outcomes should be disseminated among decision makers. Future studies must explore new ways to improve outcome prediction, extend follow-up periods and consider what living with severe handicaps really means for both child and family.
Models of е-work

Abstract Autonomous agents and active protocols have been identified in several PRISM research projects over the last decade as the two key elements of electronic work, defined as e-Work, in which humans, robots, and other autonomous systems collaborate for common goals. This article reviews how these elements are designed, and their role in collaborative control of distributed design projects, and in multi-agent based manufacturing and logistics networks. Several case studies are analyzed to illustrate new measures of parallelism, viability, and active middleware performance.
Anterior Extension of Tumor is as Important as Tumor Size to Facial Nerve Outcome and Extent of Resection for Vestibular Schwannomas.

Objectives We examined vestibular schwannoma tumor dimension and direction of growth to determine whether these correlate with facial nerve outcome as well as extent of resection (EOR). Design Retrospective review of prospectively maintained databases. Participants 206 patients were a part of this study. Main Outcome Measures Tumor dimensions were measured using preoperative magnetic resonance imaging, and a series of ratios were then calculated to further characterize tumor dimension. Regression analyses were performed to investigate correlation with facial nerve outcome and EOR. Results Patients with tumor extending >1.5 cm anterior to the internal auditory canal (IAC) (AB measurement) were three times more likely to have postoperative House-Brackman grades of 3 or worse. We also found that an EB/BF ratio (representing elongated growth parallel to the IAC axis) ≥1.1 was associated with half the risk of poor facial nerve outcome. Tumors with anterior-posterior diameter (AC measurement) >1.9 cm were five times less likely to undergo gross total resection (GTR). Furthermore, an increased degree of tumor extension into the IAC (DE measurement >2.4 cm) or an increased amount of brainstem compression (EB measurement >1.1 cm) were each associated with a nearly 3-fold decrease in the likelihood of GTR. Conclusion Our study demonstrates that anterior extent of the tumor is as important as tumor size to facial nerve outcome and degree of resection for vestibular schwannomas.
SecA mediates cotranslational targeting and translocation of an inner membrane protein.

Protein targeting to the bacterial plasma membrane was generally thought to occur via two major pathways: cotranslational targeting by signal recognition particle (SRP) and posttranslational targeting by SecA and SecB. Recently, SecA was found to also bind ribosomes near the nascent polypeptide exit tunnel, but the function of this SecA–ribosome contact remains unclear. In this study, we show that SecA cotranslationally recognizes the nascent chain of an inner membrane protein, RodZ, with high affinity and specificity. In vitro reconstitution and in vivo targeting assays show that SecA is necessary and sufficient to direct the targeting and translocation of RodZ to the bacterial plasma membrane in an obligatorily cotranslational mechanism. Sequence elements upstream and downstream of the RodZ transmembrane domain dictate nascent polypeptide selection by SecA instead of the SRP machinery. These findings identify a new route for the targeting of inner membrane proteins in bacteria and highlight the diversity of targeting pathways that enables an organism to accommodate diverse nascent proteins.
Translanguaging with multilingual students. Learning from classroom moments, edited by Ofelia García and Tatyana Kleyn, New York, Routledge, 2016, 235pp., US$49.95 (paperback), ISBN 978-1-138-90698-3

Translanguaging with multilingual students. Learning from classroom moments is an anticipated work by Ofelia Garcia and the team of researchers and teachers that participated in the state funded pr...