cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Nature and Nurture: Impacts on Mouse Phenotypes and Translational Research

While genome projects continue to provide crucial information about the structure of genomes and their genes, functional genomics (or functional genetics) initiatives strive to understand the function of genomes and their genes. Identification of a protein gene product and determination of its function as a receptor, ligand or enzyme is a proximal goal. Understanding the role of the gene and its product, in the context of a living organism, in its environment is the ultimate goal of functional genomics initiatives. Thus, functional genomics efforts in genetically engineered animals aim to produce and characterize phenotype(s) that clearly result from the intended genetic manipulation(s) and help to elucidate gene function(s). However, phenotypes reflect genetic influences other than the intended genetic manipulations, as well as experiential and environmental influences including infectious agents. Potential impacts of extra-experimental variables must be considered when interpreting phenotype data.
Prolonged Depletion of ATP Because of Delayed Repletion of the Adenine Nucleotide Pool following Reversible Myocardial Ischemic Injury in Dogs

Sixty-five percent of the ATP and 50% of the total adenine nucleotide (ΣAd) pool is lost from the subendocardial myocardium after 15 min of severe ischemia induced by circumflex artery occlusion in open-chest dogs (12). In the present experiment, we assessed the effects of various periods of arterial reflow following 15 min of ischemic injury on resynthesis of ATP and ΣAd. The circumflex artery was occluded for 15 min and reperfused for 20 or 60 min or 24 or 96 hr. The mean ATP after 15 min of ischemia was reduced 62% from 5.42 ± 0.33 to 2.08 ± 0.21 (xmol/g; and the total nucleotide content was reduced by 50%. ATP content recovered slightly during the first 20 min of reperfusion but remained markedly depressed for at least 24 hr because of the initial depletion of adenine nucleotides and because minimal salvage of de novo repletion occurred in the injured muscle during this time period. By 4 days, ATP and total adenine nucleotides were still slightly depressed but had recovered to 88% and 91% of control. Electrolyte changes and an increased inulin-diffusible space, which are characteristic of irreversibly injured myocardium, reperfused for 20 or 60 min, were not observed. Also, tissue necrosis was absent in the hearts reperfused for 24 or 96 hr. These observations indicate that the marked depression of ATP and adenine nucleotides and the slow recovery of these metabolites occurred in myocardium that nevertheless was reversibly injured in terms of cellular viability.
Personal reflections … on over 50 years in computer simulation

The author’s experiences over a span of more than 50 years are characterised as a journey. Early interests in computer system performance modelling, information storage and retrieval, and computer ...
Efficient blue perovskite nanocrystal light emitting diodes (Conference Presentation)

Blue nanocrystal perovskite LEDs have traditionally lagged behind their red and green cousins. Here, we discuss the reasons for this lag and propose solutions to these problems, producing high efficiency blue perovskite LEDs. We demonstrate the NiOx, a transport material in one of the highest performing devices to date, reduces the performance of nanocrystals near to the interface. By replacing it with an alternative transport structure, we show that the nanocrystal emission is unperturbed. We then build full LEDs out of this transport structure, increasing the EQE from 0.03% to 0.50%, the highest for inorganic perovskite nanocrystals at this wavelength. We further show that the benefits of this transport structure relax as the energetics redshift, as our blue-green devices match those from literature. These results are a useful step forward towards commercially relevant perovskite LEDs.
The Role of Engagement in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for the Prevention of Depressive Relapse/Recurrence in Perinatal Women

One core assumption of mindfulness interventions is that engagement via session attendance and at-home mindfulness practices is essential to the program’s efficacy. In two samples of pregnant women who underwent Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Perinatal Depression (MBCT-PD), we aimed to evaluate predictors of engagement as well as associations between engagement and clinical outcomes. Pregnant adult women with depression histories received MBCT-PD in an open trial (N = 49) or a pilot randomized clinical trial (N = 43). Engagement was measured by quantity of at-home practice and class attendance. Clinical outcomes were self-reported depressive symptoms measured at post-intervention and at 6-months postpartum. Potential predictors of engagement included baseline demographic and clinical characteristics. On average, women reported engaging in formal mindfulness practice 3.35 (SD = 1.86) times per week for 13.95 (SD = 7.25) minutes per session. Greater engagement was significantly associated with decreased depressive symptoms at post-intervention and 6 months postpartum, with medium to large effect sizes. The number of children was negatively associated with attendance and occasions of practice, with medium to large effect sizes, although not statistically significant. Prior depressive episodes, age, income, and education were not associated with engagement variables. Engagement is associated with improvements in mothers’ mental health following MBCT-PD. Given the association between mothers’ depression and their parenting behavior, MBCT-PD may be a useful intervention for enhancing parenting skills.
Entrepreneurial aspirations and poverty reduction: the role of institutional context

Integrating insights from institutional theory and a subjectivist view of entrepreneurial action, we developed a conceptual model of poverty reduction in the context of institutional rigidities and...
Personalizing Behavioral Parent Training Interventions to Improve Treatment Engagement and Outcomes for Culturally Diverse Families

Behavioral Parent Training (BPT) interventions are efficacious for young children with externalizing behavior problems. However, not all families benefit, and ethnic minority families in particular are less likely to enroll, engage, and improve in BPT. Versions of BPT interventions tailored for specific ethnic groups have been successful at improving engagement and outcomes for ethnic minorities; however, the specificity of these models presents challenges for broad dissemination. This article presents a personalization approach (PersIn) that utilizes cultural assessment results to tailor treatment protocols to the characteristics of individual families. We believe this approach has the potential to maximize cultural sensitivity while preserving generalizability to both minority and non-minority ethnic groups. We further propose that personalization on Parent Explanatory Model (PEM) parameters that have been found to vary across ethnic groups and to impact treatment engagement and/or outcomes is a promising approach to decreasing disparities in BPTs. We describe examples of evidence-supported PEMs that present good targets for personalization and provide examples from MY PCIT to illustrate how PersIn can be applied to Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT).
Bortezomib-based consolidation or maintenance therapy for multiple myeloma: a meta-analysis.

Bortezomib-based regimens are widely used as induction therapy for multiple myeloma (MM). Unlike lenalidomide, the role of bortezomib in consolidation and maintenance therapy for MM is less clear. We performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the impact of bortezomib-based consolidation and maintenance therapy on survival outcomes and adverse events. PubMed, Web of Science, Embase databases, and major conference proceedings were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of bortezomib-based regimens as consolidation or maintenance therapy for MM. Ten RCTs enrolling 3147 patients were included in the meta-analysis. Bortezomib-based regimens were compared with regimens without bortezomib or observation. The meta-analysis suggested that bortezomib-based maintenance therapy improved progression-free survival (PFS; hazard ratio [HR] = 0.72, 95% CI 0.55–0.95, P = 0.02) and overall survival (OS; HR = 0.71, 95% CI 0.58–0.87, P = 0.001). Bortezomib-based consolidation therapy improved PFS (HR = 0.77, 95% CI 0.68–0.88, P < 0.001) but not OS (HR = 0.98, 95% CI 0.78–1.24, P = 0.87). Bortezomib-based consolidation/maintenance therapy led to a trend toward increased risk of grade ≥ 3 neurologic symptoms, gastrointestinal symptoms, and fatigue. More research is warranted to further assess the role of bortezomib-based consolidation and maintenance therapy for multiple myeloma.
On the zero dynamics of linear input–output models

Zeros are of extreme importance in linear systems theory, especially unstable zeros, which degrade achievable performance. Furthermore, the presence of a zero in a state-space model implies the exi...
When Being “Essential” Illuminates Disparities: Counseling Clients Affected by COVID-19

The 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has highlighted social disparities in the United States This article examines how preexisting racial and ethnic disparities, exacerbated by COVID-19, have negatively affected communities of color that tend to be overrepresented in lower socioeconomic groups, have limited access to health care and education, have an undocumented status, and work in jobs considered ?essential ? Counselors are encouraged to use creative strategies to design and facilitate telecounseling and reduced- or no-cost workshops in which attendees can participate safely Specific cultural considerations, aspects of crisis management, and creative interventions that can be used with clients of color at an appropriate social distance are discussed Counselors can also instill hope in their clients by promoting sociopolitical development As the impact of COVID-19 will be felt for years, it is crucial that counselors be prepared to address the needs of those disproportionately affected
Increasing the use of multimodal analgesia during adult surgery in a tertiary academic anaesthesia department.

Author(s): Olmos, Andrea V; Steen, Sasha; Boscardin, Christy K; Chang, Joyce M; Manahan, Genevieve; Little, Anthony R; Lee, Man-Cheung; Liu, Linda L | Abstract: ObjectiveMultimodal analgesia pathways have been shown to reduce opioid use and side effects in surgical patients. A quality improvement initiative was implemented to increase the use of multimodal analgesia in adult patients presenting for general anaesthesia at an academic tertiary care centre. The aim of this study was to increase adoption of a perioperative multimodal analgesia protocol across a broad population of surgical patients. The use of multimodal analgesia was tracked as a process metric. Our primary outcome was opioid use normalised to oral morphine equivalents (OME) intraoperatively, in the postanaesthesia care unit (PACU), and 48 hours postoperatively. Pain scores and use of antiemetics were measured as balancing metrics.MethodsWe conducted a quality improvement study of a multimodal analgesia protocol implemented for adult (≥18 and≤70) non-transplant patients undergoing general anaesthesia (≥180 min). Components of multimodal analgesia were defined as (1) preoperative analgesic medication (acetaminophen, celecoxib, diclofenac, gabapentin), (2) regional anaesthesia (peripheral nerve block or catheter, epidural catheter or spinal) or (3) intraoperative analgesic medication (ketamine, ketorolac, lidocaine infusion, magnesium, acetaminophen, dexamethasone ≥8 mg, dexmedetomidine). We compared opioid use, pain scores and antiemetic use for patients 1 year before (baseline group-1 July 2018 to 30 June 2019) and 1 year after (implementation group-1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020) project implementation.ResultsUse of multimodal analgesia improved from 53.9% in the baseline group to 67.5% in the implementation group (pl0.001). There was no significant difference in intraoperative OME use before and after implementation (β0=44.0, β2=0.52, p=0.875). OME decreased after the project implementation in the PACU (β0=34.4, β2=-3.88, pl0.001) and 48 hours postoperatively (β0=184.9, β2=-22.59, pl0.001), while pain scores during those time points were similar.ConclusionA perioperative pragmatic multimodal analgesic intervention was associated with reduced OME use in the PACU and 48 hours postoperatively.
How the Other Half Lives: Ellin Berlin’s Lace Curtain

Alone in this study of Irish American fiction are Ellin Berlin’s characters who have not only achieved middle class, but are wealthy. Berlin gives her readers insight into the upper crust New York scene from before World War I to the end of World War II. Like many of the novelists studied here, Berlin grew up in the world about which she writes. She was born Ellin Mackay to a millionaire father (his Irish immigrant father had struck silver in the Comstock Lode). Berlin’s Veronica Reardon, though wealthy, still constantly feels she does not fit in among the upper crust, who shun her for being Irish as well as for being Catholic. In turn Veronica is dismayed to see her Irish American peers turn the same feelings of superiority onto other groups, most notably Jewish people. Berlin’s novels of this rarely seen element of Irish America should be better known, and this chapter on Lace Curtain will hopefully act as a corrective to her relative anonymity in Irish Studies.
Demographic Change and Asset Prices

Will the ageing of the baby boomers lead to a fi nancial market meltdown? Will population ageing raise the equity premium, as ageing households become less willing to bear risk? This paper investigates these questions, using a new dataset that covers stock and bond prices, as well as age distributions, for a large cross-section of developed countries from the early 1900s. It uses an econometric specifi cation that links real stock and bond prices, real returns and the equity premium to the relative importance of all age groups in the age distribution. It fi nds little evidence to suggest that asset prices will suffer abrupt declines when the baby boomers retire. In fact, in countries where stock market participation is greatest, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States, evidence suggests that real fi nancial asset prices may continue to rise as populations age, consistent with survey evidence that households continue to accumulate fi nancial wealth well into old age and do little to run down their savings in retirement.
Interactions between the immune system and the ruminant conceptus

Interactions of the conceptus with the immune system can involve either anti-sperm or anti-conceptus immune responses that limit the success of pregnancy of beneficial effects of cytokines released from lymphoid cells on embryonic growth and gene expression. The immune system is functional in the uterus and therefore there is the potential for anti-conceptus immune responses. However, endometrial lymphocytes are distinct in many respects from lymphoid cells at peripheral sites; one major subpopulation expresses the gamma delta T-cell receptor and may not recognize major histocompatibility antigens. There are also several control systems to limit anti-conceptus immune responses. In particular, expression of major histocompatibility antigens on the trophoblast is either absent or of limited distribution. In addition, activation of anti-conceptus immune responses leading to cytolytic responses is further limited by the presence of molecules that can inhibit lymphocyte transformation. The most well-characterized of these are prostaglandin E2 from placental and endometrial tissues, interferon-tau from the trophoblast during early pregnancy, and two endometrial proteins called the uterine milk proteins (UTMP). Progesterone plays a central role in inhibition of immune responses in actions that are mediated at least in part through endometrial secretion of UTMP. Cytokines play important roles as autocrine and paracrine regulators in many tissues including the reproductive tract. In ruminants, the best described example is interferon-tau. Other cytokines found in the reproductive tract or produced by the conceptus include interleukin-1, leukaemia inhibitory factor, granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor and interleukin-6. It is possible that the major source of cytokines in the reproductive tract is non-lymphoid cells of the endometrium and trophoblast. It is not known to what extent endometrial lymphocytes contribute to the cytokine milieu because no cytokine has been identified as a product of endometrial lymphocytes. However, there is a population of granulated lymphocytes that increase in number and granularity in the luminal epithelium of the late-pregnant ewe that is a potential source of cytokines.
The Operating Room Charge Nurse: Coordinator and Communicator

To achieve the potential inherent in the use of computer applications in distributed environments, we need to understand the information needs of users. The purpose of this descriptive study was to document the communication of an operating room charge nurse to inform the design of technological communication applications for operating room coordination. A data collection tool was developed to record: 1) the purpose of the communication, 2) mode of communication, 3) the target individual, and 4) the length of time taken for each occurrence. The chosen data collection categories provided a functional structure for data collection and analysis involving communication. Study findings are discussed within the context of application design.
Density imbalance effect on the Coulomb drag upturn in an undoped electron-hole bilayer

A low-temperature upturn of the Coulomb drag resistivity measured in an undoped electron-hole bilayer (uEHBL) device, possibly manifesting from exciton formation or condensation, was recently observed. The effects of density imbalance on this upturn are examined. Measurements of drag as a function of temperature in an uEHBL with a 20-nm-wide ${\text{Al}}_{0.90}{\text{Ga}}_{0.10}\text{As}$ barrier layer at various density imbalances are presented. The results show drag increasing as the density of either two-dimensional system was reduced, both within and above the upturn temperature regime and with a stronger density dependence than weak-coupling theory predicts. A comparison of the data with numerical calculations of drag in the presence of electron-hole pairing fluctuations, which qualitatively reproduce the drag upturn behavior, is also presented. The calculations predict a peak in drag at matched densities, which is not reflected by the measurements.
Orientations of BCFW Charts on the Grassmannian

The Grassmannian formulation of $$ \mathcal{N}=4 $$ super Yang-Mills theory expresses tree-level scattering amplitudes as linear combinations of residues from certain contour integrals. BCFW bridge decompositions using adjacent transpositions simplify the evaluation of individual residues, but orientation information is lost in the process. We present a straightforward algorithm to compute relative orientations between the resulting coordinate charts, and we show how to generalize the technique for charts corresponding to sequences of any not-necessarily-adjacent transpositions. As applications of these results, we demonstrate the existence of a signed boundary operator that manifestly squares to zero and prove via our algorithm that any residues appearing in the tree amplitude sum are decorated with appropriate signs so all poles that appear twice cancel exactly, not just mod 2 as in previous works. We also identify other non-physical poles in the boundary of Grassmannian representations of the amplitude and justify their removal so that the final result contains only physical local poles.
Recent Advances in 1-3 Piezoelectric Polymer Composite Transducer Technology for AUV/UUV Acoustic Imaging Applications

Over the past 5 years, the use of 1-3 piezoelectric polymer composite has been studied under various U.S. Navy-funded transducer research programs. As a transduction material, the 1-3 piezoelectric composite offers many advantages for autonomous undersea vehicles/unmanned undersea vehicle (AUV/UUV) imaging array construction. Broad bandwidth, high transmit/receive response, low cost of fabrication, mechanical ruggedness, and the ability to form conformal shapes make this material both a unique and intriguing medium for the sonar transducer designer. The 1-3 piezocomposite panels are comprised of several piezoceramic rods aligned vertically through the panel's thickness with each rod surrounded with a specific polymer epoxy. Volume fractions of ceramic to polymer can vary up to 50% with panel thickness ranging between fractions of a millimeter (2 to 4 MHz) to 25 millimeters (50 to 70 kHz). This article will elucidate the application of this unique material to a variety of practical transducer designs and describe some of the recent device demonstrations along with measured performance data.
Presumed consent to organ donation: a reevaluation.

His paper examines the presumed consent approach from a practical, legal and ethical perspective. It concludes that presumed consent for harvesting cadaveric organs a may be a viable policy alternative, but that research in a number of specific areas is needed before the policy can be endorsed.
Object technology – a grand narrative?

This brief article sets out some personal observations about the development of object technology from its emergence until today, and suggests how it will develop in the future.
On tractable exponential sums

We consider the problem of evaluating certain exponential sums. These sums take the form Σx1,x2,...,xn∈ZN e2πi/N f(x1,x2,...,xn), where each xi is summed over a ring ZN, and f(x1,x2,...,xn) is a multivariate polynomial with integer coefficients. We show that the sum can be evaluated in polynomial time in n and log N when f is a quadratic polynomial. This is true even when the factorization of N is unknown. Previously, this was known for a prime modulus N. On the other hand, for very specific families of polynomials of degree ≥ 3 we show the problem is #P-hard, even for any fixed prime or prime power modulus. This leads to a complexity dichotomy theorem -- a complete classification of each problem to be either computable in polynomial time or #P-hard -- for a class of exponential sums. These sums arise in the classifications of graph homomorphisms and some other counting CSP type problems, and these results lead to complexity dichotomy theorems. For the polynomial-time algorithm, Gauss sums form the basic building blocks; for the hardness result we prove group-theoretic necessary conditions for tractability.
The Web - early visions, present reality, the grander future

Summary form only given. Features of today's Web environment were advocated and predicted as early as 1945 (Vannevar Bush) followed by McCarthy, J. C. R. Licklider, and Douglas Engelbart. Technology has also been important (the stored program computer itself), time-sharing, CRT displays and now flat panels, the mouse, the Internet, the personal computer (with all its troubles), the Web, and adequate search engines. We compare what was advocated and predicted with the present interactive environment. Some things came out better than predicted, and some things that were advocated have still not been realized. Beyond what was predicted, there are still more possibilities, especially some involving artificial intelligence (e.g. understanding a confused user's state of mind), but also some involving (mere) hardware, e.g. the pocket computer with adequate display and input. Some of the present problems are institutional - combining making sure that authors get paid with universal access to their works.
Additions to bank loan-loss reserves: good news or bad news?

Abstract This paper examines the effects of Citicorp's and succeeding banks' loan-loss reserve announcements in 1987. It was found that while the average effect on bank stock return portfolios was weak, the effect on individual bank returns was heterogeneous. Tests were undertaken to determine which bank-specific variables explained the latter result. Two significant variables were the size of a banks' LDC debt exposure and its position in LDC rescheduling committees.
On genera of smooth curves in higher dimensional varieties

We prove that for any smooth projective variety X of dimension > 3, there exists an integer go = go(X), such that for any integer g > go, there exists a smooth curve C in X with g(C) = g.
Solution of elastic-plastic stress analysis problems by the P-version of the finite element method

The solution of small-strain elastic-plastic stress analysis problems by the p-version of the finite element method is discussed. The formulation is based on the deformation theory of plasticity and the displacement method. Practical realization of controlling discretization errors for elastic-plastic problems is the main focus of the paper. Numerical examples, whicii include comparisons between the deformation and incremental theories of plasticity under tight control of discretization errors, are presented.
Wage and productivity gaps - evidence from Ghana

The author uses a unique data set (combining information about individual workers with information about the firms employing them) to jointly estimate production functions and wage equations. This approach allows her not only to assess the marginal impact on wages of demographic and other characteristics but also to compare how these variables affect productivity among various groups of workers. Among her findings: 1) Female employees are paid less than male employees, but this negative wage premium does not reflect commensurately lower productivity. 2) Employees' experience is reflected equally in wages and in productivity differentials over the worker's life cycle. Wages and productivity both increase, but at a decreasing rate. 3) The more training and education workers have, the higher their wages and the greater their productivity. 4) Productivity differences can be demonstrated for five levels of education completed. The productivity gap is greater than the wage gap. 5) Returns to education are similar across gender, sector, and level of unionization, but they are lower for unskilled workers than for skilled workers. 6) Training supplied by outside providers (as opposed to in-house training) is associated with higher wages but appears to have no (immediate) impact on productivity. 7) Trade union members' wages are in line with productivity. Both wages and productivity are higher for union members than for non-union members.
Regulating Traffic by Controlling Land Use: The Southern California Experience

In Los Angeles emphasis in transportation planning has recently shifted from facility construction to transportation system management and the control of land use with the goal of slowing the growth in traffic congestion. This paper critically examines several recent transportation growth management strategies in Los Angeles, and concludes that though they were well intentioned, they might not lead to the intended consequences.
Poor Functional Status Is an Independent Predictor of Surgical Site Infections Due to Methicillin‐Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Older Adults

BACKGROUND: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has become a common surgical site infection (SSI) pathogen, particularly in older adults. Risk factors for MRSA SSI in elderly patients have not been described. METHODS: A nested case–control study was conducted. Patients were enrolled from seven study hospitals (one medical center and six community hospitals) between January 1, 1998, and April 1, 2003. Risk factors for MRSA SSI were identified by comparing cases with two reference groups: uninfected surgical patients and patients with SSI due to methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA). Two separate multivariate models were created using logistic regression and then compared and contrasted. RESULTS: Eighty-six patients with MRSA and 64 with MSSA SSI were identified. One hundred sixty-seven uninfected surgical patients were selected. In multivariate analysis using uninfected surgical patients as controls, requiring assistance in three or more activities of daily living (ADLs) was an independent risk factor for MRSA SSI (odds ratio (OR)=2.73, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.16–6.46). Using patients with MSSA SSIs as a reference group, requiring assistance in three or more ADLs was also a significant predictor for MRSA SSI (OR=3.78, 95% CI=1.43–9.98) in multivariate analysis. Other independent predictors included Charlson score, wound class, and surgical duration. Lack of independence in ADLs was an independent risk factor for MRSA SSI in elderly patients in both models. CONCLUSION: Poor functional status (requiring assistance in ≥3 ADLs) was specifically associated with MRSA SSI. Functional status is an objective, readily available variable that can be used to stratify patients at risk for MRSA SSI.
Restoration of Wetland Services: Economic Gains to the Farmland Owner

The objective of this analysis is to describe and, if possible, measure gains that farmland owners may have seen because of the public's demand for wetland services. To do so, we first consider landowners' ability to directly sell onsite (hunting, fishing, wildlife viewing) and offsite (water quality, groundwater recharge, etc.) wetland services. We found little evidence that landowners sell wetland services. We then consider farmland owners' gains from the mitigation banking system. We found that, with less than 200 approved mitigation banks on farmland, farmland owners had some but limited opportunities to participate in mitigation markets. Finally, we consider landowners' gains from the sale of wetland easements through the USDA's Wetland Reserve Program (WRP). Although we are unable to quantify any gains, the popularity of the program suggests that landowners do gain by participating - since the mid-1990's, more landowners have tried to enroll than program limits allow. Furthermore, two factors suggest that WRP gains are widespread. First, WRP easements have been sold in every State. And second, easement prices have increased over time which may indicate that owners of higher-valued lands may be seeing opportunities to participate.
Allometry and Scaling of Wave Aberration of Eyes

The scaling of root mean square (RMS) wave aberration in an isometrically growing eye is investigated, along with changes due to measurements made at different relative pupil sizes. It is found that, relative to an initial state, if an eye expands in all directions by the factor k, and the wave aberration is then measured at a relative pupil size which has changed over the pupil size used for the original measurement by a factor b, the new wave aberration will be increased or decreased by a factor kb(n), where n is the exponent relating RMS wave aberration, to pupil radius, r, in the equation: RMS=qr(n) in the initial eye. This implies that, if wave aberration is measured in a growing eye with a constant measurement pupil size, the measured RMS will decrease by the factor 1/k(n-1).
SPACE SHUTTLE MAIN PROPULSION SYSTEM

The Space Shuttle Main Propulsion System provides the impulse to transfer the reusable Orbiter of the Space Shuttle Transportation system and its payload from earth to earth orbit. Both cryogenic and solid rocket propulsion systems are utilized. The selected systems are characterized by (1) reusability wherever possible to reduce program cost, (2) design pressures, and other important design parameters, for the liquid propellant engine significantly higher than past programs for increased performance, and (3) advanced materials and manufacturing processes to withstand the extreme environments. The approaches for solution of these varied problems are emphasized.
Evaluation of the Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS) Air Temperature Data Products

AbstractThere is a high demand for agrohydrologic models to use gridded near-surface air temperature data as the model input for estimating regional and global water budgets and cycles. The Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS) developed by combining simulation models with observations provides a long-term gridded meteorological dataset at the global scale. However, the GLDAS air temperature products have not been comprehensively evaluated, although the accuracy of the products was assessed in limited areas. In this study, the daily 0.25° resolution GLDAS air temperature data are compared with two reference datasets: 1) 1-km-resolution gridded Daymet data (2002 and 2010) for the conterminous United States and 2) global meteorological observations (2000–11) archived from the Global Historical Climatology Network (GHCN). The comparison of the GLDAS datasets with the GHCN datasets, including 13 511 weather stations, indicates a fairly high accuracy of the GLDAS data for daily temperature. The quality ...
STP: A Mechanized Logic for Specification and Verification

A logic and proof theory that was mechanized and successfully applied to prove nontrivial properties of a fully distributed fault tolerant system is described. The system is close to achieving the critical balance in man machine interaction necesary for successful application by users other than the system developers. Motivation for the form of man machine interaction embodied by STP is discussed. A formal description of the logic and the proof theory is contained, and the description illustrated with an example. The use of STP in a large scale effort to prove nontrivial properties on SIFT, a distributed Software Implemented Fault Tolerant operating system for aircraft flight control is discussed. Finally, directions for further work are described.
A Parameter-free Hedging Algorithm

We study the problem of decision-theoretic online learning (DTOL). Motivated by practical applications, we focus on DTOL when the number of actions is very large. Previous algorithms for learning in this framework have a tunable learning rate parameter, and a barrier to using online-learning in practical applications is that it is not understood how to set this parameter optimally, particularly when the number of actions is large. In this paper, we offer a clean solution by proposing a novel and completely parameter-free algorithm for DTOL. We introduce a new notion of regret, which is more natural for applications with a large number of actions. We show that our algorithm achieves good performance with respect to this new notion of regret; in addition, it also achieves performance close to that of the best bounds achieved by previous algorithms with optimally-tuned parameters, according to previous notions of regret.
Dust Around Young Stars: How Related to Solar System Dust?

Study of the dust in circumstellar disks around young stars is currently an extremely active area in astronomy. There is little doubt that accretion disks are a natural part of protostellar evolution. Much recent observational and theoretical work is giving us a clearer picture of the physical conditions in dust disks and their evolutionary progression. IRAS observations revealed that many main-sequence stars, such as p Pictoris, have circumstellar disks. But whether these disks are related to planetary formation is not yet understood. A portion of the dust in disks around young stars ultimately may be incorporated into planetary systems. Thus, study of the dust in our own solar system complements the remote sensing of protostellar regions and aids in reconstructing the evolutionary history of the dust. Since comets formed in the cold outer regions of the solar nebula, they may contain intact interstellar grains. As the comets lose material during passage through the warm inner solar system, some of these grains will be released into interplanetary space. Technical advances now allow analysis of individual micrometer or smaller grains in interplanetary dust particles and primitive meteorite samples. Isotopic anomalies and patterns of crystal growth in these particles are yielding tantalizing clues about the interstellar material incorporated into these solar system samples.
Geographic Information Systems: A Tool to Support Geography and Environmental Education?

Geographic information systems (GIS) education is at a crossroads in the United States. Since its inception in the early 1990s, GIS has diffused slowly into select groups of K-12 classrooms through the efforts of geography and environmental educators. However, many of the assumptions underpinning the initial period of enthusiasm for the technology are now being questioned. This paper reviews issues identified as barriers to dissemination in order to help shape and inform the next phase of GIS implementation. First, the existing arguments for GIS in elementary and secondary education in the United States are reviewed and evaluated. Second, considerations related to developing an improved pedagogical foundation for GIS are explored. Finally, implications and suggestions for guidelines for the next decade of dissemination and implementation of GIS are discussed.
A roadmap from rough set theory to granular computing

Granular Computing (GrC) operates with granules (generalized subsets) of data as pieces of basic knowledge. Rough Set Theory (RST) is a leading special case of GrC approach. In this paper, we outline a roadmap that stepwise refines RST into GrC. A prime illustration is that GrC of symmetric binary relations is a complete topological RST on granular spaces, where the adjective complete means that the representation theory can fully reflect the structure theory
Theory of Conditional Games

Game theory explains how to make good choices when different decision makers have conflicting interests. The classical approach assumes that decision makers are committed to making the best choices for themselves regardless of the effect on others, but such an approach is less appropriate when cooperation, compromise, and negotiation are important. This book describes conditional games, a form of game theory that accommodates multiple stakeholder decision-making scenarios where cooperation and negotiation are significant issues and where notions of concordant group behavior are important. Using classical binary preference relations as a point of departure, the book extends the concept of a preference ordering that permits stakeholders to modulate their preferences as functions of the preferences of others. As these conditional preferences propagate through a group of decision makers, they create social bonds that lead to notions of group concordance. This book is intended for all students and researchers of decision theory and game theory, including students in artificial intelligence (especially multiagent systems and distributed control), economics, management science, psychology, analytic philosophy, and applied mathematics.
Carbon dioxide control for manned spacecraft.

Regenerative amino acid salt sorber and other means to control carbon dioxide and reclaim oxygen during manned missions up to 180 days
RATIONAL TIMING OF CALLS OF CONVERTIBLE PREFERRED STOCKS

Conversion-forcing calls of convertible preferred stocks are re-examined focusing on the value of the conversion option impounded in the preferred price. This amount represents the preferred shareholder wealth potentially transferable to common stockholders. Capture of this wealth underlies the theoretical motivation for calling and forcing conversion as soon as possible. Most of the preferred issues examined exhibit nonpositive average option values throughout all but short periods; hence, no wealth transfer opportunity exists for immediate calls. Issues that exhibit positive option values are called quickly. In contrast to interpretations that have persisted for over fifteen years, our results reveal no substantial delays in calling convertible preferred stocks.
Space-Efficient Data Cubes for Dynamic Environments

Data cubes provide aggregate information to support the analysis of the contents of data warehouses and databases. An important tool to analyze data in data cubes is the range query. For range queries that summarize large regions of massive data cubes, computing the query result on-the-fly can result in non-interactive response times. To speed up range queries, values that summarize regions of the data cube are pre-computed and stored. This faster response time results in more expensive updates and/or space overhead. While the emphasis is typically on low query and update costs, growing data collections increase the demand for space-efficient approaches. In this paper two techniques are presented that have the same update and query costs as earlier approaches, without introducing any space overhead.
A note on the measure of discord

A new entropy-like measure as well as a new measure of total uncertainty pertaining to the Dempster-Shafer theory are introduced. It is argued that these measures are better justified than any of the previously proposed candidates.
Runway Roughness Studies in the Aeronautical Field

ATTENTION IS GIVEN TO SEVERAL PHASES OF THE RUNWAY ROUGHNESS PROBLEM AS IT AFFECTS THE OPERATION OF AIRPLANES. MEANS FOR MEASURING ROUGHNESS AND THE MANNER OF ANALYZING AND PRESENTING DATA SO AS TO BEST INDICATE THE NATURE OF CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ROUGHNESS ARE PRESENTED. VARIOUS TYPES OF CRITERIA FOR SMOOTHNESS ARE THEN CONSIDERED FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION AND AS A GUIDE FOR DETERMINING WHEN REPAIRS ARE NECESSARY. THEORETICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES ARE ALSO PRESENTED WHICH DEAL WITH MEANS FOR PREDICTING THE LOADS THAT DEVELOP IN THE AIRPLANE STRUCTURE DURING TAXIING. IN THIS CONNECTION, AVAILABLE STATISTICAL LOADS DATA GATHERED DURING ROUTINE TAXI OPERATION OF AIRCRAFT ARE REVIEWED. /AUTHOR/
A content-aware scheduling scheme for video streaming to multiple users over wireless networks

There is a rapidly growing interest in high speed data transmission over digital cellular networks. This interest is fueled mainly by the need to provide multimedia content to mobile users. In this paper, we present a packet scheduling scheme that can be used for real-time streaming of pre-encoded video over downlink packet access wireless networks. We consider a gradient-based scheduling scheme in which user data rates are dynamically adjusted based on their channel quality as well as the gradients of a utility function. The utility functions are designed by taking into account the distortion of the received video. They allow for content-aware packet scheduling both within and across multiple users. Simulation results show that the gradient-based scheduling framework, when combined with the distortion-aware utility functions, significantly outperforms conventional content-independent packet scheduling schemes.
3D circuit integration for Vertex and other detectors

High Energy Physics continues to push the technical boundaries for electronics. There is no area where this is truer than for vertex detectors. Lower mass and power along with higher resolution and radiation tolerance are driving forces. New technologies such as SOI CMOS detectors and three dimensional (3D) integrated circuits offer new opportunities to meet these challenges. The fundamentals for SOI CMOS detectors and 3D integrated circuits are discussed. Examples of each approach for physics applications are presented. Cost issues and ways to reduce development costs are discussed.
Finite state CELP for variable rate speech coding

A finite-state code excited linear prediction (CELP) system is proposed for variable-rate speech coding. The encoding system consists of a number of CELP coders with different linear predictive coding parameter quantization patterns, code book sizes, and population densities. The selection of the encoding state for each input vector depends on the input signal characteristics, the desired bit rate/signal to quantized noise ratio, and the current state of the encoder. In CELP coders the greater part of the bit resources, about 70%, is used for encoding of the excitation signal. However, the excitation accuracy needed to encode a speech segment with a desired level of fidelity strongly depends on its short-term spectral characteristics. The use of a finite-state system involves some implicit clustering of speech and allows variable-rate coding of the excitation. The gain in compression that can be obtained from variable-rate coding of the excitation signal is investigated. Experiments with a four-state variable-rate CELP coder produce good-quality encoded speech at 5 kbit/s. >
Efficient low-power terahertz generation via on-chip triply-resonant nonlinear frequency mixing

In this letter, we show theoretically how the light-confining properties of triply-resonant photonic resonators can be tailored to enable dramatic enhancements of the conversion efficiency of terahertz (THz) generation via nonlinear frequency down-conversion processes. Using detailed numerical calculations, we predict that this approach can be used to reduce up to three orders of magnitude the pump powers required to reach quantum-limited conversion efficiency of THz generation in conventional nonlinear optical material systems. Furthermore, we propose a realistic design readily accessible experimentally, both for fabrication and demonstration of optimal THz conversion efficiency at sub-W power levels.
2-Player nash and nonsymmetric bargaining games: algorithms and structural properties

The solution to a Nash or a nonsymmetric bargaining game is obtained by maximizing a concave function over a convex set, i.e., it is the solution to a convex program. We show that each 2-player game whose convex program has linear constraints, admits a rational solution and such a solution can be found in polynomial time using only an LP solver. If in addition, the game is succinct, i.e., the coefficients in its convex program are "small", then its solution can be found in strongly polynomial time. We also give non-succinct linear games whose solution can be found in strongly polynomial time.
Sampling-Based Resolution-Complete Algorithms for Safety Falsification of Linear Systems

In this paper, we describe a novel approach for checking safety specifications of a dynamical system with exogenous inputs over infinite time horizon. We introduce the notion of resolution completeness for analysis of safety falsification algorithms and present sampling-based resolution-complete algorithms for safety falsification of discrete-time linear time-invariant systems. Given a target resolution of inputs, the algorithms terminate either with a reachable state that violates the safety specification, or prove that the system does not violate the specification at the given resolution of inputs.
Ripple Reduction Coils for Tokamak Reactors

Ripple Reduction Poloidal Field (RRPF) coils together with blocks of ferro-magnetic iron shielding are used to design a commercial tokamak reactor similar in size to STARFIRE with only eight rather than twelve tororidal field (TF) coils. The RRPF coils function like segmented poloidal field coils, placed between the TF coils and the neutron shielding, carrying an average of + or -6 MA turns of current in the torroidal direction. Together with an additional pair of vertical field coils carrying 4.8 MAT, they produce the poloidal field needed for a approx. = 6% plasma equilibrium with elongation 1.68 and a pair of separatrices suitable for a poloidal divertor. The RRPF coils also reduce magnetic ripple near the top and bottom of the plasma while the laminated blocks of iron magnetic shielding placed under each TF coil reduce magnetic ripple at the outer edge of the plasma near the midplane from a maximum of 5.48% to less than 1%.