cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Polymerization Shrinkage and Depth of Cure of Bulk Fill Flowable Composite Resins

Clinical Relevance Flowable composites had higher shrinkage than the nanohybrid restorative composite that was modified to have a flowable consistency during ultrasonic insertion. All materials tested had significantly less depth of cure than either manufacturers' claims or ISO 4049 scrape test results.
IMPLEMENTATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT IN CHINA

The paper describes major developments of environmental impact assessment (EIA) in China since 2003 when its EIA law became effective, with emphasis on those aspects not sufficiently touched upon by most researchers so far. These range from threshold-based categorization, evolution in scoping, expansion and upgrading of a series of technical guidelines for EIA, addition of water and soil conservation plan to EIA, public consultation and social impact assessment to interaction with other major means of environmental management in China (i.e. total pollution load control, discharge permit and cleaner production). Based on a literature review, exchanges with EIA practitioners and the author's daily work on EIA, it is found that EIA in China has evolved into a fairly comprehensive and technically adequate system. The biggest problem lies in its poor enforcement and implementation, which is the focus of this paper. By examining each practical step in reviewing, enforcing and implementing EIA, the paper evaluates EIA's role in optimizing decision-making (e.g. by alternative analysis), EIA implementation and its supervision piloted in China, underlying technical, procedural and institutional issues and concerns, and the disconnect between project EIA and plan/regional EIA, both with regards to theory and practice. The main reasons for weak EIA enforcement and implementation are discussed, which include the political system and incentive mechanisms, institutional arrangements, and regulatory and methodological shortcomings. Based on the analysis, recommendations are made for improving enforcement and implementation of EIA in China.
A passive pumping method for microfluidic devices.

The surface energy present in a small drop of liquid is used to pump the liquid through a microchannel. The flow rate is determined by the volume of the drop present on the pumping port of the microchannel. A flow rate of 1.25 μL s−1 is demonstrated using 0.5 μL drops of water. Two other fluid manipulations are demonstrated using the passive pumping method: pumping liquid to a higher gravitational potential energy and creating a plug within a microchannel.
A single operational amplifier notch filter

A circuit is presented which allows the realization of a notch filter by means of a single operational amplifier. The notch bandwidth can be easily adjusted by varying the ratio of two resistors and two capacitors.
Effects of GABA receptor blockade on stimulation-induced feeding and self-stimulation

Abstract Frequency thresholds for eating elicited by electrical stimulation of the lateral hypothalamus of rats decreased in a dose-dependent manner after intraperitoneal (IP) administration of picrotoxin, a γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) antagonist that blocks GABA-mediated synaptic inhibition. Strychnine IP, a glycine antagonist that blocks glycine-mediated synaptic inhibition, had no effect. By contrast, frequency thresholds for self-stimulation at the same electrode site significantly increased after picrotoxin. Again, strychnine had no effect. These findings indicate that GABAergic mechanisms are involved in both electrically-elicited feeding and self-stimulation. They also suggest a dissociation of the neural substrates which subserve these behaviors.
The Effects of Media Violence on Anxiety in Late Adolescence

Exposure to media violence is related to anxiety in youth, but the causality of the effect has not been established. This experimental study examined the effects of media violence on anxiety, blood pressure, and heart rate in late adolescents. We also examined whether these responses varied by previous exposure to media and real-life violence. College students (N = 209; M age = 18.74; 75 % female; 50 % Caucasian, 34 % African American, 9 % Asian, 3 % Hispanic, and 3 % other racial minorities) were randomized to view either violent or nonviolent high-action movie clips. Participants reported on their anxiety before and after watching the clips, as well as their previous exposure to violence. Measures of blood pressure and heart rate were taken at baseline and during movie viewing. Participants watching violent movie clips showed a greater anxiety increase than those watching nonviolent clips. Both groups experienced increased blood pressure and reduced heart rate during movie watching compared to baseline. Prior exposure to media violence was associated with diminished heart rate response. Additionally, students previously exposed to high levels of real-life violence showed lower blood pressure increases when watching violent clips compared to nonviolent clips. Thus, relatively brief exposure to violent movie clips increased anxiety among late adolescents. Prior exposure to media and real-life violence were associated with lower physiological reactivity to high-action and violent movies, respectively, possibly indicating desensitization. Future studies should investigate long-term anxiety and physiological consequences of regular exposure to media violence in adolescence.
A General Framework for Overlay Visualization

If visualization is more effective when accompanied by narration, why not superimpose visualization on narration? This might result in better transfer of learning. We will present a general framework for such superimposed visualization, called overlay visualization. The objectives for the design of our framework are 1) to separate the application from the visualization; and 2) to separate the specification from the rendering. We will describe a few applications of overlay visualization for programming and provide examples from our implementation of overlay visualization for software tutors called problets. The advantages of overlay visualization include: less cognitive load on the learner, and automatic support for both path and state visualization.
Decreased granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor production by human neonatal blood mononuclear cells and T cells.

ABSTRACT: Impaired production and delivery of neutrophils to the site of infection have been implicated in the increased susceptibility of the neonate to infection. Because granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) play critical roles in the production of neutrophils from marrow precursors, we assessed the ability of leukocytes from neonates and adults to produce GM-CSF, G-CSF, and, for comparison, macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) after stimulation with concanavalin A ± phorbol myristate acetate [blood mononuclear cells (MC) and T lymphocytes] or lipopolysaccharide (monocytes). MC and monocytes from adult and neonatal subjects produced mRNA for GM-CSF, G-CSF, and M-CSF, whereas T cells produced only GM-CSF mRNA. Neonatal MC and T cells accumulated only −30% as much GM-CSF mRNA as did adult MC and T cells. In contrast, the accumulation of GM-CSF mRNA by neonatal and adult monocytes was similar. Neonatal MC also accumulated similar amounts of G-CSF mRNA and somewhat more M-CSF mRNA than did adult MC; results with monocytes were similar to those with MC. Results of colony-stimulating activity bioassays on supernatants from neonatal and adult MC stimulated with concanavalin A paralleled the mRNA results. Although the overall number of colonies generated using neonatal and adult supernatants was similar, neonatal MC supernatants generated significantly more (p < 0.05) monocyte-containing colonies (72 ±19 versus 46 ± 11), significantly fewer (p < 0.05) eosinophil-containing colonies (7 ± 6 versus 23 ± 13), and similar numbers of granulocyte-containing colonies (59 ± 23 versus 63 ± 11) compared with adult MC supernatants. Because GM-CSF is a major determinant of eosinophil production in these assays, these data suggested diminished amounts of GM- CSF in the neonatal culture supernatants. Similarly, GM- CSF concentrations in neonatal MC and T cell culture supernatants averaged 40 to 50% of the concentrations in adult culture supernatants as determined by ELISA (p < 0.01). Whether the modestly diminished GM-CSF production by neonatal T cells contributes t the observed deficiency of granulocyte production in neonates, which occurs when demand is increased in response to infection, remains to be determined.
Cultural Similarity, Foreign Policy Actions, and Regime Perception: An Experimental Study of International Cues and Democratic Peace

This study examines previous explanations of democratic peace in light of sociocultural factors andforeign policy actions that influence public perceptions of another country. Two experiments assessed the effects of relevant sociocultural and foreign policy action cues on perception of the regime type of a target nation and on public approval of the use offorce. The findings suggest that sociocultural cues affect regime perception. Moreover, perceived similarity of a target nation and foreign policy actions are significant determinants of the public approval of the use offorce in addition to perceptions of regime type. This paper attempts to explore the dynamic underpinning of the phenomenon known as democratic peace-that is, the reluctance of publics of democratic nations to use force against other democratic countries. Specifically, we examine the effects of sociocultural factors and foreign policy behaviors on public perceptions of similarity with other nations and assess their implications for approval of the use of force. The profound realignment of the world's political system over the past decade has resulted in democratic regimes in an overwhelming number of nation-states for the first time in history. According to Kegley and Hermann (1995), some 75% of the globe's governments are now classified as democratic. This "third wave" of democratization, to borrow Samuel Huntington's (1991/92) terminology, has enormous consequences for the future course of international relations. The global democratic transition makes the exact makeup of democratic peace a critical point
Multiplicative commutators in division rings II

In this paper we study division rings in which the multiplicative commutators are periodic or periodic relative to the center.
In vitro effects of ionophore A23187 on skeletal collagen and noncollagen protein synthesis.

Effects of ionophore A23187 on skeletal collagen formation were investigated in vitro. Collagen synthesis was quantitated in fetal rat calvaria by measuring [3H]proline incorporation into collagenase-digestible (CDP) and noncollagen protein (NCP) using purified bacterial collagenase; [3H]proline was added for the last 2 h of culture. Results are as follows. 1) A23187 (0.03–1.0 jug:/ml) inhibited incorporation of label into CDP and NCP after 24 h of culture, with a greater effect on CDP. The response was not associated with altered amino acid uptake, precursor pool size, or degradation of newly labeled protein. 2) Submaximal concentrations of A23187 and parathyroid hormone or dibutyryl cAMP decreased CDP formation to a greater extent than treatment with the agents alone. 3) Imidazole, while ineffective by itself, enhanced the effect of A23187. 4) Alteration of medium calcium did not affect the response to ionophore. 5) The inhibitory effect of A23187 was partially reversed by 24 h and completely reversed b...
Dynamic CMOS load balancing and path oriented in time optimization algorithms to minimize delay uncertainties from process variations

The complexity of timing optimization of high-performance circuits has been increasing rapidly in proportion to the shrinking CMOS device size and rising magnitude of process variations. Addressing these significant challenges, this paper presents a timing optimization algorithm for CMOS dynamic logic and a Path Oriented IN Time (POINT) optimization flow for mixed-static-dynamic CMOS logic, where a design is partitioned into static and dynamic circuits. Implemented on a 64-b adder and International Symposium on Circuits and Systems (ISCAS) benchmark circuits, the POINT optimization algorithm has shown an average improvement in delay by 38% and delay uncertainty from process variations by 35% in comparison with a state-of-the-art commercial optimization tool.
Teaching Policy Analysis as Research: Consideration and Extension of Options.

Teaching policy analysis is compared to teaching research skills. Both involve the selection of an appropriate analytical tool to be used with multiple units of analysis; and in both, the selected instrument must fit the purpose of the analysis or the product is not useful. Policy analysis frameworks characteristically address policy process, content, and performance. However, these frameworks are based on different worldviews, with embedded assumptions and with deep philosophical roots that may be rational (classical), interpretive, or progressive (radical). These different assumptions can lead to very different analytical expectations and results. Here, we justify teaching policy analysis as research, categorize a number of frameworks, and provide recommendations for equipping students to critically assess issues that arise in the development and use of policy analysis frameworks.
The development of acetaminophen-induced nephrotoxicity in male Fischer 344 rats of different ages.

Male Fischer 344 rats classified as young (2–4 months), middle-aged (12–15 months) and aged (22–25 months) were administered 600 mg/kg acetaminophen (APAP) IP. Rats were killed 6 and 12 h after dosing, and renal damage evaluated by blood urea nitrogen (BUN) levels and histopathology. In addition, plasma levels of APAP and its sulfate and glucuronide conjugates were determined after 6 h. There was no evidence of renal damage in any age group 6 h after APAP. While no nephrotoxicity was present in young animals after 12 h, BUN was elevated 94% and 214% in middle-aged and aged rats, respectively, compared to young animals. At 12 h, APAP-induced renal lesions were more severe in aged rats compared to middle-aged animals. APAP-induced renal damage, as judged by BUN and histopathology, was not altered in young or middle-aged rats following unilateral nephrectomy. Six hours after APAP, both the middle-aged and aged animals had significantly higher plasma levels of APAP and APAP glucuronide compared to young rats. There were similar amounts of the sulfate conjugate in the plasma of each age group. This suggests pharmacokinetic differences could contribute to the age-related increased susceptibility of male Fischer 344 rats to APAP-induced nephrotoxicity.
Perceived critical mass effect on groupware acceptance

Groupware technologies have become an important part of the business computing infrastructure in many organizations, but many groupware applications, especially those requiring significant collabor...
Enzymes in non-aqueous solvents

Abstract For a variety of reasons including increased recognition of the large degree of association, by non-polar interaction, of enzymes with other cellular components such as membranes, enzymes are increasingly being investigated in mixed solvents less polar than water. Such solvents may be quite relevant because their polarity more nearly resembles the natural cellular microenvironment than does pure water. The single most important criterion in selecting a non-aqueous solvent is its compatibility with the maintenance of the enzyme's catalytic activity, which must be determined experimentally for each enzyme. Non-aqueous solvents have a variety of effects on enzymes: they may bind specifically, compete with substrate binding, dissociate multimers, shift an equilibrium between two enzyme conformations, alter the amount of helix, react with the enzyme, stabilize or destabilize the enzyme, and affect the rate of the catalytic reaction in several different ways. Typically, modest concentrations of hydroxylic solvents have little effect on rates, and may even enhance the rate significantly. Higher concentrations give lower rates, in a solvent-specific and enzyme-specific manner. Hydroxylic solvents may replace water as acceptor of a phosphoryl, glycosyl, or acyl group produced by a hydrolytic enzyme. Non-aqueous solvents also make it possible to run hydrolytic reactions in the reverse direction, forming a condensation product and water as a by-product. Non-aqueous solvents are being extensively used in cryoenzymology as antifreeze agents, in solubilizing and purifying enzymes, and to a lesser degree in two-phase systems in which the non-polar substrate is dissolved in the non-aqueous phase. Liquefied aqueous phenol is an extraordinary solvent for enzymes and other proteins. It is a powerful denaturant which rapidly and irreversibly extracts the enzyme into the phenol-rich phase of a phenol-water system. This property makes phenol useful for removing protein contaminants, and for detecting labile enzyme-substrate intermediates, by extracting substrate covalently bound to enzyme into the phenol-rich phase away from all other substrate, which generally remains in the aqueous phase.
Deviant drinking as disease: Alcoholism as a social accomplishment.

This paper presents a brief social history of the claim (hat certain forms of deviant drinking behavior should be defined as disease, and that their authors ought to receive medical treatment rather than moral scorn and punishment. It provides a case example of the medicalization of deviant behavior. The concern is then with the viability rather than the validity of this claim. The almost two hundred year history of the medicalization of repeated and disruptive alcohol intoxication is reviewed. The twentieth century “success” of the disease concept is linked to three developments: the scientific Yale Center on alcohol Studies, Alcoholics Anonymous, and the Jellinek formulation. The symbolic endorsement by the American Medical Association is seen as a product rather than a cause of these developments. I concluded that rather than an achievement of medical science, the disease concept of alcoholism is understood best as a social and political accomplishment.
Optimal design of an offshore wind farm layout

The cost of offshore wind farms are about 30-60% higher than onshore wind farms of same capacity. The cost and efficiency of offshore wind farms are determined by variety of factors which include the type of electrical system (AC or DC), transmission length, transmission voltage, rated power, wind turbine type and the farm topology, and wind speed. Since the design variable space is large for such problems, computational optimization is necessary to find an optimal solution. We discuss the development of cost, loss and reliability models and the application of geometric program for optimization of the layout and configuration of an offshore wind farm. Preliminary calculations show that HVAC systems work better for short distances of the farm from the shore and the HVDC system performed better for longer distances.
The relationship of abnormal chromosome 10 to B-chromosomes in maize

Abnormal chromosome 10 (K10) is known to increase recombination in maize and to induce preferential segregation in knobbed heterozygotes during megasporogenesis. In spite of the considerable interest generated by these findings, the origin of the K10 chromosome is unknown. It has been postulated that the extra segment of K10 arose by simple translocation between normal 10 and a B-chromosome. This hypothesis was tested by comparing meiosis in haploids with either K10 or the normal 10 and carrying a single B-chromosome. The frequency of bivalent configurations was found to be similar in the two types of haploids suggesting that the K10 and B-chromosomes do not share homologies that lead to chiasma formation. These results lend no support to the hypothesis that the K10 chromosome came from a B type. The implications of these results to the action of K10 at meiosis are also discussed.
Polarization contrast and motion detection

Form and motion perception rely upon the visual system’s capacity to segment the visual scene based upon local differences in luminance or wavelength. It is not clear if polarization contrast is a sufficient basis for motion detection. Here we show that crayfish optomotor responses elicited by the motion of images derived from spatiotemporal variations in e-vector angles are comparable to contrast-elicited responses. Response magnitude increases with the difference in e-vector angles in adjacent segments of the scene and with the degree of polarization but the response is relatively insensitive to the absolute values of e-vector angles that compose the stimulus. The results indicate that polarization contrast can support visual motion detection.
Einstein and ensembles: Response

This article reexamines Einstein's views concerning ensembles and the quantum state function, by way of responding to criticism on this topic. The response calls attention to the range of interpretations found in Einstein's writings, and their function, and emphasizes the nonspecificity of his discussions. It also offers some guidelines for scholarship and criticism in this area.
American Historical Association: Women's Labor History

University of New York-Binghamton) challenged the assumption that immigrants' political behavior was shaped by their experiences as a preindustrial workforce in Italy. On the contrary, the militance of Italian immigrants in Paterson, New Jersey developed in the transition from domestic to industrial production in the textile districts of Italy. In the transformation from worker-peasants to proletarians, workers developed a working-class identity. Their cultural heritage, which "val ued anarchism, socialism, and organized unionism" and was intent on the emancipation of labor, informed their activity in Paterson. Donna R. Gabaccia (University of North Carolina-Charlotte) argued for research into political, as distinguished from labor, migration. The politics of Italian political migrants followed the history of reform and revolution in Italy: nationalists, followed by anarchists, socialists, and under fascism, communists. This paralleled a decline in upperand middle-class migration so that by World War I political migrants came to "resemble labor migrants." Political migrants differed from labor migrants in choosing European destinations from where they could influence Italian politics. Gabaccia concluded with a call for further study of the connections between political migration and national migration policy.
Structural Alignment Methods with Applications to Geospatial Ontologies

We consider the problem of enabling interoperability and information sharing among geospatial applications that use ontologies to describe their concepts and the relationships among them. We present two fully automatic alignment methods that use the graph structures of a pair of ontologies to establish their alignment, that is, the semantic correspondences between their concepts. We have tested our methods on geospatial ontologies pertaining to wetlands and four other pairs that belong to a repository that has been used in the Ontology Alignment Evaluation Initiative (OAEI). Using these ontologies, we have compared the effectiveness (precision and recall) of our methods against the Similarity Flooding Algorithm that was proposed by others and show that for each of the tested ontologies one of our methods is at least as effective as their method. We have tuned the performance of our methods by introducing a greedy approach that reduces the number of concepts that get compared. This approach reduces runtime by approximately 30% with a minor compromise to the effectiveness of the results. To further validate our approach, we participated in the OAEI competition to align a pair of ontologies, each with a few thousand concepts.
Nonpremixed flames in stagnating turbulence part I— The k̃-ε̃ theory with equilibrium chemistry for the methane-air system

Non premixed turbulent flames in opposed air and methane streams are analyzed on the basis of the k-e theory under conditions of chemical equilibrium. The methane-air system is chosen to permit comparison with existing experimental data. It is found that the thickness of the experimentally observed flames is so large as to prelude application of the current thin flame analyses. Accordingly, the usual thin flame approach is avoided and solutions for the entire flow from the exit plane of one jet to that of the other are obtained. Difficulties are encountered in comparing theory and experiment as a consequence of the flow conditions and the instrumentation used to collect the data. Nevertheless it is considered worthwhile to attempt this comparison; indeed some aerothermochemical quantities are satisfactorily predicted. We examine the influence of several aerothermochemical quantities on the character of these flames.
Local Mode Excitation for Time Resolved Unimolecular Decay Studies

Laser excitation of overtone vibrations is a useful technique for selectively preparing molecules for state-selected unimolecular reaction studies. In addition, these studies provide new data on overtone vibration transitions in the excited molecules. Data obtained from state-selected unimolecular decay experiments and photoacoustic measurements provide local mode parameters for overtone vibrations in tetramethyldioxetane, t-butylalcohol, t-butylhydroperoxide, and hydrogen peroxide.
Biofilm thickness measurements by light microscopy

Abstract Light microscopy has been used to measure biofilm thickness. The vertical displacement of the sample required to focus from the biofilm-liquid interface to the biofilm-substratum interface is measured by the stage micrometer. Biofilm thickness is proportional, but not equal, to the measured vertical displacement. An expression for the proportionality constant, kf, in terms of refractive indices is determined from a geometric analysis of the light path. kf can be estimated as the ratio of the refractive index of the film to the refractive index of the media interfacing the film between the objective lens and the sample. The thickness of any transparent film may be determined by light microscopy when the refractive index of the film is known.
Individual differences in the communication of humorous messages

This report develops an individual differences approach to the encoding of humor, provides a scale to measure it, and offers four empirical studies in support of the conceptualization. Results indicate that individual differences in the predisposition to enact humorous messages can be reliably measured via the Humor Orientation Scale. Variation in humorous orientation is related to the number of situations in which the person will or will not attempt humor, the number of different types of humor behavior encoded, the level of detail used to describe humorous episodes, and amount of planning prior to enactment of humor, a predispositon both stable and consistant across time.
A three-coil comparison for MR angiography.

The purpose of this work was to compare intracranial magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) image quality using three different radiofrequency coils. The three coil types included a reduced volume quadrature birdcage coil with endcap, a commercially available quadrature birdcage head coil, and a four-element phased-array coil. Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) measurements were obtained from comparison studies performed on a uniform cylindrical phantom. MRA comparisons were performed using data acquired from 15 volunteers and applying a thick-slab three-dimensional time-of-flight sequence. Analysis was performed using the signal difference-to-noise ratio, a quantitative measure of the relative vascular signal. The reduced-volume endcap and phased-array coils, which were designed specifically for imaging the intracranial volume of the head, improved the image SNR and vascular detail considerably over that obtained using the commercially available head coil. The endcap coil configuration provided the best vascular signal overall, while the phased-array coil provided the best results for arteries close to the coil elements.
Wear of diamond wheels in creep-feed grinding of ceramic materials II. Effects on process responses and strength

Abstract Alumina specimens were ground with a resin bonded diamond wheel using three different work speeds in creep-feed up-cut mode. For each work speed, the wheel surfaces and the process responses were evaluated at five different wear states, which were generated by grinding 0, 29.6, 59.2, 88.8, and 118.4 cm3 volume of a selected silicon nitride material. The mechanisms of wheel wear have been studied and reported in Part I (Wear 211 (1997) 94–103). This paper investigates the effects of wheel wear on process responses and ground ceramic quality, particularly the flexural strength. Strong relationships between the wheel surface conditions and the process responses are found. During the initial stage of wheel wear (from the as-dressed state to the first 29.6 cm3 volume of material removal), the surface density of diamond grits, surface roughness and flexural strength decreased, and the specific normal force, specific tangenitial force, force ratio, and specific energy increased. The largest change in most of process responses, except the roughness, occurs at the lowest work speed. Right after grinding 29.6 cm3 volume of sillicon nitride material, process responses stayed approximately the same with some degree of expected fluctuation due to the competing influence of attritious wear and the wheel's self-sharpening effect. The effect of wheel wear on the flexural strength of ground alumina specimens is found to be dominated by the effect of work speed.
Dielectrophoretic trapping without embedded electrodes

We observe dielectrophoretic effects in mixed electrokinetic and dielectrophoretic flows in uniform arrays of posts. Above a threshold applied electric field, flowing filaments of concentrated and rarefied particles appear in the flow. Above a higher-threshold applied field, zones of highly concentrated, immobilized particles appear. At the lower and higher thresholds, dielectrophoresis apparently begins to dominate diffusion and advection/electrokinesis, respectively. The patterns of filaments and trapped zones depend dramatically on the angle of the array with respect to the mean applied electric field and the shape of the posts in the array.
Colony-Stimulating Factor 2 (CSF-2) Improves Development and Posttransfer Survival of Bovine Embryos Produced in Vitro

In this study, we tested the role of colony-stimulating factor 2 (CSF2) as one of the regulatory molecules that mediate maternal effects on embryonic development during the preimplantation period. Our objective was to verify effects of CSF2 on blastocyst yield, determine posttransfer survival, and evaluate properties of the blastocyst formed after CSF2 treatment. In vitro, CSF2 increased the percentage of oocytes that became morulae and blastocysts. Blastocysts that were treated with CSF2 tended to have a greater number of inner cell mass cells and had a higher ratio ofinnercellmasstotrophectodermcells.TherewasnoeffectofCSF2ontheincidenceofapoptosis.
A Folksonomy-Based Model of Web Services for Discovery and Automatic Composition

In this paper, we propose a novel way of modeling Web services using folksonomies. The key advantage of our model is that it allows a large number of users to participate, easily, in annotating services with tags. This is in contrast to more expressive, logic based models of services, such as semantic Web service models, which require significant expertise for annotation and maintenance. Our folksonomy-based model allows associating semantic constraints on the input and output messages of web service operations using tags obtained from a folksonomy. We show how the model can be used for discovery and composition of services. We also describe a planner that uses this model to compose services and create workflows, automatically. We present performance results for the planner and our experiences in using this model in a sample real-world domain.
Vaccination Rates for Measles, Mumps, Rubella, and Influenza Among Children Presenting to a Pediatric Emergency Department in New York City

We compared measles, mumps, rubella (MMR), and influenza vaccination rates of children presenting to a Pediatric Emergency Department (PED) in New York City with rates from national assessments. MMR and influenza vaccination rates in this PED population were generally comparable to community rates, but lower than Healthy People 2020 targets.
Lifestyle alternatives for rhizobia: mutualism, parasitism, and forgoing symbiosis

Strains of rhizobia within a single species can have three different genetically determined strategies. Mutualistic rhizobia provide their legume hosts with nitrogen. Parasitic rhizobia infect legumes, but fix little or no nitrogen. Nonsymbiotic strains are unable to infect legumes at all. Why have rhizobium strains with one of these three strategies not displaced the others? A symbiotic (mutualistic or parasitic) rhizobium that succeeds in founding a nodule may produce many millions of descendants. The chances of success can be so low, however, that nonsymbiotic rhizobia can have greater reproductive success. Legume sanctions against nodules that fix little or no nitrogen favor more mutualistic strains, but parasitic strains that use plant resources only for their own reproduction may do well when they share nodules with mutualistic strains.
Distributed Coordination Schemes for Multi-Radio Co-existence in Dense Spectrum Environments: An Experimental Study on the ORBIT Testbed

This paper presents an experimental study on the spectrum coexistence problems between multi-radio platforms in dense-radio physical world environments. Computing and communication devices such as laptops and cellular phones with multiple radios including WiFi, Bluetooth, UWB, WiMax and Zigbee in a small conference room face significant interference problems. A realistic small office/home office (SOHO) scenario with ~10-25 multi-radio platforms is mapped onto the ORBIT radio grid testbed, and system throughput results are obtained experimentally, demonstrating significant degradation due to inter-platform interference. The CSCC (Common Spectrum Coordination Channel) protocol proposed in earlier work is used as the basis for implementing a set of distributed spectrum coexistence algorithms intended to improve system performance. Detailed results from ORBIT testbed experiments are given for the proposed CSCC-based distributed spectrum coordination algorithms. The results show significant performance gains due to CSCC coordination, typically achieving ~2x improvement in system throughput for WiFi/Bluetooth dual radio scenarios.
CT-guided Kopans hookwire placement for preoperative localization of an appendicolith.

OBJECTIVE. Retained appendicoliths that have spilled into the peritoneal cavity after appendectomy may act as a nidus for recurrent abscess. Appendicoliths are often small and located in inaccessible recesses of the peritoneum, making surgical localization and removal difficult. The objective of the study was to facilitate surgical removal of an appendicolith using a Kopans breast localization hookwire placed with CT guidance.CONCLUSION. Preoperative CT-guided localization of small inaccessible retained appendicoliths can be readily performed using a Kopans hookwire.
Growth regulator changes in Cotton associated with defoliation caused by Verticillium albo-atrum.

Cotton plants, variety Acala 4-42 family 77 (Gossypium hirsutum L.,), were stem puncture-inoculated with either a defoliating isolate (T9) or a nondefoliating isolate (SS4) of Verticillium albo-atrum (Reinke and Berth.). As symptoms developed, growth regulators were assayed in diseased plants to discern their importance in the disease syndrome.An Avena coleoptile straight growth bioassay demonstrated the presence of several growth-regulatory compounds in cotton tissue extracts. Indoleacetic acid was among the compounds whose effects on coleoptile growth were influenced by disease development. Coleoptile growth due to indoleacetic acid was greater in extracts of diseased stems and leaves than in extracts of comparable healthy tissues. During the defoliation period the T9 and SS4 isolates appeared equally effective in increasing indoleacetic acid and reducing indoleacetic acid decarboxylation. Preceding defoliation, however, in plants showing equivalent symptoms the degradation of auxin was reduced more by infection with T9, the defoliating isolate. The reduced auxin degradation appeared to be releated to concomitant increases in caffeic acid and other indoleacetic acid-oxidase inhibitors in the affected tissues.Abscisic acid in tissue extracts strongly inhibited coleoptile growth. During the defoliation period gas-liquid chromatographic and ultraviolet absorption measurements revealed that abscisic acid levels were approximately doubled in T9-infected leaves but were relatively unaffected in leaves infected with the nondefoliating isolate and in stems infected with either isolate.The onset of epinasty and especially defoliation was also accompanied by increased ethylene production in diseased plants. Ethylene in gas samples taken from jars confining plants infected with SS4 or T9, respectively, was increased 2- and 5-fold over uninoculated controls. Ethylene supplied exogenously to healthy plants in concentrations as low as 0.2 microliter per liter induced both the epinasty and defoliation symptoms characteristic of Verticillium infection. Ethylene treatment did not, however, induce other symptoms of Verticillium infection and did not affect endogenous levels of abscisic acid.Defoliation of T9-but not SS4-infected plants apparently is related to the differential alterations in abscisic acid and ethylene levels induced by each isolate, and perhaps to differential alterations in initial rates of indoleacetic acid decarboxylation. These growth regulator alterations apparently are reflections of altered host metabolism rather than direct contributions of the invading fungus.
Discrete microfluidics with electrochemical detection.

A droplet-based electrochemical digital magnetofluidics system has been developed. The system relies on the magnetic movement, in air, of different aqueous microdroplets containing magnetic microparticles—serving as the ‘sample’, ‘blank’, ‘wash’ and ‘reagent’ solutions—into and out of a three-electrode assembly. The movement of all droplets was controlled using the magnetic fields generated by three separate external magnets positioned below the superhydrophobic surface. Square-wave voltammetry was used for rapid measurements of dopamine in multiple successive microdrops with minimal cross talk. The ability of the droplet-based electrochemical microfluidic system to manipulate microliter solutions was also illustrated in bioassays of glucose, involving the merging of enzyme (GOx) and substrate droplets, followed by chronoamperometric measurements of the hydrogen peroxide product in the merged droplet. Variables of the new electrochemical digital magnetomicrofluidic technique were examined and optimized. The new droplet-based electrochemical microfluidic system offers a promising platform for automated clinical diagnostics and drug discovery.
Dynamics of leaf hydraulic conductance with water status: quantification and analysis of species differences under steady state

Leaf hydraulic conductance (Kleaf) is a major determinant of photosynthetic rate in well-watered and droughtstressed plants. Previous work assessed the decline of Kleaf with decreasing leaf water potential (Wleaf), most typically using rehydration kinetics methods, and found that species varied in the shape of their vulnerability curve, and that hydraulic vulnerability correlated with other leaf functional traits and with drought sensitivity. These findings were tested and extended, using a new steady-state evaporative flux method under high irradiance, and the function for the vulnerability curve of each species was determined individually using maximum likelihood for 10 species varying strongly in drought tolerance. Additionally, the ability of excised leaves to recover in Kleaf with rehydration was assessed, and a new theoretical framework was developed to estimate how rehydration of measured leaves may affect estimation of hydraulic parameters. As hypothesized, species differed in their vulnerability function. Drought-tolerant species showed shallow linear declines and more negative Wleaf at 80% loss of Kleaf (P80), whereas drought-sensitive species showed steeper, non-linear declines, and less negative P80. Across species, the maximum Kleaf was independent of hydraulic vulnerability. Recovery of Kleaf after 1 h rehydration of leaves dehydrated below their turgor loss point occurred only for four of 10 species. Across species without recovery, a more negative P80 correlated with the ability to maintain Kleaf through both dehydration and rehydration. These findings indicate that resistance to Kleaf decline is important not only in maintaining open stomata during the onset of drought, but also in enabling sustained function during drought recovery.
Biodegradation of an inhibitory nongrowth substrate (nitroglycerin) in batch reactors.

Biodegradation of nitroglycerin (NG), an inhibitory, nongrowth substrate present in a multicomponent munition wastewater, was investigated in a pilot-scale batch reactor operated with both aerobic and anoxic cycles. A mixed culture was initially acclimated by gradual introduction of NG into influent and subsequently exposed to actual NG-laden production wastewater. System performance revealed that NG was amenable to aerobic biodegradation without adverse impact on removal efficiencies of other pollutants. Temporal NG concentration profiles indicated that an influent concentration of approximately 200 mg/L of NG was reduced to below detection limits in less than 5 h of aeration with no appreciable (<4%) biosorption. Failure of NG-acclimated cultures to utilize NG as a sole carbon source in bench-scale reactors suggested that NG behaved as a nongrowth substrate and its degradation possibly occurred by cometabolism. Ethyl acetate present in the waste stream was an adequate growth substrate in terms of both biological and physicochemical properties. High concentrations of NO[sub 3]-N, produced as a result of aerobic degradation of NG and other nitrogenous compounds of the waste, were treated in an anoxic phase. Approximately 95 mg/L of NO[sub 3]-N was denitrified to below detection limits in 5 h of anoxia without the addition of externalmore » carbon sources. Two SBR cycle schemes with different static-fill times exhibited significant differences in treatment efficiencies.« less
The Structure of Open-Mindedness

Open-mindedness enjoys widespread recognition as an intellectual virtue. This is evident, among other ways, in its appearance on nearly every list of intellectual virtues in the virtue epistemology literature. Despite its popularity, however, it is far from clear what exactly openmindedness amounts to: that is, what sort of intellectual orientation or activity is essential to it. In fact, there are ways of thinking about open-mindedness that cast serious doubt on its status as an intellectual virtue. Consider the following description, from Robert Roberts and Jay Wood (2007), of a ‘bright college freshman, taking an introductory course in philosophy.’
Assessment of personal protective equipment use among Midwestern farmers.

Background Personal protective equipment (PPE) is readily available and widely recommended, yet usage among agricultural workers is largely unknown. Methods A mail survey of 2,483 farmers in six Midwestern states with telephone follow-up addressed PPE usage related to sun exposure, noise abatement, chain saw usage, welding and metal work, handling of large animals in and out of confinement facilities, feed handling, manure storage facilities, and mixing and applying chemicals. Summary statistics of survey responses were compiled. Results With the exception of welding masks, PPE usage was low. Farmers were satisfied with availability of PPE through local hardware and farm cooperatives, but the decision to use PPE was personal and influenced little by outside parties. Conclusion PPE usage rates by farmers on Midwestern farms need to be increased. The desire of the individual farmer to reduce risk of personal injury or exposure should be targeted. The most effective venue will be local agricultural extension services. Am. J. Ind. Med. 42:236–247, 2002. © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Implementation and demonstration of a credit-based home access point

The increasing availability of high speed Internet access and the decreasing cost of wireless technologies has increased the number of devices in the home that wirelessly connect to the Internet. While home user applications often have different network requirements, the wireless access point (AP) typically gives them all the same treatment. It has been shown that applications that are sensitive to delay, such as VoIP, remote login and online games suffer degraded performance when running concurrently with applications that expand to fill the available capacity, such as file sharing and downloading. Unfortunately, there are few mechanisms available at the AP to mitigate these effects other than for users to explicitly classify traffic based on port numbers or host IP addresses. This work proposes a novel home access point called CHAP that features credit-based queue management designed to eliminate the need for explicit classification and configuration of per-application quality. CHAP is implemented as a Linux queuing discipline and compared with a traditional AP forWeb browsing and online game activities. The comparisons demonstrate the merits of our approach.
Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis with multiple Streptococcus pneumoniae lung abscesses: an unusual initial case presentation.

sionally include fever or malaise, although patients may be asymptomatic. Radiologic studies commonly reveal pulmonary infiltrates or central bronchiectasis, and peripheral blood eosinophilia may be present in the absence of systemic corticosteroid use. Confirmation of the diagnosis requires identifying immediate cutaneous reactivity to Aspergillus spp and serologic evidence of elevation of total serum IgE (>1000 ng/mL), elevation of serum IgE and IgG antibodies to Aspergillus fumigatus, and the presence of precipitating antibodies to A fumigatus. We report the case of a patient who was first seen with bilateral lung abscesses and underlying ABPA. Abbreviations used ABPA: Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis FVC: Forced vital capacity