cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Integrating organizational networks, weak signals, strategic radars and scenario planning

Abstract As firms become more networked they greatly expand their points of contact with the outside world. This can greatly help the detection of early signs of threats or opportunities emerging at the periphery. But a major challenge for firms scanning the periphery of their networks is how to manage the explosion of information. How do they avoid undue distraction while spotting useful signals amid an avalanche of data? We discuss how strategic radars can be used to integrate outside networks, weak signals, sense making, strategic dialog and scenario planning. A brief case study illustrates how a strategic radar system was actually developed and deployed by a large government agency in order to enhance its adaptive capability for coping with increasing external change.
Automating test generation for discrete event oriented embedded systems

A method for the automatic generation of test scenarios from the behavioral requirements of a system is presented in this paper. The generated suite of test scenarios validates the system design or implementation against the requirements. The approach proposed here uses a requirements model and a set of four algorithms. The requirements model is an executable model of the proposed system defined in a deterministic state-based modeling formalism. Each action in the requirements model that changes the state of the model is identified with a unique requirement identifier. The scenario generation algorithms perform controlled simulations of the requirements model in order to generate a suite of test scenarios applicable for black box testing. Measurements of several metrics on the scenario generation algorithms have been collected using prototype tools.
Direct Touch and Manipulation of Native 3D Models With Haptic Interface in the Mainstream CAD Systems

This paper presents new techniques for integrating haptic interface with mainstream CAD systems. Haptic interface, by providing force feedback in human-computer interaction, can improve the working efficiency of CAD/CAM (Computer-aided Design and Manufacturing) systems in a unique way. Compared to the test beds and prototypes in the past research, the new techniques would allow the user to directly touch and manipulate native 3D CAD models in mainstream CAD/CAM systems with force/touch feedback. Contrary to the common thoughts among the research community, the presented techniques eliminate time- and resource-consuming pre-processing or duplication of the CAD models data, such as conversion to volumetric models or triangulated mesh models. It would allow the CAD/CAM user to evaluate or assembly the CAD models with force/touch feedback, and meanwhile modify the design without having to resort to other geometry representation method or systems. By integrating haptic interface directly with mainstream CAD systems, the powerful built-in functions of CAD systems can be leveraged and enhanced to realize more agile 3D CAD design and evaluation, which will eventually lead to a more competitive design and manufacturing industry. This research would open up a new direction of haptic application research in CAD/CAM area. The presented techniques can be used in tasks such as digital mockup, virtual assembly, virtual prototyping, computer-aided product design and manufacturing.Copyright © 2006 by ASME
Evaluation of three gas collection devices

Abstract Traditionally, the mouthpiece, nose-clip, and headgear arrangement (MN) used in indirect calorimetry is uncomfortable for some subjects, interferes with communications, and often interrupts tests if the nose-clip is lost. Gas collection masks (MASK) offer the possibility of alleviating the problems of MN but leakage and increased air dead space have been problematic. The present study compares the use of MN with two MASK designs (with nose-dam which prevents nasal breathing (MASKnd), and without nose-dam (MASKwo), from light to peak work rates in 20 well-trained subjects ( M =12, F =8). Ventilation rate (Ve), oxygen uptake (VO 2 ), respiratory exchange ratio (RER) and heart rate (HR) were measured and comfort was assessed with a questionnaire. At the highest work rate, subjects achieved higher (as determined by repeated measures ANOVA) Ve for MASKnd(114.0±27 L min −1 ) and MASKwo=(115.0±29 L min −1 ) than for MN (108±28 L min −1 ). Likewise, VO 2 in both MASKnd (55.0±10 ml kg min −1 ) and MASKwo (56.2±11 ml kg min −1 ) were higher than in the MN (53.7±12 ml kg min −1 )( p 2 can be more often attained with a MASK than an MN, since Ve and VO 2 were higher in MASK compared to that in MN. Relevance to industry This study will provide an evaluation of gas masks as an alternative to the traditional but uncomfortable mouth-piece and nose-clip used in indirect calorimetry.
Flavor mixing in the instanton vacuum

Abstract The SU(2) instanton vacuum is investigated beyond the dilute gas approximation, using Langevin simulation techniques to average over the set of collective coordinates. Both cases of zero and finite current quark masses are studied. At high density the vacuum state exhibits the characteristics of a liquid phase of instantons and anti-instantons. In this phase chiral symmetry is spontaneously broken in agreement with Shuryak's recent investigation. For more than one flavor a mixed liquid-gas phase is observed at low density with a strong tendency for chiral symmetry restoration. Within the limitations of our model, we study the effect of the strange mass on the chiral condensate of the light quarks. Our results suggest that the coupling between strange and up-down quarks is due to the mass dependence of the average size and density of the pseudoparticles. In a constituent quark model picture, the same conclusion holds for the strangeness admixture in the nucleon state at zero momentum transfer. Finally, in the quenched approximation we derive an effective action in terms of delocalized fermions for one, two and three flavors. In the mean field approximation, we find that the coupling between flavors is strongly suppressed.
Clonal cell lines from a feral mouse embryo which lack host-range restrictions for murine leukemia viruses

Abstract Tissue culture cell lines highly sensitive to both N- and B-tropic host-range variants of mouse-tropic murine leukemia virus (MuLV) were derived by clonal selection from a feral mouse embryo cell culture line. The clonal lines are more sensitive than standard assay cultures, particularly for isolating naturally occurring N- and B-tropic MuLV from tissue extracts. Also, they can support the replication of xenotropic MuLV to a limited extent. The host-range patterns of N- and B-tropic viruses are not altered by serial passage in the sensitive cells. It is presumed that these cell lines lack the Fv -1 gene function, and it is suggested that Fv -1 may have a much broader inhibitory effect than previously recognized.
Imaging of Cell/Substrate Contacts on Polymers by Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence Microscopy

A simplified model of total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) emission of fluorescently labeled cell membranes [Reichert, W. M.; Truskey, G. A. J. Cell Sci. 1990, 96, 219–230] was used to determine the topography of the cell membrane in apposition to a polymer-coated surface. The homopolymer substrates weie spun cast films of hydrophilic poly (hydroxy ethyl methaciylate) (polyHEMA) or hydrophobic poly(ethyl methacrylate) (polyEMA). Bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAEC) on preadsorbed fibronectin polymer substrates were either plated for 24 h, fixed, labeled, and examined by TIRF microscopy (TIRFM) and phase-contrast microscopy or plated for 2 h and tested for their adhesion strength in a parallel-plate flow chamber. BAEC attached to polyHEMA showed no evidence of focal contact formation. However, BAEC attached to polyEMA were well spread and showed an array of focal contacts. TIRFM data were transformed to construct a detailed topographical mapof relative cell/substrate separation distances. Virtually all of the BAEC plated to polyHEMA were sheared from the surface when subjected to a 50 dyn/cm2 burst of laminar flow, whereas only 10% of the BAEC were sheared from the polyEMA surface. These data suggest that the polyHEMA and polyEMA surface properties (e.g., hydrophobicity) correlate with the presence of BAEC focal contacts and the BAEC attachment strength.
Lightning Stroke Damage to Aircraft

The paper describes a series of tests made in the period 1938 to 1942 to determine in the laboratory the effects of lightning strokes on the safe operation of aircraft. Due to wartime restrictions, publication was deferred. Investigated were: the burning of holes in the metal skin of planes and other metallic parts of planes; damage to airplane fuel tanks; breaking of safety glass in windshields; the effect of current flow on ball bearings; effect of impulse sparks on the vision of pilots; and tests on nonmetallic airplane parts. The tests showed that the probability of damage from lightning strokes to airplanes of sufficient magnitude to prevent further operation and to result in loss of the airplane is extremely small and can be discounted.
Regulation of K+ Flow by a Ring of Negative Charges in the Outer Pore of BKCa Channels. Part II: Neutralization of Aspartate 292 Reduces Long Channel Openings and Gating Current Slow Component

Neutralization of the aspartate near the selectivity filter in the GYGD pore sequence (D292N) of the voltage- and Ca2+-activated K+ channel (MaxiK, BKCa) does not prevent conduction like the corresponding mutation in Shaker channel, but profoundly affects major biophysical properties of the channel (Haug, T., D. Sigg, S. Ciani, L. Toro, E. Stefani, and R. Olcese. 2004. J. Gen. Physiol. 124:173–184). Upon depolarizations, the D292N mutant elicited mostly gating current, followed by small or no ionic current, at voltages where the wild-type hSlo channel displayed robust ionic current. In fact, while the voltage dependence of the gating current was not significantly affected by the mutation, the overall activation curve was shifted by ∼20 mV toward more depolarized potentials. Several lines of evidence suggest that the mutation prevents population of certain open states that in the wild type lead to high open probability. The activation curves of WT and D292N can both be fitted to the sum of two Boltzmann distributions with identical slope factors and half activation potentials, just by changing their relative amplitudes. The steeper and more negative component of the activation curve was drastically reduced by the D292N mutation (from 0.65 to 0.30), suggesting that the population of open states that occurs early in the activation pathway is reduced. Furthermore, the slow component of the gating current, which has been suggested to reflect transitions from closed to open states, was greatly reduced in D292N channels. The D292N mutation also affected the limiting open probability: at 0 mV, the limiting open probability dropped from ∼0.5 for the wild-type channel to 0.06 in D292N (in 1 mM [Ca2+]i). In addition to these effects on gating charge and open probability, as already described in Part I, the D292N mutation introduces a ∼40% reduction of outward single channel conductance, as well as a strong outward rectification.
Retrospective study evaluating the accuracy of CAD in marking invasive lobular carcinoma

Abstract Infiltrating lobular carcinoma (ILC) is a diagnostic dilemma even for the most experienced radiologist. ILC is difficult to diagnose mammographically as tumors can be present as architectural distortion, asymmetries, or low-density masses. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the detection of ILC using a computer-aided detection system (CAD). We reviewed 81 consecutive cases of ILC diagnosed by our clinic in a 21/2 year period. We collected the following: visibility of cancer on current or prior mammograms, whether CAD marked the cancer on one or both mammographic views (craniocaudal, CC and mediolateral oblique, MLO) in current and prior studies, tumor size, nuclear grade, and lymph node involvement. Results reveal that 65% of the cancers was marked by CAD the year of diagnosis and 26% of cancers were marked by CAD the prior year. Mean mammographic size in the current year was 1.7 cm and 1.0 cm in the prior year. At surgery, the mean tumor size was 2.1 cm and nuclear grade was reported as 43% Grade I, 53% Grade II, and 4% Grade III. Positive lymph node involvement was reported in 33%. Overall, CAD may be helpful as an adjunct to mammography for ILC diagnosis.
Designing peptide receptor agonists and antagonists

The most ubiquitous mode for controlling and modulating cellular function, intercellular communication, immune response and information-transduction pathways is through peptide-protein non-covalent interactions. Hormones, neurotransmitters, antigens, cytokines and growth factors represent key classes of such peptide ligands. These ligands might either be processed fragments of larger precursor proteins or surface segments of larger proteins. Although there are numerous exceptions, such as insulin, oxytocin and calcitonin, most ligands are not used directly as drugs, and often the most useful ligands for therapy would be analogues that act as antagonists of the native ligands. A search for systematic structure-based or ligand-based approaches to designing such ligands has been an important concern. Today, a robust strategy has been developed for the design of peptides as drugs, drug candidates and biological tools. This strategy includes structural, conformational, dynamic and topographical considerations.
Studies of crystal growth mechanisms of proteins by electron microscopy

Abstract We have used electron microscopy to examine the surfaces of lysozyme crystals and deduce mechanisms of crystal growth. We find that growth occurs by a lattice defect mechanism at low supersaturation and by two-dimensional nucleation at high supersaturation. Step velocities and two-dimensional nucleation rates are obtained, and their dependence on supersaturation is compared with theory. Some features of the observed surface structure can be related to the specific topology and strengths of the bonds in the P43212 lattice. Preliminary results on the early stages of nucleation and the phenomenon of cessation of growth are presented.
Sol−Gel Encapsulated Anti-Trinitrotoluene Antibodies in Immunoassays for TNT

Antibodies to trinitrotoluene (TNT) were encapsulated in optically transparent sol−gel derived silica glasses and retained their ability to bind TNT. Both competitive and displacement immunoassays were successfully performed using sol−gel immobilized antibodies. TNT concentrations on the order of ppm were detected. In competitive immunoassays using the sol−gel immobilized antibodies, a logarithmic decrease in fluorescence signal as a function of TNT concentration was observed, similar to competitive immunoassays performed in solution. When encapsulated in the sol−gel silica matrix, the antibodies retained their ability to differentiate between TNT and trinitrobenzene (TNB), an analogue. In displacement immunoassays, the rate of displacement was dependent upon pore morphology, with aged gels exhibiting faster rates than that of xerogels. The relative stability of antibodies was better for sol−gel encapsulated antibodies than for antibodies immobilized using surface attachment. After exposure to HCl, methan...
Room temperature delay times in diffused junction GaAs injection lasers

One nanosecond room temperature delay times at current levels slightly above threshold have been obtained in GaAs injection lasers using a two step diffusion process. Copper contamination is found to leave the delay time unchanged, but increases the rise time.
Climaciella brunnea (Neuroptera: Mantispidae): a mantispid that obligately boards spiders

Summary Larvae of Climaciella brunnea (Say) develop within the egg sacs of spiders. In contrast to other species of mantispids whose larvae actively search for spiders or egg sacs, C. brunnea larvae adopt a phoretic posture and wait for spiders to come to them. Larvae are totally unable to directly penetrate egg sacs; they must board a female spider and reach the eggs before they have been enclosed with silk.
Effects of boundary conditions and anisotropy on elastically bent silicon

In four-point bending, the rollers that are used for load application impose additional constraints on the specimen that affect the anticlastic specimen curvature and cause the specimen displacement and stress profiles to deviate from the pure beam bending case. In this study, x-ray microdiffraction is used to map both the principal and anticlastic curvatures of elastically bent, rectangular (100)-type Si strips possessing width:thickness ratios of 40:1. We quantify the amount of roller constraint and show that the region over which the anticlastic specimen curvature is affected away from the roller is approximately five times the roller diameter. Consequently, for bending tests used to determine Poisson's ratio, if a region on the sample that is free from roller effects is not chosen, measurement errors as high as 46% can occur. Furthermore, we show that, due to the anisotropy of single crystal Si, this roller-constraining effect depends on crystallographic orientation and is more pronounced when the principal bending axis lies along the direction as compared with the direction.
The human V3 pituitary vasopressin receptor: ligand binding profile and density-dependent signaling pathways.

The vasopressin (AVP) V3 pituitary receptor (V3R) is a G protein-coupled corticotropic phenotypic marker that is overexpressed in ACTH-hypersecreting tumors. Studies of the agonist/antagonist binding profile and signal transduction pathways linked to the human V3R have been limited because of the scarcity of this protein. To define the signals activated by V3Rs and the eventual changes triggered by developmental or pathological receptor regulation, we developed Chinese hamster ovary (CHO)-V3 cells stably expressing low, medium, or high levels of human V3Rs (binding capacity, <10, 10–25, and 25–100 pmol/mg, respectively). The affinity of the V3R for 21 peptide and nonpeptide AVP analogs was clearly distinct from that exhibited by the human V1R and V2R. AVP triggered stimulation of phospholipase C in CHO-V3 cells (partially sensitive to treatment with pertussis toxin) with a potency directly proportional to receptor density. V3R-mediated arachidonic acid release also was also sensitive to pertussis toxin an...
P450 Redox Enzymes in the White Rot Fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium: Gene Transcription, Heterologous Expression, and Activity Analysis on the Purified Proteins

With an aim to understand the cytochrome P450 enzyme system in the white rot fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium, here we report molecular characterization of its P450 redox proteins including the primary P450 oxidoreductase (POR) and two alternate P450 redox proteins cytochrome b5 (cyt b5) and cytochrome b5 reductase (cyt b5r) in terms of transcriptional regulation and heterologous expression. The transcript abundance followed the order POR > cyt b5r > cyt b5. Interestingly, the three genes showed an overall higher expression in the defined carbon-limited cultures with low nitrogen (LN) or high nitrogen (HN) versus the carbon-rich malt extract (ME) cultures. cDNA cloning and analysis revealed the following deduced protein characteristics: cyt b5 (238 amino acids, 25.38 kDa) and cyt b5r (321 amino acids, 35.52 kDa). Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the cloned cyt b5 belongs to a novel class of fungal cyt b5-like proteins. The two proteins cyt b5 and cyt b5r were heterologously expressed in E. coli and purified using affinity-based purification in an active form. The POR was heterologously expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and was also purified in active form as evidenced by its cytochrome c reduction activity. This is the first report on cloning, heterologous expression, and purification of the alternate redox proteins cyt b5 and cyt b5r in E. coli and on yeast expression of POR from this model white rot fungus.
First report of powdery mildew of Omphalodes cappadocica caused by Golovinomyces cynoglossi (Erysiphe cynoglossi) in North America.

Omphalodes cappadocica DC (Boraginaceae) is grown as an ornamental plant in the USA. Powdery mildew was observed on specimen plants of O. cappadocica growing in a private garden in Seattle, WA in August 2006. This report describes and illustrates powdery mildew of O. cappadocica as well as taxonomically-important features of the causal organism.
Complexities of rock fracture and rock friction from deformation of Westerly granite

A series of rock friction experiments has been carried out to study the complexities in rock fracture and rock friction. Intact Westerly granite samples were loaded to shear failure in a laboratory polyaxial loading apparatus. The resultant fractured samples were reloaded to cause frictional sliding. Both polyaxial loading (σ1 > σ2 > σ3 > 0) and equal confining condition (σ1 > σ2 = σ3 > 0) were used. The deformation processes were monitored by macroscopic axial stress-strain, optical holography, and ultrasonic velocity measurements.
Women, domestic violence, and the obstetrician/gynecologist

Abstract Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women. Failure to identify women living with domestic violence may result in an increase in the violence and ultimately may result in loss of life. Therefore, it is the responsibility to all providers of primary health care to women to identify, assess, and initiate interventions for women suffering from domestic violence.
Calibration and verification of DICOM software at the U-of-A

At the University of Arizona a research project is underway which addresses consistent color and consistent gray-scale reproduction for digital color displays used in medical image interpretation, specifically for Pathology. Now the University of Arizona can enter the field of ICC Profiling and Color Management. Of particular interest are Verification of PerfectLum Software, conformance and deviation and the maximum GSDF Error. Verification of PerfectLum Software seemed to be successful. FIT and LUM tests were performed to verify the conformance and the deviation was quantified. The maximum GSDF Error turned out to depend slightly on the bandwidth of the PR-670 Spectrophotometer. Measurements were made at two settings each of Normal and Fast. At the setting "Normal" the maximum GSDF Errors were 8.6% and 6.1 %. At the setting "Fast" the maximum GSDF Errors were 7.44 % and 5.76%. With respect to the results, all three objectives were met and the PerfectLum calibrated display was confirmed to the AAPM TG18 standards.
Characterization of diode arrays using nondestructive saw technique

Abstract Nondestructive Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) technique is used to determine the storage lifetime of silicon p - n diode arrays. Diode arrays are extensively used in low light-level imaging and memory correlator devices. The electric fields that accompany the SAW in piezoelectrics (LiNbO 3 ) are used to alter or gauge the charge content of the diodes. The storage lifetime determined with this technique agrees with that using conventional techniques such as I-V and C-V .
Design, Synthesis, and Structure−Activity Relationships of Novel 2-Substituted Pyrazinoylguanidine Epithelial Sodium Channel Blockers: Drugs for Cystic Fibrosis and Chronic Bronchitis

Amiloride (1), the prototypical epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) blocker, has been administered with limited success as aerosol therapy for improving pulmonary function in patients with the genetic disorder cystic fibrosis. This study was conducted to synthesize and identify more potent, less reversible ENaC blockers, targeted for aerosol therapy and possessing minimal systemic renal activity. A series of novel 2-substituted acylguanidine analogues of amiloride were synthesized and evaluated for potency and reversibility on bronchial ENaC. All compounds tested were more potent and less reversible at blocking sodium-dependent short-circuit current than amiloride. Compounds 30-34 showed the greatest potency on ENaC with IC(50) values below 10 nM. A regioselective difference in potency was found (compounds 30, 39, and 40), whereas no stereospecific (compounds 33, 34) difference in potency on ENaC was displayed. Lead compound 32 was 102-fold more potent and 5-fold less reversible than amiloride and displayed the lowest IC(50) value ever reported for an ENaC blocker.
Model-Free Quantification of Dynamic PET Data Using Nonparametric Deconvolution

Dynamic positron emission tomography (PET) data are usually quantified using compartment models (CMs) or derived graphical approaches. Often, however, CMs either do not properly describe the tracer kinetics, or are not identifiable, leading to nonphysiologic estimates of the tracer binding. The PET data are modeled as the convolution of the metabolite-corrected input function and the tracer impulse response function (IRF) in the tissue. Using nonparametric deconvolution methods, it is possible to obtain model-free estimates of the IRF, from which functionals related to tracer volume of distribution and binding may be computed, but this approach has rarely been applied in PET. Here, we apply nonparametric deconvolution using singular value decomposition to simulated and test-retest clinical PET data with four reversible tracers well characterized by CMs ([(11)C]CUMI-101, [(11)C]DASB, [(11)C]PE2I, and [(11)C]WAY-100635), and systematically compare reproducibility, reliability, and identifiability of various IRF-derived functionals with that of traditional CMs outcomes. Results show that nonparametric deconvolution, completely free of any model assumptions, allows for estimates of tracer volume of distribution and binding that are very close to the estimates obtained with CMs and, in some cases, show better test-retest performance than CMs outcomes.
SU‐E‐T‐49: Implementation of Optically Stimulated Luminescent Detectors in the Clinical Setting

Purpose: To perform experiments to determine how Optically Stimulated Luminescent Detectors (OSLDs) can be used for in vivo dosimetry in the clinical environment. For clinical use, OSLDs should have stable, reproducible behavior in measuring dose and be easy to use. Methods: OSLDs were placed in solid water at dmax, with 12cm of solid water below for backscatter, and were irradiated with a TG51 calibrated linac at 10MV, 100SSD and with a 10x10 cm2 field. The OSLDs were of the Nanodot type from Landauer; the Landauer microStar reader was used to measure photomultiplier counts. No modifications were made to the reader, e.g., use of special filters. OSLDs were irradiated to a variety of dose levels which could be encountered in the clinic, as well as levels of 200Gy or more. OSLDs were bleached after each irradiation with a compact fluorescent light source. Results: Without preirradiation to relatively high doses, OSLDs displayed non‐stabilized supralinear behavior in plots of counts versus dose; dosing histories where cumulative dose is acquired solely in amounts comparable to clinical levels, e.g., <10Gy per irradiation, do not yield useful detectors; the counts versus dose curve continues to change significantly with acquired cumulative irradiation until cumulative dose reaches 250Gy or more. However, irradiation of OSLDs to as little as 200Gy before use yields stable detectors that followed supralinear behavior characterized with a quadratic polynomial fit. Pre‐irradiation of 1kGy or more, as reported by Jursinic*, is not needed to yield stable detector performance. Conclusion: Nanodot OSLDs can be used in a clinical setting after receiving one shot preirradiations of ∼200Gy. Dose measuring performance is stable after the preirradiation treatment. One shot irradiations of 1kGy or more are not needed to obtain stable counts versus dose performance.* P. Jursinic, Med. Phys. 37, p. 132 to 140 (2010)
Circumferentially local and average turbulent heat-transfer coefficients in a tube downstream of a tee

Abstract Experiments were performed to determine heat-transfer coefficients both around the circumference and along the length of a heated tube situated downstream of a flow-splitting tee. The flow arrangement was such that air was delivered to the center port of the tee by a long unheated hydrodynamic development section and exited the tee via its two end ports. Identical heated tubes, each with its own flow control, were respectively attached to each exit port. One of the heated tubes served as a primary test section. The experiments were performed at several fixed primary test section Reynolds numbers and, at each Reynolds number, the flow through the secondary exit was varied systematically. The circumferential average heat-transfer coefficients in the thermal entrance region were found to be much larger than those for a conventional axisymmetric tube flow. Furthermore, the length of the thermal entrance region was substantially greater owing to the presence of the tee. Circumferential variations of the heat-transfer coefficient were confined to the initial portion of the entrance region, with circumferential uniformity being attained within about eight diameters from the center of the tee. At the first measurement station (two diameters from the center of the tee), the circumferential distributions exhibited deviations of up to 30% from the circumferential average.
Effects of Crop Damage Caused by the Sugar-cane Borer, Diatraea saccharalis (F.), and the Ratoon Stunting Disease Bacterium on Sugar-cane Yield in Louisiana *

The sugar-cane borer (SCB), Diatraea saccharalis (F.), and the ratoon stunting disease (RSD) bacterium independently caused significant reductions in stalk weight, cane tonnage and sugar yield. A three-fold difference was found in the comparison of per cent loss of cane tonnage due to RSD alone with that due to the disease in combination with SCB damage in first ratoon sugar-cane. Variance analysis failed to detect interaction between damage by SCB and that by RSD. The data analysed were obtained from an experiment of six replication which evaluated the effects of SCB damage and RSD on sugar-cane yield in Louisiana. We used the randomized complete-block experimental design with split-plot arrangement of treatments. Three schedules of insecticide application to the growing cane, against SCB were the main plots whilst the subplots comprised of RSD inoculation vs. no inoculation of sugar-cane plants grown from seed canes with light vs. severe SCB damage.
Binaural Interactions in the Short-Latency Evoked Potentials of Neonates

Short-latency evoked potentials to monaural and binaural clicks were recorded from scalp electrodes on healthy full-term neonates and on normally hearing adults. Binaural interaction (BI) was measured by summing the average monaural responses obtained from each ear (L+R) and subtracting the binaural response (B) from the monaural sum (BI=L+R-B). Consistent BI was apparent following stimulation with moderate level clicks in all cooperative infants. As in the adult, BI occurred during waves IV, V and VI, where there were systematic amplitude differences between the L+R and B waveforms. Peak latencies of the waves were not significantly affected. However, peak latencies were longer in neonates than in adults, reflecting maturational changes in the response. Similarly, peak latencies in the BI waveforms were also prolonged for the neonates. These results indicate that: (1) BI is present at or soon after birth; (2) the gross response properties of BI are similar in infants and adults; (3) BI occurs during specific waves in the response, independent of age, and (4) the assessment of BI may prove useful in estimating the functional integrity of brain stem structures in infants.
Siting and Segregation Effects of Simple Molecules in Zeolites MFI, MOR, and BOG

The effect of the spatially heterogeneous nature of zeolite pores on molecular arrangement and adsorption is investigated. Three zeolites (MFI, MOR, and BOG) are chosen to represent structures containing dissimilar pore shapes and sizes. Four simple adsorbates (argon, methane, CF4, and SF6) are chosen as probes of varying size and interaction energy. Direct Monte Carlo integration of the partition function is used to determine free energies, potential energies and entropies of adsorption in spatially distinct regions of the zeolites at low loadings. These calculations lead to intuitive explanations of siting seen in one- and two-component grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations of adsorption. Both simulation techniques are implemented using the same potential model in identical zeolites. Owing to the similar nature of the two MFI channels, only small differences in adsorption free energies between channels are seen and segregation effects are minimal. Conversely, the very heterogeneous nature of MOR leads...
NVG eyepiece focus (diopter) study

Technology is advancing to the point where night vision goggle designs being developed have wider fields of view to help achieve an increase in situational awareness. The appropriate diopter setting for the eyepiece of these goggles needed to be determined. Aircrew members were surveyed to determine the range of diopter settings they were using. In order to determine what fixed setting would work the best, two diopter settings were chosen (-1.0 and -0.5) to preset aircrew members' goggles. The aircrew flew with these presettings and then filled out a 14-question survey about the diopter settings.
Secondary injection of gases into a supersonic flow

The flow field around the injection port for secondary injection of a gas normal to a supersonic stream has been studied in a series of wind-tunnel experiments. The experiments were conducted at freestream Mach numbers of 1.38 to 4.54. Gaseous nitrogen, argon, and helium were used as injectants. New information concerning pressure fields, concentration fields, and shock shapes was obtained. A scale parameter has been calculated, based on a simple, inviscid model of the flow field. This scale parameter gives a good general correlation of the data. Use of this scale parameter allows prediction of a simple scaling law for the side forces generated by secondary injection. This side-force scaling law is in approximate agreement with existing rocket motor test results.
Interpersonal influence and adolescent materialism and compulsive buying

Many of our consumer values and much of our marketplace behavior can be traced to the impact of others. Adolescence is a time when susceptibility to interpersonal influence is particularly high. Consumer values and behaviors, both positive and negative, developed during adolescence may last well into adulthood. Assuming parents and peers play somewhat unique roles in regard to shaping these consumer values and behavior, the present study investigates adolescent susceptibility to parental and peer influence, and how this susceptibility impacts materialistic values and compulsive buying. Findings of the present study include: (1) parents play an important and informative role in shaping adolescent materialism and compulsive buying, (2) peers assume a significant normative function in affecting levels of materialism and compulsive buying, and (3) compared with parental informative influence, peer normative influence has a relatively stronger effect on both materialism and compulsive buying. Support was also ...
Tailoring Graph-coloring Register Allocation For Runtime Compilation

Just-in-time compilers are invoked during application execution and therefore need to ensure fast compilation times. Consequently, runtime compiler designers are averse to implementing compile-time intensive optimization algorithms. Instead, they tend to select faster but less effective transformations. In this paper, we explore this trade-off for an important optimization - global register allocation. We present a graph-coloring register allocator that has been redesigned for runtime compilation. Compared to Chaitin-Briggs (1994), a standard graph-coloring technique, the reformulated algorithm requires considerably less allocation time and produces allocations that are only marginally worse than those of Chaitin-Briggs. Our experimental results indicate that the allocator performs better than the linear-scan and Chaitin-Briggs allocators on most benchmarks in a runtime compilation environment. By increasing allocation efficiency and preserving optimization quality, the presented algorithm increases the suitability and profitability of a graph-coloring register allocation strategy for a runtime compiler.
Self-improving algorithms

We investigate ways in which an algorithm can improve its expected performance by fine-tuning itself automatically with respect to an arbitrary, unknown input distribution. We give such self-improving algorithms for sorting and clustering. The highlights of this work: (i) a sorting algorithm with optimal expected limiting running time; and (ii) a k-median algorithm over the Hamming cube with linear expected limiting running time. In all cases, the algorithm begins with a learning phase during which it adjusts itself to the input distribution (typically in a logarithmic number of rounds), followed by a stationary regime in which the algorithm settles to its optimized incarnation.
Impediments to and incentives for automation in the Air Force

The paper outlines a collection of impediments and incentives that has been influential in the adoption of automation technologies in the United States Air Force over the last century. I focus on technologies that replace the pilot or reduce his role in the operation of his aircraft. I conclude that pilot-replacing technologies are opposed, while performance augmenting technologies are welcomed as long as they keep the pilot at the center of the aircraft. Pushing towards the automation of aircraft is the desire for higher performance, the huge investment needed to train pilots, and the pressure to gold-plate systems with cutting edge technology. In addition, the adoption of autonomous air vehicles by other branches of the military is encouraging the Air Force to embrace unmanned vehicles to maintain its role as provider of air-based firepower. Against adopting automation are the pilots themselves and their warrior ethos, the desire to include a human in the loop between stimulus and lethal action, and the inertia of almost 100 years of manned flight. This examination of the non-technological barriers to and motivations for deployment of automation technologies by the Air Force can serve as a starting point for investigations into arms control and policy-influencing activities. The impact of these factors can be magnified or mitigated by social changes independent of the technological trends.
Incentive-Compatible Privacy-Preserving Distributed Data Mining

The quantity of data that is captured, collected, and stored by a wide variety of organizations is growing at an exponential rate. The potential for such data to support scientific discovery and optimization of existing systems is significant, but only if it can be integrated and analyzed in a meaningful way by a wide range of investigators. While many believe that data sharing is desirable, there are also privacy and security concerns, rooted in ethics and the law that often prevent many legitimate and noteworthy applications. In this talk, we will provide an overview on research regarding how to integrate and mine large amounts of privacy-sensitive distributed data without violating such constraints. Especially, we will discuss how to incentivize data sharing in privacy-preserving distributed data mining applications. This work will draw upon examples form the biomedical domain and discuss recent research on privacy preserving mining of genomic databases.
A Cultural Analysis of Shared Governance: The Challenges Ahead

Throughout the 20th century the concept of shared governance has held a prominent place in the culture and mythology of academic organizations. Indeed, when one speaks of the structure of colleges and universities an inescapable discussion revolves around participative governance. For some, shared governance is a central totem of the academy; if academe did not have shared governance, then one’s conception of a college or university inevitably would change. For others, shared governance is the root cause of many of academe’s problems; if administrators were able to eliminate or overhaul academe’s governance structures, then postsecondary institutions might become more strategic and efficient. In doing so, administrators would be better able to deal with the myriad problems that currently exist for colleges and universities. At least three issues arise with regard to these differing perceptions of shared governance. First, the tenor of the literature on shared governance often reads like either a call to arms or a funeral oration. Whether one wants to reinvigorate shared governance or destroy it, the discourse is frequently overheated and bombastic. “The classic strategy,” wrote Joanna Vecchiarelli Scott (1996) in describing recent changes, “is what might be termed a stealth
Invisibility and In/di/Visuality: The Relevance of Art Education in Curriculum Theorizing

This article investigates how representation attaches meaning to bodies, how certain bodies are categorically misrepresented and masked from normativity, and proposes a curriculum theory affording the agency of the misrepresented to de-mask invisibility. Brief historical narratives of three kinds of invisibility are presented as they are manifested in educational practice and visual culture – masking those deemed to occupy lesser physical bodies, lesser bodies of knowledge, and bodies lesser-than-normal. The author argues the relevance of art education as a transformative pedagogical practice that can inform and promote social significance, or what the author terms as in/di/visuality, the agency to reinterpret misrepresented physical or conceptual bodies. In the face of masking practices that unleash the squalls of invisibility and inequity throughout sites of curriculum practice and contemporary visual culture, the exercise of in/di/visuality acts as a watershed, displacing invisibility and affording a g...
Portrait Profiles and the Notion of Agency

Artists tend to draw portraits from an angle so that more of one side of the subject’s face is depicted. The tendency to draw more of the left or right side of the face is influenced by gender, social, and personality characteristics of the subjects, and has changed over time. Several hypotheses have been advanced to account for these orientation biases, including effects of maternal imprinting, hemispheric specialization for emotional expression, hemispheric specialization for facial perception, and some form of symbolic communication. None of these hypotheses seem to account adequately for the range of observations reported thus far. I propose an agency hypothesis, which is based on the fact that right-handed subjects tend to conceptualize agents of actions to the left of where they conceptualize recipients of actions. This hypothesis emerged from studies on the interactions of language and space, and seems in accord with the art observations. The agency hypothesis suggests that remarkably simple spatial schemas influence several cognitive domains, including language and aesthetics.
Hat Creek HCO+ and HCN Observations of SgrA

We report aperture synthesis observations of the HCO+ and H13CN J=1–0 molecular lines towards the Galactic center. These data complement existing HCN data and trace a dense molecular ring surrounding the ionized central 2 pc of the Galaxy. The new data are consistent with the model of a clumpy, almost complete ring which is inclined to the line of sight at 50 to 75 degrees. The same structure is seen in HCO+ and in HCN with the exception of an HCN feature at 60 to 100 km/s in the western part of the ring, which is not detected in HCO+ emission. The HCN and HCO+ are collisionally excited in clumps with densities around 105cm-3 and volume filling factor 1/3 to 1/30. H13CN emission from the ring was detected at about 1/7 of the intensity of the HCN; the latter is optically thick and is mapping a combination of surface density and excitation temperature. The HCO+ emission shows deep absorption features associated with galactic structure along the line of sight. Absorption features corresponding to the 3 kpc arm, the inner disk and an expanding ring at -195 km/s can be seen in absorption against the Sgr A radio continuum.
THE ANTISOCIAL PROFILE: Deception and Intimacy in Greek Psychiatry

Based on field research in Greek Thrace, this essay examines the problem of deception in psychiatric care, in the context of national psychiatric reform. Over the last 25 years, psychiatric treatment in Greece has shifted from custodial hospitals to outpatient settings, challenging the mentally ill to help care for themselves as they adapt to life “in the community.” I explore the consequent reworking of therapeutic relationships outside custodial institutions through verbal negotiation, as against methods of confinement and constraint associated with inhumane institutional care. I argue that an ambivalent intimacy is fostered in these relationships by suspicions of deceit, which speak as well to a problem of knowledge in contemporary psychiatry globally. Working through the case of a Gypsy outpatient diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder, whose life ended in a drug overdose, I trace suspicions of deceit across multiple terrains: from (neo)liberal reform, to clinical diagnosis, to constructions of minority culture. On these terrains, I do not attempt to determine the truth of speech in the clinic, but to discern the dynamics of suspicion through which that truth comes into question. Rather than clear refusals of responsibility, I show suspicions of deception in community-based care as refractions of psychiatric reform through a constitutive opacity in intimate ethical relations between patients and therapists.
Latent class regression on latent factors

SUMMARY In the research of public health, psychology, and social sciences, many research questions investigate the relationship between a categorical outcome variable and continuous predictor variables. The focus of this paper is to develop a model to build this relationship when both the categorical outcome and the predictor variables are latent (i.e. not observable directly). This model extends the latent class regression model so that it can include regression on latent predictors. Maximum likelihood estimation is used and two numerical methods for performing it are described: the Monte Carlo expectation and maximization algorithm and Gaussian quadrature followed by quasi-Newton algorithm. A simulation study is carried out to examine the behavior of the model under different scenarios. A data example involving adolescent health is used for demonstration where the latent classes of eating disorders risk are predicted by the latent factor body satisfaction.