cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The creation of coevalness and the danger of homochronism

Johannes Fabian's Time and the Other criticized anthropology for creating representations that placed the Other outside the flow of time. Fabian offered the ethnographic portrayal of coevalness as a solution to this problem. This article explores four challenges to the representation of coevalness: the split temporalities of the ethnographer; the multiple temporalities of different histories; the culturally influenced phenomenological present; and the complicated relationship between culturally variable concepts of being and becoming and cultural concepts of time. Based on these challenges, this article argues that some attempts at ethnographic coevalness have fostered a temporal framework of homochronism which subsumes the Other into academic discourses of history. To achieve coevalness and to avoid homochronism and allochronism, it is necessary to represent the temporal frameworks that research subjects use to forge coevalness with ethnographers, and to place these frameworks in relationship to commonly used academic representations of time and history. Resume Dans son livre Le Temps et les Autres, Johannes Fabian critiquait la creation par l’anthropologie de representations placant l’Autre en dehors du flux du temps. Selon lui, la description ethnographique de la contemporaneite pourrait etre la solution a ce probleme. Le present article explore les quatre difficultes que pose la representation de la contemporaneite : temporalites dissociees de l’ethnographe, temporalites multiples des differentes histoires, present phenomenologique culturellement informe, relation complexe entre les concepts culturellement variables de l’etre et du devenir et les concepts culturel du temps. Sur la base de ces difficultes, l’auteur avance que certaines tentatives de contemporaneite ethnographique ont suscite un cadre temporel d’homochronie qui subsume l’Autre dans les discours academiques sur l’histoire. Pour parvenir a la contemporaneite et eviter homochronie et allochronie, il est necessaire de representer les cadres temporels utilises par les enquetes pour forger la contemporaneite avec les ethnographes et de resituer ces cadres en relation avec les representations academiques du temps et de l’histoire qui prevalent habituellement.
Density of the Commensurability Groups of Uniform Tree Lattices

Abstract Let X be a universal cover of a finite connected graph, and Γ a group acting discretely and cocompactly on X, i.e., a uniform lattice on X. We announce a proof of the conjecture of H. Bass and R. Kulkami (J. Amer. Math. Soc. No. 4 (1990), 843-902) that the commensurability group of Γ is dense in the automorphism group of X.
A comparison of techniques to produce quantile estimates of heavy rainfall in arid and mountainous environments: a test case in western Texas

Abstract The popularity of Weather Bureau Technical Paper No. 40 has set a precedent in the scientific community regarding the use of the Gumbel distribution to derive quantile estimates (return periods) of heavy rainfall. Recent research, however, suggests that other techniques may be more appropriate, with best alternatives varying between regions. Since little attention has been given to arid and mountainous environments in this regard, western Texas is used as a test case for evaluating the performance of several techniques that produce quantile estimates of extreme rainfall events. Kolmogorov–Smirnov results suggest that the Huff–Angel method is best in this region. However, when the data are examined in more detail, results are mixed, and there is a suggestion that the Southern Regional Climate Center Method is perhaps most appropriate.
Effect of Lactobacillus reuteri on Intestinal Resistance to Cryptosporidium parvum Infection in a Murine Model of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

Efficacy of Lactobacillus reuteri as a probiotic for the control of Cryptosporidium parvum infection was evaluated in C57BL/6 female mice that were immunosuppressed by intraperitoneal inoculation with the LP-BM5 leukemia virus. Four months after inoculation, mice developed lymphadenopathy, splenomegaly, and susceptibility to C. parvum infection. After daily prefeeding with L. reuteri (10 8 cfulday) for 10 days, mice were challenged with 6.5 x 10 6 C. parvum oocysts and fed L. reuteri during the entire study. Mice supplemented with L. reuteri and challenged with C. parvum cleared parasite loads from the gut epithelium. However, unsupplemented animals developed persistent cryptosporidiosis and shed high levels of oocysts in the feces. L. reuteri feeding increased its colonization of the intestinal tract, which was inversely related to the fecal shedding of oocysts. These findings suggest that L. reuteri may help prevent C. parvum infection in immunodeficient subjects.
A pattern reconfigurable microstrip parasitic array

This communication presents a novel linearly polarized pattern reconfigurable microstrip parasitic array. Specifically, this antenna uses four switches (currently copper strips for proof of concept) to reconfigure the radiation pattern into three variations over a shared 2:1 VSWR bandwidth, and has potential applications in mobile communication devices and large phased antenna arrays. Both measured and simulated results of a microstrip parasitic array are provided. The effects of changes in physical dimensions and directions for future work are also discussed.
A comparison of evaluation methods for police patrol district designs

Police patrol district design presents a multi-objective optimization problem with two goals: minimizing workload variation between patrol districts and minimizing the response time for officers responding to calls for service. We evaluate three different methods for scoring district designs: a closed form probability based approach, a discrete-event simulation based on hypercube models for spatial queuing systems, and an agent-based simulation model. We find that all methods provide similar evaluations when service demand is low enough that cross-boundary support is infrequent. However, when the demand for service routinely exceeds the supply available within districts, only the agent-based simulation model accurately represents the resulting complexities and significantly changes the evaluation scores to reflect the behavior of the system.
Phased approach to DICOM compliant medical imaging system as part of a health care network

The basic promise of image management and communication systems (IMACS) is to provide efficient radiology services and quick image access to clinicians. The paper describes an approach to a system-wide image information system at West Virginia University Hospital. The system has used traditional capital expenditures, cluster integration and DICOM compliance over a five year period.
Fiber-optic Bragg-grating differential-temperature sensor

A differential temperature sensor based on fiber-optic Bragg-grating elements is described. A high sensitivity to thermally induced Bragg wavelength shifts is obtained using an interferometric detection approach. Results presented show a temperature resolution of >
Aortoiliac Endarterectomy: A Lost Art?

Endarterectomy was first performed on a superficial femoral artery in 1946 by Cid dos Santos and subsequently on the abdominal aorta by Wylie in 1951. During the 1950s and 1960s, aortoiliac endarterectomy (AIE) was the standard procedure for treatment of aortoiliac occlusive disease. When prosthetic graft material became available, aortobifemoral bypass (ABFB) replaced AIE in most cases because occlusive disease commonly affects the external iliac arteries also, which were difficult to endarterectomize. As a result, aorto-common iliac endarterectomy became almost a lost art. However, we believe there is still a place for AIE in selected patients based on a review of our results with the procedure. We reviewed 205 patients who survived 10 years after undergoing operation for aortoiliac occlusive disease by either aorto-common iliac endarterectomy (n = 39) or ABFB (n = 166). Ten-year primary patency was 89.2% for AIE and 78% for ABFB. Graft infection or aneurysmal formation occurred in 5% of ABFB and 0% of AIE cases. Ten male patients who underwent AIE for leg and hip claudication with positive penile/brachial indices of ≤0.6 enjoyed improvement of erectile dysfunction. Twenty of the 39 AIEs were in female smokers with small vessels, localized disease, and elevated triglycerides. Three patients with end-to-side infected ABFB grafts, two with enteric fistula (one ours, two referred), had their grafts removed, followed by AIE with vein patching of their bypass sites. All three patients survived and at 10-year follow-up had patent reconstructed aortofemoral vessels. Since AIE avoids prosthetic material, it is preferable to ABFB in (1) patients whose aortoiliac occlusive disease does not involve the external iliac arteries; (2) male patients with aortoiliac occlusive disease who, in addition to claudication, have erectile dysfunction with penile/brachial indices of ≤0.6 and stenotic internal iliac origins; (3) patients with aortoiliac disease including the external iliac arteries who are not candidates for ABFB because of infection risk or small vessels; (4) patients with localized aortoiliac disease; and (5) patients after removal of an infected ABFB graft (with or without an enteric fistula) that had initially been placed end-to-side for aortoiliac occlusive disease.
Three-dimensional (3D) visualization and microstructure-based modeling of deformation in a Sn-rich solder

Abstract We report on three-dimensional (3D) microstructure visualization and finite-element method modeling of deformation in Sn–3.5Ag alloy. The 3D virtual microstructure accurately represented the alignment, aspect ratio, and distribution of the Ag 3 Sn second phase. The 3D microstructure-based approach is more accurate than unit cell models for simulating and understanding material behavior.
Lung Eicosanoid Production in Neonatal Pigs Fed Formula Supplemented with n-3 and n-6 Fatty Acids

The neonatal pig was used to investigate the influence of n-3 and n-6 fatty acids on lung eicosanoid metabolism. The effects of feeding fish oil, a source of eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5n-3) and docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n-3), were compared to those of feeding canola oil, a source of linolenic acid (18:3n-3). Male littermates from 5 sows were assigned at 1 da of age to 1 of 4 dietary treatments: 20% corn oil, 2% corn oil + 18% coconut oil, 2% corn oil + 18% fish oil or 2% corn oil + 18% canola oil. Animals were bottle fed for 28 da. Additionally, 5 piglets served as a naturally reared group. Production of thromboxane A2 and prostacyclin by minced, incubated lung tissue was determined by radioimmunoassay of the inactive metabolites. Compared to corn oil fed animals, production of thromboxane by incubated lung was decreased in fish oil fed animals to 32%) and in canola oil fed animals to 60%). Similar inhibition of prostacyclin was observed. Among the 5 groups, the greatest eicosanoid production was observed in lung of coconut oil fed and naturally reared animals. Dietary canola oil, containing an omega-3 fatty acid of shorter chain length than that in fish oil, inhibited lung eicosanoid production but to a lesser extent than fish oil. In another experiment, more physiologically relevant concentrations of very long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids were used. We evaluated if supplementation of infant formula with microbial sources of arachidonic acid (20:4n-6), docosahexaenoic acid or both at concentrations only slightly greater than those found in human milk would modulate eicosanoid production in neonatal pig lung. For 25 da, piglets (n = 5/group) received 1 of 4 diets: standard diet containing a fat blend similar to conventional infant formula, diet containing 0.9%o of total fatty acids as arachidonate, diet containing 0.7% docosahexaenoate or diet containing 1.0% arachidonate plus 0.8% docosahexaenoate. Inclusion of arachidonate in the diet increased both thromboxane and prostacyclin production by 25 to 35%. Although docosahexaenoic acid supplementation resulted in the least eicosanoid production among treatments, suppression was observed for only thromboxane when supplementation with both fatty acids was compared to supplementation with arachidonate alone. Thus, eicosanoid production increased in response to small amounts of dietary arachidonate and tended to decrease in response to dietary docosahexaenoate. Eicosanoid production by neonatal pig lung can be manipulated by dietary n-3 and n-6 fatty acids.
Rearrangement of the Genes of Vesicular Stomatitis Virus Eliminates Clinical Disease in the Natural Host: New Strategy for Vaccine Development

Gene expression among the nonsegmented negative-strand RNA viruses is controlled by distance from the single transcriptional promoter, so the phenotypes of these viruses can be systematically manipulated by gene rearrangement. We examined the potential of gene rearrangement as a means to develop live attenuated vaccine candidates against Vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) in domestic swine, a natural host for this virus. The results showed that moving the nucleocapsid protein gene away from the single transcriptional promoter attenuated and ultimately eliminated the potential of the virus to cause disease. Combining this change with relocation of the surface glycoprotein gene yielded a vaccine that protected against challenge with wild-type VSV. By incremental manipulation of viral properties, gene rearrangement provides a new approach to generating live attenuated vaccines against this class of virus.
Pediatric anthropometrics are inconsistent with current guidelines for assessing rider fit on all-terrain vehicles

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: This study sought to establish objective anthropometric measures of fit or misfit for young riders on adult and youth-sized all-terrain vehicles and use these metrics to test the unproved historical reasoning that age alone is a sufficient measure of rider-ATV fit. METHODS: Male children (6-11 years, n=8; and 12-15 years, n=11) were selected by convenience sampling. Rider-ATV fit was quantified by five measures adapted from published recommendations: (1) standing-seat clearance, (2) hand size, (3) foot vs. foot-brake position, (4) elbow angle, and (5) handlebar-to-knee distance. RESULTS: Youths aged 12-15 years fit the adult-sized ATV better than the ATV Safety Institute recommended age-appropriate youth model (63% of subjects fit all 5 measures on adult-sized ATV vs. 20% on youth-sized ATV). Youths aged 6-11 years fit poorly on ATVs of both sizes (0% fit all 5 parameters on the adult-sized ATV vs 12% on the youth-sized ATV). CONCLUSIONS: The ATV Safety Institute recommends rider-ATV fit according to age and engine displacement, but no objective data linking age or anthropometrics with ATV engine or frame size has been previously published. Age alone is a poor predictor of rider-ATV fit; the five metrics used offer an improvement compared to current recommendations. Language: en
Rent Preservation and the Persistence of Underdevelopment

When citizens in a poor constrained society are unequally endowed, they are likely to find it hard to agree on reforms, even though the status quo hurts them collectively. Each citizen group or constituency prefers reforms that expand its opportunities, but in an unequal society, this will typically hurt another constituency's rents. Competitive rent preservation ensures no comprehensive reform path may command broad support. The roots of underdevelopment may therefore lie in the natural tendency toward rent preservation in a divided society.
A Troublesome Caste: Height and Nutrition of Antebellum Virginia's Rural Free Blacks

Formal rules and informal customs created innumerable obstacles to the socioeconomic advance of Virginia's free black population. Laws prohibited free blacks from some activities and occupations and restricted their participation in others. Racism and Klan-like terrorism also made advancement difficult. Despite these disadvantages, Virginia's free black population fared rather well. They grew nearly as tall as white Americans and towered over contemporary Europeans. Primary sources and the secondary literature are consistent with the anthropometric evidence. Blacks had reasonable access to nutrients and black-white income differentials did not condemn the state's free blacks to an underclass culture of poverty.
Presenting diverse political opinions: how and how much

Is a polarized society inevitable, where people choose to be exposed to only political news and commentary that reinforces their existing viewpoints? We examine the relationship between the numbers of supporting and challenging items in a collection of political opinion items and readers' satisfaction, and then evaluate whether simple presentation techniques such as highlighting agreeable items or showing them first can increase satisfaction when fewer agreeable items are present. We find individual differences: some people are diversity-seeking while others are challenge-averse. For challenge-averse readers, highlighting appears to make satisfaction with sets of mostly agreeable items more extreme, but does not increase satisfaction overall, and sorting agreeable content first appears to decrease satisfaction rather than increasing it. These findings have important implications for builders of websites that aggregate content reflecting different positions.
Host social behavior and parasitic infection: a multifactorial approach

I examined associations between several components of host social organization, including group size and gregariousness, group stability, territoriality and social class, and gastrointestinal parasite load in African bovids. At an intraspecific level, group size was positively correlated with parasite prevalence, but only when the parasite was relatively host specific and only among host species living in stable groups. Social class was also an important predictor of infection rates. Among gazelles, territorial males had higher parasite intensities than did either bachelor males or females and juveniles, suggesting that highly territorial individuals may be either more exposed or more susceptible to parasites. Associations among territoriality, grouping, and parasitism were also found across taxa. Territorial host genera were more likely to be infected with strongyle nematodes than were nonterritorial hosts, and gregarious hosts were more infected than were solitary hosts. Analyses also revealed that gregariousness and territoriality had an interactive effect on individual parasite richness, whereby hosts with both traits harbored significantly more parasite groups than did hosts with only one or neither trait. Overall, study results indicate that multiple features of host social behavior influence infection risk and suggest that synergism between traits also has important effects on host parasite load. Key words: Bovidae, group size, group living, parasite prevalence, parasite richness, strongyle nematodes, territoriality. [Behav Ecol 15:446–454 (2004)]
A feedback control defense strategy for denial of service computer attacks

Denial of service (DoS) attacks pose one of the most challenging security issues in computer networks. We propose a defense strategy against DoS attacks, which is based on a local detection component and a feedback control component. The former uses queue content information to detect potential attacks, and the latter controls the sending rate of upstream nodes. We include simulation results to illustrate the behavior of a network when using this strategy under both single-source and distributed DoS attacks, and to show its effectiveness in detecting "potential" attacks at an early stage, identifying attacking flows, and reducing the damage caused by such attacks. Finally, we identify performance metrics appropriate for optimizing the defense mechanism.
SeaMaster: an ROV-manipulator system simulator

In the absence of fully autonomous robots, manipulators operated by a person at a distance are used to carry out tasks in remote and/or hostile environments. SeaMaster software upgrades the human-machine interface of telemanipulators by letting operators control the actual and simulated manipulators either separately or simultaneously. It includes a data-driven control mode. In contrast to direct teleoperation, where the operator directly controls the telemanipulator and uses only video displays for feedback, the computer offers a means of automatically generating joint commands and uncoupling undesired motions of the ROV. The paper describes how the SeaMaster project achieved these goals through computer simulation. The simulator was designed to study the complex motions of an underwater remotely operated vehicle-manipulator system. >
Evaluation of Illinois Bundleflower (Desmanthus illinoensis) for Broiler Chicks

Abstract Illinois bundleflower (IBF; Desmanthus illinoensis) is a warm-season perennial legume native to the central plains of the United States and has potential as both a forage and grain crop. The objective of this research was to evaluate the potential of IBF seeds as a feed ingredient in broiler starter diets. One-day-old broiler chicks were fed 1 of 4 isocaloric and isonitrogenous experimental diets containing 0, 5, 10, or 15% IBF seed. Illinois Bundleflower seed is a high-protein (31.5% CP) feed ingredient with a Lys:Met similar to that of soybean meal. The TME content of IBF seed depends on the form in which it is fed. When fed ground, the TMEn content was determined to be 1,974 kcal/kg. When fed whole, with supplemental grit, the TMEn content was 1,067 kcal/kg. Inclusion of IBF seed in broiler starter diets had adverse affects on both feed consumption and BW gain, even at a 5% inclusion level. Further studies are required to determine whether IBF seed could be included in diets for older broiler chicks or laying hens.
The Ontogeny of Social Behavior and Body Coloration in the African Cichlid Fish Haplochromis burtoni

The ontogeny of behavioral patterns and body coloration are described for the African cichlid fish, Haplochromis burtoni. The development of particular color patterns correlates directly with appearance of behavioral patterns which “use” those color patterns. There is a flexible timetable associated with these events which depends on both social and environmental factors.
Pore-distribution changes of calcium-based sorbents reacting with sulfur dioxide

Changes in the pore structure of calcium oxide sorbents derived from calcium carbonate (c-CaO) and calcium hydroxide (h-CaO) reacting with sulfur dioxide are determined. Results show that the pore shape of c-CaO approximates a cylinder while that of h-CaO appears to be slit- or platelike. The pore volume of c-CaO is located in much smaller pores than that of h-CaO when compared on the basis of an equivalent pore shape model. The effect of sintering was to reduce surface area through coalescence of smaller pores, while only minor effects were observed upon pore volume and conversion from calcium oxide to calcium sulfate. Both sorbents expand to allow greater reaction than is possible given the initial porosity and formation of a larger volume product. The h-CaO reacts to higher levels of conversion than the c-CaO because the pore shape of the h-CaO allows for greater particle expansion and, therefore, reaction beyond the limits of the initial porosity.
Monomer-Polymer Equilibria of Deuterated α-Methylstyrenes

The equilibria between α-trideuteromethyl-β,β-dideuterostyrene, α-methyl-2,3,4,5,6-pentadeuterostyrene, and perdeutero-α-methylstyrene and their respective polymeric anions in tetrahydrofuran have been investigated between 253 and 308°K. The heat and entropy changes were both increased by deuteration of the alkyl group. Qualitatively the effect observed appears best explained by the premise that a lowering of steric repulsions occurs with deuterium and hence the effective volume for deuterium is less than that for hydrogen.
Knowing the Supreme Court? A Reconsideration of Public Ignorance of the High Court

Conventional wisdom holds that the American people are woefully ignorant about law and courts. In light of this putative ignorance, scholars and other commentators have questioned whether the public should play a role in the judicial process—for example, whether public preferences should matter for U.S. Supreme Court confirmation processes. Unfortunately, however, much of what we know—or think we know— about public knowledge of the Supreme Court is based upon flawed measures and procedures. So, for instance, the American National Election Study, a prominent source of the conclusion that people know little if anything about the U.S. Supreme Court, codes as incorrect the reply that William Rehnquist is (was) a justice on the U.S. Supreme Court; respondents, to be judged knowledgeable, must identify Rehnquist as the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (which, of course, technically, he was not). More generally, the use of open-ended recall questions leads to a serious and substantial underestimation of t...
Neuropathic pain is maintained by brainstem neurons co-expressing opioid and cholecystokinin receptors.

Descending input from the rostral ventromedial medulla (RVM) provides positive and negative modulation of spinal nociceptive transmission and has been proposed to be critical for maintaining neuropathic pain. This study tests the hypothesis that neuropathic pain requires the activity of a subset of RVM neurons that are distinguished by co-expression of mu opioid receptor (MOR) and cholecystokinin type 2 receptor (CCK2). Using male Sprague–Dawley rats, we demonstrate that discrete RVM neurons express MOR and CCK2; over 80% of these cells co-express both receptors. Agonist-directed cell lesion in the RVM with the cytotoxin, saporin, using either CCK-saporin to target CCK receptor expressing cells, or dermorphin-saporin to target MOR expressing cells, resulted in concomitant loss of CCK2 and MOR expressing cells, did not alter the basal sensory thresholds but abolished the hyperalgesia induced by microinjection of CCK into the RVM. The findings suggest that these CCK2-MOR co-expressing RVM neurons facilitate pain and can be directly activated by CCK input to the RVM. Furthermore, lesion of these RVM neurons did not affect the initial development of neuropathic pain in the hind paw upon injury to the sciatic nerve, but the abnormal pain states were short lived such that by about day 9 the sensory thresholds had reverted to pre-injury baselines despite the existing neuropathy. These data support our hypothesis and identify CCK2-MOR co-expressing neurons in the RVM as potential therapeutic targets for neuropathic pain.
Introduction to RCCL: A robot control aCa library

RCCL is a robot programming system that enables a user to specify robot manipulator tasks employing a set of primitive system calls similar in spirit to those of the UNIX input-output system. The goals addressed in the RCCL system are: manipulator task description; sensor integration; updatable world representation; flexibility; wide range of applications; medium level robot programming; off-line programming; efficiency; manipulator independence; portability; foreground-background programming; Cartesian path programming; arbitrary path specification; tracking; force control.
Effects of Food Deprivation on Conditioned Taste Aversions in Rats

Abstract Food deprivation increases the rewarding effects of self-administered drugs such as psychomotor stimulants and benzodiazepines. These drugs also possess aversive properties and can produce conditioned tast aversions (CTA). Because drug-seeking behavior is most likely affected by both the rewarding and aversive properties of drugs, we hypothesize that food deprivation might also attenuate a drug’s aversive consequences. The CTAs induced by three different drugs (amphetamine, chlordiazepoxide, and LiCl) were assessed separately. Male Long–Evans rats were assigned to one of two feeding conditions: restricted (maintained at 80% of free-feeding body weight), or nonrestricted (with ad lib food). Both groups received CTA training, consisting of an intraoral infusion of a novel saccharin solution (10 min) followed immediately by one of two IP injections: paired rats received drug, and unpaired rats received a similar volume of saline. After 10 days of ad lib food access, saccharin was presented to all rats again, and the latency to reject the tastant was used as an index of CTA learning. The rats that had been food restricted at the time of conditioning exhibited attenuated CTAs relative to those that had not been deprived. These differences were seen only when a rewarding drug (amphetamine or chlordiazepoxide) and not when a nonrewarding drug (LiCl) was used as the unconditioned stimulus. In a separate experiment, we established that this effect is apparent only when the deprivation period precedes conditioning rather than precedes testing. The present results indicate that food deprivation modulates the acquisition of a CTA induced by amphetamine or chlordiazepoxide, but not LiCl.
Long-Range Dynamics of a Shallow Water Triad: Renormalization, Modulation, and Cyclogenesis

Abstract Long-time-range atmospheric variability has many sources, and nonlinear mode interactions could play an important role. This paper sets out to explore such internal mechanisms of the long-range variability for the rotating shallow water (RSW) system, at its lowest spectral resolution (triad), but for long (decadal) timescales, about 105 Coriolis units. A small Rossby–Froude number e sets multiple timescales for the system, ranging from the fast gravity–oscillation scale t to the slow eddy-turnover scale τ = et and yet slower (climatological) scales. A two-step averaging/renormalization procedure is developed to study underlying mechanisms of long-range variability. It explains the basic phases (relaxation, intensification) and the role of wave–vortex interactions, and reveals a novel mechanism of long-range variability, due to modulation of vortex motions [potential vorticity (PV) modes] by gravity waves. The long cycles [on timescales O(104)] are characterized by relative value of the zonal PV c...
Web based evaluation of material handling alternatives for automated manufacturing: a parallel replications approach

This paper describes the application of a master/slave configuration of processors to study a comparison of alternative material handling configurations for automated manufacturing. Such a study usually requires a large number of simulation replications, and carrying out those replications on a multi-processor platform yields significant savings in elapsed time. In the present application, a master processor carries out the statistical computations for a 2k factorial design on up to eight slave processors. This paper will compare the results from using two, four and eight processors.
A decision-friendly approximation technique for scheduling multipurpose batch manufacturing systems

This paper presents a method for computing sub-optimal schedules for certain complex manufacturing systems. These systems are used to produce various products using a fixed factory infrastructure. Such systems can be relatively easy to model and simulate, but computing optimal schedules for them is often intractable. Here, we sample a simulation of the complex system to develop an integer program approximating the complex relationship between admissible schedules and their overall performance, measured in terms of system throughput. Solving this integer program yields a sub-optimal schedule that seems close to optimal on examples.
Roles of interleukin 1 beta and tumor necrosis factor in lipopolysaccharide fever in rats

The roles of interleukin 1 beta (IL-1 beta) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF) in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced fever were investigated in the rat. We used antisera against IL-1 beta and TNF to determine whether we could alter the fever by blocking the action of these cytokines. The intravenous injection of antiserum IL-1 beta 3.5 days before the intraperitoneal injection of LPS resulted in a mean fever that was significantly lower than that seen in rats that had been injected with control serum (0.36 +/- 0.11 vs. 0.82 +/- 0.16 degrees C, P = 0.016). The intravenous injection of antiserum against TNF 3.5 days before the intraperitoneal injection of LPS did not block the fever but significantly enhanced it (1.31 +/- 0.16 vs. 0.82 +/- 0.16 degrees C, P = 0.027). These data support the hypotheses that IL-1 beta is responsible for a significant part of LPS fever and that TNF acts as an endogenous antipyretic to limit the magnitude of LPS fever in the rat.
A microearthquake study of southwest Utah-northwest Arizona: Transition between the Basin and Range Province and Intermountain Seismic Belt

Abstract We conducted a microearthquake study of southwest Utah-northwest Arizona during June and July of 1982 in order to better determine the variation of the stress field in what appears to be a transition between stress domains. Eleven single event and composite fault plane solutions were determined, including two from a microearthquake swarm which occurred near Enterprise, Utah. The region can be divided into two domains defined by fault plane solutions. The western and southern parts contain no Intermountain Seismic Belt-type fault plane solutions, while the remaining area contains both the Intermountain Seismic Belt and Northern Basin and Range-type fault plane solutions. The mixed fault plane solutions may be caused by a low horizontal deviatoric stress which corresponds to the stress transition between the Northern Basin and Range-Colorado Plateau, and structural complexities which may locally affect the stress field. The average T axis direction determined from the fault plane solutions for the entire study area is approximately N65°W, as compared to the minimum horizontal principal stress direction of N65°W inferred from Holocene geologic indicators and N85°E calculated from seismic moment tensors found by other workers. In addition, we observed, as have other workers in the Intermountain Seismic Belt, no relationship between seismicity and Quaternary faulting. Finally, the microearthquake swarm, which is characteristic of southwest Utah-northwest Arizona, displayed two distinctly different fault plane solutions from events that migrated in time and space. The two fault plane solutions are inferred to represent stress release by the earlier microearthquakes which thereby altered the local stress field.
Mechanisms of prism adaptation in normal monkeys

Ophthalmic prisms placed over the eyes of monkeys displace the retinal image and induce systematic misreaching. The rate at which accurate reaching is recovered during the prism exposure depends upon the type of information S obtains. It is most rapid when S can see his reaching errors and apparently displaced body and moves his head while wearing the prisms. Significant adaptation, although less marked, also occurs if S is permitted merely to move his head. It does not occur if the head is immobilized during the prism exposure.
Catalytic Hydrosilylation of Ketones Using a Co/Zr Heterobimetallic Complex: Evidence for an Unusual Mechanism Involving Ketyl Radicals

The tris(phosphinoamide)-linked heterobimetallic Co/Zr complex (THF)Zr(MesNPiPr2)3CoN2 (1) has been investigated as a catalyst for the hydrosilylation of ketones with PhSiH3. Catalytic activity superior to monometallic Co or Zr analogues has been observed, demonstrating the importance of cooperative reactivity between Co and Zr. Upon examining stoichiometric reactions, complex 1 was found to be unreactive toward PhSiH3, implying that the mechanism diverges from the typical Chalk–Harrod-type hydrosilylation pathway. In contrast, 1 reacts readily with ketones, and in the case of benzophenone, a radical coupling product [(Ph2CO)Zr(MesNPiPr2)3CoN2]2 (3) was isolated, implying the intermediacy of a Zr-bound ketyl radical fragment. A radical-based hydrosilylation mechanism is proposed involving hydrogen atom transfer from PhSiH3 to the Zr-bound ketyl-radical.
Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationships (QSARs) for Materials Science

The field of combinatorial synthesis and “artificial intelligence” in materials science is still in its infancy. In order to develop and accelerated strategy in the discovery of new materials and processes, requires the need to integrate both the experimental aspects of combinatorial synthesis with the computational aspects of information based design of materials. In biology and organic chemistry, this has been accomplished by developing descriptors which help to specify “quantitative structure- activity relationships” at the molecular level. If materials science is to adopt these strategies as well, a similar framework of “QSARs” is required. In this paper, we outline some approaches that can lay the foundations for QSARs in materials science.
Pulmonary deposition: determinants and measurement techniques.

Evaluating the response of animals to a toxic or therapeutic agent requires the knowledge of the dose of the agent in the respiratory tract. Dose is the amount retained in the lungs. It is the diff...
Etoposide causes illegitimate V(D)J recombination in human lymphoid leukemic cells

Etoposide is one of the most widely used antineoplastics. Unfortunately, the same treatment schedules associated with impressive efficacy are associated with an increased risk of secondary acute myeloid leukemia (AML), which has prompted its withdrawal from some treatment regimens, thereby potentially compromising efficacy against the original tumor. Because etoposide-associated AML is characterized by site-specific illegitimate DNA recombination, we studied whether etoposide could directly cause site-specific deletions of exons 2 and 3 in the hprt gene. Human lymphoid CCRF-CEM cells were treated with etoposide for 4 hours, and DNA was isolated after subculturing. The deletion of exons 2 and 3 from hprt was assayed by a quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method. In the absence of etoposide treatment, the frequency of deletions of exons 2 and 3 was very low (5.05 x 10(-8)). After exposure to 10 mumol/ L etoposide, the frequency of the exon 2 + 3 deletion was increased immediately after and at 24 hours after etoposide treatment (65 to 89 x 10(-8)) and increased to higher levels (128 to 173 x 10(-8)) after 2 and 6 days of subculture (P < .001 overall). The frequency of the exon 2 + 3 deletion assessed at 6 days of subculture after 4 hours of 0, 0.25, 1, 2.5, 5, and 10 mumol/L etoposide treatment increased with etoposide concentration, ie, 5.05 x 10(-8), 89.2 x 10(-8), 108 x 10(-8), 142 x 10(-8), 163 x 10(-8), and 173 x 10(-8), respectively (P < .0001). Sequencing of a subset of amplified products confirmed the presence of DNA sequences at the breakpoints consistent with V(D)J recombination. By contrast, exon 2 + 3 deletions after etoposide treatment in the myeloid cell lines KG-1A and K562 showed no evidence of V(D)J recombinase in their genesis. We conclude that etoposide can induce the illegitimate site-specific action of V(D)J recombinase on an unnatural DNA substrate after a single treatment in human lymphoid cells.
Discovery of Potent Antivirals against Amantadine-Resistant Influenza A Viruses by Targeting the M2-S31N Proton Channel.

Despite the existence of flu vaccines and small-molecule antiviral drugs, influenza virus infection remains a public health concern that warrants immediate attention. As resistance to the only orally bioavailable drug, oseltamivir, has been continuously reported, there is a clear need to develop the next-generation of anti-influenza drugs. We chose the influenza A virus M2-S31N mutant proton channel as the drug target to address this need as it is one of the most conserved viral proteins and persist in >95% of currently circulating influenza A viruses. In this study, we report the development of a late-stage diversification strategy for the expeditious synthesis of M2-S31N inhibitors. The channel blockage and antiviral activity of the synthesized compounds were tested in two-electrode voltage clamp assays and antiviral assays, respectively. Several M2-S31N inhibitors were identified to have potent M2-S31N channel blockage and micromolar antiviral efficacy against several M2-S31N-containing influenza A vir...
Learning Mixtures of Product Distributions Using Correlations and Independence.

We study the problem of learning mixtures of distributions, a natural formalization of clustering. A mixture of distributions is a collection of distributions D = {D1, . . .DT }, and mixing weights, {w1, . . . , wT } such that
The Dependence of the Gamma-Ray Spectral Shape on the Neutron Energy Averaging Interval Size for the 181Ta(n,γ) Reaction

The dependence of the shape of neutron capture gamma-ray spectra on the neutron energy averaging interval size has been investigated for the 181Ta(n,γ) reaction. The effects of statistical fluctuat...
Bioinformatics identification of new targets for improving low temperature stress tolerance in spring and winter wheat

Phenotypic studies in Triticeae have shown that low temperature-induced protective mechanisms are developmentally regulated and involve dynamic acclimation processes. Understanding these mechanisms is important for breeding cold-resistant wheat cultivars. In this study, we combined three computational techniques for the analysis of gene expression data from spring and winter wheat cultivars subjected to low temperature treatments. Our main objective was to construct a comprehensive network of cold response transcriptional events in wheat, and to identify novel cold tolerance candidate genes in wheat. We assigned novel cold stress-related roles to 35 wheat genes, uncovered novel transcription (TF)-gene interactions, and identified 127 genes representing known and novel candidate targets associated with cold tolerance in wheat. Our results also show that delays in terms of activation or repression of the same genes across wheat cultivars play key roles in phenotypic differences among winter and spring wheat cultivars, and adaptation to low temperature stress, cold shock and cold acclimation. Using three computational approaches, we identified novel putative cold-response genes and TF-gene interactions. These results provide new insights into the complex mechanisms regulating the expression of cold-responsive genes in wheat.
The Molecular Revolution in Cutaneous Biology: EDC and Locus Control

The epidermal differentiation complex (EDC) locus consists of a cluster of genes important for the terminal differentiation of the epidermis. While early studies identified the functional importance of individual EDC genes, the recognition of the EDC genes as a cluster with its shared biology, homology, and physical linkage was pivotal to later studies that investigated the transcriptional regulation of the locus. Evolutionary conservation of the EDC and the transcriptional activation during epidermal differentiation suggested a cis-regulatory mechanism via conserved noncoding elements or enhancers. This line of pursuit led to the identification of CNE 923, an epidermal-specific enhancer that was found to mediate chromatin remodeling of the EDC in an AP-1 dependent manner. These genomic studies, as well as the advent of high-throughput sequencing and genome engineering techniques, have paved the way for future investigation into enhancer-mediated regulatory networks in cutaneous biology.
On Optimal Relay Nodes Position and Selection for Multi-Path Data Streaming

In this paper, we propose a Relay Nodes Position and Selection approach to obtain an optimal set of relay nodes for mobile nodes, which has a large amount of streaming data to be delivered in real time. Based on the selected set of relay nodes, data between mobile nodes and the core network can be transmitted via multiple paths. In our approach, we first determine the number of relay nodes, above which the performance of network cannot be further improved. We then propose a Centerof-Gravity (CoG) mechanism to properly position all the available relay nodes based on the density of mobile nodes. Finally, an optimal subset of relay nodes are selected for each mobile node to minimize the overall distance between mobile nodes and relay nodes in the network. We implement our designed approach in MATLAB and conduct an intense emulation in Common Open Research Emulator (CORE) based on the results generated in MATLAB. The experimental data confirms that our approach can improve the network performance with respect to network capacity, delay, and energy consumption.
Case 5: Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma, Recurrence

60-year-old man with history of pancreatic adenocarcinoma is status post pancreaticoduodenectomy. Serial CT imaging was performed for surveillance.
Effects of roof height on local pressure and velocity coefficients on building roofs

Abstract Failures of roofing systems occur due to high local suctions on tiles or shingles, or because of a different failure mechanism triggered by high local wind velocities near the roof surface. In the latter case, the local velocity can induce positive pressures on the lip of a windward facing shingle or tile, which are transmitted underneath, adding to the external surface negative pressure and causing an increase of the net uplift force. Building codes provide estimates of the peak pressure coefficients (peak C p ) based on 3-s gust in the oncoming wind at the roof height. As an approximation, these coefficients are generally taken to be independent of roof height and exposure. This implies that wind tests of roofing system behaviour carried out at one roof height can be used to infer the system behaviour for other roof heights. One of the main objectives of the present study was to examine the validity of this approximation. Regarding the second failure mechanism discussed above, knowledge of surface wind speed is a key element to assess the uplift forces on shingles. Building codes do not address the wind velocities close to the roof surface and estimate it based on the approach wind speed in terms of a wind speed ratio. So the second objective of the present research was to examine the ratio of local wind velocity close to the roof surface to the velocity at roof height in the approach flow and investigate the effect of height on the velocity ratios. Wind tunnel tests were performed on four different gable-hip roof buildings, at various wind directions. Both surface pressures and near-surface velocities were measured and normalized with respect to upwind flow conditions at mean roof height. The results confirm that the velocity ratios and peak C p values on the gable roof do not vary markedly with building height with no more than 10% change found at most locations. For the velocity ratios a similar conclusion was reached on the hip roof. However, for the C p values in the corner zones of the hip roofs increases with height were identified and further investigation is recommended.
On decentralized and distributed control of partially-observed discrete event systems

This paper surveys recent work of the author with several collaborators, principally Feng Lin, Weilin Wang, and Tae-Sic Yoo; they are kindly acknowledged. Decentralized control of discrete event systems, where local controllers cannot explicitly communicate in real-time, is considered in the first part of the paper. Then the problem of real-time communication among a set of local discrete-event controllers (or diagnosers) is discussed. The writing is descriptive and is meant to inform the reader about important conceptual issues and some recently-completed or on-going research efforts.
Position paper: the science of deep specification.

We introduce our efforts within the project The science of deep specification to work out the key formal underpinnings of industrial-scale formal specifications of software and hardware components,...